December 17, 1999

• Clergyman faces fraud charge in bogus marriages -- "A clergyman accused of helping African nationals get residency permits by marrying them to U.S. citizens was arraigned Thursday on a charge of conspiracy to defraud the federal government." (Detroit News)
  
• Instant-welfare cards given to refuge hunters -- "A pilot project was quietly launched in Toronto two weeks ago giving all refugee claimants photo ID cards upon arrival entitling them to instant welfare and health care." (Edmonton Sun)
  
• Boy suffers emotionally, Cuban doctors say -- "The 6-year-old Cuban boy who was rescued at sea last month surely has been emotionally harmed, and the damage will worsen the longer he is kept away from his father and homeland, Cuban child psychologists say." (AP)

For full news coverage and links about the Cuban refugee and hostage situations, please see the Stein Report



• Immigration Office Turning Its Back On Hearing Impaired, Group Alleges -- "On Thursday, a local disability rights group plans to file an administrative complaint against the local office of the INS alleging the agency discriminates against deaf and hard of hearing immigrants." (Chicago Tribune)
  
• 'The girl who cries' puts INS on firing line -- "The girl and five teenage boys were arrested on a ship full of Chinese refugees that ran aground off Guam in April." (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
  
• Fillmore's Language Rule Lifted -- "Fourteen years after the town made national headlines by declaring English its official language, the resolution--long considered an insult to many Latino residents--disappeared this week." (LAT)

For news links about Cuba and the refugee situation, please see the Stein Report



• U.S. migration policy doesn't deter dangerous trips from Cuba -- "An increasing number of Cubans are expected to make the treacherous trip across the Straits of Florida, mostly in smuggling operations, U.S. Coast Guard and Border Patrol officials predict." (Miami Herald)
  
• Cuban special immigration status a Cold War holdover -- "Six-year-old Elian Gonzalez became eligible to live in the United States the minute he landed on America's shore a unique privilege granted only to Cubans." (AP)
  
• U.S. Says Declined Second Meeting on Cuban Boy -- "U.S. immigration officials deciding the fate of a 6-year-old Cuban shipwreck survivor made progress at an interview with his father who wants him back, but declined his delegation's request for another meeting next month." (Reuters)
  
• Castro Thinks Clinton Wants to Send Boy Home -- "Cuban President Fidel Castro said in remarks broadcast on Wednesday that he believed President Clinton was eager to return home a 6-year-old shipwreck survivor at the center of a diplomatic tug of war." (Reuters)
  
• Now the INS wants to deport a woman for biting an abusive husband -- So for biting an abusive husband during a domestic dispute, Ms. Flores is to be deported. She is due to appear before an immigration judge on Jan. 13." (NYT)
  
• Woman jailed for shoplifting faces exile to Italy -- "A woman jailed for shoplifting about $25 worth of cigarettes, eye drops and deodorant is facing deportation to Italy, a country she left behind at age 5 when her family emigrated to the United States." (AP)
  
• Jail standoff with Cuban detainees drags into third day -- "Negotiations entered a third day as authorities tried to calm a group of Cubans holding a warden and two guards hostage at knifepoint in an increasingly tense bid to be released." (AP
  
• Board of Immigration Appeals Issues Practice Manual and Other Documents -- "The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) has issued three new publications to provide basic information to persons involved in immigration proceedings and to answer frequently asked questions about how the appeals process works at the Board." (PR Newswire)
  
• Police arrest two women after elementary school student tries to use bogus bill -- "Jones said officials with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service are also involved in the investigation because of "fictitious resident alien" cards police found in the suspects' apartment." (News & Record)

For news about Cuba and the refugee situation, please see the Stein Report



• Tucson girl arrested in robberies -- "Cochise County authorities arrested a 14-year-old Tucson girl and a 17-year-old Mexican boy Saturday on charges of robbing four illegal border crossers at knife-point near Douglas." (Arizona Daily Star)
  
• Lifer' Illegal Immigrants Seek Release -- "Lawyers for about 130 illegal immigrants being held indefinitely in detention centers and jails from Lancaster to San Pedro argued in U.S. District Court on Monday that they should be released if their home countries will not take them back." (LAT)
  
• Smuggler rents baby; mom goes to prison -- "A Honduran woman is headed to federal prison for renting her 7-month-old infant to a smuggler for $200."(AP)
  
• Eagle immigrant kidnapping spurs INS investigation -- "A report of a missing boy over the weekend has sparked an investigation into the smuggling of humans from Mexico to Colorado and beyond." (AP)
  
• The changing face of California voters -- "Paradoxically, therefore, the electorate is simultaneously becoming less reflective of the state's fast-changing cultural milieu and less rigid in its partisan orientation." (San Jose Mercury News)
  
• Californians See A Future Both Bright and Bleak -- "Californians, even while reveling in a robust economy, hold a surprisingly divided and often dark view of the state's long-term future -- particularly with regard to the growing gap between rich and poor, a new Public Policy Institute of California poll shows." (SF Chronicle)
  
• Suit Alleges High Tech Exploitation -- "A Cambodian immigrant is suing two Silicon Valley companies, claiming they fired him for refusing to do extra work at home for below the minimum wage." (AP)
  
• Utahn jumps bail, flees to native Brazil -- "A Mapleton man who faced multiple criminal charges in connection with an immigration scam has fled the country, and investigators fear they won't be able to have him returned from his native Brazil." (Deseret News)
  
• For Brazilians Y2K problems don't compute -- "Immigration processing is but one of numerous government functions carried out manually in Brazil." (San Jose Mercury News)

For news about Cuba and the refugee situation, please see the Stein Report



• Visa shortage boots business overseas -- "The battle last year was about visas to bring more foreign technical specialists into the United States. Next year, the fight may well be about companies shifting those jobs overseas." (Bergen Record)
  
• INS keeps some in prison years without convictions -- "The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service said it is not holding the foreign prisoners in secrecy, but it refuses to identify these 294 longest-held prisoners and about 5,000 others." (Seattle Times)
  
• INS Charges trio in connection with arranging sham marriages -- "A paralegal employed at The Herrera Law Firm of Odessa and two other women have been arraigned in federal district court for their alleged parts in what was described as an international "sham marriage scheme." (Midland Reporter Telegram)
  
• Business forum: The civic role of corporations in the age of globalization -- "Globalization has increased the gap between wealthy and poor countries -- hopefully, only temporarily. Now, workers from poverty-stricken countries are crossing borders into the United States and into Minnesota in much larger numbers than before." (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
  
• GOP distances itself from 'Son of 187' -- "The happy partnership California Republicans found with immigration-reform advocates in 1994 has steadily soured, with many GOP leaders now saying they'll oppose a new version of Proposition 187 in the works." (Orange County Register)
  
• New letter links Gore to alleged illegal Democratic fundraiser -- "A newly discovered letter links Vice President Al Gore to an immigration consultant accused of making illegal contributions to the Democratic National Committee, Newsweek reports in its edition out Monday." (Agence France-Presse)
  
• ANOTHER ANGUISHED PARENT LEFT BEHIND -- "But Hernandez -- who has two other children, ages 19 and 10 -- wonders why the United States, in its ongoing battle with Cuba, doesn't exercise or respect the custodial rights of parents when a child arrives in the United States without permission." (NY Post)
  
• Presidential candidates Bush and Gore both think they've found a way to Hispanic voters' hearts. -- "Meanwhile, Bush pushes a message of opportunity and inclusion, celebrating their gains and promising to accompany them the rest of the way." (WP)
  
• Jailed refugee girl in eye of political, legal storm -- "Immigration officials launched an investigation Friday into why a 15-year-old Chinese refugee granted political asylum more than six weeks ago remains locked in a Portland juvenile jail." (Portland Oregonian)
  
• Residency for Nicaraguans -- ""I never thought anything like this would ever pass," said the Daly City-based attorney who attended Sunday's gathering. "It's so generous. It comes down to being an amnesty for Nicaraguans." (SF Examiner)

For news about Cuba and the refugee situation, please see the Stein Report



• Human Rights Groups Demand Mexico Probe -- "Human rights activists demanded Thursday that the federal government investigate the Nov. 29 slaying of a police commander who had accused high-ranking immigration officials and federal police of drug trafficking and immigrant smuggling." (AP)
  
• Mexican Police Under Fire in Family's Asylum Case -- "A government lawyer has unleashed an across-the-board condemnation of Mexican police practices as part of the Immigration and Naturalization Service's arguments in a deportation case laced with political intrigue." (CalLaw.com)
  
• Sacramento Bee Editorial: Secret evidence -- "Nasser Ahmed, an Egyptian who spent 3 1/2 years in federal custody on the basis of secret evidence that neither he nor his lawyer was allowed to see, has been released on bond from a New York jail" (Sacramento Bee)
  
• Recent court developments offer hope to jailed immigrant -- "A former teacher jailed two years on secret evidence purportedly linking him to terrorists will petition for his freedom now that the federal government has dropped an appeal in a similar case." (Naples News)
  
• Arab Groups Urge Reno to Repeal Secret Evidence -- "- Arab American and Muslim groups met with Attorney General Janet Reno on Thursday and urged her to ban immigration authorities' use of secret evidence against people of Arab descent, saying such evidence is unreliable and unjust." (Reuters)
  
• Best and brightest immigrants: Is Canada beating the U.S.? -- "While Canadians wring their hands over many of the country's brightest young high-tech workers fleeing south in search of more interesting and lucrative jobs, the rest of the world is looking at Canada with envy over its success in attracting top immigrants from around the globe." (Ottowa Citizen)
  
• Language is a political weapon -- "The words ``illegal alien'' takes us a step further down the path of denigration. And the term seems to have wound its way into our minds and hearts." (Arizona Daily Star)
  
• Forbes offers up specifics -- "In a wide-ranging interview, Forbes also said the problems associated with illegal immigration should be laid at the doorstep of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and he called for increased border operations." (Arizona Republic)

• U.S. Wants Meeting With Cuban Dad -- "-- U.S. immigration officials have written to the father of a 6-year-old Cuban boy seeking a meeting to hear his demand that the child be returned to him in Cuba, Justice Department officials said today." (AP)
  
• STORM RAGES OVER BOY'S FUTURE -- "In an interview, Lazaro Gonzalez said through an interpreter that he will fight to the end to keep Elian in the U.S. and expressed confidence the family would win." (Chicago Tribune)
  
• Fight Over Cuban Boy Moves to Legal Arena -- "The international furor over custody of a Cuban boy edged from the political to the legal arena on Thursday as Washington began proceedings that could send him home to Cuba and his U.S. relatives prepared a legal claim to keep him in the United States." (Reuters)
  
• Hispanic worker resigns from police liaison job -- "-- The police department' s Hispanic liaison officer has resigned after the city learned he was working illegally in the United States by misrepresenting where he was born, authorities say." (AP)

• Medi-Cal Scandal Alarms Armenians -- "Chagrined by the estimated $1-billion Medi-Cal fraud scandal among new immigrants in their community, Armenian church and civic leaders say that an explanation may lie not in Los Angeles, where most of the crime occurred, but in the culture and politics of their homeland in the former Soviet Union." (LAT)
  
• POPE CALLS FOR CHANGE IN MENTALITY TOWARD IMMIGRATION -- "While the new "global village" is bringing the world closer together, John Paul II warns that it may also work against people, especially those from countries that lack economic advantages." (Wire Services)
  
• A Battle Over Crowded Housing -- "A fire at a Huntington Station two-story house, subdivided to accommodate at least 30 residents, killed three people earlier this year, bringing attention to the issue of overcrowding and sparking new interest in the law." (Newsday)
  
• Brookhaven supervisor defends `Neighborhood Preservation Act' -- "A new law placing occupancy limits and other restrictions on landlords doesn't target poor immigrants, but rather is meant to improve the quality of life for all residents, Brookhaven Supervisor Felix J. Grucci contends." (AP)
  
• Editorial: Enforce Immigration Laws -- "The Williamsburg building collapse that killed Daniel Eduardo last month has rallied politicians and union officials around a single - and faulty - solution: amnesty for undocumented workers." (NY Daily News)
  
• U.S. moves to return Cuban boy -- "The Clinton administration is beginning preparations to return to Cuba a 6-year-old refugee whose reception in Miami has sparked dramatic demonstrations and tugged at hearts on both sides of the Florida Strait." (Orlando Sentinel)
  
• U.S.: Custody claims of Cuban boy's dad will be heard -- "State Department spokesman James Foley said Tuesday that the Immigration and Naturalization Service will contact Juan Miguel Gonzalez "to explain the process by which it will evaluate his rights in the case" of his son, Elian Gonzalez. (AP)
  
• For little Elian, U.S-Cuban tensions complicate custody dispute -- "If Elian Gonzalez had come from any other country but Cuba, he might be back with his father by now. Instead, the 6-year-old boy in Miami is the focus of a Cold War-style dispute" (AP)
  
• Cuban protesters to rally until boy is returned -- "Tuesday's rally in Cuba, meant to influence world opinion, culminated an orchestrated campaign by the Cuban government to focus every Cuban's attention on Elián." (Sun Sentinel)
  
• COMMON FOLK TIRED OF POLITICAL CHESS -- "Games, 40, was crying for her brother, Alfredo, 37, the captain of a small tourist boat that was allegedly commandeered by a band of Cubans ... No matter what side you are on, one thing is clear: the hearts of thousands of ordinary people are being dragged through the barbed wire called politics." (New York Post)
  
• 6 who hijacked fishing boat will return to Cuba -- "The U.S. government will return to Cuba six people suspected of hijacking a boat at knifepoint with two hostages aboard, Cuba's Foreign Ministry said today." (Orlando Sentinel)
  
• POLITICS, LAW, EMOTION COLLIDE IN CUBAN BOY'S CASE -- "The Clinton administration now maintains it has a direct say in the status of a Cuban boy who survived an ill-fated sea escape from his country, only to become the center of an international child custody battle with heavy political overtones." (Chicago Tribune)
  
• American legal experts: Cuban boy should be returned to his father -- "These politics have pushed this case beyond "any acceptable boundaries," said Miami immigration lawyer Ira Kurzban." (Sun Sentinel)
  
• Cuba Says Hijackers to Return But Deals in Peril -- " But President Fidel Castro's government also said bilateral migration accords between Havana and Washington -- intended to prevent repeats of previous mass exoduses of boat people -- were in peril due to an escalating custody dispute." (Reuters)
  
• Cuban Exiles Fear U.S. Will 'Cave' Over Boat Boy -- "Cuban exiles in Miami appealed to the U.S. government on Wednesday not to capitulate to pressure from Cuba to send home to his father a 6-year-old boy who survived a disastrous migrant smuggling trip from the communist-ruled island to Florida. ``They will be caving in to Castro's threat,'' said Ninoska Perez of the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF)" (Reuters)
  
• Cuba Enjoys Two Partial Victories -- "Yet with 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez still in the United States and the possibility that Florida courts would delay the suspected hijackers' return, the victories remained incomplete." (AP)
  
• State Department Outlines Regulations Regarding Cuban Child -- "As in the case of any unaccompanied minor who arrives on U.S. shores, our primary concern is for the child. We are committed to working with the family of Elian Gonzalez, including the father, and all relevant officials to achieve an appropriate resolution to this case." (State Department Release)
  
• Immigrant accuses smugglers of rapes and beatings -- "Jim Hayes, who heads the anti-smuggling unit of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, said the suspects are believed to be members of a family of smugglers known for brutalizing immigrants who fail to pay their fee." (Sacramento Bee)
  
• Stage set for return of boy to Cuba, dad -- "The administration, which has released Elian temporarily to his great-aunt and great-uncle, asserts it will not be cowed by political pressures from either side and is determined to act in the best interests of the child." (Seattle Times)
  
• Smuggling case goes to jury -- "Trial of three men charged with helping smuggle 132 Chinese aliens into Savannah ends after second day of testimony." (Savannah Morning News)
  
• Special pass lets travelers zip through passport control -- "In an experimental program, more than 45,000 travelers are using an Immigration and Naturalization Service Passenger Accelerated Service System card, or INSPASS, to get through the process quickly." (AP)
  
• Eager to Move West, Ugandans Fall to Conmen in Visa Scam -- "The bad news is that most times the visas are not delivered. The visa scandals have embarrassed the Buganda kingdom and the central government diplomatically, which may complicate future visa applications." (The East African (Nairobi))

• Seven Cubans reach the U.S.; body found on beach -- "Golden Beach Police found the seven men after someone reported seeing them on the beach." (AP)
  
• U.S. Rejects Castro Ultimatum for Return of Boy -- "The United States on Monday rejected Cuba's ultimatum for the return of a 6-year-old boy rescued at sea and told Havana it was obligated to protect American diplomatic personnel there from protesters." (Reuters)
  
• Refugees may have hijacked fishing trawler stopped off Key West -- " A fishing trawler intercepted Monday off Key West with eight Cubans aboard may have been hijacked by refugees trying to flee Cuba." (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
  
• Amid Cuban Protests, U.S. Rejects Demand to Return Young Refugee -- " Castro has threatened to cut off talks between the United States and Cuba, scheduled for Dec. 13, that are aimed at ensuring an orderly flow of migrants between the countries." (Reuters)
  
• TEARS FOR OTHERS SWALLOWED BY SEA -- "Munero says that his nephew, Rafael Munero, Elian's stepfather, "destroyed this family" by organizing the trip, and insisting on taking the child to the United States." (New York Post)
  
• NO HAPPY RETURNS FOR CASTRO -- "Fidel Castro attended a birthday party in Cuba yesterday for 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez -- as U.S. officials said they're not about to hand over the boy at the center of the raging international custody battle." (New York Post)
  
• AMERICANS IN CUBA ARE DICTATOR'S ACE IN HOLE -- "IF THE State Department ever knew when to hold or when to fold, they would never be drawn in to a poker game with Fidel Castro. It is totally beyond me why the State Department allowed new direct commercial flights from the United States to Havana." (New York Post)
  
• Imported nannies enjoy big demand -- "THEY'RE IN the parks. They're at the libraries. During off-hours, they gather at pubs. They're so well-connected, they call themselves the Irish Mafia. And they've got your children." (SF Examiner)
  
• COUNTY JAIL'S IDEA: THIS SPACE FOR RENT -- "The McHenry County Sheriff's Department could bring in more than $1 million of extra revenue in the coming year by renting jail space to local, state and federal law-enforcement agencies, officials said Monday." (Chicago Tribune)
  
• Man to serve 34 years in prison for killing his two young children -- "An African immigrant told the court through a translator he hopes God will grant him mercy and that he can someday make peace with his two young children, whom he beat and stabbed to death." (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
  
• 1,600 pounds of pot seized in 2 incidents -- "Border Patrol agents in Douglas Sunday arrested a Bulgarian citizen who had crossed into the United States illegally." (Arizona Daily Star)
  
• INS grants extension to family to remain in U.S. -- "Barraza-Omana, 39, entered the country illegally from Mexico in 1987 with her children. Her husband came here illegally the year before. Since 1994, she and her husband, Jose Arevalo-Vargas, 36, have worked to become permanent residents." (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

• Bill sparks soul-searching over Israel's identity -- "New statistics, released in late October, revealed that in the past year, for the first time, more than half the immigrants to Israel were not Jews according to Jewish law." (New York Times)
  
• Fidel Castro demands that Cuban boy be returned within 72 hours -- "Warning that the Cuban people were losing patience and that there would be more mass demonstrations, Castro said in statements broadcast Sunday that Elian Gonzalez must be returned within 72 hours." (AP)
  
• INS Raids Follow Union Organizing Aliens Say Law Is Being Misused -- ". The labor movement sees in immigrants a prime source of new members to boost its dwindling ranks. Now the AFL-CIO--which actively lobbied to pass the 1986 law--is thinking of calling for its repeal." (WP)
  
• Bill Hogan: Guest worker proposal needs sharp scrutiny -- "Our illegal immigration problems pose some simple and fundamental questions about what Americans want for our own future. Do we want to further degrade the standard of living of American workers to mirror an economy similar to that of Mexico?" (Arizona Daily Star)
  
• State seeks more federal help for jailing illegal immigrants -- "State and local taxpayers next year will again bear most of the cost of jailing illegal immigrants who commit crimes -- but the fight for more federal help is far from over, California lawmakers say." (Modesto Bee)
  
• Cuban can't go to U.S. to get son -- "As long as the Cuban government insists the father of 5-year-old raft-trip survivor Elian Gonzalez should not have to go to Miami to claim his son, the boy could remain in the U.S. indefinitely, legal experts said yesterday." (Seattle Times)
  
• FIDEL'S JUST BACK TO HIS DIRTY OLD TRICKS -- "Fidel Castro's decision to raise the stakes over 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez is calculated to score propaganda points at home -- and put the Clinton administration on the defensive over immigration, experts say." (New York Post)

• Driver's licenses for illegal aliens? -- "Opponents warn that illegal immigrants could use a driver's license as a document to access other services and register to vote. And they say it makes no sense for state government to extend official recognition to a person whose very presence here violates federal law." (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
  
• Illegal labor fuels hot Austin economy -- "Ask the managers of some of Austin's construction companies and service businesses what they would do without illegal workers, and they give the same answer: nothing." (Austin American-Statesman)
  
• Proposal for more work visas gaining ground with INS critics -- "But the only idea that seems to be gaining momentum is an expanded guest worker program, which would let employers hire foreign workers through a temporary visa." (Austin American-Statesman)
  
• Border squeeze funnels aliens to Vegas -- "A border crackdown in California and Texas is funneling tens of thousands of illegal immigrants into Arizona and then north to Las Vegas, where a booming economy is making the city an increasingly popular destination." (LAS VEGAS SUN)
  
• Wake-up call in Central Valley -- "If that weren't bad enough, a Fresno State professor recently concluded that the mental health of Mexican immigrants to Fresno County worsens the longer they live in America. Or, less diplomatically put: Living in the Central Valley drives people crazy. It's not hard to wonder why. Life is changing so fast for the worse down here that it's enough to make your head spin." (Contra Costa Times)

• Russians Questioned at Border -- "A Russian woman and her two young daughters were scheduled to arrive in Queens, N.Y., on Thursday despite being arrested on suspicion of illegal immigration in a two-day saga at the U.S.-Mexico border at Columbus, N.M." (Albuquerque Journal)
  
• Immigration policy stupid, evil and hurting Americans -- "Our current mass immigration policy is a classic example of this fatal Washington bipartisanship. It is a stupid policy because there is absolutely no reason for it -- in particular, Americans as a whole are no better off economically because of mass immigration." (Peter Brimelow, Contra Costa Times)
  
• Immigrants hail end to car deposit plan -- "'This was the first time that a coalition of Mexicans in the United States was able to influence policy in Mexico,' said attorney and immigrant rights activist Carlos Specter of El Paso. 'This was the first time that Mexicans were able to flex their political muscle.'" (Dallas Morning News)

• Energy Chief Reopens Nuke Labs to Foreigners -- "The "Foreign Scientists Not Welcome" sign is now down from the doors to America's top-secret nuclear labs, where Communist China is suspected of spying." (Newsmax.com)
  
• Cuba warns US to return refugee boy, or face growing hostility -- "Cuba warned the United States yesterday that already hostile relations could deteriorate further if US authorities did not immediately return a 5-year-old Cuban boy at the center of a custody battle." (Reuters)
  
• CAR-ENTRY FEES DRAW OUTCRY -- "Mexican and Mexican-American community leaders had hoped to thwart the plan by boycotting Mexican products in the U.S." (Chicago Tribune)
  
• Mexico stole Christmas, visitor says -- "The decision was part of a nationwide effort that began Wednesday to register all foreign vehicles entering Mexico. Fees range from $400 to $800, depending on the year of the vehicle." (Arizona Republic)
  
• Mexico Suspends Unpopular Border Car Deposit Law -- "The law had led to a sharp drop in the flow of visitors entering Mexico by car and howls of protest from Mexican residents in the United States who had planned to drive across the border for the Christmas holidays." (Reuters)
  
• Mexico confirms 'reciprocal' U.S. meat ban -- "Mexico told the U.S. it found various violations at the 17 plants, which are owned by companies including Tyson Foods, Inc. (TSN.N), the world's largest poultry producer, and IBP Inc. (IBP.N), the world's largest fresh meat processor." (Reuters)

• 1999: The year Congress did little on the immigration front -- "Eleven months later, with politicians gone for the remainder of the year, INS restructuring did not figure among lawmakers' accomplishments. Lawmakers also failed to act on virtually every other major immigration issue before Congress this year." (AP)
  
• Boy's grandmother asks Cuban government to help bring child home -- "The maternal grandmother of the 5-year-old Cuban boy who survived a deadly boat accident off Florida has asked the communist government in an emotional appeal to help bring the child back home." (AP)
  
• Priority should be given to child's well-being -- ". But the paramount consideration should be the well-being of Elian, who has suffered so much already. He should live where he will receive the most love and feel the most cared for, even if that means sending him back to Cuba to be with his father." (Bergen Record Editorial)
  
• Cubans ignore U.S. laws -- "If the Cuban community in south Florida wants open borders and unlimited immigrants from Cuba flowing into the United States, then they should clearly say so." (USAToday, letters to editor)
  
• Fraud costs Medi-Cal $1 billion, inquiry finds -- "Since officials began a crackdown in July, authorities have concluded that Medi-Cal was an easy target for the unscrupulous -- including many immigrants seeking quick money -- because of its simplicity and lax oversight by the state." (San Diego Union Tribune)
  
• Union, Pols Push Immigrant Amnesty -- "Invoking the name of the immigrant worker who died in a building collapse last week, three New York City congressmen joined labor leaders last night in calling for amnesty for undocumented workers." (NY Daily News)
  
• Florida Court May Rule on Fate of Cuban Boy -- "- A Florida family court, and not the U.S. government, will probably decide the fate of a 5-year-old Cuban boy caught in a custody battle between his father in Cuba and his relatives in the United States." (Reuters)
  
• Adrift in America -- "Elian Gonzalez isn't an anti-Castro poster child; he's a child who needs his father's love. ... Elian's supporters in the United States have subjected us to a debate that has nothing at all to do with the child and everything to do with the needs and wishes of the adults around him." (Salon Magazine)

• Lawyer helps high-tech firms find, retain foreign workers -- "Q: There has been some skepticism of industry estimates of the shortage. A: The bottom line is that when you look at the number of job postings on the Internet, the volume of advertising is huge. We need to show the department of labor that there is a shortage." (WT)
  
• Florida or Cuba? Young refugee wants to know -- "The 5-year-old Cuban boy plucked from the sea after a fatal boat accident off the Florida coast is beginning to ask about his future, a subject of interest to relatives in both nations." (AP)
  
• Freed Egyptian immigrant praises sheik, denies allegations -- "'I still believe he's a well-respected scholar,' Nasser Ahmed said Tuesday when asked about [convicted terrorist] Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman. 'I admire him very much.'" (AP)
  
• Deported teen left destitute in India -- "The parents of a teen deported to India after he impregnated his adolescent sister said they had dreamed for many years of raising their children in America." (Detroit Free Press)
  
• Hispanic groups urge participation in census -- "With millions of dollars and a seat in Congress on the line, leaders of Hispanic groups are urging participation in the census to get an accurate head count next year." (AP)
  
• KEEP POLITICS OUT OF ELIAN'S FUTURE -- Little Elian Gonzalez, the 5-year-old Cuban boy who survived two days clinging to a raft in the Atlantic Ocean, has been through a terrible personal ordeal. He should not now be put through a political one." (Chicago Tribune Editorial)
  
• Video technology will help INS to interview local jail inmates -- "The days of illegal aliens being released from jail before their immigration status is discovered are coming to a close." (Las Vegas Sun)
  
• Israel's liberal immigration law faces challenge -- "The bedrock of the Jewish state -- a law that grants Israeli citizenship to anyone with a Jewish grandparent -- is coming under the harshest attack in years, amid allegations that it has enabled hundreds of thousands of non-Jews to immigrate." (AP)
  
• ASYLUM PROCESS IS ORDERLY AND FAIR -- "But until we can identify our pilgrims and find out why they have come to our country, it is only prudent to follow a policy of detention. I believe that the Native Americans who first met the pilgrims would firmly agree with this policy." (INS Letter to Editor, Chicago Tribune)

• U.S. frees Egyptian man held on secret evidence -- "An Egyptian man painted as a terrorist and detained for more than three years on secret evidence was freed yesterday after immigration officials gave up a last-ditch legal challenge to his release." (AP)
  
• Pro-187 activists seek to recall Davis -- "Politicians often inspire passionate dislike - but Evelyn Miller, Barbara Coe and dozens of other Orange County activists mean business when it comes to Gov. Gray Davis." (Orange County Register)
  
• Culture of Fraud Flourishes in Delmarva Chicken Towns -- "One person, two or more names. The identity crisis is the direct result of two powerful forces at play here: Latino immigrants desperate for work and a poultry industry desperate for workers. Both have fostered a culture of identification fraud and multiple identities on the Delmarva peninsula." (WP)
  
• Santa Ana: Critics say plan to limit check-cashing shops harms immigrants. -- "Officials said there are simply too many of the establishments around, degrading the image of a city that is pushing to revitalize its central business district." (LAT)
  
• Mexican envoy has high profile -- "But with immigration issues at the forefront of local politics, Miguel Angel Isidro decided that remaining passive is no way to serve the region's Mexican community." (AP)
  
• New residents a menace to some -- "Like street corners in New York, the sidewalks here and in other semirural towns are now impromptu hiring halls where immigrants gather each morning waiting for contractors to hire them for the day." (San Jose Mercury News)
  
• Cultural Identity Can Be a Hot Spot in the Melting Pot -- "Some issues flare up like sunspots, recurring periodically and emitting intense heat. Here's a hot one that's been debated for decades: What's the best term to use when referring to Latinos, that melting pot of racial groups and nationalities?" (LAT)
  
• Latinos Find Luck in Vegas -- "Since 1990, Clark County has seen its Latino population grow by 139%--faster than any other county with a statistically significant base--according to recent figures from the U.S. Census Bureau." (LAT)
  
• INS Discrimination Against Mexicans -- "Recently, I witnessed three Mexican women who were picked up by the Border Patrol while they were standing in the private parking lot at a grocery store. -- ROGELIO QUESADA, Immigration Attorney" (LAT)
  
• Crowded Rooms, Sky-High Rents -- "Intensifying with the growing waves of immigrants, the housing shortage in New York City is a quiet crisis that has worsened even as the issue faded from the city government attention it received a decade ago." (Newsday)
  
• IMMIGRANT HOUSING -- "Built three-quarters of a century ago when Queens was a growing bedroom community, 35-50 91st St. was meant to shelter perhaps five to seven people. It now holds 31. The story of 35-50 is also the story of landlords and investors cashing in on the immigration boom, buying up frame houses and stuffing them with hard-working immigrants who pool their earnings to pay huge rents." (Newsday)
  
• Guyanese community mobilizes against housing crackdown -- "To make mortgage payments, many immigrant homeowners like Inderjit pack their modest, wood-frame, one- and two-family houses with tenants and rent-paying relatives, often converting basements and attics into illegal apartments." (Newsday)
  
• Idea floated to control foreigners who vanish before deportation -- "Both Tories and Reformers say exit controls are the solution to keeping track of the more than 20,000 foreigners -- some with criminal records -- who have been ordered deported, but the government has no idea of their whereabouts." (Calgary Sun)
  
• Immigration issues high on govt agenda -- "The issue is one of a number of immigration issues the government continues to grapple with, including the visas of Kosovar refugees, housing for illegal immigrants and claims a war criminal has entered the country." (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
  
• What the Internet has joined, immigration officials in England have tried to put asunder -- "Christina Fletcher, Russell's wife of 30 days, was deported back to Ohio on Sunday because she didn't have the proper documents when she arrived in London on Nov. 13. Her husband stayed in England." (Akron Beacon Journal)
  
• Home Is Where Your Parent Is -- "Material comforts should not be a consideration here. Even if Elian's relatives in the United States are caring and supportive, as they appear to be, the presumption should be that a child is best off with a loving parent." (SF Chronicle Editorial)
  
• Cuban Boy in Political Tug-of-War -- "A 5-year-old Cuban boy who survived after a boat sank and his mother and nine others died at sea is the subject of a political tug-of-war, with his father demanding his return and his Miami relatives fighting to keep him in the United States." (AP)

• Cuba blames U.S. for capsizing -- "Cuba said Sunday that it had warned the U.S. Coast Guard that a boat carrying 13 people was heading for the United States coast - three days before survivors of the doomed voyage were found." (AP)
  
• Exiles Champion Cuban Boy Who Survived Ocean Trip -- "A 5-year-old Cuban boy who survived two days adrift in the Atlantic on an inner tube has become a poster child for the anti-Castro exile cause and may find himself at the heart of an unusual international custody case." (Reuters)
  
• Top U.N. human rights official blasts U.S. border policy on Mexico -- The U.N.'s highest human rights official says she wants the United States to explain why it polices the safest border crossings, forcing immigrants to risk their lives in the most dangerous areas." (AP)
  
• Influx of Latino Workers Creates Culture Clash in Delaware Town -- "The presence of so many foreigners, arriving over such a short period of time, alarmed longtime residents, who are only now beginning to recover from the shock. The demand for workers, and in turn their demand for work, created a climate where laws are not always heeded, where housing abuses are common and where something as critical as a person's identity--who he or she really is--is often difficult to establish." (WP)
  
• Labor Protests Against WTO -- "[WTO Director General] Moore had harsh words for opponents. 'For some, the attacks on economic openness are part of a broader assault on internationalism - on foreigners, immigration, a more pluralistic and integrated world.'" (AP)
  
• Immigrants changing face of Md. -- "A Montgomery County high school has a student body as diverse as the United Nations, with students representing 100 countries and speaking 60 languages." (AP)
  
• Raft survivor at center of spat -- "The Cuban American National Foundation has literally turned him into the poster child of the anti-Castro movement mounting a photo of the rescued boy on a poster to be sent to an international trade meeting starting in Seattle on Tuesday." (Miami Herald)
  
• 20,000 deportees missing -- "The federal government has no idea of the whereabouts of more than 20,000 foreigners -- some with criminal records -- who have been ordered deported, immigration documents reveal." (CP)
  
• Life after Kosovo: A rollercoaster ride -- "Patenaude was speaking at a special seminar Wednesday set up to help sponsors understand the Kosovar culture, what they've been through and what they've yet to go through." (Alberta Herald Tribune)
  
• Clash Over Immigrants in Israel -- "A decade after Jews from the Soviet Union won the right to come to Israel, some of those who pushed Moscow to let them leave are now calling on Israel to restrict immigration, charging the newcomers are bringing too many non-Jewish relatives with them." (AP)

• UN official urged to condemn Gatekeeper plan -- "Human-rights and immigrant groups have also met with Ms. Robinson to urge her to condemn Operation Gatekeeper, launched in 1994 to stem an increase in the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States following the collapse of Mexico's economy that same year." (National Post)
  
• Plan to expand border free zone delayed -- "Discussions are ongoing as to where to locate the northern limit of the expanded zone, because as announced in September it would have ended at the northern Tucson city limit, cutting out stores in the metropolitan area's northern fringes." (Arizona Daily Star)
  
• Espionage Stir Alienating Foreign Scientists in U.S. -- "Top officials at Los Alamos also realized their dependence on foreign scientists when they advertised this year for a postdoctoral fellow to do unclassified research in nuclear materials and had 24 applicants--none of whom were American." (WP)
  
• Mexico's New Vehicle Fee a Clunker, Critics Charge -- ". Critics say the new measure, which requires occupants of U.S. vehicles entering Mexico to leave deposits of up to $800 at the border, will cause economic damage in both countries." (LAT)
  
• our illegal aliens jailed for illegal entry -- "Four aliens have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from one year to 7 years and 10 months stemming from their illegal entry into the United States. " (AP)
  
• 3 Cubans survive capsizing off Fla. -- "Three surviving Cuban migrants and the body of a fourth were plucked from the sea yesterday and authorities launched a Thanksgiving Day search for 10 others who may have perished when a small boat sank off the Florida coast, officials said." (Reuters)
  
• Tougher citizenship rules proposed -- "A bill making it tougher to get Canadian citizenship will be introduced in the House of Commons today." (Toronto Star)

• Bank One Mortgage to Offer New Immigrants Initiative Program -- "Through Bank One Mortgage (NYSE:ONE - news), more immigrants in the United States will be able to achieve homeownership with mortgage financing made available through Bank One's partnership with Fannie Mae's New Immigrants Initiative." (Business Wire)
  
• EOIR expands asylum numbers -- "The INS Asylum Offices are in the process of removing the conditional grant status and sending out notification letters to aliens granted conditional asylum status by the INS during fiscal year 1998." (PR Newswire)
  
• International adoptions on the rise as domestic variety wanes -- "But adopting an American baby seemed filled with complications, so like thousands of other would-be parents, she looked abroad. ''We could have tried to adopt privately, which would mean we would have to find a birth mother who was interested in giving her baby to us,'' said Hutler, a Washington attorney." (AP)
  
• U.N. Official to Visit Border to Study Plight of Illegal Crossers -- "The United Nations' top human rights official will visit the U.S.-Mexico border today to learn more about conditions faced by immigrants seeking to enter the United States illegally. ... Critics of Operation Gatekeeper expressed hope that the visit would boost their push for a U.N. probe into the controversial U.S. border strategy." (LAT)
  
• Skills-hungry Ireland in worldwide hunt for labour -- "Ireland's economic boom is driving it to scour the world for workers to immigrate to a land traditionally a net exporter of people." (Reuters)
  
• Gwinnett firm pleads guilty to harboring illegal immigrants -- "A Lawrenceville company that brings foreign nationals here to work on Y2K computer problems pleaded guilty Tuesday to harboring illegal immigrants." (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
  
• New Zealand Premier Fires Official -- "Tuariki John Delamere, an independent Maori lawmaker, was removed from his post after offering 21 Chinese migrants entry into New Zealand if each put $200,000 in Maori land development or $300,000 into businesses that are 60 percent Maori-owned." (AP)
  
• International students still suffering at Ohio State U. -- "The Asian economic crisis which began in 1997 is not over for many Ohio State University international students." (UWire)

• Filling the high-tech void -- "American companies are calling for the U.S. to take the handcuffs off visas for skilled foreign workers. Critics argue the program should be curtailed. In the balance: the lives of faceless immigrants who offer needed skills." (Ziff Davis)
  
• Prosecutors trim the staff of French salon -- "A French company expanding its hair cutting empire to the United States did a makeover on the resumes of 50 French hair stylists and colorists to sneak them past U.S. immigration authorities, the federal government alleged Monday." (AP)
  
• Rural landowners accused of holding illegals at gunpoint -- "Rural landowners Roger and Donald Barnett took seven illegal entrants into custody at gunpoint Saturday, the migrants told U.S. Border Patrol agents." (Arizona Daily Star)
  
• Border Patrol gains funding for new hires -- "The U.S. Border Patrol, already nearly 600 agents behind in its hiring race, is getting 1,000 more positions to fill." (Arizona Daily Star)
  
• Children reflect true cost of our `cheap' produce -- "A farm worker's child plays in the garbage pile outside the family's trailer. He cuts his leg, jumps in a puddle, then runs inside to a dinner of rice that barely feeds him and his six brothers and sisters." (Miami Herald)
  
• Free Nasser Ahmed -- "It is time for the government to let Mr. Ahmed go free while it proceeds with its appeal. It is also time to rein in the use of secret evidence." (WP Editorial)
  
• Janet Reno's Test -- "Two immigration courts have ordered the release of an alien imprisoned for three and a half years on secret evidence charging him with connections to terrorism. Ms. Reno will decide whether to accept those rulings or order his imprisonment continued. (Anthony Lewis, NYT)

• Australia set to tighten immigration rules -- "The Australian government won backing from the opposition Labor party on Monday to try to stem illegal immigration from China and the Middle East." (Reuters)
  
• Reid delays effort to halt immigrant deportation -- "Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., has delayed his effort to pass a law protecting immigrants who are losing their jobs and face deportation." (Las Vegas Sun)
  
• The Aging and Latinization of California -- " The state's older white population and the group that will bear most of the costs of their retirement -- its growing Latino workforce -- both have a stake in preserving the Social Security safety net." (SF Chronicle)
  
• Japan's future brightened by `demographic decline' -- "A baby bust sharply and swiftly reduces the youth-dependency burden, enabling parents and society to invest in more per child while freeing up resources for other uses, including old-age supports." (Seattle Times)
  
• School Bond Victory Offers a Lesson in Unity -- "The campaign did not need to appeal to Palacio's constituency, Latinos likely to be favorable to the cause already. "Latino [voters] were in the bag," said Remer. "The job of the campaign was to win white votes." . . . In the end, fewer than 12,000 voters decided this issue for more than 300,000 residents. About two-thirds of the ballots cast were mailed in absentee, a very high percentage." (LAT)
  
• Disunity in Anaheim Union High School District -- "Martin is Anaheim Union High School District's board president and spearheaded the controversial resolution that asks the U.S. government to get financial compensation from foreign countries, including Mexico, and then funnel the money to school districts." (Orange Country Register)
  
• Illegal Mexicans handy crime target in Camden -- "When robbed or mugged, many refuse to go to police for fear of being deported. A local deacon is reaching out to the community." (Philadelphia Inquirer)
  
• Safe driving class in Spanish new option -- "For years, driving courses were not a sentencing alternative for many Hispanics who ended up in City Court for traffic offenses." (Memphis Commercial Appeal)
  
• Abiding Tensions Fester Along the U.S.-Mexico Boundary -- "Mexico is very hypersensitive about its national sovereignty--their attitude is that we liberated half of Mexico" by annexing parts of Texas and California in 1848, said Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.), one of the leaders in the effort to win Johnston's release." (WP)
  
• Few Agencies Aware of Language Law, Audit Says -- "A state audit has found that only two of 10 California agencies reviewed were aware of their responsibility under a 1973 state law requiring them to translate materials into languages spoken by non-English speakers." (LAT)

• 2 Suits Target Conditions at Garment Factories -- "Immigrant workers who made name-brand clothes labored in sweatshop conditions, working long hours without overtime pay for far less than minimum wage, two lawsuits filed Thursday allege." (LAT)
  
• Changes at INS put on back burner -- "Congressional efforts to restructure the Immigration and Naturalization Service will not be revived until next year." (Austin American Statesman)
  
• NEWS 'NO DEPOSIT, NO ENTRY' THE RULE FOR U.S. CARS ENTERING MEXICO -- "The new rule has especially angered Mexican immigrants who annually return to Mexico for the holidays and said they already have to endure bribes by Mexican Customs agents." (Dallas Morning News)
  
• The New Faces Of Massachusetts -- "Massachusetts has so far been spared the kind of rancorous debate on immigration policy that dominated the politics of California and Washington state in recent years." (Boston Globe)
  
• Can't We All Just Get Along in Farmingville? -- "If the Ku Klux Klan has the right to march in New York City, certainly anyone has the right to walk our streets and live in our community." (Newsday)
  
• Authorities say immigrant-smuggling ring busted -- "According to the indictment, two Florida labor contractors paid smugglers to transport people from El Paso, Texas, to safehouses in Hatch, N.M., and then to citrus plantations in LaBelle, Fla." (Naples Daily News)

• Australia may X-ray smugglers to determine age -- "Indonesians caught smuggling boatpeople into Australia may be X-rayed to determine their age" (Reuters)
  
• Bracero savings transfer proved -- "World War II-era documents obtained recently from a California bank offer the first hard evidence that savings funds deducted from the pay of Mexican farm workers were deposited into Mexican banks." (Orange County Register)
  
• Nationwide Latino Support Swells for Settlement In U.S.-Mexico Money Transfer Lawsuit -- "Texas-based Hispanic leaders today joined elected officials, other national leaders in the Latino community and consumer advocates to publicly endorse and outline the enhanced settlement in the class action lawsuits involving electronic money transfers between the U.S. and Mexico." (PR Newswire)

• Cultivating new quarters -- "The housing R.T. Stanley provides the migrant workers on his 1,000-acre onion farm is the first in the state to be built under a low-interest labor housing loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development program." (Savannah Morning News)
  
• Study details immigrants' importance -- "Massachusetts' need to replenish its work force makes it increasingly reliant on an immigrant population that labors under poverty and a need to acquire skills and education, according to a study released yesterday by a nonprofit think tank." (Boston Globe)
  
• Immigrant home-buyer program launched -- "In an experiment that could become a national model, Citizens Bank of Massachusetts and Fannie Mae, the nation's largest mortgage lender, have teamed up to launch an unusual affordable home-loan program for immigrants in the state." (Boston Globe)

• Housing pamphlets lost in the translation -- "The Department of Housing and Urban Development had admirable motives when it ordered pamphlets written in Creole to inform Haitian Americans about their rights and responsibilities as residents of federally subsidized housing." (Seattle Times)
  
• School Crowding Study Leaves Room For Debate -- "Despite almost $2 billion spent the past four years on improvements to Chicago Public Schools, overcrowding remains a persistent problem largely because of immigration and the so-called Baby Boom echo, according to a new study released Monday." (Chicago Tribune)
  
• Recruiting, customer service, new gadgets on INS agenda -- "While most of the session, billed as "Building for the 21st Century," is closed to the public, INS officials will demonstrate some of its new technology in enforcement along the northern and southern borders." (Seattle Times)
  
• Border agents wanted -- "- As the U.S. Border Patrol struggles mightily with national recruiting efforts, about 50 new agents were sworn in here Monday and shipped off to 18 weeks of boot camp-style training." (San Antonio Express News)
  
• Young immigrants caught between a rock and a green card -- "Wolde-Meskel, who calls herself Mia, applied for residency under an INS provision called Special Immigrant Juvenile status, which allows certain juveniles who have been abused, neglected or abandoned to apply for permanent residency if they are in the U.S. without their parents." (Seattle Times)
  
• 10,000 illegal immigrants said to be sailing from Middle East -- "Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock said yesterday he had received reports that up to 10,000 people in the Middle East could be preparing to illegally migrate to Australia." (South China Morning Post)
  
• Immigration Service Marks New Record in Deportation -- "The removal of criminal and other illegal aliens by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) reached 176,990 at the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 1999, up 3 percent from FY 1998." (USIA)
  
• The Bay Area's economic boom may just be beginning -- "A less-than-stellar payoff from the high-tech, high-wage industries is certainly possible. Failure to plan wisely could mean growth-limiting housing shortages and ever-more-crowded freeways." (SF Chronicle)
  

   FAIR, 12/99 

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