Citizens For Immigration Reform
PO  Box 25151, Dallas, TX  75225-1151     214-261-5373
News Digests 2008-05 1

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Citizens for Immigration Reform


 

News Digests
Citizens For Immigration Reform regular news digests that are sent to those on the email list.  Please join CFIR to become a member and help support this effort.  You can also just sign up to get the News Digest Emailed to you. 




05-29-2008

Judge Strikes Down Suburb's Immigration-Related Rental Ban

http://www.quorumreport.com:80/

POSTED: 3:55 pm CDT May 28, 2008 - UPDATED: 4:17 pm CDT May 28, 2008

FARMERS BRANCH, Texas -- A federal judge found a Dallas suburb's rule prohibiting apartment rentals to illegal immigrants unconstitutional and prevented it from being enforced.

In his decision Wednesday, the judge concluded Farmers Branch didn't defer to the federal government in immigration matters. Instead, the city tried to create its own classification to determine which noncitizens could rent in Farmers Branch.

U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay also wrote that the city's attempts to salvage the ordinance faltered because they would have required the court to draft laws. That function is outside of the court's duties.

Council members passed the ordinance last year. It would have barred apartment rentals to illegal immigrants and required landlords to verify legal status. The rule made a few exemptions for minors, seniors and some mixed-immigration status families.

Residents endorsed the law 2-to-1 in May during the nation's first public vote on a local government measure meant to combat illegal immigration. FARMERS BRANCH, Texas -- A federal judge found a Dallas suburb's rule prohibiting apartment rentals to illegal immigrants unconstitutional and prevented it from being enforced.


Border efforts criticized less

http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_9306346?source=rss 

By Brandi Grissom / Austin Bureau

Article Launched: 05/19/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT

 

AUSTIN -- Texas has awarded nearly $20 million in grants this year to local police and sheriff's departments to continue border security operations that started more than two years ago.

In El Paso, where local departments have received more than $2 million this year, the operations have received less criticism recently than they did initially when some in the community alleged officers targeted immigrant communities.

"Things are changing," said Fernando Garcia, executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights. "It's been a long and a slow process, but these things are changing in a very positive way."

Gov. Rick Perry began funding state-led border security operations 2006, and so far has sent about $34 million in federal grants to local law enforcement agencies for border-crime fighting, spokeswoman Krista Piferrer said.

Last year, lawmakers approved another $110 million Perry requested in state money for the operations. Much of it went to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Some also was allocated for grants to pay local officers overtime to patrol the border.

Piferrer said $19.9 million has been awarded to local police and sheriff's departments.

Deputy Jesse Tovar, spokesman for the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, said the focus of the department's border security efforts is not illegal immigration.

Most of the $2 million the department has been awarded is set aside for increased patrols that make officers more visible, deter crime and improve response times.

 


 

www.fairus.com

Bush Administration Proposes an Increase in "Temporary" Workers

 

On May 22nd, the Department of Labor (DOL) proposed new rules for the H-2B unskilled guest worker program.  In a press release, the DOL claims these rules would streamline the process for employers to certify and acquire "temporary" and seasonal H-2B guest workers by implementing technical changes for employer filing and worker protection. The DOL argues the change will give the department, "additional tools to protect workers and remove duplicative bureaucracy."  ( Press Release , U.S. Department of Labor, May 26, 2008)

 

The DOL, however, while insisting that the H-2B program is meant to provide U.S. employers with "temporary work," failed to mention one of the most important changes in the rule: redefining the term "temporary" work from its current definition (10 months or less) to "less than three years." (Federal Register / Volume 73 No. 100, P. 29952)   This measure drastically expands the H-2B program and will significantly expand the number of H-2B workers who may enter the U.S.    Which just goes to show that if you can't pass a bill through the legislative body, just change the regulations.

 

The move by the Bush Administration to revise the H-2B regulations coincidentally occurred on the very same day that the Mikulski H-2B amendment was pulled from the Iraq War Funding Bill.


http://seniorsleague.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2874&Itemid=92

 

1.5 Million Illegal Workers Enter Social Security Yearly

By Mary Johnson

 

When the Social Security Trustees delivered their grim news about the Trust Fund recently, to the casual observer there seemed to be little change from previous years.  The Trustees noted, as they did last year, that in about 9 years there would be more money going OUT of the fund than coming INTO it – something that every senior should watch carefully. 

 

But what the Trustees did not say is that their forecast is based upon assumptions about illegal immigration that may make the Trust Fund appear to be in better shape than it really is.  The Trustees’ estimate — as bad as it is — is made much worse by the Trustees’ having credited the Trust Fund with the estimated contributions from a substantially growing number of “other-than-legal” immigrants, without deducting the cost of future Social Security benefits that would be payable to many of those same workers who could eventually become eligible. 

 

The Trustees inexplicably assumed that “other-than-legal” immigrants will do one of two things:  (1) A large number will leave the U.S. prior to gaining legal status and becoming eligible for Social Security benefits, OR (2) those remaining will become legal.  But the Trustees have no concrete data upon which to estimate how many currently illegal immigrants would fit into either of those categories.

 

If Congress enacts immigration reform legislation, like it has done in the past, that could ease the way for millions of these “other-than-legals” to gain legal status and, thus, to become eligible for Social Security benefits


www.eagleforum.org/ 

 

A New Argument About Immigration

Phyllis Schlafly

Monday, May 26, 2008

 

Many arguments, pro and con, about how to deal with illegal aliens have been passionately debated over the past couple of years, but there are still other arguments that need public exposure. Mark Krikorian presents a new argument in his forthcoming book called "The New Case Against Immigration, Both Legal and Illegal."

 

The pro-more-immigration crowd argues that today's immigrants are just like immigrants of a century ago: poor people looking for a better life who are expected to advance in our land of opportunity. Krikorian's new argument is that while today's immigrants may be like earlier ones, the America they come to is so very different that our previous experience with immigrants is practically irrelevant.

 

The essential difference between the two waves of immigrants was best summed up by the Nobel Prize-winning advocate of a free market, Milton Friedman. He said, "It's just obvious that you can't have free immigration and a welfare state."

 

The term "welfare state" does not just mean handouts to the nonworking. Our welfare state encompasses dozens of social programs that provide benefits to the "working poor," i.e., people working for wages low enough that they pay little or no income taxes.


http://www.onenewsnow.com/Education/Default.aspx?id=122582

 

School's out forever ... for NC illegals

Chad Groening - OneNewsNow - 5/24/2008 6:00:00 AM

A North Carolina-based immigration organization is commending state Attorney General Roy Cooper for ruling that the North Carolina Community College System should bar illegal immigrants from attending its colleges. 

 

The ruling came following a lengthy debate that began in November of last year when the North Carolina Junior College system announced it intended to admit illegal aliens.
 
William Gheen is president of
Americans for Legal Immigration PAC or ALIPAC. His organization played a key role in defeating in-state tuition for illegal aliens in 2005. Gheen is pleased with what Cooper determined.

 

 

 





05-22-2008

We all know that the AgJobs amendment was taken out of the Iraq Funding bill - however; there are very bad amendments still in that  legislation.  Continue to Call.

 ----- Original Message -----

From: Federation for American Immigration Reform

Federation for American Immigration Reform Action Alert
Amnesty Amendments Set to Hit the Senate Floor Today
Call Your Senators NOW!!

As we reported last week, during the Senate Appropriations Committee mark-up of the Iraq War Funding Bill, Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Larry Craig (R-ID) successfully attached a version of AgJOBS onto the bill. This special interest legislation is intended to protect sources of cheap labor by granting 5-year amnesty visas to 1.35 million illegal aliens plus their spouses and children. To see a summary of the amnesty portion of the Feinstein-Craig amendment, click hereTHE SENATE IS SET TO BEGIN DEBATE ON THE IRAQ WAR FUNDING BILL AS EARLY AS TODAY!!!! FAIR is urging all members, activists and friends to call their Senators NOW and urge them to strip all immigration amendments from the bill.

If that weren't enough, the Senate Appropriations Committee also saddled the Iraq War Funding Bill with:

  • An amendment authored by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) that will dramatically expand the number of unskilled H-2B guest workers entering the U.S. each year;
  • An amendment authored by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Judd Gregg (R-NH) that will make approximately 218,000 more green cards available for multinational executives and so-called "highly skilled workers" by "recapturing" visas from as far back as 1994; and 
  • An amendment authored by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) that grants a 5-year extension to a program that helps wealthy investors get green cards.

PLEASE CALL YOUR SENATORS NOW AND URGE THEM TO STRIP ALL IMMIGRATION AMENDMENTS FROM THE IRAQ WAR FUNDING BILL!!! As soon as you have called your own Senators, please also call Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). These two leaders are the most powerful, influential, and able to strip these disastrous amendments from the Iraq War Funding Bill. When you call these Senators, please tell them: 

  • The American people overwhelmingly rejected amnesty for illegal aliens in 2007;
  • You are outraged the Senate is once again attempting to sneak amnesty and other immigration amendments aimed at appeasing corporate interests into an unrelated appropriations bill;
  • The debate over the funding for the troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan should not be held hostage by the corporate cheap labor interests in Washington, DC! 

To find your Senators' contact information, click here

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) 
DC Office (202) 224-3542
District Office (702) 388-5020

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
DC Office (202) 224-2541
District Office (502) 582-6304





05-17-2008

MEMBERS OF CFIR (and friends), IN CASE YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED THIS ALERT, PLEASE ACT:

www.NUMBERSUSA.com

Because the House of Representatives unexpectedly delayed the Iraq supplemental spending bill late Thursday, the full Senate won't be allowed today to vote on the amnesty bill that the Senate Appropriations Committee unexpectedly took up and approved Thursday.

It now looks like the full Senate won't be allowed to vote on the amnesty for around 1.3 million illegal alien ag workers (plus their families) until next Wednesday.

That gives us some time to beat this atrocity. Go to 
WWW.NUMBERSUSA.COM AND MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE CORK BULLETIN.
 
And ONLY if you enlist as many of your friends, relatives, neighbors and colleagues as possible by forwarding this Alert to them.


Especially important is that you pick up the phone and make the calls to your two Senators that we've requested.

202-224-3121   Toll free Number is 1-866-340-9281

LOCAL NOS. FOR Sen. Hutchison: 214-361-3500; Sen. Cornyn: 972-239-1310:  Tell them you are against adding any amendments regarding amnesty to the Iraq Supplemental Appropriations bill. Thanks.

Friends, perhaps you are thinking what I'm thinking: Don't these Senators know that we are in an economic recession, or close to it? Don't they know that unemployment rates have been going up and that industries across the country are shedding both skilled and unskilled jobs?

If ever you doubted that U.S. Senators live lives disconnected from ordinary Americans, you could see it Thursday as 17 of them fell all over themselves to drastically increase the number of foreign workers allowed to hold U.S. jobs!

 


http://www.riograndeguardian.com/rggnews_story.asp?story_no=18

 

Jacoby sets up ImmigrationWorks USA to educate public on benefits of immigration
11 May 2008
Steve Taylor and Joey Gomez

McALLEN, May 11 - A former fellow of the Manhattan Institute who has advised the Texas Border Coalition on immigration issues in the past has set up a new national organization to promote comprehensive immigration reform.

Tamar Jacoby says ImmigrationWorks USA has two main goals: to educate the public about the benefits of immigration and build a mainstream grassroots constituency in favor of an overhaul. That constituency will likely be led by business owners who are willing to speak out and demand that it gets done, Jacoby told the Guardian.

“I don’t think we are going to get comprehensive immigration reform passed until the business community steps up to the plate and makes its voice heard to its members of Congress,” Jacoby said.

“It can’t just be the lobbyists in Washington. It cannot just be the lobbyists at the state capitols. It has to be ordinary guys willing to write and call their members of Congress. Otherwise, the other side is fielding hundreds of thousands of people and we do not have any soldiers on the field.”


http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/16227755/detail.html 

Juarez Police Chief Resigns After Assistant Chief's Execution

Angeeneh Adamain- KFOX News Reporter

POSTED: 8:10 pm MDT May 10, 2008

UPDATED: 10:17 pm MDT May 10, 2008

 

EL PASO, Texas -- Juarez's police chief resigns after his assistant is slain and hundreds are killed in what is being called a turf war. Saturday Chief Guillermo Preito announced his resignation from the Juarez Police Department. His announcement comes as six high-ranking official have been killed in the last week. Many speculate the death of the chief's assistant, 54-year-old Juan Antonio Roman may be why.

 

According to Mexican police, Ramon was shot nearly 50 times outside his home while he stepped out of his marked police truck. He died instantly.


 

Immigration Tensions Evident at Hearing 

http://www.texasinsider.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3569 

 

Published: 05-13-08

 

A House hearing Tuesday did little to relieve the tension between lawmakers on both sides of the immigration debate, merely spotlighting differences over a system to verify the legal status of workers and job applicants.

 

Rep. Heath Shuler , D-N.C., told the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security that Congress should act on his enforcement-oriented bill before the Internet-based E-Verify system expires in November.

 

Shuler’s bill would make the program mandatory for all employers.

 

The system, which allows employers to check employees’ work eligibility by verifying their Social Security numbers, has been around since 1996, but it is voluntary in all states except Arizona, which enacted a state law Jan. 1 requiring all employers to use the system.

 

www.fairus.org 

Rep. Dennis Moore (D-KS) and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) testified in support of H.R. 5515, the New Employee Verification Act (NEEVA), introduced by the Subcommittee's ranking member Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX). H.R. 5515 is an employment eligibility verification bill endorsed by a number of business interests including the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and conglomeration of business interests called the H.R. Initiative for a Legal Workforce. (Reuters, Human Resource Experts Testify in Opposition to Mandated Use of 'E-Verify' in Kansas, March 4, 2008.)

 

This bill requires electronic verification of employment eligibility, but allows employers to use one of two systems: The first system would be based on the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) database. NDNH is already in use in the states to assist child support agencies in locating parents and enforcing child support orders. The second eligibility verification system allows employers use a government certified private sector companies to certify employment authorization. Both systems would interface with Social Security and Department of Homeland Security databases to verify the accuracy of the data.


http://www.riograndeguardian.com/rggnews_story.asp?story_no=14 

 

Hammond: Comprehensive immigration reform crucial for future of Texas
9 May 2008
Joey Gomez

McALLEN, May 9 - Comprehensive immigration reform is absolutely essential to growing the Texas economy, business leaders said at a summit hosted by Texas Employers for Immigration Reform on Friday.

That reform had to address the future economic needs for future workers and undocumented workers already in the United States, said Bill Hammond, president and CEO of the Texas Association of Business. The event, held at the McAllen Convention Center, was titled 'Rio Grande Valley Immigration Summit: A Forum for Employers.'

“Essentially, we believe those who are already here, those undocumented workers, should be given an opportunity to obtain legal status. Let’s make sure they are given the protections they deserve,” said Hammond, who is also a TEIR board member. “In terms of comprehensive reform, what's necessary is that employers will have to have a system they can rely on. Currently, they don't have one.”

More than 15 speakers participated in the Summit including U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, former congressman and former House Agriculture Committee Chair Charles Stenholm, McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez, and Dave Beckwith, state director for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, gave a pre-recorded message via teleconference.





05-10-2008

The Proof is in! Majority of Americans oppose "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" Amnesty!
http://www.alipac.us/article3165.html


 

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/immigration/article_2035598.php

Employment verification days are numbered

System to check work eligibility needs to be renewed as Capitol Hill lawmakers continue to tread water on immigration fixes.

WASHINGTON With the clock ticking on the life of a voluntary online system that helps employers make sure they are hiring legal workers, a House panel today heard from lawmakers, business owners and experts on what to do next.

Few expect Congress to act this year on any comprehensive immigration proposal or on the enforcement-only measures that have been introduced on Capitol Hill. But unless lawmakers do something, the current E-Verify workplace verification system will expire in November.


http://www.bibdaily.com/pdfs/USCIS E-Verify news 5-5-08.pdf
 

USCIS ANNOUNCES ENHANCEMENTS TO E-VERIFY PROGRAM

Improvements Will Focus on Decreasing Mismatch Rates for Naturalized Citizens

 

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today improvements to the E-Verify employment authorization program that will reduce an already low mismatch rate, while also streamlining and increasing the effectiveness of the overall program.

 

Today’s announcement comprises the first two phases of an overall three-part enhancement for E-Verify aimed at decreasing the mismatch rate for naturalized citizens. “Less than one percent of all work-authorized employees receive a tentative nonconfirmation through E-Verify,” said USCIS Acting Director Jonathan Scharfen. “While this is a very small percentage, we

believe every employee who is authorized to work in the United States should be instantly authorized by the program. We’re confident that the enhancements we’re launching today will help us achieve that

goal.”

 

Starting today, the E-Verify system will include naturalization data, which will help instantly confirm the citizenship status of naturalized U.S. citizens hired by E-Verify employers. . .


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/06/AR2008050602566.html?wpisrc=newsletter

Mexican Drug Cartels Making Audacious Pitch for Recruits - Banners Taunt Military With Appeals to Soldiers and Deserters

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico --

The job offer was tempting.

It was printed on a 16-foot-wide banner and strung above one of the busiest roads here, calling out to any "soldier or ex-soldier."

"We're offering you a good salary, food and medical care for your families," it said in block letters.

But there was a catch: The employer was Los Zetas, a notorious Gulf cartel hit squad formed by elite Mexican army deserters. The group even included a phone number for job seekers that linked to a voice mailbox.


www.fairus.org

 

Partnering of the ACLU and the Mexican Government

The [Mexican] national ombudsman, José Luis Soberanes Fernández, signed an agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in the U.S., to develop a program of counseling and legal defense for affected migrants, called the Guardian Program. The [Mexican] National Commission of Human Rights (CNDH) reported in a communiqué that the agreement was formed in San Diego, California, and recalled that the Guardian Program has among their objectives to indict immigration agents that commit abuses...

 

...The president of the agency, upon signing the agreement, explained that, with the legal team of the ACLU and the CNDH, strategies will be explored and legal actions for fundamental rights violations cases against migrants will be presented, before courts in the United States "and, if necessary, before international courts".
 


http://www.aztlan.net/brown_berets_de_aztlan.htm

Brown Berets de Aztlan are recruiting and forming new chapters

Los Angeles, Alta California - May 1, 2008 - (ACN) "The Brown Berets de Aztlan have undertaken an active campaign to recruit more soldiers and form new chapters throughout Aztlan," said Chairman David Rico yesterday. "We will be having a series of presentations throughout the Southwest starting in San Diego on May 8, 2008," he added.

 





05-07-2008

 

http://www.firesociety.com/blog/100/25037/?src=111

Cinco de McCain!

On Cinco de Mayo, John McCain launched his Spanish-language website and began what will likely be his steady march back to his original and true position on illegal immigration. What is McCain's position today? In his words from yesterday's speech:

"I believe that the majority of Hispanics share our view that the border must be secured, and the border must be secured first," McCain said. "But they also want us to have an attitude, which I think most Americans do, that these are God's children and they must be taken care of, or the issue must be addressed, in a humane and compassionate fashion. And I will continue to carry that message with the priority that we must secure our borders first."

And I suppose those who disagree with McCain's amnesty record are "inhumane" and "uncompassionate".

 

"Comprehensive" Once Again
Most significantly, McCain came back to his "comprehensive" (i.e. amnesty) roots in a speech designed to cater to Latino voters. McCain said, "We get in this kind of a circular firing squad on immigration reform in the Congress of the
United States, and the lesson I learned from it is we've got to have comprehensive immigration reform"

 

Comprehensive" Once Again
Most significantly, McCain came back to his "comprehensive" (i.e. amnesty) roots in a speech designed to cater to Latino voters. McCain said, "We get in this kind of a circular firing squad on immigration reform in the Congress of the United States, and the lesson I learned from it is we've got to have comprehensive immigration reform"

 

Clearly, McCain was floating the combustible term "comprehensive" in a measured way to see what reaction he gets. What this means is, "Amnesty McCain" is back. Thus far, most in the media (except Lou Dobbs) barely picked up on this very significant mention. Unless McCain gets feedback from citizens across the nation objecting to his use of the word "comprehensive" and his clear move back to his original amnesty position, we can expect to hear more amnesty talk from the G.O.P. standard-bearer in the coming months.

 

Action: Call McCain and let him know you object to his re-introduction of a "comprehensive" (amnesty) into his campaign position on immigratiion.
Senate office: 202-224-2235; Campaign office: 703-418-2008.

By the way, as part of his big Latino-focused day, the McCain campaign announced that he will attend the National Council of La Raza ("The Race") annual convention July 14 in San Diego.

 

Send an email: http://www.johnmccain.com/Contact/

 

Lou Dobbs video

http://www.audioacrobat.com/playv/WLffkRTK

 





05-03-2008

 Plea Deal Made in Texas License Scam

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/050308dntexlicensescam.bfd8205d.html

AUSTIN – The Dallas taxi driver who helped hundreds of foreign citizens get fraudulent Texas driver's licenses between 2003 and 2005 will not serve prison time or pay a fine, under a plea agreement reached late last month.

Isaac Banai will cooperate with authorities and plead guilty to federal mail fraud, a felony that could've cost him up to $250,000 and 20 years in prison, as long as other charges of money laundering and aiding illegal immigration are dropped.

. . .

Investigators determined Mr. Banai took advantage of a major error — the state's failure to check if visas were current — to help nearly 400 illegal immigrants come to Texas to get identification. (Another case of visa overstays which accounts for at least 50% of those who are in this country illegally)

Revelations that these same immigrants used the driver's licenses to get vehicle inspections and auto insurance prompted a game of finger-pointing, as county and state authorities failed to coordinate to clean the mess up.


www.project21.org/P21Index.html.

Supreme Court Endorsement of Photo ID Election Rule Hailed by Black Activists


Washington, D.C. - Today's U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding Indiana's photo identification election law is hailed by black activists from the Project 21 leadership network as a positive move toward ensuring that future elections are less likely to be corrupted by vote fraud.

Project 21 and the Center for Equal Opportunity had presented an amici curiae ("friend of the court") brief to the Supreme Court in this case that said Indiana's law and other voter ID laws do not suppress voter turnout, as claimed by the law's critics.

"The Supreme Court affirmed an essential tool in combating voter fraud and improving the integrity of our elections," said Project 21 fellow Deneen Borelli. "Photo ID is a simple and cost-effective way to validate voter identity and discourage corruption. Additionally, this ruling is critical because it opens the door for other states to follow Indiana's lead in ensuring honest and fair elections."

 


http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IMMIGRANTS_DISCRIMINATION?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

 

Neb. AG refuses to sue for immigrants' fair housing rights

 

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Anne Hobbs was angry. The head of the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission had just learned of a Hispanic couple who said their landlord asked for their driver's licenses - but didn't ask the same of non-Hispanic tenants.

 

Hobbs said it sounded like the couple were "treated differently than everybody else because of national origin," and sent the case to the state's top prosecutor, hoping he would sue on their behalf under fair housing laws.

 

When Attorney General Jon Bruning received the case, he was angry, too - for a different reason than Hobbs.

 

"I'm not going to use taxpayer dollars to file lawsuits for illegal aliens," said Bruning after learning the couple was in the U.S. illegally. "You're not going to get a free lawyer" from his office, he said, "if you're not a citizen of this country."


Border crackdown, US slowdown has Mexican migrants giving up sooner

 

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/01/news/Mexico-Migrants-Giving-Up.php

 

SASABE, Mexico: The sandy streets of Sasabe are empty. Migrant smugglers have to hunt for business at border-town shelters. Deported migrants give up after one try, taking their government up on free bus rides home.

 

A U.S. crackdown is causing the longest and most significant drop in illegal migration from Mexico since the Sept. 11 attacks. Officials say the U.S. economic downturn, tighter security and a more perilous and expensive journey are persuading many who try to sneak into the U.S. to give up sooner.


Mexico draws dire picture for migrants

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-04-21-mexico-comics_N.htm

MEXICO CITY — One migrant gets his legs sliced off by a train's wheels. Another is shot by bandits on the Arizona border. Others are beaten and robbed by crooked Mexican police.

In a new effort to dissuade people from crossing the border illegally, Mexico's top human-rights agency has published two comic books packed with tales about the horrors that migrants may face. The tone is very different from previous government publications that focused more on travel and safety tips.

One of the two Migrantes comics is aimed at Mexicans, while the other focuses on Central Americans traveling through Mexico on their way to the USA. The National Human Rights Commission began distributing 20,000 of them this month at migrant shelters and bus terminals.

"We could have made the stories a little softer, but the (commission) asked us to be very realistic," said Domingo Perea, editorial director of Comics and Visual Arts, the firm hired to produce the comic books. "That was the intention, to discourage people from migrating."

In the past, several Mexican states have published booklets with advice for migrants. And in 2004, the Mexican Foreign Ministry published a comic-style Guide for the Mexican Migrant that offered safety tips for those attempting to cross the border, information on their legal rights and advice for living unobtrusively in the USA. That booklet outraged U.S. immigration-control groups, including the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which said the comic style and frank advice trivialized U.S. immigration laws.

 





  
 


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