A group of 38 state lawmakers sent a letter to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday urging him to remove New York from a national program that has been a cornerstone of the Obama administration’s immigration enforcement efforts. Read more
Body of missing man found in Sol Duc River.
Article published Jun 6, 2011
By Rob Ollikainen
Peninsula Daily News
FORKS — The body of Benjamin Roldan Salinas, the West End man who had been missing since May 14 after running from a highway
traffic stop, was found in the Sol Duc River three miles east of Sappho, the
Clallam County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Sunday night. Read more
New York state pulls out of “Secure Communities”
Published: June 1, 2011 , New York Times Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Wednesday that he was suspending New York’s participation in a federal immigration enforcement plan that has drawn fire from immigrant advocates, civil liberties lawyers and elected officials in the state and around the country.
A statement from Mr. Cuomo’s office said there was “mounting evidence” that the program, called Secure Communities, had not only failed to meet its goal of deporting the most serious immigrant criminals but was also undermining law enforcement and compromising public safety. Read more
Far From Home
Why is Border Patrol patrolling so far from the border?
Two weeks ago, a traffic stop in Forks—the home of chaste teen vampires and a town closer in proximity to Kent than Canada—illuminated a previously dark corner of the ongoing immigration debate. It all began when a U.S. Forest Service agent noticed something suspicious: a Dodge Durango parked on the side of Highway 101. Read more
Rally against new Border Patrol Station in Port Angeles
By Rob Ollikainen
Peninsula Daily News
PORT ANGELES — Dozens flocked to a Port Angeles rally against the
expansion of the Border Patrol headquarters at the site of the planned building renovation on Sunday. Thirty-five protesters held signs in support of immigrants’ rights and against defense spending during the two-hour May Day Rally.
They stood on both sides of Front Street near the intersection of
Penn Street, where Homeland Security will Read more
Call in NY to Quit U.S. Immigration Program
May 9, 2011 NYT KIRK SEMPLE
Arizona Lawmakers Push New Round of Immigration Restrictions
February 23, 2011
By MARC LACEY, NYT
PHOENIX — Arizona lawmakers are proposing a sweeping package of immigration restrictions that might make the controversial measures the state approved last year, which the Obama administration went to court to block, look mild.
Illegal immigrants would be barred from driving in the state, enrolling in school or receiving most public benefits. Their children would receive special birth certificates that would make clear that the state does not consider them Arizona citizens. Read more
Bellingham reporter shares concern about secrecy of detentions.
I share your concern. The idea that the government protects “privacy” by
allowing people to be arrested and detained in secret is bizarre.
But the fact is that the policy here is the same. Detention of people on
immigration violations is cloaked in secrecy. When ICE raided a local
laundry years ago, we tried to use FOIA to get their names to no avail.
Read more
Border law agencies pledge more cooperation with Bellingham residents
JOHN STARK / THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
BLAINE – Representatives of federal border agencies pledged to work to improve their relationships with local residents, after hearing complaints and questions from an audience of about 150 people at the school district’s Performing Arts Center.
“I’m going to work as hard as I can to address your concerns,” said U.S. Border Patrol Section Chief John Bates. “We’re going to do everything we can to make our agents ambassadors. .. Read more
Obama Taking a Hard Line on Immigrants: “Secure Communities” program
By JULIA PRESTON and KIRK SEMPLE Published: February 17, 2011
After months of internal wrangling and confusion over an ambitious nationwide program allowing state and local police agencies to identify immigrants with criminal records, Obama administration immigration officials have decided to take a hard line against communities that try to delay or cancel their participation in the program, according to documents made public late Wednesday. Read more
Ellensburg, WA residents respond to immigration raids
7:59 PM, Jan. 21, 2011 | SHANNON DININNY Associated Press
ELLENSBURG, Wash. — More than 200 people turned out to a church in a central Washington college town Friday to discuss a series of immigration raids that resulted in more than two dozen arrests and left relatives scrambling to care for the children left behind.
Those attending the meeting at First United Methodist Church in Ellensburg, a city of 17,000 about 90 miles east of Seattle, included faculty members and students from the hometown Central Washington University.
“I have children. How would I feel if it happened to me and they snatched me and sent me somewhere and left my kids behind?” said attendee Raymond Hall, CWU professor of African-American folklore. Read more