Border Patrol Involved with Wildfires, Businesses Worried in Missouri, “Zero Tolerance” along the Border, and Sexy Border Babe Costumes
âºWildfires in California Kill Some, Bring in Border Patrol
The California wildfires have caused a lot of devastation but one of the less noticed things is what has happened to the immigrant community in the San Diego area. Border patrol agents found four migrant workers bodies in a camp burned by the wildfires.
In a desperate measure, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called in about 300 border patrol agents to help with the wildfires. Border patrol agents’ main job is to make sure that no one tries to cross the border illegally. As a result, six undocumented workers were arrested outside of the home of the San Diego Chargers, Qualcomm Stadium, one of the main fire relief sites.
National Public Radio (NPR) had a story that said poor access to services and fear of immigration authorities at evacuation centers may have kept some from seeking shelter. Border Patrol agents have arrested 200 people who were attempting to cross the border during the fires. Six were hospitalized with burns and one is in critical condition.
âºMissouri Governor’s Crackdown worries Businesses
Business owners across the state of Missouri worry that Latinos may be targeted by law enforcement after the governor of that state’s officers have yet to find a major instance of any employers having undocumented workers.
Governor Matt Blunt has promised to find contractors who employ the undocumented. He has said repeatedly that this will not target the Latino population in the state. The governor has ordered his state’s department of Economic Development to check the legal status of workers employed by state funds.
The Houston Chronicle reported that after a raid in a northeast Missouri town, 18 Latino men were arrested but only one was found to be undocumented. The same article said this may cause a company to not hire a Latino worker.
Secretary of the St. Louis-area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Jorge Riopedre told the Chronicle that this could have a chilling effect leading to companies not wanting to hire a Latino because they don’t want problems with the government.
âºU.S. Border Patrol Announces a “Zero Tolerance” Policy
The Border Patrol’s “Operation Streamline” project along border cities has been so successful in Arizona that it has spread to Laredo, Texas. Officials plan to implement this along the entire southwestern border. According to the Houston Chronicle, zero tolerance will be given to the undocumented who previously were released pending a court date or sent back across the border that same day. Border patrol agents will now be able to prosecute, jail, and deport all undocumented people along the Laredo border and those arrested in Laredo may serve a 180 day jail sentence for the misdemeanor.
Laredo is the largest city that border patrol agents have implemented this policy on. Del Rio and Yuma, Ariz. were the other two cities which had this policy. As a result, Del Rio had a 46 percent drop in arrests.
âºSexy Border Patrol Costumes a Hit
With the current immigration debate, some costume shops decided to introduced a new outfit, the border patrol officer costume for men and the sexy border patrol costume for women.
Zoogstercostumes.com said their sexy border patrol costume featured a dress, hat, badge, button patch, belt, and binoculars. They even said to pair this costume with “Mexican Man for a hilarious couples outfit.” Buycostumes.com called the costume for women, a border babe and gave this description, “with he trusty binoculars, sexy border babe is tracking down illegal aliens while keeping a watchful eye on America’s borders.”
The costume for men said that thanks to the border patrol officer, “America’s borders are safe. Good luck trying to sneak past this Border Patrol Officer; he’s got his eyes peeled and ready to stop anybody.” To no surprise, the website was sold out of the costumes in all sizes.
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