Posted on 12/02/2001 12:18:09 AM PST by CIBvet
For noncitizens, the world has become more suspicious and less forgiving since the attacks of Sept. 11. That's the catalyst for a new group intended to look out for the rights of immigrants, a growing but often hidden segment of Alaska's population.
The Immigrant Rights Coalition will hold its first meeting at 6 p.m. Dec. 4 at Catholic Social Services offices, 225 Cordova St. Leaders of the effort hope the group will include immigrants, advocacy groups, social service agencies, attorneys and others. "Our goal is to make sure immigrants are fully integrated into our community and not seen as other,' " said Robin Bronen, immigration and refugee program director for Catholic Social Services.
The coalition will look out for the interests of both legal and illegal immigrants, many of whom are afraid to speak up. She began working toward the coalition after attending the U.N. World Conference Against Racism in South Africa this summer. An October summit in Anchorage of attorneys who handle immigration cases pro bono underscored the need.
The coalition will work on issues as basic as language. Under federal civil rights law, agencies that receive federal money are supposed to provide interpreters to people with limited English but often don't, Bronen said.
She told the story of a Russian woman who sought prenatal care and was mistakenly given an abortion. Just securing a state identification card can be troublesome for immigrants, she said. To get a state ID or driver's license from the Division of Motor Vehicles, immigrants must show paperwork proving they are legal. Yet many who lack the documents are working and part of the community, she said. Without an ID card, they can't even cash a check.
Canadians must provide only their birth certificate. Why should people from other countries be required to show more? she asked. The rules are strict, and may get stricter because of Sept. 11, said Chuck Hosack, DMV deputy director. Alaska's requirements mirror those of the model program of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, he said. Birth certificates from foreign countries may not follow the same standards as in the United States, and security may be poor, so further documentation is needed, he said. That's a valid concern, Bronen said. Advocates are hoping to work with the Mexican government to check the authenticity of Mexican birth certificates.
Since Sept. 11, authorities have arrested at least 20 immigrants at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport and sent them to a detention center Outside, Bronen said. They were Latinos, including members of a Mexican mariachi band, who had been working or traveling in Alaska and were trying to board various domestic flights, she said. Their visas may have expired, or they otherwise may have lacked documentation to stay in the United States, but they were able to get boarding passes and shouldn't have been singled out for extra scrutiny because they looked foreign, she said.
Authorities at the airport and with the Immigration and Naturalization Service said no one is singled out based on ethnicity alone. Something else must trigger suspicion, said Robert Eddy, INS director for Alaska. "Since Sept. 11, everybody is at a high state of alert, particularly at airports," he said.
Reporter Lisa Demer can be reached at ldemer@adn.com and 907 257-4390.
Any other Alaskans out there concerned with these developments ?? Any creative suggestions for legally dealing with this growing problem would be most appreciated.
Maybe because Canadians don't fly airplanes into Twin Towers and kill thousands. About the most annoying thing about Canadians is their over-politeness.
Any other Alaskans out there concerned with these developments ?? Any creative suggestions for legally dealing with this growing problem would be most appreciated.
I'm not an Alaskan, but all these illegal third-world immigrant trash should be put in detainment camps, in the northern part of your state. Any of these types permitted to stay, should not be allowed to travel to the continental United States. They must live their lives(without the welfare and freebies) in Alaska.
Your immigration problem would soon be solved with these measures.
Either we learn to lawfully resist these traitors to America, or we lose the American Culture we have known altogether.
I don't know. But I do know I'm missing the part about illegal aliens not being allowed to live here, much less work here.
Oxymoron ?
We need to demand an easier method to fire government workers on the state and national level.
I don't think it is a matter of learning to lawfully resist these traitors, it is more of a matter of getting congress, INS, and law enforcement to enforce the laws that are already on the books. If we had enforcement, our problems would be a lot less than they are now.
The American culture is already down the toilet. Texas is rapidly becoming more like Mexico by the day. What are our representatives thinking about?
CLICK HERE and read post 13 by nomasmojarras. First we lose the land, then we lose government. After that, there is no hope!!
Because this is America, dammit - and that means that Americans, not the UN nor the Hague nor Amnesty International, make the rules on which guests get to do what while here!
IMMIGRATION resource library - with local INS phone numbers, coast to coast
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