March 10, 2009

Texas Photo ID for Voting Bill

SB 362 a bill relating to requiring a voter to present proof of identification before voting.

I've been listeing to the Senate Democrats today, ask the same questions over and over today. They are wasteing the time of wittinesses and citizens and making them wait for these questions that have been answered several times. Looks like all 12 Democrats are going to ask the same question. Over and over again, Senator Frazer has refered them to the Sec. of State.

http://www.senate.state.tx.us/bin/live.php

One thing is certain, the Texas Senate Democrats do not know what they are talking about. It is very evident that they do not even know what happens in a polling place on election day.

Here are the insulting excuses the Democrats have made defending this bill, people are too minority, too old, too poor, too ignorant to find the driver's license office and the hours it is open to get an ID.

Anyone that elected these Democrats should evaluate what they have said today and realize how poorly they are being represented. In fact, they've wasted an entire day of the 140 day session of the Texas Senate.

December 28, 2008

Man in sham marriage to Houston exotic dancer faces deportation

Mohamad Kamal Elzahabi, 44, was convicted of a sham marriage to a Houston exotic dancer
Associated Press
Dec. 28, 2008, 1:14PM

EL PASO — A Lebanese man questioned in a terrorism investigation and being held by immigration authorities in Texas faces deportation.

Mohamad Kamal Elzahabi, 44, was being held at the El Paso federal detention center and could be deported, the El Paso Times reported Sunday.

The Department of Homeland Security initiated a case against Elzahabi and the Justice Department must now decide his immigration status, said Elaine Komis, spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Immigration Review in Falls Church, Va.

His hearing date, name of attorney and other information will not be released at this time because of a non-disclosure order, said Adelina Pruneda, a spokeswoman U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Antonio.

Elzahabi was convicted of possessing fraudulent immigration documents by a federal jury in August 2007 and turned over to ICE custody. According to federal prosecutors, Elzahabi entered into a sham marriage with a Houston exotic dancer and drug addict in 1984 to obtain legal permanent residency, also referred to as a green card. Officials say he promised Kathy Ann Glant, a waitress and dancer at the Pink Pussy Cat club, $5,000 to marry him.

Elzahabi came to the United States in May 1984 on a student visa, with plans to enroll in English as a second language classes at the University of Houston, officials said.

Federal investigators say Elzahabi has acknowledged attending a jihad training camp, being a sniper in Afghanistan and helping train a group seeking to overthrow the Lebanese government. However, Elzahabi has never faced charges of terrorism or committing violent acts.

He was arrested in May 2004 in Minnesota on a material witness warrant in a terrorism investigation. Before his arrest, he voluntarily underwent 17 days of questioning by FBI agents.

Body in trunk was illegal immigrant

By T.J. Aulds
The Daily News
Published December 28, 2008

TEXAS CITY — The man found stuffed in the trunk of a car that had been abandoned in the driveway of a Texas City home on Christmas Night was identified as an illegal immigrant from Honduras, police said Saturday.

Abisai Hernandez-Garcia, 31, was stabbed and beaten before being stuffed into the trunk of his green 1997 Mitsubishi Galant. The vehicle was abandoned in the driveway of a family’s home in the 100 block of 28th Street about 10 p.m. Thursday.

After calling police about the abandoned car, the homeowners said dispatchers suggested they call a towing company to have it removed, since the vehicle was on private property.

As they waited for the wrecker to arrive, the couple searched for records to identify the owner.

They opened the trunk to discover the man’s body inside.

The medical examiner would not be able to confirm until Monday Hernandez-Garcia’s cause of death. Police said he had been dead less than 24 hours when his body was discovered.

Texas City Police Capt. Brian Goetschius said Hernandez-Garcia had been deported at least once, possibly twice. He had also been arrested twice this year by Texas City police for driving without a license and in November was arrested on a charge of public intoxication.

Outside of those instances, police have very little information about the victim, Goetschius said. They were working with federal immigration officials to find out more about his background.

The police department also was going to contact the Honduran consulate to notify the victim’s family.

Hernandez-Garcia’s body was dumped just a few blocks from the Velami Apartment complex where he lived, Goetschius said. While the transfer of the title had never been completed, police obtained records that show the victim had purchased the Galant about a month before he was found dead.

Goetschius said the car had been reported abandoned at another location in Texas City on Dec. 21. The orange tow warning sticker was still on the car’s windshield.

Police did confirm Hernandez-Garcia had no connection to the owners of the home where his car was dumped.

“We’re bewildered why the vehicle was left there,” Goetschius said.

Hernandez-Garcia’s death is the second case in Texas City of an illegal immigrant’s body found under mysterious circumstances. On Dec. 11, the body of an illegal immigrant from El Salvador was found dead in a field on Amburn Road about three blocks from College of the Mainland.

Police were led to that gruesome discovery after an anonymous phone tip to 911.

Goetschius said the two deaths do not appear to be related.

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How To Help

Texas City police asked that anyone with information call 409-643-5760 or Crime Stoppers at 409-948-8477.

Should the Texas State Legislature pass immigration enforcement laws in 2009?