Tony Herrera » illegal immigration

Is Immigration Reform like making sausage?

admin — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:38:46 +0000

(foto credit: celikins)

Will the pending “Comprehensive Immigration Reforms” be a similar to making sausage? I mean, once immigration reform is done and served to the people, will most of us, especially those of us who have been yearning and hungry for a “comprehensive immigration reform package” be happy with the ingredients it contains.

Will a comprehensive immigration reform package be stuffed with things like, “we might also see a requirement that all workers carry a tamper-proof identification card and new criteria for admitting legal immigrants.” as Ruben Navarrette states and with insight adds that the major problems of immigration are, “three big problems: porous borders; the difficulty in immigrating legally; and the fact that 12 million illegal immigrants are in a state of suspended animation where they work hard, pay taxes, buy homes, and join the PTA, but never achieve full civic participation and the responsibilities that come with it.”

The last part of Navarrette’s commentary is crucial because for the most part the 12 million undocumented immigrants currently in the United States are largely absent from the contentious and highly vocal pro and con arguments surrounding immigration reform. The undocumented immigrant for the most part is patiently and attentively waiting in the shadows to emerge with some sort of legal status. They for the most part all just want to work and raise their families and will gladly take whatever Congress ultimately deems to be Comprehensive Immigration Reform. They will be overjoyed at the thought of receiving a valid work permit, legal residency card and the most coveted and prized, a U.S. Citizenship Certificate.

We can fully expect the GOP to raise a ruckus over all manner of details surrounding immigration reform, but in the end a small number of Republicans will join their Democratic counterparts and provide the 60 votes necessary to pass an immigration reform package. The great battle for the hearts and minds of the Latino voter for the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections begins now.

While engaged in the difficult task of passing a sensible immigration reform package the GOP will be asking itself one question, over and over again: “Does the Latino Vote Matter?“. The answer: It only matters if you consider that some 50 thousand children turn 18 each month, young adults who are registering and voting in greater numbers than previous generations, young adults who are likely to have at least one immigrant parent. The GOP can’t ignore the facts, they can’t look at the growing Latino population and concede the math, at least not if they ever want to win another Presidential election in the near future.

Short Film by Hilman Curtis: Soldiers

admin — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:39:00 +0000

Yesterday, was Constitution Day day in which American commemorate the U.S. Constitution which on September 17, 1787 was signed by thirty-nine visionary men. Constitution Day is supposed to be a time when “continue the legacy and develop habits of citizenship in the new generation of Americans”. But, what will the face of the “new generation of American’s” look like?

A Short Story

In 1980 as a 19 year old I joined the U.S. Marine Corps. I joined because, I did not want to go directly to college, I wanted to get away from home and wanted to serve his country, all in that order. I joined much to my parents initial dismay which would later turn into pride albeit with reasonable fears for my safety.

A few months later, after being processed at some building in Los Angeles, I boarded a bus bound for Union Station and boarded an Amtrak train which left Los Angeles and headed to San Diego for 13-weeks of basic training.

I was accompanied on the train a few other recruits, we had been delayed while being processed and missed the chartered bus, so special transportation arrangements where made for our group of what I remember being five Marine recruits.

Anyway, while heading to the Marine Corp Recruit Depot (MCRD) for what would turn out to be some very long, mentally and physically challenging training, I had time to contemplate what lay ahead. However, while on the train I had no idea of what actually awaited me, no idea of what to expect while in basic training. I was just thinking, wishfully thinking about the possibilities as I embarked on this new path. I was thinking about how best I could serve my country.

Remember, when I joined the military, I was still just a Permanent U.S. Resident and had not yet decided to become a U.S. Citizen, as a 19 year old I had not really given that much thought on what it meant to be a U.S. Citizen, much less pondered it’s value and significance.

What’s in a title?

When you join the Marines you don’t automatically become a “Marine”. You don’t earn the privilege of being called Marine until you actually graduate from basic training. While in basic training Drill Instructors may refer to you as “private”, if they are feeling generous, most likely they will less desirable names, such a maggot, scum bucket, shit-for-brains, etc., all meant to remind you that you have not yet earned the title of Marine, you’ve yet to earn the title of Private, so dig deep and train hard.

At about the 11th week, the Drill Instructors will begin to call you “Private” and one begins to see them more as mentors rather than, well hard-asses hell bent on destroying you. The fact that a Drill Instructor would address with the title of “Private” is enough to fill up any recruit who has just left behind him or her some 10 weeks of intense physical training of what is the most demanding basic military training program in the U.S. Armed Forces will fill them with immense pride. The title of Private tell you that the forthcoming title is that of United States Marine. The light becomes visible at the end of the tunnel.

What does it mean to be a Citizen?

So, once again yesterday was Constitution Day, which made me ponder what it means to be a Citizen. It made me think about the sacrifices that citizens and our US Military makes on our behalf everyday. It reminded me of the sacrifices that thousands of soldiers what are foreign born immigrants, the sacrifices that those immigrants who have yet to become U.S. citizens also make for their adopted country.

I could not help but think what those thirty-nine courages and visionary men, those who wrote the U.S. Constitution could possible think about how our current legislative leaders and our commander in chief have interpreted the articles of the constitution?

Is it possible that new immigrants have a different concept of what Citizenship means, one that is different from what our founding fathers envisioned? Certainly our founding fathers would never have envisioned a nation with a racial make up such is our nation is today.

It goes without saying that the founding fathers could never have envisioned a United States of America in 2008. But our current leaders know what to expected our nation to look like in 2050.

The US Census has widely reported on how Asian, Black and Latino/Hispanics will become the majority in the United States by 2050.

So once again, what does it mean to be a Citizen of the United States today? Is there broad consensus amongst us on what that means?

The Pew Hispanic Center just released study cites that:

Half (50%) of all Latinos say that the situation of Latinos in this country is worse now than it was a year ago, according to a new nationwide survey of 2,015 Hispanic adults conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center.

How can this country and it’s citizens become more unified if most factors point to a continued fragmentation. The failure of our government to fix our immigration crisis has only added to the fragmentation, something that a souring economy only makes worse.

We can vigorously debate the issue of illegal immigration and whether or not such immigrants contribute positively or negatively to the United States, both in an economic and social sense, but the fact remains that they are here, some have been here for over 20 years and despite Draconian efforts most will remain in this country.The immigration crisis as an issue has been largely absent from the Presidential Elections of 2008, perhaps the upcoming debates will be reason for it to resurface and allow the candidates to spell out their plans for a solution.

The current issue is that of the economy, but immigration, even illegal immigration has become an integral part of such economy. The fixing of our immigration crisis is like the elephant in the room which nobody wants to acknowledge. Both presidential candidates fears what that fix will look like and they fear alienating their base with the hard and difficult choices that will accompany such “fix”.

The McCain and Obama camps seem to be comfortable in the notion that it’s best to address the immigration crisis once they are elected into office. It’s strategically a better place from which to deal with the messy clean-up, since in office their election is not longer at stake, but it’s a cop out.

Citizens vs. Immigrants

How will our legislature deal with the Millions of undocumented workers currently in the United States and will they be provided with an eventual path to Citizenship?

How will the next Presidential administration deal with the billions of dollars that undocumented immigrants have paid into the social security system? A dirty little secret is that those funds have been paid by immigrants to fund the benefits that U.S. Citizens receive from the Social Security Administration. It’s simply how the SSA operates, current generation of workers pay the Social Security benefits of past working generations.

Will an immigration reform measure allow the SSA to credit the account of millions of undocumented immigrants with the money they have contributed via payroll deductions? More importantly will they be allowed to receive Social Security benefits when they become eligible and how will those benefits be funded?

McCain and Obama have very hard work ahead. The next President will be required to lead our legilators and have them decide whether millions of undocumented immigrants currently living and working in the United States will be provided with a path towards U.S. Citizenship.

The stakes are immensely high and even our founding fathers would be hard pressed for an easy decision. The choices made by the next administration on comprehensive immigration reform will greatly impact the future of the United States in profound ways that are yet to be determined.

Mexico Under Siege

admin — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 23:29:00 +0000

Click to Play

Yesterday, Deborah Bonello of MexicoReporter posted a video along with photos of the “Peace March In Mexico“. The post is about the thousands of protesters who have taken to streets across Mexico to express their anger and indignation about the increase in kidnappings and murders in their country. The protests are also a means to call upon the government to take further action to quell the violence despite the fact that many protesters fear little will change.

Mexico currently has a kidnapping rate that rivals conflict zones such as Iraq and Colombia . Mexican official statistics report a 40%increase in kidnappings between 2004 and 2007, it’s believed that figure is much higher because kidnapping victims often don’t report their crime to the police authorities.

Today, President Felipe Calderon submitted a report to Mexico’s Congress claiming progress from his war against organized crime that began some 21 months ago. Calderon’s crime initiative deployed some 40,000 of Mexico’s soldiers and 5,000 federal police to border states and large areas of the country infiltrated by drug cartels. Since Calderon launched his crackdown against drug cartels, an estimated 4,100 people have died. Marc Lacey’s report “Mexico: Gains Against Drugs Claimed” for the New York Times he wrote:

He said that, in 21 months in office, his administration had rounded up
many drug kingpins and seized more than 11,000 weapons, from pistols to
missile launchers.

Drug cartels routinely unleash urban battles in their never ending power stuggles. They fight over lucrative trade routes to increase their market share and employ weapons, such machine guns and grenades. Mexican officials describe such battles between drug cartels as the “equivalent to military small-unit combat”. The harsh reality is that for some time now criminals in Mexico are better equipped than the local police and military units they combat. The LA Times published an article on August 10, 2008 on how weapons and ammunition flow unchecked into Mexico from U.S. Border states.

More than 6,700 licensed gun dealers have set up shop within a short
drive of the 2,000-mile border, from the Gulf Coast of Texas to San
Diego — which amounts to more than three dealers for every mile of
border territory. Law enforcement has come to call the region an “iron
river of guns.”

American made weapons flow into via the use of “straw buyers” which drug cartels employ along U.S. Border States to purchase and smuggle automatic weapons into Mexico. The constant flow of weapons into Mexico is made possible in part due to the large amounts of cash that illegal drug sales produce for drug cartels in the United States. The cost of such weapons if of little concern to drug cartels whose business had grown into a $65 Billion Dollar business as early as 1998. Thus a vicious cycle ensues; Mexico sends the U.S. illegal drugs and America sends Mexico illegal weapons, routinely caught in the middle are the victims of drug violence on both sides of the border.

A High Profile Kidnapping

The governments difficulty to combat drug cartels and crime was brought sharper into focus when Fernando Marti, 14 years old, was kidnapped. Marti who appears in the image below with his parents was the son of a
wealthy businessman. He was kidnapped at a bogus checkpoint set up by criminals dressed in police uniforms.

(Agencia Reforma)
The kidnapping and death of Fernando Marti, shown last year with his
parents, Alejandro and Matilde Marti, sparked national outrage. His
family reportedly paid the abductors millions of dollars to try to
bring the 14-year-old home.

What troubles so many is the fact that Marti was kidnapped despite efforts by his family to take necessary precautions. Marti was kidnapped from the families bullet proof sedan along with his bodyguard and his driver. The Marti family waited in agony for their son to be released after paying a reported $6 Million
Dollars in ransom money. Marti’s decomposed and bullet riddled body would later be found in the trunk of a stolen and abandoned car. Calderon would attend Fernando Marti’s funeral while and investigation would later reveal that Federal Police officers were involved in the kidnapping.

Police involvement in criminal activities makes President Felipe Calderon’s efforts that much more complicated. The government has the arduous task of combating what many see as pervasive corruption within local and federal police authorities. The corruption amongst police, even if limited, has instilled fear among Mexican citizens, who often fear local and federal police, as much as they fear criminals.

Taking to the Streets

Mexican citizens have taken to the streets to publicly express their outrage and to demand their government take further action, but sadly many admit that combating rampant crime and violence from drug cartels is a problem that will require considerable resources that Mexico can ill afford.

The rash of kidnappings has not only affected citizens throughout Mexico, but has also impacted tourists who are often kidnapped in what is considered as “Express Kidnappings”. In such crime tourists are kidnapped and forced to draw money from their bank accounts via Automated Teller Machines (ATM’s) and often released unharmed. Mexicans are increasingly not only calling on their government to step up enforcements, but also to raise the penalty on those who commit such crimes, especially when it involves children.

Economic Crisis Coupled with Future Uncertainty

The Mexican government is under pressure to demonstrate results from their offensive against organized crime and calm the uncertainty felt by a large segment of it’s citizens. How effective Calderon’s administration will be at combating drug cartels and crime has yet to be determined. Pres. Calderon has a full plate before him, aside from combating crime and drug cartels, an economic crisis, he is also wrapped up in a battle to reform Pemex, the state-run oil company which provides the lions share of revenue to his government.

Mexico’s growing economic crisis is further impacted as its second largest source of revenue, remittances from Mexicans living and working in the U.S. continues to decline, mostly as a result of the United States declining economy. Prior to 2008, the level of remittances had steadily grown year-after-year and as of 2006 had surpassed tourism to become the second largest source of revenue for Mexico behind oil exports.

Calderon’s term as President of Mexico end in 2012 so he has a years ahead to work on fixing many of Mexico’s troubles. However, the unfolding presidential campaign in the United States could spell further trouble for Calderon, as an Obama or McCain administration responds to public pressure to fix the illegal immigration problem. Mexico’s civic unrest may increase once the U.S. Congress reforms our immigration policy and sharply curtails the number of Mexican migrant workers who are allowed enter and legally work into the United States. As it currently stands Mexico’s inability to create jobs results in many of it’s citizens voting with their feet, leaving Mexico and seek a better life across the border. How Mexico will be impacted when a greater number of it’s citizens can no longer easily, albeit illegally, migrate to the United States is a problem, given Mexico’s current problems, that has not popped up on President Calderon’s radar.

100 Years in the Back Door, Out the Front

admin — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 06:16:00 +0000

The New York Times ran an article on May 21, 2006 titled; “100 Years in the Back Door, Out the Front“. The story brings to mind the love/hate relationship that the United States has had with migrant workers from Mexico. The article highlights how in 1919, Texas brought in tens of thousands of Mexican migrants to pick its cotton each year. Then it invited them all to leave.

The perverse history that the United States has had with Mexico when it comes to cheap immigrant labor, but especially with immigration from Mexico has been an issue of particular interest to me. It’s an issue that binds my family to this country and connects me to a small town in Mexico that until today continues to export it’s young men, and now young women into the United States.

In 1986, when the Reagan Administration signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). I questioned whether Reagan’s Administration would follow through with the enforcement provisions of the law that granted amnesty to approximately 3 million undocumented immigrants who had entered the country prior to January 1, 1982. The law turned out to, as critics of the act claimed, provided no sanctions against employers and failed to stem illegal immigration. The fact that the 1986 Amnesty failed to stem illegal immigration is undisputed, what is disputed is who should be blamed? The anti-immigrant groups will have us blame the undocumented immigrants and point to the fact that illegal immigrants continue to come in droves. Anti-immigrant groups would be right, if we did not consider the magnets (jobs and willing employers) that draw migrant workers accross our borders. These same anti-immigrant groups (NumbersUSA, FAIR, CIS) are quick to cite that what this country needs is to do is secure its southern border and then go after unscruplous employers. They are half right. The border, despite its pourous nature is not the problem. The border has always been pourous, but despite beliefs to the contrary the vast majority of illegal immigrants arrive via legal means, with entry visas and then simply overstay them and join the ranks of millions of other undocumented workers.

If we return for a bit to the 1986 Amnesty, it’s not difficult to see how actual employer sanctions coupled with an effective workplace verification system would have deterred continued illegal immigration. How many undocumented workers would have continued to journey to the United States in search of unattainable jobs?

A lack of employer sanctions and lax workplace verification resulted in an open invitation for both workers and employers that fueled, instead of detering undocumented immigration.

So, 25 years later we now have an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States. The true number of illegal immigrants living in this country could well exceed that amount by 2-3 millions once an actual solution is drafted by an Obama/McCain administration.

Immigration Reform – Act II

In 2008-2009, some type of immigration reform will be passed and a new course will be set for the millions of undocumented immigrants. Whether those newly minted immigrants will be provided a clear path to American citizenship remains to be seen. What we can be sure of is that this round of immigration reform will contain employer sanctions and workplace enforcement.

Those sanctions and workplace enforcement will contribute to uneasy tensions between the races, especially when the economy stumbles. Nevertheless, immigration reform will come and the vast majority of illegal immigrants currently in the United States will be allowed to remain, whether it be as temporary guest workers, permanent residents or eventual Citizens remains unclear.

Immigration from Mexico will always be an important issue for the United States. The U.S. will have to contend with immigration from Mexico as long as it continues to rely on it as a cheap labor source and maintain certain segments of manufacturing and agriculture. A continued lack of decent hourly wages and a rise in delinquency, crime and economic uncertainty in Mexico will continue to drive immigrants North.

Our government needs focus on one of it’s major tenets of it’s immigration policy, which has been family reunification before it implements comprehensive immigration reform otherwise our next wave of illegal immigration will not be from those seeking work, but rather from those seeking to reunite with their families.

Illegally Celebrating Independence Day Amongst US

admin — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:18:00 +0000

Yesterday night, our family celebrated the Fourth of July with friends. Our celebration included the usual ingredients that traditionally mark such celebrations; family, friends, food, drink and fireworks. Our celebration for the most part was typical of those held by families across the nation, with the exception that ours included a few undocumented immigrants.

As we celebrated several things crossed my mind, among them the irony that on a yearly basis an increasing number of undocumented immigrants actually celebrate the 4th of July, since some undocumented immigrants have lived in this country since 1986 and without a doubt celebrate the day with their US born children. The other thing that crossed my mind is that yesterdays Independence Day would be the last one celebrated under the Bush administration. Our next year Independence Day will be celebrated under an Obama or McCain administration.

I’m hopeful that next years 4th of July celebration will be quite different from yesterday for the estimated 12 Million undocumented immigrants currently in our country. Both Obama and McCain have sparred over immigration, but the fact is that both candidates will have no choice but to place immigration reform at the top of their list once they elected to the presidency. Both have campaigned with pledges to address immigration reform within the first 100 days of their administrations.

Between now and November the issue of illegal immigration will test the two candidates. Americans will be faced with confusion about what to do with the 12 Million undocumented immigrants as they are once again thrust into the complexities that make up illegal immigration.

The false sense of victory that some Americans, particularly in the border States, have felt with the deployment of 6000 National Guardsmen will be tested. Those troops are scheduled to be removed as of July 15, 2008. There is no denying that enforcement of the border is necessary, but the reality is that even a beefed up Border Patrol is just one piece of a well run immigration policy. An effective immigration policy must have a workforce enforcement provision that prevents the illegal hiring of undocumented workers and also takes steps to protect the rights of both documented and undocumented immigrant workers. Our current system provides too many ways that unscrupulous employers can employ undocumented workers and thus contributing to the creation of a second class of workers that are routinely denied worker rights and protections afforded to the rest of us.

The policy would have to address the need for immigrant labor in our economy and the contributions immigrants bring this nation not only from an economic point of view, but also from a cultural and social aspect.

No amount of new fencing and strict border enforcement will do much towards encouraging undocumented workers to come out from the shadows, step forward and be counted.

The task for our next President, whether it’s work permits, legal residency and an eventual path to Citizenship remains to be worked out.

Let’s remember that history repeat itself and as IRCA of 1986 has proven, 10 years from now none of this will matter if our next Presidential Administration does not take steps to prevent the hiring of undocumented workers, the failure successive administrations to enforce sanctions and penalties written into IRCA, steadfastly weakened the rights of all workers both legal and undocumented.

Their is a long list of things this country needs to do in order to fix our immigration system. Let’s hope that our next President and Congress provide us the change necessary for us celebrate our next Fourth of July honoring our independence and the values as well as the economic contributions that all immigrants bring to America.

Costa Mesa’s case against immigrant advocate dismissed

admin — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 03:32:00 +0000

(Via L.A. Times)

Costa Mesa’s high-profile prosecution of an immigrant advocate ejected by police from a 2006 City Council meeting was dismissed by an Orange County judge Monday. (Full Story)

The dismissal was handed down because the Costa Mesa prosecutor Danny Peelman did not meet the requirements to be a city prosecutor. The judge dismissed the charges because Peelman had not been properly sworn in by the city clerk — as required by state law. Afterwards Peelman stated, “The decision of the court this afternoon had nothing to do with the merits of the case”.

The decision is a defeat for Mayor Allan Mansoor and the City of Costa Mesa who now must defend themselves from a civil case filed by Acosta which is set for April 2008. Criminal charges against Acosta are unlikely to be re-filed because it would require an appellate court to overturn the dismissal handed down by Orange County Superior Court Judge Kelly MacEachern.

Peelman works for Jones & Mayer a Fullerton, California law firm that charges the City of Costa Mesa $165 per hour for its services. The decision by Mayor Mansoor, the city prosecutor and their supporters to criminally charge Acosta is likely to cost the City of Costa Mesa a significant sum of money, especially if Acosta prevails in his civil case.

The video below is from the incident between Acosta and the Costa Mesa City Council, that resulted in Acosta’s arrest.

Message from Hutchinson to Migrants: Pay US Now and Maybe You Can Collect Later

admin — Fri, 25 May 2007 08:18:00 +0000

Kay Bailey Hutchinson a Texas senator has been participating in the marathon bargaining negotiations on controversial bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill. Yesterday, she proposed an amendment to the bill.

Hutchison’s amendment seeks to ensure that illegal immigrants who are granted visas do not accrue Social Security benefits for any of the time they were in US illegally.

She also does not want them to be eligible for any long-term Social Security benefits if they are provided with legal residency and remain in the US. Instead, Hutchinson proposes that they receive a lump-sum payment of their Social Security withholdings once they return home.

Perhaps Ms. Hutchinson should be aware that what she is proposing was tried during the Bracero Program. History repeats itself and senators would be wise to reflect upon it. They should be reminded that the the n legislature worked out the details to the Bracero program that instituted a 10 percent deduction of all wages earned by Braceros during their employment in the US. The 10 percent was collected by the employer and forwarded to Wells Fargo and other US banks to be placed in a fund. The fund would serve as incentive for Braceros’ to return to Mexico. The incentive would come in the form of a lump sum payment, a payment of 10 percent of the wages earned by the Bracero while toiling in the farm fields of the United States.

UC Davis wrote about the fate of such funds in their Rural Migration News, Vol. 8, N. 3, dated July 2001:

The California Legislature in May 2001 approved a resolution that urged the US to cooperate with Mexico to find and return the 10 percent forced savings that US employers of Braceros forwarded to Wells Fargo and other US banks in the 1940s. The funds were sent to Mexico, but apparently not paid to Braceros. Mexico formed a national commission in mid-May to investigate the missing funds; a report is due December 15, 2001.

The amount of money withheld and paid to Braceros is in dispute. Estimates are that $14 to $36 million was withheld between 1942 and 1949 (some sources say deductions stopped at the end of 1945). Those who say that only $14 million was withheld argue that most of the deducted funds were returned to Braceros as required- some $8 million was returned, they say.

Those who say that over $30 million was withheld argue that very little of the forced savings were returned, and that the US government and US banks are liable if the Mexican government lost the forced Bracero savings. Lawyers have filed several class-action lawsuits seeking as much as $500 billion in back wages, interest and punitive damages.”

The class-action lawsuit hit a major obstacle once it was determined that US Banks did in fact forward such funds to various Mexican banks. The class-action lawsuit was unenforceable in Mexico and the focus then shifted on the Mexican government to explain what happended to the money and do right by the remaining Braceros.

In 2005 the Mexican government finally took steps towards compensating thousands of those remaining Braceros, some well into their 80′s and 90′s, but many no longer alive. The Mexican government announced that it was setting aside $26.5 Million Dollars. However, they like a, Tabacco company to it’s victims, added that it would first create a commission to determine how, when and through what agency such funds would be disbursed.

Hutchison in a joint statement with Sen. John Cornyn said, “We are particularly concerned that we may be repeating the mistakes of the failed 1986 national amnesty.” Hutchinson and Cornyn are absolutely correct, at least absolutely partially correct, but we are also speaking of millions of workers who are currently paying into a system and getting little in return. We are also talking about being fair, so we would do well to go much further back into our history and make every attempt not to repeat costly and inhumane mistakes of our past.

Restraining Order Issued on Farmers Branch

admin — Tue, 22 May 2007 20:23:00 +0000

A federal judge Monday blocked the Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch from enforcing a controversial ordinance that the City Council passed by a 2-1 margin. The ordinance would have barred illegal immigrants from renting apartments in Farmers Branch.

The 20 page ruling, essentially a restraining order on the city by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay is available as a PDF download here.

Judge Lindsay wrote:

“The court … fully understands the frustration of cities attempting to address a national problem that the federal government should handle; however, [that] cannot serve as a basis to pass an ordinance that conflicts with federal law.”

The federal lawsuits brought against Farmers Branch for it’s attempt to bar illegal immigrants from renting apartments was sought by Latino groups and apartments owners, as well as other businesses. These groups claimed they would have faced irreparable harm if the $500 fines were imposed along with a lose of business to other neighboring cities.

The ruling amounts to a temporary restraining order on Farmers Branch, Texas and its officers who are prohibited from effectuating or enforcing the city Ordinance 2903. The matter still has a pending hearing on the Plaintiffs’ requests for preliminary injunction, so the temporary restraining only preserves the status quo. The ruling stated that the order is not final and may change upon reviewing additional facts and issues, as well as the court having the opportunity to conduct a more thorough analysis of the legal issues presented.

Marisol Perez, a staff attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which along with the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against the ordinance, said “This opinion gives us an idea about how he feels about the matter. He is in line with what other judges around the country have found when faced with these ordinances,” she said. “We’ll see what happens next.”

Farmworker to Surgeon: Immigrant Lives Dream

admin — Wed, 09 May 2007 04:10:00 +0000

As the topic of immigration continues to further divide us and we are bombarded with statistics from experts that pretend to offer us quantifiable date on whether undocumented immigrants are either good or bad for this nation, NPR delivers us the story of Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, a former illegal immigrant and now a neurosurgeon at John Hopkins University.

“Twenty years ago, he hopped a border fence from Mexico into the United States and became a migrant farmworker.

Today, he is a neurosurgeon and professor at Johns Hopkins University, and a researcher who is looking for a breakthrough in the treatment of brain cancer.”

Listen to the news story and read the full story. They say truth is stranger than fiction and Dr. Quinones-Hinojosa’s story reads much like a movie script.

Thanks to Loteria Chicana for providing the link.