 NEWS BYTES
The opportunity for nationals of Myanmar, also known as Burma, to enter the US territory of Guam without a visa has been revoked. About 700 citizens of Myanmar have entered Guam in the past month, and because about half of them carry the tuberculosis virus, their arrival has created public health concerns. Most of the entrants are fleeing religious and political persecution. The Guam visa waiver program includes citizens of different countries that the visa waiver program for the US. Nationals of Myanmar are required to have a visa to enter the US.
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A Manchester, New Hampshire judge reduced the sentence of a 19-year-old Romanian refugee convicted of attempted theft, effectively protecting him from deportation. Last year Valentin Sechelaru pled guilty to trying to steal a car. He was convicted of a misdemeanor and given a suspended sentence of 12 months. However, because the INS considers any sentence of a year or more, whether the sentence is served in prison or suspended, to be an aggravated felony, making the person ineligible for relief from deportation, regardless of their ties to the US. None of the lawyers or the judge involved in Sechelaru’s sentencing knew that the INS took this position. Sechelaru petitioned the court to reduce his sentence by one day, and after a hearing the court agreed with Sechelaru’s attorney that the failure to consider immigration consequences of the guilty plea, and the fact that if they had been considered probably would have resulted in a sentence of less than one year meant that the sentence should be reduced.
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Javier Castillo, a member of the Governor’s Council on Hispanic and Latino Affairs in North Carolina, has called for a state university to end its use of an Internet based translating program. According to Castillo, the translations provided on the East Carolina University’s library website, which are designed to provide Spanish speakers with information about area services, are inaccurate and misleading. The creator of the website says that he has had no other complaints about it, and does not plan to stop using the online translator. He also notes that while some of the translations are inaccurate, there is a disclaimer on the site warning of possible translation problems.
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The city of Berkeley, California, has officially endorsed a boycott of a restaurant owned by area landlord Lakireddy Bali Reddy, who is facing charges of importing girls from India for cheap labor and forced sex. The city council last week voted 7-2 to endorse the boycott, which was initiated by a women’s advocacy group. The two council members who voted against the boycott said that the courts should be allowed to make a decision before the city support actions against a possibly innocent man. The existence of a possible plea deal in which Reddy would plead guilty persuaded the other seven members to support the boycott. Reddy’s next court appearance is scheduled for February.
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The Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy is launching an all out effort to inform Hispanic immigrants of their rights in criminal cases. The Department, which provides defense attorneys to people facing criminal prosecution who cannot afford an attorney, is creating brochures, appointment letters and key chains that explain the rights of criminal defendants. The brochures explain the criminal process in Kentucky. The Department hopes that these materials will help Spanish speakers better understand a process that is often confusing for native English speakers. Officials are also working on translating other information helpful to criminal defendants.
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Police in Miami say that they have caught three people who have been robbing people of their immigration documents for the past few months. Three Colombian nationals, one man and two women, were charged with theft, possession of stolen property and exploitation of the elderly. According to the police, the trio would target a victim, and two of them would sit with the victim at an outdoor café and while one would distract the victim the other would go through the victim’s purse and the third would act as a lookout. Police estimate that about 20 thefts occurred each day. The INS has issued a hold on the three, and will eventually deport them.
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A youth pastor at a church in Indiana has succeeded in his effort to avoid deportation. For the past two years the INS has sought to deport Frank Audia for mistakenly voting in two elections. In 1994, when he was a student, he was urged to vote by his teachers. He did register to vote and voted twice. He later learned that he was not a US citizen – he had come to the US from El Salvador when he was 10, and did not realize he was not a citizen until his application for a passport was rejected. When he then applied for naturalization, the INS rejected his application and placed him in deportation proceedings. In a surprise move, the INS dropped the case against Audia this month.
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Members of the Idaho Progressive Student Alliance at Boise State University gave out ,000 to 25 migrant families this holiday season. The Alliance is dedicated to raising awareness of the problems faced by Hispanic migrant workers and their families. The extra cash is especially appreciated during the holidays.
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Two prison guards and one former guard at the jail in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire were recently arrested and charged with sexually assaulting female inmates at the prison, many of who were INS detainees. The arrests were the first in a joint state and federal investigation of the jail that began last January when 250 INS detainees were removed from the facility. While the investigation has thus far focused on sexual offenses, a US Attorney involved in the investigation says that they are looking at broader issues. The two current guards have been placed on administrative leave without pay pending the resolution of the criminal cases against them. | 
