Newschannel 5 of Weslaco, TX reported a recent incident in which a South African native was taken into custody when she tried to board a plane at the McAllen Miller International Airport.  According to documents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Farida Goolam Mahomed Ahmed was taken into custody after presenting a passport that had no entry or exit stamps, and had several pages torn off.  She was also found to be carrying a bag of wet, muddy clothes.

Upon further investigations, travel itineraries showed that she had flown from South Africa to London and six days later, to a flight from London to Mexico City.  Upon further interrogation, the detainee admitted to being smuggled into the United States through the Texas Border.  She is currently in custody and facing three charges of breaking US Code including mutilating her passport, making false statements and entering the country illegally.  According to available documents and reports, there is currently no evidence of terrorist ties.

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According to the Washington Times, a pilot aboard Flight 327 from Detroit

to Los Angeles on June 29 radioed for law-enforcement assistance after he observed “suspicious activity” from a group of 14 men of Syrian descent on board a Northwest Flight.  This was a musical band group traveling to join a popular musician in the Syrian community.  After taking the men into custody it was deemed that 13 of the men had overstayed their P3 visa by a couple of weeks.  The 14^th member was an American citizen. 

Although a spokesman for Homeland Security disputed reports from crews and marshals

and said they had "no intelligence that terrorists are conducing test flights on airlines."  Air marshals insist that incidents such as these are one of a series of probes of terrorists who are testing the security system of the United States.  They cite a previous incident in which a group of six men with musical instruments were reported by American Airlines to law enforcement officials.

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According to the Associated Press, the city attorney’s office of Los Angeles that criminal charges have been filed against seven business consultants in Koreatown for allegedly violating the state's Immigrant Consultant Act.  According to officials, these charges were filed after an investigation by authorities of 25 businesses that advertised as immigration services in Korean phone directories and newspapers.

According to a spokesman for the city attorney’s office, these cases ranged from charging a fee and not providing services to allegedly providing misleading advice.  The supposed violations include the failure to file a bond with the with California Secretary of State, which is a requirement for all immigration consulting businesses in the State of California and unlawfully giving legal advice in an immigration related matter.

The investigations were prompted after receiving complaints from consumers.  These involved investigators and undercover Korean-speaking volunteers posing as clients.  These particular cases are among the 25 filed by the city’s attorney’s office just this year.

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According to AILA InfoNet, Secretary of State Colin Powell has concluded that there are sufficient facts to designate the Continuity Irish Republican Army as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to §219(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.  This classification is effective July 13, 2004.

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The Associated Press reported last week that a Florida man was sentenced to three years in prison for illegally operating a website that represented itself as “USA Immigration Services” and charged prospective immigrants for an opportunity to acquire U.S. visas through a lottery.  John Romano promised ineligible applicants that their applications would meet U.S. guidelines in exchange for a fee.  The Federal Trade Commission, which reached a settlement with Romano for $2.2 million based on civil charges, has targeted a total of eight fraudulent websites this year that have tried to capitalize on the visa lottery.   As a reminder to our readers, the Diversity Visa Lottery application is a free application and there are no government fees for the initial application.  The “winners”, however, are responsible for paying the normal immigrant visa application or adjustment of status fees.

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According to the El Paso Times, Texas state Attorney General Greg Abbott handed down a legal decision that hospitals in the state are not required to, but can, provide non-emergency health care to undocumented immigrants.   This legal decision was in response to the inquiry by Montgomery County Hospital District’s board members, who wanted to know if they were mandated to provide such care.

However, all hospitals are required to provide emergency care to all and are prohibited by federal law from asking the immigration status of patients.  Last year, the Texas legislature passed a law requiring hospitals to use local funds for non-emergency services to undocumented immigrants.

Health care advocates report that by providing preventative care at primary care clinics saves money because most illnesses can be detected before they become emergency room cases.