Mediaboss Marketing

Its inspiring to see Gov. Charlie Baker, the governor of the original profiles in courage state, living up to the tradition praised by former President John F. Kennedy as acting with grace under pressure. Thats just what Gov. Baker did recently, when he vetoed legislation that would allow illegal immigrants to obtain Massachusetts drivers licenses. This kind of political courage doing whats right regardless of pressure to the contrary rarely occurs but is commendable when it does.

True, the state House and Senate have overridden his veto. The GOP governor had every reason to expect they would, given the lopsided Democratic tilt of the 192nd Massachusetts General Court. Nevertheless, he put his duty to the states lawful residents first. Because of his action and provided that the petition to hold a referendum to repeal the law receives the necessary 41,000 signatures by Aug. 24 the people of the Bay State will have the opportunity to decide whether this act will stand.

Through nearly eight years in office, Baker has seldom hesitated to air differences with fellow Republicans which is one reason he enjoys such steady support among independents and Democrats. Hes one of the few remaining examples of that now-endangered political species: the pragmatic Eisenhower Republican. His independence from current political and ideological currents makes his case against drivers licenses for illegal immigrants all the more compelling. It was driven not by ideology but by a clear-eyed understanding of what is at stake.

In his veto statement to the Legislature, Baker specifically cited concerns about the inevitable degradation of identity documents issued by Massachusetts, including the risk of compromising future Bay State elections, due to the unreliable new process for obtaining a drivers license, now set to take effect in July 2023. While the new law requires two forms of identification, they can include foreign documents whose validity the Registry of Motor Vehicles is in no position to verify and that are easily counterfeited by the criminal gangs which already supply forged and stolen documents to unlawful residents.

As Baker noted, a standard Massachusetts drivers license will no longer confirm that a person is who they say they are.

In fact, vital as concerns about document security are, the reasons to oppose this legislation go well beyond them.

First of all, it is simply common sense that making drivers licenses so easily available will make Massachusetts a more attractive destination for illegal immigrants. Most states do not grant this privilege. Massachusetts will join the 16 plus the District of Columbia that do.

Already as of 2019, some 250,000 people resided here illegally. The Boston metropolitan area ranked 11th nationally for the size of its illegal migrant population in 2018. With 3 million people entering the country illegally in 2021-22, many more will soon be arriving here.

Higher levels of illegal immigration also strain state budgets through increased demand for social services. One estimate put the cost of illegal immigration in Massachusetts in 2022 at $1.86 billion.

And immigration, in both its illegal and legal forms, also suppresses wages for American workers and legal immigrants already here. As Harvard immigration expert George J. Borjas himself an immigrant has noted, Wage trends over the past half-century suggest that a 10% increase in the number of workers with a particular set of skills probably lowers the wage of that group by at least 3%.

Of course, most illegal immigrants are relatively low-skilled, so they compete directly with the most disadvantaged Americans. Borjas wrote in 2016 that the wages of high-school dropouts were $800-$1,500 lower per year because of the 25% increase in the size of that demographic group due to arrivals of unskilled immigrants in recent decades. Partly as a result, unskilled native workers are dropping out of the labor force in record numbers.

Bakers veto of this legislation shows he understands the risks that illegal migration poses for this state and its workers. The Legislature, sadly, does not. If the petition to repeal this law receives enough signatures to place the issue on the ballot in November the people will cast the deciding vote.

Steve Kropper and John Thompson are the Democratic and Republican co-chairs of the Massachusetts Coalition for Immigration Reform.

Read more:
Kropper and Thompson: On immigration, Charlie Baker is a profile in courage - Boston Herald

Austin, TX, 13 hours ago The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request to stay the ruling of an April decision by a federal judge asserting the University of North Texas (UNT) could not charge out-of-state residents higher tuition than illegal immigrants.

Judge Sean Jordan of the Eastern District Court of Texas claimed it was unconstitutional to charge different tuition rates under a 1996 federal immigration law.

In his decision from July 15, Jordan wrote that the law clearly states, If a State makes an unlawfully present alien eligible for a postsecondary education benefit on the basis of state residency, it must make a United States citizen eligible for the same benefit regardless of whether the citizen is such a resident.

However, a 2001 Texas law allows some illegal immigrants to qualify for in-state tuition if they meet certain residency and education requirements.

Under this law, along with Jordans decision, all Texas public universities may be barred from charging out-of-state students higher rates as long as the 2001 statute is in place. This ruling also calls into question the constitutionality of that law altogether.

According to the judge, the 1996 federal law preempts the 2001 Texas law under the supremacy clause, a finding that the Fifth Circuit agreed with.

In their appeal, UNT attorneys claim that the impacts of this decision on the research and educational capabilities of the university are significant, now and in the future. The injunction is already having substantial, irreversible financial impacts, the attorneys wrote. UNT has projected it will lose approximately $5.7 million annually based on the number of currently enrolled out-of-state U.S. citizens.

According to the UNT website, the average cost of attendance for in-state students is approximately $26,000 per year. For out-of-state students, that cost jumps almost 50 percent to around $38,000.

Without the funds generated from out-of-state tuition, the school says it will go from a surplus in funding to a deficit. Leadership claims this will force the school to limit class sizes, cut research budgets, and issue staff layoffs. Given the implications of this ruling, other public Texas universities may have to follow suit.

The plaintiffs, student organization Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT), tout this ruling as a major win for their organization and Texas at large. This may prompt the Texas legislature to address this apparent inconsistency between federal and state laws, in order to continue charging out-of-state residents higher tuition.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), a conservative think tank, is representing YCT in the case.

When asked for comment regarding the case, TPPF Litigation Director Chance Weldon said, The district court looked at the plain text of the federal statute, and found that our client should prevail.

The reason this case is interesting comes less from the statutory claims that are at the heart of the merits, but from the aggressive procedural claims made by UNT, he continued. At the Fifth Circuit and below, what UNT has argued is that even though this law is preempted and unlawful, they cannot comply with federal law because of their budget. We believe that position is an extremely radical one.

Asked about the implications of this ruling on other public Texas universities tuition schemes, Weldon surmised that under the 2001 Texas law, universities must continue to provide the same tuition to unlawful aliens as in-state residents. What they may not do is charge American citizens more than this rate.

Here is the original post:
University of North Texas Cannot Charge Out-of-State Students Higher Tuition Than Illegal Immigrants, Court Rules - The Texan

A forum about immigration started with the grim reality many who try to enter the country face at one point in their journey: a 911 call.

We need help, a man repeats in Spanish, shouting in a winded voice.

I need the directions, the operator replies.

The recording continues with a brief, inaudible response, then the mans voice goes quiet, and the call ends with the sound of a busy signal.

The message set the tone for Monday evenings town hall meeting, which was organized by Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar and led entirely in Spanish by hosts Antonio Guillen with Univision and Jessica Montoya of Telemundo. The two stations that dominate Spanish-language news in San Antonio hosted the forum out of the University of Texas at San Antonios downtown campus and streamed footage of it on their respective social media pages.

Editorial: Without reforms to immigration, horror will go on

In the blue hue of the theater lights at the Buena Vista Theater downtown, the panelists sat in black chairs as the hosts tossed the panelists questions prepared both beforehand and taken from members of the audience. The crowd of more than 100 people included both political figures and candidates, as well as people who wanted to learn more about efforts to help immigrants.

And much like the nations long-running immigration debate, it also included vocal opponents.

People critical of illegal immigration heckled the hosts. One woman who kept interrupting the panelists was escorted from the room by a deputy.

An hour later, more people who said that English should be spoken because this is America engaged in a few brief, hushed arguments with other attendees who were interested in hearing what the panelists had to say.

The rabble-rousers left the hall to the sound of applause and cheers from other attendees.

County Commissioner Rebecca Clay-Flores detailed efforts by the county to help undocumented immigrants facing deportation. She said that although the county does not have the authority to set its own laws and policies regarding immigration, the commissioners voted last month on a $1 million immigrant defense fund to help organizations that offer legal and other services.

Later in the forum, an audience member confronted Clay-Flores over the efforts put into helping people who come to the country illegally.

The commissioner was firm in her response.

How easy its been for you to forget that this is a country of immigrants, she said, saying that many in the audience have blood of immigrants running through their veins.

She said the defense fund might seem like a lot of money, but its only a drop in the bucket compared to the $2.8 billion budget approved in the Commissioners Court last year.

She jousted momentarily with an audience member who said that his parents came to the United States legally.

Clay-Flores, who is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Mexico, asked, What kind of misery are people fleeing that they risk dying in a trailer?

She was referencing the deadly smuggling incident that left 53 migrants from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras dead in June in South Bexar County, one of the many horrific incidents undocumented immigrants have faced that also spurred Monday nights discussion.

She recalled the 13-year-old boy as the youngest who died among the migrants, saying that children dont understand the risks of coming to the U.S.

For me, its a humanitarian issue, she said.

The commissioner also reiterated a portion from one panelist, Erica B. Schommer, a law professor at St. Marys University, saying that there are racist laws, such as those in Africa and the Caribbean, that prevent people from obtaining a legal visa.

Schommer earlier said its difficult for refugees to seek political asylum as people have to demonstrate that their lives were in danger from religious, political or LGBT persecution. That process takes years.

Asylum seekers may also ask for a work permit in the meantime, but that can be complicated and time-consuming, too, she said.

The professor said the U.S. has not seen any changes in immigration laws for many years, and that theres a lot of injustice in the process itself.

The reality in San Antonio is totally different now than what it was when the current immigration laws were passed, Schommer said. We need to make changes so there can be an appropriate response to what the international situation is now.

State Sen. Jos Menndez, D-San Antonio, fielded a question from Guillen, who said that immigrants are being sent to Washington and New York, shifting responsibilities to other communities. He asked Menndez whether Gov. Greg Abbott has the authority to do so.

On ExpressNews.com:S.A. archbishop calls for immigration reform at Mass for victims of migrant trailer tragedy

Menndez said Abbott, when he was lieutenant governor, used to complain about how the federal government would butt into state affairs, and now hes pushing state issues back onto Washington.

Hes doing it for political reasons, he said in Spanish. He wants political recognition for doing this; hes not helping anybody.

While attempting to detail efforts his office makes with Catholic Charities to help migrants, the senator was interrupted by hecklers asking for the forum to continue in English.

He later said that people living in the shadows would love to pay their fair share of taxes just to live a normal life.

One migrant interviewed by Telemundo on video said they dont have the time or money they need to get to where theyre going. Theyre held for three days until theyre deported to another state.

J. Antonio Fernandez, CEO of Catholic Charities, said they are trying to find a way the city can help buy tickets for them to get to where they need to go.

Its not fair for them to be here and having nothing to do, he said. They dont have any notice of where theyre going to go or how theyre going to get there.

jbeltran@express-news.net

The rest is here:
Spanish forum on immigration interrupted by calls for English - San Antonio Express-News

The identity of the young Pakistani who killed 17-year-old Nicoletta in western Athens is even more complicated, as new evidence that has come to light shows that he was traveling not with two different identities, but with four!

More disturbingly though, it was revealed he has an asylum application rejected, prompting questions why he was allowed to remain in the country.

A request for asylum which was rejected was filed in July 2021 by the young Pakistani accused of murdering 17-year-old Nicoletta in Peristeri.

According to the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum, he had filed an Asylum request once, last July, which was rejected within 15 days, while he then filed a late appeal.

As the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum notes in its informal briefing, in the files of the Asylum Service, the man in question appears with a unique file and is in possession of an asylum seeker identity card.

According to MEGA, the killer of the teenager was in possession of four identities with variations in both his own and his parents names, as well as the date of birth, making it impossible to determine his real age so far.

Specifically, in the first identity card, he was declared as Munasif Ashan, with a date of birth of 23/7/2001.

In the second ID, his details are different and he appears with the name Hasan Hasan and date of birth 1/1/1999.

On the third ID he has the name Munasif Ashan again, but with a date of birth of 1/1/2001.

On the fourth identity card the young Pakistani again has the first name Munasif Ashan and date of birth 1/1/2001, but only changes the maiden name to Shamin Akhtar.

It is recalled that the young man received a new deadline to testify on Tuesday, August 9, before the investigator for the heinous crime that occurred last week inside the apartment where he lived with his teenage girlfriend, her mother and her sister.

The lawyer of the father of the 17-year-old from Peristeri, Andreas Theodoropoulos, speaking to ERT about the Pakistani who is accused of her murder, said that he is an illegal immigrant, whose brother himself considers him a delinquent and has testified before the authorities that he did do illegal activities, like cigarette smuggling and other illegal activities.

His abusive behavior against the 17-year-old is proven even before the act of intentional homicide, with evidence of violence against her. But this man had nothing to kill for, he had no inhibitions. This bipedal anthropomorphic monster had no moral inhibitions to stop him from doing evil, he added.

Unfortunately, the 17-year-old fell into his hands without knowing and without being able to resist. She fought for 7-8 minutes for her life but finally she couldnt be saved, he said of Nicoletta.

When asked if the 17-year-olds family knew about his illegal acts, the lawyer replied that there was no substantial knowledge, but her parents advised her to break up with him because he had shown signs that he was not right in his behaviour towards the 17-year-old.

She wanted to break up with him, she was trying, but he wouldnt let her, he said and estimated that he had organised the crime, as he entered the house when the parents were away, took his clothes and left with the help of his compatriots to go to Kilkis.

All this planning shows that the crime was premeditated, he concluded.

According to the forensic findings, Nicolettas death came from suffocation as the perpetrator closed her nose and mouth. The victim appears to have fought hard for her life before she died, with the suffocation taking four to five minutes.

They believe she fought hard to survive.

Judicial authorities believe that he acted methodically, coldly and organised. His actions after the act do not indicate agitation, dejection or remorse for the heinous murder of the teenage girl.

The accused, according to the Hellenic Police, on the afternoon of the murder, did not waste a single minute and immediately hurried to disappear and attempt to leave Greece as quickly as possible.

According to Proto Thema, the accused allegedly told the police officers, who arrested him at the border with North Macedonia as it seems he was trying to reach Central Europe with illegal immigrants, that he killed Nicoletta after a fight they had.

The authorities tracked down the Pakistani, who fled the country with his own mobile phone and the victims.

Specifically, the digital print from his own cell phone showed that he moved towards Northern Greece, while police had information that the young man was going to try to leave the country this is why an international arrest warrant was issued.

Having now switched off his own mobile phone when he crossed into North Macedonia, the 22-year-old opened the victims smartphone which did not have a sim card. However, the authorities managed to locate the signal through specific mobile applications that had access to the location of the device.

North Macedonian authorities apprehended the murderer and handed him over to their Greek counterparts.

Another detail about tragedy was revealed by the victims mother, particularly about the dozens of threatening messages the teenager received that police allegedly found on her mobile phone.

As the 17-year-olds mother pointed out, Nicoletta was receiving threats from her Pakistani partner and revealed that a few days ago she asked to break up with him, thus giving a potential reason why he allegedly killed her.

Speaking to theAlphanews bulletin, Nicolettas mother stated that They werent fighting. She was fine, but lately she wanted to break up. She didnt want it any more.

Continuing, she does not hide her anger, stressing: He killed my child and took my soul. I only ask for justice.

Regarding the time of the murder, she revealed: I was at work, we were working together. I called her on the phone and she didnt pick up. She wasnt answering.

I sent the guys from the store to see why she didnt come to work and why she wasnt answering. We could not enter the house because Nicoletta had the keys. At noon, before I left for work, I saw her. She was sleeping.

I left at 4 oclock in the afternoon. After 5 oclock everything happened.

Dozens of threatening messages

It seems that the 17-year-old had received dozens of threatening messages on her mobile phone from her 22-year-old partner, who was initially and falsely reported as being 30-years-old. The 22-year-old is considered the main suspect.

According to a report, these threatening messages emerged from the first retrieval of the 17-year-olds mobile phone data by the officers of the Department of Prosecution of Crimes Against Life.

What follows is the most detailed exploration of the electronic evidence by the officers of the Criminal Investigation Department.

According to the report, these messages were sent a few days before her murder and after the girl told the Pakistani that she wanted to break up and asked for the keys of her house be returned.

The 22-year-old, whose traces are still being sought by police, seems to have become particularly aggressive and sent threats, refusing to break up.

It was previously reported that for a time the Pakistani man was living with Nicoletta, her sister and her mother, and for this reason he was given a key to the apartment.

Evidence from the forensic report showed a criminal act with death by suffocation. In addition to his two hands, the Pakistani also used a cloth to suffocate her.

The Pakistani was born on July 23, 2001, he has a height of 1.68 and his first name is Ahsan, initially reported as Sani/Sunni.

Nicoletta was raped at the age of 11

The 17-year-olds father is inconsolable, while the revelations about what happened a few years ago to the young girl and her brother are shocking.

I sit and look at pictures and I keep crying. A month ago we were having a good time, I had her in my arms, he first said when speaking to ANT1. My child cant be brought back by anyone.

He then revealed that the 17-year-old and his older son, when they were 11 and 8 years old respectively, in Makrohori where they grew up, were victims of systematic sexual abuse by three men, an 82-year-old now deceased paedophile and two Albanians, one who was dating Nicolettas mother.

The two Albanians were sentenced to many years in prison, but one remains a fugitive, believed to be in Germany.

Leading to the murder

During the ten months that the unfortunate girl maintained a bond with the young man, the fights between the couple were frequent and intense. This seems to have been the reason for the 17-year-olds decision to end her relationship with the now wanted man.

The authorities in their attempt to locate him will look for the last trace of his mobile phone in the hope of being able to establish his escape route.

According to the forensic investigation, Nicolettas time of death is estimated at 6:00 p.m. on Monday , with the police being informed by her relatives at approximately 11:00 p.m. that same day.

During these five hours, the young man managed to take advantage and disappear, and despite police manhunt, he has not been located.

Lament at the last goodbye

Holding white flowers in their hands, the family and friends of the 17-year-old accompanied the minor girl to her resting place on Thursday.

In Veroia, where she grew up but left for Athens for a better life following her sexual abuse, the funeral service was held for Nicoletta who was tragically killed on Monday.

The 17-year-old fought her killer Her nose and mouth were closed

The medical examiner, Georgios Dilernia, who performed the autopsy on the body of the unfortunate girl found that she had small abrasions on the left lateral nasal surface, on the left rhombus, on the left upper perioral area.

This shows that the perpetrator must have put his hand on the victims face and pressed his fingers and nails on her mouth and nose in order to take her life.

The bruises found on her right hand, probably from his fingers, reveal that the girl resisted and fought her killer until the last moment of her life.

Demands for the death penalty

The father of 17-year-old Nicoletta, who was found dead in her house in the western Athens neighbourhood of Peristeri, is asking for an exemplary punishment of the murderer of his daughter, believed to be a 22-year-old Pakistani the death penalty.

At the same time, her younger sister, who was the first to find her dead, is devastated and cannot believe that she will never see her again.

My child is not coming back, but whoever did this to her I want the death penalty. I want his people to cry, like we are crying today, the father of young Nicoletta told Star.

He had keys to the house, so since no signs of break-in were found and her mother and sister were not home, I believe he did it and when he is found he will be dealt with according to the law, the 17-year-olds father continued.

I had seen him once. He hadnt left an impression on me because I had told her to stop anyway. Both from this particular person and from these type of people in general, said Mr. Karolidis.

At the same time, he noted that recently, every time he communicated with Nicoletta by phone, she sounded happy.

We talked a week ago. We dont talk all the time because I live far away but she hadnt said anything to me nor had I noticed anything. She told me that she is having a good time and is happy. Her mother, who lives with her every day, will know better what the child was hiding, he said.

READ MORE: What is Love Jihad that has arrived in Greece from Pakistan?

Continue reading here:
ATHENS: Pakistani Who Killed Nicoletta Had 4 Different Identities And Rejected Asylum Application! - GreekCityTimes.com

BOSTON, Aug. 09, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- License to Loot! How Racial Injustice, Able-Bodied Americans, Illegal Immigration, and the Opioid Epidemic Split America takes an intense look into America's welfare system and those who take advantage of it, pulling resources away from those who need it and furthering the national debt crisis. Batieufaye seeks to have a conversation about the importance of not relying entirely on the government and politicians to solve all of society's problems, encouraging individuals to reach their own personal highest potential.

License To Loot! examines some of the biggest hot-button issues being discussed in American politics today under a microscope, including illegal immigration and ethnic prejudice, amongst many other topics. Issues that are discussed on the news easily become polarizing issues and debates.

Full of passion and potency, License to Loot!weaves together Batieufaye's personal stories and experiences, with facts and figures to back his statements, and encourages readers to do their own research about the topics discussed. It takes a look at the state of affairs in many different issues within American society and not only exposes flaws but works to illustrate solutions. Batieufaye is available for interviews, Q&As and byline articles in conjunction with License to Lootand to discuss or write on topics including but not limited to:

PASCALE BATIEUFAYEattended Johnson & Wales University, where he studied travel and tourism. He is an animal rights activist and aspires to open an animal rehabilitation center for rescue animals. As an independent contractor, he earned 1099 income by delivering financial statement mails to various banks across state lines. He ran a video store that closed up at the hype of Netflix's driven internet power. He wrote five unpublished manuscripts in his spare time, which he plans to self-publish on his online bookstore by next year.

For more information, please visitonestopbooks.com

Email: info@onestopbooks.com

License to Loot released nationwide June 2022 and can be ordered on Amazon.

REVIEW COPIES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

###

Related Files

LTL_FullCover.jpg

Related Images

Image 1

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com.

Originally posted here:
One Stop Books' New Release 'License to Loot!' Takes Deep Dive Into America's Biggest Problems and How We as a Society Can Begin to Solve Them -...