SHAME, SHAME, SHAME!

I hope those that voted against clotsher reap the whirlwind of the Hispanic vote come November.

U.S.-MEXICO BORDER

ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSERS BRAVE FLAMES, GET BURNED

Six are hospitalized; more than 200 arrested

By Leslie Berestein
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
October 24, 2007

The Harris fire along the U.S.-Mexico border is affecting various aspects of immigration in San Diego County, in particular the busy human-smuggling routes surrounding Tecate and Campo.
Six illegal border crossers are hospitalized with burn injuries, and one of them is in critical condition, said Alberto Lozano, a spokesman for the Mexican Consulate in San Diego. He said the six men, all from central and southern Mexico, were rescued Monday by firefighters north of the shuttered Tecate port of entry and transported to UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest.

Hospital spokeswoman Debra Kain would not confirm the identity or immigration status of any of the 16 patients in the hospital's burn unit yesterday, saying only that four are firefighters and the rest civilians.
Lozano said U.S. officials have asked the Mexican government to disseminate information to Mexican nationals not to cross in the fire zone, regardless of what smugglers tell them.

"We believe they are trying to convince them that even though there is a huge fire in front of them, that it is possible to cross without harm, which is impossible," Lozano said. "They will meet their death there."

Since the fire started Sunday, the U.S. Border Patrol has arrested more than 200 people in the fire zone, agent Matthew Johnson said. Many turned themselves in to agents or firefighters to be rescued, he said.

As the fire moved west along the border, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement temporarily stopped taking new detainees at its Otay Mesa detention center, which until yesterday afternoon was being prepared for possible evacuation.

Agency spokeswoman Lauren Mack said the fire has bypassed the center, but added that arresting agencies are being asked to hold on to anyone who must be detained for deportation until the fire threat passes.

Mack denied rumors that have circulated in some North County communities that immigration raids have occurred during this week's fire evacuations. The agency has not been arresting fire evacuees, she said.

The San Diego sector of the Border Patrol, which has been assisting with evacuations, traffic control and other fire-related operations, has said it is not conducting raids or sweeps and that finding immigration violators is not a primary concern.

"I am sure that if the agents are aware someone was breaking the law, the agents would arrest them," Johnson said, citing an incident during the Cedar fire in 2003 in which agents came across people at a home growing marijuana, leading to the residents' eventual arrest. "We don't suddenly stop enforcing laws."

LATINOS IN U.S. POPULAR MUSIC OPENS AT EXPERIENCE MUSIC PROJECT

Experience Music Project|Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (EMP|SFM) will open American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music, the first major museum exhibition to tell the story of the profound influence and impact of Latinos in American popular music.

American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music is created by Experience Music Project in partnership with the University of Washington. The bilingual and interactive exhibition is accompanied by a bilingual catalog. American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music runs through Sept. 7, 2008.

Sky Church at EMP|SFM will radiate with Latino sounds from local bands to internationally-renowned musicians. The day's premiere event will bring together musicians from the band, Santana. Opening weekend programming is generously sponsored by Safeco Insurance.

Santana Rhythms is a performance by and conversation with Michael Carabello and Michael Shrieve"”original percussionists from Santana"”who will be joined by Abraxas bassist Alphonso Johnson and Chepito Areas's son, Adrian Areas, who will play the timbales. In between songs they will discuss how they created arrangements for songs like "Oye Como Va," "Soul Sacrifice" and others.

The 5,000 square-foot exhibition focuses on the following themes: How have the musical innovations of Latino youths crossed ethnic and racial boundaries and helped shape American popular music? How have immigration and migration shaped Latino and U.S. popular music? And, in what ways have Latinos musically expressed their experiences as Americans?

Curator of American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music, Jasen Emmons has worked alongside University of Washington Guest Curators Marisol Berríos-Miranda, Shannon Dudley and Michelle Habell-Pallán since 2004 to research and develop the exhibition.

Exhibition highlights include:

* 100 artifacts, including Ritchie Valens' Harmony electric guitar and the Mexican-style vest he wore on American Bandstand in 1958; a trombone belonging to salsa star Willie Colón; a gown worn by salsa star Celia Cruz; a pair of congas belonging to Michael Carabello, one of the original percussionists in the Santana band; and much more.

* Instrument interactives that demonstrate how to play hooks from well-known Latino songs and a mixer that allows visitors to remix Latino songs.

* A dance floor with a large screen projecting images of dancers and where guests can move to their favorite rhythms.

* Filmed **** history interviews with more than 45 Latino musicians.

* Listening kiosks with explanations about the Latino influence behind popular songs.

Interest in American Sabor: Latinos in U.S . Popular Music has been unprecedented by educators across Washington state and beyond.Record numbers of teachers have inquired about exhibition field trips and the new distance-learning curriculum.

American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music is designed to inspire conversation and provide a new outlook on American popular music. The exhibition is sponsored locally by The Boeing Company and Qwest. Opening weekend programming is sponsored by Safeco Insurance. Additional support for the exhibition has been provided by PONCHO, Moneytree, Inc., 4Culture and Zune. A ticket voucher program was developed to provide free admission for those in the community who might not otherwise have the means to visit American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music. Vouchers will be distributed by some members of the exhibition's community advisor group.

EMP|SFM has been working with a community advisor group that has helped to inform the organization on how to effectively connect with the local Latino community. Members of the community include: Casa Latina, Centro Cultural Hispano Americano, Consulado de México, El Centro de la Raza, the Latina/o Bar Association of Washington, Sea Mar and the Washington State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music exhibition content was developed in collaboration with the Simpson Center for the Humanities at the University of Washington, and initial support for the exhibition was provided by the Seattle Partnership for American Popular Music (SPAPM). SPAPM is a collaborative project between EMP|SFM, the University of Washington School of Music, and KEXP 90.3 FM, which emphasizes and promotes the role of music in our communities and our individual lives. The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation supports SPAPM, and through SPAPM, supports each of the participating organizations in their joint work related to American popular music. -- www.empsfm.org

WHAT IS ACCULTURATION?

Acculturation is the cultural modification of an individual or members of a group as they adapt some of the traits and characteristics of the dominant culture. When Latinos move to the United States from countries as diverse as Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Columbia, Argentina or Brazil, they bring with them the rich culture and diverse traditions of their home countries.

As they establish themselves in their new country, they adopt many U.S. traits, characteristics and practices which contribute to their success.

At the same time, however, Latinos retain the culture, values and beliefs of their home country.

The result of successful acculturation is a group of people who embody the best of both cultures.

SENATE DEFEATS DREAM ACT OVER IMMIGRATION AMNESTY CONCERNS

Amnesty concerns doom DREAM plan to help kids gain citizenship

12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, October 25, 2007
By DAVE MICHAELS / The Dallas Morning News
dmichaels@dallasnews.com

WASHINGTON – The DREAM Act failed in the Senate on Wednesday, dashing the latest and best chance Congress had to pass immigration legislation.

The bill would have paved a path to citizenship for children of illegal immigrants if they attended college or entered the military.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, was ready with an amendment that might have made the measure more palatable to some Republicans, but the bill did not get that far.

Congress failed to pass comprehensive immigration legislation earlier this year. And some Senators have tried a piecemeal approach, but that does not seem to be working, either – further evidence that the chances of any legislation passing this year are slim.

"The debate has changed," said Sen. **** Durbin, the bill's sponsor. "There are people who are using this issue politically, creating a lot of fear and spreading a lot of misinformation."

The tension created by Congress' failure to overhaul a broken immigration system is evident across the country – where local and state governments are taking it upon themselves to address illegal immigration's problems.

About 40 states, including Texas, have stiffened requirements for driver's licenses, restricting the ability of illegal immigrants to get what many consider an invaluable document. Scores of small communities have passed ordinances to crack down on day-laborer sites. And still others, such as Farmers Branch, have adopted tough rental-housing measures that have been challenged by U.S. lawyers.

Tamar Jacoby, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute who has advised the Texas Employers for Immigration Reform, said the issue is apparently too polarizing.

"The problem is the public is scared and kind of in shock," Ms. Jacoby said, "and members of Congress want to get re-elected and they don't think they can if they go too far on this issue."

The bill's opponents called it another crack at amnesty for law-breakers. The White House indicated it opposed the bill but had not threatened to veto it.

The DREAM act's opponents – including Sen. John Cornyn of Texas – said addressing only a "sympathetic" slice of the immigration problem would have been a mistake. That would have taken away leverage to negotiate a comprehensive bill including provisions for high-tech workers, agricultural laborers, border security and enforcement.

"There isn't any single aspect of the immigration issue that is big enough and broad enough to appeal to the kind of political constituency that you need to get it passed," Mr. Cornyn said. "You take out one of the most sympathetic and most attractive parts of the bill, and it makes it much harder to deal with the rest of it."

The Federation for American Immigration Reform, a Washington-based group that has pushed for more restrictive immigration laws, called the defeat an important victory for Americans and a clear indication that the public will not be fooled by efforts to enact amnesty piece by piece.

The bill would have granted conditional legal status to illegal immigrants younger than 30 who completed two years of higher education or served in the military. To be considered for legal status, they would have needed to have lived in the U.S. for five years and have entered before age 16.

After completing the educational or military requirement, they could have applied for citizenship. The legislation would have affected more than 1 million young people, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

"Once again, it is clear that the only mandate that Congress has with regard to immigration is to enforce our laws, secure our borders and protect our jobs," said Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "It's time for Congress to focus on the concerns of the American people instead of the agenda of the people who have broken our laws."

Three Dallas students who traveled to Washington on Wednesday had high hopes for the bill's passage. All of them entered the U.S. before they were 11, brought by Mexican parents seeking work, they said.

It was their first trip to Washington and they were dressed for important meetings with senators. A meeting with Ms. Hutchison's staff lasted about a half-hour. But Mr. Cornyn would not allow them into his office because they were not legal residents, he said.

Smarting from that rejection, one of the students, an 18-year-old woman, said she would have told Mr. Cornyn: "Put yourself in our shoes. Try to imagine your life as an immigrant."

Mr. Cornyn said his staff met with Larry James and Silvia Bustos, immigration activists from Dallas who accompanied the students. But his staff would not meet with people "who admit to not being legally in the country or are here in violation of immigration laws – basically flaunting that," Mr. Cornyn said.

Though the three students said they were seeking legal avenues to citizenship, they nevertheless live under the threat of deportation, said Mr. James, a Dallas pastor and president of Central Dallas Ministries.

"It's like a wall you can't look past," said one student, a 19-year-old at Mountain View College who asked that his name not be used. "You don't know what's going to happen with your life."

The 19-year-old and his friends supported Mr. Durbin's DREAM Act because it would have given them certainty that they would not have to go back to Mexico, a country they barely know.

"They have nothing to go back to," said Ms. Bustos, an employee at SMU's Dedman School of Law who traveled with them. "This is their country."

Mr. Durbin was prepared to offer Ms. Hutchison's amendment if the bill garnered the 60 votes needed to avoid a filibuster and move forward in the Senate. Instead, it garnered only 52 votes, including Ms. Hutchison's.

Ms. Hutchison's amendment would have altered Mr. Durbin's bill by substituting a five-year student visa and renewable work visas instead of a path to citizenship.


Mr. James said he and his students would return to Dallas and continue writing letters to lawmakers.

"You can't do Dallas without Mexican immigrants," Mr. James said. "You just can't do it."


Cox News Service contributed to this report.

MURDER CHARGES IN IMMIGRATION FRAUD CASE

By MIKE ROBINSON – 7 hours ago

CHICAGO (AP) "” Four men have been charged with plotting the slaying of a rival in the city's flourishing trade in bogus immigration documents, authorities said Wednesday.

Three brothers are accused of paying Gerardo Salazar-Rodriguez, 34, to kill Guillermo Jimenez Flores, according to an indictment. The amount was not specified.

Flores was a member of a former fake document ring who had defected and set up his own shop. The indictment said he was shot at an unspecified place in Mexico.

The four men were charged with, among other offenses, murder in aid of racketeering and murder for hire. The two offenses carry a maximum sentence of death.

One brother, Manuel Leija-Sanchez, 40, was arrested Friday in Mexico. Pedro Leija-Sanchez, 35, and Salazar-Rodriguez were arrested there in August, officials said.

The third brother, Julio Leija-Sanchez, 31, was arrested during raids in Chicago's Mexican-American community last April. The raids led to immigration fraud charges against 23 defendants and rolled up what officials called a major fake document ring.

U.S. Attorney's office spokesman Randall Samborn said it was too early to tell when the three men might be returned to the United States to face the charges. Samborn said they would be represented by Mexican attorneys at their extradition proceedings.

Julio Leija-Sanchez's attorney, Patrick W. Blegen, said he hadn't had a chance to read the indictment.

http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20...10250338/1003/NEWS02

POLICE DISCOVER ILLEGAL ALIENS

October 25, 2007

HARTFORD – A routine traffic violation stop led to the detention of four illegal aliens from Honduras and Mexico, according to police.

On Oct. 23 Hartford Police pulled over a vehicle traveling on U.S. Route 4 at the Interstate-89 off-ramp around 6:30 a.m.

"Through investigation it was learned that four of the vehicle occupants were illegal aliens from Honduras and Mexico. All four were taken into custody and turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol," police said in a statement.

MEXICANS MISS MONEY FROM RELATIVES UP NORTH


Adriana Zehbraukas for The New York Times
With American jobs cut back, Estrella Rivera, left, has deferred her dream of a clothing shop.

RELATED:

A Good Provider Is One Who Leaves
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D04E7D6...31A15757C0A9619C8B63


By ELISABETH MALKIN
Published: October 26, 2007

EL RODEO, Mexico "” For years, millions of Mexican migrants working in the United States have sent money back home to villages like this one, money that allows families to pay medical bills and school fees, build houses and buy clothes or, if they save enough, maybe start a tiny business.

But after years of strong increases, the amount of migrant money flowing to Mexico has stagnated. From 2000 to 2006, remittances grew to nearly $24 billion a year from $6.6 billion, rising more than 20 percent some years. In 2007, the increase so far has been less than 2 percent.

Migrants and migration experts say a flagging American economy and an enforcement campaign against illegal workers in the United States have persuaded some migrants not to try to cross the border illegally to look for work. Others have decided to return to Mexico. And many of those who are staying in the United States are sending less money home.

In the rest of the world, remittances are rising, up as much as 10 percent a year, according to Donald F. Terry of the Inter-American Development Bank. Last year, migrant workers worldwide sent more than $300 billion to developing countries "” almost twice the amount of foreign direct investment.

But in Mexico, families are feeling squeezed.

Estrella Rivera, a slight 27-year-old in this stone-paved village in Guanajuato state in central Mexico, was hoping to use the money her husband, Alonso, sent back from working illegally in Texas to build a small clothing shop at the edge of her garden.

But a month ago, Mr. Rivera returned home. His hours at a Dallas window-screen factory were cut and rumors spread that he would inevitably have to produce a valid Social Security number. Now, he works odd jobs or tends cornfields. Mrs. Rivera's shop is indefinitely delayed, a pile of bricks stacked on the grass.

Like Mr. Rivera, some of the men who went to work in the United States illegally have returned discouraged. And less work means less money to send home "” particularly from the southern United States and other areas where Mexican migrants are a more recent presence.

"One out of three people in these new states who was sending a year ago is not sending it home today," Mr. Terry of the Inter-American Development Bank said. "There are some 500,000 families who aren't receiving this year."

Until last year, the American housing trades absorbed hundreds of thousands of migrants, and the hardships of the trip north seemed to pale beside the near certainty of finding work.

Now, the construction slump "” along with a year-old crackdown on illegal immigration at the border and in the workplace, and mounting anti-immigrant sentiment in places "” has made it even harder for Mexican migrants to reach the United States and land well-paying jobs.

Many experts say it is too early to know if the negligible increase in remittances will continue. Some argue it was to be expected: much of the initial spike in money transfers had resulted from better accounting. In addition, earlier waves of migrants are returning to the houses they built, or they have managed to legalize their status in the United States and bring their families, sending less money back.

But the events of the last year in the United States, political and economic, have also clouded the prospects of many illegal Mexican workers. New walls, new guards and new equipment at the border have dissuaded many from trying to cross and raised the cost for those who try to as much as $2,800. Workplace raids and stories of summary deportations stoke fears among Mexicans on both sides of the border.

Referring to tougher measures in the United States, Primitivo Rodríguez, a Mexican immigration expert, said: "Psychologically, they lead you to save money in case of an emergency. You send less, you save more."

The shakier economy in many states means that migrants have moved from well-paying steady jobs to work as day laborers.

"In our interviews with families, they say that migrants are now working two or three days when before they worked four or five days," said David Skerritt, a historian at Veracruzana University.

Rodolfo García Zamora , an immigration expert at the University of Zacatecas, said money transfers to Zacatecas state fell by about 25 percent this year.

Here in Guanajuato state, remittances have created a peculiar economy in villages tucked among rolling corn and sorghum fields. There are few jobs, yet many houses have stereo systems, washing machines and three-piece living room sets.

Things are changing, though. Some of the men are back and need cash for seeds and fertilizer to plow long-neglected fields. At the microcredit association operated by a local nonprofit group, the Bajío Women's Network, loans for agriculture, which barely existed last year, now account for 11 percent of all borrowing.

Women are finding it harder to save, said Evelyne Sinquin, the network coordinator. "The people who have come back can't work, and the people in the United States are working fewer hours."

Other than agriculture, the jobs here are in construction, building houses of absentee owners houses along the cobbled streets. Some are modest with a few brick rooms; others are ornate tributes to their absentee owners' success: gold-painted balconies, the Virgin of Guadalupe etched in a window, Greek columns. Los Emigrantes carpentry shop in nearby La Cuevita sits on a traffic circle adorned with a monument showing several figures, one of them a migrant waving a fistful of dollars.

Not much else flourishes. Three months ago, Mónica Núñez closed her tortilla shop in the village of San Lucas. "Most people went to the United States and sales went down," she said.

Her husband has been home from Houston for a year, but she has seven brothers and a sister in the United States who still send money. She is planning a new business, perhaps an Internet cafe so people can connect with relatives in the United States.

Less than an hour's drive away, the city of Querétaro is prospering, turning out home appliances for the world market. But for most people in the villages, education ended after elementary school. An unskilled factory or construction job pays little more than $50 or $60 a week.

With those prospects, the next generation "” some of them as young as 15 "” seemed to have few doubts about heading to the United States.

Estrella Rivera's brother Francisco left for the first time when he was 16. Now 21, he recently came home after a year and a half in Orlando, Fla., working in construction. He earned enough to add a floor to his parents' house, but then he struggled.

"Either there was no work or they did not want to hire somebody without papers," he said, perched on an old Ford pickup truck with Michigan tags beside his family's sheep and cow pens.

But he expects to go back again. "To tell the truth, it really is worth the trouble," he said, recounting a terrifying crossing getting lost in the Arizona desert.

Mrs. Rivera's husband is not so sure. "It's really tough to go back," he said. "Now they lock you up. Before, they grabbed you and sent you back. The laws were never this tough."

U.S. SHOULD QUIT DEPORTING THOSE WITH JOBS WHO PAY TAXES

October 25, 2007 08:43:03 PM

I hear a lot of talk about immigration and people being deported. I think that the U.S. just tries to get as many people out of the country as they can. Some "illegal aliens" have jobs, clean records and pay taxes "” for what? Just to be deported and sent back across the border.

People just categorize all the people that cross the border as people who just come to get welfare, some kinds of benefits, commit crimes, cause chaos and just basically bad things. I, being a Mexican-American, feel that these depictions just degrade my culture and make me feel somewhat ashamed. It's horrible to think this, but that is what society puts in my mind. For example, it makes people look at us differently; it shouldn't be like that at all. The society and community need to come together and promote all the good things that Mexicans have done for this country and not think of them as "illegal aliens."

CRYSTAL MENDOZA
Davis High School student
Modesto CA

U.S. IMMIGRATION 'WORST IN THE WORLD'



(Gareth Fuller/PA)
Tom Chesshyre
From Times OnlineOctober 25, 2007

Entry requirements in the United States are the "worst in the world" and visa rules are "cumbersome", causing tourists to steer clear of America, according to a leading figure in US travel and tourism.

Jonathan Tisch, chairman of the influential Travel Business Round Table in the US, which represents travel orangisations in America, told Times Online Travel that urgent action is required to incease visitors to the United States, as tourism numbers do not proportionately match up to other countries.

He is calling on immigration officials at airports to be more polite, for fewer visa restrictions and for a nationwide tourist board to promote tourism - no such organisation exists at present as each state organises its own tourist publicity.

Tisch, who is visiting London to watch the Miami Dolphins play the New York Giants, which his family half owns, at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, believes that potential visitors consider trips to the America to be "problematic".

This is making the US culturally isolated and is also having a knock-on effect on the economy. "Travel is the number one industry in the world (according to World Travel & Tourism Council figures), but the US is not benefitting," he said.

"There are millions of travellers going abroad for the first time, from the Asian market and Eastern Europe, we want to ensure that they come to the US."

The Travel Business Round Table believes that a Presidential Advisory Panel should be established as soon as possible to start pushing tourism in the US properly, rather than relying on piecemeal efforts of individual state tourist boards. It is pinning its hopes on the Presidential election next year, when a change of administration might bring a fresh approach to tourism.

Tisch is chairman of NYC and Company, the New York tourist board, and also chairman and CEO of Loews Hotels. He pointed out that there were 44 million visitors to New York last year, with only 18 per cent coming from overseas. But these foreign visitors were responsible for 45 per cent of overseas spending in the city - highlighting the importance of tourism, he said.

GEORGIA, ATLANTA (COBB COUNTY)

LABOR OF LOVE
WE ARE UNITED

You and your family are invited!
Join us on Sunday for the Labor of Love!
Sunday, October 28, 2007 - 1:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M.
Location: Centennial Olympic Park

Labor of Love
We are united!

And united we will always be, as we help build a better country, supported by our families, our work and the yearning to make all our dreams come true.

As immigrants, we have left our home countries behind to take advantage of the splendid opportunities this marvelous country has to offer, and our hearts are filled with pride, appreciation and love for our state of Georgia.

You and your family are invited to join us on a marvelous day when we will build a gigantic heart with thousands of flowers to express our good faith and gratitude.

Together, we can build a great team to work for a better country!

Location: Centennial Olympic Park, in the heart of downtown Atlanta
Date: October 28, 2007
Time: 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
More information: www.laboroflovecampaign.org

Tax-deductible contributions specifically for this event can be made to the GALEO Latino Community Development Fund (GLCDF), a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization. All funds raised for this event will be used only for this event. Any excess funds and the flowers will be donated to the U.S.O. & Veteran's Administration (VA) Hospital.

Checks can be made to "GLCDF", P.O. Box 29506, Atlanta, GA, 30359. Please note "Labor of Love" on the check.

For more information, please contact Jose Blanco, GALEO Program Coordinator, 404.745.2546, joseblanco@galeo.org.
Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO)
P.O. Box 29506
Atlanta, Georgia 30359
Jose Blanco, Program Coordinator, 404.745.2546

SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON DISAPPOINTED DREAM ACT FAILED TO PASS



Friday, 26 October 2007

Washington, DC – "More than 65,000 immigrant students will graduate from U.S. high schools this year only to see the doors of opportunity closed to them. These are gifted and highly motivated children who grew up in the United States. For these children, many of whom arrived to this country as babies, America is the only home they know. They speak English fluently, and for many it is their first and only language. Many have never even visited the country of their birth. They have been educated in our public school system. They have stayed in school and stayed out of trouble. These kids are honor students, team captains, student body presidents and valedictorians.

"Many would like nothing more than to contribute to the only country they've ever known as home. But for these children, because of their immigration status, they are often effectively barred from pursuing a post-secondary education and reaching their full potential. Through no fault of their own, they are forced to live in the shadows and denied their chance at achieving their God given potential.

"What are we saying to these hard working students? Well I will tell you. We are saying they are not welcome in the only country they have ever known. We are telling them to go back to another country they often know little about, where they may not speak the language, or understand the culture. These are children caught at a crossroads, and rather than providing them with an opportunity, we are holding them accountable for the actions of their parents.

"This is not the America I know.

"There is a solution to this crisis, but sadly, the Senate today failed to act. The DREAM Act – which I have proudly cosponsored for several years – would help expand opportunities for our nation's immigrant children. For those students who have grown up in the United States, have demonstrated good moral character, and are pursuing a college education or have enlisted in the military, the DREAM Act will provide an opportunity to earn legal status in this country.

"There are many good reasons to enact the DREAM Act. In today's twenty-first century economy, where a post-secondary education is quickly becoming the minimum requirement for higher-earning jobs, we need to provide the children in our country with every opportunity to achieve academically, both for their benefit but also for the benefit of our society. The DREAM Act would also strengthen our nation's military readiness, allowing these well-qualified young men and women to serve their country with honor. But most importantly, the DREAM Act ensures that the promise of the American Dream becomes a reality for all our children.

"I am disappointed that the Senate failed to pass the DREAM Act. The enactment of this legislation is long overdue, and I will continue to fight for its passage, for all of our children and our nation."

PREMEDITATED MERGER

FEDS OUTSOURCE MEXICAN TRUCK SAFETY - TRILATERAL TRADE ASSOCIATION BECOMES CHIEF INSPECTOR

Posted: October 22, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Jerome R. Corsi
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has delegated key inspection requirements for Mexican trucks to a non-governmental trilateral trade association, whose goal is to impose North American standards on all commercial motor vehicles operating in Mexico, Canada, and the United States.

Since the early 1980s, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, or CVSA, operating as a non-governmental organization, has quietly knit together the motor-vehicle agencies in the three countries, building a common regulatory continental structure below the radar of public opinion, available now to function as the backbone of the FMCSA effort to allow approved Mexican trucking companies to run their long-haul rigs throughout the United States.

According to a Colorado law enforcement document obtained by WND, the FMCSA has made arrangements for the CVSA to provide inspection decals to all Mexican trucks who pass inspection in the Department of Transportation's Mexican truck NAFTA demonstration project.

The CVSA is a non-profit association composed of "state, provincial, and federal officials responsible for the administration and enforcement of motor carrier safety laws in the United States, Canada and Mexico."

CVSA membership includes all 50 states, the District of Columbia, all 13 Canadian provinces, Mexico, and various U.S. territories, including Guam, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

According to the group's website, the CVSA has evolved from an informal gathering of western states motor-vehicle agencies in the 1980s, to a trilateral group setting uniform commercial vehicle safety requirements in all of North America.

The Colorado law enforcement bulletin specifies that Mexican carriers who are part of the "Cross Border Demonstration Project" must display a valid CVSA inspection decal.

The law enforcement notice further specifies, "In general, vehicles with valid CVSA decal(s) are not subject to re-inspection until the decal is expired. If obvious violations are noticed, the vehicle may be re-inspected."

The key position of the CVSA in the FMCSA's Mexican truck demonstration project is affirmed by a cross-border operating requirements handbook published on the FMCSA website.

The group's website identifies CVSA as "a public/private partnership," with open invitation to individuals and trucking companies to join as members, along with law enforcement organizations.

A section of the group's website describing CVSA inspections notes, "Inspections must be performed by and CVSA decals affixed by North American Standard Level I and/or Level V certified inspectors. The term 'certified' as defined in this section means the government employee performing inspections and/or affixing CVSA decals must have first successfully completed a training program approved by the Alliance."

The website further specifies, "CVSA decals, when affixed, shall remain valid for a period not to exceed three consecutive months. Vehicles displaying a valid CVSA decal generally will not be subject to re-inspection."

The language consistently reflects standards for North America, consistent with the group's goal to standardize continental driver and vehicle safety requirements on a continental basis.

A Level I "North American Standard Inspection" is specified on the CVSA website to include examination of driver's license and other driver's records including alcohol and drug testing, as well as a vehicle inspection for multiple physical safety requirements.

A Level V inspection is a vehicle-only examination under the Level I North American Standard Inspection requirements, without a driver present.

The FMCSA website currently identifies five Mexican trucking companies and three U.S. trucking companies qualified to participate in the demonstration project.

As WND has reported, both the House and the Senate have overwhelmingly voted to remove the funding from the Department of Transportation's FY 2008 appropriations bill.

DOT, however, has decided continue allowing approved Mexican trucking companies to run their long-haul rigs throughout the United States, arguing that the vote of Congress is not binding until President Bush signs the bill.

WND reported Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., the sponsor of the House amendment to block DOT funding, has charged the Bush administration with being "hell-bent" in opening our borders to Mexican trucks, while defying the will of the American public and failing to convince Congress that Mexican drivers and trucks will meet the same safety standards as U.S. drivers and trucks.

WND has also reported that Melissa DeLaney, spokeswoman for the FMCSA, indicated further defiance to Congress and the will of the American people by suggesting that the FMCSA mig