TWIN FALLS, Idaho — U.S. Border Patrol agents have arrested about 100 people in the Magic Valley as part of a sting to round up illegal immigrants, officials said Tuesday.
The city was targeted after commercial bus employees told law-enforcement officials that they suspected illegal immigrants were buying large numbers of bus tickets, U.S. Border Patrol spokesman Alex Harrington said.
The region appeared to be a hub for human smuggling, Harrington said, with legal residents buying as many as 10 bus tickets at a time to be used by illegal immigrants.
"About 20 percent of the people we apprehended actually were from two vans — both with Oregon plates — buying tickets en route to Orlando, Florida," Harrington said. "Another 10 percent were en route to Laredo, Texas, and another 10 or 15 percent were en route to Salt Lake City."
Other destination points included Boise, Denver, Chicago, Atlanta and South Carolina, he said.
"Most of these folks were not from Twin Falls. I don't know the main reason why they selected Twin Falls," as a hub, Harrington said. "But with the increase of agents on the southern border (of the United States) there have been concerns that some of the smuggling traffic is moving up north."
Most of the tickets were purchased during late hours, when the local Border Patrol office was closed and when there were fewer police officers on duty, he said. At least 15 commercial bus lines were being used for the smuggling operation, Harrington said.
The raid has prompted complaints of racial profiling from community groups.
"I know there is racial profiling going on out there," said Ben Reed with the Rupert-based Spanish-language Radio La Fantastica. "If they are going after documents, why aren't they asking everyone? Why are they only asking people with brown skin?"
That's not the case, Harrington said.
"Our job is to ask questions. They can approach anybody without a warrant, and if they don't have that proper immigration paperwork, that proper identification, they will be processed," he said.
Out of roughly 100 arrests, all but three were believed to Mexican citizens, he said. About one-quarter of those arrested during the sting had criminal histories, he said.
HISPANIC LEADERS TO RALLY AGAINST ACTION AT 7 P.M.
Times-News magicvalley.com By Cass Friedman Times-News writer
A U.S. Border Patrol official confirmed Tuesday that agents investigating human smuggling on commercial bus lines arrested more than 100 illegal immigrants in the Twin falls area over the past week.
That figure does not include unconfirmed reports that agents detained a number of immigrants at other locations in the Magic Valley, such as a supermarket and a bank.
The operation stemmed from a tip from Greyhound bus officials who said local bus stations were being used by illegal immigrants to roam the country while circumventing local law enforcement, the agency said in a written statement.
"We did receive information of individuals possibly involved in human smuggling," said Alex Harrington, spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
"Most of these folks were not from Twin Falls. I don't know the main reason why they selected Twin Falls," as a hub, Harrington said. "But with the increase of agents on the southern border (of the United States) there have been concerns that some of the smuggling traffic is moving up north."
Greyhound officials had complained to local Border Patrol agents that sometimes a single person would purchase more than 10 tickets at once. That led Border Patrol agents to suspect human smugglers were using the local station as a hub to move illegal immigrants across the U.S.
In one instance, about 20 illegals were dropped at a local Greyhound station by two vans with Oregon plates. All were headed to Orlando, Fla. Other illegal immigrants had tickets to Denver, Chicago, Laredo, Tex., Portland, Ore., Seattle and Salt Lake City. An estimated 25 percent have criminal records, Harrington said.
Local Hispanic activists have branded the sweep as racial profiling, and have organized a meeting on the subject at St. Edward's The Confessor in Twin Falls at 7 p.m. today.
It remains unclear how agents approached passengers on the busses, but Harrington said, "We don't do profiling."
Harrington said the ongoing operation is not coordinated with repeated strikes over the past week by immigration agents at other locations, including malls and a bank. He said he was unaware of other operations in the area.
A WinCo Foods spokesman said Monday that on "several occasions" over the past week immigration agents have detained "a number" of illegal immigrants at the store on Blue Lakes Boulevard North, though the store management was not involved of the action. The supermarket's clientele includes many Hispanics.
But Ben Reed, a personality on the Rupert-based La Fantastica Spanish language radio station, said many Hispanics feel "frustrated" with the store's response.
"It's reflecting the frustration of a lot of people within the Hispanic community that certain businesses have granted - we feel - undue access to (immigration) agents," Reed said.
Reed said one of the raids at WinCo drove fleeing illegal immigrants into the stockroom. Agents later hauled them out. The most recent raid at WinCo, he said, happened Monday night.
Lorie Dankers, spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the northwestern area of responsibility, which oversees the interior U.S., said she did not know if ICE agents have launched an operation at WinCo.
"We do very targeted investigations and we might have an investigation there," Dankers said. "I can categorically deny that we would randomly arrest or apprehend individuals at this grocery store or any location. This runs contrary to the way we would do business."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Cass Friedman can be reached at 735-3241 or cfriedman@magicvalley.com
ICE CAPTURES 15 ILLEGAL ALIENS UNLAWFULLY EMPLOYED AT LOUISVILLE-AREA RESTAURANTS
Wednesday, 14 November 2007
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Fifteen illegal alien restaurant workers were arrested in the Louisville area Wednesday morning by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents as part of an ongoing criminal worksite enforcement investigation.
The illegal workers, 10 men and five women, were all employed at two Chinese restaurants located in the Louisville metropolitan area. They are in ICE custody for immigration violations. Louisville ICE agents made the arrests as they executed five federal search warrants at two restaurants and three residences as part of an ongoing criminal worksite investigation.
The federal search warrants were executed at Jumbo Buffet, 1218 Market St., and a residence located at 1615 Crystal Drive, both in La Grange. Additional search warrants were executed at the China Star Buffet and Grill, 317 Kentucky Home Square, and a duplex residence located at 121-123 Caldwell, all in Bardstown.
ICE agents initiated the investigation in December 2006 after receiving credible information that illegal aliens were knowingly employed at the restaurants. Further investigation revealed that the restaurant workers were all housed at the residences that were searched this morning.
All those arrested are being processed; they will be placed into deportation proceedings for violating U.S. immigration laws. Ten of those arrested are Chinese nationals; all others arrested are from Mexico.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: explora,
The owners of a Newport News commercial fishing company have been charged with employing more than 100 illegal immigrants over the past four years.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a court filing today that it is seeking nearly $7 million in penalties from the Peabody Corp., which operates eight trawlers used mostly for scalloping.
According to federal charges, company President William F. Peabody and Vice President Yvonne M. Peabody knowingly employed 126 undocumented workers and disregarded warnings about the illegal activity from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Internal Revenue Service.
Company employees “counseled†the illegal workers on how to obtain fake employment papers that looked real, according to the charging documents.
The Peabodys have agreed to plead guilty, according to the records. They had been scheduled to appear Monday in U.S. District Court, but that was postponed.
A message left at Peabody’s business office was not returned today and the lawyer for the Peabodys, John Holloway, declined to comment.
The company, which was incorporated in 2000, was charged with conspiracy to harbor illegal immigrants for financial gain and misuse of Social Security numbers. The Peabodys were each charged with unlawfully employing illegal immigrants and Yvonne Peabody was additionally charged with unauthorized access of a government computer. The computer charge was not further explained.
“It was part of the conspiracy for Peabody Corp. to systematically hire citizens of Mexico and other countries who had illegally entered into the United States for purposes of employment,†the charging documents say.
Also part of the conspiracy, company officials would harbor undocumented workers on boats at sea for two weeks at a time, “which prevented the Department of Homeland Security from detecting†the workers, the court records say.
At one unspecified point, the IRS warned the company that some of the Social Security numbers being used were not valid, the papers say.
The government said it will seek forfeiture of $6.9 million which represents the gross proceeds of the company linked to the illegal activity, the records say.
The FBI, which is investigating the case along with other federal law enforcement agencies, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment.
Tim McGlone, (757) 446-2343, tim.mcglone@pilotonline.com
GEORGIA SHERIFF IGNORES OBLIGATION TO COMPLY WITH IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT ACT
DEPUTIES MAY BE VIOLATING CIVIL RIGHTS OF COBB COUNTY RESIDENTS
ATLANTA, GA - Today, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), the nation's leading Latino civil rights organization, wrote to Col. Don Barlett of the Cobb County Sheriff's Office and related immigration officers insisting that the county follow the terms of the Memorandum of Agreement it signed with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and create a Steering Committee to monitor potential civil rights violations caused by its immigration enforcement procedures. (See attached letter)
Over the past month, there have been an alarming number of arrests related to immigration enforcement. These arrests raise serious doubts that they comply with the Agreement, which requires, among other guidelines, that immigration-trained personnel provide "an opportunity for subjects with limited English language proficiency to request an interpreter." (MOA Section XV, at 7)
"Over the last few months several hundred Latinos have been pulled over and are still sitting in jail," said Elise Shore, Southeast Regional Counsel of MALDEF. "The Cobb County Sheriff cannot assure us that his deputies are carrying out their responsibilities consistent with basic civil rights protections because he has failed to establish the Steering Committee required by the Agreement."
The Steering Committee, as mandated by the Agreement, is designed to ensure that immigration enforcement activities in the county comply with federal civil rights statutes and regulations. As a civil rights organization charged with protecting the civil rights of the Latino population, MALDEF called upon the County to establish the requisite Steering Committee and seeks membership on it.
Founded in 1968, MALDEF, the nation's leading Latino legal organization, promotes and protects the rights of Latinos through litigation, advocacy, community education and outreach, leadership development, and higher education scholarships. For more information on MALDEF, please visit: www.maldef.org. ######
LITTLE ROCK — No contractors working on state projects have been accused of having illegal immigrants in their crews since a new law took effect this year. But that might be because no one knows how to report them or understands the law.
Legislators heralded the bill, the only during this year's legislative session regarding immigration, as a step toward making sure state money didn't support illegal immigrants. However, the bill named no method for reporting suspected contractors. The state agency handling contracts says it will only investigate after outside complaints, while the law's legislative sponsor thought it gave officials power to look into any bid coming in far lower than competitors.
Despite the confusion, state Rep. Rick Green said the law will do what it was intended to do _ policing state contracts while making a statement about illegal immigration.
"I do believe the value of the contracts will drive this law to be enforced," said Green, R-Van Buren. "I may be naive about that. I don't think so, though."
The law, which took effect July 31, requires all contractors on projects costing $25,000 or more to promise the state that no illegal immigrants will be on its work crews. Those found violating the law have 60 days to fire the illegal immigrant workers. If the company fails to do that, the law allows the contract to be voided, which could mean millions of dollars of losses.
Subcontractors have 30 days after signing on a project to provide similar assurances. The law gives contractors the ability to fire subcontractors who violate the rule without legal repercussions.
The law covers all state agencies, colleges and universities and boards and commissions throughout Arkansas. Since August, all contractors must verify through an Internet-based system that they hire no illegal immigrants when making a bid on a state job.
So far, though, the state has received no complaints about contractors, said Joe Giddis, director of the Office of State Procurement. Giddis said the agency would accept either e-mail complaints or letters about contractors suspected of hiring illegal immigrants. However, the procurement office offers no instructions on its Web site or elsewhere on how to file a complaint.
Giddis said his agency would rely on complaints from outside to decide which contractors needed to be examined. He stressed that the procurement office doesn't function as an investigative agency, but could break contracts if conditions aren't met.
"If you look at the law ... it creates a situation where the use of illegal immigrants is a breach of the contract," Giddis said. "Breaches and controversies regarding contracts fall under this office."
Illegal immigration worries sparked a series of legislative meetings in Arkansas, home to one of the nation's fastest-growing Hispanic communities. However, that interest failed to gain much traction during this year's legislative session. The contractors bill became law, while a bill criminalizing the harboring or transportation of illegal immigrants died in committee.
Green said the contractors law should push the state into examining winning bids that came noticeably cheaper than competitors.
Giddis strongly disagreed, saying the agency would overstep its limited powers and open it to lawsuits.
"No, no, no, gosh no, gosh no," Giddis said. "I'd be spending all my time in court. That's not a feasible alternative. The way the law is written, it turns it into a breach of contract."
As of now, the 15,000 or so companies that routinely bid on state projects will be held to their word. Green said he believes that alone should be enough, even if the law he brokered through the Legislature doesn't do what he hoped.
"If I was going to the trouble to bid on a state contract and have my name out there, and knowing that the state has gone through this attempt to put this in the statutes, that (shows) the state is serious about this and I ought to take my contracting with them seriously," Green said.
About time USA takes back it's work force.Living in SW Arkansas being a Contractor the wage has droped in the last 4 years ,the avg Anglo makes only $1,500 a month ,I am talking about trade work Roofing ,Concreat to Framing homes , good Carpenter wage should be around $14-$22 hr now you are lucky to get $10 per hr, Roofing forget about it, new Roof 14-16 per sq should be $30 per sq ,tear off put back new $16-$35 per both, should run $35-$100 each depending on pitch & material
Precisely my argument for not hiring illegals. It lowers the wage for Americans. All the people who applaud this would go silent if it were their jobs being applied for by the illegal. That fishing boat company should get nailed. I bet they paid the illegals 1/2 or less what a USC would get.
I would bet if you check the number of construction related law suits filed it would correlate to the lowering of the wages. Cheaper pay doesn't mean the same job performance.
Everyone gets screwed when this happens, yes even the illegal. They are still illegal even with a few dollars in their pocket.
You voted democrat. This country is not worth sneaking into any more.
Posts: 5758 | Location: San Antonio TX | Registered: 06-08-2007
Calle 13 is a five-time Latin Grammy Award-winning and Grammy Award-nominated Puerto Rican hip hop and alternative-reggaeton duo formed by step-brothers who call themselves Residente (lead singer, writer) and Visitante (keyboards, vocals, writer, beat producer). Their sister Ileana (aka PG-13) has contributed the female vocals to some of their songs, and so has Residente's mother, Puerto Rican actress Flor Joglar de Gracia (on the single "Tango del Pecado")
Un nómada sin rumbo la energÃa negativa yo la derrumbo Con mis pezuñas de cordero me propuse recorrer el continente entero Sin brújula, sin tiempo, sin agenda… ¿? Por las leyendas Con historias empaquetadas en lata, con los cuentos que la luna relata aprendà a caminar sin mapa… A irme de caminata sin comodidades, sin lujo… protegido por los santos y los brujos… Aprendà a escribir carbonerÃas en mi libreta y con un mismo idioma sacudir todo el planeta… Aprendà que mi pueblo todavÃa reza porque las “****ing†autoridades y la puta rea***a… todavÃa se mueven por debajo’ e la mesa… aprendà a tragarme la depresión con cerveza… Mis patronos yo lo escupo desde las montañas y con mi propia saliva enveneno su champaña… Enveneno su champaña…
Rn tu sonrisa yo veo una guerrilla, una aventura un movimiento… Tu lenguaje, tu acento… Yo quiero descubrir lo que ya estaba descubierto… Ser un emigrante ese es mi deporte… Hoy me voy pal’ norte sin pasaporte, sin transporte… a pie, con las patas… pero no importa este hombre se hidrata con lo que retratan mis pupilas… Cargo con un par de paisajes en mi mochila, cargo con vitamina de clorofila, cargo con un rosario que me vigila… suelo con cruzar el meridiano, resbalando por las cuerdas del cuatro de Aureliano… Y llegarle tempranito temprano a la orilla…por el desierto con los pies a la parrilla… Por debajo de la tierra como las ardillas, yo vo’a cruzar la muralla… yo soy un intruso con identidad de recluso… y por eso me convierto en buzo… y buceo por debajo de la tierra… Pa’ que no me vean los guardias y los perros no me huelan… abuela no se preocupe que en mi cuello cuelga la virgen de la Guadalupe…
(ROLDAN) Oye para todos los emigrantes del mundo entero… allá va eso… Calle 13
[Estribillo] (x2)
(OFF) Esta producción artÃstico-cultural hecha con cariño y con esfuerzo sea como un llamado de voluntad y esperanza para todos, todos...
(Gracias a Guaci por esta letra)
Legs that breathe... poison of serpent... by the way of the wind... I am blowing ardent water
D?a d?ha begun excited and cheers [ ROLDAN: ] it says... Passport
[ Refrain: ] I have your ant?to... Pal' that does not have identity We are id?icos... Pal' that lleg?in to warn I have your ant?co... For that no longer est'n for which est's and those that comes (x2)
N?da without course the energ?negativa I collapse it With my pezu? of lamb I seted out to cross the continent whole number Without br?la, time, agenda... .? By the legend With histories packed in tin, with the stories that the moon relates aprend? to walk without map... To go to me of long walk without comforts, luxury... protected by the saints and the wizards... Aprend? to write to carboner? in my notebook and with a same language to shake all the planet... Aprend?ue my town todav?reza because ****ing. authorities and puta royalty... todav?se move by debajó and the table... aprend? to swallow depresi?con to me beer... My patronos I it escupo from mounts them? and with my own saliva I poison his champa.. I poison his champa..
[ ROLDAN: ] I continue taking rum...
[ Refrain: ] Rn your smile I see a guerrilla, an adventure a movement... Your language, your accent... I want to discover what already she was discovered... To be an emigrant that is my sport... Today I go away North pal' without passport, without transport... on foot, with the legs... but it does not concern east man is hydrated with which they portray my pupils... Position with a pair of landscapes in my knapsack, position with chlorophyll vitamin, position with a rosary that watches... ground me with crossing the meridian, slipping by the cords of the four of Aureliano... And to arrive to him tempranito early at the border... by the desert with the feet to the grill... Below the Earth like the squirrels, I vóa to cross the wall... I am an intruder with inmate identity... and for that reason I become diver... and diving below the Earth... Pá that the guards and the dogs do not see me to not smells... grandmother me does not worry that in my neck it hangs the virgin of the Guadalupe...
[ ROLDAN: ] It hears for all the emigrants of the entire world... all' goes that... Street 13
[ Refrain x2: ] (OFF) This producci?art?ico-cultural one done with cari?y with effort is like a call of will and hope for all, all...
Pro hispanic immigration at any cost. ANY COST. Some of you make it too easy to reveal your true colors. And I don't mean colors in your gang understood mentality.
NY Times By CATRIN EINHORN Published: November 18, 2007
Several Michigan lawmakers, frustrated with the defeat in Congress of an immigration law overhaul, are proposing state laws to punish employers who hire illegal immigrants.
The lawmakers, all Democrats from the state House, offered a package of bills late last week intended to crack down on employers, making it a felony to hire an illegal immigrant knowingly. Violation could mean fines of up to $250,000 and as much as five years in prison for repeat offenders.
The sponsors said the legislation would be formally introduced this month in the House. “We have no legal weapons right now in the state of Michigan,†said State Representative Kate Elbi, one of the sponsors. “What we’re doing is giving our state the tools that we need.â€
Adrian Vazquez, who works for the Michigan Organizing Project, an immigrant rights group, said such a plan would destroy the lives of people who had raised their families in Michigan and contributed to the economy. Illegal immigrants, Mr. Vazquez said, should not have to pay for a broken immigration system; the federal government should fix it.
A proposed change of federal immigration law was defeated in June. But at least 20 states have enacted laws this year addressing the employment of immigrants. But the rush of state laws has also spurred a series of legal clashes with federal law.
In Arizona, immigrant rights advocates and business groups sued the state in federal court over a new law to force employers to check their workers’ legal status or risk having their business licenses suspended or revoked.
“These types of laws are very clearly pre-empted by federal law,†said Tyler Moran, the employment policy director with the National Immigration Law Center, a plaintiff in the Arizona case. The State of Arizona has called for dismissal of the case.
In Illinois, legislators passed a law that was sympathetic to illegal immigrants, barring employers from using a federal database to verify if potential employees were authorized to work. The Department of Homeland Security has sued to block the law, arguing that it is unconstitutional because it seeks to pre-empt federal law.
For now, states will most likely continue to pass their own immigration-related laws, even as the legal turf remains murky, said Dirk Hegen, a policy associate with the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Lawmakers in Michigan said they were aware of the potential for legal clashes but confident of their proposals.
“We’re going to word everything as correctly as we possibly can to make sure that we pass state and federal constitutional muster,†said Representative Mike Simpson, another sponsor of the proposed legislation.
STATE'S REQUEST TO JOIN ARREST PROGRAM UNDER REVIEW
BY JON GAMBRELL THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Posted on Sunday, November 11, 2007
Whether Arkansas State Police troopers are allowed to make immigration arrests will depend on whether jails have enough space to hold prisoners and how troopers decide whom to arrest, according to the U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent overseeing the state.
Katrina Berger, an assistant special agent in charge at ICE’s New Orleans bureau, said Friday that officials will travel to Arkansas in the coming months to examine the state’s request to join the program. However, Berger said, many politicians and police agencies overestimate the power of the immigration arrest program, now being used by several police agencies in Northwest Arkansas.
“You got murderers, and you have jaywalkers; which are you going to put your resources toward ?†Berger told The Associated Press.
“I get places [that say ], ‘We just want to round them up. We want to take all of the illegals.’ Well, you’re going to fill your jails up; you’re not going to be able to keep them,†she said. “You’re going to end up giving them a notice to appear and letting them loose.â€
The Rogers and Springdale police departments and the Benton and Washington county sheriff’s offices now have 19 officers working on a newly created local task force with ICE agents, running immigration checks on those arrested.
Benton County Sheriff Keith Ferguson announced Nov. 2 that the Northwest Arkansas Regional Immigration Criminal Apprehension Task Force arrested 79 people from Sept. 25 to Oct. 22.
Berger said that jail space remains a top concern when it comes to taking part in the program, though it is not a deal breaker. Alabama started the program with ICE in 2003, though dealing with its own jail crunch. Berger said ICE would reimburse some jail fees, while the state would be responsible for others.
ICE also would want to make sure racial profiling didn’t figure in to arrests, Berger said.
Berger stressed that illegal immigrants did break federal law, but said having felony or other criminal charges levied against suspects help federal agents in the deportation process. Berger acknowledged that arresting every illegal immigrant would be an overwhelming proposition, as estimates suggest as many as 12 million now live in the United States.
“We don’t need help finding any more,†she said.
In Arkansas, home to an estimated 141, 000 Hispanics, studies have concluded that about half of the state’s immigrant population lives illegally in the United States. As more immigrants fill jobs at construction sites, poultry plants and other workplaces, political pressure has mounted for greater immigration-law enforcement.
Gov. Mike Beebe, who questioned an opponent’s plan to have state police conduct similar checks during last year’s gubernatorial race, asked troopers this year to pursue an agreement with ICE to take part in the program.
In the past, Beebe has offered an anecdote about an Arkansas State Police trooper telling him ICE agents declined to pick up an arrested illegal immigrant. Berger said troopers could reach an ICE agent at anytime, but acknowledged that the agent might be working far away from where the arrest took place.
“They are mandated to respond, but at the same time [they say ], ‘I know that if I leave now, it’s going to be two hours, ’†Berger said. “The officer will be, ‘ Forget it.’â€
Berger said in that situation, local police or troopers should press whatever criminal charges they can against a suspected illegal immigrant, giving ICE agents more time to respond.
ICE sent a letter to the Arkansas State Police in October, acknowledging it received the state’s request. Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said the governor was aware of the
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