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1. Video: Policies endangering borderlands
2. U.S. to accept Palestinian refugees
3. ICE: smuggling of minors a problem
4. AZ AG backs changes to 287(g)
5. AZ city police chief responds

1.
'Obama policies fail to protect pristine lands'
Report cites 7,000 abandoned vehicles, tons of garbage from illegal aliens
By Bob Unruh
The World Net Daily News, July 17, 2009

A new video report from the Center for Immigration Studies is warning that under President Obama's policies, illegal aliens are endangering both rare wildlife and plant species as well as the pristine lands of the southwestern United States with the thousands of vehicles and tons of garbage they abandon.

"President Obama's immigration and environmental platforms for rule of law on our borders and a greener America remain unreconciled when it comes to the effect of the huge numbers of illegal immigrants being caught on hidden cameras trekking through public lands the federal government is responsible for controlling," the CIS said of its report.

"These alien crossings are not legal, and they make clear that our borders are far from secure. In fact, the numbers of illegals on these trails is rising. In June 2009, 575 illegal aliens were picked up on just 14 of the hidden cameras featured in this video along 12 trials. Hundreds of these trails exist, and new ones are being cut illegally every day."

The report notes the native species, including deer, bear and mountain lion, that inhabit the area.

"And while these animals call these mountains home now, how long will these beautiful lands remain unspoiled if the border is not secured? And who is protecting this nation from those illegally trekking through them?" the organization asks.

The report, posted on YouTube, says the problem is not being addressed or even assessed by any organized study.

Written and narrated by Janice Kephart, "Hidden Cameras on the Arizona Border" tells of a region threatened by increased illegal immigration, the Huachuca Mountains and Coronado National Forest in the southeast quadrant of Arizona.

Using video documentation from an independent website that films illegal aliens making their way through the pristine lands into the United States, the report cites the increasing activity of drug dealers and alien smugglers in the area.

The video shows mountain lions, deer, wild pigs and turkeys facing the threat of destruction because of the growing human trafficking.

"While environmental groups put out study after study detailing potential negative effects of a border fence on the environment, the story of the negative effects of not stopping illegal immigration across the Mexican border is a story that has remained untold, until now," the CIS said.

"Abandoned vehicles, drug drops, illegal groups trekking and camping, along with the predictable human waste and immense litter left behind, have destroyed fragile Arizona ecosystems," the report states.
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http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=104158

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2.
US to Admit Palestinian Refugees from Iraq
By Marina Litvinsky
The Inter Press Service, July 17, 2009

Approximately 1,350 Palestinian refugees from Iraq are being considered for resettlement in the U.S. after being referred to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

"Really for the first time, the United States is recognizing a Palestinian refugee population that could be admitted to the U.S. as part of a resettlement program," Bill Frelick, refugee policy director at Human Rights Watch (HRW) in Washington, told the Christian Science Monitor last week.

A State Department spokesman said that the resettlement process for the group actually began in 2008, and so far 24 Palestinians from Iraq have arrived in the U.S.

It will be the largest-ever resettlement of Palestinian refugees into the U.S. It accepted seven Palestinians in 2007 and nine in 2008.

"UNHCR says third-country resettlement is the best answer for this group," the spokesman said, and UNHCR has referred 1,350 of the Palestinians to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program

Thousands of Palestinians fled to Iraq after the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. Other waves of Palestinian migration to Iraq took place after the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and after the 1991 Gulf War, when thousands of Palestinians were forced to leave Kuwait.

The Palestinians were treated well under Iraqi President Saddam Hussein but were also used to attack Israeli policies, and their presence was resented by many Iraqis. After Hussein was deposed in 2003, sectarian violence intensified, and the mostly Sunni Palestinian refugees were targeted by Shia militias for their ethnicity and for receiving preferential treatment under Hussein’s regime.

According to an Amnesty International report, many refugees have suffered "various forms of ill-treatment, intimidation, death threats and abduction by militia groups. Others suffered arbitrary arrest, detention, torture and other ill-treatment by Iraqi and (the Multi-National Force) forces on suspicion that they may have been involved in or have supported Sunni insurgents groups."

"The situation in Iraq is difficult for everyone, but Palestinians in particular," Kristele Younes, a senior advocate at Refugees International, which has been working on resettling the refugees for over two years, told IPS. "These people are stateless, they don’t have any papers, (and) many have been living in Iraq for decades."

Many were forced to flee their homes after receiving death threats. The number of Palestinians in Iraq has fallen from around 34,000, before the U.S. invasion, to an estimated 15,000. Of these, 2,642 are living in "dire conditions" in camps on the Syrian-Iraq border, the State Department spokesman said. They have been receiving assistance from the U.S. through UNHCR since 2006.

Al-Tanfcamp is located in the "no-man’s land" on the border between Syria and Iraq. According to Amnesty International, "Living conditions in the camp are difficult, with temperatures in the summer reaching 50 degrees or more. The camp is very close to a highway, which makes it dangerous, especially for children."

After a fire in the camp severely burned 25 people, a UNHCR official declared: "This is the second time a fire has broken out in this camp. It is an example of how inappropriate and dangerous this place is for humans to live in and underlines the need to move these refugees to an appropriate and safe place," according to the Amnesty report.

Frelick, who visited a camp outside Jordan, said the refugees were "basically desperate, scared, miserable and ready to just get out of Iraq".

As both Syria and Jordan have refused to accept the refugees, Younes said "resettlement was the only solution for this vulnerable population."

Some critics disapprove of the U.S.’s move, saying that Arab countries would be a more natural choice for the refugees.

"This is politically a real hot potato," Mark Krikorian, director of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, told the Christian Science Monitor. "America has become a dumping ground for the State Department’s problems – they’re tossing their problems over their head into Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, or Omaha, Nebraska."
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http://original.antiwar.com/litvinsky/2009/07/16/us-to-admit-palestinian...

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3.
Smuggling of children remains a problem
By JJ Hensley
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix), July 17, 2009

Four Phoenix residents detained at the border in the past month have highlighted a persistent problem: child smuggling.

Border Patrol agents detained Manuela Para-Herrera, 62, and Malissa Marie Gonzales, 22, on July 4 as they attempted to cross through the Douglas checkpoint with two children but presented birth certificates that belonged to other children, officials said. The children were reunited with family members, and the women began federal-court proceedings.

Five days earlier, Border Patrol agents detained a couple, ages 22 and 21, as they attempted to smuggle two young girls through the same checkpoint. The couple, who claimed they were smuggling the children "for financial gain," were detained and released. In both cases, agents detected the fraud by inspecting documents, questioning witnesses and when possible, talking to the children.

The motivation for parents is simple, said Vincent Picard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman:

"It would be a challenge to walk small children through the desert, so it's not uncommon to see them come through ports of entry," he said.

But the dangers for the children and the penalties for the reputed smugglers can be severe.

The U.S. Attorney's Office was so alarmed by the trend that in March 2007, the agency announced a concerted effort to pursue the harshest penalties for suspected child smugglers. Sentences since then have averaged about 15 months in federal prison.

At the time, there was concern that harsher penalties could encourage families to take more dangerous measures to sneak children across, but the trend of strangers posing as family members hasn't subsided.
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http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/07/17/20090...

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4.
Goddard backs changes to immigration raids
By Mike Sunnucks
The Phoenix Business Journal, July 16, 2009

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said Thursday he supports changes to federal immigration polices on local police raids.

The changes could impact Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s enforcement efforts, including raids on drop houses and businesses, conducted under a federal pact signed in April 2007.

Arpaio said, however, he will continue to conduct raids and crime sweeps under state immigration laws aimed at businesses that hire undocumented workers and the smuggling of illegal immigrants into the U.S.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said earlier this month that the Obama administration is reworking immigration polices that involve partnerships with local police. The changes look to focus investigations more on serious criminals, including gangs and drug cartels. Goddard said Thursday the changes make sense and that local enforcement should focus more on serious criminals rather than immigrant smuggling.

“We have to look at getting the biggest bang for the buck,” Goddard said.
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http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2009/07/13/daily62.html

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5.
Arpaio raid comments outrageous, Gascón says
By Nathan Gonzalez
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix), July 17, 2009

Outgoing Mesa Police Chief George Gascón said "people should be outraged" at comments Sheriff Joe Arpaio made to a magazine reporter about needing to "raid Mesa again" because the mayor's wife wasn't a fan.

Using public resources to mount such an operation would be "immoral, illegal and a tremendous abuse of power," Gascón said Thursday during a meeting with The Republic. He leaves next week to become police chief in San Francisco.

The Arpaio comment was reported in the July 20 issue of the New Yorker magazine, which describes a phone call last spring between Arpaio and a deputy. The deputy was shadowing the jury selection in a case in which Mesa Mayor Scott Smith's wife was a prospective juror.

One juror stated that Arpaio was her hero; Smith's wife, however, reportedly said, "Joe is not my hero."

According to the article, Arpaio responded, "I knew it! I never trusted that mayor. He's pro-immigrant. He's never going to fire that chief (Gascón). We gotta raid Mesa again."

"This is something people should be outraged about," Gascón said. "You have a public official that says, 'Because the wife of the mayor doesn't like me . . . I'm going to take public funding and going to go out and arrest people whether they deserve to be arrested or not or whether I could do it legally or not.' Just to make a point to that person?"

Arpaio said Thursday that the raid comment, which was made over a speaker phone with the reporter present, was an "off-the-cuff" remark made during a "conversation with one of my people. It was tongue (in) cheek."

"The gall of him to make those remarks against me," Arpaio said of Gascón. "I would put my 48 years of expertise any time against his background. If I want to go to Mesa tomorrow, I'll go to Mesa. I have no agenda except to enforce the law."

The illegal-immigration law-enforcement issue has proven somewhat contentious for Gascón, who has repeatedly stated law-enforcement resources could be better used on violent criminals, instead of on those in the country illegally.
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http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/07/16/20090716gascon0717.html