Rep. Brian Bilbray, the Chair of the House Immigration Caucus, is one of the best spokesmen for the cause of immigration sanity because he grasps the psychology of the issue to wannabes.
Bilbray understands that as long as Washington rewards the behavior of illegal immigration, the foreigners will continue to come any way they can. Whenever news arrives in rural Mexican villages that another amnesty is proposed, hope is further renewed that America is still not serious about border and workplace enforcement, even during the worst jobs depression since the 1930s.
Why shouldn’t they? They are rarely punished and routinely rewarded with employment and free-to-them social services. In addition, the Raza tribe and others have a gaggle of well funded advocates, from lawyers to professional loudmouths the liberal media love to quote.
Rep. Bilbray appears frequently on local media in his district. In the video below he is heard starting at 1:45 in, making the point about the DREAM Act that illegal alien amnesty is not the message Washington should be sending to the world.
In the embattled Mexican city across the river from El Paso, the editor of el Diario has surrendered to the drug cartels because of the murders of his employees.
It’s a sad sign of the times in Mexico, of how free speech, and therefore democracy, has been beaten into submission by the ultraviolent narco gangs, which routinely kill and torture to get their way.
Washington should be paying more attention to the extreme national security threat next door as Mexico melts down, but the President seems too busy with golf. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton gave a hint of concern recently when she compared the country’s situation with the Colombia “insurgency” of 20 years back — an assessment which Obama dismissed out of hand.
El Diario de Juarez has become known for its strong reporting from the deadly streets of Ciudad Juarez.
But the killing of a 21-year-old photographer last week prompted the newspaper to run a front-page editorial asking: “What do you want from us?”
Rights groups say journalists are regularly being targeted by drug gangs.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, a US-based advocacy group, says more than 30 journalists have been killed in Mexico since 2006.
Many of those killed were reporting on crime or corruption, the group says, adding that the climate of fear has led to a widespread culture of self-censorship among fearful media workers.
‘No surrender’
El Diario’s editorial, published on its front page on Sunday, was its second since Luis Carlos Santiago, 21, was shot in Ciudad Juarez on 17 September. He later died of his injuries, although an intern who was also shot, Carlos Sanchez, survived the attack.
“The loss of two reporters from this publishing house in less than two years represents an irreparable sorrow for all of us who work here, and, in particular, for their families,” the newspaper said. [. . .]
The newspaper had not decided to stop publishing stories on the drug war, Mr Rodriguez said, but would consider doing so if the answer that came from the cartels indicated that was their wish.
Below, the map doesn’t show much territory controlled by Mexico City.
There is certainly a severe diminishment in the quality of military leaders these days. President (former General) Eisenhower deported illegal aliens en masse in Operation Wetback because of their excessive numbers. (Now you can’t even use that word.)
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell says illegal immigrants do essential work in the U.S. and he has firsthand knowledge of that — because they fix his house.
Powell, a moderate Republican, urged his party Sunday to support immigration generally because it is “what’s keeping this country’s lifeblood moving forward.”
In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” he said a path to legal status should be offered to illegal immigrants because they “are doing things we need done in this country.”
He added: “They’re all over my house, doing things whenever I call for repairs, and I’m sure you’ve seen them at your house. We’ve got to find a way to bring these people out of the darkness and give them some kind of status.”
He has the open-borders talking points down pretty well. Too bad he doesn’t care about the veterans who are displaced for jobs by illegal aliens.
It must have been a shock for British people to learn recently that many trusted institutions have been secretly feeding them Islamically slaughtered (halal) meat blessed in the name of Allah by an imam. That’s puke-a-licious, to say the least. It’s enough to turn a person to tofu.
And not only is halal meat the special chow of hostile Muslims, supplying needed protein for strenuous head-choppy attacks on infidels like us, the process is unnecessarily cruel to the animals being slaughtered. In civilized countries, animals are electronically stunned to minimize pain in the process of being turned into meat. Islam, on the other hand, prohibits stunning and demands a hand-delivered throat slashing — good training for jihad, as it turns out. (Think Daniel Pearl and the Buffalo beheading.)
A Mail on Sunday investigation – which will alarm anyone concerned about animal cruelty – has revealed that schools, hospitals, pubs and famous sporting venues such as Ascot and Twickenham are controversially serving up meat slaughtered in accordance with strict Islamic law to unwitting members of the public.
All the beef, chicken and lamb sold to fans at Wembley has secretly been prepared in accordance with sharia law, while Cheltenham College, which boasts of its ’strong Christian ethos’, is one of several top public schools which also serves halal chicken to pupils without informing them.
Even Britain’s biggest hotel and restaurant group Whitbread, which owns the Beefeater and Brewers Fayre chains, among many others, has admitted that more than three-quarters of its poultry is halal.
Animal welfare campaigners have long called for a ban on the traditional Islamic way of preparing meat – which involves killing animals by drawing a knife across their throats, without stunning them first – saying it is cruel and causes unnecessary pain.
Sharia law expressly forbids knocking the animal out with a bolt gun, as is usual in British slaughterhouses. Instead, it must be sentient when its throat is cut, and the blood allowed to drip from the carcass while a religious phrase in praise of Allah is recited.
If you think it can’t happen here, think again. The ever helpful PC authorities would rather poke citizens in the eye than offend the Muslims-of-perpetual-rage.
The New York Times reported in 2001 that the Dearborn school system removed pork from the menu eight years previously so no precious Muslim kiddie would eat it by mistake (School System In Michigan Plans to Serve Muslim Food)
Food is a major part of culture, something you notice when visiting ethnic neighborhoods — newbies mark territory and create gathering places for their tribe with restaurants and grocery stores. Outsiders are welcome to spend money.
In France, food is a growing source of conflict between traditional French persons and pushy Muslim immigrants. Muslims object to pork and alcohol existing in the public sphere, so the French have responded by Facebook-organized street protests of a festive nature, featuring wine and sausages.
And when a restaurant goes halal, Islam demands there be no pork products, period. In Lyon, some French persons disguised by pig masks protested the Islamic insult to French culture in such an establishment.
Of course, if you keep Muslim immigrants out of your country, then these culture clashes don’t arise.
Rep Rob Bishop (R-UT) has been a friend of public lands and wants policy changed so law enforcement officers can enter parks near the border which now function as safe zones for illegal aliens and drug smugglers.
It’s an upside-down world, where citizens are warned to keep out of our shared public lands and Border Patrol agents are entirely prohibited, but illegal aliens are essentially in control. And we’re not talking about a tiny area close to the border, but 60 miles into Arizona.
Congressman Rob Bishop (UT-01) joined with 19 Republican colleagues from the House Natural Resources Committee on a letter to committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV) requesting that a hearing be held in order to examine the increasing use of federal lands along the border for drug trafficking and human smuggling. The hearing will address current federal land management policies that have enabled federal border lands to be commandeered by criminal drug organizations as trafficking highways as well as the subsequent environmental damage that has resulted from the illegal activities.
In April, Congressman Bishop introduced, H.R. 5016, legislation that seeks to rectify current land management policies that restrict the U.S. Border Patrol’s (USBP) access to federal lands along the border and prevent the USBP from conducting routine patrols, which have proven to be an effective deterrent for criminal border activity.
“A simple internet search or scan of the news yields volumes of examples and incidents where our federally owned and managed lands along the border are being used by criminal organizations for the smuggling of drugs, humans and other contraband into the U.S,” said Congressman Bishop, who serves as the Ranking Republican on the House Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands and is Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus. “Our federal border lands are a haven for criminal activity. We have a responsibility to protect the citizens of this country and right now the weaknesses that exist on our federal lands are a serious threat to our national security. The time is long overdue for this Committee to fully examine this issue, and then act to fix the problems.”
Highlights of the letter:
“Drug smuggling, murders, human trafficking and other illegal activities have become prevalent on America’s public lands, including National Parks, National Forests, Wildlife Refuges, and other protected areas near our Southern border. In June, the Washington Post reported that since 2006 over 23,000 people have been killed due to drug violence in Mexico—violence that is spilling into, and through, our federal lands.”
“As the Committee of jurisdiction over the majority of our federal lands and considering the gravity of the current situation, we believe it is this Committee’s duty to act to ensure that both public safety and environmental protection are achieved on public lands by taking the steps necessary to fully secure the border against cartels and criminals. The American people deserve straight answers from the agencies responsible for protecting our borders and public lands. There is simply no excuse for allowing government policies to continue that hamper the Border Patrol and create paths of access to violent criminal activity. This situation is what led Republicans to introduce a legislative solution (H.R. 5016) that very simply ensures the Border Patrol has the authority to achieve operational control of the border on public lands.”
The woman who suggested “Everybody Draw Mohammad Day” in support for the edgy South Park show has felt the wrath of hostile Muslims who believe that anyone who insults their religion should be killed.
The diversity extremists who believe the equality of all cultures tend to overlook Muslims’ hatred of free speech when it is applied to their precious Islamo-totalitarianism.
Free speech comes under attack in the West wherever Muslims have immigrated and reached a critical mass. You only have to look at Europe to see that. Sadly, intimidation works, particularly when backed up with actual deaths, like Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh who was murdered on an Amsterdam street as he biked to work because of his work critical of Islam’s treatment of women, specifically the film Submission.
Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, who drew Bomb-Turban Mohammad, had a close call earlier this year when a Somali broke into the artist’s home with an axe. Only a secured safe room saved him from being hacked to death.
There are many other examples of Islam’s hatred of free speech, but I don’t have time to write a book.
America can have traditional free speech where nobody fears for their life because of a critical cartoon, or we can have Muslim immigration — but not both.
The Seattle cartoonist whose artwork sparked the controversial “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day!” has gone into hiding at the advice of the FBI after being targeted by a radical Muslim cleric, according to the newspaper that published her comics.
Molly Norris has moved and changed her name, the Seattle Weekly said Wednesday, after U.S.-born Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki placed her on an execution hit list. Awlaki — who has been linked to the botched Times Square bombing and cited as inspiration for the Fort Hood massacre and a plot by two New Jersey men to kill U.S. soldiers — reportedly called Norris a “prime target” for assassination and that her “proper abode is hellfire.”
Funny how being raised in the United States didn’t give jihadist Anwar al-Awlaki more of an appreciation for free speech. Apparently that assimilation thing didn’t overcome the mosque teachings to hate and kill the infidel.
In Germany, the man expressing the popular anger against Muslim immigrants who refuse to assimilate happens to be a banker until recently employed as a board member of the Bundesbank.
Thilo Sarrazin has been excoriated for writing a book that is critical of Muslim immigration, Deutschland schafft sich ab (Germany does away with itself). The author has been condemned by top political leaders, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, for saying unpleasant things.
However, many Germans agree that Sarrazin is discussing issues too long covered up by elites in thrall to multicultural beliefs. The people see their communities changed by Muslim diversity, and they don’t like it.
Thilo Sarrazin was a board member of Germany’s august central bank until he wrote a book claiming German society was being made “dumber” by Muslim immigrants. It’s a runaway best-seller, but has cost him his job. [. . .]
But supporters say Sarrazin’s criticisms are simply meant to make a point about what is expected of newcomers to Germany.
“We are not far-right extremists, we just want the people who come here to contribute something, to be polite and learn the language. Nothing more,” said Mike Temme, a doctor.
Temme was among a lively crowd of several hundred in Berlin who paid to hear Sarrazin debate his book, “Germany Abolishes Itself.” Support for the ex-banker was palpable as the crowd applauded his defense of his theories and drowned out any participants who questioned Sarrazin’s use of genetic theory or accused him of manipulating data.
“Because we’ve started and lost two world wars, nobody dares to say it. But now somebody has spoken the truth and everybody agrees,” Temme said.
The “truth,” according to Sarrazin, is that Germans “have accepted as inevitable that Germany will be smaller and dumber.”
“The three immigrant groups with the largest educational deficit and the highest social welfare costs, are also those with the highest rate of reproduction,” Sarrazin writes, citing Turks, immigrants from the former Yugoslavia and from the Middle East. [. . .]
Hardening attitudes toward Muslims are felt in many European countries. But these are generally spearheaded by the far-right, whereas Sarrazin, 65, belongs to the traditional, center-left Social Democratic Party, which is moving to expel him. Some heavyweights of Germany’s left-leaning establishment are leaping to Sarrazin’s defense, arguing that he is being unjustly pilloried for saying what a silent majority has long felt.
Matthias Matussek, a columnist with the weekly Der Spiegel, praised Sarrazin for challenging “the politically correct branch of Germany’s consensus-based society” and for forcing politicians to listen to the public’s demands for Muslims to embrace German ways.
“They are sick of being cursed or laughed at when they offer assistance with integration. And they are tired about reading about Islamist associations that have one degree of separation from terrorism, of honor killings, of death threats against cartoonists and filmmakers,” Matussek wrote in his blog for Der Spiegel’s online edition.
The heated debate has left leaders struggling for a response.
The video below is a composite of European news reports about the Sarrazin book.
The video below is supposed to elicit sympathy for the children of lawbreakers by featuring sob stories of illegal alien students who “only want to give back to the community” (unclear whether that means America or Raza).
The DREAM Act is a Big Lie. The bill purports to be for The Children, but it is ugly amnesty legislation (with gigantic loopholes) dressed up in academic gowns. Roy Beck pointed out in his blog This DREAM Act Must Be Stopped that an alien needn’t have come as a child or even be a real student to qualify.
Now would be a good time to phone Senators and object to Reid’s treacherous backdoor amnesty.
Incidentally, Senator McCain again made clear that securing the border is important to him — as a precursor to an amnesty for millions of lawbreakers.
We could see this one coming: a handful of National Guard personnel was sent to the border by the administration, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano then declared the problem solved. Next step, amnesty for all!
Indeed, open-borders hispanics are now the recipients of extreme fawning as the mid-term elections approach (and may look like Godzilla meets Bambi to fearful Democrats). Senator Harry Reid is fighting to keep his seat in Nevada, and as Senate majority leader, he can manipulate legislation by adding generally unpopular items to vital bills for specific pandering purposes:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said today he is planning to attach an immigration reform measure that would help undocumented students to the Defense authorization bill slated to hit the Senate floor next week, CBS News Capitol Hill producer John Nolen reports.
The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act would provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented young people who came to the United States as minors and attended college or joined the military. Reid said a vote on the bill is long overdue.
“We are going to match our policy with our principles and finally say that in our country everyone who steps up to serve our country should be welcomed,” Reid told reporters today. “If they go into the military, serve for two years, they can get a green card. That’s what the DREAM Act is all about.”
Actually, the DREAM Act is a treasure trove of amnesty goodies pretending to be a pro-student measure, as documented in a helpful NumbersUSA Fact Sheet.
Back to Napolitano, who had a hopeful audience in the Hispanic Caucus…
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Monday that an unprecedented amount of manpower and technology has secured the Southwest border and clears the way for Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform.
Napolitano said the Obama administration has met every benchmark set by Congress on border security and called on lawmakers to “quit moving the goal posts.”
“We need Congress to fix our broken immigration system,” Napolitano told the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s public policy conference.
Napolitano is one of six Cabinet secretaries to address the two-day conference, which is being held during Hispanic heritage month.
In addition to immigration reform, Obama administration officials, lawmakers and experts will discuss policy initiatives dealing with the economy, education, financial services and international relations.
Napolitano said the administration has reduced a yearlong backlog for legal immigrants applying for visas and citizenship and that it has stepped up enforcement of laws against employers who hire and exploit illegal workers.
The president also has sent 1,200 National Guardsmen to the border until additional Border Patrol and customs agents are hired and trained to bolster security.
Napolitano said it is time for lawmakers in both major political parties to negotiate not just a bill, but a fair system that addresses the 11 million immigrants in this country illegally with earned citizenship.
President Barack Obama has called on Congress to pass immigration reform legislation, but he has acknowledged that he lacks the votes to get the contentious bill through the Senate.
Of course the idea that the border is secure is a political fiction.
I certainly hope the following story is accurate, which reports that DUI illegals will be jailed rather than be released to further endanger the public. The reason given is the death of Sister Denise Mosier (pictured left) at the hands of drunk-driving alien Carlos Montano (pictured right) in August.
In 2005, Rep. Sue Myrick introduced the Scott Gardner Act which states that any illegal alien convicted of a DWI will face automatic deportation, but the bill has never been passed into law.
As a result of the government’s apathy about the danger to public safety posed by inebriated foreigners, drunk driving illegal aliens endanger every American who crosses a street or rides in a car.
WASHINGTON – Immigration officials now plan to incarcerate illegal aliens when they’re arrested for drunken driving, WTOP has learned.
“The message has gone out to the field offices: Take them into custody, and don’t let them out on bond,” a high-ranking source within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement tells WTOP.
The new, tougher policy comes after the death of a Catholic nun, allegedly at the hands of an illegal immigrant with previous drunken driving arrests in Prince William County. Carlos A. Martinelly Montano, an illegal immigrant from Bolivia, was involved in the Aug. 1 crash that killed Jeanette M. Mosier and seriously injured two other nuns in Bristow. Mosier was know in her Benedictine Order as Sister Denise Mosier.
After a 2008 drunken driving arrest, Montano, 23, had been detained by ICE but was released on his own recognizance, pending a deportation hearing. Mosier’s death sparked outrage that Montano had not been in custody.
Earlier, ICE said Montano’s previous alcohol-related arrests did not meet guidelines for detaining him.
“So even after a first DWI we have the authority to take him into custody. People in custody tend to go through the deportation process much faster,” the ICE source said.
Prior to this change, under the Obama administration, ICE had focused on removing violent criminals from the country. Some, including Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert, had argued repeat drunken driving should be grounds for removal.
Ebert says detaining them at the time of their arrest would not be a legal issue.
“They still have rights under our judicial system, but on the other hand, if they commit a crime and are here illegally, they don’t have any right to be released.”
Last week, a Prince William grand jury indicted Montano for felony murder, driving with a revoked license and maiming resulting from drunken driving — the first time Ebert has prosecuted felony murder based on DUI.
“The feeling is ‘this should never happen again,’” says the ICE official. “The decision has been made to treat them like they would violent criminals.”
ICE just noticed that drunk-driving illegal aliens kill? Remarkable.
Asked by WTOP to confirm details of the policy change, ICE spokesman Brian P. Hale issued a statement:
“ICE’s highest priorities are apprehending and removing convicted criminal aliens, aliens who pose a danger to the community, and fugitive aliens. Aliens who are criminals, public safety threats, and fugitives are a main focus for the agency. That includes aliens convicted of DUI, particularly those already ordered to leave the country.”
Even with the new policy, scarce space in ICE detention centers may mean not all impaired drivers will be taken into custody immediately.
“If you have a gang member and a first-time DUI and only one bed, you’re going to keep the gang member in custody,” the ICE source tells WTOP.
Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart, who has been a sharp critic of ICE, says he’s “excited” by the decision.
“This is just the beginning. We have other dangerous criminals that ICE will continue to release until their deportations and that policy has got to change as well.”
Stewart has written to ICE requesting a list of all illegal immigrants in his county who have been released while awaiting deportation hearings. He says he has not heard from the federal government on his request.
Immigration issues, including questions about who should have U.S. citizenship, have hurt President Obama’s standing with voters, according to the latest Quinnipiac University national poll.
The poll, carried out during the first week in September, found that respondents had a strong anti-immigrant tilt, favoring, by 68% to 24%, stricter enforcement of immigration laws rather than integrating illegal immigrants into society and, by 48% to 45%, an end to the constitutionally guaranteed practice of granting U.S. citizenship to children born of illegal immigrants.
With members of Congress back in Washington for a short session before leaving to campaign, no one is expecting lawmakers to move on an issue as divisive as immigration reform. But some Republicans are pushing for congressional hearings on the birth issue, which conservatives have propelled into a campaign theme in races in which tea party movement candidates are running viable races.
Estimates vary, but there are about 4 million children of illegal immigrants who are U.S. citizens by right of birth in this country. Many are the children of settled illegal immigrants, but conservatives argue that women are sneaking into the country to give birth and gain U.S. citizenship for their children.
“Many Americans want to end ‘birthright citizenship,’ an issue some Republican senators want to explore through congressional hearings,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “Voters were told that ‘our Constitution and current laws’ blessed the practice, and the prospect of having to change one or both apparently doesn’t faze them.”
The electoral impact of the issue seems limited. Democratic respondents favored granting citizenship by 62% to 31%, while Republican and independent respondents oppose it by 67% to 27% and 51% to 42%, respectively.
There are a couple of noteworthy points in this poll. One is the very strong support for enforcement (68%) versus amnesty (24%). The poll question is: “24. Do you think immigration reform should primarily move in the direction of integrating illegal immigrants into American society or in the direction of stricter enforcement of laws against illegal immigration?”
Another item of interest is the desire of voters to eliminate the anchor baby magnet. Some restrictionists opine that any enforcement applied toward adorable precious innocent BABIES is politically verboten, that removing a wrongfully obtained benefit is somehow harmful to children.
In the Westlake area of Los Angeles, the local hispanics rioted for a couple days recently after an illegal alien was shot and killed by a police officer when the Guatemalan lunged at the cops with a knife. For more background, see my earlier blog: Los Angeles Officials Coddle Rioting Foreigners.
Naturally, a journalistic followup seemed in order that would mosey around the neighborhood, with lots of sensitive observation of new residents struggling to achieve a better life, as well as appreciation for the local color.
What readers get is painfully upside-down in its gushing deference to illegal aliens and their problems created by further lawbreaking. To be fair, the reporter reflects in part the mood on the ground, where top cops and politicians pander at length to people who, by law, belong in another country.
The article begins with a misleading headline (“immigrants” rather than “illegals”) and launches full throttle into a cheerful embrace of diversity, celebrating the colorful noisy smelly elements of a non-American street scene, fueled by unlicensed illegal vendors. The reporter then goes on to describe a community filled with dysfunction, poverty and crime — which is it?
The smell of corn roasting on sidewalk grills, the oompah beat of Latin music blasting from mom-and-pop stores, colorful signs touting tongue-twisting names like Atitlan and Quetzaltenango.
This central Los Angeles neighborhood could almost be plucked right out of Guatemala City.
Long ago a well-heeled area of Los Angeles, in more recent decades the Westlake district surrounding MacArthur Park has become a densely packed enclave of Central American immigrants fleeing brutal civil wars and grinding poverty in their home countries.
This week, the bustling community turned into a hotbed of unrest after a police officer shot and killed a Guatemalan day laborer who allegedly lunged at him with a knife. The incident Sunday sparked three days of protests by people who felt that killing Manuel Jaminez, a 37-year-old illegal immigrant, was an unfair and unnecessary use of police force.
The demonstrations surprised officials, who blamed the blowback on outsiders who had come to the area to stir up trouble. A visit to the neighborhood of grimy tenements with curlicued cornices and portals that belie a more elegant past reveals a social tapestry fraying from increasingly hardscrabble living and widespread frustration.
“Life is very hard here,” said Ricardo Fernandez, a retired Nicaraguan truck driver. “I tell people not to come, it’s not as good as before. But people still come.”
The neighborhood has long been a first stop for new arrivals who have made the risky journey to “el Norte.” More than two-thirds of residents are foreign-born, almost three-quarters are Hispanic, almost half live in poverty.
Drawn to a neighborhood with flavors of home, about 118,000 residents jam the area’s 2.7 square miles, making it one of the most crowded districts in Los Angeles.
Here, they find everything from comfort foods such as tamales and Pollo Campero — Central America’s beloved fast-food fried chicken chain — to fake Social Security cards and driver’s licenses to cheap lodging in shared bedrooms and living rooms.
But they often find it fails to live up to the starry-eyed stories told by friends and relatives eager to appear big shots with their U.S. success.
Jobs are few and far between, rents are high, and unfamiliar laws are stringently enforced. Crime is also high, with much of it related to the neighborhood’s homegrown Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13, a gang formed by Salvadoran immigrants in the 1980s that has morphed into one of the most vicious in the nation.
Particularly vulnerable are campesinos, subsistence farmers from the indigenous communities of rural Mexico and Guatemala who often are far less prepared to cope than other immigrants.
Many have only a few years of formal schooling and may barely be able to read and write. Some speak little Spanish, having grown up in isolated areas where native indigenous languages are mainly spoken.
Jaminez was a Quiche, one of Guatemala’s largest indigenous groups, and barely spoke Spanish.
“They’re the ones I see coming now. They’re not poor, they’re destitute,” said Carolina Sosa, a Guatemalan pastor. “Before it was the lower middle class fleeing the guerrillas. Now, they’re coming because they don’t have food.”
The recession coupled with the backlash against immigrants has toughened life for newcomers.
Apartments are often crowded with several families sharing rent. To eke out a living, many have taken to peddling everything from bootleg DVDs to bacon-wrapped sausages, turning the sidewalks into a chaotic flea market on evenings and weekends.
“There are a lot more people in the street selling,” said Andres Morales, a Cuban retiree. “It gets so you can’t walk on the sidewalk, but they have nothing else.”
In Latin American countries, street peddling is a ubiquitous and time-honored way of getting by when jobs are few and government assistance is scarce. Immigrants have a hard time understanding why it is illegal here and they resent crackdowns by police who give out $250 tickets and sometimes confiscate their goods.
“I’m making an honest living, but the police come and ticket us,” complained Jose Venegas, a Mexican ice cream seller who makes $12 to $15 a day. “I have two appointments in court for two tickets. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t have the money to pay the fines. I’m going to go to jail.”
The stress of trying to make ends meet plus social and emotional isolation leads some to seek refuge in alcohol. Jaminez had been drinking when he allegedly menaced two women and then police officers with a knife.
Residents said public drinking is out of control.
When radio guys John and Ken reported this story last week, John expounded at length on the disgusting filth and third-worldiness of the neighborhood, and how he and his wife feared driving through it.
Then a listener called in and described how at a local market, an employee daily goes through the parking lot picking up the dirty diapers thrown on the ground by diverse shoppers — placing the foul items into a shopping cart, dumping the diapers and then replaced the cart among the others for public use.
Are we diverse enough yet?
Below, residents of Los Angeles protested what they consider police brutality.
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The woman who suggested 
I certainly hope the following story is accurate, which reports that DUI illegals will be jailed rather than be released to further endanger the public. The reason given is the death of 
