ACLU AND VICTIMS OF INADEQUATE MEDICAL CARE IN IMMIGRATION DETENTION TELL CONGRESS TO PREVENT MORE DEATHS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: media@dcaclu.org
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union and victims of inadequate medical treatment in immigration detention facilities testified in Congress today urging more oversight of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in whose custody at least 65 people have died since 2004. According to the ACLU, inadequate medical care may be a leading cause of death in immigration detention. Activists, experts, victims of deficient medical care in ICE detention and relatives of people who died in ICE custody all testified, sharing harrowing stories and sobering facts.
"If our government insists on rounding people up and holding them, then the government must provide adequate medical care," said Tom Jawetz, immigration detention staff attorney for the ACLU National Prison Project, who testified today. "Poor medical care in immigrant detention isn't just ruining people's lives – it's extinguishing them – and Immigration and Customs Enforcement must be held accountable for the lives that have been destroyed."
More than 62 people have died in ICE custody, including relatives of June Everett and Edwidge Danticat, who testified today about the inadequate medical care their relatives received. The roots of the problem are manifold. The government is not required to keep track of deaths in detention. Necessary medical care is often delayed or denied because of procedural barriers and medically unjustifiable health care policies.
Bureaucracy also plays a role in the cases of death, grave illness and mutilation that have happened in detention facilities. Francisco Castaneda, who testified today, had his genitalia surgically removed because during his 11 months in ICE detention, ICE would not permit him to have a biopsy for what was ultimately determined to be penile cancer. On-site medical personnel cannot provide necessary treatment for detainees like Castaneda unless and until they receive special permission from someone sitting in a Washington, D.C. office. The ACLU will work in the coming months to pass legislation addressing these barriers to adequate medical care for detainees.
"The problems are systemic, and they need a systemic solution," said Max Sevillia, ACLU Legislative Consultant. "The government is putting immigrant detainees' health and lives at risk because of improper medical care while in ICE facilities and legislation is urgently needed. Congress must act now to save the lives of detainees and to redeem those whose lives cannot be saved."
To read today's testimonies, listen to podcasts about inadequate medical care in immigration detention and learn more about the ACLU's work to stop mistreatment in detention go to:
SC SENATE LEADER WANTS CONSTITUTION CHANGE ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
AP Posted: 2007-10-05 17:35:49
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - One of the leaders in the state Senate wants the U.S. Congress to call a convention to amend the U.S. Constitution so states could deny benefits and expel people who are in this country illegally.
"It's a chance for us to hold Congress' feet to the fire and make them act. We've got an overwhelming problem and they're not dedicating overwhelming resources," said Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell.
The Charleston Republican said states can do little to stop illegal immigration . The state is paying for services for illegal immigrants and their families and can't collect taxes from them.
"Unfortunately, the ability of the state to deal with the problem of illegal immigration is almost entirely taken away by the provisions of our Constitution," McConnell said. "However, Congress has refused or is incapable of acting, thereby leaving the states in the position of burning while Congress fiddles."
McConnell said he has no estimate of how many illegal immigrants are in South Carolina or how much they cost the state.
Nationally, there are an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants and their children - many of whom are native-born U.S. citizens, said Sheri Steisel, immigration expert for the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Every state has introduced some form of immigration legislation in the past year, she said. "When federal discussions on immigration fell through, states felt frustrated," Steisel said.
McConnell's resolution, if approved by the Legislature, would call for the General Assembly to officially petition the Congress on July 1, 2008, as allowed by Article V of the Constitution, to hold a constitutional convention. Before Congress could act, 33 other states would have to file similar petitions. Any changes that came out of the convention would have to be approved by 38 states before they were adopted, he said.
Telephone messages left for representatives of several immigrant and Hispanic organizations were not returned Friday.
FAMILIES ASK JUDGE TO STOP FEDERAL RAIDS ON LONG ISLAND HOMES
By LARRY NEUMEISTER,AP Posted: 2007-10-05 18:37:13
NEW YORK (AP) - Several Hispanic families and individuals asked a court Friday to stop immigration agents from barging into Long Island homes without proper authority in raids that have driven a wedge between the federal agents and local police.
The action was taken as part of a lawsuit seeking to force federal agents to obtain the court's permission before the raids. Latino families accused the immigration division of Homeland Security last month of performing raids without court authorization.
According to the lawsuit, immigration agents have forced their way into Latino households, waking residents and terrifying children. It said that, often, the agents were looking for people who did not even live there.
"The abusive and brutal nature of the latest ICE raids shows that ICE has no intention of abiding by constitutional mandates unless checked by the courts," said Patrick Gennardo, co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs. "We had no choice, but to seek the courts' aid to protect our clients constitutional and civil rights during the course of the class action."
Earlier this week, Long Island officials accused the agents of using a cowboy mentality by running roughshod over local police officers and even pointing their weapons at the officers as they tried to round up dozens of gang members during raids.
"There were clear dangers of friendly fire," Nassau County Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey said. "We did have members that were actually drawn upon."
Mulvey and County Executive Tom Suozzi have asked Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to investigate the tactics used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
"The abusive and brutal nature of the latest ICE raids shows that ICE has no intention of abiding by constitutional mandates unless checked by the courts," said Patrick Gennardo, co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs. "We had no choice, but to seek the courts' aid to protect our clients constitutional and civil rights during the course of the class action."
Mark Thorn, a spokesman for the immigration office in New York, said Friday that the agency and federal prosecutors in Manhattan are reviewing the motion. "We believe that a review of the law, the facts and the merits will bein favor of ICE and its authorities," Thorn said.
In all, 186 people were rounded up in the September raids in what was described as a crackdown on gang activity on Long Island.
Although federal authorities said many of the people arrested were gang members, Nassau County officials said only eight of the 92 arrested in their county had any ties to gangs.
DEMOCRATS SPAR WITH RILEY OVER MAKEUP OF IMMIGRATION COMMISSION
By BOB JOHNSON,AP Posted: 2007-10-05 20:16:49
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - A political brouhaha has broken out over the makeup of a commission set up by the Alabama Legislature to study legal and illegal immigration in Alabama and to make recommendations to state and federal officials concerning possible solutions.
In a press release Thursday, Democratic Party Chairman Joe Turnham said Gov. Bob Riley, a Republican , appointed campaign contributors and representatives of industries that hire illegal immigrants to the Joint Patriotic Immigration Commission. Turnham said Riley's appointments were designed to "stifle meaningful immigration reform."
Riley responded Friday with a news release by his communications director Jeff Emerson accusing Democrats of blocking immigration reform legislation in the Legislature in recent sessions.
"For the do-nothing Democrats to block Governor Riley's proposals to combat illegal immigration and then put out garbage like this reaches a whole new level of hypocrisy, even for them," Emerson said.
A number of proposals to make it more difficult for employers to hire illegal immigrants, to prohibit undocumented immigrants from receiving social services and dealing with other immigration issues were introduced by both Democrats and Republicans during this year's regular session. Most of the proposals died - some without coming up for a vote.
One Republican on the committee, the vice chairman, Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, said he also believes the committee is stacked with people who oppose changing the status quo, but he would not blame Riley for the makeup of the committee. House Speaker Seth Hammett and Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr., both Democrats, also made appointments to the commission.
"I think some members of the commission are happy with the status quo. I don't know who's totally responsible, but I do think special interest figured out a way to take over the commission," Beason said.
Beason said he wants to make sure the commission is able to do its job.
"We have to do something. The sons and daughters of Alabama are losing their jobs to people that are not citizens," Beason said.
But Beason agreed with Riley that Democratic leaders in the Legislature were responsible for immigration proposals dying in recent sessions.
"If they want to do something, they are the people in charge," Beason said.
Another legislator on the commission, Rep. Randy Hinshaw, D-Meridianville, said he was concerned about Riley's appointments.
"The administration's appointments were very tilted toward industry," Hinshaw said.
In the Democratic Party release, Turnham criticized the appointment of committee chairman Jay Reed, vice chair of the Alabama Associated Builders & Contractors Inc.
Turnham said in the release that Reed's organization's political action committee had given contributions to Riley during last year's campaign for governor.
Reed said Friday his organization had also given contributions to Folsom and to Beason. Reed defended the work of the commission, which has met twice and is scheduled to meet again Wednesday in Montgomery. Reed said he hopes political infighting does not derail the work of the commission.
The commission is charged to look at legal and illegal immigration and Alabama and to make suggestions to state elected officials and Congress ," Reed said. "I do hope both parties allow process to work before placing judgment."
By Donna Leinwand, USA TODAY 02-17-05 09:19 EST AFP/Getty Images Mexican nationals deported by the United States arrive at Mexico City's international airport.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (Feb. 17) - Ana Ortega left here for the USA 14 years ago. She never thought she'd return, much less like this: in handcuffs and ankle shackles, on a U.S. government jet with 49 others whose criminal convictions got them deported from the USA.
Ortega, 27, said that she was a legal permanent U.S. resident and that until recently she was an office manager for a chiropractor in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood. Four years ago, she was convicted of conspiracy for being a bit player in a drug-smuggling ring. Her husband, a U.S. citizen and repeat offender, received 10 years in prison; she got probation. She was ordered to appear at a deportation hearing, but she skipped it.
In another time "” before the Sept. 11 attacks focused attention on lax enforcement of immigration laws "” she probably would have been free to continue living in the USA with her two young children. U.S. agents rarely pursued hundreds of thousands of fugitives like Ortega. That's what happened in her case for nearly three years "” before agents showed up at her door seven months ago.
On Monday, Ortega was sent back to the Dominican Republic on a flight from Boston that symbolized the U.S. government's increasingly aggressive push to expel immigrants who either are here illegally or violate the conditions of their stay by committing crimes. More than three years after John Ashcroft, then attorney general, cited the 9/11 attacks by foreign terrorists in announcing a broad crackdown on violators of immigration laws, the United States is deporting foreigners at an unprecedented pace.
'Busy all the time'
During the year that ended Sept. 30, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported a record 157,281 immigrants. Like Ortega and the others aboard the flight to Santo Domingo, more than half of those deported last year had criminal records, a reflection of ICE's emphasis on booting such people from the country. The jet that brought Ortega back here also included convicted drug dealers, *** offenders, robbers and wife beaters.
As ICE agents have pursued criminals who are in the USA illegally, they also have swept up record numbers of illegal immigrants who have committed no crimes other than violations of visa limits and other immigration laws. That helped increase the total number of deportations by more than 45% from 2001 to 2004.
Most of those deported "” more than 70% in 2004 "”have been returned to Mexico. Most of the rest have been sent back to Central or South America or to the Dominican Republic. ICE now has four jets that in 2003 alone made 317 flights to return more than 18,500 immigrants to their native countries.
"We're busy all the time," says Jonathan Rust, chief of the Air Transportation Unit for ICE, which is a division of the Department of Homeland Security. "We have two (Boeing) 737s and two MD-83s, and I could probably use two more."
ICE expects the number of deportations to increase again this year. In his 2006 budget, President Bush has requested an additional $170 million above the $1.4 billion that ICE's Detention and Removal program will get in 2005.
"We're going to make the community safer by removing aliens who come into the country and commit crimes," says Victor Cerda, acting director of Detention and Removal.
Those targeted for deportation represent a small fraction of the estimated 8 million illegal immigrants in the USA. Most illegal immigrants are unknown to U.S. immigration officials. Only those who are caught trying to enter the USA or who otherwise reveal themselves "” such as by committing crimes, applying for asylum or seeking government benefits "” become targets for deportation.
Despite the rising number of deportations, U.S. agents have struggled to reduce the number of illegal immigrants who have disobeyed orders to leave the country or who have failed to appear at deportation hearings. That number has remained at an estimated 400,000 because immigrants continue to flow into the USA "” particularly along the Southwest border "” and illegal immigrants continue to defy orders to appear at deportation hearings.
Detention and Removal identifies non-citizens who have been ordered by a federal judge to leave the country but who have ignored the orders or failed to appeal in court.
Agents also track non-citizens who are serving time for serious crimes and bring their cases to an immigration judge. If the judge orders them deported, they can be sent to their home country as soon as they are released from prison.
"I think some aliens were willing to take the risk of not complying with the laws," Cerda says. "The message I want to get out is, 'We're not going to forget about you.' These people are being identified, and we're ... sending them home."
Cuffed and shackled
At an airfield near Boston, the deportees boarded a government 737 in handcuffs and ankle shackles after U.S. marshals searched them for weapons.
After the jet landed here, the marshals removed the handcuffs and shackles. The deportees walked off the jet and into the custody of Dominican immigration officials. Any of the deportees with outstanding warrants in the Dominican Republic were to be kept in custody; the rest were to be freed.
Ortega says she was sad to have left the USA. Her son, 8, and her daughter, 5, are U.S. citizens and will live with Ortega's mother in the USA. "It wouldn't be fair for them to have to live in a country they've never lived in," Ortega says.
An immigration judge ruled that Ortega should be banned from the USA for life, but she plans to ask the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic whether there's a chance she could return to the USA.
"People make mistakes," she says. "Now it's not only me, but my kids who will pay."
Copyright 2007 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. All Rights Reserved.
[COMMENT BY EXPLORA: I wonder how many planes they now have and plan to buy this year.]
SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT MAKES MAJOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT BUST
Oct 5, 2007 08:12 AM EDT
COLUMBIA, Tenn. - The Maury County Sheriff's Department rounded up half a dozen suspected illegal immigrants.
Deputies said Thursday's arrests stemmed from a complaint by a construction business owner that the men had used false documents to gain employment.
It's the first major bust of suspected illegal immigrants since the department was sued in federal court earlier this year.
That suit accused deputies and federal immigration agents of entering the homes of illegal immigrants without warrants and unlawfully detaining them. _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ BUSINESS REPORTS SUSPECTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
Oct 6, 2007 01:55 AM EDT
COLUMBIA, Tenn. - The Maury County Sheriff's Office has arrested dozens of undocumented immigrants this year.
But the latest arrest is the first of its kind.
This time, deputies received help from the public.
The sheriff's office has worked with agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to track down undocumented immigrants. The agencies have held several raids at construction sites, during traffic stops and at immigrants' homes.
This time the information came to them.
Local human rights groups said a recent raid is just the latest in a deliberate effort to target the Hispanic community.
"This is the first time a business has called us and said hey, help us out," said Capt. Nathan Johns of the Maury County Sheriff's Office.
Johns said a local construction company contacted him earlier this week.
"They had hired some workers who had given them fraudulent documents in order for them to hire them," Johns said.
The company's owner suspected the men emigrated illegally. ICE agents analyzed the documents and decided to arrest the six men with the help of the Maury County Sheriff's Office.
So far, more than 60 illegal immigrants have been arrested in Maury County this year.
"We think this is an immigrant witch hunt," said Catalina Nieto, public awareness coordinator at the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. "They're encouraging suspicion of people who sound different. They're targeting foreign-born people."
Nieto thinks the sheriff's office is encouraging employers to turn in employees just because they look different.
"There is a trend in Maury County," Nieto said. "We've seen the raids. Now this. ...There is a factor of fear in the community."
Nieto believes the crackdown is unfair to immigrants in the country legally. She said it also hurts community because immigrants are a major part of the work force.
"I want to make sure Tennessee knows the contributions that immigrants make to the state," she said.
The sheriff's office did not release the name of the business that gave them the tip because that business is helping them on other ongoing investigations.
The six men arrested Thursday were held in Maury County Jail. They will be transferred to federal custody.
[COMMENT BY EXPLORA: This business owner called ICE for one of three reasons or all. 1) The workers asked for a well-deserved raise, 2) he freaked out over the upcoming social security rules, 3) targeting. Shame, a real shame and not having his business name disclosed because he's assisting the sheriff dept. to nab others. I hope his business doesn't prosper in the future. If he suspected they entered the country illegally why didn't he think that when he first saw them!! Helping others. Aaugh!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
This message has been edited. Last edited by: explora,
IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS NARROW THE LIST OF QUESTIONS FOR U.S. CITIZENSHIP TEST
By SUZANNE GAMBOA,AP Posted: 2007-09-27 19:35:06
WASHINGTON (AP) - As U.S. immigration officials narrowed the list of questions for a new citizenship test, Martin Luther King Jr. made the cut, but Patrick Henry did not.
Citizenship and Immigration Services released on Thursday the pool of 100 civics and history questions that could be asked of people wanting to become naturalized Americans.
They will begin using the new citizenship test Oct. 1, 2008. Just as with the current test, applicants will have to answer correctly six of 10 questions asked orally and pass the English proficiency portion of the exam.
About 42 civics questions were dropped or revised to reach the final 100. Among those that were dropped was, "Who said `Give me liberty or give me death?"' The answer is Patrick Henry, a colonial American revolutionary.
One question that survived the cut is "What did Martin Luther King Jr. do?" Among the possible answers are: Fought for civil rights and worked for equality for all Americans. King was awarded the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize for his civil rights campaign in the United States.
Immigration officials said some questions may have additional correct answers beyond those provided. About 15 to 16 questions had to be reworded.
"This is a naturalization test which genuinely captures applicants' knowledge of what it is he's about ready to be - a United States citizen," said Emilio Gonza***, Citizenship and Immigration Services director.
The federal government has been trying out the questions since February in immigration offices and at classes in 13 states for English as a second language.
About 92 percent of the 6,777 applicants who volunteered to take the test at immigration offices in 10 test cities passed. Their work helped narrow the list of questions.
That compares to an 84 percent passing rate for applicants taking the current test for the first time.
Pass rates were not available for those who took the test in English as a second language, or ESL, classes.
Immigrants from Central America had the lowest pass rate at 85.1 percent, while those from the region of Oceania, which includes Australia, New Zealand and many of the South Pacific islands, had a 100 percent pass rate, according to Citizenship and Immigration Services, a division of the Department of Homeland Security.
North Americans comprised 6 percent of the volunteers who took the test.
Last year, about 703,000 people became U.S. citizens. People born in Mexico led all immigrants in naturalizations in 2006.
The final questions got mixed reviews.
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights said in a news release the test would impose a steeper knowledge load on citizenship applicants.
The group said questions like "What is the rule of law? and "Who was the president during World War I" would be difficult for most Americans.
The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, which works to improve the naturalization process, found the questions more acceptable.
William Ramos, NALEO's Washington director, said the group now wants to be sure adjudicators are properly trained to administer the test. He said groups want a chance to look at data from the pilot tests, which they were supposed to get about two weeks ago.
Officials said they will train adjudicators, develop test preparation material and hold training sessions on how to teach civics and citizenship to immigrants.
Hundreds of Hispanics marched on Reno streets Wednesday in protest of a raid last week by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at 11 McDonald's restaurants.
The crowd was filled with young people who skipped school and mothers pushing strollers.
Six-year-old Julio Rodriguez, a first-grader at Smithridge Elementary School, carried a sign that said: "ICE why did you take my mom? I want her back."
Other Hispanic and community leaders met at a different spot to talk about how to tame community tensions and formulate a plan to deal with the fallout of last week's raids, which led to the arrest of 54 illegal immigrants. And Sparks High School students stood Wednesday in silent demonstration of the raids, making the point that skipping school wasn't the way to demonstrate against the raids.
At the Bruce R. Thompson Federal Building, the gathering point for the march, the crowd waved American flags and chanted slogans. About a half-dozen people who supported the raids stood across the street.
About two dozen Reno police officers divided the groups.
Butch Bustabade, 37, of Stead, carried a sign that read "The party is over. I heart ICE. Go home."
"You just don't do what you want in this country," he yelled.
What the Hispanics who have immigrated to Northern Nevada really want to do is work, said Erica Lopez of Reno.
"If it wasn't for us, they wouldn't eat," the 20-year-old said. "We make their food."
She shouted to the counter protesters, "You need us."
The march, which started at Miguel Ribera Park, made a stop at KOH 780-AM radio, where the demonstrators expressed their concerns over comments made about undocumented workers on a talk show hosted by Bill Manders.
Officials at KOH would not comment on the march, and Manders did not return phone calls.
Debbie Kessler of Reno, who stood next to Bustabade, said she supported the ICE agents.
"The law is the law," she said. "They say if you enter this country illegally, you have to go home."
Veronica Mitchell questioned the right of the Hispanics to protest.
"If they're here illegally, how do they have the right to protest?" she said in an e-mail to the Reno Gazette-Journal.
She also said the march was "very disruptive to drivers."
Jazmin Martin, 16, of Sparks High School, said the immigration issue is exposing a deep-seeded racism when people assume all Hispanics are here illegally.
"I think they hate in general all Hispanics," she said.
Many young people in the crowd said they were concerned how the raids split up families and wanted to show their support. Some wore duct tape over their mouths -- to signify people they believe do not have a voice -- and handcuffs.
"That's pretty wrong that the raid destroyed the families," said Maritza Solis, a 13-year-old eighth-grader at Cold Springs Middle School. "We're only here to work, not to destroy the United States."
Shelsea Ramirez, 14, stood in the crowd with her teenage friends. She said participating in the rally was more important that going to school Wednesday.
John Perez, youth pastor at El Cordero de Dios Church in Reno, said he understood why so many young people attended the protest but could not condone them skipping school.
"As a youth pastor, I encourage education first," he said.
Community activist Roberto Nerey said it saddened him to see so many youths not in school.
"It's heartbreaking," he said. "If we're going to create change, we have to learn and if we're not in school, we're not learning."
NEW 'ICE' TASK FORCE MAKES ITS FIRS IMMIGRATION ARREST
BY KATE WARD Northwest Arkansas Times Posted on Saturday, October 6, 2007
Washington County deputies made their first arrest under a newly formed immigration enforcement team.
Herbier to Gonza***-Rodriguez, 44, originally of Mexico, was taken into custody this week by members of the Northwest Arkansas Immigration Criminal Apprehension Task Force. Benton County Circuit Court records indicate that Gonza***-Rodriguez was previously deported from the United States in April 1996 after being convicted of sexual abuse "” an aggravated federal felony.
" When they found out that he had re-entered the country, they snatched him up right away, " said Cpl. Jak Kimball with the Washington County Sheriff's Office.
The task force was formed under the government's 287 (g ) program and comprises officers from the Washington County Sheriff's Office, the Rogers Police Department, the Benton County Sheriff's Office, the Springdale Police Department, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Detention and Removal Operations, and the ICE Office of Investigations.
An arrest warrant was issued for Gonza***-Rodriguez on Friday after a criminal complaint was filed, charging him with illegal re-entry into the United States after deportation to his native country. Gonza***-Rodriguez made his first appearance on the complaint Friday before U. S. Magistrate Judge James R. Marschewski. During the hearing, he was ordered into Arrest Reports Forgery
Gabriel N. Washington and Takasha M. Smith, both 19, of 1551 N. Leverett Ave., No. 46, in Fayetteville were arrested Sept. 28 each on a felony charge of seconddegree forgery. Prescription fraud
Wayne Osburn Austin, 23, of 2918 S. Wright Place in Fayetteville was arrested Oct. 1 on a felony charge of fraud (obtaining a prescription ). Domestic battery
Douglas Wayne Knight, 39, of 27 E. Sixth St. in Fayetteville, was arrested Oct. 10 on felony charges of thirddegree domestic battery (pregnancy enhancement ) and first-degree terroristic threatening. federal custody pending further action. An ICE detainer has been lodged with the U. S. Marshal's Service, preventing Gonza***-Rodriguez's release, except into ICE custody.
According to the U. S. Attorney's Office, " a criminal complaint is not evidence of guilt and if the matter proceeds to an indictment, the defendant is entitled to be presumed innocent. "
The Washington County Sheriff 's Office previously withheld Gonza***-Rodriguez's identification because of his initial status as a civil detainee.
" Information is restricted for civil or juvenile detainees, " Kimball said. " There's a federal law that says, ˜ At no time can any contractor release information on civil detainees. ' I think it's mainly because these people aren't criminals; they're being sent back voluntarily. "
Kimball said the Sheriff's Office can only identify illegal immigrants facing criminal charges.
" We didn't know about it at first, " he said. " We were notified of it by ICE last week. Because of it, we had to take people off our Web page. "
Kimball said removing detainee information from the Sheriff's Office Web site has created online scheduling complications for inmate visitations. Since then, the Sheriff 's Office has developed a new way for relatives to schedule visits with ICE inmates being held on civil charges.
" We're working on that problem right now, and I think we have a solution, " he said. " It will be done using a booking number. That way their family will still be able to visit them, but we won't be releasing information. "
Kimball said family members will be able to obtain detainees' booking number through inmates or by contacting the Sheriff's Office. Visitations can be scheduled online by visiting the Sheriff's Office Web site and selecting the " information" link. From there, family members can choose to " schedule a visitation" by clicking on the inmate's booking number. The Web site is at www. co. washington. ar. us / sheriff /.
Visitation issues have been the first complication encountered by the Sheriff's Office since completing the federal government's 287 (g ) program, which authorizes area police to investigate illegal immigrants for federal prosecution and deportation.
The training was completed last month by 19 officers from area agencies in Northwest Arkansas. Together, the group plans to focus on building federal cases to prosecute illegal immigrants who have committed serious crimes, in addition to having them deported.
In addition to the 287 (g ) training, each agency had to reach a formal agreement with federal authorities outlining each officer's specific duties pertaining to immigration enforcement. The memorandum authorized Washington County personnel to inquire about a person's immigration status as it relates to criminal investigations or when they're being booked into the Washington County Detention Center.
" When we investigate someone and find out they're illegal, we still call ICE to take care of it, " Kimball said. " Typically, they'll tell us to put that person on hold for them. "
Kimball said the changes to the Sheriff's Office Web site currently under way to accommodate visitation scheduling.
" It's partially in place right now, " he said.
As of 6: 30 p. m. Friday, 12 civil detained inmates were being held in the county jail.
Thursday, 04 October 2007 By L.A. TARONE Staff Writer
Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta and the controversial Illegal Immigration Relief Act made their way into President Bush's speech in Lancaster on Wednesday afternoon.
Bush addressed the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce, discussing, among other things, his veto of the bill expanding the State-Children's Health Insurance (S-CHIP)Program. Congress voted to dramatically expand the program by adding another $35 billion to it over five years, and covering the children of people earning as much as $83,000 annually. Bush favored a smaller expansion of about $5 billion. But his speech was far-ranging, covering a long list of topics – though immigration was not one of them.
Afterward, however, he took questions from the crowd. Two people asked about immigration and one mentioned Hazleton specifically and Barletta, though not by name.
"Recently, the mayor of Hazleton came to Lancaster city and spoke about his views regarding penalties for landlords and others who support illegal immigrants," the questioner said, according to a White House transcript. "The city of Lancaster passed an ordinance that rejected that sort of thinking. I'd like your thoughts about that position, please."
Bush took the opportunity to push for what he termed a "comprehensive reform" of the nation's immigration laws – a move critics have derided as amnesty, as such proposals include paths to citizenship for those in the country illegally.
"(O)ne of the reasons I was strongly in favor of comprehensive immigration reform is so that would preempt local governments from taking a variety of actions which creates a confusing mosaic around the country," Bush said. "Obviously, you know, local governments can do what they want to do. But I believe the reason they feel like they need to do that is because the federal government hasn't acted with a comprehensive immigration reform bill.
And one of the consequences of the federal government not being able to act in a focused, concerted way is that people felt obligated to respond locally."
Bush said he didn't know whether Congress would try again, but added he was "deeply disappointed that we couldn't get the bill going.
"The country needs to address this thing in a comprehensive fashion," Bush added. Barletta took issue with Bush's remarks.
"He should be reminded we already have policies dealing with immigration," he said Wednesday night. "We have existing laws to prevent people from entering the country without proper documentation. But the federal government chooses not to enforce its own policies. That inaction forces cities like Hazleton to take the steps we have."
Barletta also criticized what he sees as federal inaction on "sanctuary cities" – those that either prevent their police departments from assist the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement from enforcing immigration laws and/or make no effort to check immigration status.
"The president said cities like Hazleton can do what they want to help control illegal immigration, but we were sued," Barletta said.
"The flip side of what he said means cities like New Haven, Conn., can openly create sanctuary city policies which aid and abet illegal aliens – and the federal government allows it. That is just plain wrong.
"There needs to be strong leadership on the federal level so existing laws can be enforced," Barletta said.
The questioner was referring to an appearance Barletta made at a Lancaster County GOP Committee fundraiser last month, which caused some controversy. Both Robert Nix, chairman of the Pennsylvania Hispanic Republicans, and Luis Mendoza, chairman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly's Pennsylvania chapter, criticized the committee for inviting Barletta because of the Illegal Immigration Relief Act. Both see it as targeting Hispanics.
Another questioner asked Bush whether he had further proposals to halt illegal immigration. Bush said he did – doubling the number of Border Patrol agents and "modernizing" the border, though he didn't define the term. He again called for a "guest worker program," and said he'd ended the old "catch-and-release" policy regarding those caught sneaking into the country.
"I don't think you can fully enforce the border like Americans expect unless you recognize that people are willing to do whatever it takes to sneak in here to do jobs Americans aren't willing to do," Bush said.
"And therefore, I believe, as a integral part of border security, that we say to somebody, you can come here on a temporary basis in order to pick peaches or to work in a chicken factory. In other words, there's a lot of jobs Americans aren't willing to do, but somebody else is willing to do it because they want to put food on the table for their families. And until we have a rational temporary guest worker program, people are going to sneak in."
Bush and Barletta were once allies – the mayor appeared at regional Bush rallies in 2004 and the president appointed Barletta to the United Nations Advisory Committee of Local Authorities that year.
Authorities hope a new cooperative program between local and federal agencies will streamline identification of illegal aliens.
"In the past, all the different agencies had different ways and different thresholds for reporting illegal aliens to Immigration," said Inspector George Collins of the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office.
Walton, Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties have agreed to implement the "24/7 Criminal Alien Program," which standardizes ID procedures for suspected illegal immigrants. The program focuses on identifying criminal aliens who are jailed in federal, state and local facilities to ensure they are not released again.
Collins said previous reporting methods created situations where illegal aliens convicted of crimes may have fallen through the cracks. With the new process, agencies will identify suspected immigrants immediately and report them directly to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Immigration officials will research individuals to determine their status. If they have been encountered before, they could be identified immediately. In cases where criminal aliens are eligible for bail, they can be held and placed in federal custody.
'ILLEGAL' GAME SHOWS LIFE FOR IMMIGRANTS IN NEW YORK
BY CARLOS RODRÃGUEZ MARTORELL Wednesday, September 12th 2007, 4:00 AM
Jorge Freire, getting game.
Ah, the joys of board games. A roll of a dice, a square move, and you can become an ivory-clad war strategist, a real estate mogul "” even an illegal immigrant for a day.
The Illegal Game is a new Monopoly-style game in which the players have to survive as undocumented immigrants in New York City, including the low-paying jobs, the struggle to obtain a green card and dodging immigration authorities. The ultimate prize: a retirement pension.
"It's the dream of every immigrant," said creator Jorge Freire, 57, "to retire, cash your monthly check and either go back to your country, or move to Florida or Hawaii or wherever you please."
An Ecuadoran linguist who moved to the U.S. 45 years ago, Freire drew the idea of the game from his own experiences as a state court interpreter in New York for almost 20 years.
"I have seen many cases," he said. "Some of them are really sad, but others have ended happily."
Among the saddest, he said, was a police raid in Westchester County, in which more than 20 immigrants "” many of them women and children "” were kicked out of their home at 1 a.m. in the middle of winter.
"I said to myself that something has to be done for people to know how grueling the life of undocumented immigrants is," he said.
Not that the game paints an idyllic view of the immigrants. There are penalties for cheating, stealing and selling drugs. One of the cards reads, "Your sister steals $10,000 from you."
Freire swears everything is based on his experiences.
Players have to navigate the city's five boroughs, starting at JFK Airport and ending in the Bronx, in their quest for their American Dream. Tips, on-the-side jobs and overtime can help you pay an array of expenses, from rent to immigration legal fees.
The game is also paved with danger: Deportation, jail and even being run over by a train are possible outcomes.
"I've had students who have gotten killed," says Freire. "So the immigrant ˜game' is over for them. Some of my own friends have been deported as well."
He makes a point of clarifying that the game's name refers not only to the status of immigrants but to the unlawful treatment they often receive.
"In some cases, immigrants work 80 to 90 hours a week for $150, or they get arrested for no reason," he said. "That is the ˜illegal game' we're talking about."
But he adds that developing and paying to produce The Illegal Game "” which sells on the Internet at theillegalgame.com for $30 "” is a better option than talking politics on the street.
"The game can enter the homes and I can talk to the families through it," said Freire. It is also more amusing: "Primarily, I want people to have fun. This is a family game."
FARMWORKER GROUP TO LOBBY CONGRESS TO BACKK AgJOBS ACT
Daytona Beach news-jounalonline.com By ROSA RAMIREZ Staff Writer October 01, 2007
While agricultural workers in northwest Volusia County said they live in constant fear of immigration raids, being fired from their jobs, and getting stopped by police while driving because they're here illegally, they say they're not alone in their worries.
"Employers have a lot to lose . . . maybe even more than us," said 46-year-old Cristobal Garcia, who said he himself has documents but many of his co-workers don't.
A dozen members of the Farm Worker Association of Florida, including two from the Pierson area, will spend today through Thursday in the nation's capital lobbying Congress to overhaul immigration rules for agricultural laborers.
The group plans to tell lawmakers to support the Agriculture Jobs Opportunity and Benefits Act of 2007, commonly known as AgJOBS, because not supporting it would ultimately hurt the agricultural industry in the state.
"The government and the bosses need to know how much migrants help this country," said Pascuala Avellaneda, one of the members of the association who will be in Washington this week. "Who's going to be left to do all that work?"
Marcos Crisanto, who heads the Pierson office of the association, estimates there are between 130,000 and 150,000 farmworkers toiling in Florida's ferneries, orange, tomato and dairy farms. Of those, some 70 percent are illegal immigrants.
If passed, AgJOBS would allow longtime illegal immigrant farmworkers to adjust their immigration status and eventually apply for U.S. citizenship, after paying a fine and meeting certain requirements.
"This is something that's important to many, including employers," said Crisanto.
Steven Camarota, director of research for the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Immigration Studies that advocates for strict immigration rules, said any proposal permitting illegal immigrants to stay in the country has a slim chance of getting enough votes to pass.
"There isn't much appetite in Congress for legalization for those in the country illegally," he said. "Does it have a chance of passing? Absolutely. Does it have a good chance of passing? Absolutely not."
He said the proposal lacks the support from other industries, such as restaurants, hotels and construction, which also rely on illegal foreign workers and have traditionally backed immigration laws that would allow some to become legal.
"They don't get anything out of AgJOBS. Sure, it's more modest and likely to get more support. But you also peel off the political coalition," Camarota said.
But Robert Williams, director of the Migrant Farmworker Justice Program, who supports AgJOBS, doesn't think that's so.
Of the immigration bills that have been introduced, AgJOBS has the most bipartisan support "as a practical solution with respect to this one sector," he said.
Williams said Florida stands to get hurt the most if Congress focuses mostly on immigration enforcement without giving agricultural workers an opportunity to change their immigration status.
"Any proposed crackdown on illegal immigration can incredibly disrupt the agricultural industry. Florida has the most to lose," Williams said.
Avellaneda, 72, said she's going on behalf of thousands of farmworkers in Florida who don't have documents -- or a voice.
"Thanks to God, I was able to get papers. But many people here have not. Being united is what's going to make us strong," said the former fern cutter.
This is appropriate. These are the bad folks we want to weed out with Comprehensive Immigration Reform, and give the hard working, responsible undocumented immigrants a path to legalization so they can continue to contribute to our society.
Clinton is smart enough to see the importance of the Hispanic vote. I believe any contender that misses this opportunity will reap the consequences. The Republican Party is one of those for being the major reason for the failure to pass Comprhensive Immigration Reform. This and other reasons may result in an extended drought for the Republicans.
Originally posted by chuck: Clinton is smart enough to see the importance of the Hispanic vote. I believe any contender that misses this opportunity will reap the consequences. The Republican Party is one of those for being the major reason for the failure to pass Comprhensive Immigration Reform. This and other reasons may result in an extended drought for the Republicans.
ditto Chuck. Hispanics will alienate the Republican party. We already see them as Hispanic unfriendly. Our trend is to vote Democrate. They are losing the Hispanic vote.
Add to del.icio.us
