illegal immigration

Dancing girls, driver’s licenses, health insurance, free food and information on Common Core were offered exclusively in Spanish at a local Portland school Saturday. The party like event for las familias, signals the return of what we used to call, “Carnivals of Crime” for illegal aliens. With the ‘revelation’ that illegal aliens have been ‘accidentally’ signed up for OrBamaCare, these kind of events once again take on added importance.

Citizen Journalist Daylight Disinfectant attended the Saturday event. See his video below.

The state of Oregon used to regularly offer these party-like events to offer Spanish speaking folks in Oregon (some of whom were legally here and some who were not), free stuff–including food stamps, medicaid and welfare.

Adorable little dancers.

They ended when Oregonians for Immigration Reform outed the practice–embarrassing state officials who were then excoriated for giving out hard earned American tax dollars to law breakers.

While there’s no doubt the Obama recession has caused many illegal aliens to head back to their home countries, it’s also true many illegal aliens have stayed in Oregon. It’s no “accident” that Cover Oregon and other state programs have attempted to sign them up.

  Read more about “Accident”? Oregon’s illegal alien “Carnivals of Crime” are back, offering health insurance and dancing girls

BELL, Calif. — The auditorium was packed. There were single mothers, day laborers, grandparents pushing infants in strollers and teenagers interpreting for parents. All of them faced a potentially life-changing prospect: Within a year, California will start offering driver’s licenses to immigrants who are living in the country illegally.

But one person after another stepped to the microphone and expressed fear that the licenses, far from helping them, could instead be used to deport them.

Last year, when California became the most populous state to pass a law permitting undocumented residents to obtain driver’s licenses, advocates for immigrant rights were thrilled, saying it would allow people to commute without fear while also decreasing rates of hit-and-run accidents and uninsured drivers on the roads. Now those advocates are confronting another formidable obstacle: the deep and longstanding mistrust of the American government among this population.

It turns out that persuading immigrants who have spent decades avoiding the authorities to willingly hand over their names, addresses and photographs to the government is no easy sell — particularly since the licenses will look different from regular ones, in ways that have yet to be determined.

“I believe this license process is not secure,” one woman, who declined to identify herself, told state officials at an informational hearing here hosted by the Department of Motor Vehicles. “Is this a trap?”

“It’s not a trap,” said Ricardo Lara, the state senator who represents this working-class city, where more than 40 percent of the population is foreign born. State law guaranteed that their information would not be shared with other government agencies, like Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he said, adding, “Your information is protected.”

California, home to an estimated 2.5 million immigrants living in the country illegally, has been busy fashioning itself as the most welcoming state for immigrants, passing measures designed to reduce deportations, offering in-state tuition to all residents, and more. But skepticism among this population has grown since President Obama took office, as deportations have hit record highs and efforts to reform immigration laws have stalled in Congress.

Combating this mistrust, Mr. Lara said in an interview, is “the most significant challenge” of getting unauthorized residents — many of whom are already behind the wheel without licenses — to take road tests and buy auto insurance.

“People are skeptical, and rightfully so,” Mr. Lara said. “These are people who have been living in the shadows, living in constant fear. We have to work hard to ensure we really protect these folks.”

Atalia Cervantes, a mother of three who came here illegally from Mexico two decades ago, drives every day, despite her lack of a license.

“Every time I buckle my seatbelt, I am afraid,” said Ms. Cervantes, 30, who drove nearly an hour with her oldest daughter to voice her concerns at the hearing. “It’s affecting my girls. My youngest girl said: ‘Mommy, why are you so afraid of the cops? Cops are for protecting us.’ ”

Still, she was not sure if she would apply for a driver’s license. She worried that with it set to look different from those given to legal residents, it might lead rogue police officers to arrest people like her and call the immigration authorities, even though that is prohibited by law.

“If they write something on the back of the license that says it can’t be used to deport me, then maybe I’ll get one,” she said.

A growing number of states across the country are beginning to face this same challenge of winning illegal immigrants’ trust. Last year, eight states joined New Mexico, Utah and Washington in extending special driving privileges.

Despite the early rush of applicants, however, many immigrants were not convinced that the cards were safe, said David Fierro, a department spokesman.

Photo

 

A man held up his day labor identification card.Credit Patrick T. Fallon for The New York Times

“There is a high level of distrust,” Mr. Fierro said. “People were convinced that no matter what we were saying, once we had them in our system, we would pass their information on and someone would be there to round them up.”

“I don’t think that’s been completely dispelled,” he said. “Some are still waiting to see what happens with their friends who apply.”

Overcoming this distrust is essential to making sure the program works, Mr. Fierro said, since the point is to get unlicensed and uninsured drivers off the road. The state is optimistic: Nevada, with about 250,000 undocumented residents, hired 18 people to deal with the influx of immigrants seeking driving privileges.

California, home to about a quarter of all immigrants in the country illegally, is hoping for a much larger rush. State officials here expect 1.4 million people to apply for the licenses, and the California Department of Motor Vehicles will hire 1,000 new workers and open four temporary offices, which will serve only people seeking new licenses.

The agency has also been working with consulates to help people in California get identifying documents from their home countries, a requirement for anyone applying for a driver’s license; officials have not yet decided what documents will be accepted. Under the law, the state must begin issuing the licenses by next January.

Identification records can be expensive and difficult to obtain, especially for people who have not returned to their home countries in decades. Mr. Lara said he hoped the state would also accept less formal proofs of identification, like baptismal and marriage records from churches.

At the meeting here, many people came with identification cards from day laborers’ associations, immigration rights groups and other local groups they belonged to, hoping that would be enough.

Critics argue that this approach would invite identity fraud. In New Mexico, which has issued driver’s licenses to unauthorized residents since 2003, state officials have complained about such fraud, prompting some Republicans to call for ending the program.

“It would be a sham for the state to represent that they’re actually able to verify identity looking at things like baptismal records or Sam’s Club cards,” said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform in Washington. “This process is an exercise in providing documentation to people whose legitimate identities cannot be ascertained.”

Andrea Guadarrama, a housekeeper and grandmother of eight who lives in Los Angeles and attended the hearing here, said she worried about what the new licenses would look like.

“I’m concerned about the mark that will go on our licenses,” she said. “We are already marked by our color and our names, and the police are against us.”

Even so, Ms. Guadarrama said she planned to apply for a license as soon as she was able. For now, she takes the bus from her apartment downtown to work in Santa Monica, a ride that can take up to three hours.

She did not know how or where she would get the documents she needed to prove her identity — after 27 years in the United States, she said, she no longer has her birth certificate from Mexico — but said she would do whatever was necessary.

“Oh, my God. If I had a license, I could make more money, see my grandkids more,” she said. Read more about California Driver’s License Program Hits an Unexpected Hurdle

SALEM -- The Oregon Legislature could rewrite the title of a contentious measure on the November ballot asking voters whether to grant driver cards to residents who can’t prove they’re in the state legally.

Legislative leaders will likely decide in the next week or so whether to take that step, said Rep. Jessica Vega Pederson, D-Portland, and other sources....

Three groups have challenged the ballot title and other parts of the measure before the Oregon Supreme Court, but legislators may try to step in before their 35-day session ends. Opponents say the Legislature shouldn’t interfere...

Cynthia Kendoll, president of Oregonians For Immigration Reform, which gathered signatures to send the issue to voters, accused lawmakers of overstepping.

“Just when it looks like we might be successful with this, these legislators are kind of pulling a desperate move to see if they can’t rewrite the rules of the game,” she said. “I don’t think the people who wrote and passed the law should be the people writing the ballot title.”...

  Read more about Driver card referendum: Oregon Legislature could rewrite ballot title

A 45-year-old Gresham man, who stabbed a stranger in the abdomen because the stranger had tried to stop him from assaulting his wife, was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison...

Haberman jumped in to protect the woman, Maria Rodriguez-Medrano, 40. Nunez-Valdivia stabbed Haberman, then fled. Rodriguez-Medrano also suffered a cut to her hand...

But after his prison term is up, he could face deportation. Immigration officials have placed a hold on him.

Pedro Nunez-Valdivia - ICE hold

  Read more about Stabbing of good Samaritan lands Gresham man 5 years in prison

Rather than twisting the political knife in the gaping wound that is Obamacare, House Republicans are off on a “comprehensive immigration reform” toot. The latest news has the Speaker putting off any action for now, and waiting until after the midterm elections in order not to anger the anti-amnesty base, and “to goose Latino turnout or to swing purple districts” in 2016, as political blogger Allahpundit put it. In other words, electoral timing rather than principle is determining what happens.

But principle, not to mention common sense, is what’s at stake here. Anyone proposing “comprehensive” anything after the debacle of Obamacare is delusional...

And please, let’s stop all the delusional dreams of Hispanic “natural conservatives” flocking to the GOP after the boon of amnesty is bestowed upon them. John McCain partnered with Teddy Kennedy in 2005 and 2007 to craft legislation to create a “path to citizenship,” and still got half as many Hispanic votes (31%) as Barack Obama did in 2008. By the way, McCain beat Mitt “self-deport” Romney by a whole 4 points with Hispanic voters...

Also ridiculous is the fear that not doing something will allow Democrats to tar Republicans with the racism or xenophobia brush. Here’s a news flash: they are going to do that no matter what Republicans do. The “preemptive cringe” as Margaret Thatcher called it is the worst form of defense...

...If we are going to debate this issue honestly, then let’s talk about the whole reality rather than ignoring the side that doesn’t advance our political interest, whether this be more Democrat voters and welfare clients, or more cheap labor. Then explain how amnesty is going to change that behavior and lower those costs.

Moreover, let’s demand that the amnesty crowd explain exactly how they plan to sort out those two sets of illegal immigrants, the ones we should keep and the ones we need to kick out...

...Don’t tell me the country that between 1940 and 1944 increased military aircraft annual production from 3660 to 96,300, that in 1942 was producing 4,000 Sherman tanks a month, 70 years later can’t fence off the 1933 miles of border between Mexico and the U.S.

Do that first, and when the border is secure, then start talking about what to do with the 11 million illegal aliens. Meanwhile, reform our immigration policies by getting rid of family reunification programs, and making admission to this country conditional on what the immigrant has to offer Americans, not what Americans have to offer immigrants. Start enforcing labor laws and putting teeth into sanctions against violating them. And most important, start returning to the old model of immigration that made it work for most of American history: assimilation to American political principles and virtues, facility in speaking English, and a rejection of self-loathing multicultural nonsense about American guilt and the superiority of the countries immigrants risk their lives to leave. Read more about Republicans Go On an Immigration Reform Bender

Republicans will be unlikely to compromise on immigration reform unless U.S. borders are first secured, and the possibility of a broad immigration bill reaching President Barack Obama's desk this year is "clearly in doubt," Representative Paul Ryan said on Sunday.

"Security first, no amnesty, then we might be able to get somewhere," Ryan said on ABC's "This Week."...

Last June, the Senate passed a comprehensive bill that would provide a path to citizenship for the approximately 11 million immigrants living in the United States illegally and tighten border security.

The bill stalled in the House, and some conservative Republicans in both chambers remain staunchly opposed to offering legal status for millions of adults who live in the United States unlawfully.

Obama last week hinted in an interview that he might be open to a plan that would first give undocumented workers legal status, as long as they were not permanently barred from becoming citizens....

"This is not one of those issues that has a deadline," he said in the ABC interview. Ryan emphasized that securing the U.S.-Mexico border was a crucial first step before changing rules around legal residency.

"We don't know who's coming and going in this country. We don't have control of our borders," he said. "Doing nothing on the security side of this isn't the responsible thing to do."

House leaders must contend with several conservatives who are suspicious of Obama's agenda and are reluctant to give the president a long-sought legislative victory....

Incumbents facing a primary challenge or a close general election in this year's campaign season may have an incentive to oppose the plan's path to citizenship.

Still, many lawmakers agreed to revamp U.S. policy on immigration after exit polling showed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney won just 27 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2012. The Republican National Committee made it a priority to reach out to minority voters after the election.

Louisiana Republican Governor Bobby Jindal said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" that Republicans should go ahead with immigration reform since it remains the right thing to do and not "because of what some pollster tells us." Read more about U.S. immigration bill 'in doubt' this year, Republican Ryan says

Drum roll…..the long awaited GOP principles on illegal immigration were presented today to the House GOP Conference at their annual [aptly-named] retreat. Sorry to disappoint you but there is nothing new under the sun. Their framework is a mirror image of the Senate “Gang of 8” bill, albeit cloaked in even more deceptive and disingenuous language in order to distract conservatives with shiny objects. Let’s go through some of the text:

• After proposing broad amnesty, the document says that” none of this can happen before specific enforcement triggers have been implemented.” That might sound like it was written by the Tea Party, but in reality every GOP leader has made it clear that enforcement triggers mean something ambiguous after the “probationary” legal status is granted.
• Legalization before amnesty is the key point. Everything else is window dressing. Once they are legalized there is no turning back. There will never be any leverage to implement the universally agreed-upon security measures thereafter. This is beyond Lucy and the football already.
• “There will be no special path to citizenship for individuals who broke our nation’s immigration laws – that would be unfair to those immigrants who have played by the rules and harmful to promoting the rule of law.” This is the big lie. Once legal status is granted before the enforcement is in place and the magnets are removed, they will get citizenship. If there is this much pressure to legalize them when they are totally illegal, there is no way they will permanently reside here without citizenship for more than a year. At that point, Chuck Schumer will push for citizenship. Furthermore, the notion that this is not a special pathway is nonsense. The traditional pathway is in the country of origin. Staying in the country is the special pathway.
• The Dream Act is full amnesty, a disaster and a farce. It is particularly irresponsible to push that without asking for changes to birthright citizenship and the welfare state in exchange. They will be eligible for immediate legal status and citizenship shortly thereafter. These people are largely poor and low-skilled. They would be eligible for the entire array of welfare programs. Moreover, once you have amnesty for “Dreamers” it is defacto amnesty for everyone else because A) they can bring in family members and B) anyone can potentially be eligible, so ICE would have to suspend all deportations to allow illegals a reasonable opportunity to present their case. Sans a proposal to change birthright citizenship first, the Dream Act would expand our anchor baby magnet to an “anchor teenager” phenomenon.
• “One of the great founding principles of our country was that children would not be punished for the mistakes of their parents.” Here is another big lie. They claim that we can’t “punish” children nor could we withhold legal status from anyone because it is not humane. Yet, they proceed to claim “we must ensure now that when immigration reform is enacted, there will be a zero tolerance policy for those who cross the border illegally or overstay their visas in the future. “ This is internally incoherent. Once you telegraph the message that as soon as someone successfully comes here illegally and puts down roots, we will not have the stomach to deport them, why would that change during the next cycle? If amnesty for illegal children is a “founding principle,” then we have to have a perpetual amnesty for such children in perpetuity. The reality is that unless we implement all enforcement long before any amnesty, we will continue the perennial cycle of open borders and sympathy-driven amnesty. And that is exactly how they want it.
• The best way to solve a problem is to first honestly admit there is a problem. By refusing to call them illegals, and instead opting for euphemisms like “Individuals Living Outside the Rule of Law,” they are showing that there is no commitment to clamp down on illegal immigration in the future.
• There is no mention of a border fence. A physical fence is the only thing proven to work. Also, it is not subject to manipulation or “prosecutorial discretion.” It actually works, and that is why they don’t want it.
• There is no mention of the 800-pound gorilla – the magnets of welfare and unqualified birthright citizenship. The only way to offer an amnesty [after enforcement] without repeating the mistakes of the past is to finally cut off the incentives to come here illegally in the future. All they have to do is come here and drop a baby on American soil. At that point, the baby is an American citizen and can secure welfare on behalf of the family. Additionally, this is the same flaw with any temporary worker program. If they have kids, these workers will never be temporary. Also, the whole idea of a guest worker program is so the special interest lobbies can secure slave wages on behalf of agribusiness. With American-born children they would have the need and the ability to secure welfare payments.
• Finally, it is dangerous and irresponsible to begin pushing any of this before Obama begins to follow the current laws. We are ostensibly advertising for people to come here from across the border and overstay their visas. If there is a long period of time when legal status is offered before the Fence is built and Exit-Entry is put into place, millions more will flood our country. Once deportations are ostensibly halted, there will be no way or desire to sort out those who came later, and God-forbid, actually deport those who came for the free ride.