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1. Military relaxes regulations
2. TX co. enforcement draws protests
3. WI amnesty rally draws thousands
4. Swine-flu backlash criticized
5. UT illegals eligible for aid

1.
Army extends immigrant recruiting
Pilot program seeks to boost the ranks of language and healthcare specialists by offering citizenship.
By Alexandra Zavis and Andrew Becker
The Los Angeles Times, May 4, 2009

The lanky 19-year-old from South Korea has lived in the Southland since he was 9 years old. He is as comfortable speaking English as his native Korean. And he desperately wants to join the Army.

Late last week, the teenager walked into a recruiting office in an Eagle Rock mall wearing a pendant shaped like a dog tag around his neck. Until recently, local recruiters would have had to turn him away. His student visa would not have qualified him to enlist. Only citizens or permanent residents who carry green cards were eligible to serve.

But starting today, 10 Los Angeles-area Army recruiting offices will begin taking applications from some foreigners who are here on temporary visas or who have been granted asylum.

In all, the pilot program, which was launched in New York in February, seeks to enlist 1,000 military recruits with special language and medical skills, most of whom will join the Army. Response to the program has exceeded expectations, drawing applications from more than 7,000 people around the country, many of them highly educated, defense officials said.

Those who are accepted will get an expedited path to citizenship in return for their service. "Ever since I entered high school, I was waiting for this opportunity," Jason, the 19-year-old aspiring soldier, told recruiters as they helped him prepare documents to submit today. "As soon as it came, I just jumped."

The Army requested that applicants' full names not be used because, in some cases, it could put them or family members at risk in their home countries.

Although the Army has been meeting or exceeding its recruiting goals, defense officials say there is a shortage of soldiers with medical, foreign language and cultural abilities needed in the war on terror and peacekeeping efforts around the world.

"What we're looking for are critical, vital skills," said Naomi Verdugo, assistant deputy for recruiting in the office of the assistant secretary of the Army.

The Army hopes to enlist 333 healthcare professionals, including doctors, dentists, nurses and others. It is also looking for 557 people with any of 35 languages, including Arabic and Yoruba, spoken in West Africa. Spanish is not on the list. An additional 110 slots are earmarked for other services, which have not yet started taking applications for the program.

Although the effort is limited in scope, it has raised concerns among some veterans groups and advocates for tighter immigration controls. They question whether the policy shift could pave the way for large numbers of foreigners, including ones who might have entered the U.S. illegally, to join the armed services.

"By aggressively recruiting foreigners abroad, or illegal immigrants who could use such a program to get legalized, we could easily create a situation where the Pentagon comes to rely on cheap foreign labor," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington D.C.-based think tank.

"That's not where we are now. . . . But we always need to be careful that we don't start going down a steep, slippery slope."
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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-immigrant-recruits4-2009may04,0,...

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2.
Backlash grows over screenings for ICE at jail
By Bradley Olson and Susan Carroll
The Houston Chronicle, May 1, 2009

Mayor Bill White is facing increasing hostility over his decision to have the city participate in a federal program that trains local jailers to act as immigration agents.

Some activists have suggested the move toward stronger immigration enforcement could jeopardize the accuracy of the 2010 census count for people of Hispanic origin, who are estimated to make up the city’s largest ethnic group at more than 40 percent of the population.

“The mayor and the Police Department need to enforce the law in a way that helps the immigrant community trust the police and cooperate with their investigations,” said Daniel Melendez, a member of Pastores en Accion, a group of Hispanic pastors that has urged the mayor to reverse his decision. “But if this law gives people fear or insecurity, they are not going to want to participate in various programs like the census.”

The backlash has grown since the mayor announced his intention to join the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 287(g) program, which will allow city jailers to check the criminal and immigration histories of those who enter the detention facility and report to federal authorities those who have committed serious offenses and should be deported.

Maria Jimenez, a longtime Houston immigrant advocate, said she and other opponents of the 287(g) program met with members of the mayor’s staff to express their concerns. Jimenez said she was not reassured by the assertion the program will be confined to the city jail, adding she was worried that it could be extended to everyone accused of a Class C misdemeanor, which includes traffic tickets.

“It could result in immigrants being hauled off to jail on minor offenses,” she said.

Pressure on immigration policy also has come from the other end of the spectrum, including the Houston Police Officers Union, which has called on White to do more to enforce immigration. Judicial Watch, a conservative group that backs stricter immigration policies, has announced its intent to sue the city to force it to step up efforts to combat illegal immigration.

Denies policy change

White said this week that his decision to participate in the federal program was consistent with his past policies and was intended to ensure the city has the right information to inform immigration agents when “deportable felons” enter the city jail.

“We ought to have all the tools that are available, and our program shouldn’t be lumped in with what some other city does that uses it for some other purpose,” the mayor said.

White asked federal officials to expedite the training needed for the city to implement the program after a Houston police officer was shot and seriously wounded by an illegal immigrant during a March 5 drug raid.
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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6403870.html

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3.
Crowd swells for immigration rally
Thousands gather in Veterans Park for a rally after the march in support of immigration reform. The event attracted mainly families from southeastern Wisconsin, but some participants came from farther away.
By Georgia Pabst of the Journal Sentinel
The Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee), May 1, 2009

Amid economic troubles, a flu scare, the closing of some schools and the cancellation of the Cinco de Mayo festival in Milwaukee, Friday's immigration and worker rights march drew thousands who walked through downtown and rallied at the lakefront to continue the push for comprehensive immigration reform.

Although this year's crowd was large, it did not seem to be as large as in previous years, though no official estimates are made.

Similar marches were held in Madison and around the country, where attendance was reported to be lower than expected, largely because of the economic climate and worries about swine flu, which is centered in Mexico and has been felt in Latino communities in the United States. Some marchers wore face masks because of concerns.

John Hernandez, 33, carried a U.S. flag and wore a face mask as a precaution, he said. A machine operator, he took the day off to attend the march because "I think the time is right for immigration reform," he said in Spanish. "We work and are part of the economy, but we don't have all our rights."
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"The marches have been very useful politically because they mobilize a lot of Americans," said Mark Krikorian, director of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, which advocates for stricter immigration policy. "When they see large numbers take to the street and demand legal status, it motivates people, and it's far and away the best recruitment tool for immigration hawks."
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http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/44167452.html

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4.
Backlash against Mexicans amid swine flu outbreak is criticized
By Dianne Solis
The Dallas Morning News, May 3, 2009

Swine flu backlash against Mexicans flew furiously over talk radio airwaves and Web sites last week.

Civil rights groups and media watchdog organizations are condemning the links being made between swine flu and the political debate on illegal immigration.

"Right now, people are going to use any excuse they can to bash Mexico," said Adrien Cuellar-McGuire, the chair of the Department of Humanities and Cultural Studies at Brookhaven College in Farmers Branch.

"No one ever figured out that maybe someone from here went down there and got the flu?"

Mexico has been the epicenter of the swine flu outbreak. And the only U.S. death – in Houston – involved a Mexican toddler who was visiting Texas.

Both Dallas County health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention haven't provided the ethnic breakdown of confirmed swine flu cases. Careful not to fuel any backlash, Dr. John Carlo, Dallas County medical director, avoided characterizing any link to immigration.

And a CDC official said there aren't enough confirmed cases to make a link to immigrant communities.

But worry is rippling through the Mexican immigrant community, which is poorer and where families have less access to health care.

Community leader Jorge Navarrete canceled an ethnic celebration to honor children this week in Cleburne. He said he understands about taking precautions but said the bashing of Mexican immigrants is wrong.

"We need to be united in this fight," he said. "The virus isn't going to distinguish between Anglo, Mexican or African-Americans."

The North Carolina-based Americans for Legal Immigration called for the border to be shut down and asked for the resignation of Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano because she did not order agents on the border to wear masks.

Napolitano has said that shutting the border won't stop a virus that's already in the United States.

In the large land port of Laredo, Customs and Border Protection officials say that if a traveler is identified with a communicable disease, both the federal agent and the ill person will wear masks. To date, no traveler has been isolated at South Texas ports of entry, said spokesman Rick Pauza.
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http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-fl...

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5.
New law won't keep immigrants from food help
SB 81 doesn't affect food stamp eligibility
By Julia Lyon
The Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City), May 2, 2009

For a growing number of Utah Latinos, feeding their children has made them afraid. They worry that getting help from an emergency food bank might lead to deportation. They fear that signing their American-born children up for food stamps would put their families at risk.

"There is a lot of misinformation," said Lydia Herrera, a food bank director in Salt Lake City. "They think as soon as you step out of your house you will be arrested."

Despite the concern, a new state law limiting government services for undocumented immigrants won't prevent them from receiving aid at food pantries, according to the advocacy group Utahns Against Hunger. They believe that the law, which goes into effect July 1, specifically excludes "programs, services, or assistance such as soup kitchens" -- although they're waiting for confirmation from the Utah Attorney General's Office.

The wide-ranging law will change the lives of many undocumented newcomers, potentially affecting their jobs, businesses and medical care. And many questions remain.

Families have asked Tijuana-born Herrera, who runs Hildegarde's Pantry at St. Mark's Cathedral, whether the pantry will turn them into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She reassures them that is not the case.

"Low income families are low income families, regardless of their immigration status," said Gina Cornia, the executive director of Utahns Against Hunger. "Those families ought to be able to feed their children."

The group plans to send a letter to emergency food banks across the state to clarify that anyone, no matter where they were born, has a right to food in a crisis. Proof of citizenship is not required.

The way the Iron County Care and Share originally read the new immigration law, it seemed like it was restricted from helping the undocumented, who make up less than 10 percent of its food pantry clients. Bill Woods, the executive director, is still looking for answers.
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http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12280574