On its Web site, ICE boasts a 99 percent appearance rate in immigration court for participants in its restrictive Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP). Yet records maintained by private contractors that administer ISAP show they were “unable to locate” 18 percent of 6,373 illegal immigrants who passed through the program between 2004 and the end of January. Five percent were re-arrested by ICE, records show.

Those who absconded were simply “terminated” from ISAP and not included in ICE’s nearly perfect court attendance rate, which includes only “active” participants, the records show. Carl Rusnok, an ICE spokesman, confirmed ICE’s methodology in calculating the appearance rates, but did not answer questions about whether ICE’s data mislead the public.

Houston Chronicle

Flaws found in options for illegal alien detention

Nearly one in five suspected illegal [aliens] who went through an Immigration and Customs Enforcement intensive monitoring program absconded while under supervision during the past five years, newly disclosed records show…

HERE

Phoenix Business Journal

Survey shows strong support for immigration raids

Just under two-thirds of Americans want see more raids on businesses who hire illegal [aliens] and to see those illegal workers arrested. — A national survey conducted earlier this month by Rasmussen Reports found that 64 percent support police conducting surprise raids on businesses suspected of hiring illegal [aliens]…

HERE

Here

Entire AJC commentary HERE

Atlanta Journal Constitution
opinion page

Pro & Con: Should local public safety units enforce immigration laws?

8:45 p.m. Monday, October 19, 2009 ( Tuesday print edition)

YES. Laws multiply the reach of immigration authorities.

By D.A. King

Section 287(g) of the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which expands the authority of local law enforcement agencies to enforce U.S. immigration laws, has proven far too successful for the powerful lobby that has taken an “amnesty again, enforcement never” stance.

In two years, more than 6,600 illegal immigrants have been turned over to federal immigration authorities in Cobb County, the first local enforcement agency in Georgia to use the 287(g) program. The program works as a force multiplier, authorizing local law enforcement to augment the reach of federal immigration authorities.

The law was signed by then-President Bill Clinton. For his transgression, he would no doubt be labeled as “anti-immigrant” — or worse — by those advocating free and open borders today.

Noncitizens who have escaped capture while illegally crossing America’s borders are officially and accurately known as “illegal aliens.” By law, every illegal alien is deportable.

Despite absurd claims to the contrary, no one is deported for a broken taillight or not having a driver’s license. Violation of American immigration laws is the singular reason for removal.

Thwarted in the effort to convince the Obama administration to end the voluntary program, the tried and true game is to play the racial-profiling card.

“We are dedicated to stopping the proliferation of 287(g) Agreements between localities and federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials as well as other attempts at local enforcement of immigration laws in Georgia” is the stated objective of the ACLU’s Georgia Detention Watch.

“We will deploy every skill and tool we possess to accomplish our mission” is another admission available on the group’s Web site.

At least they are clear. There is no better measure of the effectiveness of tools used to enforce our immigration laws than the howls of opposition from the anti-enforcement crowd. The ACLU’s own hostility to 287(g) should be viewed as an unintentional but unmistakable endorsement of its effectiveness.

Plan B for the enemies of immigration enforcement is to attempt to magically rewrite the language of the law by insisting that 287(g) was aimed at a select group of illegal aliens. It wasn’t.

“I can attest that [the law] was created to let state and local law-enforcement officials help enforce all immigration laws, not a select few,” wrote Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), a co-author, in a June edition of the Wall Street Journal.

For the partisans who refuse to accept Smith’s accuracy, one can always resort to actually reading the law.

“It only makes sense to remove illegal immigrants from the streets before they commit more serious crimes,” Smith added.

Smith’s point is brilliantly illustrated in a February 2009 AJC report on a trial run of 287(g) in Gwinnett County. There, in a 26-day period, more than 900 illegal immigrants were located in the county jail.

More than half had a prior brush with law enforcement — including traffic violations. New charges included murder (13), rape (15), kidnapping (11), child molestation (23) and 154 for felony drug offenses.

Not many residents believe 287(g) has “threatened public safety” in Gwinnett or in Cobb.

Having taken the pro-American position and shown the courage to stand up to the ACLU, Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren is a hero to the majority of citizens who depend on all law enforcement to carry out their sworn duty.

On illegal immigration, enforcement works. The 287(g) program was a good idea in 1996 and it is a good idea today.

D.A. King is president of the Georgia-based Dustin Inman Society, which advocates for enforcement of immigration laws.

NO. Laws discriminate against immigrants and have little oversight.

By Azadeh N. Shahshahani

The Cobb County Board of Commissioners should reconsider their recent decision to renew their 287(g) agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The 287(g) program delegates immigration enforcement authority to specific local police agencies. The Cobb Sheriff’s Office is one of five Georgia agencies that has entered into an agreement with ICE to participate in enforcement of federal civil immigration laws.

Though initially intended as a measure to combat violent crime and other felonies such as gang activity and drug trafficking, 287(g) programs have in fact undermined public safety, as immigrant communities, fearful of being deported, hesitate to report crime. The Major Cities Chiefs Association and the Police Foundation have both found that participating in 287(g) programs has harmed community policing efforts.

A recent ACLU of Georgia report documents that there has been a widespread increase in fear to report crime and mistrust in law enforcement as a result of 287(g). One community member named Joanna mentioned to us that she once even put out the fire in her kitchen herself, because she was afraid to call 911.

In addition, law enforcement agencies that reallocate limited resources toward cracking down on violations such as driving without a license or lack of insurance may have scarce means left with which to combat crimes of violence and other felonies. In Cobb, immigrants disappear into detention for violations such as having a broken tail light or tinted windows on their car. In 2008, Cobb County turned over 3,180 detainees to ICE for deportation. Of those, 2,180, about 69 percent, were arrested for traffic violations.

The program has also encouraged racial profiling and human rights violations by some police acting as immigration agents. Cobb officers have misused the power granted to them under the agreement by engaging in racial profiling of Latino communities and detaining individuals in the Cobb jail for unconstitutionally prolonged time periods.

A telling example is the case of Jonathan, a Latino man who was shopping for jewelry for his girlfriend at Macy’s when he was followed by a security guard who then called the Cobb police. Jonathan was detained by the officer without being informed about the reason. He was subsequently charged with loitering and deported. The loitering charge was later dismissed by the district attorney without a hearing. His family now lives in constant fear of the “seemingly unlimited power of the police to arrest a Latino person for any or no reason at all.”

There is currently no meaningful check in place to ensure that local law enforcement do not abuse the program by intimidating and racially profiling immigrant communities. A Government Accountability Office investigation earlier this year found that ICE was not exercising proper oversight over local or state agencies. This problem is compounded in Georgia, where no state legislation bans racial profiling and mandates accountability and transparency for law enforcement.

The minor changes in the program recently announced by the Department of Homeland Security make no serious attempt at discouraging profiling or reducing its negative impact on public safety. The new program language actually takes a step backwards in the area of transparency by declaring that documents related to 287(g) are no longer public records.

The 287(g) programs waste local resources and hinder local police ability to effectively protect public safety in Cobb and other communities around the state. It is time for Cobb County to walk away from 287(g).

Azadeh N. Shahshahani is National Security/Immigrants’ Rights Project director for the ACLU of Georgia.

Find this article at:
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/pro-con-should-local-166734.html

Wakeup Call From Mexico (Paperback)

Wilson Beck

“This book is a concise and thorough view of Mexican history, from pre-Columbian to present, and its subsequent impact on the current culture and attitudes of the Mexican people. The book defines the problems Mexico faces with respect to corruption, disregard for the rule of law, and an economy which will not support its citizenry. As Mexico spirals towards chaos the book analyzes the current and future impact it will have on the U.S. from illegal immigration, lack of assimilation, crime, drugs, kidnapping and the burgeoning burden it is having on U.S. infrastructure and social systems.”

HERE

Iowa kosher slaughterhouse to hire local workers

By NIGEL DUARA (AP) –

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The new owner of a northeast Iowa kosher slaughterhouse said Tuesday he will hire local residents and use a federal verification system to ensure his employees are in the U.S. legally.

Hershey Friedman bought the Postville plant that was once the nation’s largest kosher slaughterhouse in July, more than a year after a massive immigration raid. The plant had been owned by Agriprocessors, Inc., which filed for bankruptcy months after the raid.

The first of two trials for the plant’s former top manager began Tuesday.

In one of his first interviews since buying the company, Friedman told The Associated Press he’ll use the government’s E-Verify system for new hires and will pay new workers from Postville and the surrounding area more than minimum wage. Agriprocessors, where 389 illegal immigrants were arrested by federal agents, didn’t use E-Verify.

“You have to do your best to get the local community first,” said Friedman, who was born and raised in Montreal. If the plant can’t find a local work force, “Then I’ll have to worry about it afterward.”

Friedman formed a new company, called Agri Star Meat and Poultry LLC, to buy the Iowa plant. He said he plans to pay at least $1 to $1.50 per hour more than minimum wage for the lowest entry-level positions. Iowa’s minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, but $6.35 per hour for the first 90 days of employment.

“I don’t want to start at minimum wage,” Friedman said. “That’s not where our goal is. Anybody can go to McDonald’s for minimum wage. We want better than that.”

Agriprocessors and its top manager at the plant, Sholom Rubashkin, have been accused of hiring illegal immigrants, violating child labor laws and abusing workers. Rubashkin faces 163 charges in two trials. A trial dealing with 91 financial charges began Tuesday in Sioux Falls, S.D., and a trial concerning 72 immigration charges will follow. His lawyer has said Rubashkin denies all the charges.

A jury of 10 men and six women, including four alternates, was chosen late Tuesday afternoon for the financial fraud trial. Opening arguments begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Friedman said he wants the plant to have a good reputation.

“We want to give fair salaries, fair benefits, we want to treat them fairly and we want in return for them to treat us fairly,” he said.

Friedman described himself as a turnaround specialist who will operate a leaner plant and avoid his predecessor’s mistakes. Friedman also is CEO of Polystar Group, which has interests in plastics and packaging operations in the U.S. and Canada.

“The former ownership was pushing the plant beyond its true capacity,” Friedman said. “The quality goes down when you over-push the capacity of a plant. It’s the physical quality of the meat that goes out on the market. When you’re over-pushing it, you’re not cutting it properly, you’re not packaging it properly, you’re just pushing out product and you’re not careful.”

Friedman said he will modernize the plant and eventually employ 750 to 800 people. The plant once employed about 1,000, but was down to about 325 workers when Friedman bought it. He has since hired an additional 60 people.

There hasn’t been a shortage of kosher meat, but the price has jumped about 15 percent nationwide since the Agriprocessors raid, said Menachem Lubinsky, who monitors the kosher market in his industry newsletter and once acted as a spokesman for Agriprocessors after the raid. In some places, kosher meat prices have nearly doubled.

Agriprocessors “lowballed” the competition by offering significantly lower prices for kosher meat, Lubinsky said.

The rest HERE

From an e-mail recieved from Mervyn Marcano, PR Strategist, Center from Media Justice

The Center for Media Justice is engaging in a brand new project to “Change the Story” on Race in the US. CMJ is
requesting applications from groups who are engaged in cutting-edge grassroots campaigns on Immigrant Detention
and Criminal/Juvenile Justice, which are the two focused issue areas for this year under CMJ’s Justice
Communications Initiative. CMJ will provide strategic public relations support at NO COST to groups under this project.

Participant groups will leverage CMJ’s strategic public relations expertise over the course of the next year to create high-
profile media campaigns and press cycles that advance racial justice messaging within the debates around Criminal/Juvenile
Justice and Immigrant Detention. As a result of the current economic and social climate, CMJ sees it as a priority to attack
vicious right-wing framing of race by elevating structural solutions to institutional racism and building the capacity of
grassroots organizations to better respond to opportunities in mainstream and progressive media.

Participant organizations will receive training and strategy coaching from CMJ, in preparation for their PR campaigns.
During their campaigns, CMJ will assist groups in developing PR materials, events, related presswork and story placement.
Groups will need to attend an initial convening in Oakland/Bay Area in November and a closing convening at our
Communicate Justice Leadership Institute in April.

For more information, please see the attached project description or click through the following link to apply!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=dY5OXeSzT0czhPE4X9aiIQ_3d_3d

Mervyn Marcano, PR Strategist
Center for Media Justice
1611 Telegraph Ave., Suite 510
Oakland, CA 94612
www.centerformediajustice.org
Phone: 510.768.7400 x13
media strategy and action to build a movement

I hope that you will all consider getting the open borders’ groups e-mail lists. One of them below from Tamar Jacoby:

IW POLICY BRIEF

Friends –

This has not been a good year for employers who rely on temporary workers.

At both the top and bottom of the economy, legal foreign workers and the employers who count on them are in the crosshairs.

The economic downturn combined with increased union influence in Washington has emboldened restrictionist Republicans and labor-friendly Democrats. Both the administration and Congress are responding to the new climate, preparing legislation and making administrative changes that will make it more difficult for employers to bring foreign workers to the U.S.

Former U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services chief counsel Lynden Melmed has prepared an IW policy brief that outlines the changes in the works.

The Department of Labor has tightened regulations on agricultural H2A visas. Democrats in Congress are drafting legislation that will make it more difficult and expensive for employers to hire seasonal H2B workers. And legislation is pending in the Senate that would do the same for higher-skilled H1B workers.

These changes will make it more difficult for employers across America to run their businesses and grow as the economy turns upward.

But all employers who hire foreign workers – even those who don’t participate in existing visa programs – should take note. If comprehensive immigration reform comes up in Congress next year, this is the climate in which the debate will take place.

All best, Tamar

Tamar Jacoby
President
ImmigrationWorks USA

www.immigrationworksusa.org

CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR E-MAIL LIST!

Rich Pellegrino and Bill Ayers.

“On that well-worn stage will stand a variety of speakers, the headliner being author, teacher and former Weather Underground member Bill Ayers (see interview on facing page), who became a political lightning rod during the high-stakes final stretch of last year’s presidential campaign. The preceding day’s featured speakers will be Constance Curry and Bob Zellner, both authors and activists regarded as “Civil Rights pioneers” by festival spokesman and Banner-Herald columnist Ed Tant. Zellner, the son and grandson of Klansmen, participated in political organizing with African Americans during the Civil Rights era, an especially dangerous undertaking in the South.

The youth program, with music by children of all ages and backgrounds, will kick off the festival on Saturday. (An entire kids’ area, with children’s arts and crafts, sand play, face painting, drumming, llamas, magic and more will be available 10 a.m.–7 p.m. on Saturday and 2–7 p.m. on Sunday.) Later in the evening on Saturday will be Athens’ first Festival of Immigrant Rights, featuring, among others, two politically charged Latino punk bands from Atlanta and a speech by Richard Pellegrino, an Italian-American immigrant rights activist whom Atlanta Latino magazine recently named “Person of the Year.”

HERE

Rich, Rich, Rich: race-baiting with the ACLU, an open borders agenda, Socialist Jerry Gonzalez, a coalition with the Nation of Islam, international drug dealing …and Bill Ayers?

Davidson County Sheriff, Daron Hall says the numbers don’t lie. “In the last two and a half years, we have seen a 58 percent reduction in crimes committed by people who are illegally in the country.” HERE