Archive for the ‘Illegal Immigration’ Category

Pete King: Cracking down on illegal immigration to curb gang violence ‘could be interpreted the wrong way’ – City & State

Rep. Pete King stands with parents of MS-13 murder victims Kyla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens. (Photo via Twitter)

Rep. Pete King called Long Islands top law enforcement officials to a wood-paneled courtroom at the federal courthouse in Central Islip for a field hearing of the House Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee, which King chairs.

It was just two miles down the road from the park where the bodies of four murdered young men had been found just two months before, in the latest deaths attributed to the gang members of Mara Salvatrucha, best known as MS-13.

King led the questioning, asking officials from the FBI and the Suffolk County Police Department about what could be done to shut down MS-13. The gang is responsible for at least 11 Suffolk County murders in the past year, many of them targeted killings of teenagers.

RELATED: How Pete King learned to stop worrying and love the Donald

It appears MS-13 has gamed the system, King said. According to him, many of the gang members came into the country by crossing the U.S.-Mexico border as unaccompanied minors. The young people, mostly from El Salvador, are picked up there and sent to live with family and friends in Central Islip and the surrounding towns while they await their immigration hearings.

We have to be careful about how we address it. Could be interpreted the wrong way, said King, with illegal immigration being such a controversial topic. It could turn the community against us, and we need community support.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions faced protests in Central Islip when he spoke in April about cracking down on MS-13. Many in the community fear President Donald Trumps administration will use the violence as pretext for more aggressive enforcement of immigration laws and widespread deportations.

RELATED: A timeline of Pete King's on-again, off-again support of Trump

While many of the MS-13 gang members are Spanish-speaking immigrants, so are most of the victims. King said that because many in the area are undocumented or dont speak English, the violence has stayed out of the news. The average person is barely aware of the horrible nature of these deaths and the fact that theyre occurring, he said. Its confined to an area where the people cant even yell that much because theyre afraid of drawing attention to themselves.

One of the solutions suggested at the congressional hearing was better oversight for unaccompanied minors. Somebody suggested they each be assigned caseworkers. Suffolk County Police Commissioner Timothy Sini agreed: If we don't provide for these unaccompanied minors, MS-13 will.

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Pete King: Cracking down on illegal immigration to curb gang violence 'could be interpreted the wrong way' - City & State

Border Patrol union chief praises ‘miraculous’ drop in illegal … – Washington Examiner

The significant downturn in the number of illegal border crossers between the U.S. and Mexico is "nothing short of miraculous," National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd said on C-SPAN Monday.

"As far as the Trump administration's efforts on immigration, this is something they campaigned heavily on," he said. "At six months, where we are on meeting those promises, we are seeing nothing short of miraculous. If you look at the rhetoric that President Trump has given, it has caused a number of illegal border crossings to go down. We have never seen such a drop that we currently have."

"There's a vibe, there's an energy in the Border Patrol that's never been there before in 20 years that I've been in the patrol," Judd added in a separate Fox News interview.

This month, Customs and Border Protection reported a 53 percent decrease in the number of apprehensions at the southwest border since last year. The number also includes those deemed inadmissible. CBP sees apprehensions as a proxy for how many people are trying to cross the border, and says the drop in apprehensions indicates a drop in attempted illegal crossings.

Judd said the Trump administration commanded in two executive orders for border agents to fully carry out related laws, while the Obama administration kept agents from doing their jobs as was intended.

The nonpartisan Border Patrol union endorsed Trump during last year's election, making it the first time it backed a presidential candidate, a move Judd said was done "strictly based upon border security."

The Homeland Security funding bill included $1.6 billion funding for the southern border wall. Judd added that the wall is necessary for select parts of the border, but indicated the entire U.S.-Mexico border does not require a full fence.

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Border Patrol union chief praises 'miraculous' drop in illegal ... - Washington Examiner

Cop Rips Massachusetts Governor For Inaction On Illegal Immigration – The Daily Caller

A Massachusetts police officer who is one of the states leading authorities on identity theft by illegal aliens ripped GOP Gov. Charlie Baker on Sunday, saying he has backed off from his promises to get tough on illegal immigration.

Saugus Police Officer James Scott said Baker talks a good game but has been reluctant to make changes that could help law enforcement take down the states illegal alien drug traffickers, reports the Boston Herald.

Many Massachusetts cops insist Scotts training program has been instrumental in showing them how to detect illegal immigrants whove obtained Massachusetts drivers licenses by using fake documents or stealing other peoples identities. But Scott says that when he discussed his initiative with Baker administration officials in March, the governor was dismissive of the training.

He seemed interested, but then they just shut right down, Scott said of Baker and his administration.

Scott claims his training courses, which teach police how to compare a drivers license applicants date of birth and Social Security number to FBI records, could help the Massachusetts Department of Motor Vehicles identify illegal aliens when they attempt to obtain licenses with fraudulent information.

The scheme is widespread among Bostons Dominican drug trafficking gangs, which use fraudulent Puerto Rican identity documents to claim U.S. citizenship and apply for state benefits. In a May report, theBoston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC) said that in 59 percent of the cases where the suspect listed Puerto Rico as their place of birth, there were signs of identity fraud or use of aliases. (RELATED:Police: Dominican Immigrants Dominate Heroin Trafficking In Boston)

Scott says hundreds of Massachusetts police officers who have taken his Identifying the Impostor class are now arresting illegal immigrants with fraudulently obtained Massachusetts driving licenses.

Some of Bakers fellow Republicans have criticized the governor for what they see as reluctance to tackle the fake ID problem. State Rep. Shaunna OConnell said Baker should expand Scotts program to motor vehicles employees.

Officer Scotts program has proven to work. It catches illegals and drug dealers, said OConnell. I would love to see all the employees at the RMV trained in his program.

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Cop Rips Massachusetts Governor For Inaction On Illegal Immigration - The Daily Caller

Maine offers in-state tuition to illegal immigrants statewide – Campus Reform

Illegal immigrants who reside in Maine are now eligible for in-state tuition at every school in the University of Maine System.

According told The Bangor Daily News, the policy may encourage some illegal immigrants to register for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program despite a federal crackdown on illegal immigration.

[RELATED: DePaul hikes student fees to fund scholarships for illegals]

The difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition in Maine is substantialthe publication notes that the gap amounts to approximately $12,000 per year.

University of Maine System spokesman Dan Demeritt told the Daily News that although the official policies do not directly address DACA students, immigrants are subject to the same state residency criteria that applies to U.S. citizens for purposes of awarding in-state tuition.

The admissions process does not ask for the immigration status of applicants other than information needed to calculate the students eligibility for federal financial aid, but Demeritt did confirm that in-state tuition will be available to Maine residents who have received temporary protection under DACA.

According to the report, 429 illegal immigrants in Maine received partial documentation through DACA since 2013, though only 13 students in the University of Maine System chose to report that status last year.

[RELATED: UC system pledges $25 million for illegal immigrant scholarships]

Other universities around the country have also considered granting illegal immigrants benefits associated with their education.

In late May, undocumented students at Columbia University demanded that the institution provide them with subsidized healthcare, housing, and sensitivity training for professors and staff.

Other activist groups on college campuses have rigorously opposed President Trumps immigration policy, urging their schools to adopt sanctuary status for illegal immigrants.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @nikvofficial

Nikita Vladimirov is an Investigative Reporter for Campus Reform. Prior to joining Campus Reform, he wrote for The Hill, where he extensively covered the latest political developments in U.S. and around the world. Vladimirov's work has appeared on the front pages of The Drudge Report and The Hill, and has been featured by several media organizations including Fox News, MSN, Real Clear Politics and others. He has also appeared as a political commentator on numerous programs, including BBC radio.

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Maine offers in-state tuition to illegal immigrants statewide - Campus Reform

A Defender of the Constitution, With No Legal Right to Live Here – New York Times

I see activists who are well respected and seen as leaders in the community freaking out, and Im like, Thats not what we need right now, said Ms. Mateo, who was born in Oaxaca, Mexico. Your job doesnt allow you to be freaking out. What you need to do is reassure the community that were going to fight. At the end of the day we have no choice but to fight.

But others say that should not be her role. Youre taking the oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, while you are simultaneously breaking those laws, said John C. Eastman, a constitutional law expert and the former dean of the law school at Chapman University in Orange, Calif. Youre violating the oath of office from the moment you take it thats a real problem.

Ms. Mateo, 33, is among a very small number of undocumented immigrants in the country to receive a law license, and one of even fewer to work as an immigration lawyer. Another is her own lawyer, Luis Angel Reyes Savalza, who is fighting for her to stay in the country.

In 2014, California became the only state in the country to allow undocumented immigrants to practice law. The next year, New York courts reached a similar conclusion. There is no official count of how many undocumented immigrants are now working as lawyers, but Mr. Reyes Savalaza can name about a dozen.

When California first began to consider admitting undocumented immigrants to the bar, a lawyer from the Obama administration submitted a brief opposing the idea, arguing that federal law is plainly designed to preclude undocumented aliens from receiving commercial and professional licenses. But the administration backed off its opposition when Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation explicitly allowing it.

While there has been little public outcry over the issue in California, some argue that it is yet another sign of the states overreach on immigration.

Mr. Eastman said undocumented lawyers are putting their clients who are here under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, at risk because the Trump administration could rescind it at any moment, leaving them even more vulnerable to deportation. In January, the president signed an executive order vastly expanding the definition of who is considered a criminal to include offenses like using fake Social Security numbers.

Young people like Ms. Mateo began publicly identifying themselves as undocumented more than a decade ago, telling their own stories to try to force change.

National attention on the plight of young people taken to the country by their parents helped pressure the Obama administration to put DACA in place, allowing the so-called Dreamers to live and work in the United States. That program is now in limbo under President Trump. Several Republican attorneys general have threatened to sue the federal government if the program is not rescinded by this fall.

Mr. Reyes Savalaza and Ms. Mateo are pushing for a continuation of DACA, but they have other goals that are more extreme. They argue that immigrants who have served their time in prison for criminal convictions should not be targets for deportation. And they are pushing for local governments to set aside more money to pay immigrants legal fees.

We know they have said that everyone is at risk, period, Ms. Mateo said. They want us to be scared.

Actions that she calls necessary, however, others call reckless.

In 2013, Ms. Mateo traveled to visit her relatives in Oaxaca for several days, knowing she had no legal visa to return. She then showed up at the border with eight other undocumented students who demanded to be let into the United States and granted asylum. She was eventually granted entry and held in an Arizona detention center for several days. After some political pressure, she was allowed to pursue her case in immigration court while she began law school at Santa Clara University in California.

The protest was meant to call attention to the many people who had been deported before DACA was put in place, but many immigration activists criticized her for leading an irresponsible publicity stunt. Still, she became something of a celebrity in some immigrant rights circles.

The action jeopardized her own chance at legal status. The DACA program requires applicants to prove they have never left the United States since they entered as children. When Ms. Mateo applied for DACA last year, she was denied because of the trip to Mexico.

She plans to reapply and has enlisted help from members of Congress, university leaders and an army of immigration advocates.

If she is denied this time, Ms. Mateo will have few other legal possibilities. Regardless of the outcome, she said, she has no plans to leave the United States.

I keep struggling with what I planned for my life; what I still plan for my life versus what is my reality right now, she said. While she now has her law license, because she does not have legal status, no employer can hire her without the risk of sanctions. Instead, she will soon open her own law firm, because any undocumented immigrant can own a business.

For months, she has been working out of a day laborer center in Pasadena. She trains people in how to tell their stories to groups that have promised to defend immigrants against deportation, and helps them fill out forms for family members in deportation proceedings.

Anything you can say to show that you have a life established here, that you are working and contributing, that is helpful, she told a group of middle-age women gathered at the center one night. She added, We need them to know that we need their help and deserve it.

Ms. Mateo came to the United States with her family from Oaxaca as a teenager in 1998. When she began high school, she knew little English but already dreamt of becoming a lawyer.

As a student at California State University, Northridge, she began quietly meeting with other undocumented students. For months, they gathered in secret in the windowless office of a Chicano studies professor. Then they learned about a similar group in the journalism department. The groups merged and began to hold public events, calling themselves Dreams to be Heard. The students were among the first to press for the Dream Act, legislation in Congress that would grant a path to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants brought to the United States by their parents. The legislation failed, which led President Barack Obama to establish the DACA program administratively.

People say they are scared, but we dont have to be invisible anymore, Ms. Mateo told hundreds of students when she was honored by a Northridge student group this spring. Youre safer when you are out, when you are connected to people who will know if ICE comes for you in the middle of the night.

Those who advocate for a stricter crackdown on illegal immigration strongly disagree.

To say I am here illegally and I dont care about what the law says and I am just going to be here and I demand to be rewarded for it, that tends not to play well, said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which advocates more immigration restrictions. If you are in the country illegally, there is no reason you should be able to practice law.

Mr. Reyes Savalaza, 29, who was also born in Mexico, knew about Ms. Mateo long before he met her. He had seen her speak at rallies and read about her protests for years. Her brand of activism inspired him while he was studying at New York University School of Law. When he was offered to take on her case, he did not hesitate.

As a child, Mr. Reyes Savalzas mother taught him to tell anyone who asked that he was born at OConnor Hospital in San Jose, Calif. When he began working as a teenager he used a fake Social Security number to get a job, as a vast majority of undocumented immigrants do. That is now considered grounds for deportation.

For the past two years, Mr. Reyes Savalza has worked at Pangea Legal Services, a nonprofit in San Francisco that helps defend immigrants from deportations. These days, as Mr. Trump moves forward with his vows to increase deportations throughout the country, Mr. Reyes Savalza, who has legal status through DACA, sees his job as more difficult.

He worries about his parents, anxious that any phone call could be the one to inform him that they were picked up by immigration officers. Like his clients, they want answers he does not have.

They want me to tell them everything will be O.K., but I cant, he said.

Between the two of them, Ms. Mateo and Mr. Reyes Savalza are working to help more than a dozen undocumented immigrants remain in the country. As her lawyer, Mr. Reyes Savalza plans to resubmit Ms. Mateos application for DACA in the coming weeks. Ms. Mateo will soon begin working on her two younger brothers applications for renewal.

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A Defender of the Constitution, With No Legal Right to Live Here - New York Times