Tuesday, July 25, 2017

AZMEX I3 POLICY 25-7-17

AZMEX I3 POLICY 25 JUL 2017


Phoenix police chief explains department's new immigration policy
Posted: Jul 24, 2017 6:36 PM MST
Updated: Jul 24, 2017 6:36 PM MST
By Donna Rossi

http://www.azfamily.com/story/35960469/phoenix-police-chief-explains-departments-new-immigration-policy

Phoenix police chief explains department's new immigration policy
'The Phoenix Police Department ... [is] committed to protecting and serving every member of our diverse community ...,' Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams says on the department's website. (Source: 3TV/CBS 5)

The Phoenix Police Department implemented a new immigration policy starting just after midnight Monday morning.

The new policy has even undergone a name change, from immigration "enforcement" to immigration "procedures."


The changes in the policy stem from recommendations made by an ad hoc committee convened by Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton earlier in the year and approved by the full Phoenix City Council in April.
(AZMEX I3 20-4-17 https://ktar.com/story/1536938/phoenix-police-to-not-take-part-in-federal-immigration-deportations/ )


Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams admits politics played a part in the policy changes but she said she prefers to focus on her goal regarding the changes as they pertain to perception.
"I have to have the responsibility that the people we are protecting and serving feel confident in calling us, are not fearful of calling us," she said. "And we had some components in that policy, in my personal opinion, that created that dynamic."

That is particularly pertinent, said Williams, as it relates to the addition of a section dealing specifically with school resource officers.

According to the new section, "SROs or any other officers must not ask immigration questions or contact ICE for any purposes while on school grounds."

Williams said her officers were not enforcing immigration laws and the department had not received any complaints suggesting they were, but she had heard anecdotal stories from students concerned about going to a campus police office for fear either they or their parents might be deported.

"There was this assumption that when you ask someone a question about identification, some people in the community equated identification with you asking immigration status. So, we just kind of removed that dynamic out of the equation," said Williams.

The head of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association said he believes the new policy is 100-percent politically motivated.

"It's really dangerous when you start letting politicians and select activist groups dictate and determine the direction of police policy and enforcement procedures," Ken Crane, the president of the organization, said. "That's what's going to start getting people hurt out there. And it's dangerous when you cater to select groups to satisfy a political agenda. That's clearly what's going on here."

Crane also said the old policy was working fine, and he, too, reiterated that the department had not been accused of biased policing, racial profiling or, in particular, SROs enforcing immigration laws.

"Our SROs have not been engaging in immigration enforcement in schools," Crane said. "So, most of them, if you interviewed them would say, 'It's really not going to change how I do business.'"


The Phoenix Police Department respects the dignity of all persons and recognizes the sanctity of human life, rights and liberty. We are committed to protecting and serving every member of our diverse community and ensuring that crime victims and witnesses feel comfortable and confident when reporting crimes to our officers. As your chief, I commit to you that racial profiling will not be tolerated. We will continue to ensure everyone's safety by continuing our crime suppression efforts and focusing on crimes that most affect our local community. As always, we will be guided by state law which dictates our responsibilities when dealing with arrested people.

Williams agrees. While the policy in written form looks, feels and reads very differently from the old policy, Williams said the interaction the community will have with Phoenix police officers will not change. The policy will just reassure the entire community that they will be treated with respect and dignity.

Under the new policy, Phoenix police officers will still verify the immigration status of all people arrested.

The new policy also identifies a single point of contact for all immigration inquiries. Williams said this will improve data collection, record keeping and allow for the department to know exactly how many times Phoenix police have contacted or turned over arrestees to federal authorities.

END


Don't forget: "the decisions of who enters Mexico, are made by Mexico and only Mexico"
Luis Videgaray Caso, Mexican Foreign Minister
10 March, 2017

END

AZMEX I3 16-7-17

AZMEX I3 16 JUL 2017

Note: As usual, "immigrant" or "migrant" means illegal immigrant. Legal immigrants do not face criminal charges.

Don't forget: "the decisions of who enters Mexico, are made by Mexico and only Mexico"
Luis Videgaray Caso, Mexican Foreign Minister
10 March, 2017
thx


Immigrants now facing criminal charges for first offenses
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS | JULY 14, 2017 AT 6:39 PM
UPDATED: JULY 14, 2017 AT 6:43 PM
http://ktar.com/story/1657977/immigrants-now-facing-criminal-charges-first-offenses/

PHOENIX — Migrants who are caught crossing the border illegally for the first time are now facing criminal charges in federal court in Arizona as the Trump administration steps up efforts to deter illegal immigration.

First-time offenders until recently were deported instead of being criminally prosecuted.

That changed as of June in the Tucson Sector, which includes most of Arizona's border with Mexico and which has already seen the prosecution of 565 first-time offenders, the agency said in a news release on Thursday.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says immigrants are charged with misdemeanors and tried in federal court under Operation Streamline, a 12-year-old initiative in which migrants are charged, enter pleas and are sentenced within a few minutes in large groups.

Critics of Operation Streamline say it burdens the courts and results in migrants going through more dangerous routes to avoid getting caught. The Border Patrol says it decreases recidivism.

Tucson Sector spokesman Daniel Hernandez said the agency is able to go after first-time offenders because fewer border crossers have freed up resources. The program for first-time offenders is already in place in one part of Texas and was previously in effect in Tucson, although it has been several years since it was used.

"This one is aimed specifically to deter people from coming to the country illegally in a way that prevents deaths," Hernandez said. "It creates consequences in the west desert region where we're having a lot of people distressed."

The Tucson Sector has seen a rash of heat deaths and rescues during the past few weeks even as illegal border crossings are at an all-time low.

Border crossers without a prior record are being turned over to federal prosecutors, Hernandez said.

First-time offenders are charged with a misdemeanor and are typically sentenced to time served unless they have aggravating circumstances, said Cosme Lopez, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona. He said that two Customs and Border Protection attorneys are detailed to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tucson and that they exclusively handle the program docket.

A recent docket for Operation Streamline, which takes place in Tucson several times a week, shows that 58 immigrants were tried on Thursday. About 35 were first-time offenders who were charged with improper entry. The rest were migrants who have previously been caught at the border and were charged with illegal re-entry.

end



Ariz. Border Patrol Arrest Over 500 Illegal Aliens Under "One And Done Initiative"
July 14, 2017
OAN Newsroom
http://www.oann.com/ariz-border-patrol-arrest-over-500-illegal-aliens-under-one-and-done-initiative/

Officials along the U.S.-Mexico Border nab over 560 illegal aliens in just one month alone.

The Customs and Border Protection Agency prosecuted 565 people who were arrested on their first attempt at crossing the border near Tucson, Arizona in June.

Crossing illegally just one time results in a misdemeanor charge, while multiple crossings become a felony.

Before June, most illegal immigrants were not charged on their first attempt at crossing the border.

Officials say the "one and done initiative" was reinstated to prevent illegals from injury or death while crossing the Sonoran Desert.

Last month Border Patrol rescued 80 illegals who were lost in that desert.

end

Sunday, July 23, 2017

AZMEX POLICY 23-7-17

AZMEX POLICY 23 JUL 2017



Legislators write letter to oppose border wall, appropriations bill
FRANK GARZA | STAFF WRITER Jul 21, 2017

http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/article_0a6977ab-cc94-5c51-89d4-5d21eb8c7bae.html

U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, has joined his Border Caucus Co-Chair Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona, in penning a letter in opposition of the 2018 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill.

The letter is addressed to Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen of the Committee on Appropriations, Chairman John Carter of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security, ranking member of the Committee on Appropriations Nita Lowey, and Lucille Roybal-Allard, ranking member of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security.

The two legislators vow to oppose bills on the House floor that attach "poison pills" like border wall funding.

"Making American taxpayers pay $1.6 billion for a portion of the wall is asinine. I understand Republicans want to give President Trump one win due to his failed six months in office, but this is just irresponsible," Vela said in a press release. "The border wall will rip our community apart, stomp on landowners' rights, and on the wildlife of the Rio GrandeValley, including the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge."

The wall, they wrote, will "serve as an un-American symbol of hatred toward immigrants who contribute so much to our country."


Co-signers of the letter include U.S. Reps. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, Ruben Gallegos, D-Arizona, Gene Green, D-Texas, Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, Juan Vargas, D-California, Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, Henry Cuellar, D-Texas and Marck Veasey, D- Texas.


Hundreds of private landowners and municipalities have had their property condemned, and lawsuits are still pending, Vela said.

"I have been in contact with Efren Olivares. That's his expertise, and he represents many of those landowners. Some of these landowners at a point go ahead and sell the land to get it over with, but others are still resisting," Vela said.

Olivares is a lawyer with the Texas Civil Rights Project. He is handling 15 cases dealing with eminent domain in the Rio GrandeValley.

From the Otay Mountain Wilderness Area to the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, protected lands have been torn apart by border barriers. The continuation of a border wall will push endangered ocelots, jaguars, Sonoran pronghorns, and other species closer to extinction, and will harm eco-tourism, the letter states.

The legislators note an instance in Nogales, where border walls contributed to flooding that resulted in millions of dollars of damage and two people drowning. More border wall construction in the Rio Grande flood plain poses a serious flooding risk, they write.

"Last week, the Department of Homeland Security got caught doing some geotechnical testing at the Santa Ana Refuge. Congress voted on a budget three months ago — I voted against it — that funded 292 miles of replacement fencing in Arizona and California, and 40 miles of planning and construction that would allow them to close the gates, 35 in the Valley," Vela said.

The Sierra Club, Vela said, was concerned about the geotechnical testing. Members initially thought Homeland Security was moving forward with wall construction at the refuge.

Vela has an idea as to what that may have been about.
"The language is kind of vague in the last budget. When it says planning, they used some of that money, I think, to pay for that geotechnical testing in preparation for building a wall," Vela said. "(I think) they're currently banking on the fact that Congress will give them more money in the 2018 budget."

The Southern border "is not a war zone." Communities along the border are some of the safest in the U.S., the letter states.

Border security is important, but there are other ways to approach the issue. One such option is a virtual wall. It is unclear how much it would cost, but the cost does not matter, Vela said.

"Today, we have telescopic devices that can see butterflies two miles away. I just think we ought to be using people and technology rather than walls," Vela said. "We know the wall's not effective. Build it 12 feet high and they'll build ladders 14 feet high."

Vela said he discusses this alternative with other legislators regularly.

Vela believes members of the Border Caucus and Hispanic Caucus will fight the bill. The entire Democratic Caucus might. However, the party is in the minority, and it is likely some measure will come out of the U.S. House of Representatives next week.
"We're so deep in the minority that we get rolled over," Vela said.

Vela does not believe the U.S. Senate will consider the funding until the fall.
If the bill does pass, there is not much that can be done to stop it. Even so, Vela will keep fighting.
"We keep fighting to make sure in the future no further funding is spent, but at the end of the day, it's a matter of taking over one of the branches of government so in the future it won't happen," Vela said.

fgarza@brownsvilleherald.com

END

Friday, July 21, 2017

AZMEX EXTRA 14-7-17

AZMEX EXTRA 14 JUL 2017

Note: photos at links;

Mexican troops seize mini-machine gun, assault rifles in Nuevo Laredo
By César Rodriguez,
LMTonline.com / Laredo Morning Times
Published 10:12 am, Friday, July 14, 2017

http://www.lmtonline.com/border-mexico/article/Mexican-troops-seize-mini-machine-gun-assault-11288912.php#photo-13209911

Mexican soldiers said they seized the weapons shown in this picture in Nuevo Laredo. Authorities also arrested five people in connection with the case.

Mexican soldiers said they seized the weapons shown in this picture in Nuevo Laredo. Authorities also arrested five people in connection with the case.
Mexican troops said they arrested five people and seized 11 firearms Wednesday in northwest Nuevo Laredo.
At about 5:30 a.m., Secretariat of the National Defense, or SEDENA, soldiers patrolling on Calle Zihuatanejo in Colonia Buena Vista came across a suspicious pickup truck.
Authorities said the occupants seemed nervous as soldiers were in the area.

An inspection of the pickup yielded nine AR-15s,
an M4 assault rifle, a mini-machine gun,
125 magazines and
6,900 rounds of ammo.

Soldiers said they also seized three pickups,
six grenades and
six bulletproof vests,
among other tactical equipment.
Troops did not identify the people detained.

Cartel activity continues in the Nuevo Laredo area. Last week, troops seized more than 90 assault rifles, 30,000 rounds of ammo and grenade launchers, among other tactical equipment.

end

Also: Mexican army seizes arsenal of weapons in Nuevo Laredo
Over 90 assault rifles and 30,000 rounds of ammo discovered
By César Rodriguez, LMTonline.com /
Laredo Morning Times Published 11:11 pm, Saturday, July 8, 2017

http://www.lmtonline.com/local/crime/article/Mexican-army-seizes-arsenal-of-weapons-in-Nuevo-11275514.php

Mexico's army has seized more than 90 assault rifles, five grenade launchers and 30,000 rounds of ammo in northwest Nuevo Laredo, authorities said.
The Secretariat of the National Defense, known was SEDENA, said they seized the arsenal Friday in Colonia Toboganes.

"These results impact the organization and infrastructure of criminal groups that are members of organized crime. With their actions, they undermine the development and social peace for the Tamaulipecos," states a SEDENA news release.
Tamaulipas Gov. Francisco Javier García Cabeza de Vaca reacted to the news on Twitter, posting photos of the weaponry followed by a message to the soldiers.

"My appreciation to the SEDENA troops for the arsenal seizure in (Nuevo Laredo). (These are) actions to combat organized crime in (Tamaulipas)," he posted.
Gunmen
Early Friday, soldiers patrolling the area came across armed people near a home. Gunmen scattered as they noticed law enforcement presence.
Soldiers then inspected the home and discovered firearms, magazines, cartridges and military-type uniforms. Mexico's attorney general will take over the items seized. An investigation is underway.

Authorities seized the following:
78 AR-15s
13 AK-47s, or "Cuerno de Chivo"
Three .50-caliber Barretts
Four rifles
Five grenade launchers
13 grenades
One rocket for an RPG, an anti-tank weapon
30,000 rounds of various ammo
1,379 clips for AR-15s and AK-47s
20 military-type uniforms

end

AZMEX I3 POLICY 21-7-17

AZMEX I3 POLICY 21 JUL 2017

Note: Of course, as always, it is all about illegal immigrants, not "immigrants".

Don't forget: "the decisions of who enters Mexico, are made by Mexico and only Mexico"
Luis Videgaray Caso, Mexican Foreign Minister
10 March, 2017



Senators reintroduce Dream Act to give immigrants path to citizenship
BY KTAR.COM
JULY 20, 2017 AT 4:04 PM

http://ktar.com/story/1663751/senators-reintroduce-dream-act-give-immigrants-path-citizenship/

PHOENIX — The Dream Act, which would give some young immigrants a shot at becoming United States citizens, was reintroduced in the Senate on Thursday.

The act would create a path to citizenship for immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally when they were children.

"These young people have lived in America since they were children and built their lives here," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of the bill's sponsors, said in a press release. "There is support across the country for allowing Dreamers — who have records of achievement — to stay, work, and reach their full potential."

Dreamers would be required to graduate from high school or obtain their GED and either pursue a higher education, work for three years or serve in the military.

"We should not squander these young people's talents and penalize our own nation," Graham said. "Our legislation would allow these young people who grew up in the United States to contribute more fully to the country they love."

They would also have to demonstrate an understanding of both the English language and U.S. history, pass a background check and have a clean criminal record.

Graham cosponsored the bill with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who introduced the original Dream Act 16 years ago. "I'll continue fighting until it becomes the law of the land," he said in the release.

Several versions of the Dream Act have been introduced over the years but, for varying reasons, it has failed to pass each time.

NBC News said Thursday's act was introduced hurriedly, as a group of conservative attorneys have demanded President Donald Trump's administration stop accepting and renewing deportation deferrals under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

END



S.1615 - A bill to authorize the cancellation of removal and adjustment of status of certain individuals who are long-term United States residents and who entered the United States as children and for other purposes.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1615/cosponsors

Cosponsor Date Cosponsored
Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]* 07/20/2017
Sen. Flake, Jeff [R-AZ]* 07/20/2017
Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]* 07/20/2017

Text: S.1615 — 115th Congress (2017-2018)All Information (Except Text)
As of 07/21/2017 text has not been received for S.1615 - A bill to authorize the cancellation of removal and adjustment of status of certain individuals who are long-term United States residents and who entered the United States as children and for other purposes.


END

Thursday, July 13, 2017

AZMEX I3 13-7-17

AZMEX I3 13 JUL 2017

Note: Of course, as always, it is all about illegal immigrants, not "immigrants".

Don't forget: "the decisions of who enters Mexico, are made by Mexico and only Mexico"
Luis Videgaray Caso, Mexican Foreign Minister
10 March, 2017

thx


Fight flares in Arizona over tuition for young immigrants
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS | JULY 13, 2017 AT 5:43 AM
UPDATED: JULY 13, 2017 AT 12:12 PM

http://ktar.com/story/1655333/daca-tuition-immigrants-russell-pearce/

FILE - In this Nov. 8, 2011 file photo, Arizona State Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, left, prepares to address the media in Mesa, Ariz., after losing his recall election bid, as Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpiao, right, stands by his side. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

PHOENIX (AP) — A former Arizona lawmaker known as the driving force behind most of the state's toughest immigration laws is moving to challenge the university system for temporarily allowing young immigrants protected from deportation to keep paying lower-cost in-state tuition.

It comes after a court ruled that students in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program must pay higher-cost out-of-state tuition. The Arizona Board of Regents, which oversees three public universities and other colleges, voted soon afterward to allow in-state costs to stand while the issue is under court review.

The court decision last month sets Arizona apart from other states that are granting in-state tuition to young immigrants in recipients of former President Barack Obama's program. That includes Republican-dominant states such as Oklahoma, Tennessee and Nebraska.

The Trump administration has stepped up immigration enforcement and says it has not decided the program's fate.

Russell Pearce, a former state Senate president who helped create the landmark 2010 immigration enforcement law SB1070, said Wednesday that different law prohibits benefits for anyone living here illegally.

"I come here from Idaho or Utah or Texas and you have to pay out of state tuition but I'm in the country illegally and I don't?" Pearce said. "It's crazy it doesn't make sense and it's a violation of the Constitution."

Pearce sent a letter Tuesday to state Attorney General Mark Brnovich, giving him 60 days to sue the Board of Regents over its decision before threatening to take legal action himself.

The attorney general's office didn't immediately return a request for comment.

Arizona State University student and DACA recipient Edder Diaz Martinez said that without paying in-state tuition, he would only be able to afford one class per semester, potentially setting him back years before he could complete his senior year of college.

"The initial feeling was, of course, frustration because this is something that we have fought for for a very long time and we had victories — positive results at lower courts and we now are having setbacks," said Diaz Martinez, 26, who works full time to pay his tuition.

The Arizona Court of Appeals overturned a 2015 decision by a lower-court judge saying DACA recipients were considered legally present in the U.S. under federal immigration laws and therefore qualified for state benefits.

The Maricopa County Community College District board said it will ask the Arizona Supreme Court to overturn the ruling.

Pearce was known as the most full-throated advocate for tougher immigration enforcement during his more than 10 years as a state senator.

He was the chief sponsor of the contentious immigration law SB 1070 requiring police officers, when enforcing other laws, to question the immigration status of those suspected of being in the country illegally.

He also wrote laws that barred employers from hiring people in the United States illegally, denied bail to immigrants charged with certain crimes, declared English the state's official language and prohibited immigrants from being awarded punitive damages in lawsuits.

But Diaz Martinez said he is still feeling hopeful, calling Pearce's threat to sue "just an intimidation tactic."

END


Earlier :
http://ktar.com/story/1638873/community-colleges-to-take-in-state-daca-tuition-to-arizona-high-court/4


end

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

AZMEX I3 SPECIAL 12-7-17

AZMEX I3 SPECIAL 12 JUL 2017

Note: as always it is about nationals in the U.S. illegally.
Those living in the U.S. legally typically keep their green cards on them.
Gracias


Mexican Consulate's campaign encourages Mexican nationals to have documents ready
MOLLY SMITH | STAFF WRITER 1 hr ago (0)

http://www.themonitor.com/news/immigration/article_b3e42a80-6771-11e7-a92c-cb2dd9046a2f.html

People wait inside the Mexican Consulate office Tuesday, July 11, 2017, in McAllen. The office is encouraging Mexican citizens living in the U.S. to get their immigration papers in order in case they are detained following the passing of SB4 into law.
Nathan Lambrecht

Guillermo Ordorica Robles, Mexican consul at the McAllen office, talks about his efforts to make sure Mexican citizens living in the area have their immigration paperwork in order Tuesday July 11, 2017, in McAllen.
Nathan Lambrecht

McALLEN — The Mexican Consulate here wants to help Mexican nationals be prepared in case they unexpectedly have to leave the country.

It launched a new campaign this week, "Protect Your Important Documents," to encourage Mexicans living in Hidalgo, Starr and Brooks counties to organize their paperwork and have it easily accessible.

"The (Mexican) community is asking for the support of the consulate in face of the uncertainty that exists in the state of Texas and along the border region about what could happen to them given possible migratory actions leading to deportation," Guillermo Ordorica Robles, Mexico's consul general in McAllen, said in Spanish.

Starting this week, all visitors to the consulate will receive a complimentary file folder in which to store identification and financial documents, such as birth certificates, passports, consular ID cards, bank statements, tax returns and academic certificates.

Consular officials gave out more than 200 folders on Monday alone.

Ordorica Robles attributes rising uncertainty in the community to anti-immigrant rhetoric nationwide and the passage of Senate Bill 4 in Texas.

SB 4, which is set to take effect Sept. 1, allows local law enforcement officers to ask people, who have been arrested or detained, about their immigration status. It also mandates cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

"People fear, which is normal, that they could be deported at any moment," Ordorica Robles said.

Since Gov. Greg Abbott signed SB 4 into law on May 7, the number of Mexicans in Texas calling the Center for Information and Assistance for Mexicans increased 678 percent compared to May and June of last year, according to Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. CIAM is a 24-hour hotline run by Mexico's network of U.S. consulates.

Ordorica Robles also said the McAllen consulate has seen an increase in Mexican nationals requesting legal information and expedited consular documents.

"We are encouraging people to come to the consulate to inform themselves and to obtain their documents — their birth certificate, voter ID, consular ID card — so in case they have to leave the country, they'll do so in an orderly manner," he said. "The consulate is their ally — we're going to support them and represent them."

msmith@themonitor.com



Note: The mayor and majority of council are with the pro criminal democrat party.
The new Phx police chief is from Calif.
Thx


Phoenix police mulls altering immigration-enforcement policy
Share
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS | JULY 11, 2017 AT 7:45 PM
UPDATED: JULY 11, 2017 AT 7:46 PM

http://ktar.com/story/1653519/immigration-phoenix-police-enforcement/

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Police Department is considering policy changes that would limit when and where a person's immigration status applies to local police work.

The revised immigration-enforcement policy would bar officers from asking a crime victim or witness about their immigration status.

It also would prohibit school-resource officers from contacting Immigration and Customs Enforcement while on school grounds, according to a draft version of the policy.

The policy amendments would not change how police interact with a suspect, regardless of immigration status. All arrested individuals have their immigration status verified by the federal government before they're released, under Arizona law.

The union representing Phoenix police officers says the proposed changes look to fix something that's not broken and would leave officers hamstrung in certain investigations, The Arizona Republic reported.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona says it would like to see further safeguards against biased policing in even more situations.

Phoenix police Sgt. Jonathan Howard said the policy still is being reviewed and revised but declined to discuss which portions would be identified for future amendments.

"We sought the input of community leaders and organizations and are in the process of modernizing our existing policy regarding immigration," he said.

The proposals come amid a national conversation on immigration and policing, reignited by President Donald Trump and his executive orders that allow local police to take a more aggressive role in identifying people who do not have legal status.

The draft revisions come as a result of recommendations from a Phoenix City Council subcommittee formed by Mayor Greg Stanton in February after Trump signed the order.

end

AZMEX UPDATE 1-7-17

AZMEX UPDATE 1 JUL 2017

Note: drugs & more drugs.


Find 600 liters of liquid opium in Sinaloa Leyva
June 30, 2017 by Editorial Staff

http://riodoce.mx/narcotrafico-2/encuentran-600-litros-de-opio-liquido-en-sinaloa-de-leyva

The Attorney General's Office initiated investigation folder of crimes against health, after the seizure of substances and precursor chemicals used to make synthetic drugs in that state.

The discovery of this clandestine laboratory took place near the town of Santa Ana, municipality of Sinaloa de Leyva, by members of the Secretariat of National Defense, who made delivery site staff Criminal Investigation Agency, to perform the inspection, processing and research.

Therein the following was found: 600 liters of a liquid apparently liquid opium, contained in a tub and a drum 60 kilograms of a solid brown, apparently opium residue contained in two bags, 15 kg of white powder used to produce heroin, contained in a cuvette, 750 milliliters of a liquid substance apparently hydrochloric acid, contained in a bottle, three metal presses, two tubs, two pots and a container.

They were made available to the Social Representative assigned to the Deputy Regional Control, Criminal Proceedings and Amparo Federation in the state delegation, who continues with investigations by the aforementioned crime against the person or persons responsible.

end


Agents Find Heroin Concealed in Woman's Groin
Release Date: June 30, 2017
https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/agents-find-heroin-concealed-woman-s-groin

TUCSON, Ariz. – Nogales Station Border Patrol agents working the Interstate 19 immigration checkpoint Wednesday afternoon found more than 2 pounds of heroin concealed in the groin area of a 58-year-old Mexican woman. heroin was discovered during an immigration inspection on a commercial shuttle-bus. When a female agent obtained permission from the woman to conduct a body search, the agent detected a foreign object in the woman's groin area.

Agents arrested the woman for narcotics smuggling after determining the object was a package of heroin, worth almost $35,000. She was then transported to the Nogales Border Patrol Station and later turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for processing.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials welcome assistance from the community. Citizens can report suspicious activity to the U.S.Border Patrol and remain anonymous by calling 1-877-872-7435 toll free.

end



PGR gets prison for person arrested carrying 55 liters of Crystal at Navojoa
Rolando Castaneda

Http://www.elregionaldesonora.com.mx/noticia/68107

Navojoa.-The Office of the Attorney General of the Republic (PGR), through the Deputy Attorney General for Regional Control, Criminal Procedures and Amparo, in his State Delegation in Sonora, obtained from a Judge sentence of a person, for the crime of Against Health, in the modality of Transport of Methamphetamine Hydrochloride, in support to the state program "The Truth of the Crystal".

According to what was established in the Research Folder, elements of the Federal Police, Navojoa Station, in the vicinity of the National Highway 1460, Los Mochis-Ciudad Obregón section, Juan Ignacio "N" was detained on board a vehicle with plates of the State of Sinaloa, which came from Pueblos Unidos, Culiacán, Sinaloa and was bound for Tijuana, Baja California.
At the time of reviewing the unit, the federal elements located and secured three plastic jugs, which contained 55 liters of methamphetamine.

This was placed at the disposal of the Deputy Attorney General for Regional Control, Criminal Procedures and Amparo (SCRPPA), in his State Delegation in Sonora, while Juan Ignacio "N" was held at CEFERESO # 11, based in Hermosillo , Sonora.

End



New model of addiction surveillance presented in Nogales
Nogales, Sonora, June 29, 2017.-

Http://www.elregionaldesonora.com.mx/noticia/68095

Adolfo García Morales, Felix Higuera Romero, Director General of Mental Health, presented the new and innovative Information Model developed in Sonora for the System of Epidemiological Surveillance of Addictions (SISVEA) ).
This, in the framework of the Seventh Regular Session of the Transversal Council held in Nogales.
SISVEA is a system created by the technological area of ​​the Ministry of Public Security to record sociodemographic data of the person who goes to a governmental or non-governmental treatment center, explains Félix Higuera.

The session included units of the three orders of government and civil society organizations, grouped around the inter-institutional strategy that takes place in colonies focused on the State framework of the Prevention Program Citizen Shield.

The director of Mental Health and Addictions explained that this system indicates with which drug a person began his addiction, that is to say what is the drug with which they come back to ask for help to a hospital.
It is also followed in this virtual program in the type of consumption, the route of administration of the drug, the risks and the characteristics of the addiction.

"By having these geo-referenced data, they tell us in which street, colony and sector of the city is presenting the consumption of a particular drug, this tool being a great help for violence and crime prevention programs, such as programs Prevention and care of domestic violence, let's remember that addiction leads to violence or commiting criminal acts, "said Félix Higuera.

For his part, State Security Secretary Adolfo García Morales reminded those present of the frontal fight that is being carried out in relation to drugs, either from prevention within the Citizen Shield program, a program backed by Governor Claudia Pavlovich Arellano , Combined with the combat against its sale and distribution, mainly of the crystal.

These types of tools come to process information and provide more accurate data to give an effective and immediate response.

During the session, the participation of civil society was very important, including Cecilio Luna Salazar, President of the State Association of Parents, as well as Jesús Antonio Ruiz Miranda, delegate of the Mexican Central of General Services of Alcoholics Anonymous, Sonora north; Dr. Germán Palafox Moyers, Coordinator of the Observatory Citizen Security, who with their participation and proposals enriched the event.
At the Seventh Ordinary Session, a report on activities carried out within the framework of the "The Truth of the Crystal" campaign was presented; Palafox Moyers presented an evaluation of actions carried out by the members of the Transversal Board of Directors and a protest was made to the members of the Municipal Operative Council and a collaboration agreement was signed between the SSP and the Central Mexican General Services of Alcoholics Anonymous A.C.

The event was attended by Luis Tadeo Velasco Fimbres, Secretary of the City Council representing Mayor Cuauhtémoc Galindo; Lieutenant Colonel Jose Villafaña Ortiz, on behalf of DEM Brigadier Salvador Fernando Cervantes Loza, commander of the 45th Military Zone.
Also participating were Juan Pablo Acosta Guti

end

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

AZMEX I3 9-7-17

AZMEX I3 9 JUL 2017

Note: More details ?

9th Circuit Opens Door for Mass Release of Illegal Immigrant Minors
July 7, 2017

http://www.libertyheadlines.com/9th-circuit-opens-door-mass-release-illegal-immigrant-minors/?AID=7236

(LifeZette) The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday that illegal immigrant minors must be granted a bond hearing – a hearing in which the burden of proof is on the government to show why the person should be held rather than released.

9th Circuit Opens Door for Mass Release of Illegal Immigrant Minors"The overall issue is that it releases people we know nothing about and can't properly vet," says Matthew O'Brien, a former trial attorney for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) who now works for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

The justices of the 9th Circuit ruled against Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, and the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, writing that two federal laws did not invalidate a 1997 settlement in which the government had agreed to certain things regarding the detention and release of illegal immigrant juveniles. According to this settlement, referred to as the Flores settlement, minors cannot be held without being given a bond hearing at which they have the right to be represented by a lawyer, and at which the government has to make an argument for why they should be held.

In a bond hearing in a regular criminal case, O'Brien notes, the government would have to show that the person is a danger or is a flight risk in order for a judge to agree that they should be held pending a trial.

Under mandatory detention rules, all illegal immigrants have always been considered a flight risk, as they were unlikely to show up at a future court appearance.

"That puts this on its head," says O'Brien of the 9th Circuit's decision, and adds that it removes a lot of the discretion normally accorded to ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The case, he says, represents a "further erosion" of those agencies' power to determine who should not be released for national security reasons.

"The interests of alien children should not trump the security interests of the citizens of the United States," he told LifeZette.

In the original Flores case, which dates to the 80s, a 15-year-old girl from El Salvador who'd entered the country illegally was handcuffed and detained in an area with minors of both sexes for two months.

But things have changed since the 80s, and the influx of thousands of unaccompanied minors from Mexico and Central America, most of them male, created a crisis at the border in 2014 and 2015 after President Barack Obama signed the executive order creating DACA – Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

Tens of thousands of illegal immigrant minors from Mexico and Central America have been released in the last few years and placed around the country. Many have joined the ranks of criminal gangs like MS-13 in small, previously peaceful small towns like Central Islip on Long Island, where a teenage girl was murdered by young gang members last year. The Department of Homeland Security estimates that there are more than 1,000 MS-13 members in towns on Long Island, and that most came to the U.S. as unaccompanied minors.

And while those claiming to be minors are supposed to show documentation to verify their age, many don't have anything, making it very easy for an illegal immigrant who is 18 or older to claim that he is a minor, and thus win release – and escape deportation.

But why would they be in a detention center in the first place?

A 2008 law meant to protect victims of human trafficking made it difficult for the U.S. government to deport unaccompanied minors. The law required the government to institute a legal process for unaccompanied minors from Central America, in particular, rather than quickly returning them to their countries. The legal process usually takes several years, and more often than not results in the minors remaining in the U.S.

Added to this is a special visa program that awards permanent residency status – "green cards" – to thousands of illegal immigrants who were detained as juveniles.

The 9th Circuit's decision applies only to the western states – California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada – and also Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, and the Mariana Islands.

But other federal appeals courts are likely to consider its decision in similar cases, and it throws yet another wrench into the Trump administration's efforts to enforce immigration laws.

"I think all these things do is hobble the federal government and hobble ICE as they attempt to do their jobs," says O'Brien. "We believe they should be challenging things like this. There's no reason why, 20 years later, the government should be hewing to this agreement," he said, referring to the Flores settlement.

After the 9th Circuit blocked the travel ban and the attempt to withhold funds from any city that refused to cooperate with enforcement of immigration laws, President Donald Trump said that he was "absolutely" considering proposals to break up the 9th Circuit, presumably into two or more smaller courts.

And now, he has a third reason to consider such a proposal.

Republished with permission from LifeZette via iCopyright license.

AZMEX UPDATE 10-7-17

AZMEX UPDATE 10 JUL 2017

No, did not make this up. Consider also the source, La Raza / AP.
Gracias



Largest US Latino group changing name to be more inclusive
Associated Press
10:59 AM, Jul 10, 2017
4 hours ago

http://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/largest-us-latino-group-changing-name-to-be-more-inclusive

PHOENIX (AP) - The nation's largest Latino civil rights group is changing its name to make it less polarizing and more inclusive.

National Council of La Raza, or NCLR, will announce Monday that will be known as UnidosUS.

President Janet Murguia said the name change was three years in the making and was in response to members of the organization who felt the term "raza" was outdated and didn't resonate with them.

The term means "the people" and was coined to describe the various races Mexican people come from. Chicano civil rights activists made the term popular in the 1960s and 1970s.

Murguia pronounces the "US" in UnidosUS like the abbreviation for the United States but says it's purposely missing the punctuation so that it can be interpreted as either "us" or "U.S."

END

Saturday, July 8, 2017

AZMEX EXTRA 8-7-17

AZMEX EXTRA 8 JUL 2017



Former TPD officer receives sentence for illegal sales of firearms
Friday, July 7th 2017, 3:35 pm MST
By Tucson News Now Staff

Joe Santiago Valles (Source: Tucson Police Department)
TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) -
http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/35836750/former-tpd-officer-receives-sentence-for-illegal-sales-of-firearms

On Thursday, July 6, a former Tucson Police officer received his sentence from U.S. District Judge James A. Soto.

According to a Department of Justice news release, Joe Santiago Valles will serve 78 months in prison, after his trial where he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the U.S., tampering, aiding and abetting false statements from firearms transactions, tampering with a witness, and identity theft.

Valles was a business partner with a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) in Tucson from Oct. 2015 to April 20, 2016. According to the release Valles and the FFL used identities of individuals who were not purchasing firearms, to submit ATF Form 4473 claiming they were the purchasers. An ATF Form 4473 is required to legally purchase or acquire firearms from FFLs.

The FFL and Valles used the fraudulent forms to hide the identity of the true buyers. During the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigation, 35 firearm transactions were completed, including 24 semi-automatic pistols and rifles. The purchases were made using identities that Valles, who was a TPD officer at the time, stole from two people he had contact with through his official duties.

According to the release, these two identities were listed as buyers in 29 firearm transactions, when in fact they were not the purchasers.
One of the firearms was intercepted at the Nogales Port of Entry, while a second firearm, a .50 caliber semi-automatic rifle was seized by Mexican authorities.


END


Also:
Former Tucson Police identity theft and illegally selling firearms
Posted: Jul 07, 2017 5:43 PM MST
Updated: Jul 07, 2017 5:43 PM MST
Written By Hannah Palaniuk

http://www.kvoa.com/story/35837348/former-tucson-police-identity-theft-and-illegally-selling-firearms
END