immigrants

Alabama Does What Arizona Won’t: Uphold Immigration Law

Alabama now has the toughest immigration law in the nation. Leave it to a state some 1, 200 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border to show Arizona how it’s done.

What’s next — saguaro-care tips from Wisconsin?

Regardless from whence we get our cactus-care guidelines, we do know the Arizona judge’s decisions that quashed large sections of our version of the law rendered it basically useless. U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton only upheld a few portions of the highly controversial law, also known as big, bad SB 1070. One was stiffer penalties if you are caught crossing the border with illegal immigrants stuffed in the back of a piñata truck or hiding them in an unfinished Phoenix garage.

CLICK HERE to help build the U.S.-Mexico border fence: AZ begging for dollars with new donation website

When all else fails – beg. Those wise words are blazoned on one of my refrigerator magnets to remind of the successful tactic. Granted, the magnet is in the shape of a bone as the tactic works best for dogs, but the Arizona state government is also giving it a whirl.

To raise funds to help build a border fence, a new donation website is set to launch July 20. With the click of a mouse, folks from around the globe will be able to send money our way to help pay for the construction of more fencing along Arizona’s stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Since the federal government doesn’t give Arizona much help with the immigration issue, a fact exemplified by the deflation of good ole SB 1070, state lawmakers decided once again to attempt to do something on their own with SB 1406.

The fence legislation, introduced by Maricopa Republican State Sen. Steve Smith, was approved in April, giving an A-OK to build additional fencing using donated funds and inmate labor. Inmates will be paid 50 cents per hour, along with the priceless dose of fresh desert air that comes with the job.

To spur folks to donate online, one of the proposed incentives is a contributor certificate that will proclaim something like: “I helped build the Arizona fence” – although T-shirts would be much more fun.

‘Operation Immigration’ app, woman tries to mail live puppy and more: Rynski radio – UPDATE with playlist and download

A Minneapolis woman wanted to surprise her son with a new puppy as a gift. So she stuck the puppy in a tightly sealed box and tried to mail it to her son in Georgia.

That story and more are up this week on Rynski’s Shattered Reality radio show on Party934.com and FM 94.9 in Hudson Valley, N.Y.

Next show is Wednesday, Feb. 9 (today!) and every Wednesday online at Party934.com. Showtime is 1 p.m. in Arizona, 3 p.m. EST.

Party 934 is a radio alternative for listeners sick of stations that play one song followed by 500 commercials.

Our menu of songs include those that once again mention FOOD, with a popping fresh lineup.

Thanks! to all who keep the song requests coming.

Illegal alien achieves dream of staying in America: Federal prison term for kicking, throwing rocks at Border Patrol

Jaime Martinez-Garcia, of Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico, was apparently not going to let anything stand in his way of achieving his goal of living in the United States.

amerdream — The 'American Dream' is tangible for everyone/Thinkstock

Not even deportation. And surely not U.S. Border Patrol agents, whom he reportedly kicked and threw rocks at when they tried to stand in his way.

Martinez-Garcia’s dream of remaining in the U.S. came true this week when a federal judge in Tucson sentenced him to six years in federal prison, according to a news release from the District of Arizona Office of the United States Attorney.

His sentence came after a jury at his August trial found him guilty of two counts of assault on a federal officer and one count of illegal re-entry after deportation.

His success story began with a challenge from the get-go, as he was caught after illegally entering the United States and shuttled back to Mexico May 20, 2009.

Not to be deterred by that annoying thing called deportation, Martinez-Garcia returned to U.S. soil three days later.

But this time, alas, he encountered Border Patrol agents in Potrero Canyon, west of Nogales. When they told him to stop, he instead kicked one of the agents in the leg and ran.

Another agent nearly caught up with Martinez-Garcia when the Mexican man stopped and picked up a big rock. The agent drew his weapon and ordered Martinez-Garcia to put down the rock. So he threw it at the agent, hitting him in the leg.

Martinez-Garcia then picked up another rock and, once again, was ordered to drop it. He did not. The agent fired.

The release did not note where Martinez-Garcia was hit with the bullet, but we know the injury was not life-threatening as he was alive enough to attend his trial and alive enough to receive a federal prison term.

He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David C. Bury.

Way to go, Martinez-Garcia. Perhaps he can serve as an example to others who try, but fail, to start a new life in this blooming land of opportunity.

The quote:

“U.S. Border Patrol agents patrol hundreds of deserted miles in our vast Southwestern Deserts protecting our border every day,” said U.S. Attorney Dennis K. Burke. “Just as our citizen’s safety is a priority for them, their safety is a priority of ours.”

The players:

The investigation in this case was conducted by Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Border Patrol. The prosecution was handled by Ann DeMarais, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Tucson.

[tnipoll]

What do you think?

Do you think a prison term is a ploy to stay in the U.S.?

Are prison terms the way to go in such cases?

Legal and illegal aliens keep on coming: Massive job loss in U.S. does not slow immigration, study says

Woe is America. In the past 10 years we’ve experienced two recessions, an overall loss of 1 million jobs – and an influx of 13.1 million legal and illegal aliens streaming across the borders.

97aliens2 — File photo from illegal alien bust with 97 packed in a truck

Somehow the math is not working here.

Take the United States back to the 1990s, which came with an overall growth of 21 million new jobs – yet an influx of fewer immigrants, at 12.1 million.

The verdict? Just because the country dries up, sours up and seems to have lost that shimmying sheen of the American Dream, people keep on coming.

These fun facts – and more – are in a report from the Center for Immigration Studies, which analyzed data from the Census Bureau’s March Current Population Survey.

Yes, we know. Pro-immigration folks are none too fond of the Center for Immigration Studies, calling it slanted and anti-human rights for illegal aliens.

Let’s continue anyway.

Census results are not yet available, but the Current Population Survey, also known as the Annual Social and Economic Supplement, gives us a glimpse into population trends.

The big immigration trend continues, the Center argues, because immigration is not based solely on job availability.

This does not mean the economy is irrelevant to immigration levels, the report notes. Rather it means that many factors in addition to the economy impact the flow new immigrants into the country.

Such factors as the desire to be with relatives, political freedom, lower levels of official corruption, and the generosity of American taxpayer-funded public services are all among the reasons people come to the United States.

These things do not change during a recession or even during a prolonged period of relatively weak economic growth, like the decade just completed.

Other fascinating findings from the study include:

– Among the states with the largest proportional increase in their immigrant populations over the last decade are Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Alaska, Mississippi, Arkansas, Washington, North Carolina, Maryland, and Nebraska.

– In 2008 and 2009, 2.4 million new immigrants (legal and illegal) settled in the United States, even though 8.2 million jobs were lost over the same period.

– The new data indicate that, without a change in U.S. immigration policy, the level of new immigration can remain high even in the face of massive job losses.

Not looking good for the math ever working here.

Some may immediately go on the defense, saying the numbers are all wrong and to look at 43 other studies from 62 other agencies that go and prove immigration is down or job loss never reached an overall 1 million or that Tennessee really did not experience a large proportional increase in immigrants.

Others may continue the crusade that immigration to America is a basic human right, regardless if its done through the proper channels or not and regardless of its impact on current U.S. citizens.

But no matter how much arguing is done until we’re all blue in the face, one solid observation remains the same – Woe is America.

Note on terminology: In its report, the Center for Immigration Studies uses the term “immigrant” to mean all persons living in this country who were not U.S. citizens at birth.

[tnipoll]

What do you think?

Has the past decade been woeful or joyful for you?

Have you lost a job due to the recession?

Have you found yourself in the process?

DPS officer assaulted, police vehicle stolen after traffic stop on pickup packed with suspected illegal aliens

You never know what you’ll get when you pull over a stolen pickup.

200274192-001 — You never know what you get when you make a traffic stop/Thinkstock

You might get a tearful explanation, meek compliance or, as the Arizona Department of Pubic Safety found out Oct. 26, you could end up with a whole lot more.

A DPS traffic stop on a stolen truck uncovered a pickup packed with seven suspected illegal aliens, one of whom assaulted an officer then stole a police vehicle to flee into the desert, according to a DPS news release.

DPS was on the lookout for a stolen Dodge pickup, which was spotted around noon by DPS’s State Vehicle Theft Task Force.

A DPS detective called on Highway Patrol to help with the traffic stop, which did not go all that smoothly from the get-go when the stolen pickup drove into an unmarked DPS vehicle.

One of the undocumented aliens immediately fled, five remained on the scene and the seventh, the Dodge pickup’s driver, tried his own brand of escape.

The truck’s driver emerged from the stolen Dodge pickup, assaulted a DPS officer, and then hopped into a DPS vehicle, a Chevy Tahoe clearly marked as a police unit.

The guy drove the Tahoe west towards Phoenix but didn’t quite make it to the big city. He abandoned the stolen vehicle in the desert about 30 miles south of Phoenix.

The guy was taken into custody “a short time later,” with help in the pursuit from the Gila River Police Department and the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office.

While the release offered no further gritty details, we’re betting against meek compliance.

The six suspected UDAs, which included the driver, were turned over to Border Patrol while the seventh remains at large.

Note: Yes, the PC term for those entering the country without following the proper procedures has become “undocumented aliens,” a very cumbersome term that will be used, for the time being at least, interchangeably with “illegal aliens.”

[tnipoll]

What do you think?

Would you ever want to make a traffic stop around Arizona?

What is your preferred term for “undocumented aliens”?

immigrants

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