In this Update:

Missouri Governor Signs Tough New Immigration Law

San Francisco Caught Shielding Criminal Aliens; Mayor Revises Sanctuary Policy

ICE Investigation Leads to Supervisor Arrests at Iowa Meatpacking Plant

Fingerprinting Program Shows Many Foreign Detainees Have U.S. Criminal Records

Recent Floor Statements

Missouri Governor Signs Tough New Immigration Law

Missouri's new law takes significant steps to combat illegal immigration. The law:

• Bars the state from issuing driver's licenses to illegal aliens;
• Imposes criminal penalties for those convicted of assisting illegal aliens in obtaining driver's licenses;
• Prohibits the creation of sanctuary cities by stripping state funding and grants from any municipality that attempts to enact sanctuary policies;
• Requires public employers, including state contractors to verify the work authorization of all employees through E-Verify;
• Allows the state to cancel contracts with contractors that hire illegal aliens;
• Requires government agencies to verify the legal status of applicants before providing public benefits;
• Imposes criminal penalties on individuals convicted of transporting illegal immigrants for exploitive purposes;
• Requires law enforcement to verify the legal immigration status of every individual presented for incarceration and to release to the Department of Homeland Security all individuals who are determined to be in the U.S. unlawfully;
• Provides penalties for employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens, including suspension of business licenses.

(Missouri House Bill Nos. 1549, 1771, 1395 & 2366)

Initially, legislators sought to include a provision requiring all Missouri employers to use E-Verify. The business community, however, opposed the provision citing alleged database errors and accusing lawmakers of trying to force immigration enforcement on the state's employers. (Forbes, July 7, 2008)

During a signing ceremony on July 7th, Governor Blunt commented, "This significant legislation will protect the safety of Missouri families and the security of our jobs from the threat of illegal immigration, and I am pleased that Missouri's legislators responded to my call for action where Washington has failed to act." (The Joplin Globe, July 7 2008)

To see the text of the Missouri legislation click here; a summary is available here.

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San Francisco Caught Shielding Criminal Aliens; Mayor Revises Sanctuary Policy

The city originally adopted its sanctuary city policy, known as the "City of Refuge" Ordinance, in 1989. The Ordinance explicitly states that adult illegal aliens who are convicted of felonies will not be protected under the Sanctuary City policy. (Id.) However the ordinance does not detail procedures city officials should take with juvenile offenders—an oversight that juvenile probation officers claim left them in limbo. (San Francisco Chronicle, June 29, 2008) Reticent to turn the juveniles over to immigration officials, but also unwilling to release them, juvenile court judges and commissioners approved the flights back to Honduras for the drug dealers. (Id.)

William Siffermann, chief of San Francisco's Juvenile Probation Department, vehemently defended the practice of removing the juvenile drug dealers without employing immigration services on the grounds that formal deportation would legally prevent them from ever entering the United States again. This, according to Siffermann, "would doom them from ever becoming productive residents of the United States." (Id.) However, responding to pressure from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, Siffermann reluctantly placed the flights on hold until the city can work out a new policy in compliance with federal authorities. (Id.)

The policy, according to city and federal officials, has led to widespread abuse as knowledge of the loophole has begun to spread among drug traffickers. (Washington Post, July 3, 2008) San Francisco police acknowledge that many of the juvenile offenders are most likely not even juveniles, but instead illegal immigrant drug dealers taking advantage of San Francisco's lenient policy toward juvenile offenders. Captain Tim Hettrich, former head of the San Francisco narcotics unit, expressed his disgust at the lax rules that led to paid flights home for adult illegal immigrants who "pass themselves off as juveniles, with a three-day growth of beard." (Id.)

Following the firestorm of negative press, Mayor Newsom told reporters on July 2, 2008 that he learned of the flights in May, but he lacked the authority to direct law enforcement and the courts regarding the matter: "I have no authority here. I have a bully pulpit. The courts have the authority here." (San Francisco Chronicle, July 2, 2008) However, in a press release that same day, Newsom announced, "San Francisco's Sanctuary City policy is designed to protect our residents. It is not a shield for criminal behavior, and I will not allow it to be used in that fashion." (Newsom Press Release, July 2, 2008) Recent reports indicate that Newsom is working +with county and federal officials to create a policy to comply with immigration law, and the mayor maintains that all juvenile illegal aliens will be henceforth released to federal authorities. (ABC 7Local News, July 9, 2008)

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ICE Investigation Leads to Supervisor Arrests at Iowa Meatpacking Plant

Last week, ICE arrested two supervisors at the Agriprocessors Inc. plant in Postville, Iowa on various charges relating to fraudulent identity and criminal immigration offenses. The July 3 apprehensions came as a result of an ongoing ICE investigation into the plant's employment verification processes. ICE conducted a May 12 worksite enforcement operation at the plant, resulting in over 300 arrests and the seizure of dozens of fraudulent permanent resident alien cards from the plant's human resources department. (ICE News Release, July 3, 2008)

According to ICE, federal prosecutors filed criminal charges against two supervisors of the Agriprocessors plant - 43 year-old Martin De La Rosa-Loera and 35 year-old Juan Carlos Guerrero-Espinoza -in the U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. Officials charged both men with aiding and abetting the possession and use of fraudulent identity documents, as well as encouraging aliens to illegally reside in the United States. Guerrero-Espinoza was also charged with aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft. (Id.)

The complaint against Mr. De La Rosa-Loera alleges that -- approximately 15 days before the execution of the May 12 search warrant at Agriprocessors -- he told certain undocumented alien employees that they could not work at the plant because they did not have valid social security numbers or proper documentation. Not long after, according to the complaint, Mr. De La Rosa-Loera told the same employees that they could return to work using the same names they had previously used to obtain employment at the plant. (Id.)

The complaint against Mr. Guerrero-Espinoza alleges that during the same time period he told a group of employees that they needed new Social Security numbers and IDs to continue working at Agriprocessors. He then allegedly asked the same employees to provide him with a photograph and approximately $200. According to the complaint, after Guerrero-Espinoza's made the request, fraudulent resident alien cards were supplied to Agriprocessors' workers. (Id.)

At a July 8 detention hearing, U.S. District Magistrate Judge Jon Scoles ruled the two defendants shall remain in federal custody until trial, citing the criminal history of the two men. Both Rosa-Loera and Guerrero-Espinoza had histories of illegal activity, including illegal entry into the U.S. De La Rosa-Loera became a naturalized citizen in 2006, while Guerrero-Espinoza obtained legal resident status in 2002. Trial dates have not yet been set. (The Cedar Rapids Gazette, July 7, 2008)

ICE is seeking the public's assistance in apprehending a third suspect, 43 year-old Hosam Amara, whose last known residence is Postville, Iowa. (ICE News Release, July 3, 2008)

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Fingerprinting Program Shows Many Foreign Detainees Have U.S. Criminal Records

The Washington Post reports that a six-and-a-half year old program to fingerprint insurgents, detainees and other individuals in Afghanistan, Iraq and northeast Africa revealed that hundreds of them have criminal records in the United States. The paper reports the fingerprinting program began as an ad-hoc program after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and has since grown into "a government-wide push to build the world's largest database of known or suspected terrorist fingerprints." (Washington Post, July 6, 2008)

The program revealed that one out of every 100 detainees was already in the FBI's database—-indicating that such individuals have lived in the United States and are familiar with American culture. FBI officials told The Washington Post that the many of the arrests were for drunk driving, bad checks, and traffic violations. One suspected militant fleeing Somalia was arrested on a drug charge in New Jersey; another man stopped at a checkpoint in Tikrit had 11 felony charges in the United States, including assault with a deadly weapon. (Id.)

Frances Townsend, a security consultant and former homeland security advisor to the president, told the Post that the program identified "a potential vulnerability" to national security that until now was not fully appreciated. "I found the number stunning," she said. "It suggested to me that this was going to give us far greater insight into the relationships between individuals fighting against U.S. forces in the theater and potential U.S. cells or support networks here in the United States." (Id.)

According to Michael Kirkpatrick, former head of Criminal Justice Information Services, most of the detainees with U.S. arrest records had come to the U.S. to study. He explained, "It suggests there was some familiarity with Western culture, the United States specifically, and for whatever reason they did not agree with that culture. Either they became disaffected or put up with it, and then they went overseas." (Id.)

The government's fingerprinting program is set to expand through a presidential order signed June 5, directing the Attorney General and other cabinet officials to create a plan to expand the use of biometrics within 90 days, including recommendations for screening groups of individuals beyond "known or suspected" terrorists. (Id.)

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Recent Floor Statements

Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) commented on The Killer Of Border Agent Luis Aguilar Is Released (July 9, 2008)

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