Immmigration Madness: Nun's death sparks immigration debate -- and a call for mercy

Nun's death sparks immigration debate : "Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has ordered an investigation after a man who was in the United States illegally killed a nun in a car crash, authorities said. Napolitano is trying determine why the man was still in the country because he had been arrested two previous times for drunken driving offenses.

The suspect, Carlos Montano, driving Sunday morning under the influence of alcohol, slammed head-on into three nuns in a Toyota sedan, police said. The three were just a few miles from a monastery in Bristow, Virginia, heading for their annual retreat. Sister Denise Mosier was killed instantly, and the other two remained hospitalized Tuesday." August 3, 2010

Under God: A nun's death and illegal immigration: Forgiveness or punishment? : "On Sunday, Sister Denise Mosier, 66, a Benedictine nun and former missionary in Africa was killed and two others gravely injured when, on their way to a retreat, their car was hit by an alleged drunk driver. The 23-year-old driver, Carlos Martinelly Montano, is reported to be in the United States illegally from Bolivia, and has two previous drunken-driving convictions and has been awaiting long-delayed deportation hearings.

With immigration debates flaring up in both Arizona and Virginia, it didn't take long for immigration reform advocates to politicize Sister Denise's death. But the Benedictines are emphasizing mercy over politics.

Sister Glenna Smith, a spokeswoman for the Benedictine Sisters, said Tuesday that 'we are dismayed' by reports that the crash . . . is focusing attention on the man's status as an alleged illegal immigrant. He's a child of God and deserves to be treated with dignity,'" August 4, 2010, Washington Post

Latino group threatens to sue Virginia over immigration finding 

As Gov. Bob McDonnell considers his response to a state delegate asking him to direct law enforcement officers to implement the policies referenced in Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s recent opinion on immigration enforcement, one group is threatening a lawsuit.

In a recent opinion, Cuccinelli advised that police in Virginia may inquire about the immigration status of people they stop or arrest if they have the requisite level of suspicion that the person violated a criminal immigration law.

But in a letter sent to McDonnell this week, LatinoJustice PRLDEF says it is prepared to sue the state or any of its agencies if McDonnell authorizes law enforcement agents to conduct investigations into the immigration status of persons they stop or arrest. August 4, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Globalization: Walmart Largest Employer in Mexico and Latin America

Latin Business Chronicle: "The single largest employer in Latin America is US-based retailer Walmart, according to the first annual ranking of Latin America’s Top 60 Employers from Latin Business Chronicle.

The company employs a whopping 326,136 people in Latin America. Nearly half of those work in Mexico alone, where Walmart de Mexico, is the country’s top employer, with 176,463 people."

Whack-a-mole: Mexico Death Toll From Drug-Related Violence Is Thousands Higher Than Was Reported Earlier -- but the Violence Is Not as Widespread as It Seems

Mexico - Death Toll From Drug-Related Violence Is Thousands Higher Than Was Reported Earlier - NYTimes.com: "The number of deaths from drug-related violence is higher than previous acknowledged, the director of Mexico’s intelligence agency said Tuesday. Guillermo Valdes Castellanos, director of the National Security and Investigation Center, or Cisen, put the new toll at a “little more than 28,000 murders” since President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006. Last month the attorney general’s office reported that 24,826 lives had been lost nationwide." August 3, 2010, NY Times

Mexico's violence not as widespread as seems : "... a closer look at the latest official statistics indicates that much of Mexico has modest murder rates. The horrific violence that is jacking up the national death toll is largely in nine of Mexico's 31 states. 

Despite a wave of killings in these states, the murder rate in 2009 was still lower than it was a decade before, long before the Mexican government began a crackdown against the cartels." August 3, 2010, USA Today

Legalization: Drugs Are No Longer Taboo- El Universal - Editorial

Las drogas ya no son tab�- El Universal - Editorial

Yesterday, President Calderón of Mexico declared that debate over drug legalization ought to occur. Here is a translation of an editorial in today's El Universal about this change of position. Above is the link to the original in Spanish.

Drugs No Longer Are Taboo

Just a year ago the federal government and the PAN refused even to discuss the issue. PAN governments argued that legalizing any drug was "endangering" the health and safety "Mexican families," as if education, dose variation and preventive measures don’t exist. Yesterday, President Calderon took charge of dismantling the dogma. He declared, "It's a core debate that ought to occur."

Something happened that made the federal government change its rigid posture of the previous four years. Did it lose popular support? Whatever the reason, the willingness to review the strategy is to be celebrated. It demonstrates a democratic direction.

Now it's time to set the terms of debate.

Proponents and opponents of decriminalization of drug use have to recognize, first, that the issue is a Pandora's box. There are many factors to consider before accepting or ruling out this alternative. There are various nuances and implications in public health, social life, the economy and international cooperation, among other areas.

Geographical circumstance, for example, defines us. Being neighbors with the largest consumer of drugs in the world imposes on Mexico an insurmountable condition for success in combating the underworld:  joint actions. A wide decriminalization in Mexico, without going hand in hand with the United States, would lead the country to being a bridge for drug traffic not only from Latin America but also from other continents. There is no need to wait for a federal decision to the north of the Rio Grande. Some states in the American Union have already legalized drugs. It is possible to work with them.

An anti-narcotics policy that works also requires cooperation from Colombia, the largest supplier of the Mexican cartels. Joint decriminalization in these three countries would be the only way to make the legalization of drugs effective.

The important thing is that the first step has already been taken: the use of reason and diverse arguments to define a policy of the State. For several years, El Universal has asked for this opening and the search for alternatives. We celebrate that the federal executive may do so at last. Now efforts have to be made to stay on the track that has been set.

President Calderon admitted yesterday that his government has been unable to explain to society the need to combat organized crime. The debate that occupies us today can be the beginning of that communication which has been lost between authorities and society. Beginning here it is possible to foster the most useful union of all against the drug traffickers.

Immigration Reality- History: How Arizona became ground zero for immigration reform

This Christian Science Monitor article provides helpful historical context as to why Arizona has become "ground zero." Following that, an MSNBC article tells how yet anotther state government, Virgina, is getting into the battle.  

How Arizona became ground zero for immigration reform: "The current focus on immigration in Arizona shows an ignorance of where the US has been, says Deborah Kang, a post doctoral history fellow at the University of California, Berkeley.

“What always surprises me about these debates is how quickly we forget,' she says. 'Some in the media have reported that SB 1070 marks a new high-water mark for anti-Mexican sentiment in the United States and a new precedent in the history of American immigration law.”

But she says Mexican immigrants have been repeatedly scapegoated for the nation's economic woes. Individuals of Mexican descent, whether undocumented immigrants, legal residents, or even US citizens, were forcibly removed from the US in deportation campaigns in the early 1920s, 1930s, and 1950s – all in the midst of a national economic downturn or crisis." August 3, 2010, Christian Science Monitor

Virginia wades into illegal immigration battle: "Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli waded into the hottest legal issues of the day. ...

In a legal opinion issued Monday, Cuccinelli said Virginia law enforcement officers are authorized to ask about the immigration status of any one in the state who is stopped for another reason – provided it does not significantly add to the overall time of the stop." August 3, 2010, MSNBC

Immigration: Arizona, Borderlands and U.S.-Mexican Relations

This article places the Mexican immigration  issue in its broader historical and geo-political context. You may not agree with it, but it does provide a different  point of view.

Arizona, Borderlands and U.S.-Mexican Relations: "Arizona’s new law on illegal immigration went into effect last week, albeit severely limited by a federal court ruling. The U.S. Supreme Court undoubtedly will settle the matter, which may also trigger federal regulations. However that turns out, the entire issue cannot simply be seen as an internal American legal matter. More broadly, it forms part of the relations between the United States and Mexico, two sovereign nation-states whose internal dynamics and interests are leading them into an era of increasing tension. Arizona and the entire immigration issue have to be viewed in this broader context." August 3, 2010, Stratfor Intelligence Report, by Dr. George Friedman, Chief Executive Officer of STRATFOR, a company he founded in 1996 in the field of global intelligence.

Collateral Damage: As Drug War Turns Into Quagmire, Fear Rules Mexico

NPR, starts a five-part series on the Drug War and its "collateral damage" to Mexicans "of all walks fo life."

As Drug War Turns Into Quagmire, Fear Rules Mexico : NPR: "The fallout from the drug war that's starting to be known as Calderon's quagmire is being felt across Mexico, among those of all walks of life. And there is no end in sight to the violence." August 2, 2010, NPR


And the President of Mexico acknowledges the obvious, that the cartels have no morals. He says he is open to "suggestions for altering and improving (his) strategy." Vamos a ver (We'll see)


Calderon Says Cartels Show No Scruples or Limits President Felipe Calderon said Monday that Mexico is facing a new stage in its war with drug cartels as gangs escalate their attacks on the government and civilians, including journalists. ... 


Calderon acknowledged there is criticism of how the government has pursued the crackdown on drug cartels that he ordered upon taking office in December 2006, and he called on citizens to make suggestions for altering and improving its strategy. "My government has been and will be willing to revise it, to strengthen it, to refine it," he said. August 2, 2010, AP