Florida News: Immigration, Raids, Other

[nineten]

Some 81 illegal aliens arrested in Palm Beach County

Some 81 illegal immigrants in Palm Beach County were arrested last week as part of an operation targeting immigration fugitives. A total of more than 330 arrests resulted in Miami, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Involved in the two-week operations ...

http://www.bocaratonnews.com/news/local/405-some-81-illegal-aliens-arrested-palm-beach-county.php

[nineten]

Cuban rapper's desperate try for U.S. may have failed

......

Cuban reggaeton star Elvis Manuel may be lost at sea, marooned on a tiny spit of sand in the Florida Straits, ......

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/cuba/story/492939.html

[nineten]

Ft. Lauderdale Forum Addresses High Mortality Rate Among Black Infants

...... Many black women can't afford coverage, lack access to care or avoid public clinics because of language or immigration issues, Valbrun-Pope said......

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/custom/consumer/sfl-flrxinfant0412sbapr12,0,1703184.story

[nineten]

Geraldo Rivera To Deliver Keynote Address at Radio Ink Hispanic Radio Conference

Investigative journalist and Fox News Channel host speaks at only industry conference dedicated to Hispanic radio

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida, April 11 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ --

Geraldo Rivera -- investigative journalist, author and host of Fox News Channel's Geraldo at Large -- will deliver the keynote address at Radio Ink's Hispanic Radio Conference on May 19. The conference is set for May 19-20 at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables-Miami, Florida.

http://www.hispanicprwire.com/news.php?l=in&id=11221&cha=14

[nineten]

About Palm Beach International Airport

A major new feature is the Customs and Immigration facility which is capable of handling 300 passengers per hour and aircraft up to the size of B747-400.

http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/gen/company.html?gcode=AF0FB565CF754ABF9562BB7EC3954FB 9

[nineten]

'The Visitor' is welcome in movie theaters

Sarasota Film Festival audiences got a jump on an impressive new film that is getting positive reviews in New York and Los Angeles.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080411/FEATURES9901/273381475

[nineten]

Immigrants in Fla. Appeal Deportation

MIAMI (Map, News) - An Ecuadorean couple facing deportation are appealing a judge's refusal to hear their claim that they were unfairly targeted because their daughter is an immigration activist.

http://www.examiner.com/a-1327468~Immigrants_in_Fla__Appeal_Deportation.html

[nineten]

Also see articles previously posted in this thread in this forum:

Florida's Lake Cnty Seeking Immi Enforcement

[nineten]

Immigration agency sweep wraps up with 332 arrests

In what may be the largest Florida immigration roundup in recent years, U.S. officials arrested hundreds of foreign nationals in the area.
Posted on Mon, Apr. 07, 2008

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/story/485733.html


http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/080407miami.htm

[nineten]

SOUTH FLORIDA

Prosecutors target smuggling rings
Authorities are intensifying efforts to shut down criminal rings that for years have smuggled Cubans and others across the Florida Straits.

http://www.miamiherald.com/457/story/494030.html

[nineten]

Pope’s trip to U.S. eagerly awaited by SW Floridians

Local interest in quiet Benedict XVI runs high

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080414/NEWS01/80413015/1002

[nineten]

Reality show maker arrested in Florida

......Brilleman posted a $3,000 bond and was released several hours after his arrest. Police do not believe he has a criminal record. Miller said Brilleman is from South Africa, but his immigration status is unclear....

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2008-04-14-pauperprincess_N.htm

[nineten]

Justice Rare In Immigrant Scams

TAMPA - Albert Dross saw opportunity in the vulnerable.

Starting in 2002, court records show the Tampa man started bilking tens of thousands of dollars - mostly from immigrants. Many were in prison, facing deportation.

Charismatic and articulate, Dross was a blind man who ...

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/apr/15/na-justice-rare-in-immigrant-scams/

[nineten]

Non-citizens voting in elections

By:
Mike DeesonTampa, Florida --

........The immigration officer told Carracedo he could be deported for voting....................

............"I did not know that you have to be an American citizen to register to vote," Carracedo says.............



http://www.tampabays10.com/news/election/article.aspx?storyid=78247

[nineten]

Florida Senate may OK extra tax on cigarettes, but House likely to defeat it

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/apr/15/florida-senate-may-ok-extra-tax-cigarettes-house-l/

[nineten]

Avon Park Revisists Migrant Housing Rules

AVON PARK — City Attorney Gerald Buhr will take another official look at a migrant residential housing ordinance. This time, it is closer to home.

The City Council informally decided to have Buhr review a March 1990 Sebring ordinance concerning residential housing for migrant workers.

http://www2.highlandstoday.com/content/2008/apr/15/avon-park-revisits-migrant-housing-rules/

[nineten]

DADE CITY — Two illegal immigrants who had been bullied and swindled into silence stepped out from the shadows Friday, according to a report from the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article435668.ece

Read the first comment!

[nineten]

Immigration bills face long odds in state House

........But the efforts are going nowhere — a reality that reflects the state's immigrant-dependent tourism and agricultural industries, and the political power of South Florida and its deep immigrant roots......

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/state/article448661.ece

[nineten]

Activist says raid targeted her family

She says agents told her it wasn't smart to have spoken out.


CORAL GABLES — A Miami-Dade College student on Tuesday accused immigration authorities of targeting her family for deportation because of her activism on behalf of undocumented students.

http://www.tampabay.com/incoming/article406316.ece

[nineten]

South Florida Law Firm, Ellis, Ged & Bodden, P.A., Retained in Wake of Deadly Construction Crane Crash

On Tuesday, March 25, 2008, a seven-ton section of a Miami building construction crane fell 30 stories onto an adjacent house made famous by the film "There's Something About Mary." In the accident two construction workers died and five were injured. This horrible accident took the lives of Terrance Hennessy, who died at the scene, and Jeremy Thornsbury, who
later died at a local hospital.

At that time, the Bovis Construction Company was building ......

http://www.pr-inside.com/south-florida-law-firm-ellis-ged-r541878.htm

[nineten]

U.S. raids Pilgrim's Pride poultry plant in north Fla.

(Published April 16, 2008)

LIVE OAK, Fla. — Federal immigration authorities have raided the Pilgrim's Pride poultry plant in rural north Florida.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say it is a crackdown on an alleged scam to provide fake identification for illegal immigrant workers.

Spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez says her agency is working with state, local and other federal agencies at the Live Oak plant west of Jacksonville.

They made a number of arrests Wednesday morning, but Gonzalez could not immediately say how many people were taken into custody.

The raid is part of a national operation. ICE officials say they are also making arrests in Arkansas, New York, Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.

http://www.fortmilltimes.com/124/story/134707.html

[nineten]

Detectives round up drug suspects in morning raids

Narcotics investigators smashed a cocaine-trafficking ring this morning, which was distributing a combination of powder and crack cocaine to the New Smyrna Beach area.

Detectives raided six homes, five in New Smyrna Beach and one in Daytona Beach, arrested 18 people and seized cocaine, marijuana and cash.

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/breakingnews/drugs041708.htm

[nineten]

Law enforcement gets high-tech gear

..............Video from the custom-made cameras is then transmitted to a screen accessed only by detectives on the case. Sonier's creations have been used in federal investigations by the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.................

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080420/NEWS01/80420010/1075

[nineten]

Florida ranks among top 21 states for immigration-legislation activity

A report puts the state in the top 21 for bills proposed, but change likely isn't imminent.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-immigstates2408apr24,0,6094024.story

[nineten]

Bandanas Raise Awareness Of Abuse Among Female Farmworkers

By DONNA KOEHN
The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 27, 2008

Quickly, the women learn.

Stay with the pack, whether the crop is oranges, tomatoes, strawberries. Don't work too fast, and under no circumstances fall behind.

Don't go to the packing house alone.

Dress like a man, sweating in baggy flannel shirts under the merciless Florida sun.

And always bring a bandana...........

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/apr/27/bandanas-raise-awareness-abuse-among-female-farmwo/

[nineten]

Tallahassee Examines Race, Culture at Summitt

...Monday's luncheon will feature a debate on immigration between the Florida State and University of Florida debate teams. The city also will celebrate the 30th anniversary of its Department of Equity and Workforce Development.

http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080427/NEWS01/804270325/1010

[nineten]

PENSACOLA

-- Free legal clinic: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, May 3, St. Sylvester Church, 6464 Gulf Breeze Parkway, Gulf Breeze. Attorneys will be on hand for consultations with low-income individuals with civil legal problems such as family law, property disputes, bankruptcy, government benefits issues, wills and estates, housing discrimination,

immigration issues and others.


The attorneys may not be able to legally represent attendees,

but the clinic will provide an opportunity for legal advice.

Presented by Legal Services of North Florida, Inc., Northwest Florida Legal Services, Inc. and the Escambia Santa Rosa County Bar Association Details: 432-8222.

http://www.pnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080427/BUSINESS/804270322

[nineten]

America has and will follow Miami's lead

The outside world's hand in shaping modern Miami once seemed unnatural, but can now be seen as an inevitability for an American city taking its place on the global stage.

Posted on Sun, Apr. 27,
By T.D. ALLMAN
Special to The Miami Herald

People were surprised when I called my book Miami: City of the Future. In the aftermath of the Marielito invasion and the Liberty City riots, the conventional wisdom was that Miami was finished -- ''Paradise Lost,'' ''not really a part of America anymore.'' I had come to a different judgment, that Miami was a harbinger of the Americas to come.

http://www.miamiherald.com/540/story/509904.html

[nineten]

Twelve miles from Nassau Worlds Apart on Immigration Policy

Ralph De La Cruz | Columnist
April 27, 2008

I read the words in the heartbreaking story of the 25 Haitians whose voyage away from starvation ended in tragic failure last week: A woman's body had been found, ravaged by sharks, the story explained, 12 miles northwest of Nassau.

And the words took me right back.

To the Nassau experienced by a 4-year-old immigrant. Me.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/lifestyle/sfl-ralph27sbapr27,0,6383818.column

[nineten]

Pregnant Haitian Woman Spared Deportation From USA

MIAMI, CMC - In a rare decision, United States immigration authorities have temporarily spared the deportation of a pregnant Haitian woman in Miami on humanitarian grounds.

Fabienne Josil, 26, five months pregnant, was awaiting deportation when immigration officials unexpectedly told her Friday evening she could leave detention to seek the medical care she needs in the US.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/international/1360671/pregnant_haitian_woman_spared_deportation_from_usa/

[nineten]

Man in Fort Pierce gets 5 years for harboring illegal aliens

FORT PIERCE — It was not the first time David Knowles made the trip between the Bahamas and the U.S. with a boat full of illegal immigrants, but it was the first time he'd been caught.

...The capture was one of about half a dozen such landings on Jupiter Island in the span of a year. Authorities have said the island, one of the richest communities in the country, is a popular spot for smugglers because its coastline is less populated than Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties...

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/apr/29/30gtman-gets-5-years-for-harboring-illegal/

[nineten]

SC Senate approves crucifix license tag
The Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. --A license plate with an image of a cross in front of a stained glass window with the words "I Believe" could be available to drivers in South Carolina under a bill that has won key approval in the Senate.

The Senate gave the bill second reading on Tuesday and agreed to give the proposal automatic final approval Wednesday and send it to the House.

>>>> Florida legislators are considering adding the same tag in their state.

The American Civil Liberties Union said last week the plates would gives the appearance that Florida is a Christian state and is endorsing a particular religious preference.<<<<

((end of article))

http://www.charlotte.com/205/story/602362.html

[nineten]

Immigration agents seize 11 workers at country club west of Delray Beach

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2008/05/02/0502gleneagles.html?imw=Y

[nineten]

Border Patrol Checks Bus Boarders Bus Riders Hit By ID Checks (and sometimes Amtrak)


TAMPA - It's barely sunrise. The shadows under the passengers' eyelids show it.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/may/04/na-border-patrol-checks-bus-boarders-bus-riders-hi/

[nineten]

Feds crack down on marriage-fraud rings
At least 64 face charges in crackdown, called Operation Knot So Fast

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/community/news/clermont/orl-knot0908may09,0,3193218.story

[nineten]

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A federal sting of four companies accused of arranging fraudulent marriages for U.S. citizenships, complete with wedding photos of brides in gowns and elaborate fake cakes, has netted more than 80 arrests, authorities said Friday

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/09/AR2008050902344.html

[nineten]

New Latino voters dilute Florida's Cuban GOP base

Democrats now boast of having more Hispanics

MIAMI — Hispanic voters registered as Democrats have overtaken Hispanic Republicans in Florida, signaling a trend that, if it continues, could have far-reaching implications for the 2008 election and U.S. foreign policy.

Until now, the politically influential, mostly Republican Cuban-American community in Miami-Dade made Florida the only state in the country where, among Hispanics, Republicans outnumbered Democrats.

The growth among Hispanic Democrats is striking.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/5769132.html

[nineten]

Federal sting nets 83 arrests in suspected marriage-for-citizenship scam

He noted the illegal aliens to whom the Americans in the scheme falsely were married came from 11 different countries, and several had criminal records. Weber also warned the criminal community that ICE was stepping up enforcement against marriage fraud.

http://wizbangblog.com/content/2008/05/09/dragging-the-old-ball-chain.php

PHOTOS OF 2 COUPLES ARRESTED

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/breakingnews/fraud050908.htm



In one of the cases announced Friday, the facade was thin.

"That's not a real cake. It's a plastic cake," Mark Garrand, an assistant special agent in charge for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said as he showed a picture of an accused sham marriage ceremony in Kissimmee. "Look at the glasses. They're empty."

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD05051008.htm

[nineten]

"Look at the glasses. They're empty."

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/community/news/clermont/orl-knot0908may09,0,3193218.story

[nineten]

ORLANDO, FLA. -- The four-tiered cake the newlyweds were about to cut was plastic. The glasses and plates on the reception table were empty. And the bride wore casual shoes under her wedding gown.

Those were among the clues that first caught the attention of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials after they searched the offices of Winter Garden-based All Kind Services U.S.A. In a back room were the cake, the fake reception hall and a rack with several wedding dresses.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fakewedding10-2008may10,0,1020006.story?track=rss

[nineten]

'Can't deport us all,' immigration activists say at West Palm rally

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpvigil0513pnmay13,0,4031340.story

[nineten]

McCain Debuts Spanish Language Campaign Site

John McCain has recently launched the Spanish-language version of the campaign site (here). There's not a ton of Spanish-language content -- apart from his biography and testimonials from four Spanish-speaking Florida Republicans. I thought I'd provide a quick look at what those commentators have to say.

All signs are that McCain will press hard for Hispanic votes, which may cause conservatives agita, but which could help him significantly in states like Colorado, New Mexico, Florida, and even California.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/05/mccain_debuts_spanish_language.asp

[nineten]

25 Lee County Jail construction workers possibly undocumented

by dave breitenstein • dbreitenstein@news-press.com • May 15, 2008

Ft. Myers Florida


The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has detained 25 construction workers, possibly undocumented, who were working on the new Lee County Jail.

“At our new facility off Ortiz, apparently some of the subcontractors were employing or are employing illegal immigrants,” said sheriff's spokesman John Sheehan.

It is not yet known what subcontractors were employing undocumented workers, or how the Sheriff’s Office knew about workers’ immigration status. Generally, governmental agencies require that contractors and subcontractors use legal immigrants.

At least three workers were employed by a firm named Spectrum.

County officials broke ground on the new jail in November 2006. The facility will cost $52.8 million.

(( END OF ARTICLE))


http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080515/NEWS01/80515030/1002

[nineten]

Contractors respond to illegal workers arrests

Kraft and Spectrum Contracting.


Video

LEE COUNTY, Fla.-

http://www.winknews.com/news/local/19021679.html

[nineten]

Deportation likely for 24 following Arkansas raid of city-based company

Federal agents arrested 24 suspected illegal immigrants on Wednesday working in Little Rock, Ark., for Oklahoma City-based Naylor Concrete Inc.

Naylor is a national contractor that at times employs hundreds of workers, from California to Florida. Some of its jobs involve detailed tile and concrete work.

http://newsok.com/deportation-likely-for-24-following-raid/article/3237990/

[nineten]

Florida wisely take a pass on immigration crackdowns

Florida passes on immigration crackdowns.

What we do know is that Florida is mired in a pretty steep housing meltdown. Post-Sept. 11 security rules, coupled with a much more stringent tourist visa process, has helped cost Florida's economy roughly $50 billion over the past six years, according to one report by TaxWatch.

How much more of an economic hit do we want to self-inflict?

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-editafarizonapnmay18,0,2030955.story

[nineten]

:thumbup:

PICKING FIGHT WITH BURGER KING: MIGRANTS WIN

In the wake of an embarrassing corporate scandal, Burger King Corp. has ended a three-year battle with migrant workers in Southwest Florida and agreed to pay farmworkers a penny per pound more for tomatoes they pick.

The Miami-based fast-food chain and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers announced the deal Friday, with Burger King ...

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-tomato2408may24,0,3582820.story

[nineten]

Authorities: 3 people killed at Central Florida bar

The Associated Press
10:55 AM EDT, May 24, 2008

AUBURNDALE, Fla.

- Authorities say at least two members of a Tampa-area music group were among three people shot and killed inside a central Florida bar.

Polk County Sheriff's spokeswoman Donna Wood says two members of Poison Dart, a group described on their MySpace page as "Reggae/Hip Hop/Roots" music performers, were shot and killed shortly before 3 a.m. Saturday.

The group was at the Thunderbird Bar in Auburndale, which is about 50 miles east of Tampa.

Wood says 35-year-old Michael S. Rattigan and 29-year-old Antone G. Neely died from their injuries. The third shooting victim has not yet been publicly identified.

Wood says no one has been arrested, and that only some of the bar's patrons are cooperating with detectives.

((END OF ARTICLE))

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/southwest/orl-bk-polk-triple-shooting-052408,0,893530.story

[nineten]

Steady fishing helps USA team to win in
IGFA Offshore World Championship

...the previous three days but the steady fishing of team members from Islamorada, Fla. USA, paid off in the end as they captured the title in the IGFA Offshore World Championship.

http://www.igfa.org/2008_Offshore/Day_4/Day_4.asp

:rockon: FLORIDA!!

[nineten]

Mexican Immigrant From Auburndale Indicted In Slaying Of Woman

By LISA A. DAVIS
The Tampa Tribune
Published: May 24, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - An illegal immigrant from Mexico has been indicted in the fatal shooting of 51-year-old Diane Yeager-Lombard, whose body was found May 4 on her front porch in Land O' Lakes, according to the sheriff's office.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/may/24/pa-immigrant-indicted-in-slaying-of-woman/

[y14gemini]

Authorities: 3 people killed at Central Florida bar

The Associated Press
10:55 AM EDT, May 24, 2008

AUBURNDALE, Fla.

- Authorities say at least two members of a Tampa-area music group were among three people shot and killed inside a central Florida bar.

Polk County Sheriff's spokeswoman Donna Wood says two members of Poison Dart, a group described on their MySpace page as "Reggae/Hip Hop/Roots" music performers, were shot and killed shortly before 3 a.m. Saturday.

The group was at the Thunderbird Bar in Auburndale, which is about 50 miles east of Tampa.

Wood says 35-year-old Michael S. Rattigan and 29-year-old Antone G. Neely died from their injuries. The third shooting victim has not yet been publicly identified.

Wood says no one has been arrested, and that only some of the bar's patrons are cooperating with detectives.

((END OF ARTICLE))

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/southwest/orl-bk-polk-triple-shooting-052408,0,893530.story


This is so sad. These were really good friends of my sister :(!

[nineten]

If you're hunting for restaurant work this summer, Florida may not be the best place to look. The reason: The restaurant industry is expected to shed more than 18,000 jobs this summer in Florida, according to The National Restaurant Association.

The industry will lose jobs in Florida as the tourism season ends, the association said in a report today. Arizona also will shed large numbers of restaurant jobs in June, July and August.

States expected to add restaurant jobs this summer: California (35,200), New York (34,700), Texas (25,500), Massachusetts (22,700), Illinois (22,000) and New Jersey (20,100).

Restaurants are expected to add about 402,000 jobs nationwide this summer, about 90,000 less than they did last summer.

((END OF ARTICLE))

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/may/29/florida-expected-lose-18000-restaurant-jobs-summer/

[nineten]

@post #48

Nightclub Shootings
Arrest Warrant Issued For Suspect in Slayings

Lakeland man, 19, flew to Jamaica after the incident and is hiding, officials say.
By Jeremy Maready

GRADY JUDD speaks about the suspect in a triple slaying during a news conference Wednesday in Bartow.

Witnesses Sought In Triple Slaying
Police Face Confusion In Triple Killing at Bar

BARTOW | The day after three men died in an Auburndale nightclub shooting, Polk detectives say, suspect Davion Parson borrowed $140 in cab fare from his mother and boarded an international flight from Orlando bound for the Caribbean islands, where he remains in hiding.

http://www.theledger.com/article/20080529/NEWS/805290513

[nineten]

In Miami, Spanish is becoming the primary language

By GISELA SALOMON
Associated Press Writer

MIAMI -- Melissa Green's mother spoke Spanish, but she never learned - her father forbid it. Today, that's a frequent problem in this city where the English-speaking population is outnumbered.

http://www.miamiherald.com/775/story/550596.html

[nineten]

CAMPAIGN 2008

Parties embrace Puerto Ricans

Central Florida's Puerto Rican community could be an election battleground. Sunday, island residents get their say.

Posted on Sat, May. 31, 2008

BY BETH REINHARD
breinhard@MiamiHerald.com

KISSIMMEE -- Irma and Edwin Candelaria, who moved from Puerto Rico 28 years ago to this city south of Orlando, are registered Democrats who voted twice for George W. Bush. Now she's leaning toward Barack Obama; he favors John McCain.

http://www.miamiherald.com/457/story/552967.html

[nineten]

ELECTION 2008 | DEMOGRAPHICS

Study: Hispanic voters increasing, changing

The number of Hispanic voters in Florida is growing -- and many are registering independent.

Posted on Thu, May. 29, 2008
BY LUISA YANEZ
lyanez@MiamiHerald.com
Related Content

EL NUEVO HERALD FILE
A woman votes during the 2008 presidential primary at the Hammocks Fire Station in Kendall.The makeup of Florida's Hispanic voters -- currently 1.2 million strong -- has undergone a dramatic shift in the past eight years, according to a study released Wednesday by Democracia U.S.A.

Among the group's findings in Miami-Dade, Broward and statewide:

...

http://www.miamiherald.com/516/story/550271.html

[nineten]

Ten sue over citizenship delaysSouth Florida Business Journal

The Florida Immigration Advocacy Center filed a lawsuit Wednesday that accuses the federal government of "extraordinary delays" in judging citizenship applications.

Filed on behalf of 10 permanent residents in South Florida, the suit says federal law requires a decision within three months of the naturalization interview, but claims the plaintiffs have been waiting between two and four years for a decision because of FBI name checks. The checks were implemented in 2002 and search all FBI files, FBI spokesman Paul Bresson said. Before 2002, names checks only searched the main subjects of an FBI investigation.

The lawsuit, which is seeking class action status, asks the court to require the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service to finalize the plaintiffs' applications within 90 days.

The suit includes nationals of Russia, Cuba, Panama, Guyana, Morocco, Pakistan and Bangladesh. It says some of the plaintiffs have spouses or children who have already been approved, and that others are separated from their family members in their home countries.

In April, the FBI and USCIS announced a plan to bring the name check process up to date by 2009. It calls for the agency to have processed all name checks pending more than three years by May 2008, more than four years by July 2008, more than one year by November 2008, more than 180 days by February 2009, and process 98 percent of all name checks within 30 days and process the remaining 2 percent within 90 days by June 2009.

Bresson said he could not comment on a pending lawsuit, but noted the May goal was reached. However, the FIAC said delays persist in South Florida, estimating there are hundreds, if not thousands, of delayed applications in South Florida.

Bresson said the agency receives 4 million requests for name checks a year; about half come from USCIS and 90 percent are completed within 90 days. The FBI is building a central record facility to be completed in 2011, making the process more automated and raising the fee for name checks to allow it to hire more people in an attempt to speed up the process.

USCIS could not immediately be reached for comment.

((END OF ARTICLE))

http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2008/06/02/daily50.html