GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP)
The U.S. has begun preparing tents at Guantanamo Bay for Haitians migrants in case of a mass migration spurred by the earthquake, a senior official at the base said Wednesday.
About 100 tents, each capable of holding 10 people, have been erected and authorities have more than 1,000 more on hand in case waves of Haitians leave their homeland and are captured at sea, said Navy Rear Adm. Thomas Copeman.
HAITI: 5.9 aftershock spreads new fear
VENDORS: Some commerce returns in Haiti
SEA HOSPITAL: 'Comfort' starts its healing mission
Authorities have also has tested the latrine facilities and gathered cots and other supplies, said Copeman, the commander of the task force that runs the detention center for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo, where the U.S. holds nearly 200 men.
The Haitian migrants would be held on the opposite side of the base as the detention center, separated by some 2 miles of water across Guantanamo Bay, and would have no contact with the prisoners.
RELIEF: Quality of care a matter of luck in Haiti
ADOPTIONS: Americans eager to embrace Haitian orphans
RECOVERY: Haiti's health crisis deepens as efforts continue.
U.S. immigration officials have said they will fast-track applications for a federal designation that will allow illegal Haitian immigrants to live and work temporarily in this country, but only if they were in the U.S. on the day of the Jan. 12 earthquake.
The U.S. base in southeastern Cuba is also being used to transport supplies and personnel to the aid effort in Haiti, about 200 miles away.
In the early 1990s, it housed tens of thousands of Haitian boat people were held at Guantanamo until they could be sent home.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Man in pharmacy scheme released to immigration officials
SALT LAKE CITY
Published: Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010 6:16 p.m. MST
A man indicted in an illegal online pharmacy scheme was ordered Tuesday to be remanded into the custody of immigration officials.
Edgar Flores-Cuevas, 36, was facing a prison term of 18 to 24 months on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was sentenced to the 20 months he had already served. U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball also imposed a supervised release term of 36 months.
Flores-Cuevas was one of 18 people named in a nine-count indictment in October 2008 that alleged the group ran an online pharmacy scheme, which prosecutors contend involved illegally importing and selling drugs.
Prosecutors say those running the operation were able to distribute more than 11 million pills, making millions of dollars in the process, from 2003 until the scheme was discovered in 2008. Flores-Cuevas' native Mexico was used as a base in the plan to supply the drugs to illegitimate pharmacies.
Flores-Cuevas was indicted on two counts of conspiracy to import the drug Phentermine, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He pleaded guilty to the conspiracy to commit money laundering charge in November.
Flores-Cuevas was caught and detained when he was crossing the border, IRS officials said. His case was the first of the 18 to be adjudicated.
Published: Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010 6:16 p.m. MST
A man indicted in an illegal online pharmacy scheme was ordered Tuesday to be remanded into the custody of immigration officials.
Edgar Flores-Cuevas, 36, was facing a prison term of 18 to 24 months on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was sentenced to the 20 months he had already served. U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball also imposed a supervised release term of 36 months.
Flores-Cuevas was one of 18 people named in a nine-count indictment in October 2008 that alleged the group ran an online pharmacy scheme, which prosecutors contend involved illegally importing and selling drugs.
Prosecutors say those running the operation were able to distribute more than 11 million pills, making millions of dollars in the process, from 2003 until the scheme was discovered in 2008. Flores-Cuevas' native Mexico was used as a base in the plan to supply the drugs to illegitimate pharmacies.
Flores-Cuevas was indicted on two counts of conspiracy to import the drug Phentermine, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He pleaded guilty to the conspiracy to commit money laundering charge in November.
Flores-Cuevas was caught and detained when he was crossing the border, IRS officials said. His case was the first of the 18 to be adjudicated.
State Senate Panel Approves Immigration Bill
State Senate panel approves immigration bill
January 20, 2010 - 12:05PM
updated: January 20, 2010 - 4:01PM
Capitol Media Services
A Senate panel approved a far-reaching bill designed to combat illegal immigration, including allowing police to stop and actually arrest anyone they just reasonably believe is in this country illegally.
Other provisions of the measure approved Wednesday by the Senate Committee on Public Safety and Human Services include:
Paving the way for law enforcement to conduct "sting" operations to find companies knowingly hiring undocumented workers.
Making it a crime to stop a vehicle on the street to pick up someone to do a "day labor" job.
Requiring police to make a "reasonable attempt" to determine the immigration status of anyone they contact officially if there is "reasonable suspicion" they are an illegal immigrant.
Permitting anyone to sue a city, county or any government that has policies limiting immigration enforcement by their employees "to less than the full extent permitted by law."
Wednesday's 4-3 party-line vote, with Republicans in the majority, sends SB1070 to the full Senate.
The move is the latest effort by Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, to force local communities to do more to find, detain - and arrest or deport - those who entered the country illegally.
He specifically is taking aim at what he called "sanctuary policies" of some cities and police departments that direct police officers not to inquire about the legal status of those they encounter who are not otherwise being investigated for a crime. Pearce said that is why his legislation specifically allows anyone who finds governments are not living up to their obligations to sue.
That raised concerns by Sen. Rebecca Rios, D-Apache Junction, that people who are victims or witnesses would be hesitant to report crimes for fear of being arrested.
"That's valid concern," said Mark Spencer, the president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, which supports the bill. But Spencer said that presumes police officers would use "racial profiling" to try to determine whether victims and witnesses are in this country legally.
Much of the debate centered around what authority - if any - police have to detain those they suspect of being illegal immigrants.
John Thomas, lobbyist for the Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police, specifically questioned the section about officers being able to arrest suspected illegal immigrants.
"This requires federal immigration training," he said, referring to a section of federal laws that allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement to train local police to enforce federal immigration laws. That training includes being able to properly identify who is and is not in this country legally.
But Pearce said all police officers have "inherent authority" to enforce federal immigration laws, even without special training. He said the only time that special training is required is after someone is arrested to determine their legal status.
Sen. Al Melvin, R-Tucson, said what Pearce is proposing is necessary.
"We often lose sight of the fact that our porous border and costs related to illegal aliens are costing the citizens of Arizona in excess of $2 billion a year," he said. Melvin said that includes educating illegal immigrants and their children, incarcerating those who commit crimes and the cost of emergency hospital treatment.
"If we could solve this issue - and this legislation takes us in that direction - we could, in many ways, almost eliminate our budget woes, these gut-wrenching billions in budget deficits," Melvin said.
The Department of Corrections reports that 6,313 of the nearly 41,000 inmates serving time for felonies are illegal immigrants.
There are no accurate figures for education, as schools are precluded from asking the legal status of either students or their parents. But the Pew Hispanic Center figured last year that about one of seven students in Arizona schools are here because of illegal immigration, whether the youngsters themselves are undocumented or they are born in this country to parents who entered the United States illegally.
Joe Sigg, lobbyist for the Arizona Farm Bureau Federation, said there is no need for the kind of "sting" operations this measure would facilitate, where police actively see if a company will hire someone who cannot prove legal residency as is already required by both state and federal law. He said if there are employers breaking the law, there will already be plenty of work for officers.
And Allison Bell, lobbyist for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said she feared some otherwise innocent companies might wind up in trouble.
The provision of concern spells out that companies are not "entrapped" if they were "predisposed" to breaking the law and officers simply provided the opportunity to break it.
Bell said the business group wants a definition of what makes a company predisposed to hiring illegal immigrants, suggesting that companies have an absolute defense to charges if they use the federal government's online E-Verify system to check the legal status of new workers.
Jennifer Allen, executive director of the Border Action Network, said one particular problem is a section of the measure making it a crime to transport or harbor illegal immigrants. She said that could make criminals out of the immediate family members of someone here illegally simply for having them in their homes or driving them somewhere in their cars.
Another provision would allow officers to arrest those they suspect are illegal immigrants by making it a criminal violation of state trespass laws to be in the state, whether on public or private land, and be in violation of federal immigration laws.
Pearce said, though, he's not necessarily looking to fill Arizona jails with illegal immigrants. He said it gives discretion to law enforcement officers whether to seek prosecution or simply turn offenders over to ICE.
January 20, 2010 - 12:05PM
updated: January 20, 2010 - 4:01PM
Capitol Media Services
A Senate panel approved a far-reaching bill designed to combat illegal immigration, including allowing police to stop and actually arrest anyone they just reasonably believe is in this country illegally.
Other provisions of the measure approved Wednesday by the Senate Committee on Public Safety and Human Services include:
Paving the way for law enforcement to conduct "sting" operations to find companies knowingly hiring undocumented workers.
Making it a crime to stop a vehicle on the street to pick up someone to do a "day labor" job.
Requiring police to make a "reasonable attempt" to determine the immigration status of anyone they contact officially if there is "reasonable suspicion" they are an illegal immigrant.
Permitting anyone to sue a city, county or any government that has policies limiting immigration enforcement by their employees "to less than the full extent permitted by law."
Wednesday's 4-3 party-line vote, with Republicans in the majority, sends SB1070 to the full Senate.
The move is the latest effort by Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, to force local communities to do more to find, detain - and arrest or deport - those who entered the country illegally.
He specifically is taking aim at what he called "sanctuary policies" of some cities and police departments that direct police officers not to inquire about the legal status of those they encounter who are not otherwise being investigated for a crime. Pearce said that is why his legislation specifically allows anyone who finds governments are not living up to their obligations to sue.
That raised concerns by Sen. Rebecca Rios, D-Apache Junction, that people who are victims or witnesses would be hesitant to report crimes for fear of being arrested.
"That's valid concern," said Mark Spencer, the president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, which supports the bill. But Spencer said that presumes police officers would use "racial profiling" to try to determine whether victims and witnesses are in this country legally.
Much of the debate centered around what authority - if any - police have to detain those they suspect of being illegal immigrants.
John Thomas, lobbyist for the Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police, specifically questioned the section about officers being able to arrest suspected illegal immigrants.
"This requires federal immigration training," he said, referring to a section of federal laws that allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement to train local police to enforce federal immigration laws. That training includes being able to properly identify who is and is not in this country legally.
But Pearce said all police officers have "inherent authority" to enforce federal immigration laws, even without special training. He said the only time that special training is required is after someone is arrested to determine their legal status.
Sen. Al Melvin, R-Tucson, said what Pearce is proposing is necessary.
"We often lose sight of the fact that our porous border and costs related to illegal aliens are costing the citizens of Arizona in excess of $2 billion a year," he said. Melvin said that includes educating illegal immigrants and their children, incarcerating those who commit crimes and the cost of emergency hospital treatment.
"If we could solve this issue - and this legislation takes us in that direction - we could, in many ways, almost eliminate our budget woes, these gut-wrenching billions in budget deficits," Melvin said.
The Department of Corrections reports that 6,313 of the nearly 41,000 inmates serving time for felonies are illegal immigrants.
There are no accurate figures for education, as schools are precluded from asking the legal status of either students or their parents. But the Pew Hispanic Center figured last year that about one of seven students in Arizona schools are here because of illegal immigration, whether the youngsters themselves are undocumented or they are born in this country to parents who entered the United States illegally.
Joe Sigg, lobbyist for the Arizona Farm Bureau Federation, said there is no need for the kind of "sting" operations this measure would facilitate, where police actively see if a company will hire someone who cannot prove legal residency as is already required by both state and federal law. He said if there are employers breaking the law, there will already be plenty of work for officers.
And Allison Bell, lobbyist for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said she feared some otherwise innocent companies might wind up in trouble.
The provision of concern spells out that companies are not "entrapped" if they were "predisposed" to breaking the law and officers simply provided the opportunity to break it.
Bell said the business group wants a definition of what makes a company predisposed to hiring illegal immigrants, suggesting that companies have an absolute defense to charges if they use the federal government's online E-Verify system to check the legal status of new workers.
Jennifer Allen, executive director of the Border Action Network, said one particular problem is a section of the measure making it a crime to transport or harbor illegal immigrants. She said that could make criminals out of the immediate family members of someone here illegally simply for having them in their homes or driving them somewhere in their cars.
Another provision would allow officers to arrest those they suspect are illegal immigrants by making it a criminal violation of state trespass laws to be in the state, whether on public or private land, and be in violation of federal immigration laws.
Pearce said, though, he's not necessarily looking to fill Arizona jails with illegal immigrants. He said it gives discretion to law enforcement officers whether to seek prosecution or simply turn offenders over to ICE.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Critics Decry Decision to Halt Deportations of Haitian Illegal Immigrants
FOXNews
The Obama administration's decision to allow illegal immigrants from Haiti to stay in the United States following the devastating earthquake in their home country has prompted complaints among some immigration policy critics that the temporary "time out" will become permanent.
The Obama administration's decision to allow illegal immigrants from Haiti to stay in the United States following the devastating earthquake in their home country has prompted complaints among some immigration policy critics that the temporary "timeout" will become permanent.
Not all of the critics are opposed to the decision to grant what's called "temporary protected status" to Haitians. Some said the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti is just the kind of crisis that temporary protected status was designed to address.
But immigration watchdog groups are concerned that the 18-month window will be extended, as it often is for immigrants from other countries. Those from Sudan, Somalia, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador all have the TPS designation.
In this case, the administration is allowing any Haitian who was in the United States illegally before the earthquake to continue living and working in the country for another 18 months.
"This is why TPS was created," said Roy Beck, executive director of NumbersUSA. "The problem is we have (had) three straight presidents who made a mockery of TPS. They turned it into PPS -- it's a permanent protected status."
"It's a necessary tool, but as currently structured it functions as a permanent amnesty for anyone 'lucky' enough to come from a country that suffers a natural (or even man-made) disaster," Center for Immigration Studies director Mark Krikorian wrote on his organization's Web site.
Other critics said the administration should not have granted the status in the first place.
"According to past history, they will never be deported," said William Gheen, president of the Americans for Legal Immigration PAC.
He said the administration should have delayed deportations for a month or two while the most intensive recovery efforts are underway, or sent illegal immigrants up for deportation to a part of Haiti not affected by the earthquake.
There are about 30,000 Haitians slated for deportation from the United States. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said between 100,000 and 200,000 Haitians are believed to be in the United States illegally.
Though illegal Haitian immigrants have repeatedly been denied temporary protected status despite a string of natural disasters, persistent poverty and political unrest at home, Napolitano said last week's catastrophic earthquake justifies the designation this time.
"In a way, it's sort of a timeout for Haitians in the United States who can begin to work, can get authorization to work and have some resources then to send back to Haiti themselves -- which is also a form of indirect economic relief," she said, adding that it would give Haiti time to get "back on its feet."
Some lawmakers applauded the decision.
"This is the right thing to do. Haitian immigrants already in the U.S. will not only be able to make money to support themselves, but also to send remittances to their suffering families back in Haiti," Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said in a written statement.
But Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said Haitian immigrants in the United States should provide a more direct form of relief.
"This sounds to me like open borders advocates exercising the Rahm Emanuel axiom: 'Never let a crisis go to waste.' Illegal immigrants from Haiti have no reason to fear deportation, but if they are deported, Haiti is in great need of relief workers and many of them could be a big help to their fellow Haitians," King said in a written statement.
The Obama administration's decision to allow illegal immigrants from Haiti to stay in the United States following the devastating earthquake in their home country has prompted complaints among some immigration policy critics that the temporary "time out" will become permanent.
The Obama administration's decision to allow illegal immigrants from Haiti to stay in the United States following the devastating earthquake in their home country has prompted complaints among some immigration policy critics that the temporary "timeout" will become permanent.
Not all of the critics are opposed to the decision to grant what's called "temporary protected status" to Haitians. Some said the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti is just the kind of crisis that temporary protected status was designed to address.
But immigration watchdog groups are concerned that the 18-month window will be extended, as it often is for immigrants from other countries. Those from Sudan, Somalia, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador all have the TPS designation.
In this case, the administration is allowing any Haitian who was in the United States illegally before the earthquake to continue living and working in the country for another 18 months.
"This is why TPS was created," said Roy Beck, executive director of NumbersUSA. "The problem is we have (had) three straight presidents who made a mockery of TPS. They turned it into PPS -- it's a permanent protected status."
"It's a necessary tool, but as currently structured it functions as a permanent amnesty for anyone 'lucky' enough to come from a country that suffers a natural (or even man-made) disaster," Center for Immigration Studies director Mark Krikorian wrote on his organization's Web site.
Other critics said the administration should not have granted the status in the first place.
"According to past history, they will never be deported," said William Gheen, president of the Americans for Legal Immigration PAC.
He said the administration should have delayed deportations for a month or two while the most intensive recovery efforts are underway, or sent illegal immigrants up for deportation to a part of Haiti not affected by the earthquake.
There are about 30,000 Haitians slated for deportation from the United States. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said between 100,000 and 200,000 Haitians are believed to be in the United States illegally.
Though illegal Haitian immigrants have repeatedly been denied temporary protected status despite a string of natural disasters, persistent poverty and political unrest at home, Napolitano said last week's catastrophic earthquake justifies the designation this time.
"In a way, it's sort of a timeout for Haitians in the United States who can begin to work, can get authorization to work and have some resources then to send back to Haiti themselves -- which is also a form of indirect economic relief," she said, adding that it would give Haiti time to get "back on its feet."
Some lawmakers applauded the decision.
"This is the right thing to do. Haitian immigrants already in the U.S. will not only be able to make money to support themselves, but also to send remittances to their suffering families back in Haiti," Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said in a written statement.
But Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said Haitian immigrants in the United States should provide a more direct form of relief.
"This sounds to me like open borders advocates exercising the Rahm Emanuel axiom: 'Never let a crisis go to waste.' Illegal immigrants from Haiti have no reason to fear deportation, but if they are deported, Haiti is in great need of relief workers and many of them could be a big help to their fellow Haitians," King said in a written statement.
More illegal immigrants being deported before trial
The Patriot Ledger
Posted Jan 19, 2010 @ 06:17 AM
WEYMOUTH — Illegal aliens accused of crimes are more likely to be deported before trial as federal immigration procedures become more efficient.
In a Weymouth case, a man from Guatemala was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last year after making bail on child rape and other charges. When it came time for him to enter a plea, the agency said, he was not available to be in court, and he was deported a week later.
Jessica Vaughan, director of policy at the Center for Immigration Studies, said it’s a “new phenomenon,” a result of the increased effectiveness of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials identifying illegal immigrants in prisons and jails.
“This is a symptom of ICE doing its job well,” Vaughan said, “not a symptom of ICE being insensitive to local law enforcement agencies.”
Last fiscal year, the agency deported 3,452 illegal immigrants from state prisons and county jails in New England, a spokesman said.
Though some argue deporting accused criminals is appropriate, under the Constitution it’s not, said Wendy Wayne, director of the immigration impact unit at the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the state’s public defenders office. Everyone is owed a trial, she said.
“Everyone charged with a crime in this country, regardless of their immigration status, is entitled to the same constitutional protections, including the presumption of innocence until found guilty,” she said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has streamlined the deportation process, getting aliens in front of an immigration judge and out of the country more quickly. The agency doesn’t take into account the alien’s criminal status or wait for local agencies to go to trial.
“ICE doesn’t want to wreck these prosecutions,” Vaughan said. “They’re just trying to do their job and avoid criticism for excessively lengthy detentions.”
Vaughan blamed a lack of communication between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local officials for situations like the one in Weymouth where prosecutors thought accused child rapist Genesis Orrego would be in court to enter a plea and the agency was deporting him.
“As long as they are talking to each other, they can prevent this from happening,” she said, noting that officials in some places have instituted no-bail policies for illegal aliens to prevent them from entering federal custody and put on a fast track to deportation.
Local authorities can ask Immigration and Customs Enforcement to have an accused criminal returned state custody. Orrego was out on bail, so there was no state custody.
David Traub, spokesman for the Norfolk County district attorney’s office, said he identified only three people deported during the criminal justice process at the Superior Court level.
One of those was accused rapist Kamil Ostrowski, who was deported to his native Poland in April 2008 before trial. The district attorney’s office had heard from his defense attorney that Ostrowski was in federal custody, but didn’t try to prevent his deportation.
At the District Court level, there is an average of about one deportation a week, Traub said.
“But those aren’t something we necessarily oppose,” he said, noting that most arrests are for minor charges. “It would be almost inconsequential without the immigration matter.”
Posted Jan 19, 2010 @ 06:17 AM
WEYMOUTH — Illegal aliens accused of crimes are more likely to be deported before trial as federal immigration procedures become more efficient.
In a Weymouth case, a man from Guatemala was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last year after making bail on child rape and other charges. When it came time for him to enter a plea, the agency said, he was not available to be in court, and he was deported a week later.
Jessica Vaughan, director of policy at the Center for Immigration Studies, said it’s a “new phenomenon,” a result of the increased effectiveness of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials identifying illegal immigrants in prisons and jails.
“This is a symptom of ICE doing its job well,” Vaughan said, “not a symptom of ICE being insensitive to local law enforcement agencies.”
Last fiscal year, the agency deported 3,452 illegal immigrants from state prisons and county jails in New England, a spokesman said.
Though some argue deporting accused criminals is appropriate, under the Constitution it’s not, said Wendy Wayne, director of the immigration impact unit at the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the state’s public defenders office. Everyone is owed a trial, she said.
“Everyone charged with a crime in this country, regardless of their immigration status, is entitled to the same constitutional protections, including the presumption of innocence until found guilty,” she said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has streamlined the deportation process, getting aliens in front of an immigration judge and out of the country more quickly. The agency doesn’t take into account the alien’s criminal status or wait for local agencies to go to trial.
“ICE doesn’t want to wreck these prosecutions,” Vaughan said. “They’re just trying to do their job and avoid criticism for excessively lengthy detentions.”
Vaughan blamed a lack of communication between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local officials for situations like the one in Weymouth where prosecutors thought accused child rapist Genesis Orrego would be in court to enter a plea and the agency was deporting him.
“As long as they are talking to each other, they can prevent this from happening,” she said, noting that officials in some places have instituted no-bail policies for illegal aliens to prevent them from entering federal custody and put on a fast track to deportation.
Local authorities can ask Immigration and Customs Enforcement to have an accused criminal returned state custody. Orrego was out on bail, so there was no state custody.
David Traub, spokesman for the Norfolk County district attorney’s office, said he identified only three people deported during the criminal justice process at the Superior Court level.
One of those was accused rapist Kamil Ostrowski, who was deported to his native Poland in April 2008 before trial. The district attorney’s office had heard from his defense attorney that Ostrowski was in federal custody, but didn’t try to prevent his deportation.
At the District Court level, there is an average of about one deportation a week, Traub said.
“But those aren’t something we necessarily oppose,” he said, noting that most arrests are for minor charges. “It would be almost inconsequential without the immigration matter.”
Sunday, January 17, 2010
10,000 marchers, 5 arrests at immigration protest
by Megan Boehnke, Jeffrey Javierƒp and Connie Cone Sexton
Jan. 16, 2010 07:50 PM
The Arizona Republic .
An otherwise festive protest march against the immigration methods of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpio turned ugly Saturday afternoon when a small group brawled with police and hit a mounted officer and her horse with sticks.
Police used pepper spray to disperse the crowd and arrested five people.
Sarah Grace Daniels, 23, Jeremiah M. Henry, 18, and Issa A. Emadi, 26, were booked aggravated assault on a police officer charges, Phoenix police said.
Garyn Klasek, 30, is facing aggravated assault on a police officer and disorderly conduct charges. Claire E. Brock, 23, was booked for resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
The group was dressed entirely in black with bandanas over their faces and signs read "Assassinate Arpaio" and other anarchist messages.
They had been jawing with police for most of the afternoon, chanting profanities at officers and throwing bottles at them near the beginning of the march. Officers on bikes and horses and more in patrol cars escorted the group the rest of the way until they reached 35th Avenue and Durango, blocks from the jail.
Salvador Reza, one of the organizers of the protest, described the people who created the disturbance as an outside faction.
"There was provocation by some groups who came here for their own purpose to disrupt a peaceful march," Reza said.
The marchers began to cut off a utility cart that had been riding alongside the demonstration and police brought in a mounted officer to separate the protestors from the officer. The crowd surrounded the horse and a few protestors hit the animal with sticks that had black flags on them.
Two other police officers were assaulted by the suspects who threw water bottles, possibly containing rocks, police said. The bottles missed.
Some protestors not affiliated with the outside group were sprayed, some of them were children.
Alexandra Alvarez said her six-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter were hit with the spray. Her son has asthma and was quickly using his prescription inhaler. Both were crying from the sting of the spray.
"We were walking when all of a sudden there was a strong smell that started to sting," Alvarez said.
The march began peacefully, with protesters gathering at Falcon Park in west Phoenix. It had something of a festival feel as people spread blankets, listened to music and speakers and bought ice cream and popcorn from vendors.
By 11:45 a.m., the group took to the streets for the more than 4-mile march that took them south on 35th Avenue toward Tent City, which is south of Buckeye Road. Several marchers started chanting in Spanish, urging Arpaio to stop his tactics. Many others hoisted signs that read "We Are Human."
There was no opposition to the marchers throughout the day as they proceeded to head towards Tent City. Protest participants started arriving at Falcon Park before 9 a.m., joining fellow immigrants-rights advocates in urging the Obama administration to end an agreement that lets the Sheriff's Office check the immigration status of people booked into its jails.
Organizers believe some Valley police officers are engaging in racial profiling by arresting Latinos for minor crimes in order to check their immigration status. In 2009, the Department of Homeland Security took away Sheriff Joe Arpaio's power to arrest illegal immigrants under a revised agreement that still lets jail officials enforce immigration laws.
As she mingled among others at the protest, Sarahi Uribe, a representative from the National Day Labor Organizing Network, said the hope was to stir the Obama administration into action, specifically Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
"We want to tell her to stop the deportation and abuses of civil rights," Uribe said. "We're very inspired by the civil-rights struggle in this country, and we see this as a continued fight."
The Rev. Liana Rowe of Shadow Rock United Church of Christ in Phoenix said she came to the protest as a show of solidarity.
"Babies are being separated from their mamas, and families are being split up in the process, all in the name of anti-immigration," Rowe said.
Several elementary and high school teachers were among the marchers.
Tim Broyles, a social-justice teacher at Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix, said a few students from the school came out to support their peers.
"There are kids in this group who deal with this (immigration) on a daily basis," Broyles said. "Their buddies are here because they know what's going on."
Ruben Rivas, 29, a fourth-grade teacher in Mesa, also came to show his support.
"I don't know who is documented or undocumented in my classroom," he said, "but a lot of my kids talk a lot about not being able to visit grandparents. It's an injustice."
After the morning rally at Falcon Park, the group marched to Tent City, the outdoor jail facility run by the Sheriff's Office on Durango Street. Singer Linda Ronstadt walked the march and was to perform later in the day, but was not able to because she was tired from the march.
By 2:45 p.m., some marchers left.
Reza said the march was overall successful in sending out a message against the tactics of Arpaio and the policies of immigration that divide families and communities.
A group of at least 10 meat packers from San Francisco made the 12-hour drive overnight in order protest what one described as policies that threaten laborers all over the country.
"If we weren't here it'd be 3,000 (protestors) minus 10," Geravo Sanez said. "We wanted to make sure it was 3,000 plus 10."
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Thousands protest sheriff's immigration efforts
Associated Press
2 hrs 22 mins ago
PHOENIX – Ten thousand immigrant rights advocates marched in front of a county jail in Phoenix Saturday in a protest that was aimed at Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's immigration efforts and was marked by a clash between a small group of protesters and police officers.
Organizers say the protest was meant to show officials in Washington that Arpaio shouldn't handle immigration enforcement, and that Congress and the Obama administration need to come up with a way for immigrant workers to come to the country legally.
The three-mile walk that started in a west Phoenix park ended by afternoon at the Durango Jail Complex, a collection of five jails, where officials played music, including a record by singer Linda Ronstadt, to drown out noise made by protesters. Ronstadt took part in Saturday's protest.
Protesters chanted "Joe must go" as they approached the jail complex. One person carried a sign that said "We are human" and bore a picture of a lawman with a wolf's face. A family of five wore T-shirts saying "Who would Jesus deport?"
For his part, Arpaio said he wasn't bothered by the protesters and that they should be directing their frustrations at Congress because it has the power to change America's immigration laws.
"They are zeroing in on the wrong guy," Arpaio said. "They ought to be zeroing in on the president."
The demonstration was peaceful until police say protesters near the end of the procession started throwing water bottles at officers. Phoenix Police Lt. Pat Hofmann said officers used pepper spray as they tried to separate protesters from an officer who was trying to take away the bottles.
People poured water onto the faces of several protesters whose eyes were irritated by the pepper spray.
Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill added that one demonstrator struck a police sergeant on the head and chest with a flagpole. And he said an officer on horseback was assaulted as her horse was mobbed, punched and pushed. He didn't say whether any officers were injured.
Phoenix police said Saturday night that five people were arrested during the protest and taken to Maricopa County Jail. Three were booked for aggravated assault on police; another was booked for aggravated assault on police and disorderly conduct. The fifth was booked for disorderly conduct and aggravated assault on police.
Though the scene of the disturbance was cleared within minutes, the aftermath was chaotic. Protesters yelled obscenities at police officers in riot gear. One officer shook his pepper spray canister as he ordered people to keep moving. One protester wore goggles, and several others wrapped bandanas around their mouths.
Critics have accused deputies working in Arpaio's immigration efforts of racial profiling, which the sheriff denies. He says his deputies approach people when they have probable cause to believe they had committed crimes.
Ten months ago, Arpaio learned he was under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department for alleged discrimination and unconstitutional searches. He says the investigation was prompted by his immigration efforts, although federal authorities haven't provided details.
Since early 2008, Arpaio has run 13 immigration and crimes sweeps involving officers who flood a section of a city — in some cases heavily Latino areas — to seek out traffic violators and arrest other violators.
Arpaio's power to make federal immigration arrests was stripped away three months ago by officials in Washington, but he continues his immigration efforts through the enforcement of two state laws.
A federal grand jury also is investigating Arpaio and his office on allegations of abusing his powers.
2 hrs 22 mins ago
PHOENIX – Ten thousand immigrant rights advocates marched in front of a county jail in Phoenix Saturday in a protest that was aimed at Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's immigration efforts and was marked by a clash between a small group of protesters and police officers.
Organizers say the protest was meant to show officials in Washington that Arpaio shouldn't handle immigration enforcement, and that Congress and the Obama administration need to come up with a way for immigrant workers to come to the country legally.
The three-mile walk that started in a west Phoenix park ended by afternoon at the Durango Jail Complex, a collection of five jails, where officials played music, including a record by singer Linda Ronstadt, to drown out noise made by protesters. Ronstadt took part in Saturday's protest.
Protesters chanted "Joe must go" as they approached the jail complex. One person carried a sign that said "We are human" and bore a picture of a lawman with a wolf's face. A family of five wore T-shirts saying "Who would Jesus deport?"
For his part, Arpaio said he wasn't bothered by the protesters and that they should be directing their frustrations at Congress because it has the power to change America's immigration laws.
"They are zeroing in on the wrong guy," Arpaio said. "They ought to be zeroing in on the president."
The demonstration was peaceful until police say protesters near the end of the procession started throwing water bottles at officers. Phoenix Police Lt. Pat Hofmann said officers used pepper spray as they tried to separate protesters from an officer who was trying to take away the bottles.
People poured water onto the faces of several protesters whose eyes were irritated by the pepper spray.
Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill added that one demonstrator struck a police sergeant on the head and chest with a flagpole. And he said an officer on horseback was assaulted as her horse was mobbed, punched and pushed. He didn't say whether any officers were injured.
Phoenix police said Saturday night that five people were arrested during the protest and taken to Maricopa County Jail. Three were booked for aggravated assault on police; another was booked for aggravated assault on police and disorderly conduct. The fifth was booked for disorderly conduct and aggravated assault on police.
Though the scene of the disturbance was cleared within minutes, the aftermath was chaotic. Protesters yelled obscenities at police officers in riot gear. One officer shook his pepper spray canister as he ordered people to keep moving. One protester wore goggles, and several others wrapped bandanas around their mouths.
Critics have accused deputies working in Arpaio's immigration efforts of racial profiling, which the sheriff denies. He says his deputies approach people when they have probable cause to believe they had committed crimes.
Ten months ago, Arpaio learned he was under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department for alleged discrimination and unconstitutional searches. He says the investigation was prompted by his immigration efforts, although federal authorities haven't provided details.
Since early 2008, Arpaio has run 13 immigration and crimes sweeps involving officers who flood a section of a city — in some cases heavily Latino areas — to seek out traffic violators and arrest other violators.
Arpaio's power to make federal immigration arrests was stripped away three months ago by officials in Washington, but he continues his immigration efforts through the enforcement of two state laws.
A federal grand jury also is investigating Arpaio and his office on allegations of abusing his powers.
Schumer Wants NYC Immigration Jail To Stay Open
Jan 16, 2010 11:46 am US/Eastern
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer has asked federal officials to reverse their decision to close an immigration detention center in Manhattan.
The New York Democrat said the plan to transfer detainees to a jail in New Jersey could deal "a crushing blow" to their legal rights.
The New Jersey facility is in Hudson County, only seven miles away, but Schumer said moving detainees across the Hudson River will make it more difficult for relatives and lawyers to see them.
Manhattan's Varick Federal Detention Facility holds many immigrants who have been in New York for many years, but have been ordered deported for a variety of reasons.
Federal immigration officials say the jail in Hudson County can house detainees at half the cost.
Varick has 250 beds and houses only adult male aliens.
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer has asked federal officials to reverse their decision to close an immigration detention center in Manhattan.
The New York Democrat said the plan to transfer detainees to a jail in New Jersey could deal "a crushing blow" to their legal rights.
The New Jersey facility is in Hudson County, only seven miles away, but Schumer said moving detainees across the Hudson River will make it more difficult for relatives and lawyers to see them.
Manhattan's Varick Federal Detention Facility holds many immigrants who have been in New York for many years, but have been ordered deported for a variety of reasons.
Federal immigration officials say the jail in Hudson County can house detainees at half the cost.
Varick has 250 beds and houses only adult male aliens.
Special status will halt deportations from U.S.
USA TODAY
Lawmakers and immigration groups are calling on the Obama administration to grant Haitians in the USA, including those here illegally, a special temporary legal status that would protect them from deportation and allow them to take jobs.
That would be a step beyond what the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced: a halt in deportations "for the time being." About 30,000 Haitians now in the USA had been ordered deported.
The DHS can grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to people from countries experiencing civil war, natural disaster or some other catastrophe.
Immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Somalia and Sudan have the status
"There is no way to safely return Haitian citizens to their country," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., wrote to President Obama on Wednesday after the earthquake Tuesday.
The temporary status "is in the range of considerations," said DHS spokesman Matt Chandler.
Temporary Protected Status is granted for a specific period, such as 18 months, but it can be extended. Honduras' and Nicaragua's designations date to 1999 after Hurricane Mitch.
Shannon LaGuerre, a New York immigration attorney whose parents are Haitian, said TPS would allow Haitians here to get jobs and send money home. "People there can purchase things and get back on their feet," she said.
The Federation for American Immigration Reform, which advocates less immigration, backs TPS for Haitians if it has an end date, President Dan Stein said. He added that the status should be terminated for countries where the crises have passed.
"In some cases, such as TPS for citizens of El Salvador, the triggering event occurred nearly a decade ago," he said, referring to earthquakes in 2001.
LaGuerre said several of her clients, including Marie Christina Joseph, 29, would benefit.
Joseph came to the USA by boat from Haiti in 2000. She could be deported, but LaGuerre plans to make the case that her marriage to a U.S. citizen makes her eligible for legal permanent residency.
Meanwhile, the mother of three children who are U.S. citizens hopes for TPS so she can work and help pay the $1,200 rent on the family's one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. She also wants to send money to family in Haiti, including an 11-year-old daughter, two brothers and her father. She hasn't been able to reach them since the quake.
"I'm going to try to send clothing and blankets. Anything I can do, I would like to do," she said. "This country needs help now."
Lawmakers and immigration groups are calling on the Obama administration to grant Haitians in the USA, including those here illegally, a special temporary legal status that would protect them from deportation and allow them to take jobs.
That would be a step beyond what the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced: a halt in deportations "for the time being." About 30,000 Haitians now in the USA had been ordered deported.
The DHS can grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to people from countries experiencing civil war, natural disaster or some other catastrophe.
Immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Somalia and Sudan have the status
"There is no way to safely return Haitian citizens to their country," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., wrote to President Obama on Wednesday after the earthquake Tuesday.
The temporary status "is in the range of considerations," said DHS spokesman Matt Chandler.
Temporary Protected Status is granted for a specific period, such as 18 months, but it can be extended. Honduras' and Nicaragua's designations date to 1999 after Hurricane Mitch.
Shannon LaGuerre, a New York immigration attorney whose parents are Haitian, said TPS would allow Haitians here to get jobs and send money home. "People there can purchase things and get back on their feet," she said.
The Federation for American Immigration Reform, which advocates less immigration, backs TPS for Haitians if it has an end date, President Dan Stein said. He added that the status should be terminated for countries where the crises have passed.
"In some cases, such as TPS for citizens of El Salvador, the triggering event occurred nearly a decade ago," he said, referring to earthquakes in 2001.
LaGuerre said several of her clients, including Marie Christina Joseph, 29, would benefit.
Joseph came to the USA by boat from Haiti in 2000. She could be deported, but LaGuerre plans to make the case that her marriage to a U.S. citizen makes her eligible for legal permanent residency.
Meanwhile, the mother of three children who are U.S. citizens hopes for TPS so she can work and help pay the $1,200 rent on the family's one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. She also wants to send money to family in Haiti, including an 11-year-old daughter, two brothers and her father. She hasn't been able to reach them since the quake.
"I'm going to try to send clothing and blankets. Anything I can do, I would like to do," she said. "This country needs help now."
Monday, January 11, 2010
GUILTY PLEA: A former manager at Agriprocessors has pleaded guilty to helping illegal immigrants obtain fraudulent identification documents
GUILTY PLEA: A former manager at Agriprocessors has pleaded guilty to helping illegal immigrants obtain fraudulent identification documents. A former manager at a kosher slaughterhouse in Iowa has admitted to helping illegal immigrants get fake documents one week before an immigration raid.
Former Agriprocessors, Inc. slaughterhouse manager Brent Beebe pleaded guilty Monday to one count of conspiracy to commit document fraud.
Beebe admitted in his plea that he served as a middleman on a loan for more than $4,000 from former manager Sholom Rubashkin to about 19 illegal immigrant employees to pay for new fake documents.
The Agriprocessors plant in Postville was the site of a massive immigration raid in May 2008.
Rubashkin was convicted of 86 counts of financial fraud in November. Beebe remains free on bond.
Former Agriprocessors, Inc. slaughterhouse manager Brent Beebe pleaded guilty Monday to one count of conspiracy to commit document fraud.
Beebe admitted in his plea that he served as a middleman on a loan for more than $4,000 from former manager Sholom Rubashkin to about 19 illegal immigrant employees to pay for new fake documents.
The Agriprocessors plant in Postville was the site of a massive immigration raid in May 2008.
Rubashkin was convicted of 86 counts of financial fraud in November. Beebe remains free on bond.
Catholic Priest Tackles Illegal Immigration
Catholic Priest Tackles Illegal Immigration
PETOSKEY, Mich., Jan. 11 /Christian Newswire/ -- Father Patrick J. Bascio, a retired Roman Catholic priest who is also an international human rights expert, professor, and widely published author, has written a book entitled "On the Immorality of Illegal Immigration."
Father Bascio presents a strikingly different perspective on illegal immigration than that of many church leaders. Like a prophet of old, he boldly decries current illegal immigration policies that have contributed to his fellow Americans' joblessness, shrinking wages and poorer working conditions. Based on the years Father Bascio spent ministering in Harlem, he also argues that African-American workers, in particular, bear the heaviest burden of the illegal invasion, which locks them out of many workplaces or drives wages below livable levels.
Father Bascio also critiques the motives behind both our legal and illegal immigration policies that lure the Third World's brightest and best to America, stripping poorer nations of their physicians, teachers, scientists, and future leaders.
He also believes that unchecked illegal immigration has grave consequences for overall U.S. tranquility: disdain for the rule of law, street gangs, document fraud and identity theft, staggering welfare and education costs and a creeping "balkanization" that threatens the national principle of E Pluribus Unum. As a Catholic priest, the author readily admits the unpleasantness of taking a position not shared by his church's hierarchy, and which he believes is driven by the prospect of rising membership.
Father Patrick Bascio's book is a resounding appeal not only to Roman Catholics, but to all people of faith to reexamine their churches' conventional views on illegal immigration and consider the hardship it brings for many Americans and its dangers for the nation as a whole.
Dr. Otis L. Graham, historian and visiting scholar at the University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill, has described the book as "persuasive and moving," while Pete Nunez, a former U.S. Attorney, says "the author is right on the mark.
PETOSKEY, Mich., Jan. 11 /Christian Newswire/ -- Father Patrick J. Bascio, a retired Roman Catholic priest who is also an international human rights expert, professor, and widely published author, has written a book entitled "On the Immorality of Illegal Immigration."
Father Bascio presents a strikingly different perspective on illegal immigration than that of many church leaders. Like a prophet of old, he boldly decries current illegal immigration policies that have contributed to his fellow Americans' joblessness, shrinking wages and poorer working conditions. Based on the years Father Bascio spent ministering in Harlem, he also argues that African-American workers, in particular, bear the heaviest burden of the illegal invasion, which locks them out of many workplaces or drives wages below livable levels.
Father Bascio also critiques the motives behind both our legal and illegal immigration policies that lure the Third World's brightest and best to America, stripping poorer nations of their physicians, teachers, scientists, and future leaders.
He also believes that unchecked illegal immigration has grave consequences for overall U.S. tranquility: disdain for the rule of law, street gangs, document fraud and identity theft, staggering welfare and education costs and a creeping "balkanization" that threatens the national principle of E Pluribus Unum. As a Catholic priest, the author readily admits the unpleasantness of taking a position not shared by his church's hierarchy, and which he believes is driven by the prospect of rising membership.
Father Patrick Bascio's book is a resounding appeal not only to Roman Catholics, but to all people of faith to reexamine their churches' conventional views on illegal immigration and consider the hardship it brings for many Americans and its dangers for the nation as a whole.
Dr. Otis L. Graham, historian and visiting scholar at the University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill, has described the book as "persuasive and moving," while Pete Nunez, a former U.S. Attorney, says "the author is right on the mark.
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