Fingerprinting sounds like a great idea but....Felicidades a todos! Hope everyone is starting 2012 con fuerza! Es un año nuevo pero mismo chanclaso.
The first chanclaso of 2012 goes to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) officials for deporting a 14-year-old girl to Colombia after failing to match her fingerprints. Jakadrien Turner was arrested in Houston for theft and gave authorities a fake name. The fake name belonged to an undocumented immigrant from Colombia and that's when ICE officials got involved. Even after taking the girl's fingerprints, ICE officials botched the procedure, failed to match her identity, and deported her to Colombia. Turner isn't Colombian, doesn't have any connections to Colombia, and doesn't speak a lick of Spanish. She's African-American. Turner was given a government work card in Colombia where she was forced to work long hours as a maid. Also, what is up with Colombia accepting individuals without verifying their identity?
Next, I was shocked to read that certain states required electronic fingerprints of food stamps applicants. Fortunately, most states have done away with that requirement, however, the city of New York and Arizona still require fingerprints. Mayor Bloomberg of NYC argues that fingerprints deter fraud without providing any evidence. I'm certain the only thing that fingerprinting applicants cause is more paper work, more delays, and another hurdle that poor families have to jump through to put food on the table. I'm giving Mayor Bloomberg a chanclaso for requiring unnecessary obstacles when all you want is to feed your family.
Aplauso:
Un gran aplauso to Washington Governor Christine Gregoire who came out in full support of marriage equality and wants to make Washington the 7th state to offer full marriage rights to same-sex couples. Slowly but surely, state by state, this great country of ours will offer marriage equality to all of its citizens, simply, because it's the right thing to do. Governor Gregoire, who is also Catholic, gave a resounding speech in support of marriage and will be a strong advocate to make this happen in the legislative session. Fuerza Gregoire!
About El Chanclaso:
For many Latinos, a chancla is more than summer footwear. The flip flops on our mothers' feet were also impromptu and easily accessed weapons. Back talk, ignoring orders or fighting with your siblings could, without warning, result in a chancla on the rear end or, if distance was a factor, flying at you.
Now we're all grown up. But some people still deserve chanclasos. And we're going to let them have it here in our weekly column, El Chanclaso. Every Friday, Sergio, our resident chancludo, will turn a critical eye on political shenanigans, and current issues and events with his chancla firmly in hand. Depending on the severity of the misbehavior, being on the wrong end of the chancla could get you one or two chanclasos. Sergio will also give aplausos to those who make us proud.You've been warned. Now, behave!
Read more Chanclasos here.
Sergio Lopez hails from the great city of San Antonio and is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He thanks his mother for judiciously using her chancla to set him straight.
Follow El Chanclaso on Twitter: www.twitter.com/votolatino
Rush to Misjudgment: ICE is Not Recklessly Deporting American Citizens
January 10, 2012 By Ira Mehlman Leave a Comment
Anyone who has followed FAIR’s activities over the past several years knows that we do not reflexively leap to the defense of the current leadership of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). To say that deporting people – even those for whom the law clearly prescribes deportation – is not ICE’s favorite activity would be a gross understatement. They bend over backwards, and then some, to avoid enforcing immigration laws against all but the worst offenders.
Yet, for all of ICE leadership’s efforts to ensure that no one is deported simply for being here illegally, the advocates for illegal aliens never seem to be satisfied. They repeatedly charge that ICE is separating families and practically ripping babies from their mothers’ arms. So when it was revealed that ICE had deported a U.S. citizens teenager, Jakedrien Lorece Turner, to Colombia, the illegal alien lobby was ready to pounce. So too, were many in the media, who reported the story before they had all the facts.
The fact is that ICE did deport a Ms. Turner ...
Read the rest here:
http://immigrationreform.com/2012/01/10/rush-to-misjudgment-ice-is-not-recklessly-deporting-american-citizens/?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Top%205%20Immigration%20Stories&utm_content=Top+5+January+13%2C+2012
ICE failed to match her identity:
Were the real Columbian woman's fingerprints in the system? Were Ms. Turner's fingerprints in the system? Unless the answers to these latter two questions are known then you cannot claim that "ICE failed to match her identity."
If a person tells you (and everyone else around you) that they are not a U.S citizen and they are, in fact, in this country illegally then what is ICE (and again, everyone else too) supposed to do? Her race and inability to speak Spanish do nothing for the argument that ICE should've known she wasn't Columbian.
Sigh, personally I just get tired of myopic viewpoints.