Suburban Man Accused of Driver's License Scheme

August 1, 2010

A suburban man faced federal charges last week after he allegedly drove two undocumented immigrants from Chicago to Albuquerque, N.M., with the promise that they could get driver's licenses without regard for their immigration status.

It all started with an ad in a local newspaper.

Jaroslaw Kowalczyk, 32, of Des Plaines, ran a series of advertisements in the weekly Polish Daily News that read: "Drivers license in the State of New Mexico. Social security not necessary. 100% guarantee," according to the criminal complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque.

For a $1,000 fee, Kowalczyk reportedly drove clients to New Mexico — at least a dozen people during recent months — where he helped them get an apartment lease, buy car insurance and take the written and driving tests mandated by the state.

New Mexico requires that driver's license applicants live in the state and show a utility bill or rental lease as proof of residence, according to the state's Motor Vehicles Division.

But unlike Illinois, New Mexico does not require proof of immigration status.

To read more, click here.

Post by [Chengwin Saephanh]

LGBT Groups Support Boycott Over Ariz. Immigration Law

August 11, 2010

As the debate over Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070 continues to rage, a myriad of LGBT organizations and activists have come together to demand action under a unified "Boycott Arizona" banner.

The National Council of La Raza, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Human Rights Campaign are among the more than two dozen groups that have expressed their support of the boycott in their opposition to SB 1070.

Arizona Progress, an online communication hub for Arizona progressives, said it is important for the LGBT community to oppose SB 1070 because "the gay community cannot make advances in LGBT civil rights alone-we have to start being better allies for other concerns."

To continue reading, go here.

[Posted by Emily Solon]

Arizona Sees Drop In Legal Mexican Visitors

August 6, 2010

NOGALES, Ariz. - Amid speculation about how many illegal immigrants may be leaving Arizona under the pressure of new enforcement laws, a reverse phenomenon has gone largely unnoticed at the Mexican border:

The number of legal visitors entering from Sonora, many of them to spend money, has plummeted.

Total cross-border visits into Arizona in the months after Gov. Jan Brewer signed Senate Bill 1070 fell 17 percent compared with the same period in 2009, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. Four days after Brewer signed SB 1070 on April 23, Mexico issued a warning to its citizens about travel in Arizona.

The drop-off amounts to about 12,500 fewer people entering Arizona daily.

Across the entire southwestern border during that same time frame, lawful entries by land from Mexico fell less than 7 percent.

To read more, click here.

Post by [Chengwin Saephanh]

Former Gadsden Superintendent Sentenced For Child Sex Crimes

Phoenix, AZ August 5 --

A former Gadsden Elementary School District Superintendent has been sentenced to 100 months in federal prison followed by lifetime supervised release for attempting to travel to Mexico in order to have sex with teen boys and for possessing child porn.

Investigators say Albert Thomas "Tom" Rogers, 52, admitted to booking a sex tourism visit to Mexico through Yuma where he met someone whom he believed was the driver for the business (but in reality was an undercover ICE Agent). Rogers paid the "driver" $260 to cover the costs of his travel to Mexico, hotel, and sex with a young boy. Rogers admitted to being collector of child pornography which included a video of a child as young as five years old engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Rogers was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the San Luis Port of Entry.

To read more, click here.

Post by [Chengwin Saephanh]

Brewer Sends Stimulus Money to Border for Illegal Immigration Fight

July 20, 2010

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, claiming to "reject" the Obama administration's assertion that the border is more secure than ever, announced Monday that she's directing $10 million in federal stimulus dollars to tackle smuggling and illegal immigration.

On the same day the administration announced its plan to send 1,200 National Guard troops to the southwestern states, Brewer said she's sending the pot of stimulus money to more than a dozen border cities and counties -- as well as several tribes and the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

She said the grant money would be targeted toward fighting drug trafficking, illegal immigration and human smuggling.

To read more, click here.

Post by [Chengwin Saephanh]

Civil Rights of Illegals Violated?

11 Aug 2010, 5:11 PM MDT

• Reporter: Crystal Gutierrez

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - A traffic stop that led to the deportation of two illegal immigrants raises serious questions about whether detained aliens are being informed of their rights under an international treaty, according to Mexico's consul in Albuquerque.

Consul Gustavo de Unánue said he now wants to see documentation that the civil rights of illegal immigrants from Mexico are not being violated.

According to the Mexican Consulate on July 9 an Albuquerque police officer pulled over a man and his sister and said they were speeding.

De Unánue said after the officer asked for the man’s driver’s license, registration and insurance he asked about the pair’s citizenship. De Unánue said the officer then called Border Patrol.

Soon after the federal agents arrived the sibling’s parents drove up and that is when their father’s citizenship was questioned.

To read more, click here.

Post by [Chengwin Saephanh]

Arizona Immigration Law Spurs Exodus to New Mexico

July 31, 2010.

A judge may have stayed the harshest provisions of the state’s new immigration law, but that hasn’t stopped the flow of scared migrants into New Mexico.

In the late afternoon of July 29, after hundreds of marchers and protesters had taken to the streets of Phoenix in opposition to Arizona immigration policies, a 20-year-old college student posted a Facebook update via her mobile phone: Just saw the “Welcome to New Mexico” sign :D

“Martina,” the Facebook poster, her 19-year-old brother and their parents are unauthorized immigrants who moved from Phoenix to Albuquerque, New Mexico on the day the law went into effect. A series of increasingly harsh immigration laws enacted in Arizona, culminating with the passage of SB 1070 in April, prompted the family’s decision to join what some officials say is a steady exodus of unauthorized immigrants from Arizona—an outmigration that has continued even after a federal judge in Phoenix slammed the brakes on key elements of the harshest state immigration law on July 27.

To read more, click here.

Post by [Chengwin Saephanh]

Arizona immigration law: State to appeal injunction

July 28, 2010

The appeal will ask the court to lift the injunctions put in place by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton earlier Wednesday and allow those provisions to go into effect until a decision is made on the merits of the law, Brewer spokesman Paul Senseman said.

As part of its motion, the Governor's Office also will ask the 9th Circuit to expedite its briefing schedule and its ruling on the matter, Senseman said.

Senate Bill 1070 was passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Brewer in April. It made it a state crime to be in the country illegally and stated that an officer engaged in a lawful stop, detention or arrest shall, when practicable, ask about a person's legal status when reasonable suspicion exists that the person is in the U.S. illegally.

To read more, click here.

Post by [Chengwin Saephanh].

The DOJ Cracks Down on Arizona Sheriff

Aug. 5, 2010

Our colleague Elizabeth Dias files this report:

If you've followed the illegal immigration controversy in Arizona, you'll be familiar with the state's hard-edged Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who is famous for dressing inmates in pink underwear and for boasting an all-female chain gang. Loved by conservatives, hated by immigrant-rights groups, Arpaio is now in the news for an alleged threat on his life. He's been making the media rounds claiming a Mexican drug cartel has put a $1 million price on his head via a text message tree.

Some people are skeptical, as Arpaio is known for his constant appetite for publicity. (Even though he is not up for election this year, he is running a re-election ad.) Cartels are an Arizona hot-button, but they have not been a primary target of Arpaio's. In the past few years his office has arrested 35,889 undocumented immigrants, compared with only 303 "coyotes," the popular name for operators of human-smuggling rings. No one has publicly confirmed that the threat is actually from a cartel, and no information has been released on how the cartel phone number was traced, but sheriff's-department officials say the threat originated from a Mexican throw-away phone.

To continue reading, go here.

[Posted by Emily Solon]

Guard Troops to Head to Border States Starting Aug. 1

July 20, 2010

By Dennis Wagner, USA TODAY

National Guard troops assigned to the Southwest border will begin to arrive Aug. 1, and the federal government is sending other reinforcements to stem the flow of illegal immigrants and narcotics entering the state, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Monday.

"These troops will provide direct support to federal law enforcement officers and agents working in high-risk areas to disrupt criminal organizations seeking to move people and goods illegally across the Southwest border," Napolitano said.

In addition, Napolitano said, hundreds more Border Patrol agents and Customs officers are being moved to the Southwest to prowl the deserts and operate inspection stations. She said Immigration and Customs Enforcement will open an office in Ajo, Ariz., and the Department of Homeland Security is sending a new team to Douglas, Ariz.

To continue reading, go here.

[Posted by Emily Solon]

ICE in Albuquerque Chills Battered Immigrants

July 20,2010

It's not only the state of Arizona. Albuquerque, N. M., illustrates the kind of fears spawned among immigrant victims of domestic abuse when local police departments team up with federal immigration agents.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (WOMENSENEWS)--Arizona may have been grabbing national attention for its anti-immigrant legislation, but in this city of at least 61,000 recent immigrants, life is also fearful for those who might be mistaken for the undocumented.

Among women suffering from domestic violence, fears have been heightened since May when the Department of Homeland Security's Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers began sharing workspace with local law enforcement. Now, some targets of violence worry that seeking police protection could be the first step toward deportation.

To continue reading, go here.

[Posted by Emily Solon]

Breakdown of Legal Challenges to SB 1070

For a breakdown, click here.

[posted by professor montejano]

Republican campaign to repeal 14th amendment

On Sunday, Sen. John Kyl (R-Ariz.) became the highest-ranking Republican to call for the repeal of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Appearing on CBS' Face the Nation, Kyl said that he opposes allowing children of undocumented immigrants to be granted U.S. citizenship and wants Congress to hold hearings on the matter.

In doing so, the Senate's no. 2 Republican didn't place himself on the extreme wing of his party's stance on immigration policy. Rather, he joined what is a growing movement that could very well shape the official policy planks of the GOP.

For full story, click here.

[Posted by Prof. Montejano]

The Notorious Record of Maricopa County, AZ's Sheriff Joe Arpaio

July 16, 2010

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, AZ has become a hero of the anti-immigrant right for his hard-line police tactics to enforce immigration law in any way that he sees fit -- tactics which have resulted in higher crime rates, thousands of lawsuits, millions of dollars in unnecessary expenses and a reversal of the community-policing strategies that have proved successful to police across the nation. Despite the failures of the Arpaio model, Governor Jan Brewer endorsed it as statewide policy by signing controversial new state law SB 1070. If the federal government’s attempt to enjoin SB 1070 fails and the law goes into effect on July 29th, every police officer in the state will be forced to repeat Arpaio’s failures. In this short report, you will find several examples of Sheriff Arpaio’s failed record.

To read this report, go here.

[It looks like Arizona doesn't even need SB 1070. In one county, they're already doing everything that the bill sought to implement and more.]

[Posted by Emily Solon]

An Arizona Morgue Grows Crowded

TUCSON — Dr. Bruce Parks unzips a white body bag on a steel gurney and gingerly lifts out a human skull and mandible, turning them over in his hands and examining the few teeth still in their sockets.

The body bag, coated with dust, also contains a broken pelvis, a femur and a few smaller bones found in the desert in June, along with a pair of white sneakers.

“These are people who are probably not going to be identified,” said Dr. Parks, the chief medical examiner for Pima County. There are eight other body bags crowded on the gurney.

The Pima County morgue is running out of space as the number of Latin American immigrants found dead in the deserts around Tucson has soared this year during a heat wave.

To read the rest of this article, go here.

[Posted by Emily Solon]

New Mexico State Takes on Immigration Issue

Jun-30-2010 13:52

(LAS CRUCES, N.M.) - As the immigration issue continues heating up and shaping US politics in the summer of 2010, New Mexico State University will once again play a role in the debate. Sponsored by the school’s International Relations Institute and Center for Latin American and Border Studies, a summer institute on immigration will take place on the Las Cruces campus during the month of July. The scheduled events include lectures, films, student presentations and sessions designed to come up with working solutions to an issue central to North America's future.

The kick-off event will happen at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 6, at New Mexico State's Anderson Hall Auditorium.

Addressing a timely issue, Arizona scholar Roxanne Doty, associate professor at Arizona State University, will deliver a public lecture titled “It Didn’t Start in Arizona and Of Course it’s About Race.” The author of a book on state laws related to immigration, Dr. Doty will examine Arizona’s SB 1070 controversy within the context of similar legislation sweeping the United States.

To read more, click here.

[Post by Chengwin Saephanh]

Arizona Domestic Violence Shelters Hurt by New Immigration Law?

PHOENIX - According to experts, one in three women experience domestic violence in their lives.

But because of the immigration issue some of those victims may not be getting the help they need.

"It's definitely still quite a significant issue in our community," said executive Director of the Arizona Coalation Against Domestic Violence, Allie Bones.

The numbers don't lie. Experts say there were 111 domestic violence murders in Arizona last year, spanning all races and economic classes.

"It runs the gamut of all the different types of violence we see in families," Bones said.

But with the immigration issue front stage, Bones sees a new trend.

"The immigration issue is such a significant issue for us because we see where immigration status is used as a tactic to control the victim, to keep her in a violent situation," she said.

To continue reading this article, click here.

[Posted by Emily Solon]

Arizona Law Causes Split for Border Governors

PHOENIX — For nearly 30 years, the governors of the states that line both sides of the United States-Mexico border have gathered to celebrate border bonhomie. They issue proclamations and pledges to work together, air grievances and concerns behind closed doors and pose for the cameras in symbolic showings of cooperation.

But this year the 28th annual conference has collided headlong with Arizona’s crackdown on illegal immigration, inspiring bitter recriminations among Mexican governors and rancor among some American ones.

To continue reading this article, click here.

[Posted by Emily Solon]

The Shame of Arizona (YouTube corrido)

"The Shame of Arizona by Los Cenzotles can be heard here.


[Posted by Prof. Montejano]

Some 'Sanctuary Cities' Fight Arizona's New Immigration Law Without Offering Sanctuary

Updated April 28, 2010

They may call themselves "sanctuary cities," but very few of them are offering sanctuary to the illegal immigrants in Arizona who now face possible arrest and deportation.

As San Francisco and other "sanctuary cities" declare war on Arizona over its new law cracking down on illegal immigrants, most state and local governments that provide a safe haven to undocumented workers refused to publicly roll out a welcome mat for the estimated 440,000 illegals in the Grand Canyon

state.

full text: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/28/sanctuary-cities-fight-arizonas-new-immigration-law-offering-sanctuary/

[submitted by: Denise Chan]

Senators Call for Scrapping 'Virtual Fence'

WASHINGTON — Two senators said Tuesday it's time to consider ending a contract for a "virtual fence" along the U.S.-Mexico border, contending it doesn't stop illegal immigration.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., even suggested an old-fashioned, real fence may work better than the electronic one designed by Boeing Co.

full text here: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/20/senators-scrapping-virtual-fence/

[submitted by: Denise Chan]

Immigration Advocates Vow to Fight Arizona Law

Updated April 24, 2010

PHOENIX -- Arizona's governor vows the state's tough new law targeting illegal immigration will be implemented with no tolerance for racial profiling, but at least two advocacy groups were preparing legal challenges and Mexico has warned that the law could affect cross-border relations.

Gov. Jan Brewer on Friday signed into law a bill that supporters said would give police more powers to deal with illegal immigration in Arizona, the nation's busiest gateway for human and drug smuggling from Mexico and home to an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants.

full text here: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/24/advocates-vow-challenge-arizona-immigration-law/

[submitted by: Denise Chan]

Illegal Immigrant Suspected in Killing of Arizona Rancher

Updated March 30, 2010

PHOENIX -- A prominent southeast Arizona rancher likely was killed by an illegal immigrant, but there's no evidence to suggest there was any confrontation that led to the shooting, authorities said Monday.

The body of Robert Krentz, 58, was located before midnight Saturday on his 35,000-acre ranch about 35 miles northeast of Douglas after his brother reported that he had lost radio contact with Krentz earlier in the day.

full text here: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/03/29/illegal-immigrant-suspected-killing-arizona-rancher/

[submitted by: Denise Chan]

Border Fence Under Renewed Fire After Rancher Killing

The killing of Arizona rancher Robert Krentz allegedly by an illegal immigrant has some critics pointing out that hundreds of miles of U.S.-Mexico border fencing isn't even high enough to stop a person on foot.

Of the 646 miles of barriers currently constructed along the 2,000-mile southern border of the United States, 300 miles are vehicle barriers, according to the Department of Homeland Security. That means they're meant to keep out cars and trucks, but aren't high enough to keep out people crossing the border illegally on foot.

full text: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/04/05/border-fence-renewed-rancher-killing/

[Submitted by: Denise Chan]

Van companies accused of immigrant-smuggling

PHOENIX (AP) — The illegal immigrants being sneaked into the country were allegedly given phony $30 tickets and receipts for a van ride. And they were warned that if the van got pulled over by police, they should show the receipt.

Federal investigators Thursday raided five shuttle-van services in Tucson and Phoenix

and accused them of knowingly helping to smuggle tens of thousands of illegal immigrants into the U.S. over four years. A total of 49 van operators and alleged smugglers from Mexico and the U.S. were arrested.

The raids exposed a piece of what authorities say is a network of seemingly legitimate businesses

that sneak people across the Mexican border.

full text: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/04/16/van-companies-accused-immigrant-smuggling/

[submitted by: Denise Chan]

Ariz. Congressman: U.S. Should Fight Immigration Law

PHOENIX -- An Arizona congressman urged the Obama administration not to cooperate when illegal immigrants are picked up by local police if a tough new state immigration law survives legal challenges.

U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, a Democrat, and civil rights activists spoke on Sunday to thousands of people gathered at the state Capitol and called on President Barack Obama to fight the law, promising to march in the streets and invite arrest by refusing to comply.

full text here: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/04/26/congressman-fight-ariz-immigrant-law/

[submitted by: Denise Chan]

Obama slams Arizona bill as Fight Lifts Immigration to Top of Agenda

A controversial bill approved by Arizona’s State Legislature pushing the immigration debate to the forefront of the U.S. Senate.

President Barack Obama on Friday criticized the legislation, which would allow Arizona’s state police to check the documents of people they suspect are illegal immigrants. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican, has said she will decide whether to sign the legislation soon.

The issue has galvanized people on both sides of one of the most divisive issues in American politics just as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) mulls whether his chamber should move to immigration reform or climate change legislation after it completes work on a Wall Street reform bill.

by: [Alejandro Jimenez]

http://www.newpatriotjournal.com/Articles/Obama_slams_Arizona_bill_as_fight_lifts_immigration_to_top_of_agenda

Hysterical nativism

A conservative border state is at risk of becoming a police state

RUSSELL PEARCE is the quintessential Arizona Republican. He wears stars-and-stripes shirts and has clips of John Wayne and Ronald Reagan on his website. He loves guns, his family, his Mormon faith, his country and the law, which he enforced for many years as deputy sheriff of Maricopa County. He jokes that being Republican, and thus not having a heart, saved his life when he got shot in the chest once. But his main passion is illegal immigrants, whom he calls “invaders”. He loathed them even before his son Sean, also a sheriff’s deputy, got shot by one. But now it is personal.

http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displaystory.cfm?subjectid=894664&story_id=15954262

[Posted by: Austin Houlgate]

Arizona Wants The Feds’ Help To Train Its Cops for SB 1070

On the same day that Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Department of Justice was conducting a review of SB 1070’s constitutionality, the Arizona agency tasked with training its 15,000 law enforcement officers put out a call for some additional support.

by:[Alejandro Jimenez]

http://www.racewire.org/archives/2010/04/arizona_wants_the_feds_help_to_train_its_cops_for_sb_1070.html

Arizona immigration bill reflects a firebrand's impact

PHOENIX — The Arizona Senate passed some of the most stringent immigration requirements in the country Monday, marking a new level of influence for a Republican state senator who not long ago was seen by many as an eccentric firebrand.

Passage of the law, which would, among other things, allow the authorities to demand proof of legal entry into the United States from anyone suspected of being in the country illegally, testified to the relative lack of political power of Arizona Latinos, and to the hardened views toward illegal immigration among Republican politicians here and nationally.

by: [Alejandro Jimenez]

http://www.mercurynews.com/politics-government/ci_14917182?source=pkg

Growing Split in Arizona Over Immigration

by Randal Archibold

“We were already afraid, and I was thinking of leaving for California,” Mr. Ramirez said as he waited on the corner in a heavily Latino enclave already drained of people by the recession and the fear of police harassment. “We shop in their stores, we clean their yards, but they want us out and the police will be on us.”

In a nearby neighborhood, Ron White, 52, said he felt a sense of relief that something was finally being done about “the illegals” — whom he blames for ills like congregating on the streets, breaking into homes in his neighborhood, draining tax dollars and taking jobs from Americans.

“I sure hope it does have an effect,” Mr. White said of the new law as he packed his car with groceries. “I wouldn’t want to show proof of citizenship, but I also don’t feel it is racial profiling. You are going to look different if you are an alien, and cops know.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/us/26immig.html?sq=immigration&st=cse&scp=2&pagewanted=all

[Posted by Yoori Chung]

Sarah Palin: Obama is Perpetuating 'Myth That Racial Profiling is Part' of Arizona Immigration Law

4-28-10

Sarah Palin called Arizona's controversial new immigration bill a "reasonable...wake up call" Tuesday, and criticized President Obama for "perpetuating this myth that racial profiling is a part of this law."

In an interview with Fox News's Sean Hannity -- who introduced the segment by accusing "pro-illegal immigration" protesters of not actually reading the legislation -- Sarah Palin said "there is no ability or opportunity in there for the racial profiling" in the law.

Critics have argued that the broader powers of law enforcement officials to stop and question suspected illegals who would, with this legislation, be considered to be "breaking the law" if they are in the state, will inevitably lead to racial profiling.

Palin, however, denied these claims.

"Shame on the lamestream media again for turning this into something that it is not," Palin insisted. "Governor Jan Brewer did what she had to do as the CEO of that state to help protect the citizens of her state she had to do what the federal government has refused to do and that is help secure the borders."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/28/sarah-palin-obama-is-perp_n_555070.html

[Posted by: Juliana Steers]

IMMIGRATION REFORM IS SEEN AS NEXT POLITICAL BATTLEGROUND

WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands of people turned out on Washington’s National Mall last Sunday to support the Obama administration in its next big battle, a renewed effort to overhaul U.S. immigration laws.

Smaller rallies also were held in cities such as Denver and Phoenix.

Speaking by video to the crowd in Washington, President Barack Obama said he will do “everything in my power” to reach a bipartisan deal within the year.

“You know as well as I do that this won’t be easy, and it won’t happen overnight,” Obama said. “But if we work together across ethnic, state and party lines, we can build a future worthy of our history as a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws."

http://www.laindependent.com/news/national_world/89083167.html

[svissoni]

NEW IMMIGRATION LAW WON'T HURT ECONOMY, ARIZONA GOVERNOR SAYS

(CNN) -- Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer on Monday deflected concerns that the state's new immigration law will hurt economic development, saying many businesses have long wanted tougher action.

The new law requires Arizona police to determine whether people are in the United States legally if there is a reason to suspect they aren't. Brewer signed the controversial legislation into law on Friday.

"The bottom line is that when I go about meeting with businesses that come into Arizona ... they want to know that we have a safe and secure environment into which to move their businesses here," Brewer said at an Arizona Town Hall event in Tucson. "They want to know that their employees are going to have a quality of life that they've had in the places where they're moving from to move here."

http://www.laindependent.com/news/national_world/92174869.html

[svissoni]

Don't Call Me Racist, and Other Arizona Lies

A few weeks ago, I wrote that we’re in the age of the media-savvy racist. It’s a time in our nation when even the racists know it’s not cool to get caught on a YouTube video slinging the N-word at a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. That would be so...Jim Crow and that would be pretty bad. So pains are taken on MSNBC and Twitter alike to use other words (socialist, illegal) and when needed to even denounce racism. Welcome, ladies and señores, to the media-savvy race game, where the objective is to say anything to avoid being called a racist.

This explains how last Friday Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed a bill into law that basically says, “Cops can use the color of your skin as one factor for demanding proof of citizenship,” and then went on to tell reporters that “racial profiling is illegal.”

by:[Alejandro Jimenez]

http://www.colorlines.com/article.php?ID=708

ICE Busts Massive Human Smuggling Ring That Stretches Length of U.S.

Updated April 15, 2010

FOXNews.com

More than 800 law enforcement agents swooped down on a massive human smuggling ring in Arizona early Thursday morning, delivering a "stunning blow" to a criminal network that helped shuttled illegal immigrants all around the country.

Thursday's strike is the largest coordinated action ever led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which partnered with eight other federal, state and local agencies to arrest 47 suspects in Phoenix, Tucson, Nogales and Rio Rico, Arizona.

"Alien smugglers are a scourge," ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton said. "They violate our borders ... [and] profit at our expense by knowingly breaking our laws, day in and day out. Today we turned the tables on the smugglers."

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/04/15/ice-busts-massive-human-smuggling-ring-stretches-length/

[Posted By: Kimberly Figueroa]

Wanted: 3,000 National Guard Troops to Combat Violence 'Epidemic' at the Border

Thursday, April 22, 2010

This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," April 21, 2010. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: Arizona Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl want President Obama to send 3,000 National Guard troops to the Arizona and Mexico border immediately. Senator Jon Kyl went "On the Record."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,591348,00.html

[Posted by: Kimberly Figueroa]

Holder: U.S. May Challenge Arizona Immigration Law

Updated April 27, 2010

FOXNews.com

The U.S. government may challenge Arizona's new immigration law, Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday as Arizona officials blamed the Feds for forcing the state into passing its own immigration enforcement mechanisms.

Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters on Tuesday that he fears the new law is subject to abuse. He said that the Justice Department and the Homeland Security Department are in the midst of conducting a review of the state law.

The attorney general said a number of options are under consideration including the possibility of a court challenge.

But it's the failure of the Obama administration to "secure our borders" that forced Arizona to pass the tough new law, Arizona Sen. John McCain said Tuesday.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/04/27/lawsuits-set-fly-arizona-officials-defend-new-immigration-law/

[Published by Kimberly Figueroa]

Prohibiting Ethnic Studies Courses & Classes

http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/hb2281p.pdf

Illegal Immigrants Trespassing Bill Passes in Arizona

Monday, Arizona's Senate passed Senate Bill 1070 and it is now up for Governor Jan Brewer's consideration. The bill states that the "provisions of this act are intended to work together to discourage and deter the unlawful entry and presence of aliens and economic activity by persons unlawfully present in the United States." Proponents of the bill claim it will improve border security and combat smugglers and drug cartels, but others claim that it may be biased and could hurt Arizona's image and tourism and business interests.

more information here.

[posted by Maria Rohani]

Neo-Nazi Immigration Rallies (Video): Events Attract Larger Counter-Protests

11-9-09

Anti-immigration rallies held by neo-Nazi groups in Arizona and Minnesota this weekend drew large counter-protests sometimes outnumbered the original protest. The counter-protests drew large numbers of residents who felt the need to confront the neo-Nazis:

I've never done anything like this before, but there's just so much racial tension in Phoenix lately," Wilcox said, as he held a sign that read "Nazis stay out of PHX." "I don't want it to seem like (they are) welcome here." [. . .]

The opposing rallies in Minnesota were shadowed by police officers and firemen on guard to quickly quell any disturbance. Three counter-protesters were arrested last month during a previous confrontation between the two groups.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/09/neo-nazi-immigration-rall_n_350720.html

[Posted by: Juliana Steers]

Arizona's SB1070 Gestapo Law Reveals Right Wing Version of "Liberty."

Miguel Guadalupe

4-21-10

"Show me your papers, are your papers in order?" This phrase was made famous, or rather infamous, by the Gestapo, and will soon be heard throughout the state of Arizona, (updated 4/23) Now that their Governor has signed into law SB1070, a vague and broad law giving law enforcement the unprecedented power to stop and check the documentation of any individual where "reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the U.S.."

There are no guidelines as to what "reasonable suspicion" is, but knowing the reality on the ground, it is obvious to all that "reasonable suspicion" means those looking like, sounding like, or acting like general stereotypes of undocumented immigrants coming from Latin America. In short -- this is a bill that allows police to suspect all Latinos of being undocumented, and gives them the right to question their status at any time, for any reason.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/miguel-guadalupe/arizonas-sb1070-gestapo-l_b_545959.html

[Posted by: Juliana Steers]

Campesinos inmigrantes temen ser discriminados

DAVIS, Arizona.— Entre surcos y ganado las infracciones de tráfico son poco probables, sin embargo, son los campesinos inmigrantes de Arizona quienes se sienten más vulnerables a los efectos racistas de la ley SB1070 y es que a diferencia de las grandes metrópolis, en el campo, elDepartamento del Sheriff y la Patrulla Fronterizaya trabajan de la mano.

Hasta los áridos terrenos de poblados comoDavis, Willcox y Douglas, donde las señales de las grandes cadenas de televisión llegan con dificultad, y los periódicos arriban a los comercios con un día de atraso, la polémica por la controversial ley también preocupa a la gente del campo.

http://www.impre.com/inmigracion/2010/4/26/campesinos-inmigrantes-temen-s-185266-1.html

[posted by: gloria j]

Crecerán los planes de autodeportación Firma de la SB1070 siembra temor, indocumentados piensan en regresar a sus países

PHOENIX, Arizona.— En la última fotografía que envió a sus padres,Sandra Ortiz luce más feliz de lo que en realidad es, "es la gran mentira del inmigrante", explica, "si no más ellos supieran cuántas veces llora uno".

Por los pasados nueve años, su vida ha transcurrido entre cuatro paredes esperando por la prometida reforma migratoria. Ahora, dice, "lo mejor es tener un plan por si te deportan".La noticia de que en menos de 90 días una ley criminalizará a los indocumentados de Arizona y le dará poder a la policía de que investiguen su estatus legal sólo por su aspecto, la han hecho cambiar de estrategia.

..."La gobernadora dijo que ella no sabía como luce un indocumentado, pero que la policía sí y que por eso fue aprobaba esa ley, pero yo estoy igualita que mi mamá y ella ni tiene papeles", comenta enojada Clara Preciado.

http://www.impre.com/inmigracion/2010/4/25/creceran-los-planes-de-autodep-185120-2.html

[posted by: gloria j]