‘Qué Pasa’ in Immigration: National Guard Arrives at Border; ICE Memo; Tamaulipas

America's Voice Blog

Posted 08/31/10 at 10:29am

Several outlets in the Spanish-language press report today on the dispatch of the first wave of National Guard troops to the Arizona-Mexico border. The press also continues to explain what last week's Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo does and doesn't mean for deportations (hint: it's still not amnesty), and looks at the aftereffects of the massacre of migrants in Tamaulipas, Mexico, and of SB 1070 in Arizona.

National Guard arrives at border. The Obama Administration’s plan ultimately calls for 524 troops to be dispatched to Arizona (not all of whom have been sent yet) and 1,200 National Guardsmen in total along the southwestern border to support Customs and Border Protection efforts.

EFE reports that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said that the additional troops are welcome, but insufficient. Brewer has said:

“Despite the mantra by the Obama administration that the border is 'as secure as ever,' in Arizona both Republicans and Democrats recognize they have failed.”

AFP, Reuters, and EFE report that surveillance on the southwest border will be supplemented by an additional Predator drone (unmanned plane), according to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. According to the AFP, Napolitano stated:

“With the deployment of the Predator in Texas, we will now be able to cover the southwest border from the El Centro sector in California all the way to the Gulf of Mexico in Texas.”

ICE memo. Weekly Mi Gente (Charlotte, NC) covers the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) memo instructing officers to cancel the deportations of certain immigrants who have active applications for legal status (for example, someone whose application has been submitted by a relative who is a U.S. citizen) and who do not pose a threat to public safety.

AOL Latino and LatinoCalifornia.com reprint a column by Maribel Hastings of America’s Voice, explaining that ICE’s policy change, while positive, won’t benefit all immigrants. It’s not a moratorium on deportations, much less the “de facto amnesty” some Republicans have made it out to be.

Tamaulipas. El Nuevo Herald (Miami), El Diario-La Prensa (New York), Al Día (Philadelphia), AOL Latino, and MetroLatino, among others, print another Maribel Hastings column called “Shared Culpability” about the massacre of 72 migrants in Tamaulipas, Mexico.

Arizona aftershocks. La Opinión (Los Angeles) and EFE write that a month after SB 1070 first went into effect, police operations resulting in immigrant deportations have continued even as the Arizona economy continues to feel the law’s effects. EFE writes that the state:

“has lost approximately $12 million from the cancellation of about 40 conventions and reunions under a national boycott against Arizona.”

In other news... Telemundo reports that some immigration judges are afraid for their security after receiving threats; La Opinión reports that California’s state-level version of the DREAM Act, which would extend financial aid to undocumented students, is one of the pieces of legislation that could die in the legislature due to the lack of funds to implement it.

America's Voice has started a new series, “‘Qué Pasa’ in Immigration,” to bring Spanish-language coverage of immigration and politics to a wider audience. Look for daily roundups (in English) of some of the best Spanish-language news.

The latest Spanish-language reporting and analysis on immigration can now be found at AmericasVoiceEspanol.com. Check it out!