The Business of Detention

"The nation's largest private prison company has partnered with the federal government to detain close to 1 million undocumented people in the past 5 years until they are deported. In the process, Corrections Corporation of America has made record profits. Critics suggest the CCA cuts corners on its detention contracts in order to increase its revenue at expense of humane conditions. Thanks to political connections and lobby spending, it dominates the industry of immigrant detention. CCA now has close to 10,000 new beds under development in anticipation of continued demand." © 2008 | Renee Feltz and Stokely Baksh | Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism."

http://www.businessofdetention.com/

http://www.mercurynews.com/valley/ci_9081381

Police see rise in molesting of immigrant kids

CHURCH CLOSES AFTER PRIEST IS ARRESTED
By Leslie Griffy
Mercury News
Article Launched: 04/28/2008 01:34:52 AM PDT

When the 16-year-old boy first laid out how he had allegedly been molested by the family's priest, the story came spilling out.

According to court documents, the boy told his father that Pastor Gustavo Antonio Lanzas showed him ****ographic images on a laptop computer during their weekly meetings - one of many the priest had with young boys at Iglesia Cristiana Luz y Verdad, Spanish for the Christian Church of Light and Truth.

Lanzas began molesting the boy at age 13, and the priest kept a drawer filled with condoms in his office desk, the boy told his father.

The boy isn't the only suspected victim. San Jose police say they have identified six possible victims. And they want to talk to several other families.

Lanzas, 64, sits in Santa Clara County Jail, where he is being held without bail. He faces 12 felony counts of lewd acts with a minor and showing harmful material to a child, and more charges may be added, prosecutor Jim Demertzis said.

The church where people once gathered to pray - and where Lanzas headed youth groups - was being packed up last week. A mover said he was told to take everything from the low-slung building tucked in an industrial neighborhood to storage.

"It's just a really complex, confusing dynamic to people who aren't even victims but happened to go to the church," said Deputy District Attorney Michael Fletcher.

Officials from the Aiello Drive church could not be reached for comment on the move or the case.

Police say that their investigation may be hampered because some of Lanzas' suspected victims from the South San Jose church might be worried about their or their parents' immigration status. It's a new trend for molesters, activists say.

"He found the most vulnerable kids he could," said Joelle Casteix of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "Predators hit populations of kids that are worried about their parents' immigration status or kids who are afraid of their parents. These are the kids who might be more willing to keep a secret."

Paul Noboa, Lanzas' attorney, did not return phone calls this week. Messages left at Lanzas' home for his family weren't returned. He is scheduled to enter a plea in May.

The allegations came pouring out from a 16-year-old after his father asked him why his behavior had changed, according to court documents.

After his son told of the alleged molestations, his father called a friend who also attended Iglesia Cristiana Luz y Verdad. That man talked to his teenage son who told a similar story, according to documents. Police believe they've located four other potential victims, Thomas said. And they still want to interview ***** who had contact with Lanzas, the church's sole pastor for about 20 years.

Both boys said that Lanzas bought them gifts at the end of the visits - a BB gun for one, an iPod for the other.

It's common behavior for molesters, experts said.

"The kids begin to feel complicit" because they have accepted gifts, said Joey Piscitelli, the Northwest director of SNAP.

Piscitelli and Casteix said their group is beginning to see more and more cases involving young people who are immigrants or who are the children of immigrants.

"We are seeing a lot of that now because predators think that immigrant kids are better targets because they believe the kids already live with a code of silence," he said.

Thomas noted that it is always hard to get children to come forward with allegations of sexual abuse, because of embarrassment and fear. But the department doesn't want crime victims to let their immigration status get in the way of them reporting a crime.

"We don't care about their legal status," Thomas said. "The main thing, for us, is that they are a victim of a crime."

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/art_life/display.htm?storyID=74315

South of the border

Labor shortage sending farmers to Mexico

Originally published April 28, 2008


By Ike Wilson
News-Post Staff


Agriculture development specialist Colby Ferguson looks at White Lady peaches growing on a tree at Catoctin Mountain Orchard where Frederick County’s “Home Grown Here” campaign was started. (Photo by Doug Koontz)


Some American farmers are making their way southward, setting up shop across the border in Mexico and ****her away in Brazil. It's a trend described as the future of U.S. farming.
Farmers making the move say they are at the leading edge of the future of American agriculture.

To date, U.S. farmers have 46,000 acres of farm production in Mexico, a figure that pales in comparison to the 27 million acres in California alone, but that number is expected to increase, according to a recent report by CBS reporter John Blackstone.

American farmers are also setting up operations in Brazil where the growing seasons are longer and labor and land costs are much lower, according to media reports.

Blackstone interviewed California farmer Steve Scaroni, whose 2,000 acres and 500-employee lettuce operation is in full production in Mexico.

"It's a very sad story for me to go Mexico to complete the American dream," Scaroni said.

Scaroni had to move part of his $50 million farm operation south because American farmers are unable find enough daily labor on a consistent basis, he said. He produces two million pounds of lettuce a week.

Scaroni received a big welcome from Mexican agriculture officials. They who told him that with U.S. farmers coming to Mexico, their citizens don't have to risk life and limb entering the United States in search of jobs.

According to the Labor Department, 53 percent of the 2.5 million farm workers in the United States are undocumented workers, but growers and labor unions say as much as 70 percent of younger field hands are in the U.S. illegally.

Without legal workers, Scaroni said, "I have no choice but to offshore my operation."


Local reaction

People in Frederick had mixed reactions to the thought of U.S. farmers moving out of the country.

There's no simple answer, said Jamie Jamison, a ****erson grain farmer who is also director of the National Corn Growers Association.

The question goes back to the immigration issue, Jamison said.

"How do you get enough help for harvesting of lettuce, which is very labor-intensive, and keep your business viable at the same time?" Jamison said.

If labor isn't available in this country, business shouldn't be faulted for going where they can find help, he said.

"We're in a global economy and you can go to places where you can find labor," Jamison said. "How much pressure do you put on people that would make them say, 'I've had enough'? From a labor standpoint, I think U.S. farmers have been squeezed out of the lettuce and tomato business, but the reality of our society today is you don't have a lot of people who will want to bend over all day. It's a hard, laborious job."

But, Jamison said, the North American Free Trade Agreement was good for agriculture.

"That's because American farmers are competing with the European Union and we needed to form an alliance with our neighbors from our south," he said.

Relocating their business out of the country also offers farmers the kind of weather that allows farmers to farm year-round, Jamison said.

"Where do you get food in the dead of winter? You get it from a warmer climate," he said. "Not everything is as simple as you would think it would be."

The shortage of manual labor makes hiring foreign workers mandatory, 4-H'er Hannah Hood said in a recent speech to the Frederick County Farm Bureau.

One of the biggest problems facing farmers is knowing if their employees are in the country legally, and with an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, it is asking farmers a lot to correctly verify status, Hannah said.

"Papers can be purchased and the fake ones can look just like the real ones," Hannah said.


Maryland unaffected

Patrick McMillan, an assistant secretary for Maryland Department of Agriculture, said he's not aware of any Maryland farmers who have relocated out of the country.

McMillan said farmers in Arizona and California are more likely to move to where they can find comparable weather conditions.

But, McMillan said, Maryland farmers are facing some of the difficulties of finding labor. He said the federal government is making changes to a guest worker program, which can be positive, depending on how the changes are structured.

As a farmer himself, McMillan said they all need a good, reliable source of labor.

Colby Ferguson, Frederick County agriculture development specialist, said tightening up immigration laws has helped ensure more legal workers are employed on the farm. But the measure has also contributed to the labor shortage, he said.

Ferguson said part of the labor problem stems from the fact that families today are smaller, so children are not available to do farm work, like it was when families had five and 10 children.

"Labor is a big challenge," Ferguson said. "And on top of that, having 60 cows used to be more than enough for a small farm. Today, it's 600 cows and mom and pop can't handle that, so you hire labor and you basically become a farm manager."

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g-yeeu4NtQOy4zpPnNXvBCIgZuVQD90BNE0G0

Immigration marches return with messages aimed at voters

By SOPHIA TAREEN – 27 minutes ago

CHICAGO (AP) — Immigration activists and civil rights leaders are gearing up for rallies and marches in cities across the nation, hoping to revive the stagnant immigration debate in time for the presidential election.

Activists predict turnout for the more than 200 events planned Thursday from Seattle to Miami will be far less than in years past. But they say efforts demanding comprehensive immigration legislation — including pathways to citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S. — have extended beyond the streets.

"While the breadth of activities will be significant, most eyes are turned toward the November election," said Rich Stolz, a coordinator with Fair Immigration Reform Movement, which oversees activist groups across the country. "We've been calling on the candidates to prioritize immigration."

The scope of the pro-immigrant rights movement has seen significant change in just two years time.

More than 1 million people nationwide marched in the name of immigrant rights in 2006. Fueled by a blitz of coverage in churches and Spanish language media, many united to fight a bill that proposed making it a felony for all illegal immigrants to live in the United States.

With no single piece of legislation to rally around in 2007, numbers shrank and the message branched off. Marchers demanded an end to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, respect for the undocumented and worker unity, among other things. Efforts in Los Angeles quickly went sour when police cleared MacArthur Park by whacking protesters and journalists with batons and firing "non-lethal" projectiles.

Organizers say this year's efforts are focused less on protests and more on voter registration and setting an agenda for the next president. At least two major national organizations that traditionally have rallied large numbers of immigrants on May 1, National Council of La Raza and Service Employees International Union, have purposely put less energy into the marches.

"In 2006 we said: 'Today we march. Tomorrow we vote.' This is tomorrow," said Eliseo Medina, executive vice president of the SEIU. "Mass mobilizations ensure that people go to the polls. There's this whole culture of participation that's been created in the community."

Still, activists acknowledge an uphill battle.

Immigration reform hasn't resonated with voters in primary elections who overwhelmingly list the economy as their top concern. Immigration legislation has stalled and been defeated in the Senate. Presidential candidates have not extensively addressed the contentious issue.

"Folks are staying away from the immigration debate, it's a touchy subject," said Luis Gutierrez, executive director of Chicago-based Latinos Progresando. "Some don't want to talk about it, unless it's 'build a fence."

Democratic presidential rivals Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton supported a 2006 bill, sponsored by Republican candidate John McCain, that offered illegal immigrants legal status on conditions such as learning English. All three also have supported a border fence.

Community leaders say fear of raids and mistrust of authorities also might lead to lower turnouts Thursday.

"With all these raids that are going on, what are we supposed to do? Write President Bush and just say these things shouldn't happen?" said Juan Jose Gutierrez, president of Los Angeles-based Latino Movement USA. "It's important to allow people to blow off steam, to get back their hope. People have been in a state of intimidation and fear."

Activists point to massive voter registration drives of new immigrants and a newly inspired generation of young immigrant activists as small successes.

In Miami, marchers will demonstrate through the city's Little Haiti neighborhood to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services headquarters.

Immigrant advocates in Seattle expect between 5,000 and 8,000 people to turn out for a rally and are encouraging Latinos to boycott purchasing major items.

Rallies are also planned in Los Angeles and Houston, among other cities.

In Chicago, up to 50,000 are expected at a downtown march and rally. Organizers say they have extended their message to include unity among different races and, for the first time, *** rights activists. Representatives from the Rev. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and the Nation of Islam are expected to attend events Thursday.

"In the past, most of the marches you've seen mostly Latino, mostly immigrant or descendants of immigrants," said Emma Lozano, head of the Chicago-based Centro Sin Fronteras. "We want to make an effort (at unity). We need to come together."

Associated Press Writers Monica Rohr in Houston, Manuel Vales in Seattle, Laura Wides-Munoz in Miami, Juliana Barbassa in San Francisco, and Thomas Watkins and Peter Prengaman in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

I guess the lawsuits are starting to clog the court system, so they are altering their course of direction!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...AR2008042902990.html

Pr. William Softens Policy on Immigration Status Checks

Police Officers Can Question Crime Suspects About Their Residency Only After They Are Arrested

By Kristen Mack
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 30, 2008; Page B01

The Prince William County supervisors abolished a key part of the county's illegal-immigration policy last night by directing police officers to question criminal suspects about their immigration status only after they have been arrested.

In October, the Board of County Supervisors directed officers to check the legal status of crime suspects, no matter how minor the offense, if they think the person might be in the country unlawfully.

"The basic policy is fundamentally the same. We just changed the way it's implemented," Supervisor Martin E. Nohe (R-Coles) said. "We want to give officers discretion in the field to use their judgment about when they ask and when they don't. This allows them to make their own call."

He said less-aggressive street enforcement limits the county's risk of a lawsuit.

Chairman Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large) said the change will not amount to any "appreciable difference in the number of people arrested."

"Every single person who is arrested will have their immigration status checked," he said. "Officers will continue to have the discretion to check the status of anyone detained by them, even for minor infractions."

The board unanimously supported changing course after slashing $3.1 million from its budget to install video cameras in police cars to enforce the county's illegal-immigration policy. Police said they needed cameras to protect officers from accusations of racial profiling.

The board's change in the immigration policy came before it considered the county budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The supervisors approved a fiscal 2009 budget of $893 million. That brings the property tax rate to 97 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, amounting to a 5 percent increase in the tax bill of the average homeowner.

The supervisors cut an additional $1.2 million in related police, foster care and protective services for the children of deported illegal immigrants last week. Other cuts included a reduction in proposed fire and rescue staffing.

Before the board's final vote, Stewart made a motion to add nearly $4 million to the budget, restoring funds for cameras and additional police staffing that were tentatively cut last week. He said he has received information that convinced him that the cameras are needed for the safety of the officers. His proposal failed on a split vote by the eight-member board.

"I have voted against every tax increase this board has put up," Stewart said before the board deadlocked on his motion. "This resolution is vitally important. It is making a difference, and long term it is going to save the residents of this county money. We need to do it right. We cannot leave our officers exposed."

Supervisor Frank J. Principi (D-Woodbridge) used the camera budget cut as a rationale for offering a proposal to change the policy the board approved in October. The proposed change would have directed officers to inquire about immigration status only after someone has been arrested and taken to jail. In a preliminary vote, Principi was the only supervisor to support his motion.

"Every dollar we spend checking immigration status on the street is one less dollar we can spend on our roads, schools and public safety," he said. "I ask my fellow board members to consider doing the right thing today by bringing tolerance to our community, stemming the long-term damage we have inflicted on our own economy and to move on to other, more important priorities facing us in Prince William County."

Police enforcement on the street underpins the illegal-immigration crackdown, which in addition to increasing law enforcement also denies certain services to illegal immigrants.

During the first month of the policy, 41 illegal immigrants were arrested. Police Chief Charlie T. Deane said most of the people arrested would have gone to jail anyway. All but two were charged with misdemeanors and felonies unrelated to their immigration status.

Principi questioned why the police need to check someone's immigration status on the street when it would be checked automatically once the person is brought to the jail under a federal policy that took effect in the summer. Under a partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, jurisdictions can deputize local law enforcement officers to assist federal authorities in processing illegal immigrants.

"The debate turned on us," Supervisor W.S. Covington III (R-Brentsville) said. "Suddenly . . . having cameras matters. The perception is you start to lose credibility on your commitment to curb illegal immigration without them."

You know, they make these laws without thinking things through first. It should have been obvious that this was likely to happen as a unintended consequence.

If HR 4437 had been enacted back in 2006, similar problems would have occurred but on a national scale. Sensenbrenner even said after he and his buddies wrote the bill he had changed his mind and would have dropped the charge of a felony to be illegal to a misdemeanor because a felony would have enabled an illegal immigrant to get a public defender on the taxpayers dime

Good point, Brit.

Prince William enacted their harsher laws with no foresight at all. They don't have the budget, nor detention space to handle the influx of people they have apprehended thus far. They've been backed into a corner, so they have no recourse but to back down.

It will be interesting to see if other states and localities who have implemented the stricter immmigration laws will follow in Prince William's shoes. I'm still keeping an eye on Arizona!

Watch 'em all change their minds once the costs associated with the enforcement starts to hit 'em. That and the unconstitutionality of trying to place State laws ahead of Federal law (immigration).

quote:

That and the unconstitutionality of trying to place State laws ahead of Federal law (immigration).

That statement hits the nail right on the head, Brit! I don't see how Congress can sit blindly and allow this pattern to continue. They all should be fired - lol! Perhaps if we all stop paying our taxes, that would get their attention!

That might just do it *L* What do you expect in an election year? They're hardly gonna bite the hand that feeds 'em!

What kind of garbage is this??? Has Congress lost it's mind?

http://ohmygov.com/blogs/on-the-horizon/archive/2008/04...rs-and-athletes.aspx

On The Horizon

Congress working hard at getting visas for models, singers and athletes In the midst of a heated national debate on immigration, which is fueling animosity between and within political parties, members of Congress have turned their attention to less polarizing facets of the debate, such as finding ways to get more visas in the hands of the rich and famous.

Bills to make it easier for athletes, fashion models and performers to work in the United States are flowing through Congress like alcohol at at a pre-rehab Amy Winehouse party, who by no coincidence is on the list of potential beneficiaries of new visa laws being proposed.

At this year's Grammy awards ceremony, Winehouse, a British singer best known for her one-hit wonder "Rehab," was forced to accept her award via satellite since her visa could not be processed in time for the event. The anecdote prompted action in Congress and this month, the House approved a bill to expedite visa processing for foreign artists and musicians.

A similar bill sponsored by Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Lakewood) would ease immigration restrictions on professional athletes by lifting the 10-year cap on visas they hold. Advocates of the bill, like Sanchez, complain that these days, a decade just doesn't give athletes enough time to reach their peak physical performance. Just ask Roger Clemens. Ok, bad example.

And in a final act of pure philanthropy in support of disadvantaged foreigners desperate to pursue a better life in the US, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) proposed a bill to create a new H1-B visa category for supermodels. The new category would ensure that the models seeking entry into the US wouldn't have to compete with lesser "aliens of extraordinary abilities" like mathematicians, scientists, and engineers to obtain one of the 65,000 H-1B visas handed out annually.

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) doesn't see the same genius in the "Weiner Bill" as others. He told the L.A. Times that he could picture Weiner "in a posh downtown New York City hotel celebrating the passage of this bill surrounded by hundreds of energized, wildly ecstatic fashion models. And you know for a fact he's going to have an annual celebration. It's almost too much to bear...but not too much to oppose the bill."


Published Apr 30 2008, 10:19 AM by Andrew B. Einhorn

It is not against to the law that illegal aliens or illegal immigrants should be deported or else convicted to be criminals since they enter to the state illegally and without prior documents to proved that they are not aliens to the country.

But to be fair with justice it is more likely for those illegal aliens to be deported rather convicted as criminals and subject for imprisonment.

dan

New York Immigration Lawyer Marina Shepelsky, located in Brooklyn, assists clients from the New York metro area and across the United States in all immigration and naturalization matters

http://www.e-us-visa.com

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gwOiptQSKXFaf6_CB2BF1SgcwFRAD90CKQL80

US admits medical negligence in immigrant's cancer death

8 hours ago

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The federal government has acknowledged it was negligent in the death of an immigrant whose cancer went undiagnosed for nearly a year while he was in custody.

The family of 36-year-old Francisco Castaneda filed a lawsuit after he was denied a biopsy while in custody and died of cancer.

"We concluded there were some issues related to Mr. Castaneda's detention and that led to our admission last week," U.S. attorney's spokesman Thom Mrozek said. The claim carries maximum damages of $250,000, he said.

"The United States' admission of liability is a recognition that they have no defense to the plaintiffs' claim for medical negligence and wrongful death," said Conal Doyle, an Oakland attorney representing Castaneda's family.

Doyle said he intends to ask the court to declare unconstitutional the policy under which Castaneda was denied care.

Castaneda, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, was placed in immigration custody after serving an eight-month state prison sentence on a 2005 conviction for possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

While at the San Diego Correctional Facility, he notified immigration officials that he had a large, painful, growing lesion on his *****.

Despite recommendations from several doctors, the cancer was never biopsied and Castaneda received no treatment except for pain pills during his 11 months in detention, government records indicated.

A doctor at the Division of Immigration Health Services would not admit Castaneda to a hospital, saying her agency considered it "an elective outpatient procedure."

Castaneda was released last year, went to a hospital and was diagnosed with metastatic squamous cell carcinoma. He died in February.

He testified about his case before Congress last year.

A federal judge in March ruled that the alleged denial of medical treatment was "beyond cruel and unusual punishment," allowing Castaneda's family to go forward with the suit.

Mandela Is on US Terrorist Watch Lists

By Mimi Hall,
USA Today
Posted: 2008-05-01 10:44:26

Nobel Peace Prize winner and international symbol of freedom Nelson Mandela is flagged on U.S. terrorist watch lists and needs special permission to visit the USA. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice calls the situation "embarrassing," and some members of Congress vow to fix it.
The requirement applies to former South African leader Mandela and other members of South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC), the once-banned anti-Apartheid organization. In the 1970s and '80s, the ANC was officially designated a terrorist group by the country's ruling white minority. Other countries, including the United States, followed suit.

Alexander Joe, AFP / Getty Images
Former South African President Nelson Mandela, here in March, is on U.S. terrorist watch lists because of his ties to the African National Congress, which was listed as a terrorist group in the 1970s and 1980s.

The group now governs South Africa.

Because of this, Rice told a Senate committee recently, her department has to issue waivers for ANC members to travel to the USA.

"This is a country with which we now have excellent relations, South Africa, but it's frankly a rather embarrassing matter that I still have to waive in my own counterpart, the foreign minister of South Africa, not to mention the great leader Nelson Mandela," Rice said.

Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., chairman of the House International Relations Committee, is pushing a bill that would remove current and former ANC leaders from the watch lists. Supporters hope to get it passed before Mandela's 90th birthday July 18.

"What an indignity," Berman said. "The ANC set an important example: It successfully made the change from armed struggle to peace. We should celebrate the transformation."

In 1990, Mandela was freed after 27 years in prison for crimes committed during the struggle against Apartheid, a repressive regime that subjugated black South Africans. In 1994, he was elected South Africa's first black president.

Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., called ANC members' inclusion on watch lists a "bureaucratic snafu" and pledged to fix the problem.


Members of other groups deemed a terrorist threat, such as Hamas, also are on the watch lists.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says "common sense" suggests Mandela should be removed. He says the issue "raises a troubling and difficult debate about what groups are considered terrorists and which are not."

When ANC members apply for visas to the USA, they are flagged for questioning and need a waiver to be allowed in the country. In 2002, former ANC chairman Tokyo Sexwale was denied a visa. In 2007, Barbara Masekela, South Africa's ambassador to the United States from 2002 to 2006, was denied a visa to visit her ailing cousin and didn't get a waiver until after the cousin had died, Berman's legislation says.



Ok guys..This is perfect example of Boom.. one day you are on the list! hope you are seeing the big picture about how and why "who is deemed terrorist" by USA weak standards. This relates back to the story of the language interpreter that could not adjust his status because of the group he once belonged to.

quote:

Originally posted by 4now:
...

Ok guys..This is perfect example of Boom.. one day you are on the list! hope you are seeing the big picture about how and why "who is deemed terrorist" by USA weak standards. This relates back to the story of the language interpreter that could not adjust his status because of the group he once belonged to.

I almost missed this classic example of 'pink politics.'

As also mentioned in the quote above, the instant 'Mandela' case brings back to mind the denied AOS application of Saman Kareem Ahmad.

Saman's permanent residency denial was due to his serving in KDP's military force that aimed to topple Sadam Hussein's regime, but is now a 'US ally' and a part of the new 'Iraqi Army.'

But because KDP 'still is' on the 'outdated' US terrorist watch list, its members, old and new, despite the current political and military realignments, are 'inadmissible' immigration-wise, or as what 'pink kitty' referred to Saman as: 'did not qualify based on his past - nor is it unfair.'

Then, push a bit forward, came the news about ANC's Nelson Mandela - Nobel laureate and world-famous apartheid dismantling avatar - who is (what?) also inadmissible and needs a waiver.

So, here it is: KDP's Saman Kareem Ahmad and ANC's Nelson Mandela - both inadmissible by virtue of their past affiliations.

But of course, Saman Ahmad, who? against Nelson Mandela, the celebrity. Both organizations are on the terrorist watch list but, KDP lost (although now a US ally), ANC won. So one policy for Ahmad, and yet another policy for Mandela.

And so, it follows as far as 'pinky' is concerned, afterall, Mandela is Mandela, while Ahmad is 'who?'

For Mandela, it's the 'USA's weak standards.' For Ahmad, it's 'his past.' How could one get 'pinkier' than that?