Jul 04

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

posted by USA Citizen

Jul 04

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.

posted by USA Citizen

Jul 04

BOISE — The Ada and Canyon County sheriff’s offices will soon join a federal effort to crack down on criminal illegal aliens.

As it stands now, everyone who is booked into the jails is fingerprinted.  Those prints are then sent to the state and FBI for processing.

In just a couple weeks, the prints will begin going to ICE — the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ICE agents are at the Ada County Jail almost daily speaking with inmates who have a questionable immigration status.

“If we’re able to take a suspected criminal alien off the streets immediately instead of them going back out to the community to possibly commit more crime, that’s how it really makes it a safer community for all of us,” said Chief Deputy Ron Freeman of the Ada County Sheriff’s Office.

Right now, ICE agents scroll the sheriff’s website for inmates on their watch list.

Soon, the same fingerprints that Ada County already gets from inmates, will automatically link up to the ICE database.  Agents could be tipped off right away.

“If there’s someone that ICE is looking for we will immediately know that, where right now there is a delay and often times that delay meant those people would be getting out of jail before that information would be received by ICE,” said Freeman.

Last year, ICE took more than 100 inmates from the Ada County Jail into their custody.  The sheriff’s office predicts once the new system goes online in a couple of weeks; that number will be even higher.

“We had over 20,000 bookings last year. That’s a lot of people. Not only locals but people from outside our area are brought into our jail,” said Freeman.

Fewer of those inmates could free up bed space in the local jails and save taxpayers money.  It costs taxpayers an estimated $60 a day to house one inmate.

“If someone does not need to be in this community because they’re a foreign national illegally in this area, when ICE takes them back they’re not in our community to possibly commit crimes. It adds to the safety of this community,” said Freeman.

The sheriff’s office says 20 other states are linked up with the ICE database, and Ada and Canyon Counties are the first in Idaho to participate.

ICE plans to spend more than $1 billion this year on criminal alien enforcement efforts.

posted by USA Citizen

Jul 04

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.

posted by USA Citizen

Jul 03

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.

posted by USA Citizen

Jun 26

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.

posted by USA Citizen

Jun 21

A Nebraska town, angry over a surge in the number of Hispanic residents, is voting today in a referendum on a new law that would require foreign nationals to get a licence to live in the town.

The referendum in Fremont has been prompted by a sharp rise in Hispanic people drawn by work at local meatpacking plants combined with fears over job losses and demand placed on the town’s social services because of the economic downturn.

If approved, tenants who are not US-citizens would be required to get an “occupancy licence” from the city council. Even residents of nursing homes would be required to obtain such a licence.

Federal law requires employers to verify the immigration status of workers but the proposed Fremont law would also open violators to local sanctions. Supporters insist it is not racist and is essential to protect jobs, healthcare and education for local people because the town’s Hispanic population has surged from 165 to more than 2,000 in the past 20 years.

It is unclear what proportion of those are in the US illegally but the big meatpacking plants where many work say they only employ people whose immigrant status has been verified. The Fremont Tribune has reported cases of Hispanic people, who are legal residents, being verbally abused and told to return to Mexico.

Jerry Hart, one of the three sponsors of the legislation, told the Fremont Tribune that the proposed law is in part a security measure. “The federal law was put into place for a reason – to control how many people come into this country and to regulate the people, so they don’t have communicable diseases and are not bringing in drugs or having criminal records and these people who are sneaking in – you don’t know what you’re getting. We could have terrorists and gang members and people involved in drugs,” he said.

John Wiegert, another of the sponsors of the referendum, said: “A lot of them are coming here for the American dream and they’re causing nothing but an American nightmare to me.”

via The Guardian.

posted by USA Citizen

Jun 12

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.

posted by USA Citizen

May 25

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Tuesday announced the White House has agreed to her requests to deploy National Guard troops to the U.S. border with Mexico.

Giffords called for the Guard's deployment immediately after the March 27, 2010, murder of Cochise County rancher Rob Krentz.

Giffords also says in a statement Tuesday that President Barack Obama will request $500 million in funding for border security.

In 2006, President George W. Bush sent thousands of troops to the border to perform support duties that tie up immigration agents. The troops wouldn't perform significant law enforcement duties.

That program has since ended, and politicians in border states have called for troops to be sent there to curb human and drug smuggling and prevent Mexico's drug violence from spilling over into the United States.

via KVOA.com

posted by USA Citizen

May 25

EDMONDS, Wash. – The KING 5 Investigators have learned that an illegal immigrant accused of raping a woman in Edmonds Sunday has been deported nine times. That's much more than previously reported.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement won't comment on the case of Jose Lopez Madrigal. But KING 5 got the information through confidential sources and documents.

Larry Klein was the man who heard the alleged victim's cries for help. Police say the suspect pulled the woman off the street to a dumpster and raped her.

“I could see the back of his head. I could see his pants were down. I could see her lying on the ground. I could hear her crying, but I couldn't really see her face,” said Klein.

Klein called police, who quickly arrested the suspect. But learning his identity took much longer because of some 30 aliases. It was only through fingerprints that they identified him as Madrigal, a Mexican citizen.

Madrigal's arrest and immigration record includes a staggering number of contacts with law enforcement since 1989. That's the year he was convicted of theft using a firearm in California.

He was deported a couple of times after that. Then in 1999, he was arrested for drug sales in both San Diego and San Francisco. Records show that he was deported three times that year between April and August.

He was arrested for drugs again in Stockton, Calif. in 2000. In 2002, he pleaded to third degree sexual assault in Denver. Later that year, he was deported again. And in 2003, records show he was deported three more times.

People who live near the scene of Sunday's alleged rape wonder how it could keep happening.

“Makes you wonder, what are we doing wrong? How is he getting back in here?” said Kirby Aumick.

“It’s troubling. I mean, if this man should not have been in this country, he should have been behind bars then, really, this is a senseless tragedy,” said Klein.

According to our sources, Madrigal’s last contact before Sunday was around 2003. So, it's not clear how much of that time Madrigal was in this country.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has refused to comment on the case which started making national headlines when it was learned that Madrigal had been deported several times prior to the Edmonds case.

In reviewing records and talking with confidential sources, the KING 5 Investigators learned just how extensive Madrigal’s immigration and arrest record is.

They found he was first deported in California in 1989 and since then he’s returned from his Mexican homeland and been arrested for drug crimes, a sex assault in Colorado and other offenses.

One criminal justice source says Madrigal is a “poster boy” for the federal governments ineffectiveness at keeping the most serious “criminal aliens” – illegals who commit crimes – out of the United States.

posted by USA Citizen

May 13

by James Buchanan

There was a recent story in the news about the owner of the Arizona Suns renaming his team “Los Suns” in solidarity with the illegal aliens and as a protest against the new Arizona immigration law #1070. There’s just one little problem: 70 percent of the people of Arizona support the new immigration law and only the liberal ivory tower elitists (who don’t have to live near the illegals) are protesting the law while the vast majority of White Americans enthusiastically support it.

Well, an enterprising fan of the Suns showed up at the now notorious game, where the Arizona Suns became “Los Suns”, wearing a custom-made T-shirt boldly proclaiming his support for the new law. The fan had purchased an expensive seat along with a friend with a similar T-shirt right above the Arizona Suns’ coach and the TV cameras kept getting shots of his T-Shirt supporting Arizona’s new immigration law #1070. All the people sitting around him were giving him the “thumbs up” sign.

An article on the John and Ken website reports “As the Phoenix Suns took the court last week wearing ‘Los Suns’ jerseys in protest of Arizona’s new immigration law, Jim Clark had his own protest. Clark, CEO of Republic Monetary Exchange, had his own shirt made in response to the team’s move. The Phoenix resident wore his bright orange long-sleeved shirt that read ‘Viva Los 1070′ in the Wednesday playoff game against the San Antonio Spurs. Clark said he decided to wear the shirt after learning the Suns were taking a stance against Arizona’s new immigration law, known as Senate Bill 1070.”

The pro-illegal alien owner of the Suns noticed this guy getting on the TV screen over and over and finally blew his top. Security guards were sent after the T-shirt guy and his friend, who resisted their thuggish behavior. At first the security thugs claimed that they were removing him for trying to make a political statement. The law however had already passed, and all they were doing was supporting a valid law of the state of Arizona (while the owner of the Suns was showing disrespect for the new Arizona law).

The security guards backed down and let the pro-immigration law fans return to their seats, and the people sitting around them gave them a round of applause on their return.

Read more… White Civil Rights.

posted by USA Citizen

May 12

(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.

posted by USA Citizen

May 09

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.

posted by USA Citizen

May 03

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.

posted by USA Citizen

May 03

The Arizona Department of Education recently began telling school districts that teachers whose spoken English it deems to be heavily accented or ungrammatical must be removed from classes for students still learning English.

State education officials say the move is intended to ensure that students with limited English have teachers who speak the language flawlessly. But some school principals and administrators say the department is imposing arbitrary fluency standards that could undermine students by thinning the ranks of experienced educators.

The teacher controversy comes amid an increasingly tense debate over immigration. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer this month signed the nation’s toughest law to crack down on illegal immigrants. Critics charge that the broader political climate has emboldened state education officials to target immigrant teachers at a time when a budget crisis has forced layoffs

posted by USA Citizen

May 03

Just a week after signing the country’s toughest immigration bill into law, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer now must decide whether to endorse another bill passed by her state legislature — one that outlaws ethnic-studies programs in public schools.

The bill forbids Arizona schools from using any curriculum that promotes “the overthrow of the United States government” or “resentment toward a race or class of people.” It also disallows any curriculum that’s “designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group” or that seeks to “advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.”

Arizona’s superintendent for public instruction, Tom Horne, has said he’s backing the measure because ethnic-studies programs encourage “ethnic chauvinism”; he’s also suggested that such programs could breed secessionist sentiment among Hispanic students.

posted by USA Citizen

Apr 29

The political and legal fallout now plaguing Arizona after that state’s passage of one of the nation’s toughest new immigration laws could soon be headed for Utah.

Arizona’s SB1070, signed into law Friday by Gov. Jan Brewer, calls for, in part, all local law enforcement officers to ask for immigration status documents “whenever there is reasonable suspicion that the person is unlawfully present.”

Rep. Stephen Sandstrom, R-Orem, told the Deseret News Monday he’s started work on drafting a bill for the 2011 Utah legislative session that uses the Arizona statute as a model — a move he said is necessary to stanch the flow of illegal immigrants into the Beehive State.

“It is imperative that we pass similar legislation here in Utah,” Sandstrom said. “In the past, when we’ve seen tougher legislation in Arizona … a lot of illegal immigrants just move here.”

While critics of the bill say it will lead to racial profiling and likely makes inroads into rights protected under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Sandstrom said it’s no different from enforcement policy local police officers already use.
Story continues below

“If you get pulled over for driving intoxicated, what’s the first thing the officer asks for?” Sandstrom said. “Your ID, right? This is the same thing, the same work police officers are already doing … asking for documentation that relates to probable cause.”

posted by USA Citizen

Apr 29

Reaction to Arizona’s tough new immigration law, which requires local and state police officers to ask individuals they stop about their immigration status, was swift and oh-so predictable.

The Rev. Al Sharpton compared it to South African apartheid and threatened to inundate the Southwestern state with “Freedom Walkers.” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said it was “mean-spirited.” Both President Barack Obama and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, the two Washington, D.C., officials who are sworn to secure the border, called it “misguided.”

The only people who approve, it seems, are the American citizens who have to live with the consequences of the federal government’s long-standing failure to enforce its own immigration laws and protect the country’s border with Mexico. Seventy percent of Arizonans — and 60 percent of people surveyed nationwide — favor the law signed last week by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer. The bill’s chief sponsor, Republican state Sen. Russell Pearce, summed up local sentiment when he said that it will “take the handcuffs off the police and put them on violent criminals.”

This is not the first time the public has been at odds with policy makers in Washington, D.C., on immigration issues, and it won’t be the last. But it’s a clear warning that Obama will be on shaky political ground if he tries to ram an immigration bill through Congress without addressing border-security issues first.

An estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants reside in Arizona, which has become a main entry point for thousands of drug smugglers, human traffickers, potential terrorists and others who often commit violent crimes against innocent people and their property. To its credit, Arizona made several previous attempts to deal with the growing problem, with limited success. In 2005, human smuggling became a state crime. In 2007, employers were prohibited from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. But the invasion continued, and violent drug cartels have turned Phoenix into the kidnapping capital of the U.S.

Instead of finally cracking down on this clear threat to national security, Obama has ordered officials in the Justice Department — the same people who ignored Black Panther voter intimidation in Philadelphia — to assess the constitutionality of the new Arizona law. Previously, Napolitano stopped construction of the “virtual fence” that was supposed to make the border safe. And, Obama has refused requests from the states to send more National Guard troops to protect the border.

“We in Arizona have been more than patient waiting for Washington to act,” Brewer said shortly after signing the new law, which takes effect this summer.

Predictably enough, she is being vilified in the same Washington, D.C., that can’t be bothered with fulfilling its most basic duty: protecting the nation’s international borders.

posted by USA Citizen

Apr 24

A Great American Hero

A Great American Hero

PHOENIX – Gov. Jan Brewer ignored criticism from President Obama on Friday and signed into law a bill supporters said would take handcuffs off police in dealing with illegal immigration in Arizona, the nation’s busiest gateway for human and drug smuggling from Mexico.

With hundreds of protesters outside the state Capitol shouting that the bill would lead to civil rights abuses, Brewer said critics were “overreacting” and that she wouldn’t tolerate racial profiling.

]”We in Arizona have been more than patient waiting for Washington to act,” Brewer said after signing the law. “But decades of inaction and misguided policy have created a dangerous and unacceptable situation.”

Earlier Friday, Obama called the Arizona bill “misguided” and instructed the Justice Department to examine it to see if it’s legal. He also said the federal government must enact immigration reform at the national level – or leave the door open to “irresponsibility by others.”

“That includes, for example, the recent efforts in Arizona, which threaten to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and their communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe,” Obama said.

The legislation, sent to the Republican governor by the GOP-led Legislature, makes it a crime under state law to be in the country illegally. It also requires local police officers to question people about their immigration status if there is reason to suspect they are illegal immigrants; allows lawsuits against government agencies that hinder enforcement of immigration laws; and makes it illegal to hire illegal immigrants for day labor or knowingly transport them.

The law sends “a clear message that Arizona is unfriendly to undocumented aliens,” said Peter Spiro, a Temple University law professor and author of the book “Beyond Citizenship: American Identity After Globalization.”

posted by USA Citizen

Apr 19

Arizona lawmakers passed a controversial immigration bill on Monday requiring police in the state that borders Mexico to determine if people are in the United States illegally, a measure critics say is open to racial profiling.

U.S.

Lawmakers in the Arizona Senate voted 17 to 11 to approve the bill, widely regarded as the toughest measure yet taken by any U.S. state to curb illegal immigration.

The state’s House of Representatives approved the measure last week. Governor Jan Brewer, a Republican, has five days to veto the bill or sign it into law.

Immigration is a bitterly fought issue in the United States, where some 10.8 million illegal immigrants live and work in the shadows, although it has been eclipsed in recent months by a healthcare overhaul and concern over the economy.

The law requires state and local police to determine the status of people if there is “reasonable suspicion” that they are illegal immigrants and to arrest people who are unable to provide documentation proving they are in the country legally.

It also makes it a crime to transport someone who is an illegal immigrant and to hire day laborers off the street.

“I believe handcuffs are a wonderful tool when they’re on the right people,” said Russell Pearce, the Republican state senator who wrote the bill.

We want to “get them off law enforcement and get them on the bad guys,” he told Reuters.

Opponents of the Arizona law, some of whom held a vigil outside Brewer’s home on Monday to urge her to veto the measure, say it is unconstitutional and would discriminate against Latinos.

“You cannot tell if a person walking on a sidewalk is undocumented or not … (so) this is a mandate for racial profiling,” said Pablo Alvarado, director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.

Alvarado said his group would call on the federal government to intervene and was considering legal action to overturn the bill.

posted by USA Citizen

Apr 16

These days you drive down Staples Mill Road and there are all these Spanish stores. What the fuck is that about? This is America, not some sewer of a neighborhood in Tijuana. This is no country to be selling Goya products in. We don’t want that filthy shit here.

And we let these disgusting people work in our restaurants. That should be an automatic health violation. Have you ever seen a kitchen in Mexico? There’s no hand washing, no proper cleaning of dishes or food. Theirs is a culture that treats hygiene as a sin, and now we let them wash our dishes and cook our food? This is a people that would eat rotten meat off a dirt floor and you trust them to serve you clean, properly prepared food?

And what about letting them work construction? You think the wetbacks know the first thing about proper building codes? Go to Mexico and see the disgusting shacks those people are proud to call home. They sit their with the fucked-up teeth with the nasty gold caps and proudly beam in their cardboard box of a house. A white five year old could build something safer and sturdier with a staple gun and construction paper. But we let this low-life slime come here and build our homes? God only knows what they are using or how they are doing it.

And every one of them is a criminal. Almost none of them are here legally. They jump the fence down at the border like Pedro the Mexican Jumping Bean. How about following the rules, Chico? Apply for work papers like everyone else and wait your fucking turn. If they will break the law to come here, how hard is it to imagine that they will break the law while they stay here? These dirty beaners will steal your hubcaps in a heartbeat and sell your sister to some donkey show in Tijuana.

Used to be a time when the Mexicans came here, and we killed the sons of bitches at places like San Jacinto. Now they come here and the whining liberals say they are not criminals, and that they are “undocumented” or some such bullshit. Undocumented? What the fuck is that about? It’s not like they lost their papers or passport, you assholes. They don’t have documents because they refused to follow the procedure to get them. That makes them criminals, not undocumented. THEY BROKE THE FUCKING LAW YOU LEFTIST HIPPIE FUCKS! I don’t get to choose which laws I feel like following or not following. So why is it OK if for every spic in Juarez to decide to break our laws and then the liberals think we should applaud them for it?

And when they come here, they live worse than the niggers. 20 of them packed into a two-bedroom apartment like the cockroaches they attract. Low-riders up on blocks in the front yard. They live even worse than the trailer park trash whites. That bullshit mariachi music blaring at all hours of the night. That shit is worse than rap and just listening to it makes them even dumber than they were. Wild animals live more cleanly and more civilized than these low life beaners. In fact, who knows how many goats and chickens they have living in the house with them? Probably doesn’t matter since they are all animals just like the Mexicans.

The worst thing? These disgusting shitbags say WE don’t respect THEIR culture. You call that caveman-quality lifestyle a culture, you filthy pigs? You like your low-rent prehistoric culture? Fine. Have all of it you want in Guadalajara, you wetback scum. There is all kinds of that shambles of a culture on YOUR side of the fucking border. If your culture is so wonderful–where you eat what looks like dogshit wrapped in a tortilla and call it a burrito–then you should remain in Mexico, Paco. But no. You come here. Why? Because America is better than shithole Mexico, right Pancho? We have more money, better schools, clean water and modern food because of the superiority of the AMERICAN way and the AMERICAN culture. So take your La Raza loving ass and that joke you call a culture and shove it up your collective unwiped asses. If you want to be in MY country than act like you belong in MY country. And that starts with learning English, instead of speaking that Spanish “taco-burrito” bullshit language. You want to be in America, you speak English. Mexicans should be deported for the first “si, senor” that comes out of their low-life mouths when they come to this country.

If I have the misfortune of ever going to Mexico, I will act like I am in YOUR country. I will shit in the streets so it flows into the water supply and eat crap that Americans would not feed to farm animals. But do not give me any shit about you need to preserve your inconsequential failure of a culture. If your culture was so fucking successful you wouldn’t be here and I would not be typing this. But its not. It is the lowest form of culture. Niggers with plates in their mouths and bones in their noses in Africa have a more advanced culture than than you filthy Mexicans. Mexico barely qualifies as a functioning civilization. Mexicans may well be the evolutionary missing link. I’m not even sure they qualify as human.

You people have a big country down there, Frito Bandito. Do us all a favor. Stay there. You can continue to fuck it up and shit in the streets for the next 500 years for all I care. But do not come here and ruin my country with your animal behavior, Cholo. This is one gringo who will not stand for it. It is time for this country to defend its borders and keep every Juan, Jose, Julio, and Ramon where they belong. In that swill pit shithole of a zoo called Mexico. And keep them away from civilized, white, Christian, God-fearing Americans.

Fucking mud people. You all make me sick. God bless the United States of America and keep the filthy Mexicans out.

posted by USA Citizen

Apr 16

PHOENIX (CN) – An Arizona bill that gives local police departments the power to enforce immigration laws and conduct warrantless searches of vehicles if an officer has a “reasonable suspicion” that the occupants have no papers will return to the state Senate on Monday for reconciliation after both houses approved it. Among the bill’s provisions: Workers may be fined if they seek work with a “gesture or a nod.”

Civil libertarians denounce the bill as unconstitutional. Republicans – who accounted for all the “Yes” votes in the party-line, 35-21 vote in the Arizona House – say the bill is needed because the federal government is not doing its job.

Immigration is a federal concern and Draconian state and local laws attempting to regulate such – such as Farmers Branch, Texas’ three attempts to make it illegal to rent apartments to undocumented people – have repeatedly been thrown out as unconstitutional. But that hasn’t stopped Arizona from trying.

The bill, written by state Rep. Russell Pearce, requires police officers to determine the immigration status of a person if they have “reasonable suspicion” that the person is in the country illegally, and to check their status with the federal government.

It gives officers the right to conduct warrantless arrests of such people and to stop any car if they suspect that the driver committed a civil traffic violation and is smuggling humans.

It creates a new misdemeanor: failure to complete or carry an alien registration document, punishable by up to 6 months in jail time and a $500 fine for a first offense. A second offense is a felony with a $1,000 fine.

The bill also makes hiring day laborers a misdemeanor if the driver or worker block the “normal movement of traffic.”

Workers may be fined if they solicit work verbally, or with a “gesture or a nod.”

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says that his office has been planning to enforce of the new law by providing almost 900 deputies with training on how to detect and arrest illegal aliens.

That alarms some civil libertarians.

“Our biggest concern is that we are giving local police, untrained in the complexity of immigration law, the green light to arrest someone that looks and sounds foreign,” said Alessandra Soler Meetze, executive director of the ACLU of Arizona. The bill “specifically singles out the failure to carry ID as proof you are undocumented. Citizens will have to carry their papers at all times.”

The ACLU released a 5-page analysis detailing its problems with the bill.

The bill is called the “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act.”

“There are already laws on the books that address obstructing traffic, so adding this is unnecessary” said Soler Meetze. “The bill is targeting someone just for soliciting employment, which violates the day laborers’ right to free speech.”

Citizens who encourage “illegal aliens” to enter the country will be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a $1,000 fine. Vehicles used to transport or hide undocumented immigrants will be impounded.

The bill gives any person the power to sue a city, town or county for failing to enforce it.

Police officers will be indemnified for costs and attorneys’ fees connected with any lawsuits brought by citizens who were wrongfully questioned or arrested, unless the officer acted in bad faith.

Dan Stern, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which opposes immigration, called the bill “a no-nonsense, common-sense example of a state acting where the federal government is failing, a reaction to the inaction in Washington.”

“Making it tough for illegal aliens to live and work in Arizona means that those illegal aliens already living in the state are more likely to self-deport, and it certainly reduces the incentive to come,” Stern said in a statement.

Employers will be required to keep records of verification of eligibility for the duration of an employee’s employment, or for at least three years, whichever is longer.

“Arizona is on the verge of enacting the most anti-immigrant legislation the country has seen in a generation,” said Chris Newman, legal director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.

“We are hopeful Governor [Jan] Brewer will consult with her legal counsel, issue a veto, and spare Arizona the expense of defending an unconstitutional, unwise, and odious bill in federal courts.”

Brewer, a Republican, is not likely to do that.

Soler Meetze said it is “quite likely” that the bill will be challenged if passed since “it is a direct attempt to regulate immigration law.”

The bill directs that any “noncitizens” arrested be transferred to federal custody after discharged from prison or fined for failing to carry identification.

The state Senate approved a different version of the bill in February. If signed into law by Gov. Brewer, it will not go into effect until August at the earliest.

posted by USA Citizen

Apr 06

LONGS – In an effort to help cut back on hiring illegal immigrants, Coastal Steel and Acoustics (CSA), an Horry County construction company, signed the state’s first agreement with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Monday. The agreement is to strengthen its hiring practices and combat the hiring of illegal aliens.

Jack Doyle, the company’s co-owner, said this was a voluntary move. He said he wants to set an example and make sure that those who are legally in the country get a fair chance at making a living, and do not find themselves competing against those who are unlawfully here and are working for lower wages.
The agreement is part of a voluntary employer program known as IMAGE, or ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers, which is a joint initiative between government and the business community to restore integrity to the U.S immigration system. By voluntarily participating in the IMAGE program, companies can reduce unauthorized employment and the use of fraudulent identity documents.

“Quite honestly we were getting pretty fed up with the illegal aliens that were working for other companies taking away our business and that is very rampant in our business,“ said Doyle, “For example say that company ‘X’ hires 90 percent of illegal aliens and pays them in cash on Fridays and here we are a fully-insured company paying all of the benefits that come along with a legal employee, therefore we cant come close to competing with that.”

“Our first priority in work site cases is criminal cases, “said Kenneth Smith, special agent with ICE, “We work to enforce criminal laws for violations of employment authorizations—-companies that knowingly employ individuals illegally, we will target criminally.“

Smith said the reason the agency wants to especially partner with construction businesses is because that industry draws a lot of people who are unauthorized to work in the U.S. It’s something Doyle said his company would not tolerate.

“We always speak English on our jobs, so that’s also a safety factor,“ Doyle said, “We know that we can sleep at night knowing that we are not going to have anybody coming policing us and fining us or putting us in jail for getting illegal hires.“

If any business or local company signs an agreement with ICE, it also encourages them to use the Department of Homeland Security’s E-verify program. The program is a free, Internet-based system that checks to see if newly-hired employees are eligible to work in the United States.

For more information on this agreement, log on to http://www.ice.gov.

posted by USA Citizen

Apr 02

LAREDO, Tx.- A local woman resident was arrested by Border Patrol officials accused of transporting an undocumented Mexican, declaring to be an American citizen.

Jennifer Aguirre was sent to the County Jail on federal charges of human smuggling. Border Patrol officials assigned to the inspection booth on mile 29 and interstate highway 35 in north Laredo made this arrest.

The woman drove a Ford Mustang and was accompanied by Karina Saucedo. When federal agents asked questions about their trip both subjects declared being American citizens.

However, Karina seemed nervous when she declared being born in San Antonio. The driver told officials that Karina was her friend and was her cousins girlfriend, but agents decided to send them to secondary.

Saucedo later admitted to authorities that she was from Mexico.

posted by USA Citizen

Apr 02

Sheriff Arpaio Continues Crackdown on Immigration Enforcement

24 Illegal Aliens Arrested on Felony Smuggling Charges

Maricopa County, AZ. – Maricopa County sheriff’s deputies arrested 24 more illegal aliens for felony state human smuggling charges last night during two separate traffic stops. The arrests are a result of the unique policy of Sheriff Joe Arpaio who requires his deputies to arrest and process both smugglers and those being smuggled into the country illegally on felony charges.

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is the only law enforcement agency in the state of Arizona enforcing the co-conspirator aspect of the sate human smuggling laws. To date, the sheriff’s office has arrested almost 2,000 illegal aliens under the human smuggling law.

Sheriff Arpaio stated that human smuggling operations have proven to be very dangerous, especially to deputies who are charged with confronting smugglers in desolate remote locations outside of city limits often with little backup. The escalation of violence at the U.S.-Mexico border has also become a cause of concern for sheriff’s deputies.

“My deputies have a very difficult job to do in dealing with these smugglers and I will continue as their Sheriff to arm them with the ability and training to take action when necessary. Unfortunately their safety is at risk and they do not have the luxury to wait around for Washington to initiate policy changes. The threat is here and now” stated Sheriff Arpaio.

Many human smuggling traffic stops have resulted in multiple subjects fleeing vehicles into the desert putting deputies and motorists at risk.

The Sheriff has initiated a special program aimed at training nearly all 900 sworn deputies in his office to detect and arrest illegal aliens when they encounter them. The program was launched after the federal government made the decision to remove 100 deputies’ ability to act as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

posted by USA Citizen