zTruth

State of Oklahoma argues in court to keep employee verification section of HB 1804

Sandy Rinehart, senior assistant attorney general,for the State of Oklahoma argued this week in the 10th Circuit Court in Denver to keep the employee verification part of Oklahoma's anti-illegal foreign national law, HB 1804, citing, that while the federal program is voluntary,it doesn't prohibit a state from making it mandatory.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and 28 other entities have filed suit against the state of Oklahoma claiming the state doesn't have this right.

Investigation: Dallas Independent School District issued fake social security numbers!

Although the investigation said the fake numbers were issued as a temporary measure to get certain foreign employess on the payroll, it is filled with problems and bad perceptions:

"Years after being advised by a state agency to stop, the Dallas Independent School District continued to provide foreign citizens with fake Social Security numbers to get them on the payroll quickly.

...The practice was described in an internal report issued in September by the district's investigative office, which looked into the matter after receiving a tip. The report said the Texas Education Agency learned of the fake numbers in 2004 and told DISD then that the practice "was illegal."

...The fake numbers were assigned as a stopgap to expedite the hiring process, the report says. The numbers were supposed to serve as temporary identification numbers until employees received real Social Security numbers. Once employees got the real numbers, they were supposed to tell district officials so the fake ones could be replaced.

The investigation found no indication that the fake numbers were provided to the Teacher Retirement System, the Internal Revenue Service or the Social Security Administration.

However, according to the report, a sampling of several fake numbers showed that they had been included in a July quarterly report sent to the Texas Workforce Commission.

Dallas Morning News

28 more groups seek to defeat Oklahoma's anti-illegal foreign national law

Could there be more "outsiders" who are trying to defeat Oklahoma's anti-illegal foreign national law along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce? 

In a recent article, we find there are 28 different organizations who have joined the U.S. Chamber's lawsuit against HB 1804.  The Tulsa Metro and Oklahoma State chambers of commerce are also involved.  I'll try to find out who the rest are, if possible.

The case is before the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.  These groups want a lower court ruling barring Okalhoma officials from enforcing employment provisions of Oklahoma House Bill 1804 to prevail.

 "Twenty-eight different business, labor and civil rights groups have filed briefs in support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's legal fight against Oklahoma's tough illegal immigration law.

...A spokesman for the chamber, in a statement Monday from Washington, D.C., said diverse groups agree that states should not set national immigration policy.

Chamber officials argue the law imposes tax penalties on any employer who fails to use the "E-Verify" pilot program, and sets up employers for discrimination lawsuits..."

News Channel 8

63 Illegal foreign nationals arrested in Oklahoma City area sting.

U.S. Custom officials arrested scores of illegals in a 5 day sting in Oklahoma City:

Two local fugitive operations teams and other area officers began the Operation Sept. 20, and made the arrests in the following seven Oklahoma communities: Oklahoma City, Norman, Harrah, Mustang, Edmond, Chickasha, Jones and other surrounding areas. Those arrested are from the following eight countries: El Salvador, Mexico, Peru, Nicaragua, Cambodia, Ghana, Guatemala and Honduras. The fugitive operations teams and other officers that coordinated their efforts in this latest west Oklahoma operation are based in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Okla., and Lubbock, Texas.

Borderfire Report

Oklahoma company employee induced illegals to come to U.S.

An employee of a company in Norman, Oklahoma, is in trouble for encouraging illegal foreign nationals to come to the U.S.:

The company, A-1 Electric Heat and Air, is not facing any criminal charges, but one of its employees is in trouble for not alerting the authorities to what was going on there.

Virginia Hudson pleaded guilty Monday to concealing the commission of a felony.

The case is believed to be the first of its kind filed against an Oklahoma employer or its staff members.

Federal prosecutors would not comment on the case, including how the company encouraged illegal immigration. The case is still under investigation.

..."I knowingly accepted Social Security cards from illegal immigrants,” Hudson told U.S. District Court Judge David Russell after her guilty plea.

News OK

ICE office to open in Tulsa!

This is good news for Tulsa, Oklahoma:

Congressman John Sullivan was in Tulsa Sunday to announce the opening of a Tulsa office to crackdown on illegal immigration.

..."It's going to focus on criminal illegal aliens, drug traffickers, sex offenders, felony outstanding warrants," Sullivan says. "It's going to go after the criminal element."

Sullivan says he expects the office to be open next month.

New Channel 8

Pod J5 at the Tulsa County jail: full of illegals

Hooray to the Tulsa Country Sheriff's office!  Boo to Mayor Cornett of Oklahoma City.

Leonardo Carrizo | For The Dispatch

 "We house them (illegals) in a separate pod, all by themselves, because of the language barrier, unless they're from rival gangs and might cause a problem," said Sgt. Shannon Clark of the Tulsa County sheriff's department.

How those detainees ended up in the two-story, medium-security immigration pod is a controversial subject, rife with claims and denials of racial profiling.

Oklahoma's attorney general gave no guidelines to police and sheriff's departments about how to enforce the new law, which requires them to check the immigration status of anyone arrested for a felony or drunken driving.

As Ohio lawmakers consider a bill modeled on Oklahoma's new crackdown -- considered the nation's toughest -- they already can see the fallout here.

"Only the federal government can enforce immigration laws," said Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett. "There's a misperception in our own community about new discretion our police received in our city. It's been difficult to communicate directly to our citizens."

"Gosh, the Tulsa County sheriff's department is the model in Oklahoma for the way state and local enforcement agencies ought to be cooperatively enforcing immigration law," said Randy Terrill, the Republican state representative who wrote the legislation.

Of the 742 detained in the Tulsa jail in the first six months of this year, 677 were Mexican citizens.

Columbus Disbatch

Oklahoma officials argue for HB 1804 in 10th Circuit Court

Good work from officials in the state of Oklahoma who defend HB 1804 but I'm not sure if the judge agrees:

Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson has asked a federal appeals court to allow the state's anti-illegal immigration law to be enforced.

In papers filed with the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Democratic attorney general is asking that the state be allowed to enforce a new state law that requires employers to verify the immigration status of their employees and contractors or subcontractors.

...But U.S. District Chief Judge Robin Cauthron of the Western District of Oklahoma said the law's employer provisions are unconstitutional because they subject employers to penalties for not using a federal online verification system to determine workers' legal status.

Legal News Line

Rep Terrill will testify before Utah legislature on HB1804

FYI:

State Rep. Randy Terrill, author of Oklahoma’s omnibus immigration reform law, will testify on the law’s positive impact at a legislative hearing in Utah this evening.

Utah lawmakers have used Terrill’s law as a model for their own immigration reform efforts.

"Oklahoma has blazed a trail on immigration reform that other states are now following due to our success at addressing this issue at a time when Congress refuses to act," said Terrill, R-Moore. "I am excited by this opportunity and look forward to helping the people of Utah reduce the tremendous burden that illegal aliens place on society."

House Bill 1804, by Terrill, reformed Oklahoma law to eliminate incentives that lure illegal aliens to the state.

OK House of Representative

 

41 Dulles airport workers detained by ICE

FYI this happened on August 14th:

"Forty-two workers suspected of being in the country illegally were detained yesterday at Dulles International Airport as immigration authorities checked the identities of people entering one of the employee entrance gates.

ICE agents were stationed at the security gate, and we reviewed all the identity documents of all the people entering at that moment," McGraw said. "When we determined that the alienage or identity of someone inside a vehicle was in question, we recommended further inspection."

A similar operation at the airport in June 2006 resulted in the arrest of 55 workers.

McGraw said that although such large-scale checkpoint inspections are infrequent, they are part of the agency's wider, daily efforts to guard the nation's airports.

"This is a critical, sensitive facility so . . . of course we pay particular attention to it," he said. "It's one of the highest priorities of the Department of Homeland Security."

Washington Post

MS-13 gang members arrested in Tulsa!

A big thank you goes out to Tulsa law enforcement offiicers, the FBI and ICE for getting these scum-bags off our streets.  MS-13 gang members in Tulsa?  Now it's confirmed. Not only that, there were six other violent gangs targeted, as well.  This is unbelievable.

And we don't have a big criminal illegal foreign national problem?

...Locally, the roundup began Friday and ended Wednesday night, and all of the arrests occurred in the city of Tulsa.

Of the non-U.S. citizens arrested, 26 are from Mexico; one is from Nigeria; and one is from El Salvador, according to a news release. After any judicial proceedings, all will be returned to their countries of origin, officials said.

Each of the 32 gang members arrested during this operation is associated with one of these violent street gangs: Bloods, East Side Longos, Hoover Crips, Juaritos, Latin Kings, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), and Surenos, according to the release.    Tulsa World

-----

 Resources:

knowgangs

Since 1997, Know Gangs has been a leading training provider for law enforcement, educators and social service workers seeking to enhance their knowledge about gangs, drugs and school violence.

Texan Joe Horn cleared in buglary deaths

Do you remember hearing the compelling  9/11 call last November when a man reported a couple men entering his neighbors home.  Then he said he was going to shoot them - which he then did. It turns out they were both illegal foreign nationals from Columbia.  Today, the grand jury decided not to file any charges against him:

Joe Horn, 61, shot the two men in November after he saw them crawling out the windows of a neighbor's house in the Houston suburb of Pasadena.

Horn called 911 and told the dispatcher he had a shotgun and was going to kill the men. The dispatcher pleaded with him not to go outside, but Horn confronted the men with a 12-gauge shotgun and shot both in the back.

The message we're trying to send today is the criminal justice system works," Harris County District Attorney Kenneth Magidson said.

Horn's attorney, Tom Lambright, has said his client believed the two men had broken into his neighbor's home and that he shot them only when they came into his yard and threatened him.

The two Horn suspected of committing burglary , Hernando Riascos Torres, 38, and Diego Ortiz, 30, were unemployed illegal immigrants from Colombia. Torres was deported to Colombia in 1999 after a 1994 cocaine-related conviction.

The episode touched off protests from civil rights activists who said the shooting was racially motivated and that Horn took the law into his own hands. Horn's supporters defended his actions, saying he was protecting himself and being a good neighbor to a homeowner who was out of town.  CNN

Here's the entire 9/11 call:

Breaking: Illegal foreign nationals win in Oklahoma - at least temporarily

Big business has scored a victory for the continuted explotation of illegal foreign nationals who work for slave labor.  It's a temporary order but this likely may become permanent.  If this happens, citizens and the state of Oklahoma, I guess, will have no recourse but to allow illegals to take over jobs held by Oklahomans. 

Just as Oklahoma was starting to show that keeping order helped reduce our unemployment to the lowest in the nation.  BUT the state says it is ready to fight for the rule of law as this goes forward.  YEAH!!!

A federal judge today blocked enforcement of employer-related provisions of the state's controversial immigration law, ruling it likely interferes with federal regulations regarding the hiring of unauthorized workers.

Several business groups challenged House Bill 1804 — which has been called the toughest immigration statute in the nation — in federal court in Oklahoma City.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, The State Chamber, the Oklahoma City and Tulsa chambers of commerce, and the Oklahoma restaurant and hotel and lodging associations contend the law places unreasonable burdens on businesses, according to the lawsuit filed Feb. 1 by the National Chamber Litigation Center.

"We applaud the court's decision to delay enforcing these portions of Oklahoma's immigration law," said Robin Conrad, the center's executive vice president. "Through harsh civil penalties, the Oklahoma law unfairly shifts the burden of immigration enforcement from government onto the backs of businesses.

"Piecemeal state legislation is not the answer to our nation's immigration problems."

The groups' lawsuit still is pending in federal court in Oklahoma City, even though U.S. District Judge Robin Cauthron agreed to halt enforcement of a provision of the new law that would have required companies to verify the eligibility status of all new employees.

That provision was set to go into effect July 1.

Attorney General Drew Edmondson issued this statement: “This is a preliminary injunction, not a final ruling. In her order, the judge writes that ‘the Court finds Plaintiffs have established a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of the case.’ We will attempt to overcome this hurdle when the matter is set for hearing on the permanent injunction.”

NewOK

Some Border Patrol Agents work for Drug Smugglers

As if we don't have enough problems with illegals:

The smuggler in the commercial, produced by the Mexican government several years ago, was played by an American named Raul Villarreal, who at the time was a United States Border Patrol agent and a spokesman for the agency here.

Now, federal investigators are asking: Was he really acting?

Mr. Villarreal and a brother, Fidel, also a former Border Patrol agent, are suspected of helping to smuggle an untold number of illegal immigrants from Mexico and Brazil across the border. The brothers quit the Border Patrol two years ago and are believed to have fled to Mexico.

The Villarreal investigation is among scores of corruption cases in recent years that have alarmed officials in the Homeland Security Department just as it is hiring thousands of border agents to stem the flow of illegal  immigration,

The pattern has become familiar: Customs officers wave in vehicles filled with illegal immigrants, drugs or other contraband. A Border Patrol agent acts as a scout for smugglers. Trusted officers fall prey to temptation and begin taking bribes.

Increased corruption is linked, in part, to tougher enforcement, driving smugglers to recruit federal employees as accomplices. It has grown so worrisome that job applicants will soon be subject to lie detector tests to ensure that they are not already working for smuggling organizations.

Altogether, there are about 200 open cases pending against law enforcement employees who work the border. In the latest arrests, four employees in Arizona, Texas and California were charged this month with helping to smuggle illegal immigrants into the country.

New York Times

Does the Mexican Consulate want to open a consular office in Oklahoma?

The following was taken from a spanish newspaper in Oklahoma so the translation from google doesn't always read smooth but you can figure out what is going on.  It appears there may be an effort to open a permanent consulate office in Oklahoma:

El Nacional
Publicado el 05-22-2008 Published 05-22-2008

The Mexican Consulate will visit Oklahoma City and Tulsa

The Consul Andres Chao emphasized the need to open a consulate fixed in the State.

Gerardo Serra Gerardo Serra
noticias.nacional@coxinet.net noticias.nacional @ coxinet.net

The Mexican Consul Andres Chao insisted on publicizing the visit of the mobile consulates to travel to the city of Tulsa in June and Oklahoma City in October, where he aspires meet approximately 400 Mexican citizens in each visit.

In addition to celebrating the Cinco de Mayo along with a mass turnout at the Plaza San Miguel Oklahoma City, the consul met with a busy schedule in which abounded chat with people from high office of local government.

...The Greater Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Oklahoma City sent a document to the consul in which emphasizes the need to open a consulate fixed in the state of Oklahoma to meet the emergency service documentation Mexicans. Fortunately, the Consul Andres Chao paid attention to that document and announced to have entered the Foreign Secretary, but this will take some time before a decision is taken in this regard, also requested adherence to all Mexicans on this goal.

The Consul spoke about the legal problems faced by Mexican citizens. In his dialogue with the government of Oklahoma, presented reports from various organizations and entities that have made American studies on the negative impact that this legislation antiemigrantes place in the local economy, among the documents that delivery is the association of Banco del Estado Oklahoma where the law states that HB 1804 has fallen by 1.3 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product of the state, which according to comparative studies with previous years accounts for 1.8 billion dollars with negative effects to the economy of Oklahoma long term.

The Consul Andres Chao said that the authorities should respect the civil and constitutional rights of Mexican citizens. Do not violate international treaties signed by the United States regarding the treatment to be given to immigrants. He also spoke about the legality of the Mexican consular identification and support in many states and organizations of the American union have given this identity document.

He explained the representative Aztec that immigrants are not a threat to the security of the United States or Oklahoma. That in regard to the threats of organised crime and drug trafficking pointed out: "The government of Mexico is leading a campaign against this scourge, has brought the army into the streets, has extradited 120 criminals. But there is a major problem that undocumented immigration and is this: all weapons used by criminal gangs in Mexico come from the United States. The best way is to work together and work cooperatively against this crime ".

The consul thanked the hospitality extended by the community and entertainment offered by the Greater Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Oklahoma City. It also hopes to continue repeating these visits to Oklahoma City for talks with government representatives in favour of Mexicans residing in this state.

el nacional

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Senators Feinstein and Craig add amnesty legislation to Iraq war spending bill!

In an underhanded and deceitful move, an amnesty bill was added to the Iraq War spending bill in the Senate Appropriation Committee.  The amendment was approved by a 17-12 vote.  The Ag-Jobs amendment, was sponsored by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Larry Craig (remember the bathroom incident?) (R-Idaho):

There is an unwritten rule in Congress that the appropriations process should not be used to pass major legislation. So when the Senate Appropriations Committee makes an exception to this rule, you can bet that they are doing so only to deal with some burning crisis.

...What were the compelling interests that led the Senate Appropriations Committee to include major legislation as part of the military spending bill on Thursday? Amnesty for illegal aliens, and lots of new foreign workers for powerful business interests.

In one afternoon, the Appropriations Committee approved amnesty for 1.35 million illegal alien agricultural workers, and made available an additional 650,000 skilled and unskilled foreign guest workers over the next three years. That’s 2 million new, or newly legalized, foreign workers entering our labor force over the next three years – even as our economy has been losing jobs.

The 2 million figure does not include the dependents of the amnesty recipients or new workers who could be admitted under existing agricultural guest worker programs. Townhall

Outraged by this tactic and abuse of the legislative process?  Let your U.S. Senators know asap.

The Mexican government meddles in Oklahoma

It appears the Mexican government is not happy with Oklahoma's new anti-illegal foreign national law or our 287G trained law enforcement officers.  Mexican Consular Andres Chao had the audacity to say in the press the worst thing to do was have our own law enforcement officers get involved with their citizens who have sneaked into our country and our state!  That's right, the Mexican government clearly is trying to meddle in the affairs of the state of Oklahoma!  I use the descriptive word sneak because these people did not enter the U.S. legally. 

At the end of March, I heard on the radio there was a meeting between the Mexican consular from Arkansas and the Mayor of Tulsa and the police chief.  Not finding any information about the meeting in the paper, I wrote my city councilor for more information and to express my concerns that our officials or local newspaper were not informing the public about this meeting.  The reply I got back was totally useless:

I am told that the reason for the meeting was to promote international relationships, which is good for business and good for Tulsa ’s economy. I hope this provides clarification to any misinformation you may have received. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of further assistance.

I had one more source.  I knew I could find more about the meeting from one of the Spanish newspapers here. 

Isn't that totally pathetic?   In order to find out what went on in the meeting, I had to go to a source that's there primarily for the very large illegal Hispanic population in Oklahoma.  Tulsa's mayor, Kathy Taylor, and my city representative were totally useless to this citizen.  Sickening.

In the Spanish paper, I read that Mexican Consular, Andres Chao,  met with the local Hispanic community prior to the meeting with the mayor and much of that meeting was about illegals.  They meet at the TeleTul Americas TV studio. You know, the local "shadow society's" TV station.

At this meeting, the Hispanics wanted to discuss a document that would satisfy the legal requirement under our new anti-illegal law, HB 1804.  They didn't have one.  They also talked about their rights under the Vienna Convention to contact the Mexican consulate if any illegal foreign national was arrested to get legal representation.  Chao then told city officials there were allegations about Hispanics who were targeted and abused by officials.

I knew this wouldn't be the end of it.  Yesterday Chao went public with in his assault against our state.  He is insisting the Mexican government must get in the middle of our state's illegal immigration affairs:

Increased statewide immigration enforcement has accelerated human rights violations of Mexican nationals, a consul for the Mexican government said Monday in Oklahoma City.

Andres Chao said the U.S. and Mexican governments must work together to address the growing problem of illegal immigration in such a way that benefits both countries and their citizens.  "The worst thing to happen is to involve local police with federal immigration issues. If the community thinks the police are going to put me into jail and deport me, then they are not going to want to go to the police,” Chao said, adding that is what is happening in Tulsa.

Numerous human rights complaints have come out of Tulsa, reported Deputy Consul Eric Levy Witemberg. He says some of the problems arising out of Tulsa appear to be from racial profiling.

"They have so many immigration trained deputy sheriffs who are authorized to determine immigration status and they are just arresting people for anything,” Witemberg said. "With local officials sometimes, they are not familiar enough with immigration issues. Sometimes, they are not sensitive to immigration issues and in some cases it is just discrimination.   NewsOK

How dare the Tulsa World shill for illegals by not even covering this story.  The allegations levied by Chao were aimed at Tulsa!  How dare a foreign government come into our state and complain in our public media about our efforts to control the major illegal foreign national problem in Oklahoma. 

How dare they try to put our state under the jurisdiction of Mexico couched in the spirit of mutual cooperation.

Update 5/8/08:  I noticed a comment below from a Mr. Randy Lidster.  It turns out Mr. Lidster is the new Program Director at TeleTul 51, the "first and only" local Hispanic television station in the entire state of Oklahoma. 

Mr. Lidster, instead of just leveling hateful words, like "lies" send me what you have that proves me wrong.  First, Consular Chao accuses law enforcement of racial profiling and now you.  Both of you back up what you say with some facts.

How dare a representative of a foreign government, come into our state and use our press to try to tell us what to do about the thousands of illegal foreign nationals here.  I believe his message was for our state to do nothing because our local law enforcement are not familiar enough with immigration issues, as his deputy counsul put it.  That is what he was trying to do, wasn't he?  I didn't read anything from Chao that made me believe he supported our new anti-illegal immigration law.  It was just the opposite, Mr. Lidster.

Mr. Chao is trying to interfere with our new anti-illegal immigration law, by leveling charges of racial profiling against law enforcement in Tulsa.  That's interference from Mexico, pure and simple.  His accusations against the sovereign right of our state to protect its citizens are a form of intimidation and the citizens of Oklahoma, particularly Tulsans should be outraged.

Update 5/14/08:  Here's a link to the press conference as covered by nacional de Oklahoma which matches the article by the Oklahoman.

Curbing illegal immigration in Oklahoma: One major benefit

The unemployment rate in Oklahoma has declined again!  Could it be that more citizens are working? 

OMG, heaven forbid - is our new illegal foreign national law actually working as intended?

State officials say Oklahoma's unemployment rate has dropped again.

The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission reported Friday that Oklahoma's unemployment rate dropped in March to 3.2%. That's a decline from February's rate of 3.5%.

The rate dropped more than a full percentage point from last March's rate of 4.3%.

The agency reported Oklahoma's statewide non-farm employment increased by more than 11,000 jobs in March.

Statewide, employment grew in all industry sectors except for manufacturing, which reported a 100-job loss.

KSWO TV

36 Shot, 2 Stabbed, 9 Dead Over Weekend in Chicago over the weekend

Is Chicago a santuary city?  Why, yes it is...  Could there be a conection?  Why, why yes there could.

Mayor Richard M. Daley said Monday that 13 of the victims were Chicago Public Schools students.

"What we're asking parents to do," Daley said, "is know where your children are. It's going to be a long summer, and parents better capture this responsibility."

Chicago police say that warmer weather means more opportunities for violent crime, so they are stepping up patrols and focusing their efforts on targeting gang leaders.

Tulsa World shills for illegal foreign nationals

The Tulsa World never ceases to amaze me for their blatantly pro-illegal foreign national slant in their reporting.  Reporting the news accurately would involve more balanced coverage.  In their latest diatribe, the World calls attention to the exodus of illegals in the state and how it is hurting some hispanic businesses.  Guess what?  This tells me the law's working, folks. 

You know, if your main customers were illegal then naturally your business will suffer.  But to say that Oklahoma's new anti-illegal immigration law is driving away legal foreign nationals or legal citizens is absurd and is largely untruthful. But I guess there could have been some who catered to illegals who they might have left because their customer base dried up.  It makes me wonder what they were trying to sell anyway.  Seriously, why would you leave if you are here legally?  That's just stupid and doesn't make sense. Further, this insults the intelligence of the citizens of Oklahoma. 

Their latest article even had the audacity to mention, again, the now proven phony Oklahoma Bankers Association study which said driving away illegals will cost the state tons of money.  The study was recently exposed as part of a plot to destroy the new law which was discovered in documents apparenlty taken from a state senator's office who opposed the new law. 

This article has dishonesty woven throughout it. 

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon asks FBI to probe Sheriff Joe Arpaio

Sheriff Arpaio is my hero:

The mayor of Phoenix wants the FBI to look into whether the local county sheriff has violated civil rights laws with his recent crackdowns on illegal immigrants.

Mayor Phil Gordon sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey earlier this month. It asks the Justice Department to investigate what Gordon calls discriminatory harassment and improper stops, searches and arrests.

Maricopa County's "saturation patrols" have drawn protests from civil rights and immigrant rights advocates. But they've gained the support of people backing the county sheriff, Joe Arpaio, and those who don't think the government has done enough against illegal immigration.

The sheriff says it's ironic that the mayor wrote the letter on the same day that U.S. immigration agents approved of the sheriff department's work.

KeyeTV

E-mails reveal conspiracy to defeat Oklahoma's HB 1804

Oklahoma State Senator, Harry Coates, has a roofing business.  The main reason he is against Oklahoma's new anti-illegal foreign national law is probably personal greed.  Coates wants all the cheap labor he can get with an unchallenged flow of illegals to Oklahoma.  Never mind the fact that the majority of Oklahomans want this anti-illegal law.

Now, some e-mails have surfaced, revealed by the Oklahoma Political News Service, where the Senator, his aide and a lobbyist or two wrote of their plans to thwart the implimentation of a major part of the new law that goes into effect July 1st and use the proposed legislation to have a "English Only" vote of the people set forth as leverage and more.  These e-mails were apparently in a file that are now missing from Senator Coates' office.  Obviously, they were never meant for others to read and is now being investigated by Senate leaders. 

Not surprisingly OKPNS wrote: "...the documents reveal the recent Oklahoma Banker’s Association study, presented as an independent gauge of the alleged harm to the Oklahoma economy, was rather a public relations stunt staged in coordination with the anti-1804 campaign."

What these e-mails reveal is the wrangling and manipulation of the legislative process that is taking place to destroy our anti-illegal immigration law and it should concern all Oklahomans.  These people and others are trying to go against the will of the people for their own greed.

To read all the conspiracy e-mails and commentary at OKPNS:

Part 1:

In part 1 today, the Oklahoma Political News Service reveals a coordinated effort by the plotters to stack the March 30th Flashpoint program, which hosted guests Randy Terrill, HB 1804 author, and Sen. Harry Coates, chief opponent of HB 1804.

Part 2

Since billion dollar Chesapeake Energy Company is too cheap to hire Americans and would rather hire unskilled - and probably illegal - workers from Mexico, we suggest the above cost effective shredder for their future document destruction needs. And it's American made! With all the time Sen. Coates is putting in to the scheme to repeal 1804, we wonder what time does he have to address his constituents concerns?  

Part 3

"We can 'play nice' for a short while but we will soon have to decide if we wish to continue this tactic or just 'go-for-broke' and turn the Senate upside down. If Coffee does not change his attitude about this, that's exactly what will have to be done. I don't know what else we can use for leverage if all else fails. He is going to look really silly if he continues to fight with Tom."    ---Senator Harry Coates

Also, consider the extremely biased coverage of this law by the Tulsa World which reveals article after article against the bill, although they will publish an occasional pro HB 1804 Letters-to-the Editor:

San Francisco welcomes illegal foreign nationals in ad campaign

San Francisco rolls out the red carpet for illegal foreign nationals in an ad campaign reminding everyone that it is a sanctuary city.  Oh brother.  Even the mayor, Gavin Newsom, acknowledged the negative reaction to the sanctuary policy:

...This week, the city launched a campaign featuring TV and radio ads, billboards and bus signs reminding residents of its status as a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants. The $83,000 blitz will include brochures distributed at police stations and hospitals, promising safe access to city services regardless of residency status.

"We're inviting people to come out of the shadows and take advantage of services," said Mayor Gavin Newsom. San Francisco has tried to make this point clear for years.

...Since it became a sanctuary city in 1989, the city has barred employees from assisting federal officials with immigration investigations or arrests. But Newsom said recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in San Francisco and the Bay Area convinced him the city needed to do more.

...While numerous communities -- including San Jose, Oakland, Seattle and Miami -- consider themselves sanctuary cities, none of the others has launched a campaign to advertise that fact, officials here say.

Newsom, a Democrat who is considering a run for governor in 2010, said he hopes it will have an effect at shelters and psychiatric intake units.

He acknowledged that much of the reaction to the sanctuary program has been negative, attracting even more criticism than his stand on gay marriage.

LATimes

Absolut Vodka ad: depicts Mexico's conquest of western America!

There is an ad by Absolut Vodka that Newsbuster brought to our attention today which should rile you up.  This is what absolute stupidity with no common sense looks like:

Taking the Reconquista concept all the way to the end, Absolut Vodka launched an ad campaign that appears on billboards and at least one magazine that features a map of the western U.S. and Mexico with nearly the entire west coast appearing as a part of Mexico. This ad appears in Quien Magazine, which is owned by Time Warner and also appears on billboards in Mexico.

...The map covers what used to be Mexico's claimed borders before our 1846 war with them from which the U.S. took possession of California, Texas, New Mexico, etc. But, the ad shows those states as part of Mexico with the "Estados Unidos De America" situated to the north and east of the "Absolut World" Mexico.

Newsbusters

Feel free to express your disgust:

Keith Cocozza

Vice President

Corporate Communications

Time Warner Inc.

One Time Warner Center

New York, NY10019-8016

212.484.8000

Absolut has this pitiful response on their website/blog about their very poor decision (my words):

In an ABSOLUT World according to Mexico

Posted Friday, April 04, 2008, 5:26:34 PM

The In An Absolut World advertising campaign invites consumers to visualize a world that appeals to them -- one they feel may be more idealized or one that may be a bit "fantastic." As such, the campaign will elicit varying opinions and points of view. We have a variety of executions running in countries worldwide, and each is germane to that country and that population.

This particular ad, which ran in Mexico, was based upon historical perspectives and was created with a Mexican sensibility. In no way was this meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American sentiment, nor does it reflect immigration issues. Instead, it hearkens to a time which the population of Mexico may feel was more ideal.

As a global company, we recognize that people in different parts of the world may lend different perspectives or interpret our ads in a different way than was intended in that market. Obviously, this ad was run in Mexico, and not the US -- that ad might have been very different.

Other brands:

Boycott pernod-ricard brands - 15 key brands and 30 local brands (plus Absolut).

Key Brands:

Absolut
Rickard
Ballantines
Chivas Regal
Kahlua
Malibu
Beefeater
Havana Club
Stolichnaya
Jameson (advertised heavily in NYC)
Martell
Glenlivet
Jacobs Creek
Mumm
Perrier-Jouet
Montana wines, New Zealand

Local Brands:

Seagram’s gin, 100 Pipers, Amaro Ramazzoti, Clan Campbell, Imperial, Pastis 51, Ararat, Wild Turkey, Royal Salute, Tia Maria, Suze, Royal Stag, Ruavieja, Wyndham Estate, Powers, Campo Viejo, Hiram Walker, Passport, Café de Paris, Becherovka, Don Pedro, Olmeca, Aberlour, Wisers, Montilla, Presidente, Soho/Dita, Pernod, Wyborowa, Something special.

Tulsa Bishop fights Oklahoma Illegal Immigration law

In the second of three lawsuits filed against the legality of Oklahoma's new anti-illegal foreign national law, a Tulsa clergy received court approval to file a brief on Thursday. 

The first lawsuit filed by the National Coalition of Latino Clergy was dismissed.  They vowed to appeal but haven't done so.  The third lawsuit, filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Oklahoma City and Tulsa chambers is still pending although the state of Oklahoma has asked the court to dismiss it as they did with the first lawsuit.

Roman Catholic Bishop Edward J. Slattery has received judicial approval to file a "friend-of-the-court" brief in a case that asks a Tulsa County judge to declare Oklahoma's new immigration law unconstitutional.

Slattery and Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Tulsa applied Thursday to submit a brief in support of the position of plaintiff Michael C. Thomas.

...District Judge Jefferson Sellers ruled Thursday that the brief from Slattery and Catholic Charities can be filed. Sellers also set an April 3 hearing on pending motions in the case.

...Thomas, identified as a resident taxpayer of Tulsa County, seeks "to prevent an alleged wrongful expenditure of public funds" by the state and Tulsa County for enforcement of an unconstitutional statute, according to his lawsuit.The plaintiff's attorneys are James Frasier, Steve Hickman and James C. Thomas, the father of the plaintiff.

James Thomas previously said he strongly opposes the immigration law and that he needed a taxpayer to be the plaintiff. His son agreed to fill that role, he said.

In court responses, lawyers for the governor and the County Commission say Michael Thomas has no "standing" to pursue the legal challenge.

"For a person to have standing to challenge any of the statutes created by HB 1804, the person challenging the statutes must be directly affected by the statutes (for example, be an illegal alien who has been denied a right)," states a motion to dismiss the case, filed by Assistant Attorneys General Daniel Weitman and Kevin McClure, representing Henry.

Tulsa World

I've keep track of the action in Oklahoma by those who want to defeat HB 1804 here

Oklahoma leads the way on curbing illegal foreign nationals

PHOTO COURTESY OF VIAN TENKILLER NEWS

This story is just the tip of the iceberg about the illegal foreign national problem in Oklahoma. Often with little money, law enforcement officers work to do their job enforcing the new anti-illegal foreign national law that went into effect last November.  Hats off to these men and women.

But, it hasn't been smooth sailing with all law enforcement agencies. "As far as I'm concerned, it's going to be business as usual,” said Scott Jay, Beckham County sheriff. "I don't see where it's going to have any impact at all on local law enforcement.”  In Enid, officers won't add immigration enforcement to their list of duties.  In Oklahoma City: "We're not going to enforce immigration laws. It's our opinion that it's a federal issue,” said Oklahoma City Police Chief William Citty. "If anyone is stopped on a felony or DUI, we will check their status. We will notify ICE if something needs to be investigated. But I don't have the manpower for this.”  Jerks.

The citizens of Oklahoma overwhelmingly support this law - yet outside sources like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Coalition of Latino Clergy have sued Oklahoma to overturn the law.  The later lawsuit was thrown out but the latino coalition vowed to appeal.  I'm blown away by the actions of these outside groups into the affairs of Oklahoma. 

It's beyond common sense why other states turn a blind eye to this problem:

Sequoyah County, Oklahoma  was the first under the new state law to arrest suspected illegal immigrants, on Jan. 7 when eight laborers were arrested south of Sallisaw (south-central Oklahoma). Calbert said those first eight were held in the county jail from Jan. 7 through 18, when they were turned over to agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office out of Dallas...Now the county has 29 illegal immigrants in custody after two investigations over the past week.

John Bennett, illegal immigration liaison officer with District 27 Drug Task Force and the Sequoyah County Sheriff's Office, with the help of the Vian Police Department, took 16 illegal immigrants into custody on the afternoon of Feb. 7...The officers also found that none had a valid driver's license.

On Sunday, Bennett arrested another 14 illegal immigrants just off Interstate 40 near Sallisaw..."Most of these men not only had outstanding warrants for their arrests but had more than one alias too," Bennett said.

Bennett told the Vian Tenkiller News about those arrested in Vian, "more than one of these passengers had previous felony convictions ranging from drug transportation, vehicle theft, assault charges, receiving and or selling stolen property, disorderly conduct on a police officer and several others including child molestation.  "We have to enforce the law and that's what we are here for, to protect the citizens of Sequoyah County," Bennett said. "One of the passengers in the Suburban made the comment that word was already out that Oklahoma was enforcing their new law and to not travel through our state. This shows that this new law is already working and that we are serious about illegal immigration."

Source

FYI:  Tracking the new law in Oklahoma and the attempts to stop it over time are here.  It is updated often.