Coming Over the Border, Mexicans Don't See

Mexican president Felipe Calderon wouldn't have it any other way. A true politician, to please his people of Mexico he claimed that the Mexican border doesn't end at the U.S. border.

Calderon said he feels Mexicans should be able to work in America, pay no taxes, and then send that money gained in the U.S. to Mexico. The fact the illegal immigrants from Mexico use the sidewalks and roads, schools and public safety, without payment, means nothing.

Calderon called for the U.S. Congress to wake up; that they are persecuting and exacerbating the mistreatment of "undocumented" Mexican workers. Mexico's president called it "insensitive". In this his first state of the union address, Calderon said that Mexico needs to be strong and sure of itself. Yet he did not mention the improvement of Mexico so his own people wouldn't have to leave the country to find work elsewhere.

Popular with the people, Calderon got a standing ovation.

What Happened at Koch Foods

Koch Foods processes chickens for fast food restaurants across the Southeast. Koch Foods was being investigated for federal crimes including encouraging, inducing or harboring illegal aliens. Federal agents pulled 161 suspected illegal aliens from Koch Foods Tuesday, but did not find all of them. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents seized documents and other materials at the Koch Foods plant in southwest Ohio and at Koch Foods Inc.

Immigration agents raided a poultry packaging facility in Fairfield, Ohio, yesterday morning and arrested scores of illegal immigrants at the Koch Foods. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. Immigration spokesman Richard Rocha said the operation was the end result of a two-year investigation. Immigration agents surrounded the chicken processing plant where Danny Alvarez-Reyes works, he did the only thing he could think of: he gave his coat to a scared friend determined to hide in the walk-in freezer. The attorney for Koch Foods has issued a statement regarding the immigration actions at the Fairfield plant on Tuesday. The statement says that the company is fully cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and furthermore that the company is complying with all immigration laws and looking to resolve the current matter quickly.

Moskowitz said employees faced a range of charges including illegal reentry to the United States, identity theft, document fraud, social security fraud and forgery. The raid was the latest targeting businesses employing illegal workers. "Unlawful employment is one of the key magnets drawing illegal aliens across our borders," said Julie L. They knew those were illegal criminal aliens they were hiring. There are 12-20 million illegal aliens presently in the country. Lawsuits and Department of Labor enforcement actions aimed at illegal pay practices in the meat and poultry processing industries are quite common.

The 700 poultry workers here, most of them Mexicans, might seem ripe for organizing, but labor's efforts at resurgence face daunting obstacles. That pace means that many workers make 18,000 cuts during their eight-hour shifts as they prepare breasts, wings, tenders and cutlets for restaurants and consumers. Smith said she and the two other workers in her unit often could not go to the bathroom for hours at a time because the pace was so demanding and there was nobody to replace them. Back in Morristown, the Koch poultry workers are so united behind a union and have generated so much community support that they persuaded Koch to pledge not to mount an anti-union campaign. 'While rumors flew among Hispanics that some had been hurt or even frozen to death during the raid, ICE spokesman Greg Palmore said there were no significant injuries and that workers who hid in freezers had quickly been found. Palmore said everything possible had been done to ensure children would not be left unattended if parents had been arrested, and ICE officials said some workers may be released for humanitarian reasons if caregivers could not be found. Interviews with the owner of the plant that is now complaining that there are no workers to do the jobs (left unsaid, at the wages he is willing to pay).

Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones has been one of the country's most outspoken opponents of illegal immigrants and employers who use them, and has lobbied Washington for better enforcement and deportation of undocumented workers. "THESE RAIDS ARE AN OUTRAGE," advocates for immigrants said the raid was an arbitrary and unfair action that hurts immigrant families and does nothing to solve fundamental flaws in American immigration law. "Deportation is a revolving door," said Elias Bermudez, the founder of Immigrants Without Borders, an advocacy group which works with thousands of illegal immigrants in the border state of Arizona. Some town leaders say such immigrants account for most of those seeking work. Nearly 2 million jobs that are important to [California] are held by illegal immigrants. All but four of the 29 illegal immigrants arrested last week in a raid targeting workers at the world’s largest hog processing plant had stolen the identities of American citizens, federal prosecutors said Tuesday as they announced identity theft charges. Twenty of the 161 suspected illegal immigrants that federal agents detained after raiding a poultry packaging plant in Fairfield are in jail today on charges of falsifying identities.

Koch Foods will face federal charges for crimes of inducing, encouraging and harboring illegal aliens, among others. Koch Foods said it was cooperating with Federal agents in the investigation. The actions come after a two-year ICE investigation yielding evidence suggesting Koch Foods may have knowingly hired illegal workers at its poultry processing and packaging plant, according to an ICE statement.

Military Service for Green Card

There was an hour and a half phone conversation from Brazil to a Brazilian working at a law firm in Miami. Then, once here in the U.S., the family called the same person, but got conflicting information. In search of truth, they drove four hours to another Brazilian lawyer in Pembroke Pines to hear how to become legal.

One of the single men in the group posts entries on dating websites, looking for a potential Green Card marriage.

They would do almost anything for that blessed Green Card. But the question of military service scares them more than the fear of being caught here in the United States.

How many illegal immigrants have died in Iraq? Nobody really knows, but Flavia Jimenez, an immigration policy analyst at the National Council of La Raza states that "we know recruiters may not be up to speed on everybody's legal status. We know that a significant number of illegals have died in Iraq."

We pinpoint Los Angeles where the recruiting is done mainly in high schools, 75 percent Latino. And it's common knowledge that recruiters there offer Green Cards. We found the practice as widespread as Texas. And some recruiters actually tell the kids that if they don't enlist, and they are illegal, they will soon be deported - them and their family. This happened in a case in Chicago.

The Pentagon denies that illegal immigrants are in the military at all. And if they are, they committed fraud. One private was discovered illegal while in Iraq. Army Pvt Juan Escalante was discharged and shipped home. Immigration and Customs Enforcement started a proceeding against his parents to deport them - but they were saved when Escalante's unit leader wrote a letter saying he had served with distinction.

Jose Gutierrez wasn't so lucky. He came illegally from Guatemala in 1996 to escape the death squads there. Enlisted, Gutierrez was killed by friendly fire. He was awarded citizenship posthumously. When recruiters find illegals willing to sign up, they write the word "pending" for their Social Security number. Gutierrez finally got his.

President Bush signed an Executive Order on July 3, 2002, providing for the "expedited naturalization for aliens and noncitizen nationals serving in an active-duty status in the Armed Forces of the United States during the period of the war against terrorists of of global reach." What does this mean? Well, any noncitizen can be granted citizenship on their first day of active duty. But it doesn't specify illegals.

In many American wars, citizenship was granted solely on the basis of three years of honorable service or discharge, whether or not the person ever lived in the United States. And the people recruiting need to tell their prospects more - they are hiding a few facts.

For one, the military doesn't have the authority to grant citizenship. All it does is forward their application to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement which then scrutinizes them - and their families - for up to a year. Citizenship can be denied for past criminal offenses, dishonorable discharge - meaning refusing to fight in combat.

Military recruiters will exploit the desire for citizenship of illegal aliens as long as they can. And a bill, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill (S 1639) failed to pass in the Senate last June. It was to give permanent residency to any "alien who has served in the uniformed services for at least 2 years and, if discharged, has received an honorable discharge."

This means the government knew illegals were there all along.

But with the defeat of this bill - those illegals who died for the United States will go unknown.

Green Card or Citizenship Serving in Military

While we haven't personally investigated this ourselves, we'll report what we've heard and you can make your own decision. It has been reported that U.S. military recruiters are dangling the offer of American citizenship at young illegal immigrants.

These illegals, who are looking at every option to becoming legal, are told they will get citizenship quickly for them and their entire families. OK, there is some truth to that statement. We found, after some research, that the recruit generally gains American citizenship - and usually pretty quick - depending on what Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) finds.

But what about mom and dad and sister and brother?

Not so fast. Each person in the family has to go through a separate application process. They may get a little good out of the sibling enlisting in the U.S. military, but we did see any in our research.

As we've reported before, illegal aliens have open ears to any and all immigration lawyers. When their friends here in the United States tell them of another lawyer with information, they are quick on it, sometimes driving days to get any new bit of information that may help them become legal here in this country. So when they hear that you can really get a Green Card and United States Citizenship by enlisting in the military here, they are pressured by family and friends.

Illegal aliens are wide open to exploitation in this case. As a large part of illegal aliens are slaves to their undercover routine here in America, they suffer certain vulnerabilities. And the pressure by the illegal alien flock is great. Why?

Because illegal aliens that enlist are enticed into bringing other illegal aliens into the military fold. They are paid $2000 US for every friend they talk into enlisting, and in some recruiting offices they are paid $50 US for every name they provide to a recruiter.

But it doesn't stop at cash. Provide names and get your friends to enlist and you get a higher military rank. Good quality friends - higher promotions. And once enlisted, the soldier can request hazardous duty. Sign up for combat or dismantling explosives, handle toxic chemicals, and you just won an additional $150 US a month.

We found that since most illegal aliens signing up don't have a college education, their pick of jobs in the military is very limited. Most are sent into combat, anyway. The tests are only administered in English - and jobs requiring security clearance can only be held by a U.S. Citizen.

But can illegal immigrants serve in the military? The Pentagon says "no" - and we take up that issue in our next report. We'll address the illegal who was found out and shipped home. The Pentagon says they enlisted fraudulently. Yet recruiters are paying to have them enlist. Puzzling.

Will the Dream Act Help Your Illegal Kids?

The children of illegal aliens probably benefit most from illegals moving here to the United States. But what sort of benefit might they have if an act called the Dream Act becomes reality?

There's a bill in Congress called the Dream Act, and what it would do is give some 65 thousand high school graduates who came to the United States illegally as kids, a chance for citizenship by finishing either two years of college, or military service.

Well, this bill has been kicking around for many years, and in our opinion, when it comes up in September, it will once again be voted down. This is called "educational amnesty" by opponents.

They say that simply because a person is smart, they shouldn't be exempt for gaining citizenship legally like many others have to. It just doesn't add up.

But some say their parents drug them out of their countries so why should they have to pay for their "mistakes?" Okay, then - go back to your country. It's not a mistake - the mistake might have been not applying legally.

Even now, people facing deportation are awaiting until September - a reprieve from our government - to see if the bill passes.

Given the current temperature of the political terrain on immigration - plan differently. The Dream Act will not pass.

Immigration Problems Hit a Federal Fence

If you've been here long enough, you've heard of the town out east that decided to use local government to fight the illegal immigration problem. Just a quick note on the repercussions of what happened recently there.

A Federal Judge named James Munley has overturned the right of local government to enforce any - any of the provisions of their ordinances. This is for Hazleton, Pennsylvania. There, the mayor proclaimed he'd make it tough on illegal immigrants.

Indeed, there were $1000 a day fines to landlords who rented to illegal aliens and to businesses that hire illegals? - Well, their license would be revoked. Documents had to be in English and translation into other languages would have to be approved.

So where is this going?

In our opinion the Federal Judge is wrong. Local government should have the right to protect itself from encroaching illegal immigrants - UNTIL the Federal Government is doing their job of enforcing the law already on the books.

This will naturally further the division between people pro illegal immigration. This will begin more appeals and fights to stop the freedoms illegals have.

What is the next step?

The next step will be local authorities going to court over the matter v.s. the Federal Government. Next, the Supreme Court. At that point, Congress will likely have to put teeth into the laws already on the books here in the United States.

Recent changes in fees for Green Card filing and immigrant visas were put in place to create a fund for upholding the law against illegal immigration in this country. The fight in the court will further the government to take a stronger stand at our borders.

Where Can an Alien Get Free Health Care?

We've heard from a State Senator in Wisconsin that the planned, "Healthy Wisconsin" universal health care plan that is slated for the next budget will NOT exclude illegal aliens. What this means is that the cost for Social Security to local employers will jump 4 percent. Payroll tax would be 10 percent.

However, the same draft of "Healthy Wisconsin" states that there will be a 12 month waiting period for non-residents. This means that if you show up from out of state and want in on the universal health care, you won't be eligible. But again we were told that no one in Wisconsin would be turned down.

Obviously they have some wrinkles to iron out.

If in fact no one would be turned down, residents of neighboring states, like Minnesota would simply drive over the border and check into a hospital or clinic.

The illegal alien subject was brought up and no one said they would be refused. This means once the word gets out - if "Healthy Wisconsin" does become law there - thousand of illegal aliens will make there way to Wisconsin to receive free health care.

It is true that anywhere you go for necessary health care in this country, you won't be turned away. The problem with being an illegal alien is that once you receive treatment - you better hope that you have enough to pay for it. Once billed, you will be sought for payment. And then you may be subject to further investigation.

Certainly, this isn't the way that people seeking immigration to the United States want things to happen - but if you are without proper documentation - this will be one red flag for the authorities.

We are not sure if they ask for immigrant status at hospitals, but they most likely don't. It's just not the way America works.

Law enforcement... that's another case.

Do I Really Want to be Legal?

Many illegal aliens could care less about becoming legal, documented aliens. This is because they do want the privilege of living and working in the United States, but they do not want the responsibility that comes with that.

For many, it's a dream - but many don't want the whole package.

The whole package of becoming legal includes paying taxes. And most don't want to do that. They want to live here, drive on roads built by taxes, go to schools paid by taxes, use services paid by taxes, but they don't want to pay those taxes.

Instead, they want to make their money tax free and many time send that money out of the United States. They want to keep even the part due as taxes.

And for the most part, they do keep it.

That's one of the major problems regular tax-paying Americans have with illegal aliens. Illegals for the most part want the right to make money, and live in America, without helping. Without paying their way. Instead they are a burden.

The pilgrims weren't a burden. The pilgrims paid for their way. They made sure they pulled their weight - they did their part. They sent nothing back to England. They had the name and all the responsibility with it.

That's the difference. Think about it. Do you really want to become legal?

Should I Wait to Start my Green Card Process?

After watching the CNN-YouTube debate on the Internet tonight, we are convinced that waiting to start your Green Card process "might" be a good thing. The reason is that we believe that the Democrats will win the election in 2008 and the top runners we think, believe in some form of organization to the Immigration problem which will probably include amnesty.

If it were up to us, we would wait to start the procedure.

What process are you using to gain your Green Card? Yes, there is a lottery, but your country must qualify. Many countries are not eligible. The lottery is not for every country. This is because some people who came before you came in masses and the United States Government believes that there is just too many of your nationality.

One of the first recommendations from immigrants in the United States who have acquired Green Cards, is to find a lawyer who concentrates only on Green Card processing. There are many of them; some even listed on this site. We agree that this is most likely the best way to get a Green Card in the United States besides marrying a United States citizen. We will go into how to pre-qualify an Immigration Lawyer for you at another time.

There is a filter you should use for things you hear on the street about Immigration and getting legalized in the United States. First of all, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Secondly, you should question the people who give you advice. How many people have actually had success getting legalized the way they say? Are they legal? And if they aren't, why aren't they doing this? Next, always consider the source. If they are a lawyer, or official - that should carry more weight. Use common sense.

Who would guess that the United States would be in this kind of situation as far as illegal immigrants coming across borders in the number we have today? Yet, we all know that something will be done to change what is happening. Either more people will be allowed in, or people that are here will be sent home.

Once here, many do not know what they are getting themselves into. For example, they want the privileges without the responsibility. They want the name American Citizen, but don't want to pay their share. Our view on this attitude will be in our next report here on Immigration Green Card.

Green Card Marriage

Did you realize that the number of people who marry for permanent residence in the United States is really high? Why is this a good way to become legal?

Some 400,000 American citizens marry foreigners each year - and later petition the U.S. Government for permanent documentation because when married, the alien becomes an immediate relative, thus valid for Green Card status.

But when you start thinking, someone here with a Green Card could possible marry an alien and have their status change. Yet, it's not that easy. That type of marriage is generally filled with problems when the paperwork starts. The best thing to do in this case is to consult an Immigration Lawyer.

One way is for the American citizen to get what's called a "temporary visa for a fiancee" and then after he or she arrives here, they get married and the paperwork is completed.

What the Citizenship and Immigration Services wants to find out is if the marriage was just for the Green Card, or do the two really love each other. And cases are found out. For example, one case in Dallas, where an Australian illegal alien married a permanent resident, Immigration Authorities simply called the couple and told them they knew that the Australian was still married to a Brazilian. Nevertheless, this person was later granted a Green Card and continues to work and live within the United States.

When the marriage happens outside the United States, the Citizenship and Immigration Services will need to receive from the American Citizen a visa petition for the foreign-born spouse. Once approved, the foreign-born spouse will receive a packet from the National Visa Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

The packet is will let the foreign-born spouse know what documents are needed for the interview which happens abroad - and contains documents which must be completed, signed and sent off to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in that country. The foreign-born spouse in normally granted a visa in three to six weeks.

Don't forget all of the fees involved in the above. It's not free and there are penalties if you are caught breaking the rules. For example, one fine of $150.00 was levied on a couple whose foreign-born spouse had made a trip outside the United States during the visa waiting period.

All in all, if you can find love, this is your best shot. There are many, many dating websites around with good people looking for only "love" and not hung up on your nationality. Try these first - and who knows - you may be looking at a Green Card much sooner than you think.

Mexicans Are Only Reclaiming Their Land

If you're not Mexican and you're trying to get into this country, this might be an interesting video to watch - to see how the border with Mexico is being overrun.

If you're an American and are worried about Mexicans walking across the border, this is a video to watch. It's an hour and fourteen minutes long, and worth seeing a view some people have on Illegal Immigration.

Deportation Separates Families

The number is astounding, but not impossible to fathom, given the degree most aliens want documentation to stay in America. Around 1.6 million children and spouses, according to Human Rights Watch, have been separated from their family. Why?

The 1996 immigration laws are to blame. Not many outside consider the loss of homes, businesses, and finances when deportation occurs. Alison Parker, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch says it has been devastating to American families.

Congress toughened the law back then making "aggravated felonies" part of the list of reason for deportation. Why this is a bad thing? Because families should stay together. But instead, only the offender is deported.

The law in 1996 was made retroactive, meaning even those who had served their time in jail were caught for deportation. They did not consider hearings in which judges could consider an immigrant's family. Nor did they think of their community standing, military service or what might happen once they got back to their native country.

And since then, 672,593 immigrants have been deported for crimes - this according to the Citizenship and Immigration Services, now part of the Homeland Security Department. What the Human Rights Watch did was combine numbers from CIS and Census data from foreign households here and came up with their statistics on how many have been left behind.

ICE - Immigration and Customs Enforcement tells us that 64.4 percent of immigrants that were sent back in 2005 were convicts - of non-violent crimes. Around 20.9 percent were sent home for crimes that were violent.

Parker submits that it is hard to tell a child that his father has been sent thousands of miles away because he was caught forging a check. The answer might be to deport the whole family.

Texas Representative Lamar Smith, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, has said that immigrants who break the law forfeit their right to be in the U.S. And Steve Camorata may have the solution - a research director at the Center for Immigration Studies - Steve says the family CAN leave with the deported person. He claims that children constantly bear the consequences of their parents' poor decisions.

But some have tried to leave to no avail.

Wayne Smith and Hugo Armendariz, immigrants, have filed a complaint against the U.S. government because they were ordered deported. The filing, through the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights, has a hearing this Friday.

The Human Rights Watch report can be found at http://hrw.org/reports/2007/us0707/

Can I Be Deported?

Immigration officers come to a home at a time when they suspect the illegal alien will be there. For example, a case in Miami of a Colombian illegal found officers knocking at her door at 6 AM. Yes, they can come at any hour - if you have a deportation order, or are suspected of some crime. In America, you will NOT find people stopping you or knocking on your door without cause.

The Colombian woman had deportation papers already filed against her. The Immigration officers were simply doing their job to detain her and send her back to Colombia. However, she never opened the door, and immediately went into hiding with her husband and two children. There are more than 500,000 illegals hiding who are in the deportation process. So why couldn't the officers simply bust in and catch her?

Again, they can't, but even so it is difficult keeping up with so many illegals set for deportation. Since the Senate immigration bill did not go through - the bill that would have given assistance to millions of undocumented immigrants to get their Green Cards, and given a shot in the arm for enforcement - some $4.4 billion was on the slate, immigration rights advocates claim raids are going to skyrocket.

Homeland Security and police will head this up, they say, but the numbers show that there is probably little risk of getting deported. There were 17,817 deported in 2006. There are 632,190 fugitives of the deportation system identified. This doesn't take into account the thousands of others that are deported by immigration judges. This is simply the number for those already tagged as deportable. Which means - it would take over 20 years at the current enforcement for the 600 thousand to be sent home.

The proceedings take too long, say some, and there aren't enough officers to work the task. The way it is wired today, it's impossible. And some have criminal records here. So deporting them would be difficult.

So can you be deported? The answer is YES, if you are here illegally. And reentry into the United States is next to impossible via any normal gateway where a passport and visa are required.

The Miami office is getting better at deporting. Over 35,000 cases have been resolved recently. With the new Fugitive Operations Support Center in Burlington, Vermont, more leads with better ways to track them have come in. Since February in Miami-Dade alone, 53 teams have been assigned to track down deportation-ordered fugitives and there are more teams to come.

Can a Local Police Deport Me?

Two days ago, one of our friends heard from illegal aliens in Florida that the local police have the authority to deport you. And it's true that there is much more activity in local communities about enforcing their own flavor of immigration law because the US Immigration Reform law did not pass in Congress.

For instance, Prince William County in Virginia, have their police force begin enforcing illegal immigration. When they stop somebody they've arrested, they are authorized to check the citizenship status of the person or persons - and see if there is "probable cause" that they are in the United States illegally. But even here, the county board hasn't really come up with what "probable cause" is.

That doesn't mean illegals stopped go free.

Prince William County is checking drivers licenses. If you don't have one, there is a good chance you are illegal. You can't get one without being a citizen, or if you're on a visa that permits one.

And at the same time, many counties across the United States are reluctant to let their local police departments enforce the law against illegals for worry that their departments just might face a harassment suit - (or racial profiling).

This just can't be avoided - ethnic profiling... You know if you look the part, you will have a higher chance of being picked out and asked if you are here legally. But this did get Hazelton, Pennsylvania, in trouble recently when they passed law saying landlord face penalties if they rent to illegals, or hire them. The ACLU challenged and a decision is expected soon.

The question as to whether local authorities can enforce federal immigration law is worth considering. From what we've seen, the answer is YES. Many counties have agreements with the Department of Homeland Security, and they screen anyone pulled over for legal status. So if you're driving, and something happens, say... the car beside you accidentally hits you and they call the police; if you don't have proof that you are in the United States legally, you may be detain and then eventually deported.