$206-$230 Billion is the Estimate on Total Deportation Costs.

Ever wonder what it would cost to actually deport the 10+ Million undocumented immigrants currently in this nation? 

The Center for American Progress has come up with an estimate.  The estimate is here:

Using publicly available data, we estimate the costs of a mass deportation effort to be at least $206 billion over five years ($41.2 billion annually), and could be as high as $230 billion or more. Spending $41.2 billion annually would exceed the entire budget of the Department of Homeland Security for FY 2006 ($34.2 billion) and more than double the annual cost of military operations in Afghanistan ($16.8 billion).

Reason magazined pody on this has some interesting comments, such as this one:

From: Creech,

Wow, $17,000 each! So it's $1000 for a plane ticket and the rest for cops, lawyers, judges, prisons and the like?

I especially like the graphic provided by The Onion  illustrating ways Pres. Bush could combat illegal immigration.

Via:  Reason.com

technorati tags:immigration

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Big Brother at WalMart and Sam's Club

At a time of war and while the civil liberties of our citizenry are threatened. At a time when the Bush Administration continues to insist that warrantless wiretaps are constitutional a bizarre story on the unintended consequences of "spying" comes to us by way of Pennsylvania.

This story involves Glenn Harcsar an English Teacher and his eight-months pregnant wife. Harcsar and his wife were stopped while shopping at a Sam's Club in Monroeville, PA.

“You've been identified by our scanning system. You're not going to be allowed to purchase these items and you must leave and never come back. Otherwise, you will be prosecuted.”

Harscar reported that security personnel told him they had him on tape at there store, as well as stores in Tarentum and Greensburg. Harscar was informed he would not be allowed to purchase the items contained in his cart and requested to leave. The General Manager and security personnel did not provide Harscar an explanation on what he had done wrong, nor why he was being asked to leave the store.

So far WalMart and Sam's Club have refused to explain exactly what happened. Harcsar was given an apolgy and offered a "letter" which he can carry and show security personnel in the event he is ever stopped at one of their stores. No details concerning Sam's Club and WalMart's "scanning system" were provided.

Technorati Tags: walmart sams club survelliance big brother

Abuelo Juan

He is known as el Abuelo Juan.

We refer to him as, "Mi Abuelo"

Mexicans do that, we refer to our parents, grandmothers, grandfathers as "my mother, my grandfather". We don't mean to be inconsiderate of our brothers or sisters. Its just cultural thing, its a quirk in our use of language.

I worry about Mi Abuelo. I worry about his health, does he eat right, does have and take his medicine. I worry and wonder when I will see him again. I fear whether he will still be, with us, when I return.

Our days apart turn into months, months into years and we miss him each other. Another year goes by and I've yet to see him. How I yearn to hear his voice. I place the call. Hello. Abuelito. Si..! "Como esta"? Bien mijo...y tu? Fine my son, and you? Bien. Bien. Good. Good.

We talk of "Los Estados Unidos", the United States, of "el otro lado" the otherside. He likes to retell stories, stories of his past journeys to California, Arizona and Oregon. Journeys to places he can't pronounce, "Aidajo, Weesconson, Meechican" and the tough and dirty work in the farm fields.

I tell him about the difficult times Mexicans are now facing in the U.S. He tells me of his time as a "Bracero", as a guest worker. He tells me of the unscrupulous employers who vanished with weeks of pay. He remembers the money taken from his paychecks, for "pension" a 10% withholding from his earnings during the period of 1942 to 1945. How these funds were withheld by the U.S. government, the money to be placed in a "savings fund". The funds were to be paid to the guest workers upon their return to Mexico. His "savings funds" disapeared like those of 300,000 other Braceros never to resurface and neither the U.S. nor the Mexican government willing to take any responsibility. The Braceros left with no recourse and no one to turn just went on and let it go and now can only remember.

But, for all that, my Abuelo insists his journey and time in America was good. He speaks of the kindness of many "Americanos". The kindness of the white Los Angeles policeman who stopped him on a residential street, questioned him in bits of broken Spanish and then just reached into his pocket pulled out a Twenty Dollar bill, placed the bill into my grandfathers hand and said, "vaya con Dios, amigo". He relishes the memory and generosity of a "Mister Ford" who he says once helped him land a good paying job in factory. The factory job took him out of the farm fields and out of the blazing sun.

My Abuelo says, "Fueron buenos tiempos, fue una aventura y lo haria otra vez, pero eso es cosa para los nuevos". They were good times, it was an adventure, I would do it again, but those are things for when you are young.

Abuelo says Goodbye to me. He tells me, "Ojala pronto los vea." Hopefully I'll see you soon. Before I can speak, I feel a lump in my throat and as tears well in my eyes I say, "Si.. Abuelito. Pronto. Muy pronto". Yes, Grandfather, Soon. Very soon.

Technorati Tags: immigration cultural heritage migration mexico family

500,000 Angelenos Protest Immigration Bill

An estimated 500,000 protesters took to the streets of Downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, March 25th, 2006 to protest of the provisions of the HR 4437. The immigration bill authored by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner [R-WI] has caused much concern among immigrants because the new law effectively criminality illegal immigration. Any immigrant who illegally entered the country would be subject to a felony conviction and jail time. A felony conviction would essentially deny these immigrants legal residency and U.S. Citizenship.

The recently passed law has widened the rift between Democrats and Republicans. The bill passed the Senate floor with most Republicans voting in favor and Democrats voting against the measure. A detailed list of the votes is provided here. The bills author Rep. Sensenbrenner has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats such as Sen. Hillary Rodham who has called the new legislation "mean spirited".

The contentious debate on illegal immigration and HR4437 goes back to December 2005 when Congressman Raul M. Grijalva, Democrat from Arizona, made the following statement on the bill when, the bill was introduced on the House floor:

Though Americans continue to ask that Congress create orderly, legal venues for new immigrants and for safe and legal ways in which immigrants already here can declare their presence, H.R. 4437 does not even come close to fulfilling these requests. In fact, it promotes a shadow culture in which immigrants need and want to hide, which then puts our country at a greater security risk.

With one hasty line, this bill makes all immigrants criminals. It turns an immigration-law violation into an aggravated felony. Thus, legal permanent residents, who initially may have had an unlawful entry but were able to pursue a legal venue thereafter, would be categorized as felons and prevented from becoming U.S. citizens as the current law allows.

H.R. 4437 also endangers checks and balances and progress that our Nation has made towards equality. With its expansion of expedited removal programs, H.R. 4437 removes important checks that currently protect against erroneous arrests and deportations. In the realm of civil rights, immigrants that are victim to domestic violence would be discouraged from seeking protection in fear of being charged with an aggravated felony. Furthermore, immigrants dealing with Federal agencies or the judicial system would nolonger have the opportunity to appeal, thereby weakening even more checks and balances in our government.

I am ashamed of the Republican leadership for bringing this bill to the floor, for ignoring the American people, and for supporting a bill that will expand the immigration crisis. Worse than all the harm that this bill would cause is the fact that it fails to include any of the immigration reforms that Americans have asked for. It includes penalties for employers, but no provisions allowing them to attain needed employees. It criminalizes immigrants, but provides no solutions for a legal venue for entry.

As lawmakers, we can do better. We can bring to the floor a comprehensive and realistic approach to immigration that addresses border security, changes to current immigration law--including earned legalization--and upholds labor rights for all U.S. employees, be they citizens or foreign born. H.R. 4437 is not this bill. It ignores the need to address societal, economic and national security shortfalls and I encourage my colleagues to denounce this insulting response to the American people and vote ``no'' on H.R. 4437 .

Pres. Bush has urged that both sides maintain a civil tone as they attempt to find workable solutions on the issue of illegal immigration. The call for civility from Pres. Bush also goes to his own party who has become increasingly divided amongs itself on how to resolve the issue of illegal immigration.

This Saturday, March 25, 2006, the immigrant community was galvanized and produced a march which depending on which organizations figures you find more credible resulted in an estimated 200,000 (mainstream medias figures) or 500,000 (march organizers figures) took to the streets of Los Angeles in what was categorized as a peaceful and well organized protest. The Los Angeles Independent Media Center website provides the following video footage of the march.

In 1994 California passed Proposition 187 by a 60% margin which was the beginning of an anti-immigrant backlash. The controversial provisions were later struck down by the courts as unconstitutional but before that 70,000 people protested the state initiative in downtown Los Angeles. It is not suprsing the the protests against HR 4437 like the protests of Prop. 187 which both sought to punish and deny benefits to undocumented migrants both failed to consider the potential backlash from a group now estimated at over 10 million.

"U.S. to Illegal Immigrants: Drop Dead."

As Spring arrives and the days become warmer my mind begins to focus on Summer. I think of Summer and the promise of scorching 100+ degree days in our deserts of Arizona. While the heat begins to rise in our deserts our Congress is involved in its own intense and heated debate over illegal immigration. No matter what position one might take on the issue of illegal immigration the fact remains that this year over 300 men, women and children will die as they make a desperate attempt to illegally enter our country.

During the period of 1998-2004 over 3000 deaths were recorded in the surrounding desert areas of Tucson, Arizona. The deaths are a result of a shift in migration patterns by illegal immigrants as they sought alternative routes due to an increased border patrol presence and fences built on the border between San Diego and Tijuana. The beefed up Border Patrol presence and fencing resulted in the smugglers and immigrants moving further inland to desolate areas in their effort to reach the U.S. undetected.

The majority of the immigrant smuggling trade is now transacted in the Naco, Arizona and Naco, Sonora, Mexico region. It is no small secret that the Mexican town of Naco functions mostly as launching point from which Mexican and Central American immigrants attempt their perilous journey into the United States. The deaths have continued for the past 10 years and they have attracted the attention of various groups such as No More Deaths an organization that has openly provided humanitarian aide despite the risk of arrest and fines for their actions. A list of some of the dead is provided here.

As the Senate prepares to tackle the most sweeping immigration reforms in years, a top Democrat has vowed to do everything in his power, including filibuster, to thwart Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist's proposed overhaul. Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, has stated that he would "use every procedural means at my disposal" to prevent Frist from bypassing the Judiciary Committee. Majority Leader Frist has made clear the Senate will take up his proposal next week in the event the 18-member committee fails to complete a broader bill.

Whether or not Congress can agree on a comprehensive immigration bill remains to be seen. In the meantime a bill approving a new 700 mile long fence on the Mexican border with Arizona has been passed. The bill will force employers to check the Social Security numbers of new hires against a national database. The bill also contains all sorts of punitive measures - such as making it a felony for illegal immigrants to be here and making it a felony for anyone who knowingly helps an illegal immigrant.

Twenty years after passing the most sweeping immigration reform our leadership in Congress now fails to reach common ground on immigration reform and has enacted potentially dangerous and regressive immigration policies.

In California issue of illegal immigration has been a hotly contested debate especially since then Gov. Davis granting Illegal Immigrants Drivers Licenses. The much touted accomplishment of Sen. Gil Cedillo were short lived as Gov. Schwarznegger citing Homeland Security issues forced the Assembly to cave and grant a repeal of the same law.

As we continue this contentious debate angry voices will rise from both sides, as surely as the heat in the Arizona desert. Indeed protest and demonstrations are already being scheduled in major cities including Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, Denver, Milwaukee, New York, Philadelphia, San Antonio, Las Cruces, New Mexico, and Tucson, Arizona.

The images to come will likely be seized upon by our mainstream media and used to boost ratings but will fail to provide any real contribution towards healthy dialogue that could contribute towards resolving the issue of illegal immigration. The images that our mainstream media is likely to provide will be those of groups engaged in heated exchange of words - such as inviduals from the Minuteman Project and Immigration Watchdog locked in angry shouting matches with pro immigration groups the likes of NCLR and MALDEF.

As insults get traded and angry voices rise during our Nations debate on illegal immigration, the death toll will also rise in the sorching heat of the Arizona desert.