1. Border fence hit 500 mile mark
2. ICE Air used to deport illegals
3. Catholics name 'immigration day'
4. Four sentenced in OH DL fraud ring
5. Man to be deported for third time

1.
Southwest border fence hits 500-mile mark
The Assocaited Press, December 17, 2008

Washington (AP) -- The government has completed 500 miles of fencing along the Southwest border, 170 miles short of its goal.

At this pace, the administration expects to have at least 600 miles complete by Jan. 20, when Barack Obama takes over as president, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said earlier this month.

The president-elect said last week that he wants to evaluate what's working on the border as he considers whether to continue building the 670 miles of fencing. But by Chertoff's estimation, there will not be much left to build.

Homeland Security officials earlier this year said the fence would not be completed by Dec. 31, as planned. About 160 miles have been built since August, despite calls by some groups to delay construction.

As of Dec. 12, 500 miles had been completed, said Customs and Border Protection spokesman Mike Friel.

The fence along the U.S.-Mexico border is not intended to stop illegal immigration altogether, but make it more difficult for people to enter the U.S. illegally, Bush administration officials say.

It has been controversial and has faced several lawsuits, none successful so far.

Congress authorized the fence in 2005 to help secure the border and slow illegal immigration, and gave the homeland security secretary the power to waive the federal laws. Obama, as a senator, voted for the fence.

Congress has set aside $2.7 billion for the fence since 2006. But there's no estimate how much the entire system — the physical fence and the technology — will cost to build, let alone maintain.
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http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jE_bOUpQb6MxrxSQno3N6g...

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2.
All (Illegal Immigrants) Aboard ICE Air
On This Airline, Passengers Get One-Way Flights, Mixed Emotions and Huge Adjustments
By Dan Garris and Aude Soichet
ABC News, December 16, 2008

ICE Air could be the busiest airline you've never heard of. It serves 30 countries, tickets are free and unlike most carriers, it gives each passenger a complimentary meal. But to secure a flight, you need to be an illegal immigrant.
Inside the airline that battles against illegal immigration.

ICE is a one-way airline operated by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. At a time when most airlines are cutting flights and adding fees for aisle seats, extra luggage and snacks, ICE air is growing by about 10 percent a year.
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http://www.abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=6472915&page=1

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3.
Minnesota Catholics to observe 'Immigration Sunday'
Minnesota's Catholic bishops hope the Jan. 4 event will raise awareness of "outdated" U.S. policy on immigrants.
By Jeff Strickler
The Star Tribune (MN), December 16, 2008

Calling for "compassionate dialogue" on immigration reform, the Minnesota Catholic Conference announced that Jan. 4 will be "Immigration Sunday" in the state's parishes.

The conference, the public policy voice of the Roman Catholic Church in Minnesota, made the announcement Tuesday to commemorate the two-year anniversary of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on the Swift and Co. meatpacking plant in Worthington. The conference said that fallout from that raid and others has had "a devastating impact on immigrant families and our rural communities."

Jan. 4 was chosen for Immigration Sunday because it coincides with the Feast of Epiphany, said Sister Anna Marie Reha, director of the Hispanic ministry for the Diocese of New Ulm. "That feast celebrates the unity of being one human family. This is a chance to recognize and celebrate the gifts and benefits immigrants share with us."

The conference also hopes the day's events will raise awareness that "the immigration policy is outdated and the system is broken," said Bishop Bernard Harrington of the Diocese of Winona. He cited cases of immigrants in the Worthington raid being whisked away without even being able to say goodbye to their children.
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http://www.startribune.com/local/36245309.html

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4.
4 get prison time for helping illegal immigrants get IDs
By Mark Ferenchik
The Columbus Dispatch, December 11, 2008

Four men were sentenced to prison in Virginia yesterday for their roles in bringing illegal immigrants to an East Side registrar's office to obtain fraudulent state ID cards.

A federal judge imposed sentences ranging from 27 months to 50 months on Luis Toro of Ponce, Puerto Rico, and Efrain Aparicio, Edwin Mendez and Jario Gomez of Harrisonburg, Va. The men had pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and conspiracy charges related to the Virginia-to-Ohio ID ring.

Mendez charged $600 for the documents, court records said.

Nekeia Mack-Fuller, 30, of Reynoldsburg, the former assistant manager of the Eastside License Agency, 2516 Scarborough Square, faces an April trial date. Another employee at the agency, Michelle Eckerman, 28, of Canal Winchester, pleaded guilty in September to charges related to identity fraud. She has yet to be sentenced.

Prosecutors allege Mack-Fuller processed more than 325 Ohio identification cards using Puerto Rican birth certificates and other documents that were falsely obtained.

They say Jose Antonio Gutierrez-Ramirez of Columbus, who brought illegal immigrants to the agency, paid "tips" to registrar office employees in exchange for processing the applications, according to a motion filed by Mack-Fuller's attorney.

"Although the Scarborough (Square) Deputy Registrar office was aware that 'tips' were being provided by Gutierrez-Ramirez for processing identity-card applications, that fact was not reported to the Ohio Department of Public Safety investigators," the document said.

However, Ohio officials have said their investigation in conjunction with federal authorities did not find any evidence that registrar Jennifer Clemens knew what was going on, said Lindsay Komlanc, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Public Safety.

The state contracts with private deputy registrars to provide state identification cards, driver's licenses and other documents.

Clemens could not be reached for comment yesterday.
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http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/12/11/VIRGINIAF...

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5.
West Columbia resident sentenced as illegal alien
The State (Columbia, SC), December 17, 2008

A man who was deported on two previous occasion faces deportation again after being convicted in federal court as an illegal alien.

Hector Hernandez-Sanchez, 26, was sentenced in federal court for being an alien illegally in the U.S., U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkins announced Tuesday. U.S. District Court Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. sentenced Hernandez-Sanchez to 50 months imprisonment. He will be deported after serving his prison sentence.
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http://www.thestate.com/breaking/story/624122.html