Immigration Crackdown Also Snares Americans

A growing number of United States citizens have been detained under Obama administration programs intended to detect illegal immigrants who are arrested by local police officers.

In a spate of recent cases across the country, American citizens have been confined in local jails after federal immigration agents, acting on flawed information from Department of Homeland Security databases, instructed the police to hold them for investigation and possible deportation.

Americans said their vehement protests that they were citizens went unheard by local police officers and jailers for days, with no communication with federal immigration ins agents to clarify the situation. Any case where an American is held, even briefly, for immigration investigation is a potential wrongful arrest because immigration agents lack legal authority to detain citizens.

“I told every officer I was in front of that I’m an American citizen, and they didn’t believe me,” said Antonio Montejano, who was arrested on a shoplifting charge last month and found himself held on an immigration order for two nights in a police station in Santa Monica, Calif., and two more nights in a teeming Los Angeles county jail cell, on suspicion that he was an illegal immigrant. Mr. Montejano was born in Los Angeles.

This year the immigration agency has been rapidly extending its leading deportation program, known as Secure Communities, with a goal of covering the whole country by 2013. Under that program, fingerprints of every person booked at local jails are checked against Department of Homeland Security immigration databases. If the check results in a match, federal immigration agents can issue detainers, asking local law enforcement authorities to hold a suspect for up to 48 hours.

Detentions of citizens are part of the widening impact on Americans, as well as on immigrants, of President Obama’s enforcement strategies, which have led to more than 1.1 million deportations since the beginning of his term, the highest numbers in six decades.

John Morton, the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the agency gave “immediate and close attention” to anyone who claimed to be a citizen. continue reading .......Immigration Crackdown Also Snares Americans

Suspect extradited in death of U.S. immigration Agent

(CNN) -- An alleged Mexican drug cartel operative has been extradited to the United States to face charges in the death of one U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent and the attempted murder of a second, authorities said Wednesday.

Julian Zapata Espinoza, also known as "Piolin," was indicted in April in connection with a February attack that killed ICE Special Agent Jaime Zapata and wounded ICE Special Agent Victor Avila.

The indictment was unsealed Wednesday as Zapata Espinoza made his initial appearance in federal court in Washington, ICE said in a statement. He was ordered held without bail. read more...Suspect extradited in death of U.S. immigration Agent

Michigan Governor Says Immigration Key to Economic Development

In a speech delivered at Delta College on December 1, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder stressed the important role immigrants play in the state's economy and vowed to encourage education- and business-related immigration.

Calling federal caps on H1-B temporary work visas "arbitrary," Snyder urged Michigan's congressional delegation to undertake legislation to permanently raise the work visa cap and eliminate it altogether for those who earned an advanced degree from a U.S. college or university. He said Congress should pass a "green cards for grads" bill that is being considered, which would create a pathway for graduates of science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs to obtain permanent residency status.

"It is time to enact this legislation and allow these valuable members of our higher education communities to become permanent, contributing members of our Michigan companies and communities," Snyder said.

He also drew attention to the EB-5 immigrant investor program, which provides green cards to foreign entrepreneurs who invest capital in job-creating U.S. enterprises. Snyder said he will petition the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to renew the program, which is set to expire in September 2012. He said he would also like to see eligibility requirements change, so that those who invest $500,000 in a Michigan business and create five jobs in the state can obtain an EB-5 visa.

Snyder reaffirmed his support of the Michigan Global Initiative, which is a program to attract international students and business people to the state. However, he said immigration reform is needed at the federal level.

"While the Michigan Global Initiative can help our state recapture the entrepreneurial power of immigrants, aspects of the nation's immigration ins laws pose needless barriers to their success," Snyder said. "Immigration laws are established at the federal level, so it's important that Michigan partner with the federal government to better attract highly educated foreign talent."

Snyder delivered his speech two days after the U.S. House of Representatives voted by a wide margin to eliminate business visa per-country caps. If signed into law, this measure would not raise the total number of business visas granted, but would change the U.S. visa application system by granting these documents to immigrants on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Source:Michigan Governor Says Immigration Key to Economic Development

Suicide of 18-year-old Linked to Immigration Policies

Joaquin Luna, an 18-year-old high school student, shot and killed himself on November 25, and letters recovered after the suicide stated Luna wanted his death to serve as a call to action for immigration reform.
Dressed in a suit and tie, Luna kissed family members then went into a bathroom and shot himself in the head at about 9 p.m. on the day after Thanksgiving, according to KGBT.
Born in Reynosa, Mexico, Luna grew up in the United States and was a student at Benito Juarez-Abraham Lincoln High School in Mission, Texas, according to the Washington Times. His brother, Diyer Mendoza, told KGBT, the local CBS affiliate, that his brother got good grades and aspired to be an engineer, but felt his dream was hopeless due to his citizenship status.
Speaking to the Washington Times, Mendoza said his brother had some college prospects, but because he was undocumented, he was ineligible for some scholarships and felt he would not be able to embark on a successful career.
"He was actually doing this for the cause, mainly the Dream Act," Mendoza told the Times, referring to his brother's death. "He was doing this to show politicians, to show that something had to be done because there are a lot of kids out there in the same situation."
The Dream Act was federal legislation designed to give illegal immigrant students like Luna legal residency status and the opportunity to attend college. It passed the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010 but was defeated by a Senate filibuster.
In the absence of national immigration reform, states have begun moving forward with immigration laws. In October, Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill dubbed the California Dream Act, which allowed illegal immigrants to access state financial aid for college. Texas allows illegal immigrant students to pay in-state tuition at public colleges, which is a policy that the state's governor, Rick Perry, has had to defend on the campaign trail for the Republican Party's presidential nomination.

Source: Suicide of 18-year-old Linked to Immigration Policies