Immigration Article Cache

Immigrants deported from McLennan County Jail rarely had criminal history

Waco Tribune-Herald

By Cindy V. Culp Tribune-Herald staff writer

Sunday August 22, 2010

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 Deportations triggered by a relatively new program that checks the immigration status of people booked into the McLennan County Jail have mostly involved people with no prior criminal history.

Of the 18 local inmates who have been deported under the program so far, only three had past criminal convictions, according to data from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

As of July, the jail had submitted 3,955 sets of fingerprints to federal officials since the county signed on to the program at the end of January.

Of those, 155 were linked to someone suspected of being in the country illegally, the data show.

Seventeen of the matches involved Level 1 criminals. Those are people who have committed or been charged with the most serious offenses.

Examples include murder, kidnapping, sexual assault and drug crimes for which the sentence is at least a year.

Most of other matches — 109 — were for people nabbed for Level 2 or 3 crimes. Those include everything from arson and burglary to traffic violations.

The remaining 29 matches involved “noncriminals.” ICE uses that term to describe people with no criminal convictions.

When the numbers are crunched, the data show that about half of the noncriminals who were flagged have been deported, versus 2.4 percent of those with a criminal history.

Although it is theoretically possible some of the deported noncriminals were jailed on serious charges, Waco immigration attorney Susan Nelson said that has not been her observation.

The majority of such people are arrested after committing a traffic violation and not being able to produce a driver’s license, she said.

Nelson said she has no problem with the government using the program to locate and deport illegal immigrants who are committing real crimes. But she is troubled by the idea of generally law-abiding people also being ensnared, she said.

“For a lot of them, their only crime is not having a driver’s license,” Nelson said.

Nationally, immigration advocacy groups are expressing the same concern. Three groups recently obtained nationwide data about the jail initiative, which is called the Secure Communities program.

The information shows 79 percent of people deported under the program were noncriminals or committed lower-level crimes, according the groups. The advocacy groups include the Center for Constitutional Rights, the National Day Laborer Organization Network and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

That data doesn’t jibe with the program’s stated purpose of catching illegal immigrants who pose the biggest public safety threat, the groups said.

They worry that the program gives cover to unscrupulous police officers who engage in racial profiling. It also can make immigrants fearful of reporting crimes, they warn.

“S-Comm co-opts local police departments to do ICE’s dirty work at significant cost to community relations and police objectives,” Sunita Patel, an attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights, said in a news release.

“Without full and truthful information about the program’s actual mission and impact, police are operating in the dark. The bottom line is that thrusting police into the business of federal immigration enforcement isn’t good for anyone.”

ICE officials and other program supporters disagree. They said it has helped identify dangerous people and caution that the data are not as clear-cut as they might seem.

The crux of the program is using fingerprints to determine people’s immigration status when they are booked into jail. Fingerprints don’t lie, officials said.

The program is in place only in select jurisdictions. Some 3,494 counties were participating as of early August.

The government’s goal is to implement the program nationwide by 2013. That will involve more than 30,000 local jails and booking locations.

In Central Texas, McLennan County is the only jurisdiction that has participated for any length of time. It came onboard in January at ICE’s request.

But surrounding counties have signed on recently. Limestone, Bell, Falls, Hill, Freestone and Coryell counties all started participating at the end of June, said Nina Pruneda, an ICE spokeswoman in San Antonio.

When the program reveals someone is here illegally, ICE can issue a detainer. That can start the deportation process.

But the current data do not reflect all such actions, Pruneda said. That’s especially true in areas like McLennan County, where the program is relatively new, she said.

For one thing, people have the right to fight deportation in court, Pruneda said. That can take months, meaning deportations don’t show up until later.

Plus, when an illegal immigrant is prosecuted for whatever charge he or she was arrested on, ICE doesn’t usually get custody until after the person has completed his or her sentence, Pruneda said. That potentially puts deportation on hold for years.

“Remember, this is only a six-month window,” Pruneda said of the local data. “To us, the program has been a success and continues to be a success.”

McLennan County Sheriff Larry Lynch also views the program favorably. Any time law enforcement agencies can cooperate with each other to protect public safety, that’s a positive thing, he said.

The fact that the program flags a relatively small number of Level 1 offenders is not surprising, Lynch said. Only a fraction of arrests, regardless of the person’s immigration status, are for crimes such as murder or sexual assault, he said.

If Secure Communities can help identify just one dangerous person here, Lynch said he thinks it’s worth the small amount of time and effort his staff spends facilitating it.

“What if that one person is a mass murderer, child molester or a bank robber?” Lynch said.

Secure Communities

The following data pertain to the implementation of the Secure Communities program in McLennan County. The county has participated since the end of January and the data run through July.

The program is a project of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and aims to identify people who are in the country illegally. It revolves around jails submitting fingerprints of inmates so they can be compared to federal databases.

Total fingerprint sets submitted: 3,955

Number of matches indicating the person may be in the country illegally:

• Level 1
  offenders: 17
• Level 2 and 3 offenders: 109
• Non-criminals: 29

Number of people deported after a match is made:

• Level 1 offenders: 1
• Level 2 offenders: 2
• Level 3 offenders: 0
• Noncriminals: 15

Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

---

The following shows the national impact of the Secure Communities program. The time period covered is from the program’s start in October 2008 through June of this year.

Number of people deported: 46,929

Level 1 offenders: 9,831

Non-criminals: 12,293

Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

cculp@wacotrib.com

757-5744

Immigration decision watched in Waco

Waco Tribune-Herald

By Bill Teeter Tribune-Herald staff writer

Thursday July 29, 2010

   

A federal judge’s decision to block provisions of Arizona’s controversial immigration law was not welcomed by some in McLennan County who want America’s borders toughened.

But a local immigration lawyer said the decision was the only way to go.

Susan Nelson, a Waco attorney who specializes in immigration law, said immigration regulation is a function of the federal government, not the states.

“The sections the judge struck definitely stepped on the toes of federal immigration law,” Nelson said. “I didn’t think there was any question it would be struck down.”

There has been talk in some quarters in Texas about similar legislation, but the federal court’s move discourages that, she said.

“If the Arizona law had been allowed to take effect, then you have Texas and everybody else jumping on the bandwagon,” Nelson said.

Some of the provisions raised questions about racial profiling and how to tell when somebody could be an illegal immigrant.

“As a white girl raised in Austin, I have less to fear, but if you are taking away someone else’s rights, you are taking away mine,” she said.

Others saw it differently.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton ignored a prior court decision and prior shifts in responsibility from the federal to the state level, said Burt Hernandez, a Lorena resident active in the McLennan County Republican Party.

A 2005 Supreme Court case, Muehler v. Mena, showed police have the right to ask about immigration status, said Hernandez, a reserve police officer in Woodway.

He also cited a post-Sept. 11 decision by the FBI to take crimes that could be prosecuted under both state and federal law, such as bank robberies, and hand them off to local authorities to be handled under state law.

“I think she was dead wrong in her grounds,” Hernandez said of the judge.

State Rep. Doc Anderson, R-Waco, has been supportive of passing legislation similar to the Arizona law. He was traveling Wednesday, and his staff said he had not seen enough information about the decision to comment.

Immigrant arrests

Waco police don’t check immigration status before handing off arrested suspects to the McLennan County Jail, Waco police Sgt. Melvin Roseborough said.

If county jail personnel find out a prisoner may be illegal, that information is forwarded to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, McLennan County Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Randy Plemons said.

ICE officials then can tell the sheriff’s office to put an immigration hold on that person, Plemons said.

State Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco, said Wednesday’s developments showed the need for national immigration reform.

“We need a reasonable immigration policy that addresses the need for some immigrant workers and also protects Americans’ jobs,” Dunnam said.

“It’s a national boundary, not just Texas’, so you have to have a national solution,” he said.

The Arizona law’s provisions were not a solution to immigration questions, he said.

“I don’t think it solves the underlying problem. They solved the symptoms, they don’t solve the problem,” he said.

Some of the Arizona law contains provisions that would have proved troublesome for everyone to comply with, he said. He referred to more stringent identification requirements.

“I can tell you I don’t want to have to drive around with my birth certificate in my glove box,” Dunnam said.

bteeter@wacotrib.com

757-5734

Illegal valedictorian: Immigrant status stunts former University High grad's dreams

Waco Tribune-Herald

By J.B. Smith Tribune-Herald staff writer

Sunday July 25, 2010

 

Grecia Cantu gazed into the faces of her classmates on a day last June and stifled an urge to cry.

As thousands watched at the Heart O’ Texas Coliseum, the 2009 valedictorian of University High School found her voice cracking anyway as she thanked her teachers and urged her classmates to reach for what seemed unreachable.

Grecia, 19, agreed to be identified in this story knowing the visibility could raise her risk of deportation. She used another surname for this story to protect her parents’ identities.

Grecia Cantu said she considers herself an American and wants to find a way to become a legalized citizen. She has lived here since she was 7 years old.
Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald

Grecia’s own dreams then seemed within her grasp.

She had math smarts, a love of books and a flair for the stage. She had received a presidential scholarship to go to Baylor University.

“I was going to go to Baylor, become a teacher and settle down here,” she said. “I didn’t want to leave Waco.”

That summer her dream crashed into reality. She found out she could not afford Baylor. The main reason was that she is an illegal immigrant.

She came here as a 7-year-old with her parents from Monterrey, Mexico, a city that is now a fading memory.

She had mastered English and considered herself an American. But there was no way, short of an act of Congress, to get legal status.

That meant she couldn’t get a driver’s license or a Social Security number. She couldn’t get a job. She could attend college in Texas with in-state tuition, but she couldn’t get federal financial aid or a student loan.

And without them, she could not attend Baylor.

“It’s a great school and it has the best school of education,” she said. “But what’s the point of going through Baylor and getting in debt, when in the end I can’t work?”

Now entering her second year at McLennan Community College, she is determined to continue her education, but her path after that depends on decisions made in Washington, D.C.

In the meantime, she has joined the growing ranks of second-generation illegal immigrants who are going public about their struggles in hopes the system will change.

“If God wants me to go back to Mexico, he’ll take me by any means necessary,” said Grecia, whose friends call her Gracie.

Immigration legislation

President Barack Obama has advocated comprehensive immigration reform, which includes a path to legalization for many of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. Such a proposal faces an uphill battle in Congress.

Meanwhile, a narrower bill targeted at young adults like Grecia, who were brought to this country as minors, has been introduced in Congress many times since 2001, but has never come to a vote.

The most recent “DREAM Act” (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act) bill, introduced in the House in 2009, would grant conditional legal status to qualifying immigrants under age 35 who entered the U.S. before age 16 and have been continuously present here for five years. The immigrants must have a high school diploma or GED to apply.

Applicants could receive permanent residency after six years if they obtain a college degree or two years of a four-year college, or if they serve in the military. They must maintain “good moral character” and not commit any major crimes.

U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, said he supports the aims of the DREAM Act but doubts it could pass as a stand-alone bill.

He said he prefers comprehensive immigration reform, including strong border security, enforcement of the ban on hiring illegal immigrants and a chance for illegal immigrants of all ages to apply for residency if they meet certain requirements such as paying taxes and speaking English.

He thinks such a bill could come to the House as early as December, and that would open opportunities to young people such as Grecia.

“I think most Americans would agree with the principle that you don’t punish children for the decisions or mistakes of their parents,” he said.

Edwards’ Republican opponent in the November election, Bill Flores, disagrees with the goals of the DREAM Act.

“The DREAM Act, by including a path to legalization, is asking the American people to accept amnesty and forgive lawbreaking before the federal government will even adequately secure our border,” he said. “I am opposed to the DREAM Act because we cannot be a nation of laws that rewards lawbreakers.”

Grecia remembers the day in July 2000 she learned her parents were moving the family to Waco.

“Mom came to the house and said, ‘We’re going to Waco,’ ” she recalls. “I thought, ‘Cool.’ We had visited there many times over the summer to see family there. In my innocence, I didn’t understand we were staying.”

Then her parents began selling everything: the taqueria and ice cream parlor they owned, the house and all its contents. They even sold Grecia’s stuffed Minnie Mouse, her Barbies and books.

“I’ve always liked to read, so that hurt my heart,” she said. “As we were emptying the house, I found a Barbie that hadn’t been sold off. It was the ugliest one I had, but I never got rid of it.”

Grecia stands next to University High School principal Nolan Correa at commencement exercises in June 2009. She was the school’s valedictorian.
Jose Yau/Waco Tribune-Herald, file

The parents, Grecia and her 5-year-old twin brothers boarded a bus and headed to Waco on a legal tourist visa.

Grecia’s mother said that because her father, Grecia’s grandfather, was a citizen, the family moved here thinking they could be legalized quickly.

The family overstayed the visa, and the parents applied for permanent residency in April 2001.

The parents, both college-educated, wanted to get their children enrolled in American schools before they got any older.

“The idea was for them to come here to learn English,” the mother said.

Grecia quickly learned English and moved up through Waco public schools. She never thought of herself as an illegal immigrant. In fact, she barely thought about her immigration status at all until she was applying for college.

By then, the family’s possibilities of becoming legalized had dwindled. The terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, threw a wrench in the legal immigration process and led to a long backlog of applications.

Grecia’s mother has been told that her case will likely take 13 years, meaning they will be illegal until 2014.

Time running out

Grecia’s grandfather is now 83 years old, and if he dies before the case is closed, the family loses any hope of legalization. Grecia will only be eligible for family-based immigration until she is 21 — two years from now.

Susan Nelson, a Waco immigration attorney whom the family has consulted, said Grecia’s dilemma is common.

“A lot of kids I see who are caught and would benefit from the DREAM act are from families that have had petitions on file a long time,” Nelson said. “A large majority have a petition waiting for them, but they’re going to age out before they can benefit. It’s a really long line, and it’s hard for families to know when their turn is going to be.”

She said one wrong move could get a young illegal immigrant deported to a country they don’t know.

“We’re already deporting people who don’t have any ties to their home countries,” she said.

Grecia sailed through high school with A’s and participated in a dozen plays, some as an actress and one as co-director. She was also an editor of the school yearbook.

“She’s by far one of the brightest students I’ve ever worked with, and she’s become a good friend of mine,” said Kendra Willeby, who was Grecia’s drama teacher at University High School and now is in graduate school in Houston. “She’s brilliant, and she’s well-rounded, equally bright in math and science, and a beauty on the stage. She has a maturity beyond her years.”

Grecia had no trouble getting into Baylor. She was accepted in November 2008.

“I called everyone and told them how now I was going to be a Baylor Bear,” she said.

Willeby and others at University High guided her through the financial aid forms and thought she could afford it. She won the $4,000-per-semester Baylor presidential scholarship and two local scholarships.

She put down her deposit and went to the university’s orientation that spring.

But Grecia learned in July 2009 that Baylor did not participate in the state of Texas’ valedictorian scholarship program, which covers tuition at many universities.

And without federal grants or loans to fall back on, she couldn’t afford the $14,000 a year she would owe at Baylor, Grecia said.

Baylor officials wouldn’t comment on her case, but said they don’t base admission or merit scholarships on legal status. Baylor spokeswoman Lori Fogleman said undocumented students have access to state aid but not federal aid, and Baylor can’t control that.

“Baylor has worked very diligently and deliberately to remove hurdles that would create any additional burdens for these students,” Fogleman said.

Willeby said she regrets that she could not help Grecia fulfill her Baylor dreams.

“Baylor’s not at fault,” she said. “They gave her a presidential scholarship. It’s the way the system is.”

Grecia said MCC is less challenging than Baylor, but she intends to earn her four-year degree there and then try to become a manager or start her own business.

Grecia said she’s frustrated that she can’t get a driver’s license or a job.

“I need a job to make myself feel better,” she said. “I feel like such a burden to my parents. At least I should be able to pay for gas.”

She said she can’t imagine going back to Mexico as an option.

Grecia planned to attend Baylor University before she ran into problems.
Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald

“The U.S. is my life,” she said. “I can’t go back. I feel like I’m an American. I love my Mexican heritage and culture. It’s beautiful. But I don’t know anything but Waco and the U.S. I don’t have pride in being Mexican. This is home.”

She doesn’t blame her parents for her predicament.

“It was all about me and my brothers,” she said. “They gave up everything for us so we could have a better future. They didn’t think about how difficult it would be for us in the long run.”

Her brothers, incoming seniors at different Waco high schools, said they intend to go to college and hope for the best. One wants to attend MCC and become a Waco police officer.

The other expects to graduate at the top of his class, attend Texas State University and teach at the high school or college level.

“I plan on studying until I get a doctorate,” the 16-year-old said. “I think by then the law will change. If I can do it, it will be a slap in the face of the government, because they’re trying to make our lives as hard as it can be.”

He said he understands why people are opposed to illegal immigration.

“They’re right,” he said. “It’s the law that you’re not supposed to cross into the U.S. without permission. They’re right we’re here illegally. We’re breaking the law on a daily basis. But there’s not much we (the children) can do about it. It’s not like I can get on a bus and go to Mexico.”

Willeby said she thinks Grecia and her brothers will succeed because they are determined.

“I don’t think you could call anything about Gracie a tragedy,” Willeby said. “She’s made the best of it. Gracie is going to be phenomenal at whatever she does. In her quiet and strong way she’s going to fight to make the system better.”

jbsmith@wacotrib.com

757-5757

Few options in Waco for immigrants trying to gain legal status

Waco Tribune-Herald

By Cindy V. Culp Tribune-Herald staff writer

Saturday May 22, 2010

 

Local officials who help immigrants get legal status said they have seen an increase in calls since Arizona implemented a stringent immigration law.

But many requests for help will go unfulfilled.

One nonprofit group that helped illegal immigrants recently ceased operations.

The remaining charity is so inundated with requests it focuses almost solely on immigrants who are crime victims.

Susan I. Nelson is the only private attorney in Waco who devotes most of her practice to immigration law.
Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald

Even people who can pay a lawyer often are out of luck.

The average undocumented person has virtually no chance of becoming a legal resident unless he or she has a family member here legally, officials said.

“People who are undocumented are really caught,” said Susan I. Nelson, a Waco attorney who specializes in immigration law.

The organization that recently stopped seeing clients was dubbed the Ruth Project. It was started by two women while they were students at Baylor University.

It eventually became affiliated with the Waco Regional Baptist Association.

But at the end of April, that affiliation ended. Co-founder Tihara Vargas said the project is exploring a partnership with another local group.

For now, it’s “sleeping,” she said.

During the 3 1/2 years it was active, the Ruth Project helped more than 100 families, Vargas said.

At first, it took a variety of cases. But because it was a volunteer effort, it narrowed its focus to crime victims.

Special visas are available to them, plus there is more funding for such work, she said.

Even with that limited scope, the project found it difficult to raise funds, Vargas said. It received several grants, but attempts to get ongoing support from area churches and individuals fell flat, she said.

“Immigrants are just really hard to raise money for,” Vargas said. “The rhetoric is so heavily political.”

The project hopes a new grant will allow it to continue its work, Vargas said. It should find out in September if it will get the money, she said.

In the meantime, Catholic Charities of Central Texas is the only place in town where people can get free legal help for immigration matters.

The office is staffed by attorney Ann M. Ellis and a couple of part-time paralegal employees.

Ellis said she gets at least 30 calls for help per month and is able to take on about half as clients.

“I have appointments into June,” she said. “And more people are calling.”

Ellis also targets her assistance to crime victims because of funding and visa availability.

The government has a special category of visas for women who have been victims of violence. There is also a visa category for other victims or witnesses of crime.

The rationale behind those visas, Ellis said, is to encourage victims or witnesses to come forward, both for their protection and so perpetrators can be prosecuted.

Family violence victims are especially vulnerable, she said, because their abusers use fear about immigration status to keep them from reporting the attacks, she said.

Ellis’ office also handles a few general cases, primarily for people trying to help loved ones gain legal status.

Like all clients served by her office, they are only eligible for help if their household income is under 125 percent of the federal poverty level.

For other illegal immigrants, free help is nonexistent locally, Ellis said. A significant number earn too much to qualify for Catholic Charities’ help but too little to afford a private attorney and government fees, she said.

An even bigger limiting factor for many is that people have little chance of gaining legal status unless they have an immediate relative who is a citizen or legal permanent resident, Ellis said. There are a few exceptions, such as for highly skilled workers.

But those exceptions are difficult to get, Ellis said. The average immigrant without a family advocate has little chance of ever being here legally, she said.

That’s a difficult message to have to tell people, Ellis said. Any time immigration raids are in the news, her office gets more calls.

Numerous calls came in after Arizona passed a law that requires police to ask about people’s immigration status if there is a reason to suspect they are in the U.S. illegally.

“They’re very decent and hardworking people, and they want to set things right in their lives, especially when children are involved,” Ellis said of clients.

Nelson, the only private attorney in Waco who devotes most of her practice to immigration law, said she also weeds out a lot of inquiries by asking undocumented immigrants whether they have a family connection or are a crime victim.

Without one of those circumstances, people are generally out of luck, she said.

Even people who have a good shot at legal status face a complicated process that can drag on for years, Nelson said.

During that time, people can still be deported, although the judge can take their efforts into consideration, she said.

Cost is another issue, Nelson said. At minimum, legal counsel and government paperwork fees typically come to $5,000 to $6,000 per person. It can easily cost $12,000 to $15,000 per person, she said.

“It’s really expensive and prohibitive for a lot of people,” she said.

Nelson said it’s unfortunate Ruth Project is in hibernation. She did some pro bono work with the organization.

Catholic Charities does great work, but it doesn’t come close to meeting the demand for help, Nelson said. The need is especially dire in rural communities, she said.

“There’s really nothing at all there,” she said.

cculp@wacotrib.com

757-5744

County jailers adding immigration checks to booking process

Waco Tribune-Herald

Thursday January 28, 2010

   Erin Quinn - Tribune-Herald staff writer

The immigration status of everyone booked into the McLennan County Jail is being checked against a federal database designed to identify and possibly deport illegal immigrants.

Local law enforcement officials said officers will not ask about a crime suspect’s immigration status when making an arrest.

But once suspects are booked into jail, their fingerprints are matched against not only the FBI’s criminal database but also an immigration database run by the Department of Homeland Security.

The program, known as Secure Communities, was created to rid communities nationwide of “dangerous criminal aliens,” the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a news release.

ICE is a division of DHS that was formed in 2003 as part of the government’s response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Immigrant advocates have raised concerns that Secure Communities, which was implemented in 2008, could entrap illegal immigrants who are convicted of minor crimes or of nothing at all.

To those critics, McLennan County Sheriff Larry Lynch said, “We’re doing our job to keep the country safe.”

ICE’s goal is for the program to have a presence in every state by 2013. Fourteen other Texas counties participate in the initiative, including Bexar and Travis counties.

“It’s an additional layer of security to make certain that the wrong person doesn’t get allowed back into the community,” said Nina Pruneda, an ICE public affairs officer.

Once a person is flagged by the database, which spits out a person’s criminal history and immigration history, ICE authorities are notified, and the person is placed on an immigration hold in addition to any criminal charges. The state violation is dealt with first, Pruneda said, and then the person is turned over to ICE officials. An immigration judge decides whether to deport the individual.

ICE officials first pay attention to those whom Pruneda calls “the worst of the worst” offenders — murderers, rapists, kidnappers, robbers and those convicted of major drug crimes.

Pruneda said there is no hard-and-fast rule as to who is deported and who is turned back into the community, if anyone.

“Everything is on a case-by-case basis,” she said. “If you’re in the country illegally, then you’re in violation of federal law.”

Lynch did not have numbers available Wednesday but estimated that about 70 of the more than 850 people jailed each year in McLennan County are held by ICE.

“The bottom line is to catch these people and identify them and see to it that they suffer the consequences from their crimes,” Lynch said, adding that the database poses no cost to the county other than the incarceration.

Secure Communities is being used in 116 jurisdictions in 14 states.

Since its inception, ICE reports, Secure Communities has flagged more than 11,000 immigrants charged or convicted with major crimes. Of those, 1,900 have been deported, the release states. More than 100,000 immigrants convicted of lesser crimes have been flagged. Information was not available as to how many of those have been deported.

ICE received $1.4 billion federal funding in 2009 for criminal immigrant enforcement efforts such as Secure Communities.

equinn@wacotrib.com

757-5748

Laura A. Hernandez, guest columnist: Law provides access to a basic education for all, even immigrant children

Waco Tribune-Herald

LAURA A. HERNÁNDEZ Guest columnist

Sunday August 8, 2010

   

 We are all immigrants. As each wave of migrants arrives in our great country, assimilation is hard, both for them and for us. Their culture is different. Their language is unfamiliar. Their habits are strange. Yet assimilation occurs, usually in one generation. They become us.

The United States Supreme Court recognized this fundamental truth as recently as 1982. In a case called Plyler v. Doe, the high court held that undocumented immigrant children have the same right to a free secondary public education as those children who are legally present in our country.

The case arose in response to legislation enacted by the state of Texas that withheld funds from local school districts for students of questionable immigration status. The state further empowered local school districts to deny enrollment to students who were unable to prove their lawful status.

The Supreme Court struck down the law as a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. The court explained that equal protection applies to every individual domiciled in the United States, lawful or not.

There were many legal reasons for the Plyler decision. Among them was the fact that the injured parties were minor children who were not responsible for their unlawful entry. But more importantly, the court recognized that education provides the tools we need to participate in a productive and meaningful way in society. The court found that if we completely deprive undocumented children of a basic education, then the inevitable result is a permanent underclass of individuals who lack the skills and resources to make themselves and our society better.

Analyzed in this way, the Supreme Court was deeply troubled by the striking similarity between depriving undocumented children of a secondary education and the comparable deprivation faced by black children as a result of segregation prior to Brown v. Board of Education. The creation of an underclass was simply unacceptable to the high court, especially because it believed that many of these undocumented children would one day become American citizens.

The Supreme Court’s belief was not misplaced. Four years later, President Ronald Reagan successfully championed the 1986 Immigration and Control Act, which conferred amnesty to undocumented aliens present in the United States continuously for five years. Estimates say that about 2.7 million undocumented immigrants received amnesty. The education of the children of these immigrants ensured their ability to become productive members of our society. And just as the Supreme Court predicted, they became us.

Recently, the Tribune-Herald ran a story depicting the struggles of Grecia Cantu, the 2009 valedictorian from University High School, who is also undocumented. Cantu is the child that the Supreme Court sought to protect. Her intelligence and courage are emblematic American traits and the product of our school system. Chances are good that one day she will become an American citizen. When she does, there can be no doubt that the benefit to our society will be great. Cantu will then be us.

Laura A. Hernández is an assistant professor of law at Baylor University. Her published works include “Anchor Babies: Something Less than Equal Under the Equal Protection Clause,” an analysis of the constitutionality of municipal ordinances mandating private enforcement of immigration laws by private landlords and their effect on children.

Illegal re-entry cases increasing in Waco

Waco Tribune-Herald

By Tommy Witherspoon / Tribune-Herald staff writer

Saturday May 22, 2010

   

 Twin brothers Jose and Pedro Medina stood silently outside Waco’s federal courthouse with solemn, blank stares on their faces.

Next to them, their younger sister, Erica, cried quietly and frequently dabbed at a steady flow of tears.

She, too, seemed stunned.

The siblings, all students at Waco High School with aspirations of going to college, watched as their father was sentenced to 10 months in prison on a felony count of illegally re-entering the United States after being sent back to his native Mexico.

(From left) Pedro, Erica, Cristina and Jose Medina stand in front of their Waco home while holding a picture of their father and husband, who was sentenced to federal prison for illegal re-entry into the U.S.
Jerry Larson/Waco Tribune-Herald

Pedro Medina-Davila, 45, who lived in Waco for 20 years, will be deported again after serving his time, launching his children, who are U.S. citizens, and his wife, who is not, into a future of uncertainty.

Will they try to finish their final years of high school while maintaining their father’s landscape and masonry business to support the family?

Or will they follow their father to his hometown of Zacatecas in north central Mexico, keep the family intact and rejoin their grandfather, an aging goat farmer?

Jose, 18, who was born in Waco, isn’t sure yet. He wants to stay and graduate from high school and go to college. But he also wants his close-knit family to remain together.

It’s a problem faced by an increasing number of families in Central Texas these days.

Medina-Davila was among 16 federal defendants being held for illegal re-entry into the U.S. who were sentenced in the past two weeks in Waco by U.S. District Judge Walter S. Smith Jr.

He was convicted of drunken driving in 1998 and sent back to Mexico. He has had a clean record since his return and has been working to build his business and support his family, his attorney, Lewis Giles, said.

Immigration officials picked him up this time based on an anonymous tip, Giles said.

Changing directions

Before U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) opened a Waco office almost two years ago, most illegal immigrants found in Waco with no extensive criminal histories normally were deported and not prosecuted.

Now, with the ICE office up and running, an additional prosecutor added to the Waco U.S. Attorney’s Office to handle immigration cases and shifts in law enforcement strategies that appear to coincide with segments of society demanding illegal-immigrant crackdowns, the federal case load is increasing.

Smith presides as chief judge over the sprawling federal Western District of Texas.

During sentencings last week, Smith, noting the number of illegal re-entry cases on his docket, joked that on days like that, he feels like he should send flowers to his colleagues in El Paso, who certainly handle more immigration- related matters than judges in Waco or Austin.

The six charged with illegal re-entry last week were given sentences ranging from three months to 10 years.

When one defendant, speaking through an interpreter, expressed certain “philosophical differences with U.S. immigration laws and policies,” Smith suggested that he compare “the laws of this country with the laws of your country when considering how illegal immigrants are treated.”

The defendant was sentenced to 10 years in prison had five convictions for drunken driving, several for driving with a suspended license and one for burglary of a habitation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Frazier, who heads the Waco federal prosecutors’ office, said while each immigration-related case is handled on an individual basis, most charged with illegal re-entry have “aggravating” felonies on their records or multiple removals and illegal re-entries.

Prosecution process

While Nina Pruneda, an ICE spokeswoman in San Antonio, declined to divulge the number of employees at the local office, she said it includes a team from a criminal alien program (CAP) and a fugitive operations team, all under the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

She said the CAP agents go to local jails and interview people to determine their immigration status.

“There is 100 percent vetting,” Pruneda said. “No matter what their background, we ask everyone to determine who of those individuals who are booked into county jails are in the country illegally.”

Those in the country illegally are held by ICE and brought before an immigration judge, who determines if they remain or are deported, she said.

If they refuse a judicial order to return to their country, they become fugitives and are sought by the fugitive operations team, she said.

Like some defense attorneys, at least one judge within the Western District of Texas earlier this year questioned the swelling numbers of illegal immigrants on his docket and the wisdom of seeking criminal convictions against many of them.

In an order issued in February in illegal re-entry cases against three Mexican citizens, U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, of Austin ,said the practice “presents a cost to the American taxpayer . . . that is neither meritorious nor reasonable.”

Sparks noted that most prosecuted for illegal re-entry have “no significant criminal history,” adding that it cost more than $13,000 to jail the three men. He also said charging them criminally added expenses and work for prosecutors, defense lawyers, court staff and others.

“The expenses of prosecuting illegal entry and re-entry cases on aliens without any significant criminal history is simply mind-boggling,” Sparks wrote.

Waco attorney Walter M. Reaves Jr. agrees with Sparks.

“It costs several thousand dollars every time they pick up somebody,” Reaves said. “I think we are wasting an awful lot of money just to deport people or prosecute people who have come here to work and to make a better life for their families.”

Reaves said he had a client who was not a citizen who spent 10 to 15 years serving in the U.S. military. He was deported after a DWI arrest, he said.

“You can serve in the military. It’s all right to get shot for your country, but . . .” Reaves said.

Vik Deivanayagam, a Waco defense lawyer and Lubbock native whose parents immigrated from India, said he thinks local federal prosecutors do a good job of “weeding out the ones who are harmful to our country versus those who are just here working.”

“They really do take it on a case-by-case basis,” Deivanayagam said. “That is how you have to approach them. They all have unique issues, and they all have hard-luck stories. It really is a frustrating issue. Anyone can see both sides. If you are not a native American Indian, you are an immigrant. Our country was founded by immigrants and on the principle of openness. Are we closing our doors now? Is there a better way?”

twitherspoon@wacotrib.com

757-5737

LETTERS: Our readers sound off on the controversy over illegal immigration

Waco Tribune-Herald

Tuesday August 17, 2010

   

 Immigration debate

Regarding Laura A. Hernandez’s Aug. 8 guest column quoting the 1982 case of Plyler v. Doe: Yes, we are a nation of immigrants. But she and most Hispanics fail to recognize the difference between legal and illegal immigrants. Even so, she clearly stated that children who are “legally” here in our country have the right to a free secondary public education.

Most Americans are simply tired of illegals manipulating our laws to further their cause.

Silently, our nation is being invaded and infiltrated by these people as if they belong. If we don’t wake up and stand our ground, Old Glory will be demeaned.

Taryn Tipton

Waco

* * *

Why is it that we scorn our illegal brothers and sisters so badly and blame them for our current economic recession, yet we rarely talk about the good they bring to this country?

Edwardo Moreno

Waco

* * *

Rich and poor women are coming to the United States — some legally and others illegally — to give birth to ensure citizenship for their babies and, by default, the mother and eventually the families of those babies as officials often refuse to deport the parents.

No one should be allowed to benefit from an illegal act. Only children born to U.S. citizens or to legal immigrants should be deemed U.S. citizens at birth.

Ramón Argila deTorres y Sandoval

Hewitt

* * *

Laura A. Hernandez needs to understand that we are all merely “descendants” of immigrants. Once the U.S. laws of immigration were put into effect by the Founding Fathers — who were the first and only true immigrants and who obviously felt a need for immigration laws — anyone coming to America later was expected to abide by these laws and apply for citizenship.

Had the Supreme Court opted to do its job and actually enforced the immigration laws of this country, forcing parents of children such as University High School valedictorian Grecia Cantu to become legal instead of simply caving in to the numbers of illegals already here, then Americans wouldn’t be footing the bill for educating them.

Rita W. Jones

Axtell

* * *

In response to Laura A. Hernandez’s column about Grecia Cantu: Enough of this pity party and putting the blame on our government because Cantu cannot go to Baylor University.

Sure, we are a nation of immigrants. Immigrants establish nations, then those immigrants bind together and establish laws.

We provided basic education for her, and she performed well. So what if she can’t go to Baylor? Boo-hoo.

Soon we’ll be sending our third child to a Texas public college. Our oldest daughter would have loved to attend Baylor, but we just couldn’t afford it.

Jana Raymond

Groesbeck

EDITOR’S NOTE: President Barack Obama on Friday signed into law a $600 million border security bill that authorizes 1,000 more Border Patrol agents to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Immigration aid group no longer has Waco lawyer

Waco Tribune-Herald

By Cindy V. Culp Tribune-Herald staff writer

Monday July 26, 2010

  

 A nonprofit organization that serves as Waco’s only source of free legal help for immigration matters no longer has an attorney stationed here.

Catholic Charities of Central Texas still has a lawyer coming to town once a week to meet with clients. It also continues to have two legal assistants at its Waco satellite office the rest of the week.

They can meet with people needing help and take down initial information, said Carmen Cortes-Harms, director of parish and community services at the group’s Austin headquarters.

Previously, Catholic Charities employed an immigration attorney who was based at the Waco office. That lawyer, Ann M. Ellis, left at the end of June.

Rather than hiring a replacement for the Waco office, Catholic Charities decided it made more sense to have one of its Austin-based attorneys travel here, Cortes-Harms said.

With careful scheduling, that lawyer should be able to pack in as many client visits during the one day he’s here as Ellis was handling before, she said.

Cortes-Harms also was adamant that the traveling attorney will be able to handle as many local cases as before. That is despite the fact that he will spend one day each week doing consultations with clients in Austin, she said.

This spring, before she left her position, Ellis told the Tribune-Herald that she received at least 30 calls for help each month and was able to take about half as many clients.

Neither the local office nor the Austin office is accepting new cases, Cortes-Harms said. From time to time, the organization has to temporarily stop accepting new clients so it can work existing cases. She said the Waco office likely will be able to accept new clients in a few months.

“It wouldn’t make sense to take and take cases and not process them,” Cortes-Harms said.

The criteria for who can receive help will remain the same, she said. Immigrants cannot have a household income of more than 125 percent of the federal poverty level.

Also, most help is targeted to crime victims who want to gain legal status. Special visas are available to them, plus there is more funding for such work.

Catholic Charities’ funding for its immigration services comes from the Texas Access to Justice Foundation. It administers the state’s Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts program.

The program derives income from interest that is earned on money attorneys handle for clients.

Across the nation, states’ programs are taking a hit because the economic downturn has decreased interest rates.

In Texas, the foundation will distribute $35 million in grants to legal aid programs for the coming fiscal year — $4 million less than last year, executive director Betty Balli Torres said.

Grants should be announced by the end of the month, Torres said. But the decrease in available funds will mean some of the approximately 40 organizations that receive money now will see funding cut or even eliminated, she said.

The fiscal year after that, an additional $6 million in cuts are expected, based on projected interest rates, Torres said.

“It’s not going to be a good situation for legal aid programs throughout the state,” she said.

Cortes-Harms said Catholic Charities is hoping for the best. But it could have to make changes in services if less money is available, she said.

Waco used to have another non-profit organization that provided legal help to immigrants. Called the Ruth Project, it was started by two women while they were students at Baylor University and became affiliated with the Waco Regional Baptist Network.

That affiliation ended this spring, and he group has ceased operations. Its founders are hoping to find new funding. The all-volunteer project focused on helping crime victims.

Hiring a private practice immigration lawyer can be expensive. At minimum, legal counsel and government paperwork fees required for an immigrant to gain legal status typically total $5,000 to $6,000 per person.

cculp@wacotrib.com

757-5744

LETTERS: Readers defend educating immigrant children

 Waco Tribune-Herald

Tuesday August 10, 2010

 

Defending immigrants

I enjoyed Laura A. Hernandez’s column, “One of us,” in Sunday’s Tribune-Herald (and, no, she is not related to me).

Finally, someone has tried to explain to others that there are laws for the education of immigrant children.

Grecia Cantu did not come illegally to this country, nor did her parents. Their visas ran out and their status later changed, which was because of government backlog.

Many immigrants apply for legal status and are unjustly punished when they have erred by overstaying or being here improperly.

The government has made many mistakes in the way immigrants are treated. So much aid is handed out so freely to everyone — and not just immigrants — that the government makes it easy to remain unemployed.

I work and I am an immigrant, so I can relate to all of this.

Mary Hernandez

Waco