TAMPA – The story of a 13-year-old Manatee County boy’s abduction is taking many immigrants back to the lawlessness and brash kidnappings of their Latin and South American countries.
The abductions are called secuestros express, or express kidnappings, because they are brief and for little money.
The victim is held for ransom for hours, and the ransom could be $50 or less, said Ricardo Cabrera, a Colombian native who was assaulted in Bogota.
"These low-level type of kidnappings occur in the ghettos, in the
barriados," said Cabrera, 50. "These are crimes among the poor. They happen in these marginal neighborhoods."
Topics: Illegal Immigration, lawlessness, kidnappings, , Mexico, Latin America, South America, ransom, crimes, Manatee County, Florida
TALLAHASSEE — A state legislator whose district is home to thousands of Caribbean immigrants wants to ban the term "illegal alien" from the state’s official documents.
"I personally find the word ‘alien’ offensive when applied to individuals, especially to children," said Sen. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami. "An alien to me is someone from out of space."
She has introduced a bill providing that: "A state agency or official may not use the term ‘illegal alien’ in an official document of the state." There would be no penalty for using the words.
Topics: Illegal Immigration, state legislator, Caribbean immigrants, state documents, aliens, in-state tuition, students, Miami-Dade County, Florida
RALEIGH, N.C. — Bank of America recently announced a plan to allow people to open credit card accounts without Social Security numbers.
A local activist is leading a national coalition and says the program favors undocumented immigrants.
By not requiring a Social Security number to get the credit card, a Raleigh-based activist says one of the nation’s largest banks is encouraging undocumented immigrants to apply.
But Bank of America says the practice is nothing new and it’s not aimed at undocumented immigrants.
Bank of America is considered the largest commercial bank in the country.
And William Gheen takes issue with one of Bank of America’s most recent pilot programs.
"Over 100 organizations have engaged in a boycott nationally against Bank of America for their decision to give credit cards and as well as mortgages and accounts to illegal aliens in America," said Gheen, the boycott organizer.
Topics: Illegal Immigration, Bank of America, credit cards, social security number, William Gheen, boycott, morgages, banks, petition, Los Angeles
"If you don’t allow people to use the banking system, the money will still go, but it will build up a transfer infrastructure that terrorists can then use," Martin said.
Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.), who leads the Western Hemisphere subcommittee of the House International Relations Committee, plans to hold hearings about remittances, which he said needed to be formally integrated into the U.S. banking system. "We should stop pretending that they’re not there," he said.
Engel says the U.S. needs to standardize the wire system, linking the Fed to foreign central banks so that people can transfer money "without having to sneak around or do it on the sly."
February 26 2007
By Molly Hennessey-Fisk
Los Angeles Times
Topics: Banks assisting illegal immigrants, Bank of America Boycott, Money Transfers, Federal Reserve Bank,