Prince William County is dealing with the hot topic of illegal immigration.

wjla.com
posted 12:41 pm Fri December 14, 2007 - Woodbridge, Va.

County leaders, including the county board of supervisors, were questioned Friday about a resolution that will cut off county services to illegal immigrants. So far, state leaders are showing concern that the resolution could violate the civil rights of thousands of residents.

In October, county officials passed the resolution due to concerns about the impact illegal immigrants have on crime and the economy.

Police enforcement on illegal immigrants has been stepped up, and starting in January, officers will check the immigration status of those charged with or convicted of a crime. Those who apply for a business license must also prove they are legal residents.

However, because of the resolution, both legal and illegal immigrants are leaving the country.

The U.S. Civil Rights Commission will be taking public comment on the issue through the end of the year.

Top advertisers in 2007

Hispanic Business Magazine's December issue lists the top 100 Hispanic advertisers.

Here is the top 15:

1. BROADCASTING MEDIA PARTNERS INC -- $210,018,960
2. PROCTER & GAMBLE CO -- $173,541,141
3. LEXICON MARKETING CORP -- $146,294,697
4. AT&T INC -- $107,557,434
5. GENERAL MOTORS CORP -- $102,041,403
6. US GOVERNMENT -- $98,607,400
7. MCDONALDS CORP -- $94,198,981
8. SEARS HOLDINGS CORP -- $86,206,062
9. FORD MOTOR CO -- $85,722,610
10. JOHNSON & JOHNSON -- $82,264,852
11. VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC -- $82,099,469
12. TOYOTA MOTOR CORP -- $81,813,323
13. CERBERUS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LP -- $67,120,211
14. WALT DISNEY CO -- $64,640,205
15. WAL-MART STORES INC -- $64,154,285

Latinos Tell How They Made it to College

One Latina got most of her information about college on her own, by searching the Internet. Another Latino student learned about the college application process through participation in Advancement Via Individual Determination, or AVID, a college-prep program. The personal stories of how those two students and some other Latino youths made it to college are included in a report, "Voces (Voices): A Profile of Today's Latino College Students," released by Excelencia in Education, a Washington-based nonprofit organization.

The report notes that despite increases in enrollment in higher education for Latinos, only 25 percent of college-age Latinos (ages 18 to 24) are enrolled in college, compared with about 42 percent of college-age whites, 32 percent of blacks, and 60 percent of Asians and Pacific Islanders. It says Latinos are as likely as all undergraduates to receive some form of aid to pay for college but they received the lowest average financial aid award of any racial/ethnic group. The average total aid award in the 2003-04 school year for all undergraduates was $6,890. Latinos received an average of $6,250, according to the report.

By the way, the report also notes that 98 percent of Latino students in 2003-04 were either U.S. citizens (86 percent) or legal residents (12 percent). Thus it doesn't look as if many undocumented Latinos are enrolled in college or getting a very large share of college aid. (See my post, "There's No 'DREAM Act,' But College Aid is Available.")

I make mention of the report here because I think it might be useful to teachers or high school guidance counselors who work with English-language learners to read how a number of Latino students got information about how to go to college.

Posted by Mary Ann Zehr on December 10, 2007 1:08 PM

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/20...ow_they_made_it.html

Learning the Language

Mary Ann Zehr is an assistant editor at Education Week. She has written about the schooling of English-language learners for more than seven years and understands through her own experience of studying Spanish that it takes a long time to learn another language well. Her blog will tackle difficult policy questions, explore learning innovations, and share stories about different cultural groups on her beat.
December 14, 2007
Overage and Lacking Credits in the Big Apple
If an English-language learner is moving into young adulthood and is short of a lot of credits to graduate from high school, he or she may decide to attend schools operated by the Office of Multiple Pathways to Graduation run by the New York City Department of Education, which aims to reach students at risk of dropping out.

Advocates for Children of New York, a local nonprofit organization, put out a policy brief this week that contends many of those alternative schools are violating state law because they aren't offering the minimum of services required for ELLs. The policy brief says, for instance, that 59 percent of the city's 22 full-time evening programs for students who have been in high school for four years and are older than 17 1/2 don't provide language services to ELLs that are required by state law.

The policy paper notes that during the 2005-2006 school year, the four-year graduation rate for ELL high school students in New York City was 26.2 percent. It says that 30 percent of ELLs in the class of 2006 dropped out. Practically any educator, I think, would call that graduation rate for ELLs pitiful.

I was struck by how the demographics for ELLs in New York City differ from those of ELLs in Los Angeles. Over half of New York City's 139,800 ELLs were born outside of the United States, according to the policy brief. Officials from the Los Angeles Unified School District recently told me that only 22 percent of ELLs in their school system were born outside of the United States.

So when comparing student achievement statistics among school districts, it's important to remember that, on average, the academic preparation and exposure to English for ELLs can differ greatly between school districts—even between large urban school districts like New York City and Los Angeles.

Posted by Mary Ann Zehr at 12:48 PM
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/

U.S. Border Patrol agents have battled rock-throwing attackers by launching pepper spray and tear gas into Mexican border neighborhoods, according to witnesses, Mexican authorities and human rights groups. Here, Alfredo Aceves, 24, holds a tear gas canister that he says landed in his carpenter shop two weeks ago.

Tijuana enclave feels sting of escalating border strife

By Richard Marosi, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 14, 2007

TIJUANA -- In an escalation of clashes between U.S. Border Patrol agents and rock-throwing smugglers, agents have begun launching pepper spray and tear gas into densely populated Mexican border neighborhoods, according to witnesses, Mexican authorities and human rights groups.

The more aggressive approach reflects the tense climate in this city's most notorious smuggling neighborhood, Colonia Libertad, where U.S. agents say they have had to counter human traffickers' increasingly aggressive tactics by ramping up their own use of force.



Photo Gallery
Border dispute



Map

Agents have used pepper spray in the past, but usually aimed directly at the smugglers. The new tactics, which saturate large areas, have forced dozens of temporary evacuations and sent some residents to hospitals, according to witnesses.

Border Patrol officials say tear gas and pepper spray rarely cause serious injury or damage. They say that they use them against assailants trying to divert attention from border crossers by pelting agents, and that residents are not targeted.

Since Oct. 1, the Border Patrol has counted 90 assaults against agents in the San Diego area, five times as many as during the same period a year ago. Agents have suffered serious head injuries, officials say.

The acting Mexican consul general in San Diego, Ricardo Pineda, has met with Border Patrol officials to protest the aggressive use of tear gas and pepper spray, said Alberto Lozano, the consular spokesman.

"We told them the Mexican government cannot tolerate having Mexican nationals hit with these kind of devices on Mexican soil by U.S. authorities, regardless of the reason," Lozano said.

Residents of the area's hillside shanties and muddy streets say the Border Patrol's measures neglect their welfare. Some agents, they say, show compassion, even apologizing for the tactics. But others are defiant and continue saturating areas despite their pleas.

"I said to the agent, 'Put yourself in my place. I have two children,' " said Robis Guadalupe Argumeo, who added that her home has been gassed three times since August, most recently after a verbal exchange with an agent Saturday. "He said, 'I'm the policeman of the world. No one can touch me.' "

The agent, Argumeo said, was peering over the border fence pointing his pepper-spray launcher at her house. She said that she told him, "But this isn't Iraq, this is Mexico" but that he continued firing into the neighborhood.

The clashes are taking place east of the San Ysidro port of entry along a two-mile stretch of border where Colonia Libertad, one of Tijuana's most densely populated neighborhoods, pushes up against the frontier.

This was once a heavily trampled immigrant-smuggling corridor where hundreds crossed nightly, but trafficking slowed considerably a decade ago when U.S. authorities erected two layers of fencing.

In recent months, however, illegal crossings and assaults have increased dramatically, agents say. Apprehensions of illegal immigrants are up 7% this year in the San Diego area, the only area on the Southwest border that showed an increase from last year.

The situation has deteriorated to the point that authorities are considering whether to add barbed wire to fencing along certain areas bordering Colonia Libertad, an option avoided in the past because of the negative symbolism.

Agents say smugglers -- by wearing cardboard shields or heavy jackets to deflect the projectiles -- long ago adapted to the original tactic of shooting pepper ***** directly at them. The agents say the pepper *****, which explode on impact, don't seem to affect some of the hardened smugglers.

Using larger quantities of pepper spray and tear gas is more likely to disrupt their operations and de-escalate violence, agents say.

Smugglers throw rocks and other objects as one way to give immigrants time to scale the fences and disappear. Agents say the attacks are highly coordinated.

Two years ago an agent fatally shot a rock thrower in Colonia Libertad, prompting protests from the Mexican government. Border Patrol officials say using nonlethal weapons is the best way to avoid deadly outcomes.

"It's either that or you allow those people to assault our agents at an astronomical level and somebody gets killed," said Agent Richard Smith, a Border Patrol spokesman. "The alien-and drug-smuggling organizations should be ashamed for using innocent people as shields. It just goes to show they prioritize profit over human safety."

Some Mexican residents sympathize with the U.S. agents. Carmen Lopez, 63, scolds smugglers who climb onto her tar-paper roof to get a better view of Border Patrol activity. "The smugglers tell me, 'We're just trying to make a living like anyone else,' " she said.

But a smuggler pelted her for complaining, and she now stays inside. If anyone's to blame, she said, it's the Tijuana police, who should crack down; until then the Border Patrol's tactics are justified.

"How can they be at fault? They have a right to defend themselves," Lopez said.

Many others disagree.

In the last few weeks, there have been at least six incidents of Border Patrol agents throwing or shooting pepper spray or tear gas into the area, forcing the temporary evacuations of dozens of people, according to witnesses and others. After a canister -- possibly of pepper spray, possibly of tear gas -- exploded outside her home in late November, Marisela Arias, 19, who is four months pregnant, said she struggled to breathe and fainted.

Her husband, Miguel Arias, 23, took her to the hospital, where he vomited, he said. Their extended family of more than eight left the house until the smoke cleared, he said.

Aberto Rojas, 37, who lives a few blocks from the Arias' home, said he had a similar encounter with the Border Patrol the next day. Agents had targeted a smuggler who was hiding behind a van near Rojas' property. The canister they fired in the smuggler's direction skipped on a parked car and bounced into Rojas' car repair shop, where the gas sent him and his brother scrambling for cover, Rojas said.

Up the hill on the same day, 15-year-old Juanita Gonza*** was washing dishes when several devices exploded on her patio, sending spray and smoke through the open window, she said. Gonza*** said she fled with her baby brothers, joining several other families rushing to evacuate on the block.

"My face was burning," said Gonza***, who had to be helped out of the house because she was having trouble breathing. "I felt like I was drowning."

Argumeo, the woman whose home has been gassed three times, said that after one incident, her 12-year-old son had nosebleeds for a week. Her neighbor, Ramiro Lopez, said an errant explosive shattered his car window before exploding.

The car is the least of his worries, he said. "Something has to be done -- more than anything, for the children."

richard.marosi@latimes.com

Mexico boycott over Republican immigration policies

By Jeremy Schwartz | Friday, December 14, 2007, 01:05 PM

Mexico’s foremost expert on immigration is calling on Mexicans to do whatever they can to stop Republicans from winning the White House next year, including a boycott of companies that donate to Republican candidates.

Jorge Bustamante, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants and a sociology professor at the University of Notre Dame, this week called Republican Party policies on immigration “immoral.”

Writing in the Mexico City daily Reforma, Bustamante said the Republican candidates share a in immigration stance that “lacks even the most minimum recognition of the demand for the Mexican migrant labor.”

He called on Mexicans to harness “the real power we have as consumers” to boycott big companies that do business in Mexico and fund Republican candidacies. Bustamante didn’t name any particular companies, but said “that is public information available to anyone with basic understanding of how to navigate the Internet.”

Frida: Now found on your shoes and in your tequila

By Jeremy Schwartz | Tuesday, December 11, 2007, 09:20 AM

The commercialization of Frida Kahlo is now complete: You can wear the works of the iconic Mexican painter on your shoes, as Converse has released a Frida Kahlo line of its Chuck Taylors. There are three styles to choose from, “The Two Fridas,” “Feet for Those I Love,” and simply, “Frida Kahlo!” The shoes, featuring the painter’s image, signature and snippets of her more famous paintings, are available throughout Mexico and are going for about $80 a pop on Mexico City’s trendiest avenue.

The cult of Frida has reached so far that the Mexican media has coined a term for it: Fridamania. And lest you think sneakers are the only mass consumer item you can buy with Frida’s visage, you can also buy Frida Kahlo tequila, courtesy of Venezuelan businessman Carlos Dorado, who has bought a 51 percent share in the Frida Kahlo Corporation. The Corporation, set up along with Frida’s niece, controls the rights to Frida’s image and Dorado is also reportedly planning a Frida clothing line and, if you can believe it, a musical group called “The Daughters of Frida.”

The mass marketing of Frida has generated a number of critics in her homeland, who point out that the leftist painter (her casket was covered with a Communist Party flag) would have likely been revolted by the idea of her face and paintings being used to rake in corporate profits. “In this instant she must be turning in her grave (and not because of the pain in her spinal column)” wrote columnist Fernando Rivera Calderon in the Mexico City daily La Cronica.

A day without Wal-Mart in Mexico

By Jeremy Schwartz | Monday, December 3, 2007, 03:18 PM

The anti-Wal-Mart movement is fixture in the U.S., but relatively new to Mexico, where the giant retailer has 997 stores. There have been a few sporadic protests at specific stores, including a Wal-Mart near the pyramids of Teotihuacan and in the picturesque lakeside village of Patzcuaro.

But this weekend, a group of Mexican and U.S. organizations, including the AFL-CIO, kicked off what they hope will be a sustained protest of Wal-Mart labor practices in Mexico, as a group of workers fights to form a union. It began at a store in southern Mexico City on Sunday with a so-called “Day Without Wal-Mart,” which featured protesters handing out leaflets urging shoppers not patronize Wal-Mart and a short rally.

The organizers decried Wal-Mart’s refusal to enter into collective bargaining with its workers or pay overtime wages. Wal-Mart in Mexico responded, according to Bloomberg, with a fact sheet boasting that it’s lowest salary is 18 percent higher than minimum wage.

Ice skating in the Zocalo

By Jeremy Schwartz | Monday, December 3, 2007, 12:43 PM

The world’s largest ice skating rink is now located … in Mexico City? The wondrous thing is smack dab in the middle of the Zocalo, Mexico City’s premiere plaza, where it bakes under a merciless autumn sun and captivates this city as it plunges into the Christmas season.

Tens of thousands of Mexicans have made the pilgrimage to the massive rink since it opened over the weekend, many waiting hours in line to strap on a pair of skates for the first time in their lives.

More than 1,500 pairs of skates have been trucked in (you could probably count the number of Mexico City residents who own their own skates on your fingers and toes) and 600 instructors are on hand to help the beginners with their first tentative steps.

Sunday, the first day of public skating, featured spills aplenty. Here’s how the El Universal newspaper described the scene: “The fear almost immobilized some, who were barely able to make it around the rink, going step by step like babies learning how to walk.”

The rink was inaugurated Saturday night and I have never seen the Zocalo more packed, even during the mega-rallies of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of 2006. But despite the fascination with the rink, many Mexicans question the wisdom of building it, given the high cost (about $1.5 million). The city is not exactly swimming in cash (it’s scrambling to find enough money to build a new municipal dump), and according to one newspaper poll, 48 percent of city residents oppose it.

But Mayor Marcelo Ebrard has never been one to shy away from splashy displays of governmental largesse. To great fanfare, last summer he built a series of urban beaches (mostly tons of sand around portable pools) that were ridiculed by the city’s wealthy set, but embraced by the masses of people who can’t afford weekend jaunts to Acapulco.

The new ice rink, the mayor said earlier in the week, will make Mexico City residents “feel like we are in Paris or New York, but prettier.”

Headlines differ on Spanish-language debate; no “alien” talk in Miami

By Eunice Moscoso | Monday, December 10, 2007, 02:14 PM

The Spanish language GOP presidential debate Sunday night at the University of Miami inspired very different headlines from two large wire services. Check it out:

The Associated Press: “GOP Hopefuls Temper Anti-Immigrant Talk.”

Reuters: “Republicans Talk Tough Against Illegal Immigration.”

For what it’s worth, the Miami Herald seemed to agree with AP with the headline, “A Softer Tone In Bilingual Debate,” but the New York Times was more like Reuters, saying, “Republican Candidates Firm on Immigration.”

Another interesting note on the unusual debate — none of the GOP presidential candidates used the term “illegal alien” during the 90-minute exchange which was broadcast by Univision to a Spanish-speaking audience.

Hispanics and the 2008 Election: A Swing Vote
Paul Taylor and Richard Fry, Pew Hispanic Center

After spending the first part of this decade loosening their historic ties to the Democratic Party, Hispanic voters have reversed course in the past year, a new nationwide survey of Latinos by the Pew Hispanic Center has found.

Some 57% of Hispanic registered voters now call themselves Democrats or say they lean to the Democratic Party, while just 23% align with the Republican Party – meaning there is now a 34 percentage point gap in partisan affiliation among Latinos. In July, 2006, the same gap was just 21 percentage points – whereas back in 1999, it had been 33 percentage points.

The new survey finds that a plurality of Hispanics view the Democratic Party rather than the Republican Party as the one that shows more concern for Latinos and does a better job on the issue of illegal immigration (although a substantial minority of Latinos see no difference between the parties on these matters). Also, many more Latinos say the policies of the Bush Administration have been harmful to Latinos than say they have been helpful.

Hispanics are the nation's largest and fastest growing minority group; at 46 million strong, they make up about 15% of the U.S. population. Their electoral clout continues to be undercut, however, by the fact that many are ineligible to vote, either because they are not citizens or not yet 18 years old. In 2008, Latinos will comprise about 9% of the eligible electorate nationwide. If past turnout trends persist, they will make up only about 6.5% of those who actually turn out to vote next November.

But despite these modest numbers, Hispanics loom as a potential "swing vote" in next year's presidential race. That's because they are strategically located on the 2008 Electoral College map. Hispanics constitute a sizable share of the electorate in four of the six states that President Bush carried by margins of five percentage points or fewer in 2004 –New Mexico (where Hispanics make up 37% of state's eligible electorate); Florida (14%); Nevada (12%) and Colorado (12%). All four are expected to be closely contested once again in 2008.

The analysis of Hispanic partisan affiliation and political attitudes is based on the new 2007 National Survey of Latinos. The survey was conducted by telephone from Oct 3 through Nov 9, 2007 among a randomly selected, nationally representative sample of 2,003 Hispanics, of whom 843 are registered voters. The state electoral analysis uses recent Census surveys.

In addition to the state-by-state demographic and electoral data, an Appendix includes the most recent information on Hispanics by congressional district.


Other Resources
Roberto Suro, Richard Fry and Jeffrey Passel. Hispanics and the 2004 Election: Population, Electorate and Voters, June 27, 2005. Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center.

Louis DeSipio. 2006. "Latino Civic and Political Participation," in Hispanics and the Future of America, edited by Marta Tienda and Faith Mitchell. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.

Pew Hispanic Center/Kaiser Family Foundation. July 2004. Pew Hispanic Center/Kaiser Family Foundation 2004 National Survey Of Latinos: Politics and Civic Participation. Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center.

Willmar boy facing deportation won't stand alone against ICE

By GREGG AAMOT Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press - Friday, December 14, 2007

MINNEAPOLIS

The deportation case of a 10-year-old Willmar boy who appeared in court earlier this year and told of his fear in the face of an immigration raid has been unified with the case against his parents.

Federal immigration officials have questioned the handling of Sammy Diaz-Maldonado's case, in particular the decision by his lawyers to have the boy appear in court hearings, in some cases by himself, even though it's not necessary.

Sammy, a fourth-grader, was arrested in April in a roundup in Willmar that snared 49 immigrants who were allegedly living in the country illegally.

The boy came to symbolize the impact of the raids in the west-central Minnesota town when he spoke about his ordeal in court and to reporters in October, recalling how he had been scared and nervous when immigration agents burst into his home. His lawyers claim that the agents pulled Sammy away from his mother and questioned him for about a half hour, speaking in English so his mother wouldn't understand what the agents were saying.

"It's sad when grown ICE agents seek to treat a child like that," one of his attorneys, Gloria Contreras-Edin, said Friday.

The ICE disputes those claims and says its agents carried out the sweep properly. Of those arrested, 18 had criminal convictions, six had deportation orders and 25 had no criminal history but were living here illegally, according to the agency.

Moreover, the agency again said before Friday's hearing that it was unusual for such a young boy to be having his own hearings and questioned why his attorneys were presenting the case in such a manner.

"I'm not going to speculate as to why they are doing it, but it's very odd to keep this little boy's case separate from his parents," agency spokesman Tim Counts said.

In most cases, Counts said, families are kept intact in immigration cases when young children and their parents face deportation. He also said the judge has determined that Sammy doesn't need to miss school to appear in court.

Sammy was back in court Friday, this time with his parents. Contreras-Edin said he chose to join them for the two-hour trip from Willmar to Bloomington. "He doesn't like to be away from his mother, especially when ICE agents are around," she said.

However, she said Sammy's case will no longer be handled separately from his family's case after the judge consolidated the two. She also said it's not so unusual for young people to have their own immigration hearings and said that she has represented a handful of teenagers who are on their own in deportation proceedings.

Contreras-Edin is the executive director of Centro Legal, a legal services group that serves the Latino community. She has argued that statements given by a scared child without a parent present are inherently suspect and should not be admitted as evidence.

Immigration Judge Kristin Olmanson has yet to rule on that request.

In a separate court proceeding, Sammy is one of several children listed in a lawsuit Centro Legal filed on behalf more than 50 Hispanics who claim their rights were violated during the Willmar sweep.

___

Gregg Aamot can be reached at gaamot(at)ap.org

Fruit growers scramble on labor

Despite adequate supply past 2 years, more farmworker shortages predicted

Wes Nelson
Capital Press

WENATCHEE, Wash. - Washington state apple growers, who paid farmworkers more to pick their fruit this year and saw harvest last a little longer than usual, had better get ready for some more labor pains.

Those attending the 103rd Washington State Horticultural Association's annual postharvest conference and trade show at the Wenatchee Convention Center learned that a 55-year-old federal labor program, increased mechanization and cooperative ventures with other growers in hiring and housing will be needed to survive what most believe is a coming shortage of farmworkers.

Rick Anderson of Sakuma Bros., a blueberry farm near Burlington, said some see bright, sunny skies because the labor supply has largely been adequate the past two years. But others see dark clouds on the horizon, as workers move into other things such as construction and as the general public takes a harsh view on immigration, he said.

Anderson's comments were part of a panel discussion at the annual meeting, which alternates between Wenatchee and Yakima. The panel on

"Labor Survival: The Global Labor Market" also included Diane Coates, public affairs director with the USApple Association; Juan del Alamo of Del-Al Associates in Virginia; Glen Lucas, general manager of B.C. Fruit Growers Association in British Columbia; and Blair Losvar, president of the horticultural association's board of directors.

Growers, in addition to paying higher wages, are looking at other incentives to maintain a steady supply of labor. There is increased interest in the federal H-2A program, a product of the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act, and use of farm-labor contractors. Growers also are looking at housing and greater use of mechanization, such as machines used to harvest raspberries once picked by hand. Researchers around the country also are getting closer to making new blossom-thinning technology - both chemical and mechanical - available to growers.

While all options represent thinking "outside the box," they still amount to "Band-Aids," Anderson said.

Coates said large-scale labor shortages present "the biggest threat" to the tree fruit industry. As a result, many growers in the Eastern U.S. have begun using the H-2A program, although many small growers find moving through the bureaucracy in which it is embedded to be a daunting task.

Nonetheless, small growers in Virginia have formed associations to use the program to move workers from one grower to another, del Alamo said. Maryland shoved aside its longstanding anti-immigration views to foster use of the H-2A program, he said.

Canadians have a similar program called the Seasonal Agriculture Workers Program, Lucas said. It came about because many domestic farmworkers are students who return to school in the fall when apple harvests begin. The program has helped alleviate the problem, but it isn't a final solution in Canada, and the H-2A program won't be a panacea in Washington state, he said.

"I don't think that's the end of the road on your labor issues," he said.

One reason for that is that the federal government is slamming the brakes on H-2A applications, Coates said. For example, applications processed at the consulate in Monterrey, Mexico, once numbered 5,000 a day. After the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., six years ago, they dropped dramatically and are now fewer than 450 per day, she said.

Public perceptions regarding immigrations also are a factor. H-2A was created when domestic workers strongly pursued agriculture-related jobs. People incorrectly still believe that's the case, she said. And the public believes a program like H-2A is bringing greater number of migrants to the U.S., but only 2 percent of the nation's ag industry uses the program, she said.

"And the popularity of Lou Dobbs has not made any of this easier," she said, noting Dobbs' "war on the middle class" campaign.

USApple and others are trying to change perceptions in Congress, that growers need a program that recognizes the seasonal nature of the fruit industry and the perishable nature of its products. But recent legislation focused only on employee identification verification and fines for employers. No one is talking about a guestworker program.

"We've been telling them the H-2A system is broken," she said.

Anderson said many congressmen from non-fruit-producing states actually proposed applying more taxes to the H-2A program and removing some of the tax deductions available to growers who use it.

- Friday, December 7, 2007

Staff writer Wes Nelson is based in Yakima, Wash. E-mail: wnelson@capitalpress.com.

Racism drives immigration uproar

Dec. 15, 2007 12:00 AM

Regarding "Join us at Pruitt's to fight harassment" (Letters, Wednesday):

The letter writer indicates she had been harassed when going to shop at the Home Depot at 36th Street and Thomas Road. I shop in that area frequently and have done so for more than five years. Not once have I ever been harassed by any of the men lining the parking entrances.

The hysteria over illegal immigration would be amusing if it weren't so disgraceful.

These alleged patriots who are so up in arms over the enforcement of immigration laws appear to be totally ambivalent to the thousands of jobs lost due to outsourcing. Those jobs are going to China, Pakistan, India and Mexico, among other nations.

To ignore the damage to our economy caused by this rampant outsourcing while whining and complaining about illegal immigration here in the U.S. (especially Arizona) smacks of racism.

These protests against Mexicans are about racism turned toward Brown people. It's very similar to the racist behavior directed at African-Americans in the 1950s, '60s and '70s.

History is repeating itself, and it's not pretty. - Glen Chern,Phoenix

News
Saturday, December 15, 2007

Price of US visa goes up by $31

WASHINGTON: The US State Department announced on Thursday it was raising the price of most visas for foreign visitors to the