Mexicans GO Home

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A House panel approved legislation designed to give police more power to detain illegal immigrants.

SB 1070 would overrule any policy or procedure of a city council or police department that keeps officers from enforcing federal immigration laws. It also says that, when practicable, police must inquire about the immigration status of those they encounter as part of their regular activities.

The legislation which cleared the House Committee on Military Affairs and Public Safety on a 5-2 vote, also would make criminals out of those who not only harbor or transport those they know are illegal immigrants, or at least recklessly disregard that likelihood, but also outlaw encouraging an illegal immigrant to come to Arizona.

And it would make it a crime to fail to carry a resident legal alien document.

Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, questioned whether that requirement to produce identification could end up being used to detain people who are in fact in this country legally but don’t happen to be carrying their identification.

But Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Phoenix, said that concern is overblown.

He said police would need a “lawful reason” to stop and question someone in the first place. And even if they have a reason, Pearce said a simple call to the state Motor Vehicle Division would confirm if the name and social security number someone gives an officer matches state records.

“I don’t believe in a police state,” he said. But Pearce said officers already manage to stop and question people all the time now without running afoul of their rights.

Pearce also said many of the groups who sent representatives to testify against the bill are “anarchists,” not interested in enforcing the existing immigration laws.

He did not name names. But those speaking against the bill included Jennifer Allen, executive director of the Border Action Alliance, and Ron Johnson who lobbies on behalf of the state’s three Catholic bishops.

SB 1070, which now goes to the full House, also would bar motorists from stopping on the street to pick up someone for a day labor job. And it would make criminals out of those who not only transport or harbor those they know are illegal immigrants, or at least recklessly disregard that likelihood, but also those who “encourage or induce an alien to come to or reside in this state.”

The measure has divided the law enforcement community, with police chiefs on one side and rank-and-file officers on the other.

Mark Spencer, president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, said officers want and need the ability to question people about their legal status. He said his own city’s policies remain a roadblock even after they were loosened in response to officer complaints.

Spencer said it also is wrong to see the legislation as aimed at minorities. He said Hispanics are just as likely to be victims of crimes by illegal immigrants, if not more so.

But John Thomas, lobbyist for the Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police, said his members fear fallout from the language requiring officers to question people about their immigration status.

“Victims and witnesses (who are illegal immigrants) are not going to come forward voluntarily,” he said. Thomas said the language added to the measure to give some discretion to police officers won’t provide sufficient comfort to them.

Of greater concern, he said, is language that allows anyone to file suit against a city, contending it has “sanctuary policies” that “limit or restrict the enforcement of federal immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by federal law.” Thomas said that will put some communities at risk of having to spend time and money defending their policies.

Pearce defended the lawsuit provision.

“What it says is you have a right to hold your government accountable,” he said.

The measure already has been approved by the Senate, but with somewhat different provisions. That means whatever is finally approved by the full House will have to go back to that chamber for approval or rejection.

U.S. Border Patrol agents on Saturday morning, March 13, arrested 24 Mexican nationals hiding in the brush at the San Onofre surf beach near Trestles after California State Park Rangers reported suspected smuggling activity at the beach. According to a press release from the U.S. Border Patrol, agents responded to the State Park Rangers’ call at around 6:30 a.m. and discovered an unoccupied “panga” boat. After searching the vicinity, they found 24 Mexican nationals—21 males and three females—who all claimed to have entered the country illegally.
On Monday, March 15, U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested another 13 Mexican nationals after spotting another panga boat traveling northbound in the Pacific Ocean off the coast near Grand View Beach in Encinitas. With the help of San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputies, they found an unoccupied panga and followed footprints to find the 13 illegals

PADUCAH, Ky. – A criminal alien, who had twice been previously deported to Mexico, was sentenced in federal court on Wednesday to almost five years in prison for illegally reentering the United States. This sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Saul Gonzalez-Trujillo, aka Ricardo Gonzalez, 41, was sentenced March 10 in the Western District of Kentucky to 57 months in federal prison for illegally reentering the U.S. after being previously deported as an aggravated felon. He will be deported again to Mexico after he completes his prison sentence. Reentering the United States after being formally deported is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

On Nov. 24, Gonzalez-Trujillo pleaded guilty to illegally entering the U.S. in 2007 without obtaining the required permission from the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to legally reenter the U.S.

Records checks conducted by ICE revealed that Gonzalez-Trujillo had been previously deported on two occasions. His first removal was in February 1993 following a burglary conviction in Maine; his second removal was in August 2004 following a rape conviction in California. Prior to his indictment for illegal reentry, Gonzalez-Trujillo was serving a sentence in the Ballard County Jail for wanton endangerment.

“ICE is committed to strengthening the integrity of our country’s immigration laws,” said Ricardo Wong, field office director of the ICE Office of Detention and Removal Operations in Chicago. “This significant prison sentence sends a strong message of deterrence to those who show a blatant disregard for our nation’s laws.” Wong oversees a six-state area, including Kentucky.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michele Thielhorn, Western District of Kentucky, prosecuted this case.

Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

PADUCAH, Ky. – A criminal alien, who had twice been previously deported to Mexico, was sentenced in federal court on Wednesday to almost five years in prison for illegally reentering the United States. This sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Saul Gonzalez-Trujillo, aka Ricardo Gonzalez, 41, was sentenced March 10 in the Western District of Kentucky to 57 months in federal prison for illegally reentering the U.S. after being previously deported as an aggravated felon. He will be deported again to Mexico after he completes his prison sentence. Reentering the United States after being formally deported is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

On Nov. 24, Gonzalez-Trujillo pleaded guilty to illegally entering the U.S. in 2007 without obtaining the required permission from the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to legally reenter the U.S.

Records checks conducted by ICE revealed that Gonzalez-Trujillo had been previously deported on two occasions. His first removal was in February 1993 following a burglary conviction in Maine; his second removal was in August 2004 following a rape conviction in California. Prior to his indictment for illegal reentry, Gonzalez-Trujillo was serving a sentence in the Ballard County Jail for wanton endangerment.

“ICE is committed to strengthening the integrity of our country’s immigration laws,” said Ricardo Wong, field office director of the ICE Office of Detention and Removal Operations in Chicago. “This significant prison sentence sends a strong message of deterrence to those who show a blatant disregard for our nation’s laws.” Wong oversees a six-state area, including Kentucky.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michele Thielhorn, Western District of Kentucky, prosecuted this case.

At one time, violent crimes attributed to Mexican and Central American gangs were largely confined to Los Angeles. However, just as illegal aliens have spread across this country, so too has a veritable crime wave. We are now experiencing the early stages of the most violent gang epidemic we have ever seen.

While L.A. may be ground zero for Latino gangs such as MS-13, other cities are being victimized as well, and not only by MS-13 and not only in large cities.

In recent years, Northern Virginia has been inundated with illegal alien, and the notoriously violent Salvadoran gang known as MS-13 has emerged as the area’s most prominent gang.

The FBI’s National Gang Task Force Director Robert Clifford, said: “The migrant moves and the gang follows. If you follow the construction trade, that is where a lot of these immigrants go.”

MS-13 set up shop in Northern Virginia during the 1990s, lured by the region’s fast-growing Salvadoran population, later expanding into the Maryland suburbs of Langley Park and Gaithersburg.

During 2004-2005, there were two machete attacks in the Northern Virginia area. An Alexandria teenager lost four fingers during a savage encounter with MS-13 members, while a Fairfax man also became a victim of an MS-13 machete attack. Both incidents are believed to have been acts of initiation.

In 2005, two MS-13 members were convicted in an Alexandria, Va. United States District Court for killing a 17-year-old pregnant girl. A rope was placed around the neck of Brenda Paz,, she was then stabbed repeatedly. Her body was left along the muddy banks of the Shenandoah River. The murder was retribution for the girl´s cooperation with a federal investigation into the gang´s activities.

One of the most disturbing examples of organized gang activity took place on January 3, 2008, in Fort Worth, Texas. Police arrested several members of the Latino gang known as Varrio Central for forcing young girls into prostitution. Some of the girls being victimized were as young as 12 years old.

Diego Rodriguez, 19, and Martin Reyes, 17, were charged with aggravated kidnapping, trafficking of a person, and engaging in organized criminal activity. The names of three minors arrested were not released.

Varrio Central members would typically befriend the girls, get them high, and then take them to their regular customers. They would also drive them through apartment complexes, approaching men with the offer of sex with a teen-aged or pre-teen girl for a fee of $50.

According to Fort Worth Police, if a girl refused to comply, gang members would beat and sexually assault her and threaten her family with violence.

Fort Worth Police Lt. Ken Dean told the Associated Press: “The age of the victims and suspects is the surprising part of it. To have such young individuals in a somewhat organized business, a forced prostitution ring, is somewhat alarming and such a horrendous crime against the 12 to 16 year old girls.”

As I stated earlier, Latin American gang activity is no longer isolated to large cities. A look at one relatively small city reveals the severity of the problem.

According to 2007 U.S. Census Bureau statistics, the city of Porterville located in central California has a population of 51,467. While reporting a rather modest population, Porterville police report the existence of no less than 23 active gangs in the city.

The known gangs in Porterville, CA are as follows:

-Brown Pride Surenos

-Barrio Sur Trece

-Court Street Locos

-Mexican Gang Bangers

-North Side Varrio Boys

-Tierras-Terra Bella

-Tiny Maltido Surenos

-Varrio Central Poros

-Wicked Ass Surenos

-Young Mexican Gang Bangers

-Barrio “H” street

-Big Time Locos

-North Side Varrio Youngsters

-Sultra 14

-Varrio Campo Linnel

-West Side Poros

-Catela Norte

-East Side Poros

-East Side Varrio

-Sureno Life Style

-Richgrove Varrio Trece

The U.S. Justice Department now believes that many gangs never before associated with traditional Mexican gangs are now distributing drugs on behalf of Mexican drug cartels. These gangs include the Bloods, Crips, and even many Asian and white supremacist gangs.

The National Drug Intelligence Center recently reported that Mexican gangs now have drug distribution operations in North Carolina as well as Georgia to support drug sales along the East Coast.

In addition to the sale of illegal drugs, prostitution, assault, rape, and robbery, Latin American gangs are now apparently acting as paid assassins, with the target being U.S. law enforcement.

In 2007, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reported that they had obtained a confidential Department of Homeland Security memo. The function of the document was to issue an Officer Safety alert to U.S. Border Patrol agents that human smugglers were bringing MS-13 gang members into the country for the sole purpose of murdering the agents.

The alert reads: “Unidentified Mexican alien smugglers are angry about the increased security along the U.S./Mexican border and have agreed that the best way to deal with U.S. Border Patrol agents is to hire a group of contract killers.”

A Border Patrol agent speaking on the condition of anonymity said: “It’s not just people coming over here to pick lettuce. These gang members, criminals, are endangering American lives.” He went on: “Our vests won’t stop a rifle bullet, and many of us feel like sitting ducks.”

A few facts concerning the impact of illegal immigration on crime in this country:

-In 1995, a California Department of Justice study concluded that the 18th Street Gang works directly with the Mexican Mafia, and commits a robbery or an assault every day in Los Angeles alone.

-Two-thirds of fugitive felony warrants issued in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens.

-95 percent of warrants issued for murder in L.A. are for illegal aliens.

-83 percent of warrants issued for murder in Phoenix, AZ are for illegal aliens.

-86 percent of warrants issued for murder in Albuquerque, NM are for illegal aliens.

-53 percent of burglaries in Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, California, and Texas are committed by illegal aliens.

-According to police, there are at least 53,000 Latino gang members in Los Angeles (that is the equivalent of three Airborne divisions).

-Mexican drug cartels produce 80 percent of the methamphetamine sold on U.S. streets.

-In 2007 alone, U.S. Customs agents confiscated over 2,000 lbs of methamphetamine at the six official border crossing stations in California.

Latin American gangs are just another reason to vigorously defend our all-too porous border. If our government does not soon become serious about border enforcement, we can expect our nation’s streets to run red with blood, like those of Juarez.

BOISE, Idaho: Idaho lawmakers could debate as many as three bills this session that would punish employers who hire illegal immigrants.

Two bills, including one introduced Friday by Sen. Mike Jorgenson, would punish employers who knowingly hire illegal workers with fines and suspension of licenses. A third, milder measure makes knowingly hiring an illegal immigrant a misdemeanor but doesn’t touch their licenses.

Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, has introduced similar versions of his legislation the last three sessions, but they failed. He insists tackling the issue will pay off by discouraging illegal workers so much that they stay away.

“It creates enforcement by attrition,” Jorgenson told the Senate State Affairs Committee. “When people know we have this kind of structure in place, they leave the state or they don’t come.”

Jorgenson’s measure would require employers after Jan. 1, 2011, to confirm a worker’s eligibility through the federal “E-Verify” system. Violators would face fines of up to $50 a day per worker, up to $50,000. His bill goes even further: Written driver’s license tests would be given in English only — no interpreters allowed.

On Friday, the Senate panel agreed to consider his bill at a full hearing, along with others that might come across their desks. Still, some members were at least initially skeptical.

Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, raised concerns that Jorgenson’s bill could burn up law enforcement agencies’ resources. Senate Minority Leader Kate Kelly, D-Boise, fears far-reaching consequences for legal immigrants who would face additional hurdles to mundane tasks like driving a car.

“We have huge concerns about this,” Kelly said.

Separately, Reps. Phil Hart, R-Athol, and Raul Labrador, R-Eagle, are also working on legislation. Details weren’t available and it hasn’t been introduced, but Labrador said it would discourage employers from hiring illegal aliens, including by revoking an offending business’s license for up to one year.

“People will be more careful when hiring,” said Labrador, an immigration lawyer running for Congress.

A third alternative would tighten existing laws governing employers who hire illegal immigrants.

Owners of companies who knowingly do so could face misdemeanor charges, be fined up to $50,000 and be jailed for two years but wouldn’t be stripped of licenses under the measure sponsored by Sens. John McGee, R-Caldwell, and Curt McKenzie, R-Nampa, who chairs the State Affairs Committee.

A pro-business group that includes dairy and construction interests doesn’t like any of the bills, but concedes McGee’s bill would likely put the least burden on employers who often rely on immigrant laborers.

Revoking a business license would be bad for Idaho’s already lagging recovery, said Brent Olmstead, a lobbyist for the Idaho Business Coalition for Immigration Reform. Its members like the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry are pushing for comprehensive immigration reforms that include secure borders, but also increased quotas for guest workers.

Meanwhile, the Idaho Community Action Network, which represents migrant-worker interests, contends that only federal legislation can solve the problem. Leo Morales, a community organizer, said none of the Idaho measures address his group’s concern that employers have inadequate training to determine just who has a fake ID or Social Security number.

“Employers are not immigration officials,” Morales said.

PHOENIX – A Senate panel approved a far-reaching bill designed to combat illegal immigration Wednesday, including allowing police to stop and actually arrest anyone they just reasonably believe is in this country illegally.

Other provisions of the measure approved by the Senate Committee on Public Safety and Human Services include:

• Paving the way for law enforcement to conduct “sting” operations to find companies knowingly hiring undocumented workers.

• Making it a crime to stop a vehicle on the street to pick up someone to do a “day labor” job.

• Requiring police to make a “reasonable attempt” to determine the immigration status of anyone they contact officially if there is “reasonable suspicion” they are an illegal immigrant.

• Permitting anyone to sue a city, county or any government that has policies which limit immigration enforcement by their employees “to less than the full extent permitted by law.”

Wednesday’s 4-3 party-line vote, with Republicans in the majority, sends the SB 1070 to the full Senate.

The move is the latest effort by Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, to force local communities to do more to find, detain, and arrest or deport, those who entered the country illegally.

He is targeting what he called “sanctuary policies” of some cities and police departments that direct police officers not to inquire about the legal status of those they encounter who are not otherwise being investigated for a crime. Pearce said that is why his legislation specifically allows anyone who finds governments are not living up to their obligations to sue.

That raised concerns by Sen. Rebecca Rios, D-Apache Junction, that people who are victims or witnesses would be hesitant to report crimes for fear of being arrested.

“That’s a valid concern,” said Mark Spencer, the president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, which supports the bill. But Spencer said that presumes police officers would use “racial profiling” to try to determine whether victims and witnesses are in this country legally.

Much of the debate centered on what authority, if any, police have to detain those they suspect of being illegal immigrants.

John Thomas, lobbyist for the Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police, specifically questioned the section about officers being able to arrest suspected illegal immigrants.

“This requires federal immigration training,” he said, referring to a section of federal laws which allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement to train local police to enforce federal immigration laws. That training includes being able to properly identify who is and is not in this country legally.

But Pearce said all police officers have “inherent authority” to enforce federal immigration laws, even without special training. He said the only time special training is required is after someone is arrested to determine their legal status.

Sen. Al Melvin, R-Tucson, said what Pearce is proposing is necessary.

“We often lose sight of the fact that our porous border and costs related to illegal aliens are costing the citizens of Arizona in excess of $2 billion a year,” he said. Melvin said that includes educating illegal immigrants and their children, incarcerating those who commit crimes and the cost of emergency hospital treatment.

The Department of Corrections reports that 6,313 of the nearly 41,000 inmates serving time for felonies are illegal immigrants. Although there are no similar education figures, the Pew Hispanic Center figured last year about one of seven students in Arizona schools are here via illegal immigration, either themselves or their parents.

The Arizona Farm Bureau Federation and Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry spoke against the proposal because it could end up targeting innocent companies.

Jennifer Allen, executive director of the Border Action Network, said another problem is a section of the measure making it a crime to transport or harbor illegal immigrants, which could make criminals out of the immediate family of someone here illegally simply for having them in their homes or driving them somewhere in their cars.

Pearce said, though, he’s not necessarily looking to fill Arizona jails with illegal immigrants. He said it gives discretion to law enforcement officers whether to seek prosecution or simply turn offenders over to ICE.

Tucson, Ariz. – In five separate incidents over the past week, U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Douglas Station apprehended illegal aliens who had prior arrests for sex crimes. Agents quickly identified these criminal aliens using the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System.

On Saturday, Douglas agents apprehended a Mexican male with a felony conviction for rape. Agents then arrested two illegal aliens from Mexico on Monday; one who had been arrested for “rape,” the other for “sex with a minor under 18.” On Wednesday, agents apprehended a Mexican alien who had been previously arrested for “sexual assault on a child.” Thursday, agents arrested an illegal alien from the Dominican Republic who had also been convicted of “rape.”

Sex offenders are among the criminal aliens attempting to enter the United States on a daily basis. “Because IAFIS can access criminal records from across the nation, this technology has been a key factor in rapidly identifying criminal aliens,” said Douglas Station Patrol Agent in Charge Timothy Sullivan. “Removing the criminal element is one of our highest priorities,” he said.

Criminal aliens threaten the safety of communities nationwide. With a larger number of criminals attempting illegal entry, Border Patrol agents are more determined than ever to deter and apprehend these individuals to enhance the quality of life of our communities.

IAFIS is a national fingerprint and criminal history system maintained by the FBI. IAFIS provides automated fingerprint search capabilities, latent searching capability, electronic image storage, and electronic exchange of fingerprints and responses, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

LOS ANGELES–An estimated 900,000 Mexicans go home for the holidays each December, and many of them are forced to pay bribes to customs and immigration agents, reports La Opinión. To reduce corruption and extortion by Mexican authorities, the Mexican government has expanded its Paisano Program, which provides information stations for travelers at airports and bus stations.

Extortion has declined since the program began in 1988, as more travelers feel safe filing complaints, according to Juan Marcos Gutierrez Gonzalez, Mexican consul general in Los Angeles. However, corruption continues to be a problem: Mexicans returning to Mexico this holiday season are expected to pay nearly $100 million in extortion to customs officials and police agents, according to a report by Mexico's Congress.

But no sooner than does a series of articles about the Collier County Sheriff’s Office program to deport troublesome illegal aliens conclude than an illegal alien is in the headlines, and not in a good way.

The sheriff’s program, as outlined in stories Sunday and Monday, targets illegal immigrants who run afoul of the law. Deputies, through extra training, are empowered to enforce federal laws and begin deportation proceedings as they see fit. In places without the program, local authorities have to rely on federal agents to undertake the deportation process against known illegal immigrants residing in their jails, a demand the feds are not always prepared to meet.

The program and the articles about it elicited the predictable responses from good-hearted people who see tragedy in the separation of families. They fret over the anxiety experienced by those who skirted the rules to find a better life in the United States yet are one traffic stop away from losing it.

Then along comes Mauricio Escalante. The 33-year-old illegal immigrant was arrested Saturday for stabbing to death a 17-year-old on the streets of Immokalee.

The teenager’s affront that set off the fatal confrontation — daring to speak English in America.

According to Sheriff’s Office reports, around 3 a.m. Saturday Charlie Guzman and some friends gathered at the laundry of an apartment complex on Colorado Avenue. Three others, including Escalante, were already there and the two groups began talking until a dispute erupted over the victim’s group speaking English, not Spanish.

Escalante went to a nearby apartment, got a knife, and fatally stabbed Guzman, according to reports.

So much for the notion that illegal immigrants are universally a hard-working, law abiding set committed to doing the jobs Americans won’t do, all while trying to assimilate.

11 indicted in Ohio marriage fraud scheme

COLUMBUS, Ohio – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and local officers in the metro-Columbus area arrested nine people charged with participating in a central Ohio based scheme to arrange sham marriages in order to evade U.S. immigration laws. Two additional arrests were made in New Orleans and Philadelphia. Two defendants remain at large. All 11 people were named Dec. 8 in federal indictments unsealed in federal district court.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Brian Moskowitz, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Investigations in Ohio and Michigan, announced the arrests.

“ICE will not tolerate those who engage in sham marriages to circumvent and exploit our nation’s immigration system,” said Moskowitz. “Marriage fraud poses a significant vulnerability that must not go unchallenged. ICE aggressively investigates those who take illegal shortcuts to citizenship, whether they do so to gain an immigration benefit or simply for personal profit.”

The indictment alleges that Columbus-area residents Hasan Salohutdinov, Dimitry Pani, Sviatlana A. Piskunova and Laura Elizabeth Grace Scott recruited U.S. citizens and foreign nationals, primarily Eastern Europeans, to enter into sham marriages to evade immigration laws, starting in January 2007. The foreign nationals paid about $17,000 to marry U.S. citizens. The foreign nationals were allegedly promised legal residency in return for marrying citizens and the citizens were promised monetary compensation.

The indictment also alleges that defendants would counsel sham wedding partners regarding actions to take in order to lend the appearance of being a legitimate marriage, and assist non-citizens in preparing fraudulent documents to present to immigration officials.

“The indictment alleges that the defendants took part in a scheme to arrange marriages between U.S. citizens and foreign nationals,” Stewart said. “The grand jury alleges that motivation for the Americans who entered into these marriages was money. The motivation for the ones they married was American citizenship.”

Each count of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and marriage fraud is punishable by up to five years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release. Foreign nationals also face deportation after any prison time served. A list of those charged is below:

Charged foreign nationals Name City Status
Hasan Salohutdinov
Columbus
In custody

Dmitri Pani
Columbus
In custody

Sviatlana Piskunova
Columbus
In custody

Laura Scott
Columbus
In custody

Courtnie Good
Columbus
In custody

Sobithon Mirzaev
New Orleans
In custody

Elbek Saidjanov
Philadelphia
In custody

Iskander Tairov
Columbus
In custody

Brent Woods
Columbus
In custody

LaDawna Tackett
Columbus
At large

Djafar Sobirov
Columbus
At large

Stewart commended the investigation by ICE agents, and the assistance of the ICE Office of Detention and Removal, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Columbus Police Department, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and Reynoldsburg Police Department.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

– ICE –

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

ICE comprises four integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities. For more information, visit www.ICE.gov. To report suspicious activity, call 1-866-347-2423.

Last Modified: Tuesday, December 8, 2009
U.S. Department of Homeland Security