Immigration

Special Best Of Edicion: Do Mexicans Cause the Closures of Hospitals?

And how many cases of leprosy come from Mexico per year?

ACLU Wants Answers in DPS Shooting of Unarmed Men From a Helicopter During Chase

The ACLU of Texas wants state officials to investigate a Department of Public Safety sharpshooter's killing of two unarmed men during an intense chase Thursday in the Rio Grande Valley. The DPS agent was in a helicopter that was pursuing a pickup truck occupied by suspected illegal immigrants. Thre ... More >>

Comment of the Day: The Immigration Debate, With Some All-Caps Action

We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it's time we paid some damn attention to them. So we'll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning or afternoon from the previous day's work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula i ... More >>

Crossing The Line: Days of Rage

The U.S. Supreme Court and President Obama leave the undocumented and their allies no choice but to escalate civil disobedience.

Cover Story: The War on Mexicans Has to Stop

America's peculiar war on Mexicans has gone too far, says this week's cover package from Village Voice Media. A hostile Supreme Court and a feckless Obama administration have resulted in abominations like Arizona's Senate Bill 1070, which gives cops all but carte blanche to question the immigration ... More >>

ICE Sweep Nets 74, Including Child Molesters, in Houston Area

A nationwide sweep of convicted criminal aliens, immigration fugitives and "egregious" immigration violators resulted in almost 100 arrests out of the Houston field office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE took in 3,100 people nationwide in its six-day "Cross Check" operation, with 74 com ... More >>

Rafa & Cuco: Smuggling 17 Illegals in a Toyota Tundra

Two men received stiff sentences for running an illegal-immigrant smuggling business that was exposed when a Toyota Tundra carrying 17 of their clients crashed, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Houston announced today. Rafael Valles, "a.k.a. El Viejo or Rafa," and Refugio Reyna-Huerta, "a.k.a. Cuco," ... More >>

Wayne Christian: State Rep Hilariously Backtracks from That "In-State Tuition for Illegals" Vote

East Texas state rep Wayne Christian, like most other legislators, voted for a bill in 2003 that allowed children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition for colleges. As the hardcore rightwinger notes, the vote was not even a bit controversial at the time, coming as it did as part of a more ... More >>

Cover Story: Michael Berry, Former City Hall Boy Wonder

Nine years ago, embattled right-wing radio host Michael Berry was a 32-year-old mayoral candidate. Tim Fleck wrote a feature on the fresh-faced city councilman and quixotic candidate (polling below 10 percent, Berry pulled out of the race less than a month after the story hit the street) and his Ind ... More >>

Texas: Immigration Detention Capital of the Country

In Texas, illegal immigration is often extremely lucrative.​Texas is number one again today. To our trophy case of great honors, we add Most Beholden To Private Corporations, When It Comes To Illegal Immigration. The Detention Watch Network recently released aggregated data about the big busi ... More >>

FAIR-y Tales: Fantasy Voter Fraud

Dual Citizenship and Loving the Gold

Sheriff Adrian Garcia Helps Feds Trumpet Stats On Illegal-Alien Removals

Photo by Austin MillerSheriff Adrian Garcia, hyping the Obama administration​The Immigration & Customs Enforcement department brought in some help for today's announcement in Washington about how great they're doing removing illegal aliens: Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia.Garcia appeared w ... More >>

What's a Little Marriage Fraud Between Amigos?

It's a felony, sure, but in the absence of real immigration reform, some young, assimilated illegal immigrants see it as their best path to citizenship.

Lilith Fair's Top 5 Headline-Grabbing Moments

​Friday, while Rocks Off was enjoying a blissful if soggy day off, Lilith Fair canceled the final ten dates of this year's summer resurrection, including all three scheduled Texas stops. The news was hardly shocking: One headliner, Norah Jones, had already bailed, and The New York Times report ... More >>

An Immigrant's Heart

To survive the ordeal of escaping Guatemala, Julia needed a big Heart. But not this big.

Jennifer Martinez: Posing As A Bribe-able Immigration Official

If you're going to bribe someone, at least make sure they're legit​A woman who posed as an immigration officer took cash from hopeful immigrants, promising to get the papers, will get almost five years in prison for her trouble.Jennifer Martinez, 36, of McAllen, was sentenced here in Houston today ... More >>

Special Potpourri Edition

Arizona Rapper G-MOE Talks About His State's Situation

"DRANK SIPPA" from ALONSO MURILLO on Vimeo. Everyone is talking about the controversy surrounding Arizona's SB 1070, and Rocks Off was curious to take the temperature of the Grand Canyon State's hip-hop community. So we got in contact with our current favorite Arizona Latino hip-hop artist, 23-year- ... More >>

Former Fed Prakash Khatri Says The Immigration Fast Track Takes 130 Years, On Average

Approximate time on hold remaing...130 years​Some people seem to believe that for a Mexican immigrant to become a U.S. citizen and come here legally, all he needs to do is to sign some forms, pay a fee, and then wait a little while. "Eventually they'll have their day," these people say, "just like ... More >>

Aggies & Illegal Immigrants: A Sudden Bout Of Common Sense

The Student Senate holds off on whether illegal immigrants should pay out-of-state tuition​Maybe it's just people steeped in Aggie stereotypes who hold their breath when hearing Texas A&M is wading into something like the debate on illegal immigration, but it's certain that breath is being hel ... More >>

Protests Against Arizona's Law At The Astros Game: One Way To Spend Cinco De Mayo

A team spokesman walks a tightrope in responding to the planned protests​Haven't found the perfect way to celebrate Cinco De Mayo yet? Some organizations have what they think is the perfect way to kick it off.Several Latino groups, including LULAC and Houston's Youth Coalition, will be protesting ... More >>

You Want To Deport All Illegals? It's Gonna Cost You

"Goodbye to my Juan, farewell Rosalita; adios mis amigos, Jesus y Maria..."​Few subjects elicit raw passion the way illegal immigration does. But what if you could eliminate all of the rage, fear, sympathy and politics surrounding the issue, what then? What if it was just a numbers game, and abou ... More >>

More Mexican Slang and Healthcare Issues

If Halloween Is Coming, So Are Offensive Costumes

​The "Illegal Alien" costume causing uproar amongst immigrant rights activists, anti-immigrant supporters and free speech advocates is the first major faux pas of this Halloween season. While anti-immigrant supporters are scrambling to find the costume, immigrant rights activists are calling for ... More >>

An ICE Round-Up Of Sex Offenders Reaps Rewards

​Illegal Alien Sex Offenders is not, as you might imagine, the latest half-assed proto-surfpunk band out of Alief. Instead its the prize caught in a weeklong Houston-area sweep by the feds.The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency announced late Monday afternoon the results of that sweep -- 2 ... More >>

If The Unemployment Rate Is So High, Why Are Houston Companies Still Using Foreign Workers?

 Unemployment in Texas has more than doubled since last year, causing one former oil-industry worker to ask: Why can companies continue to sponsor work visas for foreign workers?"It's not like we're talking about people picking fruit in fields," Rick Everinghim, who designs refineries, along wi ... More >>

Rally Tomorrow At Mason Park For The DREAM Act

Photo courtesy of Marina Castillo-KnutiKeep the DREAM alive. That's what community activists in Houston are trying to do tomorrow at Mason Park when they hold a rally in support of the DREAM Act, a piece of federal legislation that would allow certain undocumented immigrants to earn citizenship. ... More >>

Amnesty International Not Impressed With The Immigrant Facilities At Port Isabel

Lack of access to legal counsel and bond hearings were just two things that Amnesty International representatives found trouble with after touring the Port Isabel Detention Center near Brownsville this week."It's very hard to find legal counsel," Sarnata Reynolds told Hair Balls. Reynolds, AI's poli ... More >>

We're Suing Over This "Sanctuary City" Crap!! Umm, Maybe Not Right Now

The stage at the Houston Police Officers' Union was literally set for a big announcement today. Microphones had been hooked up, chairs for the media had been arranged in rows and press releases had been e-mailed all across town. Everyone was eager to hear all about a lawsuit that a Washington, D.C.- ... More >>

Why Do Mexicans Take So Long To Warm Up Their Cars

Janet Napolitano = Homeland Futility

Janet Napolitano’s sorry service in Arizona makes her a terrible choice for Homeland Security secretary.

The Honorable Gentleman From Tyler, Fighting The Illegal Hordes

Atencion! Things will get tougher for pesky border-crossers in Texas if any of Rep. Leo Berman’s (R-Tyler) nine illegal alien bills filed Monday pass. And if they don’t, then he might just have to run for governor – or at least that’s what he told the Austin American-Statesman. Among th ... More >>

Garbage In, Illegals Out

ASK A MEXICAN

Amnesty and Margaritas

Shipley's Gets Slapped (Somewhat) On Illegal Immigrants

Shipley's Gets Slapped (Somewhat) On Illegal Immigrants

Legal Action Stirring On Illegal-Alien Raid

Homeland Security Won't Let a Former IRA Man Out of Prison

After living in the U.S. for 25 years, Pól Brennan is now stuck on the Texas-Mexico border

You Too Can Play Catch the Illegal Immigrant

Recommended Reading: The New Yorker’s Story About T. Don Hutto Residential Center

Immigration: Cubans Enter U.S. at Texas-Mexico Border

Shorthanded

Foreign pickers aren't getting through the post-9/11 barricades to harvest U.S. crops

Letters

Tick Tock, Your Time Is Up

Foreign students at the Glassell School of Art get a stipend, studio space and three years to make it really big. They've had a huge impact on Houston's art scene. But if the INS isn't impressed, they've got to go.

Tresspassers Will Be Prosecuted

Ranch Rescue's Jack Foote swears he just wants to mend fences. Is pseudomilitary secrecy, right-wing rhetoric and an armed vigilante militia the best way?

Chinese Puzzle

An Asian mother loses her first asylum battle

Child Trek

The devastation of Hurricane Mitch propelled thousands across our southern border in search of new lives in America. And those were just the kids.

Stay or Go?

Houston's Salvadorans are given more time to worry