SubscribeJudge urges common sense in border fence land disputes
January 25, 2008
“A federal judge urged the government Friday to use common sense and “good neighborness” in working out access to 12 pieces of private property in Cameron County that it says it needs to study land for the border fence.U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen did not rule Friday, but an order was expected early next week granting the government access but with some guidelines.” (Dallas Morning News)
Immigration: On the Fence
January 24, 2008
“Welcomed or not, a rising debate over illegal immigration has staked a prominent claim on this year’s political stage.
Most Republican presidential candidates talk tough about secure borders and restricted opportunities to citizenship for people who are here illegally. The Democrats say as little as they can, hoping that a backlash of Hispanic voters against GOP bluster will snatch the southwestern states that went for President Bush in 2004.” (Hispanic Business)
Border fence dispute brings Texas showdown
January 18, 2008
“Eloisa Tamez said she isn’t scared anymore, just determined. “I am not backing down,” she said.
Tamez owns three acres of land along the Texas-Mexico border where the Department of Homeland Security would like to build a border fence. The property is a remnant of a 12,000-acre grant from Spain to her family in 1767, before the United States even existed.
“It is my history. It is my heritage,” Tamez said. This week, the Justice Department began legal action against landowners and municipalities who have refused to give government surveyors access to their land.” (CNN)
Lawmakers Criticize Immigration Backup
January 17, 2008
“A deluge of immigration applications in the months preceding a filing fee increase last year should have been foreseen, lawmakers on Thursday told Bush administration officials.
Previous increases in immigration application fees have been preceded by spikes in applications, said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. Application increases have also been seen in years before elections because people want to vote, she said.” (AP)
Illegal immigrants increasingly go north
January 15, 2008
“Illegal immigrants from Latin America are heading deeper into the United States to find work and avoid deportation as crackdowns in border states like Texas and Arizona make life more difficult for them.
The U.S. Border Patrol has ramped up surveillance along the porous Mexican border aided by National Guard troops since 2005, while police and state legislatures have increasingly targeted illegal immigrants in some border states.” (Reuters)
U.S. to Speed Deportation of Criminals in Jail
January 15, 2008
“Federal authorities expect to identify and deport more than 200,000 immigrants this year who are convicted criminals serving time in prisons and jails across the country, the country’s top federal immigration enforcement official said Monday.
The effort to speed the deportation of foreign-born criminals is part of a campaign by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to help federal and state prisons reduce the costs of housing immigrants, the official, Julie L. Myers, assistant secretary of homeland security and head of the agency, said in an interview.” (NYT)
Gov’t Sues for Access As It Plans Fence
January 15, 2008
“The federal government sued Monday to gain access to land owned by a Texas city whose mayor has been highly critical of a planned U.S.-Mexico border fence.
The lawsuit against Eagle Pass, Texas, is the first of scores expected to be filed in the escalating dispute. The Homeland Security Department has said it needs access to land to find the best places to build the fence or to set up other border security.” (AP)
In Texas, Weighing Life With a Border Fence
January 13, 2008
“Rafael Garza, a former mayor of this small border city, stood steps from the back door of his simple brick house and chopped the air with a hand. “This is where the actual fence would be,” he said.
And the federal property line, he said, would be at his shower.
Mr. Garza, 36, a Hidalgo County sheriff’s sergeant who traces his family here to 1767, was imagining what life would be like in the shadow of the Proposed Tactical Infrastructure — the wall, to many outraged South Texans — that the Department of Homeland Security has committed to build by the end of the year.” (New York Times)
Homeland Security Given OK to Use Retirees to Reduce Immigration Backlog
January 13, 2008
” The Bush administration has authority to rehire retired workers to reduce a backlog of immigration applications that is preventing thousands of people from becoming U.S. citizens in time to vote in November’s elections, a Democratic senator said.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., had pressured Citizenship and Immigration Services, a division of the Homeland Security Department, to seek permission to rehire the retirees. The permission was granted Thursday by the Office of Personnel Management.” (Fox News)
Hutchison on defensive over border fence amendment
January 12, 2008
“In an uncharacteristic display of public frustration with party colleagues, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison on Friday sharply criticized two Republican congressmen who had accused her of a stealth effort to derail the fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Conservative blogs and pundits have attacked Hutchison ever since Reps. Peter King of New York and Duncan Hunter of California accused the Texas Republican of essentially repealing Congress’ mandate to build 700 miles of fencing.” (Houston Chronicle)
