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Entries Tagged as 'Immigration'

Obama to ease travel restrictions to Cuba: Next Al-Qaeda invited to NY Mosque to prEy

August 18th, 2010 · Deception, Democrats, Ethics, Foreign Policy, Homeland Security, Immigration, Immigration, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Terrorism from Within, Treason

By Mary Beth Sheridan Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 18, 2010

The White House is preparing measures that would expand opportunities for Americans to travel to Cuba and send money there, congressional and Obama administration officials said Tuesday.

The measures would make it easier for Americans to get U.S. government licenses for cultural, educational and sports exchanges, according to congressional aides briefed on the new policy. They would not end the longtime economic embargo or the ban on U.S. tourists visiting the island.

The changes would restore a policy from the Bill Clinton administration that encouraged “people-to-people” contacts with residents of the Communist-ruled nation, officials said. Such visits were limited by the Helms-Burton Act of 1996 and later restricted further by the George W. Bush administration.

“These are not revolutionary,” one congressional staff member said of the changes. “They’re not going to cause political blowback, because we did all this stuff before.” Like other officials, the staffer spoke on the condition of anonymity because the new policy has not yet been announced.

Others predicted that the changes would stir opposition. Although the measures do not need congressional approval, “it would be very poor judgment on [the White House's] part not to be responsible to the Congress . . . in giving them the proper heads-up. This is an election year. Everything is toxic,” said a senior GOP aide familiar with the issue, who said the administration has not briefed key Republicans.

Since the stricter regulations on travel took effect in 2004, U.S. outreach to the Cuban people has largely been channeled through official democracy programs.

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Obama Leniency: Illegal Crack Cocaine & Illegal Immigrants. Americans Pay the Price.

August 17th, 2010 · Corruption, Defense, Democrats, Homeland Security, Immigration, Immigration, National Security, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Tax Dollars, Taxes, Terrorism from Within, Treason

Justice Dept. threatens to sue Ariz. sheriff Arpaio in civil rights inquiry

By Jerry Markon and Stephanie McCrummen Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 17, 2010; 3:55 PM

A federal investigation of a controversial Arizona sheriff known for tough immigration enforcement has intensified in recent days, escalating the conflict between the Obama administration and officials in the border state.

Justice Department officials in Washington have issued a rare threat to sue Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio if he doesn’t cooperate by Tuesday with their investigation into whether he discriminates against Hispanics. The civil rights probe is one of two targeting the man who calls himself “America’s Toughest Sheriff” — a federal grand jury in Phoenix is examining whether Arpaio has used his power to investigate and intimidate political opponents and whether his office misappropriated government funds, sources said.

The standoff comes just weeks after the Justice Department sued Arizona and Gov. Jan Brewer (R) over the state’s new immigration law, heightening tensions over the issue ahead of November’s midterm elections. It focuses renewed attention on Arpaio, a former D.C. police officer who runs a 3,800-employee department, and a state at the epicenter of the debate over the nation’s estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.

Once seen as a quirky figure who dresses inmates in pink underwear and forces them to work on chain gangs, Arpaio has in recent years become a kind of folk hero to those favoring his heavily publicized “crime sweeps,” conducted mostly in Hispanic neighborhoods. At the same time, civil rights groups accuse the 78-year-old lawman of racial profiling. And some Maricopa County officials say Arpaio has launched meritless corruption investigations against officials who have criticized his policies or opposed his requests.

Those allegations are at the core of the Justice Department investigations, according to documents, lawyers familiar with the probes and people who have been questioned by FBI agents and the grand jury.

The investigations reflect the tangled politics surrounding the immigration debate. The criminal probe is led by Dennis K. Burke, the U.S. attorney in Phoenix and a former top aide to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

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Virginia legal opinion supports checks of immigration status

August 3rd, 2010 · Accountability, Change of Power, Homeland Security, Immigration, Immigration, National Security, Obama Exposed, States

By Anita Kumar and Rosalind S. Helderman Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 3, 2010

RICHMOND — Virginia joined the national debate over immigration Monday when Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II issued a legal opinion that authorizes law enforcement to check the immigration status of anyone stopped by police officers for any reason.

Previously, law enforcement officers in Virginia were required to investigate the legal status only of those who were arrested and jailed.

Cuccinelli’s opinion is less stringent than the portion of an Arizona law that was stopped by a federal court last week. Under that law, Arizona authorities were required to question people who they have a “reasonable suspicion” are illegal immigrants.

“Our opinion basically said that Virginia law enforcement has the authority to make such inquiries so long as they don’t extend the duration of a stop by any significant degree,” Cuccinelli (R) said at a news conference Monday. “That’s consistent with Supreme Court authority.”

The attorney general issued the opinion in response to a request from Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William), who sought clarification on whether local police, conservation officers and zoning officials could inquire about legal status.

Marshall said he chose to seek the legal opinion because he feared that the Senate, under Democratic control, would not approve legislation permitting law enforcement officers to inquire about legal status during routine stops. Bills seeking similar powers were killed in the Senate in recent years.

Marshall wrote to Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) on Monday asking him to codify Cuccinelli’s opinion through executive order. He said he thinks that Virginia can avoid legal trouble by allowing but not mandating the checks by police.

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Obama, Democrats and Illegal Immigrants win round 1 over US Citizens

July 28th, 2010 · Accountability, Deception, Defense, Democrats, Government, Government Control, Immigration, Immigration, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, States, Treason

Judge blocks parts of Arizona immigration law

By JACQUES BILLEAUD and AMANDA MYERS – The Associated Press
Wednesday, July 28, 2010; 1:30 PM

PHOENIX — A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the most controversial parts of Arizona’s immigration law from taking effect, delivering a last-minute victory to opponents of the crackdown.

The overall law will still take effect Thursday, but without the provisions that angered opponents – including sections that required officers to check a person’s immigration status while enforcing other laws.

The judge also put on hold parts of the law that required immigrants to carry their papers at all times, and made it illegal for undocumented workers to solicit employment in public places.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton ruled that those sections should be put on hold until the courts resolve the issues. Other provisions of the law, many of them procedural and slight revisions to existing Arizona immigraiton statute, will go into effect at 12:01 a.m.

The ruling came just as police were making last-minute preparations to begin enforcement of the law and protesters were planning large demonstrations to speak out against the measure. At least one group planned to block access to federal offices, daring officers to ask them about their immigration status.

The volume of the protests will likely be turned down a few notches because of the ruling by Bolton, a Clinton appointee who suddenly became a crucial figure in the immigration debate when she was assigned the seven lawsuits filed against the Arizona law.

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Deportation of illegal immigrants increases.

July 27th, 2010 · Accountability, Defense, Economy, Homeland Security, Immigration, National Security, Tax Dollars, Taxes

  • Do illegal immigrants pay taxes like Americans?
  • Why should our hard earned tax dollars provide for those who are in this country ILLEGALLY? 
  • Is it not illegal to profit from a criminal act?
  • Are Illegal Immigrants not committing criminal acts by entering this country illegally?     ~editor

By Peter Slevin Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 26, 2010

In a bid to remake the enforcement of federal immigration laws, the Obama administration is deporting record numbers of illegal immigrants and auditing hundreds of businesses that blithely hire undocumented workers.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency expects to deport about 400,000 people this fiscal year, nearly 10 percent above the Bush administration’s 2008 total and 25 percent more than were deported in 2007. The pace of company audits has roughly quadrupled since President George W. Bush‘s final year in office.

The effort is part of President Obama‘s larger project “to make our national laws actually work,” as he put it in a speech this month at American University. Partly designed to entice Republicans to support comprehensive immigration reform, the mission is proving difficult and politically perilous.

Obama is drawing flak from those who contend the administration is weak on border security and from those who are disappointed he has not done more to fulfill his campaign promise to help the country’s estimated 11 million illegal residents. Trying to thread a needle, the president contends enforcement — including the deployment of fresh troops to the Mexico border — is a necessary but insufficient solution.

A June 30 memorandum from ICE director John Mortoninstructed officers to focus their “principal attention” on felons and repeat lawbreakers. The policy, influenced by a series of sometimes-heated White House meetings, also targets repeat border crossers and declares that parents caring for children or the infirm should be detained only in unusual cases.

“We’re trying to put our money where our mouth is,” Morton said in an interview, describing the goal as a “rational” immigration policy. “You’ve got to have aggressive enforcement against criminal offenders. You have to have a secure border. You have to have some integrity in the system.”

Morton said the 400,000 people expected to be deported this year — either physically removed or allowed to leave on their own power — represent the maximum the overburdened processing, detention and immigration court system can handle.

The Obama administration has been moving away from using work-site raids to target employers. Just 765 undocumented workers have been arrested at their jobs this fiscal year, compared with 5,100 in 2008, according to Department of Homeland Security figures. Instead, officers have increased employer audits, studying the employee documentation of 2,875 companies suspected of hiring illegal workers and assessing $6.4 million in fines.

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Hearing on Arizona immigration law begins as Obama tries to Stop Immigration Enforcement.

July 26th, 2010 · Deception, Democrats, Ethics, Foreign Policy, Government, Government Control, Homeland Security, Immigration, Immigration, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, States, Terrorism from Within, Treason, Unemployment

  • Obama wants to pay Americans not to work and give American jobs to Illegals. ~pr

By Jerry Markon Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 23, 2010

PHOENIX — A federal judge pushed back Thursday against a contention by the Obama Justice Department that a tough new Arizona immigration law set to take effect next week would cause “irreparable harm” and intrude into federal immigration enforcement.

“Why can’t Arizona be as inhospitable as they wish to people who have entered or remained in the United States?” U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton asked in a pointed exchange with Deputy Solicitor General Edwin S. Kneedler. Her comment came during a rare federal court hearing in the Justice Department’s lawsuit against Arizona and Gov. Jan Brewer (R).

Bolton, a Democratic appointee, also questioned a core part of the Justice Department’s argument that she should declare the law unconstitutional: that it is “preempted” by federal law because immigration enforcement is an exclusive federal prerogative.

“How is there a preemption issue?” the judge asked. “I understand there may be other issues, but you’re arguing preemption. Where is the preemption if everybody who is arrested for some crime has their immigration status checked?”

At issue in Thursday’s hearing, argued in a tan-colored “special proceedings” courtroom” inside the federal courthouse, was whether Bolton would grant a preliminary injunction to stop the law from taking effect while the federal lawsuit proceeds.

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Obama sends Guantanamo detainee Naji back to Algeria against his will.

July 20th, 2010 · Defense, Government, Homeland Security, Immigration, National Security, War on Terrorism

By Peter Finn Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 20, 2010

The Obama administration has for the first time sent a detainee at Guantanamo Bay back home against his will.

Aziz Abdul Naji, 35, an Algerian who had been held at Guantanamo for more than eight years, had appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to remain at the military detention center in Cuba. He argued that he would be tortured or killed in Algeria, either by the government or by terrorist groups that might try to recruit him.

In a unanimous decision, the justices declined late Friday to hear Naji’s appeal, and the Defense Department announced Monday that he had been repatriated.

The court ruled 5 to 3 earlier Friday evening that the executive branch could also proceed with the transfer of another Algerian detainee, Fahri Saeed bin Mohammad.

The decisions effectively ended the efforts of all six Algerian detainees at the prison camp to remain there rather than be repatriated.

Administration officials said they will nonetheless continue to examine each case individually before any repatriation. And officials have expressed some concern about returning one of the Algerians, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in absentia while he was held at Guantanamo Bay.

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Obama’s decision to sue Arizona over immigration law fuels an anti-immigration fervor

July 20th, 2010 · Corruption, Deception, Democrats, Ethics, Immigration, Immigration, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Reform, Selling Out the US, States, Terrorism from Within

By Michael D. Shear Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 20, 2010

President Obama and his political aides privately acknowledge that the government’s decision to sue Arizona over its new immigration law is helping to fuel an anti-immigration fervor that could benefit some Republicans in elections this fall.

But White House officials have concluded that, over the long term, the Republicans’ get-tough message is a major political miscalculation. They predict it will ultimately alienate millions of Latinos, the fastest-growing minority group in the nation.

West Wing strategists argue that the president’s call for legislation that acknowledges the role of immigrants and goes beyond punishing undocumented workers will help cement a permanent political relationship between Democrats and Hispanics — much as civil rights and voting rights legislation did for the party and African Americans in the 1960s.

As a result, although the president is unlikely to press for comprehensive immigration reform this year, he has urged his allies to keep up the pressure on Republican lawmakers.

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Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah may follow Arizona’s lead on immigration law

July 8th, 2010 · Accountability, Corruption, Defense, Dissention, Foreign Policy, Government, Homeland Security, Immigration, Immigration, National Security, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, States, Terrorism from Within, Treason

By Michael W. Savage Thursday, July 8, 2010

Attention is focused on Arizona and the federal government’s challenge to the state’s strict new immigration law, but three other states could adopt similar legislation next year.

Lawmakers in Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah, which have already taken steps against illegal immigration, say that Arizona-style measures have a realistic chance of passing when their legislatures reconvene in 2011.

The Obama administration sued Arizona in federal court Tuesday, charging that the state law usurps federal authority, would hamper immigration enforcement and would lead to police harassment of those who have no proof of lawful status. The government asked that a federal judge stop the law from taking effect July 29.

Legislators in at least 17 other states introduced bills this year similar to the Arizona law, which allows officers to question anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally. But most of those measures are not considered likely to be adopted or signed by governors.

The political climate in Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah, however, improves the chances that state legislatures there could follow Arizona’s lead in 2011.

In 2007, Oklahoma led the way on such laws by adopting legislation that makes it a felony to knowingly transport or shelter an illegal immigrant. It also blocked illegal immigrants from obtaining driver’s licenses and in-state tuition.

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Congress reviewing Cuban sanctions, may lift travel ban

July 7th, 2010 · Congress, Deception, Defense, Democrats, Ethics, Foreign Policy, Government, Homeland Security, Immigration, Immigration, National Security, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Terrorism from Within, Treason

By Howard Schneider Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Mojitos at Varadero Beach . . . fishing in the waters Hemingway immortalized . . . dinner and a show at the Tropicana: A long list of currently forbidden pleasures will become legal for Americans under pending legislation that would lift central provisions of the United States’ half-century embargo of Cuba.

The bill is being pushed by business and agriculture groups that have long argued that the Cold War-era sanctions against Cuba should be lifted, but it is opposed by an influential anti-communist lobby, which is against Cuba’s ruling Castro family.

But at a time when the Obama administration is fighting to boost U.S. exports, supporters of the bill argue that they have their best chance yet to reopen a country famous for its white sand and hand-rolled cigars, featured in American pop culture from “I Love Lucy” to the “Godfather” films.

The sanctions have been in place since 1959, when communist leader Fidel Castro took over the country and nationalized the holdings of U.S. investors, and they became entrenched in U.S. foreign policy three years later, when Castro tried to import Soviet nuclear weapons.

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