gaithersblog.net

Natasha Altamirano writes in The Washington Times (this is from a few days ago):

Maryland’s largest immigrant advocacy group is on track to open a permanent day-laborer center in Prince George’s County this summer, despite delays to make the facility handicapped-accessible.

The project, led by CASA of Maryland Inc., has faced setbacks because of failure to comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

Similar to CASA’s day-laborer centers in Silver Spring and Wheaton, the $600,000 center in Langley Park will offer job placement, vocational training andlegal services, she said.

Critics said it was ironic that CASA was willing to comply with building code regulations but not federal immigration laws. Day-laborer centers are used primarily by illegal aliens looking for temporary work.

Michael Martinez and Oscar Avila write in yesterday’s Baltimore Sun:

Illegal border crossings are declining because of tougher enforcement, posting an overall 27 percent drop in the four months ending Jan. 31, the U.S. Border Patrol says. All sectors on the southern border, even the nation’s busiest one based in Tucson, are showing drops in apprehensions of illegal migrants.

But the crackdown has been accompanied by deadlier tactics by the most daring smugglers, who are now charging higher fees to bring Mexicans and others from Latin America into the United States illegally.

“We have to be realistic that an unintended consequence is that the price goes up, and the unscrupulous people who see no value in human life are going to maximize their profit” by trying to hijack rivals’ deliveries of illegal immigrants, said Alonzo Pena, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s special agent in charge of Arizona.

Mexican officials said drug smugglers and illegal immigrants typically shared the same routes, but a growing turf war among Mexican drug cartels makes them less likely to tolerate migrants, especially as the U.S. beefs up border patrols.