TresSugar

Front Page: House Set to Vote on Bailout, Fact-Checking and Debate Quotes, Fewer People Entering US Illegally

CitizenSugar — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:00:32 -0700

House Set to Vote on Bailout:
The US House is debating the Bailout Bill this morning, preparing for a vote expected later today. The version they're considering is heftier version approved by the Senate earlier this week. Speaker Pelosi said of the pending vote, "We're not going to take a bill to the floor that doesn't have the votes. I'm optimistic that we will take a bill to the floor." The House rejected the first Bailout plan on Monday.

Fact-Checking and Debate Quotes:
The morning after the Vice Presidential Debate, analysis is running high. If you're looking to make analysis of your own, individual facts from the debate have now been checked, along with full quotes from the transcripts, so you can make up your own mind. If you missed the excitement, check out our reactions to the debate and the live-comments.
Fewer People Entering US Illegally:
A report released today shows that fewer people are trying to enter the US illegally, and that over the past year there has been no growth in the number of illegal immigrants in residence. For the first time in almost 10 years, the number of people entering illegally was lower than those coming in through legal channels. Experts think the loss of low-wage jobs in the American economy and tighter borders could be the cause.

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Front Page: Plot to Assassinate Obama, Hundreds Held in Immigration Raid, Mystery Virus Hits India

CitizenSugar — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 06:55:20 -0700

Plot to Assassinate Obama:
Denver authorities announced they had arrested three people on drug and gun charges in connection with a possible plot to assassinate Obama during his speech accepting the nomination Thursday night. The US Attorney Generals office will hold a press conference this afternoon to discuss the "aggressive" inquiry into the case. It's not clear how detailed the plot was before the arrests.

Hundreds Held in Immigration Raid:
Another large-scale immigration raid, this time in Mississippi, led to 350 workers being detained. Numerous ICE agents infiltrated the Howard Industries factory and so far dozens of workers have been “identified, fingerprinted, interviewed, photographed and processed for removal from the US.” Immigrants' rights activists said, “It’s horrific what ICE is doing to these families and these communities.”
Mystery Virus Hits India:
A virus that started in one village in India has spread to 350 people and claimed 160 lives; 15 to 20 people are dying everyday. Doctors are unsure what the disease is, though possible causes lie everywhere in the piles of garbage and waterlogged roads. The villagers are getting desperate: “Everyone here is waiting for doctors to come and examine people; but they aren’t coming and we are counting our dead.”

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Few Immigrants Self-Deport, Bishop Says Jesus Wouldn't Raid

CitizenSugar — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 10:00:02 -0700

The federal "self-deportation" pilot program ends today with a scant handful of illegal immigrants volunteering to return home. The three-week program gave illegal immigrants facing court orders 90 days to plan their departure rather than face being arrested, detained, and deported. The program was well-publicized, but in the first week only six signed up.

Immigrant advocates cite few incentives and no consideration for immigrants' ties to family in the US for the reason it was so unpopular. Given the failure of the program, they're worried now that it will be used as a reason to step up the raids since the ICE made an effort to enforce the law in a gentler way.

One religious figure is playing the WWJD game with immigration raids. To see what he has to say, read more.

Rhode Island's Roman Catholic bishop is calling for an end to immigration raids and has asked for a blanket moratorium on them in his state. Bishop Thomas Tobin says,

We often ask, 'What would Jesus do?' I know for sure what Jesus would not do, would be to sweep into a community, gather up large numbers of people, separate them from one another and deport them to another country. In my own mind, in my own conscience, that's crystal clear: Jesus would not do that.

He goes on to say that raids are unjust, unnecessary, and counterproductive. Are they? Why did the self-deportation program fail? Would Jesus really disapprove of raids? Are they the only solution?

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PETA Warning to Border Crossers: US Burgers Will Kill You

CitizenSugar — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:15:22 -0700

Like the Minutemen, another controversial group who has erected signs at the border between the US and Mexico, PETA has a billboard all cooked up and aimed at the migrating population heading across the border. The PETA placard has a stronger message than "we keep this road clean" - the animal rights superadvocates want immigrants to cross over, and cross meat off their shopping list.

PETA is asking the government to let them rent space on the border fence proclaiming to the new arrivals: "If the Border Patrol Doesn't Get You, the Chicken and Burgers Will - Go Vegan."

Now I'm as vegan as the next. . . vegan, but the PETA campaigns can be let's say, less than subtle. To see what they're planning for this campiagn, read more.

The proposed billboard (which is presented to the Border Patrol today) will show a picture of a fit Mexican eating local food, and a picture of an obese immigrant gorging on meaty American fast food. A PETA spokesperson says, "we think that Mexicans and other immigrants should be warned if they cross into the US they are putting their health at risk by leaving behind a healthier, staple diet of corn tortillas, beans, rice, fruits, and vegetables."

The government is expected to block the billboards because they will hamper visibility through the fence, compromising safety. One resident on the border whose ranch will be bisected by the new fence says the government should take the money - and adds that the message "might even be frightening enough to deter people from crossing into the US."

Between PETA advertising for immigrant health, and LA banning new fast-food restaurants for a year, is this all part of a big effort for a greater good - or are we focusing resources in the wrong place?

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Front Page: Combat Tours Reduced, Olmert to Quit, Fewer Illegal Immigrants, Karadzic Due in Court

CitizenSugar — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 06:55:37 -0700

Combat Tours Reduced:
President Bush said in an appearance at the White House this morning that combat tours in Iraq will be reduced to 12 months from 15. He said, "we are now in our third consecutive month with reduced violence levels holding steady." With a deal on security close, it "relieves the burden on our forces." Five US soldiers died in Iraq this month compared to 66 in July 2007.

Olmert to Quit:
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has announced he will resign in September after his party chooses a new leader. Olmert is tangled in a corruption investigation, and the announcement heightens uncertainty in both the Middle East peace effort and the political legacies of both Olmert and Bush, who'd hoped for breakthroughs before leaving office.

Fewer Illegal Immigrants:
The number of immigrants in the US illegally has fallen by 1.3 million in the past year, an 11 percent fall since the peak last August. The report accompanying the census showed a "strong indication" that stricter enforcement by authorities played a major role in the reduction, though others say the shifting economy has made the US a less desirable location.
Karadzic Due in Court:
Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic will be charged with 11 counts of war crimes by the UN war crimes tribunal today. The exact charges will only be revealed in court; afterward he can enter a plea but doesn't have to. Karadzic had been on the run for 13 years before being captured in Belgrade last week.

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Iowa's Citizens Tell Congressmen to Lay Off Immigration Raids

CitizenSugar — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 08:00:52 -0700

About 1,000 Iowans marched in protest yesterday over working conditions at the same meatpacking plant in Iowa where an immigration raid this Spring that led to the arrest of almost 400 people. The incident has left local residents pleading with their congressmen to stop with the raids. This weekend residents told their representatives that the sweep damaged the small town more than it helped, and tore families apart.

The raid was the largest of its kind in US history, and the testimony over the weekend showed the huge emotional toll it took on the community. Those testifying both skewered immigration officials and Homeland Security for inhumane tactics, and leveled criticism at the plant for taking advantage of the workers.

At the end of the hearing, Rep. Gutierrez agreed, "This is wrong. We've taken men and women who want to work and made felons out of them." One local union official said the blame would be better placed with the owners who hired and took advantage of the workers rather than the illegal workers themselves, "the family that owns that place, they're the ones who should be prosecuted."

The mayor issued the definitive statement, and urged them to take the message back to Washington that raids don't work, "this raid did nothing for this community. It downgraded us substantially. It caused people to suffer, and it caused our reputation to suffer clear across the country."

Is he right? Do immigration raids do more harm than good?

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NE Town Proposes Law to Ban Harboring Illegal Immigrants

CitizenSugar — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:15:16 -0700

Fremont, NE, has made a move to become the first and only city to banish illegal immigrants - making the town the antithesis to famous sanctuary cities like San Francisco. The controversial law proposes a city ordinance that goes a step further than other city bans and will outlaw harboring and renting to illegal immigrants. The potential effect of the law is huge as the town, just west of Omaha, contains a Hormel Foods processing plant that relies on immigrant labor.

The longtime councilman who sponsored the proposal said that his constituents were "sick and tired" of the federal governments lax enforcement of immigration laws, and that he'll, "fight to the dying end to do what they want." To see what happened in the debate, read more.

The meeting to discuss the ordinance this week turned tense - some left because they thought there wasn't adequate security and one opponent of the ordinance burst into tears over the "hateful" statements.

A spokesman for the Nebraska Mexican-American Commission said the council proceedings "degraded" the dialogue over immigration laws, while a council member said, "people expressed their opinions. That is a given right in the United States of America."

Should a town be able to pass an ordinance that bans the renting of housing to illegal immigrants - and is it enforceable? Will the measure serve to strengthen the federal measures, or just provide an economic blow to the local factory? Is this a case of a city stepping in to fill a void left by the federal government?

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San Francisco Giving Crack-Dealing Immigrants Free Airfare

CitizenSugar — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:45:36 -0700

What do you get when you enter the US illegally, sell crack, and then claim to be a juvenile? If you're in San Francisco, you get free airfare home. Citing the city's status as a sanctuary city, juvenile probation officials are protecting Hondurans caught selling crack from federal deportation by giving them a city-paid flight home with no restrictions on returning.

The practice has prompted a federal criminal investigation to see if San Francisco has been systematically circumventing US immigration law. A spokesman for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says, "our job is to uphold the nation's immigration laws. Although San Francisco is a sanctuary city, it's a problem whenever someone attempts to evade the law. . . . Our law does not allow us to turn a blind eye to any individual who has come into this country illegally." To see how SF has become a travel agency, read more.

When arrested, those caught routinely say they are minors, though police suspect otherwise citing full beard growth among other distinctions. Despite this, city authorities usually suspect their stories and send the cases to Juvenile Court, where proceedings are often shielded from public scrutiny. Instead of deporting the drug offenders, authorities have been recommending that Juvenile Court judges approve city-paid flights home to Honduras with the goal of reuniting the alleged "youths" with their families.

The city-funded Hotwire has some hopping mad. The US attorney in charge of the San Francisco area, said he was "flabbergasted that the taxpayers' money was being spent for the purpose of ferrying detainees home. You have to have a perfect storm of dumb moves to have it happen. . . . What we're facing is a number of people gaming the system." Some offenders have been arrested four or five times.

There is no official word as to how many juvenile drug offenders have been flown out of the country or how much the city has spent on the effort.

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Front Page: North Korea Declares Nuclear Program, Iraq Bombings, Immigration Raid

CitizenSugar — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 07:02:25 -0700

North Korea Declares Nuclear Program:
North Korea has submitted for inspection the long-awaited declaration of the extent of its nuclear program. Immediately after the move, the Bush administration announced it would remove the country, formerly on the "axis of evil" list, from the list of states who sponsor terrorism, as well as lifting commercial restriction on the country. President Bush said, "this can be a moment of opportunity for North Korea. If it continues to make the right choices it can repair its relationship with the international community."

Attack Kills 33 in Iraq:
At least 33 people have been killed in two massive bombings in Iraq today, including 18 people hit by a car bomb in the northern city of Mosul. The US military gave initial reports from Mosul saying that another 71 civilians and nine policemen were wounded. The second attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, killing the mayor and 14 senior members of an anti-Qaeda group. US commanders have said that Mosul is the country's last urban stronghold of al-Qaeda.
Immigration Raid Leads to 160 Arrests:
Federal immigration agents raided a used clothing plant in Houston, leading to 160 arrests, 70 percent of whom were women. The raid was the largest ever in the area, and the second major raid in Houston in the past two months. Two hundred immigration agents were involved in what was part of a yearlong investigation. A lawyer for the company said, “We want to abide by the law, and we're going to abide by the law. If we have an illegal employee, we don’t know it. No way. Tell us what the law is, and we’ll obey it.”

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53 Immigrants Held For Ransom in Phoenix, 300 in Raid in Iowa

CitizenSugar — Tue, 13 May 2008 06:00:58 -0700

We talk a lot about illegal immigration around here, but this story really puts a human face on the situation and shows the extent of the problem. It doesn't look good for anyone involved. Arizona authorities recently found 53 illegal immigrants being held prisoners in a Phoenix home by suspected smugglers holding them hostage for more money.

Among the group of rescued immigrants were two 13-year-old girls and a mentally disabled man. There were three women, and the rest were men, according to officials. The group had all had their shoes confiscated and were packed in with very little food or water. It's thought that smugglers wanted an average of $2,500 for the release of each person. To see the huge raid in Iowa, read more.

In Iowa another raid led to the arrest of at least 300 people in a raid on the world's largest kosher meatpacking plant. A US Attorney says the raid on the Agriprocessors Inc. plant in Postville is the largest operation of its kind in Iowa history and required months of planning.

What's the answer to human trafficking? If one commits an illegal act, is being mired further in crime like those being held in Phoenix, part of the bargain? Do we need more full-scale raids like in Iowa? What becomes of the meatpacking plant now that it's down 300 workers?