Owner admits Hazleton's immigrant law didn't force store to close Latino businessman admits that debt put his grocery store in Hazleton out of business
Sunday, March 18, 2007 By Milan Simonich, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Carolyn Kaster, Associated Press
Jose Lechuga once claimed that he and his wife, Rosa, had to close their restaurant and grocery store in Hazleton because of police harassment. But he recently admitted in federal court that personal debt caused the collapse of his businesses. Click photo for larger image. Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Hazleton Mayor Louis Barletta wants laws to punish landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and businesses that hire them. Click photo for larger image. HAZLETON, Pa. -- This small city is filled with immigrants and urban legends. Most of the stories claim that the Hazleton laws aimed at throwing out illegal immigrants have harmed innocent people instead. On North Wyoming Street, where Latino newcomers operate nearly all the businesses, many people insist that the ordinances drove out Jose and Rosa Lechuga, who owned a restaurant and grocery store. The Lechugas, legal immigrants from Mexico, said police damaged their businesses by parking cruisers nearby. They said this was a source of intimidation to potential customers, whether they had citizenship or not. But last week, during the early stages of the federal trial that will decide the constitutionality of Hazleton's immigration laws, city lawyers exposed the Lechugas' story as untrue. Mr. Lechuga admitted under oath that he and his wife had failed to make their mortgage payments for months before the ordinances targeting illegal immigrants were approved. He said his Hazleton stores collapsed after he opened a second unprofitable market on the outskirts of the city. Even more damning, Mr. Lechuga testified that most of his customers at the suburban store were illegal immigrants, primarily construction laborers. After the workers were caught in a federal raid, his suburban store had to be shuttered and he spiraled into debt. Defenders of Hazleton's laws were exultant after his admissions. For months, the Lechugas had been held out as a symbol of all that was wrong with Hazleton Mayor Louis Barletta's attempt to crack down on illegal immigrants. Mr. Barletta said Hazleton, in Luzerne County, has had a net gain of 27 Latino-owned businesses since the Lechugas' stores closed. "I would never be part of a law that would hurt legal immigrants," he said during a break in the trial, which is being held in U.S. District Court in Scranton. "Business is up because shootings are down on Wyoming Street." Mr. Barletta, 51, is a lifelong Hazleton resident who has been mayor for seven years. Poised, telegenic and friendly even to his critics, he was the most sought-after figure of the trial's first week. One spectator, an African-American woman, stopped Mr. Barletta in the courthouse hallway to thank him for his crusade against illegal immigrants. Mr. Barletta, a Republican, hopes his town is on the verge of winning the right to enforce its immigration ordinances. U.S. District Judge James Munley has blocked the laws from taking effect until he can rule on their constitutionality. Hazleton's laws would penalize landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and businesses that hire them. In addition, every prospective renter would have to appear at city hall with proof of his citizenship or legal right to be in the United States. Hazleton would be the first U.S. city to mandate background checks on tenants. The American Civil Liberties Union, other civil rights groups and various individuals sued Hazleton, contending that the federal government, not cities, must regulate immigration. Witold Walczak, legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said immigration law is complicated and often murky, despite Mr. Barletta's contention that every immigrant without proper documentation is a lawbreaker. Mr. Barletta readily agrees that he sees immigration as a black-or-white issue, though not in terms of race. Rather, he said, he finds no gray area in whether somebody is entitled to be in America. "Have you ever said illegal is illegal?" Mr. Walczak asked the mayor when he took the witness said. "I think it will be on my tombstone," Mr. Barletta said. He blames illegal immigrants for causing five-hour waits in the emergency room of Hazleton's private hospital. Mr. Barletta says they are using the emergency room for primary care, though he admits he has no proof to back up his claim. People seeking emergency treatment cannot be asked about their citizenship. Classrooms are crowded, another problem Mr. Barletta ties to illegal immigrants. Citing his favorite statistic, the mayor says the Hazleton Area School District in 2000 had a budget of $500 for students who needed help with English as their second language. Today, Mr. Barletta says, the program costs $1.15 million. Witnesses called by opponents of the law cast doubts on many of the mayor's contentions. Manuel Saldana testified that his 11-year-old daughter, a U.S. citizen, receives instruction in English as a second language. Mr. Saldana, a naturalized citizen from the Dominican Republic, said the program will help her be a successful student and productive citizen. ACLU lawyers used this testimony to jab Mr. Barletta over his contention that illegal newcomers are draining school budgets. "You want people to speak English. You made English the official language of Hazleton, didn't you?" Mr. Walczak said to the mayor. Mr. Barletta agreed that he had championed an official-English law. "Well, we'll defend your right of free speech," Mr. Walczak said. Later, Mr. Walczak got the mayor to admit that any person without health insurance could seek care in the emergency room of a hospital. He asked the mayor if he was familiar with statistics showing that some 45 million Americans do not have medical coverage. Fighting back, Mr. Barletta said he was more aware of a different study purporting that 20 million illegal immigrants are in the United States. Mr. Barletta said Hazleton's immigration laws would reduce crime and save lives. It was the murder of a man named Derek Kichline that Mr. Barletta said motivated him to push for the ordinances. Two assailants shot Mr. Kichline to death on a Hazleton street the night of May 10. Both suspects are illegal immigrants from the Dominican Republic. Mr. Barletta said one of them had prior arrests, but had remained in America anyway. He was living in Freeland, a town just outside Hazleton, until his arrest in the Kichline case. City lawyers, though, fought hard to prevent the mayor from being questioned about other crimes. Hazleton's own police records show that about 8,500 felonies were committed in the city during the last six years. Illegal immigrants are suspects in about 20 of those cases, including the Kichline murder, Mr. Walczak said. Manuel Espinal, 18, said Mr. Barletta's focus on one notorious case bothers him. Mr. Espinal, also from the Dominican Republic, is a legal immigrant who is going to college and working in his family's grocery store on Wyoming Street. Hazleton has had other murders, but Mr. Barletta never went on a campaign to increase the number of police officers to reduce violence, Mr. Espinal said. Indeed, Hazleton has 33 police officers today, nine fewer than it did when Mr. Barletta took office in 2000. Mr. Barletta says his city should have 65 officers. He said he has been hamstrung on hiring because of tight budgets. Mr. Barletta inherited a $1.2 million deficit when he took office in 2000. The number was staggering, considering that the city's budget is only about $7.5 million. But by 2004, Hazleton had a surplus of $300,000 and its assessed property valuation had increased for the third consecutive year. If Mr. Barletta and his detractors agree on anything, it is that Hazleton grew rapidly and its property tax base expanded because of Latino newcomers. The mayor and one of his most outspoken critics, Dr. Agapito Lopez, estimate that Hazleton's population has jumped from 22,000 to perhaps 33,000 today. (The U.S. Census Bureau still lists Hazleton's population at the lower figure, even after its 2005 update). Many of Hazleton's new residents left New York after the terrorist attacks in 2001, said Rudy Espinal, 39, who counts himself in that group. Once an illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic, he obtained U.S. citizenship and received his real estate license in 2002. He now has his own business on Wyoming Street and is running for the Hazleton City Council as a Democrat. "I like it here and I plan to stay," he said. But he also maintains that Hazleton's vitality has evaporated since the ordinances were approved. Rudy Espinal said a friend of his, a legal resident who is struggling to learn English, was stopped by police and asked for his immigration papers. Such tactics have created fear and emboldened those who have biases against foreigners, he said. The mayor counters by saying Hazleton has six known street gangs, a development that coincided with illegal immigrants settling in the area. Moreover, despite its population growth, Hazleton has seen no increase in earned income tax collections. Mr. Barletta said this demonstrates that many of the newcomers are not working or are working illegally and not reporting their income. Other anecdotal evidence suggests that the Latino population boom in Hazleton did not end with passage of the ordinances. Dr. Lopez reluctantly admitted that St. Gabriel's Catholic Church is packed on Sundays. Masses are said in Spanish. The mayor makes public appearances without bodyguards, but he has received death threats and denunciations for his immigration policies. One female opponent of his ordinances went on local television and called Mr. Barletta "a monkey." For all the controversy, Mr. Barletta is a popular figure in Hazleton's Latino neighborhoods. Many on Wyoming Street praised him for creating recreation programs to help their kids. Several said Mr. Barletta personally asked them what they needed to keep children busy in summer, then made sure baseball fields and playgrounds were built. Judge Munley will hear perhaps another week of testimony. After that, he will review the evidence and decide whether Hazleton's laws will stand or fall. Either way, Mr. Barletta says he will keep up the fight. "I really believe most legal immigrants like what we're trying to do," he said. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Milan Simonich can be reached at msimonich@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1956. )
NORTH AMERICAN UNION "CONSPIRACY" EXPOSED
By Cliff Kincaid February 21, 2007
NewsWithViews.com
A top Democratic Party foreign policy specialist said on Friday that a "very small group" of conservatives is unfairly accusing him of being at the center of a "vast conspiracy" to implement the idea of a "North American Union" by "stealth." He called the charges "absurd." But Robert Pastor, a former official of the Carter Administration and director of the Center for North American Studies at American University (CNAS), made the remarks at an all-day February 16 conference devoted to the development of a North American legal system. The holding of the conference was itself evidence that a comprehensive process is underway to merge the economies, and perhaps the social and political systems, of the three countries. Pastor said that he favors a "North American Community," not a formal union of the three countries, and several speakers at the conference ridiculed the idea of protecting America's borders and suggested that American citizenship was an outmoded concept. Wearing a lapel pin featuring the flags of the U.S., Canada and Mexico, Pastor told AIM that he favors a $200-billion North American Investment Fund to pull Mexico out of poverty and a national biometric identity card for the purpose of controlling the movement of people in and out of the U.S. So the "conspiracy" is now very much out in the open, if only the media would pay some attention to it. Media Cover-Up Accuracy in Media attended the conference in order to produce this report and shed light on a process that is being conducted largely beyond the scrutiny of the public or the Congress. AIM has previously documented that Pastor's campaign for a North American Community has received precious little attention from the major media, except for the notable case of CNN's Lou Dobbs, who has called it "utterly mad." In fact, a survey of news coverage discloses that several high-profile mentions of the concept of a North American economic, social or political entity have come from Pastor himself, such as a Newsweek International article that he wrote. The conference, conducted in cooperation with the American Society of International Law, an organization affiliated with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, was held at the American University Washington College of Law. A large number of speakers came from American University. Overruling the U.S. Supreme Court Academic literature distributed in advance to conference participants about a common legal framework for the U.S., Canada and Mexico included proposals for a North American Court of Justice (with the authority to overrule a decision of the U.S. Supreme Court), a North American Trade Tribunal, a North American Court of Justice, and a Charter of Fundamental Human Rights for North America, also dubbed the North American Social Charter. Under the latter concept, according to Laura Spitz of the University of Colorado Law School, North Americans might be able to enjoy "new rights" essential to "human flourishing" such as gay marriage. She argues in one paper that U.S. economic integration with Canada will make it nearly impossible for the United States not to recognize same-sex marriage so long as it is lawful in Canada. Pastor himself talked about new institutions, such as a "permanent tribunal" on trade issues, but emphasized that such ideas "take time" and have to "take root." He advised conference participants to "think about the horizon," in terms of what is possible, over the course of 5, 10 or even 20 years from now. Conservative concerns about Pastor's agenda were not assuaged by conference literature disclosing that the CNAS is sponsoring an event in May in which students participate in a model "North American Parliament." The concept suggests creation of a regional body to supersede the U.S. Government itself. Such talk does indeed raise the specter of a North American Union similar to the currently functioning European Union, a political and economic entity of 27 European states that includes a European Parliament and a European Court of Justice. The EU has been charged with usurping the sovereignty of member states and moving European nations in a left-wing direction on matters such as acceptance of abortion and gay rights and abolition of the death penalty. Indeed, the academic literature distributed to conference participants alluded to how the three countries of North America are "polarized" on "sensitive" cultural issues such as the death penalty, abortion and gay marriage and that it might take a long time to "harmonize" their legal systems on such matters. While Pastor, a foreign policy advisor to each of the Democratic presidential candidates since 1976, tried to dismiss talk of a North American Union, he did emphasize in his remarks to the conference that North America is "more than a geographical entity" and is in fact a "community." His 2001 book, Toward a North American Community, begins by emphasizing his status as a resident of North America, rather than just a U.S. citizen, and outlines a vision of the three countries taking their relationship "to a new level." Rather than use the phrase "union," he described the creation of an "emerging entity called North America" growing out of the fact that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), passed in 1993, had brought about a "remarkable degree of economic integration" among the three countries. One panel was devoted to analyzing how NAFTA could be expanded into the areas of intellectual property and taxation and regulations. Attacking Conservatives One speaker, Stephen Zamora of the University of Houston Law School, denounced the idea of a wall separating Mexico and the U.S., in order to control illegal immigration, asking, "What does citizenship mean anymore?" He expressed pleasant surprise when a Mexican in the audience said she had dual citizenship in Mexico and the U.S. Later, he said he was just as concerned about people living in Mexico as people living in the U.S. Another speaker, Tom Farer, Dean of the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver, made a point of saying that his representative in Congress, Tom Tancredo (R-Col.), a staunch advocate of U.S. border security, was a backward thinker. Tancredo could be seen "dragging his knuckles along the ground," Farer said, trying to crack a joke. No Border Control Pastor acknowledged that the U.S. Government doesn't want to enforce its immigration laws. He said, however, that the solution is not a fence, except in some isolated high-crime areas along the border, and it's not to punish companies for hiring illegal aliens, since identity documents can be too easily forged. He said the solution is a national biometric and fraud-proof identification card that identifies national origin and legal status. Another part of his solution, a $200-billion North American Investment Fund, is for the purpose of narrowing the income disparity between Mexico , on the one hand, and the U.S. and Canada, on the other. "You need a lot of money to do it and do it effectively," he said. He said Mexico would be required to put up half of the money, with the U.S. contributing 40 percent and Canada 10 percent. It would be done over 10 years. The fund, he said, would focus on economic development in the southern and middle parts of Mexico, which haven't been touched to any significant degree by NAFTA. This, he indicated, would go a long way toward stemming illegal immigration to the U.S. So the failures of NAFTA are now being used not to repeal the measure but to expand it and increase foreign aid to Mexico. Pastor said Senator John Cornyn, known as a conservative Republican, had introduced his North American Investment Fund as a bill in Congress but had backed away from it under conservative fire. The Nature of NAFTA An important moment in the conference occurred when Alan Tarr, director of the Center for State Constitutional Studies at Rutgers University, was challenged about glossing over President Clinton's submission of NAFTA as an agreement, requiring only a majority of votes in both Houses of Congress for passage, and not a treaty, requiring a two-thirds vote in favor in the Senate. NAFTA passed by votes of 234-200 in the House and 61-38 in the Senate. Tarr said he had not intended to be uncritical of what Clinton did. Pastor quickly interjected that there was nothing improper in submitting NAFTA as an agreement rather than a treaty. But Clinton's move was seen at the time as an effort to bypass constitutional processes, and the United Steelworkers challenged NAFTA's constitutionality in court. The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 2001, after lower courts had thrown the case out, saying it was a political matter between the president and Congress. The Bush Administration sided with Clinton and the Supreme Court declined to get involved. The history of NAFTA is one reason why so many conservatives are concerned that a North American Community could be transformed into a North American Union that runs roughshod over U.S. constitutional processes and guarantees. One of the main concerns of conservatives, who have formed a "Coalition to Block the North American Union," has been the lack of congressional interest and oversight. They are backing a bill introduced by Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Va.) to put Congress on record against a North American Union. The Secretive SPP Another major concern is that the Bush Administration has facilitated the creation of this new North American "entity" through an initiative known as the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), based on a memorandum signed by President Bush and the leaders of Canada and Mexico in March 2005. It is described as "a trilateral effort to increase security and enhance prosperity among the United States, Canada and Mexico through greater cooperation and information sharing," but its "working groups" have been operating in secret and many of the members are not even known. Judicial Watch, a conservative public-interest law firm, had to go through the Freedom of Information Act to obtain documents naming the members of some of the mysterious working groups. Officially, on the U.S. side, the SPP is coordinated by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, and Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez. The Clinton Connection Pastor's luncheon speaker, Eric Farnsworth, the Vice-President of the Council of the Americas, provided some valuable insight into this process. Saying NAFTA is "no longer enough," he described the SPP as designed to help North America meet the economic challenges posed by such countries as China and India. Farnsworth said that the Council of the Americas , which advises the SPP, would shortly issue 300 recommendations designed to improve business conditions in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. He was unclear as to whether the U.S. Government would try to implement these initiatives on its own, through the administrative or regulatory process, or whether they would be submitted to Congress for approval. The Council's honorary chairman is David Rockefeller and its board members come from such major corporations as Merck, PepsiCo, McDonald's, Ford, Citibank, IBM, Wal-Mart, Exxon Mobil, GE (which owns NBC News and MSNBC) and Time Warner (which owns CNN and Time Inc.). One of the key board members is Thomas F. McLarty III, President of Kissinger McLarty Associates, who served as Clinton's White House counselor and chief of staff during the time that NAFTA was signed and passed by Congress. McLarty, who also functioned as Special Envoy to the Americas under Clinton, is an adviser to the Carlyle Group, focusing on "buyout investment opportunities in Mexico." Farnsworth mentioned the possible creation of a "super-national Supreme Court" governing business and trade issues in North America, but was ambiguous about whether it would ever come to pass. A self-described Democrat who served as policy director in the Clinton White House Office of the Special Envoy for the Americas from 1995-98, he also said that he was optimistic that Bush would strike a deal with the new Democratic-controlled Congress on immigration. He said Bush was "at odds with his own party" on immigration and that legislation to create a so-called "guest worker" program could pass now that Republicans have lost control of Congress. The Panama Canal Giveaway For his part, Pastor, a friendly and engaging fellow who talks about his ideas at length with critics, has a history that goes far beyond deep personal involvement in the Democratic Party. Pastor is associated by conservatives with President Jimmy Carter's treaty, opposed by then-presidential candidate Ronald Reagan, which transferred control of the Panama Canal away from the U.S. to the Panamanian government. Pastor was National Security Advisor for Latin America under Carter. His nomination as U.S. Ambassador to Panama was withdrawn in 1995 after conservative Senator Jesse Helms, then-chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, threatened to block a vote on his nomination. Helms accused Pastor of aiding radical forces and undermining U.S. interests in the region. The founding director of the Latin American and Caribbean Program of the [Jimmy] Carter Center, Pastor became Vice President of International Affairs and Professor of International Relations at American University on September 1, 2002, when he created his Center for North American Studies. Pastor also served as vice chair of a Council on Foreign Relations Task Force on the Future of North America, which issued a report in May 2005. Lately, Pastor's Center for North American Studies has received funding from the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean to address "regulatory convergence" issues. A sour note about the prospect of further integration with Mexico was provided at the conference by Alberto Szekely, a career ambassador and advisor to the Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs, who said that the rule of law simply does not exist in Mexico and that corruption permeates governmental institutions. He said reforms under the presidency of Vicente Fox went nowhere and that Mexico is one of the most corrupt countries in the world today. Ironically, however, he said that the development of a North American legal system might in some way assist in cleaning up the Mexican legal system. Pastor, an optimist about the prospect of developing the North American Community, told me that he didn't think the situation in Mexico was as bleak as Szekely made it out to be. He continues to be a proponent of "continental thinking." © 2007 Cliff Kincaid - All Rights Reserved
Texas deputy to pay price for defending self
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By Jerry Seper THE WASHINGTON TIMES February 2, 2007
A Texas deputy sheriff who fired shots at a fleeing vehicle after the driver tried to run him down faces 10 years in prison for injuring one of the passengers, a Mexican national being smuggled illegally into the United States. The U.S. attorney, who won lengthy prison terms last year for two U.S. Border Patrol agents in the shooting of a drug-smuggling suspect, also prosecuted Edwards County Deputy Sheriff Guillermo F. Hernandez, who is to be sentenced next month. The deputy's boss, Sheriff Donald G. Letsinger, said his officer -- who had been on the job for a year -- "followed the letter of the law" in defending himself in the April 2005 incident and questioned why the government brought charges. "This is a fine young man, and I just don't believe he committed the wrong of which he was accused," Sheriff Letsinger said. "I have never had anything hurt me so badly as this prosecution. We've got to make this right." Rep. Ted Poe, Texas Republican, called the prosecution and conviction of Hernandez, known to his friends as "Gilmer," "another example of how the federal government is more concerned about people [who are] illegally invading America than it is about the men who protect America." "Once again, our government is on the wrong side of the border war," Mr. Poe said. The deputy's Dec. 1 conviction has enraged his hometown of Rocksprings, Texas, population 1,250, where "Free Gilmer" signs have been posted. The Baptist church is paying the deputy's mortgage and others have come up with costs for the family's truck, propane and water bills. Hernandez, 25, and his wife, Ashley, have a 4-month-old daughter. "The town is outraged that this has happened to our deputy," said the Rev. Albert Green, pastor at the First Baptist Church. "Those people were in this country illegally, and they tried to run him down. They were the criminals, but the prosecutors made our deputy out to be the criminal. "I do not know a single person who doesn't feel Gilmer was prosecuted for doing his job," said Mr. Green, who is the deputy's pastor. "I do not know a finer, more well-behaved gentleman. He would not purposely or willfully hurt anyone." U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, appointed in October 2001 by President Bush, said Hernandez fired shots at the vehicle as it sped away "knowing it was occupied with the nine individuals," at least seven of whom were illegal aliens -- some of whom later were called to testify for the government. Hernandez was convicted after a jury trial in U.S. District Court in Del Rio, Texas, 75 miles southwest of Rocksprings -- found guilty of violating "under the color of law" the civil rights of Maricela Rodriguez-Garcia, a Mexican national. The woman was struck in the lip by bullet or other metal fragments after an 11:50 p.m. traffic stop in Rocksprings in April 2005. Reports said Hernandez fired shots at the blue Chevrolet Suburban's rear tires as it sped off after being stopped for running a red light. Acquitted on a second count regarding injury to another passenger, he will be sentenced March 12 at the Del Rio court. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Baumann, who prosecuted the case, told reporters that the law does not give law-enforcement officers the right to use "deadly force to stop a car unless it poses an imminent threat to the officer or another person. If the car is going away from you, it's not even a close call." Mr. Sutton's office convicted Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos, 37, and Jose Alonso Compean, 28, on charges of causing serious bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon, discharge of a firearm in a crime of violence and a civil rights violation. They were sentenced to 11 and 12 years, respectively. Shana Jones, spokeswoman for Mr. Sutton, did not return calls for comment yesterday. Sheriff Letsinger said an investigation found that Hernandez approached the vehicle and found only the driver was sitting upright and suspected the others were illegal aliens. He said the driver, after being asked to step out of the vehicle, pulled forward and turned into Hernandez -- fleeing from what the sheriff described as the deputy's "legal stop." Thinking the driver had tried to run him over, he said Hernandez fired at the vehicle's rear tires. He said at least one of the people inside the vehicle confirmed that the driver had turned it into the deputy. Sheriff Letsinger, with three deputies to handle all law-enforcement matters in a 2,000-square-mile county, called the Texas Rangers after the incident to investigate what happened. He said he also called the Mexican Consulate because Mexican nationals were involved, and the consulate later notified the FBI. The Rangers' incident report, the sheriff said, noted that after firing shots, Hernandez returned to his patrol car, notified dispatch and pursued the vehicle until it crashed into a fence -- at which time the occupants, except for Mrs. Rodriguez-Garcia, fled. Mrs. Rodriguez-Garcia, Ivonne Hernandez Morales and Candido Garcia Perez, all occupants in the vehicle, told investigators that they paid $2,000 to be taken across the Rio Grande from Acuna, Mexico. They said they later met the vehicle's driver and a guide, who were to take them to Austin and Dallas. Sheriff Letsinger also said the Rangers and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents, using dogs and metal detectors, found four shell casings at the traffic stop site but none at the crash site -- discounting claims by two of the vehicle's occupants that Hernandez fired shots at them as they fled the vehicle. The Texas Rangers did not respond to calls yesterday. Noting that prosecutors offered the deputy probation in exchange for a guilty plea, the sheriff said, "This young man didn't do anything wrong and wasn't about to say he had. I think that speaks to his character." In the Border Patrol case, Ramos and Compean testified that they shot Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila in the buttocks only after he assaulted Compean and pointed a weapon at both of them. Prosecutors and later a federal jury in El Paso disagreed. Aldrete-Davila abandoned 743 pounds of marijuana before fleeing back into Mexico.
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I want to wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year.
Hopefully this year we will see the politicians come around to our way of thinking wether they want to or not because they know we are right. You know, the idea that we are a nation of laws and it's not about race but rather economics, our national security and the security of our borders especially for us legal American citizens, that anyone with any common sense would tell you is the way it ought to be. I want to thank those of you who have supported and helped in the Heart of America Chapter and the Kansas Minuteman Civil Defense Chapters this past year, we have accomplished a lot for an organization which is falsely charged with racism, vigilantism and all the rest, we had our work cut out in the beginning and we still do. The more of you that step up to help the better our success in the coming months. Thanks to all of you that send me material that I forward on to others such as the below information from Al and make a note of the Mark Twain quote at the end.
Ed Hayes Kansas
Director Heart of America Chapter Director
Minuteman Civil Defense Corps
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Subject: Debate on reforms, rights likely to continue Che Guevara posters hang inside Pepe's General Store in San Elizario, along with images of the Virgen de Guadalupe. The image of Che, the Marxist revolutionary leader, which hangs above shelves cluttered with chips and candy, sodas and motor oil is a symbol for proprietor Jose "Pepe" Rodriguez or his customers. "Guevara is kind of like Moses, someone who hated oppression," he said. "He fought for people's rights everywhere."
What about Americans rights?....MORE
===================================================================================== Subject: Debate on reforms, rights likely to continue Che Guevara posters hang inside Pepe's General Store in San Elizario, along with images of the Virgen de Guadalupe. The image of Che, the Marxist revolutionary leader, which hangs above shelves cluttered with chips and candy, sodas and motor oil is a symbol for proprietor Jose "Pepe" Rodriguez or his customers. "Guevara is kind of like Moses, someone who hated oppression," he said. "He fought for people's rights everywhere." What about Americans rights?
Read on down on what Brokaw did not report NBC TV Brokaw report puts area contractor in spotlight By Donna Gray Glenwood Springs correspondent December 28, 2006 www.aspentimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061228/NEWS/112280048&template=printart
Fri Dec 29, 2006 6:53 am (PST) www.aspentimes.com/article/20061229/COLUMN/112290035/-1/rss01Aspen Times *What Brokaw didn't report about illegals* Guest Opinion By Frosty Wooldridge December 29, 2006 Aspen, CO Colorado This week, NBC's Tom Brokaw presented a one-hour television special on illegal immigration, "In the Shadow of the American Dream." During the program, this great American soft-pedaled illegals' impact on Vail, Aspen, Carbondale, Glenwood Springs, Colorado and the Roaring Fork Valley. Why the kid-gloves treatment?....MORE
In addition to the below article I will repeat what I mentioned a few weeks ago. DELL computers recently announced that all of their computers are now being built in India and we all know that any support you get is from a guy named "Jack" or something of that nature who has a heavy Indian accent and is answering your call from India.....MORE
These people are leaving Farmers Branch, they have left Hazelton and a few others. Guess where they are going folks. Not North, East, South or West except to go further into the US of A. They are coming to a sanctuary city near you. IE: Liberal Kansas, Dodge City Kansas, Kansas City Missouri and all the rest. Farmers Branch, Hazelton and the rest wins for now, we lose and the reason is that only a few city fathers recognize this problem and will act.
Ed Hayes Kansas
Director Heart of American Chapter Director
Minuteman Civil Defense Corps
....MORE
MY favorite one to date- if this doesn't twist your shorts in a wad than you must be dead.
BUSH PARDONS FIVE DRUG DEALERS, IGNORES WRONGLY CONVICTED BORDER PATROL AGENTS
At the same time Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean were seeking a presidential pardon for their convictions in the wounding of a Mexican drug smuggler in Texas last year, President Bush pardoned 16 criminals this week, including five drug dealers, one of whom was convicted of cocaine distribution and conspiracy....MORE.
Jail stops housing immigration detainees Ramsey County sheriff acts as policy study launched BY TIM NELSON Pioneer Press
The door to the Ramsey County jail is shut for suspected illegal immigrants picked up by federal immigration authorities. Sheriff Bob Fletcher said Tuesday he would no longer accept "immigration boarders" brought to the St. Paul jail by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency....MORE.
From the Great Southwest-
Ok folks, have you got enough football yet? How about Survivor? How are the soaps doing these days? Caught up on the latest reality tv show? Here's one for you to be looking for in the future...Run Gringo Run! You got it folks. A real reality show. Yep that's what it's going to be when we are being run out of own country by the third world invaders. Can't happen here you say...read the following article and than "you make the call"...MORE
What's it going to take to get it through your collective thick skulls. Are we AMERICANS or AMERICAN'TS? I'm an AMERICAN how about you? If this offends some of you well..... good. Maybe you need some offending to wake up.
It's not about your house , your street or even your town.
IT'S ABOUT OUR COUNTRY.
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REPUBLICAN STATE SENATOR OUTRAGED OVER NORTH AMERICAN UNION
Dear CPers,
Does Missouri have a State Legislator with the courage and conviction of Arizona's State Senator Karen Johnson? [webmaster adds-Does Kansas have any state legislators with the courage? NO! I'm not advocating any one party over another but if the shoe fits........] She is the kind of patriot that the Constitution Party needs in Missouri. Her words should be shared with everyone we know; especially our representatives. How many times have we heard our MO Representatives tell us, "Oh, that's federal jurisdiction, we don't get involved in those kinds of issues". My dear friends, concern for state and national sovereignty is alive and well in the mind of Senator Karen S. Johnson. This kind of thinking needs to be found in others. Read on....MORE
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HISPANIC MINUTEMAN-COP FIGHTS CORRUPTION & ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION Internet exclusive: On Full Disclosure™ Video News Preview Video Blog Time: 6:28 min. Release Date: November 24, 2006 ....MORE
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Brooklyn judge pens kids’ book about unchecked immigration By Associated Press Monday, November 27, 2006 -
Updated: 02:26 PM EST NEW YORK - Unhappy with the children’s books on the market, a Brooklyn criminal court judge has written a picture book that uses a horticultural metaphor to deplore the perils of unchecked immigration. In “The Hot House Flowers,” self-published by Judge John H. Wilson, an envious dandelion releases her seeds into a hothouse, where they grow and eventually use up so much water and food that there’s none left for the plants that were already there ....MORE
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Homeless Americans, Felons on Probation Help Fill Poultry Jobs After Immigration Raid Atlanta Journal Constitution - November 27, 2006
Stillmore — Felons on probation and homeless men have filled some of the poultry jobs left by illegal Mexican laborers deported in raids two months ago. About 40 convicted felons from the Macon Diversion Center are bused in each day to work at the Crider Poultry plant in Stillmore — the focus of the raids. Additionally, 16 men from the Garden City Rescue Mission in Augusta have come to work in the plant. Several from the mission have become shift leaders, said Lavond Reynolds, director of men's housing for the mission.....MORE
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BEWARE - Social Security Fraud Posted by: "Harold" hdpoole54@earthlink.net hdpoole2000 Mon Nov 13, 2006 11:07 am (PST)
TREA Senior Citizens League Alert!!! Dear Mr. Poole, We at TSCL just became aware of a vicious fraud that is targeting seniors via email, and we wanted you to know about it right away. A series of emails has been circulating, usually with the subject line: "Cost of Living for 2007 Update" and purporting to be from the Social Security Administration (SSA). It requests that readers click a link to "update your personal information. " Once you click, you go to a site that looks like the official Social Security site, and you’re asked to type your Social Security number.....MORE
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Nov 10, 2006 MONTERREY, Mexico
U.S. Border Patrol agents chasing suspected drug traffickers on the Texas border allegedly crossed into Mexico and had a brief standoff with Mexican police before peacefully returning, Mexican authorities said Friday.....MORE
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FARMERS BRANCH, Texas
Leaders of this Dallas suburb unanimously approved tough new anti-immigration measures Monday evening, including one that makes English the official language.....MORE
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Will America survive to 2050?
Posted: August 25, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern
"In 376 a large band of Gothic refugees arrived at the Empire's Danube frontier, asking for asylum. In a complete break with established Roman policy, they were allowed in, unsubdued. They revolted, and within two years had defeated and killed the emperor Valens – the one who had received them – along with two-thirds of his army, at the battle of Hadrianople."
So writes Oxford's Peter Heather in "Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians," who is convinced that Valens' welcoming of the Goths was the decision that sealed the fate of the empire......MORE
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There are only two parties..Patriots(us) and the Traitors! Read the following article:
Mexican, U.S. Mayors Blast Border Fence Saturday November 11, 2006 4:31 AM PIEDRAS NEGRAS, Mexico (AP)
Mayors from Mexican and U.S. border cities Friday denounced U.S. plans to build a border fence aimed at preventing Mexican from illegally entering the United States. The mayors of Eagle Pass, Texas, and Ciudad Acuna and Piedras Negras, both in the Mexican state of Coahuila, signed a document declaring the U.S.-Mexico border an area for union and solidarity - not division. ``From El Paso to Brownsville, Texas, we're against building the wall. ... That's why we're here today to support our neighbors,'' Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster said.........MORE
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Al Qaeda Leader: Materials Smuggled Across Border Thursday, November 02, 2006 Posted: 10:31 PM
NEWSCHANNEL 5 Investigation Terrorists trying to blend in with Mexican culture A NEWSCHANNEL 5 investigation reveals what the feds don't want you to know. Suspected terrorists are hiding inside the U.S. and they got here by sneaking across the Mexican border..... MORE
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Well folks our Senate is doing it to us again. They have attached a provision onto a bill that increases the number of H2b visa's for unskilled labor into the U.S. We need to get a law passed to stop that kind of shananigans once and for all. IMHO if you vote for these folks you only deserve what you get.
Senate Sneaks Immigration Provision Into Department of Defense Posted by: "G Goetsch" ggoetsch@cox.net famous_e_plum Tue Oct 31, 2006 8:47 am (PST)
Senate Sneaks Immigration Provision Into Department of Defense Authorization Bill Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) used back-room negotiations to slip language into the Department of Defense Authorization bill, signed into law on October 18, 2006, that potentially doubles the H-2B visa cap for unskilled workers. This language added to the defense bill is similar to the H-2B amendment Senator Mikulski offered to S.2611, the Senate guest worker amnesty bill that the House refused to take to conference committee. Senator Mikulski was successful in including the H-2B language to in the Defense Authorization bill despite statements from Armed Services Chairman John Warner (R-VA) that he would not allow any extraneous provisions to be added to that bill. In contrast, before Congress adjourned for the November elections, House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) waged a public battle to attach his own immigration provision to the same defense bill. Speaker Hastert's provision would have prohibited alien gang members from entering the U.S. And allowed for the detention and deportation of alien gang members already within the country. Chairman Warner, however, refused the Speaker's request to include the alien gang language. Last week, as the President signed the Defense Authorization bill into law, Senator Mikulski released a statement stating she would not have been successful in her effort to pass the H-2B provision without the help of Senator Warner.
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Mexican gangs display severed heads, french warn europe and more Posted by: "Minnesotans Seeking Immigration Reform" minnsir@yahoo.com minnsir Sun Oct 22, 2006 10:13 am (PST)
Mexico gangs displaying severed heads WILL WEISSERT Associated Press VILLA MADERO, Mexico - The drug lords at war in central Mexico are no longer content with simply killing their enemies. They are putting their severed heads on public display. In Michoacan, the home state of President-elect Felipe Calderon, 17 heads have turned up this year, many with bloodstained notes like the one found in the highlands town of Tepalcatepec in August: "See. Hear. Shut Up. If you want to stay alive." Many in Michoacan's mountains and colonial cities are doing just that: They are tightlipped, their newspapers are censoring themselves and in one town, 18 out of 32 police officers quit saying they had received death threats from drug smugglers. In the most gruesome case, gunmen burst into a nightclub and rolled five heads onto the dance floor. In another, a pair of heads were planted in front of a car dealership in Zitacuaro, a town best known until now as a nesting ground for monarch butterflies. By a highway outside Tepalcatepec, suspected drug smuggler Hector Eduardo Bautista's tortured body was dumped on July 10. Near a black metal cross put up by his family at the spot, killers apparently avenging his death have been leaving severed heads - five so far - each with a threatening message. Beheadings and accompanying notes in sometimes cryptic and misspelled Spanish are becoming a ghoulish vogue among the gangs that grow marijuana, cook methamphetamine and run cocaine in Michoacan. There have been 420 homicides in the state this year, including 19 police chiefs and commanders, and Juan Antonio Magana, the state's attorney general, says well over half the killings were drug-related - the work of smuggling gangs reorganizing after authorities captured some of their top leaders. "These are groups that are very big, very strong and are out to dominate territory," Magana said in an interview. Drug smuggling in Michoacan has traditionally been controlled by a syndicate known as Los Valencia. Police arrested its leader, Armando Valencia, in August 2003 and one of his lieutenants, Carlos Alberto Rosales Mendoza, a year later. Now, anti-narcotics investigators say, the Gulf cartel based in northern Mexico is battling its way into Los Valencia territory, relying on "Los Zetas," ex-Mexican army operatives-turned hit men. Los Valencia loyalists have fought back fiercely. Many notes attached to slaying victims are signed "The Family," a possible reference to Los Valencia. Some mention "La Chata," a known alias for a top reputed Gulf cartel hit man. "They don't need to leave written messages. The mere fact that they are using such high levels of violence is sending messages of intimidation, causing fear," Magana said. "But doing it shows other gangs they can act in even more gruesome and violent ways than their rivals." With a vast and sparsely populated Pacific coast and the rugged Sierra Madre del Sur Mountains, Michoacan is good territory for producing and smuggling drugs. Many farmers have abandoned avocado, coffee and corn in favor of marijuana in the highlands, where roads are few and police can't easily penetrate. Smuggling gangs have cleared forests for airstrips. Small planes crammed with Colombian cocaine streak in, leaving loads that are ferried to the coast and stowed on fast boats that speed north toward the U.S. Border. Michoacan also has become a den for hidden meth labs. Journalists statewide have covered the murders but some have avoided digging further after receiving death threats. On Oct. 13, police recovered the body of an unidentified man who had been shot 38 times and dumped outside the town of Tacambaro. An attached note in fluorescent yellow marker appeared to directly threaten the media: "The family and the ZZs are the same thing. Media outlets, don't sell out." Calderon, who will be sworn in as president on Dec. 1, wants a new, better trained federal police force to investigate drug smuggling, longer prison terms for drug convicts and more extraditions of kingpins wanted in the U.S. He says Mexico also needs more help from U.S. Law enforcement, since Mexican smugglers are serving American drug users. Attorney General Magana denies Calderon's contention that Mexican law enforcement is overwhelmed. But in Villa Madero, a logging town of crowing roosters and stray dogs asleep on cracked asphalt streets, the abrupt mass departure of police officers suggests a different picture. "There's an enormous pressure here," said former officer Reyes Alberto Gamino, now retired at 21. "It's very dangerous." Mayor Alberto Villasenor has said the police were fired for failing to show up to guard a municipal dance Sept. 16. The former officers claim they quit because gunmen were waiting to kill them for arresting a reputed drug boss. One of the officers who resigned is Gildardo Villa. Interviewed in front of his home, Villa seemed nervous, looking over his shoulder constantly and answering questions in hushed tones. "The threats had been coming for a long time," he said. "That's why we left." Inside his cramped City Hall office, Justice of the Peace Apolinar Yanez acknowledged that police are afraid of the gangs, whom he described as "very well armed and very dangerous." "I'm not going to tell you who they are, not going to give you names or tell you what kinds of activities they are involved in. I don't want problems," Yanez said. "But they were threatening the police." Since the police officers quit, many in Villa Madero say they are afraid to leave their homes. "There's a fear that affects everyone," said Enrique Acerra, 70, who runs a used-clothing store. "It's hard to feel safe."
Border Patrol agent shot near McAllen Posted by: "Texoma Coalition" htexastom@itlnet.net htexastom Sun Oct 22, 2006 9:55 pm (PST) HoustonChronicle. com - Border Patrol agent shot near McAllenHoustonChron icle.com -- http://www.HoustonC hronicle. com | Section: Houston & TexasNews Oct. 22, 2006, 10:26PM
Border Patrol agent shot near McAllen Associated Press McALLEN — A Border Patrol agent was shot in the foot today while pursuing a man on a commonly used smuggling route near the Rio Grande. Roy Cervantes, a spokesman for the Rio Grande Valley Sector of the Border Patrol, said a man fired at two agents southeast of McAllen, hitting one in the foot before escaping into a wildlife refuge. The agent, whose name wasn't released, was treated at a McAllen hospital and released, Cervantes said. The suspect was described as a Hispanic male between the ages of 25 and 30. "The FBI always takes the lead in these types of cases where there is a federal agent that is injured or assaulted," Cervantes told The Associated Press. Boat patrols, canine units and night vision scopes were being used in the search, Jose Rodriguez, a spokesman for the Border Patrol, said in a story in Monday's edition of The (McAllen) Monitor.
Two men sentenced to federal prison for transporting aliens
Posted by: "Texoma Coalition" htexastom@itlnet.net htexastom Sun Oct 22, 2006 5:25 am (PST)
Two men sentenced to federal prison for transporting aliens near San Angelo, Texas Printed From North Texas e-News == ntxe-news.com Local News
Two men sentenced to federal prison for transporting aliens near San Angelo, Texas By U.S. Attorney Oct 22, 2006 One of aliens transported in vehicle was killed when the vehicle rolled in traffic accident Two men who transported illegal aliens near San Angelo, Texas, in March 2006, were sentenced in federal court in Lubbock, Texas, announced United States Attorney Richard B. Roper. United States District Judge Sam R. Cummings sentenced Jorge Luis Castro-Garcia to 71 months imprisonment and Jesse Cano to 87 months imprisonment. Castro-Garcia, Cano, and co-defendant Agustin Anorga, each pled guilty in July to one count of transporting illegal aliens for private financial gain and aiding and abetting. Agustin Anorga is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Cummings on November 3, 2006. Jorge Luis Castro-Garcia, a citizen of Mexico lawfully residing in the United States, recruited Jesse Cano and Agustin Anorga, both U.S. citizens, to transport illegal aliens for money. The three met in Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila, Mexico, and finalized plans for transporting the aliens. They had been in contact with the aliens and had arranged to pick them up after the aliens were illegally crossed into the U.S. The aliens were to pay Castro-Garcia $1,500 each to be smuggled into the United States and transported to Cleburne, Texas, and Castro-Garcia was to pay Cano and Anorga for their assistance when the aliens arrived safely in Cleburne. On March 18, 2006, Castro-Carcia, Cano and Anorga picked up approximately 11 to 13 Mexican nationals, illegally in the United States, near Del Rio, Texas. They used three vehicles for this venture and were taking the aliens to the Cleburne, Texas, area to work. After picking up the aliens at the border, the three men had the aliens walk around the immigration checkpoint on U.S. Highway 277 near Del Rio, in order to avoid their detection. They then picked them up again after the checkpoint and put them in a red Ford Explorer, driven by Anorga, and a gray pickup truck, driven by Cano. Castro-Garcia led the way in a white Suburban, but in Sonora, Texas, the aliens in the gray pickup truck were transferred to the white Suburban. After the transfer, Cano took the lead in the gray pickup truck, followed by Anorga in the red Explorer, and Castro in the white Suburban. At one point, Cano lost sight of Anorga and pulled over to wait for him. Cano turned around and discovered that Anorga’s vehicle had crashed near El Dorado, Texas. It was later determined that a worn tire on the vehicle blew out and caused the red Explorer to roll. Cano and Anorga tried to assist the injured aliens and went to a nearby ranch to summon help. Castro-Garcia eventually went back to the scene of the accident, but left when law enforcement arrived. Cano and Anorga then left the scene as well. One of the illegal aliens was killed in the accident and one was seriously injured. The other aliens from the red Explorer ran into the brush after the accident, but some were eventually found. Cano and Angora caught up with Castro-Garcia about 80 miles down the highway in Brady, Texas. Castro-Garcia had dropped off four illegal alines near the scene of the accident and wanted to return and pick them up. Cano and Castro-Garcia returned to the area in the white Suburban and found the four illegal aliens while Anorga traveled on to Cleburne in the gray pickup truck. Cano and Castro-Garcia were traveling on a small highway near the accident site in order to avoid detection when the Schleicher County Sheriff stopped them. U.S. Attorney Roper praised the investigative efforts of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Border Patrol, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Schleicher and Menard County Sheriff’s Offices. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Denise Williams of the Lubbock, Texas, U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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