« August 2006 | Main | October 2006 »

September 30, 2006

Finally, Sunshine in California Prisons - NOT!

On Saturday, for the third year in a row, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation that would have allowed news reporters the kind of run-of-the-mill access to interview prison inmates available in many other states.

Schwarzengger---who has been criticized for a troubled prison system plagued with overcrowding, medical care problems and high recidivism rates---said that the bill, sponsored by state senator Gloria Romero,  would glamorize murderers and distress crime victims and their families, writes the Associated Press. 

Posted by Celeste Fremon at 08:23 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Generation Gap

One way to peg people into generational pigeonholes is to ask them if they know: 1) who John Lennon was; 2) that he's dead; and 3) whether he was "more popular than Jesus."

A recent book and a new documentary help all of us learn surprising facts about the Beatle Nixon tried to deport.

ANN HORNADAY posted this for the Washington Post, and JON WIENER posted this report on Truthdig.

Lennon's lawyer, LEON WILDES, posts his version of events here.

(And yes, he's dead.) 

Posted by Dan Kowalski at 02:49 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

September 29, 2006

Mexico to lobby Bush against fence bill

 Mexico said Friday it will try to persuade President Bush not to sign a bill that would extend a wall along the border in an effort to stop illegal immigrants. E. EDUARDO CASTILLO in the Washington Post.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 05:05 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

House votes for border fence in security bill

Hundreds of miles of new fences along the U.S.-Mexico border would be funded under a bill passed on Friday in the U.S. House of Representatives as part of an election-year clamp-down on illegal immigration. RICHARD COWAN in the Washington Post.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 05:04 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Court temporarily halts immigration law

A temporary restraining order was issued Sept. 25 preventing the City of Valley Park from enforcing an ordinance targeting undocumented immigrants. JOSEPH KENNY in the St. Louis Review.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 05:02 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Egyptian students learn tough lesson in U.S. immigration law

Seventeen students from Egypt arrived at Kennedy Airport in late July for what was supposed to be an exciting month in America. Their destination was a Montana university where they were to learn about U.S. history and culture while improving their English. But things didn't go as planned. NAHAL TOOSI in the San Jose Mercury News.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 04:59 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Judge denies bid to block immigration activists deportation

A federal judge struck a blow Friday to the hopes of an immigration activist who has taken refuge in a Chicago church to avoid deportation, dismissing her lawsuit against the government. MIKE ROBINSON in the Chicago Tribune.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 04:57 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

September 28, 2006

In Immigrant Fight, Grass-Roots Groups Boost Their Clout

Joseph Turner is part of an anti-immigrant brushfire that is gathering force at the grass-roots level around the U.S. Small groups like Mr. Turner's Save Our State are cropping up from coast to coast, recruiting members and devising tactics to tackle illegal immigration in their communities. Critics call many of these groups racist, a charge organizers deny. What no one disputes is that they are tapping into widespread frustration over the federal government's failure to adopt a national immigration policy while a deeply divided Congress clashes over how to deal with 12 million illegal immigrants. MIRIAM JORDAN for the Wall Street Journal.

Posted by Hanna Ingber at 09:14 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Where's Momentum of Immigration Marchers?

The fact that enforcement-only immigration bills still remain in play leads one to wonder what happened with the momentum of the marchers. How could so much energy dissipate so quickly? MARCELA SANCHEZ for the Seattle Post Intelligencer.

Posted by Hanna Ingber at 09:07 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Immigration Reform is Homophobic

One aspect of immigration and its so-called reform that is rarely addressed in the mainstream media is how GBLT immigrants and their families are impacted. Certainly there are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender immigrants of varying statuses within the United States. Unfortunately all the immigration "reform" proposals on the Congressional table choose to be blind to that fact. Posted by MEAGAN LA MALA on Vivirlatino.

Posted by Hanna Ingber at 09:01 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

US Senate Backs Terror Trial Bill

 The US Senate passed controversial legislation endorsing President George W Bush's proposals to interrogate and prosecute foreign terror suspects. BBC News.

Posted by Hanna Ingber at 08:56 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Immigration Politics

Senate and House Republican leaders might as well forget about immigration legislation before adjourning for the November election. The issue is important, but illegal immigration doesn't constitute an imminent national threat. The issue deserves dispassionate consideration that's absent in this election season. Editorial in the Hartford Courant.

Posted by Hanna Ingber at 08:52 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Effort to delay ID rule fails

A major clash erupted among Republican congressional leaders Tuesday over an agreement to delay stringent new identification requirements for Americans crossing the border. DOUGLAS TURNER in The Buffalo News.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 06:55 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Immigration activists lack a party's backing

For Nativo Lopez, one of the leading organizers of the marches, the House's actions demonstrate that the immigrant population in this country doesn't have a political party on its side. "Many have the illusion that the Democratic Party can serve as the party for immigrants, for workers and for Latinos," he said. And while there are moderate voices on immigration among Republicans and Democrats in the House, without party backing few have surfaced. MARCELA SANCHEZA in The Arizona Daily Star.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 06:52 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Border fence may harm animal migration

A plan to fence off a third of the U.S. border to stop illegal immigration from Mexico may harm migration routes used by animals including rare birds and jaguars, environmentalists and U.S. authorities warn. TIM GAYNOR in the Washington Post.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 06:32 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Border fence bill clears Senate hurdle

A bill authorizing construction of a fence along the U.S. border with Mexico advanced in the U.S. Senate on Thursday as Republican backers pushed to get an immigration measure to President George W. Bush desk before the November 7 elections. The Washington Post reports.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 06:30 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

U.S. immigration reform in a cycle

On the streets across America and in the halls of Congress, those arguing for more restrictive immigration policies usually preface their assertions by saying that they are not motivated by race or ethnicity. But some historians, including Victor Chavez, a professor at Southwestern College, say that history ---- specifically the history of U.S. immigration laws ---- says otherwise. EDWARD SIFUENTES in the North County Times.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 06:25 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

What Will Happen To Kayla?

A rich six-part series in the Charlotte Observer by DANICA COTO and PETER ST. ONGE: "In April, the Observer reported the story of a soccer mom from Monroe who had been arrested for being in the U.S. illegally after being stopped with an expired vehicle tag. Today, we will tell you what has since happened to Deysi Ramírez - and we'll introduce you to her 11-year-old daughter, Kayla.  This six-day story continues our yearlong series on the impact of illegal immigration in the Carolinas and the nation, "Hiding in Plain Sight." It focuses on an oft-forgotten side of the debate - what happens to the U.S.-born children of arrested illegal immigrants?"

Posted by Dan Kowalski at 07:45 AM | | TrackBacks (0)

Unions, Immigrants, and the "Rebirth" of Labor?

UCLA Sociologist RUTH MILKMAN lays it down: "Nowhere in the United States is there more palpable evidence of the potential for today’s working-class immigrants to reenact the drama of union upsurge that brought earlier generations of newcomers to the United States into the economic mainstream in the 1930s and 1940s." Boston Review, Sept./Oct. 2006 issue.

Posted by Dan Kowalski at 06:30 AM | | TrackBacks (0)

September 27, 2006

Latest Chapter in a Silly Saga of Border War

A wall on the U.S.-Mexico border is meant to secure only one thing: the re-election of members of Congress. Editorial in the Tuscon Citizen.

Posted by Hanna Ingber at 07:56 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Anchor Babies

In response to the so-called anchor baby trend, some lawmakers are proposing amending the U.S. Constitution to deny the citizenship now conferred on all infants born in the United States. An Editorial in the Houston Chronicle.

Posted by Hanna Ingber at 07:45 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Struggling to Enter the Country, Legally

According to immigration experts, the process of establishing permanent U.S. residency can take decades. CARLOS VILLATORO for the Napa Valley Register.  

Posted by Hanna Ingber at 07:41 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Crowded jails contribute to growing crisis in Colorado

The prisons and jails are full, and the financial crisis it will cause in Colorado will be a “train wreck.” R. SCOTT RAPPOLD in The Gazette.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 07:40 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Farm industry pushes Congress on immigrants

The agriculture industry, facing a major labor shortage in California and elsewhere of the illegal immigrants on whom growers depend to tend and harvest crops, is making a last-minute push to give undocumented farmworkers temporary status as part of a border-security measure in Congress. FRANK DAVIES in The San Jose Mercury News.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 07:38 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

New Mexico governor opposes border fence bill

The bill before the Senate to create a 730-mile fence across some of the nearly 2,000-mile border with Mexico is a "terrible proposal," Gov. Bill Richardson says. "It's repressive. It's not going to work. It's too expensive," Richardson said of the proposal to build two layers of fence on some of the border, including a portion from Columbus, N.M., to just outside El Paso. JAMES W. BROSNAN in The Albuquerque Tribune.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 07:36 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Republicans bitterly divided over border fence

Senate and House Republicans seeking broad changes in immigration law conceded Tuesday that a 700-mile fence on the Mexican boarder will probably pass the Senate this week, but warned the fence will not stop illegal immigration and that lawmakers will continue after the November election to try to expand the ways to gain legal entry into the United States. CAROLYN LOCHHEAD in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 07:33 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Visas for skilled workers still frozen

But the attempt by Congress to rewrite the nation's immigration laws has bogged down in controversy over border security and illegal immigration. That means changes in the skilled-worker programs, while less controversial, are also in limbo. S. MITRA KALITA in the Washington Post.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 07:30 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Valley Park anti-immigration ordinance faces opposition

One day after a judge stopped the city of Valley Park from enforcing its illegal-immigration ordinance, the city’s Board of Aldermen will consider repealing the law and replacing it with a new one at a specially called meeting tonight. STEPHEN DEERE in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 07:27 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Bipartisan Immigration Shame

Anyone interested in actually fixing the immigration problem has to be very disappointed in Congress’ antics on the issue over the last few weeks. FLAVIA JIMENEZ for TomPaine.com.

Posted by Hanna Ingber at 07:22 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Cruel and Unusual On Trial

In a four-day trial in California that's one of several court proceedings around the nation in which lethal injection is facing Constitutional challenges as a violation of the ban on cruel and unusual punishment, an anesthesiologist  testified Wednesday that executed inmates "may have been conscious when they were administered a drug that induces suffocation and an 'excruciating'' experience comparable to drowning or strangulation," report HENRY WEINSTEIN and MAURA DOLAN for the Los Angeles Times.

Posted by Celeste Fremon at 06:46 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Anti-immigration panic

Republican leaders want you to think they are hard at work overhauling the broken immigration system in the last days before going home. But don’t be fooled by the noise and dust. These are piecemeal rehashes of legislation the House passed last December. Editorial in The New York Times attacks Republican immigration proposals.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 05:50 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Controlling Judgment

In Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal, SANDRA DAY O’CONNER writes that “the breadth and intensity of rage currently being leveled at the judiciary may be unmatched in American history.”  In a strongly-worded editorial, the former Supreme Court justice says that while criticism of the judiciary is both healthy and necessary, intimidation is destructive because it produces fearful judges who “cannot adequately fulfill the considerable responsibilities that the position demands…”

Posted by Celeste Fremon at 02:17 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Letters From The Other Side

ANABELLE GARAY of AP writes: "What happens to the women left behind by husbands and sons who leave to work arduously and illegally in the United States? Director Heather Courtney set out to answer the question using video letters exchanged between people living on separate sides of the border. The result was her documentary, Letters from the Other Side, which airs Tuesday on Public Broadcasting Service stations in Austin and Dallas and nationally in October."

Posted by Dan Kowalski at 09:07 AM | | TrackBacks (0)

September 26, 2006

Sealing our border - why it won't work

The Arizona Daily Star conducts a four-part multimedia investigation on border security, and concludes that attempts at sealing it are not practical.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 10:13 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Border fence bound to fail

History offers little hope for a nation attempting to seal its southern border. The government slowed illegal crossings to a trickle in targeted areas of El Paso and San Diego. So illegal entrants shifted their routes to Arizona and New Mexico. Now they're shifting back. BRADY MCCOMBS in the Arizona Daily Star.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 10:09 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Congress poised to delay border check program

Travelers entering the United States from Canada will win a reprieve from a post-September 11 border security program requiring passports or other high-tech IDs, under a bill set to pass Congress this week. REUTERS in the Washington Post.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 10:06 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

SJ offers alternative to juvenile incarceration

Some troubled boys and girls now have an alternative to incarceration with a new county rehabilitation program launched this week. The 30-day program is designed to serve up to 24 youths at a time who have violated probation or committed minor offenses such as petty theft or drug use. TONY BURCHYNS in the Gilroy Dispatch.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 10:03 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

States, Counties Begin to Enforce Immigration Law

Police here operated for years under what amounts to a "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward illegal immigrants. As elsewhere in the United States, law enforcement officers did not check the immigration status of people they came into contact with, and in the vast majority of cases, a run-in with the law carried little threat of deportation. But that accommodation for the burgeoning illegal population ended abruptly in April, when the Mecklenburg County sheriff's office began to enforce immigration law, placing more than 100 people a month into deportation proceedings. Some of them had been charged with violent crimes, others with traffic infractions. PETER WHORISKEY for the Washington Post.

Posted by Hanna Ingber at 07:49 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

California Clergy Push for Broad Immigration Bill

Religious leaders Tuesday scolded lawmakers who oppose a broad immigration policy overhaul and urged them at a Capitol Hill news conference to put people over politics. DENA BUNIS for The Orange County Register.

Posted by Hanna Ingber at 07:43 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Costa Mesa Votes Face a National Issue Turned Local: Immigration

My guess is, Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor thought he had a surefire winner when he took on illegal immigration in his town. And maybe he does. Nobody I've ever talked to is in favor of illegal immigration, even those softhearted, softheaded liberals that conservatives pity. It's just that lots of Americans think trying to stop illegal entry is a fool's errand and that the contributions illegal immigrants make somewhat dilute the arguments against their presence. Other issues come into play at the local level, and on Nov. 7 Costa Mesa voters will give us all an updated scorecard of how a community feels about illegal immigration. DANA PARSONS for the Los Angeles Times.

Posted by Hanna Ingber at 07:37 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Immigration Setback for GOP

In a setback to Republican-led efforts to promote an enforcement-only approach to overhauling immigration law, a congressional negotiating committee on Monday shunted aside several measures the House passed last week. NICOLE GAOUETTE for the Los Angeles Times.

Posted by Hanna Ingber at 07:34 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Justices to Rule on Immigrant Car Theft

The Supreme Court agreed today to decide whether all immigrants involved in car theft, even as accomplices, must be deported. DAVID G. SAVAGE for the Los Angeles Times.

Posted by Hanna Ingber at 03:22 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Seattle Security Firm Sued For Religious Bias

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 26, 2006

CONTACT:

Joan Ehrlich, District Director (415) 625-5611 cell (415) 238-0973 William R. Tamayo, Regional Attorney (415) 625-5645 cell (415) 336-8805 John F. Stanley, Acting Supervisory Trial Attorney (206) 220-6896 Molly Küçük, Trial Attorney (206) 220-6892

 

OLYMPIC SECURITY SERVICES SUED

FOR RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION

Company Refused to Hire Man Because of Religiously Required Beard

TUKWILA, Wash.  A large Seattle-based company which provides security

guards to private companies and government agencies violated federal law

when it refused to hire an applicant because wore a beard for religious

reasons, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged

in a lawsuit it filed today.

The EEOC's suit (filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of

Washington) asserts that Olympic Security Services, Inc. refused to hire

Elmer Taylor despite his qualifications and experience after it learned that he

could not shave his neatly kept beard, which he wore as a religious

observance based on his Christian faith and Old Testament studies. Taylor

tried to explain to the company that it had an obligation to try to

accommodate his religious practice, but the company refused, stating it

maintained a strict no-beard policy and that Taylor could only work there if

he shaved his beard.

"I couldn't believe they wouldn't hire me because of my beard," said

Taylor. "I thought to myself  if they won't hire me, that means there are

whole groups of religious men with beards they wouldn't hire  Orthodox

Jews, Sikhs, Muslims. It just isn't right."

Refusing to reasonably accommodate an employee's (or potential employee's)

religious practices violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which

protects individuals from employ¬ment discrimination on the bases of race,

color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy), and retaliation. The

EEOC filed this suit only after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement

through conciliation. The suit seeks monetary damages, training on anti-

harassment and discrimin¬ation laws, posting of notices at the worksite and

other injunctive relief.

According to EEOC San Francisco District Director Joan Ehrlich, "Employers

have an obligation to discuss options to accommodate potential employees

whose religious practices conflict with company policy. Failing to do so

closes the door to many qualified applicants based solely on their religious

beliefs."

EEOC Regional Attorney William R. Tamayo added, "Title VII protects the

rights of workers to get a job regardless of their religious affiliations. We

hope this suit is a reminder to employers that failing to reasonably

accommodate the religious practices of potential employees is religious

discrimination and will invite litigation."

The EEOC is responsible for enforcing the nation's laws prohibiting

employment discrimination based on race, color, gender (including sexual

harassment and pregnancy), religion, national origin, age, disability and

retaliation. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at

www.eeoc.gov.

# # #

Posted by Martha Mendoza at 02:10 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Arizona Democrats allege that strict new voting laws are discriminatory

Mrs. Steele and Mr. Pearce are two players in a spreading partisan brawl over new and proposed voting requirements around the country. Republicans say the laws are needed to combat fraud, especially among illegal immigrants. Democrats say there is minimal fraud, if any, and accuse Republicans of suppressing the votes of those least likely to have the required documentation — minorities, the poor and the elderly — who tend to vote for Democrats. JOYCE PURNICK in the New York Times.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 12:56 AM | | TrackBacks (0)

September 25, 2006

California’s Main Prison Reformer Judge

 U.S. District Court Judge Thelton Henderson is the man to whom the state of California has to answer on much of its troubled prison policy.  ANDY FURILLO of the Sacramento Bee has an interview with Henderson that gives a glimpse into the judge’s thinking on corrections policy, and how he feels about the new documentary made about his life.

Posted by Celeste Fremon at 09:07 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

America's Other Border: High Tech, High Trust

Debate about America's borders is decidedly a one-sided affair. Rising illegal immigration and lingering worries about security have focused a bright light on the southern border. Left in the shadows is the northern border - a 4,000-mile stretch of land that's sparsely guarded even though it's twice as long as the US-Mexican border and sees far more international commerce. It's also much more varied. ALFREDO SOSA for the Christian Science Monitor.

Posted by Hanna Ingber at 05:50 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Immigrants' Group to Take US Government to Court

A coalition of immigrants' rights groups has announced plans to file a lawsuit against the U.S. government on behalf of U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants. Advocates told supporters at a Miami rally that the children of illegal immigrants live in constant fear of having their parents deported. CINDY SAINE for Voice of America.

Posted by Hanna Ingber at 05:39 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

House Leaders Stall Defense Bill Action

House leaders are holding up action on a major defense bill, demanding that unrelated measures on immigration and court security be attached. ANNE PLUMMER FLAHERTY for The Associated Press.

Posted by Hanna Ingber at 05:32 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Good Fences Make Bad Law

This year seemed to be a historic moment for immigration reform. Millions marched for change. President Bush echoed the call. And Senators Edward Kennedy and John McCain, an Arizona Republican, crafted a bipartisan plan for tough enforcement and smart reform. But sadly, the outcome may only be a fence -- a monument to political failure, states an editorial in The Boston Globe.

Posted by Hanna Ingber at 05:28 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Cop Killing Sparks Immigration Debate

The shooting of a Houston police officer has sparked a new battle over immigration. Juan Leonardo Quintero, an illegal immigrant, has been charged with killing a Houston police officer last week after a routine traffic stop. ABC News.

Posted by Hanna Ingber at 05:26 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Prison reform must include sentencing and parole changes

California’s distinction of having the worst overcrowding in the country -- more than 71 percent over capacity -- should be no surprise. It is a direct result of other distinguishing factors: some of the toughest sentencing laws and the highest rate of parolees returning to prison, currently at about 70 percent. Overcrowding has cut prison rehabilitation programs to almost nil, and the cycle continues out of control, producing an increasingly older, sicker, and socially maladjusted (to put it mildly) inmate population with increasingly more expensive medical and ultimately rehabilitative needs. DR. B. CAYENNE BIRD in the California Chronicle.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 04:23 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

For O'odham, border fence poses real problems

The 700-mile border fence that's being bandied about in Congress looks like a reasonable solution to illegal immigration problems if you happen to not live anywhere near the border.
However, for the desert-dwelling Tohono O'odham Indians, who have lived in the region for centuries before any border existed, the fence poses unique problems that Congress should not ignore. The Arizona Daily Star.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 04:16 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

House border bills unlikely to pass

The Senate will begin considering a series of House bills this week aimed at strengthening border security and toughening enforcement of immigration laws, but given the cool reception the measures are getting from many senators, it appears unlikely that much of the legislation will pass. NICOLE GAOUETTE in the L.A. Times.

Posted by Matt Mundy at 04:12 PM | | TrackBacks (0)

Questions remain on cost of border bills

House Republicans have whipped through a series of bills to crack down on illegal immigration with hopes they might provide an election boost in November. But there's wide disagreement on what they would cost and little inclination among lawmakers to come up with the money in any case. SUZANNE GAMBOA in the