Audio Listen to Jerry Gonzalez tell us what we want to hear! Illegals are fleeing the areas where the law is enforced.

Immigration Coverage: PRI’s The World

October 17, 2007

Georgia Sheriff vs. undocumented immigrants (5:00)

Officers of the Cobb County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Department are trained to report undocumented immigrants to federal immigration authorities. That’s sparked an exodus of immigrants from the county — and a debate over a local police force taking on a role normally reserved for the federal government. The World’s Matthew Bell reports.

To listen, click here then on the speaker icon in the matching story outline

Georgia officers trained to deport: Officials learn to check legal status

Stories we love to see: The state of Georgia making life difficult for illegal aliens.

Driver’s license bureaus and Georgia roads are becoming riskier places for illegal immigrants.

About two dozen driver’s license investigators, state troopers and GBI agents have completed federal training to determine a suspect’s legal status in the United States and, if necessary, start deportation proceedings.

Until now, the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office has been the only police agency in Georgia to train with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Cobb began deporting inmates from its jail in July.

The newly trained officers —- three driver’s license fraud investigators, 14 state troopers and five Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents —- will start work over the next few months. Some are waiting for computer access to federal immigration data.

In addition, this year’s state budget provides $537,860 to hire 10 new driver’s license fraud investigators for centers across the state.

The GBI already has its three-man team in place and has started investigations, said GBI director Vernon Keenan. The state budget provided $201,996 for the positions. Two other agents who took the ICE training will be assigned to a homeland security unit separate from driver’s license issues, Keenan said.

Counterfeiters use expensive equipment to make IDs and charge a high price, he said. “They’re making everything. Immigration papers, birth certificates, Social Security cards. You name it.”

Fraud investigators at the state’s driver’s license offices see a lot of fake Social Security cards and federal I-94 documents, said Rick Miller, director of investigations for the Department of Driver Services .

From Jerry’s site and the AJC here.

On Grady Hospital in today’s AJC:

Grady officials are following a recommendation in a report issued this spring by consultant Alvarez & Marsal saying the clinic is overworked and understaffed and largely serves uninsured people.

Some 31 percent of its patients were undocumented residents.

Grady officials announced last week the hospital is on course for the highest deficit in history, upwards of $55 million in a budget of about $730 million.

Grady officials link the ballooning deficit to an increase in uninsured and under-insured patients and insufficient funding from Medicaid and other public sources. Critics paint the hospital as a mismanaged and inefficient.

More on Grady from Atlanta Business Chronicle here

Enforcement works! CNN with OK state Senator Randy Terrell

Randy Terrell on CNN with Rick Sanchez…great job Senator! Click here to watch.

National Public Radio

Nation

Are Local Crackdowns Forcing Immigrants Out? (Note from D.A. – they mean illegal aliens)
by Jennifer Ludden

All Things Considered, October 12, 2007 ·

States and towns across the country are passing measures aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration, and there is anecdotal evidence that undocumented immigrants are moving out of those areas.

LISTEN BUTTON HERE…about 4 minutes.

Marietta Daily Journal today

Father’s quest for justice is still strong

Published: 10/15/2007
Ashley Fuller and Marcus E. Howard

CHEROKEE COUNTY – One year after thinking he’d found justice for his son, Billy Inman of southwest Cherokee County is once again searching for the man responsible for the car crash that killed his son.

As time begins to fade, memories of their 16-year-old redheaded son, Dustin, and image of Gonzalo Harrell-Gonzalez, a reported illegal immigrant, have become seared into the minds of Inman and his wife, Kathy, as they search for his whereabouts.

It was late in the evening during Father’s Day weekend on June 16, 2000, when the Pontiac Grand Am driven by Inman and carrying Kathy, Dustin and their dog, was stopped at a traffic light on Ga. 515 in North Georgia’s Gilmer County and suddenly struck from behind by an Oldsmobile Cutlass Sierra driven by Harrell-Gonzalez at approximately 64 mph, hurling the Inmans car into the back of a Ford Bronco in front on it.

Dustin was killed in the crash. Billy and Kathy were knocked unconscious as a result of the impact, and Kathy suffered injuries that require her to use a wheelchair. The family’s dog was found dead at the scene.

Harrell-Gonzalez, who allegedly admitted to police he fell asleep behind the wheel, was taken to an Ellijay hospital and then transferred to a hospital in Dalton. He disappeared after being mistakenly released from the hospital.

In September of 2005, the man police believed to be Harrell-Gonzalez was arrested in Birmingham, Ala., but later was released after showing a magistrate court judge evidence alleging he was not Gonzalo Harrell-Gonzalez, but his brother, Roberto Harrell-Gonzalez.

He was arrested again a month later, in October, after a review of dental records convinced authorities that he was indeed Gonzalo Harrell-Gonzalez. A further review of records with dental experts found differences in the dental X-rays of Gonzalo Harrell-Gonzalez and the man in custody who claimed to be Roberto. The man was released last September.

The Inmans remember when authorities called them to Gilmer County last September to receive the news.

“I thought they wanted me to go over the case,” Inman said, not ready for the news he was about to hear.

Mrs. Inman didn’t take it any better.

“It was like the wreck happened all over again,” she said.

With Gonzalo Harrell-Gonzalez still walking around somewhere as a free man, Inman has resumed his quest to find him.

Posters displaying a picture of Gonzalo Harrell-Gonzalez and information about the case are displayed on both sides of Inman’s truck. He carries information with him in case anybody asks about what happened. He also maintains a Web site at www.legalamericanfolks.com and carries business cards with Internet addresses and contact information concerning illegal immigration.

The Dustin Inman Society

At around the time of the crash, a northeast Cobb man began doing research the issue of illegal immigration.

D.A. King said his crusade to end illegal immigration and the practice of hiring of illegal immigrants began when between 18 and 20 people, along with as many vehicles, moved to the house across the street from where he has lived since 1984.

Since, King has written numerous newspaper and magazine columns, appeared on national television networks and lobbied lawmakers at the Capitol in Atlanta and in Washington, D.C., with the single focus of persuading all Americans that illegal immigration is devastating the country.

It was during a protest rally in 2003 to counter a pro-immigration march in Doraville when King first met the Inmans and heard their tragic story, which bolstered his belief in his cause. He eventually quit his job as an independent insurance agent, refinanced his house twice and used his savings to launch the Cobb-based, nonprofit Dustin Inman Society, which he runs to educate the public on illegal immigration.

“Billy Inman is a personal hero of mine for his dedication to finding his son’s killer,” King said. “Billy and Kathy’s goal is to keep their son’s name alive and show what unsecured borders can do.”

Unfortunately, he said, illegal immigrants have killed too many Americans. The society’s Web site, www.thedustininmansociety.org, posts names of people across the country recently by reported illegal immigrants. This past weekend, it listed more than 150 names.

Billy and Kathy sit on the society’s board of advisors, which King said is made of an ethnically diverse group of people including two Hispanics.

“I think that we have made the American public aware that it’s O.K. to speak out against the organizational crime of illegal immigration and illegal employment,” King said.

The Dustin Inman Society offers a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Dustin’s killer.

Inman is not giving up his personal search, and regularly contacts media outlets, the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services – anyone he can get a hold of to keep the case alive. He said he occasionally hears from law enforcement agencies, but they tell him nothing more can be done without a lead.

“I don’t know where else to go. I feel like I’m at a dead end,” he said. “(Harrell-Gonzalez) will have his judgment one day. As far as him getting caught, I have no idea unless someone is able to pinpoint him.”

afuller@mdjonline.com, mhoward@mdjonline.com

System should stand for legality
By Joe Atkins

A round of speakers had just completed talking about the need for “black-brown unity” in the fight for social justice in Bush’s America when Rene Muñoz Chapman came over to speak to me. Maybe he had seen me taking notes.

“We have a lot to learn about sensibilities,” said Chapman, a native of the Texas-Mexican border who now lives on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. “I follow the Golden Rule, the old-fashioned ideas. It’s about fair play.”

Fair play was a major theme at the recent “Black-Brown Unity Conference” sponsored by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance. The event took place at the United Auto Workers Justice Center in Canton, a former church but now a gathering place for working people of all races.

Even in the spirit of fair play, black and brown unity isn’t easy at a time when the nation is wrestling with what to do about an estimated 12 million undocumented workers in the country. As many as 200,000 of them live and work in Mississippi.

Many blacks fear immigrant Latino workers are taking their jobs. Latinos fear blacks in a more fundamental sense. Real and alleged incidents of black criminals attacking Latino workers aren’t uncommon. An example is the slaying of a half-dozen Mexican immigrants in Tifton, Ga., two years ago. Five black males were arrested in connection with the killings. Tifton is a town where Latino and poor black workers had been in competition for farm jobs.

Politicians exacerbate the situation. During the reconstruction after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who is black, asked a group of contractors and business owners this: “How do I ensure that New Orleans is not overrun by Mexican workers?”

With the nodding approval of politicians, contractors further the divide. In post-Katrina New Orleans, they much preferred hiring Latino workers for $6.50 an hour rather than paying blacks $14 an hour to do the backbreaking work of rebuilding the city, said Saket Soni of the New Orleans Workers Center for Racial Justice at the Canton conference.

Neither President Bush nor Congress seem willing to risk upsetting corporate America in trying to resolve the issue.

Consider the recent comprehensive immigration reform bill that failed to get out of the U.S. Senate despite bipartisan backing – including U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss. – and the support of President Bush. Corporate America liked the bill because its provisions for a temporary worker program would guarantee continued access to the cheapest labor pool in the nation. Ultimately the bill would have set in place a semi-permanent underclass of immigrant workers who might never become citizens but who would always have a job.

At the grassroots level, however, the American people want a system that stands for legality, not cheap labor. By and large, they hold the same beliefs that Rene Muñoz Chapman holds – old-fashioned ideas like the Golden Rule and fair play. These are the shared ideas of people of all races. Too bad it’s not what they hear on the campaign trail.

Joe Atkins is a professor at the University of Mississippi. E-mail him at jatkins@olemiss.com.

Most undocumented workers watching, waiting
Exodus hinges on 2 court challenges
Daniel González
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 8, 2007 12:00 AM

The state’s new employer-sanctions law and other measures aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration already have prompted many undocumented immigrants to pack up and move out of Arizona. But the majority of the 500,000 are staying put – for now.

Many are waiting to see if two lawsuits aimed at blocking the sanctions law are successful before making a decision to stay or go. Others are waiting to see how the law will be enforced.

If a large-scale exodus does materialize, it probably won’t begin until December, just before the new law takes effect Jan. 1, say immigrants, church leaders and immigrant advocates. December also is traditionally when many Mexican immigrants, who make up the bulk of the state’s undocumented population, return home for the holidays.

By then, a federal judge is expected to have ruled on lawsuits that claim the sanctions law should be struck down on the grounds that it is unconstitutional.

“There is no doubt that people have left, but I see no evidence of massive leavings,” said Alfredo Gutierrez, who hosts a popular talk-radio program for immigrants on La Campesina (88.3 FM), a Spanish radio station. “But certainly people are really talking about it.”

Some are thinking about going back to Mexico. Others are considering moving to states such as Oregon, Utah, New Mexico, Texas, Illinois and New York. There is a perception that those states are more welcoming to immigrants because they have passed laws that make it easier for them to live there. New York, for example, passed a law in September allowing illegal immigrants to get driver’s licenses, joining eight states with similar laws, among them Oregon, Utah and New Mexico

. …the rest here

Study Shows 38 Million Illegal Immigrants In US
Evening Bulletin – Philadelphia,PA,USA

Despite such numbers, former Pennsylvania governor and Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge is calling for a more lenient visa policy. Mr. Ridge, who is an …READ THE REST….and see our illegal alien counter that has been on our homepage for more than 2 years.

From San Antonio, Texas – USA

Man cited for burning Mexican flag

10/09/2007

Joe Conger
KENS 5 Eyewitness News

It caused some controversy, but it was supposed to. Now, one man is headed to municipal court for burning a Mexican flag in protest in front of the Alamo.

The city is charging 46-year old David Bohmfalk with burning without a permit, even though no one gives permits to burn a flag.

“I was raised to respect my country,” Bohmfalk said.

All the rallies and talk of amnesty for undocumented immigrants in May 2006 lit the fires of patriotism for Bohmfalk, he said.

“I just got angry,” he said. “I decided I had to do something, make my statement, and that’s what I did.”

More coverage
KENS video: Watch the broadcast

Bohmfalk had his own protest in front of a building known for revolution, where Davy Crockett and James Bowie made a stand. So did Bohmfalk but he used a lighter instead of gunfighter. Park police cited Bohmfalk for illegal burning of rubbish, even it was a Mexican flag he set ablaze.

“Because of what it’s made out of, it took a little while to burn it. It took me two minutes, but I got it lit,” Bohmfalk

Authorities say his actions left some of the Mexican nationals in the Alamo crowd feeling burned. However, Bohmfalk’s attorney, Jason Jakob, says, freedom of speech is Bohmfalk’s constitutional right.

“My client felt so strongly, and exercised protest, by burning that flag,” Jakob said.

Bohmfalk says while he was detained by police, he was harassed, his life was threatened, and he was even assaulted by some tourists who spit on him. Ironically, all these offenses are punishable by law. Jakob says flag burning is not.

“In America, every day we see people burning the American flag and it’s become desensitized,” Jakob said. “If we can allow that, we can certainly say that the Mexican flag can be burned.”

As a former Texas police chief and military veteran, Bohmfalk says he knows his rights, and is fighting for them.

“Why should a foreign flag get any better protection than the American flag?” he said.

The city has not returned calls for comment. As for Bohmfalk’s right to a speedy trial, that’s been delayed as well. His trial has been reset three times.

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Online at: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA100907.Mexflagburn.KENS_.155c25557.html