Obama broadcasts his support for drivers licenses for illegals in California

To woo California Latinos, Senator Barack Obama is spotlighting his support of granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Latinos want them. But the general electorate vehemently does not. Drivers licenses for illegal immigrants helped undo former California Governor Gray Davis.

Said Federico Peña, Denver mayor now supporting Obama. 'I think when the Latino community hears Barack's position on such an important and controversial issue, they'll understand that his heart and his intellect is with Latino community.'

One in 3 Californians is Latino, although they make up just 14 percent of the electorate.

Obama has also made a promise to Latino leaders to take up immigration reform in his first year. Clinton has not made such a promise, only that she would make her best effort.

Clinton directs $303,000 earmark to group that encourages HIV/AIDS victims as immigrants to U.S.

The Gay Men's Health Crisis Center, a group that lobbies for needle exchanges, for allowing immigrants with HIV/AIDS to legally enter the country, and for condom distribution in prisons, has received a $303,000 in U.S. federal funds in an earmark pushed by Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.).

The earmark funding came through the $555 billion FY 2008 omnibus bill. Clinton's 261 earmarks contrasts dramatically with those of other presidential candidates. Of those still in the primary race, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) had 46 earmarks, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) had 10 earmarks, Rep. Dennis Kucinich had 9 earmarks and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) had no earmarks, said an analysis by the watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW). Under ethics reform legislation passed last year, 2008 is the first year that members of Congress have to put their names on earmarks.

This particular earmark is from the Department of Justice and is specifically aimed at fighting methamphetamine use. Clinton announced the grant in October 2007, a month after receiving a $750 donation and a $250 donation from Felix Lopez, an attorney for the Gay Men's Health Crisis and for a clinic based in New York.

The Gay Men's Health Crisis Center, based in New York City, has a public policy agenda for the federal, state, and city level that includes a needle exchange program to curb the spread of HIV, allowing non-profit groups to distribute condoms for free throughout prisons, and opposition to abstinence-only sex education. The group says its top legislative agenda item at the federal level involves changing immigration policy to eliminate HIV/AIDS as grounds for inadmissibility as a disease of public health significance.

McCain doublespeak on border security includes advice from ‘Mexico-First’ promoter

John McCain claims he has “learned his lesson,” that he has heard the concerns of Americans and now understands that we need to secure the border before enacting any “comprehensive” immigration reform. McCain likes to appear at campaign events where he meets with security-oriented groups, such as the VFW.

But McCain also says that he hasn’t changed his position. He supported amnesty in 2003, and proposed it in 2006 and 2007 with Massachusetts Senator Edward M. “Ted” Kennedy. Where does he stand now?

The truth becomes clearer knowing that the McCain campaign’s Hispanic Outreach Director is none other than Dr. Juan Hernandez, an open-borders, ‘Mexico First’ fanatic, a Texas-born dual citizen who served as Director of the Office of Mexican’s Living Abroad for Mexico President Vicente Fox.

Hernandez lobbied to make life easier for Mexican migrants in the United States, worked to cut the costs of money transfers, helped win lower tuition at Texas state universities, and has urged U.S. states to loosen restrictions on drivers' licenses. Is there any reason to think that Hernandez would encourage a President McCain to secure the border? Is there any reason to believe a candidate will secure the border if he is getting his Hispanic Outreach advice from Dr. Juan Hernandez?

What if the illegal aliens left?

What would happen to the U.S. if 20 million (or more) illegal aliens just left? It's a good question, and deserves an answer, but the answers may surprise you!

In California, if 3.5 million illegal aliens moved back to Mexico, it would leave an extra $10.2 billion to spend on overloaded school systems, bankrupt hospitals and overrun prisons. The highways would be cleaner, safer and less congested. Everyone could understand one another as English became the dominant language again.

It means 12,000 gang members would vanish out of Denver alone. At least 200,000 vehicles would vanish from gridlocked cities in Colorado. In Florida, 1.5 million illegals would return the Sunshine State back to America , the rule of law, and English. In Chicago , Illinois , 2.1 million illegals would free up hospitals, schools, prisons and highways for a safer, cleaner and more crime-free experience.

If 20 million illegal aliens returned 'home', the U.S. Economy would return to the rule of law. Employers would hire legal American citizens at a living wage. Everyone would pay their fair share of taxes because they wouldn't be working off the books. That would result in an additional $401 billion in IRS income tax revenue collected annually, and an equal amount for local, state and city coffers.

15,000 MS-13 gang members who distribute $130 billion in drugs each year would leave. In cities like L.A., 20,000 members of the '18th Street Gang' would vanish from our nation. No more Mexican forgery gangs for ID theft! No more foreign rapists and child molesters!

Over $80 billion annually wouldn't return to the aliens' home countries by cash transfers. At least 400,000 anchor babies would not be born in our country. At least 86 hospitals in California , Georgia and Florida would still be operating instead of being bankrupt and closed. Americans wouldn't suffer thousands of TB and hepatitis cases brought in by illegals unscreened at our borders.

Twenty million illegal aliens should be invited to go home, fix their own countries and make a better life in Mexico.

Border Patrol agent killed in Arizona

U.S. Border Patrol Senior Patrol Agent Luis Aguilar was intentionally struck and killed Saturday by a Hummer vehicle fleeing law enforcement officers as he put down spike strips near the entrance of a popular campground about a mile from the border in Arizona. 'The Hummer sped up and swerved toward our agent, killing him,' said Agent Eric Anderson, spokesman for the Border Patrol's Yuma sector.

A half hour earlier agents had seen a brown Hummer and a red Ford F-250 pickup crossing from Mexico into the United States.
The vehicles traveled west on Interstate 8, and the vehicles turned around, heading back the way they had come with the Border Patrol in pursuit. 'We don't know if they were smuggling people or drugs,' Anderson said.

After the agent was struck, both vehicles escaped into Mexico. Anderson said Mexican authorities are cooperating in the search for the suspects. Agent Aguilar was based at the Yuma sector, where about 850 agents work.

In a statement, DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff said "I am outraged by this tragic loss. I have spoken to the Mexican ambassador who gives me both his condolences and deep assurance that their government will be resolute in tracking down the perpetrators, and bringing them to swift justice. I'm insisting that the full force of the law be used in this investigation."

GAO finds lax border procedures weaken security

Video surveillance and investigations at U.S. ports of entry reveal significant security risks and failures, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has reported to Congress. As a result, serious national security weaknesses continue to plague the border inspection system at ports. The weaknesses increase the potential for terrorists, criminals and illegal goods to enter the country undetected.

Richard Stana, GAO's Homeland Security and Justice director, told Congress 'Without checking the identity, citizenship, and admissibility of travelers, there is an increased potential that dangerous people and inadmissible goods may enter the country and cause harm to American citizens and the economy. Alien smuggling organizations have been aware of weaknesses in Customs and Border Patrio's (CBP) inspection procedures and they have trained operatives to take advantage of these weaknesses.'

GAO reviewed videotapes and found numerous vulnerabilities, including CBP officers 'waving in vehicles without stopping the vehicle or interviewing the driver.' The tapes also showed motorcycles passing through inspection lanes without stopping, CBP officers waving traffic through while they were replacing another officer going off duty, and officers waving pedestrians through without looking at them, making verbal contact, or inspecting travel documents.

Despite technology to help inspect vehicles for smuggled aliens and illicit cargo, and to help check traveler documents against law-enforcement databases, CBP concluded that 'several thousand inadmissible aliens and other violators entered the country at air and land ports of entry' in just one fiscal year. Privately, CBP agents and inspectors said the number of illegal entries may be much greater than that.

Chinese smuggler owns almost $1 million in Pennsylvania property

Bao Ping Zheng, 39, owns nearly $1 million in property -- including his Chinese restaurant supply business and his home, government records show. Zheng, however, is an illegal immigrant, and has been charged with harboring aliens from his native China.

An illegal immigrant can run a business in the United States without too many obstacles, said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies. 'We've actually made it pretty easy to do business as an illegal alien -- a lot easier than most people think,' he added.

Zheng appeared before U.S. Magistrate Robert C. Mitchell in Pittsburgh. He has been in federal custody at the Allegheny County Jail since September

Department of State documents list Zheng as president of New Chinatown Inc., located at 1300 Island Ave. in Stowe. These documents, filed from 2000 to 2002, name the businesses as New Chinatown Realty LLC, New Chinatown Trading LLC and New Chinatown LLC.

Overwhelming majority of Americans want steps taken to curb illegal immigration

Adults in the United States want to see punitive measures established to curb illegal immigration. The British publication The Economist, had the poll conducted in mid-December.

At least 75 per cent of respondents supported increasing fines for employers who hire illegal immigrants, requiring police to report illegal immigrants to the federal government, and making it a crime to hire illegal immigrants.

Two-thirds (67 per cent) want the National Guard to patrol the Mexican Border, and 57 per cent want more border fences built.

Polling Data

• Increasing fines for employers who hire illegal immigrants - 81% support, 11% oppose,  8% not sure
  
• Require police to report illegal immigrants to federal government - 77% support, 14% oppose, 10% not sure
  
• Making it a crime to hire illegal immigrants - 75% support, 15% oppose, 10% not sure
  
• Using the National Guard to patrol the Mexican Border - 67% support, 20% oppose, 13% not sure
  
• Building more border fences - 57% support, 27% oppose, 16% not sure
  

New laws prompt Arizona church to close its day-labor center

New laws in the town of Cave Creek and in the state of Arizona have prompted a Cave Creek church to close its seven-year-old day labor center. The Good Shepherd of the Hills Episcopal Church had seen its center as a safe place for illegal laborers to hook up with employers.

Operations at the day-labor center ended in early January, and the 40 illegal workers who gathered are now seeking work elsewhere,

In September, the Cave Creek Town Council passed two laws, touting them as safety measures. One toughened the town's ban on loitering, and the other banned cars from stopping on town streets.

Also with the new year, an employer-sanctions law passed last year by the Arizona Legislature and signed by the governor took effect. The new law targets businesses that knowingly hire illegal workers.

Illegals cost Arizona workers at least $1.4 billion in 2006

A Harvard University economist, commissioned by the Maricopa County (Arizona) County Attorney, has determined that illegal immigrants depressed wages in Arizona by at least $1.4 billion in 2006 and forced down the wages of lower-skilled legal workers by 4.7 percent.

Economist George Borjas said hiring illegal immigrants depresses wages because they work for lower pay and sometimes are paid under the table. He said that illegals make up 10 percent of all workers in Arizona and decrease all wages by 1.5 percent, but illegal immigrants primarily impact the wages and jobs of legal workers with lower education levels

County Attorney Andrew Thomas said the Borjas' report has been filed with U.S. District Court Judge Neil Wake, who is considering the Arizona sanctions law case. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Arizona Contractors Association, Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Arizona Restaurant & Hospitality Association are among the business groups challenging the law in federal court. The law allows the suspension or revocation of the business licenses of employers caught knowingly hiring illegals.

Large majority in new poll say illegal immigration is a major problem

A new Arizona State University poll finds that illegal immigration is seen as a serious problem for a large majority of people living in four Southwestern states.

The poll, by ASU's Institute for Social Science Research, found that 58 percent of those polled in the states of Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and Nevada believe illegal immigration is a very serious problem. Another 27 percent believe illegal immigration is a somewhat serious problem.

At the same time, asked their overall opinion of various ethnic groups, 34 percent of those polled were 'very' positive about Mexican Americans and other Latino/Hispanic Americans. Another 32 percent were 'somewhat' positive and another 19 percent were neither positive nor negative about Mexican Americans and Latino/Hispanic Americans. Only 13 percent had a 'somewhat' or 'very' negative overall opinion of the group.

The telephone poll of 1,013 adults was taken from Nov. 6 to Dec. 19 and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Border Security Guard Killed on El Paso's Paso Del Norte

The first murder of 2008 in El Paso, Texas, was a security guard working at the border. The security guard was working for a private firm at the bridge in El Paso, and was killed by a man trying to cross the border.

Cruz Vite, 58, was guarding the pedestrian toll booth at the bridge when 29-year-old Pablo Aragon attempted to enter. A fight occurred and Aragon struck the guard a several times before running off. Vite was taken to the hospital where he later died.

A woman who has worked at a nearby parking lot for 16 years said the killing is disturbing. “It’s scary you know, you never know what's going to happen. You know you don't know if you’re going to get assaulted, you really don't know."

Police have charged Aragon with one count of felony assault, but the charge could change depending on the autopsy results.

Tancredo sees Huckabee Iowa win as a loss

Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo decided to run for President last year in order to make illegal immigration a major issue, and succeeded in his goal. He left the race in late December, throwing his support to Mitt Romney in the Republican primaries.

But he sees Mike Huckabee's big win in the Iowa caucuses on Thursday as a setback. Before the caucuses, Tancredo had told a reporter "The biggest blow to my cause would be if Huckabee wins in Iowa, which damages Romney and allows McCain to do even better than he would have otherwise done and go on with more steam."

After hearing the results, Tancredo said "It's a discouraging thing, because, to tell the truth, the real winner in this thing is McCain. . . . I think he's the worst in the bunch." During his run for the nomination, Tancredo had deeply criticized McCain for sponsoring an amnesty proposal last spring with Senator Kennedy.

Tancredo said he thinks Romney could fight back, if he has the will. Asked whether he wished he had remained in the race, Tancredo said no, adding that he was happy to be home with his family in Colorado. "I'd rather be here tonight than anywhere in Iowa," he said, laughing.

LA Latino gang sought to ‘cleanse’ their turf of Blacks

One of the most vicious Latino gangs in Los Angeles has been accused of targeting victims for murder based on race. Their quest has been to “cleanse” their turf of snitches and rival gangsters.

If the intended victim could not be found, sometimes the gang’s leader said “well, shoot any black you see.” In the Florence-Firestone neighborhood, gang violence has been common for decades. But there were 20 murders among more than 80 shootings during the gang’s rampage. Evidence of the gang, Florencia 13, or F13, is seen in arrows spray-painted on the wall of a liquor store marking the gang's boundary, and graffiti warning rivals to steer clear.

Federal, state and local officials worked together to charge 102 men linked to the gang with racketeering, conspiracy to murder, weapons possession, drug dealing and other crimes. More than 80 of those indicted are now in custody. The gang’s reach extends to Nevada, Arizona and into prisons, where prosecutors say incarcerated gang leaders were able to order hits on black gangsters.

Last year, four members of The Avenues, a gang from the Highland Park area east of downtown Los Angeles, were convicted of hate crimes for killing a black man in what prosecutors called a campaign to drive blacks from that neighborhood. And last January, authorities announced a crackdown on the 204th Street gang following the killing of a 14-year-old black girl.

An immigrant, legal or illegal, arrives in the U.S. every 30 seconds

The U.S. Census Bureau now admits that a new immigrant arrives in the United States every 30 seconds. The agency predicted that the nation's population on January 1, 2008 would be 303,146, 284, almost a full one-percent increase from a year ago. Census Bureau demographers said the nation's growth is 'about what we expected."

Immigrants were responsible for more than one-third of an estimated nationwide population growth of almost 2.87 million between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007. About 667,000 immigrants moved to Southern and Western states in the 12-month period ending July 1 — almost double the number who relocated to the Northeast and Midwest, the Census Bureau says.

Nevada is the nation's fastest-growing state, with an overall population increase of 2.9 percent for the 12-month period ending July 1. Arizona, which was the fastest-growing state between 2005 and 2006, slipped to second place. Nevada and Arizona had most of their population gains from other states or foreign nations, not new births. More than 41,000 of Nevada's 72,955 new residents came from other states, while almost 11,000 came from other countries.

Texas' population gain of almost 500,000 people was more than any other state. Runner-up California added about 303,000. California remained the country's most populous state this year, with 36.6 million residents, followed by Texas with 23.9 million and New York with 19.3 million.

Federal judge refuses to block new Arizona law

The state of Arizona has the right to penalize businesses which knowingly hire illegal immigrants. On December 28, a federal judge refused to stall or halt the January 1 implementation of a new state law that will penalize businesses which knowingly hire illegal immigrants. U.S. District Judge Neil Wake denied requests for a temporary restraining order.

Those who would suffer the most from a temporary restraining order would be legal low-skill workers, who would lose jobs and get depressed wages due to competition from illegal immigrants, said Wake. "Even if the injunction is lifted later, their loss will never be paid back," he said. Under the law, employers who knowingly hire unauthorized workers can face suspensions of their business licenses for up to 10 days. Repeat violators would have their licenses revoked.

Businesses and advocacy groups already have asked the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for an injunction blocking the law. Their requests were filed with appeals of an earlier ruling in which Wake dismissed initial versions of the group's lawsuits.

Those who challenge the law contend that it has the state intruding on the federal government's responsibility for immigration enforcement and is unfair to both employers and workers. The business groups argue that the system posed costly burdens for employers, especially small businesses without computers or human-resource staffs.

In the Phoenix area, desperate home sellers wind up renting to smugglers

The real estate market in metropolitan Phoenix is slow, as it is throughout the U.S. But in the Phoenix area, some sellers are renting to the first applicant with the cash, and too often the renter turns out to be an immigrant smuggler.

A desperate Phoenix-area man rented his home to a couple who paid the deposit in cash. They didn’t haggle over the price. But it turned out the renters were fronts for smugglers who use the house to hide illegal immigrants, and trashed the house, causing $11,000 in damage. In October, a SWAT team drove an armored personnel carrier onto the lawn and raided the house.

Immigrant smugglers see such opportunities in the nation’s mortgage crisis. They rent homes and use them as stash houses for illegals.

The Phoenix metropolitan area is now believed to have about 1,000 immigrant stash houses, located in places where neighbors would not expect to find illegal immigrants hiding, police said. Arizona is the busiest entry point for illegal immigrants coming through Mexico, and Phoenix's proximity to the border has made it the nation's busiest smuggling hub.

DHS 2007 immigration crackdown hit few employers

The Department of Homeland Security announced a clampdown on hiring of illegal aliens in fiscal year 2007, and DHS did arrest nearly four times as many people in the past year as it did in 2003. But only a tiny fraction of those were criminal charges against employers.

Less than 100 owners, supervisors or other hiring officials were arrested in fiscal 2007, compared with 4,900 arrests of illegal workers, providers of fake documents and others.

When six million companies currently employ more than seven million unauthorized workers, this year's 92 criminal arrests of employers amount to a drop in the bucket. Only 17 firms faced criminal fines or forfeitures.

Those 92 criminal arrests included 59 owners and 33 corporate officials, human resources workers, crew chiefs and others in the "supervisory chain." Criminal fines and other penalties grew from $600,000 in 2003 to more than $30 million in 2007, but were dominated by a few large payments.

"Past enforcement actions have been regarded by business correctly as a passing thing. . . . They need to believe it's not just going to go away in a couple of months," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies. Illegal immigrant labor laws should be enforced as rigorously as child labor laws, he said.

Tancredo leaves presidential race after making immigration a major issue

Tom Tancredo, Congressman from Colorado, having succeeded in his quest to make illegal immigration a major issue in the presidential campaign, officially ended his own bid for the presidency on Thursday. He endorsed former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney

Tancredo's campaign was about maintaining "America's English speaking, Judeo-Christian heritage," he said, as the pressure to change grows at the hands of illegal immigrants and Islamic extremists. He had told MSNBC "You can call me a one-issue candidate if you'd like, as long as you realize my issue is the survival of this country as we know it."

Rep. Brian Bilbray, the California Republican who succeeded Tancredo as leader of an Immigration Reform Caucus, said Tancredo was instrumental in making illegal immigration a top issue in Congress. “He shocked Washington into paying attention. He rattled their cages, and that's what it takes,” Bilbray said.

For Shelly Uscinski, Tancredo’s New Hampshire campaign director, he represented the only true conservative in the race. "We had a good run," she said. "As far as I'm concerned, it was a great success. Immigration was not a topic of discussion until Tom made it part of the discussion. Tom can declare a victory as far as I'm concerned."

Illegals use more tax dollars than they contribute

The U.S. Congressional Budget Office has released a report showing that illegal aliens use more tax dollars than they pay, particularly in education, health care and law enforcement.

The study estimated that nationwide, 60 percent of illegal aliens are uninsured and 50 percent of the children are uninsured. The average income of illegals was $27,400, while Americans earned $47,800. This difference puts illegals in a lower tax bracket, reducing the amount of federal and state income tax revenue they generate.

Education is the largest single expenditure in state and local budgets, and multiple states reported 20 to 40 percent higher costs educating non-English speaking students, many of whom have illegal alien parents. In New Mexico, for example, statistics from 2004 show education spending on undocumented immigrants comprised $67 million of the state's $3 billion education budget. The study estimates there are 53.3 million school-age children in the U.S., 2 million of whom are undocumented immigrants.

Undocumented immigrants are more likely to access emergency rooms and urgent care facilities because most do not have health care, the study said. In Arizona and other border areas, states paid nearly $190 million in health care costs for undocumented immigrants in 2000. That amount, which the study says likely has risen since then, represents one-quarter of all uncompensated health care costs in those states that year.

Sex offenders arrested in New York

Twenty-two illegal alien sex offenders were arrested in New York City in early December in Immigration and Customs Enforcement's continuing Operation Predator. A typical offender, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, had been convicted of the rape of his 13-year-old neighbor. He had been sentenced to 10 years probation after being convicted of rape, sexual misconduct and endangering the welfare of a minor.

ICE and the New York City Department of Probation arrested the child predators and criminal alien sex offenders in four boroughs: Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan. All of those arrested were on probation in New York City for prior felony or misdemeanor convictions for sex crimes including rape, sexual abuse, sexual misconduct, endangering the welfare of a child, sodomy and promoting prostitution. The youngest victim was a six-year-old girl. One of the victims was a 15-year-old boy.

The arrests also included natives of the Dominican Republic, Guyana and Jamaica in the Caribbean. They are now in detention pending removal proceedings. The initiative is a part of the ongoing Operation Predator initiative and a national priority for ICE.

Arizona business are desperate to retain illegal employees

A new law prohibiting Arizona employers from knowingly employing illegal aliens is set to take effect on January 1, and businesses are desperate to find a way to block it. The new law would make employer violators subject to business license suspensions for first offenses and revocations for second offenses.

The business groups appealed a judge's ruling that threw out their initial legal challenge, while in a second lawsuit, a hearing is scheduled for the judge to hear a request to put the law on hold temporarily while considering a longer injunction blocking the law. The appeal was made to the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the first of two lawsuits the groups filed to block the law.

The business groups' notice of appeal does not specify grounds for the appeal. The judge had ruled that the lawsuit needed to be filed against the county attorneys who would have prime responsibility for enforcing the law rather than state officials in general.