HOMELAND SECURITY RETREATS FROMM FACETS OF 'REAL ID'
By Spencer S. Hsu Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, November 4, 2007; Page A07
The Bush administration is easing its demand for tough national standards for driver's licenses, acting at the behest of state officials who say the "Real ID" plan is unworkable and too costly, officials familiar with the new policy said.
While Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff hailed an agreement with New York last week on more secure state identification cards for citizens as a sign that "the tide is moving more rapidly in favor of Real ID," his department is preparing to extend deadlines for the second time in a year and ease or take over responsibility for new security measures, the officials said.
Chertoff had earlier announced that DHS would waive the original May 2008 deadline and set a new target of 2013 for getting all 245 million U.S. driver's licenses to comply with a national standard. Now, DHS may extend the original deadline by a decade, to 2018 for drivers older than 40 or 50 to reduce the costs associated with a projected surge of customers at state motor vehicle departments, the officials said.
In a recent meeting, DHS policy official Richard C. Barth told state officials to expect Real ID's price tag to fall by "billions of dollars" as DHS eases previous demands that the new licenses be renewed every five years, that expensive, tamper-resistant materials be used to create the ID cards, and that each state develop its own document verification systems, those officials said.
In an interview Friday, Barth's boss, DHS Assistant Secretary for Policy Stewart A. Baker, said the department is finalizing long-awaited regulations for a 90-day White House budget review, and has "listened hard to the states' concerns about possible costs and disruptions to their licensing procedures, and we are going to make changes in response to those concerns . . . and still provide the security the country expects."
Extending Real ID deadlines to align with how state agencies register and renew license holders can shorten lines, reduce hiring and slash costs, Baker said. The changes also will make the process easier for older drivers, who are viewed as less of a security risk but are sometimes unable to provide reliable source documents such as birth certificates.
Analysts inside and outside of government say the changes reflect the difficulties facing DHS, which has less experience in managing identification programs than the states do. The analysts said that the changes also reflect the high cost of Real ID and worries that the program already is opposed from the left and the right as a potential threat to individual privacy.
Timothy Sparapani, senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said DHS is weakening the program in a desperate bid to keep it alive. The ACLU and conservative libertarian groups that oppose Real ID view it as a de facto national ID with Orwellian implications. Eight states have passed legislation to opt out of the program, nine others have passed resolutions in opposition, and more will consider doing so this winter.
"DHS is doing back flips in order to get states to say they are complying with Real ID," Sparapani said. "It was flawed in principle from the beginning, and DHS is attempting a 'Hail Mary' pass to try to coerce and convince states that what they are doing under existing statutes is acceptable."
Brian Zimmer, president of the Coalition for a Secure Driver's License, a nonprofit advocacy group, said DHS "is doing its very best to manage the trade-offs between security, travel facilitation, cost for states and practical consideration in implementation."
In 2005, Congress passed legislation mandating Real ID to standardize information that must be included on licenses, including a digital photograph, a signature and machine-readable features such as a bar code. Under the law, states also must verify applicants' citizenship status, check identity documents such as birth certificates, and cross-check information with other states and with Social Security, immigration and State Department databases. The new licenses must include features to thwart forgery and fraud, and drivers born after 1935 will have to present birth certificates or passports to obtain them.
Supporters noted that all but one of the Sept. 11 hijackers acquired, legitimately or by fraud, IDs that allowed them to board planes, rent cars and move through the country.
Congress approved $40 million in grants to states to cover some of the expenses this year. By comparison, the National Governors Association wants $1 billion next year as a down payment for states' start-up costs.
The safety and well-being of detainees at the Los Angeles Field Office for Detention and Removal Operations is of paramount importance. The need for preventative maintenance of the San Pedro Service Processing Center necessitated the immediate relocation of the detainees to various ICE approved detention facilities. Detainee's family members and/or attorneys are encouraged to call
Loxahatchee Groves looking for a place for day laborers to meet (AP)
Last Update: 11:16 pm Reporter: Marci Gonza*** Photographer: Eric Pasquarelli
The police chief calls it tackling a slice of Lake Worth's much larger immigration issue.
Tuesday night, city commissioners voted in support of an ordinance that would ban day-laborers from two busy streets.
The ordinance would pin fines and jail time on employers caught picking up day-laborers on Lake and Lucerne Avenues.
Business owners feel the workers scare away customers.
The mayor supports the proposal, calling the hundreds of people standing on the busy roads a danger.
Opponents feel the ban would just force the laborers to move somewhere else.
The mayor acknowledges that, and admits, the idea isn't perfect.
Mayor Jeff Clemens tells NewsChannel 5, "this is definitely not the ultimate or final solution. At least by moving them off Lake and Lucerne, at least we're creating a better traffic flow on our main street, but long term there's gonna have to be the creation of a day labor center or something."
Within the next the few weeks, the commission will begin plans for a center where workers can safely find day-jobs.
The ordinance will go to a final vote on November 20th.
AUTHORITIES ARE DETAINING A LARGER NUMBER OF HISPANICS: IT IS NO LONGER A RUMOR: THERE ARE 'CHECKPOINTS' IN COBB
Found in Mundo Hispanico Written by Pilar Verdes Posted on 2007-11-06
Mundo Hispánico
It is no longer a rumor: there are checkpoints in Cobb
Cobb admitted there are road controls in the county
By Pilar Verdes 11/01/2007
Translated by GALEO on 11/05/07
After repeatedly denying multiple testimonies indicating that Cobb police was setting up checkpoints, Cobb finally admitted that it does so, given the insistence of Mundo Hispánico in its investigation of the claims.
“I apologize for Ron Storey, the Police Sub director for Cobbâ€, said the Cobb Police spokesperson, Sergeant Dana Pierce.
Nevertheless, the denial or acceptance does not really change the circumstances of the experience of a Mexican, who asked not to be identified. He was driving to work around 5:00 AM last Thursday 27th of September, when he was stopped at a checkpoint in Sandtown Street, near Austell Road.
There he was detained for driving without a license and was transferred to the Cobb County Jail where he spent almost three weeks. Storey, who supervises all patrols, told Mundo Hispánico last week during an interview that “ I am not aware of any checkpointsâ€.
Nevertheless, a police activity report issued by Patrolman D. U. Condrey, who made the arrest, points out that the detention was made at a checkpoint for license and insurance verification, on the date and time reported by the Mexican.
That was not the first time that that office has denied the operation of checkpoints throughout the Streets in Cobb.
On the 16th of October, Cassie Reece, spokesperson for the Cobb Police Department, told this weekly: “We have not had any organized road controls (checkpoints) in the last month.
In this County, when a person is arrested for a law violation, the immigration status is investigated while in jail, and if found to be in the US illegally, the person is transferred to ICE. This is per an agreement between the Cobb County Sherriff’s Office and ICE, as of the 25th of June.
Pro immigrant organizations confirm following closely what is happening in Cobb. Lawyer Gerry Weber, from the Southern Center for Human Rights, stated that the possibility of bringing a lawsuit is being analyzed.
“In the past, road control activities have been using racial profiling, thus discriminating by raceâ€, warned Weber.
GLAHR, the Georgia Latino Alliance Human Rights organization, confirmed receiving multiple complaints of Hispanic detentions and arrests at the end of September, when the detention of the Mexican occurred.
“We have reports that the road blocks are at 5:00 in the morning. That is the time when many of our people go to workâ€, said Adelina Nichols, the Executive Director of GLAHR.
According to Cobb jail records, of those detained by ICE in the time period from July to September, out of a total of 119 records, 108 are Hispanics and 11 are from other nationalities. Almost 91% of those arrested and handed over to ICE are Hispanics.
“We consider this an assault against the Latino communityâ€, affirmed Nicholls.
Cobb County police reiterated that roadblocks target the detection of people driving under the influence. The sub director of Cobb County police insisted that “if people have their driver license, there is nothing to worry aboutâ€.
Not sure what (if anything) can be done but I received an email from an attorney that informed me that ICE agents have been going to various district courts in Massachusetts and "interviewing" those people that require the assistance of an interpreter.
Fred DelSignore
This message has been edited. Last edited by: explora,
More information to follow after a 3:00 PM News Conference
FEDS LAUNCH IMMIGRATION RAID AT O'HARE
November 7, 2007 BY ERIC HERMAN Criminal Courts Reporter
Federal and local authorities launched an early-morning immigration raid at O’Hare Airport today, officials said.
The raid, which began at 4:45 a.m., targeted illegal immigrants with false identification who were being allowed to load cargo onto airplanes, sources said.
The raid included agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement — a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security known as ICE — as well as Cook County sheriff’s deputies, sources said.
“What I can tell you at this point is that ICE agents, in conjunction with other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, are conducting an enforcement operation subsequent to an eight-month-long investigation,†said ICE spokeswoman Gail Montenegro.
More information will be provided at a 3 p.m. press conference, Montenegro said.
The issue of illegal or undocumented immigrants working at O’Hare is not new.
Elvira Arellano, who conducted a year-long standoff with U.S. immigration authorities by seeking sanctuary in a Chicago church, once held a job at O’Hare cleaning airplanes.
MORE THAN 20 SUSPECTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ROOFERS FOUND IN FARGO CHECK
The Associated Press - Wednesday, November 07, 2007
More than 20 suspected illegal immigrants were turned over to Border Patrol after a random check of roofing workers Wednesday, authorities said.
Assistant Attorney General Parrell Grossman, who heads the state consumer protection division, led a team of investigators checking an area in Fargo for transient merchants licenses and workers compensation and unemployment insurance. They found workers suspected of being in the country illegally.
Grossman said some out-of-state contractors have Fargo addresses and phone numbers to make it appear that they are local companies.
Homeowner George Calkins said he hoped his roof work would be completed.
"I'm just wondering if it's going to lay there for a week or something like that," Calkins said. "It could be snow, or most anything, come along."
Grossman said authorities were not interested in shutting down the roofing operation.
"We do our best to make sure the work does go on," he told Calkins.
BROWN COUNTY DEPUTIES COULD SOON AID IMMIGRATION AGENTS
Wheeler News Service Published Thursday, November 08, 2007
Sheriff’s deputies in Brown County may soon double as federal immigration agents.
The County Board in Green Bay has given the sheriff the OK to consider a program from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Deputies would train with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agencies. And then they’d have the power to start deportation proceedings for illegal immigrants they arrest.
The deputies would not be able to conduct immigration raids on homes or businesses.
Still, opponents say the move could lead to racial profiling against Hispanics. Other critics say local officers have no business doing what Washington should.
ICE TO EXAMINE ARKANSAS POLICE FOR IMMIGRATION ARREST POWER
By JON GAMBRELL,AP Posted: 2007-11-09 18:10:05
LITTLE ROCK (AP) - Whether Arkansas State Police 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. You're going to end up giving them a notice to appear and letting them loose."
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 U.S. As more immigrants fill jobs at construction sites, poultry plants and other workplaces, political pressure has mounted for greater immigration-law enforcement.
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. 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.
Berger said 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 into arrests, Berger said.
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."'
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 letter, but had not had any other contact with ICE about the state's request.
As of now, Berger said the agency has more than 70 requests from police agencies around the nation asking to join the program. She said officials would examine Arkansas and decide whether the immigration checks or another program would be best for the state.
"They are going to be taking their officers off the street to do this administrative processing," Berger said. "Sometimes, we talk to them and they're like, 'We weren't aware of any of this. No, we're not taking the officer off of the street."'
Sheehan: Published: Nov 09, 2007 12:30 AM Modified: Nov 09, 2007 03:35 AM Ruth Sheehan, Staff Writer
What kind of effect can we expect from Wake County's new program to identify and deport illegal immigrants from the local jail?
According to Sheriff Donnie Harrison, the answer is: fewer criminals. (And with every deportation, extra political points for him among the anti-immigrant crowd.)
But according to Hannah Gill, who is writing a book about immigration in nearby Alamance County, the true results are not quite so simple -- nor so rosy.
First off, she said, expect news of the crackdown to spread instantly among immigrants, both legal and illegal.
Second, expect their panic to be justified.
Gill, assistant director of the Institute for the Study of the Americas at UNC-Chapel Hill, has been gathering deportation stories since Alamance began a program similar to Wake's earlier this year.
Some of the stories sound like they're straight out of the civil rights era -- "Mississippi Burning," with an immigration twist:
The deputy who asks a worker for her "papers" while she's behind the counter at a tienda. She rightfully refuses; he waits outside until she climbs into her car, then stops her.
The man marked for deportation because his brother is a criminal and they share a last name and an apartment. Same difference, right?
The two men shot in a drive-by shooting who call the law, only to find themselves arrested and in line for deportation.
For Gill, immigration is the civil rights battlefield of our age. She acknowledges, as any thinking person would, that the current system of immigration and enforcement is deeply flawed.
But to Gill, that means that current laws are not working. She wants to see those laws fixed rather than seeing immigrants intimidated, harassed and bullied.
To her, this effort is an example of immigration enforcement being outsourced by the federal government. The problem is, this delicate function is being outsourced to a workforce inexperienced in the intricacies of immigration law.
Oh sure, the newly hired jailers will be trained under this program. But the entire sheriff's department reports to an elected official who, with every deportation, can expect to receive political attaboys from the anti-immigrant crowd.
Gill said that in Alamance County, the immigration checks and stream of deportations have destroyed the trust between law enforcement and the Latino community.
Harrison has promised that only immigrants arrested and booked into the county jail would be subject to immigration scrutiny. But, lest we forget Duke lacrosse, just because you've been arrested doesn't mean you're guilty. Either way, it's the same ticket back to Mexico or Central America.
In Alamance, Gill said, many immigrants -- legal and illegal -- are being apprehended for the offense of "Driving While Brown."
Whether all the tales are true or apocryphal is hard to tell. When there's alleged abuse of immigrants, who's going to come forward to complain?
Not people with limited English, frightened they'll be deported if they give their names.
Meantime, the pandering is easy and the political rewards are great.
The Catholic Church in Oklahoma has the courage to challenge the Oklahoma lawmakers who are passing these thoughtless laws(HB 1834)that will result in the creation of an underclass in this country. See the letter below:
The courage of the Archbishop of Oklahoma City and the Council of Priests there should be rewarded at least by wide publication throughout our Church. The full statement to Governor Henry is below and can be found as indicated at the archdiocesan website.
By Louie Gilot / El Paso Times Article Launched: 11/11/2007 05:59:38 PM MST
ALAMOGORDO, N.M.--The Otero County Sheriff's Department insisted they only happened upon undocumented immigrants during the course of special police operations this summer, but their own reports suggest the deputies were actively seeking migrants. One report from September, for instance, starts, "Deputies patrolled Mesa (southeast corner of the county), U.S. 54 South and Chaparral at the same time in attempt to locate illegal persons entering Otero County through the three main arteries."
In another report, a deputy said he had been stopping at a particular residence in Chaparral "many times" because he knew an undocumented immigrant lived there but the man was never home.
The documents, incident reports and invoices filed with the state of New Mexico, were obtained by the El Paso Times under the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act.
They show that the county conducted 27 operations with federal funding under the Operation Stonegarden program between May and September.
During these operations, they made seven arrests, mostly for warrants. They also detained 75 undocumented immigrants, including at least 28 children and two people older than 60, and turned them over to the Border Patrol.
Two of the immigrants, a man and a woman from the same family, were suspected by Immigration and Customs Enforcement of being immigrant smugglers, according to the reports.
On four occasions, deputies wrote that informants told them "death threats were being made against deputies for actively attempting to apprehend undocumented persons," although the threats were not specific. Louie Gilot may be reached at lgilot@elpasotimes.com, 546-6131.
Stonegarden in Otero
Statistics on Operation Stonegarden as reported by the Otero County Sheriff's Department and the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management:
Dates: Operations conducted between May 25 and Sept. 11, 2007.
Allocated funds: $150,000 (for overtime for Otero County sheriff's deputies).
Spent so far: $20,163.92.
Number of operations so far: 27.
Location: Chaparral and the Mesa area in the southeast corner of the county.
Citations: 130.
Arrests: 7.
Detentions of undocumented immigrants: 75, including at least 28 children and two people older than 60.
Suspected smugglers detained: 2. Crime in Otero County
Number of reported crimes May 2006 to August 2006, compared with May 2007 to August 2007, the time span of Operation Stonegarden:
2006: 628*.
2007: 668.
Difference: +6 percent. *A detail breakdown of crimes was not available for all months due to a new computer program.
Reports
Excerpts from reports filed by the Otero County Sheriff's Department to the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for all operations under the Stonegarden program.
June 6, patrol on the Mesa (southeast corner of the county): "No contact with any illegal persons."
June 8, patrol on the Mesa: "No illegal persons were located."
June 14, operation in Chaparral: "Informants advise of death threats being made against deputies for actively attempting to apprehend undocumented persons. No specific threat at this time."
June 22, registration and license checks on the Mesa: "This operation was not successful in capturing any illegal persons or narcotics but sent a clear message to "scouts" and others enforcement of laws and protection of our borders were being conducted."
Sept. 11, "Deputies patrolled Otero Mesa from 0300 hours to 1300 hours attempting to locate undocumented aliens or other illegal activity."
Sept. 24, "Deputies patrolled Mesa, U.S. 54 South and Chaparral at the same time in attempt to locate illegal persons entering Otero County through the three main arteries." Two sides
The following Operation Stonegarden incident, which took place Sept. 10, is described in a lawsuit filed by the family involved and in the Sheriff's report:
A Chaparral family, identified only by the initial "T" because they fear reprisals, alleges deputies woke them up after 4:30 a.m., banging on their door and shouting, "Delivery! Mia's pizza!", then "Animal Control. Come outside," and finally, "Otero County Sheriff. Come outside." The family also said one deputy tried to enter their house through an open window and was halfway inside when he gave up and crawled back out.
When the family members opened the door, they allegedly were first told deputies had received a complaint that one of their dogs had bitten someone.
Then the deputies allegedly said a refrigerator outside the home was a hazard. The family allegedly was taken outside while deputies searched the house.
"Fourteen-year-old Lucy T. asked whether the deputies had a warrant. One of the (deputies) replied that they did not need a warrant because of the refrigerator," according to court documents. All were deported.
Source: Lawsuit filed in October by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, or MALDEF, on behalf of nine plaintiffs.
Four Sheriff's deputies drove to the address at 6 a.m. to investigate a citizen report of illegal immigrants being housed there. "I observed an unused/unsecured refrigerator on the front porch of this residence that was in violation of New Mexico statute 30-8-9," Deputy Rob Hansen wrote in his report. The deputies had to spray a "vicious dog" to get to the front door. They knocked for a long time and at 7:30 a.m., two 16-year-old boys answered the door and got their mother. Deputy Hansen told the woman he was going to give her a written warning for the refrigerator and asked for her social security number. She "could not provide a social security number. (She) volunteered to me that she was not a citizen of the United States and was here illegally," Deputy Hansen wrote. He called the Border Patrol to the location. While waiting, all members of the family had to exit the house because the dog that had been sprayed with repellent, an eye irritant, ran into the house.
Border Patrol took everybody except for a bed-ridden elderly woman suffering from cancer.
Source: Incident report by the Otero County Sheriff's Department.
IMMIGRATION OFFICERS ARREST 11 IMMIGRANTS IN SANTA FE
AP Posted: 2007-11-09 12:36:25
SANTA FE (AP) - Immigration officers have arrested 11 undocumented immigrants at apartment complexes here, but an immigrant advocacy group contends they targeted immigrants who had no criminal histories.
U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement agents from Albuquerque arrested the immigrants during "routine enforcement actions," said Leticia Zamarripa, an ICE spokeswoman.
Agents with ICE's Fugitive Operations Team arrested six men Wednesday and two men Thursday, she said. They also arrested two women and another man, who all had minor children, and gave them notices to appear at an immigration hearing.
Marcela Diaz, director of the advocacy group Somos Un Pueblo Unido, said ICE officials contend they only go after immigrants who have outstanding warrants.
"We say a lot of the people they've been taking in Santa Fe have no criminal record and no arrest warrants," Diaz said. "Most of them are hardworking immigrants who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Jaime Gonzales, who was arrested Wednesday and returned to Juarez, Mexico, told his father that men in plainclothes who put him in a white van never identified themselves as immigration officers and didn't wear official badges, the father told The New Mexican.
He said his son and others put into the van pulled out cell phones and called family members.
The father, who was not identified by name by the newspaper, said his son described what happened: While he was trying to jump-start his car, two men approached and asked if he had been in trouble with the police or arrested. When he said no, they told him to go to the van to sign papers, then made him stay in the van. He said they did not answer when he asked who they were with.
The father said plainclothes men returned to the apartment complex Thursday, knocking on doors and saying they were police.
He said his wife, who is suffering from cancer, looked out the window but did not answer the door because she was frightened by the men, whom she described as wearing black shirts and green camouflage pants.
Zamarripa said ICE agents dress in plainclothes but wear jackets with the ICE logo. She said agents are supposed to wear ICE badges where they're visible and to identify themselves. She also said their vans are marked with U.S. Department of Homeland Security seals.
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