PHOENIX -- A group of immigrant-rights activists is asking Hispanics to boycott certain events this weekend in protest of the state's new employer-sanctions law and stepped-up immigration enforcement by the federal government.
The boycott is aimed only at commercial events commemorating Fiestas Patrias, which celebrate Mexico's independence from Spain.
The groups organizing the boycott say it's wrong to make money off immigrants when there is so much hostility toward them.
"We are against the commercial events created by businessmen to use the independence day just to make a profit," said organizer Aldo Castaeda, director of the Phoenix Immigration Center, a document-preparation business. "The immigrant community is suffering."
Castaeda pointed to Arizona's employer-sanctions law, which prohibits employers from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants and takes effect in January. The law could cost many illegal immigrants their jobs.
And the federal government has stepped up enforcement of immigration laws, resulting in more arrests and deportation of thousands.
Some immigrant advocates disagree with the boycott and fear it could be counterproductive.
Hector Yturralde, president of immigrant-rights group We Are America, said he agrees with the organizers' goal, but not with the boycott.
"It works against the immigration movement, and it doesn't accomplish a darn thing," he said. "All it does is make the leaders feel good about themselves and puts them in the spotlight for another week."
Besides the Phoenix Immigration Center, this weekend's boycott is also supported by Immigrants Without Borders, Committee 15th of September, Hispanics for America and Unidos por Arizona
The boycott is the second organized protest this month. A weeklong work stoppage and economic boycott last week had limited success.
Ruben Navarrette Jr.: Presidential debate aimed at Hispanic voters has built-in contradiction.
Commentary: 'English-only' debate rule lost in translation
Presidential candidates Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd speak fluent Spanish
Candidates made to speak in English by Spanish-language network Univision
Most candidates duck promoting Spanish as a second national language
Ruben Navarrette Jr. Special to CNN September 10, 2007
SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- In politics, Hispanics are a bundle of contradictions.
Although most are registered Democrats, they've supported moderate Republicans -- i.e., President George W. Bush, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, Arizona Sen. John McCain and others. They tell pollsters that they care about issues besides immigration -- education, health care, Iraq, etc. -- and yet, when GOP hardliners try to score points off their backs by resorting to racism and trying to demagogue the immigration issue, they'll circle the wagons and go elephant hunting.
So you'd expect a presidential debate aimed at Hispanic voters to come with a built-in contradiction? As the sponsor of last night's Democratic presidential forum, Univision, the nation's largest Spanish-language network, made a big deal of the fact that the 90-minute broadcast was in Spanish with the help of translators. And one of the first questions was whether the candidates were willing to promote Spanish as a second national language of the United States.
Aiy, muy caliente! That's a hot one. No wonder most of the candidates ducked it.
The contradiction was that, in setting the ground rules for the debate, Univision had prohibited the two candidates who speak fluent Spanish -- Bill Richardson and Chris Dodd -- from answering questions in that language and insisted that all candidates answer the questions in English and have their answers translated into Spanish. Apparently, this was meant to level the bilingual playing field.
During the debate, Richardson called the network on its hypocrisy. Identifying himself as the first major Latino presidential candidate, he said it was unfortunate that Latinos in the United States couldn't "hear one of their own speak Spanish." Then Richardson accused Univision of promoting -- gasp! --"English-only."
Bravo. He's right. It was a dumb rule, obviously intended to prevent the monolingual front-runners -- Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards -- from being at a disadvantage.
As for the question itself, that was also dumb -- oops, I mean, tonto. (In honor of my friends at Univision.) Many on the Latino Left would agree with me that it's wrong, arrogant, and unnecessarily divisive for some to push English as the national language. Yet now, suddenly someone is talking about putting the zapato on the other foot and elevating Spanish to a second national language.
No way, Jose. The open border lobby tends to forget it, but immigrants are supposed to adapt to America, not force Americans to adapt to them. Besides, this is still the United States and English is our common language. Congress shouldn't decree it our national or official language, but it is our common language. No one understands that better than the Latino immigrants who are filling English-as-a-second-language classes and battling the public schools to get their kids out of that linguistic warehouse known as bilingual education.
Too bad, that lesson didn't get through to the folks at Univision, which has made billions of dollars trying to establish the primacy of Spanish. Say, maybe it got lost in the translation.
Ruben Navarrette Jr. is a member of the editorial board of The San Diego Union-Tribune and a nationally syndicated columnist. You can read his column here.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.
in this issue US Citizens for United Family Joins American Families United! Family Unity in 2008: Week 1 In The Press: Congress Needs to Fix legal Immigration First New York City Sidewalk Sale Philadelphia Chapter's First Meeting An American Family United: Keith, Akiko, and Family Together Again US Citizens for United Families Joins American Families United! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We are pleased to announce that US Citizens for United Families, based in Houston, Texas, has joined American Families United!
US Citizens for United Families (USCUF) was organized to represent US citizens whose family members must return to their country of origin to adjust immigrant status, often times with the threat of multiple year bars to reentry. USCUF got started in April of this year when they mailed Senator Cornyn a letter requesting a meeting with him to discuss the issue. They received a response in less than a week, and a group of 10 U.S. Citizens met with his senior analyst, Jay Guerreo in his Houston office. Mr. Guerreo expressed that Senator Cornyn did not wish to separate American families.
On May 29, 2007, USCUF had their group inauguration, which featured Congressman Gene Greene as guest speaker. Congressman Green is shown in the photo to the right speaking at the event.
There were approximately 50 guests who came to celebrate the forming of the group as well as some local radio stations and newspapers. That same day Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee was taking the testimony of people affected by immigration laws and USCUF's own Elizabeth Biby testified.
Upon introduction to American Families United, US Citizens for United Families immediately mobilized in support of lobbying efforts in the Senate, and in the span of 4 days collected over 500 signatures on a petition to Senator Cornyn, faxed the signatures to the Senator's Washington office, and then hand delivered the original versions in a joint USCUF / AFU meeting in the Senator's Houston office.
USCUF, as a group, decided to formally unite forces with American Families United (AFU) after realizing that we have the same vision and goals. AFU already had a year under its belt and USCUF felt it could better serve its members by joining forces with an established group.
USCUF, the new AFU Houston chapter, continues to lead the way with exceptional local organizing, including recent radio and TV interviews.
Family Unity in 2008 Campaign Update: Week 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last week we announced the kick-off our Family Unity in 2008 Campaign. The House Judiciary Committee, led by Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren is right now actively considering new legislation to address immigration. American Families United, through our liaison Morrison Public Affairs Group, has been meeting with Congresswoman Lofgren and other House members to raise awareness of the problems faced by families in seeking to navigate the immigration of spouses and children and have met widespread support for family unity provisions in new legislation. This is an exciting opportunity for our members to incorporate our issues into bills that can pass in the House and the Senate.
In order to accomplish this, it is imperative that all who support family unity mobilize and work with us to take advantage of this opportunity and support this effort expressing the need for new legislation. You can join in this effort in a number of ways:
1) Join Lobby Day: On October 1, 2007, members of AFU and constituents will descend upon Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. from 15 states... and counting. Time is running out to successfully get appointments. Please join us in making this lobby day even more successful than our first:
Register for Lobby Day Now!
2) Last week we announced that we had collected over $2,000 towards our goal of $150,000. In the past week we have brought that total to $3,299. Together we can do it! A one-time donation of $100 from everybody receiving this email and we hit our goal! To join in:
Donate Now!
3) Flower campaign: American Families United is working to coordinate a great idea from the name check tracker list for a flower campaign for immigrants stuck in name check delays. We are exploring opportunities to partner with other organizations in the effort and will announce more details as they emerge.
4) Mobilize locally to support Lobby Day: If you are unable to travel to Washington, D.C., you can still join the effort by signing up to meet others near you and to organize local actions:
Sign up in the Volunteer Directory
5) Watch for a coordinated campaign to call, email and fax your Congressman to ask their support for AFU immigration reform provisions in any legislation that emerges from the House.
In The Press: Congress Needs to Fix Legal Immigration First ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Congress needs to fix legal immigration first" is the title of an op-ed from Bruce Morrison of Morrison Public Affairs Group that describes a strategy for immigration reform in the 110th Congress.
August 9, San Francisco Chronicle: Congress Needs to Fix Legal Immigration First
Following up on his op-ed, Bruce Morrison had a meeting on behalf of American Families United with the New York Times editorial board, and they endorsed the approach because, "nothing else has worked."
September 9, NY Times: Is It Fixed Yet?
New York City Sidewalk Sale Fundraiser ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On Sunday, August 12th, the NYC American Families United group (AKA: The Adelitas) held our second fundraiser: a sidewalk sale! In preparation for this event, each family raided their closets and drawers to find items to sell. We even found some friends to add to the stash. Thus, in addition to raising money for AFU, it allowed some of us to finally clean out those musty closets! It was quite a mish-mosh of stuff: clothes, music, jewelry, kitchen appliances, a lovely picture frame, a fajita maker, tons of chatchkes (knick-knacks), and more shoes than all of us had feet!
The day was hot, but the umbrella, some clouds, ice water, and (later) ice-cold margs helped keep us cool! We opened shop at 11am and made our first sale before unpacking all the boxes! In NYC, it's all about location, location, location. The event was held on the sidewalk in front of one Adelita's apartment and it turned out to be a great location! People came on their way to the train, to work, to church and shopping, and to/from the bus stop right there - they could also see the sale from the supermarket down the street.
As the day wore on, the prices went down. By 5pm, after 6 hours out there, we were reaching desperation: "Everything on Sale!" "¡Todo Barato!" "The clothes are $1 a piece and the fajita maker is now $3!"
Overall, this was a great event. Not only did it allow us to, fairly quickly and easily, clean out our apartments and raise some money for AFU, but it was another opportunity for the NYC contingency to get together for support, to have some fun, and to discuss strategy as AFU continues fighting for the immigration reform we know we need. We encourage other AFU families to consider such events. We plan to hold our next one late September - all are welcome!
Philadelphia Chapter's First Meeting ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On Sunday, September 9th, the American Families United Philadelphia chapter met for our first meeting to organize a local fundraiser. We met at the restaurant where we plan to have the fundraiser, enjoyed some good food, and set up tentative plans for a dinner in early November.
An American Family United: Keith, Akiko, and Family Together Again! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Keith and Akiko Campbell, who were featured this spring in the Washington Post and whose story highlighted the need for waiver reform, were reunited after receiving a hardship waiver. We are overjoyed that their separation is over. Their story holds out hope for everyone but especially those who are thinking about going public in support of our efforts to change the law and make this happy story a reality for everyone.
Akiko and their children's return was again a press event:
August 28, Associated Press story
Do You Have a Story to Share? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you have a story to share for the next newsletter, please include the text of the story along with accompanying photo(s) as a file attachment in an email to:
In a follow-up to the successful flower power campaign, Immigration Voice is making plans for a Washington DC rally Tuesday, September 18th (for information, including how to participate or volunteer, see here).
This march is notable because it is a grassroots, bottom-up effort. The march is to promote immigration relief for legal immigrants and it follows the model of Gandhi and Martin Luther King in its peaceful advocacy efforts. Immigration Voice is the first real immigrant movement in a half century. The top-down Washington DC immigration groups as well as employers of legal immigrants do not appear to be involved at this time, however, we hope to see them support this historic immigrant movement.
We welcome readers to share their opinion and ideas with us by writing to mailto:editor@ilw.com.
FEDS ACCUSE MAN OF SELLING IMMIGRANTS FAKE TRIBAL IDs
By Anna Gorman Los Angeles Times September 10, 2007
LOS ANGELES — Responding to a call from Long Beach police in June, federal agents discovered about a dozen immigrants lined up outside a home, waiting to buy memberships to an Indian tribe. Two Kaweah Indian Nation representatives had promised the immigrants that membership automatically would make them U.S. citizens and shield them from deportation, authorities said.
But there were a couple of problems: The tribe was fictitious and the promises were false.
On Friday, authorities charged Malcolm L. Webber with developing a scheme to sell fraudulent Indian tribal documents to illegal immigrants throughout the nation. Webber, 69, was arrested the day before in Wichita, Kan.
Authorities said immigrants attempted to use the tribal documents to get driver's licenses, U.S. passports and Social Security cards in California, Michigan, Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Missouri.
The Kaweah Indian Nation, which was formed in California, is not a federally recognized tribe, according to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Immigration agents in Kansas discovered the scheme in April, when they encountered an illegal immigrant with a Kaweah tribal identification card and a "certificate of citizenship" indicating he was a member. The immigrant had paid $220 for the documents, according to the indictment.
Agents traced the identification card back to Webber and discovered he had hired people to sell Kaweah memberships in several states.
Agents seized nearly $13,000 in cash from the Long Beach home and $300,000 from a Kansas bank account bearing the tribe's name.
Webber faces charges of possessing false identification documents with the intent to defraud the United States, harboring illegal immigrants and attempting to defraud the government.
If convicted of all three charges, he could face 30 years in federal prison.
LJWorld.com By Xander Casad & Samuel David Wessels - Special to the Journal-World
September 11, 2007
We don’t all have to be Immigration and Naturalization Service agents, or economists, or even philosophers, to see that there are some problems with immigration law.
Modern statutes simply fly in the face of traditional American values. Although the phrase may have lost some meaning from overuse, America truly is “a nation of immigrants.†It is historically evident that vibrant immigrant communities create a cultural tide that gives the country its character, yet the powers that be are concerned only with holding onto outdated demographics and stereotypes.
It’s important to remember that we live in a country founded not on American rights or Caucasian rights, but on human rights. The nation is peppered with officials who have sworn to uphold America’s expressed commitment to freedom — a belief that all people are created equal — but who would ignore the basic rights of the more than 5 million undocumented workers in the United States, creating a permanent, subservient underclass with no access to medical care or due process of law.
I can’t understand what it is about the nature of freedom that means an American baby deserves to eat twice its body weight in strained vegetables every evening while a Mexican baby learns to beg and steal and go for days without food. I can’t understand what’s patriotic about separating husband and wife, brother and sister, parent and child through immigration processes that can take as long as two years to complete.
The Democratic Party does not believe that every criminal and drug dealer who crosses the borders should be given 40 acres and a mule, only that every human has inalienable rights, and that by acknowledging the humanity of undocumented migrant workers, we actually affirm the very American values of freedom and opportunity for all.
— Xander Casad is a member of the Young Democrats at Lawrence High School.
SENATE BANS MEXICAN SEMIS ON U.S. FREEWAYS PILOT PROGRAM HAS DRAWN FIERCE OPPOSITION FROM CONSUME SAFETY GROUPS THAT SAY TRUCKS ARE UNREGULATED
By Lisa Friedman MEDIANEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU Article Launched: 09/12/2007 03:03:17 AM PDT
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to ban Mexican trucks from hauling cargo on American highways. The 74-24 vote was the latest in a series of roadblocks Congress has erected to thwart a federal pilot program giving Mexican trucking companies full access to U.S. roadways.
"I don't think there's any evidence that we have equivalent standards of safety," said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who wrote the ban.
The Mexican truck program has drawn fierce opposition from consumer safety groups and others who contend that Mexican trucks are unregulated, dirty and unsafe.
The debate has been particularly heated in California, where San Diego's Otay Mesa is the second-busiest cargo crossing on the U.S.-Mexico border after Laredo, Texas.
Coming on the heels of a major explosion on a northern Mexico highway -- where a dynamite-laden truck collided with another vehicle and killed 34 people -- several lawmakers called the vote an important move to protect drivers on American roads.
"While this program would not allow Mexican trucks to transport hazardous materials inside the United States, this tragedy reconfirms my commitment to preventing accidents on American highways," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
Both she and Sen. Barbara Boxer voted for the amendment barring the use of federal funds in the pilot program. The House recently passed a similar measure.
Opening the border to trucks was a condition of the 1994 North American Free
Trade Agreement, which required that all roads in the United States, Mexico and Canada be opened to carriers from all three countries. Canadian trucking companies already have full access to U.S. roads, but Mexican trucks can travel only 25 miles inside the country at certain border crossings.
Supporters on Tuesday -- primarily Republicans -- said Mexican trucks will be held to the same standards as their American counterparts.
They also noted that under the pilot program, only 600 foreign trucks would be traveling across the border.
"That's a pretty minuscule number," Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said, noting that about 5.1 million commercial trailers were registered for business purposes in the United States last year.
"Those people who fear that Mexican trucks will not be held to the same standard as U.S. trucks in America are incorrect," Kyl said. "It seems to me it is worth giving this program a chance."
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas -- who offered a failed amendment that would have allowed the program but enforced even tougher safety requirements -- accused opponents of discriminating against Mexico.
"How does it look if we're going to hold trucks coming from Mexico to a different standard than trucks from Canada?" he said.
Reach Lisa Friedman at lisa.friedman@langnews.com or 202-662-8731.
OMAHA, Neb. — The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union wants a federal judge to stop immigration officials from conducting what the union calls illegal workplace raids.
A lawsuit to be filed Wednesday morning in U.S. District Court in Amarillo, Texas, alleges that agents unlawfully detained workers and violated their constitutional rights during raids of six Swift & Co. meatpacking plants in December. The lawsuit also demands that the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement pay damages to workers.
A copy of the lawsuit was provided to The Associated Press on Tuesday.
ICE officials investigating identity theft arrested 1,297 workers at the plants, but union officials have said more than 12,000 workers were detained against their will during the operation. The plants raided were in Cactus, Texas; Grand Island, Neb.; Greeley, Colo.; Hyrum, Utah; Marshalltown, Iowa; and Worthington, Minn.
Union president Joseph Hansen planned to formally announce the lawsuit at a news conference Wednesday in Washington, and to complain that workers who weren't accused of breaking any laws were handcuffed and held for hours and denied access to phones, bathrooms, legal counsel and their families.
"What happened to the Swift workers and the workers in other plants is absolutely an outrage to me. If we don't stand up for workers when this happens, who the hell will?" Hansen said Tuesday. "I just think that this is not only a union obligation, it's absolutely the right thing to do."
According to ICE, 274 of the people arrested during the raids were charged with identity theft or other crimes unrelated to violating immigration laws. Virtually all 274 of those workers were convicted, ICE spokesman Tim Counts said Tuesday.
Of those arrested for being in the country illegally, 649 had been removed from the United States as of March 1, according to the most recent numbers available. Those arrested were from Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Peru.
ICE returned to the plants in July and made 20 more arrests, including a human resources worker and a union representative on charges of recruiting and harboring illegal immigrants.
Eight workers and the union are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, but union officials expect at least three times that many to testify against federal agents. In addition to stopping the raids, the lawsuit seeks incidental damages for workers who say their rights were violated, citing the Immigration and Nationality Act and the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
One of the workers at the Greeley plant, Sergio Rodriguez, said he was taken from the plant and detained for about 12 hours at a Denver detention center before federal officials found out he was a legal permanent resident. Greeley is about 60 miles north of Denver.
Rodriguez, 46, said he unsuccessfully asked officials six times to use the telephone. He also said he was handcuffed tightly using temporary plastic handcuffs that left marks on his wrists for more than two weeks after his arrest.
"They did a sloppy job, that's the way I see it," said Rodriguez, who said he immigrated to the United States illegally in 1979 but became a legal permanent resident in 1982.
"How are you supposed to eat the meals that they give us when you're all tied up?" he said. "You can't even move."
The lawsuit names Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Assistant Secretary Julie Myers, both agencies and anonymous federal agents who conducted the Swift raids as defendants.
A Department of Homeland Security official referred questions to ICE. Counts said ICE attorneys had not yet seen the lawsuit, but planned to fight it vigorously.
"From what we've heard from the complaints, they are baseless," Counts said.
Counts said all the workers were given full access to due process under the law and none had his or her rights violated. He said civil search warrants gave the agency the right to fully search the plants and question everyone there.
Counts said workers were allowed to use their own cell phones, company phones and even the phones of federal agents during the operation. He also said that at some of the plants, attorneys tried to get into the plant to talk to workers while the operation was happening.
"We do not allow client shopping by attorneys during a law enforcement action," Counts said. "No law enforcement agency would."
Workers and union representatives from the plants have complained about how ICE handled the raids since they happened in December. But the idea for a lawsuit from the union surfaced publicly last month, when Hansen and other top union officials met with workers and others in Omaha to hear complaints and discuss their options.
Hansen said Tuesday that the Swift raids left workers across the industry looking over their shoulders, worried about having to go through a similar experience.
"They're all saying, 'Jesus, when's it going to happen to us?'" Hansen said. "What happened in Swift spread through the packing industry and the poultry industry overnight without any help. Workers talk to each other."
The Food and Commercial Workers union represents 1.3 million workers in the United States, including 250,000 workers in packing and food processing.
Brazilian firm JBS S.A. acquired Swift from a private equity firm for about $1.5 billion in July. The purchase made the company the world's largest beef processor.
UNIONS WIN, MEXICAN TRUCKERS DENIED ACCESS TO US ROADS
KXNet.com 09.12.2007
The amendment put forward by North Dakota’s own Byron Dorgan to kill a Department of Transportation program allowing Mexican truckers to deliver goods to US destinations was passed by the Senate today. This proves that while the unions may be declining in enrollment, they still do have some clout in Washington
Really, I didn’t have much hope for this bill anyway. On the left it faced opposition from hypocritical unions who are usually in favor of wide-open borders to let in lots and lots of potential dues-paying members illegal immigrants but in this instance were opposed to Mexico-based trucking firms being able to bypass expensive unionized truckers at the border (which would have made goods from Mexico cheaper for Americans)
On the right, this faced opposition from certain elements of the anti-illegal immigration crowd (which I consider myself a member of) who are so overly-zealous in their cause they don’t recognize that authorizing border crossings for Mexican citizens coming into our country for legitimate, and entirely temporary, business transactions is good for both our country and Mexico. I’ll stop short of calling these people xenophobes (though that’s what many of them are) and simply refer to them as ill-informed
Regardless, I’m really disappointed this didn’t pass. As one who believes that free markets are the cure to most of societies ills, I thought this was a fantastic opportunity to help invigorate Mexico’s economy by giving it better access to our economy and, ultimately, remove some of the motivation those coming illegally from there to here have.
But the protectionists have won out, and we’re all the worse off for it
Update: The folks at Hot Air are cheering, but I’m not sure why. Given that it’s Michelle Malkin’s site, and illegal immigration is her pet issue, it’s not surprising that the folks over there are forcefully pro-border security
But I am too. I guess I just recognize the difference between opposing illegal immigration and opposing legitimate international free trade that would actually do a great deal to slow illegal immigration
Really, conservatives don’t have any business opposing this sort of free trade. And, frankly, in terms of the immigration debate opposing something as logical as this arrangement is exactly what makes many border-security proponents fit into the “xenophobe†or “nativist†mold
At 11:30 A.M. Monday, September 10th, Minot Police responded to a call of a vehicle break-in at the Wal-Mart parking lot. Police found 4 Spanish speaking men. It turns out they weren`t breaking into a car, but they had locked their keys inside. The men did not speak English to the officers. Fortunately Senior Patrolman Charles Laboy knew Spanish.
"We asked them for identification because we wanted to know who’s vehicle it was,†says Laboy.
Minot Police contacted Border Patrol. The men were detained then interviewed by phone by the Border Patrol. An agent told KMOT that through those conversations they were able to find out they were in the U.S. illegally. The Border Patrol agent also confirmed to KMOT they are from Nicaragua, they are being held in Bottineau and they have been in the U.S. for 6 to 8 weeks.
"I asked him where he`s originally from and he told me Nicaragua at which time I asked him knowing your from Nicaragua and if you`re out of the country who should know you should have paperwork with you at all times,†says Laboy.
When Officer Laboy asked the men where they were living they said they were living and working at Sandhills Dairy near Towner, the same dairy that was raided by Immigration authorities in April where 13 illegal aliens were found.
"Documents looked authentic, everything looked authentic, what are you going to do,†asks Mike Zimmerman, Owner of Sandhills Dairy.
Zimmerman says he found the employees through a placement agency. Zimmerman went through the agency after the raid on his property.
"People don`t want to work on farms, people don`t want to work on dairies, people don`t want to work with a poultry farm, hog farms, but this is how we feed America," says Zimmerman.
He says the system is broken. Zimmerman believes it`s not up to business owners to be private investigators.
"We`re dairymen. We`re not paperwork experts. We don`t have resources or means to do background checks on people," says Zimmerman.
Sandhills Dairy will continue to produce milk but is now 7 employees short.
[COMMENT BY EXPLORA: If you have invalid or no i.d. and your keys are locked in car, call a 24-hour locksmith or a wrecker if necessary. (Most want the $$ so they might not question.) Don't attempt opening in a public place. Use cellphone or walk to payphone. Walk to an area such as fast food restaurant and eat or eat inside WMart's fast food area; wait there for service to arrive. Ask him to call you back when he arrives and only then return to the car. Just don't hang around the car or any other place creating attention enticing others to call police. Remember the parking lots have security cameras and store/bystanders will think you're breaking into car. If too expensive to have service done, call a friend and let them pick you up or walk away but remember when walking somebody might've already called police. I wouldn't be afraid to tell store manager that I was leaving my vehicle there so they'd be aware and not cause problems As for racists bystanders who probably could see these guys were trying to get keys.....there's plenty of the troublemakers!]
This message has been edited. Last edited by: explora,
September 11, 2007 Virginia Young -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch
JEFFERSON CITY, MO -- Hispanic-American leaders called Monday on Gov. Matt Blunt to fire his chief of staff for a remark that they said was racist and demeaning to immigrants.
Chief of staff Ed Martin made the comment Aug. 17 at a meeting of the Missouri Housing Development Commission, saying that if "there's a bunch of Mexicans" on a work site, some are probably illegal immigrant laborers.
Blunt stood firmly behind Martin, saying his aide did not mean to offend anyone and was showing the administration's tough stance on hiring illegal workers.
"Mr. Martin was responding to a developer he thought was making excuses," Blunt said Monday at a news conference in St. Louis.
Hispanic leaders, representing community and labor groups in Kansas City, said Martin's comment showed a "xenophobic mentality" that results in racial profiling.
Their criticism followed the resignation last week of a state housing official, who said Martin's remark had degraded his Mexican heritage. Jim Torres, the commission's legislative liaison, quit Friday after sending a terse letter to Blunt criticizing Martin's "table-thumping tirade."
The governor said it should be noted that the firestorm over Martin's comments is coming while the administration has "a very aggressive enforcement under way" against illegal immigrants.
On Aug. 28, Blunt ordered random state inspections of construction sites to look for illegal immigrant workers and routine checks of the residency status of people arrested by the Missouri Highway Patrol.
The governor's directive has turned up 33 cases involving illegal immigrants in the past two weeks, said a Highway Patrol spokesman. The detainees either face mandatory deportation or are being picked up by federal immigration officials, said patrol Capt. Tim Hull.
The legality of that policy drew questions Monday from a St. Louis-based coalition of immigrant advocates, which held a conference call with the media. The coalition, called the Missouri Immigrant and Refugee Advocates, said it has asked for data on the immigration checks.
The goal is to see whether everyone who is stopped by the patrol is being asked for proof of citizenship "or if it's just happening to some people" based on their looks or their names, said Joan Suarez, the coalition's chairwoman.
The uproar over Martin's comments began surfacing on the Internet late last week in Kansas City blogs.
A lawyer known for his combative and outspoken style, Martin joined Blunt's team in August 2006 after a stint as chairman of the St. Louis Election Board.
The incident in question happened at a meeting in Jefferson City, when the Missouri Housing Development Commission grilled the lawyer for a St. Charles County housing project.
Pete Hennessey, of Hennessey Development of Clayton, has come under fire for allegedly hiring a subcontractor with illegal immigrant workers. Hennessey has insisted he is free of any wrongdoing.
His lawyer, David Lang, was addressing the commission. Lang said Hennessey had been "proactive" in checking employees' immigration status. Lang then mentioned that one federal database that employers use "is only a couple weeks old. So this isn't something he would have been able to ..."
That's when Martin interrupted, telling Lang not to talk about the database's availability.
"I'll tell you what's available, is every ******** developer can figure out who is illegal, and when he says -- like he told them -- there's a bunch of Mexicans out there, I guess some of them are probably not legal," Martin said.
Pete Ramsel, executive director of the Housing Development Commission, said he didn't hear Martin make the remark. Later, when he reviewed the transcript, Ramsel said he found nothing offensive because Martin was simply quoting a statement a developer had made at a previous meeting.
That was not the way Torres saw it.
Torres was sitting directly across the table from Martin. In a letter to Blunt dated Sept. 5, Torres said he was deeply offended by Martin's remark.
"I am the proud grandson of Mexican immigrants who came to this country to provide a better life for their family and unlimited opportunities for their grandchildren and great-grandchildren," Torres wrote to Blunt. He said his family served the country during World War II and the Korean War. He asked that Martin issue a public apology.
Torres resigned Friday, effective Sept. 20. He is on leave and could not be reached on Monday.
His boss, Ramsel, said he could not comment on why Torres left because it was a personnel matter. Ramsel said he had apologized to the governor's office for Torres' criticism of Martin.
Jessica Robinson, a spokeswoman for Blunt, said the governor did not ask for Torres' resignation. Martin could not be reached Monday.
Rep. Mike Talboy, D-Kansas City, participated in Monday's news conference of Hispanic leaders in Kansas City. He said in an interview afterward that when he heard of Martin's comments, he "felt offended for my grandfather, who came over when he was 33 from Bogota, Colombia, and tried to make a better life for himself."
Blunt announced his crackdown on illegal immigrants late last month.
"Illegal immigrants are openly breaking our laws," Blunt said at a news conference Aug. 28 at O'Fallon City Hall. "Because Washington has failed to deal with this issue, states must do even more."
Talboy said Blunt is using the immigration issue for political gain to rev up his conservative base. Top Republicans around the country also are calling for tougher policies against illegal immigrants. Blunt has been on national television to promote his directives.
Tony Rothert, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri, called the governor's directives "a mean-spirited attempt to sow additional fear in the immigrant community and appease the anti-immigrant sentiment. ..."
Jo Mannies of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
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