Daily Headlines: September 3, 2010

* Latin America: The chairman for Indian-owned Tata Motors said that the firm has plans to sell the “world’s cheapest car”, the $2500 Nano, in Latin America.

* U.S.: Officials in Ohio are putting restrictions on Puerto Ricans who want to obtain state IDs and licenses due to concerns over birth certificates.

* Peru: According to researchers the Amazon River is at its lowest level in nearly 40 years in northeastern Peru; thus endangering the local area’s economy.

* Colombia: Police seized over $28 million that may have been linked between Colombian and Mexican drug gangs.

Image – cnet.com (The Tata Nano was first unveiled in late 2008 and the basic model includes cost-cutting innovations such as having a singe windshield wiper and no radio or air conditioning.)
Online Sources- Bloomberg, Xinhua, AP, BBC News

States consider own Arizona-like immigration plans

Could versions of Arizona’s controversial new immigration law be passed in other states? Despite the growing backlash against the measure politicos and police in several states are considering their own hard-line actions.

• Utah: State Rep. Stephen Sandstrom has drafted a bill similar to that in nearby Arizona and claimed that most Utahans would support him.
• Ohio: Several officials including Butler County Sheriff Rick Jones have urged Gov. Ted Strickland to "to employ your leadership role as Governor to assure legislation is passed that will mirror that of the illegal immigration legislation".
• Georgia: Gubernatorial candidate Nathan Deal said that if he were elected he would “pass and sign similar legislation" to that in Arizona. (As a former congressman Deal backed the barring of illegal immigrants from participating in the health care reform act and tried to block citizenship for babies born in the U.S. to undocumented parents).
• Maryland: Worried over a possible exodus of illegal immigrants hundreds of miles northeast to Maryland, State Delegate Pat McDonough said he would back anti-immigration legislation.
• Texas: Rep. Debbie Riddle said that in January she would introduce her own version of the Arizona immigration bill “to make sure that the safety and security of Texans is well-established".
  

Opposition to the Arizona law has not only been domestic but international too. As we mentioned yesterday, Mexico’s government has increased its political pressure including issuing a travel warning for Arizona. And even though she is best known for her songs and charitable efforts Shakira will purportedly meet with Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon as part of a campaign against the new law.

Image- The Telegraph (A US Border Patrol officer walks beside the border fence that divides the US from Mexico in the town of Nogales, Arizona.”)
Online Sources- The Weekly, WMAR, Salt Lake Tribune, Cincinnati.com, Dallas Morning News, The Latin Americanist, Reuters

Illegals serve as drug runners says sheriff

An Ohio sheriff has come under fire over controversial remarks made about illegal immigrants and drugs. Butler County Sheriff Rick Jones posted a video on the sheriff’s website where he blames illegal immigrants for being paid to import drugs into the U.S.:

"The illegals are humping this ... over the mountains and bringing it from Mexico into the United States. Once they get across the border in these cities, they can go less than 100 yards and blend into the community. You don't know where they are," Jones said.

Jones’ remarks came after he visited the U.S.-Mexico border last month “to search for solutions to growing immigration problems back in Ohio” according to one report.

Jones has not shied from controversy regarding immigration; in August, migration authorities detained over 160 employees of a chicken plant in Butler County and last year he called on President George W. Bush to grant local police the authority to arrest illegal immigrants. Jones’ policies have helped increase tensions in an area that has seen significant growth in immigrants- both legal and illegal- over the past decade.

Image- WCPO.com

Sources- Cincinnati Inquirer, ohio.com, WKRC-TV, Reuters, American Chronicle, CBS News