Palestinian family
deported to Jordan

...At around 12:30 p.m. today, the INS [Immigration and Naturalization Service] deported a Palestinian family of nine to Jordan, a country bracing for the backlash of a U.S.-led war on Iraq.
...Their crime was being one of the many illegal immigrants contributing to the well-being of this country, this according to U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
...Lee sponsored a bill in the House calling for the Kesbeh family to be granted immediate asylum. But when she failed to get a senator to sponsor a similar bill, the Kesbeh's bid to stay in this country also failed. Lee went to every senator in Congress and none stepped up to the plate to save the Kesbehs from deportation. More.

'Liberty Shield' =
more border deaths

...The domestic war on immigrants, instituted by the Department of Homeland Security's "Operation Liberty Shield," is contributing to the escalating deaths along the Texas border, immigrant rights advocates say.
...The Department of Homeland Security is the largest law enforcement agency of the United States, and is divided into two agencies which provide immigration services and border enforcement. The Border and Transportation Security (BTS) department is solely responsible for border security and enforcement of immigration laws.
...This week, five undocumented Guatemalan immigrants burned to death in a South Texas field after it was set ablaze for continued harvesting of sugar cane. The only survivor is an unidentified man who remains in critical condition in a burn unit. More.

Tree-dwellers kicked out of forest

...Two tree sitters in Northern California were forcibly removed from their temporary homes last week under orders from Pacific Lumber logging company, a subsidiary of Houston-based multinational corporation, MAXXAM.
...Part of Pacific Lumber's profits go towards paying the debt owed to the Federal Government by MAXXAM CEO and Houston resident, Charles Hurwitz, incurred during a 1996 savings and loan scandal.
...Pepper spray and clubbing were just some of the tactics applied to non-violent protesters from their tree-sits on old growth forest property owned by Pacific Lumber.
...But by moonlight, the trees were reoccupied by 2 more activists and a 1,000 pound block of concrete. More.

Kashmere residents may have to start over

...LEAD-IN BY HOST: A Harris Country Flood Control District plan to protect homeowners from flooding has many residents in Northeast Houston upset. Sarah Richards files this report:
...STORY: Forty-three year old Deborah Butler is standing by her kitchen sink, washing her daughter's hair with relaxant. With its unscuffed cupboards and new windows overlooking Hunting Bayou, Butler's home could be the envy of many a young family. In Kashmere Gardens, this house is even more of a rarity. There aren't many new, two-story brick homes in this neighborhood.
..."We've been living here now for three years on this land as far as a new home. [We used to live across the street at 5111 Wayne] and we grew up in this neighborhood on this street." More.

Iraqi interrogations: more harm than good?

...The American Civil Liberties Union says the federal government's latest plan to question thousands of Iraqi nationals may hamper rather than help efforts to apprehend terrorists. The civil rights groups says the FBI is treating thousands of innocent Iraqis like criminals by discouraging them from consulting with attorneys, saying it makes them look like they've got something to hide.
...Houston's ACLU director, Attorney Annette Lamaroux, has talked to about half a dozen Houston-area Iraqis since the new FBI directed interviews began. Outreach efforts to the city's Iraqi community have been difficult due to the lack of organizations or local leaders to represent them.
..."I mean that each individual person has to represent their interests on their own, as opposed to having a community spokesman, or a community-wide group to advocate for their rights." More.

Death penalty, private prisons at issue in lege'

...State lawmakers held hearings on death penalty legislation and private prisons this week. Tuesday, a death penalty abolition bill - House Bill 343 - received support from murder victims families and former Texas death row prisoner, Chris Nochella who was released after his innocence was proven with DNA evidence.
...Communications coordinator for the Texas Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, Carl Villareal says two recent events may prevent the death penalty abolition bill and several moratorium bills from dying in committee, to be held over till the next legislative session:
..."I think a lot of people reflect the idea that it doesn't really have a chance of succeeding. Although, all of that could change depending on what happens between now and the end of the session, what with the crime lab scandal in Houston and the focus on some of the key cases, like the Noah Banks case that was up at the Supreme Court a couple of weeks ago." More.

Residents become politicized for water

...LEAD-IN BY HOST: Thirty wells that supply water to residents farmers and businesses in Cy-Fair were contaminated with a potentially carcinogenic dry-cleaning agent the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality traced to Bell Cleaners. Edgewood Estates and Evergreen Woods residents launched the Jones Road Clean Water Coalition to represent the community before state and federal agencies. The Coalition held its first meeting Wednesday night. Erika McDonald has the story.
...STORY: About 35 Cy-Fair residents attended the first meeting of the Jones Road Water Coalition Wednesday night in Cy-Fair. Many said they joined the Coalition because they wanted control over how and when they get clean water.
...Haus: "I have contaminent in my well. We drink it, our animals drink it, they take a bath in. I have to let my visitors know that they shouldn't be drinking out of the bathroom water, they're going to the kitchen and get water out of the kitchen faucet."
...Ramirez: "I'm in the middle of the mix of all this contamination. My well isn't affected, but I'm interested in getting safe water for my neighbors."
...Tamasier: "I think everybody that could be impacted eventually by pollution problems certainly should be here at this meeting. Because it's going to affect property values in the future, and if we don't protect ourselves, somebody's going to come in and take over, and tell us what to do. This way we have the choice of making the decisions on our own."
...Donna Hoff: "We're serious that we're not just going to sit by and let them do whatever they think they want to do, or what they decide they want to do."
...Coalition members complained the EPA and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (both tasked with ensuring safe water) did not represent their interests. Lorelle Haus was one resident whose well was contaminated with the dry-cleaning agent tetrachloroethylene .
..."They never consider who we are. They say it is drinkable water, they don't say that a resident has to drink marginal water. They're not the person. We need to put a person and a name to what is going on here. And they have rules that they have made, and they follow their procedure, and that is the law. And they follow their rules, and nowhere did they consult us. We're told when we're going to have our well tested, who's going to test us, and they're going to tell us what they're going to do, if anything, which is usually nothing. And this is the only way we have to tell them what we want."
...The Coalition's goal is to evaluate and advocate for solutions that benefit the majority of effected residents. More.