Minuteman National Blog

WESTMINSTER, Colo. (AP) - Adeline Tancredo, mother of U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., has died at age 92 after suffering a stroke last year, the Rocky Mountain News reported Saturday.

The daughter of Italian-American immigrants, she lived in Denver most of her life and work at Joslins Department store downtown for 45 years.

When Tom Tancredo decided to give up being a school teacher and run for office he used his mom''s spaghetti sauce recipe as a campaign ad.

"We had no money, of course, and we were just trying to figure out . . . something to hand out to people that was inexpensive that they wouldn''t throw away," the congressman said Tuesday.

He said his mother was embarrassed by the idea at first. "I''m not sure she wanted to emphasize the ethnicity," he said.

Later Mrs. Tancredo and her husband, Gerald, went door-to-door on their son''s behalf.

She often told her son: "Tommy, I don''t know about politics. When people say, ''What does he believe in?'' I say, ''I''m not sure, but he''s a very good boy.'' "

"I couldn''t leave my job. I couldn''t have campaigned," he said. "I relied on them entirely." Lately, there has been talking of him running for president on a platform aimed at controlling immigration.

A long time member of St. Joan of Arc Church, Tom Tancredo said his mother "was the most spiritual person I''ve ever known. If there was a direct conduit to the Lord, she was it."

Last May she became partially paralyzed after a stroke and last weekend her condition deteriorated.

She was preceded in death in 2003 by her husband, Gerald.

She is survived by three sons, Jerry, Ralph and Tom Tancredo, all of Littleton; two sisters, Rose Franks and Eleanor Galterio, both of Arvada; 10 grandchildren; 17 great- grandchildren and four great-great- grandchildren.

Arrangements were pending and were being handled by Horan & McConaty.

Minutemen:

What a successful operation we had this past weekend in Altar Valley. Twenty Minuteman assisted captures of thirty illegals by the Border Patrol. We watched in awe as a BP helicopter hovered and corralled the nine illegals we reported and a petite female BP agent marched up to them cuffed them and marched them out to a BP pickup vehicle. The BP boots on the ground continue to amaze us with their courtesy, professionalism, effectiveness, and most of all gustiness.

We had Minutemen on the line from as far as Ohio, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Nevada, California, Missouri and Washington. It was like "Old Home Week" seeing all our friends at the operation. A welcome bit of new strategy is that in Arizona we will NOT run two lines at the same time. We will help the Tucson Chapter when they run a Cochise county event and they will help us when we run a Pima county event. This consolidation helps us in several ways. We will have more people to run longer lines or man posts for more than one shift. Leadership interaction and critiques smooth out the bumps encountered in any operation. It also allows us to renew old acquaintances we haven’t seen since last April.

The next two operations will be "On The Border" in Cochise County. A three dayer over Presidents Day weekend in February and the full month of April. Save up some time and plan to attend the events. April will be coast to coast as it was in the successful October operation.

More info will follow detailing the operations and requesting some response from you via computer return mail.

In the mean time remember WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE.

Hank (Joker) Fields

This morning on Fox and Friends on the Fox News Channel, there were three separate segments on the Mexican Human Rights Commission''s backing off from handing out maps to illegal aliens with instructions on how to "safely" enter Arizona -- because of the Minutemen. They show the maps on camera and explain what some of the markers on them mean.

In the second segment below, they took callers for their "Question of the Day: Mexican Mistake or Minuteman Muscle?" (what caused the Mexican government funded Human Rights Commission to back off).

Some really funny stuff in all three segments! Very friendly to the Minutemen.

Thank you, Fox and Friends!

Segment one:

http://mms.tveyes.com/ExpandGuest.asp?ln=121565

Segment two:

http://mms.tveyes.com/ExpandGuest.asp?ln=121568

Segment three:

http://mms.tveyes.com/ExpandGuest.asp?ln=121571

Enjoy!

A video clip of Tom Tancredo on the O''Reilly Factor. Click on the link to view the clip.

http://mms.tveyes.com/ExpandGuest.asp?ln=121562

Enjoy!

More on this week''s only detected, photographed and reported [so far] border incursion by drug smugglers and their Mexican army security detail. Mexico claims it was American military guarding the huge drug shipments, dressed like Mexican army and driving Mexican military Humvees. Ahem.

Mexico''s top diplomat suggested Thursday that American soldiers disguised as Mexican troops may have been in the military-style Humvee filmed earlier this week protecting a marijuana shipment on the border.

Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez also told a news conference that U.S. soldiers had helped drug smugglers before. However, he offered no evidence.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico made no immediate comment on Derbez''s claims.

His comments came a day after U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza issued a statement asking the Mexican government to "fully investigate" the border incident.

SNIP

For more on this hilarious claim, click on the link above to read the entire article.

Government Computer News reports on Homeland Security''s latest whiz-bang gizmo effort to secure the borders sometime in the future, but not immediately:

The Homeland Security Department today took the wraps off its ambitious plan to quickly gain control of the U.S. northern and southern borders by hiring a systems integration contract team to carry out the Secure Border Initiative (SBI).

DHS plans to request proposals in March and award a contract by Sept. 30 to deploy new technology as part of a comprehensive overhaul of security between ports of entry along the land borders.

SBI.net replaces the America’s Shield Initiative (ASI), the Border Patrol’s more limited and now canceled plan to modernize the sensor networks along the borders. The fiscal 2006 budget includes $31 million for ASI, but plans that DHS officials announced today at the SBI.net industry day strongly suggested that the new project would cost much more.

Homeland Security deputy secretary Michael P. Jackson told an audience of hundreds of vendor representatives and federal employees gathered at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington that secretary Michael Chertoff has tagged SBI as “ one of most important public policy priorities.”

He added, “The America’s Shield Initiative is dead, but its [impetus] has been strengthened, refined and renewed.” Jackson emphasized that “our objective is to have a procurement completed by the end of this fiscal year.”

After Jackson expressed DHS’ desire to field proven systems rather than experimental projects, and to do so in an innovative fashion, the attendees heard from a who’s who of SBI.net officials, including Deborah Spero, acting commissioner for Customs and Border Protection; Kevin Stevens, the acting program director for SBI in Customs and Border Protection; SBI program executive director Greg Giddens; and John Ely, SBI procurement executive.

An overarching theme of the industry day was expressed by Jackson as SBI being the nation’s first comprehensive attempt to gain control of the southern border, a region characterized by one speaker as chaotic. “We have never had a credible plan to enforce the southern border,” said Jackson, who noted that political conditions now are aligned to permit a thoroughgoing approach to border management.

Spero emphasized that DHS has “an extremely aggressive and ambitious implementation schedule.” After DHS issues its proposal request in March, officials plan to hold a preproposal conference the following month to respond to questions from industry.

DHS plans to launch a Web site for SBI.net and post a transcript of the industry day presentations there. Officials said the department would release details about the Web site on the fedbizopps.gov Web site Jan. 30.

SNIP

Keep an eye on those websites mentioned in the last paragraph of the excerpt. Click the title link to read the rest of the article.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

MEXICAN GOV’T CAVES TO MINUTEMEN

WITHDRAWS MAP GUIDE FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS

(PHOENIZ, AZ) January 26, 2006 – The Mexican government-funded National Human Rights Commission announced today that they are canceling plans to distribute map guides for illegal aliens trying enter America as a result of pressure by the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.

The Associated Press reported commission spokesman Miguel Angel Parades commenting on the reason for withdrawing the maps: “This would be practically like telling the Minutemen where the migrants are going to be. We are going to rethink this, so that we wouldn''t almost be handing them over to groups that attack migrants.”

Chris Simcox, President of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps issued the following statement on the decision to cancel the map distribution:

“The Mexican government caved to pressure by the Minutemen—not the U.S. government—by deciding to withdraw the maps for illegal aliens. This demonstrates the effectiveness of the peaceful, law-abiding actions by the Minuteman volunteers to secure our borders.

“The maps the Mexican government released will still be used by the Minutemen to determine where we set up our observation posts along the southern U.S. border. Those maps are not just aids for illegal aliens simply seeking to escape Mexico, they are also roadmaps for terrorists who seek to enter the United States to murder Americans.

“Contrary to the statement by Mr. Paredes of Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission, the Minutemen do not attack anyone. We simply observe the border for illegal crossings and report them to the authorities. The Minutemen have a no contact policy with regard to suspected illegal aliens. The exception being to provide water and call for emergency assistance for people found in distress. In fact, the Minutemen have made life-saving rescues of nearly two hundred migrants abandoned to die in the desert by human smugglers.

“The Mexican government ought to be ashamed that their policies drive their citizens to risk death in the Arizona desert trying to escape their country. Rather than giving away maps to help their citizens flee, the government of Mexico should dedicate itself to making Mexico a country their citizens can be proud of and want to live in.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

MINUTEMAN LEADER TO PARTICIPATE IN NASHVILLE VIGIL AT SENATE MAJORITY LEADER BILL FRIST’S OFFICE FRIDAY

(PHOENIX, AZ) January 26, 2006 – Chris Simcox, President of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, will participate in a candlelight vigil for the American worker at the Nashville, Tennessee office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist this Friday evening. The vigil is being organized by the Federation of Americans for Immigration Reform (“FAIR”).

Simcox will be urging Sen. Frist to make securing our borders the first priority when the Senate takes up illegal immigration legislation, leaving out amnesty and guest worker permits for illegal aliens that will further politicize the process and delay action on the immediate and dire need to secure this nation’s borders.

When: 5:30 p.m. Friday, January 27, 2006
Where: 28 White Bridge, Nashville, TN
Participants:

Chris Simcox – President Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.
Phil Valentine - Radio Talk Show personality in Nashville
Susan Tully - FAIR, and FAIR members from Tennessee
Eagle Forum of Tennessee Members
Two Feathers Whitacker - Tennessee Volunteer Minutemen

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

MEXICAN GOV’T FUNDED ‘ROADMAP FOR TERRORISTS’ TO BE USED BY MINUTEMEN TO SET UP BORDER WATCH POSTS

(PHOENIX, AZ) January 25, 2006 – The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps announced today that a new map issued by a Mexican government funded commission and the Arizona-based group Humane Borders to guide illegal aliens though the Arizona desert will be used by the Minutemen to help determine where to set up their border watch posts.

Chris Simcox, President of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps issued the following statement on the release of the map:

“The government of Mexico and its ally in undermining American sovereignty, Humane Borders, have given terrorists and criminals a valuable aide in their schemes to harm America and prey on American citizens.

“While marketed as a humanitarian gesture, the guide can also be used as a roadmap for terrorists seeking to surreptitiously enter the U.S. to kill Americans. The government of Mexico, though its National Human Rights Commission, and Humane Borders are recklessly endangering the security of the United States.

“With Osama bin Laden threatening to attack America again, it is outrageous that Mexico and Humane Borders would publish and distribute a guide that shows terrorists how to sneak into the United States to kill Americans. The Minutemen will use the guide to establish observation posts so that our volunteers may better protect our nation’s borders.”

Congressman Tom Tancredo issued a statement today calling for troops on the border. Link is above. Something happened at the end of the statement on his website and words are missing, but perhaps they''ll get it straightened out!

Tancredo: Deploy Troops to Stop Mexican Incursions

Congressman Cites Mexican Military’s Recent Armed Assistance in Transporting Drugs Into U.S.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) today called on the federal government and the governments of southern border states to immediately deploy troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in light of recent armed assistance ’s military has given to drug smugglers.

Mexican military officers and drug smugglers led a standoff against more than 30 law enforcement officials east of El Paso, yesterday. According to the FBI and local sheriffs, law enforcement was tipped off to three SUVs carrying drugs across the Rio Grande River. When the sheriffs arrived at the crossing, they saw a Mexican military vehicle equipped with mounted machine guns on the side of the river waiting to escort the SUVs into the U.S.

The caravan turned back to Mexico, but only one SUV made it back—one SUV got caught in the river and was set ablaze by the Mexican military, and the other was captured by the sheriffs and found to contain more than 1400 pounds of marijuana. When called for help, a Border Patrol agent told the sheriffs’ dispatchers, “If you want to get your a** shot over a load of dope go ahead, but we’re not coming.” Apparently, some border patrol units showed up after the incident was over.

“Our border has literally turned into a war zone with foreign military personnel challenging our laws and our sovereignty,” said Tancredo. “The Mexican military is using its overwhelming firepower to hold the U.S. Border Patrol and other law enforcement at bay. The only way to deal with this dangerous situation is to tap the resources of our own military. I call on President Bush and the Governors of border states to immediately deploy military personnel to defend our borders against the Mexican military.”

In 2002, Congressman Tancredo visited Arizona’s border with and was briefed about the repeated military incursions. Tancredo wrote a letter to ’s ambassador to the , Juan José Bremer, asking about the incursions, to which Bremer responded: “ has not had and does not have a policy of military incursions in any other Nation… every case… [is] unnoticed or accidental.”

“The Mexican military has made hundreds of incursions into the over the last few years, yet Secretary Chertoff continues to call them ‘accidents’. The systematic smuggling of contraband into the is no accident—it is a sanctioned activity used to grease the wheels of a corrupt military.”

The AP reports on the Mexican government''s latest plan to help its citizens -- get out!

A Mexican government commission said Tuesday it will distribute at least 70,000 maps showing highways, rescue beacons and water tanks in the Arizona desert to curb the death toll among illegal border crossers.

The National Human Rights Commission, a government-funded agency with independent powers, denied the maps — similar to a comic-style guide booklet Mexico distributed to migrants last year — would encourage illegal immigration.

Officials said the maps would help guide those in trouble find rescue beacons and areas with cell phone reception. The maps will also show the distance a person can walk in the desert in a single day.

"We are not trying in any way to encourage or promote migration," said Mauricio Farah, one of the commission''s national inspectors. "The only thing we are trying to do is warn them of the risks they face and where to get water, so they don''t die."

SNIP

Click the title link for the rest of the story and to view the map.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

OUTRAGE! ARMED MEXICAN SOLDIERS CAUGHT INVADING TEXAS YESTERDAY

DHS SEC. CHERTOFF SHOULD RESIGN AFTER CALLING SUCH INCIDENTS “OVERBLOWN”

(SCOTTSDALE, AZ) January 24, 2006 – Chris Simcox, President of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (“MCDC”) today expressed outrage over the incident yesterday in Texas when heavily armed Mexican soldiers were allowed to retreat to their country after being caught in a massive drug smuggling operation inside the United States.

According to reports in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, the FBI and the Hudspeth County Sheriff’s Department have confirmed that Mexican Army troops armed with mounted machine guns accompanying civilian drug smugglers were confronted by federal and local law enforcement officers several hundred yards inside the United States near Neely Pass on the Rio Grande. Hudspeth County Sheriff Arvin West held a press conference earlier today about the incident.

The retreating Mexican soldiers and the civilian smugglers abandoned a Cadillac Escalade (that was stolen in the U.S.) loaded with over 1400 pounds of marijuana. The Sheriff’s department confirmed reports that another drug-laden SUV which got stuck in the river was set ablaze by Mexican soldiers.

Sec. Chertoff, responding last week to reports of more than 200 such incursions by the Mexican Army over the past ten years, downplayed the incursions, calling the reports “overblown.”

Hudspeth County Deputy Sheriff Mike Doyal was quoted in a report by the Inland Daily Bulletin report saying, “Our government has to do something," he said. "It''s not the immigrants coming over for jobs we''re worried about. It''s the smugglers, Mexican military and the national threat to our borders that we''re worried about."

MCDC President Simcox issued the following statement on the armed incursion by the Mexican Army:

“The politically correct policies of President Bush, Sec. Chertoff and Gov. Perry regarding our border are going to get Americans killed – by Mexican soldiers, drug smugglers or al-Qaeda terrorists. These office holders seem to be more afraid of offending the government of Mexico than protecting the lives of American citizens.

“American troops, whether regular Army, National Guard or state militia under the authority of Gov. Perry, need to be deployed immediately to secure our borders.

“Sec. Chertoff recently said reports of such incursions by the Mexican Army were ‘overblown.’ He should resign his post, as he clearly has no intention of taking these incursions seriously. If heavily armed members of the Mexican Army are crossing the border with with impunity guarding drug shipments, what’s to stop al-Qaeda from doing the same with weapons of mass destruction?

“The Minutemen, who have themselves observed Mexican soldiers violating American sovereignty, demand immediate action to protect American citizens.”

The Minutemen Florida Corps will be holding a meeting at the Denny''s resturant on S-436 and US 17/92 in Casselberry, Florida on Saturday, January 28th from 2 – 4 pm. We will be recruiting members at this time. Any persons interested in joining Minutemen Florida Corps to report illegal aliens, contact Rhoda: RLSS757@msn.com

The Tucson Weekly has an article about a part of the unsecured borders issue that gets little attention:

For the last 10 years, John Ladd''s Southern Arizona ranch has been the scene of an open-air stage play about illegal immigration. Haven''t heard of it? It''s quite a show, a dark farce that lays bare all the nonsense and hypocrisy that mark this ongoing domestic nightmare.
Broadway can''t produce plays this affecting, and Ladd, much to his regret, has had a front-row look at the performance that never ends on his 14,000-acre San Jose Ranch, located right on the international line west of Naco.

He has seen it all: federal bureaucratic bungling, finger-pointing and waste; the political pantomime that most of Arizona''s elected leaders continue to perform; and of course, the stars of the show, the illegal immigrants and drug runners who keep busting the line with relative impunity.

Having the best seat in the house has allowed Ladd to watch it all up close, even though living here is a bit like occupying the Lincoln box at Ford''s Theatre. He has suffered all the standard outrages that accompany living on our lawless border, including having a band of Mexican Federales draw guns on him.

But as formidable as these issues are, they''re not Ladd''s biggest worry. What really has him wrestling the mattress at night, the issue that most immediately threatens his ability to stay in business as a cattleman, is at the moment, right before his eyes.

It''s the international border fence. Or more accurately, the holes, cuts, washouts and smuggler vehicle run-throughs that turn that fence into Swiss cheese.

Ladd, who has 10 1/2 miles of land abutting the Mexican line, is standing at a spot known as Gringo Draw. Floodwaters washed through here last summer, taking out a 100-foot-wide portion of the fence, and that yawning gap is still there. But there are many others. In a one-mile span, we counted 12 fence breaks along Ladd''s borderland through which Mexican cattle can wander onto his property, mingling with his own stock.

The problem? If these intruder livestock happen to be diseased, they could infect his herd and ruin him. In fact, Ladd believes that disaster will befall him eventually.

"I''m 50, and in my lifetime, I expect that something is going to cross the line disease-wise that puts me out of business unless somebody does something," says Ladd, a former assistant football coach at Bisbee High School. "I know that''s a pretty radical opinion. But a guy can come from South America and in 24 hours be at my fence. And foot-and-mouth disease is in South America. I''ve complained to everybody, but nobody does anything. It''s really alarming."

Is Ladd hollering 911 unnecessarily? Is the threat he describes overblown? Not at all, says foreign animal disease expert Dr. Peder Cuneo, of the UA''s Veterinary Diagnostic Lab. "His risk assessment is right on. It''s pretty close to reality."

The threat exists at many places up and down the Arizona-Mexico line. At the 118,000-acre Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge near Sasabe, hundreds of illegals pour across the border every night, and Mexican cattle follow. At any given time, up to 100 trespassing cows graze on refuge property.

Manager Mitch Ellis says that in one section--5 1/2 miles wide and about a mile deep north of the border--Mexican cows have all but destroyed the habitat by over-grazing. Why not fix the fence? Because it''s too dangerous. "By policy, I''ve restricted maintenance staff from going down there without an armed escort," says Ellis. "I don''t want to say we''ve ceded the area to Mexico, but we just don''t go there a lot. It''s been so hammered by drug smugglers, human foot traffic and the Border Patrol, but mostly by Mexican livestock."

At Dan Bell''s ranch, which has 8 miles of border west of Nogales, he returns to Mexico 100 cows a week. They wander north through fence cuts, and one of his cowboys runs them back. But that same night, invaders cut the fence again, and the same cattle return. Bell employs one cowboy whose only job is repairing the fence and returning cows to Mexico. Dealing with these undocumented animals, who enter the country through holes made by undocumented humans, costs Bell $100 a day.

But this problem affects more than border ranchers. It threatens the economic health of Arizona''s $2 billion a year beef industry, and the nation''s beef industry overall, which comprises an estimated 3-5 percent of the American economy. And it goes even deeper than that, according to Dr. Rick Willer, the Arizona Department of Agriculture''s top vet and a recent president of the prestigious U.S. Animal Health Association.

SNIP

Please take the time to click the title link to read the rest of the article.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

MINUTEMAN OBSERVATIONS AID APPREHENSION OF 48 SUSPECTED ILLEGAL ALIENS

(SCOTTSDALE, AZ) January 23, 2006 – The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (“MCDC”) announced today the successful conclusion of the weekend border watch patrols conducted in New Mexico and Arizona last weekend. Thanks to the watchful eyes and dedication of nearly one hundred participating MCDC volunteers, four dozen suspected illegal aliens were prevented from successfully entering the country in violation of the law.

Bob Wright, New Mexico state director for MCDC, reported that a group of 18 suspected illegal aliens were spotted by Minuteman observers at their post near Columbus. The Border Patrol was able to detain the group of suspected illegal aliens after being notified of their infiltration of the border by the Minutemen.

The Minutemen gave the parched group of suspected illegal aliens water at their request.

Stacy O’Connell, Arizona state director for MCDC, reported two distinct groups totaling 30 suspected illegal aliens were observed by the Minutemen near Three Points and reported to the Border Patrol, which was then able to detain them.

Both Wright and O’Connell stated the Border Patrol responded quickly and professionally when alerted by the Minutemen.

Chris Simcox, President of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, said with regard to the work of the Minuteman volunteers:

“It is shameful that Americans are forced to stand in the breach, waiting for politicians to do their duty to secure the nation’s borders. While special interests in Washington grandstand and throw their weight around to protect their bank accounts, average Americans are paying the price of our open borders and lax enforcement of immigration laws.

“The Minutemen will continue to watch the border and sound the alarm until the government fulfills its Constitutional charge to protect the border.”

More border watch patrols by MCDC chapters are planned for the coming weeks in Washington State, California and Texas.

The Minutemen garnered more press coverage this past week. Volunteers took to the border in Arizona and New Mexico, a Minuteman video of an incursion on U.S. soil by Mexican soldiers was broadcast nationwide and the Sundance Film Festival featured a documentary that included the Minutemen.

The work of the Minuteman volunteers Continues to garner the attention of politicians and policy makers across the country, forcing them to take action regarding our porous borders and rampant illegal immigration.

Here''s a roundup of some of the coverage from last week:

''Minuteman'' Movement Sweeping U.S.

PARK CITY ''06 BUZZ DAILY: "Crossing Arizona" Premiere

Sundance Films Offer Diverse View on Immigration

Group Releases Incursion Video,
Minuteman Corps Says They Viewed Mexican Soldiers Across Border

Minutemen to Patrol in New Mexico, Arizona Over Weekend

Minutemen returning to New Mexico

Will Cooler Heads Eventually Prevail? (New England Minutemen)

Texas Minutemen Director Takes National Position

Minutemen say Patrols a Success (video report at link)

Hannity & Colmes features Simcox and Mexican Senator. Instructions: Click link to Fox News home page. Then click "Video" at upper right. Scroll down left side of video page for Hannity & Colmes. Select Minutemen video.

Lou Dobbs Tonight. Scroll down for Simcox segment.

Minutemen to Mount Watch (Washington State)

They attend church, raise children and participate in community activities and institutions. Yet, when America''s day laborers go to work, they have experiences that would shock any other upstanding community member: police harassment, violence at the hands of employers, withheld wages and conditions so dangerous that is not unusual for them to be sidelined for more than a month with work-related injuries or to work for weeks on end in pain.

This is the vivid portrait painted by the first nationwide study of America''s 117,600 day laborers. Orchestrated by social scientists from UCLA, the University of Illinois at Chicago and New York''s New School University, "On the Corner: Day Labor in the United States" presents findings from a survey of 264 hiring sites in 143 municipalities in 20 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

"The goal was to document a population that, though quite visible on the corners of U.S. cities, is poorly understood by the public and by policy makers," said Nik Theodore, an assistant professor in the Urban Planning and Policy Program at the University of Illinois, Chicago, and one of the study''s three lead authors. "We hope to inform policy debates so that decision-makers can devise thoughtful and effective strategies for resolving many of the problems that day laborers face."

Three years in the making, the report includes the first-ever national count of U.S. day laborers, little-known characteristics of these workers'' backgrounds and troubling aspects of their working conditions across five U.S. regions: the West, Midwest, Southwest, South and East.

"Day labor has been thrust into the public consciousness, but we''re concerned that the debate has gone on without an understanding of what gives rise to the phenomenon or what the many downsides are to work in this field," said Abel Valenzuela, a UCLA social scientist and study co‑author.

Among the findings:

· Once contained to ports-of-entry cities along the East and West coasts, day labor is now a nationwide phenomenon, spilling into small and rural towns throughout America, including the South and Midwest.

· Day labor may be widespread, but the total count of these workers is actually one‑tenth to one-20th the size bandied about by anti-immigration forces.

· Wage theft is the most common abuse suffered by day laborers, with nearly half of all workers having been denied payment in the two months prior to the survey.

· Just over three-quarters of day laborers are undocumented immigrants, meaning that the share of American citizens working in day labor is much higher than commonly supposed and that day laborers account for only a small fraction of the estimated 7- to 11-million undocumented immigrants in America today.

Valenzuela, Theodore and New School economist Edwin Meléndez directed teams of surveyors during July and August 2004 as they interviewed 2,660 randomly selected day laborers at 264 hiring sites across the nation.

Interviewers asked about the workers'' educational backgrounds, family lives, occupational histories and experiences as day laborers, including injuries sustained on the job and the nature and frequency of abuse at the hands of employers, merchants, police and security guards.

Using statistical methods pioneered by researchers of another shifting and hard-to-quantify American population — the homeless — Theodore, Valenzuela and Meléndez were able to create a statistically valid snapshot of day labor in America today, a portrait previously considered too difficult to capture.

SNIP

Link to page with access to report.