Arkansas Democrat Gazette Northwest Editon BY JOHN KRUPA December 17, 2007
Many Arkansas police departments, banks and businesses are accepting the membership card of a nonprofit organization that works with Hispanic immigrants as a form of valid identification.
Founders of the organization say the card is helping 3, 000 Arkansas immigrants gain access to important services.
Critics, however, say illegal aliens are the only immigrants benefiting from the card. They are buying the card in droves, some say, not knowing that it carries no more legal standing than a membership card at their local video store.
Officials with the Arkansas attorney general’s office are investigating the Latin Community Organization of Malvern, the nonprofit that issues the cards.
“Some [illegal aliens ] think it’s an official, governmentsponsored card,” said Charles Cervantes, state director of the Arkansas League of United Latin American Citizens. “It’s misleading a lot of them.
“ They should stop issuing these cards.” The cards first sparked public debate in early December at a city board meeting in Hope in Hempstead County.
Angelo Zambrano, who helped found the Latin Community Organization, asked the Hope Board of Directors’ permission to expand his group’s outreach efforts to Hope.
Dennis Ramsey, Hope’s mayor, said some board members worried that the cards too closely resemble an Arkansas driver’s license.
The cards read ‘Arkansas’ across the top like a license. They also bear the cardholder’s photo, name and address and list his ***, height and eye color like an Arkansas license does.
The back of the card features the insignias of local police departments and endorsements by local banks.
Philip McLarty, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Hope, spoke against the cards at the meeting.
He said that they could appear “official” to immigrants who do not speak English and are not familiar with the U. S. identification system.
“I held up their card along with my MasterCard and my driver’s license,” he said. “Their card looks a lot more like my driver’s license than it does my MasterCard.” Zambrano said any likeness to the state’s driver’s license is coincidental, and it’s obvious by looking at it that the card is not issued by the government.
The card says “Latin Community Organization” in a prominent position on the front. On the back, the cards read: “This is not a government ID. It is granted for membership purposes only.” William Ross, interim chief of the Malvern Police Department, said mistaking the Latin Community Organization’s ID with a valid driver’s license is impossible. “I don’t think you could confuse a teenage store clerk,” he said.
BIRTH OF A NONPROFIT Zambrano and other Malvern residents founded the Latin Community Organization in 2004. Its original mission was to serve the needs of the city’s growing Hispanic population. The group offers English, civics and General Educational Development classes, computer and money-management training along with translation and housing assistance.
The group’s scope expanded significantly in January 2006 when it forged a partnership with the New Arkansan Resource Network.
The Arkansas Department of Workforce Services created the network after receiving an $ 850, 000 grant from the U. S. Department of Labor.
Mike Kennedy, the Workforce Services Department official who overseas the network, said the money paid for launching workforce centers in Little Rock, Rogers, Russellville and Malvern.
The network primarily acts as a referral service for immigrants.
Immigrants can use the network to get linked with employment agencies, housing providers and other community services.
Zambrano and his brother Paul, who also helped found the Latin Community Organization, are both employed by the New Arkansan Resource Network to implement its programming in Malvern and other parts of southern Arkansas. The Latin Community Organization also has a presence in the resource network’s Little Rock office, Kennedy said.
Barry Ballard, a Latin Community Organization board member, said it’s a natural partnership because the groups’ goals are identical: to help immigrants. The relationship has helped the Latin Community Organization add members in many south Arkansas communities between Little Rock and Texarkana. The membership roll is about 3, 000 today. All members had the option of paying $ 15 for the membership card, Zambrano said, and most bought one. Zambrano estimates that the nonprofit has made at least $ 30, 000 selling membership cards. DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT As the Latin Community Organization’s membership has grown, many entities have started to accept the group’s membership cards as valid identification.
In the group’s hometown of Malvern, for example, acceptance is widespread.
The Police Department takes the cards as a valid form of identification when residents report crimes. Students use the card to register for classes at Ouachita Technical College. Grocery stores and banks will use the card to help members cash checks and open bank accounts.
Acceptance isn’t limited to Malvern, however.
The Latin Community Organization’s Web site is filled with sponsoring police departments and businesses across Arkansas that Zambrano said accept the card as a form of ID.
Faviola Alva, manager of a Bank of America branch in Little Rock, said she accepts the card as secondary identification to open bank accounts.
She knows Bank of America branches in Russellville and Malvern accept the card as well.
Alva said taking the card is no different than accepting a fishing license or an insurance card as secondary ID.
“We want to make it easier for all our customers, not just the Hispanic community, to open accounts,” she said.
Danny Moody, director of public information for the Conway Police Department, said his officers also treat the membership cards as a valid form of identification in some instances.
Often, Conway police officers have no choice. It’s not uncommon for a police officer to encounter Hispanics who want to report a crime and only have the Latin Community Organization membership card as ID. At least with the card, the officers have a clue as to who the individual is and where he lives. The Police Department also has access to the Latin Community Organization’s database to try to find individuals to interview during investigations.
CARD KOSHER ? A number of Hispanic leaders in Arkansas are crying foul over the cards, however.
Cervantes said the Arkansas chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens refused to allow the Latin Community Organization to affix its logo on the back of the card.
Eddie Garcia, publisher of the Spanish-language newspaper Amigo News in Hope, said the Latin Community Organization is intentionally trying to mislead illegal aliens into thinking the cards are official ID.
That’s why the group designed the cards to look like drivers licenses, Garcia said, and why they feature endorsements from police departments on the back.
The group’s motive is not just to help illegal aliens gain access to services, Garcia said, but also to generate revenue and buttress membership.
“People are being cheated out of their money,” Garcia said.
Michel Leidermann, editor of the Spanish-Language newspaper El Latino in Little Rock, believes many illegal aliens misrepresent their identities on the membership cards.
The Latin Community Organization demands documents like birth certificates or passports before issuing membership cards, but Leidermann said many illegal aliens present forged documents when applying for cards.
If Mexican citizens need secondary identification, Leidermann said, they should seek it through the Mexican Consulate in Little Rock.
Some cities will not treat cards from the Latin Community Organization as a form of legitimate identification.
The ID is worthless in the Northwest Arkansas city of Rogers, said Mayor Steve Womack.
“I think [accepting the cards ] is extremely flawed and would probably contribute to illegal immigration,” Womack said. “That wouldn’t make it up the flagpole here.” Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform in Washington, D. C., said the situation is similar to attempts in other parts of the country to issue “city IDs.” New Haven, Conn., and San Francisco earlier this year issued identification cards to residents. In San Francisco, the IDs can help cardholders get jobs, access city-run health services and gain library privileges.
“Clearly, the intent of these cities is to make it easier for people who are illegally in the country to live and go about their daily lives,” he said.
Garcia and Leidermann even question the legality of issuing the membership cards.
Gabe Holmstrom, a spokesman for the Arkansas attorney general’s office, said officials are currently investigating the Latin Community Organization and its cards.
Attorney General Dustin Mc-Daniel sued a Jonesboro company in August, claiming the group sold fraudulent international drivers licenses to immigrants.
Zambrano said the Latin Community Organization isn’t trying to deceive anyone.
The group is clear that the cards recognize membership in the organization only.
New members are never promised that the cards guarantee them any type of services, he said. Individual businesses make their own decisions as to whether they want to treat the cards like legitimate ID.
He makes no claims, however, to verifying cardholders’ legal status.
“I don’t know if they are legal or illegal,” Zambrano said. “It’s not something we ask. We don’t work for the Department of Homeland Security.” Even if illegal aliens use the cards to gain access to services, Ballard said he doesn’t see a problem with that.
“Many are victims of predatory business practices of payday loan people, unscrupulous landlords and loan sharks,” he said. “We are just trying to help them engage in the day-to-day business of living here without living in fear.”
Submitted by WW4 Report on Mon, 12/17/2007 - 18:23.
On Dec. 10, some 150 people marched to the federal building in Hartford, CT, to demand an end to immigration raids. Activists were upset about the arrest of 21 Brazilian immigrants in early November in the city's Parkville neighborhood in a joint operation between local police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Local police said they had asked ICE to help them search for a Brazilian man being sought on attempted murder and robbery charges. They didn't find the suspect, but ICE picked up 21 other people suspected of being in the US without permission.
The march was sponsored by more than a dozen organizations, including Stop the Raids, a Trinity College-based group; People of Faith; and the Connecticut chapter of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Luis Cotto and Larry Deutsch, elected to the Hartford city council in November as members of the Working Families Party, both attended the march and said they would push for policies that limit when local police can inquire about immigration status. (Hartford Courant, Dec. 11)
Submitted by Bill Weinberg on Tue, 12/18/2007 - 03:48. From the Arizona Republic, Dec. 17:
A drop house with nearly two dozen illegal immigrants was busted in Phoenix Monday evening.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office detained 20 people found at the home, five of which are believed to be smugglers.
Authorities accuse the suspected smugglers of violently mistreating the other immigrants.
"They were pistol whipped and abused for the last three days," Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said.
Arpaio added his office would work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to further investigate what took place at the residence and to determine if any charges will be filed.
"There is violence involved with immigration," Arpaio said. "It shows that I'm not just locking up gardeners and restaurant workers like everyone says I am."
The federal agency in charge of immigration enforcement has once again created a mess, this time by launching an investigation of Fresh Direct workers as they prepare to vote on unionization.
Last week, at least 40 workers quit or were suspended after the company announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) planned to inspect records of employees.
The Teamsters Union suggests Fresh Direct might have called ICE on undocumented employees to intimidate workers, who are slated to vote on adopting a union this weekend. The Teamsters and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union have been vying to organize hundreds of Fresh Direct workers, many of who are Hispanic.
Both Fresh Direct and ICE deny the accusation. ICE says that while its probes may be coincidental to any allegations, they are in compliance with its regulations.
But the Teamsters’ claim is not preposterous. Employers calling immigration agents, or threatening to do so, to punish workers who try to assert their rights is too frequent a scenario. And the timing of this ICE investigation certainly begs the question of how Fresh Direct got on the agency’s radar.
To avoid being used as a retaliatory weapon against workers, ICE is supposed to take certain steps, including contacting the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to determine if there is a union election in progress before it conducts an investigation. The NLRB’s New York office says it was not contacted by ICE.
Workers have a right to elect or not elect a union, without being intimidated. ICE has undermined that process. The agency should stick to its own policy of refraining from conducting audits during labor disputes, and should immediately withdraw this investigation.
American Immigration Lawyers La Raza MALDEF ACLU LULAC Catholic Immigration Network National Forum Immigrant and Refugee Rights New York Immigrant Coalition Coalition for Immigration Reform Border Angels Asian American Center Hispanic Chamber AALDEF Legalize the Irish Irish Blog SEIU Center for New Community Committee for Refugees Democracia USA Lutheran Immigration Service GALEO
This message has been edited. Last edited by: explora,
Sanctuary policies prohibit city employees from querying an individual's immigration status, an issue that falls under federal purview. To see whether your city is a sanctuary city, see this working list prepared by Ohio Jobs & Justice PAC. http://www.ojjpac.org/sanctuary.asp
We welcome readers to share their opinion and ideas with us by writing to mailto:editor@ilw.com.
The Enterprise 12/11/2007 Updated 12/11/2007 05:15:17 PM CST
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was processing 46 people of Hispanic descent traveling on a bus after a routine traffic stop Monday, police said.
Of those, 43 initially were suspected of being in this country without proper documents.
Beaumont police stopped the passenger bus for a traffic violation at about 1:45 p.m. on Interstate 10 just inside the southern city limits, police said.
Once stopped, the Beaumont officers determined the driver and co-driver didn't meet U.S. Department of Transportation regulations, a police press release said.
A Department of Public Safety trooper who is a certified commercial motor vehicle inspector came to the scene and discovered several other violations, the release said.
Police question a person's citizenship status based on identification cards or by questioning, Beaumont police officer and spokeswoman Carman Apple said.
"If (police) ask for identification and get something that we believe is fraudulent, that merits deeper investigation," she said. "If the person does not have identification, then simple questions could determine if the person is here legally or not.
"And if there is suspicion that the person may be here illegally, we turn the investigation over to immigration and customs enforcement."
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: December 19, 2007
A top investigator in the internal affairs office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services has been convicted of harboring an illegal immigrant who was his girlfriend. The investigator, Lloyd W. Miner, 49, of Centreville, was convicted by a jury at the federal courthouse in Alexandria. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. His girlfriend, originally from Mongolia, was also convicted of conspiracy to commit identification fraud. At the time of his arrest this year, Mr. Miner was the assistant chief of internal affairs investigations for Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Department of Homeland Security.
Six bills target illegal immigration in Florida as national efforts stumble.
By JOSE CARDENAS, Times Staff Writer Published December 17, 2007
In the two years since immigration reform legislation stalled in Congress, many states have passed their own laws targeting illegal immigrants.
And soon Florida could join them.
Legislators have filed six bills that would, among other things, penalize farms and government contractors that hire undocumented immigrants or require local officials to report their arrests to federal authorities.
Come spring, legislators could debate whether to make it harder for an estimated 850,000 undocumented immigrants to live and work in Florida.
"Our federal government, in my opinion, has failed our citizens in dealing with the crisis of illegal immigration," said state Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, who filed two bills. "I went to an event today, and when I asked for questions, it was about taxes, but it was also about illegal immigration."
The Florida bills follow a trend of cities and states proposing local laws related to immigration.
The National Conference of State Legislatures reported last week that so far this year, more than 1,500 pieces of legislation were introduced in state legislatures. Of those, 244 became laws in 46 states, triple the number passed in 2006.
Nationally, the proposals touch predominantly on employment, law enforcement, drivers licenses and public benefits.
In Florida, Fasano R-New Port Richie and Republican Rep. Don Brown, R-DeFuniak Springs, have filed three of the most comprehensive bills.
Fasano's proposals - Senate Bills 124 and 388 - would target agribusinesses and government contractors that employ undocumented workers. One also would require local governments and police to determine immigrants' status and enforce immigration laws.
Brown said he modeled his proposal House Bill 73 after a comprehensive and tough law that went into effect in Oklahoma in November.
If passed, it would force local officials to share information with the federal government about the legal status of immigrants. It also would ban so-called sanctuary policies, which some cities have used to stop the sharing of that information.
"I'm concerned about the sovereignty of the nation and the state," Brown said. "This country has an incredibly rich heritage of immigration. ... In recent years, we have allowed untold millions ... to come into the country" illegally.
Nationally, activists opposed to illegal immigration view the state laws as a way to force undocumented immigrants to leave.
"The most significant part of the legislation is that illegal aliens are leaving those states in large numbers," said William Gheen, president of the Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, based in North Carolina.
The new state laws bother advocates for immigrants.
Joan Friedland, immigration policy director of the National Immigration Law Center, said she worries about federal agents and local police working together outside of jails.
Such arrangements, Friedland said, could increase racial profiling and discourage immigrants from cooperating with police or asking for help.
Undocumented immigrants already are not eligible for most public benefits, said Tanya Broder, the law center's public benefits policy director. She said the state laws mainly require that people show documentation, which simply adds a hurdle for citizens.
"Colorado spent $2-million to implement their law," Broder said. "They had zero savings because there's no evidence that undocumented immigrants were getting services."
In Florida, however, activists opposed to illegal immigration like the proposals.
"There's a number of articles about how illegal aliens are moving out of Oklahoma," said David Caulkett, vice president for Floridians for Immigration Reform.
He said his group opposes illegal immigrants, not legal ones.
"Surprise, surprise," Caulkett said. "Enforcement works. I would expect the effects ... in Florida will be the same" as in Oklahoma."
Those preparing to fight the bills say undocumented immigrants are important to the state's economy and should be legalized.
"We are benefitting from their labor," said Sheila Hopkins, associate director for social concerns for the Florida Catholic Conference of Bishops in Tallahassee. "We need to pass immigration reform so these people have the opportunity to make it right."
John Horan, an Orlando attorney who represents clients in construction, said both sides have valid points.
"You have people justifiably saying these people have broken the law," Horan said.
But "by the same token you have 15-million people who are working and ... an unemployment rate of (only) a little over 4 percent. In Florida, it's much lower," said Horan. "The demand of labor is being met by the supply. The only problem is that the supply is not here legally."
- - -
Will any of the bills pass?
"I think there's a good chance that they would pass in Florida," Horan said. "This is a very important issue to the Republican base."
But Sean Foreman, an assistant professor of political science at Barry University in Miami Shores, said the "anti-immigrant" mood is not as strong in Florida as in mid-Atlantic states and the Midwest.
Florida's power structure has recently shifted from the northern part of the state to the south, Foreman said in an e-mail, adding that Republican Cuban-American legislators such as House Speaker Marco Rubio are likely to have more liberal views on immigration.
He also noted that Gov. Charlie Crist is also a moderate Republican. "Attempts at immigration reform in Florida will probably fall short," Foreman predicted.
Information from Congressional Quarterly was used in this report. Jose Cardenas can be reached at jcardenas@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4224.
Three bills at a glance
Under state Sen. Mike Fasano's "Aliens/Unauthorized Employment" bill (Senate Bill 124), businesses that lose their agricultural designation also would face fines of up to $25,000 for each undocumented worker.
Fasano's other bill is called the Security and Immigration Compliance Act (Senate Bill 388). Most prominently, the bill would:
-Prohibit public employers from hiring contractors and subcontractors who do not participate in a federal program to verify the legal status of workers.
-Require Florida's chief of domestic security to work with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to enforce immigration laws jointly. Increasingly, law enforcement agencies around the country are having federal agents train and deputize local officers to enforce immigration laws, including those on deportation.
-Require law enforcement officers to determine the legal status of people arrested. If those arrested are found to be undocumented, officers would have to notify Homeland Security.
-Require local and state governments to verify the legal status of people 18 and older who apply for public local, state and federal benefits.
Among other things, Rep. Don Brown's bill, House Bill 73, would:
-Allow public employees to request and share information with federal agents and other local and state agencies regarding the legal status of people. If local governments refuse to cooperate with the provision, any citizen of Florida could go to court to compel compliance.
-Prohibit municipal and county governments from establishing so-called sanctuary policies. Nationwide, a few cities have policies preventing police or other public employees from communicating with federal officials regarding the legal status of people.
-Require public employers and the contractors and subcontractors they hire to participate in a federal program to verify the legal status of workers.
-Make it an unfair trade practice for any employer to hire an undocumented worker on the same day the employer fires a legal one.
-Require law enforcement officers to determine the legal status of people arrested for driving or boating under the influence. If found to be in the country illegally, those arrested would be reported to Homeland Security and considered flight risks for the purpose of setting bail.
-Make it a first-degree misdemeanor for a person to knowingly shelter or transport an undocumented immigrant.
Updated: December 19th, 2007 09:48 AM EDT Kansas City Star (MO) (KRT) via NewsEdge Corporation
Dec. 18--Missouri Highway Patrol troopers have lots of responsibilities.
They drive the state's highways, stopping speeders, nabbing drug runners and untangling wrecks. They help with big criminal investigations. They protect the governor.
Now they want to take on some of the duties of federal immigration agents.
Across the country, more local and state police agencies are stepping up to help the feds find and deport illegal immigrants. So far, more than 600 officers have taken on the duties.
And thousands of jailers and beat cops have started checking the legal status of people they're booking or arresting.
Illegal immigration opponents applaud the growing cooperation between local law enforcement and the feds, saying the country is safer when as many avenues as possible are used in finding illegal immigrants.
excl: But immigrant-rights advocates worry that if immigrants see police as immigration enforcers, they won't report crimes out of fear. That will make communities less safe.
"The 'we should ask everybody' (their immigration status) is definitely the stronger sentiment at the moment," said Suzanne Gladney, an immigration attorney at Legal Aid of Western Missouri. "... The acceptance that this is a local police function" is growing.
Federal immigration agents appreciate the help.
"It's how ICE and local law enforcement help support each other, to help make communities safer," said Carl Rusnok, spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE. "We both have that common goal in mind. Our main priority is going after terrorists, but keeping communities safe is also part of homeland security."
More eyes and ears
ICE is training more police officers, deputies and highway patrol officers than ever to enforce immigration law.
The training was first allowed for local law enforcement in 1996. But it took until 2002, after immigrants here illegally took part in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, for a law enforcement agency to sign up. Since then, 34 agencies have trained some officers to enforce immigration law, and 80 more have started the process.
Gov. Matt Blunt is pursuing an agreement with ICE that would give 20 Missouri Highway Patrol troopers the power to enforce immigration law. The troopers will have to go through weeks of ICE training.
The troopers will be able to start deportation paperwork immediately when they come across someone in the country illegally, said Capt. Tim Hull, a Highway Patrol spokesman.
Adding 20 immigration enforcers to the roughly 50 ICE agents working in Missouri will greatly increase the number of people with their eyes and ears open for illegal immigrants, he said.
The Kansas Highway Patrol is watching what Missouri is doing, spokesman Lt. John Eickhorn said, but has not decided whether to join in.
In addition to the enforcement training, more law enforcement agencies are checking the immigration status of all foreign-born inmates they book into their jails.
Jails across the country came across 7,100 illegal immigrants in October 2006. In August 2007, more-vigilant jailers found 18,000 illegal immigrants among their inmates, Rusnok said.
An increasing number of local officers are checking with ICE's Law Enforcement Support Center to find out the immigration status of people they encounter.
Officers in Missouri, including all law enforcement agencies, made 5,028 such inquiries in the 12 months ended in September 2007, said ICE spokesman Michael Gilhooly, up from 2,578 the year before. Kansas officers' inquires grew to 3,315 from 2,656, he said.
The debate
Although cooperation is increasing, a debate continues over whether local police should be investigating immigration status, because being in the country without proper documentation is a federal issue, not a local crime.
"We don't have the resources at this time to do enforcement of federal immigration laws," said Officer Vickie Smith, spokeswoman for the Olathe Police Department. "You'll probably find that pretty common with the other agencies."
The Kansas City Police Department doesn't want to take the time to check the immigration status of every person it comes into contact with, Capt. Rich Lockhart said. It does not check the immigration status of people held overnight in the department's jail.
"We've got local issues that are more pressing" than enforcing federal immigration law, Lockhart said.
The problem with local officers becoming immigration enforcers is that it spreads fear in immigrant communities that may prevent immigrants from reporting crime, said Lynn Tramonte, deputy director for legislative affairs for the National Immigration Forum, a nonpartisan, pro-immigration advocacy group.
"You have politicians pushing for broad powers at the state and local level, and mostly police saying, 'That's not my job. My job is to protect the community. If immigrants think I'm going to have them deported if they work with me, they won't come forward when they know about crimes happening,' " she said.
Pro-immigrant advocates also worry that officers may check people's legal status only when they appear Hispanic or struggle with English.
"If it's standard procedure, I don't have a problem with it," said Cris Medina, executive director of the Guadalupe Centers Inc., a social service agency on Kansas City's West Side. "As long as we don't cross the line into racial profiling and don't just stop us for being Hispanic."
Cooperation should continue to grow because law enforcement should not miss any opportunity to nab people violating immigration laws, said Kris Kobach, a University of Missouri-Kansas City professor who helped the Department of Justice negotiate enforcement agreements with state law enforcement agencies.
"It's a good thing for the country," he said. "The bottom line is that we're vastly undermanned, ICE is vastly undermanned. So the local law enforcement can help make our immigration enforcement more effective."
That's what's happening in Mecklenburg County, N.C., authorities there say.
In the past year and a half, since the sheriff's office began checking all its jail inmates for immigration violations and taking fingerprints, it has found 3,067 illegal immigrants and begun the process of removing them from the country, said spokeswoman Julia Rush.
Many of them had been booked on traffic-related violations, such as driving without a license or driving under the influence.
"Any time you remove 3,000 law breakers from your community, you feel pretty good," Rush said. "... The argument from some sheriffs is they want to do it but they're concerned about manpower and related costs. But it's something that has to be done."
To reach Lynn Franey, call 816-234-4927 or send e-mail to lfraney@kcstar.com.
Illegal Aliens' Unstoppable Third World Crime Wave In US By Frosty Wooldridge 2-1-4
Last summer, in Boulder, Colorado, eight illegal aliens raped eight American women. The aliens fled back to Mexico. One was caught. In a nearby city of Longmont, a used car dealer was driven out of business because he suffered so much theft from his lot that he bankrupted. An illegal alien killed a California cop, John Marsh, last year. Robberies and break-ins have become the norm in California. They've become the pattern in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and dozens of other states. But the sobering realities concerning these crimes point to one fact--they are illegal aliens. They are importing themselves into this country with a vengeance. They are deadly, pernicious and organized. They represent the worst of what is common in the Third World.
In her recent scathing report, 'THE ILLEGAL ALIEN CRIME WAVE' by brilliant investigative reporter, Heather MacDonald, our country is being assaulted by a crime wave that grows steadily and viciously.
A full 95% of all outstanding warrants for homicide, which totaled 1,500 last year in Los Angeles, pointed to illegal aliens. Soberingly, two thirds of all fugitive felony warrants, totaling a horrifying 17,000, were for illegal aliens. To make matters worse, in 1995 a report showed that 60% of the 20,000-strong 18th Street gang in southern California was composed of illegal aliens. That gang collaborates with the Mexican Mafia on drug distribution schemes, extortion and drive-by assassinations. They commit assault and robberies every day of the week. A night of crime to them is like a day of work for American citizens.
How did it come about and why is it spreading? In 1979, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Daryl Gates enacted Special Order 40. Astoundingly, as if insanity took the front row seat in their minds, leaders of dozens of cities from San Francisco to Miami and New York City adopted this special order. This law prohibits police officers from arresting illegal aliens. In reality, it?s a carte blanche invitation for crime to grow in our country, putting citizens at risk for their lives.
"If I see a deportee from the Mara Salvatrucha prison in El Salvador crossing the street in LA, I can't touch him," said a Los Angeles police officer. "I can't arrest him for an immigration felony."
Boulder, Colorado practices the same 'sanctuary' policy for illegal aliens. The mayor of the city openly encourages illegal aliens by making sure the police chief does not arrest illegals. Some of Boulder's immigration lawyers were so bold as to offer publicly announced classes for illegal aliens on how to avoid arrest, detention and deportation by immigration agents. The result in that town shows a tripling of the illegal alien population as well as jobs taken away from citizens and the eight violent rapes.
Not far away in Denver last week, an illegal alien, Javier Cruz-Caballero, purposely ran down police officer, Robert Bryant, while the officer operated a radar gun in a school walk zone. Witnesses saw the Mexican national rev up his engine while taking dead-aim at the officer. Bryant flew 30 feet through the air while suffering a broken leg and head lacerations. He could have easily been killed.
At a greater level, New York's Mayor Bloomberg supports illegal alien crime by maintaining a 'sanctuary policy' in that city. Last year, four illegals raped and killed a New York jogger. That crime was one of thousands of crimes committed by illegal aliens who are protected from the law. But more horrific in impact of this loss of the rule-of-law, former Mayor Guiliana practiced Special Order 40. Several illegal aliens protected by the Order participated in 9/11. The death toll reached 2,800, but the impact on our nation reverberates today. Yet, Special Order 40 continues full force in protecting the estimated 10 million illegal aliens in our country.
However, thousands of them are killing, raping, robbing and driving illegally in our country. Over 400,000 deportees continue walking around free in our country. The ones that commit crimes and are caught make up a full 29% of our prison populations. They cost American taxpayers nearly $1 billion annually to feed, house and care for them in our prisons. And, yet, Special Order 40, continues as if it was a fig leaf for welcoming hardened alien criminals.
These examples of illegal immigrant crime depict a growing menace to our functioning society. While a sleepy American public watches idly and a Congress refuses to enforce our borders while mayors adopt the 'sanctuary policy', we citizens receive an average of 2,200 illegals every 24 hours, seven days a week, 365 days per year. Since the Amnesty policy was announced, the invasion intensifies with greater numbers.
Where does that leave you? If you're in California, you're planning on moving to Idaho or Montana because it's already too late. With over 3.5 million illegals, the crime wave is beyond stopping. If you're in Georgia, you're probably stewing under your breath, but you don't have a clue that it's going to get worse. In Chicago, they either take jobs or rob banks or set up drug, prostitution and theft rings. If you're in Florida, it is no longer an American city. Houston is just as bad. It grows worse in every city in America.
It's called THIRD WORLD MOMENTUM.
The key is to understand that in the Third World--corruption, crime, child prostitution, bashing in peoples' heads, torture and worse is the NORM. Why? Because the rule-of-law no longer applies. Today, in America, concerning illegal immigration, our public officials who were sworn to uphold the Constitution have abstained from their oaths of office. We're forced NOT to talk about it via being politically correct, yet we are the victims of our own silence. Because the American public still hasn't figured this crisis out or keeps thinking it will go away on its own.IT IS GOING TO GET WORSE and you or your loved ones will become victims given enough time. With Special Order 40 in your city, another 9/11 can't be far off!
Source: Heather MacDonald, City Journal, published by the Manhattan Institute, January 15, 2004, THE ILLEGAL ALIEN CRIME WAVE.
Frosty Wooldridge (frostyw@juno.com), (www.frostywooldridge.com) is a teacher and author who has bicycled 100,000 miles on six continents to see overpopulation up close and ugly. Next book: 'INCURSION INTO AMERICA: IMMIGRATION'S UNARMED INVASION - DEADLY CONSEQUENCES' If you have been affected by illegal immigration, write as much of your story as you like and submit it to the author for inclusion into the book. All names and places will remain private.
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