Immigrant Rights Report: Monday, August 20, 2007
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Illegal immigrant mother of U.S.-born boy deported to Mexico
By ELLIOT SPAGAT, Associated Press Writer
Monday, August 20, 2007
(08-20) 15:55 PDT TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) --
An illegal immigrant who took refuge in a Chicago church for a year to avoid being separated from her American-born son was deported from the United States to Mexico, where she vowed Monday to continue her campaign to change U.S. immigration laws.
"They were in a hurry to deport me because they saw that I was threatening to mobilize and organize the people to fight for legalization," Elvira Arellano, 32, said in Spanish outside an apartment building where she was staying with a friend. "I have a fighting spirit and I'm going to continue fighting."
Arellano, who said she is a single mother, left her 8-year-old son, Saul, in the care of her Chicago pastor's family. But she said he might be brought to her in Tijuana sometime Monday.
"He is a little bit sick because of the situation we find ourselves in," she said. "I'm going to ask if he wants to stay with me or if he wants to return to his school" in the United States.
Arellano's swift deportation after being arrested in California led to claims by her and Mexican authorities that she was initially denied access to consular officials. But opponents of illegal immigration said her arrest was overdue, and a U.S. immigration official said she had been a criminal fugitive.
Arellano, who became a symbol for illegal immigrant parents as she defied deportation and spoke out from her sanctuary in Chicago's Adalberto United Methodist Church, said last week that she would leave the church to try to pressure U.S. lawmakers for change.
She was arrested Sunday in Los Angeles about five blocks from Our Lady Queen of Angels church by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who followed her car, said ICE spokeswoman Lauren Mack.
Arellano asked to speak with Mexican officials in Los Angeles but was denied, said Luis Cabrera, Mexico's consul general in San Diego. She was not given access until hours later, at San Diego's Otay Mesa immigration detention center.
U.S. authorities denied Cabrera's request to delay the deportation for 24 hours while Mexican authorities considered her legal options.
"It was a very, very hectic process," Cabrera said at a San Diego news conference. "We wanted more time."
In Tijuana, Arellano said the deportation process was "very quick."
"They were not even giving me an opportunity to speak with my Mexican consulate," she said.
ICE was unaware of any request that Arellano made to speak with Mexican officials in Los Angeles and Arellano was given extensive access in San Diego Sunday night, Mack said.
She was deported at San Diego's San Ysidro border crossing around 10 p.m. PDT to Tijuana, Mexico, after U.S. authorities determined that she had exhausted her legal recourse.
Discussions at the jail were led by Cabrera and Robin Baker, ICE's director of detention and removals in San Diego.
"Her removal was delayed three hours so Mexican officials could interview her," Mack said. "This was a very, very sensitive removal for us as well as Mexico."
Mexican authorities said the deportation highlighted a need to overhaul U.S. immigration laws.
"It's tragic when a mother is separated from her son," Cabrera said.
Mexican authorities did not know the identity or whereabouts of the boy's father, aid Cabrera.
Arellano said she may return to her home in the Mexican state of Michoacan and then return to Tijuana in September for a demonstration coinciding with planned immigration protests in the United States.
Arellano's son was being cared for by the family of the Rev. Walter Coleman, pastor of the Chicago church, at Arellano's request, according to U.S. officials.
During a news conference in Los Angeles, the boy hid behind the pastor's wife and wiped away tears.
"She is in good spirits," Coleman said of Arellano. "She is ready to continue the struggle against the separation of families from the other side of the border."
Jim Hayes, director of ICE in Los Angeles, said "proper perspective" should be placed on the woman's case. Using a false identity, as in the case of Arellano, who was convicted of using someone else's Social Security number, can be a threat to national security, he said.
"We don't think she's a martyr," Hayes said. "She was a criminal fugitive who is in violation of the law."
Anti-illegal immigrant groups applauded the arrest.
"Just because the woman has gone public and made an issue of the fact that she is defying law doesn't mean the government doesn't have to do its job," said Ira Mehlman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which favors limits on immigration.
Arellano arrived in Washington state illegally in 1997. She was soon deported to Mexico, but returned and moved to Illinois in 2000, taking a job cleaning planes at O'Hare International Airport.
She was arrested in 2002 at O'Hare and convicted of working under a false Social Security number. She was to surrender to authorities a year ago but instead sought refuge at the church on Aug. 15, 2006.
Immigration activists said they will continue Arellano's plan to go to Washington, D.C., and take part in a prayer meeting and rally for immigration reform on Sept. 12. They also called for a national boycott on that date.
The sentiment was echoed outside an ICE office in Chicago on Monday.
"Her voice will not be silenced," activist Jacobita Alonzo told a crowd of about 50 supporters.
___
Associated Press writers Sophia Tareen and Michael Tarm in Chicago and Peter Prengaman, Raquel Maria Dillon and Greg Risling in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/136778.html
Feds release ID standards
But they do little to resolve the state's long-standing dispute over driver's licenses for illegal immigrants.
By Aurelio Rojas - Bee Capitol Bureau
Last Updated 12:37 am PDT Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A3
The federal government has released long-awaited draft regulations creating a national standard for driver's licenses, but left California and other states to deal with the emotional issue of illegal immigrants.
The Real ID Act regulations -- which will require all 23 million California drivers to go in person to Department of Motor Vehicles offices -- do not prohibit states from issuing licenses to illegal immigrants.
But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who previously said the state would wait until the regulations were issued before grappling with the issue, now wants to wait until the federal government enacts an immigration overhaul.
The release earlier this month of the regulations, expected to be finalized this fall, is likely to reignite debate in the Legislature over illegal immigrants.
For the ninth consecutive year, state Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, has introduced legislation -- Senate Bill 60 -- that would allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.
The legislation is likely to collide with a bill by Assemblyman Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, whose Assembly Bill 1433 is the Schwarzenegger administration's vehicle for conforming with the Real ID Act.
Huff said he isn't "interested in legitimizing" driving by people who are in the country illegally. But Cedillo predicted the Democratic-controlled Legislature will block any bill that doesn't allow driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants.
"The governor will never see a bill for Real ID that doesn't have (illegal) immigrants in it," Cedillo said.
Huff dismissed Cedillo's scenario as "part of the legislative process," and quipped "the governor has a little bit to say about what's signed into law."
"And so far, in working with the administration, (allowing illegal immigrants to drive) is not something that has been calculated into this," Huff said.
Unless California conforms its licensing procedure to the federal standards, the state's licenses will not be accepted for federal purposes, such as entering government buildings or boarding airplanes.
Upon his election in 2003, Schwarzenegger persuaded Democratic legislators to repeal a bill signed by Gov. Gray Davis that would have allowed illegal immigrants to obtain licenses.
Sabrina Lockhart, a spokeswoman for Schwarzenegger, said the governor will not revisit the issue until the federal government enacts both the Real ID regulations and "comprehensive immigration reform."
"He wants to wait until we can verify that people are who they say they are," Lockhart said. "He also wants comprehensive immigration reform."
She noted that in vetoing Cedillo's bill last year, the Republican governor said it would be premature for California to allow illegal immigrants to apply for driver's licenses without an immigration overhaul.
Schwarzenegger had previously cited only the Real ID regulations.
Prospects for immigration-law changes have increased since Democrats took over Congress last year. But Cedillo said "it will take years" for the process to play itself out, and hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants are already driving in California.
The Real ID Act was signed in 2005 by President Bush as a response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Eighteen of the 19 hijackers obtained fraudulent identification, including driver's licenses, from California and other states.
The act attempts to prevent this by requiring verification and adding electronic security features. Beginning in May 2008, states will have to begin scanning identity documents into computers and maintaining records for up to 10 years.
In California, where applicants now have to provide only a Social Security number and birth certificate to apply for licenses, they will also have to show proof of residency, said Mike Marando, a spokesman for the state DMV.
For residents who now can get a license renewal twice by mail -- and theoretically put off a trip to the DMV for 15 years -- renewals will require DMV office visits.
Marando estimated that it will cost California $500 million over five years to comply with Real ID regulations, which are undergoing a 60-day public comment period.
Cedillo has crafted his current bill to comply with the act, requiring that licenses granted to illegal immigrants be distinct in appearance. They could be used for driving only and not as a form of national identification. Under SB 60, applicants would have to submit identification documents from their native countries and be photographed and fingerprinted. Anyone with a criminal conviction would have been ineligible.
Cedillo noted the federal Transportation Security Administration, which sets airline security requirements, accepts identification issued by foreign governments, including the Mexican card known as "matricula consular."
He also noted the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has ruled police cannot impound vehicles solely because they belong to unlicensed drivers who are in the country illegally.
Cedillo argues that with the Real ID Act about to be enacted, granting driver's licenses can no longer be dismissed as a national security issue.
"It's a highway safety issue," he said. "Now that the (regulations) are out, we've run out of excuses."
About the writer:
The Bee's Aurelio Rojas can be reached at (916) 326-5545 or arojas@sacbee.com .
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http://www.nj.com/news/expresstimes/nj/index.ssf?/base/news-5/118758251739890.xml&coll=2
Immigrant rights official says look at guns, crime
Monday, August 20, 2007
By TRISH G. GRABER
The Express-Times
Amy Gottlieb, director of the Newark-based immigrant rights program of the American Friends Service Committee, said the backlash from the Newark shootings is misdirected.
"We're at a moment of great tension," she said. "Unfortunately people who want to scapegoat the immigrant community have used this incident as a way to promote their message."
Gottlieb said the focus should be on violence, excessive crime and easy access to guns, rather than illegal immigrants. She said Gov. Jon Corzine's recently formed Blue Ribbon Panel to study how to best integrate immigrants in New Jersey, rather than ostracize them, is a step in the right direction.
But recognizing the lack of federal legislation on immigration reform, she said she also supports guidance for local police.
"We have to be looking at immigration policy at a federal level," Gottlieb said. "But it's also important (for New Jersey) so that there's not this sort of ad-hoc inconsistent response to immigration in the state."
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NetworkAztlan_News/message/29363
Mon Aug 20, 2007 1:26 pm
March 25 Coalition
CHIRLA
Media Advisory August 20, 2007
Contacts: Javier Rodriguez 323-702-6397
Carlos Montes 213-712-0370
WE ARE ALL ELVIRA-TODOS SOMOS ELVIRA
LEGALIZATION NOW
UNITY MARCH SATURDAY AUG 25, 2007
Unity March Planning Coalition Will Hold Major Press Conference to Demand Immediate Return of Elvira Arellano and Announce plans for a major street march.
What: Press Conference
Who: MARCH 25 Coalition-CHIRLA
When: Tuesday AUG. 21, 2007 10:00 AM
Where: Our Lady Queen of Angels Parish
North Main St. downtown LA.
LA immigrant rights leaders, united in spirit and the need to respond in a unified manner, will hold a vigil today, August 20, 6 PM at the LA Federal building; and will announce plans for a three week campaign of national vigils, a national day of action, lobbying and a GRAND MARCH to demand the immediate return of Elvira Arellano to her son.
Carlos Montes
Email: CarlosMont@aol.com
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8/19 Emergency Alert! Immig Activist Elvira Arellano Arrested in Los Angeles!
Released 19 August 2007 By National Immigrant Solidarity Network
National Immigrant Solidarity Network
webpage: http://www.ImmigrantSolidarity.org
Email: info@ImmigrantSolidarity.org
Emergency Alert! Immigrant Activist Elvira Arellano Arrested in Los Angeles! Your URGENT Support is Needed!
Elvira Arellano, the immigration activist who sought refuge inside a Chicago church for a year was arrested in Los Angeles this afternoon after taking her campaign on the road. We need to act quickly to demand her release! (see below)
National Immigrant Solidarity Network
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Immigration activist Arellano arrested
By Antonio Olivo
Chicago Tribune
August 20, 2007
LOS ANGELES—An immigration activist who sought refuge inside a Chicago church for a year was arrested in Los Angeles this afternoon after taking her campaign on the road.
Elvira Arellano was arrested about 4:15 p.m. Chicago time by law-enforcement officials after leaving Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in downtown Los Angeles, said Emma Lozano, an adviser who was there during the arrest.
After talking to news media inside the church, Arellano and her supporters got into their van to head north to San Jose, where she was scheduled to speak at another church, Lozano said. Moments after they entered the van, an unmarked vehicle stopped them.
The driver of Arellano's van, Roberto Lopez, poked his head out because he wanted to see why they were being blocked. Several other unmarked vehicles surrounded their van.
Agents emerged from all the cars screaming for Arellano to get out, Lozano said. Her 8-year-old son, Saul, started to cry, and Arellano said to everyone in the car, "Calm down. Don't have any fear. They can't hurt me."
Then she turned to the people who were about to arrest her and she said, "You're going to have to give me a minute with my son," Lozano said. She spent time with her son in the car, then surrendered.
Arellano was arrested on Main Street, near the church, where she slept Saturday night and where she's held several press conferences Saturday and today.
Email: aolivo@tribune.com
Suggest Immediate Actions to Support Her:
1) Call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office, demand them the safety of the Elvira Arellano, no deportation, and demand her immediately release from the ICE custody.
ICE Field Office Director, Los Angeles
300 North Los Angeles St., Room 7631A
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: 213-830-7911
ICE Headquarters, Director, Office of Detention and Removal Operations
801 I St, NW
Suite 900
Washington, DC 20536
Phone: 202-305-2734
2) Daily peace vigil at the Los Angeles ICE office until Elvira Arellano's safe release.
ICE Field Office, Los Angeles
300 North Los Angeles St., Room 7631A
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: 213-830-7911
c/s
Come Together and Create!
Peter S. Lopez ~aka:Peta
Sacramento, California, Aztlan
Email: sacranative@yahoo.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Humane-Rights-Agenda/
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