Operation Return To Sender

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I read in US newspaper editorial opinion somewhere that there was some suspicion at DC whether these raids were done deliberately for a specific purpose...(politically motivated).

Especially since Bush is doing behind the scenes negitiations with key GOP people. After all, his admin can just claim they're only enforcing the law, and what's wrong with that? Anyhow, the way these big raids break up families and leave small children at home with nobody to care for them, it kinda shows in a microcosm what would happen (on a much grander scale) if last year's hardline GOP plan to round up and deport the 12 million illegals in the US. Come to think of it, if they do this often enough to cause sufficient outrage at the damage done to these numerous broken families as well as the burden on the social welfare system (the primary breadwinner gets detained and sent out), it just might be enough to get CIR done somehow.

Nice observations. I think whether or not these raids have some ulterior motives or not, no natural born-American citizen or any legal immigrant and even competitors of companies that employ illegal immigrants will hinder such raids and will even be the 1st in line to tip-off ICE via anonymous calls and letters.

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There has been an increase in the raids over the past few days in CA. They work there way up the coast and then start near San Diego again. And that is where they are right now. Type of business makes no difference, health care facilities are definitely included, and have been all along.

Unfortunately, it takes them years to go after the attorneys that are helping place nurses in nursing homes illegally, but the nurses are ripe for picking and returned home. No work in the US for a minimum of ten years.

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There has been an increase in the raids over the past few days in CA. They work there way up the coast and then start near San Diego again. And that is where they are right now. Type of business makes no difference, health care facilities are definitely included, and have been all along.

Unfortunately, it takes them years to go after the attorneys that are helping place nurses in nursing homes illegally, but the nurses are ripe for picking and returned home. No work in the US for a minimum of ten years.

Yeah, it's easy picking for nurses since their location is stationary and their movements limited. It's just the apartment and the place of work and that's it.

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warrant sweep at vista-area apartment complex

by: north county times

vista ---- a task force of law enforcement agencies arrested a number of people this morning during a search warrant sweep at an apartment complex in rural vista, authorities said.

they said san diego county sheriff's deputies and probation officers, as well as immigration agents, worked the operation that started about 5 a.m. in the 200 block of smilax road. it was ending by 10 a.m.

ten to 15 percent of 60 potential suspects were arrested, sheriff's sgt. mark varnau said. he said there were also some arrests that weren't related to the warrant.

information about the charges and the suspects wasn't available yet.

source

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more traffic stops finding illegal aliens

traffic stops finding illegal immigrants

by sonya kimbrell

advocate staff writer

published: apr 27, 2007 - page: 9b

being without lawful presence in the united states is a legal phrase common in the world of immigration law, but it’s popping up more often in baton rouge as illegal immigrants are being arrested for violations such as driving while intoxicated.

being without a legal presence in the united states is self-explanatory. it means one thing: you’re in the country without the proper paperwork.

it can mean a person gained entry by fraud or misrepresentation, or the person entered legally but remained in the country after his or her visa expired.

it’s a legal way of saying, “you can’t stay here.”

what happens when a routine local traffic stop nabs someone who’s violating immigration law, a federal violation, isn’t always clear cut.

the u.s. border patrol often gets the first call, mainly because its agents are more familiar to local law enforcement, said ray lafosse, border patrol agent-in-charge.

*click here for full article.

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immigration document fraud targeted in baltimore, chicago, sf, miami, phoenix, tampa

baltimore (ap) -

baltimore is one of six major cities that will host a new task force focusing on immigration document fraud.

the task force will include officials from state and federal agencies -- including the departments of justice, labor, state and homeland security.

the other cities targeted are chicago, san francisco, miami, phoenix and tampa.

the task force will focus on the manufacture and use of phony identity documents and efforts to get real documents by fraud.

*source

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traffic stop yields 13 suspected undocumented immigrants

debbie bevers

the arizona republic

apr. 26, 2007 04:50 pm

a routine traffic stop ended in the pursuit of a vehicle packed with 15 people believed to be undocumented immigrants.

the chase started when an arizona department of public safety officer pulled over a white chevy suburban for speeding on interstate 1-10 westbound near 24th street. as the officer exited his car, the suburban sped away.

the vehicle exited the freeway on jefferson street then headed down washington street going in the wrong direction. the vehicle finally came to a stop near the intersection of washington street and 30th street. all of the vehicle's passengers, as well as the driver, ran from the scene.

phoenix police assisted in the apprehension of 13 of the passengers, but the driver and one other passenger escaped. the person believed to be smuggling the immigrants was not among those taken into custody.

officials conducted an extensive ground and air search with no further findings. the 13 immigrants that were captured were turned over to immigration and customs enforcement officials.

*source

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And that was very close to the airport in Phoenix, and that area is also loaded with police. Definitely not a smart move for that driver. Trying to flee from the police also gives him more years in custody.

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NO SYMPATHY FOR ILLEGALS AND THOSE WHO HIRE THEM

Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones, one of the country's most outspoken opponents of illegal immigration, has lobbied Washington to crack down on employers who hire illegal workers -- jobs he believes should go to Americans.

"I've been saying for two and a half years 'We're coming, ... don't hire illegals, don't violate the law,"' Jones said after the raid. "I personally have no sympathy for you whatsoever. None. Zero."

While rumors flew among Hispanics that some had been hurt or even frozen to death during the raid, ICE spokesman Greg Palmore said there were no significant injuries and that workers who hid in freezers had quickly been found.

A spokesman at Mercy Hospital in Fairfield said six people had been brought in with minor injuries including frostbite, and that all but one had been treated and released.

Palmore said everything possible had been done to ensure children would not be left unattended if parents had been arrested, and ICE officials said some workers may be released for humanitarian reasons if caregivers could not be found.

Still, many families said they'd been torn apart.

Guadalupe Santos, 40, said his eldest daughter, Rose Alba, 20, was swept up in the raid. He's been caring for her 6-month-old son, Christopher, ever since.

"We are frantic with worry," said Santos, who came to the United States almost seven years ago from Mexico City with his wife and three daughters. "We don't know where she's being held, or if we'll get access to her. We don't know if we should get a lawyer."

Santos, who is a cook at a Chili's restaurant, said fear had gripped the Hispanic community.

"Everyone saw the raid on television, there is widespread fear, and now nobody wants to go out onto the street."

- Similar raids are also conducted in Heath Care facilities throughout States and this also includes those who are out of status w/c can be checked during routine traffic stops and other similar routine instances.

*Click to read whole article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/usa_immigration_dc;_ylt=AkOZM6C1hKTIbIrrXvn5BBhQuk0A

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Specializes in Med/Surg/Med-Tele/SDU/ED.

chinese woman who miscarried twins during deportation gets political asylum

during a hearing tuesday in new york, u.s. immigration court judge barbara a. nelson granted jiang's request for political asylum based on china's one-child policy. jiang and her husband have two sons.

the ruling means she now has permanent legal immigrant status, her attorney, richard bortnick, told the associated press.

"we're pleased with the government's decision, and we believe it's the correct decision," he said friday.

jiang, who emigrated from fujian province in southeastern china, ran a restaurant in philadelphia for 10 years with her husband. she was 13 weeks pregnant with twins when she arrived at the downtown immigration office for what she believed was a routine appointment.

as her husband and sons, then 5 and 7 years old, waited in the lobby, she was put in a van and driven to kennedy airport in new york to be immediately deported.

so it's true they just pick you up and put you on the next plane out.

no wonder they mistakenly deported a naturalized us citizen to mexico.

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Public arrests cause panic in immigrants

Published: February 29, 2008 | Author: Olivia Quinto

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NEW YORK — Last month, Roy Villega* and a friend, purchased a Greyhound ticket from New York City to take a trip upstate. At 2:30 in the morning, the bus stopped in front of a non-descript building in another city. Villega, believing this was another terminal stop, thought nothing was wrong. Until, officers from the Border Patrol came on board.

After going down the aisle and asking bus passengers for identification, the officers stood in front of Villega and his friend and asked for their identifications. Villega and his companion, still groggy from sleep, provided their driver’s licenses. seeing that their driver’s licenses were from out of state, the officers became suspicious and asked for their passports. After more questioning, the officers hauled Villega and his friend out of the bus, handcuffed them and transported them to border patrol offices where they were interrogated about their immigration status.

Not read his Miranda rights, Villega protested his questioning, and remembering movies that he saw, asked to speak with a lawyer. At first Border Patrol refused him this privilege but finally gave him a chance to speak with an attorney. However, according to Villega, not after the officers put him through some humiliating questioning first.

The officers, said Villega, derided his citizenship, asking sarcastically if he was a fan of Manny Pacquiao, accused him of counterfeiting when they found a “a million dollar bill” playbill in his pocket which Villega kept for good luck and interrogated him about the medicine he had in his possession. Medicine he needed for his heart, liver and blood pressure due to his diabetic condition.

Afterwards, Villega and his companion were transferred to a federal detention center where he was held for nine days until he posted bond. Villega, like many undocumented immigrants in the Filipino community in the United States, entered the country legally as a tourist visa in 2003. He decided to overstay however when he was diagnosed with diabetes, claiming that he feared returning to the Philippines because the lack of his resources there meant a more debilitating condition. His daughter, a legal immigrant who came with a student visa, was set to petition him in 2010 when she becomes a U.S. citizen.

Villega is now awaiting a hearing with Homeland Security in March.Villega’s arrest is part of a seemingly new strategy of partnerships being undertaken by immigration authorities to curb the growth of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. Indeed, since 2002,
Greyhound has had a policy to fire employees who sell bus tickets to undocumented immigrants
. The policy was in response to the 2001 indictment of another bus company in Los Angeles charged with immigrant smuggling. And Greyhound isn’t the only company with such a policy.
Sistema Internacional de Transporte de Autobuses who operates the Crucero and Autobuses Americanos bus lines, also has had a policy similar to Greyhound’s since 2002.

A new development has also involved the Transportation Security Administration and domestic flights within the U.S. In the past, TSA has only been in charge of checking baggage for dangerous items. But since last summer, TSA document checkers are now asking people who present foreign passports to show an unexpired visa, showing that they are still in the U.S. “legally”.

TSA reported that it has “found thousands of suspect, illegible or expired documents, including passports, visas, and driver’s licenses”. In addition, the agency also noted that “individuals with fraudulent or suspect documents are now being referred to law enforcement for closer scrutiny and investigation instead of proceeding to the boarding gate.”

However, one of the policies that has garnered increasing firestorm is a
mandate for local police to check immigration status.

Since 2002, a law called 287 (g) has allowed state and local authorities to enter into a partnership with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency known as ICE, to have their local law enforcement officers be deputized to perform certain functions of federal immigration officers
. Basically, the law repeals the common “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy followed by most local authorities.

Indeed, during a New America Media teleconference last Thursday with the ethnic press, Flavia Jimenez of the National Council of La Raza, an activist group for Hispanic Americans, noted that “there is a waiting list of counties and cities to enter into these agreements [with ICE].”

Local officers trained under 287 (g) learn to use ICE and Homeland Security Department databases to find out a person’s immigration status. In addition,
police now also have access to civil immigration warrants (also known as outstanding deportation orders), many of which were added beginning in 2002 to the FBI-run National Crime Information Center, formerly a database only for criminals.

Increasingly, because of this policy, undocumented immigrants are now being caught
during routine traffic violations
.

The source of these
local enforcement
is the states’ and counties’ frustration with the lack of the federal government’s action over the country’s broken immigration system, so many have taken measures in their own hands.

*Whole article:

http://www.philippinenews.com/article.php?id=1920&catId=1

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2 illegal immigrants in jail after traffic stop

FROM STAFF REPORTS

03/17/2008

SHENANDOAH — A Saturday traffic stop ended with two illegal immigrants being transported to Schuylkill County Prison.

State police at Frackville said Ramiro Olallo, 20, of Shenandoah, was observed going through a stop sign on Chestnut Street and Route 54 and then his vehicle almost hit another vehicle. When Olallo couldn’t provide a license or ID, he was transported to the Frackville station, where he was fingerprinted for identification purposes and found to be in the country illegally, police said.

Following an investigation into the traffic stop, the vehicle owner, Alejandro Chagolla Escoredo, 30, of Shenandoah, was interviewed at the Frackville station. Escoredo produced a fraudulent international driver’s license and a fraudulent social security number, and further investigation revealed that Escoredo was also in the United States illegally, police said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement assisted and lodged a detainer on both men, police said.

Source: http://www.republicanherald.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19398166&BRD=2626&PAG=461&dept_id=532624&rfi=6
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