1. SoCal US Attorney tough
2. Colbert raises profile
3. Emanuel criticized
4. CA Rep. apologizes
5. CA city schools offer guide

1.
Determined federal prosecutor targets the Tijuana cartel
By Richard Marosi
Los Angeles Times, September 27, 2010

The Mexican drug kingpin was shackled to the railing of a U.S. Coast Guard cutter cruising up the coast of Baja California when he saw a curious sight: A hovering helicopter lowering somebody by rope onto the deck of a nearby boat.

The dangling person in the green flight suit was Laura Duffy, a federal prosecutor from San Diego. She had come after getting word that U.S. authorities had arrested the kingpin, Javier Arellano Felix, aboard his yacht on the Gulf of California.

Duffy, a blue-eyed 47-year-old, questioned Arellano Felix that day, but it was her air-drop entry that made a lasting impression. Throughout the case that culminated in 2007 with his being sentenced to life behind bars, Arellano Felix referred to Duffy as La Mujer del Cielo, the woman from the sky.

"I'm sure my client didn't realize that this young, attractive woman had immense power and authority in regards to his criminal prosecution," said David Bartick, the defense attorney for Arellano Felix.

Duffy is now the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California, her handling of the sweeping case targeting the Arellano Felix drug cartel having eased her way through the appointment process with unanimous congressional approval and high expectations to keep the pressure on organized crime groups in Baja California.

By many measures, it seems a futile task. U.S. government efforts to target top Mexican kingpins have largely failed to diminish the power of Mexico's drug cartels, with each capture and conviction seeming only to spawn new, even deadlier crime bosses who are expanding their reach across Mexico.

But the U.S. prosecution of the Arellano Felix cartel, also known as the Tijuana cartel, has been a rare, albeit qualified, success story, leading to the imprisonment of most of its leaders and leaving the once powerful organized crime group severely weakened, if not dismantled.

Duffy, who headed the prosecution team, gets much of the credit from U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials. An Iowa-born mother of one, Duffy cut her teeth prosecuting heroin, marijuana and steroid trafficking rings before taking on the Arellano Felix case, which has lasted more than a decade.

The U.S. attorney in the Southern District, which covers San Diego and Imperial counties, is mainly responsible for managing the enormous caseload of illegal immigration prosecutions, a policy that Duffy is expected to continue.

But her high-profile experience suggests that the Obama administration wants to continue the aggressive pursuit of top Mexican drug traffickers. Duffy, who took office in June and was formally sworn in earlier this month, wasted no time establishing herself as a formidable force.
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http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/27/local/la-me-fed-prosecutor-20100912

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2.
Colbert sparks debate about 'expert' celebrities
By Laurie Kellman
The Associated Press, September 28, 2010

There are congressional hearings and there are comedy shows, and the twain rarely meet.

So when a House panel on immigration combined them on purpose last week with testimony from Stephen Colbert (kohl-BEHR') and his "truthy" alter ego, debate broke out on the proper roles of the many celebrities — from Angelina Jolie to Bono to Elmo — who advocate in Washington.

In Colbert's appearance, there was profit to be made from the public, taxpayer-funded forum on one of the nation's weightiest issues, the plight of migrant workers. Immigrant advocates won national news coverage; Colbert helped generate material for his show; politicians scored live coverage of themselves during a brutal election year; and the media bagged a widely viewed story.

Witness Carol Swain, the law school professor who testified before Colbert, was ticked at being overshadowed by a fictional talk show host. But she scored, too. Before the hearing was over, Swain's Twitter and Facebook followings soared. People e-mailed her at Vanderbilt University Law School. A guy recognized her the next day in the grocery store.

"It's increased my visibility in a number of ways," Swain said Monday. "I don't think it would have gotten that much attention had he not been on the panel."

United Farm Workers President Arturo Rodriguez, who also joined Colbert at the witness table on Friday, said he, too, has seen an increase in e-mails and Facebook followers. Inquiries to the United Farm Workers "Take Our Jobs" website also jumped, he said.

"The last big media attention we had like that is really going back to when Cesar passed away in 1993," Rodriguez said, referring to UFW founder and farm worker Cesar Chavez.

Celebrities frequently beat a path to Capitol Hill to raise awareness of issues and bills that otherwise stand little chance of news coverage. Lawmakers crowd into the shot when Jolie advocates for refugees. They hang out publicly with rock stars Bono and Jon Bon Jovi when they're in Washington on official business. Even Sesame Street's Elmo, a fuzzy red puppet, has received coverage for his "testimony" — in 2002 about the benefits of music education.

Likewise, this news story will be more widely read because it mentions the Twitter partnership between Lady Gaga and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on behalf of the effort to repeal the ban on gays serving openly in the military.

Colbert's celebrity is a commodity that California Democrat Zoe Lofgren, who chaired the subcommittee hearing, and the other witnesses that day sought to leverage. Lofgren joked at one point that the last time the hearing room was so crammed with audience members and cameras was for President Bill Clinton's impeachment hearings a dozen years ago.

But for all of the attention Colbert might have brought to immigration reform, his testimony also chafed lawmakers of both parties who are engaged in a brutal campaign season.

Republicans, not all of whom apparently were familiar with the character, did not appreciate being satirized on their own turf. And some Democrats cringed at "testimony" from a comedian's alter ego on an issue that for so many is a matter of life and death.
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http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gFW9Eg7mYwBj8U4iMymuYi...

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3.
Gutierrez criticizes Emanuel on immigration
ABC7 Chicago, September 27, 2010

One of the possible candidates in the race for mayor goes on the attack.

Congressman Luis Gutierrez went on the attack Monday on Rahm Emanuel's record on immigration.

Monday marked the first time in the developing campaign for mayor that one potential candidate took a direct shot at another.

Whether or not Gutierrez decides to run, what he said about Rahm Emanuel could have long-term implications.

Gutierrez came to talk about aid for flood victims who might also be undocumented immigrants to assure them they had nothing to fear in applying for federal assistance.

"You have everything to gain and nothing to lose in this process," said Gutierrez.

Most of the questions, however, concerned his interest in running for mayor next year. Gutierrez wondered why the similarly "interested" White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel held meetings with "interested" congressmen Jesse Jackson, Jr., Danny Davis and Michael Quigley. Emanuel has not called Gutierrez.

"I haven't a clue - I mean, I imagine - should I declare my candidacy, he might give me a call," said Gutierrez.

Monday morning, President Barack Obama was asked if he would endorse his chief of staff in a mayoral campaign.

Obama said: "I have said I think he would be an excellent mayor, but until he makes a decision, I'm not going to be making decisions about how I'm going to approach it."

When questioned about Emanuel's appeal to Latino voters in a Chicago mayoral race, Gutierrez repeated his criticism of the White House Chief of Staff's record on immigration issues.
. . .
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/politics&id=7691942

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4.
Calif. Rep. `Did not intend to offend anyone'
The Associated Press, September 25, 2010

Democratic Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez says she didn't intend to offend anyone when she told a reporter that "the Vietnamese" and Republicans were trying to take her seat representing California's Orange County.

Sanchez said Friday she "used a poor choice of words that some people have taken as offensive" in a Spanish-language interview with Jorge Ramos on Univision's Sunday morning show, "Al Punto." She said she apologizes if she offended anyone.

She also referred to her opponent, Republican Assemblyman Van Tran, as "very anti-immigrant and very anti-Hispanic," in the interview.
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http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jq-Doy7qHGOD2sTDZTxjJY...

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5.
Immigrant guide on raids, deportations stirs debate
By J. Harry Jones and Morgan Lee
San Diego Union Tribune, September 25, 2010

A countywide public school network for at-risk children is encouraging teachers to address students’ concerns about immigration raids and deportations — an effort that’s receiving mixed reviews from law enforcement agencies.

Police are objecting to one key element: an illustrated guide on how to protect yourself from raids by not saying too much, not carrying certain documents and not signing forms without consulting a lawyer.

The guide, which was distributed to teachers and students at two recent events, depicts burly police officers in sunglasses and fear-stricken immigrants in handcuffs who refuse to give information before speaking to an attorney.

It includes a wallet-sized “know your rights” card.

The guides were handed out in response to evidence that students from families living illegally in the United States are having a hard time concentrating on academics, said Mary Glover, executive director of Juvenile Court & Community Schools.

“I thought long and hard about it when I was approached by individuals who felt they needed some help in getting to know what are the civil rights involved in this,” said Glover, who oversees about 2,800 students — including foster children, youths in juvenile hall and those at risk of dropping out — enrolled in the system under the county Office of Education.

“My purpose is to educate staff so they can inform students of their civil rights,” she added.

The guide is headlined, “WARNING! PROTECT YOURSELF FROM IMMIGRATION RAIDS!” It provides several lists of do’s and don’ts for migrants who are detained or receive a visit from immigration officials at home or in the workplace. . . .
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/sep/25/debate-over-guide-immigra...