An interesting article from www.VDare.com about the Catholic priesthood in the U.S. This follows this post about George Soros. This follows this post about Mexico paying for Trump's wall. Remember, “Amnesty” means ANY non-enforcement of existing immigration laws! This follows this comment and this post about how to Report Illegal Immigrants! Also, you can read two very interesting books HERE.
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The Rev. Alex Orozco chose this picture for his Facebook profile.

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Outsourcing The Priesthood: Catholic Church “Aggressively” Recruits, Ordains Latin Americans, Gets Fraudsters And Pedophiles

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Thomas O. Meehan

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While Pope Francis preaches uncritical acceptance of foreign “migrants,” the Roman Catholic Church (of which I am a faithful member) harbors a foreign worker problem of its own: its priests.
Twice in less than six months, foreign priests from Latin America have come to public attention for violating their vows within the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey.

• The Reverend Alex Orozco, a Colombian immigrant:

The Rev. Alex Orozco befriended the elderly women shortly after his assignment to St. Rose of Lima parish in Short Hills.
Orozco was a new priest, charming and kind and afire with enthusiasm.
And always, it seemed, willing to accept money, parishioners said.
For a car. For a big-screen TV. For a house in the Poconos. For another house in his native Colombia. For credit card bills. For a second car. For plane tickets. For furniture. For dental work.
From 2013 through the end of last year, Orozco allegedly took more than $250,000 in cash and goods from women in the wealthy parish after telling them hard-luck stories about the financial woes afflicting him, his family members and his friends.
Priest took more than $250K from ‘grandmas’ at wealthy church, authorities say, By Mark Mueller, NJ.com, October 1, 2015

The case is still under investigation. [Priest accused of taking $250K from ‘grandmas’ goes on leave of absence, lawyer says, By Mark Mueller, NJ.com, October 14, 2015 ]But the admitted facts are damning enough. Orozco, only months after ordination, landed in a very wealthy Essex County parish. He admits to accepting numerous personal gifts from lonely elderly women. “They wanted to embrace me,” Orozco said in explanation. According to statements by relatives, at least one victim and a fellow priest, he “groomed” the old gals with his attentions and charmed them into giving him cash and other things after he give them sob-stories. He even got the local Knights of Columbus to front him $5, 300 for an immigration lawyer. [Statement by Knights of Columbus Council 6386, PDF]
Apart from the sleaziness of this situation a cluster of questions present themselves around this case.
Not surprisingly, Orozco’s ministry has been suspended, but the archdiocese has taken no action of its own. Their spokesman, with the ironic name of Jim Goodness, [Email him] said that what Orozco did may not be a violation of Canon Law. Mark Mueller wrote, in the first story quoted above, that “Jim Goodness…declined comment on the investigation, calling it a personal matter for Orozco because it does not involve church finances.”
According to Mueller in a follow-up story, a fellow priest notified the archdiocesan authorities of Orozco’s questionable behavior three years before the prosecutor took action.
This priest spoke with Mueller on condition of anonymity. Doubtless the diocesan officials know who he is. It is rare for a priest to speak to the press on his own and points to the outrageousness of Orozco’s alleged conduct [Archdiocese officials knew priest was ‘milking’ people for money, clergyman says, By Mark Mueller, NJ.com, October 1, 2015].
The Church has come under a lot of criticism of late. And obviously, there are always a few bad apples. This is all the more reason for it to be extra careful about whom it ordains. This thought seems not to have occurred to the Bishop of the archdiocese of Newark. At least not in the case of Fr. Orozco, who in his native Colombia was a “Television actor, model, and salsa dancer in Bogota” before entering the priesthood.
The wheels will grind, and eventually justice, or its New Jersey equivalent, will be done.
But while writing this up I came across a similar case of misbehavin’ Latin priest that put that comforting thought in some doubt.

• The Reverend Manuel Gallo Espinosa

It seems that another South American Catholic priest is actually on the lam in connection with a pedophilia allegation going back twelve years. Rev. Manuel Gallo Espinosa’s 15-year-old male alleged victim had gone to Church officials, who took his claims seriously—and tipped off the priest that the paddy wagon might be on its way. Espinosa took the hint and apparently fled to his native Ecuador. After a few months, it became a cold case.
That is, until it transpired that having absconded to the land of the banana, the good Rev. couldn’t resist making a few bucks back in el Norte. According to the very same Mark Mueller of New Jersey Advance Media, Gallo Espinosa had a short second career teaching Spanish (what else?) in Prince George’s County, Maryland. He apparently had no trouble getting a US visa in 2005. Accused rapists don’t make the watch list, it seems. [Where’s ‘Father Manuel’? Police hunting fugitive priest, teacher accused of raping N.J. teen, By Mark Mueller, July 30, 2015]
This is where the case gets curious. Espinosa has been in touch with the same paper that wrote his case up and is telling his story. According to Mueller:

In an extraordinary admission of wrongdoing, a priest sought by authorities in New Jersey has acknowledged engaging in a sexual encounter with a 15-year old boy, but he deflected blame by saying the teen “wanted it” and “evil in his mind.”
EXCLUSIVE: Priest admits sex with minor, says teen ‘wanted’ it, By Mark Mueller, NJ.com, October 1, 2015

See the picture of Gallo-Espinosa and the visa he took out to return to the US, in spite of being wanted.

I encourage VDARE.com readers to read the whole thing, but here is a synopsis of Espinosa’s heartfelt confession of his demerits:

1. The kid was evil.
2. “I think I was attracted to him, that is the only explanation I can think of right now.” (Please let us know if anything else occurs to you, Reverend.)
3. “I just came fr [sic] my country and really in Ecuador a person of 15 years old is not consider [sic] so innocent.” CALLING ANN COULTER!!
4. The kid squealed on me for the money. (This may be true but so what?)
5. Blame it on Budweiser. “I [sic] very drunk and I was very confused with beer because the beer in my country doesn’t have much alcohol. Everything was new for me.”
6. Hey, this doesn’t make me a bad person. “I want people [to] know that a mistake made in my life doesn’t define myself that way.”

Espinosa’s lame and unreflective mea not so culpa displays all the cultural defects of Latin Americans, with little of the sagacity or humility one expects in a priest. It sounds like what you hear in Night Court. How could someone as blithely unserious to a great calling have made it into the priesthood?
NJ.com’s Mueller provides a hint. In his October 1 story about Colombian import Orozco, linked above, he wrote:

The archdiocese [of Newark] has among the highest rates of ordination in the country, in part because it aggressively recruits potential priests from South and Central America and from the Philippines, according to annual statistics compiled by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.“

It would seem a reckless desire to fill slots overrides concern for the sanctity of the priesthood or the safety of the congregants. The Church is outsourcing its priesthood rather like Disney outsourced its IT department.
Thomas O. Meehan (email him) is a free-lance writer and former government Senior Research Analyst and Inspector. A refugee from the People’s Republic of New Jersey, he now lives in Bucks County PA. He blogs from Odysseus On The Rocks.

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about the wars of the veterans of the U.S. This follows this post about Communism and Christianity. This follows this post about the immigration threat. For a free magazine subscription or to get the books recommended for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632.

America: Drastic Changes 70 Years After World War II

 by Darris McNeely Estimated reading time: 16 minutes

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As America and the world mark the anniversary of the conclusion of World War II, it’s important that we consider the great changes in the United States and other Western nations since the Allied victory 70 years ago.

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Since 1945 the United States has been involved in five major conflicts requiring massive deployment of troops. None ended with the kind of victory achieved in World War II.

Seventy years ago the guns in Europe and Asia fell silent as World War II concluded. After six years of battle and the loss of many millions of lives, the Axis powers of Germany and Japan surrendered to Allied forces. Soldiers returned to civilian life. Two world wars in 34 years had reshaped the global map.

Seventy years following the end of World War II, America is in a “valley of trouble.” It does not understand the depth of the peril it faces.

Suddenly America stood in front of the world as the dominant power. It was a moment of great opportunity.

The scene

In 1945 Europe was shattered. Hitler’s Third Reich was over. Germany was bled both physically and morally. The Nazi regime abused the Teutonic virtues of a proud and fruitful nation to terrorize the world with a bestial brand of horror. France, Belgium and the Netherlands were brutally violated and pillaged by the six years of occupation. Add to this the residual devastation from World War I, and Europe needed serious help for a fresh start.
The Russian-dominated Soviet Union suffered enormous losses at the hands of the Nazis. Its troops pushed far into Europe, and when the surrender came it occupied half of Germany, Poland and other Eastern European nations. The Soviet empire made territorial gains it didn’t want to give up. The Western powers led by the United States had real concerns that Soviet troops might push further west, seeking larger gains in retribution for war losses.
The prostrate condition of Western Europe posed grave peril for the future. The armies of Europe were broken. Great Britain was drained financially. It still held its colonies, but its glory was in the past. The British Empire would recede. It would no longer be able to assert itself as it had in the past.
In Asia, Japan was pushed back into its island borders and had lost several islands in the north to the Soviets. With the dropping of two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and threats of more to come, the nation was coerced into submission. Japan surrendered on the deck of the American battleship USS Missouri (pictured above) . Under General Douglas MacArthur, an American-led occupation force settled into control of the nation.
By September 1945, America surveyed a worn and tattered world. Unlike other nations, it hadn’t suffered the impact of relentless bombardment, invasion or occupation. Other than the 1941 Japanese bombing of the American naval fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 1941, and the invasion of Guam and several of the Aleutian Islands, no U.S. soil experienced the war firsthand. This safety, coupled with vast material resources, allowed America to produce ships, tanks, planes, food and other material to supply Allied troops throughout the Pacific, North Africa and Europe.
America’s rise to military, economic and political dominance positioned the country for what would become its great historic role in world affairs. What it did for the postwar world was unprecedented among the nations.

America the great provider

In 1947, U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall gave an address at Harvard University outlining a bold initiative to provide money to assist in rebuilding the economies of Europe, especially that of former foe Germany. What became known as the Marshall Plan eventually poured billions of dollars of development aid into Europe.
Recovery in Europe was slow. The populations were open prey for social upheaval. With the Soviet Union threatening to absorb more territory, it was necessary to bolster the defeated and weary. America alone had the economic power to sustain others. Congress approved the plan, and in only a few years the European economy was on the rise. American troops remained in Germany. In time a new alliance between North America and Western Europe called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed, with joint defense forces arrayed on the continent.
Extending a helping hand to rebuild the economy of a defeated enemy was an unprecedented move. It was a practical necessity in shoring up the West against Soviet ingress, but it still remains one of history’s most remarkable acts of generosity.
America’s postwar presence in Europe was essential to restoring economic and political order. By remaining engaged with troops, money and close political relationships, the United States did the exact opposite of its actions in Europe after World War I ended in late 1918. At that time America went home and left Europe to its own devices. The result was social chaos, Hitler and World War II. U.S. leaders would not repeat the same mistake in 1945.
Concurrent with the rebuilding in Europe was an even more dramatic restructuring of the conquered Japanese state. Japan had been led by a cult of the emperor. Centuries of tradition had established the holy warrior culture that erupted in the 1930s. In 1945 America imposed a military rule that replaced emperor worship with a Western-style democratic government. Japan’s constitution was rewritten, and it included a non-violent clause that remains to this day.
The years that followed the end of World War II were the zenith of the American century. Historians have even termed America’s newfound position an “empire.” The United States became the indispensable nation by all essential measurements of a great power.
America’s prime position remains to this day in spite of setbacks in recent years and many calls for other nations to rise to take their turn in the spotlight of the world stage. Current U.S. leadership has downplayed America’s world role by a policy of “leading from behind” and deemphasizing the country’s status as an exceptional nation. A less prominent America is the world’s new reality.

It’s different today

Since 1945 the United States has been involved in five major conflicts requiring massive deployment of troops and materiel—Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq. None of these conflicts were openly declared wars as was World War II. None ended with the kind of victory achieved in World War II. None allowed America to reshape the regions in any manner as they did after World War II.
In the case of Korea, the peninsula was divided into two nations, North and South Korea. The North remained a communist state, and today, with an unstable and erratic government, it is a major source of international terror and a clear threat to the region. American troops still patrol the fragile border between the two states, keeping a peace that could evaporate should the North Korean government gamble that an invasion would not be met with enough resistance to force it back.
America entered Vietnam with the intent of containing the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. More than 500,000 troops fought. More than 50,000 died before a treaty was signed in early 1973. Vietnam was left a divided country—the communist North and the democratic South.
But in early 1975 North Vietnam invaded the South, and within two months the South Vietnamese army and government collapsed. Vietnam became a fully communist state. America did not shape this region into its own democratic image, and the blow to morale had significant repercussions in the following years. Vietnam became a buzzword for American defeat and limitation.
Fast forward to 1991. America had experienced a comeback in terms of its will and pride of power. The decades-long Cold War with the Soviet Union was coming to a close as the monolithic Soviet Union was cracking under the weight of economic and political decline.
In the Middle East, Iraq under Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded the tiny Persian Gulf nation of Kuwait. In response President George H.W. Bush led the United States to assemble a coalition of nations that successfully drove Iraqi forces back into their own borders, liberating Kuwait in the process. But the region was still not safe.
In 2001, the United States experienced its greatest terrorist attack at the hands of al-Qaeda, whose leader Osama bin Laden was being harbored in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. When demands to turn him over were refused, President George W. Bush launched a massive military campaign with the help of close allies (and eventually the NATO alliance). The United States and its partners dislodged the Taliban and took control of much of the nation, but resistance continued, especially after America’s efforts became divided due to the next big conflict.
In 2003, concern that Iraq’s Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction and was flouting United Nations resolutions led President George W. Bush to order another invasion. This time Hussein was overthrown, and an occupying Allied force set about trying to install a democratic form of government—a new attempt at nation building like in postwar Europe and Japan.
But most in this formerly dictator-ruled Muslim nation did not understand this Western style of rule, nor did Western leaders grasp how challenging it would be to instill such a change. The same proved true in Afghanistan. Religious and ethnic divisions in this region have proven resistant to Western-style reform.
In 2013 America pulled its ground troops out of Iraq after a decade, leaving the Iraqis to fend for themselves in resolving their differences and combating Islamic fundamentalism. The result has been a humanitarian disaster.
The past year has seen the rise of a radical terrorist organization proclaiming a renewed caliphate. The group known as the Islamic State or ISIS is imposing a rigid reign of terror through the parts of Iraq and Syria it controls. The central government in Iraq has not been able to mount a credible defense of its northern borders and cities. In effect, the Iraqi state left behind by America no longer exists.
The War in Afghanistan is still not over, nearly 14 years after it started. U.S. and NATO forces officially ended combat operations in 2014, but America intends to maintain a residual force there until the end of 2016. Bin Laden was eventually found and killed in Pakistan, a supposed ally in America’s war on terror. Yet Afghanistan itself has for a while been on the verge of Taliban reconquest.

To kill a people

Where Vietnam became a byword for American failure after the mid-1970s, Iraq and Afghanistan are taking on that mantle for this generation. It seems the sacrifice in lives in towns like Ramadi, Fallujah and Marjah have been for nothing. Such impotence and miscalculation kills the soul of a people. The sight of America’s wounded warriors from these Middle Eastern wars creates cynical disregard for the vain political statements made by leaders.
The United States entered the Middle East to bring justice to its attackers and to unseat a dangerous tyrant. But soon it took on the noble mission of installing Western-style democracy to the region—except this region did not possess the necessary cultural foundation to sustain such change. Events to date have shown the folly of that plan. Today the Middle East is a region in conflict on many fronts. The American-led invasions of 2001 and 2003 and the Arab Spring of 2011 have contributed to unrest and civil war in several countries from North Africa to Pakistan. The lack of American resolve and leadership in the region has significantly contributed to a crisis that has global implications.
That’s not so say that the United States hasn’t played a significant role in the world. It has. The last half of the 20th century was the apex of what is often called the American Century. The political, military and economic power of America continues to be the single most effective element in the balance-of-power equation of today’s world.
On balance, when all is measured, the United States, along with the other English-speaking nations of the world, has contributed from its God-given blessings to the well-being of many peoples. From medicine to education to direct charitable aid, in so many cases America has benefited the world.
These words need to be carefully considered against the doubt, the attacks and the indifference toward the power and wealth and global dominance of America. Islamic fanatics call America “the Great Satan.” Russia and other totalitarian regimes portray America as an evil “hegemonist” force, bent on undermining their security. Terrorists hate American culture and seek to destroy it and its citizens.
Sadly, even some America leaders and intellectuals undermine its role in the world by subtle criticism and doubt. America to them is not “exceptional.” America, this line of thinking goes, is like every other nation and should feel “guilty” for having so much more than others. Denying the nation’s many blessings from God, they see the country’s biblical, Christian heritage as a source for shame and loathing.
As a result, we have entered into a time of many thinking it would be better to retreat from the world and let others bear the burdens long shouldered by the benevolence of America.
Recent U.S. actions have been less intrusive and more managerial. America is an empire, but a reluctant one. It is more willing to lead from behind, using drones and carefully managed insertion of special forces teams to perform surgical cuts to the enemy.
But such reticence on the world stage creates a vacuum of power, and history teaches us that other, more malignant, forces will always fill a vacuum. As America retreats, the world is becoming a more fragmented and dangerous place.

A hinge of history

Seventy years after the conclusion of World War II is a time for Americans to wake up and realize the signs of the times. The world has reached what historians call a “hinge of history.” The door of history is opening into a different time. Events are turning the world into something far different than what was created in the last 100 years.
We have to go to the end of the First World War to better understand the shape of the world today. With the Middle East crisis, the borders of states created in the wake of that war a century ago are being erased and redrawn. The limits of American power are now exposed, with unforeseen and unintended consequences ahead. And Europe—ever present, ever dangerous—still rumbles like a dormant volcano with the potential to erupt on the world, spilling a molten flow to scorch all in its path.
To the prophet Habakkuk God said: “Look at the nations and watch and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told” (Habakkuk 1:5 Habakkuk 1:5Behold you among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvelously: for I will work a work in your days which you will not believe, though it be told you.
American King James Version×, New International Version).
God was answering Habakkuk’s complaint that “justice is perverted … [it] never prevails” (Habakkuk 1:4 Habakkuk 1:4Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment does never go forth: for the wicked does compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceeds.
American King James Version×). Everywhere he looked in his nation, the prophet saw destruction and violence and unresolved conflict (Habakkuk 1:3 Habakkuk 1:3Why do you show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.
American King James Version×). He grieved that his country, Judah, so blessed by God, was so morally and ethically corrupt. We could survey the culture of America in 2015 and say much the same.
God’s answer revealed the rise of a new power called Babylon, an efficiently cruel empire that could quickly move through a land, destroying and consuming all in its path. Babylon was the instrument God would use to deal with the decayed culture of Judah, the remnant of the nation of Israel.
America and the English-speaking nations are in the same position as Judah in this scene from the ancient prophecy. These verses about moral decline could describe events any day in the United Sates.
The past year saw race riots erupt on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland. Street violence is a raw symptom of the breakdown of the family structure among the black American community. This moral collapse has been eating away at black America for the better part of the 70 years since the end of World War II.
In 1965 a government report titled “The Negro Family: The Case for National Action” described the negative impact of the breakdown of the nuclear family (one with a father and mother present) within the American black community. The report foretold that unless certain economic and cultural trends were not reversed, a total breakdown of families in this community was guaranteed. We are seeing the continued effects today.  Instead of improving, the breakdown of the family has spread to other segments of American society with devastating consequences.
America is entering another presidential election cycle. The issues the candidates are debating and the qualifications of the individual candidates reflect the current moral, political and even spiritual condition of America. Cynicism surrounds this election cycle. The political leaders of the nation lack moral clarity in addressing and dealing with the pressing issues facing America. Look for this election cycle to highlight the deepening divide within America on all fronts. Regardless of who wins the presidency in 2016, America will face a changed world.

A new world without America?

The critical question of the hour is what America’s role will be in this changed world. For more than six years of the current presidential administration, the United States has not shown effective world leadership in the areas that matter. What matters is moral and spiritual leadership. America has lost its way and has not led the world on the high ground of morality and ethics.
The nation’s time to build a region and shape the destiny of peoples seems to have passed. Whatever vestige of righteousness America had 70 years ago in the wake of World War II has evaporated like the dew in the morning sunlight.
The United States leads the world in creating and glamorizing godless lifestyles of every form. Through its Hollywood entertainment complex it exports every kind of immorality and perversion. Adultery, pornography, drugs and addictions, and every form of sexual immorality are put into music, film and television and exported throughout the world.
On the home front, the issue of same-sex marriage has replaced abortion as the litmus test for social correctness today. This fact alone speaks volumes about the spiritual condition of the land.
The question is whether it’s too late to turn around this decline and restore the nation to a previous standard of right and wrong.
It’s not our place to answer this question. It’s our place to point out the problem and show the way forward for any who might choose to read their Bible and believe what it says. It’s every person’s responsibility to follow God to a better, more righteous life. It’s our place to stand in the public arena like the prophets of old and place the words of God before the people. What will you do with what you’ve heard?
Seventy years following the end of World War II, America is in a “valley of trouble.” It does not understand the depth of the peril it faces. But people of faith—people who know there is a God—someone one like you who has read this far in this article—understand that something is wrong with the world and our peoples.
It’s time to shake yourself from the fog and stupor surrounding the issues and reach out to God, who is faithful and who will bring the nation and the world through this time of trouble. His purpose stands. God cannot lie. You can get to know that God now. You can step into the story He is creating. You can make sense of your life and escape the frustration and futility you see around us.
God says, “I will … transform the valley of trouble into a gateway of hope” (Hosea 2:15 Hosea 2:15And I will give her her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
American King James Version×, New Living Translation). Grab hold of that hope today and begin making a better life for yourself and others your life touches!

United States World War II

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  Darris McNeely

  Beyond Today Presenter

  Darris McNeely works at the United Church of God home office in Cincinnati, Ohio. He and his wife, Debbie, have served in the ministry for more than 43 years. They have two sons, who are both married, and four grandchildren. Darris is the Associate Media Producer for the Church. He also is a resident faculty member at the Ambassador Bible Center teaching Acts, Fundamentals of Belief and World News and Prophecy. He enjoys hunting, travel and reading and spending time with his grandchildren.

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Police estimate 30K flee Juárez violence

A timely article from http://www.elpasotimes.com/ (and a big hat tip to them) about how many people are leaving Juarez and moving to the city of El Paso without going through the legal immigration process; and the laws that are broken are not being enforced. As the link shows, there are 30,ooo immigration law-breakers in El Paso.
In case you don't know how to report illegal immigration yourself, click this how-to guide here and for more interesting stories like this click here to follow this blog.

Drug war: Laser, investors' visas allow many to live, work in El Paso
By Adriana Gómez Licón / El Paso Times
Posted: 02/28/2010

Police estimate 30K flee Juárez violence, Rep. Beto O'Rourke says

EL PASO -- They are not your typical undocumented immigrants.
Thousands of middle-class Mexican citizens, under the guise of being commuters or visitors, may be manipulating the U.S. immigration system to escape the violence of Juárez.
More than 4,600 murders occurred in Juárez in 2008 and 2009, and the fallout is apparent in the city's decay. More than 110,000 houses have been abandoned, 75,000 people have lost their jobs and more than 10,000 businesses have closed.
Now a white-collar segment of Juárez's population may be streaming to El Paso by misusing tourist visas, then renting houses or apartments or even opening businesses.
Living in the United States may be illegal for these immigrants who flee the epicenter of Mexico's drug war by moving right across the border to one of the safest cities in the country.
El Paso had 12 murders last year compared to 2,643 in Juárez. New York City, with eight times the population of Juárez, had 466 homicides in 2009.
Most people who cross international bridges from Mexico into El Paso hold tourist or "laser" visas. This visa entitles Mexicans to visit the United States, but they cannot work legally in the country.
The U.S. government issued almost 1.5 million visas from 2000 to 2009 at the Consulate of Juárez. Some were for students and temporary workers, but most were laser visas, which expire after 10 years and cannot be used for visits longer than six months.
Not just any Mexican citizen can get a tourist visa to enter the United States. To qualify, one must prove he or she has a steady income, a residence in Mexico and bank and utility statements to help demonstrate that he or she is not intent on working in the United States.
Obtaining a tourist visa also is contingent on the applicant's background, such as whether he or she has an immigration violation or criminal history in the U.S., said Lisa Rios, an immigration lawyer in El Paso.
Mexican nationals apply for the visa at one of the 12 U.S. consulates in their country. The cost is $130, plus the cost of the Mexican passport. The screening process usually takes weeks.
Customs inspectors at bridges verify the authenticity of the document and ask more questions about the purpose of the travel in the United States. But once foreigners are in the United States, it is difficult if not impossible to keep track of them.
Customs and Border Protection has a system to record people overstaying their visas, but it is not as sophisticated as it is in airports.
Mexicans entering with a laser visa who stay less than 30 days and near the border do not need a form that allows CBP to maintain a log of arrivals and departures.
The form is not collected at international bridges in El Paso when Mexicans are traveling back to Juárez. That leaves CBP without an accurate record of who is violating the terms of the visa.
So staying in El Paso may provide a way for Mexican nationals to slip under the immigration radar and justify their presence in the country as commuters.
Grace Gomez, a Customs and Border Protection supervisor in El Paso, said the agency documents cases in which people overstay their visit and notifies Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A sweep last week by ICE agents in El Paso County led to 33 arrests of people who were living in the United States illegally. But all of those people had criminal convictions in the United States, making them targets of law officers.
Sergio Ramirez, a real estate agent, said most Juárez residents moving to the United States do not run the risk of being deported because they have no criminal record.
"If they were criminals, it would be foolish for them to come here," Ramirez said. "Here, they get caught."
Another way Juárez residents are moving to El Paso is through investors' visas.
To get the document, an applicant must show that he or she will invest at least $500,000 opening a business and hiring at least 10 full-time employees.
Ana Gonzalez of the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce said the agency last year counseled more than 200 business people from Mexico looking to start operations in El Paso. When the business owners were not permanent residents or U.S. citizens, an investor's visa was a possible avenue.
New businesses rooted in Mexico were not necessarily opening in El Paso be cause its owners were trying to leave Juárez, Gonzalez said. Some were looking to expand.
Attorney Rios said she had seen an increase in people from Juárez looking to apply for the investor's visa in the past two years.
The number of these visas granted to foreign nationals went from about 800 in 2007 to nearly 1,400 in 2008, the last year documented by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Rios said the number, not broken down by country, indicates more businesses are moving to El Paso because their owners faced threats of kidnapping and extortion.
Gomez of Customs and Border Protection said anecdotal evidence shows that fewer people are crossing into El Paso. An annual immigration report is still months away.
Nonetheless, more people detect a greater presence of Mexicans in El Paso.
"If you go to restaurants or malls, you see license plates from Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Chihuahua," Ramirez said.
Adriana Gómez Licón may be reached at agomez@elpasotimes.com ; 915-546-6129.