Illegal and injured
Bill could create an incentive to hire illegal immigrants
Published: Sunday, February 22, 2009 at 3:15 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, February 20, 2009 at 8:43 p.m.
Lawmakers are considering a proposal in the General Assembly that would deny workers' compensation benefits to illegal immigrant workers when they are injured or disabled on the job.
Proponents of this idea think they are justified in denying benefits to these workers because they are in this country illegally, but they haven't thought through the implications of their plan.
It is illegal for employers to hire illegal aliens. Lawmakers want to strengthen that law. But this proposal would undermine it, creating an incentive to hire illegal immigrants.
Employers pay workers' compensation policy rates based largely on the frequency with which their workers file claims and the cost of those claims. Companies with poor safety records, whose employees are often and expensively injured, pay higher rates.
If the workers' compensation claims of illegal immigrants are not covered, the rates of the employers who hire them would likely not go up when they are injured. This law could actually encourage hiring of illegal immigrants, and create unsafe working conditions for them.
Other lawmakers are calling for illegal immigrants to have no access to the courts. That would give unethical employers another incentive to hire illegal workers. Such an employer would be tempted knowing that no matter what happened to the employee or how he was treated, he could not take his employer to court.
A law in place bans hiring illegal immigrants. If this law is properly enforced, the debate about whether illegal immigrants injured on the job should receive worker's compensation will be moot.
But once hired, if injured, such employees must have their needs provided for via the workers' compensation system. To do otherwise means that South Carolina is willing to exploit illegal immigrants. This proposal not only signifies the state's resentment of these people for coming to this nation illegally. It declares the state's willingness to punish them by denying them compensation when they are injured in our service.
That isn't the statement South Carolina wants to make. If we benefit from the labor of illegal immigrants, we should compensate them when they are injured providing that labor. We are not the kind of state that turns its back on injured and disabled people, regardless of their immigration status.
This is a poorly considered proposal that would give those who would exploit poor immigrants a license to abuse them. It's unworthy of this state.
|
| Trouble in Mexico? Anti-Gunners Say, "Blame America." |
| |
| Friday, March 13, 2009 |
| |
|
Over the past few weeks, the number of stories in the press regarding the escalating violence in Mexico has dramatically increased. Now, hardly a day goes by when another story describing the atrocities committed by violent drug cartels cannot be found in an American newspaper or on a cable news channel.
Gun owners need to pay attention to these stories, because the opponents of our Second Amendment rights are starting to use this situation as a pretext to push their gun ban agenda here in the United States.
New Attorney General Eric Holder is the first Administration official to cite Mexican drug cartel killings as an excuse to reinstate the semi-auto ban. And now some in Congress have jumped on the bandwagon.
Just this week, two House subcommittees held hearings on the issue. The Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism of the House Homeland Security Committee had a hearing entitled "Border Violence: An Examination of DHS Strategies and Resources," while the House subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs held a hearing entitled "Money, Guns, and Drugs: Are U.S. Inputs Fueling Violence on the U.S.-Mexico Border." At the latter hearing, leading anti-gun absolutist Tom Diaz (senior policy analyst at the Violence Policy Center) testified, calling for a litany of new gun laws including the reinstatement of the 1994 "assault weapons" and magazine ban. Andrew Selee, Director of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Mexico Institute echoed the call for more gun laws.
Fortunately, Arizona State Senator Jonathon Paton (R-AZ) also testified but noted that new gun laws were not the answer. Paton correctly stated that securing our borders, increased local federal cooperation and enforcing our existing gun laws is the right approach. NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox also provided written testimony to the subcommittee that you can read here.
But don't count on the gun ban crowd to get that message. They see an opportunity to use fear created by the violence in Mexico to advance their domestic anti-gun agenda.
The Senate Judiciary Committee's Crime and Drugs subcommittee and the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control have already set a hearing for next Tuesday, March 17. Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) is expected to use that forum to blame American gun owners and American gun laws for the violence in Mexico. Her solution, once again, will almost certainly be to restrict the rights of law-abiding Americans. We can once again expect Senator "Mr. and Mrs. American, turn them in" to call for a new gun ban. And on March 25, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on U.S.—Mexico Border Violence.
Gun owners know that restricting our rights will not stop Mexican drug lords from arming themselves. More U.S. gun laws will not stop these mass murderers who are already armed with military hardware such as grenades, anti-tank missiles, and mortars--weapons that are certainly not generally available to American gun buyers.
Just as they have so many times before, the gun ban crowd is blaming criminal violence—this time in a foreign country—on American gun owners. If we are to prevail and stop them from dismantling our rights, we have to be vigilant. NRA will continue to monitor these hearings and report to you on their content.
To read additional testimony and opening remarks from the House subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs hearing, please use the following links:
http://nationalsecurity.oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=2343
http://www.nraila.org/media/PDFs/ushousehearings/031209/MemobytheMajorityStaff.pdf
http://www.nraila.org/media/PDFs/ushousehearings/031209/OpeningStmntJeffFlake.pdf
http://www.nraila.org/media/PDFs/ushousehearings/031209/TestimonyMichaelABraun.pdf
|
|
Russell Pearce is the outstanding AZ State Senator fighting the Mexican criminal invasion in Arizona.
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHERIFF, HE NEEDS TO KNOW YOU SUPPORT HIM!!!!
Hey fellow Americans, where is the outrage on what is going on???? Sheriff Joe is taking bullets for us!!!! Sheriff Joe must be having an affect or the open border crowd would not have gone to the D.C. open border politicians to help stop him. The open border media could not stop him either. Please show your support for our Sheriff who is under attack by the far left anarchist who are doing everything they can to stop the Sheriff from enforcing the law. Call him and leave a message of support, go on line and e-mail him. He is under attack for standing up for us, for keeping his Oath of Office and defending the Rule of Law. With this Sheriff we would not be having the success we are here in Arizona, especially in Maricopa County.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio: J_Arpaio@mcso.maricopa.gov (602) 876-1801
Here are the results of Sanctuary Policies in this State and Nation. While the left attacks our Sheriff and those who continue to stand up for our citizens and our Republic we must strike back by supporting those who risk their careers and more to do what is right. Demand they stop ignoring the violence and destruction to our culture with what is going on. We must act. We cannot afford not to act. Just like the numbers coming her illegally up to 3 to 4 million annually. Just like the cost which ranges all over the board, but we do know it cost us billions in healthcare, education, criminal justice, in disease, etc. We do know that it is hurting America . We do know that law abiding citizens are being damaged and hurt and in some cases killed everyday. We do know that it is "illegal" and not right. We must stop what is going on.
-
9,000 deaths a year from illegal aliens, 25 everyday, 12 by stabbings and shootings and 13 by DUI and related crimes.
-
1,000,000 sex crime victims in the U.S. committed by illegal aliens
-
Phoenix #2 in the "world" in kidnappings and home invasions
-
Phoenix the 3rd most violent city in America
-
1,000,000 gang members in the U.S. mostly made up of illegal aliens for example (MS13, 50,000 in the UP.SO.; 18th Street gang in southern California over 20,000 strong) extremely violent.
-
6,000 drug related deaths along the border
-
20 beheadings just last month alone
-
Death and maimings of police officers & citizens by illegal aliens: Officer’s Figueroa, Erfle, Atkinson, Sitek, Eggle, Epling, Deputy’s Pearce & Argetsinger, Sgt. Tapia, Martin, Fass, Kirpnick, Schechterle, Gilbert mother killed, Chris Miller, 17 year old from Highland High in Gilbert, Jason Iraq veteran, Mother a "legal immigrant" killed, triple homicide, 3 illegals beat pregnant woman, 5 illegals kill principal, Feds arrest 2,100 violent criminal aliens, deputy in hit and run, Trooper Shot to Death, Day laborer killed girlfriend's baby, Muslim from Bosnia - Killed 5 in crowded shopping mall, Sniper, John Lee Malvo, required by law to be immediately deported. Instead, released Malvo and his cohort killed 10 people, two disabled teenage daughters raped Salvadoran street gang, Dep. March killed, Tricia Taylor lost both her legs, 10 year old Walter Valenzuela murdered, Kimberley Hope murdered, 5 year old Ana Cern murdered, Joseph Crummy murdered, Amber Merle only 8, killed, Vanessa, 23, brutally raped & murdered, and the list goes on.
-
Jobs lost to illegal workers, by them taken jobs Americans are willing to do.
-
wages suppressed
-
Billions in cost of education, healthcare, social services and criminal justice cost (not counting the direct cost to victims)
Do you know that illegals are probably responsible for more deaths in the U.S. each year than we lost at Pearl Harbor, or in the Iraq war or in the 9-11 attack on the U.S. and yet where is the outrage of our government? Where are they on this "War on the Border?"
We have a massive failure of government, like Hurricane Katrina, the failure is at all levels, federal, state and local.
We are a Nation of Laws. We “Our” elected officials, and our appointed officials, must have the courage – the fortitude – to enforce, with compassion but without apology, those laws that protect the integrity of our borders and the rights of our lawful citizens.
The below resolution was offered by me and overwhelming endorsed by the Maricopa County Republicans at our January mandatory meeting.
23 million “illegal aliens” currently in the U.S. (Stern Report)
Today, conditions are probably as bad as or worse than they ever have been on the border. What we find is a mass invasion of historic proportions: individuals running through backyards, breaking down fences, slaughtering cattle, cutting their dogs' throats if they bark, and terrifying people. Men and women who live on the border walk around armed. Women accompany their children to the bus stop with a gun in their purse in the heaviest cross-corridors.
We find that people are afraid to go out at night. Husbands and wives can't go out together unless somebody is home because someone may break-in and tear the place up. Water tanks are emptied. Stock gets killed. Fences are destroyed. It's a very, very bad and our politicians continue to pander.
Resolution passed by Maricopa County Republican Party:
Whereas, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas were reelected to new terms of their respective offices by running campaigns in which they promised to continue their work to enforce immigration laws and battle illegal immigration in spite of the attacks by the open border media, cheap labor advocates and anarchist protesters; and
Whereas, their reelection indicates the sense of voters that it is critical that elected officials enforce our laws; and
Whereas, it is proven that attrition is achieved by enforcement; and
Whereas, we protest the deaths, maimings, and economic burdens on our citizens as a result of this invasion as unacceptable; and
Whereas, the citizens have overwhelmingly expressed their desire at the our elections to have our laws enforced; and
Whereas, local law enforcement has inherent authority to enforce immigration law; and
Whereas, congress has firmly established that there is a significant public interest in the effective enforcement of immigration law; and
Whereas, congress could have chosen to limit local enforcement pursuant to its plenary power over immigration, but it has not done so; and
Whereas, in the absence of a limitation on local enforcement powers, the states are bound by the Supremacy Clause of the United ‘States Constitution to enforce violations of the federal immigration laws; and
Whereas, the statutory law of the United States is part of the law of each state just as if it were written into state statutory law and states do not need a 287g, IGA, MOU or a permission slip to arrest illegal aliens and the 287g goes beyond the arrest powers as states already have inherent authority to make arrests; and
Whereas, an often misunderstanding of the relationship between federal criminal and immigration law causes one to believe being present in the U.S. in violation of immigration law is civil and "not a crime" and is clearly wrong. The enforcement role given to local government by the Constitution and the Congress is clear. Unsanctioned entry into the United States is a crime; and
Whereas, the U.S. and Arizona has a "compelling interest" in the criminal prosecution of immigration law violators, which is a part of a comprehensive, essential sovereign policy of uniform immigration law enforcement; and
Whereas, in Sections 1324 the language that referred to officers "of the United States" when talking about authority to arrest was stricken from section 1324 by amendment. In People v. Baraja, a California court concluded, "that change can only mean that the scope of the arrest power under section 1324 was enlarged; in no way can it mean that the scope of arrest under the other two sections was restricted. Such an acute non sequitur would attribute to the Congress both serious inconsistency and profound lack of logic."
Whereas, the arrest, detention, or transportation of aliens by local police enforcing criminal provisions of the INA is not a regulatory "determination" of the conditions of alien entrance and residency, but merely enforcement of the previously determined conditions.
Whereas, important amendments to federal law enacted in 1996 were intended by Congress to encourage state and local agencies to participate in the process of enforcing civil as well as criminal federal immigration laws by providing incentives such as reduced liability and specialized training; and
Whereas, several federal court decisions have affirmed the inherent authority of local law enforcement such as in 1999 a decision in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the independent authority of local police departments to enforce federal immigration law.
Whereas, the U.S. Dept. of Justice endorsed this doctrine in April 2002. Under Attorney General Ashcroft, the U.S. Dept. of Justice took the position that state and local police have inherent authority to enforce civil immigration laws; and
Whereas, Assistant Attorney General Kobach explained that the inherent arrest authority of states arises from their pre-constitutional status as sovereign entities. The powers retained by the states at the time of ratification proceeded "not from the people of the United States, but from the people of the several states," and remain unchanged, except as they have been "abridged" by the Constitution. The authority of a state to arrest for violations of federal law is thus not delegated; but "inheres in the ability of one sovereign to accommodate the interests of another sovereign." This federalism-based analysis has a strong judicial pedigree; and
Whereas, Sanctuary policies are illegal and we commend both Sheriff Arpaio and County Attorney Thomas for their willingness to enforce our laws.
Whereas, citizens have a constitutional right to expect the protection of federal laws which prohibit unauthorized activities by non-citizens are denied equal protection when a police department or magistrate acts in a manner that encourages or assists persons selected on the basis of nationality or alienage to engage in such unlawful activities.
Therefore, be it resolved by the Maricopa County Republican Party of the State of Arizona: That the Maricopa Precinct Committeemen of the Republican Party commend Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas for their outstanding efforts to keep their Oath of Office and the Constitutional rights of our citizens.
|
ICE agent removed illegal alien during church service
Posted: 25 Feb 2009 07:34 PM PST
 On a Sunday morning in October, in a church sanctuary in Texas, an off-duty immigration agent tapped Jose Juan Hernandez on the shoulder and asked him to step outside. Hernandez, a 31-year-old illegal alien from Mexico who has already been deported three times, followed the agent and was promptly detained on suspicion of illegal re-entry after deportation. Hernandez was detained and arrested October 26, pleaded guilty to the re-entry charge in February and is scheduled for sentencing in April. He remains in federal detention. Yet his attorney, Rick Soliz, said he plans to file a complaint against the ICE agent in connection with the arrest. “I wonder what the agent was thinking, if he was thinking at all,” Soliz said. “How do you decide to do that in the middle of a religious service?” ICE has defended the agent’s actions as fulfilling his “sworn duty to enforce the nation’s laws.” The agency has guidelines related to arrests “in sensitive community locations” which allow agents to make arrests at churches in specific circumstances. Hernandez is expected to again be deported after he serves his sentence. Court records show he was convicted of a felony drug charge and deported in 2000. He was deported again in 2001. He was convicted for DWI in January 2004, and in October of that year, he was convicted of driving without a valid license. He was deported for a third time in 2004, according to ICE records. Hernandez has been in the U.S. illegally since age 6.
|
Immigration leadership takes shape at Homeland SecurityBy Katherine McIntire Peters kpeters@govexec.com February 24, 2009
The Obama administration has announced two key immigration appointments.
Late Monday, President Obama said he would nominate veteran prosecutor John Morton to become the next assistant secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Homeland Security Department. John P. Torres, a career law enforcement official, now holds that position on an acting basis. Morton is acting deputy assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's criminal division and has extensive experience in immigration enforcement.
Also on Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano selected Esther Olavarria to become deputy assistant secretary for policy. Olavarria spent nearly a decade as chief counsel to Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., where she focused on immigration, border security and refugee issues and was involved in the failed effort to push through comprehensive immigration reform during President George W. Bush's second term -- an effort supported by Bush and Kennedy.
Few domestic issues are more complex or more controversial than immigration -- something both Morton and Olavarria know from long experience. In a statement, Napolitano said, "Both will be able and effective partners as we tackle the very complex issues surrounding immigration and securing of our borders."
Former ICE chief Julie Myers Wood said Morton is a "talented prosecutor" whose investigative and legal expertise would be an asset to the agency, along with his ties to Justice. Wood is now president of the Evanston, Ill., consulting firm Immigration and Customs Solutions, which aims to help clients comply with immigration laws.
Wood, herself a former prosecutor, said ICE works closely with the Justice Department's domestic security section, where Morton was acting chief and senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for the criminal division from September 2007 until last month. In those roles he was responsible for prosecuting criminal cases and developing policy in areas including human smuggling and passport and visa fraud.
"When I was at ICE one of the biggest issues we had was working with the Department of Justice to get them to take cases that we thought were priorities," Wood said. "I valued very much my relationships with Justice, and I thought they were critical to getting some very important cases done. I think [Morton] will be able to work well with the senior leadership there and explain why it's important that the significant immigration and customs cases are worked."
Wood also worked with Olavarria, when Olavarria was on Kennedy's staff, and said her political acumen would serve her well in Homeland Security's top policy position. "She certainly has a broad understanding of immigration issues and also knows very closely what the Hill thinks about certain things," Wood said.
Kris Kobach, a law professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City who served as then-Attorney General John Ashcroft's chief immigration adviser from 2001 to 2003, agreed that Olavarria "has a huge amount of experience negotiating legislation and hammering out compromises on the Hill."
Kobach said when he was Ashcroft's adviser he enjoyed working with Olavarria, who was Kennedy's counsel at the time. But Kobach noted that while Olavarria is "very easy to get along with," he didn't share her political objectives.
"Esther has been a real mover and a shaker in the pro-amnesty movement," he said. "Depending on how much influence she has over ICE and [Customs and Border Protection] this could be bad for law enforcement."
He added it's not yet clear how much influence Olavarria will wield in department operations.
"Her nomination sends a pretty powerful signal that some sort of amnesty program," is likely to be pursued by the Obama administration, he said.
Olavarria left Kennedy's staff in 2007 to work as an adviser to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and later became director of immigration policy at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. Earlier in her career she was an attorney for a number of immigrant advocacy groups based in Miami.
|
|
Illegals targeted sheriff as gang initiation
Jerry Seper (Contact)
Thursday, February 26, 2009
The attempted assassination of a South Carolina deputy sheriff was a gang initiation carried out by three illegal immigrants including a 15-year-old boy who was supposed to "kill a cop" in order to be admitted as a member, according to a confidential Department of Homeland Security advisory.
Lexington County, S.C., Deputy Sheriff Ted Xanthakis and his K-9 police dog, Arcos, were attacked by the three illegals armed with a 12-gauge shotgun during a Feb. 8 incident in West Columbia, S.C., shortly after 3 a.m. The deputy and his dog survived.
Two of the men were identified in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) report as members of the Surenos gang, or SUR-13, a collection of Mexican-American street gangs with origins in the oldest barrios of Southern California.
Hundreds of SUR-13 gangs operate in California and have spread to many other parts of the country. The paramilitary organization has been described by federal law enforcement agencies as actively involved in illegal-immigrant and drug smuggling.
According to the ICE report, the attack occurred as the deputy responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle.
The 15-year-old and two others, Carlos Alfredo Diaz De Leon, 17, and Lucino Guzman Guttierrez, 20, were later arrested by sheriff's deputies and members of the U.S. Marshals Service. Diaz De Leon and Guzman Guttierrez were charged with assault and battery with intent to kill.
Deputy Xanthakis and his dog were in a marked patrol car at the time of the shooting.
The 15-year-old was taken to a pre-trial detention facility, where he was awaiting a hearing in family court. Prosecutors said they would recommend that the boy be prosecuted in family court on a charge of assault and battery with intent to kill.
Under state law, law enforcement officials cannot identify the boy because he is a juvenile.
Lexington County Sheriff James R. Metts told reporters that Diaz De Leon, Guzman Guttierrez and the 15-year-old illegally entered the United States from Mexico. He said Diaz De Leon and Guzman Guttierrez were living in West Columbia and a search of their house netted items thought to have been stolen in vehicle break-ins in Lexington County, including a Global Positioning System devices and car stereo systems.
The sheriff also said that deputies recovered the shotgun that was used to shoot at Deputy Sheriff Xanthakis.
ICE detainers have been lodged against the adults.
The ICE report, made public Wednesday by the Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC), said interviews determined that the 15-year-old was the shooter and the incident was a gang initiation. It said gangs "have long posed a threat to public safety and law enforcement but the threat is now increasing in scope. ... Never before have the street gangs in South Carolina actively targeted law enforcement officers for gang initiation."
ICE agents, as part of a nationwide crackdown on gangs, have arrested members of SUR-13 in Tennessee and Georgia on charges ranging from felony theft and illegal re-entry after deportation to murder, attempted murder, carjacking, armed robbery and drug dealing.
William Gheen, president of ALIPAC, described the attack as the "beginning of America's nightmarish future as we descend into the type of anarchy found in Mexico.
"In Mexico, things have deteriorated so much that police are demoralized and are being killed by these gangs of a weekly basis," he said. "That's what happens when your nation loses respect for the rule of law as we see with the effect of millions of illegal aliens in America."
|
|
