lframerica.com Blog

http://www.immigrationwatchdog.com/?p=6175

http://www.casademaryland.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=246 

Mar 31, 2008, by Jason Flanagan, The Examiner

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Walter Abbott lost his house, his drywall company – twice – and now his freedom.

When he discovered Maryland funds pro-immigration group CASA de Maryland, he fired off an angry letter to Gov. Martin O’Malley containing a threat on the governor’s life.

“It was out of frustration,” Abbott said.

Now is he on home detention awaiting a trial. “[CASA] helps find them a job – an American’s job that they help take away. They took away my job,” said Abbott, 44, of Parkville.

Abbott epitomizes part of the hotly contested immigration debate.

Many people are furious that governments from the General Assembly to the city of Baltimore give millions of dollars to CASA de Maryland, which assists legal and illegal immigrants in finding work, social services and legal aid.

“The state cuts [Chesapeake] Bay funding in half but found millions for CASA’s new headquarters? That’s bordering on criminal if it’s not already criminal,” said Brad Botwin, director of Help Save Maryland, a group opposing illegal immigration.

However, CASA officials said taxpayers’ money should help anyone in need, even if they are here illegally.

“The government should serve everybody – [immigrants] are the house cleaners, the kids going to school. They are part of the community, and part of government’s role is to help the poor and vulnerable,” said Jennifer Freedman, director of development for CASA.

Some state lawmakers tried to halt CASA’s funding and introduce bills to curb illegal immigration. But those bills failed, while bills to support CASA’s efforts passed.

Del. Ron George, R-Anne Arundel, said groups such as CASA make Maryland friendly to illegal immigrants who burden the state’s infrastructure, such as the Motor Vehicle Administration. MVA was processing 1,000 driver’s license a month last year; now it is processing 2,000 a week due to illegal immigrants’ ease of obtaining licenses.

WHAT CASA DOES

CASA does provide humanitarian work such as AIDS/HIV testing, youth counseling and financial education to low-income immigrants, and is considered the largest and most organized group reaching the immigrant community.

But the political and legal aspect of CASA has many questioning government support.

A pamphlet by CASA tells immigrants not to say anything, answer the door or provide identification to immigration and law enforcement officials. CASA asks its members to carry a card saying the person will not speak and demands a lawyer.

Each time Freedman was asked why CASA serves illegal immigrants, she referred to CASA’s mission statement of helping all low-income immigrants.

“We can do that without asking immigration status,” she said.

When asked if CASA would report its clients if they were found to be here illegally, Freedman again said, “We serve everyone in need who walks through our door.”

She added that CASA’s policy is no different from other nonprofits like Catholic Charities, which did not return calls for comment on its policies.

At CASA’s Baltimore center, where immigrants can find work, a man who identified himself as Ennrique said, “The community here is united, and [CASA has] been helping the community.”

About 2 percent of the city’s population is Hispanic, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which does not ask for immigration status, just ethnicity and place of birth.

WHO PAYS?

More than $2 million in money from local governments this year went to fund CASA, mostly from Montgomery, which has the highest Hispanic concentration in the state, according to the Census Bureau.

Baltimore City gave much less, mainly for grants to promote job placement and AIDS health education.

Mayor Sheila Dixon’s office did not return several calls for comment.

The state government doled out $628,000 in bonds and grants in 2005 and 2006, and is considering paying another $500,000 next fiscal year for CASA’s multicultural center in Prince George’s.

Since 2005 the project has received $4.2 million in tax credits for required renovations of the historic mansion the center will occupy.

“Why should we be taxed in order to fund groups of people who shouldn’t be eligible to be funded?” said Dee Hodges, president of the Baltimore-based Maryland Taxpayer’s Association.

No other Baltimore-area counties fund CASA, mainly because the group hasn’t solicited funding.

“Illegal means illegal, and citizens of [Anne Arundel] resent taxpayer dollars going to those who break the law,” said Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold, who opposed funding CASA but supports aid for groups that help people here legally.

WHAT TO DO

To deny CASA funding would be a great disservice to the community, advocates say. Less than half of CASA’s funding comes from governments, but the group uses the money to leverage private donations, Freedman said.

Some have suggested requiring CASA to ask for immigration status from its clients as a reasonable solution.

But CASA will not do such a thing, as it would go against its policy as a humanitarian organization, Freedman said.

CASA’s remedy is to enforce current immigration laws, not create new ones that anti-immigration supporters say are needed to compensate for failing federal laws.

“We recognize it’s a broken system and we look to the federal government for comprehensive immigration reform,” Freedman said.

Others say no matter what CASA does, all of its funding should be cut.

“There should be no CASA de Maryland,” Abbott said.

jflanagan@baltimoreexmainer.com

http://www.immigrationwatchdog.com/?p=6176

The Washington Post

This week’s American Legion conference in Washington has had no shortage of high-profile guests. The organization’s 1,400 attendees have heard from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), Army Secretary Pete Geren and Veterans Affairs Secretary James B. Peake.

They also met with Brig. Gen. Gregory J. Zanetti, the deputy commander of Joint Task Force Guantanamo, who spoke about the upcoming commissions and told the group “what we’re not seeing and hearing about Guantanamo,” according to Legion spokeswoman Ramona Joyce.

While the Legionnaires might find coverage of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, lacking, there is one key news purveyor who does not disappoint.

That man is Lou Dobbs, who will receive the organization’s National Commander’s Public Relations Award today because he “has been a tireless and true leader in the fight against illegal immigration,” according to a statement by National Commander Martin “Marty” Conatser.

“Lou Dobbs is a true American patriot,” he said.

Immigration is a key issue for the group, Joyce said, primarily because of its national security implications and because of a focus on law and order.

“When we signed up in the military we said we’d uphold the Constitution, and part of that is also being a law-abiding citizen,” she said. “We’re a land of laws, and some people don’t want to enforce the laws.”

http://www.diggersrealm.com/mt/archives/002746.html

(VIDEOS AT LINK ABOVE)

These are must see videos, it is amazing how many times the race card comes up to play during the various interview questions. Yet repeatedly the issue of legal and illegal are skirted and ignored.

Unfortunately Duane, so can we. 

http://www.allamericanblogger.com/2484/new-state-computers-missing-vital-programs/

Duane Lester - March 31, 2008

We all know how efficient a state agency is, especially a streamlined department like the Department of Public Health and Human Services. That is why I find it so troubling to hear about the problems they had with their new computers. It seems they were missing some programs other departments were using.

At least some hard-chargin’ all-go, no-quit government employees spoke up:

The issue arose recently when the Child Support Enforcement Division received new computers, but without the games like solitaire, hearts and minesweeper that come with Microsoft software.

Some employees complained that the games weren’t on the new machines while other employees in the department had games, said Lonnie Olson, division administrator.

That’s right. Their computers didn’t have the same games that other computers had. So they complained. And they almost got what they wanted:

“I said if they want them, we’ll put them on,” Olson said, adding that he wanted to make sure all employees in the department are treated the same.

OH GREAT CAESAR’S GHOST, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

There is at least one person with some senblance of gray matter between their ears. I give you Sheryl Olson, deputy director of the Department of Administration:

“To me, the broader policy is nobody should be playing games on state computers,” she said. “We’re at work to work. Why is this even a question? Who has time to play games?”

Can you imagine waiting on authorization for your important health procedure at the new Department of Crappy Government Run Health Care, while the government boob behind the desk tries to complete Minesweeper on expert?

I can.

and 16 Illegal Aliens Arrested

(Must See Video, News Coverage)

http://www.immigrationwatchdog.com/?p=6153 

http://www.yumasun.com/articles/border_21119___article.html/patriots_sharrar.html

BY BLAKE SCHMIDT, SUN STAFF WRITER

When Flash Sharrar set out to start a local civilian border watch group a year ago, nobody took the group seriously, the co-founder of the Yuma Patriots recalled.
Sharrar, a former soldier, was serious.

The event that motivated him was the loss of his son’s Ford Explorer in an alleged holdup in the Imperial Sand Dunes. The robbers, suspected of coming from Mexico, robbed his son - who had recently returned, unscathed, from a tour in Iraq with the Army - at gunpoint in his own country.

Sharrar went to Mexico and reclaimed the stolen Ford Explorer, which now had a smashed hood, a crushed roof, was riddled with bullet holes, blood stains and only one tire with air in it.

He fixed up the vehicle and headed out to the desert with dozens of other Yuma residents concerned over the lack of security on the border. And so began the Patriots’ patrols.

But as Sharrar, a Yuma business owner, patrolled canal levees and desert roads in the now hoodless, banged-up sport utility vehicle, he began to have his doubts.

“I started off with 80 guys, but all they wanted to do was shoot people, and I realized very quickly this was not the way to do this,” Sharrar said.

Sharrar said he and other members “weeded out” the group to what are now about 40 individuals “who care about the country.”

For nearly a year, the Patriots have been patrolling the sections of the border near Yuma, notifying the U.S. Border Patrol of any illegal immigrants they see entering the country.

In the process, they’ve been shot at, called racists and have had run-ins with the Cocopah Tribe on those occasions when their patrols took them onto tribal land and have had a somewhat rocky relationship with the Border Patrol.

They’ve tried to counter what they say is a bad rap given them by Mexicans and immigrant groups, and they’ve been criticized for carrying guns with them on patrols.

Yuma immigrant advocate Fernando Quiroz said the Patriots come across as ignorant in their interviews on the radio.

“They forget about the humanity of it … they think (immigrants) are less than human,” Quiroz said.

But Sharrar said the Patriots have assisted in some 1,500 apprehensions made by the Border Patrol. At one point, the Border Patrol kept statistics on how many apprehensions the Patriots assisted in, but Rick Hays, spokesman for the patrol’s Yuma sector, said those numbers are no longer kept.

Hays added that the patrol appreciates help from citizens, but is concerned about the extent of the involvement the Patriots have in alien arrests.

“They could place themselves in a predicament if they get involved in arrests,” Hays said. “If they become physically involved and prevent an individual from leaving, it could be considered a false detention.”

Sharrar said the Patriots, who currently go on patrol twice a week, are generally just “eyes and ears” for the Border Patrol, meaning they will call in groups as they see them. They have been involved in stopping a few suspects, he said.

Sharrar said when Patriots encounter a group of immigrants, they will shine a flashlight on them and tell them to sit down. He said nine out of 10 immigrants will obey, and the Patriots will keep an eye on them until Border Patrol agents arrive. The Patriots inform the patrol of those who run.

“We’re not doing anything that would cause a reasonable person to feel that they’re not free to leave,” said the Patriots’ attorney and co-founder John Minore.

Minore, a Yuma attorney, said the Patriots stopped contacting law enforcement agencies on their patrols in the wake of allegations that the Border Patrol had been informing Mexican authorities of the whereabouts of civilian patrol groups like the Patriots.

“We might as well have stayed home because there was no activity that night,” Minore said, “now we don’t inform anybody and we walk into all the hot spots.”

Hays has repeatedly said the Border Patrol does not forewarn the Mexican government of the whereabouts of the Patriots or any other border watch groups.

Sharrar said he thinks the Patriots have come a long way since their inception a year ago.

“People didn’t take us seriously. But we went out there and continue to go out there … in a positive matter, never harmed anyone or touched anyone,” Sharrar said.

Now, national media are paying attention to the Patriots and their opinions on immigration reform, he said. This week, media outlets from Los Angeles and San Francisco came to town to visit the Patriots in light of Bush’s visit.

Sharrar has called Bush’s plans for immigration reform and buildup of border security “lip service,” and says much more needs to be done beyond sending the National Guard to help secure the border.

“The only way to secure the border is going to take National Guard, Border Patrol and state militia,” he said. “State militia is guys like you and me. We stand in line and have a commander.”

Sharrar said if the governor would call up the state militia, the border could be secured.

He also said that Yuma County Sheriff Ralph Ogden should be more like Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has overseen the founding of a 250-member sheriff’s posse made up of sheriff’s deputies and trained volunteers who began night patrols in the desert this month.

“Ogden should be a lot stronger on this issue,” Sharrar said.

Ogden said Sharrar shares that feeling with many, but Ogden stands by his belief that immigration is a federal problem that can be controlled better by federal authorities.

Ogden estimated that the YCSO will have turned over some 8,000 illegal immigrants to Border Patrol this year.

But, he said, if the county had to start processing illegal immigrants it could take officers off their patrols for hours at a time, and there aren’t enough beds currently to hold illegals.

“This is a lot bigger problem than just locking people up,” Ogden said.

Sharrar said he is concerned that the influx of immigrants will mean the dissolution of America’s middle class, and is afraid that immigration reform will “get boiled down to nothing more than amnesty.”

He said he’s worried about criminals coming into the country and immigrants bringing diseases into his community.

He wants to see immigration reform that starts with securing the border.

America is being “overrun” and it is his duty to “plug a hole in it,” he said.

“I’d rather be at home sitting and eating popcorn with my children than be out on that border,” he said.

http://blip.tv/file/779536/

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x916344737 

One Candidate, Three Officers At Framingham Forum

A Thursday night forum with the town’s three selectman candidates ran into trouble after two of the three did not attend and a pair of illegal immigration opponents were escorted away by police.

The Metropolitan Interfaith Congregations Acting for Hope, an alliance of nine religious congregations in the area, had planned a forum with the town’s selectman candidates at St. Tarcisius Church.

Before the forum began, illegal immigration opponents Jim and Joe Rizoli entered the church with a video camera. The church’s pastor, the Rev. Joseph Pranzo, said he told them they could stay, but would not allow them to record the meeting.

He said the Rizolis “look down on people.”

He said he didn’t want the Rizoli brothers to tape the meeting and use that footage to harass parishioners who attended the forum. The event was filmed by the town’s cable channel, said Pranzo.

“They will put people down, and that’s not what I’m about,” Pranzo said of the Rizolis, who have a controversial cable access show focused on local immigration issues.

The Rizolis refused to accept the pastor’s conditions - and they would not leave, he said.

Police were called, and three officers escorted the Rizolis from the church.

“This is incredible,” said Jim Rizoli after he left the church on Thursday night. He called the forum a public meeting at a church, and said he should have been able to record it. “They were getting us for trespassing.”

The Rizolis filmed Framingham police escorting them from the forum and posted an edited video online, complete with the theme music from the TV series “Cops.”

The forum’s organizers said the meeting’s purpose was to discuss housing, immigration and other local concerns, but only selectman candidate Bob Berman attended the forum.

Board candidate Laurie Lee said she missed the forum to attend a meeting of the Service Corps of Retired Executives and deliver a report at 7:30 p.m. in the Memorial Building. She said she was expecting to attend a separate economic development meeting earlier that night, but it was canceled due to a lack of a quorum.

Organizers for the candidates’ forum said selectmen Chairman Dennis Giombetti could not attend due to prior work commitments. Giombetti could not be reached for comment.

Though the forum was aimed at selectmen candidates, some candidates from other races, including the School Committee and town moderator, attended, said Pranzo. He estimated at least 100 people turned out.

http://www.cis.org/articles/2008/back208.html

Center For Immigration Studies Report.

http://www.immigrationwatchdog.com/?p=6113

CWPT or Civil War Preservation Trust has compiled a list of the ten most endangered battlefields in the United States.

Antietam, Maryland

Cedar Creek, Virginia

Cold Harbor, Virginia

Hunterstown, Pennsylvania

Monocacy, Maryland

Natural Bridge, Florida

Perryville, Florida

Prairie Grove, Arkansas

Savannah, Georgia

Spring Hill, Tennessee

Fifteen additional sites are listed “at risk”.