New Jersey’s Attorney General Anne Milgram set a policy Wednesday to require all local police officers to ask about the immigration status of suspects charged with serious crimes, and to notify federal immigration authorities if there is reason to believe the suspect is in the country illegally, according to The Star Ledger newspaper.
The requirements, which go into effect immediately, apply to suspects arrested for indictable offenses and for driving while intoxicated, said Milgram, who is pictured here at a press conference earlier this month.
If the suspect is unable to prove he or she is legally in the United States, the police officer is required to notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement, she said, according to the paper.
The policy was sparked by a recent triple murder in Newark, N.J. One man arrested in connection with the execution style killings is an illegal immigrant from Peru who was on bail on charges of raping a child when the murders occurred.
Another man arrested in the case is an illegal immigrant from Honduras, according to the New York Times.
ICE AGENTS TAKE NBC11 ALONG FOR ARRESTS 'ENFORCEMENT' TARGETS PEOPLE ORDERED TO LEAVE U.S.
Bay Area immigration agents invited a select number of TV news crews along as they made their daily round of arrests of undocumented immigrants.
UPDATED: 6:12 pm PDT August 21, 2007
SAN FRANCISCO -- For the first time ever, Bay Area immigration agents invited a select number of television news crews along as they made their daily round of arrests of undocumented immigrants, NBC11's Ethan Harp reported Tuesday.
The arrests, which agents called "targeted enforcement," are not the same as "raids" or "sweeps," Harp said.
ICE Agents Make Bay Area Arrests
The operation focused instead on those who have been ordered by a judge to return to their home country.
"It's just such a hot issue, and there are people on both sides of this. It's a very passionate issue," said Tim Aitken with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
Aitken made it clear that part of ICE's goal in allowing their daily operation to be videotaped was to dispel misconceptions about the program, NBC11 reported.
"That we're just going into houses and you'll hear stories that we'll go into a house and just leave children behind, and we're leaving little kids behind or we're going onto schoolyards and we're terrorizing children. We're not doing that, I mean we're very professional in the way we operate," said Aitken. "I mean, if we encounter a residence and there's a caregiver there, there's a mother there, there's a small child, I mean we'll exercise our judgment and we won't take that person in. I mean we're not going to leave a little kid there by themselves. Nor are we going to take a parent away."
More than 2,000 deportees have been arrested in the Bay Area since October, though many of the 600,000 nationwide have yet to leave the United States, Harp said.
Northwest Florida Daily News Staff Reports Wednesday August 22nd, 2007
Eight illegal aliens were arrested at construction sites in Panama City Beach on Tuesday after the Bay County Sheriff’s Office conducted random site visits.
Seven of those individuals were working at the Bay County Courthouse and were employed by BCL Contractors, according to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office. All seven had used stolen Social Security numbers.
Another illegal alien was arrested at the Sperry Enterprise Storage construction site for also using a stolen Social Security number to obtain employment. His employer’s information is not available.
More than 75 employment records were checked Tuesday. Other sites visited were Breakfast Point School on Beckrich Road and McCory Construction on Front Beach Road.
The eight people arrested were charged with criminal use of personal identification information, which is a felony.
Given increased enforcement activity in recent months by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), it is important that immigrant rights advocates and local communities be prepared in the event of a raid. Before ICE conducts a raid, immigrants’ advocates should:
â– Prepare individuals in the community so they know they should . . .
• REMAIN SILENT, or tell the ICE agent that they want to remain silent.
• Ask to speak with a lawyer.
• NOT carry false documents.
• Carry a “know your rights†card (see www.nilc.org/ce/nilc/rightscard_2007-03-15.pdf). • Find out the name and phone number of a reliable immigration attorney and keep this information with them at all times.
• Know their “alien registration number†(“A†number) if they have one, and write it down someplace at home where their family members know where to find it.
• Prepare a form or document that authorizes another adult to care for their minor children.
• Advise family members who do not want to be questioned by ICE to stay away from the place where the raid occurred or where a detained person is being held.
• NOT sign any documents without first speaking with a lawyer.
â– Prepare immigrant rights advocates and community groups.
• Distribute to unions, workers, and community groups know-your-rights materials about what to do if raids occur or individuals are detained. (Some materials are available at www.nilc.org /ce/ ceindex.htm#know-rights.)
• Help individuals who could be detained to practice, through role-playing, the best ways of responding to questioning by ICE agents.
• Advise individuals not to sign any documents or allow ICE agents to coerce them into signing “stipulated orders of removal†or voluntary departure.
• Be prepared to document all the facts about a raid, including any and all actions taken by ICE agents that may be unlawful, the names and badge numbers of ICE agents, and the names and dates of birth of detained immigrants.
• Obtain contact information (e.g., phone numbers) for foreign consulates in your area.
• Obtain contact information, including the phone number, of the local ICE detention center.
• Find out where to obtain contact information for other detention centers in case detained people are transferred out of your local area.
(A list of ICE detention centers is available at www.ice.gov/pi/dro/facilities.htm. Detention Watch Network has compiled a more complete mapped list of places where immigrants may be detained, available at
NATIONAL IMMIGRATION LAW CENTER www.nilc.org 3435 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 2850 Los Angeles, CA 90010 213 639-3900 213 639-3911 fax
1101 14th Street, NW Suite 410 Washington, DC 20005 202 216-0261 202 216-0266 fax
405 14th Street Suite 1400 Oakland, CA 94612 510 663-8282 510 663-2028 fax
LOS ANGELES (Headquarters) WASHINGTON, DC OAKLAND, CA
• Obtain the name of the local ICE special agent in charge (SAC).
• Establish contact or strengthen your relationship with the local (1) Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) chief counsel and (2) Office of the Federal Public Defender.
• With respect to the media:
o Establish relationships with the local media in advance to increase the likelihood that the public will be alerted immediately when a raid is happening.
o If you develop such relationships, in the event of a raid on a workplace you may be able to accompany a reporter into the workplace or detention center to observe, for example, whether ICE is turning away attorneys, to deny detainees access to them.
o Conduct “know your rights†presentations on community radio programs.
o Consider writing “know your rights†articles in local community newspapers.
• With respect to local community leaders and law enforcement officials:
o Establish relationships with local law enforcement officials and community leaders, so you can be in communication with them during a raid and the community can mobilize to support affected workers and their families.
• With respect to the local ICE office:
o Establish relationships with local ICE officials.
o Meet with ICE (1) to ensure that agents who work out of the local office are aware of ICE internal guidance regarding (a) engaging in enforcement activities at workplaces where there are ongoing labor disputes, and (b) releasing detained parents with minor children if there is no other parent to care for the children; and (2) to ask about the local office’s raid protocol and how decisions are made to proceed with a raid.
â– Develop a rapid response team comprised of attorneys, media personnel, and community leaders.
• The rapid response legal team should include attorneys who specialize in immigration, criminal, and family law who will gather facts about the raid, help locate and represent individuals whom ICE has detained, and assist with caring for minor children whose parents are detained.
o When creating this team, advocates should also establish relationships with other attorneys who have constitutional, criminal, and family law experience — in case ICE violates individuals’ civil liberties during the raids, or the government files criminal charges against detainees, or detainees have minor children.
o Advocates should also identify local immigration lawyers who would be available to represent detained individuals.
o A well organized team that includes members from the media, the community’s leadership, and attorneys can provide a coordinated response to any immigration raid.
• If ICE denies detainees access to attorneys, members of the rapid response team can call the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s chief counsel to facilitate attorneys’ access to clients.
• If the federal government files criminal charges against detainees, members of the rapid response team can work with the Office of the Federal Public Defender to help ensure that they obtain adequate legal representation. —————————— FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT Monica Guizar, employment policy attorney | guizar@nilc.org | 213.639.3900 x. 123 National Immigration Law Center | www.nilc.org
If government agents question you, it is important to understand your rights. You should be careful in the way you speak when approached by the police, FBI, or INS. If you give answers, they can be used against you in a criminal, immigration, or civil case.
HOW TO LOCATE/HELP IMMIGRANTS WHO ARE ARRESTED/DETAINED
1. ID the person you wish to locate:
Name Date of Birth Place of birth Location of arrest
2. Determine Custody by contacting local ICE office or Federal Marshalls
3. Federal Custody indicates that the person is being charged with a crime and eventually will be brought to Federal Court can seek assistance through the Federal Public Defender. A bond will generally be assessed.
4. If family members are unable to have contact with family members or if individuals are being denied access to attorneys complaints should be made directly to the Consulate of the individuals in order to have access by family members and legal representatives.
5. If contact is made and the person is id’d as being in custody try and determine if criminal charges are being filed and if so what are the charges and what is the amount of bail.
6. If the individual is in ICE custody request the A# and ask if any bond has been set.
If the person is in ICE custody eventually the person will be brought to the immigration court. The 800 number can provide information regarding court dates. 1-800-698-7180. Just follow the prompts.
If no bond has been set a bond can be requested through the court.
If you get an A# and call the 800 number and there is no info it is because ICE has not passed the case on to the court.
Courtesy of Vicenta Montoya, Immigration Lawyer, NISN Legislative Working Group,
The Detention Watch Network (DWN) is the only national coalition in the United States that addresses the detention crisis head-on and helps detainees and their loved ones make their voices heard. Formed in 1997 in response to the rapid growth of the immigration detention system in the United States, DWN is a network of individuals and organizations working in support of, and in service to, immigrants in detention.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: explora,
Strengthening the nation’s capacity to detain and remove criminal and other deportable aliens is a key component of the comprehensive strategy to deter illegal immigration and protect public safety. Detention and removal of illegal aliens is a priority of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This commitment has been backed by significant resources devoted to detention and removal efforts.
DRO secures bed space in detention facilities, and monitors these facilities for compliance with national Detention Standards. The standards specify the living conditions appropriate for detainees. These standards have been collated and published in the Detention Operations Manual (Detention Standards). This manual provides uniform policies and procedures concerning the treatment of individuals detained by ICE.
For information on services relating to but not under the direct jurisdiction of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, please contact the following:
The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is an agency within the Department of Justice (DOJ). Its primary mission is to preside over immigration cases in an attentive and timely manner. These cases involve detained aliens, criminal aliens, and aliens seeking asylum as a form of relief from removal. EOIR ensures the standards of due process and fair treatment for all parties involved.
For information about a matter in an Immigration Court administered by EOIR or informaton about each of its offices, visit EOIR's Web site at http://www.usdoj.gov/eoir/. You may also call its electronic information system at 1 (800) 898-7180.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). USCIS is responsible for the administration of immigration and naturalization arbitration functions and establishing immigration services policies and priorities including ruling on immigration visa petitions, naturalization petitions, asylum and refugee applications, cases performed at the service centers and all other mediation.
You may call U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) toll-free for automated information and live assistance concerning immigration services and benefits at 1 (800) 375-5283. The TTY number is: 1 (800) 767-1833. You may also visit its Web site at http://uscis.gov/graphics/index.htm where you can find out the status of your case, find out how to post a bond for an alien in detention, download forms, learn about detainee rights, learn how to file forms and more.
For information about a matter before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) you may contact BIA at (703) 605-1007. Its menu of automated options includes:
Appeals and motions; Transcripts and briefs; Board decisions and stays of deportation; and Change of address.
Smithfield Foods became a target for federal authorities again at 4 a.m. Wednesday as officers swooped into trailer parks and the world's largest pork processing plant in North Carolina and arrested 28 illegal immigrants.
The federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agency made what it called "targeted arrests" of 15 men and 13 women alleged to be linked to identity theft. They are being held in North Carolina jails and are facing federal criminal prosecution.
"These were targeted arrests - not raids," said ICE spokesman Richard Rocha.
The arrests come as the company deals with growing unrest at the plant from a past immigration problem and union drive. Federal officials pressed the company last November to deal with 600 employees whose Social Security numbers didn't match federal records.
Smithfield lost or had to fire most of those workers, spurring walkouts and protests.
Agents made the arrests of 20 people in four counties near the plant, and another eight inside the facility. The officials were targeting Smithfield employees who are believed to have stolen Americans' identities to get work at the plant.
"Most of those arrested are current or former employees of Smithfield," said Rocha.
Rocha wouldn't say if those arrested committed any other fraud with the stolen identities, other than trying to get a job at the meatpacking plant. Of those arrested, 25 were Mexican, 2 were from Guatemala and one was from Honduras.
According to the United Food and Commercial Workers Union trying to organize the plant, agents arrested the workers in their homes and tore mothers from their children.
By Charles Keeshan Daily Herald Staff Published: 8/24/2007
The controversial Illinois Minuteman Project canceled its weekend seminar on illegal immigration in Crystal Lake after a McHenry County judge Thursday issued a restraining order barring the group from holding the event at a local hotel as planned.
At the urging of the Crystal Lake Holiday Inn's owners, Judge Maureen McIntyre ordered the Minuteman Project not to appear at the hotel and to notify its guest speakers and about 100 ticket holders that the seminar would not take place there.
The ruling left the Minuteman Project no option but to call off the event, Director Rosanna Pulido said.
"There's a lot of outrage out there that American citizens cannot have a meeting," she said. "But this might be a blessing in disguise. People have to see what we're up against."
The group, which says its mission is to educate Americans about the negative effects of illegal immigration, was planning a seminar featuring guest speaker Sheriff Dan Beck of Allen County, Ohio. Beck has won national attention for his efforts to deport illegal immigrants living in his county.
Saturday's seminar was expected to draw hundreds of protesters from at least three organizations, including the Carpentersville Community Alliance and the McHenry County Peace Group.
Peace group member Patrick Murfin said his organization was unhappy with the news that the Minuteman meeting would not go as scheduled.
"We're actually saddened when free speech or assembly rights are abridged in any way," he said.
Despite the Minuteman cancellation, Murfin said, his group still plans to hold a vigil at 1 p.m. Saturday at Route 14 and Main Street in Crystal Lake.
Citing concerns that guests and workers would get caught in the crossfire, the Holiday Inn's owners had gone to court Thursday asking McIntyre to ban the Minuteman Project from the hotel.
The Holiday Inn's attorney, Rita Alliss Powers, said Crystal Lake police told hotel management they would need 17 armed officers on the site and a SWAT team stationed nearby to ensure a peaceful environment.
"These meetings have a history of drawing a lot of visceral reaction and protest," Alliss Powers said, noting skirmishes at a similar event in Arlington Heights. "(The hotel) has serious, serious concerns about having this type of event on its property."
Hotel lawyers argued that they had legal grounds to cancel Pulido's conference room reservation because she misled management about the nature of her organization and the likelihood of protests.
Pulido, Alliss Powers said, never wrote "Minuteman Project" on the application for a conference room, instead labeling the applicant "Sheriff Dan Beck - Immigration Conference."
Minuteman attorney Suzanne Walters argued that the hotel, knowing the seminar dealt with the immigration issue, should not be surprised by the likelihood of protests.
"I don't think the Holiday Inn should be in the business of regulating free speech, which is what they're doing right here," Walters said. "It's another example of the rights of Americans being trampled on by illegal immigrants and their supporters."
McIntyre, however, said she viewed the matter as a contractual dispute, not a free speech issue.
"I am an advocate of the right to free speech, but I don't think the question boils down to an infringement of that right," McIntyre said.
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Posted on Thu, Aug. 23, 2007 10:15 By DIANE CARROLL The Kansas City Star
A recent case in the Kansas Court of Appeals case raised this issue: Should an illegal immigrant be denied probation solely on the basis of his immigration status?
Last week, a three-judge panel said no.
In doing so, the judges overturned a Barton County district judge’s decision to sentence Nicholas L. Martinez to one year in jail instead of probation. The appeals panel said an illegal immigrant cannot be denied probation solely because of his immigration status, unless a compelling reason exists.
Entering the United States without proper documentation is a crime, the court said, but being in the country afterward is not necessarily against the law.
“While Congress has criminalized the illegal entry into this country, it has not made the continued presence of an illegal alien in the United States a crime unless the illegal alien has previously been deported and has again entered the country illegally,†Appeals Court Judge Patrick McAnany wrote in the unanimous opinion.
Barton County Attorney Douglas Matthews said this week that courts in Oregon and Minnesota have issued similar rulings. However, he said, “as far as I know through my research it seems to be the first time the question has gone up to our appellate court.â€
Matthews said he had not yet decided whether to appeal.
Kris Kobach, a law professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, said he hoped Matthews would.
“I think the appeals court got it wrong,†said Kobach, who is also Republican Party chairman in Kansas.
Even if remaining in the country is not considered a criminal offense for an illegal immigrant, Kobach said, it still would be considered a civil offense under federal law. The appeals court failed to consider that point, he said, and “that is the biggest flaw in the decision.â€
The Kansas appeals panel took up the case after Martinez pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and endangering a child for having his young son deliver cocaine to an undercover detective.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys recommended probation, in keeping with the state’s sentencing guidelines.
But Barton County District Judge Hannelore Kitts said she could not impose probation because Martinez is in the country illegally, according to the transcript of the sentencing in the appeals court ruling. She reasoned that any violation of the law — including an immigrant’s illegal status — would be a violation of probation.
In the appeals court ruling, McAnany wrote that a district court might depart from sentencing guidelines because of a defendant’s illegal immigration status but only under “certain limited circumstances.†Kitts failed to determine whether those circumstances existed in this case, he wrote.
Attorney Janine Cox, who defended Martinez before the appeals panel, said: “Our argument is, status alone is not a substantial and compelling reason.†In addition, she said, regardless of what was said before Kitts, Martinez’s immigration status has not yet been determined. Only the federal government can determine status, she said, and it has not done so in his case.
The appeals court also ruled that Kitts had failed to provide proper notice to attorneys that she planned to depart from sentencing guidelines.
The panel sent the case back to Kitts for resentencing.
By Venita Jenkins Staff writer Published on Friday, August 24, 2007
LUMBERTON — Twenty-eight people arrested Wednesday by immigration agents are being detained in jails in Mecklenburg and Alamance counties.
In the meantime, advocacy groups are attempting to gather a list of names of those who were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents so they can find lawyers to represent them.
ICE agents arrested people suspected of identity theft crimes. They conducted searches in Robeson, Hoke, Cumberland and Bladen counties early Wednesday.
Thirteen women were taken to the Mecklenburg County Jail in Charlotte and 15 men went to the Alamance County Jail in Graham. Of those, 25 were Mexican, two were Guatemalan and one was Honduran.
Their cases will be turned over to federal prosecutors, said Richard Rocha, a spokesman for ICE. He declined further comment.
The North Carolina Justice Center has been working with other advocacy groups since the raids, said Dani Martinez -Moore, who handles immigration issues at the center.
“We object strongly to the way ICE is going about arresting people in North Carolina,†Moore said. “We are very concerned about middle-of-the-night raids and the separation of families and the terror that is engendered when people are awakened in the middle of the night with agents at their doors at 3 o’clock or 4 o’clock in the morning.â€
Volunteers with the Workers Center of Eastern North Carolina in Red Springs and St. Andrew Catholic Church spent much of Wednesday and this morning trying to track down the names of those arrested.
“We’re still missing some names,†said Emma Herrera, director of the workers center. “This morning, a husband called because he didn’t know anything about his wife.â€
Herrera said she and others spoke with immigration officials to get information about where the arrested were taken and their charges. Most of those detained have talked to family members, she said.
The center was busy Thursday morning filtering calls from Hispanics about the raids. Many asked whether they should go to work, Herrera said.
“I said, ‘Look, you have to make that decision. I cannot say go to work or not,’†she said.
At Smithfield, where eight people were arrested, life appeared to go on as usual Thursday morning as workers arrived for first shift. About 100 more people than normal did not report for second shift Wednesday.
“Attendance was not as good as normal, but it was better than yesterday,†said Dennis Pittman, the company’s spokesman. “We are running a normal schedule.â€
More Hispanics are on edge because immigration agents went to homes. In January, ICE agents picked up 21 people at Smithfield Packing Co. Hispanics feel they can’t go about their normal routine of going to work, school and church, Herrera said.
“This shocked them,†she said. “It woke them up.â€
Family members are concerned about those arrested, Herrera said. One woman detained is seven months’ pregnant. Her family wanted to make sure she is getting adequate care, Herrera said.
Others who called the center were worried about care for children left behind.
“More mothers were arrested this time,†Herrera said.
A community meeting is scheduled for today at St. Andrew Catholic Church, 301 Mercer Ave. in Red Springs.
Updates will be given to family members, and information will be handed out about how to be prepared for immigration raids. Immigration specialists will be available to answer questions.
“We are meeting to let them know their rights,†Herrera said.
Representatives with the North Carolina Justice Center will answer questions on immigration law.
“The broader community is concerned and fearful right now,†Moore said.
By Ouisa D. Davis / Guest columnist Article Launched: 08/24/2007 12:00:00 AM MDT
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Citizenship and Immigration Services knows well -- a sure-fire way to guarantee revenues is to increase fees and make it mandatory for a population to pay those fees. And immigrants are a captive audience with neither voice nor choice.
Less than a month after doubling most immigration fees, US CIS has announced that over 275,000 legal permanent residents must have their identification cards re-issued. Why? Because they were issued with no expiration date.
Let's be clear here -- permanent resident status does not expire. It's not like a driver's license or a passport. Permanent resident status is just that, the ability to reside in the U.S. permanently. Of course, we encourage naturalization, but neither existing law nor the Constitution requires it.
So why do we need an expiration date on permanent resident cards? We don't. But immigrants are a revenue source. And CIS is desperately in need of funding. Historically, the agency is one of the most underfunded departments of the federal government -- and the most inefficient.
At a cost of $370 per card, these legal immigrants will generate approximately $101.8 million for the agency. Who can resist that temptation?
There's no way around this new conundrum.
Permanent residents will fall victim to a myriad of new immigration problems. For example, in 1996, several non-serious crimes were declared deportable offenses. Thankfully, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that application of the laws for such convictions is unconstitutional. However, in order to assert that defense, the immigrant will be detained, undergo deportation proceedings and a trial in order to clear their record.
While waiting for their new card, permanent residents will be unable to certify employment eligibility. The applicant will probably be given a paper document or a receipt letter. With the requirement for verifiable proof and recent threats of workplace enforcement, employers will likely hesitate when presented with a beaten-up paper entry permit or a CIS receipt notice as proof of employability.
Who decides whether or not a document is valid for travel or employment? Employers? TSA officials at the airports? Border Patrol officers untrained in the intricacies of immigration laws? Local law enforcement? Will the immigrant be jailed under mandatory detention laws while we figure it out?
Affected immigrants will be buried in the processing backlog. As it is, the average processing time for issuance of a permanent resident card is six months. What happens when over 275,000 new applications flood the CIS processing center? What guarantee do we have that CIS will be prepared with adequate staff?
And then there's the question of FBI background checks. The system is completely overwhelmed. That's one reason it's taking so long for U.S. citizens to get passports. With a six- and nine-month waiting period, people remain in limbo while background checks are completed.
Will permanent residents be permitted to travel within the U.S. while awaiting new ID cards? Will they be able to apply for citizenship? Will they be permitted to file applications to immigrate spouses and minor children who remain in their native land?
An obvious way to avoid this problem is for permanent residents to apply for citizenship. That only takes between 13 and 36 months. Oh, and by the way, that fee has also increased -- from $470 to $755. It's a captive audience.
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