Freedom Folks--Blogs4Borders Video Blogburst 072108

This week's video blogburst, and last week's edition as well.

The great team at Freedom Folks is making a trip to the latest pro-amnesty rally in Iowa, and could use a little help.

Blogs 4 Borders Video Blogburst 051208

Freedom Folks has this week's edition of the Blogs 4 Borders Video Blogburst.

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Freedom Folks has this week's edition.

Blogs For Borders Video Blogburst 080707

Freedom Folks has this week's edition--and a bleg for a new video camera after amnesty moonbats broke their old one during a confrontation this past weekend.

Human Smugglers Arrested In Wheat Ridge

Bernardino Fuentes-Espinoza--CBS


Guadalupe Alvarez--CBS

Mexican nationals, caught passing counterfeit bills:

A fake $100 bill lead police to a van full of suspected illegal immigrants in Wheat Ridge Monday night, officers said.

Police said two men tried to pass off the counterfeit cash at a convenience store at West 32nd Ave. and Youngfield St.

Officers arrested the two Mexican nationals at the store on charges of human smuggling. Police found nine other men and women in a van outside. Two people ran from the van and haven't been seen since.

The two suspects were identified as Bernardino Fuentes-Espinoza, 35, and Guadalupe Alvarez, 42. Both were taken to the Jefferson County Jail on charges of smuggling of humans, a class 3 felony.

Wheat Ridge police said each person paid $2,500 for a trip into the United States.

The remaining seven passengers were assisted by the Colorado Network to End Human Trafficking (CoNEHT), sponsored by the Division of Criminal Justice at the Colorado Department of Public Safety.

Wheat Ridge Police were assisted by the FBI, Secret Service, ICE, and the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office.

They caught this van, but how many more pass by on I-70?

Last year, Colorado State Patrol estimated 500 vehicles pass through the state each week.

This was just a drop in the bucket, caught only because they tried to pass a fake $100 bill.

Colorado Illegal Immigrants Receive In-state Tuition In New Mexico

Colorado bars illegal immigrants from receiving in-state tuition.

Apparently, New Mexico does not:

At least 10 illegal immigrants from Colorado will get to attend classes at the University of New Mexico this fall, with many not having to pay for tuition or books.

A new Colorado law prohibits state colleges from providing in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants.

In New Mexico, the state is barred from denying education benefits based on immigration status, said Terry Babbitt, director of admissions for the University of New Mexico.

While New Mexico's state financial aid is intended for residents, Poudre High School counselor Isabel Thacker in Colorado found a way for her students to receive in-state tuition, plus scholarships to cover it.

"Students can enroll for up to six credit hours and get the in-state rate (at UNM)," said Alex Gonzalez, associate director of the scholarship office at UNM. "They can then go across the street to Central New Mexico Community College and enroll for another six hours and continue to pay the UNM in-state tuition rate. They then are counted as full-time UNM students."

A full year of tuition at UNM, 12 credit hours per semester, costs $4,570.80, Gonzalez said. An institutional scholarship available to illegal immigrants covers $5,000 of their tuition and book expenses.

As a CU alumnus, I knew many out-of-state students who essentially subsidized in-state students with extremely high tuition rates.

Offering illegal immigrants and not citizens of this country in-state tuition (in-state tuition simply meaning taxpayer subsidized) creates a two-fold cost. Non-resident students are actually denied benefits that are given to illegal immigrants, and state taxpayers are forced to pay for their education beyond the Federally mandated primary education. And what about U.S. citizens or legal residents who might benefit from that "institutional" scholarship? Illegal immigrants only?

How is this fair, or legal?

Oh wait, that would be discrimination, and the question is racist.

Nevermind.

Amnesty now!

**Update on DPS students and scholarships, including 20% who are illegal immigrants (video)

Colorado 7-Eleven Clerk Shot At, Stance Against Illegal Immigration Gets Him Fired

Paul Conrad © Aspen Times

A 7-Eleven official told Bruno Kirchenwitz Monday that he was being fired for "an egregious customer complaint" over an early June incident.

Although 7-Eleven says the firing stems from "an egregious customer complaint", not the store shooting that clerk Bruno Kirchenwitz says occurred after two Hispanic men confronted him for his U.S. Border Patrol hat and stance on illegal immigration:

First someone took potshots at the 7-Eleven store where Bruno Kirchenwitz clerked after two Hispanic men warned him about wearing a "US Border Patrol" cap off-the-job.

Then he was canned by 7-Eleven after the June 26 shooting and his opposition to illegal immigration made him a hero to some and a controversial figure to others in tiny Basalt, home to workers who toil in tony Aspen resorts.

"First I get fired at and then I get fired," Kirchenwitz said today.

The 54-year-old mountain man said a 7-Eleven official told him Monday he was being fired for "an egregious customer complaint" over an early June incident.

The former clerk says he's a well-liked "people person" who got good job reviews. He added that 7-Eleven won't give him details of the complaint, including who made it.

"To have me fired like this for what I consider a bogus reason, it's just not right," said Kirchenwitz, who thinks the shooting furor cost him his job.

"At least they could have had the honesty and said, 'Hey, you're bad for business. We can't have you in here.'"

Why won't 7-Eleven divulge the details of the alleged "complaint"? I smell a lawsuit . . .

Suffice to say corporate is denying any wrongdoing in Kirchenwitz' termination:

7-Eleven Inc. officials deny the clerk was fired because of his cap or his stand on illegal immigration, but they say privacy laws prevent them from discussing personnel actions.

"Someone does not get dismissed just because of their political views or what they say away from the store or what they wear away from the store," said Margaret Chabris, a spokeswoman for 7-Eleven Inc. in Dallas.

She said corporate officials visited Basalt recently and spent days doing an in-depth "investigation in the areas of customer service and employee interaction."

Kirchenwitz said he was placed on paid leave soon after the shooting, in part for his own safety.

"Suffice to say," Chabris said, "(store officials) did not make this determination capriciously nor was it necessarily based on one thing."

Oh, and the incident? Try intimidation by two "Hispanic" men, threatening rather explicitly the 7-Eleven clerk's safety:

The dispute centered on the June shooting that occurred after the two Hispanic men confronted Kirchenwitz as he worked his night shift at 7-Eleven.

"We're going to catch you alone and we're going to show you what we think of your hat," Kirchenwitz said the men told him. "We'll be waiting for you."

Kirchenwitz at first thought the men were kidding and just joked with them.

"Immigration is what made this country great," stressed Kirchenwitz, who immigrated with his family at age 2 from Germany. "But if we can't control our borders, what's going to happen ... to my kids and my grandkids. What kind of future am I leaving them by letting this go on?"

About 45 minutes after he left work, someone fired five rifle shots through the store window where the clerk had been standing. No one was injured.

The unusual shooting sparked a uproar, spurring church leaders and police to hold community meetings to defuse racial tensions in the 3,300-person town that has a growing Hispanic community.

The investigation is on-going.

In many smaller towns, growing Hispanic communities have produced tensions along ethnic lines, as people struggle to become accustomed to new neighbors. Had the shooting targeted an Hispanic clerk, and featured a white perpetrator, then there would be a furor of outrage at the inherent racism of the action. But Hispanics targeting a white clerk who happens to oppose illegal immigration? Buried by the MSM for over two weeks.

**Update as of July 13:

The Basalt police said they know who they are looking for in regard to gunshots being fired into the Basalt 7-Eleven on June 26.

The police originally issued a description of two persons of interest in the incident. One man from Basalt came forward to talk with the police but was said to not be forthcoming with much information.

Now the police say they know the name of the second person they are seeking in the incident; but all the information they are releasing publicly is that he is from the El Jebel area and still at large.

Basalt Police Chief Keith Ikeda said this week that they are not sure where the man is but that they are still looking for him, and the incident is still under investigation.

Five shots were fired into the store through a window that frames the area where the store clerk stands behind the cash registers. The shooting took place at 11:10 p.m. on a Tuesday night. No one was hurt but police say someone could have been killed.

Earlier in the evening, a store clerk had traded words with two men, who the police described as Latino. The clerk, Bruno Kirchenwitz, said the men were asking him about a hat he frequently wears that says U.S. Border Patrol.

**Update 2
--excerpts from Kirchenwitz' letters to the editor:

Kirchenwitz has written many scathing letters to the local papers over the past 15 years criticizing illegal workers and current U.S. immigration policies. He also frequently wears a baseball cap with the words "U.S. Border Patrol" on it, although police have determined he was not wearing the cap at the time the men are said to have confronted him.
. . .
In a letter to the Aspen Daily News published April 18, 2007, Kirchenwitz wrote, "Seems to me the old B.S. (Bush the Spinmeister) has been doctoring the estimates of the illegal hordes in the this country." He also wrote, "We must stem the tide that threatens our sovereignty. Erase the financial incentive for working here illegally. Require our local currency exporters to run their oft-illegal clientele through a federal check for citizenship status."

And in a letter April 5, 2007, published in the Daily News, Kirchenwitz wrote, "But I do empathize. I emigrated from Germany in 1954. We came through Ellis Island and had our teeth and orifices examined like so much livestock. And six years after World War II, we generically labeled Nazis knew prejudice and racism. Today's societal hostility stems from ancient tribal mentality. You're making us work harder! To support your family, you're willing to work a fraction of what we require. And I feel really bad. Hell, if I walked in your shoes, I'd swim the Rio Grande until I was too old to float! Some of my best friends in the valley are Latino, but when do we say enough?"

Hardly the type of passionate political sentiment that should yield a shooting, or result in firing.

Disagree with Kirchenwitz?

Write your own letter to the editor. Organize and hold a rally (even if almost no one shows up).

Where has Denver's media been?

Freedom Folks caught this story at the local level on June 30, before Kirchenwitz was fired. It has since taken two weeks to reach Denver's media.

Tancredo Introduces OVERDUE Immigration Reform Bill

**Update--Tancredo press conference (video)
**Update 2--The Denver Post takes a negative view on Tancredo's proposal (shocker!)

From the press release:

Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) today unveiled his Optimizing Visa Entry Rules and Demanding Uniformed Enforcement (OVERDUE) Immigration Bill.

“Congress must take on the tough issues and follow through on what we’ve been sent out here to do and serve in the best interest of the people we represent,” said Tancredo. “For too long the special interests and political heavy weights have tried to sell us on the need for an Amnesty and justify their refusal to enforce the law, but the American people fought back and said no thanks.”

Tancredo added, “Today I am introducing a piece of legislation that will undoubtedly be unpopular among the political elites, big business and big labor, but it is legislation that this country has been calling for, and I dare to say, needs.”

Some highlights of Tancredo's proposed legislation:

ØRestoring America’s immigration system to more traditional numbers and encourages the assimilation of America’s most recent great wave in prioritizing nuclear family admissions, tightening the investor immigrant criteria, and tightening the employment-based green card category to ensure that prospective immigrants who will uniquely contribute to American society are admitted.
. . .
ØEnsures that automatic birthright citizenship accrues to children born in the U.S. only if at least one parent is a citizen or lawful permanent resident.
. . .
ØProhibits states from granting in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens on the basis of graduation from a U.S. high school (in addition to residence) unless they offer the same rate to all U.S. citizens.

ØAffirms the inherent authority of State and local law enforcement officers to enforce the immigration laws of the United States; requires Federal immigration authorities to respond to requests for assistance from State and local authorities.

Chances of passing? None, given the acrimony over the last two attempts at "Amnesty". This enforcement bolstering bill will likely receive little publicity, and what acknowledgement it does get from the MSM and amnesty proponents will be vicious, and derided as a Tancredo publicity stunt rather than an attempt at serious immigration reform.

As the second amnesty bill was going down in flames, Sen. Ted Kennedy shrieked, "what is your plan?" Well, here is a much more sound and fair proposal (fair to American citizens and legal residents, who should always be the first people considered when introducing new legislation). Why do I suspect Sen. Kennedy won't have much to say?

Thanks to Mark.

ICE Bring More Arrest Warrants To Swift Meatpacking Plants

Only 40 this time, but nice to see a follow-up:

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents returned to the Swift and Company meatpacking plant in Greeley in a worksite enforcement operation that garnered union support.

Union officials say agents showed up with about 40 arrest warrants at four Swift plants, including the one in Greeley; Cactus, Texas; Marshalltown, Iowa; and Worthington, Minnesota.

ICE regional spokesman Carl Rusnok declined to release details.

Officials with the United Food and Commercial say agents did not appear to have used the "same level of intimidation and overkill" as raids in December that resulted in more than 1,200 immigrant workers being arrested at plants in six cities.

The unions know that the illegal immigrants kill their opportunities, so it is no surprise to see them support more worksite enforcement.

Let us just hope that these type of enforcement operations continue, and draw the proper amount of attention to business' complicity in hiring illegal workers.

Colorado State Patrol To Enforce Immigration

Doing the jobs Americans the Feds won't do:

The Colorado State Patrol has begun enforcing immigration laws.

A special unit of 22 members has finished a five-week training program and started their new duties. The patrol's Immigration Enforcement Unit is the first of its kind in Colorado and now has the authority to process and detain suspected illegal immigrants. Previously, only U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation had the power to do that.

The state patrol said they will use their expanded authority mostly to target criminals who use the state's highways for drug-smuggling and human trafficking.

"Merely the fact that someone may be undocumented and in the country illegally is not going to trigger us to take them into custody alone," Sergeant John Oliver with state patrol said. "Our main focus is smuggling and trafficking of our criminal aliens, the real bad guys we really want to make sure we remove from the country."

Not perfect, but better than nothing, especially with the criminal enforcement. Now how about drunk drivers?

Not everyone is pleased, and fears of racial profiling are already emerging:

But not everyone's comfortable with what immigrant rights' groups see as the federalization of local law enforcement.

"We had a gentleman in Alamosa last week pulled over who was a U.S. citizen and he was pulled over because of the color of his skin," Julien Ross with the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition said. "And because he couldn't prove he was a U.S. citizen in that instance, he was taken to the immigration office where he later was released because he was a U.S. Citizen. This is that type of profiling and discrimination that we fear will occur now with the state patrol policies."

I can't entirely find fault with this concern, given the millions of legal residents and American citizens (including yours truly) who are of Hispanic/Latino/Mexican/Cuban extraction, and could easily find themselves a target should they forget their "documents" at a traffic stop.

What is most frustrating is the fact that Colorado State Patrol even has to take on such a responsibility. At most, with a proper Federal program in place, the CSP could play an auxiliary role, rather than front-line enforcement. Luckily these volunteers seem willing to enforce the Federal laws that the Feds themselves don't care to bother with--and the Federal government seems incapably incompetent of correcting this situation.

May Day In Denver II: Stop The Raids, Amnesty Now!

Scroll for photos, updates--Welcome Michelle Malkin readers! Take a look around--

First up, exclusive video of the entire march:


Michelle Malkin, Bill O'Reilly, and Kirsten Powers talk illegal immigration.

Freedom Folks encountered a hearty moonbat welcome in Chicago.


The immediate goal of the marchers--stop the legal raids!


Fair immigration reform=amnesty.


"We are not immigrants. We're descendants of indigenous people, neither are we criminals. We only want to live and let live! We're also Americans!"


Tired slogans.


But there is one legal system.


The most sane sign at the march.


Cute sign was pulled down once they realized there was a camera on them. Think you'll see it in the MSM's coverage?


Self-explanatory.


Playing the children card.


Signs from last year made a reappearance.


Lucky? Yes, to be in America! Legal? Yes!


Wanna stop the raids? Stop illegal immigration!


Random peace/love sign of the day.


Teachers for immigrants . . . ahhh! The one finger salute!


Stop the legal raids now!


Mexican flags played prominently.

CBS4's sob story (video).

More of the same from 9NEWS. The agenda? "Reuniting families, clearing immigration backlog, guest worker program," and a moratorium on raids. Workplace raids and the backfire from last year's rallies certainly impacted turnout.

Local media were sure to play the hardship angle in their coverage of today's amnesty/anti-raid illegal immigration march:

For the second year, thousands of immigrant rights supporters took to the streets of Denver for the Immigrant Day of Action, asking for a true, national reform package.

Denver officers did not expect to have an estimate on this year's crowd until later in the day.

Isla Diaz, 16, who had an American flag wrapped around her shoulders like a cape, said she was originally from Juarez, Mexico, but now, "I feel like I'm a part of this place."

"I feel like I want to stay here," said Diaz, who said she has been in the United States about six years. She declined to discuss her immigration status.

Diaz said she skipped high school to attend the rally.[of course, ed.]

Cabinetmaker Guillermo Gutierrez, 34, marched with his wife, Cecilia Salazar, 35, and carried his youngest child, a 3-year-old daughter. Gutierrez said he and his wife are illegal immigrants but the 3-year-old was a U.S. citizen by birth.

Gutierrez said their lives have become more difficult over the past year as Colorado's tougher new immigration laws took force, requiring proof of citizenship or legal residency to get many services.

He said the license plates on his car are in a friend's name because Gutierrez did not have the documents now required.

"It's like driving someone else's car all the time," said Gutierrez, who, like his wife, was wearing a University of Colorado baseball hat.

Gutierrez said he worries about losing his job because state immigration laws might keep him from getting another in Colorado.

The moonbats were out in full force as well:

One marcher, David Ward, 50, of Boulder, said he came to support amnesty for immigrant workers. Ward, pastoral associate at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Thornton, said one family that attended the church for years was recently broken up when the husband was deported to Mexico, leaving his American wife alone in the U.S. to raise their four kids.

"We gave (President) Nixon amnesty; we might as well give people who are working hard and honestly amnesty and compassion rather than prejudice," Ward said.
Ana Ortiz, 13, pushing a stroller carrying her 3-month-old sister and walking alongside her mother, Maricela, said she came to fight for the rights of immigrants.

"We want the rights that we deserve," Ana said.

Denver's de facto sanctuary policy mirrors a New Jersey mayor's "don't ask, don't tell" illegal immigration policy.

Denver's llegal immigration amnesty/stop the raids now march mirrored those across the country, but illegal immigrants and their advocates don't seem to grasp the illegal part of the immigration problem, which leads to the very legal raids:

"It's very, very important this year to march," said Georgina, who nine years ago crossed the border from Mexico illegally to work in the U.S. "This year it's very necessary because we have to stop the raids and stop the repression."

While progress on federal legislation has stalled, last December's Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids on Swift meat-packing plants in Greeley and in five other cities have inflamed anxieties in an already vulnerable population.

Julien Ross, a spokesman for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, said the march planned today in Denver will focus on the need for legislation to normalize life for the millions of workers already embedded in the economy.

"The raids have created a lot of anger and frustration," he said, "but they also have reinvigorated the community. We need fair immigration reform now. We can no longer allow so many children to be orphaned by these raids."

"Moderate" views on immigration reform still include some form of amnesty and lack strong border security. Former Denver Mayor Federico Peña at least grasps part of the problem--decreasing the incentive to immigrate illegally by imposing stiff penalties on employers:

Peña said the only reasonable, economically feasible solution is for Congress to provide a path for those here illegally to achieve legal status or citizenship by demonstrating competency in English and an understanding of our governmental system, and paying some kind of fine for their illegal entry into the country.

But then, he said, "we have to draw a line in the sand" and stop illegal immigration.

He proposed developing biometric identification systems for workers, hiring more inspectors to monitor worksites across the country and imposing severe penalties for any employer who hires people here illegally.

"Once word gets out, people won't come here," he said. "If they know no employer will hire them, they won't make the perilous trip to enter the U.S. because it would be a waste of time."

Finally, Rep. Tom Tancredo offered his take on today's march:

"Every time illegal aliens protest in the streets demanding special treatment, they lose just a little more credibility and support among the people," said Rep. Tom Tancredo, an outspoken critic of the country's immigration policies. "If I had my way, they would continue to hold these marches every month touting their native flags and flouting our laws. Each time Americans see those offensive images on their television sets, it only stiffens their opposition to amnesty and strengthens their resolve in demanding that their government enforce the law."

Immigration Reform--Hold Their Feet To The Fire

Freedom Folks is liveblogging the whole thing--they have links to the other bloggers there, as well as constant updates.