Dream Act Signed by Governor Brown!

 

On Saturday, October 8th, Governor Jerry Brown signed the controversial ‘Dream Act’ into law for California.

Here is the breakdown of what the Dream Act is based on their website at www.dreamact.info:

 

 

The DREAM Act

Over three million students graduate from U.S. high schools every year. Most get the opportunity to test their dreams and live their American story. However, a group of approximately 65,000 youth do not get this opportunity; they are smeared with an inherited title, an illegal immigrant. These youth have lived in the United States for most of their lives and want nothing more than to be recognized for what they are, Americans.

The DREAM Act is a bipartisan legislation ‒ pioneered by Sen. Orin Hatch [R-UT] and Sen. Richard Durbin [D-IL] ‒ that can solve this hemorrhaging injustice in our society. Under the rigorous provisions of the DREAM Act, qualifying undocumented youth would be eligible for a 6 year long conditional path to citizenship that requires completion of a college degree or two years of military service.

Currently, only Texas and New Mexico have an equivalent ‘Dream Act’ policy going on right now.  It is pretty funny that California wasn’t the first state to begin this, but then again, gays can’t even get married yet here.  Here is a quote from Governor Jerry Brown about the signing of the Dream ACT:

‘”Going to college is a dream that promises intellectual excitement and creative thinking,” Brown said in a written statement issued by his office.’

Last year Brown signed into law a similar bill that allowed illegal immigrants the ability to receive privately funded scholarships.  These two combine to create the ‘California Dream Act’.  Some opponents of this act cite California’s budget woes, and putting an ‘illegal’ immigrant before another native born American.  Also, other opponents fear that their classes and chances for scholarships will be diminished by the introduction of a potential large group with access that they didn’t have before.

Here is a quote directly Reuters:

‘Under the new law, written by Senator Gil Cedillo, a Los Angeles Democrat, those same illegal immigrants would be eligible for aid from the University of California, California State university system and the state’s 112 community colleges.

They could also apply for Cal Grants, which are cash awards based on academic performance.’ REUTERS

This is a phenomenal achievement and gives California’s and other American’s the ability to understand that children who were born here or were taken here as children did not have a choice.  Chances are, they have lived here for their entire lives and now have the opportunity to achieve their dreams beyond high school just like their peers.  They will have an equivalent chance to receive funds and opportunities beyond what they have grown to expect and learn about America.  This is a big win for the West Coast, where we haven’t had many proggressive moving ‘wins’ in a while.
By: Darryn James

 

Is $1.7 Million Worth It When Your Dead? Immigrants cancer ignored/Left to die

So sad, but true.

Francisco Castaneda died while being held in a deportation facility, after telling officials that his penis was killing him.. literally.  During his time in North Kern Prison in Delano, California, Castaneda made the claim to officers and his doctors that he needed immediate attention.  Mulitple times his doctors recommended that he get a biopsy of the growth, but the Chief Physician of two different locations in California both rejected the claims from their Doctors on staff.  Finally, when he officially got approval for a biopsy, he was released soon after without any treatment.  Within the next few days, Castaneda would undergo great pain, including the amputation of his penis, before dying like some sort of government trash dumped into the Gulf.

His family sued the shit out of the state, claiming that he died while on their hands, and that this could have been prevented had he the attention he deserved as a human being in the most prestigious fucking country in the world.. the US of A.

Luckily, his daughter will be getting $1.5 million of that money – and this case is now going against the Federal Government in April of next year.

Cheech Marin Slams Arizona Immigration Law, Calls for Legalization of Pot

By Hollie McKay

Published August 19, 2010

| FoxNews.com

LOS ANGELES –  Mexican-American actor Richard Anthony “Cheech” Marin is slamming the Arizona immigration law as little more than an attempt to hold on to “white culture.”

“It’s ridiculous; it’s the last gasp of white culture,” he told Pop Tarts at the Los Angeles launch last week of Disney Pixar’s online “World of Cars.” “Reactionaries and Congress (are to blame) only because they think that’s the way of getting votes. We’ll stir up the rabble! If you take the Mexicans out of Arizona, Arizona is going to collapse the next day.”

But it’s not only the immigration law with which Marin takes issue. The “Up in Smoke” star would also like to see marijuana legalized.

According to Marin, President Obama is doing enough to support the fight for marijuana legalization by “not prosecuting” those who use medical marijuana, but he’d like to see the president live up to his campaign of “hope” and devote some attention to America’s economic crisis.

“In (Obama’s) administration, I’d like to see marijuana legalized and I’d like to see him keep working to straighten out the economy, because at the end of the day, no matter how highfalutin your philosophy is, if the economy isn’t working, then the country isn’t happening,” Marin said.

IllegalInAmerica:

Wow, what a great guy!  Who would’ve thought? 🙂

Not only do I agree with Cheech Marin on Arizona and all the political bullshit that is causing it, but also the legalization of marijuana as a regulated substance that would bring a ton of money to our country.

Also, I love your movies if you ever see this!

Best,

IIA

Sheriff Joe Faces Federal Scrutiny for His Treatment of Co-workers and Immigrants

The Justice Department is investigating Maricopa County, Ariz.’s Sheriff Joe Arpaio over alleged civil-rights violations. The Washington Post reports that his office has failed to comply with requests from federal investigators examining the treatment of Hispanics in Maricopa County jails and the tactics used to detain them.

Robert Driscoll, an attorney for Arpaio, was out of the office this week and unavailable for comment, according to his assistant. A spokesperson in Arpaio’s press office says Driscoll informed them he will hold a face-to-face meeting with DOJ lawyers in Washington next week.

In Arizona, the sheriff has a reputation for standing up to Washington and for being tough on crime, including humiliating his inmates (many of them Hispanic, according to news reports), by making them dress in old-fashioned black-and-white-striped prison uniforms, work in chain gangs, or, for men, wear pink underwear.

In Arpaio’s view, however, there’s a point to these tactics: illegal immigration is the top problem he is facing, and he will be tough on criminals. In a 2009 interview with NEWSWEEK, he told this reporter that the business of illegal immigration was fueling crime and violence in Phoenix. (Crime rates in Phoenix are down, but local television coverage of immigration-related crime is almost a daily phenomenon.) “The people who pay [to cross into the U.S. from Mexico] will eventually get transferred to points north,” he said. “But the violence and murders and kidnappings are all happening here.” He might have gone too far. Since that interview, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has revoked Arpaio’s ability to enforce federal immigration laws (under what’s known as the 287 [g] program), prompting his outrage.

Arpaio has also upset local leaders who say they have been harassed by him, and is facing a separate investigation into potential abuse of power. The Arizona Republic‘s Yvonne Wingett recently reported about a scuffle between Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and the sheriff. In an interview with NEWSWEEK, Gordon blamed Arpaio and State Sen. Russell Pearce (author of the state’s controversial immigration bill) for creating an anti-immigration fervor in the state: “Pearce and Arpaio’s ability to whip things into a frenzy has created so much pressure for [Gov. Jan Brewer].” The law is hurting Arizona businesses, yet few are speaking out. Gordon says that’s because of the sheriff, who “will come after them on trumped-up charges. The car-wash guys, the McDonald’s owners, there is a real fear that they will be investigated, there is a real fear of the sheriff.” He says, “Anyone who stands up to Arpaio—their reputation is ruined.”

Gordon says supervisors, chiefs of police, reporters, and others have all been subjected to unwarranted scrutiny and harassment by the sheriff. “People have been followed by the sheriff’s people, judges—everyone.” Has he been followed? The mayor says, “Yes. But I’m one individual who has stood up to him.” The mayor’s attorney, Paul Charlton  (who was also one of the nine U.S. attorneys fired during the Bush administration), says, “There isn’t any doubt Arpaio uses his office to intimidate political enemies. That can mean judges who rule against him, people on the board of supervisors who vote against his interests, and business leaders who have opposed his policies.”

Asked to comment, Arpaio’s spokesperson said, “The sheriff won’t dignify Mayor Gordon’s remarks with a response.”

IllegalInAmerica:

Wow Joe, you really did it this time… why do you have to be such a freaking tough guy?  Why do you have to intimidate all of the people trying to have a better life, when you can just as easily lock them up and at least leave them in peace?  It’s practically not even a choice when life is so bad in your native country… try Pakistan right now that is 1/3 completely flooded.

Instead of messing with these people, we can already be working with them to learn English if possible, and at least at that point, they can explain themselves and why they have come to America, not that they shouldn’t have every right to.  Why do you make them wear ‘pink underwear’ in jail, and humiliate them for something that is already misconceived by popular culture in America and globally beyond.

Also, you’ll get what’s coming to you for this.  For bullying all those public officials, they’ll make sure to each take a piece of your ass down, so I hope you’re ready… Pink Underwear Bandits – this one will be for you!

Best,

IIA

Protest at Checkpoint in Arizona – Video on Youtube

IllegalInAmerica Says:

Wow!  Go Protesters.. the video isn’t that great, but you can definitely see what is going on down there.

“I DON’t WANT TO GO THROUGH YOUR CHECKPOINT!”  LOL

This was submitted by Mike, thank you for your post!

IIA

Supervisors stall on illegal-immigration funds for Sheriff Arpaio in Arizona

by Yvonne Wingett and JJ Hensley – Aug. 18, 2010 09:46 AM
The Arizona Republic

Maricopa County Board of Supervisors withheld an item from its Wednesday agenda to accept $1.6 million in immigration funding from the state that would help pay for Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s immigration enforcement efforts.

The board will consider the matter at a future meeting.

The Supervisors decided not to hear the item Wednesday amid concerns over financial accountability within the Sheriff’s Office.

It is unclear how the Supervisors would have voted on the item, but it is not the first time the Legislative-approved immigration funds have become a sticking point between board members and Arpaio.

Last year, supervisors initially blocked the funding from going to Arpaio’s office. That decision came one month after the Justice Department announced that the Sheriff’s Office was the subject of a civil-rights investigation into allegations that deputies discriminate.

One month later the Supervisors changed their minds and approved the funding with a 3-1 vote.

In 2008, former Gov. Janet Napolitano stripped Arpaio of the $1.6 million and redirected it to a fugitive task force. Republican legislative leadership gave the money back to Arpaio in a budget package in early 2009.

via Supervisors stall on illegal-immigration funds for Arpaio.

IllegalInAmerica Says:

Wow, Sheriff Arpaio is getting investigated for civil rights issues?  And he is still the lead sheriff against illegal immigrants in Arizona?

Somebody get him out of there!  I’ve recently posted an article about how Sheriff Joe is being sued by a number of different people claiming that he “ruined” their political careers by convening and organizing attacks against them while they were at a vulnerable time in their careers.  He spreads lies and hate so that he can gain politically the upper-hand.

What I think is rediculous are his tent cities.  He makes captured people stay in these nasty, surrounded in desert, not up to standards shitholes.  Also, he makes the inmates wear pink underwear… this guy is just freaking nuts.

Check below for a ton more information about this asshole.

Best,

IIA

Fingerprint Sharing, 47,000 Deported – Secure Communities My A**

Fingerprint sharing led to deportation of 47,000 – Yahoo! News.

By SUZANNE GAMBOA, Associated Press Writer Suzanne Gamboa, Associated Press Writer – Tue Aug 10, 7:17 am ET

WASHINGTON – Records show that about 47,000 people have been removed or deported from the U.S. after the Homeland Security Department sifted through 3 million sets of fingerprints taken from bookings at local jails.

About one-quarter of those kicked out of the country did not have criminal records, according to government data obtained by immigration advocacy groups that have filed a lawsuit. The groups plan to release the data Tuesday and provided early copies to The Associated Press.

As issue is a fingerprint-sharing program known as Secure Communities that the government says is focused on getting rid of the “worst of the worst” criminal immigrants from the U.S.

Immigration advocates say that the government instead spends too much time on lower-level criminals or non-criminals.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement divides crimes into three categories, with Level 1 being the most serious. Most of those deported committed Level 2 or 3 crimes or were non-criminals, a monthly report of Secure Communities statistics shows.

“ICE has pulled a bait and switch, with local law enforcement spending more time and resources facilitating the deportations of bus boys and gardeners than murderers and rapists and at considerable cost to local community policing strategies, making us all less safe,” said Peter Markowitz, director of the Immigration Justice Clinic at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York.

Markowitz’s clinic, the National Day Laborer Organizers Network and the Center for Constitutional Rights had requested and sued for the statistics. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released some of the documents late Monday.

Richard Rocha, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman, said non-criminals still may be people who have failed to show up for deportation hearings, who recently crossed the border illegally or who re-entered the country after deportation. He also said it’s important to remember that more people commit crimes that are considered Level 2 and 3.

Secure Communities is “a beneficial partnership tool for ICE and state and local law enforcement agencies helping to identify, prioritize and remove convicted criminal aliens not only from the communities, but also from the country,” Rocha said.

The Obama administration wants Secure Communities operating nationwide by 2013.

As of Aug. 3, 494 counties and local and state agencies in 27 states were sharing fingerprints from jail bookings through the program.

From October 2008 through June of this year, 46,929 people identified through Secure Communities were removed from the U.S., the documents show. Of those, 12,293 were considered non-criminals.

IllegalInAmerica:

Wow, a whopping 12,293 people deported without criminal records.  Of course, these were people that had ‘re-entered’ the country illegally, or ‘recently’ came over.

We need a better system than one that is going to oust over 24% of its deportees only because they are of illegal status, and have not done any criminal activity.  The problem is that I know there are many more criminals out there, in every community both ‘legal’ and ‘illegal’ that we should be focusing our attention on.

Peter Markowitz, thank you for everything you did to get those statistics released from ICE and Secure Communities… it really will show how horrible an immigration filtering system can be, especially when starting out with deporting over a quarter of its deportees for no apparent reason whatsoever… there is way to much hate going on in this country, and I am willing to bet that most of the 12,000 people deported for no reason were only deported because that is all that Secure Communities could capture.

OBAMA – is this true?  You and your administration are backing a system that has deported thousands just for re-entering the country, even though they had probably been here for their whole lives, and were going to visit their friends and family ‘illegally,’ but only because the system is so broken in America that they have to do it ‘illegally.’  When can we change the terms of this agreement with our politicians, and our culture.  It is obviously apparent that at least half of the U.S. agrees with me that something should be done about illegal immigration, and not an automatic deportation of 12,000,000 people.  Give us something to work with here, and quit wasting my time.

IIA

ACLU Urges Attorney General of Virginia, Cuccinelli, to Leave Illegal Immigrants ALONE!

FOXNews.com – ACLU Urges Virginia Police to Ignore Attorney General’s Immigration Opinion.

“The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia is urging the state police to ignore Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli’s ruling that police can ask people about their immigration status during routine stops.

The civil rights group argued that Cuccinelli’s opinion lacks a legal foundation and presents constitutional and public policy problems.

Cuccinelli issued the advisory opinion Monday at the request of state Delegate Robert G. Marshall. Rebecca K. Glenberg, legal director of the ACLU of Virginia, followed up with a letter to Virginia’s police chiefs Thursday saying the opinion is legally flawed and should be disregarded.

But so far, Virginia police are ignoring the ACLU, said Dana Schrad, executive director of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police.

Glenberg said in her letter to the police chiefs that Cuccinelli’s opinion failed to acknowledge that a federal judge recently blocked the Arizona law’s key provisions, including the requirement that officers inquire about immigration status when they have reason to believe a person they’ve stopped may be in the country illegally.

She also said that because most police officers have not been trained on immigration law enforcement, which is primarily a federal responsibility, allowing them to question people about their status “is an invitation for racial profiling and potential Equal Protection violations.”

IllegalInAmerica Says:

WOW Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli… good for you for making your opinions heard… I’m not sure if you heard about last week, but the federal government had to get involved with Arizona over similar measures that Virginia is trying to enforce, apparently ‘under the radar’.  The ACLU is not a force to tangle with, and I really feel bad for the groups who have to deal with them, because it means that you or your actions have hindered someone else from being able to live peacefully, with equal civil rights.  It is now more imperitive than ever for Immigration Reform to happen on a national level from the Federal Government.

What is it with you bullshit card playing politicians?  It seems like everytime America is going to change to include more civil rights to more people, you all start getting weird and doing weird shit.  I guess you’re just asking for me and my generation to start a NEW AMERICAN REVOLUTION, IS THAT IT!?!?

Well guess what, I’m going home tonight, and drinking a beer for all the people gettin pulled over right now because of their skin color.

Obama on immigration: We can’t ‘demagogue’ the issue

By Elise Viebeck – 08/01/10 12:24 PM ET

In a CBS interview broadcast Sunday, President Obama slammed approaches to immigration reform he said “demagogue” a “national problem.”

He also defended progress in the administration’s suit against Arizona’s SB 1070 immigration law — an action that states that the controversial measure flouts the federal government’s imperative under the ‘supremacy’ clause of the constitution.

SB 1070 in its full implementation would require police to verify the citizenship of individuals they encouter if they have a “reasonable suspicion” that one is an illegal immigrant. It would also make it a crime for illegal immigrants to seek work in the state.

“What we can’t do is allow a patchwork of 50 different states, or cities or localities, where anybody wants to make a name for themselves suddenly says, ‘I’m going to be anti-immigrant, and I’m going to try to see if I can solve the problem ourself.'”

A CNN/Opinion Research poll released Wednesday revealed that 55 percent of Americans support SB 1070. 54 percent say it will lead to discrimination of Latino Americans.

Another recent poll, limited to Arizona, shows that 65 percent support the law, while 27 percent don’t.

via Obama on immigration: We can’t ‘demagogue’ the issue – The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room.

It comes as no surprise that the people who feel somewhat responsible for the bill would ultimately feel pressured to back it… even if it meant the end of the Arizona economy.  Go Obama on finally coming out and saying something about this issue… I was getting scared that you were backing off or something.

I can’t believe that a state would make it a crime for someone to go out and find a job.  Trust me, I know that this is old news, but it’s like.. c’mon!  What else do you want these people to do?  We need a reformation of our ideas about this and we need to see a revolution, basically, happening from the people who really do support immigration reformation.

IT BEGINS: 36 arrested in Arizona immigration sweep

36 arrested in Arizona immigration sweep – KSWT: Local News, Weather, Sports Yuma, AZ El Centro Imperial Valley, CA |.

Associated Press – July 31, 2010 2:54 PM ET

“PHOENIX (AP) – The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has arrested 36 people in a crime and immigration sweep, and six are suspected to be illegal immigrants.

Everyone arrested was stopped for traffic violations. The six suspected illegal immigrants were arrested on charges of failure to provide identification and eventually will be turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be deported.

The arrests came after about 180 deputies and trained sheriff’s volunteers fanned out across metropolitan Phoenix on Thursday and Friday targeting traffic violators who may also be illegal immigrants.”

This is so fucking bullshit.  A fucking police force fanning across a metropolitan street, seemingly breaking some of the restrictions put on the SB 1070 by a federal judge.  People without identification getting sent to ICE to be deported?  Something better be done, fast.  I’m sure this will make national news.  Wow.  Please share your comments if you can, and feel free to subscribe to my RSS feed or by e-mail.

On Further Research:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7920386/Arizona-defiant-over-immigration-law.html

Mr Pearce last week pledged to take his battle against undocumented foreigners from the predominantly Hispanic barrios of western Phoenix to the marble steps of the United States Supreme Court, after a federal judge blocked the law’s strictest provisions.

“We are circling the wagons against the illegal immigrants who are responsible for a crime wave in our state and stealing our jobs,” he declared defiantly in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph. Adding a lawman’s metaphor to his cowboy comparisons, he added: “The handcuffs are coming out.”

And Mr Pearce escalated the explosive debate by calling for children born in the US to be denied citizenship if their parents are there illegally. That attack on “birthright” citizenship would require a change to the constitution, but has growing support among conservatives.

The judge’s partial injunction suspended a requirement on police to check individuals’ immigration status during routine stops if they were suspected of being in the US illegally – and Jan Brewer, Arizona’s Republican governor, filed an immediate appeal against it.

So it really looks like the Arizona police forces are doing what they were prohibited from doing.  What a shame… I expected better from a state government.