In US, undocumented teen suicide sparks conservative backlash

By Paul Canning

The suicide of an undocumented Texan teen has sparked a backlash from American conservatives.

Last month 18-year-old Joaquin Luna Jr killed himself and left notes. His family says he had indicated that he was in despair at the failure of the DREAM Act, which would have offered him a path to becoming an engineer. They say that the notes explain the reasons for his despair.

Luna Jr rang his siblings before he shot himself. He told his half-brother Carlos Mendoza, 29, who lives across the street:

"My road is finished here. I'm going away."

Mendoza ran to him and broke down a bathroom door, but he was too late.

His mother said he told her:

"I'm never going to be the person I wanted to be. I'm never going to fulfill my dreams."

The notes were left in a bible taken by investigators before the family had seen them.

Following the funeral, Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-Texas) told Congress that Luna "took his life because he believed that he would never be able to fulfill his dream of becoming an engineer, earning his citizenship and leading a full and prosperous life in America."

Students at the University of Texas produced teeshirts and posters saying “I am Joaquin.” This echoed a famous Chicano-movement poem of the 1960s.

But the Hidalgo County sheriff, Guadalupe Treviño, said that Mr. Luna’s death had been ruled a suicide, but that investigators had not established a motive.

Sheriff Treviño said:

“I’m very disappointed that some folks, and even some of our elected leaders, have exploited and politicized this young man’s ill decision to take his own life, especially when we have found no evidence that points to any particular motive."

“Nobody knows why he did it. Only he knows for sure why he did what he did.”

Americans for Legal Immigration (ALIPAC), called the family's claim on Luna's motivation "a hoax by desperate and unscrupulous illegal immigrant invasion supporters." One ALIPAC administrator 'Jean' wrote of Luna Jr's death:

"The latest pro-amnesty salvo comes in the form of an act of cowardice ... The boy made a bigger mistake when he chose suicide over hard work."

Right-wing website Newsbusters claimed that 'CNN Helps Politicize Tragic Teen 'Dream Act Suicide''.
ALIPAC cited an investigator who told a local news station before they were released to the family that the bible notes did not mention either the DREAM Act or Luna Jr.'s undocumented status. But half-brother Diyer Mendoza says he was told of the letters contents by the investigation in the days after the suicide and says:

"I know he did it because of his legal status. I lived with him; I shared time with him. I know what I know."

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Video: In US, private contractors make a killing off Border Crackdown

Source: RTAmerica



While many American industries are slowing down, the private prison industry is booming. Much of that is attributed to their lobbying efforts, which some say create the condition for mass incarceration. The private prison lobby has had major influence in places like Florida, Arizona, Georgia, Utah and Alabama, states which have recently passed some of the strictest anti-immigrant policies. Policies, which would likely help fill those prison cells.

Illegal immigrants cash cow for corporations

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In Texas, a coming clash on 'sanctuary' cities

Image via Wikipedia  

Source: Statesman

By Suzannah Gonzales

Gov. Rick Perry this week pushed to the top of the legislative agenda the abolition of so-called sanctuary cities, which he says protect undocumented immigrants. But law enforcement authorities in major Texas cities say tackling that issue is not their job.

Police and sheriff's officials in Austin, Dallas and Houston say they don't enforce immigration laws or ask people about their immigration status, in part to encourage people to report crimes and work with police.

Law enforcement officers in Austin, Travis County and Houston are not allowed under department policy to stop people to determine their immigration status or because they think someone is in the country illegally. And policies in Austin and Dallas County say law enforcement officers work to keep people safe regardless of their immigration status.

"A police officer in Austin or anywhere else in the United States does not automatically have (federal) authority to enforce immigration rules," Austin police Chief of Staff David Carter said. "And therefore, we do not enforce United States immigration rules. It is our strong belief that is the role of the federal government to do so, as well as enforce the border."

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