Immigration agents arrest dozens in Charleston area



BY NOAH HAGLUND
The Post and Courier


A sweep of Charleston and other South Carolina coastal areas netted dozens of illegal immigrants, including a man wanted in Mexico for murder, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.

The two-day operation concluded Wednesday, drawing in 38 people from Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala and China, ICE spokesman Richard Rocha said. The effort targeted people illegally in the country who have been convicted of other crimes as well as people who ignored previous deportation orders.

"Some of these people had prior criminal convictions that included DUI, burglary and drug charges," Rocha said.

The tally included other immigration violators, such as those who entered the U.S. without permission or overstayed their visas. ICE identified the murder suspect as Patricio Cruz-Renteria, 32. Further details, including where he was living, were not available.

The detentions were part of Operation Return to Sender, which led to 750 arrests in southern California earlier this month and 13,000 throughout the country since June.

Local suspects were held at the Charleston County Detention Center. They will be taken to Atlanta and Charlotte, where they will have court hearings if they request them.

A local advocate for the Latino community said her phone has been ringing off the hook since the raids began Tuesday. Diana Salazar questioned whether the arrests were meant to intimidate the Hispanic community. She also heard reports that numerous agents had shown up to arrest one or two people, and wondered why such a show of force was necessary.

Rocha said the raids did not target specific groups or nationalities. While conducting other operations, ICE has the right to detain anybody who is in violation of U.S. immigration law, he said.

Salazar said Latinos in the Charleston area incorporated a nonprofit group last weekend to defend their rights and fight for respect. She is president of the new Latinos Association of Charleston. "They're not leaving," she said. "They have American children and they're contributing to the economy. That's how they see it."

**Lou Dobbs Tonight - CNN - January 31, 2007Dobbs: The agents are beginning their lengthy prison terms while the wounded illegal alien, Mexican drug smuggler given immunity by the Justice Department to testify against those agents remains free. And he's filed a $5 million lawsuit against the U.S. government. [...]Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas): And the question is, why the is the government stonewalling the truth? Why don't they just come and level with us and let us know what was behind all of this prosecution? Watch Transcript

CNN Lou Dobbs - video:Proposal to Tax Billions in Remittances About $45 billion was sent to Latin American from this country last year. Much of it originating from the hands of illegal aliens. And some border states have decided to propose taxes on those so-called remittances. They're planning to use the additional money to help secure their borders with Mexico. Immigrants in Texas send more than $5 billion home to Latin America each year. Most of that is money earned by illegal aliens. Now Texas lawmakers are proposing a 10 percent tax on those remittances. They want to use the proceeds, an estimated $500 million annually, primarily for border security. Remittances to Latin America are growing at an alarming rate. The Inter-American Development Bank estimates immigrants in America sent $45 billion home last year. An increase of 51 percent since 2004. More than half of the money goes to Mexico. Twenty-five billion dollars that helps prop up Mexico's shaky economy and drains capital from border states like Arizona, the nation's most popular illegal alien entry point. Some lawmakers there want to require immigrants to prove they have legal status and have paid taxes before they can wire money home. The ACLU opposes efforts to restrict illegal alien remittances, saying it would cause people to favor informal ways of moving money instead of using mainstream financial institutions.

CNN Lou Dobbs - video:Immigration Enforcement Added to Senate Minimum Wage Bill by Unamimous Vote Two senators are pushing to include immigration enforcement in the minimum wage bill because they say wages can only truly be raised in the use of illegal alien labor is stopped in this country. Contractors caught hiring illegal aliens would lose government contract work for up to 10 years under one provision in the Senate's minimum wage bill. Sponsored by Senators Jeff Sessions and Charles Grassley, the amendment passed unanimously last week. According to Grassley (R-IA), "The idea is that the contractors ought to meet the same high standards that the federal government meets, or they should never be doing work for the federal government. The idea is to make sure that illegal aliens are not on the taxpayer payroll." Employers would be exempt from sanctions if they voluntarily verify their workers with the government's basic pilot program. A coalition of 18 business groups criticize the amendment. Among them, the American Meat Institute, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the National Retail Federation and the Nation Restaurant Association, the National Association of Home Builders, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In a letter to senators, they asked instead for "comprehensive immigration reform legislation."

Lou Dobbs Tonight - CNN - January 29, 2007Pilgrim: And joining me now is Warde Nichols, Arizona's homeland security chairman. And thanks for being with us.... What did we establish at today's hearing on what happened? Nichols: Well, unfortunately, what we established today is that the National Guard are there on the border as basically window dressing. They can't do anything. They -- all they do is radio in positions of illegals when they're coming across the border. They can't engage. They can't, you know, apprehend, detain. I mean they're there basically to just radio in -- radio in positions. Watch Transcript

January 29, 2007


In this update:
President Bush's State of the Union Offers the Same Old Amnesty Plan
Senators Use Minimum Wage Bill to Promote True Immigration Reform
Farmers Branch Amends Ban on Renting to Illegal Aliens, Initiative to Up for Vote in May
Illegal Aliens Cost New Jersey More Than $2.1 Billion Annually!
Press Release
President Bush's State of the Union Offers the Same Old Amnesty Plan
In his State of the Union address Tuesday evening, President Bush once again proposed a pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal aliens, despite public opposition. President Bush called on Congress to pass "comprehensive immigration reform," which includes a new guest worker program with a path to citizenship for illegal aliens, driven by big business looking for cheap labor. While claiming that his proposal is not amnesty, illegal aliens working in the U.S. would be put on a path to citizenship if they meet certain basic requirements, such as passing a background check, paying certain taxes, learning English, and paying a fee.

Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus Chairman and presidential hopeful Tom Tancredo (R-CO) responded to the President's State of the Union remarks at press conference Wednesday morning. He and other Caucus members slammed the White House for ignoring overwhelming public opposition to his unpopular plan. "The President certainly got his wish when he campaigned this past cycle, and did everything he could to guarantee a Congress sympathetic to his 'amnesty for all' plan," said Tancredo. "I am disappointed but not surprised that the President has once again chosen to trot out this same old pig - albeit one with a slightly new shade of lipstick. If there is one thing this President seems intent on demonstrating to the American public again and again, it is that he is utterly tone deaf." Read Tancredo's press release for more on his reaction.

FAIR and many in Congress believe the President's proposal puts the cart before the horse. That is, the President proposed a long list of immigration enforcement measures that may never be implemented, but the amnesty and guest worker program would provide immediate and irrevocable rewards for illegal aliens and employers who want easy access to cheap foreign labor. Read our press release for more on FAIR's reaction.

Meanwhile, illegal alien advocacy groups like the National Council of La Raza believe any immigration plan falls short if it does not legalize all illegal aliens currently residing in the U.S. Some estimate that number to include 12 million, others say it could be as many as 20-30 million. Michele Waslin, director of immigration policy for the National Council of La Raza, told HispanicBusiness.com, "We will oppose any program that doesn't legalize these people since this is an important matter."

An outline on the President's immigration initiative is available on-line at http://www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/2007/initiatives/print/immigration.html

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Senators Use Minimum Wage Bill to Promote True Immigration Reform
During the debate over the minimum wage bill (H.R. 2) last week, at least two Senators offered amendments on the floor of the Senate to further true immigration reform. Senator Allard offered an amendment requiring the Social Security Administration to notify Homeland Security when it discovers a Social Security account number being used with multiple names, or when an individual has more than one person reporting earnings for him or her during a single tax year. Speaking in support of the amendment, Senator Allard stressed how illegal immigration has led to wide-spread identity theft as illegal aliens steal Social Security numbers to obtain work. Employers may check social security numbers through the Basic Pilot Program, but the Program does not alert the Department of Homeland Security when the Social Security Number is being submitted by more than one employer. By simply sharing this information, he argued, cases of identity theft could be discovered much sooner. The Senate has not yet voted on the Allard amendment.

Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) also offered an amendment to the Minimum Wage bill that would impose new sanctions for federal contractors who use illegal alien labor. Under the Sessions amendment, federal contractors employing illegal aliens could be barred from contracts for up to 10 years. Companies that use the Basic Pilot Program to verify legal work authorization would be exempt from the sanctions. The ban would not be subject to judicial appeal, but could be waived on national security grounds.

According to The Washington Post, a variety of business groups oppose Senator Sessions' amendment, including the American Meat Institute (whose meat packing members have been frequent targets of immigration raids), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Homebuilders, and the Associated Builders and Contractors are opposed to the measure. The amendment was adopted, 94-0, but before becoming law would have to survive a House-Senate conference committee. Debate on the minimum wage bill is on-going this week.

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Farmers Branch Amends Ban on Renting to Illegal Aliens, Initiative to Up for Vote in May
Farmers Branch, a Dallas suburb, is on the frontline of the illegal immigration issue as it moves ahead with its proposed ban on renting property to illegal aliens. Last week, by a 5-0 vote, the city council revised the existing ban in a way that would allow landlords to rent to families with mixed citizenship and residency status. The revised ordinance, which requires the approval of voters in May before it can take effect, will allow landlords to rent to families with a head of household or spouse who has legal residency or citizenship, while exempting minors from mandatory document checks.

Councilman Tim O'Hare, who introduced the ban, told The New York Times that he proposed the idea because residents had told him that illegal immigration was causing "a huge problem" in the city. "People are upset that the law is not being upheld," said O'Hare.

The proposal is a target of the open borders lobby and is being challenged in both federal and state court. FAIR's legal affiliate, the Immigration Reform Law Institute, is intervening in those lawsuits on behalf of FAIR members in Farmers Branch.

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Illegal Aliens Cost New Jersey More Than $2.1 Billion Annually!
This month, FAIR released a new report called "The Costs of Illegal Immigration to New Jerseyites". This report analyzes the public expenditures made on behalf of the estimated 372,000 illegal aliens residing within the New Jersey. The report concludes that New Jersey's illegal alien population is costing the state's taxpayers nearly $2.1 billion per year for education, medical care and incarceration. This annual tax burden amounts to about $800 per New Jersey household headed by a native-born resident. This may explain why the state is suffering, as Governor Jon Corzine admitted, "one of the worst tax burdens in the United States." Read the full report here.

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Immigrant groups plan local activities

Richmond Times-Dispatch Jan 29, 2007


Several pro-immigrant organizations in Virginia are planning activities this week in Richmond to protest legislation dealing with illegal immigration currently being considered at the General Assembly.

The four days of activities, beginning Friday, include news conferences, fasting, rallies and a march. The organizations have been mobilizing the Hispanic communities across the state through word-of-mouth and nonprofit and faith-based organizations to take part in the activities.

The end of these activities will coincide with the annual Latino Lobbying Day at the General Assembly, which will be Feb. 5.

"Many local communities in the past year have attempted to pass ordinances and impose policies to separate families and violate people's civil rights," said Ricardo Juarez, coordinator of Mexicanos Sin Fronteras (Mexicans Without Borders), one of the planning organizations.

"We are going to show that working families are going to be affected severely by these initiatives," said Coco Gutierrez-Magallanes, spokeswoman for Mexicanos Sin Fronteras.

The activities will start Friday with a news conference at the assembly, followed by activities at Capitol Square Park at 9th and Grace streets at 11 a.m. to begin a fasting until Monday by members of the community.

On Saturday, a rally is planned at Monroe Park at Main and Belvidere Streets at 10 a.m., followed by a march down Franklin Street to Capitol Square at 1 p.m., and a second rally there an hour later.

Activities continue Sunday with religious leaders having an ecumenical event on Capitol Square at 1 p.m.

At 9 a.m. Monday, the activities will end with a rally and news conference. -- Juan Antonio Lizama