Arizona law to criminalize undocumented immigrants

PHOENIX, Arizona, United States—Arizona could become the first state in the country to criminalize undocumented immigrants.

A bill moving fast through the Arizona Senate would allow local police to arrest and incarcerate someone for “trespassing” into the territory of the state.

“The federal government is not doing its job so we’re going to do it,” said Senator Russell Pearce (Republican-Mesa), author of the bill, which is called the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhood Act.

On Wednesday, the Senate Public Safety and Human Services Committee approved SB 1070. Pearce said he is confident that the bill would clear the legislature and have the support of Governor Jan Brewer.

During her State of the State speech, the Republican governor mentioned specifically that she would be working with Pearce to “enhance the existing penalties for any criminal alien who returns to our state.”

The trespassing bill would make it a misdemeanor to be in the state illegally. A person arrested twice under the law would be charged with a felony. The Arizona bill includes a number of provisions, including one proscribing “sanctuary polices,” and restricting any government agency or city from limiting immigration enforcement.

Similar bills have been unsuccessful in the past. Another version of this law didn’t get sufficient votes during the past legislative session. In 2006, former governor Janet Napolitano vetoed it and said in a letter that this was an unfunded mandate for local law-enforcement.

This time around a new provision in the bill is drawing the attention of religious leaders. It would impose penalties on those who transport, harbor, or conceal undocumented immigrants. It also would punish those who encourage an undocumented immigrant to move into the state with a misdemeanor and a $1,000 fine.

Reverend Liana Rowe of the Shadow Rock United Church of Christ in Phoenix said she is concerned that it would criminalize anyone who works with migrant communities regardless of their immigration status.

“The feds have not done anything about immigration reform. They’ve allowed the status quo to remain,” she said. “And it really allows states to go rogue on these issues, to not have a systematic and sensible and human approach.”

Over the last five years, the Arizona legislature has been at the forefront of approving bills aimed at regulating illegal immigration. In 2005, it passed a human smuggling law that has been used to prosecute immigrants who hire a smuggler to cross the border.

Three years ago, the legislature approved one of the toughest employer-sanctions laws in the nation, which penalizes companies that knowingly hire undocumented labor.

At the end of 2009, the legislature enacted a new law requiring state and public employees to report to immigration authorities any undocumented immigrants who apply for public benefits.

“Arizona is obviously leading in the arena of combating illegal immigration,” said Barnett Lotstein, a special assistant to the Maricopa County attorney, “and the reason for that is that we are a focal point for illegal immigration.” - INQUIRER.net, January 24, 2010

Comments

List of illegal alien invader laws passed by the voters of Arizona:

2000

Prop 203 - Requires all public school instruction to be given in the English language, except students designated as "English Learners" who would be placed in an intensive English immersion program.

2004

Prop 200 - Requires that voters be able to produce both identification and proof of citizenship prior to being allowed to vote in any election. The same requirements were also enacted for any person prior to receiving any state or locally funded benefits.

2006

Prop 100 - Proposed amendment to the constitution to deny bail to persons charged with serious felonies who are in the US illegally.

Prop 102 - Proposed amendment to the constitution to deny the award of punitive damages in civil court cases to persons who are in the US illegally

Prop 102 - Proposed amendment to the constitution to declare English the official language of the state.

Prop 300 - Referendum on a proposal to require citizenship for eligibility for various subsidized services such as in-state tuition and financial assistance.

2008

Prop 202 – (Defeated) Proposition 202 changes current Arizona law that prohibits employers from intentionally or knowingly employing an alien who is not authorized under federal law to work in the United States. Under Proposition 202, the definition of "knowingly employ an unauthorized alien" would be changed to require actual knowledge by an owner or officer of the employer.

Philippine troops trapped in Haiti buildings

Hundreds more Filipinos unaccounted for

MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE 4) Some Filipino troops serving as members of the United Nations peacekeeping forces were trapped in several buildings in Haiti following the 7.0 magnitude quake that rocked its capital, according to the military officer who heads the Filipino peacekeeping contingent.

Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner Jr., Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson, relayed to reporters the information received by the wife of Lieutenant Colonel Lope Dagoy, head of the Filipino contingent to the UN peacekeeping force in Haiti, during their satellite phone conversation early Wednesday.

Brawner, however, said majority of the Philippine troops have been evacuated and are out of harm’s way.

Dagoy reached his wife through a satellite phone around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday (Manila time) or 9 p.m. (in Haiti), three hours after the strong earthquake rocked Port Au Prince, Brawner said.

The AFP spokesman said Dagoy could not yet say exactly how many Filipinos were trapped at the time of his conversation with his wife.

Brawner said Dagoy told his wife that power and communications bogged down following the quake.

Brawner said the military was still trying to establish full contact with the troops in the area, as of Wednesday morning, to account for all the 157 soldiers as well as 22 Philippine National Police officers who made up the Philippine peacekeeping contingent.

Meanwhile, Elmer Cato, spokesman for the Philippine mission to the United Nations, told reporters from New York that the Filipino peace keepers were already helping in rescue efforts.

"We were told by the UN they were first on scene of the collapsed UN headquarters," Cato said.

Cato said the Filipino peacekeepers were based in a building across the street from the headquarters of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), which was reduced to rubble.

The foreign ministry in Manila had said earlier it was concerned for the safety of its 179 military and police peacekeepers in Haiti after failing to reach them following the 7.0 magnitude quake in the impoverished Caribbean nation.

However, the foreign ministry said a number of nationals remained unaccounted for.

Eduardo Malaya, spokesperson of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), said in a text message to the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Wednesday that the Philippine Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York and the Philippine embassy in Havanna, Cuba – which is handling the country’s diplomatic ties with Haiti – have had difficulty in establishing contact with the 10th Philippine Contingent serving with the INUSTAH.

“The DFA is deeply concerned over the condition of Filipinos in Haiti following the Magnitude 7 earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince on January 12,” Malaya said.

“The DFA will provide the public with updates as soon as reports are received from New York and the Philippine Embassy in Havanna, Cuba which covers Haiti,” he added.

Aside from the 179 peacekeepers, the DFA said there were "447 members of the Filipino community" in Haiti and that the Filipino mission to the UN in New York "has had difficulty in establishing contact" with the peacekeepers as well as the Filipino workers.

The UN confirmed in a statement that the MINUSTAH headquarters in Haiti sustained "serious damage" in Tuesday's earthquake and a large number of UN personnel in Haiti are unaccounted for.”

Alain Le Roy, head of the UN department of peacekeeping operations, which oversees the world body's various missions around the world, said other UN installations in the Caribbean nation were also seriously damaged.

Leroy added that a large number of UN personnel remain unaccounted for in Haiti.

"Contacts with the UN on the ground have been severely hampered as communications networks in Haiti have been disabled by the earthquake," Leroy said in a statement.

He said the UN Peacekeeping Department was still in the process of gathering information on the extent of the damage and the status of UN personnel, as of Wednesday morning (Manila time) following the "catastrophic earthquake."

The UN said that the building collapsed and that a large number of UN staff were unaccounted for.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement, "My heart goes out to the people of Haiti after this devastating earthquake. At this time of tragedy, I am very concerned for the people of Haiti and also for the many United Nations staff who serve there. I am receiving initial reports and following developments closely."

The United Nations has a 9,000-strong peacekeeping force in Haiti, which has been there since a rebellion in 2004. The force has been credited with helping to curb violence and crime in the Western hemisphere. - By Jocelyn Uy, Cynthia Balana, Philippine Daily Inquirer, January 13, 2010

Israel: Trade Union Centre Histadrut to Allow Migrant Workers Full Membership

Brussels, 6 January 2010 (ITUC OnLine): A decision taken by the ITUC’s Israeli affiliate Histadrut to allow migrant workers membership is a significant step towards ensuring an end to exploitation and helping ensure full respect for their rights at work. The December 28 decision by the national trade union centre removes an anomaly whereby only citizens and residents of Israel were entitled to join and to stand for election positions within the Histadrut.

To date, most of Histadrut’s activities in support of migrant workers have been conducted via a special office in the Tel Aviv Regional Labour Council, as well as political lobbying and support for legal cases.

Migrant labour accounts for some 7% of Israel’s labour force, and maltreatment of these workers is prevalent, in particular in the agriculture sector where poor working and living conditions, long working hours, sub-minimum wages and other forms of exploitation have been documented. Alongside workers from Eastern Europe and various Asian countries, tens of thousands of Palestinians work for Israeli employers as documented or undocumented migrants. At the June 2009 International Labour Conference, the ILO called on the Israeli government to ensure that migrant workers have the same rights as Israeli citizens in law and in practice, as well as in social security provision.

“While the impacts of Israel’s blockade of Gaza and continued occupation of the West Bank on Palestinians are well known internationally, the plight of migrant workers inside Israel, whether from Palestine or elsewhere, has received little international attention. Histadrut’s decision can only help to improve their situation and we welcome it,” said ITUC (International Trade Union Confederation) General Secretary Guy Ryder.

Factors to Consider When Buying Land in The Philippines

When looking for homes in Philippines, one needs to consider the following factors:

Terrain

The whole country features a myriad of unique terrains and the people have learned to adapt to these unique conditions in order to survive. As testimony, homes in philippines may range from huts and elevated cottages to brick mansions depending on the condition of the terrain where the homes are built on. Those that are situated near bodies of water, such as in the case of beach houses, are equipped with measures to withstand heavy and occasional typhoons, frequent tide changes and even tsunamis; while those that are built on sloping mountain sides are layered and feature pilot rooms adjoined by bridges and beautiful walkways to minimize risk of collapse and subsidence.

The country has several different terrains to offer so one has to carefully think about which terrain should his/her home stand on.

Accessibility

Since the country is still on its way to development in terms of economy and infrastructure, one needs to consider how accessible a particular location is. Those that are easily accessible and are located in fully-developed and highly urbanized areas usually cost significantly more than those that are less developed. The accessibility to familiar and essential establishments such as schools, churches, malls, and hospitals also become of a factor that dictates how much a piece of land costs.

This, however, seems less of a concern for most Filipinos because a lot of homes in philippines are built without accessibility as a consideration. Most of them, of course, are built by squatters or land grabbers.

Price

Price is always a consideration whether you want to build a home in the Philippines or in other countries. However, since the Philippines is considerably young especially in terms of economic development, its lands cost generally less than those in other countries.

Several factors are responsible for this. Some of these factors include the first two mentioned above. Since the Philippines offers a greater variety of terrain and, consequently varying degrees of accessibility, it has a greater range of prices to offer. The flatter and the more stable a terrain is, the higher its cost gets. Similarly, the more accessible the land becomes, the greater its price becomes.

Other factors include the name of the developer selling the land. The more popular realty companies have built their reputation on years of good and quality service so the more familiar (or popular) the realty company selling the land is, the more expensive the price tag of the land gets.

Another factor that may affect the price of the land is its exclusivity. The more exclusive the land is, the higher its cost gets. Apparently, in the Philippines, privacy comes with a hefty price tag. For more information visit to our site at http://www.atayala.com

Doctor builds hospital cum hotel in Capiz

ROXAS CITY, Philippines – The first-ever “hospitel” – a hospital and hotel – in the Visayas will soon rise in Capiz at a cost of P450 million.

A simple groundbreaking ceremony was held last Tuesday on the 30-hectare development site in this city.

Capitalizing on the growing popularity of the medical hotel concept and backed by the results of studies conducted, the project involves the construction of a 100-bed tertiary hospital –a well-equipped facility offering a full range of medical services – with an adjoining hotel.

To be known as The Health Centrum, the facility will be at the heart of the 30-hectare complex owned by the Balgos Family located in Roxas City’s Barangay (village) Banica. It will be financed by a loan from the Land bank of the Philippines.

The entire property is envisioned to become a fully sufficient community with areas earmarked for nursing and medical training school, housing for medical practitioners, a retirement village, residential subdivision, and commercial establishments.

Doctor Abundio Balgos, currently based in Metro Manila, said the planned integrated hospital, hotel, and mall complex would serve clients not only from Roxas City and province but also other parts of Panay, such Iloilo, Aklan, Antique, and Boracay Island, as well as Masbate and the northern part of Palawan, which are nearby.

Balgos said the hospital would offer modern and state-of-the-art general and specialty medical services, as well as a resort/out-patient/long-term care and treatment facility.

The hotel will also serve the patients of the hospital, both in-patients requiring nursing care, pain management or observation services for their recuperation, and out-patients requiring temporary accommodation before and after their medical exams, he added.

Because of its proximity to island resorts and diving spots, the facility will also have a decompression chamber, he added.

According to the plan, a mall adjacent to the hospital and hotel will also be built.

The property is close to the College of St. John – Roxas, a De La Salle supervised school, which has elementary, high school, and college that offers a nursing course.

An 11-hectare residential subdivision intended to serve as a retirement village, is also planned, he said.

Balgos said medical tourism would enhance the viability of the project once the institution was able to establish a good reputation built on competent medical specialists, nursing care, state-of-the-art equipment, and a center for alternative medicine.

Balgos said the development would cover a period of 10 years. The total project cost was based on a set of technical studies conducted by a team of doctors, architects and engineers.

As main proponent of the project, Balgos said he would relocate his medical practice to Roxas City when the project starts operations. - Felipe V. Celino, Inquirer Visayas, January 02, 2010