By Jennie Rodriguez
Recordnet Staff Writer
February 21, 2011 12:00 AM
STOCKTON - Elizabeth Hernandez's two toddlers used to light up when they saw their father come home from work every day in his muddy shoes and scuffed clothing.
"He used to play with them," Hernandez said of her husband, a landscaper.
"He is a hard worker," said Hernandez, 23. "He is a very respectful person."
But it's been a month since Hernandez and the couple's children have seen him. He was deported to Mexico before Hernandez, a U.S. citizen, could complete her husband's residency petition.
Hernandez didn't know where to go for help - until Sunday night. That's when a forum was held on immigrants' rights at the St. Mary's Church gymnasium in downtown Stockton, where speakers included a representative from the Mexican Consulate's protection and legal matters department.
It is estimated that there are about 6 million undocumented immigrants from Mexico in the United States. San Joaquin County's agricultural industry draws many in search of work.
"We see that there is a great necessity for people to know their basic rights," said Luis Magana, the forum organizer from Project Voice. "We want to empower the people. The people who live here and work here."
Hernandez was happy to finally have some answers to her questions.
"I've been trying to get information from different people, and they've been telling me the wrong things," she said.
Alejandro Celorio of the Sacramento Mexican Consulate office said undocumented immigrants are among the most vulnerable groups to forgo their civil rights.
Celorio said undocumented immigrants have the right to demand a search warrant, and the right to remain silent when approached by immigration enforcement agents, and yet most are unaware of those rights.
Celorio said most undocumented immigrants who face deportation sign voluntary removal orders when they could have argued their case before a judge.
He said undocumented immigrants also are less likely to report to police when they are victims of crimes for fear of being deported.
"They are afraid of the system," Celorio said.
More than 100 people attended the event.
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110221/A_NEWS/102210312/-1/NEWSMAP
Showing posts with label Immigration Forum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Immigration Forum. Show all posts
Monday, February 21, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
TODAY: Kennewick forum to discuss immigration raid issues
By The Herald Staff
The Bellingham Herald
Feb, 15, 2011
Kennewick -- A Tri-City immigration action group will offer a community forum today discussing what to do if an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid occurs.
The Tri-Cities OneAmerica committee’s “Know Your Rights” forum is at 7:30 p.m. in the St. Joseph Catholic Church's gym, 520 S. Garfield St., Kennewick.
The forum was sparked by a Jan. 20 ICE raid in Ellensberg, said Jazmin Santacruz, Eastern Washington organizer for OneAmerica.
ICE officials have said the agency was investigating the manufacture and purchase of counterfeit identity and employment documents and 14 people were arrested on criminal charges.
Nationwide, ICE has increased immigration raids, Santacruz said. Pasco immigration attorney Tom Roach will discuss what legal rights people have and what to do if approached by an ICE officer.
A representative from Child Protection Services will discuss what resources exist for families who take in their relatives' children when their parents are deported and what happens to children if there are not relatives to take them when their parents are deported.
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/02/15/1868122/today-kennewick-forum-to-discuss.html
The Bellingham Herald
Feb, 15, 2011
Kennewick -- A Tri-City immigration action group will offer a community forum today discussing what to do if an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid occurs.
The Tri-Cities OneAmerica committee’s “Know Your Rights” forum is at 7:30 p.m. in the St. Joseph Catholic Church's gym, 520 S. Garfield St., Kennewick.
The forum was sparked by a Jan. 20 ICE raid in Ellensberg, said Jazmin Santacruz, Eastern Washington organizer for OneAmerica.
ICE officials have said the agency was investigating the manufacture and purchase of counterfeit identity and employment documents and 14 people were arrested on criminal charges.
Nationwide, ICE has increased immigration raids, Santacruz said. Pasco immigration attorney Tom Roach will discuss what legal rights people have and what to do if approached by an ICE officer.
A representative from Child Protection Services will discuss what resources exist for families who take in their relatives' children when their parents are deported and what happens to children if there are not relatives to take them when their parents are deported.
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/02/15/1868122/today-kennewick-forum-to-discuss.html
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Boston conference to focus on immigrant deportees
By Associated Press
March 14, 2010
Immigrant deportees and immigration raids will be the focus of an upcoming Boston College conference.
The school is hosting conference Thursday on deportation, migration and human rights, featuring discussions on the effects of deportation raids across the U.S.
Filmmaker Luis Argueta is also scheduled to screen his documentary, "abUSed: The Postville Raid." The film chronicles the May 2008 arrests of 389 undocumented workers in Postville, Iowa, by the federal immigration agents.
Argueta will also speak about the Guatemalan mountain villages from which the workers migrated.
The conference is sponsored by Boston College’s Center for Human Rights and International Justice Post-Deportation Human Rights Project.
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20100314boston_conference_to_focus_on_immigrant_deportees/
March 14, 2010
Immigrant deportees and immigration raids will be the focus of an upcoming Boston College conference.
The school is hosting conference Thursday on deportation, migration and human rights, featuring discussions on the effects of deportation raids across the U.S.
Filmmaker Luis Argueta is also scheduled to screen his documentary, "abUSed: The Postville Raid." The film chronicles the May 2008 arrests of 389 undocumented workers in Postville, Iowa, by the federal immigration agents.
Argueta will also speak about the Guatemalan mountain villages from which the workers migrated.
The conference is sponsored by Boston College’s Center for Human Rights and International Justice Post-Deportation Human Rights Project.
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20100314boston_conference_to_focus_on_immigrant_deportees/
Sunday, December 13, 2009
DU panel: Deporting 12 million illegal immigrants is not realistic
By Katie Redding
The Colorado Independent
12/11/09 2:57 PM
After a year of study, a Denver University panel released 25 recommendations for immigration reform this week. Among them, according to the DU website, was a recommendation for some form of amnesty for America’s millions of illegal immigrants.
And without excusing violations that have led to some 12 million people living in the U.S. illegally, the panel finds that deporting that many individuals is simply not realistic. Meanwhile, leaving that many people living in a shadow state is also impractical and unproductive. The panel calls for creating a process that allows illegal immigrants to come forward and register for a provisional status, working toward full legal residency.
But that residency would require English language proficiency, [panel chairman Jim] Griesemer said. While the U.S. is built as a nation on immigration and the vitality of many cultures, a common language must be part of the country’s continued development and prosperity.
But the report wasn’t a far-left call to ease up on immigration enforcement. It also recommended a government-issued worker identification card, along with an electronic system by which employers could verify legal status.
For more than 20 years, federal law has required all employers to examine documents presented by new hires to verify identity and work authorization, and to complete and retain employment eligibility verification forms (I-9). There is general agreement that the I-9 process has been undermined by fraud, both document fraud, where prospective employees present counterfeit or invalid documents, and identity fraud, where prospective employees present valid documents issued to other individuals. Even if employers are willing and motivated to comply with the law, as the great majority seem to be, the inability to positively and reliably verify immigration status is a major stumbling block to managing illegal immigration through employers.
And it also called for more resources to ensure that border patrol agents can do their job:
In addition to illegal immigration concerns, there is an urgent need to deal with violence, drug smuggling, human trafficking and potential terrorist activity in border areas. Indeed, [the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection’s] top priority is now to keep terrorists and their weapons from entering the United States.
Each year, Denver University’s Strategic Issues Forum picks a topic and spends a year developing recommendations. According to Chancellor Robert Coombe, this year’s topic was particularly challenging.
“This year, the topic was the greatest test yet of the process,” Coombe said.
http://coloradoindependent.com/44060/du-panel-deporting-12-million-illegal-immigrants-is-not-realistic
The Colorado Independent
12/11/09 2:57 PM
After a year of study, a Denver University panel released 25 recommendations for immigration reform this week. Among them, according to the DU website, was a recommendation for some form of amnesty for America’s millions of illegal immigrants.
And without excusing violations that have led to some 12 million people living in the U.S. illegally, the panel finds that deporting that many individuals is simply not realistic. Meanwhile, leaving that many people living in a shadow state is also impractical and unproductive. The panel calls for creating a process that allows illegal immigrants to come forward and register for a provisional status, working toward full legal residency.
But that residency would require English language proficiency, [panel chairman Jim] Griesemer said. While the U.S. is built as a nation on immigration and the vitality of many cultures, a common language must be part of the country’s continued development and prosperity.
But the report wasn’t a far-left call to ease up on immigration enforcement. It also recommended a government-issued worker identification card, along with an electronic system by which employers could verify legal status.
For more than 20 years, federal law has required all employers to examine documents presented by new hires to verify identity and work authorization, and to complete and retain employment eligibility verification forms (I-9). There is general agreement that the I-9 process has been undermined by fraud, both document fraud, where prospective employees present counterfeit or invalid documents, and identity fraud, where prospective employees present valid documents issued to other individuals. Even if employers are willing and motivated to comply with the law, as the great majority seem to be, the inability to positively and reliably verify immigration status is a major stumbling block to managing illegal immigration through employers.
And it also called for more resources to ensure that border patrol agents can do their job:
In addition to illegal immigration concerns, there is an urgent need to deal with violence, drug smuggling, human trafficking and potential terrorist activity in border areas. Indeed, [the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection’s] top priority is now to keep terrorists and their weapons from entering the United States.
Each year, Denver University’s Strategic Issues Forum picks a topic and spends a year developing recommendations. According to Chancellor Robert Coombe, this year’s topic was particularly challenging.
“This year, the topic was the greatest test yet of the process,” Coombe said.
http://coloradoindependent.com/44060/du-panel-deporting-12-million-illegal-immigrants-is-not-realistic
Thursday, November 12, 2009
U.S. Identifies 111,000 Immigrants With Criminal Records
By JULIA PRESTON
November 13, 2009
The New York Times
Federal authorities have identified more than 111,000 immigrants with criminal records being held in local jails, during the first year of a program that seeks to deport immigrants who have committed serious crimes.
Among the immigrants identified through the program, known as Secure Communities, more than 11,000 had been charged with or convicted of the most serious crimes, including murder and rape, domestic security officials said Thursday. About 1,900 of those have been deported.
At a news conference in Washington, John Morton, the top official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, called the program “the future of immigration enforcement,” because, he said, it “focuses our resources on identifying and removing the most serious criminal offenders first and foremost.”
About 100,000 of the detained immigrants identified through the system had been convicted of less serious crimes, ranging from burglary to traffic offenses, the officials said. Of those, more than 14,000 have been deported.
Obama administration officials have worked to distinguish their immigration enforcement strategy from the Bush administration’s, which centered on high-profile factory raids and searches in communities for immigration fugitives.
The Bush operations drew an outcry from immigrant advocates, who said they led to racial profiling, especially of Latinos, and ensnared many immigrants who lacked legal status but had not committed crimes.
Obama administration officials said Secure Communities, which was started under President George W. Bush but rapidly expanded under President Obama, is a relatively low-cost way for the authorities to concentrate resources on deporting the most dangerous immigrants.
Immigration lawyers remain skeptical, saying the program lumps together relatively minor offenses with serious felonies. They said the program encouraged the local police to arrest anyone they suspect of being an illegal immigrant.
“All you have to do is get them in jail and their immigration status can be checked,” said Joan Friedland, immigration policy director at the National Immigration Law Center, an immigrant advocacy group. Under the program, which started in October 2008 in Houston, the fingerprints of every person booked into jail by the local authorities — including legal and illegal immigrants and United States citizens — are checked against federal immigration databases as well as criminal databases.
When the check produces a match showing both an immigration record and a criminal one, ICE agents can place a hold to ensure the immigrant will remain in custody.
Under an agreement with agencies in the program, ICE agents must take action within 48 hours to detain or initiate deportation proceedings against the most serious offenders. Legal immigrants are subject to deportation if they are convicted of certain crimes, while illegal immigrants can be deported even if they have committed no crime.
In the first year, 95 cities or counties in 11 states have joined the program. The police department of Washington, D.C., announced on Thursday that it would join. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said at the news conference that she hoped the program would expand to the whole country by 2013.
Most immigrants identified in the program remain in this country because the immigration authorities generally allow criminal prosecutions and sentences to run their course before they carry out deportations.
The database checks still have flaws, lawyers said. According to ICE figures, about 5,880 people identified through the program turned out to be United States citizens.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/us/13ice.html
November 13, 2009
The New York Times
Federal authorities have identified more than 111,000 immigrants with criminal records being held in local jails, during the first year of a program that seeks to deport immigrants who have committed serious crimes.
Among the immigrants identified through the program, known as Secure Communities, more than 11,000 had been charged with or convicted of the most serious crimes, including murder and rape, domestic security officials said Thursday. About 1,900 of those have been deported.
At a news conference in Washington, John Morton, the top official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, called the program “the future of immigration enforcement,” because, he said, it “focuses our resources on identifying and removing the most serious criminal offenders first and foremost.”
About 100,000 of the detained immigrants identified through the system had been convicted of less serious crimes, ranging from burglary to traffic offenses, the officials said. Of those, more than 14,000 have been deported.
Obama administration officials have worked to distinguish their immigration enforcement strategy from the Bush administration’s, which centered on high-profile factory raids and searches in communities for immigration fugitives.
The Bush operations drew an outcry from immigrant advocates, who said they led to racial profiling, especially of Latinos, and ensnared many immigrants who lacked legal status but had not committed crimes.
Obama administration officials said Secure Communities, which was started under President George W. Bush but rapidly expanded under President Obama, is a relatively low-cost way for the authorities to concentrate resources on deporting the most dangerous immigrants.
Immigration lawyers remain skeptical, saying the program lumps together relatively minor offenses with serious felonies. They said the program encouraged the local police to arrest anyone they suspect of being an illegal immigrant.
“All you have to do is get them in jail and their immigration status can be checked,” said Joan Friedland, immigration policy director at the National Immigration Law Center, an immigrant advocacy group. Under the program, which started in October 2008 in Houston, the fingerprints of every person booked into jail by the local authorities — including legal and illegal immigrants and United States citizens — are checked against federal immigration databases as well as criminal databases.
When the check produces a match showing both an immigration record and a criminal one, ICE agents can place a hold to ensure the immigrant will remain in custody.
Under an agreement with agencies in the program, ICE agents must take action within 48 hours to detain or initiate deportation proceedings against the most serious offenders. Legal immigrants are subject to deportation if they are convicted of certain crimes, while illegal immigrants can be deported even if they have committed no crime.
In the first year, 95 cities or counties in 11 states have joined the program. The police department of Washington, D.C., announced on Thursday that it would join. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said at the news conference that she hoped the program would expand to the whole country by 2013.
Most immigrants identified in the program remain in this country because the immigration authorities generally allow criminal prosecutions and sentences to run their course before they carry out deportations.
The database checks still have flaws, lawyers said. According to ICE figures, about 5,880 people identified through the program turned out to be United States citizens.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/us/13ice.html
Monday, August 11, 2008
What are ICE raids accomplishing?
What are ICE raids accomplishing?
By Raul Reyes
Residents of Postville,Iowa, recently described to a congressional delegation the scars that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid on Agriprocessors' meat plant had left on their community. In the wake of the May incident, they say, the town is economically and socially unstable.
ICE raids are, in essence, government-sanctioned racial profiling. Typically, ICE descends upon a workplace with armed agents to determine who is legal and who is not.
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., has asked the right question about the raids: "When dealing with Anglo identity theft suspects, is federal law enforcement going to start cordoning off white neighborhoods or workplaces, handcuffing and detaining everyone, and only then sorting out the accused?"
The U.S. has every right to deport illegal aliens, of course. But the government has been charging them with identity theft and sentencing them to serve jail time first. While those workers are here illegally, their violation is a far cry from robbing someone of their money or property by stealing their identity. The incarceration is costly and unnecessarily punitive.
Erik Camayd-Freixas, a veteran federal interpreter at the Postville raid, described a sad procession of men and women, shackled at the wrist, waist and ankles, being denied due process. The U.S. attorney's office says the workers' rights were not compromised.
Sure, the raids ensnare a negligible number of undocumented workers, but what do they really accomplish? The Des Moines Register reported that Postville has lost one-third of its population, and that Agriprocessors has begun importing homeless people from Texas to work, leading to a rise in crime, public drunkenness and a run on food banks.
True, the raid exposed a range of possible workplace violations, including child labor and safety issues. But investigators were already looking into these abuses, independent of ICE. Illegal immigrants will clam up in this new climate of fear. The best way to halt these abuses is with comprehensive reform.
Barack Obama and John McCain have criticized the raids and remain committed to immigration reform. In the meantime, Congress should hold hearings on ICE itself. In the USA, all people deserve to be treated humanely — and with justice.
Raul Reyes is an attorney in New York and a member of USA TODAY's board of contributors.
Posted at 12:15 AM/ET, August 08, 2008 in
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/08/what-are-ice-ra.html
By Raul Reyes
Residents of Postville,Iowa, recently described to a congressional delegation the scars that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid on Agriprocessors' meat plant had left on their community. In the wake of the May incident, they say, the town is economically and socially unstable.
ICE raids are, in essence, government-sanctioned racial profiling. Typically, ICE descends upon a workplace with armed agents to determine who is legal and who is not.
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., has asked the right question about the raids: "When dealing with Anglo identity theft suspects, is federal law enforcement going to start cordoning off white neighborhoods or workplaces, handcuffing and detaining everyone, and only then sorting out the accused?"
The U.S. has every right to deport illegal aliens, of course. But the government has been charging them with identity theft and sentencing them to serve jail time first. While those workers are here illegally, their violation is a far cry from robbing someone of their money or property by stealing their identity. The incarceration is costly and unnecessarily punitive.
Erik Camayd-Freixas, a veteran federal interpreter at the Postville raid, described a sad procession of men and women, shackled at the wrist, waist and ankles, being denied due process. The U.S. attorney's office says the workers' rights were not compromised.
Sure, the raids ensnare a negligible number of undocumented workers, but what do they really accomplish? The Des Moines Register reported that Postville has lost one-third of its population, and that Agriprocessors has begun importing homeless people from Texas to work, leading to a rise in crime, public drunkenness and a run on food banks.
True, the raid exposed a range of possible workplace violations, including child labor and safety issues. But investigators were already looking into these abuses, independent of ICE. Illegal immigrants will clam up in this new climate of fear. The best way to halt these abuses is with comprehensive reform.
Barack Obama and John McCain have criticized the raids and remain committed to immigration reform. In the meantime, Congress should hold hearings on ICE itself. In the USA, all people deserve to be treated humanely — and with justice.
Raul Reyes is an attorney in New York and a member of USA TODAY's board of contributors.
Posted at 12:15 AM/ET, August 08, 2008 in
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/08/what-are-ice-ra.html
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