GOP Leaders to Drop Felony for Immigrants
By DAVID ESPO
AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian

WASHINGTON (AP) - The two top Republicans in Congress, confronted with internal party divisions as well as large public demonstrations, said Tuesday they intend to pass immigration legislation that does not subject illegal immigrants to prosecution as felons.

A written statement by House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, did not say whether they would seek legislation subjecting illegal immigrants to misdemeanor prosecution or possibly a civil penalty such as a fine.

"It remains our intent to produce a strong border security bill that will not make unlawful presence in the United States a felony," the two men said. An estimated 11 million men, women and children are in the United States illegally.

The Republican-controlled House passed legislation late last year that is generally limited to border security measures. It makes illegal immigrants subject to felony prosecution.

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Immigrants' firing leads to protest
15 women lose jobs after attending rally; manager says they were warned
By Niraj Warikoo
Free Press Staff Writer
Photo by Mary Schroeder/Detroit Free Press

A manager at a Detroit meatpacking plant said Monday that 15 immigrant women were fired last month after attending a protest for immigrant rights. He said they had been told that they would be terminated if they missed work on the day of the protest.

But the workers and an activist working on their behalf said the women were given no such assurances. If the workers knew they would have been fired for attending the March 27 rally in Detroit, they never would have skipped the morning shift, said Elena Herrada, a Detroit activist who is trying to help the women get their jobs back.

Herrada and about 20 union officials went Monday to Wolverine Packing Co. offices on Rivard to inquire about what happened. They were given a letter signed by general manager Jay Bonahoom, explaining why the workers were terminated.

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Database at Center of Immigration Reform
By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ
Associated Press Writer
MIAMI

At the heart of any immigration bill that makes it through the heated congressional debates is likely to be a computerized system that could help employers determine instantly whether someone can legally work in this country.

A voluntary version of the Internet-based system has been up and running on an experimental basis since 1996 and now includes more than 5,000 companies nationwide. Democrats and Republicans alike _ including Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and Sen. John McCain, R- Ariz. _ have included expanded versions in every bill now under serious consideration.

President Bush's budget request calls for adding $115 million to the program's current budget of $20 million to make it mandatory across the country. (The spending also includes a system that will eventually check the immigration status of applicants for driver's licenses and other benefits.)

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Marriott executive assails House over immigrant bill
Barbara De Lollis
USA Today

WASHINGTON - Marriott International Chief Executive J.W. Marriott Jr. decried the U.S. House on Tuesday for approving legislation that would make criminals of undocumented immigrants and employers who hire them, even unknowingly.

"Do you look upon yourselves as felons?" Marriott asked the crowd of more than 600 hotel executives and other travel industry leaders meeting at the Global Travel & Tourism Summit. High-level government ministers, investors and executives from 60 countries gathered at the annual summit to discuss the state of the travel industry.

Marriott leads the largest U.S. hotel chain by revenue, a publicly traded company founded more than 75 years ago by his father. The U.S. hotel business depends heavily on immigrant labor.

If you think that this is about anything but money, you are sadly mistaken! -mm

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Migrant smugglers expect business rise
Julie Watson
Associated Press

DOLORES HIDALGO, Mexico - Barely 18, Jose belongs to Mexico's new generation of migrant smugglers: young, savvy and happy to see Uncle Sam further tighten border security.

Why? It's good for business, he says.

Jose figures more migrants will seek his help if the U.S. Senate approves legislation to double the Border Patrol and put up a virtual wall of unmanned vehicles, cameras and sensors to monitor the 2,000-mile border with Mexico.

Border experts say the price for helping Mexicans move north has quadrupled from $300 to $1,200 since 1994, when the United States last tightened the rules. Cases are coming to light of smugglers making $1 million or more. And Jose reckons the earnings will rise if new obstacles go up.

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Evangelical Latinos also are pushing for fair border reform
Ernesto Portillo Jr.
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

The Roman Catholic Church has been a leading force in the push for comprehensive immigration reform. But evangelical Latinos, while less visible, have been equally insistent.

Spurred by the Bible, which asks for compassion toward strangers, they joined thousands of Tucsonans in Monday's march for immigration reform.

Though conservative on social issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage, on immigration reform there are no liberal or conservative positions for evangelical Latinos.

There is only this: a fair path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection Publishes Secure Border Initiative (SBInet) Request for Proposal

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published a Request for Proposal (RFP) today, marking the start of the contract bid process to hire a prime contractor to work with CBP in developing a comprehensive border security solution.

The RFP solicitation for the Secure Border Initiative (SBI) officially began Jan. 26, 2006, when CBP hosted SBInet Industry Day, briefing industry on border security challenges and challenging attendees to help develop solutions. The contract bid process, allows industry to submit a proposal to CBP identifying solutions to securing the United States borders.

The Secure Border Initiative is a vision forward to gain control of our borders using the various components within Department of Homeland Security, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and CBP. This broad multi-year initiative looks at all aspects of the problem across the board – detection, apprehension, detention, and removal. SBI, addresses these challenges with an integrated mix of increased staffing, more robust interior enforcement, greater investment in detection technology and infrastructure, and enhanced coordination on federal, state, local, and international levels.

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A Darwinian View of Immigration
By Lowell Ponte
FrontPageMagazine.com

"All these immigration bills are essentially the same,” the wise man told me. “None are intended to stop illegal immigration. Our restrictions are designed merely to be filters to weed out the weak, lazy and stupid from getting into the U.S. Those who get through will be the fittest, and they will bring America the best genetic stock as new citizens.”

This columnist was first to identify the paradox that today’s liberals demand that Darwinian evolution be taught in our public school classrooms but insist that real Darwinian competition – dodge ball, score keeping, the very idea of winners and losers – be banished from the playgrounds of those same schools. Do they believe that Charles Darwin, the founder of evolutionary theory, was right or not?

I occasionally interview a deep but cynical thinker. Because he prefers to remain anonymous, I call him “The Darwinian.” Quoted above and hereafter, this is his take on current events. His opinions are his own, not necessarily those of this columnist nor of Front Page Magazine, but they provide food for thought concerning today’s most widely discussed issue, immigration.

“At America’s southern border we, in effect, have invisible signs like those at the rides at Disneyland that say ‘You must be this tall to go on this ride,’” he told me. “Those who are strong, smart, tough and determined enough to climb the fence, cross the desert or river, or pay the best Coyote human smugglers and are able to evade the Migras [immigration officers] will survive until the next amnesty and be given citizenship. And this survival of the fittest will, in the long run, benefit the United States.”

But aren’t such illegals a drain on our welfare and other social services?

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Two employment agencies and nine individuals charged with hiring and harboring illegal aliens, mail fraud and laundering $5.3 million
-- ICE agents arrest suspects in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio --

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Two temporary employment agencies and nine individuals affiliated with the agencies have been charged in a $5.3 million scheme involving the employment of illegal aliens, harboring of illegal aliens, mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, according to a federal indictment unsealed today in the Northern District of Ohio.

This morning, agents from the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Labor Inspector General, and FBI arrested three defendants in Philadelphia, PA, one in New York, N.Y, and another in Columbus, Ohio. A sixth defendant has agreed to turn himself over to federal authorities. The three remaining individuals are at large.

According to the indictment, the defendants conspired to employ illegal aliens, as well as legal aliens who had no authorization to work in the United States. They also conspired to provide transportation and housing for these aliens, as well as help them obtain fraudulent documents. The indictment also alleges that they profited from this illegal employment scheme and laundered millions in proceeds.

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2nd U.S. citizen kidnapped in Tijuana
UNION-TRIBUNE

TIJUANA – A U.S. citizen of Chinese descent was kidnapped Monday afternoon from in front of his business here, just days after another kidnapped U.S. businessman escaped from his abductors.

The victim in the latest incident is George Kwok Choi Chu, who goes by George Chu, according to the U.S. Consulate. He was identified by the Tijuana-based Frontera newspaper as the owner of Choi's, which sells seafood to Chinese restaurants.

Liza Davis of the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana said Chu is a seafood wholesaler.

Jan Caldwell of the FBI confirmed that the case is being investigated as a kidnapping by Mexican authorities.