Illegal Immigrants Go Free; Some Offered Work Permits

[Ryan Ruck]

Illegal Immigrants Go Free; Some Offered Work Permits

The arrest of 28 illegal immigrants at a small engine plant in Bellingham in February has ignited a national political firestorm over work-site raids carried out under the Obama administration. The last of the workers have been released from custody and offered work permits.

The arrest of 28 illegal immigrants at a small engine plant in Bellingham has ignited a national political firestorm over work-site raids carried out under the Obama administration.

The Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid at Yamato Engine Specialists on Feb. 24 was the first of this presidential administration. Under massive pressure from immigrant advocates, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano the next day ordered a probe into the actions of the Seattle-based ICE team that conducted the raid.

In the weeks that followed, most of the Bellingham workers were either released for humanitarian reasons or after posting bond. At least one was deported. And the remaining workers still in custody were freed without bail last week and offered legal permission to work in the United States.

Napolitano also has delayed raids planned for other work sites, while she reviews policies under which ICE agents carry out these actions.

Her review of what happened in Bellingham will be part of a revised set of guidelines expected to be issued this week, directing ICE agents to focus more on arresting and prosecuting employers and less on the illegal immigrants they hire.

Her actions come amid a new level of outrage nationwide over illegal immigration in a struggling U.S. economy with fewer and fewer jobs.

"Secretary Napolitano wants to make sure workplace enforcement is operating the way it should," her spokesman Matt Chandler said. "She is focused on using our limited resources to the greatest effect — targeting criminal aliens and employers that flout our laws and deliberately cultivate an illegal work force."

He referred to ICE questions about the logistics of focusing on U.S. employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants while ignoring the workers themselves.

ICE agents and the U.S. attorneys who prosecute immigration cases have said it's far tougher to build a criminal case showing an employer knowingly hired illegal immigrants than to prove that an immigrant is working in the United States illegally.

While some worksite actions have been delayed, Chandler said the department is continuing other worksite actions that are "consistent with department priorities."

ICE spokeswoman Lorie Dankers declined to comment about the release of the last of the Bellingham workers except to say, "Many of the individuals have been released pending further investigation of Yamato."

Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said, "I think its fair to surmise that this is being done under political and not legal pressure. ... There's a certain irony here — the way this administration is going, you may be better off getting busted than not."

ICE investigators said many of the workers at Yamato were from Mexico and Central America and had used false documents to gain employment.

Immediately after their arrests, three women with young children and a fourth worker with a medical condition were released from the Northwest Detention Center on humanitarian grounds. At least one other worker was deported.

In the weeks that followed, several others were released — some posting bond ranging from $3,000 to $11,000, and some without bail.

Illegal immigrants arrested in raids or other ICE actions often are detained for months until a judge can see them. Some waive their rights to a hearing and agree to return home.

Immigration attorneys Tuesday said offering work permits is highly unusual, and usually at the discretion of ICE officials in cases where immigrants have information prosecutors can use in criminal prosecution.

Yamato co-owner Shirin Dhanani Makalai said she is confident the investigation will show her company "complied fully with the law."

Rosalinda Guillen, whose Bellingham-based organization Community to Community advocates for immigrants, said the workers are cautious and confused.

"These families are caught in the middle of this big political storm," she said. "It's a good thing, the work permit — the recognition that these people need to work and support themselves and their families. But there's no real security for them beyond the short term.

"We hope these changes will create a new precedent in how raids are done, that it leads to them being stopped completely."

Before they were released last week, the workers were asked to sign forms acknowledging that deportation action against them was being deferred and they were being offered work permits. Agents delivered the same forms to the homes of those workers who were released earlier.

Based on questions agents have been asking workers, Guillen said, "it appears they are trying to justify this raid, trying to find some criminal action against the employer. They're playing this game of divide and conquer, and that's not the Obama way."

[American Patriot]

DHS launches new immigration program
By By ALICIA A. CALDWELL – 18 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration on Tuesday directed young illegal immigrants to fill out new forms and pay $465 if they want to apply under a new program that would let them avoid deportation and obtain a U.S. work permit.
The government renewed warnings that the process wouldn't lead to citizenship or give them permission to travel internationally. It will begin accepting immigrants' applications Wednesday.
The paperwork for the program, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, can be downloaded from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website, said the agency's director, Alejandro Mayorkas. Applicants must pay a $465 fee and provide proof of identity and eligibility.
Under guidelines that the administration announced Tuesday, USCIS said proof of identity and eligibility under the program could include a passport or birth certificate, school transcripts, medical and financial records and military service records. DHS said that in some instances, multiple sworn affidavits, signed by a third party under penalty of perjury, could also be used.
A decision on each application could take several months, and immigrants have been warned not to leave the country while their application is pending. If they are allowed to stay in the United States and want to travel internationally, they will need to apply for permission to come back into the country, a request that would cost $360 more.
The administration announced the plan in June to stop deporting many illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. To be eligible, immigrants must prove they arrived in the United States before they turned 16, are 30 or younger, have been living here at least five years, and are in school or graduated or served in the military. They also cannot have been convicted of certain crimes or otherwise pose a safety threat.
Mayorkas said being approved to avoid deportation "does not provide lawful status or a path to citizenship."
The announcement came just months before what is shaping up to be a tight contest for the White House. President Barack Obama has come under fire by Hispanic voters and others who have say he hasn't fulfilled a previous campaign promise to reform the nation's immigration laws. The policy change could stop deportations for more than a million young illegal immigrants who would have qualified for the failed DREAM Act, which Obama has supported in the past.
Critics of the program, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, have called the policy backdoor amnesty and say they worry about fraud.
"While potentially millions of illegal immigrants will be permitted to compete with American workers for scarce jobs, there seems to be little if any mechanism in place for vetting fraudulent applications and documentation submitted by illegal immigrants," Smith said Tuesday.
DHS said anyone found to have committed fraud will be referred to federal immigration agents.
The Migration Policy Institute estimated last week that as many as 1.7 million people could be eligible to stay in the U.S. and legally work under the new policy.
DHS officials have repeatedly said the department doesn't have an estimate on how many people may apply. In an internal document outlining the program's implementation officials estimated about 1.04 million people would apply in the first year, and about 890,000 would be eligible.
The document, obtained by The Associated Press, estimated that the program could cost between $467.7 million and $585.4 million. The department anticipated collecting about $484.2 in fees.

[American Patriot]

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed an executive order on Wednesday directing state agencies to deny drivers licenses and other public benefits to anyone benefiting from President Barack Obama's 'deferred action' immigration policy.
In an executive order, Brewer said she was reaffirming the intent of current Arizona law denying taxpayer-funded public benefits and state identification to undocumented immigrants.

This amounts to a gubernatorial temper tantrum.

- Luis Heredia, Arizona Democratic Party executive director

"They are here illegally and unlawfully in the state of Arizona and it's already been determined that you're not allowed to have a driver's license if you are here illegally," Brewer said in a press conference. "The Obama amnesty plan doesn't make them legally here."
Young undocumented immigrants around the nation on Wednesday began the process of applying for federal work permits under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
The Arizona Governor said they will issue employment authorization cards to those people who apply, but "they will not be entitled to a driver's license nor will they be entitled to any public benefits."

Did You Know?

An estimated 80,000 people in Arizona will be affected by the new federal program that defers deportation for young undocumented immigrants.

Obama's federal policy defers deportations for that group if they meet certain criteria, including arrival in the United States before they turned 16 and no convictions for certain crimes.
After that announcement, dozens marched to the capitol Wednesday night, upset with Brewer's executive order, according to FOX affiliate KSAZ in Arizona.
But immigration attorney Jose Penalosa told KSAZ he fully expects the Obama administration to trump Brewer. He believes those approved for deferred action will eventually be allowed to get drivers licenses.
"So I believe the Obama administration's going to come out and say we're changing the notes and our tones of our directive, and say these kids are here under color of law and protected by U.S. immigration laws and due process, and/or they have a specific non-visa immigrant category that allows them to have a driver's license," said Penalosa.
After Obama announced the policy change in June, Brewer labeled it "backdoor amnesty" and political pandering by the Democratic president.
Arizona has been in the vanguard of states enacting laws against illegal immigration.
The U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned parts of the Arizona enforcement law known as SB1070 but ruled that a key provision on requiring police to ask people about their immigration status under certain circumstances can be implemented.
The Obama administration challenged that law in 2010 after Brewer signed it into law.
In the past decade, Arizona voters twice approved laws denying publicly funded services, such as in-state resident university tuition rates, to undocumented immigrants unless mandated by the federal government.
Brewer's order said the policy's federal paperwork doesn't confer lawful status on undocumented immigrants and won't entitle them to Arizona public benefits.
However, it said the policy change "could result in some unlawfully present aliens inappropriately gaining access to public benefits contrary to the intent of Arizona voters and lawmakers who enacted laws expressly restricting access to taxpayer funded benefits and state identification."
Brewer directed state agencies to start any necessary emergency rulemaking processes to implement her order.
Some protesters marched to the state Capitol on Wednesday night from the downtown Phoenix office of the Arizona Dream Act Coalition.
"We are saddened that Gov. Brewer is siding with the past, against progress, against young people and the general support the Dream Act has in the general population," Dulce Matuz, Arizona ADAC chairman, said in a statement.
State Rep. Catherine Miranda, who supports the federal program, called Brewer's action mean-spirited.
"She just continues to put obstacles in front of young people in Arizona," the Phoenix Democrat said.
Rep. Martin Quezada, D-Phoenix, said he questioned whether the order would have much practical effect under Arizona's current laws. But he said it served to demonize good kids who should be allowed to get state-issued identification and enter the workforce.
Arizona Democratic Party executive director Luis Heredia said Brewer's order "fails to move Arizona forward on immigration reform. This amounts to a gubernatorial temper tantrum."

Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/pol...#ixzz23jdhYPp8

[Ryan Ruck]

Nebraska, Mississippi Join Arizona: Deny Licenses and Benefits to Illegals Getting Obama Amnesty

August 23, 2012

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer spoiled the celebrations of the illegal alien crowd last week by issuing an executive order denying drivers licenses and state benefits for so-called “Dreamer” illegal aliens who receive “deferred action” through Barack Obama’s mass amnesty program.

Now Brewer has company. Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman and Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant have joined her defiance against Obama’s lawless action.

Last week, Gov. Heineman announced that Nebraska will not issue licenses, welfare benefits or any other public assistance to the illegals unless otherwise required by Nebraska law:

“President Obama’s deferred action program to issue employment authorization documents to illegal immigrants does not make them legal citizens,” Heineman said in a statement.

“The State of Nebraska will continue its practice of not issuing driver’s licenses, welfare benefits or other public benefits to illegal immigrants unless specifically authorized by Nebraska statute,” he added.

And today, Gov. Bryant issued an executive order prohibiting illegal immigrants from receiving public benefits in Mississippi, and requiring executive state agencies that administer such benefits to clarify their processes in order to guard against erroneously issuing benefits to illegal aliens recently granted “deferred action” status by Obama’s USCIS – essentially the same order AZ Gov. Brewer issued last week.

Said Bryant:

“Illegal immigration has real consequences for Mississippi, as it puts additional burdens on our already stretched budget,” Bryant said. “This executive order will help ensure that public benefits go to only those persons who are lawfully eligible.”

And Gov. Bryant also challenged the legitimacy of Obama’s amnesty:

“Being granted such status does not confer legal rights to a person and does not entitle that person to receive public benefits. Mississippi law prohibits issuing public benefits to a person who is not lawfully present in the state or country.”

These orders by three governors in separate regions of the nation – challenging the very legitimacy of the president’s order - have added significance in light of today’s lawsuit by 10 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents challenging the legality of Obama’s new amnesty policy.

The line MUST be drawn: enough sitting on the sidelines. It is time to stand and be counted. Every political leader of principle must reject and actively oppose Obama’s lawless usurpation of power that is granted solely to Congress.

These governors have taken a stand. So have the ICE agents. What about YOUR governor, Representative and Senator?