4 in big drug-smuggling ring are convicted; 3 are fugitives
By Kim Smith
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 06.14.2008
Four men accused of being members of one of the county's largest-ever drug-trafficking rings were convicted Friday following a six-week trial and two days of deliberations.
Two of the men never attended the trial, having absconded months ago. Another didn't show up for the verdict and had a warrant issued for his arrest.
The fourth man will be sentenced by Pima County Superior Court Judge Howard Hantman July 18 and is facing decades in prison.
David Sosa-Hernandez was convicted of 16 of 17 counts, Sylvester Alfonso Mitchell was convicted of four of four counts and Ricardo H. Varela was convicted of five of five counts, said Deputy Pima County Attorney Richard Wintory.
Vicente Murrieta Melendez was convicted of three of four charges, Wintory said.
All four men were indicted with 31 others on money-laundering, conspiracy and drug charges in August 2004 after an investigation by the Counter Narcotics Alliance.
Sosa-Hernandez, along with his aunt, Maria Isabel Dominguez, located sources of marijuana in Mexico and then brokered deals between those sources and Jamaican drug traffickers, Wintory told jurors during opening statements May 8.
Members of the Counter Narcotics Alliance spent months monitoring three of Dominguez's telephone lines and determined that Murrieta Melendez was a member of the Dominguez organization, Varela was a supplier and Mitchell was transporting or selling the drug.
Detectives testified the alliance began investigating Dominguez after getting a tip. During the investigation, it was learned the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was also investigating the Dominguez organization, and the two agencies teamed up.
Dominguez had been scheduled to go to trial along with the four, but she pleaded guilty to money-laundering at the start of the trial and agreed to serve 18 years in prison.
Sosa-Hernandez and Mitchell were tried in absentia because both are fugitives with warrants out for their arrests.
Varela attended the entire trial, but when he didn't show up Friday for the verdicts, Hantman issued a warrant for his arrest, Wintory said.
If ever caught, Mitchell and Varela face decades in prison, Wintory said. Sosa-Hernandez could spend the rest of his life in prison if he's caught.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
2,700 pounds of pot seized in traffic stop
by Beth Duckett - Jun. 14, 2008 03:33 PM
The Arizona Republic Maricopa County Sheriff's Office deputies seized more than a ton of marijuana Friday during a traffic stop in the southwest Valley.
Deputies seized 2,700 pounds of the drug with a street value of $3 million.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio said the suspect, an illegal immigrant, was under surveillance and pulled over for a traffic violation in Rainbow Valley, about 40 miles outside of Phoenix.
Deputies arrested Carlos Olivas-Melendrez, 22.
Arpaio said the shipment could have been part of a large-scale international drug ring.
The sheriff's office later raided what was believed was a stash house in the area.
Three weapons were confiscated.
The Arizona Republic Maricopa County Sheriff's Office deputies seized more than a ton of marijuana Friday during a traffic stop in the southwest Valley.
Deputies seized 2,700 pounds of the drug with a street value of $3 million.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio said the suspect, an illegal immigrant, was under surveillance and pulled over for a traffic violation in Rainbow Valley, about 40 miles outside of Phoenix.
Deputies arrested Carlos Olivas-Melendrez, 22.
Arpaio said the shipment could have been part of a large-scale international drug ring.
The sheriff's office later raided what was believed was a stash house in the area.
Three weapons were confiscated.
Phoenix office reducing naturalization backlog
by Daniel González - Jun. 14, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
The head of the federal immigration service said Friday that officials in Phoenix are working overtime to naturalize at least 15,000 immigrants this fiscal year as part of an effort to reduce massive backlogs.
The 15,000 naturalizations would represent nearly a 43 percent increase from the previous year, when the Phoenix office naturalized 10,500 immigrants, said Jonathan Scharfen, acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.
That would help assure that those who applied last year wanting to vote in the presidential election this November would be able to do so, he said.
Scharfen, who became acting director of USCIS in April, was in Arizona to monitor local efforts by immigration officials to reduce a large backlog of naturalization applications. He was in Phoenix on Friday after stopping in Tucson on Thursday.
"I've been pleased by what I saw," Scharfen said.
Scharfen said the Phoenix office had stepped up the processing of naturalization applications without compromising public safety or national security.
Like other immigration offices around the country, Phoenix was hit last year with a surge of naturalization applications, many from legal immigrants seeking to become U.S. citizens in time to avoid a 70 percent fee hike and to vote in the November election.
The surge boosted the wait time in Phoenix for naturalization applications to be processed to 14 months, among the longest in the nation.
The long waits in Phoenix and around the country prompted a national outcry from immigrants and advocacy groups, some of which accused the Bush administration of intentionally dragging its feet to prevent thousands of immigrants from becoming citizens in time to vote for Democrats in presidential and other elections.
On Friday, Scharfen called those accusations unfounded.
He agreed, however, that the long waits were "unacceptable" and said that immigrants living in the greatest immigrant nation on Earth deserved a first-class immigration service.
Since the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1, immigration officers in Phoenix have put in over 1,000 overtime hours to reduce the backlog. The office also added 36 employees, bringing the total to 107, Scharfen said.
As a result, immigration officials expect the wait time in Phoenix to drop from 14 months to less than 10 months by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
Scharfen said that means most of the nearly 16,000 immigrants who applied to become U.S. citizens during the previous fiscal year should be processed in time to vote on Nov. 4. The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 6.
An immigrant advocate said she was pleased by the government's efforts to reduce the backlogs.
"I'm really glad that the clamoring by organizations . . . and the community in general has had positive results," said Monica Sandschafer, head organizer of Arizona ACORN, a grassroots organization that holds citizenship classes.
The Arizona Republic
The head of the federal immigration service said Friday that officials in Phoenix are working overtime to naturalize at least 15,000 immigrants this fiscal year as part of an effort to reduce massive backlogs.
The 15,000 naturalizations would represent nearly a 43 percent increase from the previous year, when the Phoenix office naturalized 10,500 immigrants, said Jonathan Scharfen, acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.
That would help assure that those who applied last year wanting to vote in the presidential election this November would be able to do so, he said.
Scharfen, who became acting director of USCIS in April, was in Arizona to monitor local efforts by immigration officials to reduce a large backlog of naturalization applications. He was in Phoenix on Friday after stopping in Tucson on Thursday.
"I've been pleased by what I saw," Scharfen said.
Scharfen said the Phoenix office had stepped up the processing of naturalization applications without compromising public safety or national security.
Like other immigration offices around the country, Phoenix was hit last year with a surge of naturalization applications, many from legal immigrants seeking to become U.S. citizens in time to avoid a 70 percent fee hike and to vote in the November election.
The surge boosted the wait time in Phoenix for naturalization applications to be processed to 14 months, among the longest in the nation.
The long waits in Phoenix and around the country prompted a national outcry from immigrants and advocacy groups, some of which accused the Bush administration of intentionally dragging its feet to prevent thousands of immigrants from becoming citizens in time to vote for Democrats in presidential and other elections.
On Friday, Scharfen called those accusations unfounded.
He agreed, however, that the long waits were "unacceptable" and said that immigrants living in the greatest immigrant nation on Earth deserved a first-class immigration service.
Since the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1, immigration officers in Phoenix have put in over 1,000 overtime hours to reduce the backlog. The office also added 36 employees, bringing the total to 107, Scharfen said.
As a result, immigration officials expect the wait time in Phoenix to drop from 14 months to less than 10 months by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
Scharfen said that means most of the nearly 16,000 immigrants who applied to become U.S. citizens during the previous fiscal year should be processed in time to vote on Nov. 4. The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 6.
An immigrant advocate said she was pleased by the government's efforts to reduce the backlogs.
"I'm really glad that the clamoring by organizations . . . and the community in general has had positive results," said Monica Sandschafer, head organizer of Arizona ACORN, a grassroots organization that holds citizenship classes.
Both parties duck on immigration issue
By Julie Hirschfeld Davis
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: 06.09.2008
WASHINGTON — The tricky politics of immigration, an issue once seen as a driving force of the 2008 election, have relegated it to a back but hot burner in the presidential campaign debate and paralyzed Congress on the topic.
Both John McCain and Barack Obama support giving legal status to millions of illegal immigrants, a position that strategists see as crucial to winning over Hispanics. But Republican and Democratic candidates are also wary of alienating white conservatives and blacks who oppose granting legal status or benefits to people who broke the law to come to the United States.
The searing rhetoric from opponents who brand that idea as "amnesty" has made the topic virtually untouchable, according to strategists and lawmakers.
"Politicians from both parties are caught between Lou Dobbs voters and Latino voters. Presidential candidates will avoid this issue — both of them — and when they can't avoid it, they'll straddle," said Tamar Jacoby, president of ImmigrationWorks USA, a coalition pushing for an immigration overhaul. "It doesn't pay as an electoral issue."
The high-profile Dobbs is a CNN host who has used his early evening show as a platform to protest illegal immigration.
McCain and Obama have spoken of their support during the campaign for an immigration overhaul, but neither has made the issue a major part of his presidential bid. Each has reason to tread carefully.
McCain's position is a sore point between him and the conservative GOP base. He is caught between shoring up those core constituents and drawing support from Hispanics.
"He's trying to appeal to one group of voters that hates the other," said Cecilia Munoz of the National Council of La Raza.
Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio said it does not pay for McCain or GOP congressional candidates to highlight their party's rift on the issue. Those candidates lag far behind McCain in national polls that asking voters whether they support a Republican or Democrat for Congress.
"Why focus on what divides us?" Fabrizio said.
McCain sometimes has sent conflicting messages on immigration.
He hedged when asked whether, as president, he would sign legislation he helped write to legalize undocumented immigrants, and now says such action should only be taken after border security is strengthened. But he also publicly lamented the defeat of his measure, calling it "my failure, too."
For Obama, who is struggling to win over Latino voters, the predicament is less pronounced but no less puzzling. On immigration issues where he and McCain differ, Obama's views are out of synch with those of most voters, polls show.
Obama's support for giving drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants is a prime example; polls show that the public overwhelmingly opposes it. Obama also supports giving legal status to immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as children and have completed two years of college or military service.
Democrats "do want to be out front on it, but they fear alienating those blue-collar, skeptical voters," Jacoby said.
Obama got a taste of that backlash recently. He drew heavy criticism in the blogosphere for suggesting that conservative cable TV hosts who routinely rail against illegal immigrants are partly to blame for an increase in hate crimes against Hispanic people.
"A certain segment has basically been feeding a kind of xenophobia," Obama said at a fundraiser in Palm Beach, Fla. "If you have people like Lou Dobbs and Rush Limbaugh ginning things up, it's not surprising that would happen."
The comment was a nod to a widespread feeling among Hispanic voters that bitter rhetoric against illegal immigrants is really veiled racism against U.S. citizens and legal residents who are Latino.
"The volatility of the issue discourages the national candidates from aggressively promoting the need for comprehensive immigration reform," said Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif. "When they're asked, they respond, but I've come to the conclusion that this campaign will not likely be a useful educational tool for demonstrating the compelling need for reform."
Candidates are finding other, less risky, ways to telegraph their sympathy for Hispanic voters.
McCain has a TV ad praising Hispanics' service in Vietnam and Iraq and saying that some "love this country so much that they're willing to risk their lives in its service in order to accelerate their path to citizenship."
Obama spoke Spanish in an ad aired in Puerto Rico that focused on economic concerns.
In Congress, Democratic leaders are skittish about immigration votes. Instead, they are holding House hearings — but no votes — on a measure written by one of their more conservative members, Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina, to strengthen border security and crack down on employers who hire undocumented workers.
One Hispanic Democrat, Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, said his leaders were being "spineless." Others argue that Republicans, who have made it a strategy to force politically painful immigration votes on unrelated bills, essentially have blackmailed Democrats into taking tougher stances on the issue.
In February, for example, Democrats joined Republicans to forbid illegal immigrants from getting an economic relief tax rebate.
More recently, Senate Democratic leaders were forced to pull provisions from an emergency Iraq spending bill that would have awarded work permits for immigrant farm and seasonal workers.
"Congressional Democrats are struggling to figure out whether they want to sound like Republicans-lite or whether they want to actually get out in front of the issue and lead," Munoz said.
Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., a supporter of a broad overhaul, said candidates in both parties face that dilemma.
"You have to ask yourself, `Do I want to really get out front on an issue that isn't really going anywhere and my opponent can demagogue it and misrepresent my position?"' Flake said. "If you're going to go out on a limb on something, there has to be a payoff, and on this, there just isn't."
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: 06.09.2008
WASHINGTON — The tricky politics of immigration, an issue once seen as a driving force of the 2008 election, have relegated it to a back but hot burner in the presidential campaign debate and paralyzed Congress on the topic.
Both John McCain and Barack Obama support giving legal status to millions of illegal immigrants, a position that strategists see as crucial to winning over Hispanics. But Republican and Democratic candidates are also wary of alienating white conservatives and blacks who oppose granting legal status or benefits to people who broke the law to come to the United States.
The searing rhetoric from opponents who brand that idea as "amnesty" has made the topic virtually untouchable, according to strategists and lawmakers.
"Politicians from both parties are caught between Lou Dobbs voters and Latino voters. Presidential candidates will avoid this issue — both of them — and when they can't avoid it, they'll straddle," said Tamar Jacoby, president of ImmigrationWorks USA, a coalition pushing for an immigration overhaul. "It doesn't pay as an electoral issue."
The high-profile Dobbs is a CNN host who has used his early evening show as a platform to protest illegal immigration.
McCain and Obama have spoken of their support during the campaign for an immigration overhaul, but neither has made the issue a major part of his presidential bid. Each has reason to tread carefully.
McCain's position is a sore point between him and the conservative GOP base. He is caught between shoring up those core constituents and drawing support from Hispanics.
"He's trying to appeal to one group of voters that hates the other," said Cecilia Munoz of the National Council of La Raza.
Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio said it does not pay for McCain or GOP congressional candidates to highlight their party's rift on the issue. Those candidates lag far behind McCain in national polls that asking voters whether they support a Republican or Democrat for Congress.
"Why focus on what divides us?" Fabrizio said.
McCain sometimes has sent conflicting messages on immigration.
He hedged when asked whether, as president, he would sign legislation he helped write to legalize undocumented immigrants, and now says such action should only be taken after border security is strengthened. But he also publicly lamented the defeat of his measure, calling it "my failure, too."
For Obama, who is struggling to win over Latino voters, the predicament is less pronounced but no less puzzling. On immigration issues where he and McCain differ, Obama's views are out of synch with those of most voters, polls show.
Obama's support for giving drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants is a prime example; polls show that the public overwhelmingly opposes it. Obama also supports giving legal status to immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as children and have completed two years of college or military service.
Democrats "do want to be out front on it, but they fear alienating those blue-collar, skeptical voters," Jacoby said.
Obama got a taste of that backlash recently. He drew heavy criticism in the blogosphere for suggesting that conservative cable TV hosts who routinely rail against illegal immigrants are partly to blame for an increase in hate crimes against Hispanic people.
"A certain segment has basically been feeding a kind of xenophobia," Obama said at a fundraiser in Palm Beach, Fla. "If you have people like Lou Dobbs and Rush Limbaugh ginning things up, it's not surprising that would happen."
The comment was a nod to a widespread feeling among Hispanic voters that bitter rhetoric against illegal immigrants is really veiled racism against U.S. citizens and legal residents who are Latino.
"The volatility of the issue discourages the national candidates from aggressively promoting the need for comprehensive immigration reform," said Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif. "When they're asked, they respond, but I've come to the conclusion that this campaign will not likely be a useful educational tool for demonstrating the compelling need for reform."
Candidates are finding other, less risky, ways to telegraph their sympathy for Hispanic voters.
McCain has a TV ad praising Hispanics' service in Vietnam and Iraq and saying that some "love this country so much that they're willing to risk their lives in its service in order to accelerate their path to citizenship."
Obama spoke Spanish in an ad aired in Puerto Rico that focused on economic concerns.
In Congress, Democratic leaders are skittish about immigration votes. Instead, they are holding House hearings — but no votes — on a measure written by one of their more conservative members, Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina, to strengthen border security and crack down on employers who hire undocumented workers.
One Hispanic Democrat, Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, said his leaders were being "spineless." Others argue that Republicans, who have made it a strategy to force politically painful immigration votes on unrelated bills, essentially have blackmailed Democrats into taking tougher stances on the issue.
In February, for example, Democrats joined Republicans to forbid illegal immigrants from getting an economic relief tax rebate.
More recently, Senate Democratic leaders were forced to pull provisions from an emergency Iraq spending bill that would have awarded work permits for immigrant farm and seasonal workers.
"Congressional Democrats are struggling to figure out whether they want to sound like Republicans-lite or whether they want to actually get out in front of the issue and lead," Munoz said.
Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., a supporter of a broad overhaul, said candidates in both parties face that dilemma.
"You have to ask yourself, `Do I want to really get out front on an issue that isn't really going anywhere and my opponent can demagogue it and misrepresent my position?"' Flake said. "If you're going to go out on a limb on something, there has to be a payoff, and on this, there just isn't."
Friday, June 13, 2008
Two drop houses raided, 30 in custody
by Matt Culbertson - Jun. 13, 2008 12:33 PM
The Arizona Republic
Authorities raided a Phoenix drop house Thursday night, finding 11 undocumented immigrants and arresting four human smugglers.
A second drop house raid also was conducted Friday, resulting in another 15 detainees.
On Thursday, acting on a tip, a task force known as the Illegal Immigration Prevention and Apprehension Co-op Team, or IIMPACT, investigated a possible drop house near West Indian School Road and North 51st Avenue. The task force entered the house Thursday evening, police said.
IIMPACT consists of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Phoenix police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Authorities were tipped off by the wife of one of the undocumented immigrants, who talked to officials because she feared for her husband's safety.
She told officials her husband had paid $1,500 to a human smuggling organization to be taken into the United States illegally, Phoenix Det. Reuben Gonzales said.
But when the smugglers took the man to the United States, they instead traded him to another organization, which threatened to kill him if he did not pay an additional $3,500 for his release, Gonzales said.
During the raid, no one was injured and no shots were fired, though officers found weapons inside the house including a shotgun and handgun, Gonzales said.
The 11 undocumented immigrants did not appear to be injured, but their shoes had been confiscated to keep them from escaping, and the house had been fortified, with bolted windows and locked doors to bar them from leaving.
Authorities arrested the four smugglers on counts of kidnapping, extortion and misconduct involving weapons. ICE took custody of the 11 undocumented immigrants to process them and return them to Mexico.
The Arizona Republic
Authorities raided a Phoenix drop house Thursday night, finding 11 undocumented immigrants and arresting four human smugglers.
A second drop house raid also was conducted Friday, resulting in another 15 detainees.
On Thursday, acting on a tip, a task force known as the Illegal Immigration Prevention and Apprehension Co-op Team, or IIMPACT, investigated a possible drop house near West Indian School Road and North 51st Avenue. The task force entered the house Thursday evening, police said.
IIMPACT consists of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Phoenix police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Authorities were tipped off by the wife of one of the undocumented immigrants, who talked to officials because she feared for her husband's safety.
She told officials her husband had paid $1,500 to a human smuggling organization to be taken into the United States illegally, Phoenix Det. Reuben Gonzales said.
But when the smugglers took the man to the United States, they instead traded him to another organization, which threatened to kill him if he did not pay an additional $3,500 for his release, Gonzales said.
During the raid, no one was injured and no shots were fired, though officers found weapons inside the house including a shotgun and handgun, Gonzales said.
The 11 undocumented immigrants did not appear to be injured, but their shoes had been confiscated to keep them from escaping, and the house had been fortified, with bolted windows and locked doors to bar them from leaving.
Authorities arrested the four smugglers on counts of kidnapping, extortion and misconduct involving weapons. ICE took custody of the 11 undocumented immigrants to process them and return them to Mexico.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
At least one in three Arizona children has at least one immigrant parent
The number of Arizona children who come from immigrant households is soaring.
At least one in three Arizona children now has at least one immigrant parent, up from about one in four 10 years ago, said Nancy Welch,a researcher at the Morrison Institute for Public Policy at Arizona State University.
She co-authored a new report that concluded at least 471,000 children living in Arizona are from immigrant households - or more than the entire population of Mesa.
The report is based on 2006 census data.
These children, whom the report dubbed "Gen G," for Generation Global, pose both opportunities and challenges in the global economy.
"They really bring a lot of assets," Welch said. "For one, they already speak two languages."
They also pose significant challenges.
Children from immigrant households face more obstacles than children with native-born parents: They are more likely to have parents with limited education, they are more likely to grow up in poverty, and they often lack health insurance.
At least one in three Arizona children now has at least one immigrant parent, up from about one in four 10 years ago, said Nancy Welch,a researcher at the Morrison Institute for Public Policy at Arizona State University.
She co-authored a new report that concluded at least 471,000 children living in Arizona are from immigrant households - or more than the entire population of Mesa.
The report is based on 2006 census data.
These children, whom the report dubbed "Gen G," for Generation Global, pose both opportunities and challenges in the global economy.
"They really bring a lot of assets," Welch said. "For one, they already speak two languages."
They also pose significant challenges.
Children from immigrant households face more obstacles than children with native-born parents: They are more likely to have parents with limited education, they are more likely to grow up in poverty, and they often lack health insurance.
'Chandler Rapist' case continues
by Megan Boehnke - Jun. 11, 2008 12:00 AM
The man accused of being the "Chandler Rapist" is expected to appear in a Mesa courtroom this morning for a status conference in another of what will likely be a long series of hearings leading up to the trial.
Santana Batiz Aceves, 39, is charged with 47 counts including child molestation, sexual conduct with a minor, kidnapping, aggravated assault and burglary.
Police say he attacked six young girls from June 2006 to November 2007.
On April 9, Judge Theresa A. Sanders denied Batiz Aceves' request to have the trial moved out of Maricopa County.
The construction worker who called himself Ricardo Lopez was arrested Jan. 13, less than 24 hours after police said DNA test results confirmed that he was a match for a serial rapist who had been stalking and raping young girls in Chandler.
Originally from Sinaloa, Mexico, Batiz Aceves began living in the United States illegally in 1988 and lived in Sacramento for nearly 16 years, where he worked for a construction company.
Three of the victims were students at Andersen Junior High School, police said.
In all but one of the cases, police believe, the rapist followed the victims for weeks, targeting single-parent homes.
In the incidents, the rapist studied the parent's routine, developed a quick escape route and then struck, police said.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Three Arizona businesses targeted over employer sanctions law
Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies served search warrants and subpoenas at a trio of Valley summer fun spots Tuesday morning as part of a sweeping investigation into potential violations of the state's Legal Arizona Workers Act.
Deputies arrived simultaneously at Waterworld on Phoenix, Big Surf in Tempe and Golfland in Mesa about 11 a.m. Tuesday to serve the warrants covering employee files at Waterworld, which the business was expected to comply with immediately.
Subpoenas were also served for other employee records, though Waterworld executives will have time to work out those details, deputies said.
The Sheriff's Office said at an afternoon press conference that there's a strong possibility that 104 of Golfland Entertainment's 198 employees have discrepancies with their Social Security number information. If this plays out to be true, then there will likely be action or investigation against Golfland, making it the first aggressive move to enforce the state's employer sanctions law, authorities say.
The investigation into potential violations of Arizona's employer-sanctions law began after deputies received a tip in February from a former Waterworld employee that included detailed, specific information on employees who were using fraudulent documents to work at the family fun centers.
After months of surveillance and investigation, detectives targeted six employees Tuesday morning, most of whom were apprehended on their way to work.
Another Waterworld employee who detectives targeted was arrested without incident at the water park Tuesday, and another was apprehended after he jumped the fence and tried to flee the park before he ran into sheriff's deputies who formed a perimeter around the scene.
The Sheriff's Office has arrested eight workers during a handful of investigations into violations of the state's employer sanctions law, but has yet to target any business owner for prosecution.
An employer found to have knowingly hired an undocumented worker after Jan. 1 would lose a business license for up to 10 days on the first offense, and could permanently lose an Arizona business license for a second offense.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Arizona : Leading by example
Arizona has been a leader in immigration-related laws, mostly legislation that would crack down on illegal immigrants. Although there have been numerous legislative proposals, most of the laws have been approved by voters. A few examples:
AT THE BALLOT BOX
No public welfare benefits for people in the country illegally. Approved November 2004.
No bail for illegal immigrants arrested for serious crimes. Approved November 2006.
No punitive damages to illegal immigrants in lawsuits. Any financial reward is limited to actual damages. Approved November 2006.
Mandates English is the official language of government, with various exceptions. Approved November 2006.
No state-subsidized programs for illegal immigrants in the areas of adult education and child care, among other programs. Approved November 2006.
AT THE LEGISLATURE
Penalties for employers who hire illegal workers. Passed June 2007; amended May 2008.
Create penalties for people who block public rights of way while seeking and/or hiring day labor. Vote pending in the state Senate; approved by the House of Representatives.
Create a temporary-worker program for those Arizona businesses that could demonstrate a worker shortage in their industry. Workers could be brought in through Mexico. Initial vote pending in the state Senate; if approved, would need House OK.
Refer to the ballot a measure that would require local police agencies to inquire about the immigration status of people they stop in the course of law-enforcement duties. Awaiting a final vote in the House; then must go to the Senate for approval.
Three sanctions cases
What Arizona and other states are doing
Three laws spelling out a role for local and/or state enforcement of immigration law have been contested in federal court and are each now before a federal appeals court. First up is Arizona's Legal Arizona Workers Act, which will be heard by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday.
The Arizona Legislature approved the Legal Arizona Workers Act in June 2007 and signed into law by Gov. Janet Napolitano on July 2, 2007.
The law gives Arizona the right to act on any of a business' state-issued licenses if the employer is found to have willingly or knowingly hired an illegal worker.
Eleven days after Napolitano acted on the bill, a coalition of business groups, led by the Arizona Contractors Association, sued in federal court. After some legal twists and turns, the law was upheld in February by U.S. District Court Judge Neil V. Wake.
The Hazleton (Pa.) City Council approved the Illegal Immigration Relief Act in July 2006.
It set out penalties for employers who hired illegal workers, as well as for landlords who rented to those in the country illegally.
A year later, a federal judge overturned the city ordinance, saying it was unconstitutional because it wrongly gave the city power over immigration issues, which are in the federal domain.
The case is on appeal to the Third 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and a hearing is expected later this summer.
The Valley Park (Mo.) City Council approved the Illegal Immigration Relief Act in July 2006, but later amended it to drop sanctions against landlords who rent to people in the country illegally.
A lawsuit challenging the ordinance argued that the city has no authority to penalize employers found to have hired illegal workers.
In January, 2008 a federal district court judge upheld the city ordinance. It has been appealed to the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is expected to hear the case later this year.
Meanwhile, the Missouri General Assembly approved a state law that mirrors the Valley Park ordinance.
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