AZMEX I3 16 FEB 2017
Note: de facto, if not "de jure" ? "he would not ask his police officers to knowingly violate the law."
As always, the words "illegal immigrant" will never be spoken. Your correspondent being acquainted with numerous legal immigrants, who seem to have no fears of 1070, nor immigration enforcement.
thx
Updated Feb 15, 2017 - 8:24 pm
Phoenix will not become sanctuary city after council denies citizen petition
BY KTAR.COM | February 15, 2017 @ 5:25 pm
http://ktar.com/story/1461423/phoenix-will-not-become-sanctuary-city-after-council-denies-citizen-petition/
PHOENIX — Phoenix will not become a sanctuary city after a citizen-filed petition was denied by the city council with a 7-2 vote on Wednesday.
The Phoenix City Council also voted to have an executive session to explore its options regarding the controversial Senate Bill 1070 that was signed into law in 2010.
During a public speech forum before the vote, Carlos Garcia with immigrant activist group Puente Arizona said the recent deportation of Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, a mother of two, shows the nation is adopting similar policies to S.B. 1070. "The country is turning into Arizona," he said.
Councilman Sal DiCiccio said that he respects activists like Garcia — especially those who risk arrest for what they believe in — but they cannot expect politicians to take such a risk as voting for Phoenix to become a sanctuary city. "The city of Phoenix will never be a sanctuary city like San Francisco or New York. It's just never going to happen," he said.
Councilman Michael Nowkowski said officials need to take a stand on the immigration system, including SB 1070. "I think we need to fight this ugly, nasty, racist law as the city of Phoenix," he said, comparing the battle to that of the civil rights movement of the 1960s. "I think Phoenix needs to be that example."
The petition was met with immediate opposition by multiple leaders, including Mayor Greg Stanton, when it was introduced two weeks ago.
While he is considered to be immigrant-friendly, Stanton — who called the illegal immigration debate the "most important civil rights debate of our time" before Wednesday's vote — said Phoenix could not be a sanctuary city because of SB 1070.
"It was settled for Phoenix and any other Arizona city by that law known as SB 1070," the mayor said before the vote, referencing the part of the law that allows police to transport illegal immigrants into federal custody.
A settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union kept that portion of the bill in place.
Stanton wrote in a previous Facebook post that he would not ask his police officers to knowingly violate the law. "We must respect the Supreme Court's unanimous decision and the rule of law," he wrote.
Gov. Doug Ducey told KTAR News 92.3 FM's Mac & Gaydos last week that Phoenix could not become a sanctuary city because, if it had, it would have violated federal law.
"We think people should comply with the law," Ducey said in an exclusive interview with Mac and Gaydos. "The state complies with federal law, cities should comply with federal law, so that's not something that exists here in the state of Arizona and that's not something that we're going to have."
Several other city officials, including City Attorney Brad Holm, also opposed the measure.
Though there is no agreed upon definition of a sanctuary city, the general consensus defines them as a city that will, in some way, protect illegal immigrants.
In some cases, these cities tell police not to inquire about the immigration status of those they encounter, or they decline requests from immigration officials to keep defendants in custody while they await deportation.
Others say they do cooperate with such "detainer" requests as long as they're backed by court-issued warrants, but won't allow local officers to enforce federal immigration law.
end
Note: Again, the words "illegal immigrant" will never be spoken.
City declares support of human, immigration rights
BY AALIYAH MONTOYA | DOUGLAS DISPATCH Feb 15, 2017
http://www.douglasdispatch.com/news/city-declares-support-of-human-immigration-rights/article_3b470df2-f39c-11e6-8673-77461e98865a.html
The Douglas Mayor and Council reaffirmed the City's support of the rights of all it's residents, including immigrants, by passing a formal resolution on Feb. 8, during a regular council meeting.
As stated by City administration, the intent of the resolution is to provide a continued sense of reassurance and support to local and area residents in an effort to maintain the current working relationship with the citizens of Douglas, and the citizens of its sister city Agua Prieta.
The effort is to continue to promote Douglas as a safe place to visit, shop, work, and live, which was deemed "business as usual" by City administration.
The resolution as written mentions that following the 2016 presidential election, members of the immigrant, and Douglas communities may be experiencing anxiety and fear related to potential changes to federal immigration laws and enforcement policies.
City Manager, Jim Russell emphasized that the City has no intention of becoming a designated sanctuary city.
"There's no doubt that the topic of legal immigration is a sensitive and complicated issue that affects all of us, but more so the binational region; it depends on economic codependents such as that between the City of Douglas and Agua Prieta," said Russell. "The intent of this resolution is to ensure our neighbors to the south that we are closely monitoring the situation, that we recognize that the national immigration issue is one that is impacting all of us on each side of the border."
The city manager expressed that the City of Douglas is confident that said issues will be handled responsibly by electoral and congressional delegation.
The original resolution also highlighted the Douglas Police Department's established protocol relating to law enforcement practices concerning immigration, which reassured that DPD's policies provide that department activities emphasize the protection of civil rights, privileges and immunities of all persons.
Council member Danny Morales moved to amend the resolution, to retract all statements that mentioned the police department.
The retractions included Sections 1 and 2, "The Mayor and Council reaffirm their support of the mission and policies of the Douglas Police Department relating to human rights and immigration related law enforcement. The Mayor and Council support the Douglas Police Department's established law enforcement priorities that consider the need to protect the public safety of all persons in the City of Douglas, and the need to fortify community trust and cooperation with a focus on combating violent crime in our community."
Morales stated that while he supports the intention of the resolution, he is opposed to speaking on behalf of the police department as he felt the mayor and council would be using the DPD as leverage.
"If the Douglas Police Union would like to come out and reaffirm their policies that's on them," said Morales. "...We have no skin in the game as far as the Douglas Police Department goes, we should speak for ourselves…[If we want to speak on behalf of DPD] Let's reaffirm the same language, on the same document, the sacrifices and the risks that they face in carrying out their duties in regards to immigration."
Morales' motion to amend was approved unanimously by the council, with Mayor Robert Uribe in opposition.
Uribe mentioned that DPD Chief Kraig Fullen had previously reviewed the resolution, and did not express any concern or disagreement.
"I'm concerned with our economy...with people relocating...with the way I've been approached by people, who are here legally, and are saying that they're fearful," Uribe said. "They don't feel welcomed. It is our responsibility as mayor and council to reassure those people that ability to come here, whether it's shopping, working, visiting a family member. They should not have to feel that sense of anxiety that they're having right now."
The mayor insisted that it would be irresponsible of the the council not to address the issue, as 80 percent of City traffic depends on Agua Prieta.
Several members of the public spoke before the council in opposition of the resolution being declared at all.
"I oppose this resolution, it is frivolous," said resident, Olga Robles. "...Whatever happens on the border is not our concern, it's the federal government's...it's not needed, we are in America...Don't tell me that the people are fearful here. I have a lot of people who called me, none of them are fearful."
Resident Rebecca Castillo also spoke in opposition, saying "Having brown skin means nothing to me, I'm an American...I believe that as a family of Douglas I have been highly neglected, put aside because I already live here, I don't mean anything."
She continued, "I can not fathom why are we putting so much attention to the people of Mexico, we don't owe them a thing."
Mayor Uribe emphasized the importance of staying united as a binational community.
"This is not about right, left, republican, democrat...this is about Douglas having a binational relationship," Uribe said. "...We're not going to sensationalize this resolution over whatever someone wants to interpret the resolution to be. The resolution is intended to be business as usual. Respecting the rights of immigrants."
END
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
AZMEX I3 13-2-17
AZMEX I3 13 FEB 2017
Suggestion: "extreme vetting" of voter registration, voter photo ID card, in-person voting only, fingerprint at polling place, mandatory jail time, triple jail time for organizers.
Thx
Court: Immigrants who vote illegally can be deported
MARGARITA DEL PILAR FITZPATRICK
A 2014 study says noncitizens vote illegally in U.S. elections, and they vote mostly for Democrats, but the liberal media and academia have tried to crush the findings. (Associated Press)
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times - Monday, February 13, 2017
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/feb/13/court-immigrants-who-vote-illegally-can-be-deporte/
Non-citizens who register to vote are breaking federal laws and can be deported, an appeals court affirmed in a new ruling Monday, issuing its decision just as President Trump raised the profile of the issue, asking for a study of illegal voting.
Margarita Del Pilar Fitzpatrick had registered to vote in Illinois, and had even cast ballots in two federal elections, despite being a citizen of Peru, not the U.S.
That was enough to trigger an American law that allows the government to kick out non-citizens who vote illegally, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.
The case was prosecuted and argued last month by the Obama administration. The administration had the option of using prosecutorial discretion to let her stay, but said she was a priority for deportation, the court said.
Ms. Fitzpatrick had registered to vote when she went to get a driver's license. Under the federal motor-voter law, she was given the option to check a box signaling she was a citizen and wanted to vote.
She said she asked the employee if she should check it, and the employee said, "it's up to you."
In court, Ms. Fitzpatrick tried to raise that as a defense, with her lawyers saying it was equivalent to entrapment because a state official had told her to sign up. But the three-judge panel rejected that argument, saying the employee wasn't encouraging her, only telling her it was her choice.
Besides, the judges said, Ms. Fitzpatrick understood English and had even worked as a translator, so there was no confusion about language.
The case came to light because she raised the issue herself on her 2007 application for citizenship, reporting that she had in fact registered and voted despite laws against it.
Mr. Trump contends that millions of people cast illegal votes in last year's election, denying him a popular vote victory, even though he won the Electoral College handily.
Fact-checkers have disputed his claims, saying there's no evidence of that level of fraud, but voting integrity group Public Interest Legal Foundation said Ms. Fitzpatrick's case proves how tough it can be to determine the extent of illegal voting unless people self-report their violations.
"This case demonstrates how difficult it is to pursue non-citizen voting crimes without verification measures in voter registration and a federal government that has expressed clear disinterest in combating the problem until now," said PILF President J. Christian Adams. "The Trump administration has the right and responsibility to study the true extent of illegal voting by ineligible persons. Hopefully, this case marks a new chapter for election integrity in the years ahead."
The appeals court case highlighted some of the problems with the federal laws making it easy to register to vote at motor vehicle bureaus.
According to the judges, federal law forbids officials from saying anything that might discourage someone from registering, leaving the employee in this case to make the "unhelpful" statement that it was up to Ms. Fitzpatrick.
END
Suggestion: "extreme vetting" of voter registration, voter photo ID card, in-person voting only, fingerprint at polling place, mandatory jail time, triple jail time for organizers.
Thx
Court: Immigrants who vote illegally can be deported
MARGARITA DEL PILAR FITZPATRICK
A 2014 study says noncitizens vote illegally in U.S. elections, and they vote mostly for Democrats, but the liberal media and academia have tried to crush the findings. (Associated Press)
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times - Monday, February 13, 2017
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/feb/13/court-immigrants-who-vote-illegally-can-be-deporte/
Non-citizens who register to vote are breaking federal laws and can be deported, an appeals court affirmed in a new ruling Monday, issuing its decision just as President Trump raised the profile of the issue, asking for a study of illegal voting.
Margarita Del Pilar Fitzpatrick had registered to vote in Illinois, and had even cast ballots in two federal elections, despite being a citizen of Peru, not the U.S.
That was enough to trigger an American law that allows the government to kick out non-citizens who vote illegally, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.
The case was prosecuted and argued last month by the Obama administration. The administration had the option of using prosecutorial discretion to let her stay, but said she was a priority for deportation, the court said.
Ms. Fitzpatrick had registered to vote when she went to get a driver's license. Under the federal motor-voter law, she was given the option to check a box signaling she was a citizen and wanted to vote.
She said she asked the employee if she should check it, and the employee said, "it's up to you."
In court, Ms. Fitzpatrick tried to raise that as a defense, with her lawyers saying it was equivalent to entrapment because a state official had told her to sign up. But the three-judge panel rejected that argument, saying the employee wasn't encouraging her, only telling her it was her choice.
Besides, the judges said, Ms. Fitzpatrick understood English and had even worked as a translator, so there was no confusion about language.
The case came to light because she raised the issue herself on her 2007 application for citizenship, reporting that she had in fact registered and voted despite laws against it.
Mr. Trump contends that millions of people cast illegal votes in last year's election, denying him a popular vote victory, even though he won the Electoral College handily.
Fact-checkers have disputed his claims, saying there's no evidence of that level of fraud, but voting integrity group Public Interest Legal Foundation said Ms. Fitzpatrick's case proves how tough it can be to determine the extent of illegal voting unless people self-report their violations.
"This case demonstrates how difficult it is to pursue non-citizen voting crimes without verification measures in voter registration and a federal government that has expressed clear disinterest in combating the problem until now," said PILF President J. Christian Adams. "The Trump administration has the right and responsibility to study the true extent of illegal voting by ineligible persons. Hopefully, this case marks a new chapter for election integrity in the years ahead."
The appeals court case highlighted some of the problems with the federal laws making it easy to register to vote at motor vehicle bureaus.
According to the judges, federal law forbids officials from saying anything that might discourage someone from registering, leaving the employee in this case to make the "unhelpful" statement that it was up to Ms. Fitzpatrick.
END
AZMEX SPECIAL 13-2-17
AZMEX SPECIAL 13 FEB 2017
Note: A series on cartels in New Mexico by the Albuquerque Journal
THX
https://www.abqjournal.com/947771/juarez-cartel-flexes-its-muscles.html
The Cartels Next Door: Far from dead, Juárez Cartel flexes its muscles
By Mike Gallagher / Journal Investigative Reporter
Monday, February 13th, 2017 at 12:02am
Which cars in the daily traffic jam on the Bridge of the Americas heading into the United States are being used by the Juárez Cartel to smuggle heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine across the border? (Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal)
SECOND IN A SERIES: The Juárez Cartel is one of the heavyweights among Mexican drug cartels that earn billions in profits as they funnel heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana into drug-hungry countries such as the United States. Crime, death and ruined lives flow right along with those drugs to places as varied as New York City, West Virginia, Albuquerque and Española.
The death of the Juárez Cartel has been greatly exaggerated. In fact, it is alive and well and doing a booming business.
The cartel boss, Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, and two of his top associates are locked up, but that is nothing more than an inconvenience because there are hundreds of cartel members operating out of the northern border city and throughout the Mexican state of Chihuahua – and reaching into the United States.
Vicente Carrillo Fuentes
Men like Ignacio "Nachito" Villalobos Salinas – he has been the main supplier of drugs of all types through the Columbus-Palomas port of entry in recent years and in the words of one federal judge "a notorious drug trafficker."
Villalobos is a member of La Linea (The Line), the enforcement arm of the Juárez Cartel.
In 2010, he was running guns for La Linea in an operation that had the mayor, a city commissioner and the police chief from Columbus buying AK-47-type weapons in the United States and helping smuggle them into Mexico for the Juárez Cartel.
That investigation was brought up short when word of the wiretaps on Columbus officials was leaked to the police chief from a longtime friend who was married to a then-assistant U.S. attorney.
Villalobos faded out of the news but by 2015 he was in charge of running the Juárez Cartel's operation in Palomas.
He was reporting to Edgar Estopellan Torres, who in turn reported to Arturo Vasquez, who was the boss of La Linea.
Full service
Members of the Juárez Cartel received drugs hidden in secret compartments in tractor-trailers at this South Valley auto body shop for redistribution in the state and elsewhere. (Federal Court Exhibit)
Villalobos was running a full-service drug network – cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana. The fact the contraband had to cross an international border to reach lucrative markets in the U.S. was simply a logistical challenge that was met in a variety of ways:
• "Backpackers" carried loads of marijuana across the desert to Interstate 10 near Deming, where it could be picked up by couriers in pickup trucks.
• Larger loads of marijuana were hidden in secret compartments in tractor-trailers driven through the Juárez-El Paso port of entry to Albuquerque.
• Cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine also were hidden in false compartments in tractor-trailers, pickup trucks and cars.
Jesus Muñoz Lechuga
The drugs were transported to an auto body shop in Bernalillo County's South Valley operated by Jesus Muñoz Lechuga, another member of the cartel, who was in the country illegally.
Muñoz used the name Anchondo to lease the property, which is owned, according to Bernalillo County Treasurer's Office records, by Jerry Padilla Jr., who was convicted of running a large-scale drug operation in the 1990s and whose brothers ran the Los Padillas street gang.
Padilla has not been implicated in the latest investigation.
Muñoz unloaded the shipments at the body shop and coordinated deliveries to buyers through texts with Villalobos or Estopellan. Muñoz would then ship the drugs to buyers in New Mexico, Oklahoma City, Atlanta and other cities.
Typically, the money would be sent back to Estopellan by couriers using the same hidden vehicle compartments used to transport the drugs into the U.S.
One of Muñoz's couriers, Leonardo Martinez Olivas, who was also in the country illegally, told the court he was coerced into helping the network by threats the cartel would murder his wife and son.
On the radar
Federal agents in the U.S. had been tracking Villalobos since he escaped their net during the 2010 gunrunning investigation.
Federal agents search the hidden compartment of a truck for bundles of marijuana while serving search warrants on a Juárez Cartel operation based in Bernalillo County's South Valley. (Federal Court Exhibit)
Villalobos managed to survive the long war between the Juárez Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel that killed tens of thousands of people in northern Mexico, and stayed in the drug business.
In October 2014, a federal agent arranged to purchase 10 kilograms of cocaine from Villalobos' organization. Agents seized 5 kilograms but not Villalobos.
Then federal agents began tapping the phones of people working for Villalobos through servers in the U.S.
The text traffic provided agents with real-time information about when and where drugs and money were going.
By the time agents were ready to sweep up the network in October 2015, several of the main players, including Muñoz, had fled back to Mexico. Villalobos never left Mexico.
The 10-month investigation led to the seizure of 6 kilograms of cocaine, almost 3 kilograms of methamphetamine, a half-pound of heroin and 1,000 pounds of marijuana. Federal agents also seized more than $260,000.
Twelve people were arrested here in New Mexico. Ten pleaded guilty. Two were convicted at trial in Las Cruces last October.
And eight men – the heart of this one network – are fugitives, believed to be in Mexico.
The general expectation of U.S. law enforcement is that this group was again smuggling drugs into New Mexico before the ink was dry on the guilty pleas of their associates.
In control
The Juárez Cartel became firmly established in the early 1990s when Amado Carrillo Fuentes, "The Lord of the Skies," took over the corridor.
Money seized during the investigation of Villalobos' drug smuggling operation. (Federal Court Exhibit)
He established close ties with Colombian cocaine kingpins and persuaded them to send their product into the United States through Mexico.
Those deals brought Carrillo Fuentes a tremendous amount of influence on all the major drug cartels in Mexico and billions of dollars in profits.
He died in the late 1990s, and his brother, Vicente, took over the Juárez Cartel. He had an uneasy alliance with leaders of other cartels, including Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Guzmán had already been involved in a series of "wars" with other cartels before he and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes started killing each other's relatives. That led to thousands of killings throughout northern Mexico reaching its height in mid-2010.
Will Glaspy is the special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's El Paso division, which oversees a region from the Big Bend area in Texas to the Arizona-New Mexico line.
"As far as we're concerned, the Juárez Cartel has always maintained control" of the Juárez corridor, he said in an interview, "I don't know if they 'won,' but they gained control of it, and for other reasons, probably, violence was reduced."
But the Sinaloa Cartel also uses the Juárez corridor, as does the Sinaloa Cartel's most recent rival, the New Generation Jalisco Cartel. U.S. law enforcement is still trying to figure out what arrangements have led to this crazy quilt of rivals using the same bridges to El Paso to transport drugs.
Guzmán has been extradited to the United States and faces federal charges of heading an organized criminal enterprise.
Vicente Carrillo Fuentes is in a federal maximum security prison in Mexico.
The United States also has asked for Carrillo Fuentes to be extradited, but that has hit legal roadblocks in Mexico.
The Juárez Cartel is now run by two men most Americans have never heard of: Carlos Quintana Quintana and Julio Olivas Torres.
Yet it continues to affect the U.S. drug market by supplying drugs to Denver, Chicago, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Georgia and Kansas City through New Mexico and West Texas.
It has long been one of the bigger exporters of Colombian cocaine into the United States. And according to DEA intelligence reports, the Juárez Cartel has significantly increased the cultivation of opium poppies in the state of Chihuahua.
Video
As a bonus to our readers, Journal investigative reporter Mike Gallagher provides additional background and insights about the Juárez cartel in a video interview.
Also:
https://www.abqjournal.com/cartels
https://www.abqjournal.com/cartels?utm_source=abqjournal.com&utm_medium=related+posts+-+crime&utm_campaign=related+posts
https://www.abqjournal.com/947788/heroin-from-the-sierra-madre-to-manhattan.html
END
Note: A series on cartels in New Mexico by the Albuquerque Journal
THX
https://www.abqjournal.com/947771/juarez-cartel-flexes-its-muscles.html
The Cartels Next Door: Far from dead, Juárez Cartel flexes its muscles
By Mike Gallagher / Journal Investigative Reporter
Monday, February 13th, 2017 at 12:02am
Which cars in the daily traffic jam on the Bridge of the Americas heading into the United States are being used by the Juárez Cartel to smuggle heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine across the border? (Roberto E. Rosales/Albuquerque Journal)
SECOND IN A SERIES: The Juárez Cartel is one of the heavyweights among Mexican drug cartels that earn billions in profits as they funnel heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana into drug-hungry countries such as the United States. Crime, death and ruined lives flow right along with those drugs to places as varied as New York City, West Virginia, Albuquerque and Española.
The death of the Juárez Cartel has been greatly exaggerated. In fact, it is alive and well and doing a booming business.
The cartel boss, Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, and two of his top associates are locked up, but that is nothing more than an inconvenience because there are hundreds of cartel members operating out of the northern border city and throughout the Mexican state of Chihuahua – and reaching into the United States.
Vicente Carrillo Fuentes
Men like Ignacio "Nachito" Villalobos Salinas – he has been the main supplier of drugs of all types through the Columbus-Palomas port of entry in recent years and in the words of one federal judge "a notorious drug trafficker."
Villalobos is a member of La Linea (The Line), the enforcement arm of the Juárez Cartel.
In 2010, he was running guns for La Linea in an operation that had the mayor, a city commissioner and the police chief from Columbus buying AK-47-type weapons in the United States and helping smuggle them into Mexico for the Juárez Cartel.
That investigation was brought up short when word of the wiretaps on Columbus officials was leaked to the police chief from a longtime friend who was married to a then-assistant U.S. attorney.
Villalobos faded out of the news but by 2015 he was in charge of running the Juárez Cartel's operation in Palomas.
He was reporting to Edgar Estopellan Torres, who in turn reported to Arturo Vasquez, who was the boss of La Linea.
Full service
Members of the Juárez Cartel received drugs hidden in secret compartments in tractor-trailers at this South Valley auto body shop for redistribution in the state and elsewhere. (Federal Court Exhibit)
Villalobos was running a full-service drug network – cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana. The fact the contraband had to cross an international border to reach lucrative markets in the U.S. was simply a logistical challenge that was met in a variety of ways:
• "Backpackers" carried loads of marijuana across the desert to Interstate 10 near Deming, where it could be picked up by couriers in pickup trucks.
• Larger loads of marijuana were hidden in secret compartments in tractor-trailers driven through the Juárez-El Paso port of entry to Albuquerque.
• Cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine also were hidden in false compartments in tractor-trailers, pickup trucks and cars.
Jesus Muñoz Lechuga
The drugs were transported to an auto body shop in Bernalillo County's South Valley operated by Jesus Muñoz Lechuga, another member of the cartel, who was in the country illegally.
Muñoz used the name Anchondo to lease the property, which is owned, according to Bernalillo County Treasurer's Office records, by Jerry Padilla Jr., who was convicted of running a large-scale drug operation in the 1990s and whose brothers ran the Los Padillas street gang.
Padilla has not been implicated in the latest investigation.
Muñoz unloaded the shipments at the body shop and coordinated deliveries to buyers through texts with Villalobos or Estopellan. Muñoz would then ship the drugs to buyers in New Mexico, Oklahoma City, Atlanta and other cities.
Typically, the money would be sent back to Estopellan by couriers using the same hidden vehicle compartments used to transport the drugs into the U.S.
One of Muñoz's couriers, Leonardo Martinez Olivas, who was also in the country illegally, told the court he was coerced into helping the network by threats the cartel would murder his wife and son.
On the radar
Federal agents in the U.S. had been tracking Villalobos since he escaped their net during the 2010 gunrunning investigation.
Federal agents search the hidden compartment of a truck for bundles of marijuana while serving search warrants on a Juárez Cartel operation based in Bernalillo County's South Valley. (Federal Court Exhibit)
Villalobos managed to survive the long war between the Juárez Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel that killed tens of thousands of people in northern Mexico, and stayed in the drug business.
In October 2014, a federal agent arranged to purchase 10 kilograms of cocaine from Villalobos' organization. Agents seized 5 kilograms but not Villalobos.
Then federal agents began tapping the phones of people working for Villalobos through servers in the U.S.
The text traffic provided agents with real-time information about when and where drugs and money were going.
By the time agents were ready to sweep up the network in October 2015, several of the main players, including Muñoz, had fled back to Mexico. Villalobos never left Mexico.
The 10-month investigation led to the seizure of 6 kilograms of cocaine, almost 3 kilograms of methamphetamine, a half-pound of heroin and 1,000 pounds of marijuana. Federal agents also seized more than $260,000.
Twelve people were arrested here in New Mexico. Ten pleaded guilty. Two were convicted at trial in Las Cruces last October.
And eight men – the heart of this one network – are fugitives, believed to be in Mexico.
The general expectation of U.S. law enforcement is that this group was again smuggling drugs into New Mexico before the ink was dry on the guilty pleas of their associates.
In control
The Juárez Cartel became firmly established in the early 1990s when Amado Carrillo Fuentes, "The Lord of the Skies," took over the corridor.
Money seized during the investigation of Villalobos' drug smuggling operation. (Federal Court Exhibit)
He established close ties with Colombian cocaine kingpins and persuaded them to send their product into the United States through Mexico.
Those deals brought Carrillo Fuentes a tremendous amount of influence on all the major drug cartels in Mexico and billions of dollars in profits.
He died in the late 1990s, and his brother, Vicente, took over the Juárez Cartel. He had an uneasy alliance with leaders of other cartels, including Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Guzmán had already been involved in a series of "wars" with other cartels before he and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes started killing each other's relatives. That led to thousands of killings throughout northern Mexico reaching its height in mid-2010.
Will Glaspy is the special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's El Paso division, which oversees a region from the Big Bend area in Texas to the Arizona-New Mexico line.
"As far as we're concerned, the Juárez Cartel has always maintained control" of the Juárez corridor, he said in an interview, "I don't know if they 'won,' but they gained control of it, and for other reasons, probably, violence was reduced."
But the Sinaloa Cartel also uses the Juárez corridor, as does the Sinaloa Cartel's most recent rival, the New Generation Jalisco Cartel. U.S. law enforcement is still trying to figure out what arrangements have led to this crazy quilt of rivals using the same bridges to El Paso to transport drugs.
Guzmán has been extradited to the United States and faces federal charges of heading an organized criminal enterprise.
Vicente Carrillo Fuentes is in a federal maximum security prison in Mexico.
The United States also has asked for Carrillo Fuentes to be extradited, but that has hit legal roadblocks in Mexico.
The Juárez Cartel is now run by two men most Americans have never heard of: Carlos Quintana Quintana and Julio Olivas Torres.
Yet it continues to affect the U.S. drug market by supplying drugs to Denver, Chicago, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Georgia and Kansas City through New Mexico and West Texas.
It has long been one of the bigger exporters of Colombian cocaine into the United States. And according to DEA intelligence reports, the Juárez Cartel has significantly increased the cultivation of opium poppies in the state of Chihuahua.
Video
As a bonus to our readers, Journal investigative reporter Mike Gallagher provides additional background and insights about the Juárez cartel in a video interview.
Also:
https://www.abqjournal.com/cartels
https://www.abqjournal.com/cartels?utm_source=abqjournal.com&utm_medium=related+posts+-+crime&utm_campaign=related+posts
https://www.abqjournal.com/947788/heroin-from-the-sierra-madre-to-manhattan.html
END
Monday, February 13, 2017
AZMEX SPECIAL2 12-2-17
AZMEX SPECIAL2 12 FEB 2017
Arizona law enforcement cautious of Trump order to enforce immigration laws
STORY BY EMILY L. MAHONEY / CRONKITE NEWS |
February 11, 2017 @ 9:12 am
http://ktar.com/story/1456317/arizona-law-enforcement-cautious-trump-order-enforce-immigration-laws/
PHOENIX – Citing limited resources and Arizona's controversial history, many local and state law enforcement officials said they have no plans to amp up their immigration enforcement in light of a presidential executive order calling for them to crackdown on illegal immigration.
The executive order, which President Donald Trump signed January 25, in addition to pushing for the immediate planning and construction of a border wall, directed the federal government to "empower State and local law enforcement agencies across the country to perform the functions of an immigration officer."
Officials from law enforcement agencies across the state were cautious not to elaborate on specific effects of the executive order until the federal government provides more detailed instructions.
"As far as I'm concerned it's business as usual unless some specific order or mandate comes up that changes the law that makes us immigration officers, and I think we're a long way from that and that's something we don't need," said Santa Cruz Sheriff Tony Estrada. Santa Cruz County and encompasses 50 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, including Nogales.
Estrada said his department cooperates with Customs and Border Protection officers and Border Patrol agents, who have a significant presence in his county. He said his deputies call Border Patrol if they have "reason to believe that an individual is in the country illegally." But he said he simply doesn't have the resources to enforce immigration law.
Captain Arnold Freeman, a spokesman for the Apache Junction Police Department, said he has similar concerns. Apache Junction's police force has about 15 officers, comparable size to many smaller cities and towns in the state, but it has the additional challenge of policing a population that doubles in winter months because of visiting "snowbirds."
"With our current population and what we've got we couldn't take on any additional duties," Freeman said. "Unfunded mandates kill local budgets, whether it's coming from the county, the state or the feds, if it's an unfunded mandate it will literally take away from our local services. If they want us to do it, somebody needs to pay for it."
Part of Trump's order calls for a renewed push for 287(g) agreements, which are a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act that allow the Department of Homeland Security to deputize local and state law enforcement officers to act as federal immigration agents to investigate, apprehend and detain undocumented immigrants.
Seven Arizona law enforcement agencies had active 287(g) agreements in May 2008, according to ICE data, that allowed some departments to check immigration status in their jails and others to have immigration enforcement authority while patrolling the streets. Many of these agreements expired or were scaled back during the Obama Administration, leaving only four agencies in Arizona with active agreements today, according to ICE.
These agencies – Arizona Department of Corrections, Mesa Police, Pinal County Sheriff's Office and Yavapai County Sheriff's Office – only have authorization to check immigration status in their detention centers.
Three of the four departments with active agreements said they don't anticipate expanding their 287(g) capabilities to allow immigration enforcement on the streets.
A spokesperson with the Mesa Police Department declined to be interviewed on the subject and did not respond to emailed follow-up questions by the time of publication.
Chief Deputy Matt Thomas of the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said his county benefits from the 287(g) program in the jail.
"Rather than cycle people through our jail that are in the country illegally and have committed crimes we cycle them through and once we finish state charges, they are handed off to ICE to face the immigration charges," he said. "Obviously there's a lot of emotion around this particular topic but we're really just trying, at the local level, to do our best for our citizens without infringing on people's rights."
The agencies that previously had active 287(g) agreements – Phoenix Police, the Department of Public Safety and Pima County Sheriff's Office – said they do not have plans to resurrect those agreements after Trump's order.
"We want crime victims and witnesses to feel comfortable reporting to police regardless of their residential status," said Sgt. Jonathan Howard, a spokesman for Phoenix Police, in an emailed statement.
Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton went a step further on Thursday, following large protests opposing the deportation of a Mesa mother who had lived in the U.S. for decades. She was detained Wednesday and deported to Mexico Thursday afternoon.
"Rather than tracking down violent criminal and drug dealers, ICE is spending its energy deporting a woman with two American children who has lived here for more than two decades and poses a threat to nobody," Stanton said in a statement Thursday. "It is outrageous, and precisely why as long as I am mayor, Phoenix will not participate in the 287(g) program or enter into any other agreements with the Trump Administration that aim to advance his mass deportation plans."
According to a Pew Research Center report released Thursday, the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area is home to approximately 250,000 undocumented immigrants.
Alessandra Soler, the executive director of the ACLU Arizona, said Trump's executive order evokes flashbacks to SB 1070, Arizona's controversial immigration law.
"It was a dark and awful time for our state and what was so sad about this executive order was it really reminded me of that period in our history in 2010," she said. "People were afraid and there was so much outrage."
Police officers at the Law Enforcement Recognition Banquet in Mesa hosted by the East Valley Christian Leaders Alliance. (Photo by Saeed Alshamisi/Cronkite News)
The state law went beyond the 287(g) agreements, which limited the enforcement to criminal task forces and excluded undocumented immigrants who hadn't committed a crime from being affected. Being in the U.S. illegally is a civil offense.
But SB 1070, even after portions of the law were struck down by the Supreme Court, requires law enforcement making routine traffic stops or arrests to attempt to determine someone's immigration status if the officer has "reasonable suspicion" that they are undocumented.
The law was embraced by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, which also dedicated extensive resources to 287(g) agreements under the previous sheriff, Joe Arpaio. In October 2016, he was charged with contempt of court after a judge said he intentionally defied orders to stop racially profiling Latinos during traffic stops and workplace raids conducted in search of undocumented employees.
"Arpaio for us, he's the worst case scenario," Soler said. "So when you start entering into these types of agreements it opens the door to racial profiling and other illegal practices, like prolonging the time of an arrest just to check someone's status."
Arpaio's successor, Paul Penzone, said in a statement his office would no longer conduct workplace raids, saying the practice was "an exaggeration of law enforcement resources and tactics." Court monitors have been placed in the sheriff's office to ensure their practices follow the rules of the court orders Arpaio incurred.
Mark Casey, spokesman for the sheriff's office said the process for referring undocumented immigrants who are arrested to ICE is "very complex and very cumbersome and very slow which is a bad thing because it requires us and everyone to deliberate how we're going about dealing with human beings."
Penzone's campaign centered around improving community relations, and Casey said he aims to correct previous wrongs.
"Our predecessor here engaged in wholesale racial profiling in the name of immigration enforcement the was taken to court and was found to be acting in a manner that is outside the law," Casey said. "No matter where this ends up, we're going to follow the law and court orders and treat people humanely and with respect no matter what their culture or citizenship status."
Doris Marie Provine, a professor at Arizona State University's School of Justice and Social Inquiry, is an expert in immigration enforcement on the state and local levels and published a book in 2016 on the subject, titled "Policing Immigrants: Local Law Enforcement on the Front Lines."
She said Trump's executive order likely won't have far-reaching effects in Arizona.
"I think these orders are incomplete and they're more limited than the administration is really letting on," she said. "The other reason is because, frankly, we never got that far away from the policies he's trying to reinstate in the first place. … Police departments never really did give those programs up. Still, over half of the people that they report to immigration authorities have no criminal history at all."
Provine also said the order could create potential liability issues for Arizona law enforcement, which is why many departments don't have an official policy on immigration enforcement.
"We found that over half of places didn't have either written or an unwritten policy, and since 98 percent have an anti-racial profiling policy… Why would they not have a policy about how to handle the cases where there might be an immigration issue? And the reason is because it's a total hot potato," she said. "They don't want to write anything down."
END
Arizona law enforcement cautious of Trump order to enforce immigration laws
STORY BY EMILY L. MAHONEY / CRONKITE NEWS |
February 11, 2017 @ 9:12 am
http://ktar.com/story/1456317/arizona-law-enforcement-cautious-trump-order-enforce-immigration-laws/
PHOENIX – Citing limited resources and Arizona's controversial history, many local and state law enforcement officials said they have no plans to amp up their immigration enforcement in light of a presidential executive order calling for them to crackdown on illegal immigration.
The executive order, which President Donald Trump signed January 25, in addition to pushing for the immediate planning and construction of a border wall, directed the federal government to "empower State and local law enforcement agencies across the country to perform the functions of an immigration officer."
Officials from law enforcement agencies across the state were cautious not to elaborate on specific effects of the executive order until the federal government provides more detailed instructions.
"As far as I'm concerned it's business as usual unless some specific order or mandate comes up that changes the law that makes us immigration officers, and I think we're a long way from that and that's something we don't need," said Santa Cruz Sheriff Tony Estrada. Santa Cruz County and encompasses 50 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, including Nogales.
Estrada said his department cooperates with Customs and Border Protection officers and Border Patrol agents, who have a significant presence in his county. He said his deputies call Border Patrol if they have "reason to believe that an individual is in the country illegally." But he said he simply doesn't have the resources to enforce immigration law.
Captain Arnold Freeman, a spokesman for the Apache Junction Police Department, said he has similar concerns. Apache Junction's police force has about 15 officers, comparable size to many smaller cities and towns in the state, but it has the additional challenge of policing a population that doubles in winter months because of visiting "snowbirds."
"With our current population and what we've got we couldn't take on any additional duties," Freeman said. "Unfunded mandates kill local budgets, whether it's coming from the county, the state or the feds, if it's an unfunded mandate it will literally take away from our local services. If they want us to do it, somebody needs to pay for it."
Part of Trump's order calls for a renewed push for 287(g) agreements, which are a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act that allow the Department of Homeland Security to deputize local and state law enforcement officers to act as federal immigration agents to investigate, apprehend and detain undocumented immigrants.
Seven Arizona law enforcement agencies had active 287(g) agreements in May 2008, according to ICE data, that allowed some departments to check immigration status in their jails and others to have immigration enforcement authority while patrolling the streets. Many of these agreements expired or were scaled back during the Obama Administration, leaving only four agencies in Arizona with active agreements today, according to ICE.
These agencies – Arizona Department of Corrections, Mesa Police, Pinal County Sheriff's Office and Yavapai County Sheriff's Office – only have authorization to check immigration status in their detention centers.
Three of the four departments with active agreements said they don't anticipate expanding their 287(g) capabilities to allow immigration enforcement on the streets.
A spokesperson with the Mesa Police Department declined to be interviewed on the subject and did not respond to emailed follow-up questions by the time of publication.
Chief Deputy Matt Thomas of the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said his county benefits from the 287(g) program in the jail.
"Rather than cycle people through our jail that are in the country illegally and have committed crimes we cycle them through and once we finish state charges, they are handed off to ICE to face the immigration charges," he said. "Obviously there's a lot of emotion around this particular topic but we're really just trying, at the local level, to do our best for our citizens without infringing on people's rights."
The agencies that previously had active 287(g) agreements – Phoenix Police, the Department of Public Safety and Pima County Sheriff's Office – said they do not have plans to resurrect those agreements after Trump's order.
"We want crime victims and witnesses to feel comfortable reporting to police regardless of their residential status," said Sgt. Jonathan Howard, a spokesman for Phoenix Police, in an emailed statement.
Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton went a step further on Thursday, following large protests opposing the deportation of a Mesa mother who had lived in the U.S. for decades. She was detained Wednesday and deported to Mexico Thursday afternoon.
"Rather than tracking down violent criminal and drug dealers, ICE is spending its energy deporting a woman with two American children who has lived here for more than two decades and poses a threat to nobody," Stanton said in a statement Thursday. "It is outrageous, and precisely why as long as I am mayor, Phoenix will not participate in the 287(g) program or enter into any other agreements with the Trump Administration that aim to advance his mass deportation plans."
According to a Pew Research Center report released Thursday, the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area is home to approximately 250,000 undocumented immigrants.
Alessandra Soler, the executive director of the ACLU Arizona, said Trump's executive order evokes flashbacks to SB 1070, Arizona's controversial immigration law.
"It was a dark and awful time for our state and what was so sad about this executive order was it really reminded me of that period in our history in 2010," she said. "People were afraid and there was so much outrage."
Police officers at the Law Enforcement Recognition Banquet in Mesa hosted by the East Valley Christian Leaders Alliance. (Photo by Saeed Alshamisi/Cronkite News)
The state law went beyond the 287(g) agreements, which limited the enforcement to criminal task forces and excluded undocumented immigrants who hadn't committed a crime from being affected. Being in the U.S. illegally is a civil offense.
But SB 1070, even after portions of the law were struck down by the Supreme Court, requires law enforcement making routine traffic stops or arrests to attempt to determine someone's immigration status if the officer has "reasonable suspicion" that they are undocumented.
The law was embraced by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, which also dedicated extensive resources to 287(g) agreements under the previous sheriff, Joe Arpaio. In October 2016, he was charged with contempt of court after a judge said he intentionally defied orders to stop racially profiling Latinos during traffic stops and workplace raids conducted in search of undocumented employees.
"Arpaio for us, he's the worst case scenario," Soler said. "So when you start entering into these types of agreements it opens the door to racial profiling and other illegal practices, like prolonging the time of an arrest just to check someone's status."
Arpaio's successor, Paul Penzone, said in a statement his office would no longer conduct workplace raids, saying the practice was "an exaggeration of law enforcement resources and tactics." Court monitors have been placed in the sheriff's office to ensure their practices follow the rules of the court orders Arpaio incurred.
Mark Casey, spokesman for the sheriff's office said the process for referring undocumented immigrants who are arrested to ICE is "very complex and very cumbersome and very slow which is a bad thing because it requires us and everyone to deliberate how we're going about dealing with human beings."
Penzone's campaign centered around improving community relations, and Casey said he aims to correct previous wrongs.
"Our predecessor here engaged in wholesale racial profiling in the name of immigration enforcement the was taken to court and was found to be acting in a manner that is outside the law," Casey said. "No matter where this ends up, we're going to follow the law and court orders and treat people humanely and with respect no matter what their culture or citizenship status."
Doris Marie Provine, a professor at Arizona State University's School of Justice and Social Inquiry, is an expert in immigration enforcement on the state and local levels and published a book in 2016 on the subject, titled "Policing Immigrants: Local Law Enforcement on the Front Lines."
She said Trump's executive order likely won't have far-reaching effects in Arizona.
"I think these orders are incomplete and they're more limited than the administration is really letting on," she said. "The other reason is because, frankly, we never got that far away from the policies he's trying to reinstate in the first place. … Police departments never really did give those programs up. Still, over half of the people that they report to immigration authorities have no criminal history at all."
Provine also said the order could create potential liability issues for Arizona law enforcement, which is why many departments don't have an official policy on immigration enforcement.
"We found that over half of places didn't have either written or an unwritten policy, and since 98 percent have an anti-racial profiling policy… Why would they not have a policy about how to handle the cases where there might be an immigration issue? And the reason is because it's a total hot potato," she said. "They don't want to write anything down."
END
AZMEX SPECIAL 12-2-17
AZMEX SPECIAL 12 FEB 2017
Note: interesting on how we can get the stats from Mexico, and many Mexican cities, but not Phoenix or Tucson.
Gracias
Killings in Mexico climbed to new highs in 2016, and the violent rhythm may only intensify
Christopher Woody, provided by
Published 8:16 pm, Wednesday, February 8, 2017
http://www.lmtonline.com/news/us-world/border-mexico/article/2016-was-Mexico-s-deadliest-year-under-President-10919397.php
Mexico recorded the deadliest year of President Enrique Peña Nieto's four-year-old sexenio, or six-year term, in 2016.
The country saw a 22% increase in homicide cases, rising from 17,034 in 2015 to 20,789 in 2016.
Individual homicide cases can contain more than one victim, and data released by the government showed that the number of homicide victims jumped 22.8%, from 18,673 in 2015 to 22,932 last year.
Government data released by the interior ministry each year since 1997 indicates that Peña Nieto's first four years have had 71,808 homicide cases opened, putting his term on pace to exceed those of his two predecessors.
Vicente Fox saw 74,389 homicide cases opened during his term from 2001 to 2006, while Felipe Calderon, who deployed troops around Mexico in the move that is credited with kicking off Mexico's cartel wars, recorded 104,794 homicide cases during his term from 2007 to 2012.
Recent reports by a Mexican nonprofit agency suggest that Mexican state governments, possibly at the direction of the federal government, have been manipulating the number of high- and low-level crimes they report. Such legerdemain may mean that the true number of violent deaths in Mexico is much higher.
Mexico annual homicide cases by sexenio 2000 2016Mexican government data/Christopher Woody
Whatever the true number of homicides, government statistics indicate that they haven't accumulated at a consistent rate over the last decade.
As noted by University of San Diego professor David Shirk, Calderon's term was marked by a significant increase around 2008 and 2009 (2007 had the lowest number of homicides in Mexican history, Shirk said), but the killing slacked off during the first two years of Peña Nieto's term.
"Peña Nieto came into office promising that within the first six months, we would see significant declines in violence," Shirk said during a recent presentation at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC.
"That was extremely ambitious, but we did see a significant year-over-year decrease over the course of 2013 and 2014. And then, starting in 2015 and 2016, the numbers started to creep back up," he added.
While the Mexican government's reported homicide rate was 17 per 100,000 people in 2016, recent data indicates that the country is middle of the pack in Latin America, where countries like Venezuela, El Salvador, and Honduras well exceed it in deadly violence.
That 17 homicides per 100,000 people rate is Mexico's fourth-highest recorded in the last 20 years, behind 1997's rate and the peak years of 2010-2012.
The declines seen during Peña Nieto's first two years as president have been reversed by increases in his third and fourth years in office.
Homicide cases in Mexico 2013 2016Mexican government data/Christopher Woody
Both 2015 and 2016 were marked by spikes in homicides during the latter half of the year.
In terms of individual homicide victims, data for which the Mexican government did not start releasing until 2014, 2016 also registered the highest monthly totals.
The 2,098 homicides recorded in July 2016 were the most recorded up until that point and were topped by each of the two following months.
The numbers of victims declined in each of the last three months of 2016, but never dropped below 2,000 a month.
While the overall homicides numbers have risen during Peña Nieto's term in office, the increases have not been spread evenly around the country.
Deadly violence was "highly concentrated in certain parts of the country, particularly in the northwest during the worst of the violence," in the latter half of Calderon's term, Shirk said.
Killings were also concentrated in areas along "the Gulf coast, and, to some extent, the eastern border region," he added.
With the recent spikes, Mexico's violence again appears to be concentrating in specific areas — that is, zones that are strategically valuable to the criminal organizations largely driving the killing.
"In 2016, the violence again was highly concentrated, and the top 5 cities with the most violence accounted for 15% of all homicides over the course of the last year," Shirk said.
Among those cities were Tijuana, where the Sinaloa cartel is clashing with rivals over control of one of the most lucrative drug-trafficking routes in the world; Acapulco, a Pacific coast port city centrally located along smuggling routes and near an extensive opium-cultivating region; and Ciudad Juarez, which is also a valuable trafficking corridor where the Sinaloa cartel is competing for control.
However, while that concentration "sounds like a lot," Shirk said, "during the peak of the violence in 2011, the top 5 cities accounted for about a third of all homicides in Mexico. So if you saw a big drop in Ciudad Juarez, it had a national-level effect."
Overall, 22 of Mexico's 32 states saw increases in the number of homicide victims between 2015 and 2016.
Percentage increase in homicides in Mexico 2015 2016Mexican government data/Christopher Woody
Some of those states, like Guerrero (where Acapulco is located), Sinaloa, and Mexico City, usually have elevated homicide numbers — the latter because its population is so much larger than that of other states.
That said, many of those states saw increases, some of them double-digit percentages. Spikes were more pronounced elsewhere, particularly in states valuable to drug traffickers.
Chihuahua, home to Ciudad Juarez, saw a 27.7% increase in homicides. Baja California, where Tijuana is located, had a 38.7% increase. In Veracruz, a Gulf coast state strategically located for traffickers, saw a 147.5% jump, and Colima, where the Sinaloa cartel is fighting for supremacy, killings jumped 221%.
To the extent that organized crime is responsible for the increase in killing, two trends appear to be in play: the ongoing fragmentation of criminal groups, particularly in the southwest, and the likely more significant emergence of the powerful Jalisco New Generation cartel.
"The one thing that I think you could identify as causing much of the increase in violence in the last year or two is the reaccommodation and repositioning of the New Generation cartel," Shirk told Business Insider in an interview earlier this month.
"That to me is the one piece of the puzzle that we can look to and say, 'Wow, New Generation is clearly expanding, asserting itself in lots of ways,' [like] kidnapping ['El Chapo' Guzmán's] children," he added. "It's doing stuff that clearly constitutes an aggressive expansion of influence and presumably capability and control."
Feeding the violence are a number of socioeconomic and political factors. Many in Mexico remain mired in poverty with few job opportunities outside of criminal enterprise. Impunity also remains widespread, with only about 1% of crimes in Mexico being punished.
Shirk noted to Business Insider that the recent increase in deadly violence hadn't manifested itself with the suddenness seen during the Calderon administration. But, for several reasons, this increase may not soon relent.
Amid the slow growth of an economy weakened by a prolonged slump in oil prices, the Mexican federal government has decreased its spending on security since 2015, according to analysis of government outlays by Reuters.
"If the government doesn't have any money for security measures ... it's going to be terrible. (The number of murders) is probably going to get to the worst level it's ever been," Leo Silva, who led the Drug Enforcement Administration office in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey until 2015, told Reuters in January.
"If those programs are cut out, you've got all these at-risk youth, and they're just going to rot in the street," Silva said. Such spending cuts may also hamsting efforts to expand and strengthen the criminal-justice apparatus and to rein in impunity.
If increases in homicides continue apace, "2017 could be a year of records," Mexican security analyst Alejandro Hope wrote at the end of January.
"To keep the rhythm of growth of 2016, the annual total of homicides will be higher than 30,00o" in 2017, Hope said, citing statistics gathered by the Mexican national statistics agency, which are typically higher than those released by the Mexican interior ministry.
"If the rhythm of expansion reduces to half of that experienced last year," Hope added, homicides "would exceed the absolute total of 2011, the most violent year in the recent history of Mexico."
end
Note: interesting on how we can get the stats from Mexico, and many Mexican cities, but not Phoenix or Tucson.
Gracias
Killings in Mexico climbed to new highs in 2016, and the violent rhythm may only intensify
Christopher Woody, provided by
Published 8:16 pm, Wednesday, February 8, 2017
http://www.lmtonline.com/news/us-world/border-mexico/article/2016-was-Mexico-s-deadliest-year-under-President-10919397.php
Mexico recorded the deadliest year of President Enrique Peña Nieto's four-year-old sexenio, or six-year term, in 2016.
The country saw a 22% increase in homicide cases, rising from 17,034 in 2015 to 20,789 in 2016.
Individual homicide cases can contain more than one victim, and data released by the government showed that the number of homicide victims jumped 22.8%, from 18,673 in 2015 to 22,932 last year.
Government data released by the interior ministry each year since 1997 indicates that Peña Nieto's first four years have had 71,808 homicide cases opened, putting his term on pace to exceed those of his two predecessors.
Vicente Fox saw 74,389 homicide cases opened during his term from 2001 to 2006, while Felipe Calderon, who deployed troops around Mexico in the move that is credited with kicking off Mexico's cartel wars, recorded 104,794 homicide cases during his term from 2007 to 2012.
Recent reports by a Mexican nonprofit agency suggest that Mexican state governments, possibly at the direction of the federal government, have been manipulating the number of high- and low-level crimes they report. Such legerdemain may mean that the true number of violent deaths in Mexico is much higher.
Mexico annual homicide cases by sexenio 2000 2016Mexican government data/Christopher Woody
Whatever the true number of homicides, government statistics indicate that they haven't accumulated at a consistent rate over the last decade.
As noted by University of San Diego professor David Shirk, Calderon's term was marked by a significant increase around 2008 and 2009 (2007 had the lowest number of homicides in Mexican history, Shirk said), but the killing slacked off during the first two years of Peña Nieto's term.
"Peña Nieto came into office promising that within the first six months, we would see significant declines in violence," Shirk said during a recent presentation at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC.
"That was extremely ambitious, but we did see a significant year-over-year decrease over the course of 2013 and 2014. And then, starting in 2015 and 2016, the numbers started to creep back up," he added.
While the Mexican government's reported homicide rate was 17 per 100,000 people in 2016, recent data indicates that the country is middle of the pack in Latin America, where countries like Venezuela, El Salvador, and Honduras well exceed it in deadly violence.
That 17 homicides per 100,000 people rate is Mexico's fourth-highest recorded in the last 20 years, behind 1997's rate and the peak years of 2010-2012.
The declines seen during Peña Nieto's first two years as president have been reversed by increases in his third and fourth years in office.
Homicide cases in Mexico 2013 2016Mexican government data/Christopher Woody
Both 2015 and 2016 were marked by spikes in homicides during the latter half of the year.
In terms of individual homicide victims, data for which the Mexican government did not start releasing until 2014, 2016 also registered the highest monthly totals.
The 2,098 homicides recorded in July 2016 were the most recorded up until that point and were topped by each of the two following months.
The numbers of victims declined in each of the last three months of 2016, but never dropped below 2,000 a month.
While the overall homicides numbers have risen during Peña Nieto's term in office, the increases have not been spread evenly around the country.
Deadly violence was "highly concentrated in certain parts of the country, particularly in the northwest during the worst of the violence," in the latter half of Calderon's term, Shirk said.
Killings were also concentrated in areas along "the Gulf coast, and, to some extent, the eastern border region," he added.
With the recent spikes, Mexico's violence again appears to be concentrating in specific areas — that is, zones that are strategically valuable to the criminal organizations largely driving the killing.
"In 2016, the violence again was highly concentrated, and the top 5 cities with the most violence accounted for 15% of all homicides over the course of the last year," Shirk said.
Among those cities were Tijuana, where the Sinaloa cartel is clashing with rivals over control of one of the most lucrative drug-trafficking routes in the world; Acapulco, a Pacific coast port city centrally located along smuggling routes and near an extensive opium-cultivating region; and Ciudad Juarez, which is also a valuable trafficking corridor where the Sinaloa cartel is competing for control.
However, while that concentration "sounds like a lot," Shirk said, "during the peak of the violence in 2011, the top 5 cities accounted for about a third of all homicides in Mexico. So if you saw a big drop in Ciudad Juarez, it had a national-level effect."
Overall, 22 of Mexico's 32 states saw increases in the number of homicide victims between 2015 and 2016.
Percentage increase in homicides in Mexico 2015 2016Mexican government data/Christopher Woody
Some of those states, like Guerrero (where Acapulco is located), Sinaloa, and Mexico City, usually have elevated homicide numbers — the latter because its population is so much larger than that of other states.
That said, many of those states saw increases, some of them double-digit percentages. Spikes were more pronounced elsewhere, particularly in states valuable to drug traffickers.
Chihuahua, home to Ciudad Juarez, saw a 27.7% increase in homicides. Baja California, where Tijuana is located, had a 38.7% increase. In Veracruz, a Gulf coast state strategically located for traffickers, saw a 147.5% jump, and Colima, where the Sinaloa cartel is fighting for supremacy, killings jumped 221%.
To the extent that organized crime is responsible for the increase in killing, two trends appear to be in play: the ongoing fragmentation of criminal groups, particularly in the southwest, and the likely more significant emergence of the powerful Jalisco New Generation cartel.
"The one thing that I think you could identify as causing much of the increase in violence in the last year or two is the reaccommodation and repositioning of the New Generation cartel," Shirk told Business Insider in an interview earlier this month.
"That to me is the one piece of the puzzle that we can look to and say, 'Wow, New Generation is clearly expanding, asserting itself in lots of ways,' [like] kidnapping ['El Chapo' Guzmán's] children," he added. "It's doing stuff that clearly constitutes an aggressive expansion of influence and presumably capability and control."
Feeding the violence are a number of socioeconomic and political factors. Many in Mexico remain mired in poverty with few job opportunities outside of criminal enterprise. Impunity also remains widespread, with only about 1% of crimes in Mexico being punished.
Shirk noted to Business Insider that the recent increase in deadly violence hadn't manifested itself with the suddenness seen during the Calderon administration. But, for several reasons, this increase may not soon relent.
Amid the slow growth of an economy weakened by a prolonged slump in oil prices, the Mexican federal government has decreased its spending on security since 2015, according to analysis of government outlays by Reuters.
"If the government doesn't have any money for security measures ... it's going to be terrible. (The number of murders) is probably going to get to the worst level it's ever been," Leo Silva, who led the Drug Enforcement Administration office in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey until 2015, told Reuters in January.
"If those programs are cut out, you've got all these at-risk youth, and they're just going to rot in the street," Silva said. Such spending cuts may also hamsting efforts to expand and strengthen the criminal-justice apparatus and to rein in impunity.
If increases in homicides continue apace, "2017 could be a year of records," Mexican security analyst Alejandro Hope wrote at the end of January.
"To keep the rhythm of growth of 2016, the annual total of homicides will be higher than 30,00o" in 2017, Hope said, citing statistics gathered by the Mexican national statistics agency, which are typically higher than those released by the Mexican interior ministry.
"If the rhythm of expansion reduces to half of that experienced last year," Hope added, homicides "would exceed the absolute total of 2011, the most violent year in the recent history of Mexico."
end
Friday, February 10, 2017
AZMEX UPDATE 10-2-17
AZMEX UPDATE 10 FEB 2017
Note: chart at link:
Phoenix area home to 250K undocumented immigrants, No. 10 in nation
KTAR.COM | February 10, 2017 @ 7:09 am
http://ktar.com/story/1455005/phoenix-area-home-to-250k-undocumented-immigrants/
PHOENIX — Phoenix is among the top metropolitan areas in the nation that undocumented immigrants call home, according to a Pew Research Center study.
Approximately 250,000 unauthorized immigrants live in the Phoenix area, accounting for 2.2 percent of all undocumented immigrants nationwide. The area was ranked No. 10 in the nation, according to estimates based off of the 2014 Census Bureau.
The unauthorized immigrant population is highly concentrated, Pew Research Center found. More than 6.8 million, or 61 percent, of the 11.1 million undocumented immigrants nationwide reside in 20 metropolitan areas, a quarter of which are in California.
The five metropolitan areas that house the most undocumented immigrants — New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas and Miami — dwarfed Phoenix in comparison. The New York metro area housed more than 1.1 million undocumented immigrants, while Los Angeles came in second with about 1 million.
The metropolitan areas that housed the fewest number of undocumented immigrants included Orlando, Florida; and Austin, Texas; which each were home to around 100,000 immigrants.
The center's analysis also found that 65 percent of the nation's legal immigrants, including naturalized citizens and non-citizens, also live in those metropolitan areas.
Preventing illegal immigration and deporting those who are here illegally has been a major priority for the new administration under President Donald Trump.
Trump signed an executive order to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border in January. The wall is set to be funded by taxpayers and could cost upwards of $20 billion, according to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security internal report.
But lawmakers have already taken steps to begin the removal of illegal immigrants.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials arrested and later deported Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, a mother of two who has lived in Arizona since she was 14, on Thursday after a routine immigration check-in.
Trump also signed an executive order last month to halt travelers and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. The order has been challenged in court several times, most recently Thursday, when federal appellate judges ruled that a block ban must remain.
END
Note: as cartel organization continues to degrade. But the drugs keep coming.
A LEADER OF THE BELTRAN LEYVA GROUP TAKEN DOWN IN THE JOINT OPERATION OF THE FEDERAL FORCES, IN TEPIC, NAYARIT
10 Feb 2017
Http://www.nuevodia.com.mx/Nota.aspx?p=23508
La Jornada
Mexico City
The Security Cabinet reported that on Thursday, alleged offender Juan Francisco Patrón Sánchez, aka H2 or El Chico, head of the Beltrán Leyva criminal group in Nayarit and the south of Sinaloa, was killed in a clash with elements of the Armed Forces in The city of Nayarit.
During the joint operation between elements of the Navy and the Mexican Army, made in the colony Lindavista, Tepic, Nayarit, neighbors of the Rio Missisippi street, pointed out that dozens of federal troops are stationed at the corners and from a helicopter gunship opened fire on a house, where Patron Sanchez was allegedly shot down .
On September 30, 2011, authorities indicated that among the dead of a confrontation could be found the body of Patron Sanchez, days later that information was denied.
In that context, in less than seven hours, five men were killed last Wednesday in coordinated actions in four municipalities of Nayarit by the criminal organization La Limpia Mazatleca, which did the executions and left messages with their victims.
Police authorities reported that the former was murdered in the main square of the municipality of Ruiz; The second was beheaded at the entrance of Santiago Ixcuintla; Two more were shot dead on the malecon of Tuxpan, and at night another one was killed in Tecuala.
In Nayarit there was not a violent event of this magnitude nearly five years ago. The latest happened on February 28, 2012, when state police killed Alberto Marquez Rosales, El 06, who was responsible for murdering police and extorting fishermen from Agua Milpa and Pasaje México.
Today in a confrontation between criminals and Federal Forces Juan Francisco N. was shot down, with seven more accomplices.
End
Note: chart at link:
Phoenix area home to 250K undocumented immigrants, No. 10 in nation
KTAR.COM | February 10, 2017 @ 7:09 am
http://ktar.com/story/1455005/phoenix-area-home-to-250k-undocumented-immigrants/
PHOENIX — Phoenix is among the top metropolitan areas in the nation that undocumented immigrants call home, according to a Pew Research Center study.
Approximately 250,000 unauthorized immigrants live in the Phoenix area, accounting for 2.2 percent of all undocumented immigrants nationwide. The area was ranked No. 10 in the nation, according to estimates based off of the 2014 Census Bureau.
The unauthorized immigrant population is highly concentrated, Pew Research Center found. More than 6.8 million, or 61 percent, of the 11.1 million undocumented immigrants nationwide reside in 20 metropolitan areas, a quarter of which are in California.
The five metropolitan areas that house the most undocumented immigrants — New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas and Miami — dwarfed Phoenix in comparison. The New York metro area housed more than 1.1 million undocumented immigrants, while Los Angeles came in second with about 1 million.
The metropolitan areas that housed the fewest number of undocumented immigrants included Orlando, Florida; and Austin, Texas; which each were home to around 100,000 immigrants.
The center's analysis also found that 65 percent of the nation's legal immigrants, including naturalized citizens and non-citizens, also live in those metropolitan areas.
Preventing illegal immigration and deporting those who are here illegally has been a major priority for the new administration under President Donald Trump.
Trump signed an executive order to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border in January. The wall is set to be funded by taxpayers and could cost upwards of $20 billion, according to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security internal report.
But lawmakers have already taken steps to begin the removal of illegal immigrants.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials arrested and later deported Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, a mother of two who has lived in Arizona since she was 14, on Thursday after a routine immigration check-in.
Trump also signed an executive order last month to halt travelers and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. The order has been challenged in court several times, most recently Thursday, when federal appellate judges ruled that a block ban must remain.
END
Note: as cartel organization continues to degrade. But the drugs keep coming.
A LEADER OF THE BELTRAN LEYVA GROUP TAKEN DOWN IN THE JOINT OPERATION OF THE FEDERAL FORCES, IN TEPIC, NAYARIT
10 Feb 2017
Http://www.nuevodia.com.mx/Nota.aspx?p=23508
La Jornada
Mexico City
The Security Cabinet reported that on Thursday, alleged offender Juan Francisco Patrón Sánchez, aka H2 or El Chico, head of the Beltrán Leyva criminal group in Nayarit and the south of Sinaloa, was killed in a clash with elements of the Armed Forces in The city of Nayarit.
During the joint operation between elements of the Navy and the Mexican Army, made in the colony Lindavista, Tepic, Nayarit, neighbors of the Rio Missisippi street, pointed out that dozens of federal troops are stationed at the corners and from a helicopter gunship opened fire on a house, where Patron Sanchez was allegedly shot down .
On September 30, 2011, authorities indicated that among the dead of a confrontation could be found the body of Patron Sanchez, days later that information was denied.
In that context, in less than seven hours, five men were killed last Wednesday in coordinated actions in four municipalities of Nayarit by the criminal organization La Limpia Mazatleca, which did the executions and left messages with their victims.
Police authorities reported that the former was murdered in the main square of the municipality of Ruiz; The second was beheaded at the entrance of Santiago Ixcuintla; Two more were shot dead on the malecon of Tuxpan, and at night another one was killed in Tecuala.
In Nayarit there was not a violent event of this magnitude nearly five years ago. The latest happened on February 28, 2012, when state police killed Alberto Marquez Rosales, El 06, who was responsible for murdering police and extorting fishermen from Agua Milpa and Pasaje México.
Today in a confrontation between criminals and Federal Forces Juan Francisco N. was shot down, with seven more accomplices.
End
AZMEX I3 10-2-17
AZMEX I3 10 FEB 2017
Note: Her husband not there? Illegal also?
Previously reported in Mexican media: "we work in advocacy. We're active." For illegal immigrant cause.
EFE is a Spanish news org.
thx
DEPORTATION
Deported woman back in Mexico complains: I felt like 'Chapo' Guzman
Published February 10, 2017 FoxNews.com
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/02/10/deported-woman-back-in-mexico-complains-felt-like-chapo-guzman.html
The family of Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos and her attorney, Ray Ybarra Maldonado, on Thursday Feb. 9, 2017.
The undocumented woman who was deported to Mexico Thursday amid protests in downtown Phoenix said she felt like a criminal when she was rushed out of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices in a caravan of unmarked cars.
She complained she felt as if she were Mexican drug trafficker Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
"I felt like a criminal," Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos told Mexican reporters in Nogales, where she is planning to settle for now.
Garcia, 35, said it was a "bittersweet experience" to see the support of her community back in Phoenix – she was moved by it but also was painfully aware that deportation was a reality.
She said she saw more undocumented immigrants at the ICE facility.
"There will be many more deported," said Garcia, who arrived in the United States more than 20 years ago.
She said that for now he is considering staying in the border town of Nogales to be close to her teenage children, who will continue studying in Arizona.
Garcia spoke from the Kino Border Initiative, a soup kitchen and shelter where many migrants go after being deported. Her U.S.-citizen children were by her side, their first time in Mexico.
"I'm doing this for my kids so they have a better life. I will keep fighting so they can keep studying in their home country," she told the Associated Press.
"We're a united family. We're a family who goes to church on Sundays; we work in advocacy. We're active."
Garcia also said she didn't regret her decision to report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement despite knowing she'd risk getting arrested.
"I was very scared when I went to ICE, but I was not going to hide; I did not want that," she told EFE.
Garcia de Rayos said she's not sure what comes next for her but that her parents, who live in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato, are headed to Nogales to reunite with her.
Her attorney, Ray Ybarra Maldonado, said there aren't many legal avenues for her to come back to the U.S.
"Getting back to the U.S., legally, there's really no route for her. There's no avenue for her. There's no application she can submit. There's no waiver she can submit," Maldonado said. "I mean, this is a prime example of our failed immigration system."
AP and EFE contributed to this report.
END
Also:
Note: following story on Sta. Lupita from cronkite news, a leftist media training op out of ASU.
http://www.pinalcentral.com/arizona_news/mesa-mother-at-center-of-immigration-protests-deported/article_91848af9-8cc8-5664-b8f5-1416a32a5f75.html
http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/deportation-marks-new-reality-under-trump/article_cd0ab3b2-ef26-11e6-adce-67195755bcd5.html
Note: again, no changes to immigration laws, just being enforced for first time in over eight years.
Guadalupe García: 'El trabajar me hizo criminal'
Detalles Publicado el Viernes 10 de Febrero de 2017,
Escrito por Marco A. Flores
http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/notas.php?nota=86176
end
Note: Her husband not there? Illegal also?
Previously reported in Mexican media: "we work in advocacy. We're active." For illegal immigrant cause.
EFE is a Spanish news org.
thx
DEPORTATION
Deported woman back in Mexico complains: I felt like 'Chapo' Guzman
Published February 10, 2017 FoxNews.com
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/02/10/deported-woman-back-in-mexico-complains-felt-like-chapo-guzman.html
The family of Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos and her attorney, Ray Ybarra Maldonado, on Thursday Feb. 9, 2017.
The undocumented woman who was deported to Mexico Thursday amid protests in downtown Phoenix said she felt like a criminal when she was rushed out of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices in a caravan of unmarked cars.
She complained she felt as if she were Mexican drug trafficker Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
"I felt like a criminal," Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos told Mexican reporters in Nogales, where she is planning to settle for now.
Garcia, 35, said it was a "bittersweet experience" to see the support of her community back in Phoenix – she was moved by it but also was painfully aware that deportation was a reality.
She said she saw more undocumented immigrants at the ICE facility.
"There will be many more deported," said Garcia, who arrived in the United States more than 20 years ago.
She said that for now he is considering staying in the border town of Nogales to be close to her teenage children, who will continue studying in Arizona.
Garcia spoke from the Kino Border Initiative, a soup kitchen and shelter where many migrants go after being deported. Her U.S.-citizen children were by her side, their first time in Mexico.
"I'm doing this for my kids so they have a better life. I will keep fighting so they can keep studying in their home country," she told the Associated Press.
"We're a united family. We're a family who goes to church on Sundays; we work in advocacy. We're active."
Garcia also said she didn't regret her decision to report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement despite knowing she'd risk getting arrested.
"I was very scared when I went to ICE, but I was not going to hide; I did not want that," she told EFE.
Garcia de Rayos said she's not sure what comes next for her but that her parents, who live in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato, are headed to Nogales to reunite with her.
Her attorney, Ray Ybarra Maldonado, said there aren't many legal avenues for her to come back to the U.S.
"Getting back to the U.S., legally, there's really no route for her. There's no avenue for her. There's no application she can submit. There's no waiver she can submit," Maldonado said. "I mean, this is a prime example of our failed immigration system."
AP and EFE contributed to this report.
END
Also:
Note: following story on Sta. Lupita from cronkite news, a leftist media training op out of ASU.
http://www.pinalcentral.com/arizona_news/mesa-mother-at-center-of-immigration-protests-deported/article_91848af9-8cc8-5664-b8f5-1416a32a5f75.html
http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/deportation-marks-new-reality-under-trump/article_cd0ab3b2-ef26-11e6-adce-67195755bcd5.html
Note: again, no changes to immigration laws, just being enforced for first time in over eight years.
Guadalupe García: 'El trabajar me hizo criminal'
Detalles Publicado el Viernes 10 de Febrero de 2017,
Escrito por Marco A. Flores
http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/notas.php?nota=86176
end
Thursday, February 9, 2017
AZMEX I3 UPDATE2 9-2-17
AZMEX I3 UPDATE2 9-2-17
Comment: Not to forget the phx mayor is a bloomberg buddy.
Judging by many of the comments, not all of his subjects agree.
""As long as I am mayor," there is no opposition party in phx.
From Comrade Ruben: "strikes fear in the immigrant community"
That is the illegal immigrant community, no problem for legal immigrants.
ID theft ok? When it is your ID used?
thx
Phoenix mayor calls deportation of undocumented woman a 'travesty'
KTAR.COM | February 9, 2017 @ 12:00 pm
http://ktar.com/story/1454589/phoenix-mayor-calls-deportation-undocumented-woman-travesty/
PHOENIX — Mayor Greg Stanton said the deportation of an undocumented woman who was detained overnight in Phoenix is a "travesty" and waste of energy.
"Rather than tracking down violent criminals and drug dealers, [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] is spending its energy deporting a woman with two American children, who has lived here for more than two decades and poses a threat to nobody," he said in a statement.
Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, who entered the United States when she was 14, was deported Thursday after reporting for a required check-in with immigration officials.
She was convicted of felony identity theft following a 2008 raid on her workplace by then-Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. She was allowed to remain in the country, so long as she checked in with immigration officials, under an executive order signed by then-President Barack Obama.
However, an executive order signed by President Donald Trump makes all illegal immigrants convicted of a crime eligible for deportation.
U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said Trump's policy strikes fear in the immigrant community.
"Ms. Rayos' case proves that, in Trump's America, you could be praying in church one moment, and targeted for deportation the next," he said.
Stanton has opposed Trump's deportation plans and reiterated that stance in his Thursday statement.
"As long as I am mayor, Phoenix will not participate in the 287(g) program or enter into any other agreements with the Trump Administration that aim to advance his mass deportation plans," he said.
end
Note: from El Diario, Nogales, Son.
BTW, there have been no modifications or changes to immigration statutes.
thx
Guadalupe García Rayos, first "express" deportee
Details Posted on Thursday February 09, 2017,
Written by Editor / El Diario
Http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/notas.php?nota=86142
Nogales
The first case of an express deportation to Nogales, Sonora and that originates by the recent modifications in the migratory statutes of the United States before the arrival to the power of Donald Trump, occurred this Thursday morning to the detriment of a migrant that during ten Years complied with the law.
Ms. Guadalupe García was arrested in Mesa, Arizona, on Wednesday at about 1:00 p.m. and arrived in Nogales, and was deported at 9:42 am to the Dennis DeConcini POE where she was received by Migration and consular services.
During her stay in the Kino Migrant Initiative dining room, she reported that she presented herself every year to a check-up at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities, but due to recent changes in the Immigration laws, became a priority to be deported, stripping her of her old rights.
She recalled that in 2008 she was in her workplace and was arrested in a raid by officers of the Maricopa County Sheriff led by Joe Arpaio, although she entered a process to continue in the United States and obtained provisional work permits, I had to go to check-ups every year.
"Even in this last check-up, there was again my felony that Arpaio gave me, for them I am criminal, the simple fact that I worked there, for them I am a criminal and , because I am there for our children, to give them the best, "she said.
Ms. Garcia renewed her permission to work legally in the United States every year, thanks to a migration plan promoted by the former federal administration headed by former President Barack Obama and called "The United Family," she recalled, but with the Trump's arrival to power, those benefits disappeared.
"Now those who have a criminal record, we are priority to be deported," adds the victim.
Guadalupe leaves two children in Phoenix, a 16-year-old girl and a 14-year-old girl, who stayed with their aunts and other relatives. I worked at a spa company.
She was arrested around 13:00 hours on Wednesday and as Guadalupe had actively participated in pro-migrant public demonstrations, immediately upon her arrest, colleagues and friends organized a mobilization, the association called "Puente" quickly manifested itself.
END
From Nogales International, Nogales, AZ
Deportation marks 'new reality' under Trump
By Kendal Blust
Nogales International Feb 9, 2017 Updated 17 min ago (0)
http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/deportation-marks-new-reality-under-trump/article_cd0ab3b2-ef26-11e6-adce-67195755bcd5.html
Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos waits at the Kino Border Initiative comedor in Nogales, Sonora after being deported Thursday morning.
Less than 24 hours after being taken into custody during a routine check-in with immigration officers Wednesday in Phoenix, Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos was deported to Nogales, Sonora around 10 a.m. Thursday.
As one of the first people deported under President Donald Trump's new get-tough immigration policy, her case has sparked protests and drawn international media attention.
"I had permission. I was working, everything was OK," Garcia said during an interview Thursday morning at a soup kitchen for deported migrants in Nogales, Sonora. "But since they have changed the laws, I am a priority according to the president. To them I'm a 'criminal.'"
Garcia, 36, said she came to the United States without proper documentation in 1996 when she was 14. In 2008 she was arrested at her Mesa, Ariz. home after one of then-Sheriff Joe Arpaio's workplace raids at Golfland Entertainment Center revealed that she was using a false Social Security number. She pleaded guilty to felony charges of criminal impersonation and spent six months in detention.
Though she was initially ordered to self-deport in 2013, she said, she appealed and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) gave her an order of supervision, requiring her to check in yearly, and later, every six months.
Though she was "a little afraid" of what would happen at her six-month check in on Wednesday, Garcia said, she decided to go anyway rather than hide. When she reported to the Phoenix ICE office she was taken into custody.
"It doesn't seem just to me. I was working for my children, to give them a better life," she said, tearing up as she spoke about her 16-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter – both U.S. citizens, she said – with whom she had not spoken since being detained.
"I want to stay in the United States for my children, a future for them, hope for them," she said. "More than anything I want them to keep going to school there. That's what I've been fighting for year after year, for them. And if I can, I will continue fighting more."
Garcia's deportation is an example of the "new reality for migrants in the United States," said Ricardo Santana Velazquez, Mexico's consul in Nogales. "This case should stand as an example to motivate the migrant community to take precautions and to have a plan of action to confront this type of situation."
Trump campaigned on a promise to reform the U.S. immigration system and secure the border with Mexico, a country he accused of sending its "most unwanted people into the United States," including drug dealers and rapists. Speaking about his deportation plans in November during a post-election interview with "60 Minutes," Trump said: "What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, where a lot of these people, probably two million, it could be even three million, we are getting them out of our country or we are going to incarcerate…"
Then after taking office, he issued an executive order on Jan. 25 making it his administration's policy to "ensure that aliens ordered removed from the United States are promptly removed." In establishing priorities for removal, Trump's order named not just undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of a criminal offense or have charges pending against them, but those who hadn't been officially charged but "have committed acts that constitute a chargeable criminal offense."
An aggressive U.S. deportation policy has ramifications for Nogales, Sonora, which, in addition to serving as a drop-off point for deported Mexicans, has been overwhelmed by Haitian and Central American migrants in recent years. Cuauhtemoc "Temo" Galindo, the city's mayor, told reporters at a press conference on Jan. 31 that his government is not prepared to handle the mass deportations promised by Trump.
Future uncertain
When Garcia was taken into custody on Wednesday, it immediately sparked protests from family and supporters concerned that she would be quickly deported under the new policy. Seven protestors were reportedly arrested that night for blocking federal vehicles at the ICE office in Phoenix, including the one carrying Garcia.
Early Thursday morning, she was taken from Phoenix and dropped off in Nogales, Sonora, according to Santana Velazquez. She will be temporarily housed at a local shelter and the consulate will help her to return to her family in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato within the next few days, he said.
Garcia, however, said she would wait to discuss legal options with her lawyer before making any decisions. In the meantime, she hopes people hear about what happened to her, she said, "so that this doesn't happen to anyone else."
end
Comment: Not to forget the phx mayor is a bloomberg buddy.
Judging by many of the comments, not all of his subjects agree.
""As long as I am mayor," there is no opposition party in phx.
From Comrade Ruben: "strikes fear in the immigrant community"
That is the illegal immigrant community, no problem for legal immigrants.
ID theft ok? When it is your ID used?
thx
Phoenix mayor calls deportation of undocumented woman a 'travesty'
KTAR.COM | February 9, 2017 @ 12:00 pm
http://ktar.com/story/1454589/phoenix-mayor-calls-deportation-undocumented-woman-travesty/
PHOENIX — Mayor Greg Stanton said the deportation of an undocumented woman who was detained overnight in Phoenix is a "travesty" and waste of energy.
"Rather than tracking down violent criminals and drug dealers, [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] is spending its energy deporting a woman with two American children, who has lived here for more than two decades and poses a threat to nobody," he said in a statement.
Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, who entered the United States when she was 14, was deported Thursday after reporting for a required check-in with immigration officials.
She was convicted of felony identity theft following a 2008 raid on her workplace by then-Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. She was allowed to remain in the country, so long as she checked in with immigration officials, under an executive order signed by then-President Barack Obama.
However, an executive order signed by President Donald Trump makes all illegal immigrants convicted of a crime eligible for deportation.
U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said Trump's policy strikes fear in the immigrant community.
"Ms. Rayos' case proves that, in Trump's America, you could be praying in church one moment, and targeted for deportation the next," he said.
Stanton has opposed Trump's deportation plans and reiterated that stance in his Thursday statement.
"As long as I am mayor, Phoenix will not participate in the 287(g) program or enter into any other agreements with the Trump Administration that aim to advance his mass deportation plans," he said.
end
Note: from El Diario, Nogales, Son.
BTW, there have been no modifications or changes to immigration statutes.
thx
Guadalupe García Rayos, first "express" deportee
Details Posted on Thursday February 09, 2017,
Written by Editor / El Diario
Http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/notas.php?nota=86142
Nogales
The first case of an express deportation to Nogales, Sonora and that originates by the recent modifications in the migratory statutes of the United States before the arrival to the power of Donald Trump, occurred this Thursday morning to the detriment of a migrant that during ten Years complied with the law.
Ms. Guadalupe García was arrested in Mesa, Arizona, on Wednesday at about 1:00 p.m. and arrived in Nogales, and was deported at 9:42 am to the Dennis DeConcini POE where she was received by Migration and consular services.
During her stay in the Kino Migrant Initiative dining room, she reported that she presented herself every year to a check-up at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities, but due to recent changes in the Immigration laws, became a priority to be deported, stripping her of her old rights.
She recalled that in 2008 she was in her workplace and was arrested in a raid by officers of the Maricopa County Sheriff led by Joe Arpaio, although she entered a process to continue in the United States and obtained provisional work permits, I had to go to check-ups every year.
"Even in this last check-up, there was again my felony that Arpaio gave me, for them I am criminal, the simple fact that I worked there, for them I am a criminal and , because I am there for our children, to give them the best, "she said.
Ms. Garcia renewed her permission to work legally in the United States every year, thanks to a migration plan promoted by the former federal administration headed by former President Barack Obama and called "The United Family," she recalled, but with the Trump's arrival to power, those benefits disappeared.
"Now those who have a criminal record, we are priority to be deported," adds the victim.
Guadalupe leaves two children in Phoenix, a 16-year-old girl and a 14-year-old girl, who stayed with their aunts and other relatives. I worked at a spa company.
She was arrested around 13:00 hours on Wednesday and as Guadalupe had actively participated in pro-migrant public demonstrations, immediately upon her arrest, colleagues and friends organized a mobilization, the association called "Puente" quickly manifested itself.
END
From Nogales International, Nogales, AZ
Deportation marks 'new reality' under Trump
By Kendal Blust
Nogales International Feb 9, 2017 Updated 17 min ago (0)
http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/deportation-marks-new-reality-under-trump/article_cd0ab3b2-ef26-11e6-adce-67195755bcd5.html
Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos waits at the Kino Border Initiative comedor in Nogales, Sonora after being deported Thursday morning.
Less than 24 hours after being taken into custody during a routine check-in with immigration officers Wednesday in Phoenix, Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos was deported to Nogales, Sonora around 10 a.m. Thursday.
As one of the first people deported under President Donald Trump's new get-tough immigration policy, her case has sparked protests and drawn international media attention.
"I had permission. I was working, everything was OK," Garcia said during an interview Thursday morning at a soup kitchen for deported migrants in Nogales, Sonora. "But since they have changed the laws, I am a priority according to the president. To them I'm a 'criminal.'"
Garcia, 36, said she came to the United States without proper documentation in 1996 when she was 14. In 2008 she was arrested at her Mesa, Ariz. home after one of then-Sheriff Joe Arpaio's workplace raids at Golfland Entertainment Center revealed that she was using a false Social Security number. She pleaded guilty to felony charges of criminal impersonation and spent six months in detention.
Though she was initially ordered to self-deport in 2013, she said, she appealed and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) gave her an order of supervision, requiring her to check in yearly, and later, every six months.
Though she was "a little afraid" of what would happen at her six-month check in on Wednesday, Garcia said, she decided to go anyway rather than hide. When she reported to the Phoenix ICE office she was taken into custody.
"It doesn't seem just to me. I was working for my children, to give them a better life," she said, tearing up as she spoke about her 16-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter – both U.S. citizens, she said – with whom she had not spoken since being detained.
"I want to stay in the United States for my children, a future for them, hope for them," she said. "More than anything I want them to keep going to school there. That's what I've been fighting for year after year, for them. And if I can, I will continue fighting more."
Garcia's deportation is an example of the "new reality for migrants in the United States," said Ricardo Santana Velazquez, Mexico's consul in Nogales. "This case should stand as an example to motivate the migrant community to take precautions and to have a plan of action to confront this type of situation."
Trump campaigned on a promise to reform the U.S. immigration system and secure the border with Mexico, a country he accused of sending its "most unwanted people into the United States," including drug dealers and rapists. Speaking about his deportation plans in November during a post-election interview with "60 Minutes," Trump said: "What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, where a lot of these people, probably two million, it could be even three million, we are getting them out of our country or we are going to incarcerate…"
Then after taking office, he issued an executive order on Jan. 25 making it his administration's policy to "ensure that aliens ordered removed from the United States are promptly removed." In establishing priorities for removal, Trump's order named not just undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of a criminal offense or have charges pending against them, but those who hadn't been officially charged but "have committed acts that constitute a chargeable criminal offense."
An aggressive U.S. deportation policy has ramifications for Nogales, Sonora, which, in addition to serving as a drop-off point for deported Mexicans, has been overwhelmed by Haitian and Central American migrants in recent years. Cuauhtemoc "Temo" Galindo, the city's mayor, told reporters at a press conference on Jan. 31 that his government is not prepared to handle the mass deportations promised by Trump.
Future uncertain
When Garcia was taken into custody on Wednesday, it immediately sparked protests from family and supporters concerned that she would be quickly deported under the new policy. Seven protestors were reportedly arrested that night for blocking federal vehicles at the ICE office in Phoenix, including the one carrying Garcia.
Early Thursday morning, she was taken from Phoenix and dropped off in Nogales, Sonora, according to Santana Velazquez. She will be temporarily housed at a local shelter and the consulate will help her to return to her family in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato within the next few days, he said.
Garcia, however, said she would wait to discuss legal options with her lawyer before making any decisions. In the meantime, she hopes people hear about what happened to her, she said, "so that this doesn't happen to anyone else."
end
AZMEX I3 UPDATE 9-2-17
AZMEX I3 UPDATE 9 FEB 2017
Undocumented immigrant deported after ICE detainment in Arizona
BY KTAR.COM | February 9, 2017 @ 11:25 am
http://ktar.com/story/1454413/undocumented-immigrant-deported-after-ice-detainment-in-arizona/
PHOENIX — An undocumented immigrant detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement overnight in Arizona was deported Thursday, an attorney said. "Guadalupe (Garcia de Rayos) is in Nogales, Sonora. She's been deported," Carlos Garcia with Puente Arizona said during a call with media.
De Rayos was taken into custody on Wednesday during a biannual check-in. Her detention sparked a large protest outside of ICE headquarters.
Garcia blamed de Rayos' deportation on an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that made all illegal immigrants, regardless of the crime, the focus of deportation efforts.
"ICE has done what President Trump wanted to, which is deport and separate our families," he said.
De Rayos was found guilty of felony identity theft following a 2008 raid on her workplace by then-Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. She was allowed to remain in the country, so long as she checked in with immigration officials, under an executive order signed by then-President Barack Obama.
De Rayos has been in the country illegally since she was 14 and had been considered a low priority for deportation by the Obama Administration. She is the mother of two children, both teenagers.
In an earlier Thursday press release, ICE said de Rayos was designated for deportation in 2013.
"[De Rayos] is currently being detained by ICE based on a removal order issued by the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review which became final in May 2013," the statement read in part.
About seven people were arrested during the protest, according to Phoenix police.
Garcia pointed to the incident as a direct reflection of the severity of Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration. "We all knew something could be different this time with the new administration," Garcia said in a Wednesday interview with the Los Angeles Times. "She went in with the lawyer and didn't come out. That was pretty much all there was."
When asked by media about de Rayos' case, Press Secretary Sean Spicer declined to address the issue and said reporters should ask ICE.
END
Note: Could be interesting to learn the affiliations of the 7 arrested.
thx
Phoenix mom deported; police release names of 7 arrested while protesting her deportation
Demonstrators protest mother's deportation
Posted: Feb 08, 2017 9:39 PM MST
Updated: Feb 09, 2017 11:44 AM MST
By Amanda Goodman
http://www.azfamily.com/story/34462260/7-people-arrested-during-deportation-protest-at-ice-facility-in-phoenix?autostart=true
Top: Walter Staton, Manuel, Beth King (not pictured) Bottom: Angeles Maldonado, Maria Castro, Kenneth Chapman, Luke Black (Source: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office)
Police arrested several people during a protest at the regional ICE office in central Phoenix. (Source: 3TV/CBS 5)
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -
Puente Arizona said Thursday that the Valley mother at the center of a protest outside the ICE office in Phoenix has been deported. At the same time, seven people arrested while protesting her deportation are awaiting their initial court appearances.
Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos is among the first impacted by the president's efforts to crack down on illegal immigrants.
Family and supporters were at the regional ICE office in Phoenix on Wednesday, waiting to learn the fate of this mother, wife and friend. As more time passes, they grow more worried.
[WATCH: Demonstrators protest mother's deportation]
Just before noon, Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos walked into the regional ICE office for a check-in, but instead of a regular check-in, she was issued an order of deportation.
"She's always there for me. No one should ever have to go through this," said her 16-year-old son, Angel.
Her family and supporters say this is a direct result of President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigrants.
[RELATED: Several arrested as deportation fear prompts Phoenix protest]
[WATCH: 7 arrested during protest outside ICE office]
Garcia de Rayos was arrested in one of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio's workplace raids in 2008. She was convicted of a felony and served six months in ICE detention before being released. They thought her case was cleared -- until Wednesday.
As day turned to night, a prayer vigil was held to help calm everyone's uncertainty about what Garcia de Rayos' future holds.
"At this point, I think the more time that passes, it's a little bit scarier and we have more anxiety around it, but we're not going anywhere until we find out what's happening," Francisca Porchas, Puente organizer.
Garcia de Rayos could either be deported immediately or be allowed to fight her case from a detention center.
Late Wednesday night, protesters blocked a van that Garcia de Rayos was in to keep it from leaving for about an hour.
Phoenix police officers responded to the scene at around 9:30 p.m. They arrested approximately seven people, according to a police spokesman.
Police released their names late Thursday morning.
Walter Staton, 35
Manuel Saldana, 31
Beth King, 57
Angeles Maldonado,36
Maria Castro, 23
Kenneth Chapman, 41
Luke Black, 37
They are expected to make their initial court appearances later Thursday.
END
More: http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/02/video-stand-off-ice-office-phoenix-protesters-block-deportation-illegal-alien/
Undocumented immigrant deported after ICE detainment in Arizona
BY KTAR.COM | February 9, 2017 @ 11:25 am
http://ktar.com/story/1454413/undocumented-immigrant-deported-after-ice-detainment-in-arizona/
PHOENIX — An undocumented immigrant detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement overnight in Arizona was deported Thursday, an attorney said. "Guadalupe (Garcia de Rayos) is in Nogales, Sonora. She's been deported," Carlos Garcia with Puente Arizona said during a call with media.
De Rayos was taken into custody on Wednesday during a biannual check-in. Her detention sparked a large protest outside of ICE headquarters.
Garcia blamed de Rayos' deportation on an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that made all illegal immigrants, regardless of the crime, the focus of deportation efforts.
"ICE has done what President Trump wanted to, which is deport and separate our families," he said.
De Rayos was found guilty of felony identity theft following a 2008 raid on her workplace by then-Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. She was allowed to remain in the country, so long as she checked in with immigration officials, under an executive order signed by then-President Barack Obama.
De Rayos has been in the country illegally since she was 14 and had been considered a low priority for deportation by the Obama Administration. She is the mother of two children, both teenagers.
In an earlier Thursday press release, ICE said de Rayos was designated for deportation in 2013.
"[De Rayos] is currently being detained by ICE based on a removal order issued by the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review which became final in May 2013," the statement read in part.
About seven people were arrested during the protest, according to Phoenix police.
Garcia pointed to the incident as a direct reflection of the severity of Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration. "We all knew something could be different this time with the new administration," Garcia said in a Wednesday interview with the Los Angeles Times. "She went in with the lawyer and didn't come out. That was pretty much all there was."
When asked by media about de Rayos' case, Press Secretary Sean Spicer declined to address the issue and said reporters should ask ICE.
END
Note: Could be interesting to learn the affiliations of the 7 arrested.
thx
Phoenix mom deported; police release names of 7 arrested while protesting her deportation
Demonstrators protest mother's deportation
Posted: Feb 08, 2017 9:39 PM MST
Updated: Feb 09, 2017 11:44 AM MST
By Amanda Goodman
http://www.azfamily.com/story/34462260/7-people-arrested-during-deportation-protest-at-ice-facility-in-phoenix?autostart=true
Top: Walter Staton, Manuel, Beth King (not pictured) Bottom: Angeles Maldonado, Maria Castro, Kenneth Chapman, Luke Black (Source: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office)
Police arrested several people during a protest at the regional ICE office in central Phoenix. (Source: 3TV/CBS 5)
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -
Puente Arizona said Thursday that the Valley mother at the center of a protest outside the ICE office in Phoenix has been deported. At the same time, seven people arrested while protesting her deportation are awaiting their initial court appearances.
Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos is among the first impacted by the president's efforts to crack down on illegal immigrants.
Family and supporters were at the regional ICE office in Phoenix on Wednesday, waiting to learn the fate of this mother, wife and friend. As more time passes, they grow more worried.
[WATCH: Demonstrators protest mother's deportation]
Just before noon, Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos walked into the regional ICE office for a check-in, but instead of a regular check-in, she was issued an order of deportation.
"She's always there for me. No one should ever have to go through this," said her 16-year-old son, Angel.
Her family and supporters say this is a direct result of President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigrants.
[RELATED: Several arrested as deportation fear prompts Phoenix protest]
[WATCH: 7 arrested during protest outside ICE office]
Garcia de Rayos was arrested in one of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio's workplace raids in 2008. She was convicted of a felony and served six months in ICE detention before being released. They thought her case was cleared -- until Wednesday.
As day turned to night, a prayer vigil was held to help calm everyone's uncertainty about what Garcia de Rayos' future holds.
"At this point, I think the more time that passes, it's a little bit scarier and we have more anxiety around it, but we're not going anywhere until we find out what's happening," Francisca Porchas, Puente organizer.
Garcia de Rayos could either be deported immediately or be allowed to fight her case from a detention center.
Late Wednesday night, protesters blocked a van that Garcia de Rayos was in to keep it from leaving for about an hour.
Phoenix police officers responded to the scene at around 9:30 p.m. They arrested approximately seven people, according to a police spokesman.
Police released their names late Thursday morning.
Walter Staton, 35
Manuel Saldana, 31
Beth King, 57
Angeles Maldonado,36
Maria Castro, 23
Kenneth Chapman, 41
Luke Black, 37
They are expected to make their initial court appearances later Thursday.
END
More: http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/02/video-stand-off-ice-office-phoenix-protesters-block-deportation-illegal-alien/
AZMEX I3 9-2-17
AZMEX I3 9 FEB 2017
Comment: She is a illegal immigrant. Convicted for using someone else's SSN. But as her husband said, she had to for the job. So it must be ok? Leads to the question: What if it was your SSN? Video at link:
No info yet if she is still detained or has been deported.
More spin: "Garcia de Rayos' husband does not have legal status " Meaning . . . .
BTW, it took a long time for the Phoenix Pd. to make an appearance. The bloomberg buddy mayor wants Phx to be a sanctuary city.
thx
Seven arrested at deportation protest for Valley mom in Phoenix
abc15.com staff
4:40 PM, Feb 8, 2017
27 mins ago
http://www.abc15.com/news/state/valley-mother-faces-deportation-after-immigration-check-in
Protesters Rally Outside Of ICE Headquarters
PHOENIX - Protests erupted in Phoenix Wednesday, when a Valley woman was ordered to be deported after showing up for a routine immigration check.
Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos was arrested in 2009 for impersonation as part of a Maricopa County Sheriff's Office raid. She was charged with a felony, but her attorneys say that raid was later ruled unconstitutional.
Court documents obtained by ABC15 also show Garcia had previously been ordered to self-deport.
Garcia reported for a regular check-in with Immigration Customs Enforcement Wednesday morning, but never came out.
According to Garcia's attorney, she is now facing deportation as part of President Trump's executive order focused on removing undocumented immigrants with a history of arrests.
Garcia's husband and teenage children joined protesters outside ICE headquarters, as the family now faces being separated.
A 14 year old girl cries in father's arms - her mom won't be coming home - now w/ ICE under President orders #abc15 pic.twitter.com/04MhI18lQ3
— MaryEllen Resendez (@maryellenabc15) February 8, 2017
"I'd ask him 'why he would want to take her from me?' She hasn't done anything wrong and I'm not scared of him," said Garcia's daughter, Jaqueline, of what she would ask President Trump if she could.
About 7 arrests made without force. Everyone remains safe so far. Hoping for continued cooperation and no more criminal conduct.
— Phoenix Police (@phoenixpolice) February 9, 2017
Seven people were arrested Wednesday night as protesters blocked an ICE van that was believed to be transporting Garcia. The van moved back into the garage after several hours of people holding onto the tires and blocking the vehicle with their bodies. No injuries were reported.
Some protesters at the ICE building have chosen criminal conduct instead of free speech.
— Phoenix Police (@phoenixpolice) February 9, 2017
Garcia's attorneys say they are trying to buy the Valley mother more time in the U.S., but no one knows for sure how that will work. Garcia is among, if not the first, Arizonan to be deported under the President's new executive order.
"It's extremely disappointing to walk in with a beautiful loving and caring human being like Guadalupe and not be able to walk out with her," said Ray Ybarra Maldonado, Garcia's attorney. "She is stronger than I am, when she heard she was going to be taken in, she took a deep breath asked what the next step that would happen and she went into custody."
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released the following statement in regards to Garcia's case:
Ms. Garcia De Rayos is currently being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) based on a removal order issued by the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review which became final in May 2013. Relevant databases indicate Ms. Garcia De Rayos has a prior felony conviction dating from March 2009 for criminal impersonation.
Stay with ABC15 and ABC15.com for the latest on this developing situation.
Note: more photo's
Protesters ring ICE in Phoenix: Could woman in custody be the first deported because of Trump's orders?
Daniel González and Johana Restrepo ,
The Republic | azcentral.com
Published 8:45 p.m. MT Feb. 8, 2017 | Updated 2 hours ago
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/immigration/2017/02/08/could-woman-first-arizonan-deported-because-trump-orders/97637928/
For four years, federal immigration authorities have given Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos a pass to remain in the U.S. rather than deport her back to Mexico.
That changed Wednesday, when Garcia de Rayos went to check in as usual at the central Phoenix offices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Instead of being released, she was taken into custody, while her husband, two children — both U.S.-born citizens — and a group of supporters watched in tears.
And by Wednesday night, her case had become the latest epicenter of the national debate over immigration enforcement. Before midnight, after hours of protests outside the ICE office on North Central Avenue, federal vehicles left the facility, possibly with Garcia de Rayos inside.
Her family and supporters fear Garcia de Rayos, 36, may be deported quickly to Mexico. That, they say, would make her among the first casualties under a shift in policy by ICE under President Donald Trump.
Earlier, protesters had gathered at the ICE office in an attempt to block federal vehicles from leaving the grounds. Inside the gates were buses and vans used to transport people in ICE custody to detention centers, or to the border for deportation.
After 9 p.m., police officers amassed on the south side of the facility as protesters continued to block access, chanting "Justice!" and "Power to the people, no one is illegal!
The effort was organized by Puente Arizona, the group known for blocking roads surrounding a Donald Trump campaign rally in Fountain Hills last year.
The crowd Wednesday peaked at an estimated 200 people, with the number of protesters dwindling after police arrived.
The scene remained peaceful past 10 p.m., as most in the crowd complied with officers' requests to stay off the street. Phoenix police, wearing helmets, stood by.
But as some protesters continued to block vehicles, several people were taken into custody. Phoenix police Sgt. Jonathan Howard said seven people were arrested, all peacefully.
Puente director Carlos Garcia said protesters would stay as long as Garcia de Rayos' family was there.
Asked how long she planned to stay, the woman's daughter, Jaqueline Rayos Garcia, 14, had a simple answer: "Until I get my mom back."
Garcia de Rayos' husband does not have legal status and did not want to be identified. "Basically we are Americans," he said. "This is our country. We were brought here when we were teens."
Protesters at ICE office near downtown Phoenix
46 Photos
Protesters at ICE office near downtown Phoenix
In one of his first acts in office, Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 25 instructing immigration authorities to ramp up deportations, in part by broadening priorities to include undocumented immigrants convicted of any crimes or charged with any crimes.
Trump's order is a major departure from former President Barack Obama's deportation priorities, which focused primarily on deporting undocumented immigrants convicted of serious crimes and allowing those with long ties to the U.S. and no significant criminal background to remain in the U.S.
In a statement, ICE officials said only that Garcia de Rayos was detained because of her prior conviction, which stems from a work-site raid almost a decade ago. They did not comment on whether they diverged from the previous check-in specifically because of the recent executive order.
"It has 100 percent to do with the executive order," said Ray Ybarra-Maldonado, a Phoenix immigration lawyer who is representing Garcia de Rayos. "Her case is no different than the last time she checked in. The facts are 100 percent the same. The only difference is the priorities for removal have now changed."
Jessica Vaughan, policy studies director at the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that supports Trump's immigration crackdowns, agreed.
"It could very well be," Vaughan said. "There were so many people exempt under the Obama administration's deportation scheme so it would not surprise me at all" that ICE taking Garcia de Rayos into custody is a result of "the scrapping of that scheme in favor of the Trump administration's executive order, which returns a great deal of discretion to ICE officers in the field to enforce immigration laws as they were written."
In anticipation that Garcia de Rayos could be taken into custody, the group Puente Arizona organized a rally outside the Central Avenue offices of ICE earlier Wednesday. The group advocates to stop the deportation of undocumented immigrants.
As Garcia de Rayos walked through the gates towards the building, some supporters yelled out in Spanish, "We are with you, Lupe." Others locked arms, while some cars honked as they drove past.
"To me this is an injustice," said Jacqueline, standing outside the building in tears. "She has always worked to give us a good education."
Vaughan, however, disagreed that it would be unfair to deport Garcia de Rayos. She said Garcia de Rayos should not be allowed to stay if she has no legal standing to remain despite her long ties.
"I don't think it would be unfair, no," she said. "I think it would be unfair to all the other legal immigrants who qualify and go through the process, if she were allowed to stay, just because she has been here a long time."
Carlos Garcia, the director of Puente, said he believes ICE's decision to take Garcia de Rayos into custody will spur other undocumented immigrants who have been released on supervision to stop checking in and go into hiding.
"Most definitely, if what's going to happen when people come to check in they are going to get detained and deported, I would assume most people will not turn themselves in," he said.
Response from ICE
In a written statement, ICE officials confirmed that Garcia de Rayos had been detained based on a prior removal order issued by the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review. The order became final in May 2013.
"Relevant databases indicate Ms. Garcia De Rayos has a prior felony conviction dating from March 2009 for criminal impersonation," the statement said.
The felony conviction stems from a 2008 work-site raid by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, said attorney Ybarra-Maldonado.
He said Garcia de Rayos came to the U.S. in 1996, when she was 14.
In 2008, she was swept up in one of former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's work-site raids targeting the Golfland Entertainment Centers, which operated several water and mini-golf parks. Sheriff's deputies seized hundreds of employment records and later arrested Garcia de Rayos at her house in Mesa. She pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal impersonation, a Class 6 felony, the lowest level.
As a result of the charge, Garcia de Rayos was then turned over to ICE, Ybarra-Maldonado said. She spent six months in ICE custody at the Eloy Detention Center, he said.
In 2013, an immigration judge found Garcia de Rayos had no legal stance to remain in the U.S. and issued a voluntary departure instructing her to leave the country, Ybarra-Maldonado said.
After Garcia de Rayos appealed the voluntary departure, ICE gave her an order of supervision instructing her to check in yearly, and then every six months, Ybarra-Maldonado said.
Garcia de Rayos was scheduled for her six month check-in Wednesday but instead of being told to come back in six months, she was taken into custody, he said.
Ybarra-Maldonado immediately filed documents asking ICE to stay her deportation, on the grounds that she has lived in the U.S. since she was 14, has two children who are U.S. citizens, and she is fighting to have her felony conviction thrown out on the grounds that Arpaio's work-site raids were unconstitutional.
He also pointed out that she had been just a few months too old to apply for Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program granting deportation deferments and work permits to undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. Her felony conviction, though, most likely would have disqualified her from that program.
"She's built a great life for herself and her children, and her kids want her to be home at night. Her kids want her to take them to school, to be at the parent-teacher conference, to see them go to prom, and to see them graduate, and more than anything she deserves to live a life she has built."
Outside the Phoenix ICE facility Wednesday night, Maria Castro, 23, stood in support of the family.
"Lupita was a victim of Arpaio's raids," she said, "and now she is a victim of Trump 's deportation machine."
Republic reporters Brianna Bradley, Laura Gómez and William Everett contributed to this article.
end
More: http://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/arizona-news/234696114-story
end end
Comment: She is a illegal immigrant. Convicted for using someone else's SSN. But as her husband said, she had to for the job. So it must be ok? Leads to the question: What if it was your SSN? Video at link:
No info yet if she is still detained or has been deported.
More spin: "Garcia de Rayos' husband does not have legal status " Meaning . . . .
BTW, it took a long time for the Phoenix Pd. to make an appearance. The bloomberg buddy mayor wants Phx to be a sanctuary city.
thx
Seven arrested at deportation protest for Valley mom in Phoenix
abc15.com staff
4:40 PM, Feb 8, 2017
27 mins ago
http://www.abc15.com/news/state/valley-mother-faces-deportation-after-immigration-check-in
Protesters Rally Outside Of ICE Headquarters
PHOENIX - Protests erupted in Phoenix Wednesday, when a Valley woman was ordered to be deported after showing up for a routine immigration check.
Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos was arrested in 2009 for impersonation as part of a Maricopa County Sheriff's Office raid. She was charged with a felony, but her attorneys say that raid was later ruled unconstitutional.
Court documents obtained by ABC15 also show Garcia had previously been ordered to self-deport.
Garcia reported for a regular check-in with Immigration Customs Enforcement Wednesday morning, but never came out.
According to Garcia's attorney, she is now facing deportation as part of President Trump's executive order focused on removing undocumented immigrants with a history of arrests.
Garcia's husband and teenage children joined protesters outside ICE headquarters, as the family now faces being separated.
A 14 year old girl cries in father's arms - her mom won't be coming home - now w/ ICE under President orders #abc15 pic.twitter.com/04MhI18lQ3
— MaryEllen Resendez (@maryellenabc15) February 8, 2017
"I'd ask him 'why he would want to take her from me?' She hasn't done anything wrong and I'm not scared of him," said Garcia's daughter, Jaqueline, of what she would ask President Trump if she could.
About 7 arrests made without force. Everyone remains safe so far. Hoping for continued cooperation and no more criminal conduct.
— Phoenix Police (@phoenixpolice) February 9, 2017
Seven people were arrested Wednesday night as protesters blocked an ICE van that was believed to be transporting Garcia. The van moved back into the garage after several hours of people holding onto the tires and blocking the vehicle with their bodies. No injuries were reported.
Some protesters at the ICE building have chosen criminal conduct instead of free speech.
— Phoenix Police (@phoenixpolice) February 9, 2017
Garcia's attorneys say they are trying to buy the Valley mother more time in the U.S., but no one knows for sure how that will work. Garcia is among, if not the first, Arizonan to be deported under the President's new executive order.
"It's extremely disappointing to walk in with a beautiful loving and caring human being like Guadalupe and not be able to walk out with her," said Ray Ybarra Maldonado, Garcia's attorney. "She is stronger than I am, when she heard she was going to be taken in, she took a deep breath asked what the next step that would happen and she went into custody."
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released the following statement in regards to Garcia's case:
Ms. Garcia De Rayos is currently being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) based on a removal order issued by the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review which became final in May 2013. Relevant databases indicate Ms. Garcia De Rayos has a prior felony conviction dating from March 2009 for criminal impersonation.
Stay with ABC15 and ABC15.com for the latest on this developing situation.
Note: more photo's
Protesters ring ICE in Phoenix: Could woman in custody be the first deported because of Trump's orders?
Daniel González and Johana Restrepo ,
The Republic | azcentral.com
Published 8:45 p.m. MT Feb. 8, 2017 | Updated 2 hours ago
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/immigration/2017/02/08/could-woman-first-arizonan-deported-because-trump-orders/97637928/
For four years, federal immigration authorities have given Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos a pass to remain in the U.S. rather than deport her back to Mexico.
That changed Wednesday, when Garcia de Rayos went to check in as usual at the central Phoenix offices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Instead of being released, she was taken into custody, while her husband, two children — both U.S.-born citizens — and a group of supporters watched in tears.
And by Wednesday night, her case had become the latest epicenter of the national debate over immigration enforcement. Before midnight, after hours of protests outside the ICE office on North Central Avenue, federal vehicles left the facility, possibly with Garcia de Rayos inside.
Her family and supporters fear Garcia de Rayos, 36, may be deported quickly to Mexico. That, they say, would make her among the first casualties under a shift in policy by ICE under President Donald Trump.
Earlier, protesters had gathered at the ICE office in an attempt to block federal vehicles from leaving the grounds. Inside the gates were buses and vans used to transport people in ICE custody to detention centers, or to the border for deportation.
After 9 p.m., police officers amassed on the south side of the facility as protesters continued to block access, chanting "Justice!" and "Power to the people, no one is illegal!
The effort was organized by Puente Arizona, the group known for blocking roads surrounding a Donald Trump campaign rally in Fountain Hills last year.
The crowd Wednesday peaked at an estimated 200 people, with the number of protesters dwindling after police arrived.
The scene remained peaceful past 10 p.m., as most in the crowd complied with officers' requests to stay off the street. Phoenix police, wearing helmets, stood by.
But as some protesters continued to block vehicles, several people were taken into custody. Phoenix police Sgt. Jonathan Howard said seven people were arrested, all peacefully.
Puente director Carlos Garcia said protesters would stay as long as Garcia de Rayos' family was there.
Asked how long she planned to stay, the woman's daughter, Jaqueline Rayos Garcia, 14, had a simple answer: "Until I get my mom back."
Garcia de Rayos' husband does not have legal status and did not want to be identified. "Basically we are Americans," he said. "This is our country. We were brought here when we were teens."
Protesters at ICE office near downtown Phoenix
46 Photos
Protesters at ICE office near downtown Phoenix
In one of his first acts in office, Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 25 instructing immigration authorities to ramp up deportations, in part by broadening priorities to include undocumented immigrants convicted of any crimes or charged with any crimes.
Trump's order is a major departure from former President Barack Obama's deportation priorities, which focused primarily on deporting undocumented immigrants convicted of serious crimes and allowing those with long ties to the U.S. and no significant criminal background to remain in the U.S.
In a statement, ICE officials said only that Garcia de Rayos was detained because of her prior conviction, which stems from a work-site raid almost a decade ago. They did not comment on whether they diverged from the previous check-in specifically because of the recent executive order.
"It has 100 percent to do with the executive order," said Ray Ybarra-Maldonado, a Phoenix immigration lawyer who is representing Garcia de Rayos. "Her case is no different than the last time she checked in. The facts are 100 percent the same. The only difference is the priorities for removal have now changed."
Jessica Vaughan, policy studies director at the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that supports Trump's immigration crackdowns, agreed.
"It could very well be," Vaughan said. "There were so many people exempt under the Obama administration's deportation scheme so it would not surprise me at all" that ICE taking Garcia de Rayos into custody is a result of "the scrapping of that scheme in favor of the Trump administration's executive order, which returns a great deal of discretion to ICE officers in the field to enforce immigration laws as they were written."
In anticipation that Garcia de Rayos could be taken into custody, the group Puente Arizona organized a rally outside the Central Avenue offices of ICE earlier Wednesday. The group advocates to stop the deportation of undocumented immigrants.
As Garcia de Rayos walked through the gates towards the building, some supporters yelled out in Spanish, "We are with you, Lupe." Others locked arms, while some cars honked as they drove past.
"To me this is an injustice," said Jacqueline, standing outside the building in tears. "She has always worked to give us a good education."
Vaughan, however, disagreed that it would be unfair to deport Garcia de Rayos. She said Garcia de Rayos should not be allowed to stay if she has no legal standing to remain despite her long ties.
"I don't think it would be unfair, no," she said. "I think it would be unfair to all the other legal immigrants who qualify and go through the process, if she were allowed to stay, just because she has been here a long time."
Carlos Garcia, the director of Puente, said he believes ICE's decision to take Garcia de Rayos into custody will spur other undocumented immigrants who have been released on supervision to stop checking in and go into hiding.
"Most definitely, if what's going to happen when people come to check in they are going to get detained and deported, I would assume most people will not turn themselves in," he said.
Response from ICE
In a written statement, ICE officials confirmed that Garcia de Rayos had been detained based on a prior removal order issued by the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review. The order became final in May 2013.
"Relevant databases indicate Ms. Garcia De Rayos has a prior felony conviction dating from March 2009 for criminal impersonation," the statement said.
The felony conviction stems from a 2008 work-site raid by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, said attorney Ybarra-Maldonado.
He said Garcia de Rayos came to the U.S. in 1996, when she was 14.
In 2008, she was swept up in one of former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's work-site raids targeting the Golfland Entertainment Centers, which operated several water and mini-golf parks. Sheriff's deputies seized hundreds of employment records and later arrested Garcia de Rayos at her house in Mesa. She pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal impersonation, a Class 6 felony, the lowest level.
As a result of the charge, Garcia de Rayos was then turned over to ICE, Ybarra-Maldonado said. She spent six months in ICE custody at the Eloy Detention Center, he said.
In 2013, an immigration judge found Garcia de Rayos had no legal stance to remain in the U.S. and issued a voluntary departure instructing her to leave the country, Ybarra-Maldonado said.
After Garcia de Rayos appealed the voluntary departure, ICE gave her an order of supervision instructing her to check in yearly, and then every six months, Ybarra-Maldonado said.
Garcia de Rayos was scheduled for her six month check-in Wednesday but instead of being told to come back in six months, she was taken into custody, he said.
Ybarra-Maldonado immediately filed documents asking ICE to stay her deportation, on the grounds that she has lived in the U.S. since she was 14, has two children who are U.S. citizens, and she is fighting to have her felony conviction thrown out on the grounds that Arpaio's work-site raids were unconstitutional.
He also pointed out that she had been just a few months too old to apply for Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program granting deportation deferments and work permits to undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. Her felony conviction, though, most likely would have disqualified her from that program.
"She's built a great life for herself and her children, and her kids want her to be home at night. Her kids want her to take them to school, to be at the parent-teacher conference, to see them go to prom, and to see them graduate, and more than anything she deserves to live a life she has built."
Outside the Phoenix ICE facility Wednesday night, Maria Castro, 23, stood in support of the family.
"Lupita was a victim of Arpaio's raids," she said, "and now she is a victim of Trump 's deportation machine."
Republic reporters Brianna Bradley, Laura Gómez and William Everett contributed to this article.
end
More: http://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/arizona-news/234696114-story
end end
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
AZMEX SPECIAL 6-2-17
AZMEX SPECIAL 6 FEB 2017
Note: Like in the U.S. much of it disrespected, ignored, trashed by the ruling class.
thx
Celebrate the100th anniversary of the promulgation of the Constitution
Details Posted on Saturday February 04, 2017,
Written by Francisco Espinoza / El Diario
Http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/notas.php?nota=85966
Nogales
With the participation of the civil, military and educational authorities, the centenary of the promulgation of the Political Constitution of the Estados Unidos Mexicanos. (United States of Mexico) was celebrated.
The municipal president Cuauhtémoc Galindo Delgado, together with the commander of the 45th military zone, Gen. Salvador Fernando Cervantes Loza, of the DEM brigade presided over the ceremony of honors and raising of the flag, in the plaza Miguel Hidalgo.
The secretary of section 28 of the National Union of Workers of Education (SNTE) Guillermo Rivera Caperón, as official speaker stressed the importance of article Three of the Constitution, which guarantees free, quality secular education for Mexicans .
"It gives security to all Mexicans," he said, "to have access to a decent education. To speak of our Constitution, is to speak of a document that has allowed us to grow as a country, as a nation that has developed in every way. "
The article Third Constitutional means, he emphasized, is implied the progress that in educational matters has been achieved through the years, through teachers and the National Education System.
This was one of the greatest achievements of the Revolution of 1910 and the Mexicans of today, he stressed, are aware of the benefits embodied in the Constitution of 1917 and that today marks its first hundred years.
"It establishes that education must be secular, free, democratic, obligatory and of quality," he stated, "in the understanding that secularism in education responds to the needs of the peoples who have aspired to ensure, not only Freedom of conscience, but a way of life. "
At the ceremony, students at Grimac High School read poems related to the centennial of the Constitution, while the institution's youth mariachi sang several songs.
End
Also: http://www.elregionaldesonora.com.mx/noticia/64471
And: https://www.tribunadesanluis.com.mx/finanzas/planta-cervecera-heineken-al-60-de-su-construccion-en-chihuahua (central Chih.)
end
Note: Like in the U.S. much of it disrespected, ignored, trashed by the ruling class.
thx
Celebrate the100th anniversary of the promulgation of the Constitution
Details Posted on Saturday February 04, 2017,
Written by Francisco Espinoza / El Diario
Http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/notas.php?nota=85966
Nogales
With the participation of the civil, military and educational authorities, the centenary of the promulgation of the Political Constitution of the Estados Unidos Mexicanos. (United States of Mexico) was celebrated.
The municipal president Cuauhtémoc Galindo Delgado, together with the commander of the 45th military zone, Gen. Salvador Fernando Cervantes Loza, of the DEM brigade presided over the ceremony of honors and raising of the flag, in the plaza Miguel Hidalgo.
The secretary of section 28 of the National Union of Workers of Education (SNTE) Guillermo Rivera Caperón, as official speaker stressed the importance of article Three of the Constitution, which guarantees free, quality secular education for Mexicans .
"It gives security to all Mexicans," he said, "to have access to a decent education. To speak of our Constitution, is to speak of a document that has allowed us to grow as a country, as a nation that has developed in every way. "
The article Third Constitutional means, he emphasized, is implied the progress that in educational matters has been achieved through the years, through teachers and the National Education System.
This was one of the greatest achievements of the Revolution of 1910 and the Mexicans of today, he stressed, are aware of the benefits embodied in the Constitution of 1917 and that today marks its first hundred years.
"It establishes that education must be secular, free, democratic, obligatory and of quality," he stated, "in the understanding that secularism in education responds to the needs of the peoples who have aspired to ensure, not only Freedom of conscience, but a way of life. "
At the ceremony, students at Grimac High School read poems related to the centennial of the Constitution, while the institution's youth mariachi sang several songs.
End
Also: http://www.elregionaldesonora.com.mx/noticia/64471
And: https://www.tribunadesanluis.com.mx/finanzas/planta-cervecera-heineken-al-60-de-su-construccion-en-chihuahua (central Chih.)
end
Monday, February 6, 2017
AZMEX UPDATE 5-2-17
AZMEX UPDATE 5 JAN 2017
Mexican man gets 11 years in shooting over drug rip-off
http://www.kvoa.com/story/34430157/mexican-man-gets-11-years-in-shooting-over-drug-rip-off
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -
A Mexican man was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison on drug convictions related to an attempt by bandits in the southern Arizona desert to steal drugs from rival traffickers.
Pedro Ojeda-Ramirez, 24, was sentenced on Thursday for his guilty pleas to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.
The case stems from a call that U.S. Border Patrol agents received on May 2 from a man who said he had been shot on the Tohono O'odham reservation and was later determined to have stolen drugs from rival traffickers.
Authorities say Ojeda-Ramirez later acknowledged that he and others had shot at the bandits in a bid to get back the stolen drugs.
END
Conviction of lookout for border drug smugglers upheld
By ALEXIS EGELAND Cronkite News
Feb 4, 2017 Updated 14 hrs ago
http://www.pinalcentral.com/arizona_news/conviction-of-lookout-for-border-drug-smugglers-upheld/article_53d0d343-2533-5d4f-8b1a-66c5441d72b6.html
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of a spotter for a group of border drug smugglers in Arizona, rejecting his argument that his confession was coerced and the government had not presented enough evidence for a conviction.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said last week there was sufficient evidence to convict Abelardo Niebla-Torres — found hiding in camouflage on a mountaintop with binoculars, radios and other paraphernalia consistent with typical drug-running endeavors.
"Any rational trier of fact could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that Niebla knowingly entered into an unlawful agreement to serve as a scout for marijuana traffickers," said the opinion by Judge Morgan Christen.
Attorneys for Niebla and for the U.S. Attorney's Office of Arizona both declined to comment on the ruling.
The case began on Nov. 27, 2014, when Niebla was arrested by Border Patrol agents with another man camping out on top of Pozo Redondo Mountain near the Ajo Border Patrol station. The area is a smuggling corridor, the court said, with smugglers using the flat terrain of its valleys to carry loads of drugs across the border and into the U.S.
Border Patrol Agent Michael Colella had seen people for several days who appeared to be trying to hide their presence on top of the mountain, which is not frequented by hikers and has a clear view of valleys in the area as well as the Border Patrol station, court documents said.
After Colella and another agent went to the mountaintop and captured the two suspects, they took them to the Ajo station where they were read their rights. Two hours later, Niebla confessed in a recorded interview that he was on the mountain as a scout, helping two groups of eight to 10 drug smugglers with suitcases filled with 20 kilograms of an unknown substance, that he said "must be marijuana."
Niebla pleaded guilty to illegal re-entry into the country but went to trial on a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. He tried to get his confession suppressed at trial, arguing that the agent who took his confession had "primed him for the interview" and "threatened him with seven years' imprisonment if he did not confess."
But a magistrate judge said there was no evidence in the tape that Niebla had been coerced and allowed the confession at his trial in U.S. District Court in Tucson. There, the judge said that "being on the hillside as he was, in the middle of nowhere, dressed in camouflage clothes with binoculars, radio, batteries and a satchel is sufficient evidence" to prove his association with the smugglers, along with the mention of marijuana in his confession.
Niebla was sentenced to nine months in prison and three years of supervised release.
He appealed, arguing that his conviction could not rely on his uncorroborated confession alone. The government must first prove that an actual crime occurred, since no marijuana was found, and show enough corroborating evidence to support the reliability of his confession. He argued that prosecutors had done neither.
But the appeals court said Niebla could be convicted of conspiracy even if no marijuana was found, as long as prosecutors provided sufficient circumstantial evidence. The location in which the spotters were found, the paraphernalia they possessed and the testimony of an expert witness were sufficient to meet that test, the court said.
It noted the expert testimony of Border Patrol Agent Carlos Rochin, who said that items like the binoculars and radios Niebla had at the time of the arrest are typically used by scouts "to observe law enforcement movement and then relay it back" to help smugglers avoid Border Patrol.
In regards to Niebla's claim that his confession was manipulated and given out of fear, the appellate judges disagreed.
They sided with the lower court's finding that the recording of the confession sounded "spontaneous and unrehearsed," and the agent conducting the interview did not yell at or threaten Niebla at all. The agent did not badger Niebla for giving negative answers to leading questions, the court said, calling the confession "inherently reliable."
END
Mexico's remittances reach almost $27 billion
http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/34400783/mexicos-remittances-reach-almost-27-billion
MEXICO CITY (AP) -
Mexicans living abroad sent home almost $27 billion in 2016, the highest yearly figure on record, the central bank reported on Wednesday.
The remittances rose 8.8 percent, from $24.78 billion in 2015 to 26.97 billion last year.
The central bank said almost all the money was sent to Mexico by electronic transfers, though about $600 million continues to arrive in cash or by money orders.
Remittances have become Mexico's most important source of foreign income after auto exports of almost $34 billion per year. Remittances have far surpassed the $15.6 billion Mexico earns from oil exports and the $17.5 billion in tourism income Mexico received in 2015.
U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested the U.S. might retain some remittances to pay for a wall between the countries, a project Mexico opposes.
It is unclear whether migrants sent more money home because they feared possible future restrictions on the transfers or whether they were taking advantage of the dollar's higher purchasing power in Mexico. The Mexican peso dropped 19 percent in value against the dollar in 2016.
END
Mexican man gets 11 years in shooting over drug rip-off
http://www.kvoa.com/story/34430157/mexican-man-gets-11-years-in-shooting-over-drug-rip-off
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -
A Mexican man was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison on drug convictions related to an attempt by bandits in the southern Arizona desert to steal drugs from rival traffickers.
Pedro Ojeda-Ramirez, 24, was sentenced on Thursday for his guilty pleas to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.
The case stems from a call that U.S. Border Patrol agents received on May 2 from a man who said he had been shot on the Tohono O'odham reservation and was later determined to have stolen drugs from rival traffickers.
Authorities say Ojeda-Ramirez later acknowledged that he and others had shot at the bandits in a bid to get back the stolen drugs.
END
Conviction of lookout for border drug smugglers upheld
By ALEXIS EGELAND Cronkite News
Feb 4, 2017 Updated 14 hrs ago
http://www.pinalcentral.com/arizona_news/conviction-of-lookout-for-border-drug-smugglers-upheld/article_53d0d343-2533-5d4f-8b1a-66c5441d72b6.html
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of a spotter for a group of border drug smugglers in Arizona, rejecting his argument that his confession was coerced and the government had not presented enough evidence for a conviction.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said last week there was sufficient evidence to convict Abelardo Niebla-Torres — found hiding in camouflage on a mountaintop with binoculars, radios and other paraphernalia consistent with typical drug-running endeavors.
"Any rational trier of fact could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that Niebla knowingly entered into an unlawful agreement to serve as a scout for marijuana traffickers," said the opinion by Judge Morgan Christen.
Attorneys for Niebla and for the U.S. Attorney's Office of Arizona both declined to comment on the ruling.
The case began on Nov. 27, 2014, when Niebla was arrested by Border Patrol agents with another man camping out on top of Pozo Redondo Mountain near the Ajo Border Patrol station. The area is a smuggling corridor, the court said, with smugglers using the flat terrain of its valleys to carry loads of drugs across the border and into the U.S.
Border Patrol Agent Michael Colella had seen people for several days who appeared to be trying to hide their presence on top of the mountain, which is not frequented by hikers and has a clear view of valleys in the area as well as the Border Patrol station, court documents said.
After Colella and another agent went to the mountaintop and captured the two suspects, they took them to the Ajo station where they were read their rights. Two hours later, Niebla confessed in a recorded interview that he was on the mountain as a scout, helping two groups of eight to 10 drug smugglers with suitcases filled with 20 kilograms of an unknown substance, that he said "must be marijuana."
Niebla pleaded guilty to illegal re-entry into the country but went to trial on a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. He tried to get his confession suppressed at trial, arguing that the agent who took his confession had "primed him for the interview" and "threatened him with seven years' imprisonment if he did not confess."
But a magistrate judge said there was no evidence in the tape that Niebla had been coerced and allowed the confession at his trial in U.S. District Court in Tucson. There, the judge said that "being on the hillside as he was, in the middle of nowhere, dressed in camouflage clothes with binoculars, radio, batteries and a satchel is sufficient evidence" to prove his association with the smugglers, along with the mention of marijuana in his confession.
Niebla was sentenced to nine months in prison and three years of supervised release.
He appealed, arguing that his conviction could not rely on his uncorroborated confession alone. The government must first prove that an actual crime occurred, since no marijuana was found, and show enough corroborating evidence to support the reliability of his confession. He argued that prosecutors had done neither.
But the appeals court said Niebla could be convicted of conspiracy even if no marijuana was found, as long as prosecutors provided sufficient circumstantial evidence. The location in which the spotters were found, the paraphernalia they possessed and the testimony of an expert witness were sufficient to meet that test, the court said.
It noted the expert testimony of Border Patrol Agent Carlos Rochin, who said that items like the binoculars and radios Niebla had at the time of the arrest are typically used by scouts "to observe law enforcement movement and then relay it back" to help smugglers avoid Border Patrol.
In regards to Niebla's claim that his confession was manipulated and given out of fear, the appellate judges disagreed.
They sided with the lower court's finding that the recording of the confession sounded "spontaneous and unrehearsed," and the agent conducting the interview did not yell at or threaten Niebla at all. The agent did not badger Niebla for giving negative answers to leading questions, the court said, calling the confession "inherently reliable."
END
Mexico's remittances reach almost $27 billion
http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/34400783/mexicos-remittances-reach-almost-27-billion
MEXICO CITY (AP) -
Mexicans living abroad sent home almost $27 billion in 2016, the highest yearly figure on record, the central bank reported on Wednesday.
The remittances rose 8.8 percent, from $24.78 billion in 2015 to 26.97 billion last year.
The central bank said almost all the money was sent to Mexico by electronic transfers, though about $600 million continues to arrive in cash or by money orders.
Remittances have become Mexico's most important source of foreign income after auto exports of almost $34 billion per year. Remittances have far surpassed the $15.6 billion Mexico earns from oil exports and the $17.5 billion in tourism income Mexico received in 2015.
U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested the U.S. might retain some remittances to pay for a wall between the countries, a project Mexico opposes.
It is unclear whether migrants sent more money home because they feared possible future restrictions on the transfers or whether they were taking advantage of the dollar's higher purchasing power in Mexico. The Mexican peso dropped 19 percent in value against the dollar in 2016.
END
Friday, February 3, 2017
AZMEX I3 3-2-17
AZMEX I3 3 FEB 2017
Note: despite the usual dishonest "reporting" it is all about illegal immigrants.
Court declines Arizona's bid to reconsider license case
ASSOCIATED PRESS | February 3, 2017 @ 6:03 am
http://ktar.com/story/1446947/court-declines-arizonas-bid-reconsider-license-case/
PHOENIX — A federal appeals court has refused to reconsider its earlier decision that backed up the ability of young immigrants who are protected from deportation to get an Arizona driver's license.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled 10 months ago that the immigrants suffered irreparable harm from Arizona's policy for driver's licenses.
The state had asked for a larger panel of the court to reconsider its appeal, but that request was denied Thursday.
About 20,000 young immigrants in Arizona are protected from deportation under a 2012 program started by the Obama administration.
The denials were ordered by then-Gov. Jan Brewer, who cited a desire to reduce the risk of licenses being used to improperly access public benefits.
end
Mayor: Phoenix becoming sanctuary city would violate Arizona law
KTAR.COM | February 3, 2017 @ 5:22 am
http://ktar.com/story/1446764/mayor-phoenix-becoming-sanctuary-city-violate-arizona-law/
PHOENIX — If the Phoenix City Council votes to become a sanctuary city in a few weeks' time, it will violate Arizona law, Mayor Greg Stanton wrote Thursday.
In a Facebook post, Stanton wrote the designation of a sanctuary city violates one of the few remaining tenets of the controversial Senate Bill 1070 that was signed into law in 2010.
"After a lengthy court battle, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld portions of SB 1070 that apply to all Arizona cities — including Phoenix — nearly five years ago," the mayor wrote, referencing the part of the law that allows police to transport illegal immigrants into federal custody.
A later settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union kept that portion of the bill in place.
Stanton wrote he would not ask his police officers to knowingly violate the law.
"We must respect the Supreme Court's unanimous decision and the rule of law," he wrote.
The mayor may have nothing to worry about, however, when it comes to Phoenix becoming a sanctuary city. The council could opt to not vote on the measure or, as Councilman Sal DiCiccio said, it could be buried.
"My guess? The city staff, the city attorney is going to find a way to bury this and I'm glad about that," he said Wednesday.
Though he recognized the sanctuary city issue as a matter of law, Stanton wrote he will not allow police officers to participate in the 287(g) program that deputizes local officials to serve as an federal immigration agents. He also wrote that his city will not help President Donald Trump's administration with his mass deportation plans in any way.
"Doing so would shatter the trust between our officers and our community, making everybody less safe," the post read.
Stanton wrote such measures are akin to those used by former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was voted out of office in November.
"Voters of conservative Maricopa County overwhelmingly rejected those tactics just a few months ago, and I will continue to reject them in Phoenix," he wrote.
Arpaio is embroiled in a criminal contempt of court lawsuit that stems from his controversial illegal immigration patrols.
Though there is no agreed upon definition of a sanctuary city, the general consensus defines them as a city that will, in some way, protect illegal immigrants.
In some cases, these cities tell police not to inquire about the immigration status of those they encounter, or they decline requests from immigration officials to keep defendants in custody while they await deportation.
Others say they do cooperate with such "detainer" requests as long as they're backed by court-issued warrants, but won't allow local officers to enforce federal immigration law.
end
Note: despite the usual dishonest "reporting" it is all about illegal immigrants.
Court declines Arizona's bid to reconsider license case
ASSOCIATED PRESS | February 3, 2017 @ 6:03 am
http://ktar.com/story/1446947/court-declines-arizonas-bid-reconsider-license-case/
PHOENIX — A federal appeals court has refused to reconsider its earlier decision that backed up the ability of young immigrants who are protected from deportation to get an Arizona driver's license.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled 10 months ago that the immigrants suffered irreparable harm from Arizona's policy for driver's licenses.
The state had asked for a larger panel of the court to reconsider its appeal, but that request was denied Thursday.
About 20,000 young immigrants in Arizona are protected from deportation under a 2012 program started by the Obama administration.
The denials were ordered by then-Gov. Jan Brewer, who cited a desire to reduce the risk of licenses being used to improperly access public benefits.
end
Mayor: Phoenix becoming sanctuary city would violate Arizona law
KTAR.COM | February 3, 2017 @ 5:22 am
http://ktar.com/story/1446764/mayor-phoenix-becoming-sanctuary-city-violate-arizona-law/
PHOENIX — If the Phoenix City Council votes to become a sanctuary city in a few weeks' time, it will violate Arizona law, Mayor Greg Stanton wrote Thursday.
In a Facebook post, Stanton wrote the designation of a sanctuary city violates one of the few remaining tenets of the controversial Senate Bill 1070 that was signed into law in 2010.
"After a lengthy court battle, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld portions of SB 1070 that apply to all Arizona cities — including Phoenix — nearly five years ago," the mayor wrote, referencing the part of the law that allows police to transport illegal immigrants into federal custody.
A later settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union kept that portion of the bill in place.
Stanton wrote he would not ask his police officers to knowingly violate the law.
"We must respect the Supreme Court's unanimous decision and the rule of law," he wrote.
The mayor may have nothing to worry about, however, when it comes to Phoenix becoming a sanctuary city. The council could opt to not vote on the measure or, as Councilman Sal DiCiccio said, it could be buried.
"My guess? The city staff, the city attorney is going to find a way to bury this and I'm glad about that," he said Wednesday.
Though he recognized the sanctuary city issue as a matter of law, Stanton wrote he will not allow police officers to participate in the 287(g) program that deputizes local officials to serve as an federal immigration agents. He also wrote that his city will not help President Donald Trump's administration with his mass deportation plans in any way.
"Doing so would shatter the trust between our officers and our community, making everybody less safe," the post read.
Stanton wrote such measures are akin to those used by former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was voted out of office in November.
"Voters of conservative Maricopa County overwhelmingly rejected those tactics just a few months ago, and I will continue to reject them in Phoenix," he wrote.
Arpaio is embroiled in a criminal contempt of court lawsuit that stems from his controversial illegal immigration patrols.
Though there is no agreed upon definition of a sanctuary city, the general consensus defines them as a city that will, in some way, protect illegal immigrants.
In some cases, these cities tell police not to inquire about the immigration status of those they encounter, or they decline requests from immigration officials to keep defendants in custody while they await deportation.
Others say they do cooperate with such "detainer" requests as long as they're backed by court-issued warrants, but won't allow local officers to enforce federal immigration law.
end
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