By Jared Taylor
HIDALGO - Watch out, port runners.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents say they will be tracking down people who run off from secondary inspections at ports of entry.
Customs and Border Protection rolled out a new squad car that agents will use to chase and track down the "port runners," said agency spokesman Felix Garza.
Before, agents had to call on municipal and county agencies to pursue offenders - something they will continue to do, Garza said.
But having their own cruisers will help agents find secondary inspection offenders themselves, he said.
Secondary inspection is where Customs and Border Protection agents conduct more thorough inspections at points of entry. The examinations typically involve further questioning of people trying to enter the country and a thorough vehicle check.
Many times, people try to ignore agents' orders to secondary inspection because they do not have proper immigration documentation or have merchandise that is illegal to bring into the country, Garza said.
Garza said he could not pinpoint how many absconders - people who try to dodge secondary inspection - agents encounter on a daily or monthly basis. But, he said, "there are a few who do abscond."
Garza announced Customs and Border Protection's absconder crackdown efforts during a media event that staged an arrest of a port runner Monday morning at the Hidalgo port of entry.
Maximum penalties for ignoring orders to go through secondary inspection include imprisonment, a $10,000 fine and non-U.S. citizens could be deported, Garza said.
Showing posts with label Hidalgo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hidalgo. Show all posts
September 8, 2008
August 30, 2008
Migrant Minds: The border is no boundary for some Mexican students
August 30, 2008 - 11:06PM
Jeremy Roebuck
Adrianna Gomez wakes her 14-year-old son before dawn every morning, lays out his coat and tie and drives him across an international boundary just to go to school.
With a full day of classes at Pharr's Oratory Academy followed by soccer and tennis afterward, he often won't return to his spacious Reynosa home until nearly 12 hours later.
Angelita Martinez Morales also hoped her children could attend Rio Grande Valley schools. U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested her Aug. 10 as she guided them across the river near Pharr.
She later told a federal magistrate judge she had to get her children - all U.S. citizens - back into the country before the start of the school year.
The two women may be divided by economic status, but ultimately both want the same thing for their children: the best educational opportunities they can provide.
Like hundreds of other families just south of the U.S.-Mexico border, they adjust their schedules, idle in bridge traffic every morning and sometimes break the law - all to send their children to U.S. schools.
"It's a sacrifice," said Gomez, 36, in Spanish. "But the river is inconsequential. It's just a problem of geography."
Some more affluent families - like Gomez's - attend legally by paying tuition to private schools or even buying homes to establish residency in public school districts. Her son, Ernesto, has his student visas in order and has been preparing to enter U.S. schools since his first English classes in kindergarten.
Plenty of others, though, ignore the rules. They provide fake addresses to enroll at public schools or - like Martinez - enter the country illegally in hopes of staying the whole school year.
While cities in the interior United States have only begun to seriously address this increasing immigrant population at their schools, this daily migration has been a way of life in the Valley for decades.
"In so many families, the community is not divided by a border like the land," said Elaine Hampton, a University of Texas-El Paso professor who has studied educational systems on both sides of the border. "It makes it hard to peg exactly where you live. What constitutes a permanent address?"
UNCERTAIN ENROLLMENT
Nobody knows exactly how many Mexican residents attend schools in the Valley, but some districts estimate they make up as much as 10 percent of their total enrollment.
A 1982 federal court ruling bars public schools from inquiring into the legal residency of students, but those enrolling must prove they live within the district - usually by providing a utility bill.
Some parents are so eager to have their children attend school here they will send them to live with an aunt or grandparent during the week and pick them up to spend their weekends in Mexico.
Others, however, "borrow" the addresses of relatives and friends to enroll their students even though the Mexican family never actually lived there.
"If they come and register with an address that's in the district, we can't deny them," McAllen schools spokesman Mark May said.
But the signs of illegal enrollment are everywhere.
Minivans with Mexican plates stack the pick-up and drop-off lines at schools in Hidalgo, La Joya and Brownsville.
Each day, students in school uniforms groggily amble away from the Roma-Miguel Alemán international bridge.
In the predawn fog, teenagers loaded down with book bags avoid eye contact with passersby because of past problems they have had with their district residency.
But 16-year-old Alemania was eager to explain why she risks the morning commute.
"My parents thought this was a better option," she said.
LACKING RESOURCES
Alemania, who spoke on the condition that she not be fully identified, attended public schools in Miguel Alemán, Tamps., until three years ago.
Although she says she preferred her friends in Mexico, she recognizes that the schools in Roma have better resources such as high-tech computer labs, extracurricular activities and English-language training.
The proliferation of maquiladoras in many Mexican border towns in the past decade has brought dozens of families to cities like Reynosa and Matamoros looking for work, but the region's public school system has not kept up with the growth.
Students in Mexican schools attend half-days in cinderblock buildings and go to class in shifts because of school overcrowding.
Parents must pay for uniforms, bus fare and supplies, and in some cases are expected to supplement the school's operating budget.
And a lack of secondary schools prompts many students to drop out after the elementary level. Only 66 percent of 15-year-olds south of the border attend classes on a daily basis, according to a 2003 Mexican government survey.
Fifteen-year-old Joseph has spent time in classrooms on both sides of the river. But as he crossed the Roma-Miguel Alemán bridge last week, he said there is no doubt where he would rather attend.
"Living in Roma is boring," he said. "But the education is much better."
‘IT'S NOT FAIR'
While Alemania and Joseph both know they are breaking the law, small districts like Roma don't always look at students like them as a problem.
They are often more eager to learn and their parents are more involved because of the effort their families have undertaken to secure their education, district spokesman Ricardo Perez said.
"It's not like they're dumping their kids over here," he said. "They're actively seeking out a better education."
And the higher the school's enrollment, the more state and federal money the district receives.
But larger, more affluent districts like the McAllen school system can't afford to allow students who live outside the district to attend its campuses, said John Wilde, director of student support services for the district.
In addition to straining school resources, students with limited English speaking abilities routinely score lower on standardized tests.
"It's a significant issue," he said. "Imagine if you're paying taxes on a half-million-dollar home because you want your child to go to Garcia Elementary, and then we have to transfer you to another school because Garcia's too crowded.
"It's not fair that there may be people that don't live in the district taking your child's spot."
Wilde's office investigates dozens of cases each year of students suspected of lying on their enrollment papers.
Using returned mail, reports from other parents and red flags from campus administrators, his employees drop by the listed addresses in the early morning hours to see who really lives where they say they do.
Lying on a public document is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000, but the district rarely seeks prosecution against the parents. Expulsion is a more likely response.
A week into this school year, Wilde has already received 30 to 40 red-flag reports that the district plans to begin investigating in the coming weeks.
GREATER OPPORTUNITIES
Angelita Martinez, the mother arrested for bringing her children across the river, never even got that far. A federal judge sentenced her to 10 days of confinement in a federal detention center. The fate of her children - all of whom she said were U.S. citizens - remains unknown.
Adrianna Gomez, meanwhile, hopes to send her younger children to Oratory's school in Pharr once they reach seventh grade.
She says she has already seen the payoff for her family's sacrifices in her teenage son, Ernesto.
A confident 14-year-old who can speak eloquently in Spanish and English, he hopes to go to Yale University and become a lawyer after graduation.
"You can see a big difference between my friends here and over there," he said. "The opportunities over here are just greater."
Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.ok
Jeremy Roebuck
Adrianna Gomez wakes her 14-year-old son before dawn every morning, lays out his coat and tie and drives him across an international boundary just to go to school.
With a full day of classes at Pharr's Oratory Academy followed by soccer and tennis afterward, he often won't return to his spacious Reynosa home until nearly 12 hours later.
Angelita Martinez Morales also hoped her children could attend Rio Grande Valley schools. U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested her Aug. 10 as she guided them across the river near Pharr.
She later told a federal magistrate judge she had to get her children - all U.S. citizens - back into the country before the start of the school year.
The two women may be divided by economic status, but ultimately both want the same thing for their children: the best educational opportunities they can provide.
Like hundreds of other families just south of the U.S.-Mexico border, they adjust their schedules, idle in bridge traffic every morning and sometimes break the law - all to send their children to U.S. schools.
"It's a sacrifice," said Gomez, 36, in Spanish. "But the river is inconsequential. It's just a problem of geography."
Some more affluent families - like Gomez's - attend legally by paying tuition to private schools or even buying homes to establish residency in public school districts. Her son, Ernesto, has his student visas in order and has been preparing to enter U.S. schools since his first English classes in kindergarten.
Plenty of others, though, ignore the rules. They provide fake addresses to enroll at public schools or - like Martinez - enter the country illegally in hopes of staying the whole school year.
While cities in the interior United States have only begun to seriously address this increasing immigrant population at their schools, this daily migration has been a way of life in the Valley for decades.
"In so many families, the community is not divided by a border like the land," said Elaine Hampton, a University of Texas-El Paso professor who has studied educational systems on both sides of the border. "It makes it hard to peg exactly where you live. What constitutes a permanent address?"
UNCERTAIN ENROLLMENT
Nobody knows exactly how many Mexican residents attend schools in the Valley, but some districts estimate they make up as much as 10 percent of their total enrollment.
A 1982 federal court ruling bars public schools from inquiring into the legal residency of students, but those enrolling must prove they live within the district - usually by providing a utility bill.
Some parents are so eager to have their children attend school here they will send them to live with an aunt or grandparent during the week and pick them up to spend their weekends in Mexico.
Others, however, "borrow" the addresses of relatives and friends to enroll their students even though the Mexican family never actually lived there.
"If they come and register with an address that's in the district, we can't deny them," McAllen schools spokesman Mark May said.
But the signs of illegal enrollment are everywhere.
Minivans with Mexican plates stack the pick-up and drop-off lines at schools in Hidalgo, La Joya and Brownsville.
Each day, students in school uniforms groggily amble away from the Roma-Miguel Alemán international bridge.
In the predawn fog, teenagers loaded down with book bags avoid eye contact with passersby because of past problems they have had with their district residency.
But 16-year-old Alemania was eager to explain why she risks the morning commute.
"My parents thought this was a better option," she said.
LACKING RESOURCES
Alemania, who spoke on the condition that she not be fully identified, attended public schools in Miguel Alemán, Tamps., until three years ago.
Although she says she preferred her friends in Mexico, she recognizes that the schools in Roma have better resources such as high-tech computer labs, extracurricular activities and English-language training.
The proliferation of maquiladoras in many Mexican border towns in the past decade has brought dozens of families to cities like Reynosa and Matamoros looking for work, but the region's public school system has not kept up with the growth.
Students in Mexican schools attend half-days in cinderblock buildings and go to class in shifts because of school overcrowding.
Parents must pay for uniforms, bus fare and supplies, and in some cases are expected to supplement the school's operating budget.
And a lack of secondary schools prompts many students to drop out after the elementary level. Only 66 percent of 15-year-olds south of the border attend classes on a daily basis, according to a 2003 Mexican government survey.
Fifteen-year-old Joseph has spent time in classrooms on both sides of the river. But as he crossed the Roma-Miguel Alemán bridge last week, he said there is no doubt where he would rather attend.
"Living in Roma is boring," he said. "But the education is much better."
‘IT'S NOT FAIR'
While Alemania and Joseph both know they are breaking the law, small districts like Roma don't always look at students like them as a problem.
They are often more eager to learn and their parents are more involved because of the effort their families have undertaken to secure their education, district spokesman Ricardo Perez said.
"It's not like they're dumping their kids over here," he said. "They're actively seeking out a better education."
And the higher the school's enrollment, the more state and federal money the district receives.
But larger, more affluent districts like the McAllen school system can't afford to allow students who live outside the district to attend its campuses, said John Wilde, director of student support services for the district.
In addition to straining school resources, students with limited English speaking abilities routinely score lower on standardized tests.
"It's a significant issue," he said. "Imagine if you're paying taxes on a half-million-dollar home because you want your child to go to Garcia Elementary, and then we have to transfer you to another school because Garcia's too crowded.
"It's not fair that there may be people that don't live in the district taking your child's spot."
Wilde's office investigates dozens of cases each year of students suspected of lying on their enrollment papers.
Using returned mail, reports from other parents and red flags from campus administrators, his employees drop by the listed addresses in the early morning hours to see who really lives where they say they do.
Lying on a public document is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000, but the district rarely seeks prosecution against the parents. Expulsion is a more likely response.
A week into this school year, Wilde has already received 30 to 40 red-flag reports that the district plans to begin investigating in the coming weeks.
GREATER OPPORTUNITIES
Angelita Martinez, the mother arrested for bringing her children across the river, never even got that far. A federal judge sentenced her to 10 days of confinement in a federal detention center. The fate of her children - all of whom she said were U.S. citizens - remains unknown.
Adrianna Gomez, meanwhile, hopes to send her younger children to Oratory's school in Pharr once they reach seventh grade.
She says she has already seen the payoff for her family's sacrifices in her teenage son, Ernesto.
A confident 14-year-old who can speak eloquently in Spanish and English, he hopes to go to Yale University and become a lawyer after graduation.
"You can see a big difference between my friends here and over there," he said. "The opportunities over here are just greater."
Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.ok
August 29, 2008
New bids for Hidalgo border fence
Friday, August 29, 2008 at 2:27 p.m.
Action 4 News has learned the next bid for the Hidalgo County border fence should be awarded next month.
In August, construction of the border-levee in the town of Granjeno began.
The idea is to upgrade the levees and prevent illegal immigrants from crossing.
The project should be completed by the end of this year.
Action 4 News has learned the next bid for the Hidalgo County border fence should be awarded next month.
In August, construction of the border-levee in the town of Granjeno began.
The idea is to upgrade the levees and prevent illegal immigrants from crossing.
The project should be completed by the end of this year.
August 3, 2008
Bilingual education court ruling particularly impacts Valley schools
August 3, 2008 - 4:35PM
Ryan Holeywell
McALLEN - A federal court ruling last week could affect every school district in the Rio Grande Valley.
The ruling forces the Texas Education Agency to overhaul its system for teaching and monitoring the progress of students with limited English proficiency by Jan. 31.
The impact could be especially strong here in the Rio Grande Valley, where 39 percent of students are LEPs, and every district has at least some students with limited English skills.
"...TEA has not met its obligation to remedy the language deficiencies of Texas students," wrote U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice in a 95-page opinion.
More than half the students in the Valley View, Hidalgo, Rio Grande City, Donna and Roma districts are classified as having limited proficiency with the English language.
"Obviously, we're not doing something right," said Ofelia Gaona, director of the bilingual department in Donna. "The only ones paying the price are the children."
The League of United Latin American Citizens and the GI Forum, which advocate for Hispanic-American equal rights, were the plaintiffs in the case.
Justice wrote that "the statistics for secondary LEP students are undeniably egregious."
The ruling cited a 16.3-percent dropout rate for LEP students who should have graduated in 2004, compared to 3.9 percent of all students.
The ruling also cited disparate test scores and retention rates between secondary LEP students and their peers.
"The failure of secondary LEP students under every metric clearly and convincingly demonstrates student failure, and accordingly, the failure of the ESL secondary program in Texas," Justice wrote.
Suzanne Marchman, a TEA spokeswoman, said the agency was disappointed with the judge's decision and would likely ask the Attorney General to appeal the ruling.
Marchman declined to respond to the ruling's specific criticisms of TEA, citing the pending litigation.
David Hinojosa, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said he is hopeful - but not optimistic - that TEA will make changes that "give teeth" to the state's ESL programs. Those changes must be implemented for the 2009-2010 school year, according to Justice's ruling.
"These students have long been ignored, and it all starts with the state," Hinojosa said.
Hinojosa said if the state does not meet the Jan. 31 deadline, it would likely face some sort of sanction from the federal court. Arizona faced financial sanctions in 2005 for failing to comply with a deadline set by a federal judge in a similar case.
Justice also described "fatal flaws" in TEA's system for monitoring LEP students' performance, which fails to identify all LEP students and masks poor performance by aggregating data between multiple grade levels.
In Texas, LEP students receive bilingual education through sixth grade and take ESL instruction in grades seven and higher.
That system was implemented 25 years ago, but Justice wrote it is clear that TEA "failed to achieve results" in that time.
Nearly all LEP students in Texas are Hispanic, but according to the ruling, just 13 percent of them are classified as immigrants.
The ruling even cited a deposition of former TEA Commissioner Shirley Neeley, who said there's "not anybody in their right mind that would say these are good scores."
Hinojosa said there are no statewide standards that define what an ESL program really is, and ESL is implemented "at the whim of school districts." Gaona said she believes the bilingual and ESL programs schools use should be based on solid research.
"You can do practically anything to satisfy an ESL program," Hinojosa said.
____
Ryan Holeywell covers PSJA, the Mid-Valley and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4446.
Ryan Holeywell
McALLEN - A federal court ruling last week could affect every school district in the Rio Grande Valley.
The ruling forces the Texas Education Agency to overhaul its system for teaching and monitoring the progress of students with limited English proficiency by Jan. 31.
The impact could be especially strong here in the Rio Grande Valley, where 39 percent of students are LEPs, and every district has at least some students with limited English skills.
"...TEA has not met its obligation to remedy the language deficiencies of Texas students," wrote U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice in a 95-page opinion.
More than half the students in the Valley View, Hidalgo, Rio Grande City, Donna and Roma districts are classified as having limited proficiency with the English language.
"Obviously, we're not doing something right," said Ofelia Gaona, director of the bilingual department in Donna. "The only ones paying the price are the children."
The League of United Latin American Citizens and the GI Forum, which advocate for Hispanic-American equal rights, were the plaintiffs in the case.
Justice wrote that "the statistics for secondary LEP students are undeniably egregious."
The ruling cited a 16.3-percent dropout rate for LEP students who should have graduated in 2004, compared to 3.9 percent of all students.
The ruling also cited disparate test scores and retention rates between secondary LEP students and their peers.
"The failure of secondary LEP students under every metric clearly and convincingly demonstrates student failure, and accordingly, the failure of the ESL secondary program in Texas," Justice wrote.
Suzanne Marchman, a TEA spokeswoman, said the agency was disappointed with the judge's decision and would likely ask the Attorney General to appeal the ruling.
Marchman declined to respond to the ruling's specific criticisms of TEA, citing the pending litigation.
David Hinojosa, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said he is hopeful - but not optimistic - that TEA will make changes that "give teeth" to the state's ESL programs. Those changes must be implemented for the 2009-2010 school year, according to Justice's ruling.
"These students have long been ignored, and it all starts with the state," Hinojosa said.
Hinojosa said if the state does not meet the Jan. 31 deadline, it would likely face some sort of sanction from the federal court. Arizona faced financial sanctions in 2005 for failing to comply with a deadline set by a federal judge in a similar case.
Justice also described "fatal flaws" in TEA's system for monitoring LEP students' performance, which fails to identify all LEP students and masks poor performance by aggregating data between multiple grade levels.
In Texas, LEP students receive bilingual education through sixth grade and take ESL instruction in grades seven and higher.
That system was implemented 25 years ago, but Justice wrote it is clear that TEA "failed to achieve results" in that time.
Nearly all LEP students in Texas are Hispanic, but according to the ruling, just 13 percent of them are classified as immigrants.
The ruling even cited a deposition of former TEA Commissioner Shirley Neeley, who said there's "not anybody in their right mind that would say these are good scores."
Hinojosa said there are no statewide standards that define what an ESL program really is, and ESL is implemented "at the whim of school districts." Gaona said she believes the bilingual and ESL programs schools use should be based on solid research.
"You can do practically anything to satisfy an ESL program," Hinojosa said.
____
Ryan Holeywell covers PSJA, the Mid-Valley and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4446.
July 13, 2008
Deportation haults hotel project in Ramondville
By FERNANDO DEL VALLE, Valley Morning Star
July 12, 2008 - 10:42PM
RAYMONDVILLE - From Neil Patel's new hotel, he can see Ricardo de la Mora's construction project choked in weeds, its walls scarred with gang graffiti.
This month, Patel said he plans to open La Quinta Inns & Suites next to his Best Western Inn at the intersection of Expressway 83 and Hidalgo Avenue.
But nobody knows when de la Mora will complete work on his hotel project just north of Raymondville's city limit sign, Willacy County Commissioner Eddie Chapa said Friday.
"It's very, very sad," Chapa said of de la Mora's project.
Last year, de la Mora planned to build a hotel and restaurant, gas station and health clinic on his 20-acre site, Chapa said.
But construction stopped late last year, he said.
That's when federal authorities deported de la Mora to Mexico because his work visa expired, said Ernesto Valencia, de la Mora's former brother-in-law who works at the Real Azteca Inn in Donna.
De la Mora could not be reached for comment.
"We needed to add hotels because we knew we had expansion going on," Chapa said. "Our little hotels are constantly packed."
Visitors are coming to town to see relatives held in two prisons that stand near a 3,000-bed detention center for illegal immigrants, Chapa said.
"We get a lot of business from the prisons because relatives come here to visit," Chapa said.
Others look for hotels when they come to work the cotton and sorghum harvests, he said.
Patel's new hotel "will pick up some of the business," Chapa said.
Later this month, Patel said he plans to open a 60-room La Quinta Inn that will include four apartments and a meeting room.
The hotel will create as many as 12 jobs here, said Patel, who bought his Best Western Inn in 2004.
"It's a stopping point," Patel said of Raymondville. "It's a thoroughfare. All of these travelers are heading toward South Padre Island or Mexico."
Officials don't know when de la Mora will finish work on his hotel, Chapa said.
"We had it checked and it's still structurally sound," Chapa said.
So far, the damage is confined to gang graffiti defacing its walls and weeds choking the project site.
County officials have not taken steps to condemn the site, Chapa said.
"But eventually, if this thing isn't done in the coming year, decisions will have to be made if it becomes a health hazard," Chapa said.
July 12, 2008 - 10:42PM
RAYMONDVILLE - From Neil Patel's new hotel, he can see Ricardo de la Mora's construction project choked in weeds, its walls scarred with gang graffiti.
This month, Patel said he plans to open La Quinta Inns & Suites next to his Best Western Inn at the intersection of Expressway 83 and Hidalgo Avenue.
But nobody knows when de la Mora will complete work on his hotel project just north of Raymondville's city limit sign, Willacy County Commissioner Eddie Chapa said Friday.
"It's very, very sad," Chapa said of de la Mora's project.
Last year, de la Mora planned to build a hotel and restaurant, gas station and health clinic on his 20-acre site, Chapa said.
But construction stopped late last year, he said.
That's when federal authorities deported de la Mora to Mexico because his work visa expired, said Ernesto Valencia, de la Mora's former brother-in-law who works at the Real Azteca Inn in Donna.
De la Mora could not be reached for comment.
"We needed to add hotels because we knew we had expansion going on," Chapa said. "Our little hotels are constantly packed."
Visitors are coming to town to see relatives held in two prisons that stand near a 3,000-bed detention center for illegal immigrants, Chapa said.
"We get a lot of business from the prisons because relatives come here to visit," Chapa said.
Others look for hotels when they come to work the cotton and sorghum harvests, he said.
Patel's new hotel "will pick up some of the business," Chapa said.
Later this month, Patel said he plans to open a 60-room La Quinta Inn that will include four apartments and a meeting room.
The hotel will create as many as 12 jobs here, said Patel, who bought his Best Western Inn in 2004.
"It's a stopping point," Patel said of Raymondville. "It's a thoroughfare. All of these travelers are heading toward South Padre Island or Mexico."
Officials don't know when de la Mora will finish work on his hotel, Chapa said.
"We had it checked and it's still structurally sound," Chapa said.
So far, the damage is confined to gang graffiti defacing its walls and weeds choking the project site.
County officials have not taken steps to condemn the site, Chapa said.
"But eventually, if this thing isn't done in the coming year, decisions will have to be made if it becomes a health hazard," Chapa said.
June 13, 2008
Texas Civil Rights Project merits accolades in seeking justice
Texas Civil Rights Project merits accolades in seeking justice
Ouisa D. Davis / Guest columnist
Article Launched: 06/13/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT
If you ever meet George McAlmon or Jim Harrington, you'll be drawn to their gentle spirits, peace-filled gaze and softness of speech. But they are formidable men, valiant and unwavering in their pursuit of justice for those excluded from the justice system.
McAlmon has done so as a private attorney since 1950, well known for his advocacy and efforts to provide access to legal services and protection of civil rights in our border community.
Harrington is executive director and founder of the Texas Civil Rights Project, a legal aid clinic promoting racial, social, and economic justice and protecting civil rights provided under the U.S. Constitution, state and federal law.
Striving to foster equality, secure justice, ensure diversity and strengthen communities, TCRP was founded in 1990 and now has an established presence in South Texas, Austin, El Paso and Midland/Odessa.
For over 18 years TCRP has tirelessly advocated for racial, social and economic equality in Texas through education and litigation. The Project has worked steadfastly to extend rights to farmworkers and residents of the Rio Grande Valley to improve their living and working conditions.
No area of civil rights is invisible to TCRP's vigilant gaze.
Achieving substantial gains in ensuring justice, TCRP uses education and litigation to create structural change in areas such as voting rights, police and Border Patrol misconduct, sex discrimination, employment bias, privacy, disability rights, grand
jury discrimination, traditional civil liberties, protections under immigration and education law.
Because of TCRP, jails in Hidalgo, El Paso, Henderson, Tom Green, Williamson, Travis, Bexar, Dallas, and Brown Counties do more to prevent inmate suicide, provide interpreters for deaf prisoners, protect vulnerable inmates from sexual assault, administer HIV medications, and make jails accessible for inmates with disabilities.
TCRP now has an El Paso office, the Paso del Norte Civil Rights Project, which, over the past two years, has taken on the task of education and reform, improving access to public and private facilities and programs for the disabled and raising consciousness regarding compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Developing a bilingual consumer rights curriculum targeted at colonia residents, the agency provides education in homeowner rights and responsibilities and protections.
PDNCRP delivers legal services to 17 underserved counties for undocumented domestic violence victims, leadership training and community education in immigration rights and protections under state and federal law.
Addressing police misconduct throughout West Texas and Southern New Mexico, PDNCRP resolved cases of excessive force by law enforcement officers, false arrest, racial profiling and warrantless searches of homes, including negotiating a Taser policy with Odessa police to prevent the use of this weapon against the elderly, children and pregnant women.
PDNCRP vigorously protects First Amendment guarantees of free speech and peaceful assembly, defending a San Elizario storeowner against false charges when El Paso sheriff's deputies retaliated against him for protesting immigration roadblocks and mediating a training program for El Paso Police Department officers after allegations of police assault during a peaceful rally at Montwood High.
Café Mayapan, 2000 Texas Street, will reverberate with the celebration of the Paso del Norte Civil Rights Project Fiesta Fronteriza on June 20 when McAlmon will be honored for his dedication.
Tickets are available online at texascivilrightsproject.org or by calling 532-2799.
Ouisa D. Davis is an attorney at law in El Paso. E-mail: Ouisadavis@yahoo.com
http://www.elpasotimes.com/opinion/ci_9567753
Ouisa D. Davis / Guest columnist
Article Launched: 06/13/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT
If you ever meet George McAlmon or Jim Harrington, you'll be drawn to their gentle spirits, peace-filled gaze and softness of speech. But they are formidable men, valiant and unwavering in their pursuit of justice for those excluded from the justice system.
McAlmon has done so as a private attorney since 1950, well known for his advocacy and efforts to provide access to legal services and protection of civil rights in our border community.
Harrington is executive director and founder of the Texas Civil Rights Project, a legal aid clinic promoting racial, social, and economic justice and protecting civil rights provided under the U.S. Constitution, state and federal law.
Striving to foster equality, secure justice, ensure diversity and strengthen communities, TCRP was founded in 1990 and now has an established presence in South Texas, Austin, El Paso and Midland/Odessa.
For over 18 years TCRP has tirelessly advocated for racial, social and economic equality in Texas through education and litigation. The Project has worked steadfastly to extend rights to farmworkers and residents of the Rio Grande Valley to improve their living and working conditions.
No area of civil rights is invisible to TCRP's vigilant gaze.
Achieving substantial gains in ensuring justice, TCRP uses education and litigation to create structural change in areas such as voting rights, police and Border Patrol misconduct, sex discrimination, employment bias, privacy, disability rights, grand
jury discrimination, traditional civil liberties, protections under immigration and education law.
Because of TCRP, jails in Hidalgo, El Paso, Henderson, Tom Green, Williamson, Travis, Bexar, Dallas, and Brown Counties do more to prevent inmate suicide, provide interpreters for deaf prisoners, protect vulnerable inmates from sexual assault, administer HIV medications, and make jails accessible for inmates with disabilities.
TCRP now has an El Paso office, the Paso del Norte Civil Rights Project, which, over the past two years, has taken on the task of education and reform, improving access to public and private facilities and programs for the disabled and raising consciousness regarding compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Developing a bilingual consumer rights curriculum targeted at colonia residents, the agency provides education in homeowner rights and responsibilities and protections.
PDNCRP delivers legal services to 17 underserved counties for undocumented domestic violence victims, leadership training and community education in immigration rights and protections under state and federal law.
Addressing police misconduct throughout West Texas and Southern New Mexico, PDNCRP resolved cases of excessive force by law enforcement officers, false arrest, racial profiling and warrantless searches of homes, including negotiating a Taser policy with Odessa police to prevent the use of this weapon against the elderly, children and pregnant women.
PDNCRP vigorously protects First Amendment guarantees of free speech and peaceful assembly, defending a San Elizario storeowner against false charges when El Paso sheriff's deputies retaliated against him for protesting immigration roadblocks and mediating a training program for El Paso Police Department officers after allegations of police assault during a peaceful rally at Montwood High.
Café Mayapan, 2000 Texas Street, will reverberate with the celebration of the Paso del Norte Civil Rights Project Fiesta Fronteriza on June 20 when McAlmon will be honored for his dedication.
Tickets are available online at texascivilrightsproject.org or by calling 532-2799.
Ouisa D. Davis is an attorney at law in El Paso. E-mail: Ouisadavis@yahoo.com
http://www.elpasotimes.com/opinion/ci_9567753
June 10, 2008
Border Patrol agent accused of smuggling cocaine, immigrant
Border Patrol agent accused of smuggling cocaine, immigrant
June 9, 2008 - 12:47PM
Jeremy Roebuck
McALLEN - A U.S. Border Patrol agent accused of helping drug and human smugglers made his first appearance in federal court Monday.
Federal authorities arrested Reynaldo Zuniga, 34, of Harlingen, on Friday after he allegedly helped two Mexican nationals sneak a kilogram of cocaine across the Rio Grande.
According to a criminal complaint filed in their case, Zuniga picked up accused smuggler Jose Luis "El Bebe" Arteaga Echazarrete, 24, of Reynosa, on the banks of the Rio Grande near the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge. Zuniga then drove Arteaga in his official vehicle to the Whataburger in Hidalgo, just past the customs checkpoints.
From there, Arteaga's relative, Luis Alfredo Cruz Hurtado, 29, of Reynosa, drove him to a Wal-Mart parking lot in Pharr.
Zuniga told investigators after his arrest that he accepted $1,200 to sneak Arteaga into the country, the complaint states. But the document does not mention whether Zuniga admitted to knowing about the cocaine.
Investigators believe the agent had made six similar smuggling trips since April.
Zuniga, Arteaga and Cruz remained in custody of U.S. Marshals on Monday pending a detention hearing scheduled for Thursday.
Their case is the second smuggling investigation in less than a month targeting a local Border Patrol agent.
Agent Ramiro Flores Jr. was arrested May 15, after agents allegedly caught him using his Border Patrol badge to bypass checkpoints at McAllen-Miller International Airport. Once inside, authorities say Flores handed off a bag filled with cocaine to another man waiting in the bathroom before both boarded a plane to Houston.
Local Border Patrol spokesman Dan Doty said agents accused of criminal activity are routinely placed on unpaid administrative leave pending the outcome of their cases. But he said he could not specifically speak about Zuniga or Flores' cases.
Zuniga has been a Border Patrol agent for at least seven years, Doty said.
If convicted, he could face up to life in prison and $4 million in fines.
http://www.themonitor.com/news/zuniga_12965___article.html/arteaga_border.html
June 9, 2008 - 12:47PM
Jeremy Roebuck
McALLEN - A U.S. Border Patrol agent accused of helping drug and human smugglers made his first appearance in federal court Monday.
Federal authorities arrested Reynaldo Zuniga, 34, of Harlingen, on Friday after he allegedly helped two Mexican nationals sneak a kilogram of cocaine across the Rio Grande.
According to a criminal complaint filed in their case, Zuniga picked up accused smuggler Jose Luis "El Bebe" Arteaga Echazarrete, 24, of Reynosa, on the banks of the Rio Grande near the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge. Zuniga then drove Arteaga in his official vehicle to the Whataburger in Hidalgo, just past the customs checkpoints.
From there, Arteaga's relative, Luis Alfredo Cruz Hurtado, 29, of Reynosa, drove him to a Wal-Mart parking lot in Pharr.
Zuniga told investigators after his arrest that he accepted $1,200 to sneak Arteaga into the country, the complaint states. But the document does not mention whether Zuniga admitted to knowing about the cocaine.
Investigators believe the agent had made six similar smuggling trips since April.
Zuniga, Arteaga and Cruz remained in custody of U.S. Marshals on Monday pending a detention hearing scheduled for Thursday.
Their case is the second smuggling investigation in less than a month targeting a local Border Patrol agent.
Agent Ramiro Flores Jr. was arrested May 15, after agents allegedly caught him using his Border Patrol badge to bypass checkpoints at McAllen-Miller International Airport. Once inside, authorities say Flores handed off a bag filled with cocaine to another man waiting in the bathroom before both boarded a plane to Houston.
Local Border Patrol spokesman Dan Doty said agents accused of criminal activity are routinely placed on unpaid administrative leave pending the outcome of their cases. But he said he could not specifically speak about Zuniga or Flores' cases.
Zuniga has been a Border Patrol agent for at least seven years, Doty said.
If convicted, he could face up to life in prison and $4 million in fines.
http://www.themonitor.com/news/zuniga_12965___article.html/arteaga_border.html
June 8, 2008
La Joya - Chinese illegal immigrants discovered in Texas border town
Chinese illegal immigrants discovered in Texas border town
Story Highlights
15 Chinese immigrants unfolded themselves from a SUV near small border town
"They were in bad shape," La Joya Police spokesman said
Chinese illegals pay about $55,000 for trip from China to U.S. destination
New U.S. policy calls for non-Mexican illegals to be detained rather than released
LA JOYA, Texas (AP) -- Local police are accustomed to dealing with illegal border crossings but were astounded by the video of 15 Chinese immigrants unfolding themselves from the back of a sport-utility vehicle near this small border town.
The SUV appeared abandoned when police rolled up early on a recent Saturday morning. But when Border Patrol agents arrived and swung open the double rear doors, the Chinese immigrants tumbled out, squinting in the sunlight.
"They were in bad shape," La Joya Police spokesman Joe Cantu said.
The immigrants were silent, able to communicate only with hand gestures. They did not try to flee. One man wanted to use Cantu's cell phone. When Cantu asked for the number, he was handed one with a New York area code.
Two more Chinese immigrants would be picked up nearby later that day, and another group of nine was caught near the border about 50 miles (80 kilometers) away a few days later.
More than nine out of 10 illegal immigrants detained at the U.S.-Mexico border are Mexican. But for years, this easternmost sector of the border has had more than its share of what the Border Patrol calls "other than Mexicans" or OTMs, most of whom come from Central America.
But overall, the number of Chinese caught along the U.S.-Mexico border has been declining since the U.S. stopped its policy of releasing most illegal immigrants from outside Mexico until they could appear before an immigration judge.
After surpassing 2,100 in 2005 and 2006, the number of Chinese immigrants caught along the southwest border from San Diego to Brownsville, Texas, fell last year to 837, slightly more than 1 percent of all OTM apprehensions, according to Border Patrol data. In the first eight months of this fiscal year, which began October 1, 512 Chinese were caught along the border with Mexico.
The specifics of how this group of Chinese immigrants ended up in South Texas were not known, but the methods and smuggling routes have been evolving for more than a century. Most pay an average of $55,000 to be shuttled from China to a U.S. destination by an elaborate smuggling operation, said Peter Kwong, a sociology professor at the City University of New York Graduate Center.
If they get caught, they request asylum, and lawyers are often hired by the Chinese smugglers, who will not get full payment unless the immigrants arrive at their destination, Kwong said.
Since 1882, when the U.S. began a crackdown on Chinese immigration that would last decades, Chinese have been crossing the Mexican border. Early on, most of the traffic was along the border with California because Chinese rode ships into Mexican ports on the Pacific coast, Kwong said.
"This was a very early route," said Kwong, who wrote "Forbidden Workers: Illegal Chinese Immigrants and American Labor."
Eventually, though, Chinese immigrants began sailing directly into U.S. ports.
The Mexican route regained popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when U.S. ports became less accessible, Kwong said. The Golden Venture incident, when a ship carrying 286 Chinese immigrants beached off the New York borough of Queens in 1993, drew broader attention to the issue of human smuggling and further tightened access.
More Chinese began flying into U.S. airports and requesting asylum, Kwong said.
When tighter restrictions on inbound international flights were introduced after the September 11 attacks, smugglers began looking for less secure airports, Kwong said.
Immigration attorney Hongxin Shi joined the Texas law practice of Paul Esquivel last year, after Esquivel saw a need for Mandarin-speaking attorneys at the Willacy County Processing Center, the largest immigrant detention facility in the U.S.
Shi, who has about 20 pending immigration cases with Chinese immigrants, said he has heard of immigrants flying into Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico to begin the journey north.
In March 2007, Mexican federal police detained 81 Chinese immigrants and 22 Mexican immigration officers at the Cancun airport. They believed that the Chinese were hiding in the airport with the help of the immigration officials until they could begin the next leg of their journey north to the United States.
In Mexico, they meet "coyotes," or smugglers specializing in crossing the U.S. border, who have been arranged by their Chinese smugglers. "It's like a subcontractor," Kwong said.
For years, Chinese and fellow "other than Mexican" illegal immigrants were processed and released with a date to return for a court hearing. The process was known as "catch and release."
Only about one-third of those released showed up in court, according to a 2005 report prepared for Congress.
That began changing in late 2005 and early 2006, with a policy that sought to close that loophole.
Non-Mexicans caught trying to enter the U.S. now are steered into a streamlined process for "expedited removal."
They are detained at centers like Willacy until they can appear before an immigration judge. The Border Patrol credits the end of catch and release with the sharp drop in OTM apprehensions.
Still, "we do encounter people from all over the world," said Daniel Doty, Border Patrol spokesman for the Rio Grande Valley sector.
Just days before the 17 Chinese were picked up in La Joya, 13 Eritreans and five Ethiopians were caught in nearby Hidalgo.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/06/texas.chinese.ap/?iref=hpmostpop
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