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Politics & The Nation
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THURSDAY, JULY 8, 2010
3 other states weighing tough immigration bills
Despite lawsuit, Okla., S.C. and Utah may follow Arizona’s lead
by Michael W. Savage XIAOMEI CHEN/THE WASHINGTON POST Perhaps testing the idea that the next best thing to being in water is to be on it, rowers take to the Potomac River near the Roosevelt Memorial. Grease spill in D.C. frays heat-fried nerves heat from A1
ditions, said Dan Stillman of
washingtonpost.com’s Capital Weather Gang. There is some prospect of showers, starting Thursday, Still- man said, and more so with a front that is expected to move through the area Friday into Sat- urday.
But the highs for Thursday are forecast to be in the mid-90s, and evidence of the heat’s effects abounded across the region Wednesday.
Authorities in Prince George’s
County said they had taken 28 people to area hospitals over the past five days for heat-related ill- nesses. Maryland health officials said a Baltimore resident died this week because of the heat. Hot weather has contributed to eight Maryland deaths this season, in- cluding three in the past two weeks, authorities said. The District has had one heat death this season, and Virginia
MICHAEL S. WILLIAMSON/THE WASHINGTON POST
Shawn Jones of Seat Pleasant wipes sweat from his face during a break from basketball practice at the Twinbrook recreation center in Rockville. Emilia Majersik, right, tries to cool off after soccer camp at St. Albans School in the District.
had three late last month, offi- cials said. In Annapolis, the U.S. Naval Academy reported that four mid- shipmen who had just completed an obstacle course required med-
ical attention for heat exhaustion, the Associated Press reported. Temperature records were bro-
ken at Reagan National and Balti- more-Washington International Marshall airports. National’s rec- ord was broken at 1:36 p.m. when the mercury hit 102. The previous record for the day was 99, set in 1991. BWI’s record high was bro- ken at 1:46 p.m., at 101. The previ- ous record of 99 was set in 1993. Dulles International Airport matched its record for the day, ty- ing the mark of 101 set in 1988. The heat index, the combina- tion of heat and humidity, pro- duced values across the Washing- ton area of 105, the National Weather Service said. Poor air quality also continued, and the Metropolitan Washing- ton Council of Governments is- sued a code orange air-quality alert for Thursday for the region. A code orange means that air pol- lution might be harmful for chil- dren, people with heart or lung ailments, and the elderly. Metro took some of its cars out
of service to fix air-conditioning units after getting reports of cars with no air — reports that contin- ued Wednesday night — and tem- peratures reaching 100 degrees in some cars. In Potomac, a 24-inch water main burst Wednesday after- noon, sending a blast of water soaring above trees and power lines for hours. It was Rockville’s main line from its water treat- ment plant, and city officials had to tap into the pipes of the Wash- ington Suburban Sanitary Com- mission to try to quench the thirst of Rockville residents. “We don’t see any property
damage right now,” said Craig Si- moneau, Rockville’s director of public works, as the water streamed down from South Glen Road and Deep Glen Drive. Electrical companies, mean- while, kept a close eye on energy use. Wednesday evening, Pepco re-
ported two outages affecting about 1,500 customers in Chevy
Attention is focused on Arizona and the federal government’s challenge to the state’s strict new immigration law, but three other states could adopt similar legisla- tion next year. Lawmakers in Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah, which have already taken steps against illegal immigration, say that Ari- zona-style measures have a real- istic chance of passing when their legislatures reconvene in 2011. The Obama administration sued Arizona in federal court Tuesday, charging that the state law usurps federal authority, would hamper immigration en- forcement and would lead to po- lice harassment of those who have no proof of lawful status. The gov- ernment asked that a federal judge stop the law from taking ef- fect July 29. Legislators in at least 17 other
TRACY A. WOODWARD/THE WASHINGTON POST on
washingtonpost.com
Watch video of the National Zoo’s two giant pandas, Tian Tian and Mei Xiang, chowing down on icy treats during the heat wave.
Chase, Md., and the Chevy Chase neighborhood in the District. A spokesman said it was not clear whether the trouble was related to the heat. The utility also said it was in touch with PJM Interconnection to monitor how the regional pow- er grid was faring. The load Tues- day reached almost 6,768 mega- watts, not far from the all-time peak of 6,947 megawatts reached in August 2006. The Northern Virginia Electric
Cooperative asked its 144,000 customers to reduce power con- sumption at work and home be- tween 2 and 8 p.m., and Pepco asked customers to keep home thermostats at 78 to help reduce demand. The height of the heat aggrava- tion seemed to come after what was thought to be used cooking grease spilled from a refuse truck along U Street. The large spill temporarily closed the area around 14th and U streets and left a blocks-long slick that smelled like a combina- tion of rancid paint and the in- side of an old boot. Cleanup crews dumped sand at the scene, which was ground into dust by passing cars. “It sure is a mess,” said Bowles, who was waiting for a 96 bus. “I think it’s a mess that they tear up all these streets. Every time you turn around on the hottest days out here, you got the buses saying ‘not in service.’ We’re on a high- heat weather advisory. Shouldn’t none of these buses say ‘not in service.’ ”
ruanem@washpost.com
Staff writers Lori Aratani, Michael Laris, Stephanie Lee, Mike McPhate, Ed O’Keefe, Sonja Ryst, Robert Thomson and Katherine Shaver contributed to this report.
AK HI THE WASHINGTON POST
states introduced bills this year similar to the Arizona law, which allows officers to question anyone they suspect of being in the coun- try illegally. But most of those measures are not considered like- ly to be adopted or signed by gov- ernors. The political climate in Okla- homa, South Carolina and Utah, however, improves the chances that state legislatures there could follow Arizona’s lead in 2011. In 2007, Oklahoma led the way on such laws by adopting legisla- tion that makes it a felony to knowingly transport or shelter an illegal immigrant. It also blocked illegal immigrants from obtaining driver’s licenses and in-state tui- tion. State Rep. Randy Terrill (R), who sponsored the measure, has expressed a desire to go beyond the Arizona law when he intro- duces a bill next year that would seize property from businesses that knowingly employ illegal im- migrants. Terrill cited the arrest last week of an alleged Mexican drug cartel member in Oklahoma as evidence that an “Arizona-plus” measure is needed urgently. He said the ef- fect of Arizona’s law has been to push illegal immigrants “straight down Interstate 40” toward Okla- homa.
Vivek Malhotra, advocacy and
policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the ad- ministration’s decision to sue Ari- zona could discourage other states from doing the same. But he also said that similar legisla- tion may be adopted in 2011. “After the other border states, it is natural to look at the states that
Arizona-style laws?
Lawmakers in 20 states have expressed an interest in adopting anti-immigration laws similar to Arizona’s. Those most likely to succeed are in Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah.
WA MT OR NV CA UT AZ CO NM TX ID WY
ND SD NE
KS OK MN WI MI IA IL
MO AR
LA MS
IN OH KY
PA
AL GA TN
WV VA NC
SC SOURCE:
Americans for Legal Immigration
FL NY
NH VT
ME
MA RI CT NJ DE
MD DC
have enacted the most anti-im- migrant laws” before Arizona, Malhotra said. He said he expec- ted Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah to make the “most vigor- ous effort” to enact similar legisla- tion early next year. Ira Mehlman, spokesman for
the Federation for American Im- migration Reform, said he thinks the Obama administration de- signed the lawsuit against Ari- zona as a “shot across the bows” of all states considering similar moves. He said he doubts, though, that Terrill will be deterred. “Randy Terrill has made this his issue in Oklahoma and has earned bipartisan support in the past,” he said. “He is a determined guy and he is not going to back down too easily.” In Utah, state Rep. Stephen Sandstrom (R) has been making regular fact-finding trips to Ari- zona as he finalizes a draft bill. But, following the announcement of the federal suit, he said he may consider watering down one of the Arizona law’s most conten- tious elements. Under the law, state officers are
instructed to check immigration status if they have a “reasonable suspicion” that a person is in the country illegally. Sandstrom said his measure may require officers to meet the higher legal standard of “probable cause” to suspect someone of being undocumented before checking. “I don’t want people of Hispan- ic descent to feel my bill is aimed at them,” he said. A Utah law that took effect last
year made it illegal to harbor or employ undocumented workers. Gov. Gary R. Herbert (R) has said he expects to sign new immigra- tion legislation next year and is meeting with all sides to find a way forward.
South Carolina Gov. Mark San- ford (R) touted a comprehensive set of measures against illegal im- migration as the nation’s strictest when he signed it into law in 2008. The far-reaching legislation forced businesses to check the im- migration status of their workers. Harboring and transporting ille- gal immigrants also became a state crime. State lawmakers are seeking to build on it and were quick this year to draw up an Ari- zona-style bill, introducing it less than a week after the Arizona measure was signed. State Sen. Larry Martin (R) said in an interview that an Arizona- type measure was introduced too late this year. “But I have every ex- pectation a new bill will be in- troduced in January,” he said. “As long as an officer has a lawful rea- son to question someone, and then a suspicion develops [that] they are an undocumented per- son, then I think our law enforce- ment folks ought to be able to pur- sue that,” he said.
savagem@washpost.com
Ex-lawmaker pleads guilty to lobbying for terrorism-linked charity by R. Jeffrey Smith
Justice Department statement. Siljander attorney Lance San-
A former congressman pleaded
guilty Wednesday to serving as an unregistered agent in Washington for a Missouri-based Islamic chari- ty that the federal government said had ties to international terrorism. It was an odd outcome for Mark
D. Siljander, who said he wanted to help bridge the gulf between Mus- lims and Christians. A Republican who attained one of Michigan’s congressional seats from 1981 to 1987 with assistance from the Mor- al Majority, Siljander was out- spoken about conservative social issues.
Siljander confirmed in a Kansas
City, Mo., court that he contacted members of Congress in an effort to lift restrictions on the charity and then lied about his work in statements to investigators. He could face a 15-year prison term and a $500,000 fine, according to a
dage said in a statement that his client “has accepted responsibility for his conduct in his pleas to an obstruction of justice charge and a violation of a regulatory statute.” “We would point out that all oth- er charges of conspiracy and mon- ey laundering against him will be dismissed and of course no terror- ism charges were alleged,” Sandage said. The charity in question, the Is- lamic American Relief Agency, was raided and shuttered by the gov- ernment in 2004 after extensive wiretaps of its officers. In a 2008 indictment, the charity was charged with improperly sending funds to Pakistan on behalf of Gul- buddin Hekmatyar, who had re- ceived millions from the CIA and was briefly Afghanistan’s foreign minister. He later formed an alli- ance with the Taliban and Osama bin Laden that led the United
States to try to kill him with a drone missile. On June 25, charity director Mu-
barak Hamed pleaded guilty in- stead to sending more than $1 mil- lion to Iraq while that country was under U.S. sanctions, before the 2003 U.S. occupation. Hamed also confirmed for the first time that the charity was allied with a group in Sudan that the government said had provided funds to al-Qaeda, bin Laden and the Taliban. Siljander’s legal fate may have been sealed when Hamed, in his court plea, contested the former lawmaker’s claim that the charity had paid him $75,000 not as a lob- bying fee but to help underwrite a 2008 book, “A Deadly Misunder- standing: A Congressman’s Quest to Bridge the Muslim-Christian Di- vide.” The Justice Department has said the funds paid to Siljander were stolen by the charity from a U.S. Agency for International De-
velopment grant intended to fi- nance work in Mali. The depart- ment said that a fundraiser for the group, Abdel Azim El-Siddiq of Chicago, admitted to having joined with Hamed to hire Siljander as a lobbyist while deliberately con- cealing the payments. The money was funneled through nonprofit entities controlled by Siljander, it said. In response, Siljander “acted as
an agent” of the charity in contacts during 2004 with the Senate Fi- nance Committee, USAID, the Jus- tice Department and the Army. He sought unsuccessfully to have the charity removed from a list of or- ganizations suspected of financing terrorism, the Justice Department said.
Siljander, a resident of Great
Falls, was known among social conservatives as the author of a law barring USAID from spending any money to lobby for abortion.
smithj@washpost.com
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