1. Changes to Sec. Comm.
2. Sen. McCain critcized
3. Judge to hear GA law
4. GA law could affect enrollment
5. Corruption adds to problems

1.
Government alters deportation program
By Brian Benett and Lee Romney
Los Angeles Times, June 18, 2011

Facing a barrage of criticism from some Democratic governors, members of Congress and local officials, the Obama administration is altering a controversial federal program in which law enforcement agencies share fingerprints of suspects held in local jails with U.S. immigration authorities.

The Secure Communities program, which was intended to identify and deport convicted felons, wound up also ensnaring minor offenders, victims of domestic abuse and other crimes, as well as witnesses to crimes and people who were arrested but not convicted of offenses.

In response, U.S. Homeland Security officials announced Friday that the department had issued new guidelines in an effort to stop immigration officers from deporting people who were arrested while reporting a crime, or who were witnesses in a potential criminal investigation or trial. The guidelines also give prosecutors more discretion on whom to deport.

The White House, which has rejected Republican charges that it is too lax on immigration enforcement, also has been attacked in recent months by traditional political allies — Democratic governors of Massachusetts, New York and President Obama's home state of Illinois, as well as some Democrats in Congress.

A delegation of California members of Congress last week called on Gov. Jerry Brown to denounce the program. Brown supported Secure Communities when he was state attorney general, but he has not weighed in since he became governor.

At issue is a part of the program that automatically notifies U.S. immigration authorities when a police or sheriff's office submits a routine request for a criminal background check to the FBI fingerprint database.

The FBI shares the prints with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, and agency officers then may approach the local jail to begin removal proceedings.

The fingerprint-checking mechanism has helped the administration find and deport a growing number of illegal immigrants with criminal records or multiple immigration violations. It was the major reason behind an increase of more than 70% in deportations of convicted criminals in two years — from 114,415 people in 2008 to 195,722 in 2010.

The administration has argued that Secure Communities has allowed ICE to focus on deporting people in the country illegally who have criminal records and who pose a threat to public safety.

From the program's inception in the fall of 2008 through March of this year, 55% of those flagged for deportation nationwide had either committed misdemeanors and infractions or were arrested for crimes but not subsequently convicted, ICE data show. Only 30% of those flagged for deportation had been the serious violent offenders — including murderers and rapists — that the program seeks to prioritize.

In the last two months, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn have either declined to have their states enter the program or have suspended participation. They cited concerns that the fingerprint sharing may deter immigrants from cooperating with state and local police for fear of being deported.

The Los Angeles and Oakland city councils have passed resolutions in support of a California state bill that would apply the program only to illegal immigrants convicted of felonies and make participation optional, among other changes.

"We are listening to those concerns and addressing them head on today," John Morton, director of ICE, told reporters in a conference call Friday.
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-secure-communities-...

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2.
Heat's on John McCain over Arizona wildfire remark
By Jennifer Epstein
Politico (AZ), June 20, 2011

The wildfires ravaging southern Arizona were likely started by illegal immigrants, Sen. John McCain said over the weekend - but his charge was quickly met with severe blowback as one federal official said there was “no evidence” for the claim and pro-immigration activists piled on to attack the senator.

“There is substantial evidence that some of these fires have been caused by people who have crossed our border illegally,” McCain said at press conference in Springerville, Ariz., on Saturday. “The answer to that part of the problem is to get a secure border.”

McCain’s comments came after he was asked about recent fires in Arizona, though he didn’t specify whether he was talking about the Wallow Fire – which has scorched more than 500,000 acres so far this year – or other blazes. Four other wildfires are also burning in the state.

Responding to McCain’s claims in relation to the Wallow Fire, Tom Berglund, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman, said there was “no evidence that I’m aware, no evidence that’s been public, indicating such a thing,” ABC News reported.

Berglund said evidence suggests that the blaze began as an “escaped campfire,” though interviews with two “subjects of interest” have not yielded any more information.

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), who was also at the press conference with McCain, suggested that “Horseshoe was one” caused by people who’d crossed the border illegally, referring to a May 2010 fire, The Arizona Republic reported.

More broadly, McCain said he was “concerned about … the border” when it comes to wildfires. Illegal immigrants, he said, “have set fires because they want to signal others, they have set fires to keep warm, and they have set fires in order to divert law agents and agencies from them.”

One way to combat wildfires, he said, is to “get a secure border.”

But McCain’s remarks quickly got pushback from civil rights advocates.
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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57332.html

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3.
Judge to hear arguments on Ga. immigration law
By Kate Brumback
The Associated Press, June 20, 2011

A federal judge in Atlanta will hear arguments on an attempt by civil liberties groups to block Georgia's new law cracking down on illegal immigration from taking effect.

The hearing before Judge Thomas Thrash is set for Monday. Thrash has indicated he may rule from the bench.

Civil liberties groups have asked Thrash to block the law from taking effect until a lawsuit they filed earlier this month has been resolved. That lawsuit asked the judge to find the law unconstitutional and to keep authorities from enforcing it.
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http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jIUzXPv2o9Bh43xRninUYd...

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4.
Georgia immigration law could affect school enrollment
By Jeremy Redmon
The Atlanta Journal Constitution, June 18, 2011

Metro Atlanta school officials plan to closely monitor their enrollment figures over the summer now that Georgia’s tough new immigration enforcement law is about to take effect.

The reason: Many illegal immigrants could leave the state and pull their children out of public schools if opponents are unable to block the law in federal court.

It’s too early to cite trends in Georgia. But Arizona, which passed a similar immigration law last year, suspects it is the reason hundreds of children have left some of its schools.

A lot is at stake for Georgia schools. Student enrollment changes can affect state and federal funding schools receive per student, staffing and school construction plans and even how school attendance boundaries are drawn.

Proponents of the law say Georgia taxpayers will save money in the long run by reducing the state’s student population growth and the need for programming for non-English speaking students.

The immigration law is scheduled to take effect July 1. But a federal judge could rule as soon as Monday on a request by civil and immigrant rights groups to block the law. They argue the law is unconstitutional. State lawmakers deny that and predict the law will stand.

The measure doesn’t specifically address schools. But it does empower police to investigate the immigration status of certain suspects and arrest illegal immigrants.

That provision is the one that most frightens those who say they are readying to flee Georgia.

The potential impact for schools is unclear. School officials say federal law prohibits them from inquiring about a child’s immigration status.

But the state does track students who receive special English language lessons. There were 82,112 enrolled across the state during the school year that just ended, according to the state Department of Education. Over half of them — 42,581 — were in Atlanta-area schools.

It’s unknown how many of those students are in the country illegally. Georgia spends $8,761 to educate each student on average — not including federal funds — meaning the potential fallout from a mass exodus could be millions of dollars in lost revenue for schools having to calibrate spending post-recession.

Gwinnett County had the most English-language learners in the Atlanta area with 18,834, followed by DeKalb County at 9,329.

DeKalb Area Assistant Superintendent Kenneth Bradshaw said he has heard anecdotes of families withdrawing their children from schools because of the new immigration enforcement law. He said he was going to discuss with other school officials how an exodus of students could impact staffing plans.

“There is just a feeling of being unsettled, just not knowing,” Bradshaw said of the reports he has heard of students leaving. “We are going to start monitoring that probably within the next week or two to really gauge this.”

Proponents of Georgia’s new law say illegal immigrants are burdening taxpayer-funded resources in Georgia, including public schools. The Federation for American Immigration Reform has estimated that 133,262 children of illegal immigrants attend Georgia’s public schools, costing taxpayers $1.4 billion a year. FAIR — a Washington-based organization that advocates tougher immigration enforcement — says it based its findings on census data.

Catherine Davis of Stone Mountain is glad the new law is encouraging illegal immigrants to pull their children out of DeKalb’s cash-strapped school system.

“I don’t see a downside to that because — especially here in DeKalb County — we are talking now about having to close schools and go in different directions to try to give the children the best education,” said Davis, a member of the Dustin Inman Society, which advocates enforcement of U.S. immigration and employment laws.
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http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-immigration-law-could-980662.html

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5.
Corruption adds to problems on border
By Stewart M. Powell
Houston Chronicle, June 20, 2011

He was an ambitious drug smuggler with ties to a Mexican cartel; she a newly minted U.S. Border Patrol agent wooed into a romance with the trafficker.

"I asked her if she wanted to hang out with me, and she said yes," recalled Diego Esquivel, who, according to court testimony, hoped to start smuggling more lucrative shipments on his own. "I asked her what I could do to avoid being caught. ... She provided information."

Rookie agent Raquel "Kelly" Esquivel - no relation to Diego - is serving 15 years in a North Texas federal prison, one of many federal law enforcement personnel targeted by Mexican drug cartels in criminals' widening campaign to infiltrate or buy turncoats within the expanding ranks of 20,700 Border Patrol agents and 21,000 Customs and Border Protection officers stationed at airports, seaports and land crossings.

Investigations of border security personnel have expanded in each of the past four years, with at least 1,036 inquiries under way, including some 267 focused on suspected corruption. Additional corruption-related investigations are conducted by the FBI or internal affairs agents within the agencies.

Smugglers have become "more creative and clever in their illicit activities," said Charles Edwards, the Department of Homeland Security's acting inspector general. "They have turned to tempting DHS employees to assist in smuggling efforts for private gain."

Since 2004, 127 border security officers and support staff have been arrested, charged or convicted of corruption - including 95 so-called "mission compromising corruption" cases involving officers like Kelly Esquivel.

The former Del Rio sector agent knew Diego Esquivel from their school days. According to records, she advised him on at least three occasions in 2007 on what highway to take, what motion detectors to avoid, the timing of a local sheriff's visits to a boat ramp used for deliveries and the Border Patrol's deployment schedule. She even gave him a Border Patrol shirt and cap.

"I thought I could impress the guys in Mexico with it," the smuggler said.
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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/7617531.html