1. Embassy not told by ATF
2. CA Gov. signs DREAM Act
3. Schools question law
4. Tancredo to fight recall
5. BP agent killed for device

1.
U.S. Embassy in Mexico not told of ATF guns sting
By Richard A. Serrano
Los Angeles Times, July 26, 2011

As weapons from the United States increasingly began showing up at homicide scenes in Mexico last summer, U.S. Embassy officials cabled Washington that authorities needed to focus on small-time operators supplying guns to the drug cartels.

Embassy officials did not know that at least some of the weapons were part of an ill-fated sting run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, in which illegal straw purchasers were allowed to buy guns so smuggling routes into Mexico could be traced. Ultimately, ATF lost track of an estimated 1,700 weapons that were part of the so-called Fast and Furious operation, which began in November 2009.

Nearly 200 such guns were later recovered at crime scenes in Mexico. And two AK-47s from Fast and Furious were recovered in December at the scene of the fatal shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Arizona.

The embassy cable, written in July 2010, is further evidence that ATF officials were keeping information about Fast and Furious from other branches of government, even after the operation lost track of some guns. The six-page document, labeled "Sensitive But Unclassified," was obtained by The Times' Washington bureau.

"This was a shout-out from the embassy in Mexico," said a government official close to the investigation of the program. "The embassy knew something was awry when all these guns started showing up down there. But they were kept in the dark. They didn't understand why the guns kept getting through and ending up at so many Mexican homicides."

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fast-furious-cable-...

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2.
California enacts law letting illegal immigrants pay in-state tuition
CNN, July 26, 2011

A law signed by California's governor Monday specifies that undocumented immigrant students in the state can be eligible for cheaper in-state tuition rates.

The DREAM Act, which was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday in Los Angeles, is distinct from, if related to, a federal effort of the same name. The latter legislation has been pushed -- thus far, unsuccessfully -- by Democrats in Washington in order to give children of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship through military service or college education.

The California version effectively updates a previously enacted law that allows all people who have attended high school in the state for three or more years to pay cheaper in-state tuition rates to attend one of its public universities, colleges or community colleges. The earlier version stated as much, but did not specifically address one's immigration's status.

With the law's enactment, effective January 1, 2012, current and prospective students who are not documented U.S. citizens could pay the same rates that legal state residents enjoy at public universities. The difference can be steep, with full-time out-of-state students paying as much as five times more than in-state counterparts at various University of California campuses.

All those applying for such aid would have to file an affidavit with the college or university stating that they have applied for a lawful immigration status or will apply as soon as they are eligible to do so, notes an explanation on the website of the bill's author, state assembly member Gil Cedillo.

Angelica Salas, the head of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, afterward issued a statement lauding the governor and legislature for the move.

"While many states have chosen to legislate hate and division by approving anti-immigrant laws, California's governor sends a strong message that investing in today's student population, regardless of their immigration status, is smart, practical and the right thing to do."
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http://edition.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/07/25/california.immigration.law/

Related Topic: DREAM Act

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3.
School Officials: Alabama Law on Reporting Illegal Students is 'Impractical'
By Jonathan Serrie
FoxNews.com, July 26, 2011

Some Alabama educators fear the state's new law cracking down on illegal immigration could jeopardize millions of dollars in federal funding for public schools.

At issue is one provision in the law requiring schools to report the number of undocumented students they enroll. Larry DiChiara, the superintendent of Phenix City Public Schools, said the requirement is impractical, if not unconstitutional.

"If a kid comes in here and speaks broken English, should we then begin some kind of document search on them?" DiChiara said. "Should we ask for their green card? Should we fingerprint them? We're certainly not gonna do these things."

Critics say schools should be in the business of education, not law enforcement. But lawmakers behind the new legislation say it's all about statistics.

"We're not even requiring them to turn any specific person in," said Scott Beason, a Republican state senator.

According to Beason and other supporters of the law, Alabama taxpayers deserve an accurate assessment of how much they pay to educate the children of illegal immigrants.

"We have a certain hypothesis of how much we're spending," Beason said. "But we need to begin to gather that data so we can prove how much of a problem it really is."
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http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/07/26/illegal-immigration-crackdown...

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4.
Immigration activist Tancredo to fight Pearce recall
By Tim Steller
Arizona Daily Star, July 25, 2011

Anti-illegal-immigration activist Tom Tancredo has signed up as co-chair of the political committee to oppose the recall of state Sen. Russell Pearce.

Tancredo is a former U.S. representative from Colorado who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. He serves as co-chair of the Team America Political Action Committee, based in Virginia, which exists to keep illegal immigration and border security at the top of the country’s priorities.

The other co-chair of Team America, Angela M. “Bay” Buchanan, will serve as co-chair and treasurer of the pro-Pearce committee.
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http://azstarnet.com/news/local/article_bf9f2214-b712-11e0-8f1b-001cc4c0...

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5.
Man says Border Patrol agent killed for device
The Associated Press, July 25, 2011

Court documents say one of five people charged with the murder of a U.S. Border Patrol agent has acknowledged the motive behind the ambush was the theft of his night vision equipment.

The San Diego Union-Tribune says Emilio Gonzales entered a guilty plea in federal court on Monday.

His plea agreement reveals that he and two other people crossed from Mexico to a mountainous area east of San Diego in July 2009 and left footprints to lure agent Robert Rosas into a trap.

When Rosas followed, they held him at gunpoint. Rosas resisted and was shot during a struggle.
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http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hW31vTI6wBcrY7DXKTcI_D...

Related Topic: Border Patrol