Immigration
If they wanted to, parole board could cut TDCJ spending easier than legislators
Submitted by Gritsforbreakfast on Thu, 2010-08-19 09:30 Authored by GritsforbreakfastFar and away the biggest cost to Texas taxpayers from illegal immigrants - nearly double the amount spent on health and human services - is $171 million per year spent to house people in Texas state prisons who are eligible for deportation, the House State Affairs Committee was told yesterday. Reports Julian Aguilar at the Texas Tribune:
As of last July 2010, about 11,760 of the offenders incarcerated in the Texas State prison system, or 7.5 percent of the total prison population, claimed foreign residency, according to testimony from Jerry McGinty, the budget director for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Colorlines: 50,000 Deported From County Jails, And Counting
Submitted by Southern Shift on Thu, 2010-08-12 07:31 Authored by Seth Freed Wessler of Colorlines Original Article
Colorlines: A rapidly expanding federal program that checks the immigration statuses of anyone booked into state and local jails is creating SB 1070 like conditions all over the country, according to recently obtained data.
The program, called Secure Communities, sends Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement (ICE) information on anyone in police custody. So far, it’s resulted in almost 50,000 deportations.
Orwellian-named immigration policy massively subsidizes private prisons in Texas
Submitted by Gritsforbreakfast on Fri, 2010-07-23 06:29 Authored by GritsforbreakfastBob Libal at Texas Prison Bidness has authored a "green paper" (pdf) on behalf of the group Grassroots Leadership critiquing the Orwellian-named "Operation Streamline," which is the Bush-initiated practice of layering criminal charges for illegal entry on top of civil detention prior to deportation. Libal says:
The result has been a mess. In Texas alone, 135,000 immigrants now have criminal records and many have done real prison time under the Streamline before being deported (far from streamlining the process, the policy adds another layer of incarceration on top of the existing civil detention system).
Speculative Lubbock jail opens with no prisoners to fill it
Submitted by Gritsforbreakfast on Mon, 2010-07-12 07:59 Authored by GritsforbreakfastOn Wednesday, Lubbock County will celebrate the opening of a new 1,500 bed jail with a ribbon cutting, but county taxpayers might want to show up and turn the event into a good old fashioned tarring and feathering of all the elected officials responsible for this white elephant. (It may be the last time they can all be found in one place!) The jail has already been responsible for a significant tax hike, and if plans to fill extra beds with federal inmates don't come through - as seems likely given the recent experience in other counties - their taxes will soon rise even more because of this boondoggle.
Saturday Roundup
Submitted by Gritsforbreakfast on Sat, 2010-06-26 12:30 Authored by GritsforbreakfastHere are a few items that caught my attention recently even if I don't have time to focus on each of them:
Don't consent to searches
From Robert Guest: "Don't consent to searches: Not guilty edition."
Criminalizing dissatisfied education consumers
The trend toward criminalizing truancy continues in Gilmer. To me, truant youth are voting with their feet about the quality of their education. If it's irrelevant to their daily lives and seemingly offers no future benefit (for those who won't be attending college), dropping out can be a rational choice. I'd rather see resources directed toward improving the educational product than toward using law enforcement to force an unwanted product on educational consumers.
Bilking Crimestoppers, the Invisible Informant, Constables Gone Wild, and Book 'em Horns
Submitted by Gritsforbreakfast on Tue, 2010-06-15 08:43 Authored by GritsforbreakfastA few disparate items that deserve Grits readers attention:
'Forgiving My Daughter's Killer'
From the Washington Post, see "Forgiving My Daughter's Killer," which offers praise for a victim-offender mediation program at TDCJ based on restorative justice principles.
Dallas: Budget shortfall = Fewer cops
Florida Congressman & US Senatorial Candidate Kendrick Meek talks to Southern Shift TV About Immigration, SB 1070 and BP Oil Spill
Submitted by Southern Shift on Mon, 2010-06-14 14:01 Authored by Davey D
We caught up w/ Florida Congressman and US Senatorial candidate Kendrick Meek during the America's Future Now conference in Washington DC.
He weighed in on a number of topics including the Gulf Oil spill and as heard in this clip Immigration Reform and SB1070. Meek who is a former cop talked about how the new law will create major distrust between Law Enforcement and Immigrants
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BG8lDtD9E8
Is Texas the Next Arizona? GOP takes a Hard Stance on Immigration
Submitted by Southern Shift on Mon, 2010-06-14 08:36 Authored by Davey DImmediately after Arizona passed it's controversial anti-immigration law SB 1070, leaders in Texas weighed in and gave their take on it. Some conservative Lawmakers immediately launched a petition drive to Governor Rick Perry, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, and Speaker of the House Joe Straus demanding that they get serious about dealing with the invasion of illegals that is transforming Texas, and give us a bill that's just as powerful and effective as the one that just became law in Arizona. This peitition was put forth via the Peter Morrison Report.
Young Texas activists Meamya and Monica speak on Gulf Spill & Immigration
Submitted by Southern Shift on Fri, 2010-06-11 12:27 Authored by Davey DThis week at the Campaign for America's Future Convention in Washington DC, we caught up with young activist from Texas who are set to go see Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson to talk to her about the oil spill and environmental and social justice..
Meamya Christie from Dallas feels the African American community needs to be more aware of the Gulf Oil Spill
Monica Ramos from San Antonio is going to talk to Senator Hutchison about immigration rights and the Dream Act.
http://www.justin.tv/mrdaveyd/b/265086335#r=1YnKy9s~&s=li
Watch live video from mrdaveyd on Justin.tv
Unmanned drones on border pure security theater
Submitted by Gritsforbreakfast on Fri, 2010-05-07 08:28 Authored by GritsforbreakfastHere's another foolish, wasteful, big-brotherish idea brought to you by federal lawmakers and heartily, regrettably endorsed by the El Paso Times in a May 5 editorial uruging the feds to:
Fast-track the paperwork and get drones up and scanning the Texas-Mexico border. It's a modern way to identify drug-smuggling operations.
There seems to be total agreement that drones can be just as successful in providing high-resolution views of ground activities here as they are in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The call here, with bipartisan political support, is for unarmed drones. The holdup is the Federal Aviation Administration, which requires a paperwork process before authorizing operation of unmanned aerial systems.
Drones are now in operation over the Arizona-Mexico border, and to some extent along the New Mexico-Mexico border.
