by Elise A. Fialkowski
The Legal Intelligencer
August 09, 2010
Frustrated with the failure of the federal government to pass meaningful immigration reform, states have moved in to fill the void. While Arizona has recently received much of the press regarding this issue, Pennsylvania and New Jersey have also moved forward to introduce E-Verify legislation designed to combat the employment of unauthorized workers.
At the same time, President Obama's administration has stepped up worksite enforcement initiatives and has called on Congress to enact comprehensive immigration legislation that would contain a federal E-Verify requirement. The message is clear: Employers must achieve compliance.
E-Verify is an internet-based Employment Eligibility Verification System run by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, that allows employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of newly hired employees.
Read full article here.
[Posted by Anais LaVoie.]
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
March protests attacks on Mexican nationals
By the CNN Wire Staff
July 29, 2010
New York (CNN) -- A Latino advocacy group organized a march through the streets of Staten Island, New York, Wednesday night to protest a string of attacks on Mexican nationals.
Approximately 300 members of Make the Road New York, an alliance of non-profit organizations and area residents, gathered at the intersection where the most recent attack on a Mexican national took place.
The victim of that attack, Alejandro Galindo, was in attendance.
"I hope that the violence will end, that when we are walking to work we don't have to be scared because we're not criminals. If the violence stopped, we will feel very happy because we will feel like human beings walking down the street," he said.
Read full article here,
[Posted by Anais LaVoie.]
July 29, 2010
New York (CNN) -- A Latino advocacy group organized a march through the streets of Staten Island, New York, Wednesday night to protest a string of attacks on Mexican nationals.
Approximately 300 members of Make the Road New York, an alliance of non-profit organizations and area residents, gathered at the intersection where the most recent attack on a Mexican national took place.
The victim of that attack, Alejandro Galindo, was in attendance.
"I hope that the violence will end, that when we are walking to work we don't have to be scared because we're not criminals. If the violence stopped, we will feel very happy because we will feel like human beings walking down the street," he said.
Read full article here,
[Posted by Anais LaVoie.]
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
NY's Open Door: How the mosque tests us
Tuesday August 3, 2010
by Michael Bloomberg
The New York Post
We have come here to Governors Island to stand where the earliest settlers first set foot in New Amsterdam, and where the seeds of religious tolerance were first planted. We've come here to see the inspiring symbol of liberty that, more than 250 years later, would greet millions of immigrants in the harbor, and we come here to state as strongly as ever -- this is the freest city in the world. That's what makes New York special and different and strong.
Our doors are open to everyone -- everyone with a dream and a willingness to work hard and play by the rules. New York City was built by immigrants, and it is sustained by immigrants -- by people from more than a hundred different countries speaking more than two hundred different languages and professing every faith. And whether your parents were born here, or you came yesterday, you are a New Yorker.
We may not always agree with every one of our neighbors. That's life, and it's part of living in such a diverse and dense city. But we also recognize that part of being a New Yorker is living with your neighbors in mutual respect and tolerance. It was exactly that spirit of openness and acceptance that was attacked on 9/11.
Read full article here.
[Posted by Anais LaVoie.]
by Michael Bloomberg
The New York Post
We have come here to Governors Island to stand where the earliest settlers first set foot in New Amsterdam, and where the seeds of religious tolerance were first planted. We've come here to see the inspiring symbol of liberty that, more than 250 years later, would greet millions of immigrants in the harbor, and we come here to state as strongly as ever -- this is the freest city in the world. That's what makes New York special and different and strong.
Our doors are open to everyone -- everyone with a dream and a willingness to work hard and play by the rules. New York City was built by immigrants, and it is sustained by immigrants -- by people from more than a hundred different countries speaking more than two hundred different languages and professing every faith. And whether your parents were born here, or you came yesterday, you are a New Yorker.
We may not always agree with every one of our neighbors. That's life, and it's part of living in such a diverse and dense city. But we also recognize that part of being a New Yorker is living with your neighbors in mutual respect and tolerance. It was exactly that spirit of openness and acceptance that was attacked on 9/11.
Read full article here.
[Posted by Anais LaVoie.]
Immigrant students to hold Boston Dream teach-in
Monday, August 2, 2010
By Associated Press
The Boston Herald
BOSTON — Student immigrant advocates want to bring their Dream University to Boston.
Advocates for the Boston-based group Student Immigrant Movement are scheduled to host on Tuesday a one-day teach-in in front of the Massachusetts Statehouse. They are using the teach-in for undocumented students to push a federal proposal known as the DREAM Act, which would give illegal immigrants a path to citizenship through college enrollment or military service.
The move comes after a coalition of student immigrant advocacy groups in Massachusetts, Colorado and California last month launched Dream University, a makeshift school in the nation’s capital, reminiscent of the 1960s teach-ins, which were open educational forums with broad discussions that took a similar approach in mobilizing opposition to the Vietnam War.
Read full article here.
[Posted by Anais LaVoie.]
By Associated Press
The Boston Herald
BOSTON — Student immigrant advocates want to bring their Dream University to Boston.
Advocates for the Boston-based group Student Immigrant Movement are scheduled to host on Tuesday a one-day teach-in in front of the Massachusetts Statehouse. They are using the teach-in for undocumented students to push a federal proposal known as the DREAM Act, which would give illegal immigrants a path to citizenship through college enrollment or military service.
The move comes after a coalition of student immigrant advocacy groups in Massachusetts, Colorado and California last month launched Dream University, a makeshift school in the nation’s capital, reminiscent of the 1960s teach-ins, which were open educational forums with broad discussions that took a similar approach in mobilizing opposition to the Vietnam War.
Read full article here.
[Posted by Anais LaVoie.]
Thursday, July 29, 2010
"Illegal immigrants committing crimes not always deported"
July 28, 2010
by Mike Beaudet
MyFoxBoston.com
There's wide agreement that illegal immigrants who commit serious crimes should be deported.
In May, a state lawmaker in his car was hit by an illegal immigrant who was charged with drunk driving. The illegal immigrant taunted state police, saying he'd go back to his home country of Mexico and that nothing would happen to him.
FOX Undercover discovered in some cases, little does happen to illegal immigrants who commit crimes here in Massachusetts.
Read full article here.
[Posted by Anais LaVoie.]
by Mike Beaudet
MyFoxBoston.com
There's wide agreement that illegal immigrants who commit serious crimes should be deported.
In May, a state lawmaker in his car was hit by an illegal immigrant who was charged with drunk driving. The illegal immigrant taunted state police, saying he'd go back to his home country of Mexico and that nothing would happen to him.
FOX Undercover discovered in some cases, little does happen to illegal immigrants who commit crimes here in Massachusetts.
Read full article here.
[Posted by Anais LaVoie.]
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Report details plight of mentally ill detainees
By DAVID CRARY
The Associated Press via: The Washington PostSunday, July 25, 2010
NEW YORK -- Thousands of mentally disabled immigrants are entangled in deportation proceedings each year with little or no legal help, leaving them distraught, defenseless and detained as their fates are decided.
Their plight is detailed in a report issued Sunday by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union, who exhort federal authorities to do better.
Shortcomings outlined by the two groups include no right to appointed counsel, inflexible detention policies, insufficient guidance for judges on handling people with mental disabilities, and inadequately coordinated services to aid detainees while in custody.
Read full article here.
Monday, July 12, 2010
R.I. troopers embrace firm immigration role
July 6, 2010
by Maria Sacchetti
The Boston Globe
SCITUATE, R.I. — Rhode Island State Trooper Nuno Vasconcelos was patrolling Interstate 95 a few months ago when he came upon a two-car accident in heavy traffic. The trooper pulled up, stepped out of his cruiser, and asked one of the drivers for his license.
The man said he did not have a license, and under questioning, confessed that he was here illegally from Guatemala.
If the accident had happened 15 miles north in Massachusetts, the man would probably have been arrested for driving without a license, which carries a fine of up to $1,000 and 10 days in jail, then released pending an appearance in district court.
But in Rhode Island, illegal immigrants face a far greater penalty: deportation.
Read full article here.
[Posted by Anais LaVoie.]
by Maria Sacchetti
The Boston Globe
SCITUATE, R.I. — Rhode Island State Trooper Nuno Vasconcelos was patrolling Interstate 95 a few months ago when he came upon a two-car accident in heavy traffic. The trooper pulled up, stepped out of his cruiser, and asked one of the drivers for his license.
The man said he did not have a license, and under questioning, confessed that he was here illegally from Guatemala.
If the accident had happened 15 miles north in Massachusetts, the man would probably have been arrested for driving without a license, which carries a fine of up to $1,000 and 10 days in jail, then released pending an appearance in district court.
But in Rhode Island, illegal immigrants face a far greater penalty: deportation.
Read full article here.
[Posted by Anais LaVoie.]
Thursday, April 29, 2010
U.S. Reviews New York Police Dealings With People Who Don’t Speak English
by Al Baker and Ray Rivera
"The department recruits in foreign-language newspapers. And candidates who speak languages in demand by the department, like Chechen, are given preference on civil service hiring lists.
In addition, after Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg signed Executive Order 120 in July 2008, the department created a language access plan to guarantee immigrants a meaningful ability to take advantage of police services.
But some advocates are preparing to present to the government a range of experiences that they say portray a large, sprawling police force that at times seems impenetrable to those who, for instance, speak only Spanish.
Lawyers and advocates representing non-English speaking victims of domestic violence, for example, tell of responding officers who have no access to an interpreter relying on a neighbor to translate, or sometimes speaking only to the perpetrator, who may be the only English speaker in the house. Or sometimes, advocates say, officers simply write “uncooperative” or “refused” in the section that would include the victim’s statement.
“These are people who are being characterized as uncooperative witnesses, which can have a devastating effect on these cases,” said Amy Taylor, language access project coordinator for Legal Services NYC."
[Posted by Yoori Chung]
Demonstrators Press for Haitian Advocate's Release
by Kirk Semple
"The protesters have cast Mr. Montrevil, 41, as a symbol of the flaws in the immigration system and of the need for comprehensive reform.
Mr. Montrevil entered the country in 1986 as a legal permanent resident. He was convicted of selling cocaine in 1990, at the age of 21. After 11 years in prison, he was released.
Mr. Montrevil started a van service, married an American woman and became a respected member of the Haitian community in New York, his supporters say. He is the father of four children.
But under immigration laws enacted in 1996, all noncitizens convicted of felonies are subject to deportation. And on Dec. 30, 2009, during Mr. Montrevil’s regular weekly check-in with immigration officials as part of a supervised release program for deportable immigrants, he was detained. His lawyer, Joshua E. Bardavid, said the authorities had given no explanation about why they were detaining his client after so many years."
[Posted by Yoori Chung]
Immigrants in Detention to Be Sent Out of State
by Nina Bernstein
"Officials said that the jail, in Hudson County, will house immigrationdetainees at half the cost — $111 a day per detainee, compared with $253 at the Village center, the Varick Street Detention Facility. It will also provide fresh-air recreation, which the Lower Manhattan jail has never offered, though that has been required by national detention standards since 2000.
The Varick Street jail, run for the federal government by a private company owned by an Alaskan native tribe, now takes in more than 11,000 men a year, including illegal immigrants, asylum-seekers and legal immigrants who face deportation because they have criminal convictions. Most are longtime New Yorkers facing deportation without a lawyer. “Hudson does not represent the future, the big picture of where we’re headed,” said Beth Gibson, senior counsel to John Morton, who heads the immigration enforcement agency, referring to the Obama administration’s vow to transform detention system into a less-penal one. “Yes, it is a jail.”"
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/15/nyregion/15ice.html
[Posted by Yoori Chung]
Torn Apart by Deportation - VIDEO
Harsh immigration policy, compounded by systemic inequities built into the criminal justice system, might not be thwarting terrorists or making our country a whole lot safer. But the laws are doing a great job of breaking up another entity: families of color.
STORIESIntroduction: Torn Apart
From New York to Jamaica, families struggle to stay together.Double Punishment
Families of color are punished twice by immigration and criminal justice systems that don’t provide equal justice.Home in Name Only
Deportees struggle to survive in an unfamiliar and unwelcoming place: the country of their birth.
STORIESIntroduction: Torn Apart
From New York to Jamaica, families struggle to stay together.Double Punishment
Families of color are punished twice by immigration and criminal justice systems that don’t provide equal justice.Home in Name Only
Deportees struggle to survive in an unfamiliar and unwelcoming place: the country of their birth.
by: [Alejandro Jimenez]
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Emilio Maya, Sister Analia Face Deportation After Helping Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency
Helen O'Neil 2-13-10
SAUGERTIES, N.Y. — Only a few years ago the lives of Emilio and Analia Maya brimmed with possibility, their little cafe thrived, and their hard-fought dream of life in America seemed enticingly within reach.
They had emigrated from Argentina in the late 1990s and settled in this picturesque village near the Catskills, working in restaurants, becoming respected members of the community. Emilio joined the volunteer fire department. Analia, his sister, volunteered as a translator for the local police.
Life was hard, but happy, and they had big plans. They were saving to open a restaurant where Emilio, now 34, would whip up Argentine specialties while Analia, 30, served customers.
But that was before the siblings struck their deal.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/15/emilio-maya-sister-analia_n_462968.html
[Posted by: Juliana Steers]
Monday, April 26, 2010
Clement Gervais, Vermont Dairy Farmer, Blames Government After Immigration Probe
Lisa Rathke
3-15-10
BAKERSFIELD, Vt. — A Vermont dairy farmer who was among those targeted in a federal crackdown on undocumented workers says he thought three illegal workers had proper documentation.
Clement Gervais believes his family's farm has been cleared following the November inspection by immigration officials, but federal officials say four cases involving farms are still pending in Vermont.
The crackdown has shaken up dairy farmers, some of whom struggle to fill milking jobs and often rely on foreign farmworkers, who may have entered the country illegally. Many farmers are reluctant to talk about the issue publicly for fear of bringing trouble on themselves, and their workers are even more hesitant.
Gervais agreed to speak to The Associated Press after his case was closed, saying he hoped to help other dairy farmers and push for them to be allowed to hire workers under a temporary worker visa program.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/15/clement-gervais-vermont-d_n_498786.html
[Posted by: Juliana Steers]
Robo de salarios a indocumentados
CHICAGO/AP — Fabián Gutiérrez trabajaba más de 60 horas semanales en un almacén de barrio, cortando carne y llenando las estanterías con quesos y leche, cobrando menos que el salario mínimo y sin percibir horas extras.
Este inmigrante mexicano de 32 años dice que soportó esta situación por meses porque tenía que mantener a su esposa y a una hija pequeña. Y, como tantos compañeros de trabajo, no se animaba a enfrentar al dueño del almacén.
“Abusó de todos nosotros. Nos faltó el respeto”, afirmó Gutiérrez, quien finalmente se puso en contacto con un centro que vela por los derechos de los trabajadores y, junto con otros empleados, demandó al dueño de La Frutería. Ahora trabaja en otro almacén donde lo tratan mejor, según dice.
http://www.impre.com/inmigracion/2009/12/20/robo-de-salarios-a-indocumenta-164576-1.html
[posted by: gloria j]
La suerte de 12 millones en manos de Washington
Nueva York — Fela Burgos es parte de los 12 millones de indocumentados que residen en Estados Unidos. Vino hace casi nueve años, está al día en el pago de sus impuestos, tiene un nivel intermedio de inglés y no tiene antecedentes penales. En teoría, su perfil encaja con los requisitos de una eventual reforma migratoria, si se toma como base los pilares de una iniciativa bipartidispa presentada recientemente a laCasa Blanca.
Burgos, de 40 años y origen ecuatoriano, confesó que está dispuesta a salir de la sombra y admitir “su delito” de haberse quedado ilegalmente en EE.UU., porque “tener un permiso es mejor que no tener nada”, dijo la inmigrante respecto al estatus temporal que le sería otorgado a los indocumentados si es que se aprueba una nueva ley de inmigración.
http://www.impre.com/inmigracion/2010/4/20/la-suerte-de-12-millones-en-ma-184280-1.html
[posted by: gloria j]
Descontento en NY por ley SB1070
NUEVA YORK- Funcionarios electos, activistas y organizaciones que abogan por los inmigrantes rechazaron la promulgación de la ley que criminaliza la permanencia ilegal en Arizona y algunos la tildaron de desastre nacional.
Bloomberg pidió una reforma migratoria
Las reacciones a la promulgación de dicha ley en Arizona, que convierte a aquellos que permanecen de forma ilegal en el estado en criminales, no se hicieron esperar.
El alcalde de Nueva York, Michael Bloomberg, dijo que esta ley tendrá amplios efectos negativos en la economía de Arizona, ya que argumentó tendrán menos inversionistas internacionales y turistas.
Bloomberg pidió una reforma migratoria
Las reacciones a la promulgación de dicha ley en Arizona, que convierte a aquellos que permanecen de forma ilegal en el estado en criminales, no se hicieron esperar.
El alcalde de Nueva York, Michael Bloomberg, dijo que esta ley tendrá amplios efectos negativos en la economía de Arizona, ya que argumentó tendrán menos inversionistas internacionales y turistas.
[posted by: gloria j]
Pain for Asian youth didn't end with school assault
Pain for Asian youth didn't end with school assault
On March 16, ninth grader Lindi Liu was exiting a bathroom stall at South Philadelphia High when another boy kicked the door inward, bashing him in the head.
As Liu picked himself up off the floor, he could hear the boy laughing.
The incident lasted only seconds, but for Liu, a 16-year-old immigrant from China, the consequences have been profound.
His vision frequently turns blurry, to where he can't count fingers held in front of his face. He forgets conversations that occurred moments earlier, and sometimes struggles to identify everyday objects, like the chicken on his dinner plate. He gets sudden nose bleeds.
District spokesman Fernando Gallard said the school inquiry showed Liu was injured carelessly but unintentionally. The boy was kicking the doors of the stalls in turn, and did not realize Liu was there, he said.
"It seems it was not intended as an assault or intended to injure anyone," he said.
However, a student who was in the bathroom at the time contradicted that.
Dong Chen, 19, said the assailant kicked only one of five doors, the one with a broken lock, behind which stood Liu. Chen said when the door hit Liu's head, "we could hear it, it was so loud. Pow!"
Liu's parents are frightened for their son's health.
"I'm so upset," Liu's mother, Hui Qin Chen, said through a translator as she wiped tears from her eyes. "I don't know what to do."
On Dec. 3, South Philadelphia High generated national headlines when Asian students suffered a daylong series of assaults carried out by groups of mostly African American classmates. About 50 students staged a weeklong boycott.
School district administrators suspended 19 students, installed more security cameras, and added school police. The district report on the violence, issued Feb. 23, noted that following that response, "there has been no repeat of the Dec. 3 activities."
But Liu's case illustrates that violence continues against Asian students.
[Posted by Ida Micaily]
On March 16, ninth grader Lindi Liu was exiting a bathroom stall at South Philadelphia High when another boy kicked the door inward, bashing him in the head.
As Liu picked himself up off the floor, he could hear the boy laughing.
The incident lasted only seconds, but for Liu, a 16-year-old immigrant from China, the consequences have been profound.
His vision frequently turns blurry, to where he can't count fingers held in front of his face. He forgets conversations that occurred moments earlier, and sometimes struggles to identify everyday objects, like the chicken on his dinner plate. He gets sudden nose bleeds.
District spokesman Fernando Gallard said the school inquiry showed Liu was injured carelessly but unintentionally. The boy was kicking the doors of the stalls in turn, and did not realize Liu was there, he said.
"It seems it was not intended as an assault or intended to injure anyone," he said.
However, a student who was in the bathroom at the time contradicted that.
Dong Chen, 19, said the assailant kicked only one of five doors, the one with a broken lock, behind which stood Liu. Chen said when the door hit Liu's head, "we could hear it, it was so loud. Pow!"
Liu's parents are frightened for their son's health.
"I'm so upset," Liu's mother, Hui Qin Chen, said through a translator as she wiped tears from her eyes. "I don't know what to do."
On Dec. 3, South Philadelphia High generated national headlines when Asian students suffered a daylong series of assaults carried out by groups of mostly African American classmates. About 50 students staged a weeklong boycott.
School district administrators suspended 19 students, installed more security cameras, and added school police. The district report on the violence, issued Feb. 23, noted that following that response, "there has been no repeat of the Dec. 3 activities."
But Liu's case illustrates that violence continues against Asian students.
[Posted by Ida Micaily]
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Additional Virginia jurisdictions to benefit from ICE strategy to enhance the identification, removal of criminal aliens
Richmond, Va. - Law enforcement agencies in four jurisdictions including Henrico County, Richmond, Norfolk and Virginia Beach began employing a new information-sharing capability made available by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of the Secure Communities strategy. Secure Communities is ICE's comprehensive strategy to improve and modernize the identification and removal of criminal aliens from the United States.
Previously, local arrestees' fingerprints were taken and checked for criminal history information against the Department of Justice's Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) maintained by the FBI. Now, as part of the Secure Communities strategy, fingerprint information submitted by state and local law enforcement agencies will now be simultaneously checked against both the FBI criminal history records in IAFIS and the biometrics-based immigration records in the Department of Homeland Security's Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT).
If fingerprints match those of someone in DHS's biometric system, the new automated process notifies ICE, enabling the agency to take appropriate action to ensure criminal aliens are not released back into the community. Top priority is given to individuals who pose the greatest threat to public safety, such as those with prior convictions for major drug offenses, murder, rape, robbery and kidnapping.
"The Secure Communities strategy provides local law enforcement with an effective tool to identify criminal aliens," said Secure Communities Executive Director David Venturella. "Enhancing public safety is at the core of ICE's mission. Our goal is to use biometric information sharing to prevent criminal aliens from being released back into the community, with little or no additional burden on our law enforcement partners."
With the expansion of the information-sharing capability seven northern Virginia jurisdictions already benefit from this tool, including, Arlington, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William and Rappahannock and the city of Alexandria. Across the country, 168 jurisdictions in 20 states have this capability. By 2013, ICE expects to make this capability available nationwide.
"Secure Communities is a great tool in helping us to enforce the law and send a message that there is a cost to coming into the country illegally," said U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride. "In most cases, we are targeting those with a criminal background. We are taking them off the streets and out of our communities, and we are potentially deterring them from returning to the United States and committing further crimes."
"The Secure Communities program is an important addition to our community," said Henrico County Sheriff Mike Wade. "It enables us to get a more accurate picture of who we have in custody so we can best manage our time and resources."
"The Secure Communities Program gives us more information about the individuals within our facility allowing our facility to run more smoothly while also keeping our community safe," said Virginia Beach Sheriff Ken Stolle.
-- ICE --
[Posted by Marwin Yeung]
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
McCain apoya ley antiinmigrante
WASHINGTON, D.C.— El senadorJohn McCain (R-AZ), ex aliado deTed Kennedy para una reforma migratoria, aseguró ayer que el proyecto de ley SB1070 aprobado en Arizona "es un paso hacia adelante muy importante".
"Puedo entender completamente por qué la asamblea legislativa quiere actuar", señaló el ex candidato presidencial, en una conferencia de prensa realizada en el Capitolio. "Es una herramienta que pienso puede ser bien utilizada", expresó a AP.
El proyecto de ley SB1070 es considerado una de las medidas más agresivas contra los inmigrantes a nivel estatal. La nueva legislación convertiría en un delito menor la falta de documentos migratorios y permitiría a los policías chequear el estatus de una persona, en caso de que tengan una sospecha razonable de que sean indocumentados.
...Fuentes al interior del Departamento de Seguridad Interna aseguraron a La Opinión, que aunque el gobierno "favorece las alianzas entre las fuerzas policiales estatales y locales, no creen que un mosaico de diferentes leyes estatales es la solución para los problemas de inmigración del país".
http://www.impre.com/inmigracion/2010/4/19/mccain-apoya-ley-antiinmigrant-184182-2.html
[posted by: gloria j]
Indocumentados sin derecho a trasplantes
NUEVA YORK (AP) ” José Pérez no sabe si le teme más a las agujas que le clavan en el brazo antes de tres horas de diálisis o a la perspectiva de ser un paciente durante años, estancado en el laberinto de un sistema de salud del que depende.
Y es que Pérez es un inmigrante mexicano indocumentado que sufre insuficiencia renal y necesita un trasplante de riñón.
Al no tener papeles, el joven de 22 años, que cruzó la frontera ilegalmente en 2007 por Altar, en el estado fronterizo de Sonora, no cuenta con un seguro médico ni puede inscribir su nombre en las listas de espera para recibir un órgano nuevo. Sus únicas posibilidades de someterse a un trasplante en Estados Unidos son reunir 250.000 dólares para pagarse uno y encontrar a un pariente o amigo compatible y dispuesto a donarle su riñón.
http://www.impre.com/inmigracion/2010/4/21/indocumentados-sin-derecho-a-t-184381-1.html
[posted by: gloria j]
Monday, April 19, 2010
Teen guilty of manslaughter in NY immigrant death
Teen guilty of manslaughter in NY immigrant death
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. - A former high school athlete who plunged a knife into the chest of an Ecuadorean immigrant during a street fight that cast a national spotlight on bias crimes against Hispanics was convicted of manslaughter as a hate crime Monday but acquitted of murder.
Jeffrey Conroy, 19, was one of seven teenagers implicated in the November 2008 stabbing death of Marcelo Lucero in what prosecutors say was the culmination of an ongoing campaign of violence targeting Hispanics. The teens alluded to "beaner-hopping" or "Mexican hopping."
Conroy shook his head slightly when the verdict was announced in the packed courtroom. His brother and sister left the courthouse in tears.
"The hunting season is over, at least for now," brother Joselo Lucero said later.
Four other defendants have pleaded guilty to hate crime-related charges. Two others are awaiting trial.
http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/nation_world/91521199.html
[Posted by Ida Micaily]
N.J. advocates for immigration reform march from Jersey City to Elizabeth
N.J. advocates for immigration reform march from Jersey City to Elizabeth
By Jeff Diamant/The Star-Ledger
February 17, 2010, 8:34PM
JERSEY CITY -- Starting in Jersey City near the foot bridge to Ellis Island, nearly 100 advocates for immigration reform staged a 10-mile walk to the Elizabeth detention center today, to highlight the plight of immigrant detainees there and to press for reforms allowing most of the nation’s 11 million illegal immigrants to become citizens.
"I hope we can take one step toward restoring the humanity to these people, who all they want to do is come to our country to work," said Kathy O’Leary, co-coordinator of Pax Christi NJ, the state chapter of the national Catholic peace movement, during a prayer service before the march.
The marchers wore cards around their necks with names of people who have died in immigrant detention centers in recent years. After their march to Elizabeth, which lasted approximately seven hours, they held a vigil outside the detention center.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/02/advocates_for_immigration_refo.html
[Posted by Ida Micaily]
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Indocumentados no cometen más delitos graves que residentes
YAKIMA, Washington, EE.UU. (AP) ” En la cárcel del condado de Yakima resuenan a lo lejos los golpes de las puertas de acero y los gritos de los reos, mientras un agente federal detrás de una computadora revisa una lista de presos por entrevistar.
Al otro lado de la mesa está Julio Laguna Mendoza, un hombre de 54 años arrestado varios días atrás por manejar en estado de ebriedad. La computadora muestra que el hombre no es ningún extraño del sistema penal.
....
"La mayoría de los miembros de pandillas lo son (hijos de inmigrantes indocumentados)", dijo. "Si nosotros no hubiéramos permitido que hubiera padres 'ilegales' aquí, no tendríamos a sus hijos aquí causando problemas de pandillas".
http://www.impre.com/inmigracion/2009/12/10/indocumentados-no-cometen-mas--163149-3.html
[posted by;: gloria j]
Demanda por fraude migratorio
Nueva York — José Bueno, hondureño de 39 años, supo de la Fundación Internacional del Inmigrante a través de su iglesia. En la Fundación, que no tiene fines de lucro, le dijeron que por muy bajo costo regularizarían su estado migratorio. En el 2005, Bueno se dio cuenta de que su caso no avanzaba y que cada vez le quitaban más dinero. Luego de 10 años y $18,000, su solicitud fue cerrada y junto a su mujer enfrentaba la deportación.
“Nunca pensé que sería tan descaradamente estafado en el país que quiero llamar mi hogar. Además por una organización que dice estar ayudándome”, dijo Bueno, que vive en Richmond Hill, Queens, y trabaja como superintentente de un edificio. “Me siento engañado, despreciado y moralmente destruido”, agregó.
http://www.impre.com/noticias/2010/1/15/demanda-por-fraude-migratorio-168532-1.html
[posted by: gloria j]
Amenazan a inmigrante estafado
Nueva York — Luego de que su sueño de tener una casa en su natal Ecuador se convirtiera en una pesadilla, ahora un ecuatoriano recibe amenazas de los presuntos estafadores de que lo van a denunciar a las autoridades de inmigración.
“Estoy asustado, a veces hasta me arrepiento de haber puesto la denuncia”, aseveró el ecuatoriano Juan Carlos Villa, quien denunció que era víctima de una estafa por parte de la empresa Mi Casa afincada en el Ecuador.
Según Villa, en el 2008 pagó a Mi Casa, la empresa ecuatoriana, $40,000 con la promesa de venderle un terreno en el conjunto residencial La Victoria en la ciudad de Cuenca, Ecuador. Después de esperar un año, tiempo que le pidieron para la construcción—, lo llamaron para indicarle que la constructora Inmoplan MacVarg Ltda había tenido un desfalco y el proyecto no había sido culminado.
http://www.impre.com/noticias/2009/10/21/amenazan-a-inmigrante-estafado-155076-1.html
[posted by: gloria j]
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Robo de salarios a indocumentados
CHICAGO/AP — Fabián Gutiérrez trabajaba más de 60 horas semanales en un almacén de barrio, cortando carne y llenando las estanterías con quesos y leche, cobrando menos que el salario mínimo y sin percibir horas extras.
Este inmigrante mexicano de 32 años dice que soportó esta situación por meses porque tenía que mantener a su esposa y a una hija pequeña. Y, como tantos compañeros de trabajo, no se animaba a enfrentar al dueño del almacén.
“Abusó de todos nosotros. Nos faltó el respeto”, afirmó Gutiérrez, quien finalmente se puso en contacto con un centro que vela por los derechos de los trabajadores y, junto con otros empleados, demandó al dueño de La Frutería. Ahora trabaja en otro almacén donde lo tratan mejor, según dice.
http://www.impre.com/inmigracion/2009/12/20/robo-de-salarios-a-indocumenta-164576-1.html
[posted by: gloria j]
Este inmigrante mexicano de 32 años dice que soportó esta situación por meses porque tenía que mantener a su esposa y a una hija pequeña. Y, como tantos compañeros de trabajo, no se animaba a enfrentar al dueño del almacén.
“Abusó de todos nosotros. Nos faltó el respeto”, afirmó Gutiérrez, quien finalmente se puso en contacto con un centro que vela por los derechos de los trabajadores y, junto con otros empleados, demandó al dueño de La Frutería. Ahora trabaja en otro almacén donde lo tratan mejor, según dice.
http://www.impre.com/inmigracion/2009/12/20/robo-de-salarios-a-indocumenta-164576-1.html
[posted by: gloria j]
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Otra gran estafa a inmigrantes
NUEVA YORK — Miles de hispanos que buscaban obtener su ciudadanía fueron estafados por la Federación Americana del Inmigrante, dirigida por Estela Figueredo, quién desde ayer debió cerrar sus oficinas y pagar $1,2 millones en restitución para las víctimas.
Figueredo y su oficina proporcionaba servicios legales no autorizados, dándoles falsas esperanzas a sus clientes que suman más de 20 mil y de paso cobrándoles tarifas altísimas por sus servicios, anunció ayer la oficina del procurador general de Nueva York.
Una de las afectadas que no quiso dar su nombre, alcanzó a pagar $5 mil en membrecía y tarifas. Para pagarlo, limpiaba 22 baños cada noche, dijo la mujer colombiana de 46 años. Figueredo le dijo que era abogada y que el trámite de sus papeles le saldría mucho más barato en la Fundación .
http://www.impre.com/inmigracion/2010/4/15/otra-gran-estafa-a-inmigrantes-183305-1.html
[posted by: gloria j]
Figueredo y su oficina proporcionaba servicios legales no autorizados, dándoles falsas esperanzas a sus clientes que suman más de 20 mil y de paso cobrándoles tarifas altísimas por sus servicios, anunció ayer la oficina del procurador general de Nueva York.
Una de las afectadas que no quiso dar su nombre, alcanzó a pagar $5 mil en membrecía y tarifas. Para pagarlo, limpiaba 22 baños cada noche, dijo la mujer colombiana de 46 años. Figueredo le dijo que era abogada y que el trámite de sus papeles le saldría mucho más barato en la Fundación .
http://www.impre.com/inmigracion/2010/4/15/otra-gran-estafa-a-inmigrantes-183305-1.html
[posted by: gloria j]
Monday, April 12, 2010
Cómo afecta la legislación sanitaria a los inmigrantes
Nueva York — Dependiendo de su estatus migratorio, así es como la reforma sanitaria le afecta:
Entre 15 y 20 millones de personas quedarán sin cobertura bajo la reforma, la mayoría inmigrantes indocumentados. Estas no serán obligadas a tener un seguro o pagar una multa de $750, un mandato al que serán sometidos las demás personas de EE.UU. Ciertos grupos serán exentos por razones religiosas o étnicas como los indios americanos.
Los indocumentados no se benefician de la expansión de los beneficios de Medicaid ni de los subsidios del gobierno creados para ayudar ciudadanos y residentes a comprar seguros de compañías privadas en el programa de intercambio, conocido como el exchange.
Las compañías de seguros privadas que recibirán subsidios no podrán vender seguros en el intercambio a indocumentados que quieren comprar un plan con su dinero. Es posible que estas compañías sigan ofreciendo cobertura fuera del intercambio, pero es improbable que los precios de estos planes sean asequibles para indocumentados.
Los inmigrantes documentados —residentes y ciudadanos naturalizados— en Nueva York se beneficiarán de inmediato de la reforma. Estas personas serán obligadas a tener un seguro médico o pagar una multa de $750, pero se beneficiarán de la nueva obligación de empleadores de proveer un seguro médico a sus trabajadores. También se beneficiarán de la ampliación de Medicaid y de los subsidios del gobierno para obtener cobertura médica por medio del programa de intercambio. Una persona soltera calificará para los beneficios si gana menos de $43 mil dólares al año. Una familia de cuatro personas calificará si gana menos de $88 mil al año.
http://www.impre.com/noticias/2010/3/23/como-afecta-la-legislacion-san-179369-1.html
[posted by: gloria j]
Entre 15 y 20 millones de personas quedarán sin cobertura bajo la reforma, la mayoría inmigrantes indocumentados. Estas no serán obligadas a tener un seguro o pagar una multa de $750, un mandato al que serán sometidos las demás personas de EE.UU. Ciertos grupos serán exentos por razones religiosas o étnicas como los indios americanos.
Los indocumentados no se benefician de la expansión de los beneficios de Medicaid ni de los subsidios del gobierno creados para ayudar ciudadanos y residentes a comprar seguros de compañías privadas en el programa de intercambio, conocido como el exchange.
Las compañías de seguros privadas que recibirán subsidios no podrán vender seguros en el intercambio a indocumentados que quieren comprar un plan con su dinero. Es posible que estas compañías sigan ofreciendo cobertura fuera del intercambio, pero es improbable que los precios de estos planes sean asequibles para indocumentados.
Los inmigrantes documentados —residentes y ciudadanos naturalizados— en Nueva York se beneficiarán de inmediato de la reforma. Estas personas serán obligadas a tener un seguro médico o pagar una multa de $750, pero se beneficiarán de la nueva obligación de empleadores de proveer un seguro médico a sus trabajadores. También se beneficiarán de la ampliación de Medicaid y de los subsidios del gobierno para obtener cobertura médica por medio del programa de intercambio. Una persona soltera calificará para los beneficios si gana menos de $43 mil dólares al año. Una familia de cuatro personas calificará si gana menos de $88 mil al año.
http://www.impre.com/noticias/2010/3/23/como-afecta-la-legislacion-san-179369-1.html
[posted by: gloria j]
Immigration advocates push reform legislation
Chicago immigration rights advocates rallied today to pressure Congress to pass comprehensive reform legislation, even as the sensitivity of the issue and election-year backdrop loom as major obstacles.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., vowed to push for national immigration reform at the boisterous West Side rally that drew an estimated 1,200 activists, union workers, religious leaders and families. They waved placards and chanted, "Si se puede," or "Yes, we can," a slogan borrowed from President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign.
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/04/immigration-advocates-push-reform-legislation.html
Posted by: Melissa Diaz
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., vowed to push for national immigration reform at the boisterous West Side rally that drew an estimated 1,200 activists, union workers, religious leaders and families. They waved placards and chanted, "Si se puede," or "Yes, we can," a slogan borrowed from President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign.
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/04/immigration-advocates-push-reform-legislation.html
Posted by: Melissa Diaz
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Reassuring words for immigrants about the census
Reassuring words for immigrants about the census
By Michael Matza
Inquirer Staff Writer
The last time 38-year-old Chandra Gurung was counted in a national census was in Bhutan in 1991, and it led to the expulsion of more than 105,000 Bhutanese of Nepali descent.
Authorities "wanted to know if your parents and grandparents were born in Bhutan," she recalled. "If they weren't, you were forced to leave."
Gurung said that she had met the parentage requirement but that her husband's family had not. She moved with him and his family to one of seven United Nations-run resettlement camps outside Bhutan, a small kingdom between India and China.
Bhutan characterized the relocation in the 1990s as an overdue correction of a decades-old problem of illegal immigration. Human-rights groups called it ethnic cleansing.
Now, with some apprehension, Gurung faces another count: the 2010 U.S. Census.
As a refugee living legally in South Philadelphia since June, she knows her life is very different today. But the past is not easily forgotten. Filling out the 10-question census form gives her pause.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/90332359.html
[Posted by Ida Micaily]
By Michael Matza
Inquirer Staff Writer
The last time 38-year-old Chandra Gurung was counted in a national census was in Bhutan in 1991, and it led to the expulsion of more than 105,000 Bhutanese of Nepali descent.
Authorities "wanted to know if your parents and grandparents were born in Bhutan," she recalled. "If they weren't, you were forced to leave."
Gurung said that she had met the parentage requirement but that her husband's family had not. She moved with him and his family to one of seven United Nations-run resettlement camps outside Bhutan, a small kingdom between India and China.
Bhutan characterized the relocation in the 1990s as an overdue correction of a decades-old problem of illegal immigration. Human-rights groups called it ethnic cleansing.
Now, with some apprehension, Gurung faces another count: the 2010 U.S. Census.
As a refugee living legally in South Philadelphia since June, she knows her life is very different today. But the past is not easily forgotten. Filling out the 10-question census form gives her pause.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/90332359.html
[Posted by Ida Micaily]
Letters: Illegal immigrants face what runaway slaves did
Letters: Illegal immigrants face what runaway slaves did
Posted on Sat, Apr. 10, 2010
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/90451109.html
It seems that many people who oppose immigration reform do so because it might allow those here illegally to be given a path to legal residency. They say that those who have consciously broken a law of our country should be punished, not rewarded.
One hundred and sixty years ago, Congress passed a law that also dealt with people who were in certain states illegally. It was called the Fugitive Slave Law.
U.S. marshals in the free states of the North were required by law to round up any person who was suspected of having escaped from slavery in the South. A citizen in a free state such as Pennsylvania could be jailed for assisting a runaway slave in any way.
Rev. Sturgis Poorman
Bryn Mawr
[Posted by Ida Micaily]
Posted on Sat, Apr. 10, 2010
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/90451109.html
It seems that many people who oppose immigration reform do so because it might allow those here illegally to be given a path to legal residency. They say that those who have consciously broken a law of our country should be punished, not rewarded.
One hundred and sixty years ago, Congress passed a law that also dealt with people who were in certain states illegally. It was called the Fugitive Slave Law.
U.S. marshals in the free states of the North were required by law to round up any person who was suspected of having escaped from slavery in the South. A citizen in a free state such as Pennsylvania could be jailed for assisting a runaway slave in any way.
Rev. Sturgis Poorman
Bryn Mawr
[Posted by Ida Micaily]
Friday, April 9, 2010
Broken ICE
Broken ICE by Jackie Stevens
In January, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that by February 26 it would be transferring roughly 250 detainees from the privately run Varick Detention Center in Manhattan to the Hudson correctional center in Kearny, New Jersey. About 12,000 people annually, mostly New Yorkers who would be held at the Varick center, will now be distributed to facilities outside the city. ICE claims it is making the transfer to provide "outdoor recreation space and visitation services," but civil rights advocates paint a darker picture.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100315/stevens
[Posted by Melissa Cuen]
In January, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that by February 26 it would be transferring roughly 250 detainees from the privately run Varick Detention Center in Manhattan to the Hudson correctional center in Kearny, New Jersey. About 12,000 people annually, mostly New Yorkers who would be held at the Varick center, will now be distributed to facilities outside the city. ICE claims it is making the transfer to provide "outdoor recreation space and visitation services," but civil rights advocates paint a darker picture.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100315/stevens
[Posted by Melissa Cuen]
Sunday, April 4, 2010
GOP should join Democrats in immigration-reform push
GOP should join Democrats in immigration-reform push
Philadelphia Inquirer
April 4, 2010
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/currents/89856727.html
You might not have heard much about it, but immigration supporters held a huge rally on the National Mall two weeks ago. Though overshadowed by the health-care debate, they were out in large numbers: Tens of thousands gathered to urge Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform, which would include a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants already here.
President Obama's critics frequently claim that he's too ambitious, taking on too many complex and contentious issues. But the president doesn't have much choice: There are several complex and contentious issues that have languished too long. Immigration reform is one of those.
It's a shame that a commonsense bill, supported by the Bush administration, died in 2007 after a backlash from the Republican base. The right continues to denounce what its leaders call "amnesty," but they haven't offered a reasonable plan for helping hardworking painters and plumbers, maids and manicurists to come out of the shadows. Some undocumented workers left after the economic downturn, but many are still here - some of them parents of children who are American citizens.
What kind of country would deport teenage Americans just because their parents came from Guatemala or Gambia without permission? What kind of country would exploit the labor of workers but refuse to allow them the chance at legal status?
Just last week, Homeland Security had to tamp down controversy over a memo issued by a high-ranking border enforcement official who set a "quota" for deportations, even if his agents had to round up offenders whose only crime was lying on immigration documents. That approach, later disowned, would have contradicted a promise by the Obama administration to concentrate deportations on violent offenders.
It's no wonder immigration activists are growing impatient with the president. Obama told the rally that he would start work soon on immigration reform; he has given his blessing to a framework offered by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) and Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.). In a Washington Post essay last month, Graham and Schumer called for a "biometric" Social Security card, stronger border security, increased temporary access for low-skilled workers, and a "tough but fair path to legalization for those already here."
Despite that pledge of bipartisanship, few think the process will be anything but long and bloody. And, in the end, there's no guarantee of Republican votes.
[Posted by:Ida Micaily]
Philadelphia Inquirer
April 4, 2010
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/currents/89856727.html
You might not have heard much about it, but immigration supporters held a huge rally on the National Mall two weeks ago. Though overshadowed by the health-care debate, they were out in large numbers: Tens of thousands gathered to urge Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform, which would include a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants already here.
President Obama's critics frequently claim that he's too ambitious, taking on too many complex and contentious issues. But the president doesn't have much choice: There are several complex and contentious issues that have languished too long. Immigration reform is one of those.
It's a shame that a commonsense bill, supported by the Bush administration, died in 2007 after a backlash from the Republican base. The right continues to denounce what its leaders call "amnesty," but they haven't offered a reasonable plan for helping hardworking painters and plumbers, maids and manicurists to come out of the shadows. Some undocumented workers left after the economic downturn, but many are still here - some of them parents of children who are American citizens.
What kind of country would deport teenage Americans just because their parents came from Guatemala or Gambia without permission? What kind of country would exploit the labor of workers but refuse to allow them the chance at legal status?
Just last week, Homeland Security had to tamp down controversy over a memo issued by a high-ranking border enforcement official who set a "quota" for deportations, even if his agents had to round up offenders whose only crime was lying on immigration documents. That approach, later disowned, would have contradicted a promise by the Obama administration to concentrate deportations on violent offenders.
It's no wonder immigration activists are growing impatient with the president. Obama told the rally that he would start work soon on immigration reform; he has given his blessing to a framework offered by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) and Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.). In a Washington Post essay last month, Graham and Schumer called for a "biometric" Social Security card, stronger border security, increased temporary access for low-skilled workers, and a "tough but fair path to legalization for those already here."
Despite that pledge of bipartisanship, few think the process will be anything but long and bloody. And, in the end, there's no guarantee of Republican votes.
[Posted by:Ida Micaily]
Monday, March 29, 2010
Rutgers plans to launch N.J. 'immigration infrastructure map' online
Rutgers plans to launch N.J. 'immigration infrastructure map' online
By Jeff Diamant/The Star-Ledger
March 21, 2010, 12:15PM
By Jeff Diamant/The Star-Ledger
March 21, 2010, 12:15PM
From Ukraine, Mexico, Korea, Liberia — indeed, from virtually every nation on the map — the nearly 2 million immigrants living in New Jersey have made their presence known from the state’s urban north to its rural south.
Where they have settled and, more importantly, how they have been helped in acclimating to their new surroundings are the focus of an unusual effort at the Eagleton Institute of Politics in New Brunswick.
The Rutgers Immigration Infrastructure Map, a work in progress since last June, will identify and describe each of the 650-plus social-service agencies in New Jersey that support immigrants, and will map them on a website.
Where they have settled and, more importantly, how they have been helped in acclimating to their new surroundings are the focus of an unusual effort at the Eagleton Institute of Politics in New Brunswick.
The Rutgers Immigration Infrastructure Map, a work in progress since last June, will identify and describe each of the 650-plus social-service agencies in New Jersey that support immigrants, and will map them on a website.
[Posted by Ida Micaily]
Huérfanos de la migra marchan por sus padres
NEWARK, N. J. — Josanny Castro, a sus cinco años, tiene claro la importancia de participar en la marcha del domingo en Washington, a donde llevará un cartel pidiendo en sus propias palabras: “que se apruebe la migratoria”.
Mientras abre sus enormes ojos cafés y con una soltura muy poco usual para los de su edad, la niña expresa que así como no quiere que su mamá sea deportada a Honduras, tampoco quiere “que otros papás sean llevados a los países de donde son”.
“A mi mamá le pusieron un grillete inmigración”, recuerda Josanny, que cursa el primer grado, refiriéndose al arresto de su mamá Paola Leiva, ocurrido en enero del año pasado y al brazalete que le fue puesto por inmigración para dejarla salir bajo monitoreo.
http://www.impre.com/noticias/2010/3/20/huerfanos-de-la-migra-marchan--178884-1.html
[Posted by: Gloria J]
Monday, March 15, 2010
Rising Muslim militancy causing unease in Europe
Rising Muslim militancy causing unease in Europe
LONDON - With the West locked in conflicts across the Muslim world, why would anyone throw fuel on the fire?
A small group of Europeans have been doing just that - provoking death plots and at least one murder by turning out art that derides the prophet Muhammad and the Quran in the name of Western values.
Behind the scenes is something bigger: a rising European unease with a rapidly growing Muslim minority, and the spreading sense that the continent has become a front in a clash of civilizations.
Swedish artist Lars Vilks says he was defending freedom of speech when he produced a crude black-and-white drawing of Muhammad with a dog's body in 2007. Authorities say that set him in the crosshairs of an assassination plot by extremists including Colleen LaRose, 46, a Muslim convert from Pennsylvania who dubbed herself "Jihad Jane."
"I'm actually not interested in offending the prophet. The point is actually to show that you can," Vilks said in a recent interview. "There is nothing so holy you can't offend it."
The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten also said it was defending free speech in 2005 when it printed 12 cartoons of Muhammad, one in a bomb-shaped turban, setting off protests and the torching of Western embassies in several Muslim countries. And Dutch populist politician Geert Wilders said he was promoting European values by producing Fitna, a 15-minute film that lays images of 9/11 attacks alongside verses from the Quran. The film was shown in Britain's House of Lords this month.
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/national/87636647.html
[Posted by Ida Micaily]
Stu Bykofsky: Immigration reform should ease legal efforts
tu Bykofsky: Immigration reform should ease legal efforts
By Stu Bykofsky
IF SUCCESSFUL Indian immigrant Vincent Emmanuel wanted to sponsor his brother to bring him to America today, he says, the process would take 15 years.
Fortunately, Vincent brought his brother Paul over in 1997. It took only 11 years. Paul is now a supervisor with the Philadelphia Parking Authority.
When it comes to immigration reform, I'd put the needs of U.S. citizens who guarantee that their close relatives will not become a burden on taxpayers ahead of bailing out those who are here illegally.
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services spokesman Bill Wright couldn't address the 15-year wait, saying that that was a function of the State Department, where John Echard Jr. said it was impossible to determine.
I'll take Vincent's word for it.
http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/87636597.html
[Posted by: Ida Micaily]
Suit: Mass. immigrant health cuts unconstitutional
Immigrant advocates are asking the state's highest court to strike down a decision last year by lawmakers to deny tens of thousands of legal immigrants access to subsidized insurance under Massachusetts' health care law.
Health Law Advocates filed the lawsuit Thursday, calling the cut a violation of the equal protection clause of both the Massachusetts and federal constitutions.
The state budget approved by lawmakers last June ended health care funding for about 30,000 legal immigrants enrolled in Commonwealth Care, the subsidized plan that is the core of the 2006 law. Commonwealth Care provides subsidized insurance to those earning up to three times the federal poverty level.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9E3RLC80.htm
Posted by Julio Navarro
Friday, March 12, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
NJ judge scolded for mocking defendant's English
March 9, 2010The Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. -- The New Jersey Supreme Court's disciplinary committee has publicly reprimanded a lower-court judge who belittled an immigrant defendant's poor English skills and compared another defendant to O.J Simpson.
Ocean County Superior Court Judge James N. Citta (SIT'-uh) made the remarks during two sentencings. He disparaged a Mexican immigrant's inability to speak English after six years in the United States and compared a man being sentenced for attempted murder to Simpson, who famously was acquitted in 1995 of killing his ex-wife and her friend.
Posted By: Ayanna Spikes
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/10/1523170/nj-judge-scolded-for-mocking-defendants.html
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Helping more children reach for a dream
Congress should pass a bill that would give good students who were brought into this country illegally as children by their parents a better chance for success as citizens.
Under the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, a path to citizenship would be provided to these children after they graduate from high school and enroll in college or the military for two years, steps that would help them become productive members of society.
Critics argue such action condones or encourages illegal immigration, but that’s a narrow-minded view of a much bigger problem. There are at least 12 million illegal immigrants who live and work in the United States. Since most are not returning to their homelands, this country must find a good way to move them to permanent-residency status.
Short of a comprehensive national policy on immigration, the DREAM Act bill provides lawmakers with an opportunity to pass one segment of the sweeping reform that’s needed.
[Posted by Ida Micaily]
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Report Cites Culture of Ethnic Hatred in Suffolk County
The report said Latinos’ fears were fed by nativist groups like Sachem Quality of Life, a local organization that has disbanded.
After Mr. Lucero’s death, many immigrants in the county stepped forward to describe their attacks to the police and media. In some of the cases, the allegations were reported to the police at the time the assaults occurred, but no arrests were made, in part because language barriers made communication difficult, the authorities have said.
Law center officials said that according to immigrants they interviewed, there may have been another reason for the inaction: police indifference.
Many immigrants told center investigators that the “police did not take their reports of attacks seriously, often blaming the victim,” the report said. “They said there’s little point in going to the police, who are often not interested in their plight and instead demand to know their immigration status.”
The Suffolk County police commissioner, Richard Dormer, said in a statement, “Some of the report had concrete ideas, most of which we are already implementing, but other parts were rife with inaccuracies due to the law center’s failure to interview the Police Department, the district attorney or elected officials.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/03/nyregion/03suffolk.html?scp=1&sq=anti%20immigration&st=cse
[Posted by Yoori Chung]
After Mr. Lucero’s death, many immigrants in the county stepped forward to describe their attacks to the police and media. In some of the cases, the allegations were reported to the police at the time the assaults occurred, but no arrests were made, in part because language barriers made communication difficult, the authorities have said.
Law center officials said that according to immigrants they interviewed, there may have been another reason for the inaction: police indifference.
Many immigrants told center investigators that the “police did not take their reports of attacks seriously, often blaming the victim,” the report said. “They said there’s little point in going to the police, who are often not interested in their plight and instead demand to know their immigration status.”
The Suffolk County police commissioner, Richard Dormer, said in a statement, “Some of the report had concrete ideas, most of which we are already implementing, but other parts were rife with inaccuracies due to the law center’s failure to interview the Police Department, the district attorney or elected officials.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/03/nyregion/03suffolk.html?scp=1&sq=anti%20immigration&st=cse
[Posted by Yoori Chung]
Monday, March 1, 2010
Sick undocumented 9/11 cleanup workers demand health coverage, legal status for work at Ground Zero
Nearly a decade ago, Liliana Sanchez stood knee-deep in dust at an office building near Ground Zero, vacuuming for $60 a day with only a paper mask to protect her.
These days, the undocumented Colombian immigrant struggles to breathe while climbing a flight of subway stairs and worried about the future of her medical care.
"They called us heroes while we were working and we also felt like heroes. Now they have pushed us aside," said the 40-year-old from Medellin.
Sanchez will join 200 other undocumented 9/11 cleanup workers Tuesday at a rally to push for continued health coverage and legal immigration status.
Read more.
[posted by Maria Rohani]
These days, the undocumented Colombian immigrant struggles to breathe while climbing a flight of subway stairs and worried about the future of her medical care.
"They called us heroes while we were working and we also felt like heroes. Now they have pushed us aside," said the 40-year-old from Medellin.
Sanchez will join 200 other undocumented 9/11 cleanup workers Tuesday at a rally to push for continued health coverage and legal immigration status.
Read more.
[posted by Maria Rohani]
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Execution stayed for Western Pa. man who killed 6
PITTSBURGH - A judge has indefinitely delayed the execution of an unemployed immigration lawyer responsible for a Pittsburgh-area shooting rampage that left six people dead.
Richard Baumhammers, 44, of Mount Lebanon, was to be executed March 18. Allegheny County Court Judge Jeffrey Manning stayed that execution yesterday after Baumhammers' attorney filed notice of a new appeal. Gov. Rendell signed a death warrant in January.
Prosecutors said Baumhammers, who is white, was motivated by religious and racial animosity. He shot his Jewish neighbor, two Indian men, a Chinese man, a Vietnamese man, and a black man on April 28, 2000.
He was sentenced to death for killing the five victims who died outright. The sixth, Sandip Patel, 32, of Plum, was left paralyzed and died of complications from pneumonia in 2007. - AP
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/85636892.html
[Posted by Ida Micaily]
Report: E-Verify Misses Half of Illegal Workers
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The system Congress and the Obama administration want employers to use to help curb illegal immigration is failing to catch more than half of the unauthorized workers it checks, a research company has found.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/02/25/us/politics/AP-US-Immigration-E-Verify.html?_r=1&ref=news
Posted by: Melissa Diaz
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Whither the Dream
NO federal law prohibits illegal immigrants from attending college in the United States, or requires them to disclose their situation. Most colleges don’t even check immigration status when students apply for financial aid — only 31 percent, according to a survey last year by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.
Still, illegal students face numerous barriers to higher education. About 65,000 graduated from American high schools last year, but only 5 percent went on to college, according to Roberto G. Gonzales, a professor at the University of Washington and author of a College Board report last year on the plight of minors brought in illegally by their parents and raised here.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/education/edlife/03alienbx-t.html
[posted by Sonia Vissoni]
Still, illegal students face numerous barriers to higher education. About 65,000 graduated from American high schools last year, but only 5 percent went on to college, according to Roberto G. Gonzales, a professor at the University of Washington and author of a College Board report last year on the plight of minors brought in illegally by their parents and raised here.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/education/edlife/03alienbx-t.html
[posted by Sonia Vissoni]
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
In debate about education of immigrant kids, money talks
February 10, 2010
IF BOSTON schools can’t make faster progress in helping students with limited English skills, the US Department of Education will have good cause to withhold some federal aid. Latino and immigrant groups are asking the department to place conditions on money from the federal Race to the Top grant program requiring that Boston schools make aggressive efforts to educate so-called English language learners. The system’s halting record justifies this tough stance.
Students with limited English proficiency, who make up almost one-fifth the Boston Public Schools’ enrollment, drop out at high rates and score poorly on MCAS tests. The city deserves part of the blame. Until recently, the system did not properly test students whose first language is not English, and it failed to make their parents aware of all the services that might help their children.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2010/02/10/in_debate_about_education_of_immigrant_kids_money_talks/
[Posted by: Juliana Steers]
IF BOSTON schools can’t make faster progress in helping students with limited English skills, the US Department of Education will have good cause to withhold some federal aid. Latino and immigrant groups are asking the department to place conditions on money from the federal Race to the Top grant program requiring that Boston schools make aggressive efforts to educate so-called English language learners. The system’s halting record justifies this tough stance.
Students with limited English proficiency, who make up almost one-fifth the Boston Public Schools’ enrollment, drop out at high rates and score poorly on MCAS tests. The city deserves part of the blame. Until recently, the system did not properly test students whose first language is not English, and it failed to make their parents aware of all the services that might help their children.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2010/02/10/in_debate_about_education_of_immigrant_kids_money_talks/
[Posted by: Juliana Steers]
Rethinking Crime and Immigration
The summer of 2007 witnessed a perfect storm of controversy over immigration in the United States. After building for months with angry debate, a widely touted immigration reform bill supported by President George W Bush and many leaders in Congress failed decisively. Recriminations soon followed across the political spectrum.
http://contexts.org/articles/files/2008/01/contexts_winter08_sampson.pdf
[Posted by: Melissa Diaz]
http://contexts.org/articles/files/2008/01/contexts_winter08_sampson.pdf
[Posted by: Melissa Diaz]
Leave Immigration Enforcement to the Feds
Recently, mayors throughout the country, and some in New Jersey, have begun negotiating with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE"), a bureau of the Department of Homeland Security, to deputize law enforcement officials to enforce federal immigration laws. While I share my colleagues' concerns about national security, immigration enforcement is in the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government. Our efforts to secure our nation from those hostile to it must be tempered by respect for our national heritage and our commitment to civil rights. The plan to deputize local police to enforce federal immigration laws is contrary to those values.
At first blush, the ability of local police to enforce federal immigration law seems like a viable solution to our nation's challenge of illegal immigration. However, piling the additional duty of immigration enforcement upon our already strained local police will do little more than force illegal immigrants and those who associate with them further into society's shadows. The negative effects which will result thereafter are significant.
http://www.michaelwildes.org/documents/LeaveImmigrationEnforcementtotheFeds3.08.pdf
[Posted by: Gloria J]
At first blush, the ability of local police to enforce federal immigration law seems like a viable solution to our nation's challenge of illegal immigration. However, piling the additional duty of immigration enforcement upon our already strained local police will do little more than force illegal immigrants and those who associate with them further into society's shadows. The negative effects which will result thereafter are significant.
http://www.michaelwildes.org/documents/LeaveImmigrationEnforcementtotheFeds3.08.pdf
[Posted by: Gloria J]
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Report Cites Culture of Ethnic Hatred in Suffolk County
HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. — An environment of racial intolerance and ethnic hatred, fostered by anti-immigrant groups and some public officials, has helped fuel dozens of attacks on Latinos in Suffolk County during the past decade, says a report issued Wednesday by the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that tracks hate groups around the country.
“Latino immigrants in Suffolk County live in fear,” said the report, which the law center released at a news conference here. “Political leaders in the county have done little to discourage the hatred, and some have actively fanned the flames.”
The law center, based in Montgomery, Ala., came to prominence in the 1970s for anti-discrimination efforts and its legal battles against the Ku Klux Klan. It started looking at Suffolk County after Marcelo Lucero, an Ecuadorean immigrant, was stabbed to death last November in Patchogue. Seven youths, who prosecutors say were driven by prejudice against Latinos, are awaiting trial in that case.
The center’s report is the product of months of investigation on Long Island, including scores of interviews with Latino immigrants and local civic leaders. While it draws heavily on news accounts and public records, center officials said it was the most comprehensive compilation of statements and events showing a pattern of hate crimes in Suffolk that were at least tacitly condoned — if not actively encouraged — by some local leaders.
the article : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/03/nyregion/03suffolk.html?fta=y
Report from the Southern Poverty Law Center : http://documents.nytimes.com/climate-of-fear-latino-immigrants-in-suffolk-county-n-y#p=1
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