Illegals claimed ties to builder

By Paul A. Long

Post staff reporter

 

At least nine men charged with being illegal immigrants from Mexico told officials investigating the use of undocumented workers in the Northern Kentucky home-building industry that they worked for "Fischer Homes," or "Fischer Construction," according to court documents.

 

However, David Fessler, attorney for Fischer Homes, said today that the nine workers facing immigration charges were not directly employed by his client.  "None of the folks arrested worked for Henry Fischer," Fessler said.

 

Fessler said that the defendants facing immigration charges might have been employed by subcontractors providing construction services for Fischer. He said the arrested workers might be confused as to the identities of their actual employers due to a "language barrier" the Hispanic defendants have faced during court proceedings.

 

MORE: http://news.cincinnati.com

From the 5/15/06 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

Jones in spotlight as Bush addresses nation

By Mary Lolli

Staff Writer

 

HAMILTON — While the nation waited Monday night to hear President George W. Bush’s address concerning illegal immigration problems, national and local media outlets were waiting to hear Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones’ reaction to Bush.

 

Jones has been making national news since October when he began billing the federal government for illegal immigrants being housed in the county jail for crimes separate from immigration violations.  Initially, immigration officials had ignored those bills, which are now in excess of $125,000.  However, in recent weeks the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement has agreed to negotiate a potential payment program.

 

On Monday, various media outlets — including CNN — had cameras camped out at the sheriff’s office waiting to get live reactions from Jones at the conclusion of Bush’s speech.  Jones said he hoped to hear four things from Bush: that U.S. borders were going to be sealed; that he is giving local law enforcement agencies the authority to make arrests for immigration violations; that he is adding personnel to ICE; and that he’s going to pay Butler County all the money owed for illegal immigrants in the county jail.

 

MORE: http://www.journal-news.com/hp/content/news/stories/2006/05/15/HJN051606HISPANICJONES_s.html

---

Speech gets high marks from Jones

By Ken-Yon Hardy

Staff Writer

 

LIBERTY TOWNSHIP— Close to 75 Butler County residents gathered Monday night at Commissioner Michael Fox’s home to hear President George W. Bush deliver a 17-minute speech on illegal immigration issues.  One person with a particular interest in the issue was Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones, who gave the president high marks.

 

“Of a 1 to 10, I give him a 9,” Jones said. “He’s was pretty tough tonight. He sounded like Ronald Reagan.”

 

Jones said he wasn’t thrilled about the president’s amnesty program, but was optimistic that help in Butler County would soon be on the way.  “I wasn’t satisfied with that, but everything else he was tough on,” he said. “... I was impressed. ... We need (help) like tomorrow, we don’t need it like next year or next month, we need something done now.”

 

MORE: http://www.journal-news.com/hp/content/news/stories/2006/05/15/HJN051606FOXBUSH_s.html

 

Sad but true...

 

Fox: We'll 'blow the trumpet'

Illegal immigrants topic of rare Butler/Warren talk

BY JANICE MORSE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

LEBANON - Warren County appears poised to follow Butler County's lead in cracking down on illegal immigrants - and Hamilton County could be, too. 

 

Warren County commissioners said Tuesday they will need time to digest all the ideas that Butler County Commissioner Mike Fox spent an hour discussing with them. But all three commissioners made comments supporting the same general principles Fox is advancing.

 

In a rare move, Warren Commission President Mike Kilburn invited Fox to address the board.  Kilburn said he wants to head off problems with illegal immigrants.

 

MORE: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060517/NEWS01/605170352/-1/rss

 

I love the quote from Kilburn, who was the idiot who wanted to put electric fences up.  These guys just don't get it, and the immigrants are simply going to go to other areas.  I hope Heimlich does not get on board with this.  Also, note to Kilburn: your statement sounds prejudiced because it is.  These guys have no concern about the immigrants well-being, they are simply rednecks.  This is now trickling down to the workers as a site raided today was the result of a racially motivated fight in Butler County.  I assume it was flag waving hillbillies pissed off about Hispanics working at the site.  Unbelievable.

 

Kilburn said he wants to head off problems with illegal immigrants.

 

"It's bigger than our economy tomorrow, it's our heritage," he told Fox. "It's our way of life. ... This sounds prejudiced maybe, but this is our country. This is not Mexico. ... Are we willing to have the whole face of America change?"

 

Fellow Commissioner Dave Young told Fox: "All I can say is that we stand with you in Warren County."

The reality is - bottom line - that we, as a region, need to be doing the same things. Otherwise, we're just transplanting the illegal immigration problem from one area to another," Commissioner Pat South said after the meeting.

 

In a rare move, Warren Commission President Mike Kilburn invited Fox to address the board.

 

Its good to see that they are thinking regionally.  If local leaders really run with this SW Ohio could become a sort of "illegal immigrant strict enforcement zone."  This area is perhaps a bit ahead of the curve in really dealing with the issue as the numbers of illegas appear to be rather low.

 

Im not sure if Mongomery or Greene Counties will follow suit yet.  I have heard there are alot of illegals north of here, in Miami County and the New Carlisle area. 

 

 

 

 

 

What a tremendous waste of taxpayers' money.  Read on... All from the 5/19/06 Enquirer:

 

Immigrant workers detained

19 men admit to being illegal, Butler sheriff says

BY JENNIFER EDWARDS | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

WAYNE TWP. - Nineteen Hispanic home construction workers who authorities say admitted to being illegal immigrants were detained Thursday at the Butler County Jail. The men were taken into custody after the Butler County Sheriff's Office responded to a 10:30 a.m. report of an argument at a home under construction on Windy Meadows Road in Wayne Township, a rural community in the northern part of the county, sheriff's Capt. Norm Lewis said.

 

The men's names, ages and charges were not immediately released. Deputies were still investigating Thursday and trying to confirm the men's names, Lewis said. "To interview 19 people, it takes a while," he said. When deputies arrived at the construction site, they found about 20 to 30 people, he said. They asked the men for identification. Some had none, and others produced fake papers, he said.

 

MORE: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060519/NEWS01/605190396/1056/rss02

 

---

Illegal workers released

BY JENNIFER EDWARDS | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

HAMILTON – The 18 Hispanic men detained Thursday for several hours by the Butler County Sheriff’s Office after deputies said they admitted to being illegal aliens were released without being charged. That’s because local authorities do not have the power to enforce federal immigration laws. The case has been referred to federal immigration officials, Sheriff Rick Jones said.

 

But the sheriff’s office used the information they gathered Thursday to continue their investigation today into today who hired the illegals. They have identified a person they suspect could be the employer, but he has referred investigators to his lawyer, Jones said. He declined to identify the employer and said the complicated case likely won’t be resolved soon.

 

MORE: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060519/NEWS01/305190015/1056/rss02

 

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Police visit brings aliens' arrest

6 found while marshals investigate smuggling case

BY JIM HANNAH | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

COVINGTON - U.S. marshals went to a Fort Mitchell apartment Wednesday to serve a summons in an ongoing investigation into the alleged smuggling of illegal immigrants to Northern Kentucky. They found six suspected illegals staying at an apartment in the Fountains at Lakeside Park complex, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

 

Thursday, the six men pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court on charges of entering the country illegally, a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail. The men - all Mexicans - remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service Thursday evening. They are being held at the Grant County Jail.

 

MORE: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060519/NEWS0103/605190413/1059/rss13

 

From the AP, 5/21/06:

 

Holding of undocumented migrants questioned

Sunday, May 21, 2006

 

HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) — A sheriff who has complained that federal resources are stretched too thin to adequately police his region’s ballooning immigrant population said he had to release 18 men who told deputies they were illegal aliens because his office can’t enforce immigration laws. Now, the American Civil Liberties Union and federal officials are questioning whether the deputies had the right to detain the men at all.

 

Butler County Sheriff Rick Jones has insisted his office acted appropriately, saying the men were detained because they could not be identified and because of a communications barrier. Jones said the case has been referred to immigration officials and the sheriff’s office plans to continue an investigation to find the men’s employer.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/05/21/20060521-B2-01.html

 

---

From the 5/22/06 Dayton Daily News:

 

LOOKING OUT FOR YOU

Immigration attorney briefs employers on legal hiring, firing

By Chris Dumond

Staff Writer

 

HAMILTON — With recent busts on job sites and the attention immigration is getting, a Butler County Job Center forum Thursday on employment law was well-attended. Thomas J. Geygan Jr., a Cincinnati attorney specializing in immigration law, told a crowd of about 40 employers about their duties and rights under the law.

 

The duties start, Geygan said, with the employer's responsibility to verify all workers' employment eligibility through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Form I-9. The form requires workers to show certain forms of identification to verify their eligibility, he said.

 

MORE: http://www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/localnews/daily/0522watchdog.html

 

---

From the AP, 5/15/06:

 

Painesville embracing illegal immigration

The Associated Press

 

PAINESVILLE — Schools send notes home to parents in English and Spanish, and banks offer loan programs that allow undocumented immigrants to finance cars and even buy houses. At a time when some Ohio cities are struggling to deal with growing numbers of illegal immigrants, Painesville is trying to make it work.

 

Lake County, a largely white, politically conservative community, was among the first in the Midwest to endorse the matricula consular, a Mexican-government identity card. Police and businesses in Lake County now accept the card as proof of identity, which can help immigrants open bank accounts and arrange utility service.

 

MORE: http://www.chroniclet.com/2006_Archive/05-15-06/Daily%20Pages/051506local4.html

 

From the 5/23/06 Enquirer:

 

Butler Co. pays for job program

Project teaches legal residents construction trade

BY JENNIFER EDWARDS | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

HAMILTON - Butler County leaders agreed Monday to spend up to $100,000 on scholarships and other costs for county residents to begin training for work in construction trades at Butler Tech. The money also will go to promote the initiative, Jobs Opportunity Training Program. County leaders said they hope to expand it in the coming weeks and have it running by the end of June.

 

"Let's see if we can pull this off and go forward with it," said Commissioner Mike Fox, who proposed the idea last week.

 

Under the plan, Butler Tech and Butler County Department of Job and Family Services would train citizens or legal, non-citizen workers for construction jobs. Residents would be placed, and employers would receive a certificate that anyone hired through the program is living here legally.

 

MORE: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060523/NEWS01/605230358/1056/rss02

 

From the 5/25/06 Enquirer:

 

Illegals probe takes turn

Deputies raid Butler builder's office for job records

BY SHEILA MCLAUGHLIN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP - A local crackdown on illegal aliens took a different tack Wednesday when Butler County deputies raided the office of a contractor suspected of paying workers under the table. Investigators carted two boxes of employment records out of the Hamilton-Middletown Road office of Carmona Construction, which employed 18 Hispanic workers who were detained and questioned after a fight at a Wayne Township building site last week.

 

Sheriff Rick Jones, who has led a controversial fight in Butler County to rid the area of illegal immigrants, had little to say about Wednesday's search. "The investigation continues. As we speak, it unfolds," Jones said. "I can't tell you any more than that because, basically, there's a lot of people watching everything we are doing and we are not going to do this in the news media. We're going to do it in the courts."

 

MORE: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060525/NEWS01/605250380/-1/rss

 

---

From the 5/25/06 Cincinnati Post:

 

Workers likely to plead guilty

By Stephenie Steitzer

Post staff reporter

 

Most of the undocumented workers arrested earlier this month during a raid at Fischer Homes construction sites in Northern Kentucky could be back in their home countries within four weeks under plea deals discussed Wednesday during a U.S. District Court hearing in Covington.

 

The majority of the roughly 80 undocumented workers are expected to plead guilty to misdemeanor charges of being in the United States illegally, receive credit for the time they have spent in jail since their May 9 arrest, and waive their deportation hearings, said Covington attorney F. Dennis Alerding, who is representing seven of the suspects.

 

MORE: http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060525/NEWS01/605250378/1010/RSS01

 

From the 5/26/06 Middletown Journal:

 

Contractors back sheriff in illegal hiring crackdown

Builders hoping raids by Butler deputies will make market more competitive for employers who play by the rules.

By Chris Dumond

Staff Writer

 

In spite of concerns raised by some homebuilders, local building contractors Thursday lauded Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones’ pursuit of those who hire illegal immigrants. The contractors said they hope raids by the sheriff’s office will make the market more competitive for employers who play by the rules. At least one man said he’s already seeing better pay because of it.

 

“We support him 125 percent,” Benchmark Masonry Contractors owner Steve Hester said. “We who do things right, who have drug testing and check papers and have benefits, we can’t compete with those who aren’t.”

 

The Middletown businessman said larger contractors who bring illegal workers to the job site often hire them indirectly as subcontractors, thereby dodging their responsibility to ensure the workers are here legally, paying workers compensation and collecting taxes. “We always check documents and Social Security cards,” Hester said.

 

MORE: http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/05/26/MJ052606RAIDS.html

 

I have rarely agreed with Scott Greenwood of the ACLU, but I think he makes a good point here.  There are other intriguing points of view on why locals should not be pursuing this.  This sheriff seems to be looking for notoriety, and every time I hear him talk he just seems like a prejudiced, backward jerk (I also do not think he has to worry about bin Laden showing up or working in Butler County - great quote though).  Bottom line again - this is a national issue that should be addressed by the federal government.  Interesting comments are in the "What People Say" section.

 

Immigrant detentions irk some

Butler sheriff draws advocates' criticism

BY JENNIFER EDWARDS | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

HAMILTON - Organizations that advocate for immigrants and for civil rights have lashed out at the Butler County sheriff for detaining 18 alleged illegal immigrants, calling his move unconstitutional, racial profiling and beyond his authority.

 

Scott Greenwood, a lawyer for the Cincinnati chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said Sheriff Rick Jones has exposed the county to a potential lawsuit that could cost tens of thousands in damages.

 

"It's a national problem that requires a national solution, not vigilante activity. And that's really all the Butler County sheriff is doing," Greenwood said.

 

MORE: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060529/NEWS01/605290346/1077

 

Illegal immigrants are good for our economy. Reaganomics--that profit is going to be reinvested and create more jobs for Americans.

News on the protests from the 5/29/06 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

Groups protest actions against immigrants

By Cameron Knight

Staff Writer

 

HAMILTON — The Ohio Immigrant Network gathered Sunday evening across the street from the Butler County Sheriff’s Office to voice its concerns about recent developments in the relationship between local law enforcement and immigrants.

 

“We want to organize the community to educate the sheriff,” said Beatriz Maya, director of organizing for FLOC. “The sheriff is trying to apply immigration law in the county without authority. We see a lot of ignorance in his behavior.”

 

The network is comprised of four groups — the Farm Labor Organizing Committee; the Immigrant Worker Project; MIGUATE, which supports Mayan Indigenous Guatemalans; and the Coalition for the Dignity and Rights of Immigrants.

 

MORE: http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/05/28/HJN052906PROTEST_s.html

 

Illegal immigrants are good for our economy. Reaganomics--that profit is going to be reinvested and create more jobs for Americans.

 

And so is other illegal activity such as growing ganja, making amphetamines, drug dealing, and operating "chop shops."

Those things are illegal for different reasons... and so what if my car came from a chop shop? How else am I supposed to afford a 2004 Impala sittin on 20s with a Alpine system? :wink2:

From the 5/30/06 Dispatch:

 

PHOTO: Lourdes Leon, owner of Taqueria Mercado and other Butler County businesses, says Latinos are becoming afraid.  TOM DODGE DISPATCH

 

PHOTO: Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones, who takes a hard line against illegal immigrants, erected a sign outside the county jail to show his resolve.  TOM DODGE DISPATCH

 

NOT IN MY COUNTY

For some Ohio sheriffs, fighting illegal immigration has become a priority

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Kelly Lecker

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

HAMILTON, Ohio — Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones can’t control what Congress does about the hotly debated immigration-reform issue. He can’t force federal agents to do anything about the illegal immigrants he says are costing taxpayers millions of dollars in his county north of Cincinnati.

 

But Jones sat at his desk, beneath a portrait of John Wayne, and talked about what he can control. "I took an oath to uphold all the laws of this state and of this country," he said. "I don’t know if it’s an activist role. It’s an American role, and I’m doing this as an American."  Jones is one of a handful of sheriffs who are using state laws to control illegal immigration in their counties.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/05/30/20060530-A1-02.html

 

The problem is there are sort of two things going on with this issue...a legtimate economics issue or concern about illegals driving down or holding down wages in a certains of the economy and also a xenophobic "they're not like us" sentiment. 

 

I think we should all be a bit honest about this, and call out this "they're not like us" sentiment as being unfounded and more than a bit prejudiced....there is no reason the illegals cant assiimilate, or their kids assimilate, or to suspect them for not being good "citizens" (in the larger sense of the word) or workers.

 

Statments like this:

"It's bigger than our economy tomorrow, it's our heritage," he told Fox. "It's our way of life. ... This sounds prejudiced maybe, but this is our country. This is not Mexico. ... Are we willing to have the whole face of America change?"

..I can not support.  So what if the "face" of America changes?  It has always been changing. 

^Amen.  Though I would add a third issue, which is really the only one that concerns me - security.  I think the economy will be fine, will absorb whatever, and that folks will assimilate and make this a richer America - I just don't think having a wide-open border is wise in the world today.

 

But definitely, not only so what if the face of America changes - I hope it does change, and continues to, because we've never had anything but greater cultural richness from any group that's come here.

From the 6/1/06 Dispatch:

 

IMMIGRATION RALLY

Groups question sponsor’s hate ties

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Kelly Lecker

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

The organizer of a Statehouse rally to oppose illegal immigration has ties to what hate-group monitors say is a white-supremacist organization.  The organizers call themselves "Americans for America" and say Friday’s rally is "pro-American" and promises to be peaceful.

 

But the event is being promoted on what an Anti-Defamation League official said is the oldest and largest Web site for white supremacists.  And its organizer belongs to a group run by David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader who served one term in the Louisiana legislature.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/06/01/20060601-B1-06.html

 

---

From the 6/1/06 Mount Vernon News:

 

Immigrants work well for local business 

By Dylan McCament, News Staff Writer

06:58 AM, Thursday, June 01, 2006

 

MOUNT VERNON — John Ellis, owner of United Precast Inc., said the 50 or so Mexican laborers who work for him are authorized to work in the United States, and are paid and treated well.  He said likes them, and they like working at United Precast Inc.

 

Ellis said there is a shortage of workers willing to do physical labor in this country, and the work has got to be done by someone. In the case of UPI, he said the unskilled labor positions are dirty and difficult.  Office Manager John Tads said the company tried to hire local people, but they didn’t like the long hours or the dirty jobs.

 

Ellis said he first began to hire Mexican workers in the late 1990s.  The company worked with an agency in Texas to find some workers, and started out with only five or six; the number has grown since then.  Some of the workers have family ties with that first group, he said.

 

MORE: http://www.mountvernonnews.com/local/06/06/01/immigrants.html

 

I don't see much difference between exploiting cheap mexican labor in the U.S. and outsourcing in third world countries.

^Is it exploiting someone to pay them $10/hour?  How do you figure that?

Because they still do less desirable work and on average cheaper. I don't think its AS BAD but it's the same principle really.

I don't get it.  They pay $10/hour...that's nearly double minimum wage.  They offer a 401(k).  They offer benefits.  And that's exploiting them?  I'm sorry, I'm completely off the boat on this one.

From the 6/3/06 Dispatch:

 

Turnout light for protest of unlawful immigration

Saturday, June 03, 2006

 

A rally against illegal immigration drew 14 demonstrators and 10 counter-demonstrators to a rain-drenched sidewalk beside the Statehouse yesterday.  One Web site said organizers expected up to 2,000 people to attend, but barricades used to surround the Statehouse’s north plaza proved unnecessary.

 

Members of Americans for America, sponsors of the rally, clutched signs and umbrellas, urging motorists on E. Broad Street to "Honk if you’re sick of illegals."  One member of the counterdemonstrators responded with a sign reading, "Honk if you’re a racist."

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/06/03/20060603-D7-04.html

 

From the 6/6/06 Chillicothe Gazette:

 

Immigration issue raised in lockout

By JONA ISON

Gazette Staff Writer

 

JACKSON- Meridian Automotive workers are still locked out of their jobs and say they are concerned about the company's use of illegal immigrants and possible poor quality merchandise.  The workers Meridian brought in to replace 300 union members last month have been staying in Chillicothe hotels and transported on a blue bus to Jackson for work.  Chillicothe Police Chief Jeff Keener confirmed some of the workers are in the United States illegally and six aliens had been confirmed at one time.

 

Immigration laws are outside the police department's jurisdiction of enforcement, he added, and he has not heard of there being any problems with any of the Meridian replacement workers.  U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, R-18th District, said he is disgusted the government has failed to address immigration issues in Chillicothe and Jackson, leaving the police departments "handcuffed."

 

MORE: http://www.chillicothegazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060606/NEWS01/606060320/1002/rss01

 

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From the 6/6/06 Cincinnati Post:

 

8 illegals admit guilt, will testify

By Tom O'Neill

Post staff reporter

 

With their quick guilty pleas Monday, nine illegal immigrants arrested in a raid last month on Fischer Homes building sites in Northern Kentucky hoped their day in court would bring them closer to deportation back home to Mexico.  But for eight of the nine who appeared in U.S. District Court in Covington, that won't happen for at least a month - and possibly much longer - because prosecutors want to use them as material witnesses in the case against a Fisher contractor, Robert Pratt.

 

Pratt, of Franklin, Tenn., is charged with knowingly hiring the undocumented workers - at below-market pay.  They wound up working at Fischer Homes construction sites.

 

Monday, the nine, each charged with a misdemeanor count of entering the U.S. illegally, entered their pleas before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Gregory Wehrman.  He granted Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob McBride's request that the men be sentenced to time served, about three weeks. Each had faced a possible prison term of six months.

 

MORE: http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060606/NEWS01/606060343/1010/RSS01

 

From the 6/7/06 Cincinnati Post:

 

Illegal workers face deportation

By Paul A. Long

Post staff reporter

 

In U.S. District Court in Covington on Tuesday, it was seven suspected undocumented immigrants in, and seven confirmed undocumented immigrants out.  With nearly 100 people now charged in an ongoing investigation into the use of illegal immigrants in the Northern Kentucky home-building industry, the wheels of justice continue to grind slowly.

 

Seven men - six from Mexico, one from El Salvador - each pleaded guilty to a single charge of entering the United States illegally.  Two were released to Immigration and Custom Enforcement officials for deportation.  The other five will remain as witnesses in an investigation that seeks to tie the men to local contractors and eventually to Fischer Homes, one of the largest homebuilding companies in the area.

 

MORE: http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060607/NEWS01/606070377/1010/RSS01

 

Jimmy - I think you're painting with an awfully broad brush here.  Yes, I'm sure there are folks who don't like them damn Mexicans, and want to see them all deported so real Americans can have the jobs.  But I'd bet that proportion is about as small as liberals who hate America or Christians who want sodomy to be illegal.  There are extremist positions on any issue - but it's a straw man, and it ain't gonna convince anyone of good will to change their minds.

 

My apologies for veering off-topic, but a minor rhetorical critique of RiverViewer's thoughtful post: If the number of openly racist xenophobes is about as small as "Christians who want sodomy to be illegal", I'd be especially concerned if I were a Mexican national in this country illegally.  As of the 2003 Lawrence decision, most poll citations showed a sizeable chunk of the country (and I think it is safe to extrapolate an at least slightly higher portion of Christians) thought gay sodomy should remain illegal.  Not a clear majority, but not the straw man you were suggesting.

See, e.g., the "Polls" section of http://www.religionlink.org/tip_030611a.php#polls

or http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0707/p01s02-ussc.html

 

This may have changed in the last 3 years, but I doubt this view is held by a small enough percentgage to comfortably call it "extremist".  In any case, it's certainly not an oft-heard straw man since that issue is now properly moot.

 

 

From the 6/10/06 Kentucky Post:

 

Latino workers plead guilty

By Paul A. Long

Post staff reporter

 

To the detached observer, the hearings this week in U.S. District Court in Covington are becoming routine, with the elements of a scripted play.

 

Thirty-eight men - all arrested in early May when federal immigration agents raided three Fischer Homes building sites as part of an investigation into the use of undocumented workers in the Northern Kentucky home-building industry - have pleaded guilty to being in the United States illegally.

 

The hearings begin when a group of handcuffed Latino men, wearing black-and-white striped jail uniforms, troop into the courtroom.

 

MORE: http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060610/NEWS02/606100339/1011/RSS02

 

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From the Georgetown News Democrat:

 

Illegal immigrants

A strain on the community or a necessity for local farmers?

By WADE LINVILLE

Associate Editor

 

Securing United States borders to prevent illegal immigration has become a huge issue.  Many government officials claim the increase in illegal immigrants is eating away at the tax dollars paid by U.S. citizens, as U.S. tax payers are “paying the way” for illegal immigrants who sneak into the U.S. in search of better jobs.

 

According to Ohio State Representative Danny Bubp, hundreds of illegal immigrants cross the Mexican border on a daily basis to find jobs in the U.S.  Brown County, like the nation, has witnessed a significant rise in the amount of illegal immigrants, mainly during crop season when farm work is available.

 

MORE: http://www.newsdemocrat.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=121541&TM=53832.5

 

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From the 6/10/06 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

Promoting tolerance in the public square

By Lisa A. Bernard

Staff Writer

 

HAMILTON — Area church and community leaders are slated to converge at the Historic Butler County Courthouse Sunday to speak publicly about immigration and intolerance.  The Butler County Community Alliance has invited several local church and community leaders to speak at 3 p.m. Sunday “to express our hope for a united and positive community that welcomes all people,” said Shelly Jarrett Bromberg, of the BCCA.

 

“We’re looking for ways to stress that we are here for one another and here for immigrants,” said Bromberg, who is a professor of Spanish and Latin American studies at Miami University Hamilton. “The perception from outside is that (Butler County) is a horrible place to come because it is filled with intolerance and fear, but there is a large group of people out there that would like to provide support and care for everyone.”

 

MORE: http://www.journal-news.com/hp/content/news/stories/2006/06/09/hjn061006immigrationtalks_s.html

 

From the 6/11/06 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

Leaders join to bridge immigration gap

By Carmen Hubbard

Staff Writer

 

HAMILTON — Church leaders and Butler County officials Sunday afternoon put aside their opinions about immigration policy to join as “bridge builders.”  “We can all become a bridge builder,” said the Rev. Barry Clardy, senior pastor of Princeton Pike Church of God.  “We don’t have the answer individually, but collectively we can bring unity among all of us.”

 

Clardy was among the speakers who addressed a rally about immigration reform in the gazebo at the Historic Butler County Courthouse in downtown Hamilton.  Nearly 20 religious leaders, educators and families turned out for the rally, hosted by the Butler County Community Alliance.

 

MORE: http://www.journal-news.com/hp/content/news/stories/2006/06/11/HJN061206IMMIGRATIONRALLY_s.html

 

What's role on immigrants?

Sheriff expects training; feds say it's not assured

BY JENNIFER EDWARDS | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

HAMILTON - The Butler County Sheriff's Office wants to be the first in Ohio to receive federal immigration law-enforcement training so it can work to reduce the problem of illegal immigration here, county officials said Monday.  They made the announcement during a lengthy, heated public hearing over a countywide crackdown on illegal immigrants that began last year.

 

Sheriff Richard Jones said after the meeting that his office applied several months ago for the training from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  The agency has approved the department's attending the training in Georgia, Jones said, adding that he is waiting for the next round of classes.

 

MORE: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060613/NEWS01/815260246/4157

From the 6/15/06 Kentucky Post:

 

Contractor faces new charges

By Paul A. Long

Post staff reporter

 

A federal grand jury meeting in Covington on Wednesday upped the stakes against the man authorities believe is a key player in providing undocumented workers to the Northern Kentucky home-building industry. It indicted Robert Pratt, a contractor who often worked with Fischer Homes, on 10 charges of money laundering. The new charges double his potential maximum prison time if found guilty from 10 years to 20 years.

 

The indictment said Pratt used his company, Progressive Builders, to funnel nearly $65,000 in cash over the past five years to those who hired and paid illegal workers, generally from Mexico and several Central American nations.

 

The grand jury also indicted Pratt's sister, Josefina Moreno, on 10 similar counts. That indictment said Moreno used her company, HPF Inc., to funnel $78,000 since November 2005 to those who hired and paid the illegal workers. In both cases, the indictment said, the workers were "framing crews of illegal alien workers."

 

MORE: http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060615/NEWS02/606150361/1014

 

From the 6/16/06 Enquirer:

 

New charge in migrant case

Contractor, sister accused of laundering money

BY JIM HANNAH | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

COVINGTON - A central figure in a federal investigation into the alleged use of illegal immigrants in construction also faces charges of money laundering.  On Wednesday, a federal grand jury meeting in Covington indicted contractor Robert Pratt on nine counts of laundering money and one count of conspiracy.

 

Pratt, 47, is awaiting trial under house arrest in Franklin, Tenn., and couldn't be reached.  The charges are punishable by up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000.  The indictment states Pratt and his sister, Josefina Moreno, also named in the indictment, paid $141,600 to framing crews of illegal immigrants over the last five years.

 

MORE: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060616/NEWS0103/606160397/-1/rss

 

---

From the Georgetown News Democrat:

 

Immigrants II: The search for a better life

Sam tells about his journey from Mexico

By WADE LINVILLE

Associate Editor

 

Pledging to “plug the leaks” by supporting tighter security along borders, the United States government is searching for answers in the illegal immigration dilemma.

 

Communities claim that illegal immigrants are saturating the economy, costing Americans millions of dollars by accepting jobs for less pay than what it takes to hire legal U.S. citizens.

 

From a local tobacco farmer’s standpoint, the ability to hire illegal immigrants at a cheaper price than what it takes to hire a U.S. citizen is all that keeps his business running.

 

MORE: http://www.newsdemocrat.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=121574&TM=48669.46

 

From the 6/20/06 Enquirer:

 

Another 15 immigrants plead guilty to illegally entering United States

BY JIM HANNAH | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

Fifteen immigrants pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court Monday to entering the country illegally.  Their pleas mean the majority of the nearly 100 immigrants arrested across Northern Kentucky last month have admitted to being here illegally in exchange for a sentence of time served.  For many, that's been about a month in the Boone County jail.

 

The immigrants have been appearing before U.S. Magistrate Gregory Wehrman nearly every day for the past two weeks.  The next immigrant isn't scheduled to appear before him until July 13.  Some immigrants were immediately deported back to Latin America. Others are being held as material witnesses against a Fischer Homes subcontractor charged with harboring illegal aliens.

 

MORE: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060620/NEWS0103/606200324/1059/rss13

 

Hey at least Cleveland can recognize an opportunity when they see one.  Way to go Butler County and SW Ohio for continuing your right-wing extremism in every political facet immaginable!  The region is losing population and young/creative/diverse people inparticular....and you go out of your way to hurt these groups.  This just doesnt seem to make any sense at all to me.

 

Lets keep Article XII off the books, repeal the stronger penalties for marijuana crimes, and lets get off the cases of people who are trying to make a damn living in America....I guess the message that we're sending is that we (SW Ohioans) are better than you, and we do not want you around!  Quick get out immigrants...get out gays....and get out young creative types.....WE DONT WANT YOU!

^Way to go Butler County and SW Ohio for continuing your right-wing extremism in every political facet immaginable!

 

Yeah that B.S. in Butler County pissed me off too.  But when it comes down to it that Butler County sherrif (I've forgotten his name, he has that Wilfred Brimley mustache) just likes seeing himself on TV and his name in the paper.  I don't even think he was involved in the arrest of that Chinese restaurant owner in Fairfield.

 

The problem isn't local law enforcement chasing away illegals it's that the state government isn't doing anything about attracting new residents, regardless of where they are from.  I firmly believe that the State government should be actively encouraging people from all places, especially from outside the U.S., to settle in Ohio.  The feds can enforce their own laws, to paraphrase Andrew Jackson.  But without a State government that takes the issue of population loss seriously, and puts real policies and money in place to reverse the trend, nothings going to stem the slow drift to poverty and loss of influence.  Especially not one stereotypical fat, bewhiskered county sheriff.

This simply goes back to the point that if it is not dealt with nationally, the immigrants will just go to other places.  There is a comical beauty to the whole situation.  The jack ass in Butler County and apparently the morons in Warren County cannot see the big picture, so they want to show off their backward ways and make things tough on illegal immigrants, and by extension all Hispanics in the area. Way to go Cleveland! 

 

BTW, the city is losing population not the metro, but actions like this will help to remedy the problem.

There was a great article on NPR the other day focusing on the fight against illegals in Butler County:

 

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5478989

I don't get it.  They pay $10/hour...that's nearly double minimum wage.  They offer a 401(k).  They offer benefits.  And that's exploiting them?  I'm sorry, I'm completely off the boat on this one.

 

It's common for illegal immigrants to make that kind of money? I agree, 10 is pretty good; I thought they were being paid around minimum wage or less for the most part.

 

 

 

lol I love this graphic...

From the 6/23/06 Middletown Journal:

 

Mayors favor strict immigration enforcement

Community leaders agree on the negative impacts of illegal immigration and plan to support Butler Sheriff.

By Meghan Crosby

Staff Writer

 

TRENTON — Several mayors from across Butler County plan to take a collective stance against illegal immigration.  Six mayors who attended Thursday’s meeting of the newly formed Butler County Mayor’s Task Force discussed the impact illegal immigrants are having in their communities and decided to step up in favor of strict enforcement of immigration laws.

 

Attending were Robert Routson, Monroe; Vivian Gorsuch, Seven Mile; Bob Wells, Middletown; Rhonda Freeze, Trenton; Ronald D’Epifanio, Fairfield; and Don Ryan, Hamilton.  D’Epifanio said the mayors’ stand on the issue will also be a show of support for Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones’ effort to crack down on illegals and their employers.

 

“We should form a general opinion on where we stand on the issue,” Ryan said, pointing to recent conversations he has had with several of Hamilton’s Hispanic business owners.  “They’re quite alarmed at what’s going on and afraid they’ll be targeted even if they’re following the rules.”

 

MORE: http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/06/23/MJ062306MAYORS.html

 

---

Fizzle....

 

Job-training program fizzles

Problems end Butler Co. plan

BY JENNIFER EDWARDS | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

HAMILTON - A month after Butler County made a splashy announcement about starting a worker-training program to help Americans get jobs allegedly being taken by illegal immigrants, officials are mothballing the program because of low participation.

 

In the past three weeks, just 11 workers signed up for what would have been a 12-week, $2,400-per-student program to be offered through Butler Tech.  None of them will be trained, however, because the program ran into problems.

 

First, it was to be funded with $100,000 in federal job-training money that needed to be spent, or at least committed to be spent, by the end of June.  The program ran out of time.

 

MORE: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060623/NEWS01/606230372/1077

 

BTW, the city is losing population not the metro, but actions like this will help to remedy the problem.

 

It might not be losing population as a metro.....but it is just about as stagnant as you can get.  It won't be long before the entire region is feeling the strain and then the morons out in the 'burbs will finaly see the bigger picture outside of gated communities and exclusionary zoning!!!!

^

About .6% a year, not great but not horrible.  But I completely hear where you are coming from.  We need more officials that welcome everyone with open arms.

From the 6/27/06 Enquirer:

 

PHOTO: Panelist Dan Molina speaks during a community forum on immigration Monday at the Freedom Center.  The Enquirer/Leigh Patton

 

Forum tackles immigration issues

BY QUAN TRUONG | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

DOWNTOWN -An immigrant from the Caribbean explained at an immigration forum Monday night why he stayed illegally in the United States when his visa expired. "In America, you can become anything you want. I'm exhibit A," said Julian Antoine, who graduated from college, is now a legal resident and an engineer. "My question is: How do we help people like me?"

 

Antoine's question at Monday night's community forum on immigration at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center led to many others, such as whether deporting immigrants is the best solution.  For some panelists, finding the best solution to fixing the system required debunking what one panelist called the myths of illegal immigration, one being that immigrants are taking jobs away from Americans.

 

MORE: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060627/NEWS01/606270352/1056/rss02

 

From the 6/24/06 Lima News:

 

ONU refutes claims of undocumented workers

By BETH L. JOKINEN

06/24/2006

 

ADA — Ohio Northern University officials say claims that illegal immigrants are working on construction projects on campus are simply not true. “There is no truth to that rumor,” school President Kendall Baker said in a statement sent to newspaper.

 

Jim Negron, executive vice president of Corna/Kokosing Construction Company, the general contractor for the projects in question, also responded in a statement sent from the school. “Corna/Kokosing has policies and procedures in place that require each prospective employee, contractor or subcontractor to document his or her ability to be lawfully employed,” it read.

 

Bob Carder, ONU chief steward/HVAC technician and Local 84 representative for Ohio’s northwest district, claims that prior to a week ago, there were about 70 illegal immigrants working at the construction sites. “The school turned its head. The reply was that it wasn’t their business,” he said.

 

MORE: http://www.limaohio.com/story.php?IDnum=27010

 

Business owner nixes meeting as Ryan seeks to calm immigration climate

By Lisa A. Bernard

Journal News Staff Writer

 

HAMILTON — A meeting today between local Hispanics business owners and officials trying to lure them to Cuyahoga County has been cancelled.  Economic development officials from Cleveland and Cuyahoga County were scheduled to present incentive packages this afternoon in hopes of persuading some businesses to take their ventures north.  However, due limited space for attendees at the Taqueria Mercado, restaurant owner Lourdes Leon decided a new meeting location would need to be found.

 

“A lot of people wanted to attend the meeting.... We just were not able to hold it here,” she said, adding that some business owners are instead planning to go Cleveland to hear the pitch of officials there. “We don’t have a new date or anything yet,” she said.

 

Business owners, including Leon, have said proposals made by Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones and other county officials to crackdown on illegal immigration have created a climate of intolerance and ill will toward all immigrants.  Hamilton Mayor Don Ryan said he wants more community discussion on the issue.  “Right now the environment that is out there is very hostile,” Ryan said. “We need to work together to get the right message out there and continue to create dialogue so we can move forward.”

 

MORE: http://www.journal-news.com/hp/content/news/stories/2006/06/28/hjn062906climate_s.html

 

A BGSU news release from 7/6/06:

 

 

A new way for estimating illegal immigrants

 

BOWLING GREEN, O.—A Bowling Green State University demographer and two colleagues are developing a new method for estimating the illegal immigrant population with the support of the U.S. Census Bureau.

 

Dr. Jennifer Van Hook, a BGSU associate professor of sociology, has been awarded $166,000 by the census bureau for her work with Jeffrey Passel of the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington, D.C., and Dr. Frank Bean from the University of California-Irvine. The group got initial funding for the project in 2003.

 

The government says, and Van Hook concurs, that close to 11 million immigrants are now in the country illegally. About 57 percent of them are from Mexico, and the total number is estimated to be growing by 450,000 per year.

 

MORE: http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/mc/news/2006/news22219.html

 

From the 7/6/06 Sun Star:

 

Four illegals found working at Lowe's site

Thursday, July 06, 2006

By R. David Heileman

The Sun Star

 

STRONGSVILLE - Four suspected illegal aliens were found working at a Strongsville construction site last week, prompting a state official to say he will introduce a bill later this summer that would allow local law enforcement agencies to arrest illegal immigrants discovered working at privately owned job sites.

 

State Rep. Tom Patton, R-18, said the workers were at the site of a new Lowe's Home Improvement Center now under construction as the first phase of a $38 million retail and office complex at the northeast corner of Pearl and Whitney roads.

 

I got a call from a constituent who said he didn't want to be named, but that he had worked at the site and there were four people working there with North Carolina plates who spoke no English at all, Patton said, explaining that he contacted Mayor Tom Perciak, who asked that police be dispatched to the Lowe's site.

 

MORE: http://www.cleveland.com/sun/sunstar/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1152204435263110.xml&coll=3

 

From the 7/8/06 Enquirer:

 

Fischer Homes trial delayed

Lawyers prep for illegal immigrant case

BY JIM HANNAH | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

The trial of four Fischer Homes construction site supervisors will not take place this month.  U.S. District Judge David Bunning rescheduled the trial of Timothy Copsy, Doug Witt, William Allison and Bill Ring to Sept. 11 to give lawyers more time to prepare.

 

The four Fischer employees have been charged with harboring or conspiring to harbor illegal immigrants.  A federal indictment alleges the four supervisors knowingly used illegal immigrants employed by a subcontractor at the Tree Top subdivision in Hebron and the Tara Subdivision in the Plantation Pointe development in Florence.

 

As part of the two-year investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have rounded up nearly 100 suspected illegal immigrants since May 9.  Some of them are being held as material witnesses in the investigation.

 

MORE: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060708/NEWS0103/607080341/1059/rss13

 

From the 7/7/06 Ravenna Record Courier:

 

Illegals debate reaches Portage

Migrant center plan draws ire, gets approval

By Mike Sever

Record-Courier staff writer

 

The national debate over illegal immigrants boiled up locally at a public hearing on Portage County’s Community Development Block Grant applications.  Three people spoke in opposition to an $84,700 grant for Catholic Charities of Portage County to rehabilitate the second floor of Riddle Block No. 9, its headquarters in Ravenna.  The grant was one of six in a CDBG formula grant application totaling $297,300, which must be approved by the state Department of Development Office of Housing and Community Partnerships.  County commissioners unanimously approved the grant application as presented.

 

Last week, The Diocese of Youngstown, which includes Portage and five other counties, announced it was opening a legal services program for migrant workers and other immigrants at the Catholic Charities office in Ravenna, with satellite offices in Canton and Ashtabula.

 

James Bullock of Ravenna Township said at Thursday’s public hearing he was “vehemently opposed to any aid for illegal immigrants.”  He said the service will attract illegal immigrants to Portage County, putting a strain on county social service programs and driving down wages.  “I will oppose the grant. It is illegal and un-American to give aid to illegal immigrants,” he said.

 

MORE: http://www.recordpub.com/article.php?pathToFile=/archive/07072006/news/&file=_news2.txt&article=1&tD=07072006

 

From the 7/14/06 Kentucky Post:

 

Some illegals are released

By Paul A. Long

Post staff reporter

 

Several illegal immigrants cooperating with authorities in connection with the investigation into the use of undocumented workers in the Northern Kentucky home-building industry are out on bond - with special immigration cards that allow them to work until the federal government no longer needs their testimony and they are sent to prison or deported.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob McBride alluded to the program during a hearing Thursday in U.S. District Court in Covington on Raul Floria-Tapia's request to be released from jail. Floria-Tapia, who has pleaded guilty to being in the United States illegally and is being held as a material witness in the case, was released on his own recognizance.

 

MORE: http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060714/NEWS02/607140372/1011/RSS02

 

From the 7/15/06 Dispatch:

 

PHOTO: Walter Perez was among 154 undocumented immigrants arrested by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents this week. Perez, of El Salvador, was wanted on a 10-year-old deportation order.

 

Ohio sweep nets 154

Federal authorities track down immigrants from 30 countries living illegally in the state

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Kevin Mayhood

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Homeland Security agents took to Ohio streets the past week, arresting 154 undocumented immigrants.  The agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices in Boston, Philadelphia, Buffalo and Detroit came heavily armed and loaded with files and warrants for deportation.

 

They took in immigrants from 30 countries and every continent save Antarctica.  Among those arrested, 82 were from Mexico, followed by 19 from El Salvador and seven from Mauritania.

 

The men and women had been caught entering the country illegally and were ordered to court but never showed or had been ordered deported but never left, authorities said.  Twenty had been charged with crimes.  One was a reputed member of the Mexican street gang MS13.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/07/15/20060715-E1-01.html