The down payment's been paid, when will the goods to be delivered?

For years, all we've heard from those opposed to immigration and immigration reform is that until the government could prove that it was "serious" about border security and enforcement, no meaningful discussion of immigration reform was going to take place. The mantra of "we can't reform immigration laws until we control immigration, and we can't control immigration unless we control our borders" has been the guiding principle behind every obstructionist attempt to derail systematic reform. And attempts to appease restrictionists, by adopting "enforcement first" policies" have become the accepted framework from which all discussions were forced to start.

But most of those working for positive change have known all along that "enforcement first" is just a catch-22. It's an ever-moving target that was never intended to be reached. The ultimate goal of those opposed to reform has never been to "control" immigration...but rather to end it.

Yet despite these obvious facts, both the Bush and Obama administrations dived head first into the enforcement waters.

The last few years have been marked by hugely escalating enforcement budgets, increased apprehension, deportation and detention, increased use of local law enforcement, raids, and employer audits.

Programs like "Operation Streamline", "Secure Communities", "287G", "Operation Community Shield", and "Rapid REPEAT", (to name a few) have all been ramped up to locate, and remove the undocumented population. And while the human suffering caused by these and other programs has been immeasurable, no one can deny their effect on both illegal entry and presence.

So the question now becomes; At what point can we say enough is enough?

At what point will the forces that demand strict enforcement before any discussion of reform can begin, be content? Immigrant communities across this nation have paid the price, they've made their down payment on reform ...when do they finally see something in return?

A couple of new studies demonstrate just how effective and massive these programs and operations have become. Both examining just one aspect of enforcement ...federal prosecutions for immigration related crimes ... which have increased 459% in the last ten years.

The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) and Warren Institute at the University of California at Berkeley recently released reports highlighting the dramatic increase in federal immigration prosecutions and the link to Operation Streamline, a DHS program which mandates federal criminal prosecution of all persons caught crossing the border unlawfully.

The Warren Institute report highlights the impact of Operation Streamline on immigration enforcement and the TRAC report shows that federal immigration prosecutions rose to record levels during fiscal year 2009 and how a shift in priorities has created the largest number of federal immigration prosecutions of non-violent border crossers ever.

The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during the first nine months of FY 2009 the government reported 67,994 new immigration prosecutions. If this activity continues at the same pace, the annual total of prosecutions will be 90,659 for this fiscal year. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this estimate is up 14.1 percent over the past fiscal year when the number of prosecutions totaled 79,431.

Number Year-to-date	67,994
Percent Change from previous year	14.1
Percent Change from 5 years ago	139
Percent Change from 10 years ago	459
Percent Change from 20 years ago	973

The comparisons of the number of defendants charged with immigration-related offenses are based on case-by-case information obtained by TRAC under the Freedom of Information Act from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys

Compared to five years ago when there were 37,884, the estimate of FY 2009 prosecutions of this type is up 139 percent. Prosecutions over the past year are much higher than they were ten years ago. Overall, the data show that prosecutions of this type are up 459 percent from the level of 16,219 reported in 1999 and up 973 percent from the level of 8,448 reported in 1989.
TRAC

While the TRAK report looked at record increase in all federal immigration prosecutions, the Warren Institute looked at the effect of just one Operation along the US/ Mexico border: Operation Streamline.

The Department of Homeland Security(DHS) began implementing OperationStreamline along the U.S.-Mexico border in2005. The program has fundamentally transformed DHS’s border enforcement practices. Before Operation Streamline began, DHSBorder Patrol agents voluntarily returned first-time border crossers to their home countries or detained them and formally removed them from the United States through the civil immigration system. The U.S. Attorney’s Office reserved criminal prosecution for migrants with criminal records and for those who made repeated attempts to cross the border. Operation Streamline removed that prosecutorial discretion, requiring the criminal prosecution of all undocumented border crossers, regardless of their history.

Operation Streamline has generated unprecedented caseloads in eight of the eleven federal district courts along the border, straining the resources of judges, U.S. attorneys, defense attorneys, U.S. Marshals, and court personnel. The program’s voluminous prosecutions have forced many courts to cut procedural corners. Magistrate judges conduct en masse hearings, during which as many as 80 defendants plead guilty at a time, depriving migrants of due process. Indeed, in December 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that Operation Streamline’s en masse plea hearings in Tucson, Arizona violate federal law.By focusing court and law enforcement resources on the prosecution of first-time entrants, Operation Streamline also diverts attention away from fighting drug smuggling, human trafficking, and other crimes that create border violence
Assembly-Line Justice: A Review of Operation Streamline

• Immigration prosecutions make up 54 percent of all federal criminal prosecutions. The most prosecuted federal immigration crimes in FY 2009 were for immigrants caught entering the United States at an improper time or place, totaling approximately 40,000. Between 2002 and 2008, prosecutions for first time illegal entry in border district courts increased 330% from 12,411 to 53,697


• Illegal reentry of a deported alien accounted for nearly 22,000 prosecutions in FY 2009.


• In contrast, potential smuggling charges were brought less frequently. TRAC found 2,980 prosecutions for bringing in and harboring certain aliens, and 106 prosecutions for aiding and abetting an illegal entry.


• 85% of the prosecutions originated with Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) accounted for 13% of the prosecutions.


• Before 2005, CBP voluntarily returned first time border crossers or formally removed them through the civil system. Federal prosecutions were used almost exclusively for individuals with previous criminal records or repeat crossers. Operation Streamline --instituted in Del Rio, Texas in 2005 and later expanded to other areas -- shifted this practice by eliminating prosecutorial discretion and requiring that all unlawful border crossers be prosecuted in federal criminal court and imprisoned if convicted, regardless of their immigration history.15 Those who are caught entering the U.S. illegally for the first time are prosecuted for misdemeanors punishable by up to 6 months in prison.


• Most Operation Streamline defendants are migrants from Mexico or Central America who have no prior criminal convictions and who have attempted to cross the border in search of work or to reunite with family in the United States.


• The link between Operation Streamline and federal prosecution rates can be seen in the judicial districts near these enforcement zones. The Southern District of Texas prosecutes the most immigration crimes, with 23,000 in FY 2009, up 22.1% from FY 2008.1819 The District of Arizona was second with 16,477, up 39.7% from FY 2008.

If we add the fact that President Obama's proposed budget for 2011 includes additional increases in spending along the border and for interior enforcement it becomes obvious that the enforcement juggernaut has far from reached it's end.

So we must now ask ourselves ... when in fact will the border ever be "secure" enough?

We have long heard about the failures of 1986 and how if only the laws were enforced, then we could start to look at reforming the dysfunctional and broken system that only feeds the growing prison-industrial complex.

Well, the laws have been enforced.

There's been a nearly 1000% increase in immigration prosecutions since 1990. In 2009 alone, the U.S. government had held over 440,000 people in immigration custody – more than triple the number of people in detention just ten years ago - and deported 387,000 immigrant workers, the highest recorded number in U.S. history.

So, how much longer are the "sins" of 1986 to hang over everyone's heads? Is there some secret magic number that needs to be reached? Is it a 2000% or 3000% increase in prosecutions? One Million in detention or deported?

How large a price must be paid by immigrant communities before there is a remedy? How many more mothers must be separated from their children? How many families torn apart? Communities terrorized? How many more lives destroyed and futures taken away?

When will the down payment paid in suffering and sorrow be acknowledge ... and the promise of reform finally be honored.?

I think it's fair to say ...NOW!!!!!!

Read More...

Summary only...

Over 500 Groups Demand End To Local Immigration Checks

Since taking office, the Obama Administration has been doing a carefully choreographed dance with both sides of the immigration debate in an attempt to place itself in a "sweet spot" where it believes it will be able to appease all concerned parties when the thorny issue of immigration reform finally moves up the legislative agenda.

Taking a cue from past administrations who tackled immigration legislation, like Reagan in 86, and Clinton in 95, Obama has chosen to pave the way for negotiations by launching a pre-emptive strike against opposition from the right by engaging in increased crackdowns and heavy-handed enforcement to prove that he's "serious about enforcing the law". Both Reagan and Clinton engaged in increased workplace raids and ramped up deportations before coming to the table to negotiate. Bush, did the same after the failure of reform legislation in 06.

But Obama, being much more attuned than his predecessors to the potential negative PR ramifications of pictures of crying children, or parents being paraded around in shackles, plastered across the pages of the New York Times or the Nightly News, has chosen to send his dog-whistle messages to the right in far more subtle ways.

Since taking office he's increased the number of deportations and detentions through the use of roundups of "criminal aliens" (and anyone within proximity to them), and increased use of local law enforcement to single out undocumented immigrants at traffic stops and routine misdemeanor calls. Additionally he's ramped up the use of the provisions of Clinton's 1996 legislation that allows the deportation of legal residents who've run afoul of the law (even years ago on minor charges.)

While both he, and his Homeland Defense Secretary, have promised to review it's agreements with local enforcement agencies and revise their detention policies to make them more "humane", neither has been willing to totally abandon the enforcement policies that fill those detention centers.

Finally last week, 521 immigrant-rights and human-rights organizations threw down the gauntlet and demanded that the Administration immediately terminate the Department of Homeland Security's 287(g) program that allows over 66 different local law enforcement agencies to run roughshod over the constitution

August 25, 2009

The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We, the undersigned civil rights, community, and immigrant rights organizations, urge you to immediately terminate the 287(g) program operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The program has come under severe criticism this year because local law enforcement agencies that have been granted 287(g) powers are using the program to target communities of color, including disproportionate numbers of Latinos in particular places, for arrest. Racial profiling and other civil rights abuses by the local law enforcement agencies that have sought out 287(g) powers have compromised public safety, while doing nothing to solve the immigration crisis.

We applaud your recent remarks acknowledging, that “there is a long history in this country of African Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately.” However, DHS’s continued use of the 287(g) program exacerbates exactly this type of racial profiling. In light of well-documented evidence that local law enforcement agencies are using 287(g) powers to justify and intensify racial profiling, Secretary Napolitano’s July 10, 2009 announcement that DHS has expanded the 287(g) program to include 11 new jurisdictions is deeply alarming.

Since its inception, the 287(g) program has drawn sharp criticism from federal officials, law enforcement, and local community groups. The program, largely recognized as a failed Bush experiment, relinquishes the power to enforce immigration law to local law enforcement and corrections agencies and has resulted in the widespread use of pretextual traffic stops, racially motivated questioning, and unconstitutional searches and seizures primarily in communities of color. In a country where racial profiling by law enforcement agents has led to massive arrests of people of color, these efforts to push immigrants into the criminal justice system is not surprising, but absolutely counterproductive to increasing public safety.

A March 2009 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report criticized DHS for program mismanagement and insufficient oversight of the controversial program. The DHS Inspector General is currently conducting an audit of the 287(g) program, and the Department of Justice launched a civil rights investigation into the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, whose 287(g) program has been widely criticized for engaging in racial and ethnic profiling. The Police Foundation, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Major Cities Chiefs Association have expressed concerns that deputizing local law enforcement officers to enforce civil federal immigration law undermines their core public safety mission, diverts scarce resources, increases their exposure to liability and litigation, and exacerbates fear in communities.

Reports of abuse in local communities have been widespread. In Davidson County, Tennessee, the Sheriff’s Office used its 287(g) power to apprehend undocumented immigrants driving to work, standing at day labor sites, or while fishing off piers. One pregnant woman---charged with driving without a license---was shackled to her bed during labor. In Gwinnett County, Georgia, even without formal 287(g) powers, over 350 individuals were detained and deported from the jail this February after being arrested for driving without a license, a county ordinance violation, or on traffic or misdemeanor charges. The Gwinnett jail is triple-bunked, with one person in each cell sleeping on the floor, and the jail’s internal SWAT team is known for appearing in ski masks to subdue detainees it deems uncooperative. Yet, Gwinnett County is among the 11 jurisdictions granted new 287(g) approval by Secretary Napolitano earlier this month.

In a recent research report, Justice Strategies, a nonpartisan research firm, found evidence that links the expansion of the program to racial animus against communities of color. According to FBI and census data, sixty-one percent of ICE-deputized localities had violent and property crime indices lower than the national average, while eighty-seven percent of these localities had a rate of Latino population growth higher than the national average.

The abusive misuse of the 287(g) program by its current slate of agencies has rendered it not only ineffective, but dangerous to community safety. The program has worked counter to community policing goals by eroding the trust and cooperation of immigrant communities and diverted already reduced law enforcement resources from their core mission. DHS’s proposed changes to the program not only fail to correct its serious flaws,
but also create new ones.

We know that you are committed to tackling our nation’s most complex issues, for these reasons we ask that you examine the damaging impact the 287(g) program is having on immigrant communities across the country and terminate the program. We would be pleased to provide additional information or recommendations regarding current programs and operations of DHS.

Thank you for your consideration. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Marielena Hincapié, executive director, National Immigration Law Center

Sincerely,
Marielena Hincapie
National Immigration Law Center
Executive Director

Kudos to those organizations standing up for human and civil rights for all:

National Organizations:

9 to 5, National Association of Working Women
Action Committee for Women in Prison (ACWIP)
Adrian Dominican Sisters
African American Ministers in Action (AAMIA)
All of Us or None
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)
American Arab Forum (AAF)
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
American G.I. Forum (AGIF)
American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
Asian American Justice Center (AAJC)
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)
Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN)
ASISTA Immigration Assistance
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)
Black Alliance for Just Immigration
Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC)
Border Network for Human Rights (BNHR)
BRAC
Breakthrough: Building Human Rights Culture
Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR)
Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law
Center for Media Justice
Center for New Community
Center for Third World Organizing (CTWO)
Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ)
Church World Service, Immigration and Refugee Program
Citizen Orange
Coalition of African, Arab, Asian, European and Latino Immigrant (CAAAELII)
Colombian American Cultural Society
Consejo de Federaciones Mexicanas en Norteamerica (COFEM)
Council on Crime and Justice
Defending Dissent Foundation
Deported Diaspora
Detention Watch Network (DWN)
Drug Policy Alliance Network (DPA Network)
Drum Major Institute (DMI)
Equal Justice Society
Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM)
Fellowship of Reconciliation USA (FOR USA)
Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center (FIAC)
Foundation for Change
Foundations for Our New Alkebulan/Afrikan Millennium (FONAMI)
Gamaliel Foundation
Guatemalan Immigrant Movement (MIGUA)
Global Action Project (GAP)
Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW)
Grassroots Global Justice Alliance
Grassroots Leadership
Gray Panthers
Hermandad Mexicana Transnacional
Hispanic American Association
Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC)
INCITE! Women of Color Against Domestic Violence
International CURE
Irish Apostolate USA
Jobs with Justice (JWJ)
Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Network (JPIC)
Justice Strategies
La Union del Pueblo Entero (LUPE)
Latino Justice PRLDEF
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights (LCCR)
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR)
Legion of Mary
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS)
Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM)
March 25 Coalition
Medical Mission Sisters' Alliance for Justice
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
Ms. Foundation for Women
Mundo Maya Foundation, Inc.
NAACP Legal Defense Fund
National Alliance of Latin American & Caribbean Communities (NALACC)
National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV)
National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF)
National Black Police Association (NBPA)
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Council of La Raza (NCLR)
National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON)
National Employment Law Project (NELP)
National Immigrant Bond Fund
National Immigration Law Center (NILC)
National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, Inc.
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)
National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR)
National Training and Information Center (NTIC)
National People's Action (NPA)
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA)
Pax Christi USA
People For the American Way (PFAW)
Progressive States Network
Real Cost of Prisons Project (RCPP)
Respect Respeto
Rights Working Group (RWG)
Ruckus Society
Safe Streets Art Foundation
Salvadoran American National Network (SANN)
Sentencing Project
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas--Institute Justice Team
Sisters of the Holy Cross – Congregation Justice Committee
South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
SpeakOut - Institute for Democratic Education & Culture
SpiritHouse
Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice
The Caribbean Voice
The Episcopal Church
The Praxis Project
The Tahirih Justice Center
Transnational Institute for Grassroots Research and Action (TIGRA)
United Network for Immigrants and Refugee Rights (UNIRR)
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
United African Organization
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE)
United for a Fair Economy (UFE)
United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society
United Methodist Women (UMW)
United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS)
United We DREAM (UWD)
Victim Rights Law Center (VRLC)
VIVE, Inc.
VivirLatino.com
War Times/Tiempo de Guerras
William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI)
Women of Color United
Women's Refugee Commission
World Organization for Human Rights


Regional, State and Local Organizations:

32BJ SEIU
9 to5 Atlanta
9to5 Bay Area
9to5 Colorado
9to5 Milwaukee
9to5 Los Angeles
A New Way of Life Reentry Project
American Postal Workers Union AFL-CIO Local 591
Atlantans Building Leadership for Empowerment (ABLE)
ACORN California
African American Ministers in Action
AFSC - San Diego
AFSC-Austin office
AFT/ Nicaragua Center for Community Action
AIDS Care Ocean State
Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice
Alianza Indigena Sin Fronteras
Alianza Latinoamericana por los Derechos de los Inmigrantes (ALIADI)
Alliance of White Anti-Racists Everywhere - Los Angeles (AWARE-LA)
Amigos Multicultural Services Center
Annunciation House, Inc.
Anti-Racist Action-Los Angeles/People Against Racist Terror (ARA-LA)
Arab Resource and Organizing Center
Arise Chicago
Arizona Advocacy Network
Arizona Dream Act Coalition
Asian / Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project
Asian Law Alliance
Asian Law Caucus
Asian Pacific American Legal Center
Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach
Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition
Bay Area Immigration Taskforce/JFON
Bend-Condega Friendship Project
Benedictine Mission House
Berkshire Immigrant Center
Blessing Xchange
Books Not Bars
Border Action
Border Ambassadors
Boulder Community United
Brass Liberation Orchestra
Brazilian Total Assistance, Inc.
Building Locally to Organize for Community Safety (BLOCS)
CADENA
California Coalition for Women Prisoners
California Prison Moratorium Project
Canal Alliance
Capital Area Immigrants' Rights Coalition
CASA de Maryland
Casa de Proyecto Libertad
Casa Esperanza
Casa Freehold
Casa Latina
Catholic Caucus Southeast Michigan
The Catholic Center
Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking LA (CAST LA)
Catholic Community of St. Michael/St. Patrick
Catholic Legal Services, Archdiocese of Miami, Inc.
Center for Artistic Revolution (CAR)
Center for Independent Living of South Florida, Inc.
Center for Participatory Change (CPC)
Central American Resource Center (CRECEN)
Centro Campesino Farmworker Center, Inc.
Centro de Orientacion del Inmigrante CODI
Centro de Servicios Hispanos, WI
Centro Hispano
Centro Hispano Comunitario De Nebraska
Challenging White Supremacy (CWS)
Chelsea Collaborative
Chiapas Support Committee
Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers (CLAIM)
Chicago Media Watch (CMA)
Chicago New Sanctuary Coalition
Children and Family Justice Center
Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA)
Christian Alliance of Arkansas
Citizens Against Recidivism, Inc.
Citizens Alert
Citizens for Border Solutions
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA)
Comisión Latinoamericana por los Derechos y Libertades de los Trabajadores y Pueblos
(CLADEHLT)
Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers (CLAIM)
Claire Heureuse Community Center, Inc
Club Migrante Cheran-Sur de Ilinois
Coalition for Economic Justice
Coalition for Justice, Peace and Dignity
Coalition for Prisoners' Rights
Coalition of Latino Leaders (CLILA)
Coastal Community Action Inc
CODEPINK Arizona
Coalicion de Organizaciones Latino-Americanas (COLA)
Collaborative Center for Justice, Inc.
Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CCASA)
Community Coalition for Healthcare Access
Community Development Project, Urban Justice Center
Community to Community Development
Community United Against Violence (CUAV)
Community Works West
Companeros
Cristo Rey Catholic Church
Critical Resistance - Los Angeles
Darfur Community Organization
Direct Action for Rights and Equality
Discrimination & National Security Initiative
Dominican Development Center-DDC
East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy
East Bay Sanctuary Covenant
East Williamson County Democratic Club
EastSide Arts Alliance
Economic Justice Coalition
El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos
El Centro de la Raza
El Centro Latino, Inc.
El Grupo of North San Diego County
El Pueblo - Immigration Legal Services
El Pueblo, Inc.
El Vinculo Hispano
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
English for Action
Equal Justice Center
FaithAction International House
Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children (FFLIC)
Families for Freedom
Families to Amend California’s Three Strikes (FACTS)
Farmworker Association of Florida
Filipinos for Affirmative Action
Florida Immigrant Coalition
Freedom House
Freeport Community Worklink Center
Fuerza Laboral
Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights
Georgia Rural Urban Summit
Georgia STAND UP
Glenmary Commission on Justice
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church
Gloria Dei Step Up Center
Good Shepher of the Hills Episcopal Church Cave Creek
Greater Boston United for Justice with Peace Coalition
Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition
Grupo Shalom
Guatemala Solidarity Committee Boston
Green Valley Samaritans/The Good Shepherd United Church Of Christ
Hand in Hand/ Mano en Mano
Harris County Green Party
Health Education Solutions
Heartland Alliance National Immigrant Justice Center
Highlander Research and Education Center
Hispanic Coalition, Inc.
Hispanic Resource Center of Larchmont and Mamaroneck
Homies Unidos
Houston DREAM Act Coalition
Houston Interfaith Worker Justice Center
Hudson Valley Community Coalition, Inc.
Human Concerns Committee St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, Palo Alto CA
Human Rights Initiative of North Texas
Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur de California (IDEPSCA)
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Immigrant Defense Project (IDP)
Immigrant Family Advocates of Bend, Oregon
Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota
Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP)
Immigrant Rights Clinic, NYU School of Law
Immigration Clinic, University of MD School of Law
Immigration Law Clinic, UC Davis
Immigrant Solidarity Dupage
Immigration Research Team, A Mid-Iowa Organizing Strategy (AMOS)
INCITE! LA
Indo-American Center
Institute for Urban Policy Research
Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center - Cincinnati
Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center-- Congregation of St. Joseph
Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice of South Central Wisconsin
International Institute of Rhode Island
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement
Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault
IRATE & First Friends
Irish Immigration Center
Jobs With Justice of East Tennessee
Jewish Community Action
JUNTOS/Casa de los Soles
Justice and Peace Commission
Justice Now
Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana
Kentucky Interfaith Taskforce for Latin America and the Caribbean
Kino Border Initiative
Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC)
Korean Resource Center (KRCLA)
La Capilla de Santa Maria, Episcopal Church
La Causa, Inc.
La Fuente
La Raza Centro Legal
Labor/Community Strategy Center
Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center
Latin American Coalition
Latino Advocacy Coalition of Henderson County
Latino American Initiative of Nebraska (LAI)
Latino American employee network of Creighton University (LAEN-CU)
Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey
Latino Union of Chicago
Latino Youth Collective of Indiana
League of Rural Voters
League of United Latin American Citizens #754
League of United Latin American Citizens #761
League of United Latin American Citizens Florida
Legal Aid Justice Center -- Immigrant Advocacy Program
Legal Aid Service of Broward County
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC)
Legal Voice
Liberian Community Association of Central New Jersey & the Metro
Living Waters Lutheran Church
Long Beach Immigrant Rights Coalition
Long Island Immigrant Solidarity
Long Island Jobs with Justice
Los Angles Community Legal Center and Educational
MA Resist the Raids Network
Make the Road New York
March 10th Movement
Marin Interfaith Task Force on the Americas (MITF)
Massachusetts Global Action
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
Massachusetts Jobs with Justice
Matahari: Eye of the Day
McHenry County Latino Coalition
Meadowlark Center
Middlesex County Coalition for Immigrant Rights
Migration and Refugee Services Diocese of Trenton
Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Coalition (MIRAc)
Mission Houston
Missouri Immigrant & Refugee Advocates
Monmouth County Pax Christi
Monsoon United Asian Women of Iowa
Mount Kisco Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Council
Movimiento Migrante Mesoamericano
Mujeres Unidas y Activas
Multicultural Center of Hope
NC Justice Center
Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest
Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, Immigration Services Project
New Jersey Civil Rights Defense Committee
New Jersey Immigration Policy Network
New Jersey Tenants Organization
New Labor
New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice (NOWCRJ)
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI)
New York State Youth Leadership Council (NYSYLC)
NH Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees
NJ Coalition for Battered Women
No More Deaths-Phoenix
North Carolina Council of Churches
North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NCCASA)
Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights
Northwest Federation of Community Organizations (NWFCO)
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP)
Project Rebound
Ohio Justice and Policy Center
Olneyville Neighborhood Association
ONE/Northwest
OneAmerica
Oregon New Sanctuary Movement
Organization of Chinese Americans - Westchester & Hudson Valley
Organization of Chinese Americans- New Jersey Chapter
Palm Beach County Coalition for Immigrant Rights
Partnership for Safety & Justice (PSJ)
Paso del Norte Civil Rights Project
Pastores en Accion
Pax Christi Austin
Pax Christi Metro New York
Pax Christi Metrowest
Pax Christi NJ
Pax Christi Texas
Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape
Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition
People of Faith Peacemakers
People Organized in Defense of Earth and her Resources (PODER)
Portland Green Cultural Projects Ltd
Prax(us)
Presentation Sisters
Priority Africa Network
Prison Policy Initiative
Project South
Providence Students for a Democratic Society
Proyecto Azteca
Proyecto Digna, Inc
Proyecto Voz, American Friends Service Committee - New England
Public Justice Center
Quad Cities Interfaith (Gamaliel Network)
Reform Immigration FOR Arkansas Coalition
Resource Center of the Americas
RI Jobs with Justice
RI Mobilization Committee to Stop War and Occupation
Rights for All People
Rochester Committee on Latin America
Rockland Immigration Coalition
Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network
Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center
Rural Organizing Project
Safe Streets/Strong Communities
School of the Americas Watch L. A. chapter
School Sisters of Notre Dame - Global Justice & Peace Commission
Service Center for Latinos Inc.
Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN)
Shalom Community Church
Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Central Leadership
Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill
Sisters of Mercy in Guam
Sisters of Mercy Sisters of Mercy Community of New York, Pennsylvania
Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Justice Team
Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Leadership Team
Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur
Sisters of Providence Mother Joseph Province
Sisters of St. Francis
Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester
Sisters of the Divine Compassion
Social Justice Guild of the First Existentialist Congregation of Atlanta
Somervile/Medford United with Justice and Peace
Somos America
SOS Inc.
South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault
South Texas Civil Rights Project
Southern California Library
Southern Center for Human Rights
Southern Coalition for Social Justice
Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services
Southern Poverty Law Center
Southwest Creations Collaborative
Southwest Organizing Project
Southwest Voter Registration Education Project
SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW!
St. Francis Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee
St. Joseph Valley Project - Jobs with Justice
St. Peter's Housing Committee
St. Pious Immigration Reform Group
Sunflower Community Action - Comunidad Latina en Accion
Texas Civil Rights Project
Texas Criminal Justice Coalition
Texas Indigenous Council
Texas Jail Project
Texas/Oklahoma/New Mexico Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers
Association
The Advocates for Human Rights
The Ashe County Health Council, A Healthy Carolinians Task Force
The Austin Center for Peace and Justice
The Harriet Tubman Freedom House Project
The Hispanic/Latino Center, Inc.
The Jubilee Center at Saint Matthew/San Mateo Episcopal Church
The Network/La Red
The New York Immigration Coalition
The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition
The Trauma Healing Project, Inc
Time for Change Foundation
TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition
Tonatierra
Town of East Hampton Anti-Bias Task Force
Trinity Episcopal Church
Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of NJ
Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of RI
Unite for Dignity, Inc.
UNited Dubuque Immigrant Alliance (UN DIA)
Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights
Ursuline Sisters
Ursulines of Brown County
Utah Immigrant And Refugee Integration Coalition
Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence
Vermont Workers' Center
Violence Intervention Program (VIP)
Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations
Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy
Virginia Organizing Project
Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance
Voces de la Frontera
Voice of the Ex-offender
Watts/Century Latino Organization
WeCount!
West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project
Westchester Hispanic Coalition
Western NC Community Health Services
Westside Community Action Network Center, Inc.
Wind of the Spirit, Immigrant Resource Center
WISDOM, The Gamaliel Foundation in Wisconsin
Women's Employment Rights Clinic
Women for CrossCultural Action
Women Helping Women
Workers Defense Project (PDL)
Workers Interfaith Network (WIN)
Workers' Rights Center
Workers' Rights Law Center of New York, Inc. (WRLC)
Young Democratic Socialists (YDS)
Youth Justice Coalition
Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice

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A Tale of Two Suburbs

This past week we witnessed the responses of two local law enforcement agencies to increasing political pressure to rely upon them to enforce federal immigration policy:

In Irving Texas, a suburb in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, 2000 protester marched this week to highlight that city's participation in a Federal program that has caused deportations to increase 500% from that city in the last year alone.

In Nassau County NY, a suburb in Metro NYC, the county's highest ranking police official announced this week that his department would no longer assist federal authorities with the apprehension of undocumented immigrants.

Across the country, municipalities large and small are now being forced to examine exactly what their rights and responsibilities are when it comes to enforcing federal immigration policy.

In a heated political climate where incendiary speech and inflammatory rhetoric often pass for public discourse, too many local leaders have chosen to make political hay by claiming it is now their responsibility to take on the burden of enforcing Federal law.

Others have taken a much wiser approach.


Whether passing local zoning ordinances to limit housing in immigrant communities, or empowering local law enforcement to enforce laws beyond their constitutional jurisdiction, some municipal leaders around the country clearly appear to be using the "immigration issue" as a way to garner support within certain segments of their constituency or further their political ambitions.

Most of these local initiatives have been challenged in court, and many, after wasting precious taxpayer resources, have been struck down as unconstitutional.

In other municipalities, officials have taken a much more enlightened and practical approach to the Federal Government's unwillingness to repair its fatally flawed immigration policy, and decided to do what is not only best for their residents, but prescribed by the Constitution.

In Irving, the protests were sparked by that city's participation in a federal program that allows local law enforcement to screen the immigration status of all people arrested. With a Latino population that exceeds 30%, many see the huge increase in arrests that end up with deportation as evidence that the local police are targeting the Latino community. Evidence coming from the Mexican Consul in Dallas who interviews Mexicans being deported, seems to back up this assertion. With jurisdiction over a huge area from East Texas all the way to the Texas Panhandle, Consulate officials say that half of the deportation cases it reviewed in the last few weeks originated from Irving. They have advised all Mexican nationals to stay away from the area for fear of arrest.

Organizers of the demonstration called on people to boycott Irving businesses and flood the mayor's office with phone calls demanding an end to the Criminal Alien Program. Officials have denied accusations of racial profiling and said everyone arrested in the city is screened for a possible referral to immigration officials.

Irving police have been screening arrested people and have turned over 1,373 to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials this year. Data from the city show that the number of prisoners turned over to ICE is increasing.

About four illegal immigrants a month were identified among people arrested in Irving before police began the Criminal Alien Program, according to police data.

About 50 a month were identified after police started the program in September 2006.

About 130 a month were being identified by April.

Up to 300 a month are being identified now, according to the mayor

Star-Telegram

Clearly the numbers look suspicious. A six-fold increase in the number of deportations since the program's inception would lead one to wonder whether police are searching out those who they suspect are here without documents, and then targeting them for arrest on even the most minor of charges.

Latino advocates accuse police officers of racial profiling and overzealously arresting suspected illegal immigrants so they can be deported, a claim the Mexican Consulate takes so seriously it's advising people to avoid driving through this Dallas suburb.

Police Chief Larry Boyd, however, says he's merely providing information to immigration agents as part of a national program designed to streamline the deportation of illegal immigrants who have been incarcerated.

"In terms of immigration enforcement, we're not doing anything on that," said Boyd, whose city joined the program last year. "The officers are arresting people for offenses like they always have."

Houston Chronicle

In Nassau, NY, the situation seems to be the polar opposite.

The Nassau County Police Department has a long history of working with Federal law enforcement agencies on various sorts of criminal maters. Yet, after assisting in a series of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids earlier in the week, that they were informed would target gang members, Nassau's top cop announced an end to all inter-agency cooperation when only three out of the 82 people apprehended turned out to be gang members.

A top police official on Long Island said Friday he has "no desire to cooperate any further" with federal immigration agents after his department was kept in the dark about many of the details of raids and arrests conducted earlier this week.

"We withdrew from any involvement in any further operations," Nassau County Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey said following the arrest of 82 people. "There will be no further cooperation unless these issues are ironed out."

Mulvey said agents from the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency were repeatedly asked to supply a list of suspected gang members targeted with arrest warrants to the local police department, but the request was only granted on Thursday afternoon _ four days after the raids commenced.

"We had asked for a list of the targets on the warrants because we have a very accurate and up-to-date database on gangs in Nassau County," Mulvey said. "It was promised and not delivered."

…

Only three of those taken into custody, Mulvey said, were actually suspected gang members; most were undocumented immigrants. He said the ICE agents appeared to have outdated intelligence on where some of the suspects were located.

…

"They pick up and leave town and we're left to deal with the missing persons reports from families whose relatives were taken," Mulvey complained. "I have no desire to cooperate any further."

He said he has shared his complaints in a letter to ICE officials, but has yet to receive a response.

Mulvey also said if he had known that ICE had sought to arrest undocumented immigrants, the department would not have assisted. "This sets us back" with the Latino community, Mulvey said. "We suffer the consequences of the mistrust that develops."

Newsday

It’s obvious that the officials of these two suburban municipalities are separated by more than mere geography.

Chief Larry Boyd, with the apparent full support of the Irving City Council, has decided to utilize the power of the Federal government to engage in a systematic program that would rid his city of those that are deemed "undesirables."

Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey, on the other hand, has taken a defiant and courageous stance to do the right thing for his entire community, and not allow Federal authorities to use local law enforcement, and divide his community against itself.

Let the Federal government do their job and enact legislation that will finally fix an immigration system that all can clearly see is broken. Their lack of leadership on this issue only perpetuates situations ripe with abuse like that in Irving, or tries to force local officials to act in a matter that runs contrary to their community's own best interests.

Immigration policy needs to be set in Washington, as prescribed by the Constitution, not in the chambers of City Councils or County Legislatures.

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Immigration Limbo

When ancient Christian theologians began examining the system of eternal rewards and punishments manifested in the concepts of heaven and hell, they were soon faced with a conundrum. What would the fates be of those virtuous souls who had lived and died long before Christ's earthy arrival, or those who died in infancy before baptism? They neither qualified for heavenly inclusion nor deserved condemnation to hell.

The wise biblical scholars decided that there existed a place that was neither heaven nor hell. ...A place for the righteous unsaved called Limbo, somewhere between heavenly bliss and the tortures of eternal damnation..

Today in the United States there exists for millions of foreign-born legal residents a different kind of Limbo. A legal limbo for those who have not been afforded the full rights and privileges guaranteed by citizenship but are spared the daily hell of the living as outcasts as undocumented immigrants.

Perhaps the cruelest part about Legal Resident Limbo is that most who live there, not unlike un-baptized infants of the "Inferno," have no idea that they have not reached the Promised Land. They go about their daily lives believing that, unlike the undocumented, their status assures them some protections against unwarranted detention, lack of due process, or deportation.

Most believe that if they commit minor infractions of the law they will be afforded the same privileges of all Americans. They believe that if convicted of a minor offense, once paying their debt to society, will be free to go on with their lives.

They do not to live in fear of being pulled over at traffic stops or calling for emergency assistance. They're legal residents after all; they have no reason to fear the law.

Yet for many, they are living in a Limbo of false security.

In 1996 Congress passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) and a dramatic erosion of due process and civil liberties protection for noncitizens began.

Expanding the grounds for deportation and redefining what constitutes an aggravated felony when committed by noncitizens , the 1996 law subjected many long-term immigrants to mandatory detention and automatic deportation for relatively insignificant crimes such as shoplifting or marijuana possession.

Today, in our current climate of fear and intolerance, these laws are now being applied retroactively, forcing many first time offenders and those who were found guilty of youthful indiscretions, in some cases, many decades ago, to be expelled.

"Monica" has been a legal permanent resident in U.S.for 24 years. Born in Bolivia, she moved here at the age of three. She was a good student and daughter, and received a bachelor's degree in Social Work. But like many young people, she made a mistake in her youth. She got arrested once on a minor drug charge for picking up drugs for a friend before a night on the town. The crime was minor, and resulted in nothing more "accommodation ticket" as its penalty. "Monica" then went on with her life.

Yet, Six years later, upon returning from a family vacation, she was detained for the same prior drug charge. She is currently in detention, facing deportation for a crime she had already paid the price for.



These stories are becoming all too common as the concept of due process disappears for those living in immigration Limbo.


More Information on detention and deportation:
Restoring the Right to Due Process PDF. (Breakthough /Detention Watch)
Detention Watch

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Good immigrants/bad immigrants

In the early morning hours of May 12th, about a dozen Iraqi insurgents ambushed a small Army outpost in the village of Quarghouli in the Sunni Triangle. With a volley of rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire it wasn't long before they overwhelmed the seven soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division.

By the time a relief force reached the site, four US servicemen and their Iraqi Army interpreter lay dead. The fate of the other three soldiers was unknown, but there was evidence that they had been abducted. Within hours, a group calling itself Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia announced that it was not only responsible for the ambush, but was holding the three missing Americans.

A massive search effort was initiated utilizing 4000 US soldiers, 2,000 Iraqi troops, helicopters, search dogs and FBI interrogators. In the following days the manhunt was massive, homes were searched , canals drained, hundreds interrogated, and many arrested …but still no sign of the missing soldiers. Two more servicemen lost their lives in the search effort, but to no avail

Eleven days later, the body of 20-year-old private first class, Joseph Anzack, of Torrance, California, was found about 30 miles down river floating face down in the Euphrates. He had been shot multiple times and there were signs of tortured.

The fate of the two other missing servicemen – Alex R. Jimenez, a 25-year-old specialist from Lawrence, Massachusetts, and Byron R. Fouty, of Waterford, Michigan, a 19-year-old private who had been in Iraq only a few weeks, - is still unknown.(1)

It's against this backdrop that we now learn that Jimenez's wife, Yaderlin, whom he married in 2004, is facing deportation.

Yaderlin Hiraldo, is a native of the Dominican Republican who first met her husband during his childhood visits to the island, but according to her attorney, Matthew Kolken, the 22 year old had entered the U.S. illegally prior to marrying him. It was when he requested a green card and legal residence status for her, that authorities were first alerted to her situation.

Despite Spec. Jimenez's status as a US citizen and active duty serviceman, the fact the Yaderlin had entered illegally meant that she would now have to return home and wait ten years before reapplying.

"I can't imagine a bigger injustice than that, to be deporting someone's wife who is fighting and possibly dying for our country," said Kolken in an interview with a local TV.

An immigration judge has put a temporary stop to the proceedings since Spec. Jimenez was reported missing. The soldier's wife is now living with family members in Pennsylvania.

U.S. forces continue to search for Spec.Jimenez, 25, and a comrade, Pvt. Brian Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich.

The soldiers' identification cards were found in an al-Qaeda safe house north of Baghdad, along with video production equipment, computers and weapons, the U.S. military said Saturday. An al-Qaeda front group claimed in a video posted on the Internet earlier this month that the soldiers were killed and buried, and showed images of the ID's. The video offered no proof of their fates.

Link

This sad case goes to highlight one of the biggest problems with the current discussions revolving around immigration reform. All too often we hear opponents of reform digging in their heels and talking tough about the "rule of law."

How often have we heard about their opposition being limited to "illegal" immigrants while claiming support for those who "do it the right way." They like to try to compartmentalize immigrants, and immigrant families into these two very black and white groups. The "good" immigrants" who wait their turn and the "bad immigrants" who enter improperly. But it's not so cut and dry.

As anyone who truly knows anything about the current immigrant experience can attest, the lines are hazy at best.

Within families, there can be all gradations of legality from citizens, to LPR's to the undocumented all living under the same roof. Husbands and wives with different status. Siblings, parents, aunts, uncles or cousins, all having differing legal status.

In a system that can leave legal permanent residents waiting ten years to bring in children or spouses and naturalized citizens up to twenty to bring in a sibling or parent, it is no wonder that even the most "law abiding" immigrant has someone close to them that is at constant risk of arrest and deportation.

This situation appears to be lost on those opposed to immigration reform.

During last years marches and rallies that brought millions into the streets to protest for reform, those from the right insisted on calling the demonstrations "illegal allien marches", or "illegal immigrant demonstrations." As if to imply that only those who are "law breakers" would be demanding reform.

But this could not be further from the truth. This issue effects the lives of many whom Lou Dobbs or Bill O'Rielly would deem "good immigrants" ….."good immigrants" like Spec. Alex Jimenez.

(1) Details of ambush-abduction courtesy of Shaun Mullen of Kiko's House...for more "Triangle of Death Search: A Final Report"

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Immigration News Roundup: Feb 26 – Mar 4

This week brings us a varied set of stories. Mexican President Felipe Calderón announced a new comprehensive immigration policy coupled with reform of its policies towards the treatment of undocumented Central and South American migrants in Mexico. An organic farmer and author from Fresno, Ca. makes some suggestions on immigration policy while the Senate begins working on a new reform package. New enforcement policies make a small Arizona airport the nation's deportation capital and the Denver Post examines some of the costs of increased enforcement to the US justice system. Additionally, a new section has been added to the round-up with miscellaneous stories not widely covered by the MSM

• Mexican President Announces New Comprehensive Immigration Policy


• Farmer Explains Concerns for Immigration Reform


• Arizona Airport Becomes Nations Busiest Deportation Hub


• Senate Poised to Start Immigration Reform


• True Costs of Enforcement-Only Examined

Mexican President Announces New Comprehensive Immigration Policy

Felipe Calderón hopes to show visiting fellow president George W. Bush that he can accomplish the sweeping immigration reform Washington has failed to adopt - not just cracking down on the southern border but also creating a guest-worker program and improving conditions for illegal Central American migrants.

Proving that controlled, regulated migration is possible is the immediate political goal of Calderón, who is unveiling the ambitious reforms shortly before Bush´s March 13-14 visit.

Calderón´s migration agency announced the first phase late Tuesday, pledging improvements to 48 detention centers in response to criticism that illegal Central American migrants are denied the same respect Mexico demands for its citizens in the United States.

…snip…

Calderón also will push Congress to make being undocumented a civil violation, rather than a crime, Salazar said. Republicans in the U.S. Congress have gone in the opposite direction, seeking to treat undocumented migrants as felons.

Meanwhile, Calderón has promised a new, more formal guest-worker program for Central American workers in Mexico.

"Just as we demand respect for the human rights of our countrymen, we have the ethical and legal responsibility to respect the human rights and the dignity of those who come from Central and South America and who cross our southern border," Calderón said shortly after taking office.

Details have not been released but migration experts expect an expansion of Mexico´s long-standing seasonal farm worker program, which issues at least 40,000 temporary visas a year, mostly to Guatemalans. Most work in coffee plantations in southern Chiapas state, and many often face problems getting payment, medical care and housing.

Migration experts say Calderón wants to stop those abuses while also allowing Central Americans to work in construction and service industries along the southern border.
El UNIVERSAL

Related:
Washington Post


Farmer Explains Concerns for Immigration Reform

For the sake of peaches, pass immigration reform

But whether I can grow a better peach depends on whether I have enough field workers, and that's where immigration reform comes in. In recent years, farm labor has been tight, with some workers lost to construction jobs and others because of increased border security. Some farmers have responded by increasing wages, yet there were still not enough people willing to work the harvests. Last year, pears in California rotted on trees; two years ago, my raisin harvest was endangered, and for the last three years, I've struggled with peach harvests, terrified that just as the fruit was at the peak of perfection, I wouldn't have enough workers. Some of my best fruit has fallen from my trees.

The agricultural industry supports federal legislation for a guest-worker program that would bring in temporary farm laborers when shortages arise. This remedy would fix short-term problems. However, a long-term solution lies in immigration reform that could change the nature of farming, especially when it comes to specialty crops and small-scale operations like mine.

..snip…

Agriculture makes a mistake, though, if our sole goal in immigration reform is to seek an abundant supply of cheap labor. Farmers must acknowledge the human capital in our fields. Investments in workers, such as training, can benefit all parties. Skilled positions can then be created for a more willing and able labor pool. With the right kind of reform, workers' worth would be redefined; they would no longer be invisible.

…snip…

As we once again debate immigration reform, agriculture has an opportunity to educate the public about the role farmers and workers have in growing food, in satisfying our hunger. We're all part of a food system at the dinner table, and the policy we create will affect the nature of each bite.
Washington Post

Arizona Airport Becomes Nations Busiest Deportation Hub

Bush policy turns Mesa airport into deportation hub

One by one the immigration detainees stepped off buses onto the tarmac as dawn broke one recent chilly morning. After deputy U.S. marshals pat searched each one, the detainees climbed single file aboard a large unmarked jetliner waiting nearby…

The scene is repeated almost daily at Williams Gateway Airport, the busiest air deportation hub in the nation, as the federal government ramps up efforts to quickly deport record numbers of non-Mexican undocumented immigrants to their home countries.

The taxpayer-funded flights have helped cut deportation times by months, removing about 51,300 non-Mexicans from Oct. 1, 2005 to Sept. 30, 2006, mostly to countries in Central and South America, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

The flights, part of the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System, have been key to ending the government's long-standing policy of releasing thousands of non-Mexicans into the U.S. pending immigration hearings and serve as a deterrent to illegal immigration, officials say.

Analysts say the flights are also central to President Bush's political efforts to curry favor with hard- liners in hopes of coaxing a comprehensive immigration bill out of Congress. The flights are expected to increase as the administration pushes for stronger enforcement.

The flights already have increased fivefold since 2001. They carried more than 116,000 passengers last fiscal year, enough to rival some small U.S. airlines. That total consists of the 51,300 non-Mexican deportations and 64,700 undocumented immigrants flown from the interior of the U.S. to centers like the one in Mesa to be deported.

The program is costly. In fiscal year 2006, ICE officials say the agency spent more than $70 million flying undocumented immigrants home or to the border. In addition, an October inspector general's report sampling flights from Mesa and other air deportation hubs found planes that frequently flew less than half full.
Arizona Republic

Senate Poised to Start Immigration Reform

Kennedy, McCain try again on immigration

Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John McCain are set to introduce a revised version of their sweeping plan to overhaul the nation's immigration laws, in a bill that's likely to restart a tense debate in Congress.

The measure, which is being drafted in consultation with the White House, will largely mirror the immigration bill that stalled last year, according to lawmakers and aides involved in the process. That measure was blocked primarily because House Republican leaders were adamantly opposed to provisions that would have allowed undocumented immigrants to become US citizens.

Though negotiations are still ongoing, this year's bill will most likely leave in place the 700-mile border fence, the creation of which was signed into law last year. It would also double the size of the US Border Patrol and add new means to crack down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants, a further attempt to assuage concerns about the nation's porous borders.

But the bill is likely to enrage advocates of a get-tough approach to immigration by allowing most of the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants already in this country to earn legalized status. Early drafts of the bill would allow them to become citizens after about 12 years if they meet requirements such as learning English, passing a criminal background check, and paying back taxes and a $2,000 fine….

The bill, set to be introduced in the House and Senate as soon as next week, will also include a "guest worker" program for immigrants to work in the United States under temporary visas -- an oft-stated goal of President Bush.
Boston Globe

Related Opinion:
LA Times
Contra Costa Times

True Costs of Enforcement-Only Examined

Fortress America: Part 1
As the U.S. builds walls and trains agents to bar its southern door from the rush of illegal immigrants, some see only a policy of prison shackles and razor wire.

Five days a week, Arce-Flores' courtroom witnesses a steady march of men and women in orange jumpsuits, the vast majority of whom are Spanish-speaking immigrants caught near the border.

During a pretrial hearing before another of Laredo's magistrate judges in early December, the judge dispatched 22 cases in four hours. Nearly all the immigrants were charged with a felony - illegal re-entry after a previous deportation or removal. And because all pleaded guilty, exchanges in court were mostly limited to how defendants were detained and a few questions by the judge about their education level and occupation.

…snip…

But it's not so much that the court is spending time jailing gardeners and construction workers, said Arce-Flores, who is one of the busiest federal judges in the country. It's that the enormous immigration caseload is like a large fire that sucks oxygen from a closed room.

Clerks are tired. U.S. marshals are overworked. While the average federal judge has 87 open felony cases at any one time on the docket, that average for each of the two full judgeships in Laredo is 1,400.

"Do you go after the mob or these guys on the border? Do you go after the Ecstasy distribution rings or these guys on the border?" said Charles L. Lindner, a California lawyer and past president of the Los Angeles Criminal Bar Association, explaining how the focus on federal immigration prosecutions is rippling through the system.

"We're short on (assistant U.S. attorneys) in the office here in Los Angeles because they're doing immigration in Laredo," Lindner said.

…snip…

Sitting in her court offices in Laredo, Arce-Flores pulls out a calculator from a large desk and begins tapping buttons - performing a quick estimate of what it costs taxpayers to jail the immigrants passing through her courtroom.

"If I have 30 people a day times five days a week, that's 150 people," she said.

Each costs about $90 a day to keep in jail, the judge said, and the maximum sentence for a misdemeanor offender is six months.

That's nearly $2.5 million, "for just for one week's work," according to Arce-Flores.

"But when they are discussing this in Washington, they keep saying, 'We need to detain every one of them; we need to give every one jail time,"' Arce-Flores said. "I don't think they realize the consequences."
Denver Post

This Weeks Miscellaneous Bits and Pieces

3 Honduran Kids in L.I. Face Deportation Forbes

Latinos: Councilman's online remarks "bigoted" Asbury park News

(Houston) Immigration raid nets 67 suspects Houston Chronicle

Bush talks trade, immigration with president of El Salvador North County Times

Napolitano: Congress must fix broken immigration system this year Arizona Daily Star

tags: immigration, news , immigration reform, Immigration studies

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