Hi Gang:

I have attached a commentary that appears in today's edition of a Website that is focused on immigration and the needs of immigration attorneys.

You will notice that the term "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" is nowhere to be found in the article.  The alias now being used to describe Comprehensive Immigration Reform is "CIR."  These are the initials of Comprehensive Immigration Reform.  As the saying goes, "A rose by any other name..."

When I was a young boy growing up in Brooklyn there was a silly joke/riddle making the rounds back in junior high school (today that school is referred to as intermediate school).  You would ask, "What did Tarzan say when he saw the elephant walking down the road/"  The answer was, "Here come the elephants walking down the road.)  Next you would ask, "What did Tarzan say when he saw the elephant walking down the road while he was wearing sunglasses?"  Most kids would say, "Here comes the elephant walking down the road with sunglasses on."  You were supposed to respond by saying, "You are wrong dummy: Tarzan couldn't recognize the elephant because he was wearing sunglasses!"  

The idea that you could disguise a huge elephant by making him wear sunglasses was obviously preposterous- it is no less preposterous that the attorneys believe that using the initials CIR instead of the term Comprehensive Immigration Reform would confuse us! 

Clearly the immigration lawyers know where their bread is buttered!

Imagine the incentive that they have to push and push hard to see Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) enacted.  They would have more clients than they would know what to do with!  The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act that crashed and burned in the United States Senate last year, among other things, would have required the federal government to subsidize legal fees for all of the illegal aliens who would have filed for amnesty!!!

Stop and contemplate this.  When you file a tax return as mandated by law- federal law, state law and perhaps, even city law, are your accounting fees subsidized by your government on any level?

You abide by the law, work your tail off seeking to support yourself and your family members and you have to pay for the services of the accountant or tax preparer who assists you in meeting your legal obligation to file a tax return.  Yet illegal aliens would have been provided with subsidized legal assistance!  If this is government by the people and for the people, what people are they referring to?

The attorneys and the politicians know damned well that the great majority of the citizens of our nation oppose CIR (Comprehensive Immigration Reform).  That is obviously the reason for the change in nomenclature. 

The time has come for We the People to establish a relationship with our politicians who purport to represent us.   We the People need to let the members of the House of Representatives and the United States Senate precisely where we stand on the issue of CIR (Comprehensive Immigration Reform). 

The idea that somehow the enforcement of the immigration laws that are already on the books should be balanced by admitting an additional one half million lawful immigrants is sheer lunacy!

If CIR is permitted to be enacted into law, there will be no going back!  The impact on our nation will be nothing short of devastating.  I said that "If CIR is permitted to be enacted into law" because our government is supposed to be governed by the principle of "representative democracy."  No matter how screwed up so many politicians may be, they all are sensitive to the will of the constituents who can vote them onto the unemployment line.

The way that these politicians become aware of the will of their constituents is when We the People call the politicians, write them (e-mail, 'snail mail' or fax), or arrange to visit with a staffer and ask to see the politician, himself.

The so much hanging in the balance, it is vital that we put aside other issues and make this effort a major priority!  It is vital for our nation's security and survival and it is vital for our futures and the future of our children and their children! 

I have written this commentary to try to alert you to the challenges confronting our nation.  Now it is up to you, the citizens of this nation, to contact your elected representatives and demand that they represent you and your family and to protect our nation.  This is the burden all Americans must bear.

Many years ago there was a clever campaign mounted by the American Red Cross.  They hung signs in buses and subway cars in New York City that were aimed at those New Yorkers who would fail to donate blood by saying, "Remember, to the other guy, you are the other guy!  This certainly applies in this situation. 

The safety of our nation begins at its borders.  It is therefore essential that our borders be secured and that our immigration bureaucracy honor those who abide by the laws and seeks to weed out those who would commit fraud and those who would assist them.

This is neither a Conservative issue, nor is it a Liberal issue- simply stated, this is most certainly an AMERICAN issue! 

You are either part of the solution or you are a part of the problem!

Democracy is not a spectator sport!

Lead, follow or get out of the way!

-Michael Cutler- 

-----------------IMMIGRATION DAILY FROM ILW.COM------------------

November 26, 2008

The Significance Of March 6th

It appears that the 111th Congress will turn the corner on
immigration benefits legislation. The betting appears to be that
the Republicans will pick their battles carefully after the
recent drubbing at the polls, and perhaps they will hold their
fire on immigration, and will oppose the expected  health care
initiative instead. In the Senate at least, things are clearer as
to where to start the debate - while Kennedy-Kyl went down to a
resounding defeat, McCain-Kennedy easily passed - so a benefit-
heavy approach appears to be the winner over an enforcement-heavy
one.

The opening salvos over immigration in the 111th Congress will be
fired very early, before March 6th, which is when E-Verify runs
out of authorization absent an act of Congress. Sen. Menendez
(hopefully joined by like minded allies) will not permit re-
authorization for E-Verify without establishing the principle
that the 111th Congress is benefits-minded on immigration. This
first battle will indicate how we should expect the rest of the
111th Congress to go on immigration, and the immigrant community
will be watching every actor in this early fight closely. The
Senate has a number of options on how to proceed (as below,
together with our comments):

++Enact E-Verify for 5 years without benefits - unlikely given
the immigrant-friendly composition of the 111th.

++Enact E-Verify for 5 years with benefits, such as recapture of
500,000 visas - this is the option that Sen. Menendez was pushing
in the 110th Congress.

++Enact E-Verify for a few months with benefits, such as
recapture or the rebirth of 245i in the form that the Senate
passed and which was before the House in the morning of 9/11 -
this is the best option since it would ensure that the antis have
a stake in CIR, and would re-establish 245i as national policy
without benefiting too many folks prior to CIR (perhaps a few
tens of thousands would benefit by the extension of 245i to the
mid-August 2001 deadline of the old bill).  

We strongly suspect that some variant of the third option is what
Congress will ultimately end up doing. It is unlikely that the
action will all be on the Senate side - the House has much to
prove after the debacle of the Sensenbrenner bill in the 109th
and the do-nothing 110th. House Democratic leaders may well be
preparing the March 6th surprise, particularly since this would
be an appropriations measure, which the Constitution requires
the House to originate. No matter what happens, or does not
happen, March 6th is the critical day to watch - the die for
immigration benefits in the 111th Congress will be cast by then.

Time to get on the phone again! Read below - Call our Senators. Those of you who are on Numbers check out the website to send faxes. http://www.numbersusa.com

Local Offices of Texas Senators:

Senator Hutchison - 214.361.3500

Senator Cornyn - 972.239.1310 -

Toll Free capitol switchboard is 1-866-340-9281 or 1-800-828-0498 or 202-224-3121.

Reid: Comprehensive Immigration Reform Will Come Early (Amnesty to "Easily" Pass)
Weekly Standard ^ | November 25, 2008 | Brian Faughnan  Posted on 2008-11-25 11:43:25 by GOPGuide

Harry Reid told the Detroit Free Press that he expects comprehensive immigration reform to be passed relatively early in the next Congress:

Q. With more Democrats in the Senate and the House and a Democrat in the White House, how do you see congressional efforts playing out on such issues as health care and immigration?

A: On immigration, there's been an agreement between (President-elect Barack) Obama and (Arizona Republican Sen. John) McCain to move forward on that. ... We'll do that. We have to get this economy stuff figured out first, so I think we'll have a shot at doing something on health care in the next Congress for sure.

Q: Will there be as much of a fight on immigration as last time?

A: We've got McCain and we've got a few others. I don't expect much of a fight at all. Now health care is going to be difficult. That's a very complicated issue. We debated at great length immigration. People understand the issues very well. We have not debated health care, so that's going to take a lot more time to do.

One senator who wields significant influence on the debate is Robert Menendez, and he seems to be pushing ahead on the issue as well. Menendez is no extremist among Senate Democrats, either; he's just been named head of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. Expect Menendez to lead a push--apparently with Reid's blessing--to get comprehensive reform passed in the first half of 2009. Proponents will argue that while the measure may be unpopular, it's better to swallow a bitter pill far in advance of the midterms. And if it seems that they lack the votes to pass it in the next few months, they'll bargain for a commitment for passage later in 2009

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/editorials/stories/DN-immigration_01edi.State.Edition1.2106e19.html

 Editorial: Immigration reform faces new obstacles

To keep track of the immigration legislation that is being filed for the 2009 Texas Legislative Session, please go to http://IRCOT- N TX (formerly CFIR)usa.org and click on Texas Legislation in the panel to your left of the home page. It is our intention to keep this list as current as possible. If you notice that a bill has been missed, please let us know. Email immigrationreform@sbcglobal.net

12-04-20088

Newsletter: Illegal Immigration Newsletter  Newsletter@IllegalImmigrationJournal.com

ICE: Deportations from Arizona up 65 percent  Fernanda Echavarri, Tucson Citizen

A record number of illegal immigrants were deported from Arizona in 2008, federal officials said Thursday. During fiscal 2008, which ended Sept. 30, 72,995 illegal immigrants were deported, said Vincent Picard, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman. That was up 65 percent from the more than 44,300 illegal immigrants who were deported from the state in 2007, he said.

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/mexico/index.htmlAustin American-Statesman - December 3, 2008

BORDER WALL IS A REALITY IN EAGLE PASS

I’m traveling along the border this week and last week came across my first piece of border wall. Being in Mexico City most of the time, I hear about cost overruns and delays, but at least in the city of Eagle Pass, the wall is becoming a reality. It looks to be actually two levels of wall (more like a tall, metal fence) separated by a road that I imagine U.S. Border Patrol will be riding on. The fence isn’t finished and we could get as close as we wanted: it was sunk several feet below the ground, with wire mesh, in hopes of deterring tunnelers. In Eagle Pass, which put up one of the biggest fights against the wall, the border fence appears set to slice across the city’s edge, going around a golf course that sits on the banks of the Rio Grande as well as some playing fields. Locals believe Homeland Security will be building doors into the border wall to allow access to these places.

NCLR HAILS APPOINTMENT OF CECILIA MUNOZ TO WHITE HOUSE STAFF 
http://www.alipac.us/article-3774-thread-1-0.html
President-elect Barack Obama selected Detroit-native Cecilia Muñoz as the White House director of intergovernmental affairs, the Obama transition office announced Wednesday.

Muñoz, who has a bachelor’s degree in English and Latin American studies from the University of Michigan, is currently a senior vice president at the National Council of La Raza, where she supervises legislative and advocacy work.

Money sent home by Mexicans living abroad jumps 13 pct as peso weakens
against the dollar

By MARIA GALLUCCI  Associated Press Writer 
December 2 2008, 12:34 AM CST

MEXICO CITY (AP) _ Victoria Servin shows off her new pair of black leather
boots, a splurge for the 21-year-old student who lives alone in an aging,
one-room apartment.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-lt-mexico-strong-dollar,0,7627
943.story 

Fraudulent Vows: Inside the Green Card Marriage Phenomenon

The Backgrounder is available for free online at http://cis.org/marriagefraud


WASHINGTON (December 2, 2008) -- Each year, tens of thousands of United States citizens and Legal Permanent Residents (LPR), at both home and abroad, meet and marry foreign nationals. Spouses of American citizens have priority over most other immigration categories, making marriage the quickest way to receive a green card. As the new Obama administration prepares to take office, the long dormant debate over levels of legal immigration is sure to resurface, but that debate is unlikely to include discussion of fraud amongst the most common path to American residency. The prevalence of such fraud contributes to illegal immigration, poses potential national security vulnerability, and clogs the system for legitimate applicants.

The Center for Immigration Studies, a non-profit research organization, has released a new Backgrounder detailing the ways the marriage-based green card categories are exploited and offers recommendations to protect the system from fraud. “Hello, I Love You, Won’t You Tell Me Your Name: Inside the Green Card Marriage Phenomenon,” was written by David Seminara, a former Consular Officer with the U.S. State Department who has adjudicated thousands of marriage-based green card applications in several countries.

City of Dallas News Release Dec 1, 2008

Enforcement of Uninsured Motorist Ordinance to begin January 1

Drivers with no proof of insurance will have their vehicles towed under a new policy that goes into effect Jan. 1. On that date, the Dallas Police Department will enforce the Uninsured Motorist Ordinance approved by the Dallas City Council on May 28.

Under this ordinance drivers stopped for a traffic violation who cannot show proof of auto insurance meeting state requirements will be issued a citation and will have his or her vehicle towed at the owner’s expense to the Dallas Auto Pound. The City already tows the vehicles of uninsured drivers involved in traffic accidents.

“The Dallas Police Department currently issues about 75,000 citations a year to motorists with no auto insurance,” said Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle. “In addition, officers towed over 3000 vehicles from accident scenes in 2007 where the driver did not have insurance. Motorists are urged to obtain the proper state required auto insurance to avoid having their vehicles towed.” 

 The new ordinance is in response to the large number of people driving in the City of Dallas without the proper state required auto insurance. These uninsured drivers place an unfair burden on those who comply with state law and maintain auto insurance. With the new ordinance, the city anticipates fewer of these citations as more drivers comply with the law to avoid having their vehicles towed.

 More information on the Uninsured Motorist Ordinance is at www.dallascityhall.com. Persons with questions about the policy can call (214) 670-5111.

12-04-2008

In his last days in office President Bush has pardoned drug dealers and removed felony convictions from some records. He has even pardoned a turkey, while two U.S. Border Patrol Agents have spent the last two years in prison. Please write or e-mail President Bush and ask him to pardon Ramos and Compean.

 

THE  RAMOS AND COMPEAN FAMILIES 

 

PHOTO of Ramos and Compean families.  Back row - two boys are Ramos' sons.  Compean's wife on the left, Patti and Ramos' wife on the right, Monica.  The boys on the wives' laps are Compean's sons.  Front row, boy on the left is Ramos' son and girl on the right is Compean's daugher.  

Mail a Christmas card to Ramos and Compean:

Ignacio Ramos #58079-180
FCI Phoenix
Federal Correctional Institution
37910 N. 45th Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85086

Jose Compean #58080180
FCI Elkton
PO Box 10
Lisbon, OH 44432

12-10-2008

DON'T FORGET OUR MEETING WITH AZ STATE REPRESENTATIVE RUSSELL PEARCE

Thursday December 11th - 7:00 p.m.

Farmers Branch Recreation Center

14050 Heartside Place

Farmers Branch

Rep. Ruth Jones and others listed in this article and in the Dallas Morning News article seem to only care about protecting a certain ethnic group, voting constituency or their remuneration.

 Call your elected representative and tell them to defeat any legislation that will come along that would do away with the new DPS rules that will help our national and state security.

 Capitol Switchboard is: 512.463-0845

 NEW DPS RULES REQUIRING PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP FOR DRIVER'S LICENSE COME UNDER FIRE

Non-citizens living in Texas legally could be adversely affected, critics say.

A civil rights coalition, joined by Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon (D-San Antonio) continues to urge the Department of Public Safety to rescind its recent decision to enforce state law to exclude illegal immigrants from obtaining a driver’s license and to create a special license that would immediately identify legal immigrants.

The coalition – American Civil Liberties Union, League of United Latin American Citizens, Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund and the Texas Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association – called the new requirements an impermissible burden on foreign nationals who are in the state lawfully.

“Many persons have assumed, incorrectly, that the rules only apply to ‘undocumented’ drivers who are not here in the United States lawfully,” said McClendon. “To the contrary, the major policy implications of this rule are broad and would potentially impact the constitutional rights of all Texans, including those who are already U.S. citizens or permanent, legal residents who possess a valid driver’s license.”

And, according to the National Immigration Lawyers Association, these new Texas licenses – vertical with the expiration date of a person’s visa on its face – are unprecedented. Other states may verify residency, but they do not single out legal non-residents.

The rest of the story, subscribers only

Copyright December 09, 2008, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved

Dallas Morning News article can be found at http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-licenses_10tex.ART.State.Edition1.4a63abf.html

Along side of this story are those lawmakers who opposed the driver's licenses checkpoints that happened about the same time the DPS rules were instituted. Because of their opposition to the checkpoints, the DPS backed down.

The names of the group of house state lawmakers who opposed the checkpoints are: Alma Allen, Dist. 131, Roberta R. Alonzo, Dist. 104, Garnet F. Coleman, Dist. 147, Dawnna Dukes, Dist. 46, Jessica Farrar, Dist. 148, Ana E. Hernandez, Dist. 143, Donna Howard, Dist. 48, Ruth Jones McClendon, Dist.  Eddie Lucio, III, Dist 38, Ruth Jones McClendon, Dist. 120, Jose Menendez, Dist. 124, Doro F. Olivo, Dist. 27, Eddie Rodriguez, Dist. 51.

Senate state lawmakers who opposed the checkpoints are: Carlos Uresti, Dist. 19, Leticia Van de Putte, Dist 26, Royce West, District 23.

 Call Gov. Perry's comment line, 1-800-252-9600 and thank him for his stance.

Statement by Gov. Rick Perry on DPS Driver License Rule Changes

December 09, 2008

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today issued the following statement on the recent DPS rule changes requiring non U.S. citizens to present proof they are in this country legally before being issued an original, renewal or duplicate Texas driver license or identification card.

“I strongly support the recent DPS rule changes that ensure public safety and national security, and am confident the vast majority of Texans feel the same way. Requiring driver license applicants to prove they are in the country legally before issuing them a license is a prudent course of action that most states already follow.

“This policy is no different than what U.S. citizens must do to obtain a driver license in most Mexican states (including Chihuahua, Coahuila, Tamaulipas) and Canadian provinces.  They require foreign nationals to prove their legal immigration status to obtain a driver license, and understandably so,” Gov. Perry said.

Texans got a wake up call last year when a federal investigation uncovered a Dallas man who was exploiting a gap in Texas driver license requirements to obtain six-year driver licenses. Nearly 400 foreign nationals, from countries such as Syria, Egypt and Iraq, whose expired visas precluded their receiving licenses in New York and New Jersey where they lived at the time, obtained valid Texas driver licenses.

“Those who criticize these new rules fail to acknowledge the realities of the world in which we live, where we must know who is in our state and nation, whether or not they mean us harm,” Gov. Perry said.

12-15-2008

Study -  Illegal immigrants' care costs state $677 million

By JANET ELLIOTT Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6160505.html


 

Dec. 11, 2008, AUSTIN — The state of Texas and local hospital districts spent an estimated $677 million to provide health care to illegal immigrants in a year, a new study says.

The survey, issued by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, said that most of the money — $597 million — was spent by local hospital districts for the immigrants' care during the state's fiscal year that ended on Aug. 31, 2007

From the Center of Immigration Studies  - Mark Kirkorian

The High Cost of Cheap Labor  TEXAS

By Mark Krikorian, December 12, 2008

No surprise here:

The state of Texas and local hospital districts spent an estimated $677 million to provide health care to illegal immigrants in a year, a new study says.

The survey, issued by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, said that most of the money ? $597 million ? was spent by local hospital districts for the immigrants' care during the state's fiscal year that ended on Aug. 31, 2007.

Lawmakers from both parties said they were not surprised by the millions spent and expressed hope that the report, required by the 2007 Legislature, will help prompt Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

But why would the report help do that? The syllogism seems to be that "Immigrant welfare use is bad" and "illegal immigration is bad" therefore "immigrant welfare use is caused by illegal immigration." In other words, if only Congress would give the illegals amnesty (a/k/a "comprehensive immigration reform") and import future foreign labor through legal channels, then Texas wouldn't have to pay two-thirds of a billion dollars a year for health care for the formerly illegal aliens.

The problem with this reasoning is that illegallity is not the reason for immigration's cost to taxpayers. A Mexican peasant with a sixth-grade education isn't going to do a whole lot better in the labor market just because we give him a green card. And what our modern society considers minimum-acceptable standards of living aren't going to change, so we're still going to subsidize such people. The bottom line is that importing 19th century labor into a 21st century society is always a losing proposition.

Administration changes to farm worker hiring afoot

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/10/AR2008121002921.html        

By SUZANNE GAMBOA - The Associated Press - Wednesday, December 10, 2008; 8:43 PM

WASHINGTON -- As it prepares to leave office, the Bush administration is moving to make it easier for U.S. farming companies to hire foreign field workers, which farm worker groups say will worsen wages and working conditions.

Farm groups said that changes to the H2A visa program, used by the agriculture industry to hire temporary farm workers, were posted on the Labor Department's Web site at midnight Tuesday but have since been taken down. (http://www.dol.gov/ )

Labor Department spokesman Terry Shawn said whatever was posted wasn't the final version of the new rule, which Shawn said would be released Thursday and published in the Federal Register on Dec. 18.

El Heraldo  (Tegucigalpa, Honduras)  12/9/08

"Christmas is nearing and the deportees from the United States seem to be falling from the sky like snowflakes." To start the week two flights from the U.S. arrived yesterday in Honduras and brought a total of 226 deportees. More are expected later this week.

Authorities fear legal-system corruption by drug networks

Monday, December 8, 2008 - The Associated Press

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-drugcartel_08tex.ART.State.Edition1.4a38a33.html

McALLEN, Texas – The case of a South Texas paralegal accused of leaking information to members of a violent drug cartel highlights fears that drug smuggling networks are using bribes to reach into U.S. law enforcement.

Federal authorities allege that Joel Carcano Jr., a paralegal, unlawfully provided confidential information to the Texas Syndicate drug mafia. Mr. Carcano maintains his innocence and the government has not given detailed information about the alleged leak.

12-20-2008

Check out this website - Cameras on the border

http://www.blueservo.net 

Then read:

Border cameras net 2 million hits, 1 drug bust, 6 illegal entries  By Brandi Grissom / Austin Bureau

http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_11251446?source=rss&_requestid=375246

Naturally, illegal immigration supporters are speaking against it.

http://www.lcsun-news.com:80/ci_11234737

Border fence helps boost security

By Diana M. Alba Sun-News reporter

Article Launched: 12/15/2008 12:00:00 AM MST

SUNLAND PARK — Just west of here, panels of thick-gauged wire mesh, secured to heavy posts, shoot 18 feet into the air, paralleling the international border and forming a barrier that has prompted plenty of controversy.

It's fencing designed to keep out undocumented immigrants and drug traffickers. The mesh overlaps just enough to create spaces too small to give human fingers a climbing hold. Concrete-filled pipes are meant to provide reinforcement, should the fence be rammed by a vehicle. Steel plates extend into the ground below to deter tunneling.

This particular segment of fence has been in place just nine months, but U.S. Border Patrol agents say it's already accomplishing its purpose.

http://in.sys-con.com:80/node/784673

IFCO Systems Enters Into Record $20.7 Million Settlement of Claims Related to Employment of Illegal Aliens  - By: PR Newswire  Dec. 19, 2008 04:34 PM

ALBANY, N.Y., Dec. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A record corporate settlement in an investigation of the employment of illegal aliens by IFCO Systems North America (IFCO), was announced today by Andrew T. Baxter, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York; John P. Torres, Acting Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and Superintendent Harry J. Corbitt, New York State Police. IFCO, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is the largest pallet management services company in the United States. IFCO has agreed to pay $20.7 million dollars in civil forfeitures and penalties over four years, making this the largest corporate settlement in a work site enforcement case to date.

Editorial - ID provides useful immigration tool - Dallas Morning News  Wednesday, December 17, 2008

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/
editorials/stories/DN-drivers_18edi.State.Edition1.25ce27f.html

There are reasons to be squeamish about the new "temporary visitor" licenses and ID cards that the Department of Public Safety now issues to legal immigrants. There are also strong justifications, and, on balance, they outweigh the drawbacks.

The vertical layout of the new card is designed to distinguish its holder as someone deserving of extra scrutiny, which doesn't sit well with many people. Immigrants might feel they're getting a mixed message. We tell them to assimilate, but we issue them a special ID that says: You're not one of us.

Yet this new format and the security measures behind it are necessary. There are 12 million or more illegal immigrants residing in America, and according to a 2006 Pew Hispanic Center study, nearly half of them arrived legally but overstayed their visas.

Some Mexicans leaving U.S., planning never to return

Sunday, December 14, 2008 - Associated Pres

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/world/
stories/121508dnintmexicans.19d086e.html

DENVER – After going months without a full-time job, Daniel Ramirez has decided it's time to return to family in Mexico.

Vicenta Rodriguez Lopez says she can't afford to live in Colorado any more because her husband was deported.

Roberto Espinoza is going back, too. After 18 years as a mechanic for a General Motors dealership in Denver, his work permit wasn't renewed and he didn't want to remain in the country illegally.

Pew Hispanic Center

Immigrant Latino Workers and the Recession 

A small but significant decline has occurred during the current recession in the share of Latino immigrants active in the U.S. labor force, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau data by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center. Workers who are employed or looking for work are said to be active in the labor market.
 
The proportion of working-age Latino immigrants active in the labor force has fallen, at least through the third quarter of 2008, while the proportion of all non-Hispanics as well as of native-born Hispanics has held steady. Among Hispanic immigrants, the decrease is sharpest among those from Mexico and those who arrived in the U.S. since 2000. Also, the increase in the number of foreign-born Latinos in the labor force is much smaller than previous years.
 
The labor market data do not paint an unrelentingly negative picture for Hispanic immigrants. The estimated increase in their unemployment rate is not as high as the increase for native-born Hispanic workers. Also, median weekly wages fell for native-born Hispanics but not for foreign-born workers. These developments, however, could be an artifact, a consequence of the likely withdrawal of low-wage foreign-born Hispanics from the labor force.
 
The report, "Latino Workers in the Ongoing Recession: 2007 to 2008,"  authored by Rakesh Kochhar, Associate Director for Research, is available at the Pew Hispanic Center's website, www.pewhispanic.org.

Watch group questions latest border fence tally

By Jonathon Shacat Herald/Review
Published/Last Modified on Sunday, Dec 28, 2008 - 05:10:56 am MST

http://svherald.com/articles/2008/12/28/news/doc4957004557f31985983681.txt

BISBEE — Officials with Customs and Border Protection in Washington, D.C., announced last week that fence construction along the southern border of the U.S. has surpassed the 500-mile mark, with about 280 miles built in Arizona.

Fewer illegal immigrants caught sneaking into U.S.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-12-28-bordercrossings_N.htm

By Thomas Frank, USA TODAY

EL PASO — The number of people caught trying to sneak into the USA from Mexico is at its lowest level since the mid-1970s, signs of tougher enforcement and a weaker U.S. economy, officials say.

The Border Patrol caught 705,000 people along the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2008, which ended Sept. 30, according to new agency figures. That's nearly 2,000 a day and the lowest number since 1976, when 675,000 people were caught entering illegally between San Diego and southern Texas, the figures show.

The Border Patrol has long used the number of apprehensions as an indicator of how many people try to cross U.S. borders illegally. The latest figures show that recent steps — including building a fence, adding more Border Patrol agents and prosecuting more people caught sneaking across the border — are deterring illegal crossings, officials say. The weak U.S. economy also is discouraging migrants, officials and analysts say.

Tensions rise with U.S.-Mexican border fence

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-12-28-fence-inside_N.htm

By Thomas Frank, USA TODAY

EL PASO — The fence that the U.S. government is erecting along the border with Mexico had been a vague notion to Victor Serrano — until he drove by a new section near his house last month.

An 18-foot-high, steel-mesh structure planted in Jersey barriers stood behind a four-lane boulevard. The view of sprawling Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, was gone.

"I was like, oh, man, I can't believe this is happening," Serrano, 20, says, standing in his yard three blocks from the border. "We're actually going to have a Berlin Wall here."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has installed hundreds of miles of steel fence along the U.S.-Mexico border that stretches 1,934 miles from San Diego to Brownsville, Texas. The $2-billion fence — or "wall," to opponents — is the most visible symbol of stepped-up U.S. efforts to stop illegal border crossings, and the most controversial.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6179960.html

Smuggling of Chinese into Texas is on the rise Latest incident shows upswing in Houston area

By James Pinkerton, Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Dec. 24, 2008, 8:09AM

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6184818.html

Hispanics bolster Border Patrol  They now hold 52 percent of agents' jobs

By JAMES PINKERTON Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Dec. 29, 2008, 3:52AM

Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41651&dcn=e_hsw

Homeland Security: Employers can no longer use expired documents in hiring
By Kellie Lunney

Beginning in February, employers in the United States will not be allowed to use expired documents to verify workers' employment eligibility.

The interim rule, published on Wednesday in the Federal Register by the Homeland Security Department, aims to streamline the employment eligibility verification process and crack down on fraud. As of Feb. 2, 2009, expired U.S. passports or state-issued driver's licenses and other outdated identification cards will no longer qualify as valid documentation for Form I-9. Social Security cards will not be affected by the change because they do not expire.

"Expired documents are prone to fraudulent use in the Form I-9 process by aliens seeking unauthorized employment," the Federal Register notice stated.