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By Evan Lips | July 26, 2017, 18:15 EDT

Printed from: http://newbostonpost.com/2017/07/26/activists-disrupt-illegal-immigration-bill-announcement/

BOSTON Pro-illegal immigration activists crashed a press conference on Wednesday held to announce the filing of a bill intended to combat a recent MassachusettsSupreme Judicial Court decision barring local police departments from acting upon federal detainer requests.

Keep hate out of our state, the activists chanted, disrupting state Representative Jim Lyons (R-Andover), who at the time was speaking to reporters from a podium.

Folks, I appreciate the fact that you came, Im not going to interrupt you, please do not interrupt me, Lyons told the lead protester, identified as Centro Presente Executive Director Patricia Montes. Please, be respectful.

I am being respectful, Montes shot back. But youre not being respectful of the immigrant community.

The testy exchange occurred inside the State House, where a gaggle of reporters had assembled to hear from Lyons and other lawmakers, including fellow Republican state representatives Marc Lombardo of Billerica, Joseph McKenna of Worcester, Shaunna OConnell of Taunton and Geoff Diehl of Whitman, regarding the groups recently filed legislation. Also in attendance was Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, who has made headlines for his critical views on illegal immigration.

Im listening, Im going to listen, but if you say racist stuff against our community, were going to get mad, Montes told Lyons at one point.

Hodgson later directly addressed the activists.

Let me just remind you and the other protesters here that the First Amendment affords every one of us the opportunity to be heard, not to be interrupted, you have your forum to speak, but do not interrupt our constitutional right, Hodgson said before being cut off by Montes.

Dont violate basic human rights of immigrants, thats why Im here, Montes said. Youre criminalizing the immigrant community, you have been criminalizing the immigrant community for years.

Montes later backed off, but redoubled her efforts once Diehl began speaking. Diehl said the SJCs ruling makes no sense whatsoever, prompting Montes and other activities to resume chanting. Montes appeared to draw the ire of Hodgson after she repeatedly positioned herself between the press conference podium and the lenses of television network cameras. A House court officer tried to coax Montes away from the area in front of the podium but was met with protests from Montes.

Dont yell at me, Montes said to the officer, wagging her finger at him. You know that I have rights. Dont touch me and dont yell at me.

The confrontation prompted Lyons to remark, I think youre (Montes) the one yelling at us.

Montes later demanded that Lyons and other lawmakers produce data on crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.

Im not talking about cases, I want to have specific data, youre filing a bill and I imagine you have enough information, because basically what you are saying is that all undocumented people in Massachusetts are criminals, a visibly animated Montes said.

You may not like the answer, but youve asked a question, Lyons said. And I didnt interrupt you the way you interrupted us.

Lyons mentioned late Mays fentanyl drug bust in Lawrence, which resulted in the arrests of 30, at least nine of whom had entered the country illegally.

Our purpose in this bill is not to say that there are illegal immigrants and everyones a criminal, despite the fact that thats what youre saying, our purpose of this bill is to protect the citizens of the United States and specifically Massachusetts, Lyons said.

Lyons and other lawmakers filed the bill, titled An Act to Clarify the Jurisdiction of Law Enforcement Officials on Immigration issues, on Tuesday. Ahead of Wednesdays press conference, Lyons took to social media and wrote on his Facebook page that the bill will allow police and law enforcement personnel to arrest illegal immigrants.

Meanwhile, Lyons told reporters and activists at Wednesdays press conference that he and other lawmakers want to make sure that our law enforcement officers have the tools necessary, and one of those tools is to be able to work cooperatively with our federal authorities.

Montes began speaking loudly again while Lombardo was at the microphone.

This is very common for the left, Lombardo said, regarding Montess behavior.

Montes later led activists in additional chants as Lyons attempted to end the press conference.

The Democratic Party in Massachusetts is able to get things done quickly; every day that they refuse to address the underlying safety of our communities they are putting our citizens at risk, Lyons said, before taking a swipe at the legislative and constitutional officer pay raise bill championed by Democratic leadership and passed in January at the beginning of the current session in January.

What we are demanding is that this Legislature look at this bill and determine that the public safety of Massachusetts citizens is paramount, and we would urge them to pass this legislation, Lyons added.

Read a copy of the bill:

07-25-2017 an Act to Clarify the Jurisdiction of Law Enforcement Officials on Immigration Issues by Evan on Scribd

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Activists Disrupt Illegal Immigration Bill Announcement - NewBostonPost (blog)

Donald Trump has launched a scathing attack on illegal immigrants and suggested they are animals who slice and dice young girls.

Speaking at a campaign-style make America great again rally in Youngstown in Ohio, the US President likened the country to a nation going through a war which needed to be freed from illegal migrants.

The billionaire property developer, who has seen the number of immigrants with no criminal records arrested more than double under his presidency, claimed illegal immigrant gang members are not using guns because they are not painful enough.

One by one, we are finding the illegal gang members, drug dealers, thieves, robbers, criminals, and killers. And we are sending them the hell back home where they came from, President Trump told the crowd prompting applause.

And once they are gone, we will never let them back in, believe me. The predators and criminal aliens who poison our communities with drugs and prey on innocent young people - these beautiful, beautiful, innocent young people - will find no safe haven anywhere in our country.

He added: And youve seen the stories about some of these animals. They dont want to use guns because its too fast and its not painful enough. So theyll take a young, beautiful girl, 16, 15, and others, and they slice them and dice them with a knife because they want them to go through excruciating pain before they die.

President Trump, who mentioned no specific examples of where or when instances such as these had taken place, then branded them animals for the second time, saying America had been protecting them for too long.

He added: "Well, they're not being protected any longer, folks. And that is why my administration is launching a nationwide crackdown on sanctuary cities.

Mr Trump, who became famed for making inflammatory, xenophobic remarks during his presidential campaign, claimed US citizens were increasingly grateful forborder patrol.

He said: People are screaming from their windows, thank you, thank you to the border patrol and to General Kelly's great people that come in and grab these thugs and throw them the hell out.

Were liberating our towns, and were liberating our cities. Can you believe we have to do that? he asked.

The President claimed this was not being done in a politically correct fashion and they were instead doing it rough.

Despite the fact his predecessor Barack Obama was often branded deporter-in-chief by migrant rights activists, Mr Trump vociferously pledged to take a more stringent stance on illegal immigration during his election campaign.

Since arriving in the White House, he has pushed immigration enforcement further up the political agenda and arrests of immigrants residing in the US haveincreased. Nevertheless, deportations have marginally decreased as fewer people have been caught illegally crossing the Mexican border into the US.

Mr Trump also used the one-hour speech in the blue-collar rust belt city, which is a former centre of steel production, to express his happiness at being back in Americas heartland and away from the Washington swamp.

He also spent the address showing off about his presidential prowess and launching into an attack on fake news.

"It is much easier to act presidential than what we are doing here tonight, believe me. With the exception of the late, great Abraham Lincoln, I can be more presidential than any president that's ever held this office, he said.

"I think that with few exceptions, no president has done anywhere near what we've done in his first six months. Not even close.

The address was briefly interrupted by protesters on a couple of occasions with President Trump jeering at demonstrator by saying hes going back home to mommy.

Continued here:
Donald Trump brands illegal immigrants 'animals' who 'slice and dice' young beautiful girls - The Independent

Federal prosecutors charged a truck driver Monday with smuggling illegal immigrants after 10 of them died in his trailer over the weekend, renewing a fierce argument over border security and the risks migrants take to try to sneak into the U.S.

As many as 200 migrants had been packed in the truck, according to what one of them told federal investigators.

The driver, James Matthew Bradley Jr., claimed not to have known about them, saying he only figured it out when he stopped to relieve himself in a Walmart parking lot overnight Saturday and heard banging from inside the trailer.

Eight people were dead at that time, one died Sunday, and another died Monday morning. Nearly 30 others were hospitalized.

Human smugglers have repeatedly demonstrated that they have absolutely no regard for human life, said Thomas D. Homan, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The stories the migrants told investigators matched those of hundreds of thousands of others who have jumped the border in recent years hoping to gain a foothold in the U.S.

One migrant said he was supposed to pay $5,500 to his smugglers at the end of the trip, which began on the Mexican side of the border, entailed paying protection money to the Zetas cartel, being rafted across the Rio Grande into Texas one night, then walking all night and into the next day.

Another migrant reported having laid up at a stash house in Laredo, Texas, for 11 days, awaiting a final trip to San Antonio. And still another migrant said he paid 60,000 pesos to be smuggled through Mexico, and was en route to Minnesota.

They were all picked up and put into the trailer, assured it was refrigerated and they were safe.

But the refrigeration didnt work and people began to pass out, the migrants told investigators. They took turns breathing through a hole in the trailer wall, hoping to get whatever relief they could.

Once the truck stopped, dozens of them jumped out and rushed to waiting vehicles, others fled for nearby bushes, and still others remained in the trailer with the dead or ailing.

Authorities say more than 100 migrants were in the trailer, with one of them estimating it was as many as 200.

Mr. Bradley, the driver, said he knew the trailers refrigeration didnt work, but said he didnt know anything about the load he was carrying. He told investigators he was hauling the trailer from Iowa to Brownsville, Texas, and had stopped several times in Texas, where he had his truck washed, detailed and polished.

When he stopped at the Walmart, he said he heard banging on the trailer, opened the doors and was surprised when he was run over by Spanish people and knocked to the ground.

Bradley said he then noticed bodies just lying on the floor like meat, James Lara, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, a division of ICE, said in an affidavit filed in court Monday.

The smuggling charge carries penalties that include the death penalty or life in prison.

The administration has said its crackdown on illegal immigration is, in part, an attempt to stop dangerous smuggling attempts like this weekends tragedy.

These smugglers have no regard for human life and seek only profits, said Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly.

The House is expected to vote later this week on a bill that would provide $1.6 billion to build the first parts of President Trumps proposed border wall.

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Trucker charged with smuggling after 10 illegal immigrants die - Washington Times

The horrific incident involving dozens of immigrants allegedly smuggled into the U.S. in a sweltering tractor-trailer is proof that illegal immigration is not a victimless crime, the acting head ofU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Fox News on Monday.

It's a message I've been trying to get out as long as I've been the acting ICE director, ThomasHoman said on"Your World with Neil Cavuto."

Federal authorities havesince charged the alleged driverof the tractor-trailer, James Mathew Bradley Jr., 60, of Clearwater, Fla., with transporting immigrants in the U.S. illegally. Investigators found the packed truck at a Walmart in San Antonio over the weekend. Ten people who were inside the truck have died.

Illegal immigration is not a victimless crime, Homan argued. These folks, they contract with criminal organizations. These organizations are the same organizations that smuggle drugs, they smuggle weapons, smuggle people that want to do harm to this country. You talk about drug cartelsare talking about smuggling folks. These are not victimless crimes, he said.

10THVICTIM DIES IN SAN ANTONIO HUMAN TRAFFICKING CASE

When you're victimized as an illegal alien or somebody stealing your social security number or your credit rating goes to zero because someone took your identity. This is not a victimless crime, Homan continued. Those folks that want to turn a blind eye to illegal immigration, this is what happens. There's real consequences, this is a life-and-death decision that these people make.

Entering the U.S. illegally is a crime, Homan said, and it should be treated as such.

That is why the message needs to be clear: we're going to enforce the laws of this country, he said. If you enter illegally, if it's a crime, and if you think you're going to be safe in a sanctuary city, that is a message I'm trying to get. Sanctuary cities can choose not to cooperate with ICE and choose to shield people from detection. I'm going to send additional resources and we're going to find these people. We're going to enforce the law without apology.

Homan, who previously served as ICE's executive associate director of enforcement and removal operations before becoming the acting director, argued that sanctuary cities are hurting the ability of officials to enforce immigration laws.

TEXAS LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR BLAMES TRUCK DEATHS ON SANCTUARY CITIES THAT ENABLE HUMAN SMUGGLERS

I wish these jurisdictions would work with us, wish they (would) think about the decisions they're making, he said. They're enticing people to come and find refuge in their city. This is not the America that should be. We didn't enforce the laws without apology and we need to take the magnet away, he said.

I can't blame anybody for wanting to come to the United States. There's a legal way to do it and a not legal way to do it. Millions have come to this country and become parts of it's society through the legal process. That's what we need to stick to, Homan added.

Excerpt from:
'Illegal immigration is not a victimless crime,' ICE acting director says - Fox News

AUSTIN, Texas/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Some of the illegal immigrants who survived a deadly human-smuggling journey into Texas are seeking visas to stay in the United States in exchange for testimony against those responsible for an operation that killed 10 people on a sweltering truck, a lawyer said on Tuesday.

There is precedent for such visas and it could help U.S. authorities bring more people to justice, experts said. So far, only one person has been charged, the driver of the truck who said he was unaware of the human cargo aboard until he took a rest stop in San Antonio. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

The case could also provide a test for the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, which has promised to crack down on illegal immigration and the criminal syndicates responsible for human trafficking.

Silvia Mintz, an attorney representing the Guatemalan Consulate in Houston, said she has contacted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to see if it would consider granting "U visas," available to victims of crimes such as human trafficking who have pertinent information to provide law enforcement.

At least 100 illegal immigrants, mainly from Mexico and Guatemala, were crammed into the back of the truck after crossing the U.S. border.

"If we are able to establish the case, we will go ahead and seek the U visa," Mintz said in a telephone interview.

Shane Folden, special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations in San Antonio, said most of the people found alive at the scene are still in local hospitals. He said it was too early to talk about possible visas.

"There are a number of paths toward immigration relief for situations such as this," he said in a telephone interview, adding, "we are not at that point yet."

Of the 39 people found at the scene, 10 have died, 22 were in hospitals and seven have been released and were being questioned, he said.

Most of those aboard the truck fled before authorities could capture them.

U.S. law enforcement has granted temporary visas previously for immigrants who provided testimony in what is considered the worst illegal immigrant-smuggling case in U.S. history, when 19 people died after traveling in an 18-wheeler truck through Victoria, Texas, in 2003.

Temporary visas for about 40 people aboard that truck helped U.S. prosecutors charge more than a dozen people with conspiracy in the case, prosecutors said at the time.

Alonzo Pena, a former deputy director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said witnesses in the San Antonio case can be released into the community under strict conditions that could include wearing electronic monitoring devices.

Authorities would likely repatriate the others, said Pena, who runs a San Antonio consulting business, in a telephone interview.

A U-visa is valid for four years and offers a path to apply for permanent residency status. Congress limited the number to 10,000 a year, and the program is heavily oversubscribed.

Those on the truck may also try for a T-visa for victims of human trafficking.

Agent Folden said U.S. authorities want to topple the criminal groups responsible for human trafficking.

"Our primary goal is to disrupt and dismantle these organizations," he said.

Additional reporting by Jim Forysth in San Antonio and Reade Levinson in New York; Editing by Frank McGurty and Lisa Shumaker

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Survivors of Texas truck where 10 immigrants died seek to trade testimony for visas - Reuters