In 1993, when I was 14, I became a regular on “Sesame Street.” The show usually liked to have a teenager on, so that was me. My character had my same name, Carlo, and eventually I got a job at Mr. Hooper’s store. I had to make a birdseed milkshake for Big Bird, that was my tryout. I ended up appearing on “Sesame Street” for five years. But the whole time, I had a secret: I was an undocumented immigrant. The papers I’d used to get hired were fake...[Full Article]
A bill from state Senator Dawn Marie Addiego and Assemblymen Scott Rudder and Pat Delany, all R-Burlington, would take away shares of the state's $850 million budget for higher education from any school determined to have admitted illegal immigrants to the student body...[Full Article]
Colorado Republican Congressmen Mike Coffman and Doug Lamborn have co-sponsored a bill that would make all federal government operations use English and require all people undergoing citizenship testing to demonstrate their ability to speak English.
Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-MN, is the bill’s primary sponsor.
The English Language Unity Act of 2011, authored by Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King, was introduced by Bachmann and 59 other Republicans last week.
The bill’s purpose is to “declare English as the official language of the United States, to establish a uniform English language rule for naturalization, and to avoid misconstructions of the English language texts of the laws of the United States, pursuant to Congress’ powers to provide for the general welfare of the United States and to establish a uniform rule of naturalization under article I, section 8, of the Constitution.”...[Full Article]
Impatient immigration advocates typically view the Obama Administration as an ally, but a key force in the debate, the Service Employees International Union, is openly criticizing the Department of Homeland Security's shift in enforcement efforts for the first time.
The Obama Administration has shifted the emphasis of enforcement away from workplace raids -- which immigrant advocates had long described as punishing immigrant workers instead of their employers -- and toward so-called "I-9 audits," in which federal agents ask companies to verify their employees' legal status...[Full Article]
GALION -- Two men who may not be in the United States legally are being held on charges of rape, a first-degree felony.
Eduardo Ramirez-Lopez, 25, and Marcos Salinas-Zurita, 26, were arrested by Crawford County sheriff's deputies at 6467 Hillgrove Road, Galion, after the office received a report at 12:30 a.m. Thursday from two women, ages 19 and 43, that they were raped at the residence...[Full Article]
More than 18,000 illegal immigrants, plus 14,000 of their relatives, have gained U.S. visas under a new law since 2009 because they were victims of crime.
While many immigrants may still be unaware of the U visa, word is spreading fast in some communities.
The controversial rules state that if you are a victim of crime and you cooperate, or are 'helpful' with authorities, then you stand a good chance of getting a U visa...[Full Article]
APPLE VALLEY • According to investigators, nearly half of the employees at an Apple Valley company were using fake Social Security, immigration or identifications cards allegedly purchased on the streets of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
“We worked for more than a year on this case and made several arrests,” San Bernardino County Sheriff's Detective Sgt. Todd Newton said. “We had to get ICE involved, had to run all the Social Security numbers and it took a lot of time.”
In all, seven employees of American Integrity Corp. were arrested but eight are still outstanding, Newton said...[Full Article]
Lana Reed, who worked for the state Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services offices in Overland Park from July 2008 to October 2010, said during a House Judiciary Committee hearing that agency employees were required to ignore immigrants' use of fraudulent documents to obtain benefits. She also criticized an SRS policy on how household incomes are calculated for families with illegal immigrants who seek food assistance...[Full Article]
That's the consensus among America's law enforcement, but it isn't an easy policy for Jim Batton to accept. His son's girlfriend, Amanda Gschwendner, is still recovering in a wheelchair after a violent wreck Dec. 25 on Hitchcock Parkway in Aiken. The driver of the vehicle responsible was an illegal immigrant, who was charged but not arrested before Aiken Public Safety officers sent him to Medical College of Georgia Hospital for treatment.
The driver was released from the hospital and has since absconded, leaving Batton and Gschwendner outraged and pointing fingers at Aiken Public Safety...[Full Article]
Harvard Maintenance Inc., a national janitorial company, will lose over half its Minnesota work force after an immigration audit, making it the second major business in that state to be hit by an Obama administration crackdown on employers of illegal immigrants.
The audit by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will result in about 240 workers losing their jobs, the Service Employees International Union said on Monday.
J. Daniel Duffy, an executive vice president of the closely held New York-based janitorial company, declined to comment...[Full Article]
SALT LAKE CITY
Gov. Gary Herbert signed bills Tuesday that will increase immigration enforcement but also implement a guest worker program in Utah, as he formally challenged the federal government to address immigration before states make their own fixes.
The package of four measures the Republican-dominated Legislature passed earlier this month has upset people on both sides of the issue, and Herbert made it clear a primary goal of the package is to force a federal solution...[Full Article]
That’s the question we’re left to ask ourselves after reviewing new documents we obtained from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. These records detail FY 2010 apprehension statistics for illegal alien smugglers and illegal aliens from countries considered a high threat to the United States because of their suspected ties to terrorism.
Here are the highlights from the documents, which we obtained pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request filed on January 26, 2011:
The U.S. Border Patrol estimates that three out of every four illegal aliens who cross the border evade apprehension. So while these apprehension statistics are alarming, it’s the ones that got away that should cause us the most concern. And I don’t think there’s any doubt that a significant number of these illegal aliens intend to do us harm. (You should also know that many of those “apprehended” simply cross the border illegally again within moments of being deposited in Mexico by Border Patrol.)...[Full Article]
Girl, 7, was victimized previously in earlier sexual assault
Sentencing was delayed last week for a Peruvian national who has admitted to sexually abusing a 7-year-old girl last year.
It's the second criminal case in Blaine County 5th District Court involving the same child. The girl was also sexually victimized at the age of 4 by another Peruvian national who was sentenced in 2007 to up to 20 years in prison...[Full Article]
On February 10, 2011, Prince William County police arrested Jose Oswaldo Reyes Alfaro, 37, after he allegedly went on a shooting and stabbing spree which left three people dead and three others wounded. When he was taken into custody, the Salvadoran national had in his possession, a machete as well as a .38 caliber revolver.
The two separate attacks occurred only a few blocks apart...[Full Article]
The Catholic Church in El Salvador awaits “a word of commitment“ from the President of the United States Barack Obama, during his upcoming visit to the Country on the 22nd and 23nd of March, for his part in pursuing the approval of immigration reform.
During the usual press conference on Sunday after Mass, Archbishop Escobar Alas of San Salvador said, that he sees this occasion as an “opportune moment”, as Obama is “coming to a country that is very much in need.” “We would like to ask the President of the United States for his efforts and his good will, so that complete immigration reform may take place during his presidency,” said the Archbishop of San Salvador...[Full Article]
BRIDGETON -- Authorities arrested six Bridgeton residents in connection with the alleged manufacture and sale of fake identification for illegal immigrants from Mexico, according to the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office.
Investigators said the suspects also are in the United States illegally.
State, county and local law enforcement agencies cooperated in the three-month investigation that culminated in a raid at a North Laurel Street residence...[Full Article]
RALEIGH — A lawmaker wants North Carolina state and local governments to stop accepting photo identification cards issued by the Mexican consulate as a valid ID, pointing out concerns of federal law enforcement and allegations of a criminal ring creating a wide range of fake documents.
An N.C. House judiciary subcommittee debated Wednesday a measure to remove the “matricula consular” from a list of documents to establish state residency to get a driver’s license, obtain auto insurance or enroll in Medicaid. Under the proposal, local governments also would not be allowed to accept the IDs issued to Mexican citizens living abroad in the U.S., and similar cards created by other countries...[Full Article]
A vocal and visible Twin Cities advocate for immigrant rights and immigration reform is himself facing deportation -- to the surprise of those who have worked with him for years.
Mariano Perez Espinoza, 41, executive director of the Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network, is in jail awaiting deportation for allegedly being in the country illegally after a previous deportation...[Full Article]
The bill passed 27-20 still must be approved by the House of Delegates before going to Gov. Martin O’Malley, who has said he would sign it.
During debate, Sen. Victor Ramirez, the bill sponsor who immigrated legally as a child from El Salvador, told opponents that voting against the bill would not solve problems relating to people living illegally in the state. He said the legislation was needed to help people who live here reach their potential and contribute as much as possible to the state.
“It’s about education,” Ramirez, D-Prince George’s, said. “It’s not about immigration.”
The financial implications for students are significant. In-state tuition is $8,416 annually, and out-of-state students pay $24,831 a year.
Opponents said the legislation raised the issue of who subsidizes the education of illegal immigrants covered by the legislation, not whether or not they can attend college.
“I think this sends a terrible message to everyone in the state that you can break the law and you can get a benefit,” said Sen. Allan Kittleman, R-Howard...[Full Article]
Phoenix – Undocumented immigrants in Arizona might be unable to receive their state tax refunds if they cannot prove that the Social Security Number that they have listed with their employers truly was issued to them.
Anthony Forschino, assistant director of External Services and Special Projects Assistant Director at the Arizona Department of Revenue, told Efe that this year it is being considered a "discrepancy" when the taxpayer identification number on the return does not coincide with the Social Security Number that appears on the W2 statement.
This affects people like undocumented immigrants who apply to obtain a tax ID number, or ITIN, from the IRS.
Forschino said that the state now has a system that detects this difference, and so the state government has held back the refunds from people in this situation...[Full Article]
Source: Butler Co Jail
TOPEKA | A hearing on an Arizona-style immigration law drew impassioned testimony today including a statement from a former welfare worker who described “overwhelming” levels of fraud by illegal immigrants.
Lana Reed, who worked as a bilingual specialist for the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services in Overland Park from 2008 to 2010, urged lawmakers to adopt the bill targeting illegal immigration.
She described a system overrun by illegal immigrants who used false Social Security numbers and other fraudulent documents to game the system.
“I witnessed overwhelming levels of fraud and corruption resulting in the waste of millions of taxpayer dollars,” Reed told the House Judiciary Committee. “Most of the fraud was conducted pursuant to policies of the SRS, which required employees to turn a blind eye to fraud and abuse…”...[Full Article]
Our 12 point plan addresses securing our borders, fixing the immigration system, developing a process for legal immigrants to enter, demand for labor, the D.R.E.A.M Act, sustaining international trade relationships, and employer sanctions that will assuredly be implemented by the current Congress...[Full Article]
