Tag: illegal immigration - Views From Baja Arizona

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Posts Tagged ‘illegal immigration’

Secure Communities deals with states scrubbed…but ICE will continue to get fingerprint data and deport criminal aliens

Saturday, August 6th, 2011

From the Arizona Republic August 6, 2011:

U.S. immigration officials call off deportation agreement with states

by Daniel González- Aug. 6, 2011 12:00 AM

The Arizona Republic

U.S. immigration officials, who for months have insisted that states sign up to participate in a controversial program to identify and deport immigrants who commit crimes, abruptly changed their approach Friday and terminated agreements with nearly 40 states.

In a letter to governors, John Morton, head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the government was terminating Secure Communities agreements with nearly 40 states, including Arizona, after determining that the federal government does not need the agreement or cooperation of state officials to legally run the program.

In the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Arizona Republic, Morton said the decision to terminate the agreements would not affect the operation of the program.

Routine fingerprints of crime suspects by local law enforcement are automatically screened by federal immigration authorities.

The Obama administration, as it tries to demonstrate that it is tough on border security and illegal immigration, has pushed to expand the program nationwide.

The decision to terminate the agreements and move forward without them comes after Democratic governors of several states said they would no longer participate in the program amid concerns that it makes immigrants afraid to report crimes to police.

It also shows that the administration is determined to move forward despite objections from immigrant advocates that the program also is deporting thousands of low-level offenders in addition to serious criminals.

“ICE continues to work with its law-enforcement partners across the country to responsibly and effectively implement this federal information sharing capability and plans to reach complete nationwide activation by 2013,” Nicole Navas, an ICE spokeswoman in Washington, D.C., said in an e-mail.

Arizona was among the first states to embrace the program, which was launched in October 2008.

All 15 counties in Arizona are participating in the program, which is currently in effect in more than 1,500 counties in 43 states.

Under the program, the fingerprints of every person booked into jails are shared with the Department of Homeland Security. Immigration officials screen the fingerprints to identify immigration violators and illegal immigrants so that they can be arrested and deported.

Immigration officials said they don’t need the cooperation of state officials because local law enforcement, as a matter of practice, run the fingerprints of crime suspects through an FBI database to see if they are wanted in connection with other crimes.

The FBI will relay those fingerprints to the Department of Homeland Security.

The program has resulted in the deportation of more than 15,000 immigrants from Arizona and more than 101,000 immigrants nationwide.

Through April 30, more than 77,000 immigrants convicted of crimes were identified through the program and removed from the country, according to ICE.

That figure includes more than 28,000 convicted of aggravated felonies such as murder, rape and the sexual abuse of children.

Still, the program has faced mounting criticism from immigrant advocates who said it takes a dragnet approach to immigration enforcement that results in the deportation of traffic violators and other low-level offenders in addition to serious criminals.

An Arizona Republic analysis of ICE data in March found that 60 percent of the illegal immigrants deported nationwide during the first 2½ years of the program had either no criminal record or had been convicted of low-level offenses.

Sixty-six percent in Arizona had no criminal record or were low-level offenders.

Salvador Reza, an immigrant advocate in Phoenix, said he was disappointed that the administration is moving forward with the program.

“The Secure Communities program should be eliminated, not made mandatory,” Reza said. “The program is causing a lot of havoc. It does not differentiate between a killer and a jay walker. It’s tearing apart families.”

In June, Morton said ICE was revamping the program to make sure it focused on the government’s primary goal of identifying and deporting serious criminals, but he emphasized that the changes would not restrict the program from deporting less-serious offenders.

He also said the program was mandatory even though ICE officials earlier had portrayed the program as voluntary and said states could opt out later if they wished.

He said then that the number of criminals and serious offenders deported under the program has been increasing, while the number of non-criminals removed through the program has been decreasing.

COMMENTARY: Would really be nice if the federal government could make the fingerprinting of arrested people work to deport real criminal aliens and not traffic offenders and crime victims.

Press Release from Rights Working Group August 5, 2011:

August 5, 2011, Washington, D.C — Today the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has demonstrated that it has gone completely rogue. Since rolling out the Secure Communities program in 2008, ICE has signed over 1,200 Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs) with jurisdictions agreeing to participate in the program.

This afternoon, ICE announced, shockingly, that it will unilaterally rescind the MOAs and proceed with Secure Communities without the agreement of state and local jurisdictions.

Contrary to the announcement of John Sandweg, Counselor to the DHS Secretary and Deputy Secretary, the federal statute that Sandweg cites as mandating participation in Secure Communities does nothing of the kind. It requires information sharing but does not require states to participate in this initiative, nor does it require the deportation of migrants who have been arrested but not yet convicted of crimes.

ICE insists that Secure Communities is mandatory and will become fully operational in every jurisdiction of the country by 2013. Rights Working Group denounces ICE’s actions.

“Across the country, local jurisdictions and states have publicly rejected the Secure Communities program and have told the federal government that they do not want Secure Communities destroying their communities, separating families, and encouraging discriminatory police practices such as racial profiling. For ICE to thumb their nose at the decisions of elected officials to withdraw from the program is without legal basis and offensive,” said Margaret Huang, Executive Director of Rights Working Group.

Due to the public outcry about the program and the dangers it poses to community policing and safety, as well as the program’s violations of long-held principles of due process and fairness, several states and localities have demanded to opt out of Secure Communities. Most recently, governors of New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts have informed ICE that their states will no longer participate in the program.

Rights Working Group has long denounced the lack of transparency and accountability in the implementation of Secure Communities. Investigative reporters and documents received through a Federal of Information Act lawsuit unraveled ICE’s inaccurate statements and reversals of opinion on these MOAs—leading Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) to call for an investigation of the initiative.The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has urged the Obama Administration to place an immediate moratorium on Secure Communities.

Said Huang: “Secure Communities keeps local police from fulfilling their core mission of protecting our communities because when local police target people to enforce immigration law, it increases the level of fear and makes it far more difficult to gain community trust.” The vast majority of undocumented battered women are already reluctant to report their abuse to police for fear of detention and deportation. Secure Communities and similar programs make it even less likely that migrant witnesses and victims will come forward.

“This Administration can no longer continue to stand by Secure Communities,” said Huang. “By continuing to support this program they are sanctioning racial profiling, eroding the trust local law enforcement agencies have built with communities of color and showing the international community that our immigration system does not respect the basic human rights of all persons in our country.”

Rights Working Group urges DHS to:

•Immediately stop the implementation of Secure Communities and similar programs unless and until meaningful civil rights and civil liberties safeguards are put in place to ensure that racial profiling and other human rights violations are not occurring, including collecting data on the perceived race or ethnicity of the people arrested, the charges that are lodged and the ultimate disposition of the case.

•Terminate Secure Communities in jurisdictions that have chosen to opt out of the program.

•Immediately suspend Secure Communities in jurisdictions with a documented record of racial profiling or where DOJ is actively investigating a pattern or practice of discriminatory policing.

###

Press Release from Uncover The Truth:

Secure Communities Courtroom Battle Comes to a Head
Arguments to be Heard on ICE Attempt to Withhold
Key Documents from Public

What: Courtroom Arguments in NDLON v. ICE FOIA litigation
Where: Manhattan, Federal District Court.
When: August 11th.

Next Thursday, August 11th, advocates will argue for the release of key documents the agency continues to withhold related to the Secure Communities opt-out policies. Upon reviewing certain of the unredacted documents that are the subject of this challenge, Federal District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin concluded in a scathing opinion, “There is ample evidence that ICE and DHS have gone out of their way to mislead the public about Secure Communities,” and ordered the agency to release certain documents that could not be withheld simply because they might embarrass DHS and ICE.

In the year and a half since the beginning of the FOIA litigation, the documents that have been released so far shed light on a secretive and over-reaching deportation program. As the dangerous scope and impact of the program has been uncovered, a consensus has grown calling for the program’s termination. Governors in Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts have sought to opt-out of the program.

In an attempt to preempt the embarrassing documents that the court has ordered released and the conclusive results of the OIG investigation to be completed this winter, ICE and DHS have rolled out a series of cosmetic tweaks and a taskforce to “study” the program. These announcements have been widely condemned as insufficient given the civil rights crisis created by the program.

“If what we’ve seen so far tells us anything, it’s that ICE is an agency that cannot be trusted. The court has ordered ICE to release documents that FOIA gives the public a right to access. But the agency continues to stonewall and delay turning them over. The constantly shifting policies and lack of transparency about those policies, truly make it difficult to take what ICE says at face value. ” explained, Bridget Kessler, lawyer for Benjamin Cardozo School of Law.

Chris Newman of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network added,”DHS has far more interest in the politics of SCOMM than it does in developing a lawful policy that actually serves local communities. While DHS has moved at breakneck speed to advance a dubious program with media spin, it’s strategy in this litigation has been characterized by one word: delay. Thankfully, federal courts- and not DHS- will have the last word and will ultimately compel disclosure of information owed to the public and required by federal law.”

For more background, visit http://uncoverthetruth.org and download a press packet at http://ndlon.org/pdf/scommbrief.pdf

####

Tags: ICE, illegal immigration, immigration law reform, secure communities
Posted in immigration law reform, politics | 5 Comments »

Why do they immigrate? The problem is Mexico

Sunday, June 26th, 2011

Having talked to many illegal immigrants the stories are remarkably similar…

….there is no work in Mexico sufficient to feed my family

….there is already family here

…people from my village have been coming to the US for generations to work

When asked why they don’t get papers and come to the US legally the answer is invariably the same…”no es possible” . It is impossible.

One gets an interesting sense of a right to come to the US to work…after all…the jobs are here and they need them.

The border is mostly a nuisance to illegal immigrants …costing more for the coyote… more dangerous… but the choices are not good. Stay home and do what? Starve?

People point out that the jobs available to illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America is a huge magnet drawing them north. Eliminate the jobs and they will not come.

But that avoids an equally important driver for the migration…there are no good paying jobs for millions of people in Latin America and especially Mexico.

Mexico has everything it takes to be a First World country with full employment and a strong economy.

In the cities you see a 21^st Century Mexico.

But go to the rural areas and you see an 18^th century country with cell phones and satellite tv.

The rich get richer in Mexico, but the rural people don’t rise with the economic tide. Mexzuico today looks like what American might end up being like if certain policies continue in thios country…no safety nets…no good paying jobs….no future…and no where to go to.

Subsistence agriculture has been damaged by the free trade agreement which lets US corn sell in Mexico cheaper than Mexicans can grow it themselves.

Millions of Mexican have left their villages and aggregated in slums around the big cities.

You can live on $8 a day in Mexico … but not very well.

Even at our worst it is better for the migrants than what they leave behind.

If we are really going to see a decline in illegal immigration then the Mexican economy needs to transform so it can provide living incomes for all its people.

Mexico solves its economic problems by exporting its excess people to the United States.

If we were successful in shutting down illegal immigration we would likely be creating a pressure cooker in Mexico with a whole lot of people with no where to escape to…and they would necessarily have to turn on their own government and demand a fairer share of Mexico’s economic pie.

And interesting experience dealing with the “elite” in Mexico….they really could give a rat’s rear end about the poor people in their own country. And when it comes to their native Indian populations…they sometimes sound like 19^th Century Americans.

If we are really going to do something meaningful about illegal immigration, then we must also get really serious with the “elite” in Mexico and push really hard on them to spread their economic wealth down to the villages and slums.

Maybe we might even think of restricting exports from Mexico if they keep exporting people to us…for every illegal alien that leaves Mexico we reduce the amount of something we buy from their “elite” business owners.

As long as the are not enough living wage jobs in Mexico and we have a lot of jobs in this country open to illegal immigrants, all that is ultimately going to happen is the “coyote” fee to get across the border will increase from $2,000 to $4,000 a person.

And if you wonder how really poor people can scrape up $2,000 to get to the US….the immigrant sends money back (called “remittance” which is a major source of foreign money in the Mexican economy).

Thus bankrolling a migrant to come to the US and work and send home money benefits a larger family and entire villages. There are lots of places one can go in rural Mexico and not find a male of working age around. All gone to the north.

An interesting article from “US Immigration Support”

Illegal Immigration from Mexico

For many generations Mexicans have illegally crossed the border into the United States. Reasons for the high rate of migration from Mexico include the close proximity of Mexico to the U.S. and the noticeable difference in the quality of life between the two countries. Many individuals come from poverty-stricken towns in Mexico and desire to come to the United States to achieve the “American dream.” For many, just gaining employment at a low wage job in the United States provides a much higher standard of living than in their home country. During the 1980s, the United States saw a significant increase in illegal immigrants from Mexico. The immigration influx was not limited to Mexicans from one specific region but rather from communities all throughout Mexico.

Those from bigger cities such as Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Mexico City do not necessarily have a higher quality of life than those Mexicans residing in rural communities. However, individuals from larger cities do tend to have a greater access to opportunities. Many who live in smaller towns tend to be employed in the agriculture sector or try to set up a small business in order to make a living. The average Mexican wage is about $4.15 an hour and those in the agricultural industry make even less. While an individual may be able to survive on that wage alone, it becomes more difficult for those with families. Currently about 40% of the Mexican population is below the poverty line. Unemployment is about 4% but it is estimated that nearly 25% of those working are classified as underemployed.

Even when jobs are created, in many instances they are not sufficient to meet the growing demand of the Mexican people. Their pay may be so low that they cannot afford to cover even the most basic necessities. Thus, many Mexicans from both small and big cities find the neighboring United States to be extremely attractive. Treaties such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have brought more American companies into the country. However, the jobs that have been created are not enough and many wages are still relatively low. Many dream of going to what is known as the “the North” to make more money. However, illegal immigration to the United States is becoming increasingly difficult due to advanced technology, infrastructure, and enforcement. Some illegal immigrants illicit the assistance of a “coyote”, or smuggler, to help them navigate through the land and cross the border. Once they reach a certain destination on American soil, a vehicle is used to transport them to another location. It is here that family and/or friends will pick them up and pay the “coyote’s fee.” Sometimes the fee is paid beforehand and other times a deposit is given and the rest is paid upon completion of their services. “Coyotes” generally have insider knowledge about crossing the border, and know the best routes to avoid detection. However, in order to help to deter “coyotes,”serious fines and penalties if someone is caught smuggling illegal immigrants into the United States. For immigrants who are intercepted en route to the United States, they are usually returned to Mexican soil.

Increasingly, illegal immigrants and “coyotes” have tried to cross the border through the Arizona desert. This is due to increased security along the Mexico-U.S. border near California. Especially during the summer months, there tend to be more cases of illegal immigrants who try to cross the Arizona desert and die from dehydration. Throughout the U.S. – Mexican border, more check points with U.S. border patrols have been added on the American side of the border. At these checkpoints, individuals may be asked for documentation in order to verify U.S. residency or citizenship. As stated previously, there are an increasing number of security measures that have been implemented at and around the Mexico-U.S. border. As a result, it has become more difficult to illegally cross the border. As such, the assistance of “coyotes” is in high demand. The fees for a “coyote” easily runs into the thousands per individual. Many illegal immigrants save up money or borrow money to cover this fee. Once a Mexican immigrant successfully crosses the border into the United States, they generally have two main goals. Their first aim is to send part of their earnings back home to their family and their second goal is to bring more family members to the United States. Eventually they hope to gain permanent residency (green card) and possibly U.S. citizenship status. Other illegal immigrants come with a different purpose. They emigrate to the United States with the sole intention of finding a job that will allow them to save enough money to buy a house or set up their own business upon their return to Mexico. Whatever the specific intentions of the Mexican immigrant are, many agree that their main desire is to come to the United States in search of a better life.

GREEN CARD

A Green Card is evidence of lawful permanent resident status in the United States.

Green Card Application

Green Card Renewal

Lost or Stolen Green Card

Green Card Name Change

Green Card Update

Green Card through Employment

Green Card through Marriage

Green Card through Relatives

Family Based Green Cards

US VISAS

A visa grants the holder the right to apply for entry into the United States.

B-1 Business Visa

B-2 Tourist Visa

F-1 Student Visa

J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa

H-1B Work Visa

H-2B Work Visa

K-1 Fiancée/Fiancé Visa

TN NAFTA Work Visa

U.S. Work Visa

Visa Waiver Program

US CITIZENSHIP

United States Citizenship is one step beyond permanent residence (Green Card). Citizenship provides the maximum immigration rights available in the United States.

U.S. Citizenship Application

Citizenship Test Study Guide

Certificate of Citizenship

Certificate of Naturalization

U.S. Passport Application

U.S. Passport Card

U.S. Passport Renewal

Drug smuggling mule trains and illegal aliens in the “secure” borderlands

Saturday, June 25th, 2011

The Secure Border Intel organization has cameras hidden around the border including cameras somewhere west of Nogales.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano claims the border is more secure than ever.

President Barack Obama says now that the border is secure it is time for immigration law reform.

Maybe President Obama and Secretary Napolitano ought to hide themselves on the smuggling trails for 24 hours (don’t tell the Border Patrol you are there) and watch reality for themselves.

But they’ll have to watch out for those people (who many claim are not from Mexico) who start fires.

And now you know why the Coronado National Forest has posted these signs all over the countryside….

Tags: border security, boreder issues, drug smuggling, illegal immigration
Posted in border issues, politics | 8 Comments »

The dying time has begun in southern Arizona’s borderlands

Friday, June 17th, 2011

Every summer when the heat soars over 100 degrees in southern Arizona’s deserts the news is the same….”two dead bodies discovered’….”three dead bodies discovered”.

Last summer 59 bodies were discovered in southern Arizona just in the month of July.

It is estimated that two or three hundred people a year die in southern Arizona while trying to illegally enter the United States. We really don’t know because many bodies are never found.

Why are they dying out there?

The main reason is they are trying to illegally enter the United States and are totally unprepared for what they face…30…40…sometimes 75 miles of walking through heat blasted country.

The story is the same for many of us who live near the border and travel around in the back country…we run across illegal aliens in distress and provide them water and first aid and call the Border Patrol.

The Samaritan Patrol sends people out into the deserts with water and first aid to rescue illegal aliens in distress.

The Border Patrol rescues hundreds of illegal aliens every summer as well.

And every year folks go missing in the desert and family members start posting pictures all over the area. Have you seen Maria?

One of the border aid workers found a discarded backpack with personal identification papers of one missing illegal aliens. We know she got as far as Tubac…but vanished between here and wherever she was going. Another body waiting to be found.

Why people risk their lives for minimum wage jobs in the US is a mystery to many. But talking to the folks we all find out in the desert the stories are pretty much the same. There is no hope back in the home village where they came from and they had to go on the migrant trial or starve.

My guess is virtually all of them would much prefer a legal path into the US…but it can take years for people to get a worker visa. The folks who take to the migrant trails can’t wait years for their applications to be processed.

Two solutions to this annual wave of death are obvious:

–secure the border at the border; and

–create a legal path for workers to come to the United States.

The first solution is being stymied by federal land managers and environmentalists who prefer to protect wildlife near the border than people.

GAO confirms federal environmental laws and federal land managers hinder securing our border

The second solution is being stymied by those who refuse to recognize that there are a lot of jobs in this country Americans simply won’t do…thus there is opportunity for illegal aliens to feed their families by coming here illegally.

If we cannot bring workers through our ports of entry above-ground…they will risk death to get here anyway.

And we cannot stop them from entering illegally if wildlife preserves and national forest lands are exempted from a full court press on securing the border at the border.

Maybe the environmentalists and federal land managers who thwart the Border Patrol need to be given copies of pictures of every dead illegal alien found in our borderlands this summer.

And maybe those who reuse to addres the need for a guest worker visa program ought to spend a day picking produce in the Imperial Valley in July.

Or even better…come to the scene when a body is found.

Maybe that body will be Maria’s.

___________________________

Border Patrol finds two dead bodies

59 dead in the desert in July due to killer coyotes

Tags: border issues, death in the desert, illegal aliens, illegal immigration, immigration law reform
Posted in border issues, immigration law reform, politics | 13 Comments »

Sneaking into America — A Proposed New Reality TV Show

Monday, June 6th, 2011

From the Frumious Bandersnatch Satirical Newspaper:

A lot of effort is going on to try and get people in the US to understand the reality of migrants crossing into America. Most recently a 75 mile walk from the border was staged by immigrant rights groups.

But one way to get a lot of people’s attention in the US is to put the issue into a TV Reality Show.

Hence the proposal for “Sneaking into America”…

Note: This is satire :

New Reality TV Show proposed: Sneaking into America

While the crossing of the border between Mexico and the US by illegal aliens and drug smugglers gets a lot of news and political attention, few people actually know very much about how this is actually done.

Herewith is a Treatment / Proposal for a new TV reality show called “Sneaking into America” :

Ten contestants for each series will be selected randomly from applicants. There would be 3 series of Sneaks into America.

Each of the 3 series will have 4 episodes… for a total of 12 one hour shows.

The first episode of each ”Sneak” series is titled “staging for illegal entry”, the second being “crossing the line”, the third being “the overland journey of death” and the final episode “arriving in the promised land”.

The last scene in each series will be the winner starting his or her new minimum wage job in the United States.

Winners get to pick lettuce

Contestants who are captured, killed, die or give up with be eliminated from the contest for the winning prize.

All contestants will be required to pass a rigorous physical examination and sign a hold harmless agreement that if they are kidnapped, murdered or die or are injured in any way they will not be able to sue anyone involved in the program. All contestants will be afforded a $100,000 life insurance policy for the benefit of their family. US citizenship will not be required for contestants except for “Going to Washington DC” run. Contestants for that series will be required to provide proof of US citizenship to be a contestant, but will not be allowed to show such proof while competing in the show.

Each contestant will be accompanied by a cameraman who will not be allowed to provide any assistance whatsoever to the contestant during the “Sneak”.

The first series will be called Sneak to Phoenix.

Contestants en route to Phoenix

The ten contestants will be taken to town of Altar in northern Sonora and left there with $1,000 in cash, one gallon of water, one cell phone, and the clothes on their back. They will not be allowed to carry any documentation confirming they are United States citizens if in fact they are. Each contestant will be able to guarantee payment to a “coyote” of an additional $2,000 upon their safe arrival at the destination within 14 days of starting out.

Their goal is to reach the State Capitol building, Senate Wing in downtown Phoenix and try to meet with state senator Russell Pearce.

In order to achieve this goal contestants will have to:

–decide which “coyote” to hire to transport them to the US-Mexican border and get them across and negotiate the terms of their relationship.

–purchase dark ”crossing” clothing and supplies such as a back pack, food and water.

–decide whether to work together as a team or go their individual ways.

– then walk for 3 or 4 days through the desert to a point where they would be picked up and driven to Phoenix.

–they will have to successfully avoid being captured by the US Border Patrol.

–they will have to successfully avoid being robbed by border bandits.

–they will have to avoid dying of heat prostration or dehydration while crossing into the United States to the point where they would be picked up by their coyote transportation deal

–they will have to avoid being kidnapped in Phoenix.

All contestants reaching the destination in Phoenix will be considered “winners”. Each winner will receive a minimum wage job in the Phoenix area cleaning hotel rooms,.

The second Sneaking into America series is called Vamos al Chicago and will start in Oaxaca, Mexico and end in Chicago, Illinois

In order to achieve that goal contestants will have to arrive alive in the vicinity of Brownsville or Laredo, Texas without being kidnapped and murdered by the Zeta cartel, cross the Rio Grande, avoid being captured by the Border Patrol, and travel across the country to downtown Chicago.

Winners of this contest will have the choice of a minimum wage job in Chicago, Detroit or New York City.

The third series in Sneaking into America is called Going to Washington DC and will feature state and federal politicians as the contestants.

The starting point for this series will be Guatemala and end at the US Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

In addition to all the risks and challenges of the other series, the “Going to Washington DC” contestants will also have to sneak through Mexico and avoid being captured by that country’s law enforcement authorities for illegal entry.

The winners of the “Going to Washington DC” “Sneak” will be allowed to hold a press conference about issues such as securing the border and immigration law reform, and then return to their elected official jobs.

It is hoped that one or more Presidential candidates would participate in the “Going to Washington DC” Sneak series.

Sneaking into America could be a top rated show.

Viewers will experience at ground level some of the most remote and beautiful country in America ranging from burning deserts to rugged mountains.

Each episode will be filled with suspense as each contestant tries to avoid being killed by bandits or captured by law enforcement. Viewers will experience hiding beneath bushes as helicopters circle over head and masked men carrying automatic weapons hunt for them to steal their money and shoes.

Interspersed with eye-level video of the ordeals of the contestants, “Sneak” will also include real-time footage shot from Border Patrol aircraft and vehicles searching for the contestants,. The “Sneak” series would also include commentaries from all sides of the border security and immigration law reform debate and interviews with real illegal aliens who have survived the journey into the United States themselves.

Viewers can pick their favorite contestants and follow their dangerous journeys on Twitter.

At the conclusion of each series viewers will have as close to a first-hand experience as possible of what thousands of illegal immigrants experience daily as they cross the border for jobs in the United States.

And the question will be asked at the end of each episode “would you try and do this?”

Tags: border issues, border patrol, border security, copyright 2011 by hugh holub, department of homeland security, frumious bandersnatch, humor, illegal aliens, illegal immigrants, illegal immigration, immigration law reform, satire, sneak into america, tv reality show
Posted in border issues, humor, immigration law reform, politics, satire | 1 Comment »

Do you think you could pass the US Citizenship Test?

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

Statue of Liberty

Before one can become a naturalized United States citizen, they must take a test given by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

“During your naturalization eligibility interview, a USCIS officer will test your ability to read, write, and speak English (unless you are exempt from the English requirements). You will also be given a civics test in English (to test your knowledge and understanding of U.S. history and government) unless you are exempt. Even if exempt from the English test, you will need to take the civics test unless you qualify for a waiver. You may also be eligible to take the civics test in your native language with the assistance of an interpreter if you qualify. ”

The actual questions are selected from a list. Here are the test questions. Do you think you could pass?
Answers at http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/blinstst_new.htm

AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
A. Principles of American Democracy

1. What is the supreme law of the land?
2. What does the Constitution do?
3. The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?
4. What is an amendment?
5. What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?
6. What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?*
7. How many amendments does the Constitution have?
8. What did the Declaration of Independence do?
9. What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence?
10. What is freedom of religion?
11. What is the economic system in the United States?*
12. What is the “rule of law”?

B. System of Government

13. Name one branch or part of the government.*
14. What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?
15. Who is in charge of the executive branch?
16. Who makes federal laws?
17. What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?*
18. How many U.S. Senators are there?
19. We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?
20. Who is one of your state’s U.S. Senators?*
21. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
22. We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years?
23. Name your U.S. Representative.
24. Who does a U.S. Senator represent?
25. Why do some states have more Representatives than other states?
26. We elect a President for how many years?
27. In what month do we vote for President?*
28. What is the name of the President of the United States now?*
29. What is the name of the Vice President of the United States now?
30. If the President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
31. If both the President and the Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
32. Who is the Commander in Chief of the military?
33. Who signs bills to become laws?
34. Who vetoes bills?
35. What does the President’s Cabinet do?
36. What are two Cabinet-level positions?
37. does the judicial branch do?
38. What is the highest court in the United States?
39. How many justices are on the Supreme Court?
40. Who is the Chief Justice of the United States?
41. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?
42. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the states?
43. Who is the Governor of your state?
44. What is the capital of your state?*
45. What are the two major political parties in the United States?*
46. What is the political party of the President now?
47. What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?

C: Rights and Responsibilities

48. There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.
49. What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?*
50. What are two rights only for United States citizens?
51. What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?
52. What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?
53. What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?
54. How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?*
55. What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?
56. When is the last day you can send in federal income tax forms?*
57. When must all men register for the Selective Service?

AMERICAN HISTORY
A: Colonial Period and Independence

58. What is one reason colonists came to America?
59. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
60. What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?
61. Why did the colonists fight the British?
62. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
63. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
64. There were 13 original states. Name three.
65. What happened at the Constitutional Convention?
66. When was the Constitution written?
67. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.
68. What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?
69. Who is the “Father of Our Country”?
70. Who was the first President?*

B: 1800s
71. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
72. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.
73. Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.
74. Name one problem that led to the Civil War.
75. What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?*
76. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
77. What did Susan B. Anthony do?

C: Recent American History and Other Important Historical Information
78. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.*
79. Who was President during World War I?
80. Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?
81. Who did the United States fight in World War II?
82. Before he was President, Eisenhower was a general. What war was he in?
83. During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?
84. What movement tried to end racial discrimination?
85. What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?*
86. What major event happened on September 11, 2001 in the United States?
87. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.

INTEGRATED CIVICS
A: Geography

88. Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States.
89. What ocean is on the West Coast of the United States?
90. What ocean is on the East Coast of the United States?
91. Name one U.S. territory.
92. Name one state that borders Canada.
93. Name one state that borders Mexico.
94. What is the capital of the United States?*
95. Where is the Statue of Liberty?*

B. Symbols
96. Why does the flag have 13 stripes?
97. Why does the flag have 50 stars?*
98. What is the name of the national anthem?
C: Holidays
99. When do we celebrate Independence Day?*
100. Name two national U.S. holidays.

Click here for study materials

Tags: border issues, illegal immigration, immigration, us citizensuip test
Posted in border issues, immigration law reform, politics | 3 Comments »

108 illegal aliens discovered in Phoenix drop house and other border news

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

Department of Homeland Security Press Release May 26, 2011:

TUCSON, Ariz. — The following is a snapshot of certain Department of Homeland Security activities along the Southwest border. This rundown provides a thumbnail of each incident.

Joint Field Command Statistics – Yesterday in Arizona
(Narcotics weights are measured in pounds)

Marijuana seized           5,460
Weapons seized                      2
Individuals presented in federal court for prosecution* 124
Individuals prosecuted under Operation Streamline*       76
Individuals prosecuted on federal drug charges*                   3

*These numbers only represent those apprehended by Border Patrol and presented for prosecution.

• On May 25, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) discovered 108 illegal aliens from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador in a west Phoenix drop house. ICE HSI agents approached the house after receiving reports of suspicious activity. Several suspects were identified for prosecution while the remaining subjects were taken to a staging facility in Phoenix to be processed for removal from the United States.

• On May 25, Willcox Station Border Patrol agents attempted to perform a traffic stop on Interstate 10 near Mile Marker 299. The driver did not yield and eventually abandoned the vehicle to evade arrest. Subsequently, agents found 40 bundles of marijuana, a handgun, and three magazines containing .45-caliber ammunition. The narcotics weighed 929 pounds with an estimated value of $464,500. The vehicle and narcotics were seized and will be turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The handgun was seized and will be turned over to the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms.

• On May 25, security officers at the Barry M. Goldwater Range requested Border Patrol assistance in the pursuit of an all terrain vehicle (ATV) suspected of drug smuggling. An Ajo Station Border Patrol canine team responded and seized 10 bundles of marijuana that were strapped to the ATV. In addition, the range security officers recovered an AK-47 assault rifle with three full magazines discarded in area nearby. The narcotics weighed 516 pounds with an estimated value of $258,000. The narcotics were seized and will be turned over to the DEA. The ATV, firearm, and ammunition were turned over to the Maricopa County Sherriff’s Office.

• On May 25, Ajo Station Border Patrol Agents seized 77 bundles of marijuana and recovered a stolen pickup truck after following its vehicle tracks to an area approximately five miles west of Federal Route 1. The truck was concealed with a tarp and contained approximately 1,757 pounds of marijuana. A records check indicated the truck was reported stolen out of Surprise, Ariz. The marijuana was transported to the Ajo Border Patrol Station and will be turned over to the DEA. The truck was turned over to the Tohono O’odham Police Department. (Photos available)

• On May 25, Ajo Station agents apprehended a Mexican male illegal alien near Federal Route 21. A records check revealed the subject was a Sureño gang member with a prior criminal record. The subject is being prosecuted for Illegal Entry.

• On May 25, a 29-year-old Mexican male attempted to enter the United States through a San Luis Port vehicle lane and was referred for a secondary inspection. Subsequently, a narcotics detection canine alerted to the vehicle and the trailer it was towing. Further inspection of the vehicle and trailer led to the discovery of 187 packages of marijuana weighing more than 644 pounds with an estimated value of $322,000. The subject was taken into custody and turned over to ICE HSI for further investigation.

• On May 25, an 18-year-old U.S. citizen male and a 21-year-old U.S. citizen male attempted to enter the United States through a Dennis DeConcini Port vehicle lane and were referred for a secondary inspection. Further inspection led to the discovery of 20 packages of marijuana concealed in the area of the back seat. The marijuana weighed approximately 44 pounds with an estimated value of $22,000. Both subjects were taken into custody and turned over to ICE HSI for further investigation.

In February, CBP announced the Arizona Joint Field Command (JFC)—an organizational realignment that brings together Border Patrol, Air and Marine, and Field Operations under a unified command structure to integrate CBP’s border security, commercial enforcement, and trade facilitation missions to more effectively meet the unique challenges faced in the Arizona area of operations.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) promotes homeland security and public safety through the criminal and civil enforcement of federal laws governing border control, customs, trade, and immigration. ICE and CBP collaborate in investigations regarding criminal organizations with a nexus to the border.

Since launching the Southwest Border Initiative in March 2009, the Obama administration has engaged in an unprecedented effort to bring focus and intensity to Southwest border security, coupled with a reinvigorated, smart and effective approach to enforcing immigration laws in the interior of our country.

– DHS –

From Arizona Republic May 25, 2011:

Officials: More than 100 found in west Phoenix drophouse

by Daniel Gonzalez – May. 25, 2011 11:35 PM
The Arizona Republic

Federal immigration agents on Wednesday discovered 108 illegal-immigration suspects crammed inside a drophouse in west Phoenix, the largest drophouse bust in more than three years and the second-largest since 2006.

Such large numbers have become rare as smugglers change tactics to avoid increased immigration enforcement and suspicion from neighbors.

Photo

But one of the telltale details of immigrant smuggling – vehicles entering a garage, closing the door, then quickly exiting – drew the attention and suspicion of neighbors in this case.

Officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided the house in the 9000 block of West Vernon Avenue after receiving tips from neighbors about the cars.

Vincent Picard, spokesman for the Phoenix ICE office, said the tip and the raid may have been timed perfectly: Shortly before agents arrived, neighbors reported seeing vehicles enter the garage, meaning smugglers may have just dropped off more immigrants and hadn’t yet had time to relocate them.

Smugglers have stopped holding large numbers of illegal immigrants inside drophouses, most likely to avoid losing large sums of money if the migrants are caught, Picard said.

Based on a “conservative estimate” of $2,000 in smuggling fees for each immigrant, those apprehended on Wednesday were worth $216,000, Picard said.

The 108 immigration suspects found inside the house exceeded the number found by ICE agents inside the previous four drophouses combined.

On May 9, ICE agents discovered 37 suspects inside a drophouse in the 6600 block of West Miami Street. The three drophouses discovered by ICE before that had fewer than 20 illegal immigrants inside, Picard said.

ICE didn’t start keeping track of the number of illegal immigrants discovered inside drophouses until 2006. The most ever found since then was 124 on March 28, 2008, inside a Peoria drophouse.

Although drophouse activity has been going down for years, the discovery of such a large drophouse on Wednesday shows that immigrant smuggling remains a problem in Arizona, Picard said.

Smuggling organizations use drophouses to hold illegal immigrants recently smuggled across the border before transporting them to other parts of the country.

Just a few years ago, the Phoenix area was the drophouse capital of the nation. In 2007, ICE officials discovered 194 drophouses in the Valley, leading to the apprehension of 3,549 illegal immigrants. ICE officials also investigated 44 hostage cases involving illegal immigrants that year.

In contrast, ICE officials found 100 drophouses in 2010 and apprehended 1,369 illegal immigrants. So far this year, ICE officials have investigated 26 drophouses, including the one discovered Wednesday, and investigated two hostage cases. The 108 immigrants found inside account for nearly a quarter of the 467 immigrants apprehended by ICE inside drophouses this year.

Border Patrol apprehensions in the Tucson Sector, the nation’s busiest, also have been dropping. Agents have logged 80,000 apprehensions from Oct. 1, 2010, through April 30, compared with 148,000 during the same period the previous year, said Colleen Agle, a spokeswoman for the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector.

The drophouse on West Vernon Avenue is in a neighborhood of single-family homes. Several neighbors described the neighborhood as quiet.

Agents knocked on the door and were given permission to enter, Picard said.

Picard said the house had no furniture inside, and ICE agents found the migrants sitting on the floor inside every room of the house.

Public records show the 1,323-square-foot house was built in 1996. It has four bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths. Attempts to reach the owner on record with the County Assessor’s Office were unsuccessful.

Amanda Arellanos, 21, a college student who lives next door, said a family had been renting the house but they moved out about four months ago. She said she and her husband never suspected the house was being used to warehouse people but said she had noticed odd activity.

Every two or three weeks, Arellanos said, she noticed a black SUV or tan pickup pull into the driveway.

The vehicles would drive into the garage, and the garage door would shut. About 30 minutes later, the vehicles would drive away.

Every couple of weeks, landscapers would come to clean the yard and trim the bushes as if a family were living there, Arellanos said.

“But I never saw anyone or heard even a sneeze from over there,” she said.

She also thought it was strange that the four large garbage bins on the side of the house were always full even though no one seemed to be living inside. On Monday, she even thought about calling the police because the garbage smelled so bad.

Arellanos said her husband heard someone banging on the door of the house around 8 a.m. Wednesday. When he went outside, he saw ICE agents raiding the house.

Picard said none of the migrants tried to resist or flee.

The 108 migrants found inside included five teenage juveniles and 14 women. They are from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, Picard said.

He said some of the migrants were dehydrated, but none needed medical attention. They were transported to the ICE holding facility in downtown Phoenix to be processed for deportation.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Press Release May 24, 2011:

ICE arrests 108 at Phoenix human smuggling drop house

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PHOENIX – Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) discovered 108 illegal aliens at a drop house in west Phoenix Wednesday.

The agents, assigned to the ICE HSI Drop House Response Group in Phoenix, were drawn to the house by reports of multiple vehicles quickly entering and leaving the garage—activities that are consistent with human smuggling. The agents knocked on the front door and were given permission to enter. Inside, they discovered the aliens packed in every room of the four-bedroom house located on the 9000 block of West Vernon Avenue.

The aliens are from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. There were five teenage boys and 14 women found among the group.

Agents identified a number of suspected human smugglers at the scene and are interviewing those individuals and the other persons found inside the residence as part of an ongoing investigation into the broader smuggling scheme.

This was the largest drop house discovered in the Phoenix metropolitan area since March 2008 when 124 aliens were apprehended at a drop house in Peoria. It is the second largest drop house discovered since ICE began tracking them in January 2006.

ICE HSI established the Drop House Response Group in September 2009 to identify, target and dismantle the infrastructure used by human smuggling organizations operating in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

What is interesting is one reads a lot of stories about illegal alien drop houses in Phoenix but not so often in Tucson. Why is that?

Tags: arizona ports of entry, border issues, border security, CBO, customs and border protection, ill;egal alien drop house, illegal immigration
Posted in border patrol, customs and border protection, drug smuggling, politics | 4 Comments »

Cybercoyotes guiding illegal aliens around the Border Patrol with cell phones

Tuesday, May 17th, 2011

From the New York Times…

Smugglers Guide Illegal Immigrants With Cues via Cellphone

By Marc Lacey

NOGALES, Ariz. — A group of migrants was hustling north through the southern Arizona desert the other night when one of their cellphones vibrated with a text message. “Watch out,” it warned. “Things are hot up ahead. Take cover in the bushes.”

The message, signaling the presence of the Border Patrol, was sent by a smuggler watching the group’s progress through binoculars from a hillside on the Mexican side of the border, members of the group said later. It was part of what border officials and immigrant activists say is an emerging trend in illegal border crossing — the use of what is being called the cybercoyote.

More….

Not only are the people smugglers using cell phones, it is widely reported in the borderlands that Mexican drug cartel scouts sit on mountain tops on this side of the border, guiding caravans of drugs and people around Border Patrol agents using cell phones and satellite radios.

One has to wonder….for $1,000 paid to a coyote you get a map to cross the border…for $3,000 you get a cybercoyote….

____________________________________

More on border issues:

The following are articles and commentaries on border issues and SB 1070 that have appeared in the View From Baja Arizona .

Most recent….

Another Open Letter to Obama…this one from the residents in Eastern Arizona on their border situation

An open letter to Obama about the borderLegalizing 11 million illegal aliens does not mean 11 million Democrat votes

“Probationary Presence” not “amnesty” needed in immigration reform

Who will wipe your baby’s butt? Who will pick your lettuce? Who will mow your lawn?

California Congressman re-introduces DREAM Act

Arizona Attorney General blasts Obama on border security

Obama immigration reform proposal lands on table like dead fish