1. Raid finds witnesses for labor violations
2. Obama health plan to exclude illegals
3. Legal Latinos sue for firings in MS
4. NC AG clears college access for illegals
5. OK sheriff races highlight issues
6. San Fran. mayor under pressure
7. NY Liberians retain political habits
8. Raids and working conditions protested
9. Minutement to re-post highway sign
10. Teens charged illegal's murder

1.
After Iowa Raid, Immigrants Fuel Labor Inquiries
By Julia Preston
The New York Times, July 27, 2008

Postville, IA -- When federal immigration agents raided the kosher meatpacking plant here in May and rounded up 389 illegal immigrants, they found more than 20 under-age workers, some as young as 13.

Now those young immigrants have begun to tell investigators about their jobs. Some said they worked shifts of 12 hours or more, wielding razor-edged knives and saws to slice freshly killed beef. Some worked through the night, sometimes six nights a week.

One, a Guatemalan named Elmer L. who said he was 16 when he started working on the plant’s killing floors, said he worked 17-hour shifts, six days a week. In an affidavit, he said he was constantly tired and did not have time to do anything but work and sleep. “I was very sad,” he said, “and I felt like I was a slave.”

At first, labor officials said the raid had disrupted federal and state investigations already under way at Agriprocessors Inc., the nation’s largest kosher plant. The raid has drawn criticism for what some see as harsh tactics against the immigrants, with little action taken against their employers.

But in the aftermath of the arrests, labor investigators have reaped a bounty of new evidence from the testimony of illegal immigrants, teenagers and adults, who were caught in the raid. In formal declarations, immigrants have described pervasive labor violations at the plant, testimony that could result in criminal charges for Agriprocessors executives, labor law experts said.

Out of work and facing deportation proceedings, many of the immigrants say they now have nothing to lose in speaking up about the conditions in the plant. They have told investigators that they were routinely put to work without safety training and were forced to work long shifts without overtime or rest time. Under-age workers said their bosses knew how young they were.

Because of the dangers of the work, it is illegal in Iowa for a company to employ anyone under 18 on the floor of a meatpacking plant.

In a statement, Agriprocessors said it did not employ workers under 18, and would fire any under-age worker found to have presented false documents to obtain work.

To investigate the child labor accusations, the federal Labor Department has joined with the Iowa Division of Labor Services in cooperation with the state attorney general’s office, officials for the three agencies said.

Sonia Parras Konrad, an immigration lawyer in private practice in Des Moines, is representing many of the young workers. She said she had so far identified 27 workers under 18 who were employed in the packing areas of the plant, most of them illegal immigrants from Guatemala, including some who were not arrested in the raid.

“Some of these boys don’t even shave,” Ms. Parras Konrad said. “They’re goofy. They’re teenagers.”

At a meeting here Saturday, three members of the House Hispanic Caucus — including its chairman, Representative Luis V. Gutierrez, Democrat of Illinois — heard seven immigrant minors describe working in the Agriprocessors plant.

Iowa labor officials said they rarely encounter child labor cases even though the state has many meatpacking plants.

“We don’t normally have many under-age folks working in our state,” said Gail Sheridan-Lucht, a lawyer for the state labor department, who said she could not comment specifically on the Agriprocessors investigation.

Other investigations are also under way. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is examining accusations of sexual harassment of women at the plant. Lawyers for the immigrants are preparing a suit under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act for wage and hour violations.

Federal justice and immigration officials, speaking on Thursday at a hearing in Washington of the House Judiciary immigration subcommittee, said their investigations were continuing. A federal grand jury in Cedar Rapids is hearing evidence.
. . .
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/us/27immig.html

********
********

2.
Obama says his health plan won't include undocumented immigrants
By Mike Sunnucks
The Phoenix Business Journal, July 25, 2008

Some liberal and left-wing groups are pushing for possible universal health insurance plans to cover the more than 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S..

But Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign Friday said his universal health plans do not extend to undocumented immigrants.

The Progressive Democrats of America and some Democratic congressional members want to see universal insurance programs, if enacted, to include illegal immigrants.

They want that concept included in the Democratic Party platform for the 2008 elections, and also favor federal legislation for that goal. Obama spokeswoman Sharon Gilson said Friday Obama's health plans would not extend to undocumented migrants in the U.S..

There are an estimated 47 million persons on the U.S. without health insurance. Illegal immigrants and their U.S.-born children make up 8.3 million of that uninsured number, according to the Center for Immigration Studies.
. . .
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/07/21/daily77.html

********
********

3.
The Immigration Fight Gets Ugly
A law making it a felony to be an undocumented worker is sowing conflict in Mississippi, as states take action in the absence of federal immigration reform
By Moira Herbst
Business Week, July 28, 2008

Atlantic Scaffolding, which employs nearly 400 at a Pascagoula (Miss.)-based Chevron (CVX) refinery, has let go at least eight workers this month. The company says some workers were laid off for economic reasons, and others may have been terminated for just cause. But at least three of the workers have filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging they lost their jobs because of their Latino ethnicity. The workers say although they are legally eligible to work, they were fired on July 2, following the July 1 implementation of a Mississippi state law cracking down on undocumented workers and their employers.

The Mississippi law is the most extreme step that's been taken by proponents of tougher controls against illegal immigrants. These crackdowns by state and federal authorities are having their intended effect: They have combined with a sputtering economy to drive many immigrants out of the U.S., according to a forthcoming analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies. According to its study of monthly Census Bureau data, the illegal immigrant population has declined "significantly" between last summer and May of this year. Full findings of the study will be released on July 30.

But worker advocates claim innocent workers also are being swept up in the ensuing response from employers. "Some employers are misunderstanding the law and just getting rid of Latino employees," says Bill Chandler, executive director of the Jackson (Miss.)-based Mississippi Immigrants' Rights Alliance (MIRA). "The law is confusing for employers and devastating for workers."

Brandon Munn, a spokesman for Atlantic Scaffolding, denies the workers were let go in reaction to the law taking effect. Chevron declined to comment on the allegations against the contractor.

Filling the Void Left by Congress

The scene in Pascagoula is a reflection of a drama being played out across the country. Since the U.S. Congress has failed to pass comprehensive immigration reform, states and the federal Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) organization, part of the Homeland Security Dept., have taken the issue into their own hands. States including Oklahoma and Arizona (BusinessWeek, 12/13/07) have passed laws with harsh penalties for companies that knowingly employ undocumented workers. Mississippi's law has the toughest provisions yet against undocumented workers. The measure makes it a felony to perform undocumented work, and calls for one to five years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.

ICE is stepping up its raids across the country. The most recent came in May against Postville (Iowa)-based Agriprocessors. That followed other major raids (BusinessWeek, 1/3/08) at Smithfield (SFD) and Swift & Co. meatpacking plants. On July 24 the House Judiciary subcommittee on immigration, citizenship, refugees, border security, & international law held hearings on immigration raids, with testimony from labor union, community, and religious leaders who called the raids inhumane.

States Step Up

So far in 2008, 1,267 immigration-related bills have been introduced in state legislatures, with at least 175 of those becoming law in 39 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). That compares with a 2007 record total of 1,562 bills introduced, of which 240 ultimately became law.
. . .
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jul2008/db20080727_0...

********
********

4.
AG now says college OK for illegals
By Kristin Collins
The News & Observer (Raleigh), July 25, 2008

Raleigh -- The state Attorney General's Office says it's legal for the N.C. Community College System to admit illegal immigrants.

That advice, given to the colleges Thursday and made public today, represents a reversal for the office of Attorney General Roy Cooper, which advised the colleges in May to bar illegal immigrants from degree programs. The colleges took that advice and issued a new policy prohibiting illegal immigrants from enrolling, even at out-of-state tuition rates. Cooper's office said at the time that post-secondary education might qualify as a public benefit to which illegal immigrants are not entitled under federal law.

But on Monday, Cooper's office got a letter from federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in response to a request for clarification of the law. The letter, from former Mecklenburg County Sheriff Jim Pendergraph, who now works for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said that admission to colleges is not considered a public benefit under federal law.
. . .
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1153971.html

********
********

5.
Illegal immigration is hot issue in some county sheriff races
By Devona Walker
The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City), July 26, 2008

Before House Bill 1804 went into effect in November, Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz was vigilant in enforcing federal immigration law.

Since then, he has had more than 30 deputies trained in enforcing federal immigration law, he has helped deport more than a 1,000 illegal immigrants from Tulsa County, he boasts of a 7 percent decline in jail population, and he's enjoyed growing popularity among a vocal element of residents.

In this election year, Glanz is unopposed.

"I do think immigration has been a part of this, absolutely,” said Carol Helm, director of Immigration Reform for Oklahoma Now. "He has certainly been an enforcer of the rule of law. And the statistics prove it. That is exactly what the citizens want, and that's exactly why the bill was passed in the first place.”

Immigration Reform for Oklahoma Now, based in Jenks, is a grassroots anti-illegal immigration group, one of hundreds across the nation that make up the movement. Immigration Reform for Oklahoma Now, like other Oklahoma anti-illegal immigration groups — such as Outraged Patriots, based in Beggs, and OK-SAFE, based in Oklahoma City is loosely affiliated with national groups such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform, NumbersUSA and the Center for Immigration Studies.

In Oklahoma, there are roughly 35,000 to 40,000 Oklahoma residents who are active in these groups, Helm said.

Other law officers' enforcement criticized

In advance of Tuesday's primary election, Helm and others have spent the past month rallying behind officials who support their ideology. They also are working to unseat those they perceive as being nonsupportive or "lackadaisical in their enforcement of the rule of law.”

The anti-illegal immigrant network has focused on sheriff, judge and district attorney elections, offices that have the most discretion in determining how HB 1804 and federal immigration law is enforced.

While the groups support Glanz's work, they have vocally criticized other sheriffs for what they see as a lack of vigilance. Helm said the state is filled with elected law enforcement officials who are failing to do their job when it comes to immigration enforcement.

"I talk to a lot of folks all over, everywhere from Altus to Woodward to Miami,” Helm said. "I think the entire state is tired of the drain on the local communities. The local communities are in worse shape than Tulsa, and you know how bad that is.”

"Some people think immigration is a federal issue, but so is robbing a bank. You just don't ignore it when you see it happening,” said Glanz, who says he has reduced crime by enforcing immigration laws.

This position has not been supported by the Tulsa Police Department, which has reported a slight increase in crime due largely to criminals targeting illegal immigrants.

"I don't think they understand the implications on the community of having a strong underbelly of illegal aliens,” Glanz said about lack of enforcement at other departments. "When you have a bunch of illegals in a community, it spawns other types of criminal activity; it helps create an environment where that criminality can exist.”
. . .
http://newsok.com/article/3275246

********
********

6.
'Sanctuary city' no haven for San Francisco family's grief
A third-generation resident says city officials are responsible for the slayings of his brother-in-law and nephews, allegedly by an undocumented Salvadoran immigrant.
By Maria L. LaGanga
Los Angeles Times, July 26, 2008

San Francisco -- Frank Kennedy is a third-generation San Franciscan, the son and grandson of local police officers and the proud owner of a Bay Area business. And this week he became Exhibit A for all he believes ails his hometown.

On Wednesday, a 21-year-old undocumented Salvadoran immigrant pleaded not guilty to murdering Kennedy's brother-in-law and two nephews in a case that has galvanized sentiment nationwide against this "sanctuary city" and its ambitious mayor.

Kennedy has spent much of the time since telling anyone who will listen that San Francisco and cities like it should stop shielding illegal immigrants from federal authorities and that officials here are responsible for his loved ones' deaths.

Suspect Edwin Ramos awaits trial in San Francisco County Jail, a system that released him nearly three months before the slayings. Convicted twice on felony charges as a juvenile, he was protected then from immigration officials because of the city's sanctuary policy.

"Any mayor, any board of supervisors that passes these laws should be prosecuted to the fullest," Kennedy said in a recent interview.

"This is not the United States of San Francisco . . . My family was the sacrificial lamb in this."

Immigration activists have embraced the grieving family, using the June 22 deaths of Anthony, Matthew and Michael Bologna to call for change. Conservative broadcasters have vilified the city and its officials all week.

Outraged e-mailers have lit up message boards for days. And federal immigration officials have demanded greater access to the city's jails, telling Mayor Gavin Newsom in a letter Wednesday that the sanctuary policy means they can't "prevent the release of these criminal aliens . . . "
. . .
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-sanctuary26-2008jul...

********
********

7.
Political Dissension Troubles Liberian Groups on Staten Island
By Kirk Semple
The New York Times, July 28, 2008

Most of the thousands of Liberians living in New York fled their homeland during more than two tumultuous decades of coups and civil war. And though their lives were shattered, villages torn apart and relatives killed, they arrived, like other immigrant groups, with their cultural and religious traditions intact.

They also appear to have brought some of their country’s volatile politics.

On July 19, the Staten Island Liberian Community Association, one of the oldest and largest Liberian organizations in the city, unexpectedly canceled its biannual elections amid charges of conspiracy and corruption. The association’s elections commissioner summoned the police because he feared that the voting dispute might spiral out of control.

“It’s embarrassing,” said George Curtis Sr., the outgoing president of the association and a candidate for the board of directors. “It makes Liberians look bad.”

In 2006, the American Community Survey estimated that there were 3,400 Liberian immigrants in New York City. But community leaders say there are at least 9,000 residents of Liberian extraction, with about half of them living on Staten Island.

And though it is relatively small, the community has developed a lively political personality.

The headquarters of the Staten Island Liberian Community Association, which was founded in the 1970s, is a sparsely furnished one-bedroom apartment with peeling paint in a brick housing project in the Park Hill section.

It is supported by a $10,000 yearly allocation by the borough, Mr. Curtis said, and its slim portfolio of activities includes a once-a-week food bank, a toy distribution program at Christmas, employment workshops and occasional screening sessions for public assistance.

Beyond that, the most important things on the association’s calendar, it seems, are its biannual elections — which have become a focus of political ambitions and a flashpoint of emotions in the community.
. . .
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/nyregion/28liberians.html

********
********

8.
Iowa Rally Protests Raid and Conditions at Plant
By Julia Preston
The New York Times, July 28, 2008

Postville, IA -- About 1,000 people, including Hispanic immigrants, Catholic clergy members, rabbis and activists, marched through the center of this farm town on Sunday and held a rally at the entrance to a kosher meatpacking plant that was raided in May by immigration authorities.

The march was called to protest working conditions in the plant, owned by Agriprocessors Inc., and to call for Congressional legislation to give legal status to illegal immigrants. The four rabbis, from Minnesota and Wisconsin, attended the march to publicize proposals to revise kosher food certification to include standards of corporate ethics and treatment of workers.

The march drew a counterprotest by about 150 people, organized by the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which opposes illegal immigrants and proposals to give them legal status.

At one point, tension surged as the two sides shouted slogans at each other through bullhorns from opposite sidewalks of the main street of this town with a population of about 2,200. The marchers said, “Stop the raids!” Protesters across the street responded, “Illegals go home!”

No incidents of disorder were reported by the police.

The debate over kosher standards has intensified since the May 12 raid at the plant, in which 389 illegal immigrants, the majority from Guatemala, were detained. Reports by many of those workers of widespread labor violations in the plant have been prominent news in the Jewish media, provoking discussion of whether Jews should buy meat and poultry products made there.

Agriprocessors, owned and operated by Aaron Rubashkin and his family, is the largest kosher plant in the United States. Its products, sold as Aaron’s Best and Rubashkin’s, among others, dominate the nation’s market for kosher meat and poultry.

The plant had been cited for state and federal labor violations before the raid, including inadequate worker safety protections and unpaid overtime. Since the raid, immigrants under 18, the legal age in Iowa for working on a meatpacking floor, have said they worked long hours at Agriprocessors, often at night.
. . .
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/us/28immig.html

********
********

9.
Anti-illegal-immigration group's sign back up on I-5
The San Diego Minutemen had sued to force Caltrans to return their Adopt-a-Highway sign to a location near the San Clemente Border Patrol checkpoint.
By Molly Hennessy Fiske
Los Angeles Times, July 26, 2008

An anti-illegal-immigration group's Adopt-a-Highway sign was re-posted this week on Interstate 5 near the Border Patrol checkpoint in San Clemente after a federal judge ruled that it did not pose a danger to the public.

State transit officials had moved the San Diego Minutemen's sign to a less-busy highway in eastern San Diego County, saying they were concerned that it would become a gathering place for protesters and clog the busy interstate.

The Adopt-a-Highway program "is not a forum for advertising or public discourse," Caltrans officials said on the agency's website.

The Minutemen sued in federal court, saying that the sign's removal violated the organization's right to free speech. A judge ruled last month that the sign did not pose a danger to the public and should be re-posted. It had been moved to a stretch of California 52.

"We are all thrilled to see our Adopt-a-Highway recognition sign back up, standing more proudly than ever," the group's founder, Jeff Schwilk, said in a statement posted on its website. "The U.S. Constitution has thankfully trumped the lies and coercion of the illegal alien activists. . . . Thank you to Americans nationwide who helped us win this critical legal fight for our rights and to have our message heard by all America!"
. . .
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sign26-2008jul26,0,511500.story

********
********

10.
Teens charged in fatal beating of Mexican immigrant in rural Pa.Racial slurs alleged
By Michael Rubinkam
The Associated Press, July 25, 2008

Port Carbon, PA (AP) -- Three white teens were charged Friday in what officials said was an epithet-filled fatal beating of an illegal Mexican immigrant in a small northeast Pennsylvania coal town. Brandon J. Piekarsky, 16, and Colin J. Walsh, 17, were charged as adults with homicide and ethnic intimidation in the July 12 attack on Luis Ramirez.
. . .
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/ats-ap-immigrant-killing-st...