Illinois Immigration Insider

Workplace Immigration enforcement starts, including Illinois

2009-07-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

http://www.leadertelegram.com/story-news.asp?id=BKFK9L2KKML

Updated: 7/2/2009 8:27:01 AM

Workplace immigration enforcement starts

CHICAGO (AP) - The Obama administration is investigating hundreds of U.S. businesses as part of its strategy to focus immigration enforcement on employers who hire illegal workers.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is notifying businesses of plans to audit their I-9 forms. Those are employment eligibility documents that employers fill out for every worker.

The Homeland Security Department says immigration officers served "Notices of Inspection" to 625 businesses. By comparison, 503 such notices were issued to businesses last year.

ICE spokeswoman Gail Montenegro says 32 notices are being sent to businesses within the six states the Chicago ICE office oversees.

Those states are Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri and Kentucky.

Montenegro didn't have further details.

Court Strikes Down Illinois Ban on E-Verify

2009-04-23T19:37:00.000-07:00

Spread the word....

April 22, 2009

Court Strikes Down Illinois Ban on E-Verify

A federal court sitting in Illinois has stricken down a controversial 2007 Illinois law, dubbed “The Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act,” which barred the state’s employers from using the federal E-Verify system to determine whether job applicants were legally allowed to work in the country.

Historically, over 900 Illinois employers have used E-Verify, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Illinois bill recognized E-Verify’s well-publicized problems related to the speed and accuracy of its results and prohibited employers from using it until it became more accurate and more efficient, and yielded correct results 99 percent of the time.

DHS challenged the law in federal court, arguing that it was unconstitutional because it frustrated the federal government’s intention in developing the E-Verify system for employers’ use. The filing of the suit delayed the law’s January 1, 2008, effective date pending the results of the litigation.

The U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois agreed with DHS, finding the state law invalid under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution because it thwarted Congress’s intention that employers use the system. The case is United States v. Illinois, U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, No. 07-3261 (3/12/09).

http://hr.blr.com/news.aspx?id=79871

Illinois No. 8 in the nation in illegal immigrants

2009-04-18T16:10:00.000-07:00

Illinois No. 8 in the nation in illegal immigrants

Comments

April 16, 2009

Illinois has an estimated 450,000 illegal immigrants, according to a new study by the Pew Hispanic Center.

Illinois ranks eighth in the nation. California leads with as many as 2.8 million illegal immigrants, the study found.

The Illinois numbers have more than doubled since 1990, though growth is slowing, the report said.

Nationally, there were 11.9 illegal immigrants -- 6.3 million men, 4.1 million women and 1.5 million children under 18 -- as of March 2008. The number of illegal immigrants has increased about 25 percent since 2003, though growth has declined or been flat in the last couple of years, researchers said.

The study said illegal immigrants made up 5.4 percent of the U.S. work force.

Sun-Times staff, wire reports

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1529625,CST-NWS-immig16.article

2009-04-05T16:52:00.000-07:00

Delay in Immigration Raids May Signal Policy Change

By Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 29, 2009; A02

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has delayed a series of proposed immigration raids and other enforcement actions at U.S. workplaces in recent weeks, asking agents in her department to apply more scrutiny to the selection and investigation of targets as well as the timing of raids, federal officials said.

A senior department official said the delays signal a pending change in whom agents at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement choose to prosecute -- increasing the focus on businesses and executives instead of ordinary workers.

"ICE is now scrutinizing these cases more thoroughly to ensure that [targets] are being taken down when they should be taken down, and that the employer is being targeted and the surveillance and the investigation is being done how it should be done," said the official, discussing Napolitano's views about sensitive law enforcement matters on the condition of anonymity.

"There will be a change in policy, but in the interim, you've got to scrutinize the cases coming up," the senior DHS official said, noting Napolitano's expectations as a former federal prosecutor and state attorney general.

Another DHS official said Napolitano plans to release protocols this week to ensure more consistent work-site investigations and less "haphazard" decision-making.

Napolitano's moves have led some to question President Obama's commitment to work-site raids, which were a signature of Bush administration efforts to combat illegal immigration. Napolitano has highlighted other priorities, such as combating Mexican drug cartels and catching dangerous criminals who are illegal immigrants.

Napolitano's moves foreshadow the difficult political decisions the Obama administration faces as it decides whether to continue mass arrests of illegal immigrant workers in sweeps of meatpackers, construction firms, defense contractors and other employers.

Critics say workplace and neighborhood sweeps are harsh and indiscriminate, and they accuse the government of racial profiling, violating due process rights and committing other humanitarian abuses.

The raids have enraged Latino community and religious leaders, immigrant advocates and civil liberties groups important to the Democratic base, who have stepped up pressure on Obama to stop them.

At a rally last week in Chicago, Cardinal Francis George, head of the archdiocese of Obama's home city, called on the government "to end immigration raids and the separation of families" and support an overhaul of immigration law. "Reform would be a clear sign this administration is truly about change," George said.

Also last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus made similar calls as the caucus met formally with Obama for the first time.

"Raids that break up families in that way, just kick in the door in the middle of the night, taking [a] father, a parent away, that's just not the American way. It must stop," Pelosi added at a Capitol Hill conference on border issues sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

But Obama also faces pressure from conservative lawmakers and many centrist Democrats, who say that workplace enforcement is needed to reduce the supply of jobs that attract illegal immigrants, and that any retreat in defending American jobs in a recession could ignite a populist backlash.

When the White House announced plans last week to move more than 450 federal agents and equipment to the border to counter Mexico's drug cartels, lawmakers warned Napolitano against diverting money from workplace operations.

Rep. Lamar Smith (Tex.), ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, said the administration "appears to be using border violence as an excuse" to undercut immigration enforcement in the nation's interior.

"It makes no sense to take funds from one priority (worksite enforcement) to address a new priority (the growth in border violence). This is just robbing Peter to pay Paul," Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), the powerful chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee for homeland security, said in an e-mail.

Led by Byrd, Congress this year ordered ICE to spend $127 million on workplace operations, $34 million more than President George W. Bush had requested. Reducing those amounts, even in ICE's overall $5 billion budget, would provoke a fight, senior aides in both parties said.

Napolitano has sought to chart a middle course by ordering a review of which immigrants are targeted for arrest. While a policy is still under development, Napolitano has said she intends to focus more on prosecuting criminal cases of wrongdoing by companies. Analysts say they also think ICE may conduct fewer raids, focusing routine enforcement on civil infractions of worker eligibility verification rules.

Former Bush administration officials said their raids were also targeted against supervisors, but that it took time to build complicated white-collar cases. In the meantime, they said, depriving companies of their workforces and in some cases filing criminal charges against illegal immigrant workers sent a clear message of deterrence to both management and labor.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which seeks to reduce immigration, said Obama aides are trying to manage the issue until an economic turnaround permits an attempt to overhaul immigration laws.

"I think their calculus is, how do they keep Hispanic groups happy enough without angering the broader public so much that they sabotage health care and their other priorities?" Krikorian said.

Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, an immigrant advocacy group, said that to the contrary, groups such as his support Obama's focus on going after bad employers and criminal illegal immigrants first -- or as he put it, prioritizing "drug smugglers, not window washers."

Within ICE, the front-office vetting of cases has led to some doubts. Last week, for example, ICE postponed plans to raid employers at a military-related facility in Chicago for which they had arranged to temporarily detain as many as 100 illegal immigrants, according to one official. A second official said Napolitano thought the investigative work was inadequate.

The raid would have been the second under the Obama administration. After the first, a Feb. 24 sweep of an engine-parts maker in Bellingham, Wash., that led to 28 arrests, Napolitano publicly expressed disappointment that ICE did not inform her beforehand and announced an investigation into agency communication practices.

In response, Leigh H. Winchell, the ICE special agent in charge in Seattle, wrote an e-mail to his staff -- subsequently leaked to conservative bloggers -- saying they had acted correctly. He also copied a statement from House Republicans calling Napolitano's review "beyond backwards."

"You did nothing wrong and you did everything right," Winchell wrote. "I cannot control the politics that take place with these types of situations, but I can remind you that you are great servants of this country and this agency."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/28/AR2009032801751.html

2009-04-05T16:42:00.000-07:00

Did you hear about this? Apparently radio's Mancow reported that ICE is delaying a raid that would have opened up many jobs for Americans and legal immigrants.

Here is a report on this blog;

Bungalow Bill's Conservative Wisdom

Friday, April 3, 2009

Are There 400 Illegal Aliens Working at Great Lakes Naval Training Center?: According to Mancow, ICE Stopped the Raid

Throughout the week, Mancow discussed how the United States government has been employing illegal aliens at Great Lakes Naval Training Center, which is located north of Chicago around Lake Forest, North Chicago, and Waukegan. According to Mancow’s discussion, the navy has around 400 illegals working on the base, which serves as the basic training center for all naval recruits and conducts a number of training schools after basic training.

The illegals obviously work around the grounds and in the mess halls of the military base. (It’s been over ten years since I set foot at Great Lakes.) Mancow pointed out Immigration & Customs Enforcement were set to move in on the naval base and then the raid was called off. These are 400 jobs that could go to American citizens.

To those who aren’t familiar with the geographic location of the naval base, Great Lakes offers a border between plush Lake Forest, and the hood of North Chicago and Waukegan. Both North Chicago and especially Waukegan have the largest Hispanic concentration in Lake County. It would be very easy for our government to hire illegal aliens to work on base considering the location of the base. Considering, many parents are trusting their sons and daughters will be taken care of, it’s obvious the United States government probably doesn’t want this getting out.

http://bungalowbillscw.blogspot.com/2009/04/are-there-400-illegal-aliens-working-at.html

Illegal immigration looms as an issue in the 5th Cong. District

2009-02-07T20:13:00.001-08:00

Good news, Rosanna Pulido has survived the petition challenge from the dreadful Hoyt.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

-- Illegal immigration looms as an issue in the 5th Congressional District special election - Eric Zorn

http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2009/02/illegal-immigration-looms-as-an-issue-in-the-5th-congressional-district-special-election.html

(THE POSTING: Rosanna Pulido, founder of the Illinois Minuteman Project and head of the Illinois chapter of You Don't Speak For Me, Hispanics opposed to illegal immigration, has survived a petition challenge and will be on the Republican ballot in the 5th Congressional District primary March 3. Pulido is a frequent and often feisty guest on the local talk radio circuit and should prove to be an interesting candidate. The petition challenge was the work of Joshua Hoyt, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Pulido's campaign said Hoyt went so far as to question the validity of the signature of Pulido's father. Hoyt said he didn't remember that, specifically, but that he challenged hundreds of signatures on Pulido's petitions and found many of them invalid. An ICIRR account of the petition fight is here. He directed me to this YouTube of a Pulido speech.)

How Pat Quinn is Violating His Oath

2009-02-01T15:59:00.000-08:00

This gives more information about Governor Quinn and illegal immigration in Illinois. Go to the link to read more articles about Illinois and IA's -see after this article for the titles.

http://rogersparkbench.blogspot.com/2009/02/how-pat-quinn-is-violating-his-oath.html

Sunday, February 1, 2009

How Pat Quinn Is Violating His Oath

When Pat Quinn was sworn in as Illinois' new governor on January 29, he swore an oath that included upholding and defending the Constitution of the United States. So far, he has been complicit in violating the very US Constitution that he swore to honor. Every minute that goes by without Governor Quinn demanding that the State of Illinois stop protecting illegal immigrants is another minute that he violates the part of his oath in which he swore to uphold and protect the US Consitution. Here's why.

Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution outlines some of the powers granted to Congress. It states that "The Congress shall have power to.... establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization."

This means that the US Constitutional gives Congress - and only Congress - the power to establish all laws and rules of naturalization or immigration. Not the states, but Congress and only Congress. Yet, the State of Illinois is known as a "sanctuary state," meaning it ignores and violates federal laws - laws made by Congress - regarding immigration policy.

In September, 2007 the US Department of Justice sued the State of Illinois for violating the US Constitution and federal laws pertaining to immigration policy, specifically Illinois' House Bill 1744. A DoJ press release summed it up:

The Department of Justice today filed a lawsuit in federal district court seeking to invalidate an Illinois state law that attempts to prevent employers from using DHS's E-Verify system, which allows them to check in real-time whether new hires are authorized to work in the United States. The lawsuit seeks a declaration that a law passed earlier this year by the Illinois legislature and signed by the Governor [Rod Blagojevich] that prohibits employers from enrolling in the Department's E-Verify system is invalid.

"E-verify or the Basic Pilot Program, authorized by Congress, is the on-line system that allows employers to verify whether new hires are allowed to work in the United States," said Carl Nichols, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Civil Division. "Today's lawsuit seeks to invalidate an Illinois state law that frustrates our ability to assist employers in making sure their workforce is legal, and in doing so conflicts with federal law."

That Illinois law, passed in 2007 - Section 12(a) of the Illinois Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act - prohibited employers in Illinois "from enrolling in the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify program." Employers use E-Verify to confirm that new hires are legally authorized to work in the United States.

On Sept. 24, 2007, an editorial on Illinois Review asked this:

So, are we to expect Attorney General Lisa Madigan to rise to the defense of Governor Rod Blagojevich and the Illinois General Assembly, who are being sued by the feds for passing a state law allow federal immigration laws to be usurped?

Illinois Review also noted that, in response to the DoJ suit, Congressman Peter Roskam (R-8) issued a statement, in which he said, "Governor Blagojevich is attempting to preempt federal law by creating a virtual sanctuary within the State of Illinois for illegal aliens. Subsequently, the Department of Justice has filed suit in federal court today, and I applaud their actions."

Today, Illinois still forbid the use of E-Verify, but the law is still being litigated (source). In other words, the State of Illinois is busy spending time and your tax dollars defending pro-illegal alien laws that violate Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution. That's the same US Constitution that Pat Quinn just swore (again) to uphold. By the way, Illinois' Attorney General Lisa Madigan also swore an oath to uphold the US Constitution. So did each and every Illinois State Legislator.

Governor Blagojevich is no more, but today we have no indication that Governor Quinn will be any different regarding the violation of federal law - and the US Constitution that he swore to uphold - as regards the sanctuary of illegal aliens and the setting of a non-uniform immigration policy.

RELATED:
Reps. Roskam and Shuler Urge Omaba Not to Delay E-Verify Requirement
United States: Final Rule Amends FAR Requiring E-Verify
Homeland Security Takes Strong Measures to Fight Illegal Hiring
Illinois House approves driver's licenses for illegal aliens
Harvard Jr. High transforms into Mexican consulate
illinoisreview: Illegal Aliens Cost Illinois Taxpayers $3 Billion+
Illegal aliens captured with HAZMAT licences
Illinois bends to feds on weeding out illegal workers: The Swamp
Durbin takes off the gloves – and mask
Most in Illinois favor laws targeting illegal immigration

2009-01-19T17:04:00.001-08:00

I certainly liked reading this article. This gives his take on the first 100 days and the high hopes of the OBL groups.

January 16, 2009

As Obama Takes The White House, Amnesty Ranks Thirteenth (Of Thirteen) On His Priority List
By Joe Guzzardi

Admitting defeat is tough. Accepting that you aren’t going to get your way is a bummer.

But the wise course for those on the short end of the stick is to look toward another day instead of pouting and stomping off making rash statements that you can’t deliver on.

Key aides to President-elect Barack Obama have confirmed what I promised to you in my first 2009 column: “Comprehensive immigration reform” is dead— for now and possibly for some considerable time into the future

And the spoiled sport is none other than the National Council of La Raza’s whining brat, Janet Murguia.

The actual death-knell statement made by Obama’s operatives included comments to the effect that in order to “avoid political distractions” and instead to “focus on reversing the economic slide,” the president would have to “delay” some of the “promises” he made during his campaign. [Economy May Delay Work on Obama’s Campaign Pledges, by Peter Baker, New York Times, January 10, 2009]

Just in case anyone missed his administration’s revised focus, Obama will clarify it during an interview with ABC’s This Week which is scheduled to air Sunday:

“I want to be realistic here. Not everything that we talked about during the campaign are we going to be able to do on the pace we had hoped.”

Rahm Emanuel, the incoming White House chief of staff, boiled it down this way:

“Our No. 1 goal: jobs. Our No. 2 goal: jobs. Our No. 3 goal: jobs.”

In a conversation with Murguia about immigration in which he tried to let her down gently, Emanuel reportedly told her that it’s important “to talk” about the issues but that no commitments to a timetable could be made.

But Murguia recognized the brush-off and reacted quickly.

Through a conference called arranged by her fellow Treason Lobbyists at the National Immigration Forum, Murguia said:

“President-elect Obama has made clear a campaign commitment to address this issue in his first year, and we know he takes that very seriously. And we plan to hold him accountable.”

That’s cheek!

The president of a ethnocentric, single-issue organization plans to hold the president of the U.S. “accountable” for not making her narrow agenda among his top priorities.

How, I wonder, does Murguia expect to make good on her pledge?

Murguia, for all her experience, didn’t read the tealeaves.

Obama didn’t really make a “clear campaign commitment.” What Obama did was to speak out in favor of comprehensive immigration reform to those audiences where he knew that position would play well.

If Murguia with her extensive Capitol Hill background bought into Obama’s campaign mumbo-jumbo, then she’s not as sharp as she thinks she is.

Murguia might move to the ledge if she knew just how far down on Obama’s priority list immigration is.

A sidebar in the print edition of the New York Times story cited above categorizes “The New Administration’s Priorities” and divides them into three groups.

As identified, and using the administration’s labels and the Times’ text, they are:

“Immediate Priorities”:

Infrastructure: finance roads, bridges, schools and other construction projects

Tax cuts: provide tax breaks for workers and businesses

Stem cells: reverse restrictions on embryonic stem cell research

National Security: begin withdrawing combat forces from Iraq and begin sending them to Afghanistan.

“Down Payments”:

Health care: computerize medical records and expand a children’s health care program while taking longer to pass a plan offering universal care.

Energy Independence: double alternative energy supplies while waiting to develop a more comprehensive energy policy.

Down the Road:

Trade: renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement may be put on a long timeframe.

Climate Change: a market-based cap on carbon-based emissions may not pass this year.

Repealing Bush’s tax cuts: rather than repeal President Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest this year, they may be left to expire under current law in 2010.

Gay rights: overturning a ban on gays serving openly in the military may not happen until later this year.

Immigration: while some rules may be changed right away, a comprehensive overhaul of immigration may take longer.

There you have it.

On Obama’s to-do list, immigration ranks thirteenth and last. And best of all, I can’t think of any federal policy left off Obama’s list that might come in fourteenth.

Note also that when and if Obama gets around to immigration, “some” rules “may” be changed right away but a complete overhaul may take “longer.”

Murguia’s comrade Frank Sharry, executive director of another open borders advocacy group, America’s Voice, seems at least somewhat more grounded. Sharry projects a window of opportunity open between September 2009 and March 2010 when there are no elections scheduled and Obama may have calmed the turbulent first months of his administration. (Contact America’s Voice here.)

But Sherry’s thinking is wishful too.

Obama advisors are already looking ahead to the November 2010 with an eye toward avoiding the calamitous mid-term election results that plagued Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton in 1982 and 1994

Forward thinking is consistent with Obama’s pattern. We know now that he initially began his presidential campaign in January 2005, the same month that he was first sworn in as Illinois’ U.S. Senator.

The outlook for “comprehensive immigration reform” is so bleak that even Obama's “immigration transition team”—two law professors, Tino Cuéllar of Stanford University and Georgetown's Alexander Aleinikoff—has nothing to say.

Neither replied to “repeated requests” from San Antonio News-Express reporter Hernán Rozemberg who wanted their opinion on whether there would be progress on immigration during Obama’s first year. [Immigration Issue on Backburner, by Hernán Rozemberg, San Antonio News-Express, January 12, 2009]

The worst thing that we can expect from the first years of Obama’s administration—and I view this as very bad—is that under new Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, fewer workplace enforcement raids will occur.

We may be surprised—as we were with the conversion we witnessed in Michael Chertoff. Napolitano has promised to go after unscrupulous employers and enforce the border. But I’ll believe it when I see it. [Napolitano Signals Shift in Worksite Raids, by Stewart M. Powell, Houston Chronicle, January 15, 2009]

Ominous sign: Napolitano’s announced first matter of business is to “re-visit” REAL ID—last June, as Governor, she signed legislation refusing to implement REAL ID.

In summary: “I told you so,” “I told you so,” and “I told you so.”

In June 2008, I wrote that Murguia should be removed as La Raza’s president and chief executive officer, a position she’s held for four years without moving the organization’s agenda forward one inch.
At that time, Murguia foolishly warned Lou Dobbs that she would be hold him “accountable” for so-called hate crimes if and when they should be committed. Now Murguia has added Obama to her long list of people who should bow down to her.

Certainly, Murguia’s fellow subversives must be ready to try someone different. How much worse could they do?

In October 2008, my column forecast that you would miss Chertoff when he left. Is there anyone who wouldn’t be more comfortable with Chertoff than Napolitano since all we know about her for sure is that she advocates open borders?

And in January 2009, as I noted in my opening paragraphs, I predicted that amnesty would not pass this year. Not only isn’t one on the horizon but nary a single soul in Obama’s administration is willing to mention the word.
We’re going to have to suffer through occasional idiotic statements from Congressional leaders Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. And I expect camouflaged efforts at amnesty through the ever-present DREAM Act which has been defeated more times than I can count over my twenty plus years of activism.

We have beaten back these types of efforts in economic times much more conducive to amnesty.

Although we must remain ever vigilant, for now we’re safe.

Best of all, we’ve shut the other guys up for a while. What a blessing that is!

Joe Guzzardi [email him] is a California native who recently fled the state because of over-immigration, over-population and a rapidly deteriorating quality of life. He has moved to Pittsburgh, PA where the air is clean and the growth rate stable. A long-time instructor in English at the Lodi Adult School, Guzzardi has been writing a weekly column since 1988. It currently appears in the Lodi News-Sentinel.

http://vdare.com/guzzardi/090116_amnesty.htm

2009-01-19T16:30:00.000-08:00

A lot is going on in Illinois politically -a mild understatement to say the least. We are shipping politicians to Washington D.C. Will they continue with Chicago style politics? We are dealing with are own forever jogging bargain offering governor.

I'm going to list some political websites here that you can bookmark to stay up on the news. They give you another take on what is going on other then what's offered in the newspapers. Be sure to read the comments as well -you often learn even more there.

Immigration Reform cannot wait says Rep. Luis Gutierrez

2009-01-12T20:12:00.000-08:00

Rep. Luis can't even wait 100 days. He wants immigration reform now, today. I think Americans would have a thing or two to say about that... jobs and economy first. As Lou Dobbs says, "I've had a belly full of Rep. Luis's nonsense."

Immigration reform cannot wait

By Maria Elena Salinas/Commentary

It will be a historic moment, without a doubt. On Tuesday, Jan. 20, the entire world will have its attention focused on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to witness the inauguration of the first black president. Not just because of the historic nature of the event, but because so many people are in desperate need of change. There are high hopes for what Barack Obama will bring to the presidency, to the country and to the world. And everyone seems to have a different list of priorities. For Latinos, it’s immigration reform.

Obama has said he will work to have an immigration-reform bill in place in the first year of his administration, but proponents of an overhaul cannot wait that long. A group of Latino evangelical groups took over a section of the Capitol Jan. 7 and literally prayed for immigration reform in the first 100 days of the new administration.

“We marched, we voted and now we want Obama to keep his promise and give us an immigration reform,” said Rafael Guevara of CONLAMIC, the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders.

Illinois Rep. Luis Gutierrez won’t wait even 100 days. He says he is ready to introduce new immigration legislation on the very same day Obama takes the oath of office, expressing concern that the president-elect and his transition team are not giving the issue the importance it deserves.

Gutierrez says he does not get the impression that there is a sense of urgency on the matter, since there has been no word from Obama on the possibility of an executive order to stop the immigration raids. “They do not understand how every day our community is being destroyed. Waiting until the end of the year will mean that tens of thousands will be separated from their families,” he claims.

There are not many details on what his proposal will include or how it will be different from the Kennedy/McCain Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill that failed to pass Congress in 2007. The only thing he has said is that it will include a path to the legalization of undocumented immigrants and the reunification of families, and that it will attempt to speed up the process of obtaining a visa.

The sense of urgency for immigration reform became even more evident when Attorney General Michael Mukasey made the surprising announcement that immigrants who are in the middle of deportation proceedings, including those who are seeking asylum, will no longer have the right to reopen their cases because of mistakes made by attorneys who represented them in the past.

The decision drew strong criticism from immigration advocacy groups. The American Immigration Law Foundation condemned the action, calling it an assault on constitutional principles and accusing the attorney general of reversing years of legal precedent. are outraged by this action,“ said Nadine Wettstein, director of AILF’s Legal Action Center in a press release. ”With this ruling, the administration is attempting to undermine an immigrant’s right to a fair hearing on whether he or she should be thrown out of the country.“

The ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project called the decision a dangerous move away from the U.S. tradition of fairness and due process. ”This order will have a tremendous negative impact on countless people who will be deported simply because they had the bad luck to be represented by the wrong immigration attorney,“ said Deputy Director Lee Gelernt.

Less than two weeks before the end of the Bush administration, this certainly is not good news for immigrants and those who defend their rights. It’s been a tough eight years that began to go downhill for immigrants after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. Since then, immigrants, particularly Latino immigrants, have unfairly been treated as criminals.

Barack Obama will have the weight of the world on his shoulders upon taking the oath of office. He is inheriting monumental problems in the U.S. and abroad. The livelihood of millions of innocent immigrants who come to this country to make a better life for themselves and their families, and contribute to our country’s well-being with their hard work, should also be on his list of priorities.

Maria Elena Salinas can be reached at mariaesalinas.com.

January 12, 2009

2009-01-12T19:27:00.000-08:00

After what happened with soon to be Senator Burris who knows what our governor has up his sleeve. But he's got to go. I don't know how Lt. Gov. Quinn would be with the illegal alien issue but surely he wouldn't be worse then what we have...

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Disgraced Illinois governor never met an illegal alien he didn't like

By Dave Gorak, Tuesday, December 16, 2008, 3:12 PM

When the news broke that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich had been arrested by the FBI on a laundry list of corruption charges, I had mixed feelings about what awaits the man who was my governor before my wife and I legally crossed Wisconsin's southern border three years ago and took up residence in "America's Dairyland."

Naturally, I was pleased to learn that "Blago" probably is headed for a fairly long stay in a federal prison, but whatever sentence he receives won't be long enough to suit me. That is because none of the charges in the feds' 78-page complaint include what he has done to make the state in which I was born and worked my entire life an even bigger magnet for illegal aliens. Latest estimates show that nearly 600,000 illegals are living on the backs of Illinois taxpayers.

Never reluctant to boast that he is the "son of immigrants," Blagojevich wasted no time in hanging out the welcome sign for illegals. In May 2003 he signed into law a bill giving in-state tuition to illegals, and he always has supported the idea of giving them drivers licenses so they "could get to work." Fortunately, numerous attempts to "make the roads safer" in Illinois by teaching illegals the "rules of the road" have thus far failed.

In late November 2005 Blago, working closely with the left-wing Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), created by executive order the New Americans Immigrant Policy Council (NAIPC) for the purpose of helping immigrants "assimilate" into Illinois society. Among the 15 council members is a representative of the ICIRR, which has received thousands of dollars from the Donors Forum of Chicago for the purpose of pushing legislation that would give driving privileges to illegals. NAIPC's national advisory board members include Frank Sharry, formerly of the National Immigration Forum and now head of America's Voice, and Cecilia Munoz, who had been a senior vice president with the National Council of La Raza before recently being named to President-elect Barack Obama's White House staff.

During the March 2006 illegal alien demonstrations in Chicago that included appearances by Mayor Richard M. Daley and Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), Blago helped inspire the crowd when he told them in Spanish that he "understood" their values and concerns.

Recent revelations about Blago's very brazen and bizarre chicanery even though he knew for three years that he was being closely watch by the feds help explain another of his equally bizarre actions: Last August he signed a bill "prohibiting" employers from using, E-Verify, the federal government's highly effective voluntary workplace verification program that determines whether an individual can work here in accordance with federal law. In other words, if Illinois employers attempted to comply with federal immigration law they would find themselves in hot water with their state.

Blago's asinine attempt to circumvent our immigration laws (with the help of the General Assembly's Latino Caucus) was to have become effective at the beginning of this year, but it was put on hold after the state was sued by the Department of Homeland Security. The last I heard a new bill that substitutes the word "discourages" for "prohibits" is under consideration.

Dave Gorak, who is executive director of the Midwest Coalition to Reduce Immigration, lives in LaValle, a bustling metropolis with no traffic lights to slow down its 326 residents.

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:4E1KLuzFd7AJ:www.numbersusa.com/content/nusablog/dgorak/december-16-2008/disgraced-illinois-governor-never-met-illegal-alien-he-didnt.html+Blagojevich+Never+Met+an+Illegal+Alien+He+Didn%92t+Like&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us&client=firefox-a

2009-01-12T18:51:00.000-08:00

Well here is another fine Illinois politician looking out after Americans. Oh wait, that's not quite what the article is saying.

Updated 01/11/2009 11:51 AM

Immigration Advocates Call On Obama For Reform

During a rally Saturday, immigrants, religious leaders and elected officials urged President-elect Barack Obama to enact sweeping immigration reforms as soon as he takes office. NY1's Grace Rauh filed the following report.

They lined up at the polls, helping propel President-elect Obama to victory. Now immigrants are calling on him to act quickly and issue an executive order stopping immigration raids and the deportation of illegal immigrants.

"This is the moment. He has to show leadership in a very courageous way," said Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez (D-Brooklyn, Manhattan).

The message was loud and clear at the Harlem church, where elected officials, clergy and immigrants filled the pews.

Congressman Luis Gutierrez of Illinois was also in attendance. He's reaching out to church leaders to build support for immigration reform.

"They have a fundamental philosophy, faith-based organizations and especially Christian organizations, that is, if you see unfairness, if you see injustice, you have a responsibility to act," said Gutierrez.

Over and over officials spoke of the importance of family and said any immigration policy that tears families apart through deportation is unacceptable. When it comes to changing those policies, they are resting their hope on Obama who has said he supports giving illegal immigrants in good standing a path to citizenship.

New Yorkers gathered in the church also shared personal stories about how their families are impacted by existing immigration laws.

We spoke with a young woman who is an undocumented immigrant from Pakistan. She said her family has been arrested and faces the threat of deportation and asked us not to use her full name.

"I really want to live here because I've been here for 11 years and I adopt the culture in America and now I am going to college. I want to finish my education and be something in my life," said Saniya.

Others see the issue differently.

Those in favor of enforcing immigration laws said deportation frees up jobs filled by illegal immigrants, making them available for Americans. Given the nation's worsening unemployment figures, they said that should be a top priority for elected officials.

But for those gathered at this event, the top priority is keeping immigrant families together.

http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/politics/92062/immigration-advocates-call-on-obama-for-reform/Default.aspx

2009-01-08T16:46:00.000-08:00

http://www.rosannapulido2009.com/

Good news. Rosanna Pulido has announced that she is running for Congress to replace Rahm Emmanuel. Here is a recent article that appeared. Keep an eye on this race and spread the word to anyone that lives in the 5th District. Please send a contribution or offer to help. Notice at the end that Andy Shaw made a wee mistake. He described Rosanna's position as anti-immigration instead of anti-illegal immigration. Rosanna would make things happen in Illinois -she's a dynamo.

Candidates vying for Rahm's seat

Tuesday, January 06, 2009 | 5:01 PM

Special election to be held April 7

By Andy Shaw

January 6, 2009 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- A crowded field of candidates will be campaigning for the 5th District Congressional seat vacated by Rahm Emmanuel. A special election is scheduled for April 7.

The 5th Congressional District on the Northwest Side of Chicago was run by legendary Democratic powerhouse Dan Rostenkowski for three decades. Then a bit later a Democrat named Rod Blagojevich won the seat. After that, Barack Obama's soon-to-be chief of staff, Democrat Rahm Emanuel, took it over. So Rahm's replacement is likely to be the winner of the Democratic primary on March 3, and there could be as many as 10 candidates in that race, all of them running away from scandal-scarred Rostenkowski and Blagojevich, and right next to Obama.

Sarah Feigenholtz is a veteran state lawmaker from the Northwest Side of Chicago who wants to carry her fight for women's and children's health issues from the state capitol in Springfield, where she teamed up with a state senator named Barack Obama, to the halls of Congress in Washington, D.C., where she'd like to team up with a soon-to-be president Barack Obama.

"It was Barack and I who successfully led an effort to extend health care coverage to working parents who can't otherwise afford health care," said State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, (D) 5th District candidate.

John Fritchey is another state rep from Chicago who is jumping into the congressional race officially Tuesday after teaming up with House Speaker Michael Madigan to battle Governor Rod Blagojevich and with Barack Obama to pass ethics legislation.

"I believe my record is unmatched when it comes to working on reform and ethics. I worked with Barack Obama years ago when we were both in the legislature in 2003," said State Rep. John Fritchey, (D) 5th District candidate.

The Democratic primary also includes transportation and security expert Justin Oberman, the son of a former Chicago alderman, Charles Wheelan, an economics and business expert, labor lawyer Tom Geoghagen, and Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley, who has been battling the Stroger machine for nearly a decade.

"We're the ones with the bullet holes in our back. We took on powerful interests to help the working people of Cook County," said Commissioner Mike Quigley, (D) 5th District candidate.

Mayor Daley would probably back his City Council floor leader, Alderman Pat O'Connor, if O'Connor decides to run. But he was not returning phone calls Tuesday afternoon.

The Democratic primary is likely to cost between $600,000 and $1 million, and the candidates have less than two months to raise it. They can start filing petitions next Monday.

There will be at least one Republican in the race, activist Rosanna Pulido, from the anti-immigration group known as the Minutemen. She is not likely to win, but she will probably be provocative and interesting.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=6588974

video at link

2008-12-28T20:50:00.000-08:00

There have been numerous articles coming out about (illegal) immigrants going back home. This is the first I've read about Illinois (illegal) immigrants.

Mexican immigrants moving back home amid sour economy

Many leaving Chicago, hit by job losses

By Oscar Avila

ZINAPECUARO, Mexico — Once again, the immigrants are returning to this town in their Pathfinders and Escalades with the Illinois license plates, trunks full of Christmas presents.

Their annual December homecoming has always been a victory lap of sorts, a testimonial to the success they enjoy in the U.S. and want to share with relatives who welcome them with open arms.

Rafael Garcia is back from Chicago too, but not for a vacation. He's back for good.

In a sign of how the American dream has lost its luster this Christmas season, the stream of Mexicans making holiday visits has been joined by a trickle of citizens returning permanently to towns like Zinapecuaro as jobs disappear in Chicago and other U.S. cities.

Garcia arrived Sunday in a battered Ford van jammed not only with gifts but with every scrap of the life he built during 12 years as a construction worker on Chicago's North Side. In a gravel parking lot a block from his mother's home, Garcia's life in the Lincoln Square neighborhood was unspooled with each box he unpacked.

DVDs of " Spider-Man" and bullfighting. A power drill. A framed family portrait. A half-consumed bottle of House of Stuart whiskey.

As Garcia secured his van, his brother-in-law offered advice as if he were a tourist. "No need to worry. No one steals things around here," he said cheerily.

In some respects, Garcia was pushed out of Chicago, where he was working illegally. All but six of the 18 laborers at his construction company lost their jobs with the real estate bust. Garcia survived, but his hours were cut to the point that he and his wife barely covered rent and child care.

But the 41-year-old Garcia was also pulled home, to the mother who is already preparing the Christmas menu of lamb stew, chicken mole, tamales and punch.

"Do I regret leaving Chicago? I regret nothing," said Garcia, still looking flustered after four days on the road. "Best decision I ever made."

These personal dramas will shape the stalled debate over how to treat the 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. Although Barack Obama's election has revived hopes of a legalization plan, most experts are skeptical, given that the same economic crisis is battering U.S.-born workers.

Mexican officials, meanwhile, are bracing for more Rafael Garcias and the strains that might be felt on villages accustomed to sending immigrants and receiving a share of their paychecks in the U.S., a figure that topped $25 billion last year.

The cracks in the system had already been felt in Zinapecuaro, a town in northeast Michoacan, the state that by many estimates sends the most immigrants to Chicago.

The state of Michoacan has seen remittances falling steadily since 2006, a danger because it receives about $2.5 billion a year—about one-sixth of its total revenues—from workers in the U.S.

With immigrants facing a financial squeeze in the U.S., state officials estimate that 20 percent fewer citizens will return home for holiday visits.

The strains add a hint of melancholy to normally joyous holiday celebrations, such as the rodeo known as a jaripeo that bustled on the outskirts of town.

As an 18-piece banda musical group took a break, an announcer toasted a crowd of spectators in White Sox caps and Bulls jerseys. Most Zinapecuaro natives migrate to northern California or Chicago's western suburbs, especially West Chicago.

"Welcome to the people joining us from America!" he shouts.

Renato Bonilla cheered a mention of Chicago as he ambled down the bleachers. The West Chicago man lost his job as a construction worker, and now the bank is foreclosing on his home.

Even with the problems, the legal immigrant isn't considering a permanent return to Mexico. His wife was born in the States, and their two children are U.S. citizens.

"We just came down to visit, to escape all the stress up there," Bonilla said. "It's hard there, but over here, it's a lot harder."

With immigrants like Bonilla earning significantly more in the U.S., many immigrant leaders and experts question the likelihood of a large-scale influx back to Mexico.

But, while acknowledging the difficulty of accurately counting illegal immigrants, researchers theorize that tougher Immigration laws and a souring economy have caused at least some reverse migration to Mexico. And enough warning signs exist that Mexican officials are readying for a larger influx.

"We have to treat this as an opportunity, not a threat," said Fernando Robledo, who directs the migrant assistance office in Zacatecas, which is helping returning immigrants certify their U.S.-acquired job skills.

One twist is that the fruits of Mexican immigrant labor have made a permanent return home more appealing.

Mexicans in Chicago have pooled their money to pave roads, stock classrooms with computers and even build greenhouses that supply jobs to the Zinapecuaro area.

When Garcia left Zinapecuaro, the area around his mother's home was an abandoned field. Now it is a bustling street full of homes built from U.S. paychecks.

Garcia built his own home too, which gives him confidence that his family will survive, even though he doesn't have a job yet.

"There is a street in Chicago, near where I lived, called Pulaski. You see Mexicans on the corner looking for work, more than ever," Garcia said. "Here, I don't have to pay rent. I don't have the same bills. We will be fine here."

oavila@tribune.com

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-mexico-dream_aviladec25,0,6633115.story

2008-11-26T17:25:00.000-08:00

After you sign up for NumbersUSA you will get email alerts when a pressing issue arises that needs action. Here is the latest sent;
____________________________________________________________________

NumbersUSA has sent out an alert. I just got it this morning. If you are a member you can go to your corkboard to get particulars.

From: Roy Beck, President, NumbersUSA
Date: Wednesday 26NOV08 11 a.m. EST

Burst Reid's trial amnesty balloon today -- phone and then fax

DEAR OPPONENTS OF AMNESTY FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS,

We don't know if Senate Majority Leader Reid really meant it yesterday when he told a Detroit reporter that he expects an amnesty to go through the Senate in the spring without much of a fight.

But even if he was talking carelessly in an off-the-cuff comment, his declaration has spread throughout Washington and has become a TRIAL BALLOON.

If we don't prove Sen. Reid wrong immediately, Senators may start to believe that there won't be much of a fight if they bring up an amnesty early next year.

Tens of thousands of you MUST call your Senators TODAY if we are to burst that balloon and send the right message to Reid and Pres-Elect Obama, as well as the rest of the Senate.

# Phone notes are posted on your personalized Action Buffet corkboard and faxes will be posted there soon. As you know, the phone notes contain talking points, plus all of your Senators' phone numbers.

# Here are direct links to phone notes to:
Your Democratic Senator(s)
Your Republican Senator(s)
Sen. Reid if he is your Senator
Sen. McCain if he is your Senator

# As always, you can also reach all the Senators' Washington D.C. offices through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

(We are not putting up phone notes or faxes for Senators who are retiring or who were defeated in the elections.)

Seeing as how today is the day before Thanksgiving, I suggest that you try first calling the local offices of your Senators.

It is important that the entire staffing organization of each Senator knows that Sen. Reid has put this putrid turkey on the nation's table just before holiday and that plenty of constituents already have noticed the stench and are demanding that it be removed.

You are likely to hear that there is no such bill before the Senate and that they have heard nothing about it. But you MUST make it clear that the LEADER of the Senate has said there WILL be an amnesty bill in the spring and that it WILL pass with little opposition.

Demand to know if your Senator will oppose the Comprehensive Amnesty bill that Reid says Obama and McCain have agreed to push.

I'm sorry to ask you to do this during your holiday preparations. But think about some of the original meanings of this occasion. Isn't it about giving thanks for the ability to come through really tough struggles? I don't think anybody who has failed to struggle for their community can feel the true spirit of Thanksgiving tomorrow.

Thank you for taking a few minutes to make some phone calls. They don't have to be long. We just need thousands of them all day.

2008-11-26T17:19:00.000-08:00

NumbersUSA has free faxes to send to tell your senator that you do not want amnesty or anything close to it. Did you sign up yet? I recommend this site to have up-to-date information from Washington DC and immigration.

http://www.numbersusa.com/content/
____________________________________________________________

Amnesty a Done Deal?
By Mark Krikorian, November 26, 2008

From a Q&A with Sen. Harry Reid:

Q: With more Democrats in the Senate and the House and a Democrat in the White House, how do you see congressional efforts playing out on such issues as health care and immigration?

A: On immigration, there's been an agreement between (President-elect Barack) Obama and (Arizona Republican Sen. John) McCain to move forward on that. ... We'll do that. We have to get this economy stuff figured out first, so I think we'll have a shot at doing something on health care in the next Congress for sure.

Q: Will there be as much of a fight on immigration as last time?

A: We've got McCain and we've got a few others. I don't expect much of a fight at all. Now health care is going to be difficult. That's a very complicated issue. We debated at great length immigration. People understand the issues very well. We have not debated health care, so that's going to take a lot more time to do.

Some immigration hawks are more alarmed about this than I think is warranted. Mickey Kaus says "This is a stronger statement from Reid than I, for one, had expected" — but it doesn't seem all that strong to me. First, it sounds more like off-the-cuff bravado (remember Bush's "see you at the bill signing"?); second, note "We have to get this economy stuff figured out first" (good luck with that!); and third, he's comparing it to health care, where there probably really isn't the same elite PC consensus as there is on immigration.

Reid also says he's got McCain and "a few others" — sure, his "little jerk" and Mel Martinez, but McCain in the Senate just doesn't offer nervous Democrats the same political cover a president McCain could (or Bush did), so even some of last year's Democrat supporters will be leery. And despite the hilarious claims by Tamar Jacoby and others that the public supports amnesty, amnesty boosters know perfectly well how disliked it is — Brian Faughnan at the Weekly Standard writes "Proponents will argue that while the measure may be unpopular, it's better to swallow a bitter pill far in advance of the midterms." This is how New Jersey's junior senator put it:

But Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said if lawmakers don't consider the issue early, it could "slide into midterms" — the 2010 election — and again become a contentious campaign issue.

"This is one of those issues that needs to be done early on," said Menendez, noting that it has been difficult for Congress to approve even bipartisan measures such as the Dream Act.

So, unemployment is on its way up, and the Democrats and their Republican thralls are going to argue that it's better to legalize illegals (and increase future immigration to boot) rather than continue the proven policy of getting more and more of those illegals to leave. Sounds like a vote-getter to me!

» Mark Krikorian's blog
(Center for Immigration Studies)
http://www.cis.org/node/913

2008-11-22T12:49:00.000-08:00

A good e-newsletter to sign up for is the Illinois Citizen Security Network. Send author Dawn a request to sign up at her email; muellerdawn@sbcglobal.net She will keep you apprised of the latest news in Illinois.

The latest e-newletter had some bill information. When not watched this is what sneaks in...

1. Illinois HB 2747 "Access to Religious Ministry Act" passed as HB 4613

==================================================================

Much to the great dismay of Illinois citizens working to stop illegal immigration in Illinois, both chambers of the Illinois legislature succombed to alien subterfuge, by passing HB2747, the "Access to Religious Ministry Act," under the guise of HB4613 as a substitute vehicle.

Additionally, a "bait & switch" occurred: the Senate amendment to HB4613 stripped out the provision in HB2747 that "Provides that the facility shall have the right to screen individuals seeking access to immigration detainees at the facility under this Act to ensure that such individuals are in fact bona fide clergy, members of religious orders, or lay volunteers representing established and reputable religious institutions."

Foolishly, Republicans voted in favor of legislation that will make it possible for "sanctuary" "underground railroad workers" to exchange communications with illegal aliens, to make it possible to release the alien from custody.

The true purpose of this bill is to make it possible for the alleged "religious workers" to access illegal aliens in order to arrange for legal representation, and to make other arrangements, with the intent to "spring" the alien from custody, long enough to funnel that alien and his/her family into the "underground railroad" "sanctuary" network, and to stall the deportation process.

These "religious workers" are the same people who are currently undermining our federal immigration laws, by aiding & abetting illegal aliens to stay in in this country.

The "sanctuary" network will use any information gathered from the alien, in order to arrange for the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) or the ACLU to investigate the case.

MALDEF will use the opportunity to sue the law enforcement officers involved in taking the alien into custody. MALDEF will also try to sue the law enforcement agencies involved, as well as any municipality involved, and possibly the county and/or the State of Illinois.

The Senate voted 053-000-000,

with senators Bivins, Cronin, Halvorson, Lauzen, Murphy and Syverson wisely voting "NV".

The House voted 110-000-000,

with Bradley, Cultra, Granberg, Kosel, McCarthy, Mitchell (Bill), and Patterson as "E" (excused absence).

The bill status page is here:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=4613&GAID=9&GA=95&DocTypeID=HB&LegID=35288&SessionID=51

and the votes are here:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/votehistory.asp?DocNum=4613&DocTypeID=HB&LegID=35288&GAID=9&SessionID=51&GA=95&SpecSess=

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) media release is here:

http://icirr.org/node/3302

and the tip-off article is here:

http://www.progressillinois.com/2008/11/20/statehouse-round-up

2008-11-09T17:22:00.000-08:00

This site will post news, pictures/videos about illegal immigration and how it affects Illinois and the United States of America. Information will also be offered on how to be an activist in this area; in particular for the state of Illinois.

There is lots to learn and much to do so let's get busy.

Here are some sites to get familiar with.

Alipac -Americans for Legal Immigration

Digger's Realm -Immigration blog

Freedom Folks -Immigration blog

NumbersUsa