Exclusive-Doing the Work Our Media Won't: Clues to the Immigrant Crime Wave

Breitbart

The following is an excerpt from ¡Adios, America! The Left’s Plan to Turn Our Country into a Third World Hellhole (June 1, 2015) by Ann Coulter.

To paraphrase the line about families, you can’t choose your native-born Americans—but you can choose your immigrants. Our immigration system will be working when the number of immigrants who commit crimes is zero.

Why would any country import other countries’ criminals? What could possibly be on the plus side of the ledger, with “criminal” on the minus side? Since the United Nations isn’t yet demanding that America allow everyone in the world to immigrate here, couldn’t we at least discriminate on the basis of felon vs. non-felon? Maybe we could do a triage:

1.) Helpful to country;

2.) Not helpful to country, but not a felon;

3.) Felon.

Here’s another idea: Instead of the Census Bureau collecting detailed information about how many rental units have “broken or missing stair railings” (382,000 in 2010) or have had mold in their bathrooms in the last twelve months (1.1 million in 2010), how about the government tell us how many immigrants have committed crimes? Determining the number of foreign born in the criminal justice system doesn’t rely on taking surveys, trusting Americans to accurately report on their stair railings, and hiring teams of statisticians to spend years analyzing the data. We just need the government to count. Unlike mold in private homes, criminals have come into significant contact with the government—cops, prosecutors, judges, and prison guards. And we’re already paying those guys’ salaries. As important as the number of carports in America is, it’s also important to know how many immigrants are committing crimes.

With the government keeping that information locked in a steel casket at Fort Knox, one has to look at ancillary facts. The available data suggest that the crime rate among immigrants is astronomical. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), for example, inadvertently issued a report indicating that there are twice as many foreign-born criminals as the GAO’s estimate. In 2006, the DHS stated that 605,000 foreign-born criminals would be arrested by state and local law enforcement in 2007 alone. That’s double the number of illegal aliens for whom the states requested reimbursement in 2009. If the DHS’s estimate is correct, then nearly a third of the 2 million prisoners in state and local facilities that year¹⁴ were foreign born.

Piecing together state and federal reports, it appears that half the correctional population in California consists of illegal aliens. According to a state report, there were fewer than two hundred thousand inmates in the entire California prison population, including mental hospitals, in 2009. That year, 102,795 illegal aliens were incarcerated in California, costing the state more than $1 billion a year. Texas counts only illegal aliens who have already been fingerprinted by the Department of Homeland Security. Even with that limitation, Texas arrests more than thirty-two thousand criminal aliens a year.

Then there is the explosion of America’s prison population since we began admitting millions of Third World immigrants in the 1970s. From 1925 until 1970, a steady 0.1 percent of the population was in state or federal prison. Thus, in 1925, when the U.S. population was 100 million, there were about one hundred thousand people in prison; and in 1970, when there were 200 million Americans, there were two hundred thousand in prison. Then, suddenly, just as a very different sort of immigrant began to be admitted under Teddy Kennedy’s 1965 immigration act, the prison population skyrocketed. If the incarceration rate had remained the same, there would only be about 310,000 people in prison today. Instead, there are more than 2 million prisoners in America. Since 1970, the U.S. population has increased by one-third, but the prison population has nearly sextupled. A lot of factors affect incarceration rates—liberal judges, destructive social programs, illegitimacy, and social decay. But those come and go. Immigration is forever.

Cubana que llegó a EEUU por México habla de su odisea

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Entrevistas a balseros Cubanos

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Testimonios de inmigrantes cubanos en Tapachula, México

Martí Noticias

Cubano emigrante narra como fue capturado en Comitan, México

Oscar Suarez

Exodo tragico: Las multiples rutas de los que escapan de Cuba

Martí Noticias

Obama's Immigration Executive Actions

Business Insider

Brett LoGiurato

By the end of the summer, President Barack Obama will make what some activists and legal experts say could be the "boldest move" of his presidency as he prepares to move without Congress on immigration reform. 

The coming executive actions to change immigration policy could become the defining moment in a second term marred by congressional gridlock. Amid fierce debate over the crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border they also could set up a potential political firestorm just weeks before the crucial midterm elections. Perhaps most importantly, Obama's coming executive actions could also test the limits of presidential power. 

"Depending on how far they go, yes," David Martin, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law who specializes in immigration law, told Business Insider. "It could be a significant challenge to the scope of presidential power."

The White House has provided few hints on what Obama will do on immigration as a review by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security on his options is still ongoing. The Washington Post has reported, based on readouts of meetings among White House officials, congressional Democrats, and activist groups, that Obama could effectively expand the Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals program. DACA, as it is known, has shielded hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children from deportation. 

According to the Washington Post report, the Obama administration is considering providing "temporary relief for law-abiding undocumented immigrants who are closely related to U.S. citizens or those who have lived in the country a certain number of years." The number of people who could fit under those descriptions might be as high as five million.

"We're asking the president to really go as broad as he can go," Cristina Jimenez, the cofounder and managing director of the group United We Dream, told Business Insider, adding: "He has a chance to make one of the boldest moves he possibly could. It depends on how he wants to be remembered."

United We Dream was one of a few groups that gave up rather early on the idea Congress would pass any sort of legislative reform to the nation's immigration policy. The group stopped lobbying Congress on the issue long before House Speaker John Boehner informed Obama in late June that the House would not take up any immigration-related legislation this year.

Jimenez said United We Dream then made Obama its "primary target," because he has the authority to enforce the law. As most proponents of immigration reform see it, Obama's options for executive actions fit into two categories, as laid out earlier this year by the left-leaning Center for American Progress:

• "Enforcement reforms" — in which, for example, the administration would choose to place a lower priority on undocumented immigrants who do not have a criminal history or who have extensive community ties.
• "Affirmative relief" — involves identifying the low-priority individuals and creating a program for them to earn relief from deportation, such as in the case of the DACA program.

During a news conference last week, Obama painted a sharp contrast between himself and congressional Republicans who voted to effectively end the DACA program the same day, saying he would have to "act alone" to solve the border crisis.

"The broader point is that if, in fact, House Republicans are concerned about me acting independently of Congress — despite the fact that I’ve taken fewer executive actions than my Republican predecessor or my Democratic predecessor before that, or the Republican predecessor before that — then the easiest way to solve it is passing legislation. Get things done," Obama said.

Some legal experts, as well as supporters of any potential executive action, think the administration is on solid legal ground to take the steps described in reports — despite the White House's repeated claims earlier this year that its hands were tied. 

Others, like Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the conservative-leaning Center for Immigration Studies, disagree. Krikorian argued that though much smaller versions of the DACA program have been pursued by presidents in the past, they were usually in emergency situations in which the president did not have time to wait for Congress. 

Krikorian said an expansion of the DACA program to as many as five million people could constitute a fundamental change in executive power — from a constitutional system with checks and balances to one that could run on "decree."

"He doesn't give a rat's ass about the Constitution," Krikorian said of Obama.

Krikorian said Obama's executive actions could be a slippery slope for future presidents. One example he gave: A Republican President Chris Christie, for instance, could want to reform the corporate tax code. Facing opposition from Congress, he would decide that his administration would simply not prosecute corporations that don't pay more than 25% in taxes.

However, Ben Winograd, an attorney at the Immigrant and Refugee Appellate Center, rejected Krikorian's analogy. Winograd told Business Insider the federal government always has the discretion to enforce the law as it wishes or sees capable — and does so already, to an extent, in deciding which types of violators of tax laws it wants to go after.

"If the complaint is that, 'Well, so and so isn't following the law as we'd like him to,' then the only remedy for that is political," Winograd said. "You can vote them out at the ballot box, or you can try to bring articles of impeachment. But to say you are violating the law by not enforcing the law to an extent we'd like — I mean, it's a non sequitur. It doesn't make sense."

The key element the administration must follow is adhering to the resources allocated by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act requires the executive branch to spend the money appropriated by Congress toward the purpose designated by Congress.

Congress has appropriated enough funds to deport about 400,000 people a year. The administration deported nearly 370,000 undocumented immigrants last year, according to statistics released by the Department of Homeland Security.

Martin, the Virginia law professor, told Business Insider the administration could theoretically adhere to those guidelines for at least a few years while expanding deferred action. But absent legislative action from Congress, it might be hard to continue on a long-term basis.

"The situation requires faithful execution of appropriation laws," Martin said. "If they drop far below that, then there'd be real legal issues."

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-immigration-executive-actions-2014-8#ixzz39d5LrNPy

Leaked CBP Report Shows Entire World Exploiting Open US Border

breitbart

By Brandon Darby 

www.washingtonpost.com

LUBBOCK, Texas — A leaked intelligence analysis from the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reveals the exact numbers of illegal immigrants entering and attempting to enter the U.S. from nearly every nation on Earth. The report was obtained by a trusted source within the CBP agency who leaked the document and spoke with Breitbart Texas on the condition of anonymity. The report is labeled as "Unclassified//For Official Use Only." The report indicates that the data should be handled as "Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU)."

The numbers provided are in graphics and are broken down into “OFO” and “OBP.” The Customs and Border Protection agency is divided into the Office of Field Operations (OFO) and the Office of Border Patrol (OBP). The OFO numbers reflect anyone either turning themselves in at official U.S. points of entry, or anyone caught while being smuggled at the points of entry. The OBP numbers reflect anyone being caught or turning themselves in to Border Patrol agents between the points of entry, or anyone caught at interior checkpoints by Border Patrol agents. The “OFO Inadmissible” designation to any individual from a nation other than Mexico or Canada means that U.S. authorities took the individuals into custody. Whether they were deported or given a Notice to Appear is unknown. It is important to note these numbers do not include data from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The unavailable ICE data are in addition to these numbers.

The report reveals the apprehension numbers ranging from 2010 through July 2014. It shows that most of the human smuggling from Syria and Albania into the U.S. comes through Central America. The report also indicates the routes individuals from North Africa and the Middle East take into the European Union, either to illegally migrate there or as a possible stop in their journey to the United States. The data are broken down further into the specific U.S. border sectors where the apprehensions and contact occurred.

Among the significant revelations are that as of July 20, 2014, 1,443 individuals from China were caught sneaking across the porous U.S. border this year alone, with another 1,803 individuals either turning themselves in to U.S. authorities at official ports of entry, or being caught attempting to illegally enter at the ports of entry. This comes amid a massive crackdown by Chinese authorities of Islamic terrorists in the Communist nation.

Twenty-eight individuals from Pakistan were caught attempting to sneak into the U.S. this year alone, with another 211 individuals either turning themselves in or being caught at official ports of entry.

Thirteen Egyptians were caught trying to sneak into the U.S. this year alone, with another 168 either turning themselves in or being caught at official ports of entry.

Four individuals from Yemen were caught attempting to sneak into the U.S. by Border Patrol agents in 2014 alone, with another 34 individuals either turning themselves in or being caught attempting to sneak through official ports of entry. Yemen is not the only nation with individuals who pose terror risks to the U.S. that the report indicates travel from. The failed nation of Somalia, known as a hotbed of Islamic terror activity, was also referenced in the report. Four individuals from Somalia were caught trying to sneak into the U.S. by Border Patrol agents in 2014. Another 290 either turned themselves in or were caught attempting to sneak in at official ports of entry. This reporter previously covered the issue of illegal immigration into the U.S. from Somalia and other nations in the Horn of Africa. 

In addition to the individuals from terror-prone nations who attempted to illegally enter the U.S., individuals from nations currently suffering from the world’s largest Ebola outbreak have been caught attempting to sneak across the porous U.S. border into the interior of the United States. At least 71 individuals from the three nations affected by the current Ebola outbreak have either turned themselves in or been caught attempting to illegally enter the U.S. by U.S. authorities between January 2014 and July 2014.

   Darby CBP Leak Numbers Globe

A border war in the media

Endless wave of illegal immigrants floods Rio Grande valley

Read at Fox News >>

Mexico Commits "Act of War" Against USA: Children a tools for secret agenda

Mary Greeley

Rick Perry on his meeting with President Obama

The president stays north of the border

Latino Activist: Border Crisis Will Be ‘Rosa Parks Moment’ for Illegal Aliens

breitbart

By Robert Wilde 

As thousands of illegal immigrants have crossed the U.S. Southern Border and flooded into Texas and many are now being flown into California, one member of a Latino pro-immigration organization claims that "This issue with the children could be the Rosa Parks moment in the immigration debate.”

ABC10 reported that the first of several planes carrying illegal aliens from Central America, which was scheduled to land Tuesday at 10:00 a.m., will be transporting the passengers to Murrieta for screening and relocation. Enrique Morones, one of the leaders of Border Angels, a group sympathetic to illegal immigration, plans on spearheading efforts to bring blankets, food, and immigration services to California’s new inhabitants. "If they get sent back, they'll be killed, they'll die," he insists.

Just as Rosa Parks refusing to be moved to the back of the bus defined the beginning of the civil rights movement in America, Morones contends so will the children crossing the border be the defining moment for illegal immigration acceptance. He says, “All of a sudden the switch is going to go on, and we're going to go, 'Oh my god, what are we doing?'"

Morones implies that the reason illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America are not wanted in certain communities is racism. "If these kids were Canadian kids, we wouldn't be having this discussion," he asserted.

According to ABC10, protester Diana Serafin is leading a charge of hundreds in Murrieta against the illegal aliens' coming to their suburban community. She and others oppose the relocation plan and see themselves as preventing crime and the spread of diseases like tuberculosis. "The Border Patrol sent me the sheet of everything they have to do to protect themselves from the diseases," the appalled Serafin explained. "Right here locally at Murrieta we were sent this."

Border crisis: Obama likely to delay deportations, experts agree

foxnews

By Joseph Weber

One of President Obama’s first moves toward trying to “fix” the U.S. immigration system without Congress will almost certainly be to expand on his 2012 executive order postponing deportation for potentially millions of young illegal immigrants, say experts on both sides of the debate.

Obama will likely sidestep Congress on immigration reform by expanding on his so-called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals memorandum, which essentially allows young illegal immigrants to remain in the United States if they were brought into the country illegally by their parents and have not been convicted of a major crime, Federation for American Immigration Reform spokesman Ira Mehlman predicted.

“I expect him to continue to ignore U.S. immigration law,” Mehlman said. “This can all be traced back to the DACA program … under the guise of not splitting up families.”

Although many Republicans believe President Obama is overreaching on the issue by advancing his immigration agenda without the support of Congress, there is broad support among Latinos, labor groups and other Democrat constituencies for him to act unilaterally. 

The idea of extending delayed deportation to parents of young illegal immigrants also appears popular among Hispanic voters and will likely be recommended to the president by pro-immigration-reform groups with whom he has reportedly met in recent weeks.

A poll of registered Hispanic voters for the Center for American Progress Action Fund found strong support for renewing DACA as well as delaying deportation for the parents of young illegals protected under the program, people married to U.S. citizens and those living illegally in the United States for more than 10 years.

The respondents were “super excited” about such actions if they included the option of a work permit for illegals, said Gary Sugura of Latino Decisions, the opinion research group that conducted the poll. He also pointed out that Democratic candidates running in 2014 and beyond would benefit significantly from such changes.

The respondents were less supportive of so-called prosecutorial discretion, which essentially gives immigration officials say over which cases to pursue and prosecute.

As a sign of just how important the work permit issue is to pro-immigration advocates, particularly big business and organized labor, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Janet Murguia, head of the National Council of La Raza, a Latino advocacy group, on Tuesday called on Obama to provide work permits to everyone who would have been eligible for citizenship under the bipartisan immigration bill passed last year by the Senate.

Obama has already taken the first step in directing Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Eric Holder to shift resources from the U.S. interior to the Mexico border. And he has asked both for recommendations by the end of summer on the types of executive actions he could take.

“And I intend to adopt those recommendations without further delay,” Obama said in his Rose Garden remarks Monday.

In addition, the Center for American Progress, the liberal-leaning think tank influential in shaping Obama administration policy, released a 42-page study, which Marshall Fitz, the group’s director of immigration policy, calls “a roadmap for executive action on immigration.”

The study claims Obama has authority to use enforcement reforms and affirmative relief to implement his immigration agenda in spite of opposition in the House.

Reform involves prioritizing how and whether enforcement is conducted when someone comes into contact with the authorities. And the relief focuses on identifying illegal immigrants considered low priority for deportation, then creating a procedure for them to seek temporary protection from being removed from the country, according to the report.

Sugura and Center for American Progress officials acknowledge that Obama cannot stop all deportations, that any executive action is temporary and only Capitol Hill legislation can provide a permanent solution, which they say should include a path to legal status and eventual citizenship for the roughly 11.7 million illegal immigrants living in the country. 

Obama argues he has been compelled to act in large part because of the recent surge in unaccompanied Central American children showing up by the thousands at the U.S.-Mexico border and the GOP-controlled House’s unwillingness to vote on the issue until at least after the November elections.

"American cannot wait forever ... ," Obama said Monday. "That is why, today, I am beginning a new effort to fix as much of our immigration system as I can on my own, without Congress."

House Speaker John Boehner and other members of the House Republican Caucus argue the recent border problem is the result of executive actions that have enticed people to try to enter the U.S. illegally. And they plan to sue Obama over his use of such actions, serving notice that more moves by the president on immigration would only stiffen their opposition.

"If the president insists on enacting amnesty by executive order, he will undoubtedly face a lawsuit and will find himself, once again, on the wrong side of the Constitution and the law," said Texas GOP Rep. Lamar Smith.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

One of President Obama’s first moves toward trying to “fix” the U.S. immigration system without Congress will almost certainly be to expand on his 2012 executive order postponing deportation for potentially millions of young illegal immigrants, say experts on both sides of the debate.

Obama will likely sidestep Congress on immigration reform by expanding on his so-called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals memorandum, which essentially allows young illegal immigrants to remain in the United States if they were brought into the country illegally by their parents and have not been convicted of a major crime, Federation for American Immigration Reform spokesman Ira Mehlman predicted.

“I expect him to continue to ignore U.S. immigration law,” Mehlman said. “This can all be traced back to the DACA program … under the guise of not splitting up families.”

Although many Republicans believe President Obama is overreaching on the issue by advancing his immigration agenda without the support of Congress, there is broad support among Latinos, labor groups and other Democrat constituencies for him to act unilaterally. 

The idea of extending delayed deportation to parents of young illegal immigrants also appears popular among Hispanic voters and will likely be recommended to the president by pro-immigration-reform groups with whom he has reportedly met in recent weeks.

A poll of registered Hispanic voters for the Center for American Progress Action Fund found strong support for renewing DACA as well as delaying deportation for the parents of young illegals protected under the program, people married to U.S. citizens and those living illegally in the United States for more than 10 years.

The respondents were “super excited” about such actions if they included the option of a work permit for illegals, said Gary Sugura of Latino Decisions, the opinion research group that conducted the poll. He also pointed out that Democratic candidates running in 2014 and beyond would benefit significantly from such changes.

The respondents were less supportive of so-called prosecutorial discretion, which essentially gives immigration officials say over which cases to pursue and prosecute.

As a sign of just how important the work permit issue is to pro-immigration advocates, particularly big business and organized labor, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Janet Murguia, head of the National Council of La Raza, a Latino advocacy group, on Tuesday called on Obama to provide work permits to everyone who would have been eligible for citizenship under the bipartisan immigration bill passed last year by the Senate.

Obama has already taken the first step in directing Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Eric Holder to shift resources from the U.S. interior to the Mexico border. And he has asked both for recommendations by the end of summer on the types of executive actions he could take.

“And I intend to adopt those recommendations without further delay,” Obama said in his Rose Garden remarks Monday.

In addition, the Center for American Progress, the liberal-leaning think tank influential in shaping Obama administration policy, released a 42-page study, which Marshall Fitz, the group’s director of immigration policy, calls “a roadmap for executive action on immigration.”

The study claims Obama has authority to use enforcement reforms and affirmative relief to implement his immigration agenda in spite of opposition in the House.

Reform involves prioritizing how and whether enforcement is conducted when someone comes into contact with the authorities. And the relief focuses on identifying illegal immigrants considered low priority for deportation, then creating a procedure for them to seek temporary protection from being removed from the country, according to the report.

Sugura and Center for American Progress officials acknowledge that Obama cannot stop all deportations, that any executive action is temporary and only Capitol Hill legislation can provide a permanent solution, which they say should include a path to legal status and eventual citizenship for the roughly 11.7 million illegal immigrants living in the country. 

Obama argues he has been compelled to act in large part because of the recent surge in unaccompanied Central American children showing up by the thousands at the U.S.-Mexico border and the GOP-controlled House’s unwillingness to vote on the issue until at least after the November elections.

"American cannot wait forever ... ," Obama said Monday. "That is why, today, I am beginning a new effort to fix as much of our immigration system as I can on my own, without Congress."

House Speaker John Boehner and other members of the House Republican Caucus argue the recent border problem is the result of executive actions that have enticed people to try to enter the U.S. illegally. And they plan to sue Obama over his use of such actions, serving notice that more moves by the president on immigration would only stiffen their opposition.

"If the president insists on enacting amnesty by executive order, he will undoubtedly face a lawsuit and will find himself, once again, on the wrong side of the Constitution and the law," said Texas GOP Rep. Lamar Smith.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Media Get Disappointing Look at TX and AZ Illegal Immigrant Detention Centers

breitbart

by Sylvia Longmire 

TUSCON, Arizona--Wednesday, June 18, marked the first day since over a thousand unaccompanied alien children (UACs) were shipped from south Texas to Nogales, Arizona ten days ago that reporters were allowed to see the inside of the Border Patrol holding facility, and the immigrants themselves. But this was not meant to be the dropping of the DHS veil that has opaquely covered the process by which these minors have been transferred, housed, processed, and subsequently released. Although reporters were impacted by finally seeing the UACs in confinement with their own eyes, they still left after a very short time feeling like they didn’t get the whole story.

Investigative reporter Michel Marizco from local Tucson news station KVOA tweeted a photo of about twenty journalists waiting to enter the Border Patrol holding facility. Then he tweeted, “But there’s a catch. Nobody from @DHSgov here is authorized to answer any questions. Meaning little context to what you’ll see today.” Just like elected officials before them, journalists were not allowed to bring in cell phones or electronic recording devices. Photojournalist Nick Oza tweeted, “Lots of media but no access; only pen and paper is allowed.”

Chris Sherman and Astrid Galván from the Associated Press were the first journalists to post a story about the visit. They described a clean but sad state of affairs inside: “Children’s faces pressed against glass. Hundreds of young boys and girls covered with aluminum foil-like blankets next to chain-link fences. The pungent odor that comes with keeping dirty travelers in close quarters.” They explained the minors were being kept inside a huge warehouse and segregated by age and gender with chain-link fences. They were being fed every six hours in groups of 200, and showering regularly with FEMA-provided facilities.

The moods of the UACs varied, according to journalists’ observations. Some were playing with a ball outside, others were sitting quietly, and some were crying. No one was allowed to speak to the detained minors. Sherman said via Twitter that officials wanted to make as little disruption as possible. His walkthrough at the Brownsville facility lasted little longer than ten minutes. Galván said her group of reporters in Nogales were strongly warned against speaking to anyone, and they were followed closely by Border Patrol agents. Her visit lasted less than half an hour. When asked if they learned anything really new, Galván just replied that there’s definitely “something to be said about seeing something first-hand instead of hearing about it from someone else.” Sherman said he got a “better sense of the efforts that have been made and why the law says they need to be sent to HHS in 72 hours.”

One journalist, however, was able to sneak in a few words with some teenagers out of sight of monitoring agents. Jon Justice from 104.1 KQTH in Tucson, AZ said via Twitter that many of the kids didn’t seem completely unhappy with being in the detention facility. When asked if it was because they were in a safe place and being fed better than they’re used to, he replied, “Actually its because they were headed to NY, New Jersey and Maine to meet family and knew they would be going soon, for free.” Justice added, “From the kids and what the agents were saying, most came for some type of ‘amnesty’ not because of conditions in Central [America].” 104.1 KQTH posted several photos—provided to them by one official photographer on site—on the station’s website.

Justice, the conservative radio talk show host of The Jon Justice Show, was deeply affected by the experience. “I immediately got a different perspective on the humanitarian part of it,” he said. “It doesn’t mean that I’ve changed my views as far as wanting to stop the flow of these individuals coming into the country, or enforcing our laws. But it certainly brought up some conflicts within me of, seeing the faces, looking at the children, and getting a better understanding of what we’re dealing with.”

But not everyone has been prohibited from making contact with the minors. Juanita Molina, director of the humanitarian organization Border Action Network (BAN), shared her visit to the Nogales facility with the Tucson Weekly. She explained that because her organization has such a close relationship with the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector, she “was invited to tour the Nogales facility and participate in a discussion and evaluation process based on [their] shared values.” Molina also said, “As a humanitarian organization, BAN supports the ACLU in its action to bring light to the violations against unaccompanied minors in detention.”

While the Border Patrol and the Border Action Network may seem like strange bedfellows, Molina had generally kind words for the operation of the facility. She said that the agents were doing a good job of keeping the facility clean and the children fed and safe. But although their basic human needs are being met, she is concerned that agents are ill equipped to handle the emotional needs of the minors, especially since many of them have been traumatized.

But one has to ask why Molina was granted so much access—access that has been repeatedly denied to elected officials, reporters, and even church officials. Molina said her “tour and briefing lasted approximately 5 hours. [She] met with Tucson Sector Chief Manuel Padilla and the commanding officers in charge, and [she] had the opportunity to engage with all officers and ask questions at each station of the facility.” She was also “given access to the medical triage station, food preparation areas, and holding cells,” where she spoke to several children and frightened teen mothers.

Given that Molina’s organization supports the ACLU and shared her visit details with the left-leaning Tucson Weekly, one might expect a very critical picture of the situation in the Nogales holding facility, but quite the opposite was the case. The question remains if she was given completely unprecedented, extended, and exclusive access because the BAN has a “close relationship” with the Border Patrol and DHS knew they could expect a “good news” story; after all, Molina is not a journalist with certain duties and responsibilities to the craft, although one would expect her to have a critical eye. The fact remains Molina’s visit and the engaging narrative that goes with it still does nothing to truly increase the amount of transparency—or lack thereof—being displayed by DHS. Just ask any reporter who went on Wednesday’s half-hour tour.

Sylvia Longmire is a border security expert and Contributing Editor for Breitbart Texas.

Stowaway: Man found hiding in engine of Spanish ferry

ITN

 

La fuga del cubano Viza en un contenedor de carga de Air France

CubaNet News

Ricardo González Alfonso

jpquin.chez.com

LA HABANA, 14 de septiembre - La noticia nació en París, pero la historia comenzó en La Habana. Roberto Viza Egües viajó como polizón aéreo durante catorce horas en el contenedor de una nave de la Air France. La presión atmosférica, el frío intenso y la incertidumbre lo acompañaron aquel 13 de agosto del 2000. El jueves 31 Francia lo deportó golpeado y esposado. El 2 de septiembre cumplió 26 años en un calabozo de Villa Maristas, cuartel general de la Seguridad del Estado cubana. El 5 de ese mes salió en libertad. ¿En libertad?

Habíamos concertado la entrevista para las 10 de la mañana. Roberto llegó puntual. Tenía un taponcito de algodón en su oído derecho, secuela de la golpiza que le propinó la gendarmería gala. Ya en mi cuarto-estudio converso con Viza Egües.

La Fuga

- ¿Por qué intentó salir de Cuba de un modo tan arriesgado?

- Por mi situación. Pertenezco a un grupo defensor de los derechos humanos: el Movimiento 24 de Febrero. Participé en muchas actividades y me sentía presionado. Quería marcharme de la Isla, como lo hice... o en una balsa.

- ¿Aquella noche del 12 de agosto hubo alguna circunstancia que favoreciera que usted burlara la vigilancia policiaca del Aeropuerto José Martí?

- Sí. Gracias a Dios llovía mucho. Todo estaba tranquilo. No habían postas. (En el asiento Viza encorva el cuerpo, mira para ambos lados). Brinqué una cerca. Corrí hasta una mata. Me acerqué al avión. Traté de entrar en el primer contenedor que vi. No pude, pero sí en el segundo.

- ¿Qué hora era?

- Un poco más de las ocho de la noche. A eso de las 12 despegó el avión.

- Ya en pleno vuelo, ¿qué sintió en el depósito de equipajes?

- Imagínese, desesperación; no sabía qué me podía pasar. Todo estaba oscuro. Seguía empapado y hacía mucho frío. Más o menos a las tres horas comencé a sangrar por la nariz. Llegué a Francia lleno de sangre.

La esperanza

- ¿Quiénes y cómo lo descubrieron? ¿Cómo lo recibieron las autoridades francesas?

- Trasladaban el contenedor. Lo golpeé (Ahora Viza abre los ojos, tanto, como si atrapara otra vez aquella claridad, y prosigue). Dos almaceneros lo abrieron, me sacaron y cargaron, pues yo no podía caminar. Me brindaron un buen trato, se preocuparon por mí. Entonces llamaron a la policía. Los agentes fueron amables, me llevaron a un campamento de refugiados donde había indios y africanos, y después a un hospital.

- ¿Se interesó alguien por usted?

- Sí. Me llamaron por teléfono muchos cubanos que viven en Francia, como Lázaro Jordana, presidente de Cuba Democrática; Jorge Luis Arce, quien era periodista independiente en Cuba, y un francés, Laurent Muller, presidente de la Asociación Europea por una Cuba Libre, a quien estoy muy agradecido.

- ¿Cómo y cuánto tardaron las autoridades francesas para decidir su deportación?

- Me llevaron tres veces a corte. La última fue la de apelación. Se determinó que permaneciera en el campamento para refugiados hasta que me liberaran, pues mi caso sería atendido. Allí podía permanecer 20 días. El penúltimo la policía me sacó.

¡A Cuba no!

Roberto Viza comienza a sentirse tenso. Indago. ¿Qué ocurrió a partir de aquel momento?

- Los agentes me dijeron que tenía que ir al aeropuerto a firmar un documento. Me engañaron. Aseguraron que después yo estaría libre, que podía llamar entonces a las organizaciones de cubanos en Francia.

- ¿Y?

- En el aeropuerto me esperaban muchos policías. Una traductora me dijo que aquel papel que firmé era para regresar a Cuba. Me negué. Había salido ilegalmente de mi país y arriesgando mi vida. Expliqué que si regresaba iba a ser sancionado (Su mirada ahora suplica, como si yo pudiera rescatarlo de sus recuerdos. Se inquieta. Alza la voz). Entonces me esposaron de pies y manos. Me llevaron a un cuarto donde había cuatro individuos con guantes negros, los que me golpearon. Yo grité que me dieran asilo político, que volver a Cuba no.

A Cuba

- ¿Cómo fue el viaje de regreso?

- Esposado hasta América del Norte. Las aeromozas, el sobrecargo y muchas personas le dijeron a una mujer y a los agentes franceses que me escoltaban que me dieran agua, que me soltaran, que yo no era un terrorista. Algunos pasajeros lloraban al ver mi estado.

- ¿Qué ocurrió al llegar a Cuba?

- Me trasladaron en un auto a Villa Maristas. La policía francesa me había golpeado tanto, que me llevaron a un hospital militar. Allí me sacaron varios coágulos del oído. Después me condujeron a la sede de la Seguridad del Estado, y me encerraron en una celda.

- ¿Qué tiempo permaneció allí?

- Hasta pasadas las ocho de la noche del 5 de septiembre.

- ¿Sobre qué temas lo interrogaron?

- El instructor dijo que mi salida ilegal no le interesaba, sino las declaraciones que hice en Francia contra el gobierno cubano, y mis actividades en la disidencia.

- ¿Cómo lo ponen en libertad?

- Me sacaron del calabozo y me llevaron al lobby de villa Maristas. Había muchas personas, jefes políticos, coroneles. Me dijeron que yo era un hombre libre, que no tenía problemas. Estaba sorprendido, y me pregunté: ¿qué estará pasando?

¿Otra vez la esperanza?

- Y ahora, transcurrido unos días, ¿por qué piensa que las autoridades cubanas actuaron así?

- Cuando llegué a mi casa varias organizaciones defensoras de los derechos humanos de Francia y de Cuba me llamaron. Supe entonces que la prensa internacional había hecho mucha presión sobre mi caso, y que el gobierno francés le pidió al cubano que me liberaran.

- ¿Aún se considera usted un perseguido político?

- Por supuesto. Siempre me he considerado así.

- ¿Aunque la policía política lo haya soltado?

- Aunque me haya soltado. ¿Usted no los conoce? (Calla. Respeto su silencio. A un gesto de él continúo).

- ¿Deseas agregar algo?

- Sí. Pedir a todas las personas que me quieran ayudar que lo hagan. Temo por mi vida y por mi familia. Yo quiero ser un joven libre.

Releo mis notas, me detengo en el primer apellido de Roberto y se me ocurre un juego de palabras muy serio: ¿No habrá en el mundo una visa para Viza?

Homeland Security Chief: Illegals Have ‘Earned the Right to be Citizens’

LSUDVM

breitbart

From CNS News:

Speaking at the United States Conference of Mayors on Friday, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said the approximately 11 million people who are in the country illegally have “earned the right to be citizens.”

“An earned path to citizenship for those currently present in this country is a matter of, in my view, homeland security to encourage people to come out from the shadows,” said Johnson, in what he remarked was one of his first public speeches since being confirmed as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief in December.

“It is also, frankly, in my judgment, a matter of who we are as Americans,” he said, “to offer the opportunity to those who want to be citizens, who’ve earned the right to be citizens, who are present in this country – many of whom came here as children – to have the opportunity that we all have to try to become American citizens.”

Read the rest of the story at here >>

Cubanos atrapados en limbo legal en Venezuela

ElNuevoHerald

Antonio Maria Delgado

Los doctores cubanos Ismeldo Cubas (der.), Salvador Amador (centro) y Azalea Blanco, examinan a un soldado venezolanos, en este foto del 2005. Los médicos eran parte de la “Misión Barrio Adentro”.

FERNANDO LLANO / AP

Read more here: http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2014/01/21/1660661/cubanos-atrapados-en-limbo-legal.html#storylink=cpy

Cientos de profesionales cubanos que desertaron de la “Misión Barrio Adentro” se encuentran atrapados en un limbo legal en Venezuela, luego de que las autoridades de Estados Unidos les negaran la posibilidad de emigrar.
Los afectados, muchos de ellos médicos, residen ilegalmente en Venezuela sin poder trabajar o viajar, y viven bajo constante temor de ser detectados por funcionarios del régimen de Nicolás Maduro, lo que llevaría a su arresto e inmediato traslado a Cuba.
“Estoy desesperado. No tengo trabajo; no tengo dónde vivir; no tengo quién me ayude”, dijo desde Caracas Lázaro Gabella, un enfermero cubano que desertó de Barrio Adentro en el 2007, y quien desde entonces se encuentra atrapado en Venezuela.
“Yo ya no quiero seguir viviendo aquí. Tengo que estar por allí, de un lado a otro, y estar pendiente de que la policía no me pare”, afirmó Gabella, quien no puede trabajar legalmente en Venezuela y sólo ha podido limpiar casas ocasionalmente para obtener dinero con qué comer.
Al igual que Gabella, son cientos los desertores cubanos cuyo sueño de emigrar hacia Estados Unidos ha sido denegado por el Departamento de Estado, tras fracasar en su intento de convencer a las autoridades de que formaban parte del programa de asistencia médica conocido en Venezuela como “Misión Barrio Adentro”.
Cerca de 8,000 profesionales pertenecientes a la Misión han desertado a lo largo de los últimos años, muchos de ellos tramitando la visa estadounidense bajo el programa conocido como Parole para Profesionales Médicos Cubanos (CMPP, por sus siglas en inglés).
No obstante, las autoridades estadounidenses niegan entre el 10 y el 15 por ciento de las solicitudes obtenidas, según cálculos de Solidaridad Sin Fronteras, una organización no gubernamental dedicada a ayudar al personal cubano enviado por el régimen de los hermanos Castro a otros países.
“Cuando son denegados, las razones que brinda el Departamento de Estado es que no presentaron suficientes pruebas de que son cubanos y de que se encontraban en Venezuela sirviendo en estas misiones, en calidad de trabajo oficial, enviados por el gobierno cubano”, explicó Julio César Alfonso, presidente de Solidaridad Sin Fronteras.
Pero en muchos casos, la negativa responde a que el solicitante cubano presentó el pasaporte equivocado.
Según Alfonso, las autoridades estadounidenses normalmente esperan que el solicitante cubano presente el “pasaporte rojo”, el cual es otorgado por el régimen castrista a quienes salen del país por razones oficiales.
Ese es el entregado al personal enviado a Venezuela bajo el Acuerdo Integral de Cooperación firmado a inicios de la década pasada por Hugo Chávez y el régimen de La Habana, a través del cual la isla se comprometió a brindar personal y asistencia técnica en diversas áreas, incluyendo la salud, deportes, agricultura y educación, a cambio de envíos regulares de petróleo y derivados.
Pero el personal normalmente es obligado a entregar el documento a los jefes de las misiones tan pronto llegan a Venezuela, quedándose sin identificación cubana.
Muchas de estas personas posteriormente han solicitado nueva documentación en la embajada cubana en Venezuela, y han recibido el “pasaporte azul”, otorgado a cubanos que salen de la isla por razones no oficiales.
Lo que ha estado ocurriendo, explica Alfonso, es que los desertores han estado utilizando el pasaporte azul en vez del rojo para solicitar los beneficios del parole, y las autoridades estadounidenses se encuentran ante un documento que muestra que el solicitante es cubano, pero no que se encontraba en Venezuela por razones oficiales.
“Lo que nosotros aconsejamos es que si tienen que entregar el pasaporte [rojo], que de alguna forma se las arreglen para sacarle fotocopia. Pero si no pueden hacer esto, entonces es incluso mejor ir sin pasaporte, y explicarles a las autoridades americanas que se lo quitaron, porque ellos saben que eso sucede. Eso es mejor que ir con el pasaporte azul”, comentó.
A Gabella le negaron la solicitud tres veces, con el último pronunciamiento del Departamento de Estado indicando que era la negativa final.
En su desesperación, Gabella emprendió la tarea de contactar a las autoridades estadounidenses directamente, en una ocasión reuniendo con dificultad suficiente dinero para llamar por teléfono a la oficina de la congresista Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
“Quería explicarle que yo no estoy pidiendo que nadie me regale nada. Que yo tengo fuerza para trabajar y salir adelante”, relató.
Gabella no logró hablar con la congresista, pero dijo que seguirá intentándolo.
Juan Gómez es otro ex integrante de las misiones cubanas, cuya solicitud fue rechazada por las autoridades estadounidenses.
Llegó a Venezuela en agosto del 2007, y participó en varias misiones antes de que decidiera desertar. Su experiencia en el país sudamericano no ha sido grata, dijo en un correo electrónico enviado a el Nuevo Herald.
“La vida ha sido y es inhumana tanto en la misión, como fuera de ella. Somos indocumentados, mi visa ya se venció y no podemos trabajar, ya que al estar en estas condiciones de desertor no nos dan permiso de trabajar en ningún tipo de labor”, comentó Gómez.
“Para sobrevivir aquí, lo hacemos gracias al apoyo y la caridad del algunos venezolanos. Es vergonzoso vivir así pero no pierdo las esperanzas de que al revisar mi caso se den cuenta de que es verdad cuanto digo”, expresó.

Read more here: http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2014/01/21/1660661/cubanos-atrapados-en-limbo-legal.html#storylink=cpy