August 30, 2004

"Rights Groups Take On Deportation Program"

A new joint program from the U.S. and Mexico flies some deported illegal aliens back into central Mexico, rather than dropping them off at a border city. The L.A. Times reports that so-called "rights groups" are up in arms about this new program. To get the plane ride, the alien has to waive his rights to a hearing. And, no coincidence at all, no hearing means no immigration lawyer to pay. As previously discussed this is basically subsidized vacation pay for their employers, as many of those deported say they'll just try again. Note that the LAT itself reported that many of those on the maiden flight said they're try again.

If you're like me, your first thought on seeing this in the LAT would be to take a look at the so-called "rights groups":

"If there's no opposition, they always have the option of taking it to Texas and to California and expanding it inland," said Angela Sambrano, a representative for the Los Angeles Committee Against the Raids and for Rights of Immigrants. "We don't want them to get any idea that we would welcome an extension of [it]. That's why we want to stop it right now."

Sambrano recently joined delegations of other pro-immigration activists to deliver letters to Mexican consulates across the country � including seven in California � urging President Vicente Fox's administration to abandon support for the program. The protesters say that if their quest for dialogue fails, they may stage vigils and demonstrations.

So, who exactly is the LACATRAFROI? A google search reveals nothing. However, the google search for Angela Sambrano brings up this at its first hit:

The Militant reported that, "The Forum took note of the growing immigration from Latin American to the United States and a recent rise in the struggles for immigrant rights in that country. Angela Sambrano, representing CISPES, gave a special presentation at the Forum on the subject." CISPES favored the cause of the communist guerrillas in El Salvador.

That took less than a minute, and you'd think the LAT could have done likewise. Maybe they did, and just didn't report it.

Nevertheless, the "pro-immigration" groups in the article do raise a couple of good points hidden in their forest of bad ideas:

Immigrant rights groups in California say such tragedies underscore why U.S. and Mexican authorities should channel resources into combating the job shortage in Mexico, one of the prime reasons migrants cross the border.

"It's nothing more than a shell game," said Jennifer Allen, executive director of Border Action Network, a Tucson-based immigration advocacy group. "It's just shifting migrants from place to place."

If you'd like to suggest that the L.A. Times teaches its reporters how to use google, refers to "pro-immigration" groups as "pro-illegal-immigration" groups, and reports on the background of "liberal" groups with the same zeal with which they report on the background of centrist or rightwing groups, please send a polite email to Readers.Rep@latimes.com

Posted to Immigration2004 at August 30, 2004 11:22 AM

Comments