GOP in trouble for years to come.

Party leaders agree that the GOP has had a rough go of it at the polls in recent years.

How could they not?

Since 2004, they've gone from 55 Senate seats to no more than 43 once this year's last winners are determined, and from a 29-seat edge in the House to a 30 seat hole. And now they've lost the presidency, too.

They differ, though, on whether the heavy losses Republicans suffered in the past two election cycles were a result of unique circumstances and the ever-swinging political pendulum or structural problems that could keep them shut out of power for years to come.

GOP officials and strategists at party conferences last week offered sharply contrasting assessments of what went wrong, and of how difficult it will be to rebuild. Perhaps not surprisingly, the split tended to fall along generational lines.

Some conservative Republicans, on the other hand, are either in denial or think they can control the problem by limiting the growth in the Hispanic immigrant population. (Just ask the 14 out of 16 hard-line, anti-immigration Republicans who lost their seats this time around to pro-comprehensive reform Democrats how well this worked at the polls.) But even if hard-liners were successful at stopping Undocumented immigration and dramatically reducing the number of Hispanic immigrants admitted legally, it wouldn't solve the simple demographic fact that U.S.-born Hispanics have higher fertility rates than whites or blacks. Hispanics will become a larger share of the population for the foreseeable future, though intermarriage rates will likely diminish their ethnic identification over time.

The first thing Republicans have to overcome is a growing belief among Hispanics that they aren't welcome in the party -- or in America for that matter. According to a recent survey by America's Voice --pro-immigrant group -- two-thirds of Hispanics think that discrimination against them has increased in the last two years because of the tone of the immigration debate. Republicans have to deal with the consequences.

Republicans have nothing to lose by taking a better approach and much to gain towards America's newest immigrants. Republicans has a big challenge ahead for years to come.

GOP regret not reaching out for Hispanic Voters but no for mounting hostility toward them.

Republican party leaders regret not reaching out to Hispanic voters on the campaign trail but not regret Mounting hostility toward immigrants during the last four years pushed them away from Republicans and into Democrats.

Hispanic votes would have been enough to turn the election in Barack Obama’s favor if he had needed it.
Hispanics, who now make up 15 percent of the U.S. population according to the latest Census estimates, have traditionally voted Republican because of their Catholic backgrounds and Democrats’ support for abortion rights.

However, as the GOP became increasingly known for its anti-immigrant sentiment, she theorizes, the downward pressure on Latinos, Asians and other immigrant groups brought them together under a candidate they believed would embrace them.

“The main reason driving this vote was inclusion, The immigrants made a decision to make their vote count.” Hasta la Vista Babe>........“Good citizens in the United States should attempt to treat immigrants as formal citizens; Not as informal Citizens.

Republican members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration perpetuated the persistent myth of immigrant criminality with their event on “The Toll of Illegal Alien Criminals on American Families.” The event was spearheaded by Lamar Smith (R-Texas), Steve King (R-Iowa) and Howard Coble (R-NC).
Tensions ran high as witnesses ranging from bereaved family members to the President of the Houston, Texas, Police Officers’ Union, to the Chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors made the case that the loss of innocent citizens is a direct result of not cracking down on “illegals” in the US. The witnesses demanded policies that would make life so miserable for immigrants, that they would be driven to self-deport. One witness even received enthusiastic applause after suggesting birth-right citizenship be repealed. But harsh immigration policies are not effective in fighting crime because—as numerous studies over the past 100 years have shown—immigrants are less likely to commit crimes or be behind bars than the native-born, and high rates of immigration are not associated with higher rates of crime. This holds true for both legal immigrants and the undocumented, regardless of their country of origin or level of education.
It’s not likely a coincidence that the event happened during the same week that the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) was lobbying Congress and demanding an impractical and hateful agenda of mass deportations, worksite raids, and other expensive and ultimately ineffective approaches as part of their “Hold Their Feet to the Fire” gathering. Smith even thanked FAIR for helping his colleagues connect with and feature some of the same witnesses who participated in FAIR’s rally.
Another troublesome dimension of today’s event is that contention and disregard was held for the other side of the debate. Questions were not taken from reporters. Angry attendees of the event ripped the Immigration Policy Center’s press release response out of reporters’ hands.
It is disappointing to see law-makers Smith, King and Coble–along with their fellow congressmen Darrell Issa (R-CA), Brian Bilbray (R-CA), and Duncan Hunter (R-CA) who attended FAIR’s rally tarnish the Republican brand by supporting the agenda of FAIR, an organization designated a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center. It is especially troubling to see law-makers exploit the pain of the victims of these terrible crimes to promote their political agenda. They’re absolutely right that dangerous criminals must be punished, and that immigrants who are dangerous criminals should not be allowed to enter the US or deported if they already are here. But exploiting the profound painful loss of crime victims to spread the myth that immigrants are criminals, by propagating misinformation, is simply irresponsible and disingenuous.

America rejected the GOP rethoric language.

From a major party to a divided and Regional party. I wasn’t at all surprised by the generosity of spirit reflected in McCain’s speech last night, but it immediately made me wonder: what awful character deficiency made McCain put his campaign in the hands of such human filth as Karl Rove, William Kristol, Adolph Guiliani, Charlie Black, and the rest of the thugs whose jobs consist of whipping the authoritarians of the Republican base into a foaming-at-the-mouth racist mob.

America rejected their rethoric language. And I for one will not simply forget how The Republican party and; McCain supporters so quickly went to calling areas of the country un-American, hinted the PRESIDENT ELECT was friends with terrorists, and sought to label different views on tax policy as unacceptable, terrifying socialism.

Mistakes has been made and opting for money over love; lies over truth; status over service; and power over wisdom. He wanted everything he felt his name and status was about, but he overlooked the honor and service they were really about in favor of superficialities. There comes a point where all that catches up with you, where there is no going back, and no salvaging what you've done. The ancient Greeks would say McCain made the kind of mistake the Fates don't forgive. But his real tragedy is that he will never realize that until way too late.

Though McCain is touted as a "maverick" who knows how to reach across party lines and evince a degree of clarity and sane non-partisanship in American politics, there was little evidence of that during his campaign, including his concession speech where loud "boos" and nasty comments came out of the crowd. In contrast, members of the Obama rally kindly applauded McCain and his campaign efforts. The difference in each crowd's reaction made it clear to me what kind of campaign each candidate has run and how vastly different the country would be under each administration.

Obama has proven that he is the better man to help end the nation's divisive and petty habits, a potential he's shown by pulling more young people to the polls than ever; a millions of middle-aged voters who never thought they would go for this untried and unestablished candidate; and even the most small-minded among us who saw some potential in his cool, intelligent approach to the nation's troubles. Well changes has been made.

The Republican party suffered greatly last night and will likely not win another election until it undergoes a vast transformation. The era of the culture war must come to an end: it must win back its intellectual establishment -- the articulate urban "elites" who helped to build the party's ideology, like William F. Buckely -- and show itself as a party with strong socially conservative values while remaining articulate and sympathetic to every citizen's ills, as was the case during the Eisenhower administration half a century ago. It must also distance itself from self-aggrandizing zealots who espouse racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, and sexist propaganda that do nothing but alienate more potential supporters. Only then will their journey continue. Now it's time to take a deep breath, stop looking back, and move forward. McCain did the best he could with what he had to work with - end of story. Another page of History open and another one closed. Amen.

Michelle Malkin Hypocrisy is not a Family Value.

Michelle Malkin is all about law and order when it comes to immigrants. But, when it comes to some other matters law and order doesn't often figure into her equation. Read here: Were Kyledeb at Citizen Orange exposed how Michelle Malkin use her Anti Immigrant sentiment towards Obama Aunt.

Malkin was born in Philadelphia to Filipino parents, Dr. Apolo and Rafaela Maglalang as née Maglalang who gave birth to her soon after arriving in the US, while they were in the United States on student visas. She opposes the granting of automatic U.S. citizenship to babies born to Undocumented Immigrants, tourists, and temporary workers. Malkin discussed her position on these so called "anchor babies" in a 2003 Jewish World Review column, which ended, "Citizenship is too precious to squander on accidental Americans in Name Only."

I read this quote from her dreadful book In Defense of Internment: The Case for 'Racial Profiling' in World War II and the War on Terror :

"I was compelled to write this book after watching ethnic activists, historians, and politicians repeatedly play the World War II internment card after the September 11 attacks. The Bush Administration’s critics have equated every reasonable measure to interrogate, track, detain, and deport potential terrorists with the "racist" and "unjustified” World War II internment policies of President Roosevelt. To make amends for this "shameful blot" on our history, both Japanese-American and Arab/Muslim-American activists argue against any and all uses of race, ethnicity, nationality, and religion in shaping current homeland security policies. Misguided guilt about the past continues to hamper our ability to prevent future terrorist attacks."

Acorn: The same song but different election year.

Like you I believe that Voting and elections is a critical issue that must be discussed around every dinner table and lunch counter in America. It is a discussion that concerns who we are and who we will be as a nation. It is a discussion that must be based in truth, fact, and honesty. Watch the video; the same song but different election year.

Republican Conservatives tearing apart the party....

A poll of 1,015 conservative activists shows that 77 percent are either seriously disappointed with Republican Congressional leaders or want them totally replaced.The poll/survey also found that 54 percent of conservatives feel so abandoned by the current crop of Congressional leaders and President Bush that they plan to reduce their contributions and/or grassroots work for GOP candidates in the coming election. And 70 percent would support a principled conservative challenger running against an established incumbent Republican in a GOP primary.

Conservatives, which form the GOP's base, provided most of the volunteers and money to elect a Republican-controlled House and Senate — and wound up with bigger government as a result. Now more than half of these committed activists say they'll reduce or end their involvement in the upcoming elections — which could prove devastating for the GOP.

The GOP-controlled Congress, 73 percent gave it a D or F on "controlling government spending;" 73 percent gave it a D or F on "reducing Undocumented immigration;" and 54 percent gave it an "overall grade" of D or F.Sixty-three percent gave Bush a D or F on controlling government spending.

The rebellion of conservative House Republicans that greatly complicated efforts to enact the financial industry “rescue” (or “bailout”) plan came in the midst of one of the most fiercely contested national elections in years, as Republicans fight to stave off a Democratic takeover of the White House and big gains that would reinforce the Democrats’ current majorities in the House and the Senate.
But the rebels on the Republican right were looking beyond this election day and at the future direction of their party when they defied President Bush, their own congressional leaders and Arizona Sen. John McCain , the party’s presidential nominee, who initially drew attention to the House conservatives’ concerns when he jumped into the bailout negotiations a couple of weeks back but ultimately supported the measure and worked to persuade Republican colleagues to vote for it.
The Battle of the Bailout may ultimately be viewed as the first major skirmish in the fight for control of the GOP whose “brand” has been badly damaged by the collapse of support for Bush during his second term as president and by the foibles that have made the Republicans in Congress at least as unpopular as Bush. This fight will occur even if McCain is somehow able to reverse his slide in the presidential race polls and pull out what would now be regarded as an upset victory over Illinois Sen. Barack Obama , the Democratic nominee.
In fact, the election of McCain — whose campaign leans heavily on the handful of issues on which he disagrees with the conservative wing of his own party — would likely complicate the efforts by the Republican Party to define itself and revive its overall fortunes.
This was highlighted on Tuesday when McCain, during a televised debate with Obama, sprung a proposal to have the federal government buy up and renegotiate failing mortgages.
While McCain has heavily promoted his proposal as proof that he is on the side of beleaguered homeowners, many conservatives in his Republican base have expressed outrage over what they view as an even bigger federal intervention into the private sector that will put taxpayers’ dollars at even greater risk and hold harmless banks and other firms whose actions helped send the economy into a tailspin.
After the Republicans lost control of Congress in the 2006 elections, a number of observers said the party needed to temper the image of unbridled conservative partisanship that many voters attributed to the party and show that its members could work with the Democrats to forge compromises on issues of major public concern.
But members of the conservative activist wing of Republican lawmakers see it otherwise. Under the banner of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) — which claims membership of more than 110 of the 199 Republicans who currently hold U.S. House seats — these Republicans claim their party’s fortunes have fallen because it is not conservative enough.
The RSC, headed by figures such as Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling , the current chairman, and past chairman Mike Pence of Indiana, argues that “big government conservatism” practiced by Bush and Republican leaders in Congress has robbed the party of its identity and has prompted voters to see the GOP as little different from the Democratic Party.
They point to the political horse-trading under the past House leadership of now-departed Republicans such as Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois and Tom DeLay of Texas that contributed to the explosive growth in federal spending “earmarks;” the outright corruption scandals that played big roles in the Republican downfall in 2006; and the creation under Bush of the No Child Left Behind education law and the prescription drug benefit program under Medicare, which many conservatives see as vast expansions of federal spending and intrusion.
If the RSC crowd’s demands that the Republican Party return to its “core principles” draw public support, they could lead to a reinvigoration of the GOP’s prospects in coming elections. If they are wrong, and the Democrats’ advances are sustained by a center-left shift among American voters, the conservative activists’ efforts to grab the party reins could consign it to a long wander in the minority-party wilderness.
The sharp decline in Bush’s job approval ratings since his re-election in 2004 have liberated party conservatives to be much more vocal with their criticisms.
Ari Fleischer, Bush’s first presidential press secretary, made an unintentionally funny comment in the wake of the House defeat of the original version of the House bailout bill, when he said there was so much opposition to the plan from so many different ideological directions that it would have failed even if Bush’s job approval ratings had been 70 percent, instead of the mid-to-high 20s where they have come to rest.

The fact is that during Bush’s first term, when his job approval ratings were very high, congressional Republicans followed him just about everywhere, resulting in record-high presidential support and party unity scores among GOP lawmakers in Congressional Quarterly’s vote studies.
House Republicans voted 183-33 in favor of No Child Left Behind in 2001. The House version of the prescription drug benefit legislation that passed the House by one vote in 2003 was favored by 207 Republicans and opposed by just 19 (most Democrats opposed it because they said it provided to few benefits to consumers and too many for big drug companies). And virtually all Republicans provided unquestioning support to Bush’s 2002 request for authorization to use military force against Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq, which passed with 215 Republican “yeas” and six “nays” in the House.
Nonetheless, criticism of Bush from the right had already rising sharply when it reached a crescendo over the past month. The trigger was the president’s pronouncement that flawed mortgage-lending practices had caused such a massive crisis in the nation’s financial industry that it could only be stanched by giving the Treasury Department authorization to buy up to $700 billion in bad loans that threatened to freeze the nation’s credit markets and precipitate a deep recession.
After years of Bush and fellow Republicans preaching the glories of free-market economics, many conservatives could not swallow the huge proposed government intervention, even in the face of stern warnings that the nation might be facing the greatest economic calamity since the Great Depression.
They created a bloc of opposition to the bailout bill, helping to prevent the passage of the original version and still comprising a majority of House Republicans in voting against the modified version, crafted in the Senate, that ultimately passed.
The contrast between efforts by McCain and congressional conservatives on the bailout bill underscore their difficult relationship — and suggest the difficulty McCain would have maintaining party unity if he were to follow his oft-repeated promise that he would reach across party lines to address key issues such as the economy, energy development, health care, education and global climate change.
McCain’s first reactions to the economic crisis perplexed party conservatives. After first pronouncing that the fundamentals of the economy are sound, McCain began channeling William Jennings Bryan+
, the Democratic populist of a century ago, as he blamed the mess on Wall Street “greed” and “corruption.”
McCain briefly gained praise from some conservatives after he broke off from the campaign trail, returned to Washington and advocated on behalf of House Republicans who complained their more market-oriented proposals to remedy the financial industry’s morass were being ignored by leaders of both parties. But he then disappointed conservatives again by voting for the Senate’s modified version of the bailout bill and working the phones to persuade Republicans to vote for it.
The epilogue, in which McCain has produced a federal mortgage buy-out plan that has its origins in liberal circles of the Democratic Party, just serves as a reminder to conservative activists of why so many of them were skeptical of McCain’s bid for president in the first place.
Although — as Obama points out almost every day — McCain has voted with Bush and fellow Senate Republicans most of the time, he has taken outspoken positions against party orthodoxy on issues such as global warming and campaign finance regulation. These actions, which provide the foundations for McCain’s claims that he is a “maverick” who would “shake up Washington” as president, are seen by some on the Republican right as evidence that they cannot trust him to govern as a conservative.
It will be hard to find a Republican member of Congress who would renounce his support for McCain in the presidential campaign. Who among them, after all, would want to be held responsible by other Republicans for helping elect Obama as president? And some conservatives, to find solace, have virtually flipped the Republican ticket, focusing on the much harder ideological line conveyed by Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin , the party’s vice presidential nominee.
But you can count on these newly mobilized conservatives to make a bid to put their purist stamp on the Republican Party in the years going forward, regardless of whether McCain wins or loses.

Obama and his response on Immigration reform

Democrat Presidential Candidate Barack Obama responding to The Sanctuary's questionnaire on immigration reform and other issues of concern to Latino voters has long passed without any word from the McCain campaign.
But without Senator McCain's responses for comparison, for the time being we release Senator Obama's survey without commentary, to let his words speak for themselves.
Continue reading here at The Sanctuary:

GOP Accountable and Guilt by association on my comprehensive 2 Cents.

Puts into perspective the Republican Party's summer theme song, "Do-Nothing Congress." It bears remembering as just one example of the difference Democrats are trying to make in how our country is governed—and evidence that the Republican spin that Congress can't get anything done under Democratic rule is just plain wrong.

There is a list of Republican scandals: Rep. Billy Tauzin getting a lucrative pharmaceutical trade association job after pushing through Congress a bill benefiting the industry, Jack Abramoff buying favors from Republican lawmakers with lavish trip and other gifts, Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham inserting money into an appropriations bill for a defense contractor whose owner bundled campaign contributions on his behalf, former Rep. Bob Ney receiving illegal gifts from lobbyists but, though jailed and disgraced, still able to receive his lifetime pension.

Republicans promised ethics reform in 2006, when they replaced their ethically defiant majority leader, Tom DeLay, with the ethically nonchalant John A. Boehner. But they did not deliver. They had to be pushed out of control of Congress in order for a consequential ethics reform bill to get through Congress. The bill now going to the White House is not perfect, of course, but the dark alleys where lobbyists and lawmakers cut their deals will be better illuminated and more regulated—that is, if President Bush signs the bill, which the White House has hinted he may not.

In spite of accomplishments such as this one, conservatives will nonetheless pound that "do-nothing Congress" line relentlessly this month, with the expected result that public approval of Congress, already low, will get even lower. If Republicans can't have their way, it seems, they will wreck the entire governing process if necessary to make sure Democrats don't, either.

The Republican Party should be a wake-up call to all Americans.

The Republicans are responsible for taking a country with balanced budget and a surplus, to a country ravaged by war and debt — a debt with which our grandchildren will find impossible to fulfill in years to come.

Then takings us to a War were a Great controversy emerged when no stockpiles of WMDs were found, leading to accusations that the United States, The present Administration had deliberately inflated intelligence or lied about Iraq's weapons in order to justify an invasion of the country. The Center for Public Integrity asserted President Bush's administration made a total of 935 false statements between 2001 and 2003 about Iraq's alleged threat to the United States, add some 5,000 Americans killed, 30,568 more wounded or permanently maimed and a 1,255,026 million Iraqis killed or maimed (including a lot of children) and millions of other Iraqis made homeless.

This baleful heritage also leaves a record number of jobless and homeless, right here at home, with the gulf between rich and poor ever widening blaming undocumented Immigrants for most of the our problems.

Three out of four Americans, including large numbers of Republicans, blame President Bush's economic policies for making the country worse off during the last eight years.

Even America’s trade deficit shot up in July to the highest level in 16 months as oil imports hit an all-time high, offsetting strong export growth. The deficit with China climbed to the second highest level on record, rising 16.1 percent to $24.9 billion.

The Commerce Department reported today that the deficit rose by 5.7 percent to $62.2 billion in July, much worse than the $58 billion deficit that Wall Street expected.
With the mortgage crisis with 119 billions of mortgages held directly by financial institutions in the US had gone bad, no one would have noticed outside any specific failures.

The McCain campaign has said it would privatise both institutions after they had been restructured and the credit markets had stabilised.

”McCain has been out there with a hasty ’privatise and shrink’ approach,” Mr Furman told the Financial Times. ”It has been ideologically driven and not sufficiently mindful of some of the public functions that Fannie and Freddie currently perform. The trick is how to disentangle their private and public functions and how to manage the complex task of the transition.

McCain will get real regulation that limits their ability to borrow, shrinks their size until they are no longer a threat to our economy, and privatises and eliminates their links to the government.”

Economists say that although the two campaigns have distinct political approaches, they continue to be light on detail. The Obama campaign has been specific about which guiding principles it would apply to the disentanglement of the two institutions. But it has yet to offer detail about what functions the shrunken government-chartered Fannie and Freddie would be permitted to carry out.

At the same time It is no surprise that Americans are feeling very pessimistic about the economy -- with rising gas and oil prices and food prices affecting their pocketbooks. There has been a lack of leadership and a lack of timeliness of leadership, of not being conscious of the magnitude of the American problems. Politicians and Government They don't see the rise in prices. . . . Americans blame the president, along with the oil companies, for not having done enough to stem the tide of rising gas prices. The rising cost of fuel had caused hardship for their families, and the pain appeared to be spread across all income groups but not understanding people the root and cause for being on this hardship situation rather than blame them for making a poor decisions.

Given the facts, it is hard to believe that the Republicans will get away with spinning their obstruction strategy into something that makes Democrats the obstructionists. But it would be dangerous to underestimate a conservative movement that has consistently over the 40 years succeeded in persuading people to buy into nostrums like Ronald Reagan's "government is the problem" even as it hoards more and more government power for its own oligarchic ends.

You want to vote this agenda back into office? C'mon, Let's get real and require a real change. As I always said: In my fight for Equal Justice and Rights; I am not a Republican -I am not a Democrat -I am not an Independent -I am an Mexican American a Human Being.

Political promises were made to reform Immigration Courts and They Have failed again

Read my lips........A two-year-old Bush administration effort to improve the nation's backlogged immigration courts has not adequately increased oversight of immigration judges, tightened the appeals process or consistently sought funding for new judges, according to a report.

The review, funded by the Carnegie Foundation and released yesterday, reported that out of a 22-point plan unveiled by then-Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales in August 2006, the Justice Department and the Executive Office for Immigration Review have failed to complete six initiatives. They include conducting performance evaluations for judges and appellate judges, completing a code of judicial conduct, and finalizing a rule to decrease cases in which a single appellate judge affirms a case without an opinion. The report said eight measures have been partially completed, raising doubts about their effectiveness. For example, the EOIR has assigned an assistant chief immigration judge to handle complaints about judges but has not published information about how the process works or how many complaints have been processed.

"Political promises were made. They put out the 22 points. . . . But, in the meantime, they haven't done much," said David Burnham, co-director of the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, an independent research organization at Syracuse University that tracks the Justice Department and conducted the study.

The report said department officials have largely completed eight upgrades, including publishing standardized procedures, assigning supervisory judges to all courts, adding appeals judges and training lawyers. Carrie Nelson, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department, disagreed with TRAC's characterization, saying, "The Department of Justice has made significant progress in implementing the 22 measures, as nearly all of them are completed or near completion." Nelson said the department began performance reviews for appeals judges in July and is negotiating with the union to do the same for immigration judges. It is also putting into place systems to track the performance of new judges and complaints against all judges, she said. The department requested 120 additional positions from Congress this year but did not receive them, she said. The EOIR has a budget of $238 million and oversees 54 immigration courts, 200 administrative judges and the 15-member board of appeals. The review comes after the Justice Department's inspector general and Office of Professional Responsibility reported in July that they found widespread problems with the hiring of immigration judges from 2004 to 2006.
Investigators said former department officials improperly took political and ideological considerations into account while screening applications for the career civil service positions. The staff members used Internet searches to determine whether candidates had made political campaign contributions and to seek out their voting patterns and affiliations, the report said. The searches "contributed to significant delays in appointing immigration judges" at a time when the courts were burdened by a rising workload, investigators said.
As many as 40 judges won jobs through the improper process, but efforts by Democratic lawmakers and interest groups to dislodge them are unlikely. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey told an American Bar Association audience last month, after the inspector general's report emerged, that unseating the judges would be "unfair -- and quite possibly illegal given their civil service protections."
A candidate mentioned in the report, Garry D. Malphrus, was promoted this year to serve as a judge on the Board of Immigration Appeals. "The illegal hiring process casts a stain on the entire deportation process and calls into question whether immigration courts can perform the job of handling thousands of deportation cases annually in accordance with individualized due process, fairness and judicial neutrality," ACLU legislative counsel Joanne Lin said in a statement

The actors of the Anti Immigrant Sentiment and their roles

A presentation demonstrating who the geriatric hate faction leaders, and what type of "Americans" these people really are.

The Great Wall of Shame and Politics

There is a clear divide between political parties as well. "Fifty-eight percent of Democrats opposed a fence on the Mexican border, while 66 percent of Republicans favor one. Independents mildly favor a fence, by a 55 percent to 44 percent margin,
For now, presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain will be able to play some golf in the University of Texas at Brownsville and point around the north side to the visible result of the secure border policy. They’ll have to win over the critics and explain how a barrier of this magnitude works. History is littered with examples of failed attempts, like the Great Wall of China, the Berlin Wall and the Israeli-Palestine walls. That won’t be an easy ball to hit.

Who's behind of the Anti Immigrant and Racist Laws in Arizona Part II

Russel Pearce and his vigilants fruends and his construction workers of the Anti Immigrant Law in Arizona ....Part II

Who's behind of the Anti Immigrant and Racist Laws in Arizona?

Something you should know about Republican Rep. Russel Pearce from Arizona.
It's up tp you to make a concise decision of judgement of the clearly involvement of Racists people on the Anti Immigrant Law in Arizona. Part I continue part II. Thanks to Human league for provide me this videos.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio wants to know what you think about
his approach to illegal immigration. Well, only if you agree with him.

But we encourage those who disagree with him--or outright

hate what he's doing--to flood a special hotline he's set up for his
supporters and give him a piece of your mind. And don't stop at just
criticizing him over illegal immigration; there are a host of other
problems within his administration that deserve your rapt attention.

Here's Arpaio's number: 602-876-1350.


Arpaio announced his "hotline" last month, after finding out that
Governor Janet Napolitano had taken away more than a million dollars
in state funds from his anti-illegal-immigration program. (Arpaio
admitted he first learned of the governor's action by reading this
blog. You can also read my follow-up article here.).

Joe claims a dedicated phone line is necessary to help people who want
to donate to the Sheriff's Office in the wake of Napolitano's
decision. Arpaio's office put out this press release with the phone
number. But local news publications, perhaps believing Arpaio gets
enough coverage, didn't reprint it.

Arpaio's not embarrassed at all to be asking for your hard-earned
dollars in a time of economic uncertainty. Or after he's wasted
millions upon millions of dollars on lawsuits that wouldn't have been
filed had he been runing a professional jail system. Or after using
public RICO money to finance what amounts to paid vacations for his
deputies (including highly compensated Chief Deputy David Hendershott)
in Honduras--under the lie that he's somehow preventing gang members
from flooding into Maricopa County. From Honduras?!

Oh, your tax dollars are also financing the hotline.

If you want to part with your gasoline money to pay the Sheriff's
Office to round up hard-working mamacitas in minivans with cracked
windshields, that's your business. But the neat part about the hotline
is that anyone can leave a message after hearing a short (and stilted)
speech by Joe.

Now, as we suggested above, don't feel restricted to just commenting
about how the Sheriff's Office treats Mexicans--there are plenty of
other good topics to scream about. Let him know how you feel about:

* Inmates who die or become injured under suspicious circumstances
in county jails.
* Third World jail conditions.
* The $41 million-plus paid by taxpayers for Sheriff's Office
lawsuit judgments and settlements.
* Targeting political enemies with abusive and questionable police
investigations.
* Throwing newspaper owners he doesn't like in jail.
* Withholding public records and trying to intimidate news media
that don't do his bidding.
* Spending hundreds of thousands of dollars working with Honduran
police on a program that has no apparent merit to county taxpayers.

Really, any criticism is fair game--the self-described "toughest
sheriff in America" should be able to take it (though we all know how
sensitive he is; see fourth bullet item).

Now all the hotline needs is a title: We haven't given it much
thought, but "The Great New Times Memorial Sheriff Arpaio Blast Line"
has a ring to it.

John McCain Uniter or Divider for Latin America?
By Proinmigrant





If we ask ourselves if John McCain is united? Obviously Not. No. We are building a WALL on one side of the Southern Border, the “TERRORIST” are coming in from the NORTHERN BORDER.
We are building a WALL right in front of you as a person, a human being, as an AMERICAN.

No we are not United as a Nation, because the VOICE OF THE NATION wherever that is or whenever it is heard is leaning on the only tower left “RACISM” because without RACISM the United States would be one, and one voice. But by selling racism in the form of a FENCE, a Wall or Immigration Enforcement on the Federal and Local level, or “BY REMOVING ATTORNEY GENERAL” when it comes to anything related to the Government and the law of the land.

No you are not United, and are willing to STAY THE COURSE because if you don’t someone is going to JAIL.

If John McCain doesn’t win, he will let his Senate seat go, because there is too much hot water in the kitchen and he won't handled anytype of minor burns!

John McCain is a divider, when he could have been a uniter. But he has taken the stance of “winning” at the expense of Hispanics, Latinos, God Childrens, Secure the Borders, constitutional, and any means necessary.

So if and when Barrack Obama wins, I would just let the Republicans and all their 50.1 plus Cheney, Tancredo, Steve King, Jeff Sessions sink in their own UBoat, UVOTED for them.

The only thing America got out of the Republicans, is a lot of boys raped, Viagra, War, Racism, Anti Immigrant Sentiment, Hipocrisy. Oh I’m sorry, an attempt to define that marriage is between a man and a woman, and a girl or in most Republicans case a boy! That’s it!!!!!!!! No Human sentiment, No Compassion, No tolerance to the Other.

I understand Mr. John McCain these are God childrens... just because they are here Illegaly. Well Obviously not, When “ SECURE BORDERS, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND IMMIGRATION REFORM ACT OF 2007″ was all about putting 4.4 billion dollars “1 dollar for every one mexican american” in a border security account for “no bid corporate america” to make money on the exploitation of immigrants alike.

It’s Title he might get a clue as to what “Comprehensive Immigration” meant to John McCain. Secure the border first then we will talk about God Childrens.

So is that why Sherriff Joe Arpaio can have his “clandestine” immigration sweeps across Maricopa County as though he is a FBI / CIA / Secretary of Homeland Security, “commissioner of immigration and naturalization” and at the time of any arrest he has the right to demand a legal “ATTESTATION” of your citizenship or natuarlization.

By the way where is the Asian undocumented workers “audit of attestation”?
By the way where is the Canadian undocumented workers “audit of attestation”?
By the way where is the Chinese Undocumented workers " audit of attestation" ?
By the way where is the Indian Undocumented workers " audit of attestation "?
By the way where is the European Undocumented workers " audit of attestation "?

So we are to be just “1865″ GOD’s children to think that it is only the Latino, the Mexican, is here that is here illegally?.

It’s our fault that we allowed this to come to pass! We allowed our legislation and our judicial leaders become silent in their due dilligence when it comes to the law. Sherriff Joe Arpaio isn’t our Federal Agent “Elliot Nest” out there getting the bad guys, he’s exploiting the color of skin for his ratched up forced “attestations.
for “GRANT MONEY” to continue his midnight operations on Maricopa County.

Let's get straigh answers Mr. John McCain Hispanics, Latinos they had been suffer enough crime, bigotry, Racism, being demonized, being scapegoated from America.!!!

Shaking hands with Latinoamerican Presidents won't solve those problems.
Human beings needs Human solutions.... Where is your Humane Solution to God Childrens.?

Why should the American people be responsible for paying for Rolls-Royce medical care for illegal aliens?" Rep. Steve King said.



I said: Mr. King with all my respect being so inhumane, heartless and ignorant are not for well educated people. The taxes paying for Undocumented, Legal and U.S. Citizens are paying for your Rolls Royce, your private jet, your entertainment, your luxury dinners and your Salary so do not be so pathetic. Or you are consenting or agree with people dying while in ICE Custody?


DHS bureau will report the number of people who die awaiting deportation.

The top U.S. immigration enforcement official told a congressional subcommittee yesterday that the Bush administration will disclose more information about foreigners who die in the sprawling network of federal detention centers around the country.

Julie Myers, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau, said her agency will report such deaths to a branch of the Justice Department that collects similar information about inmates in state prisons and local jails.

The Justice Department publishes statistics on the fatalities, not the identities of the victims, but Myers said the change represents "more transparency" about detainee deaths. Since last year, congressional Democrats have pleaded with ICE to reveal the names and circumstances of foreigners who have died in U.S. custody.

Myers announced the new reporting requirement during a congressional hearing on medical care for immigration detainees, the first since The Washington Post published a series of articles last month that documented a broken system of care for the growing number of foreigners who are imprisoned while the government tries to deport them.

The articles, based on thousands of pages of internal documents, found that 83 detainees had died since ICE was created five years ago and that many more sick and mentally ill people have been denied the treatment to which they are entitled. The Post found medical staff shortages, treatment delays, sloppy record-keeping, poor administrative practices and cover-ups by employees aware of the poor care.

Yesterday's hearing was partisan and testy. Myers said ICE has been working to improve the health-care system. But detainees, their lawyers and relatives, and advocates for immigrants offered graphic testimony about misdiagnoses, medical neglect and secrecy.

ICE officials "are defending the indefensible," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee's immigration subcommittee. "Whatever you think about the overall debate on immigration," Lofgren said in an interview, "you are not supposed to kill people who are in custody."

Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.) countered, "Why should the American people be responsible for paying for Rolls-Royce medical care for illegal aliens?"

Myers and committee Republicans said that ICE figures show that the rate of deaths among detainees has fallen in recent years, and that fewer people die in immigration detention than in prison.

But one witness, who works in detention centers with foreigners seeking asylum in the United States, disputed ICE's claims, saying that health care in detention centers "is getting worse, not better." Homer Venters, a physician at the Bellevue-New York University Program for Survivors of Torture, said ICE's assertion that deaths among detainees fell by 49 percent between 2006 and 2007 is misleading.

Venters said those figures ignore the fact that detainees are, on average, spending less time in custody. Taking the length of stay into account, he testified, the mortality rate during that period increased by 20 percent.

Venters said ICE's assertion that fewer people die in immigration detention than in prison also is misleading because detainees tend to be younger and in custody for less time than prisoners.

Democrats grilled Myers about The Post's findings that more than 250 detainees had been sedated with powerful psychotropic drugs for their deportation over the past five years, even though they were not mentally ill. ICE has recently changed its rules to require permission from a federal judge before detainees are drugged for behavioral reasons. Myers said yesterday that the agency has sought four such court orders, all of which are pending.

Republicans legislators emerging their fear, and Xenophobia against the other. By Richard L. Fricker



The Republican-dominated Oklahoma legislature is defining the frontier of xenophobic immigration laws, anti-Muslim bigotry, gay bashing and encouragement of gun-toting students -- with Democratic legislators often too timid to resist.

Rep. Randy Terrill, Republican chairman of the Revenue and Taxation Committee, has emerged as a hero of the "protect our borders" crowd by authoring a law, known as HB1804, that makes it a felony even to give an illegal immigrant a ride.

You also can't provide education, health care and many other services to undocumented immigrants, including infants. And, police are required to check the immigration status of anyone "suspected" of being in this country illegally.

If you thought such a draconian measure might face stiff opposition -- or at least a drawn-out political battle -- you'd be wrong. The bill sailed through the Oklahoma House, 88-9, with 35 of the 44 Democrats joining the Republicans, and then passed the Senate on a 41-6 vote with two-thirds of the Democrats lining up with Republicans.

After the law's passage, its extreme -- one might say un-Christian -- features prompted virtual declarations of civil disobedience from the Southern Baptist Convention and the Episcopal, Methodist, Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches, which announced they would not curtail aid to anyone.

Terrill then attacked Roman Catholic Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa as "misguided," accusing Catholics of opposing the law out of fear that it would curtail a growth in population and thus revenues for the church.

Terrill followed up his legislative victory by floating a "son of 1804," a bill that would forbid the issuance of birth certificates to a child if one parent was an illegal alien. That bill also sought confiscation of property for anyone caught violating HB1804.

The property-confiscation idea, however, was deemed too radical by the Oklahoma business community, which saw it as a threat to corporate owners. So, the follow-up bill got sidetracked.

Undeterred, Terrill proposed another anti-immigrant bill to make English the official language of Oklahoma.

When that bill died on a procedural vote in the Senate, Terrill enlisted the Washington lobby group ProEnglish, whose specialty is robo-calling, to make constituency calls to state senators.

One senator took umbrage and forwarded his calls to Terrill's office. Furious at this "cowardly act," Terrill crossed the rotunda threatening to "whip his ass."

Though Terrill's pressure tactics failed to revive the bill, it is expected to become a hot-button election issue this fall.

Meanwhile, the Oklahoma business community, which mostly sat on the sidelines as HB1804 was passed, is now having second thoughts, worrying that the new law has cut into the labor force and thus corporate profits.

A significant number of Mexicans, both legal and illegal, have left the state to avoid harassment, while other laborers are living in fear.

As Terrill and his supporters mounted legal assaults against non-English-speaking immigrants, Republican colleague Rep. Sally Kern focused on what she viewed as an even graver danger: gays and lesbians. In April, she went before a local GOP meeting and labeled that threat worse than the one from al-Qaeda:

"Studies show that no society that has totally embraced homosexuality has lasted more than, you know, a few decades. So it's the death knell of this country. I honestly think it's the biggest threat our nation has, even more than terrorism or Islam, which I think is a big threat. OK?

"'Cause what's happening now is they are going after, in schools, 2-year-olds, and this stuff is deadly, and it's spreading, and it will destroy our young people, and it will destroy this nation."

When her comments showed up on YouTube, Kern claimed her comments had been taken out of context and expressed outrage that they would be posted on the Internet. However, she referenced the Bible and refused to apologize.

Despite complaints from around the country, Kern and Oklahoma's other Republican leaders held fast behind her anti-gay positions. Reports from inside the GOP caucus described Kern receiving a standing ovation from the party faithful a couple of days after her statements were made public.

Kern's supporters also staged two rallies at the Capitol Building, with one drawing nearly 2,000 people.

"I told the people when I was running for this office that I was a Christian candidate and that I believed we were in a cultural war for the very existence of our Judeo-Christian values," Kern declared.

In a similar vein, Republican Rep. Rex Duncan concentrated on the threat from Islam, rebuffing a gesture of multicultural goodwill when American Muslims on the Ethnic American Advisory Council sent each legislator a copy of the Quran in honor of Oklahoma's centennial celebration.

Duncan refused to accept his copy, saying, "Most Oklahomans do not endorse the idea of killing innocent women and children in the name of ideology." Seventeen other House Republicans joined Duncan in spurning copies of Islam's holy book.

However, Duncan's rationale -- decrying Islam as a uniquely violent religion -- flew in the face of historical and Biblical evidence that implicated Jewish and Christian communities in horrendous violence against the innocent as well.

For instance, the Old Testament's Book of Numbers recounts Moses' destruction of the Midians, including the slaughter of boys and the enslavement of girls. During the Crusades, Christian forces famously butchered the Muslim inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Indeed, the history of Christianity -- a religion based on the peaceful teachings of Jesus -- has been remarkable in its bloodletting against non-Christians, from the Inquisition and anti-Jewish pogroms in Europe to the genocide against the "heathen" natives living in the New World and the barbarities against African slaves brought to the New World.

Though several interfaith groups expressed dismay at Duncan's denunciation of Islam, the Rev. Anthony Jordan, executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, said he did not fault the legislators for their action repudiating the Quran.

The Oklahoma legislature also responded to concerns about mass shootings on campuses by deliberating on a proposal advocated by extreme elements of the gun lobby, to permit all university students to carry guns to classes so they could defend themselves in case a mad gunman went on a rampage.

However, the idea of turning colleges into a modern version of the Wild West died in a fit of sobriety.

Still, the question remains: Why have these sorts of comments and such legislation gained traction in Oklahoma and other parts of the United States?

Some political analysts suggest part of the reason is that Democrats so dread coming under attack from the evangelical Right that they stay silent or acquiesce to proposals that otherwise might be transformed into campaign attack ads against them.

Election 2008 could be a moment when this surge of theocracy tinged with white racialism might finally be turned back. But, then again, enough Democrats may find it more appealing to nurse their grievances from the bruising Obama-Clinton race than to find some common ground

I think race is definitely a factor in the immigration issue even on some Republican politicians.



The differences on their positions are quite similars. They seems that the only Undocumented Immigrants, Terrorists and drug dealers are coming from Mexico.

On immigration, all four Republicans running to represent the 52nd Congressional District – Duncan D. Hunter, Brian Jones, Rick L. Powell, and Bob Watkins – say they would tighten border security by lengthening the border fence, and they oppose amnesty for those who have entered the country illegally.

Democratic candidate Mike Lumpkin said he would use technology, an extended fence and increased Border Patrol presence to stem the flow of illegal immigrants. Lumpkin's opponent in the Democratic primary, Vickie Butcher, would increase funding for the U.S. Border Patrol and hire more agents. Butcher said she would try to improve the quality of identification materials.

Lumpkin said he would tackle border security before attempting a comprehensive overhaul of immigration laws. Butcher said she would support taking a broad look at immigration laws, including allowing paths to citizenship for some illegal immigrants.

Libertarian candidate Michael Benoit supports more legal immigration, and would withdraw American troops from Iraq and reassign them to the U.S.-Mexico border.

On health care, all four Republicans oppose a government-run, single-payer system and said they would seek alternative ways to expand access.

Hunter would allow more people to pay for health care using pre-taxable income. Jones would work to eliminate “frivolous” health care lawsuits that he said drive up costs, and look for tax incentives for businesses and individuals. Watkins supports personal savings accounts and portable insurance plans that workers can take with them when they change jobs. Powell would cut down on regulation that he said discourages some small businesses from providing coverage.

Lumpkin supports a single-payer system but first would increase funding for the federal government's State Children's Health Insurance Program. Butcher believes a single-payer system should be the eventual goal, and also supports increasing SCHIP funding.
Benoit is opposed to government involvement in health care

GOP HIS PANIC= LATINOS. GET THE LATINOS OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

FAMILIES ARE UTTERLY ENGULFED IN TEARS AND VERY FRIGHTENED.

How in the world no one see the Inhumane raids by ICE do to the Dysfunctional and broken Immigration system!!!!!!!!!!

The largest workplace raid in Iowa history Monday resulted in the arrest of more than 300 people and reignited the debate over immigration; Tears families aparts, creating fears within communities and inhumane raids.

As two law enforcement helicopters hovered overhead, dozens of federal agents descended on Agriprocessors Inc., the nation's largest kosher slaughterhouse.

The 300 people arrested represent almost one-third of the plant's 968 workers, and federal officials said the number of arrests could increase. The number is three times as many as were arrested in a raid 18 months ago at the Swift plant in Marshalltown.

Months in planning, Monday's raid involved 16 local, state and federal agencies, led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They executed search warrants related to criminal activity, as well as a civil search warrant for people believed to be in the United States illegally.

"This is the largest operation of its type ever in Iowa," said Matt M. Dummermuth, U.S. attorney for the Northern District.

Protests in Waterloo

About 200 protesters on Monday evening filled the sidewalk in front of the gates of the National Cattle Congress fairgrounds, where those arrested were being taken by bus.

They chanted "We have rights" and waved signs that said, among other things, "Honk for Human Rights."

Father Nils Hernandez of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Cedar Rapids came to Waterloo after he heard about the raid.

"This is inhumane," he said.

The protesters were faced with a half-dozen people who shouted "Send 'em back," to which the crowd responded, "We have a right to be here, too."

Feds allege rampant ID fraud

A federal search warrant said immigration officials have filed almost 700 complaints about immigration violations and criminal activity by workers at the Postville plant. The activity spans a two-year period, and some workers face multiple allegations.

Federal officials allege that as many as three-fourths of the company's workers at the end of last year were using fraudulent Social Security numbers.

Last November, the search warrant said, ICE agents interviewed a former Agriprocessors supervisor who said some employees were running a methamphetamine lab in the plant and were bringing weapons to work.

Another source alleged worker abuse, officials said in the warrant. In one case, a supervisor covered the eyes of an employee with duct tape and struck him with a meat hook.

The worker, who had entered the country illegally from Guatemala, was not seriously injured. He declined to report the incident for fear of losing his job, the warrant said.

Another plant worker told federal officials that undocumented workers were paid $5 an hour for their first few months before receiving a pay increase to $6 per hour. The minimum wage in Iowa is $7.25 an hour.

Company officials could not be reached for comment. The plant, which produces kosher and nonkosher meats, opened in 1987 when butcher Aaron Rubashkin and about 200 Hasidic Jews from New York took over a defunct meatpacking plant. Hasidic Jews follow strict laws. It is a branch of Orthodox Judaism.

The Jews' arrival turned Postville, a community of 2,273 people on the Allamakee-Clayton county border in northeast Iowa, into one of Iowa's most ethnically diverse.

Rumors of raids elsewhere

Rumors had swirled across eastern Iowa for several days that one or more raids of meat-processing plants were imminent, but federal agents said Monday's action was limited to the Postville plant.

Gov. Chet Culver said he was told of the raid about 10:15 a.m. He appointed a group of state agency officials, led by Lt. Gov. Patty Judge, to help Postville deal with the raid's impact.

The governor said federal officials reassured his staff that those arrested and detained will have their rights protected. He also emphasized the importance of enforcing immigration laws.

"I have said before that I believe it is important that we crack down on illegal immigration," Culver said. "Illegal means illegal, not just those that are crossing the border illegally, but also those who are responsible for helping to make it happen."

State and federal labor officials confirmed Monday that investigations had been under way at the Postville plant for possible violations of labor laws.

The United Foods and Commercial Workers Union, which had been trying to organize Agriprocessors' employees, said it had alerted government investigators that the plant was exploiting underage workers and paying them off the books, said Jill Cashen, a union spokeswoman.

It's unclear whether the union's charges led to Monday's raid. Mark Lauritsen, the union's international vice president, wrote to ICE officials on May 2, asking them to refrain from raiding the Postville plant while the other investigation was under way. ICE officials had no comment on the letter.

Buses depart for Waterloo

Buses, apparently filled with detainees, began leaving Postville at 4 p.m. Monday, headed toward Waterloo. Each bus was escorted by two Iowa State Patrol cars, one in front and one in back.

The plant entrance remained blocked by ICE agents and state troopers.

The National Cattle Congress fairgrounds in Waterloo will serve as an intake center, said Barbara Gonzalez, an ICE spokeswoman.

The men will be housed at Estel Hall at the Cattle Congress and the women will be taken to local jails, she said.

It's unlikely anyone will remain at the Cattle Congress past Thursday, Gonzalez said. Federal officials have leased the fairgrounds through May 25.

'We are with you!'
'We are with you!'

When the chained gates at the Cattle Congress site opened to admit a bus of detainees at 8:15 p.m., the crowd of about 200 people screamed their support.

Some were in tears as they shouted "We are with you!" and "We are all equal!"

Police looked on during the protest. Waterloo Police Department Lt. M.W. McNamee said the department had protesters move across the street to the sidewalk in front of the fairgrounds.

"You can't be on the property here ... but you can be on the sidewalk," McNamee told the growing number of protesters. "Unfortunately there's not a lot of area where you can be. This is not conducive to have a vigil."

The protest wrapped up just before 10 p.m.

Change in tactics

Immigration officials appeared committed to avoiding some of the criticism that followed the federal raids in December 2006 at six Swift & Co. meatpacking plants across the country, including one in Marshalltown. Those raids resulted in 1,297 arrests, including about 100 in Iowa.

Critics, including former Gov. Tom Vilsack, accused federal officials of violating the workers' Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. Federal agents also were criticized for separating parents from their children.

In Postville, ICE spokesman Harold Ort said that the children of anyone detained would be cared for, and that "their caregiver situation will be addressed.

"They were asked multiple times if they have any sole-caregiver issues or any child-care issues," he said.

Forty Agriprocessors workers were later released, with supervision, "on humanitarian grounds," said Dummermuth, the U.S. attorney.

"They assured us the kids were going to be taken care of," said Postville Mayor Robert Penrod.

Penrod said a majority of townspeople understand the plant's role in the Postville economy, while a small number would cheer the raid.

"There's people who hate the Hispanics, and there's people who don't like the Jews and would like to run them out of town," he said.

Tears at St. Bridget's

Frightened townspeople flocked to St. Bridget's Catholic Church.

"The families (there) are utterly engulfed in tears and are very frightened," said Sister Mary McCauley. "One young boy left school and came here because he knew his parents had been taken."

The raid was the talk of the day at the Yeshiva of Northeast Iowa, a Jewish high school attended by about 50 students, many from out of state.

Students said they worried about the health of the meatpacking plant because it supports their school.

Abi Naparstek, 16, a student from Brooklyn, N.Y., said he was optimistic that the plant would remain open. He said people from the area recognize how vital it is to the economy.
"If it did close, it would be bad for everybody - Jews, non-Jews, everybody," he said.

If the plant closed, the students said, most of the Jews would leave town, because they would have no reason to stay.

Near the Agriprocessors plant, Bruce Stockman, owner of Best Place Auto Repair, leaned on his truck and watched the day's events unfold. Stockman said many of his customers work at the plant, and the raid could hurt his business.

Stockman, who worked briefly at the plant, said townspeople have mixed feelings about the immigrants.

"There's good ones, there's bad ones," he said. "You're going to have that anywhere."

Republicans Cutting off his Lati nose to spite their face.




Raids at Agriprocessors in Postville is GOP contributor.


Washington, D.C. - A top official at the Agriprocessors Inc. plant in Postville that was the subject of an immigration enforcement action Monday is an active Republican campaign contributor, records show.

Sholom Rubashkin, whose family owns the company, since 2000 has made $23,750 in federal campaign contributions, according to Federal Election Commission records.

That includes $5,750 to the Republican Party of Iowa from 2002 through 2004.

Rubashkin also gave $2,000 to Rep. Tom Latham, an Ames Republican, in 2004; $1,500 to candidate William Dix in 2006; $3,000 to candidate Stan Thompson from 2001 through 2004; $2,000 to Sen. Charles Grassley of New Hartford in 2004; and $2,500 to former Rep. Jim Nussle in 2000 and 2002.

Grassley collected another $2,000 each from Abraham Rubashkin, Leah Rubashkin and Ryfka Rubashkin, all of Postville, in August 2004.

In the wake of the Postville action, members of the Iowa congressional delegation said those who violate the law should be held accountable, but families' well-being is important, too.

Grassley said that a blind eye can't be turned toward lawbreakers, but "as federal officials take people into custody, I expect any action to be taken to be conducted in a professional and humanitarian manner."

Rep. Bruce Braley, a Waterloo Democrat, said there are hundreds of children in Postville whose lives will be changed by the raid, and he wants to make sure they are a priority.

"If people have broken the law, there should be consequences," he said. "I'll be interested to see if federal authorities will be bringing any charges against the employer."

Latham, whose district includes Postville, declined to comment.

Rep. Steve King of Kiron, the top Republican on an immigration panel, said those detained should be treated with respect because "we're all God's creatures. And yet, we are all called to abide by the rule of law."

Rep. Leonard Boswell, a Des Moines Democrat, said that anyone who violates the law should be held accountable but "treated with dignity."

Rep. Dave Loebsack, a Mount Vernon Democrat, said his office monitored the situation during the day. "I believe our laws must be enforced, and it is my hope that ICE officials learned valuable lessons during the 2006 raid on Swift & Co. and applied them today in Postville," he said