1. Fence will not meet deadline
2. Employers able to 'self-police'
3. Obama addresses policies
4. Candidates largely avoid issue
5. Palin fails to garner confidence
6. VA city drops case against billboard
7. Catholic bishops condemn raids
8. Pro-illegal advocates protest
9. BP closes informal crossing

1.
Delay Seen for Fence At U.S.-Mexico Line
Construction Costs, Land Purchasing Cited
By Spencer S. Hsu
The Washington Post, September 11, 2008; A02

The Bush administration is unlikely to complete 670 miles of border fence by year-end as required by Congress because of surging construction costs and problems acquiring private land along the border with Mexico, Homeland Security Department officials acknowledged yesterday.

The department had completed 344 miles of fencing as of Aug. 29, about half its goal, congressional investigators reported. It has yet to acquire 320 parcels of land because of delayed court proceedings and disputes with private owners, mostly in Texas, officials said.

Administration officials also contended that they are running out of money. Costs for vehicle barriers have climbed 40 percent since February, to $2.8 million a mile, and 75 percent for pedestrian fencing, to $7.5 million a mile. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials did not provide details but said the $3.5 billion Secure Border Initiative faces a $400 million cost overrun.

Barring action by Congress, "we're out of money and operations will stop," border protection Commissioner W. Ralph Basham told the House Homeland Security Committee.

Even with money and legal approvals, Basham testified, he expects only for construction to be underway or contracts to be awarded for the full project by the year's end. That would fall short of completion as required by the Secure Fence Act of 2006. The project also faces potential environmental, construction and historic preservation delays.

Although Bush officials once resisted calls for more fencing -- calling it costlier and less effective than other approaches to attacking illegal immigration -- officials this week sought to put the burden of future delays on the Democratic-led Congress, which they say must approve more money for the project.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/10/AR200809...

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2.
ICE enlists companies to stem illegal hirings
Firms sign on for self-policing; critics wonder if it could be a trap
By Susan Carroll
The Houston Chronicle, September 9, 2008

With high-profile workplace immigration raids making news across the country, many employers might not seem eager to sit face-to-face with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent and open up their books for scrutiny.

But Betsy Kippenhan, an executive with a Houston-based staffing firm, seemed downright excited about it, speaking fondly of the "ICE advocate" who will be helping the company, Talent Tree, verify its worker eligibility through an ICE program called "IMAGE."

"We wanted to make sure they were going to look at us and give us the stamp of approval, which is what they've done," said Kippenhan on Tuesday after formally signing up for ICE's self-policing program for employers.

But some immigration attorneys and labor advocates warned that IMAGE could be a legal trap for employers who haven't been vigilant examining workers I-9 forms, which establish eligibility to work in the U.S.

In exchange for free education and training, companies participating in IMAGE (Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers) agree to meet certain requirements, including using the federal government's Internet-based
employment verification system and checking workers' Social Security numbers. Employers also must agree to an ICE audit of workers' employment paperwork and promise to self-report any violations of hiring law.

Membership growing

ICE spokeswoman Pat Reilly said the program started small in January 2007 with only nine members.

On Tuesday it added 26 members and 11 associate members, a category created in June to give employers two years to get their paperwork in order before submitting to an ICE audit or producing an annual report. The membership rolls range from small businesses like the Bellaire-based construction company All American Brothers, to big names in government contracting, like General Dynamics. Smithfield Foods Inc., which employs more than 57,000 people worldwide, also is an associate member.

Reilly said some employers expressed an interest in the program after "someone else in their industry was the subject of a worksite enforcement" raid.

ICE has stepped up its worksite enforcement in recent months, reporting 3,900 arrests for immigration violations and more than 1,000 criminal arrests from worksite enforcement investigations in the past 10 months. According to ICE, 116 owners, managers, supervisors or human resources employees, were facing criminal charges in connection with on-the-job raids, including harboring or knowingly hiring undocumented workers.
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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/5992917.html

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3.
Obama Pitches Immigration Policy
By T.W. Farnam
The Wall Street Journal, September 10, 2008

Barack Obama spoke on Wednesday night about a subject that often gets short shrift on the 2008 campaign trail: immigration. The Democratic candidate made the speech to a crowd of Hispanic leaders at black-tie dinner capping the end of a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute gathering in Washington.

After spending a few minutes talking about his opponent and his other policy proposals, Obama got his loudest cheers with these lines: “This election is about the 12 million people living in the shadows, the communities taking immigration enforcement into their own hand. They are counting on us to stop the hateful rhetoric filling our airwaves, and rise above the fear, and rise above the demagoguery, and finally enact comprehensive immigration reform.”

Obama complimented John McCain for championing the comprehensive immigration package that died in the Senate last year — and that helped (temporarily) sink his primary campaign. The bill, which would have created a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, inflamed widespread anti-immigration sentiment. Congress was deluged with calls, emails and faxes expressing opposition.

Since then, most politicians have kept the issue out of the spotlight. McCain has even made a pledge to tackle border security before any other changes — a reversal Obama made sure to point out Wednesday.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I think it’s time for a president who won’t walk away from comprehensive immigration reform when it becomes politically unpopular,” he said.
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http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/09/10/obama-pitches-immigration-policy/

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4.
Immigration policy takes low profile in political campaigns
By Matt O'Brien
The Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA), September 10, 2008

If voters were looking for answers about how the next president will handle the nation's complicated immigration system, they found few clues in dozens of convention and stump speeches so far this season.

Apart from a brief anecdote referencing a "Latina daughter of migrant workers," John McCain and his surrogates made almost no mention of immigration at the Republican National Convention last week.

"We're all God's children and we're all Americans," McCain said in his acceptance speech, describing the unnamed Latina and a "boy whose descendants arrived on the Mayflower" as people who deserve to reach their potential.

Democrats also avoided immigration policy talk at their convention a week earlier.

Barack Obama kept his views on the hot-button topic to one sentence of his acceptance speech, saying "passions fly on immigration, but I don't know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers."

Neither the candidates, nor any of their chosen speakers, discussed what to do about the estimated 11 million to 12 million people living in the country illegally. If there were any clues on immigration policy, they were found lodged in the written platforms that both parties unveiled at their conventions.

"America has always been a nation of immigrants," began a roughly 300-word section on immigration in the Democratic platform. A more detailed Republican version surpassed 800 words and opened with a different tone: "Immigration policy is a national security issue, for which we have one test: Does it serve the national interest?"

Getting more specific, both parties emphasized more border security, but only the Republicans promised a border fence to be completed quickly.
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http://www.contracostatimes.com/politics/ci_10431552

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5.
Immigrant voters have different perspectives on Biden
By Eduardo A. de Oliveira
The Nashua Telegraph (NH), September 11, 2008

The media may be obsessed with Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, but the same is not true with many immigrant voters who attended a rally held by Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden.

"I don't even want to think about her," said Samba Halkose, an American citizen born at the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa.

The perspective reflected the tone of the Delaware Senator's speech at Nashua Community College on Wednesday.

Biden made no reference to the one-term governor of Alaska. Instead, he attacked McCain's positions on several fronts and spoke about the economy.

Samba Halkose, a single mother with two jobs, was glad to hear Biden speak about the mortgage crisis.

"I don't want to lose my home, and I have to confess: I have a crush on Biden," she said.

As a liaison for the Burundian refugees in Nashua, Halkose is offended every time Republicans diminish Obama's experience as a community leader.

"Community leaders build the base for a society. They give hope and start the groundwork from the bottom up," she said.

Gil Mendozza, of Windham, urged the senator "to tear down the wall at the Mexican border." Mendozza got a warm response from the audience when he told Biden "I am very pleased Barack chose you and not Hillary."
. . .
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/NEWS0...

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6.
Charges In Manassas Sign Case Are Dropped
New Wall May Carry Immigration Message
By Jennifer Buske
The Washington Post, September 11, 2008; PW03

The case over the pro-immigrant sign that stood in Old Town Manassas was put to rest Tuesday in Prince William County's General District Court.

The judge dismissed two zoning and building citations the city had brought against Delia Alvarez and Gaudencio Fernandez, the couple who co-own the property at 9500 Liberty St.

Lawyers for both parties reached an agreement that if the wall bearing the sign came down before the couple's first court appearance Sept. 5 and if all remnants of the structure were gone by Tuesday, the charges would be dropped, Manassas City Attorney Kristi Caturano said.

In May, Alvarez and Fernandez received a letter from the city that said the sign and property around it did not meet city codes and ordinances. The letter listed two violations, one noting the absence of a building permit and the other trash.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/10/AR200809...

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7.
Bishops seek end to immigration enforcement raids
By Mark Pattison
The Catholic News Service, September 9, 2008

Washington, DC -- If federal immigration officials cannot create more "humane" conditions when making enforcement raids against undocumented immigrants, then "these enforcement raids should be abandoned," said Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Migration.

The raids, conducted by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of the Department of Homeland Security, "reveal, sadly, the failure of a seriously flawed immigration system," Bishop Wester said at a Sept. 10 press conference at the bishops' headquarters in Washington.

"The humanitarian costs of these raids are immeasurable and unacceptable in a civilized society," he added. "Our current policies do little to solve the problem of illegal immigration to this country -- they simply appear to do so, often at the cost of family integrity and human dignity."

Bishop Wester noted that after Congress' failure to pass a comprehensive immigration bill last year, Homeland Security started conducting mass raids, mostly at workplaces.

A May raid at the world's largest kosher meatpacker, in Postville, Iowa, resulted in 389 arrests and criminal charges lodged against 305 workers. Bishop Ricardo Ramirez of Las Cruces, N.M., said at the press conference that Homeland Security had been conducting raids in Roswell, N.M., during the same week the U.S. bishops' Administrative Committee was holding its Sept. 9-11 meeting.

Bishop Ramirez said attendance was "noticeably lower" at an annual special Mass he celebrated in the diocese Sept. 7. "There is fear," he added. "People are afraid to go out to the grocery store."

"Many Latino families are of mixed legal status and are fearful of being torn apart," said Bishop James A. Tamayo of Laredo, Texas, who also was at the press conference. "As families are destroyed, so are their communities."

The raids, Bishop Tamayo added, "pit human beings against each other in a violent and frightening way."
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http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0804626.htm

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8.
Advocates clash with opponents over illegal immigration at peace forum
By Tim Donnely
The Island Packet (Hilton Head, SC), September 11, 2008

Passions over illegal immigration flared at a forum Wednesday night at Palmetto Electric on Hilton head Island as a panel of Hispanic advocates railed againstimmigration laws they said created an atmosphere of fear and discrimination in Beaufort County.

Critics accused them of distorting the facts and glossing over the impact illegal workers have on local businesses.

The panel, organized by Hilton Head for Peace, included translators, journalists and a criminal attorney who said the county's recent crackdown on illegal immigrants that has led to increased arrests and deportations also is causing racial profiling.

Augustin Martinez, a translator involved in youth mentor programs, recounted a story of a woman who sought him out for help with her abusive boyfriend. She refused to report him to the police, he said.

"She told me, 'There isn't one Latino in Beaufort County who's going to call the police right now,'<2009>"Martinez said. "... Is this whatanted to accomplish?" he asked.

Many illegal immigrant opponents have praised the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office for acting when the federal government failed to by training deputies to enforce federal immigration laws. The crackdown, called Operation Surge, allows deputies to check the immigration status of nearly anyone they stop. New county and state laws also put pressure on businesses that hire illegal immigrants.
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http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/607286.html

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9.
Mexico-US frontier culture roughly sundered
By Adam Thomson
The Financial Times (London), September 4, 2008

At the end of a narrow and rutted road beyond the isolated Texan settlement of Candelaria, two concrete blocks separated by a river are just about all that is left of a once-thriving US-Mexico border culture.

Until recently, the blocks supported a footbridge that connected Candelaria with San Antonio del Río, the nearby Mexican village built on a desert flat at the foot of a chain of craggy mountains. The two communities helped pay for the bridge and it became a symbol of co-operation.

Every morning, parents in San Antonio would send their children across the bridge informally to attend a US school. Adults would cross over to do casual labour on local Texan ranches, buy supplies or just visit friends and relatives, before returning in the evening.

But since agents from the US Border Patrol tore down the bridge at the beginning of July, the ebb and flow that united and fed the two communities has all but stopped. Rosa Elba Madrid, a 55-year-old resident of Candelaria, whose brother lives in San Antonio, feels it as much as anyone. "I used to meet him halfway along the bridge and we would talk for hours," she says. "Now, I can't do that. It's all abandoned, all ugly."

It might be tempting to see the bridge's removal as an isolated incident affecting two remote communities. But all along the 2,000-mile frontier there are signs - evident in migration patterns, in ageing infrastructure, in violence and in business - that a common border culture that was helping to integrate northern Mexico with the southern US is breaking apart.
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http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/aef4ebc6-7a19-11dd-bb93-000077b07658.html