Mexicans GO Home

Nearly 70 supporters of an Iowa slaughterhouse executive crowded the federal courthouse in Sioux Falls Tuesday. Forty-nine-year-old Shalom Rubashkin is facing 72 counts of employing illegal aliens, as well as 91 counts of fraud. Rubashkin was Vice President of the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa, the site of what is believed to be the largest immigration raid in U.S. history.The trial was moved to Sioux Falls from Iowa because of pre-trial publicity. The first of two trials deals with millions of dollars in bank fraud and money laundering charges. In the second trial, Rubashkin faces dozens of counts of employing illegal aliens. Rubashkin will be spending the next two months at the federal courthouse in Sioux Falls as he and his attorneys navigate the legal proceedings that lie ahead. But plenty of supporters have followed the former Iowa slaughterhouse executive to Sioux Falls; dozens of Rubashkins friends and family sat in the courtroom and in an overflow room as jurors were questioned for his bank fraud trial Tuesday.In that case, Rubashkin allegedly gave false statements to his bank about the $35 million line of credit he had with them. Rubashkin was also not paying livestock producers on time, which is against federal laws. He is also standing trial in Sioux Falls for one of the largest immigration raids in the United States. On May 12, 2008, federal authorities arrested 389 illegal aliens at the Agriprocessors plant in Iowa. Rubashkin is charged with paying the illegal workers in cash so they wouldn’t show up on the company’s books, placing the employees on the payroll of another business and encouraging the workers to get fake I.D.s. Attorneys questioned 58 potential jurors Tuesday and have seated 16 jurors. Opening statements in the federal fraud case are scheduled to start Wednesday.The fraud case is expected to last up to six weeks; the immigration case will follow and is also expected to last up to six weeks.

On Thursday, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his deputies raided the Alpine Valley Bread bakery outlet in Mesa and arrested 24 suspected illegal aliens who used stolen Social Security numbers and fake driver’s licenses to obtain their jobs.

According to Sheriff Arpaio, his department was investigating additional employees for similar violations.

Arpaio told reporters gathered in front of the bakery: “People accuse me of arresting just dishwashers. These people are committing crimes to get their jobs. Stealing someone’s identity is a felony.”

To date, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has conducted 48 worksite enforcement raids, resulting in hundreds of arrests.

via Sheriff Joe Arpaio arrests dozens of illegal workers and answers his critics – National Immigration Reform | Examiner.com.

The United States has resumed an 8-year-old program that flies undocumented immigrants, caught at the border, to Mexico City during the hot summer months as part of an effort to stem illegal immigration, thwart smuggling organizations and prevent migrant deaths.

via Plan that flies immigrants to Mexico City resumes.

Tucson, Arizona – A Mexican national apprehended by Nogales Border Patrol agents late last year for attempting to illegally enter the U.S. was sentenced to 51 months in prison on June 30.

The U.S. Attorney’s office prosecuted Tomas Avila-Martinez after he was apprehended on November 23, 2010. During processing at the Nogales Station, the Integrated Automated Fingerprint System revealed that Avila was convicted in Los Angeles, Calif., on December 17, 1997 for possession of narcotics for sale of rohypnol in which he was sentenced to two years in prison. Rohypnol, also known as “roofies” is a controlled substance that can cause extreme drowsiness and amnesia and is commonly referred to as the date rape drug.

Records checks also indicated that Avila was previously deported from the U.S. Following initial processing, the Tucson Sector’s prosecution unit submitted the case to the U.S. Attorney’s office for re-entry of an aggravated felon. Following his incarceration for 51 months, Avila will be formally removed from the country.

All illegal aliens apprehended by the Border Patrol undergo criminal history checks using IAFIS. This vital tool accesses criminal records throughout the U.S., thereby assisting agents in quickly identifying violent criminals and wanted persons.

In January, the Tucson Sector Border Patrol implemented the Consequence Delivery System as an integral component of its enforcement strategy. The CDS centers on delivery a targeting consequence to illegal aliens and simultaneously seeks to disrupt the smuggling cycle and reduce recidivism rates by ensuring consequences are upheld to the full extent of the law. The CDS includes several different “impact” programs. Criminal prosecution is one of the impact programs which individuals with criminal records are criminally prosecuted and subject to jail time.

via Imperial Valley News – Illegal Alien Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison.

On Sunday, detectives with the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation arrested Felix N. Perez, 25, after he allegedly sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl at the Frontier Town Campground, near Berlin, MD.

According to police, the teenage victim was sleeping when Perez entered her camper around 4:00 a.m. and began touching her. The girl pleaded with him to stop, but the Mexican national refused and continued touching her genital area.

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When detectives questioned Perez, he said that he was drunk at the time of the incident and only remembered grabbing her buttocks.

Perez readily admitted to being in the country illegally.

Perez has been charged with third- and fourth-degree sex offense and second-degree assault and is currently being held in the Worcester County Jail on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer.

via Illegal alien charged with sexual assault in Maryland – National Immigration Reform | Examiner.com.

Georgia Colleges Close Doors On Illegal Immigrants

Five public colleges in Georgia have announced a new ban that will prevent illegal immigrants from being admitted into their schools. The state’s 30 other public institutions will adopt a policy that doesn’t allow undocumented students to be accepted into colleges or universities ahead of legal residents.

According to media reports, illegal immigrants will no longer be accepted to the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, Georgia State University in Atlanta and Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville. The list of schools may change over time.

The State Board of Regents states that only 501 of the 310,000 students within the university system are undocumented, and they currently pay out-of-state tuition. The new policies, which go into effect in the fall of 2011, will benefit academically qualified students with legal status who may have been rejected due to space constraints under old rules.

“Not enough Georgians graduate from high school and pursue post-secondary education,” said regents spokesman John Millsaps, quoted by CNN. “We need more [state residents] to pursue higher education.”

Last month, the U.S. Senate halted legislation that would have helped undocumented students gain citizenship. The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act would have allowed certain immigrants to become citizens if they met specific requirements, which included attending college or enrolling in the military.

The owner of a wholesale bakery in San Diego has been charged with hiring illegal workers. Immigration authorities say half of the employees were not authorized to work in the U.S.

The bakery’s president, Jesse Fadick, and three employees are charged with harboring illegal aliens. Immigration authorities said they arrested a total of 44 employees.

The federal court complaint says S&S bakery made deliveries to San Diego’s federal courthouse, military bases and prisons.

Court papers say a former employee tipped off federal authorities to the bakery’s illegal hiring practices.

The informant told authorities his boss directed him to get fake work papers. The informant is a legal resident and allowed to work in the U.S., but his boss didn’t know that.

This is the second bakery immigration officials have targeted in San Diego recently. The owners of the French Gourmet have been accused of knowingly employing undocumented workers and face millions of dollars in fines.

In a much-needed legal victory for the often defeated immigration enforcement movement, a federal appellate court has ruled that a criminal’s sentence can be increased if he or she is in the United States illegally.

The case involves a pair of illegal aliens (Hector Loaiza-Sanchez and Jose Luis Juarez-Gonzalez) who pleaded guilty in an Iowa federal court to drug felonies, conspiring to distribute and possessing with intent to distribute a substantial quantity of methamphetamine.

Federal sentencing guidelines for such crimes range from 168 to 210 months for each defendant. A northern Iowa district court judge, Mark Bennett, said that he would have sentenced the illegal immigrant drug dealers near the bottom of the guidelines if they were in the country legally. Due to their unauthorized status, Judge Bennett instead slapped one defendant with a 188-month punishment and the other with 200 months.

The illegal aliens appealed, claiming that their sentence was improperly based on their immigration status and that it’s illegal to use alienage as a reason to increase a sentence. Upholding Judge Bennett’s decision, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that unauthorized immigrant status is separate from alienage because not all Hispanics are in the country illegally.

The appellate court dismissed the defendants’ suggestion that taking immigration status into account is national origin discrimination because the majority of illegal aliens are Hispanic. “A person’s legal status as a deportable alien is not synonymous with national origin,” the court points out in its 7-page ruling.

Furthermore, the ruling says, judges are allowed to consider all information concerning the background, character and conduct of an individual when sentencing them. Guidelines specifically point out that a sentence can be lengthened when the defendant’s criminal history does not completely characterize his illegal acts and entering the country without papers is an illegal act, the judges write.

Tell that to the open borders movement, which includes President Obama and the cabinet official he appointed to protect the nation from foreign threats.

Maricopa County, AZ. – Maricopa County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 40 illegal aliens during several traffic stops and the investigation of a Mesa drop house which was being used to harbor people who were recently smuggled across the border.

Sheriff’s deputies have arrested over 2,000 illegal alien smugglers and co-conspirators since the state human smuggling law went into effect. The law has produced a 94% conviction rate of the cases that have made it through the judicial process.

Sheriff’s deputies have arrested over 2,000 illegal alien smugglers and co-conspirators since the state human smuggling law went into effect. The law has produced a 94% conviction rate of the cases that have made it through the judicial process.

As a result of the recent arrests, deputies turned over 31 illegal aliens to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE because they were unable to gather enough evidence to arrest them under the state human smuggling law. The remaining nine were booked into the county jail on state human smuggling charges as either smugglers or co- conspirators.

Sheriff Arpaio says, “When the new state law goes into affect, my deputies will no longer have to turn illegal aliens over to the federal government when they suspect they are in the country illegally. They will be taking them straight to jail once they confirm their immigration status.”

Sheriff Arpaio recently voiced concerns that he believes the federal government may soon be changing their policies on the usage of local law enforcement agencies to enforce illegal immigration laws in a measure to trump Arizona’s controversial new state law.

“I was upset last year when Washington stripped 100 of my deputies’ authority to act as federal immigration agents. If recent public comments made by assistant secretary of homeland security John Morton are any indication of what’s to come with illegal immigration enforcement, I am deeply concerned,” stated Arpaio.

Morton recently made public statements to the media indicating that the federal government may not necessarily accept illegal aliens referred to them by local law enforcement authorities in Arizona. He also indicated that he believes Arizona’s new law is not the answer to the current immigration problem.

Since the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office began cracking down on illegal immigration in 2006, his deputies and detention officers have been responsible for arresting, detaining, or investigating in the jail over 38,000 illegal aliens, many of which were under the authority of the federal government that the Sheriff believes may soon go away.

Source: Maricopa County Sheriff

Ever since Governor Jan Brewer signed into law a tough new immigration bill, illegal aliens fleeing Arizona are a common sight. The undocumented, as the media likes to call them, are trying to get ahead of the tough new law before it’s implemented. The media is lamenting the fact that so many families who were having such a wonderful life are now being forced to move.

One such media report can be seen in the video below. CBS, one of the usual suspects in journalistic ineptitude, reports that illegal aliens fleeing Arizona in droves simply because of the misguided bill that was signed into law.

Sob stories of families being displaced, forced to leave jobs, kids being uprooted and leaving their friends only to seek those things in another less draconian state are now the weapon of choice by the mainstream media. In this particular video, the illegal alien that is being interviewed, Manuela, cites the governor’s new law as the reason for their move. Are they going back to Mexico? No. They’re on their way to Colorado. Heck, legal citizens have to uproot and move their families all the time, where are those stories? Why no documentaries about how unfair it is for someone to have to move to find work or the multitude of other reasons one might have to move their family.

A USA Today story says that illegal aliens fleeing Arizona can be seen in the drop in enrollments in schools. Businesses that serve Hispanics are seeing business down a bit as well as other indicators. Other sob stories include a man who has to move to New York City because his air conditioning business relies mostly on Hispanics. The real travesty there for him is that he’s going to New York. Or what about the guy in the video that rented to illegal aliens but now they’re all gone? Should have picked your tenants a little more carefully I suppose.

Illegal aliens fleeing Arizona does prove one thing beyond a reasonable doubt, there are a lot of them there; which speaks to the very reason that Governor Brewer signed the bill in the first place. It will take a lot more than an empty park (see the video) or the image of a little girl crying because she had to leave her friends to make me change my mind about illegal immigration. I’m guessing most people feel the same way.

HARRISBURG — The state House today overwhelmingly approved two bills aimed at cracking down on construction companies that employ undocumented immigrants who have entered the country illegally.

House Bill 1502, which bars companies that hire illegal aliens from entering into state construction contracts, was passed 188 to 6. A companion bill, House Bill 1503, which could cost a company its state license and bar it from entering into construction contracts with other private firms, was passed 188 to 7.

Rep. John Galloway, D-Bucks, said some contractors, apparently in an effort to lower costs, are hiring illegal immigrants for construction jobs and paying them less than legal wages and not providing health benefits. The illegal aliens also aren’t paying state and federal taxes, he said. This situation is hurting unemployed Pennsylvanians who are seeking work, he said.

Some business groups, including chambers of commerce, oppose the bills, which may cause them to face a difficult time in the Republican-controlled Senate. Under the measures, which Mr. Galloway said 14 other states have already enacted, companies would have to use a system called E-Verify, which includes millions of Social Security numbers in a federal, online database, to ensure that each of its workers has a legal Social Security number or the proper papers showing he or she has entered the U.S. legally.

Police in Williamsburg, Va., have arrested two men, Tito Guirao-Aguilar, 39, and Samuel Eli Jacobo-Guirao, 20, for the rape of a 6-year-old girl. The arrest of a third suspect, a juvenile, is likely imminent.

Guirao-Aguilar has been charged with three counts of aggravated sexual battery of a person under the age of 13. Jacobo-Guirao was charged with one count of rape of a person under the age of 13 and two counts of aggravated sexual battery of a person under 13.

Both men are being held in the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail without bond. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has also placed a hold on Guirao-Aguilar, who is in the country illegally.

The most popular tourist destination in the state, Williamsburg has a growing crime problem attributable to its illegal alien population, who are largely employed by the hotel and restaurant industry.

On June 10, Williamsburg police arrested illegal alien Raul Vasquez-Garcia, 33, in front of the same apartment complex where he allegedly shot a man, a week earlier.

On the night of June 4, police arrived at the Village of Woodshire apartments on Merrimac Trail, they found a man suffering from two gunshot wounds. According to police, the man and Vasquez-Garcia had been arguing over a woman.

The victim was taken to a local hospital, where he recovered from his wounds and has since been released.

Vasquez-Garcia is charged with attempted murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and assault.

TALLAHASSEE — Florida Republican leaders have begun crafting anti-illegal-immigrant legislation modeled after an Arizona law that has incited widespread protests and fueled national and international debate over U.S. immigration policies.

Under the proposed bill, police would have broad power under state law to ask suspects for proof of legal residency, said Rep. William Snyder, a Republican from Stuart who plans to introduce the legislation in November.

“We have significant components from the Arizona bill that I plan to incorporate,” he said. “We have the beginnings of it.”

The effort, which would be filed for consideration during the March legislative session, is already drawing broad support within the GOP.

Majority leaders in the Florida Senate and House said a new approach is needed to address the federal government’s failure to temper illegal immigration.

It has the backing of both leading Republican gubernatorial candidates — businessman Rick Scott and Attorney General Bill McCollum, whose office is helping to draft the bill.

Snyder, a former police officer, said the proposed legislation is needed to protect undocumented immigrants, who are vulnerable to abusive employers and violent criminals.

“This is a human right issue,” he said. “They don’t enjoy the same rights and privileges that you and I do. The solution is to enforce the laws that currently exist and to discourage people from coming here to `find a better life’ when in fact they just come here and are victimized.

via - MiamiHerald.com.

Arizona’s tough new immigration enforcement law is fueling an exodus of Hispanics from the state seven weeks before it goes into effect, according to officials and residents in the state.

Though no one has precise figures, reports from school officials, businesses and individuals indicate worried Hispanics — both legal and illegal — are leaving the state in anticipation of the law, which will go into effect July 29.

Schools in Hispanic areas report unusual drops in enrollment. The Balsz Elementary School District is 75% Hispanic, and within a month of the law’s passage, the parents of 70 students pulled them out of school, said District Superintendent Jeffrey Smith. The district lost seven students over the same one-month period last year, and parents tell Smith the Arizona law is the reason for leaving.

“They’re leaving to another state where they feel more welcome,” he said.

The measure, signed into law April 23 by Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, requires a police officer to determine a person’s immigration status if they are stopped, detained or arrested and there is “reasonable suspicion” they are in the country illegally.

About 100,000 illegal immigrants left Arizona after the state passed a law in 2007 that enhanced penalties on businesses that hired them, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Some early signs suggest another exodus.

Businesses serving the Hispanic community say business is down, signaling that illegal immigrants are holding on to cash in anticipation of a move from the state, said David Castillo, co-founder of the Latin Association of Arizona, a chamber of commerce for nearly 400 first-generation Hispanic business owners.

“(Brewer) signed the law, and everything fell apart,” Castillo said. “It’s devastating.”

Jorge Vargas plans to move to New York City because his air-conditioning business relies mostly on Hispanics. “My business is completely dead,” he said.

Juan Carlos Cruz, an illegal immigrant who has worked in plant nurseries for 20 years, huddled with dozens of relatives over the Memorial Day Weekend in the backyard of his brother’s Phoenix-area home to plot out the family’s next move to avoid what they say will be harassment by police. Virginia and California are the front-runners.

“If I were alone, I’d try to stay. But I have a family, and I have to find a place where we can live with more freedom,” said Cruz, who hopes to move July 4 to blend in with holiday weekend traffic. “This is getting too hard.”

Paul Senseman, a spokesman for Brewer, said it’s difficult to gauge how many people are leaving because of the law, but he said he hears similar reports of people leaving the state.

“If that means that fewer people are breaking the law, that is absolutely an accomplishment,” he said.

(Reuters) – A solid majority of Americans back Arizona's tough crackdown on illegal immigrants, while just 25 percent support President Barack Obama's immigration policy which includes legalizing millions of unauthorized migrants, a study found on Wednesday.

U.S.

The controversial Arizona law passed last month requires state and local police, after making “lawful contact,” to check the immigration status of anyone they reasonably suspect is in the country illegally, and arrest those who cannot prove it.

The report by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press (www.people-press.org) found that 59 percent of adults polled in a national survey gave their overall approval to the law, which opponents charge is unconstitutional and a mandate for racial profiling.

Seventy-three percent said they backed a measure requiring people to produce documents verifying their legal status if police ask for them, while 67 percent approve of allowing police to detain anyone who cannot verify that they are in the country legally.

The new law has pushed a debate over immigration to the fore in U.S. politics, and rebooted a drive by Obama and Senate Democrats to overhaul federal immigration laws — although it is seen as a longshot before November congressional elections.

Obama supports a system allowing undocumented immigrants in good standing to pay a fine, learn English and become citizens. He also backs tightening border security and clamping down on employers that hire undocumented workers.

The survey, carried out among 994 adults — found that only 25 percent supported Obama's handling of immigration policy, while more than twice as many — 54 percent — said they disapproved.

It found that Democrats are evenly split over the Arizona law — which is set to come into effect at the end of July — with 45 percent backing it and 46 percent saying they disapprove of it.

The measure, signed into law by Arizona's Republican Governor Jan Brewer on April 23, has triggered an international furor and unleashed legal challenges and calls for an economic boycott of the Grand Canyon state.

On Tuesday, United Nations human rights experts added their voices to criticism of the law, saying it may lead to police targeting people on the basis of ethnic origin, in violation of international law.

via Study shows broad support for Arizona migrant law | Reuters.

LANSING — A Michigan lawmaker believes the state’s law enforcement officers need the authority to arrest illegal immigrants and is drafting legislation similar to Arizona’s new immigration law.

Rep. Kim Meltzer, R-Clinton Township, said her bill would allow police to request proof of citizenship from people who are stopped and questioned on another offense, such as a traffic violation or selling fraudulent identity documents. Officers would have the authority to arrest people who can’t prove their legal status.

“We have borders in place for a reason,” Meltzer said. “Everyone should play by the rules.”

Meltzer, who’s a candidate for state Senate in the August primary election, said racial profiling — a key fear among opponents of Arizona’s law — would not be tolerated. She said a driver’s license would be reasonable proof that a person was legally living in the U.S.

The Arizona law approved last month empowers local police to question anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally. It has triggered a heated national debate, touched off protests and prompted some states to look at their own laws.

Meltzer said that when the federal government ignores its border patrol responsibilities, it presents “a financial liability for our states, local communities and schools.”

Her plan has already garnered strong reaction.

“This is absolutely unacceptable,” said Emily Diaz-Torres, executive director of the new Macomb Hispanic and International Service Center in New Haven. “If it’s anything like the Arizona law, we will definitely fight it.”

Shelli Weisberg, legislative director for American Civil Liberties Union in Michigan, said the group would fight Meltzer’s bill in the Legislature and in court if necessary.

“We don’t want an Arizona-style bill. It encourages racial profiling,” Weisberg said, adding that such a law would put Michigan out of step with other states.

But Ken Grabowski, legislative director for the Police Officers Association of Michigan, said a law giving local police more authority is “probably something that needs to be done.”

“In many instances, if police find someone who is here illegally, they take them to the local (Immigration and Naturalization Service) office, and the person is given an appearance notice for a later date. But nobody ever shows up. It’s a farce,” he said.

There is no official estimate of the number of illegal immigrants in Michigan, state demographer Ken Darga said, adding that the counting process “is pretty imprecise.”

Meltzer said Michigan law enforcement officers have been left with the responsibility to protect the state against those who sneak across the U.S.-Canadian border.

Federal border officials allocated about $20 million a year ago for 11 cameras to be set up along the St. Clair River to watch for illegal immigrants crossing from Canada.

Last week, two Texas representatives said they would file legislation similar to the controversial new Arizona law that requires law enforcement personnel to ask for documentation if they suspect a person is an illegal immigrant.

Rep. Debbie Riddle of Tomball said she would push for a new law in the January legislative session, and Rep. Leo Berman of Tyler said he plans to file similar legislation.

On April 23, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law a bill that directs police to demand documentation from people they “reasonably suspect” are unlawfully present in the country. Police have the power to detain those who cannot produce such documents when asked.

While some have lauded the new law as appropriate for a state with many immigrants, others have criticized the law for possibly opening the door to racial profiling and harassment of Hispanics.

Local legislators think a stricter approach to immigration is necessary. On Friday, Rep. Ralph Sheffield, R-Temple, said he didn’t know yet if he would support Texas legislation similar to the Arizona law because he hasn’t read the text of the Arizona law. He

believes, however, that there are effective laws in place already that the federal government isn’t enforcing.

“We must secure our borders, make sure our law enforcement has all the resources they need and put more pressure on D.C.,” Sheffield said. “Why duplicate a law in place? Let’s enforce the laws.”

State Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock, R-Killeen, said he would support the bill if the Supreme Court rules the law is constitutional.

“If the Supreme Court finds it is a valid tool for controlling illegal immigration, I would be in favor of it,” Aycock said. “I think we need to gain better control on illegal immigration. … It’s unfortunate the federal government hasn’t stepped up better than it has.”

The court would have to determine that the law doesn’t “trample anyone’s individual rights,” to get his support. The Arizona law and potential Texas bill will be challenged in court pretty quickly, he said.

Former Killeen mayor and local League of United Latin American Citizens president Raúl G. Villaronga said he was disappointed when area representatives said they might support an Arizona-style immigration law.