Beyond Borders » egarcia

Verizon presents grant for immigrant families

egarcia — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:37:52 +0000

Literacy Volunteers of Westchester County will receive a $9,500 grant from Verizon tomorrow night for its Hispanic Family Literacy program. The family program helps young immigrant families navigate the school system, understand good nutrition and promotes reading in the home. The ceremony will take place at 6 p.m. in the Learning Center of the Yonkers Public Library’s Riverfront branch, 1 Larkin Center, Yonkers.

Yonkers police to day laborers: Don’t go to Rye, NY

egarcia — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 20:54:09 +0000

At a Sept. 17 morning meeting on Yonkers Avenue where hundreds of day laborers congregate, Yonkers police officials warned day laborers not to accept jobs with contractors who are going to Rye. Roger Jara, a day laborer leader in Yonkers, said today that police warned them not to go to Rye because police in that community are collaborating with immigration enforcement officials and detaining illegal immigrants. Yonkers police met with day laborers on Sept. 17 to discuss residents’ complaints about day laborers harassing young women and workers’ complaints that some contractors have not paid them their wages.

Survey says 10 percent of U.S. Hispanics adults asked about their immigration status

egarcia — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 11:48:52 +0000

Nearly 10 percent of the Hispanic adults in a survey by the Pew Hispanic Center say they have been stopped by police or other authorities who asked them about their immigration status. The Pew Hispanic Center released results yesterday of its recent survey of 2,015 Hispanic adults. About eight percent of respondents who are U.S. citizens and 10 percent of Hispanic immigrant respondents said they have been stopped and asked about their immigration status by police or other authorities. Other survey responses indicated that half of respondents said that the situation of Hispanics in the United States is worse now than it was a year ago and 57 percent worry that they or a family member or friend will be deported. Click here to see the full report.

Yonkers immigrant church benefit

egarcia — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:32:35 +0000

St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church, a Yonkers parish with a large Hispanic immigrant congregation, will hold its autumn benefit concert on Sunday, Sept. 21 at 3 p.m. The church’s five Spanish-language choirs will perform and tickets are $5. The concert will be held in the basement and food and beverages will be served. Call 914-963-0822.

Yonkers public school collaborating with Mexican consulate

egarcia — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:20:57 +0000

During a tour this morning of the Yonkers Public Schools’ new Vive school at 75 Riverdale Ave. schools Superintendent Bernard Pierorazio explained that the Yonkers Pathways to Success, an adult education program based at Vive, has received support from the Mexican consulate. Pierorazio explained that the Mexican government has given the district books and other materials.
“The goal is to have Mexican nationals assimilate into the community,” Pierorazio said.
The district’s evening adult education programs begin on Sept. 17 at the Enrico Fermi school at 27 Poplar St. and at the PEARLS Hawthorne school at 350 Hawthorne Ave. The Fermi school will focus exclusively on English as a Second Language classes, while PEARLS will offer computing, English, GED, pre-GED classes and basic adult education. Day adult education begins in October at Vive. For more information or registration, call 914-376-8600.

Mount Vernon woman admits immigration fraud

egarcia — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:10:42 +0000

In case you missed it, here is a copy of a story that ran in our paper on Saturday.

Mt. Vernon woman convicted in immigration fraud
BY TIMOTHY O’CONNOR â€¢ THE JOURNAL NEWS â€¢ SEPTEMBER 13, 2008

NEW YORK – A Mount Vernon woman faces up to 10 years in a federal prison after pleading guilty in an immigration fraud case.

Jennifer Rowe, 51, admitted she conspired to commit mail fraud and visa fraud. She pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

Rowe was charged in September 2007 along with Pape Seck with defrauding illegal immigrants who paid up to $5,000 hoping to gain permanent residency and citizenship. While Rowe pleaded guilty yesterday, Seck remains a fugitive.

Reached at her home last night, Rowe said Seck was to blame.

“It wasn’t my fault that this happened,” she said. “It was because of this man who took off with these people’s money and left me in the wind.”

Federal prosecutors said Rowe and Seck duped the illegal immigrants into thinking they were eligible for amnesty under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1986. Rowe advertised in immigrant communities in the New York City area. The ads promised she could help immigrants obtain permanent residency. But the illegal immigrants were not eligible for the amnesty program.

Rowe and Seck took fees of $1,000 to $5,000 and the immigrants’ passports. They then submitted false application packages for amnesty to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency on behalf of the immigrants, federal authorities said. None of the applications were successful.

When Seck took off, the angry clients came after Rowe. She said that’s what led to her prosecution.

“These people are blaming me because they are furious,” she said, “because he ran away and I had given them my address, my telephone number.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who arrested Rowe said she told them that Seck called her about a month previously to tell her he had $100,000 and passports to return to her. But she said she never heard from him again.

Rowe is to be sentenced Jan. 6 by U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty.

“It’s something I never wanted to be,” she said, “this shame, this disgrace.”

Illegal immigrant forum in central New York

egarcia — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:00:36 +0000

The central New York chapter of the Labor and Employment Research Association will hold a panel on Sept. 18 entitled Invisible and Invaluable: Undocumented Immigrants in the U.S. Kate Griffith, assistant professor of employment and labor law at Cornell University will speak about the topic. The event will take place at 5 p.m. with a light dinner at The Manufacturers Association offices at 1 Webster’s Landing, Syracuse, NY. Tickets are $22 for students, $25 for members and $29 for guests. For reservations contact Patricia Stoughtenger at 315-431-4040 or pstought@nysutmail.org

Anti-immigrant hate speech

egarcia — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:43:08 +0000

The National Council of La Raza announced today that it has revamped its “Can We Stop the Hate” web site. The site spotlights what the group considers objectionable speech in the immigration debate in the media.

Given that dozens of anti-immigrant talk show hots and organizations have descended on Capitol Hill this week, it is especially important that information on what these entities are really all about is readily available to those interested in combating intolerance,

wrote NCLR president Janet Murguia.
Murguia was referring to the lobbying days by groups like the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which on Tuesday released a report on immigration and national security.
The Immigration Policy Center also released a news alert in response FAIR’s lobbying regarding illegal immigrants and crime.

Debunking immigration myths

egarcia — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:48:27 +0000

The Immigration Policy Center sent an email blast this afternoon in response to what it claims are dishonest assertions designed to stir up resentment towards immigrants who are perceived to be receiving public benefits or welfare. The group’s web site notes that federal law imposes harsh restrictions on legal immigrants’ eligibility for public benefits. The group also notes that while illegal immigrants are able to receive emergency medical care and a few other benefits that are in the interest of public health and safety (such as immunizations), they are not eligible for Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid, Medicare or food stamps. Click here for a link to the group’s fact sheet.

Yonkers adult education for immigrants

egarcia — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:32:22 +0000

The Yonkers Public Schoolsâ€™ free adult education program Pathways to Success will have three registration nights for its classes, which begin on Sept. 16. The program is not specifically targeted to immigrants, but many immigrants participate in the program because the location is in a predominantly immigrant neighborhood. Classes offered include adult basic education, GED, English as a second language and computers. The registration is from 6-9 p.m. on Sept. 9, 10 and 11 at the Enrico Fermi School for the Performing Arts, 27 Poplar St., Yonkers