CALIFORNIA

DREAM ACT BILL AWAITING APPROVAL

THE DREAM ACT IS DESIGNED TO HELP OUT UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS

media.www.dailytitan.com
By: Eleni Reed
Issue date: 10/11/07 Section: News

By Friday, the stress for tens of thousands of undocumented students could be alleviated, depending on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision over whether or not to sign the The California Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. The bill on Schwarzenegger's desk would allow undocumented students to apply for non-competitive loans.

The DREAM act is also being debated on the federal level. Carlos Amador, president for the Alliance of Students for an Equal Education at Cal State Fullerton, said the bill was introduced in the state legislature two weeks ago, however, there was no vote. The DREAM Act is now being introduced in the Higher Education Bill and a deadline is set for Nov. 16, Amador said.

"It is very important that representatives know that people are out there that support the DREAM Act by contacting them with letters [and phone calls]," said Amador.

The federal Illegal Immigration Reform and Illegal Responsibility Act of 1996 discourages states from providing in-state tuition costs to undocumented students. The DREAM Act would nullify provisions and pave a path for undocumented students to gain citizenship.

Undocumented residents who have lived in the country for five years with a high school diploma may be able to obtain citizenship. Undocumented students are put on a six-year probation where they must enroll in a two-year community college, a four-year university or enroll in the military and keep a clean criminal record. If these obligations are upheld, they become permanent residents. The bill has been rejected by critics as amnesty.

The alliance is trying to bring a play to CSUF called "Nine Digits Away From My Dreams." It will highlight the lives of undocumented students and their struggles of being denied the same social opportunities as citizens, said Leticia Serrato,vice president of the alliance. The organization wants to either hold a rally or set up tables around campus to ask students to sign a petition to support the DREAM Act.

ICE TO WORK AROUND INJUNCTION

US District Judge Breyer's recently decided to grant the motion
for a preliminary injunction of the DHS final rule regarding no-
match letters (see below in news). This will likely not stop the
use of social security data by the government to weed out the
undocumented as well as ensnare individuals authorized to work in
the US. Despite the government's admission that the Social
Security Administration's system is rife with errors, heightened
scrutiny of social security data will likely emerge within the
scope of I-9 audits. While employers across the board may be
spared from the rule because of the preliminary injunction, those
that face an audit will bear the additional burdens of the
temporarily enjoined rule by administrative interpretation during
the course of the audit. We suspect that that has already begun
in I-9 audits and will likely increase with time. Immigration
attorneys would be wise to plan accordingly.

We welcome readers to share their opinion and ideas with us by
writing to mailto:editor@ilw.com.
_________________________________________________________________

MEXICAN CONSUL SAYS HE TURNED THREATENING EMAIL OVER TO U.S.

He had warned others of Irving crackdown on illegal immigrants

05:31 AM CDT on Thursday, October 11, 2007
By ISABEL MORALES / Al Día imorales@aldiatx.com

Mexican Consul Enrique Hubbard Urrea has received plenty of hate mail in the last several days over his comments about Irving's crackdown on illegal immigrants.

On Sunday, he received a threat, as well, which he said he has reported to the U.S. State Department.

"Keep out of our dealings with the illegals in our state and in our country," reads the e-mail sent Oct. 7. "This is not your issue, this is my country and we will take care of it. Any interference from you people will have dire consequences.

The threat follows Mr. Hubbard's warning to Mexican immigrants to stay out of Irving because of the spike in the number of deportations being reported out of that city in the last several months. At the same time, the diplomat said he believed Mexican nationals were being detained simply because of their appearance.

Last month's warning was part of a shift in policy by the Mexican government to toughen its defense of immigrants and give the consulates in the U.S. more resources as well, officials familiar with the strategy have said. The new policy by the Mexican government comes as deportations reach an all-time high in the toughest crackdown in decades by the U.S. government and law enforcement.

Among the actions under discussion are the creation of an anti-defamation league similar to that focused on protecting Jews; budget increases for some of the 47 consulates; and a media campaign aimed at counteracting groups opposed to illegal, and sometimes legal, immigration.

The effort underscores the tension in U.S. communities grappling with problems created by illegal immigration – and a failure by Congress to overhaul the nation's immigration laws.

Mexico's consuls were told to be "more active and more involved in the defense of the civil rights of our people," Mr. Hubbard said then.

"The environment is poisonous, and the fact that there is now this threat against the consul confirms that we have a racist element in this mix," Mr. Hubbard said. "I can't come up with any other way to explain the fact that there is now a threat against someone who is bringing these things to light."

Mr. Hubbard said that he filed an official complaint with representatives in the State Department's Dallas office on Tuesday and that they responded that they would possibly contact Dallas police.

"I don't know if they will launch an investigation," he said.

Officials with the State Department could not confirm Wednesday that they had received a complaint. And Dallas Police Department authorities were not aware of the complaint.

Between July 1, 2006, and Oct. 4, 2007, the Irving Police Department has turned over 1,685 illegal immigrants to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials as part of the Criminal Alien Program, or CAP.

Under the program, people who are detained at the Irving Jail are asked about their legal status. If they are found to be illegal, they are turned over to immigration authorities.

Local activists are frustrated about the situation and say that hate mail and threats will do nothing to solve the problem, but dialogue will.

"This is horrible," said Anthony Bond, an activist in Irving. "The person who made that threat should be prosecuted. The consul is a victim of a hate crime."

Mr. Hubbard said he would continue about his business, though he's not taking the threat lightly. He said he would ask his wife to be more careful, but that he will not be intimidated.

"I am not going to keep my mouth shut or stop saying what I need to say," he added. "I'm not taking this lightly, but it's not going to affect my life."

Staff writers Scott Goldstein and Brandon Formby contributed to this report.

JUDGE DELAYS KEY ELEMENT OF BUSH STRATEGY ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

By Julia Preston Published: October 11, 2007

A U.S. District Court judge in San Francisco has ordered an indefinite delay to a central measure of the Bush administration's new strategy to curb illegal immigration.

Charles Breyer, a judge for the Northern District of California, said Wednesday that the government had failed to follow proper procedures for issuing a new rule that would have forced employers to fire employees if their Social Security numbers could not be verified within three months.

Breyer chastised the Department of Homeland Security for making a policy change with "massive ramifications" for employers without giving any legal explanation or conducting a required survey of the costs for small business.

Under the rule issued by the Department of Homeland Security, which had been scheduled to take effect Sept. 14, employers would be forced to fire workers within 90 days of receiving a notice from the Social Security Administration that an employee's identity information did not match the agency's records. Illegal immigrants in the United States often present false Social Security information when applying for jobs.

The rule, announced with fanfare in August by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, was the linchpin of the administration's effort to crack down on illegal immigration by denying jobs to undocumented immigrants. It is part of a campaign of stepped-up enforcement after broader immigration legislation favored by President George W. Bush was rejected by Congress in June.

If allowed to take effect, the judge found, the rule could lead to the firing of many thousands of legally authorized workers, resulting in "irreparable harm to innocent workers and employers."

The decision brought relief to members of the coalition behind the lawsuit, including the AFL-CIO union federation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which are usually adversaries.

They had feared the measure would bring mass layoffs in low-wage industries, sweeping up both illegal and legal workers and disrupting the labor force. It was a disappointment for Chertoff, a former judge, who was relying on the rule as an enforcement tool after Congress left him with few options.



????
Chertoff said the administration was doing "as much administratively as we can, within the boundaries of existing law," to reduce illegal immigration. He called on Congress to revisit legislation to give legal status to illegal immigrants.????
????


Some conservative lawmakers, who argue for vigorous enforcement of immigration laws, said they were outraged.

"What part of 'illegal' does Judge Breyer not understand?" said Representative Brian Bilbray, Republican of California and chairman of the House Immigration Reform Caucus. "Judge Breyer is compromising the rule-of-law principles that he took an oath to uphold."

Before it took effect, the rule was held up temporarily on Aug. 31 by another judge in the San Francisco court, Maxine Chesney, who was sitting in for Breyer at the time.

On Wednesday, Breyer ordered a halt to the rule until the court could reach a final decision, which could take months. He also made it clear that he was skeptical of the government's arguments.

The decision also bars the Social Security Administration from sending out about 141,000 no-match letters, covering more than eight million employees, which include notices from Homeland Security explaining the new rule.

"A primer for anyone who cares to better understand the usually unseen cost of America's appetite for cheap labor."
- The New York Times

Farmingville

Directed by Catherine Tambini and Carlos Sandoval

Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, P.O.V. presents FARMINGVILLE, a provocative, complex and emotionally charged look into the ongoing nationwide controversy surrounding a suburban community, its ever-expanding population of illegal immigrants, and the shockingly hate-based attempted murders of two Mexican day laborers.

In the late 1990s, some 1,500 Mexican workers moved to the leafy, middle-class town of Farmingville, population 15,000. In some ways, it's a familiar American story: an influx of illegals crossing the border from Mexico to do work the locals won't; rising tensions with the Anglo population; charges and counter-charges of lawlessness and racism; protest marches, unity rallies and internet campaigns - then vicious hate crimes that tear the community apart. But this isn't the story of a California, Texas or other Southwestern city. It's the endlessly enthralling tale of Farmingville, New York, on Long Island.

Sharply directed with great intimacy by co-producers Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini, both of whom moved to Farmingville after the tumultuous clash catapulted the town into national headlines, FARMINGVILLE is an astounding glimpse into an issue that continues to anger, frighten and confuse the many faces of America.


Visit the official website for FARMINGVILLE's theatrical release at:

Visit the official website for FARMINGVILLE's theatrical release at: www.farmingvillethemovie.com

FARMINGVILLE

James Greenberg
Jan 21, 2004

Camino Bluffs Pictures

PARK CITY -- The undercurrent of fear, paranoia and hostility brewing in the country comes home to roost in "Farmingville," Catherine Tambini and Carlos Sandoval's disturbing documentary about xenophobia in suburbia.

A normally conservative and staid working-class community on Long Island, Farmingville becomes galvanized around the issue of illegal aliens from Mexico who have settled in town looking for work as day laborers. The strength of the film is its presentation of a complex national issue as it rears its ugly head on a local level. The POV Production will make provocative television with a good chance for afterlife in the classroom.

The events of 2000-2001 depicted in the film, including the brutal beating of two immigrants, are especially timely in light of recent efforts to forge a new national immigration policy, one that will no doubt be unpopular to the majority of Farmingville residents.

One local faction, led by Margaret Bianculli-Dyber, a burly New York high school teacher, argues that deportation is the best policy. National activists like the heinous Glenn Spencer, from a group called American Patrol, flock to Farmingville to throw fuel on the fire. They imagine the immigrants coming to reconquer and take over the country, and together they sing "God Bless America."

Saner voices try to prevail with the creation of a job center where the newcomers can congregate and wait for work. But this measure is ultimately defeated.

Tambini and Sandoval lived in the community for a year and present the story with great immediacy. The film could have benefited from some deeper analysis of why these people feel their way of life is so threatened. But any way you look at it, it's a sobering view of where this country could be headed.

BUT ANY WAY YOU LOOK AT IT, IT'S A SOBERING VIEW OF WHERE THIS COUNTRY COULD BE HEADED.

EsLaHora.com

It is important to take action.

Stay informed.

Please take action in a manner that you are able.

Our voices of reason will make a difference.

Su Voto Es Su Voz!

EsLaHora. com (English Translation: "It's time.") provides information in Spanish and English to ensure Latinos in Georgia will become more engaged and educated voters.

The toll free number is 888.54GALEO (888.544.2536).

To learn more, please follow this link: http://www.eslahora.com

GALEO CONTINUES WITH YouTube!

http://www.youtube.com/GALEO2007

Please follow the link and view the videos. There are a total of three video postings (A, B, C) and please watch and rate all three. In summary:

Sen. Rogers angrily claims that Fighting 529 is a "propaganda film".
Despite his preaching on "enforce all laws all the time", Sen. Rogers admits he violates speeding laws and justifies his law-breaking because he "may" get caught.
Contrary to the facts, Sen. Rogers claims he wrote SB529 all by himself.
Sen. Rogers defends the Minutemen, largely regarded as vigilante groups across the nation.
Sen. Rogers questions President Bush's honesty.
Watch all three videos yourself and share with others.

http://www.youtube.com/GALEO2007

MAYOR, ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION FOE, SAYS 'SI' TO SPANISH

9:30 AM EDT, October 12, 2007

MORRISTOWN, N.J. - A New Jersey mayor who drew national attention for wanting to crack down on illegal immigrants is learning to speak Spanish.

Morristown Mayor Donald Cresitello says he began taking classes last month at the County College of Morris.

According to Cresitello, he got an 85 on his first test. The course meets for 75 minutes, twice a week, through December.

"It's a little bit more difficult than I thought," Cresitello told the Daily Record of Parsippany for Friday newspapers.

The 61-year-old Cresitello joked to the newspaper that it was hard to "memorize all these new words."

Cresitello has been an outspoken opponent of illegal immigration. He's applied for a federal program that trains and deputizes officers as immigration agents.

After Cresitello spoke at an anti-illegal immigration rally over the summer, U.S. Attorney Chris Christie accused him of grandstanding on the issue.

Cresitello insists his anti-illegal immigration stance has nothing to do with prejudice against a particular group.

___

Information from: Daily Record, http://www.dailyrecord.com

More articles

Copyright © 2007, The Associated Press

OKLAHOMA, TULSA


FREE PRENATAL HEALTH CARE FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS MAY BE ON THE WAY

Reported by: J.R. Stone
Email: jrstone@fox23.com
Last Update: 6:46 am

Free prenatal health care for illegal immigrants could be coming

(TULSA, Okla.) October 12 - Free health care could be on the way for some illegal immigrants here in Oklahoma.

The health care authority approved the measure yesterday, but Governor Henry still needs to sign off on it.

This new proposal has some lawmakers calling for the state attorney general to get involved because they think this new rule is illegal. Here's how it would work...

Right now, illegal immigrants are not eligible to receive health care. This new policy would provide free prenatal care to all illegal immigrants.

Those in favor of this policy claim a lack of prenatal care ends up costing the state more in the long run.

Taxpayers will end up footing the bill. Supporters claim for every dollar spent on preventative care, $13 is actually saved. Supporters say the preventative care will reduce health problems that typically plague undocumented women with babies such as low birth weight.

Of course, there is opposition to this plan. In less than a month house bill 1804 goes into effect. Called one of the toughest immigration bills in the country, this new proposal now seems to contradict it.

FORMER MEXICAN PRESIDENT SAYS U.S. 'DENYING ITS IMMIGRANTS'


Mexican ex-president decries Irving policy, says book is a reminder

09:25 AM CDT on Friday, October 12, 2007
By ALFREDO CORCHADO / The Dallas Morning News
acorchado@dallasnews.com / The Dallas Morning News


NEW YORK – Vicente Fox is adjusting to life after the Mexican presidency, but in a new book and a lengthy interview, he returns to the contentious issue he made the centerpiece of his six-year administration: immigration.



The Associated Press Mr. Fox will be in Dallas today as part of a tour to promote his book, Revolution of Hope: The Life, Faith, and Dreams of a Mexican President. In an interview Sunday, he also talked about allegations of financial impropriety against him and his family, along with his views of President Bush, and the U.S. presidential campaign.

But Mr. Fox consistently returned to the topic of immigration.

"The United States is denying its immigrant soul," he said. He pointed to the controversy in Irving, where police are working with federal immigration officials in a crackdown against illegal immigrants, a policy resulting in "repression and unjustified fear," Mr. Fox said.

"What is happening in Irving, Texas, is disturbing, deeply troubling," he said. "It shows that the anti-immigrant mood that I confronted in the U.S. Congress has now reached the public at large."

Irving Mayor Herbert Gears said Thursday that officials there are not trying to weigh in on the national immigration debate.

"We're simply attending to our local responsibility to involve any measure available to improve the quality of life for all people that live in our city, including immigrants," he said.

Mr. Gears said law enforcement officials are bound by federal laws and have a duty to uphold them.

"It should not disturb or deeply trouble anyone that a municipality is committed to enforcing existing laws," he said.

Mr. Fox still displays some of the personal style that made him popular as president. Dressed in his trademark blue shirt and cowboy boots, Mr. Fox walked through the lobby of a midtown Manhattan hotel without bodyguards or aides, waving at bystanders. He sat down at a restaurant table and immediately shook hands with waiters, a busboy and a cook who came to greet him.

Most were illegal immigrants from Mexico, and all expressed concern over what they referred to as an "ugly climate" against them. Mr. Fox listened to their stories.

Mr. Fox said he decided to write the book in English and release it first in the United States as way to remind the American public "of its rich immigrant soul, its heritage that is now threatened by fear, xenophobia."

He endorsed the strategy of his successor, Felipe Calderón, of having Mexico's 47 consulates in the U.S. take a more aggressive stand in defending the rights of its migrants.

Mr. Fox acknowledged that he had unsuccessfully lobbied his friend Vicente Guerrero Reynoso, mayor of León, Guanajuato, to cancel a trip to Irving – a sister city of León – as a way of "supporting our paisanos and of sending a message to Texas authorities that we will not tolerate these acts of hate against our people. This is no way of treating a sister city."

He added: "Many of the people from my hometown of San Cristóbal are people I grew up with, honest, hardworking men I played marbles with as kids, and who later had to migrate to North Texas, Dallas. Of course it hurts when these cities deny the people you grew up with and treat [them] like criminals."

In his book, he writes about his grandfather, Joseph Fox, an Irish immigrant who migrated to Cincinnati and later to Guanajuato in the 1890s "in search of his own American dream." Joseph Fox never learned Spanish as he worked his way up from night watchman at a carriage factory to prosperous plantation owner.

"My grandfather embodied the dream of many Latin Americans and Americans who believe the American dream exists, whether in the United States, Mexico, or other parts of Latin America," he said. "That says something about the universality of immigration."

Mr. Fox made history in 2000 when he became the first opposition politician to win the presidency after 71 years of autocratic rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.

His call for immigration reform, free trade and regional prosperity has at times been overshadowed by allegations of influence-peddling by relatives, charges that he called "lies, lies and more lies."

During his administration, his wife, Marta Sahagún de Fox, and her sons faced allegations of influence-peddling to win government contracts for the sons. No allegations were proved, despite a congressional inquiry, and the family has denied any wrongdoing.

Mr. Fox also faces a possible congressional inquiry for improvements made at his ranch, where he is building a presidential library.

He said that during last year's presidential campaign, he made many enemies in the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, as well as the former ruling party.

"It's politics," he said of the allegations against him. "There are many people who aren't happy with me, people from the PRI and PRD. And no, I'm not in favor of a congressional inquiry, because I don't think any president should go through that witch hunt."

Pressed on specific allegations, such as whether he received a Jeep from a businessman in exchange for a seat on the board of his wife's foundation, Mr. Fox said the vehicle belongs to his wife. He encouraged anyone questioning his personal finances to log on to centrofox .org.mx, where "my finances are an open book," he said.

He said that another vehicle on his property, a Hummer, belonged to secret service agents assigned to protect him. He said that home improvements featured in Quien, a celebrity magazine, were done to make his home suitable for welcoming world dignitaries, and that he paid for all the work. In his book, Mr. Fox recalls an all-night dinner with Fidel Castro, "the region's most infamous revolutionary," a man who he says had a "strange habit of pulling his ears between every bite of food."

Mr. Fox also praises the Cuban leader's "inexhaustible energy and brilliant, diverse intelligence."

He takes "gentle" jabs at his "amigo" President Bush and says that the Iraq war tested their friendship. He pokes fun at Mr. Bush's "grade-school-level Spanish" but praises his "cultural sensitivity" toward Hispanics and his "real compassion for the Latino citizens" of Texas that "goes well beyond political practicality."

He says it's time for a woman to be elected president in the United States to help the country "regain its compassionate side."

"This country, this world, needs love," he said, "and I think a female president is more capable" of delivering that.


Staff writer Brandon Formby in Dallas contributed to this report.

ATTORNEY: NEW LAW COULD CREATE 'IMMIGRATION WIDOWS'

AP
Posted: 2007-10-12 10:12:45

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A law intended to crack down on illegal immigration could break apart families and boost the state's welfare roles, an attorney with a Hispanic client base says.

The law, which goes into effect Nov. 1, could force women who are U.S. citizens to seek state aid for themselves and their children when their illegal immigrant husbands are deported, attorney Michael Brooks-Jimenez said Thursday.

"Hundreds of women whose husbands are going to be deported as a result of this law will have no other alternative other than to just leave and go to Mexico with their U.S.-citizen children or to go on public assistance here," he said.

"The heartbreak right now is that I don't think that it was fully thought out what the impact of this law was going to be," Brooks-Jimenez said. "You're going to have immigration widows ... (who) are not going to have the breadwinners that they always had before."

It's likely the state Department of Human Services may have to take into custody American-born children whose parents are both in the state illegally and face deportation, he said.

"Instead of taking burdens off the (state) system, this law's going to create additional burdens on the system," Brooks-Jimenez said.

Brooks-Jimenez made the comments after speaking during an annual Latino Heritage Celebration at the state Capitol.

State Rep. Randy Terrill, author of the legislation to cut off some public benefits for illegal immigrants, called such scenarios "highly unlikely and improbable."

"People to whom this would be happening would be people who have voluntarily made the decision to enter the country or remain here in violation of federal immigration law," said Terrill, R-Moore. "It is unfortunate but perhaps possible in some limited number of cases that you would end up with some fairly sad stories. ... The commission of crime has consequences."

Information from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com

EVEN ALLIES DIVIDED IN IRVIING'S IMMIGRATION FIGHT



UNITED IN OPPOSITION TO MIGRANT POLICY, ONE GROUP GETS AGFRESSIVE WHILE OTHR URGES DIALOGUE

04:54 AM CDT on Friday, October 12, 2007
By BRANDON FORMBY and DIANNE SOLÍS / The Dallas Morning News

Opponents of Irving's use of a controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement program have parted ways over how best to express their disdain to city leaders.

"Everybody has their opinion as far as which way things should be done," said Jose Galvez, an organizer of Saturday's planned rally to protest the city's actions.

The march will come less than a month after more than 1,000 protesters rallied at Irving City Hall and called for an end to the city's use of the Criminal Alien Program.

The program provides around-the-clock communication with federal authorities. Irving officials say that they aren't deporting anyone but rather working with federal officials in a program open to all cities. Police have turned over more than 1,600 people to ICE in the last year.

A separate volunteer group, Citizens for Immigration Reform, will gather at Irving City Hall on Saturday in support of police and the program.


An aggressive style

Saturday's protest march and rally are being planned by Accion America. The Dallas-based group is headed by Carlos Quintanilla, a Dallas community activist known for his aggressive style in immigration controversies in Farmers Branch and "cheese" heroin battles in Dallas.

Mr. Quintanilla helped organize last month's Irving rally. But in recent days, even activists who participated in that rally have tried to distance themselves from Mr. Quintanilla and Accion America.

"He's coming to our city and projecting himself above all the people who have been living here all these years," said Anthony Bond, an Irving community activist.

Mr. Bond and some Irving Hispanic religious leaders this week formed Irving Forward. They said Mr. Quintanilla is getting involved in an Irving issue and is doing more harm than good. They said his group's rally would needlessly stir up tensions surrounding illegal immigration.

"I don't think it's very productive," said Rene Castilla, a North Lake College official. "Everyone knows what our concerns are."

But Mr. Quintanilla said Irving's use of CAP involves relatives living outside Irving and anyone who drives through the city.

"It is irresponsible, illogical and almost foolish to say it's an Irving problem," Mr. Quintanilla said.


Meeting with leaders

Members of Irving Forward met with Mayor Herbert Gears and City Manager Tommy Gonza*** last week about their concerns with CAP. They want city officials to develop a strong education campaign aimed at the Hispanic community, calm fears within the Hispanic community and explore what kinds of identification illegal immigrants should carry so they are not arrested.

After the meeting, a group of pastors and immigrant leaders gathered at an Irving restaurant where Mr. Quintanilla and others questioned their strategy of diplomacy and advocacy.

Mr. Quintanilla accused the group of being too quiet in its approach and said he should have been included in the closed-door meeting with city officials.

"I want us to commit to work together," he said.

But Mr. Bond disagreed.

"The agenda is not about Carlos, but what is happening to these thousands of Hispanics here," he said.

Mr. Quintanilla was soon talking of a targeted boycott of commerce at the sprawling mall in Irving. And the sparring over strategy didn't let up.

"Let me applaud you for getting us to this point," Mr. Castilla said at the lunch. "But we can't negotiate with you in the room. Your voice is too loud and too strong."

But Mr. Quintanilla defended his style of activism. He said he was responsible for bringing "thousands" of people to Irving for the previous demonstration.

"They think I am a hero," he said. "I am a good defender of the people. I don't sell people out."

bformby@dallasnews.com ;

dsolis@dallasnews.com

OKLAHOMA

IMMIGRATION LAWS CAUSING MANY FAMILIES SERIOUS PROBLEMS

Oklahoma Insider
Fri October 12, 2007

Immigration law

House Bill 1804, which mostly goes into effect Nov. 1, touches several subjects. Among other things, it:

•Forbids offering in-state college tuition for illegal immigrants. Those already enrolled as in-state students when the bill takes effect will keep that status.

•Forces contractors working with the state to check workers' documents against a federal database.

•Empowers local law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration laws.

•Stops any state-offered public benefits for illegal immigrants, including food stamps and child care subsidies.

•Increases penalties for those caught trafficking illegal immigrants.

•Opens private businesses up to lawsuits if they hire illegal immigrants. This provision will take effect July 1.

•The law does not prohibit illegal immigrants from attending public schools.


Oklahoma's immigration law that takes effect Nov. 1 will create hundreds of "immigration widows” and could result in the state paying more in welfare benefits, an Oklahoma City attorney said Thursday.

Michael Brooks-Jimenez, whose clients are 85 percent Hispanic, said women who are U.S. citizens may have to seek state aid for themselves and their children when their immigrant husbands who are in Oklahoma illegally are deported.

"Hundreds of women whose husbands are going to be deported as a result of this law will have no other alternative other than to just leave and go to Mexico with their U.S.-citizen children or to go on public assistance here,” he said.

"The heartbreak right now is that I don't think that it was fully thought out what the impact of this law was going to be,” Brooks-Jimenez said. "You're going to have immigration widows ... (who) are not going to have the breadwinners that they always had before.”

It's likely the state Department of Human Services may have to take into custody American-born children whose parents are both in the state illegally and face deportation, he said.

"Instead of taking burdens off the (state) system, this law's going to create additional burdens on the system,” Brooks-Jimenez said.

Brooks-Jimenez said he is disappointed lawmakers who wrote the immigration bill did not consult with local immigration attorneys and advocates.

Brooks-Jimenez made the comments after speaking during an annual Latino Heritage Celebration at the state Capitol. About 270 elementary and high school students who participated in an essay contest on the Hispanic culture were among the hundreds who attended the event, which featured dancers and food.

Fears rebutted
State Rep. Randy Terrill, author of legislation earlier this year who that off most public benefits for illegal immigrants, called such scenarios "highly unlikely and improbable.”
"People to whom this would be happening would be people who have voluntarily made the decision to enter the country or remain here in violation of federal immigration law,” said Terrill, R-Moore. "It is unfortunate but perhaps possible in some limited number of cases that you would end up with some fairly sad stories. ... The commission of crime has consequences.”

CRACKDOWN UPENDS SLAUGHTERHOUSE'S WORK FORCE


Davis Turner/Polaris for The New York Times


“A lot of the people who left or were detained were strong union supporters,” said Gabriel Lopez Rivera, a Smithfield worker.

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE
Published: October 12, 2007

TAR HEEL, N.C. — Last November, immigration officials began a crackdown at Smithfield Foods’s giant slaughterhouse here, eventually arresting 21 illegal immigrants at the plant and rousting others from their trailers in the middle of the night.

Since then, more than 1,100 Hispanic workers have left the 5,200-employee hog-butchering plant, the world’s largest, leaving it struggling to find, train and keep replacements.

Across the country, the federal effort to flush out illegal immigrants is having major effects on workers and employers alike. Some companies have reluctantly raised wages to attract new workers following raids at their plants.

After several hundred immigrant employees at its plant in Stillmore, Ga., were arrested, Crider Poultry began recruiting Hmong workers from Minnesota, hiring men from a nearby homeless mission and providing free van transportation to many workers.

So far, Smithfield has largely replaced the Hispanics with American workers, who often leave poorly paid jobs for higher wages at the plant here. But the turnover rate for new workers — many find the work grueling and the smell awful — is twice what it was when Hispanics dominated the work force.

Making Smithfield’s recruiting challenge even harder is the fact that many local residents have worked there before and soured on the experience. As a result, Smithfield often looks far afield for new employees.

Fannie Worley, a longtime resident of Dillon, S.C., a largely African-American town of sagging trailers and ramshackle bungalows, quit her $5.25-an-hour, part-time job making beds at a Days Inn motel four months ago to take a $10.75-an-hour job at Smithfield. But Ms. Worley remains ambivalent.

“It pays a lot better,” she said. “But the trip is too long.”

Around 1 p.m. each day, C. J. Bailey, a Smithfield worker, picks up Ms. Worley and 10 other employees in his big white van. They