Saturday nights are busy nights for any night club or restaurant in any part of the world. Yet, for 26 such Latino establishments in Dallas, last night wasn't just busy but chaotic and frightening for workers and patrons.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with, the Dallas County District Attorney, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Dallas Police Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas raided bars, clubs, restaurants, supermarkets and pool halls in an attempt to crack down on security companies that hire undocumented immigrants as security guards.

A total of 49 undocumented immigrants who worked as security guards were reported arrested.

At 11 p.m. Saturday, teams made up of local, state and federal officers simultaneously hit 26 businesses in the Love Field area, Northwest Dallas, Old East Dallas and Lakewood. No injuries were reported.

Authorities recovered four pistols. Federal law prohibits illegal immigrants from possessing firearms. Those arrested also face charges of being in the country illegally…

Four of those arrested were from El Salvador and the others were Mexican, authorities said. One of the El Salvadorans was in the U.S. legally under Temporary Protected Status, immigration officials said. It’s unclear what charges he faces.

Obviously, the crackdown by ICE at such public places sends a message to the undocumented immigrant community that no place is safe. Yet, the same message is being received by immigrants who are also legally in the United States and know that in the government's haste to apprehend anyone who "appears" to be undocumented, everyone is presumed undocumented until proven otherwise.

And though the raid targeted only security guards, the obvious intimidation of restaurant and bar staff, not to mention, the patrons, will certainly reverberate throughout the Latino business community and cause yet one more hardship to a struggling sector.

DALLAS — The DFW International Community Alliance released their latest report, "International Dallas 2088: Bridge to the Future" at a Friday press conference at Dallas City Hall presenting new statistics on the presence and contributions of New Americans in the North Texas region. The report analyzes immigrants' impact on culture and the arts, economy, education and civic affairs.

The report, a compilation of census information, government agencies and organizations and local institutions, noted that the majority of immigrants in the region are legal residents.

The report features data and maps that describe 19 international communities, descriptions of the region's primary "global neighborhoods," profiles of 30 foreign-born leaders, and a full page of recommendations that strengthen the image and the essence of Dallas as an international city.

It also cites that: "Approximately 50% of Dallas-area residents are foreign-born or first- generation U.S. citizens, and the labor pool they have created and their skill sets is as varied as the regions they represent."

From taquerías to nail salons to import-export ventures, immigrant entrepreneurs are having a Texas- sized impact on Dallas’ economy. In every 10-year census from 1880 to 2000, the percentage of immigrants who are self-employed was higher than the percentage of natives who are self-employed.

Research (Duke University and UC-Berkley) shows that immigrants are more likely to become successful entrepreneurs than native-born Americans, and that their children follow that pattern. By the mere act of leaving their countries and moving to North Texas, Bosnian physicians and Mexican farmers alike have shown that they are willing to take risks to improve their lives. That willingness to risk informs their decisions to pursue their own businesses and fuels their entrepreneurial spirit. Many immigrants (Arabs, Iranians, Gujeratis) come from strong merchant cultures, making entrepreneurship of especially appealing.

As a result, in certain fields (engineering, technology, restaurants) the percentage of immigrant-owned businesses is more than double the average for US-born entrepreneurs.

The report also includes a range of recommendations for city leaders to follow to fulfill the mission of establishing Dallas as an international city. Some of the recommendations include:

1. Establishing an office for New Americans.
2. Design a Center for Entrepreneurs to help immigrants (and mainstream) open their own businesses.
3. Create a new image for Dallas that will resonate at the local, national and international trade.
4. Initiate a "bilingual university."
5. Secure the use of the DFW International Airport by additional international carriers.

What makes the report unique is that it outlines the city's New Americans' perceptions on Dallas' strengths and weaknesses — compiled from personal experiences.

In keeping with the mission of its organization, the DFW International Alliance's purpose in releasing the report is to create the type of city that reflects the fact that its residents are comprised of multi-ethnic inhabitants and is a global city for the 21st Century.

DALLAS — Area fans of hospitalized Tejano superstar Emilio Navaira gathered at dusk in front of Dallas City Hall on Thursday, March 27 to pray for the speedy recovery of their favorite singer.

Fans of Tejano singer Emilio Navaira gather in front of Dallas City Hall to pray for his recovery.
(Source: Carolina)

Since his accident earlier in the week where his tour bus crashed on a Houston freeway, Navaira had been in a coma. On Thursday, the 45-year-old singer opened his eyes for the first time.

Fans sign "Get Well" cards for Emilio Navaira.
(Source: Carolina)

Under the direction of the North Texas Tejano Music Coalition, a prayer vigil was organized bringing the pastor of downtown's Our Lady of Guadalupe Cathedral to lead fans in prayer for the improvement of the singer's health.

In addition, several familiar voices who host Tejano music shows on local radio stations were on hand to share their memories and feelings for a man many feel is an icon in the Tejano music industry.

(Latina Lista would like to thank reader Carolina for supplying the pictures for this story.)

DALLAS — Two Dallas lawyers are telling Latinos, both legal and undocumented immigrants to know their rights if they are stopped by traffic police in suburbs around Dallas.

The lawyers, Domingo Garcia and Fernando Dubove, claim to have a dozen complaints from people who have been stopped for traffic violations and placed under detention by federal immigration agents. The lawyers are threatening to file federal lawsuits on behalf of the potential litigants.

According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the national number of people held on suspicion of being illegally in the U.S. has more than doubled since 2006.

DALLAS — NorthPark Center, an up-scale mall in North Dallas, revealed that they will apologize to four Latino youth who were detained and accused of shoplifting from a sunglasses store.

(L-R) Mónica Morales, Mia Castillo, Lucio Narváez y Juan Villa Jr., all 17-years-old were detained by mall security after a store employee purposely misled mall authorities to detain them.
(Source: Al Dia)

Accused by the store's employee of shoplifting, mall security detained the four youth in a public area where shoppers coming and going could view their detention. After reviewing the surveillance camera, the mall security determined that the youth had not take anything from the store.

According to Mia Castillo, one of the four detained youth, she and three of her friends entered the store but were ignored by the store employee. "It was just us and the store employee," said Castillo. "He never asked if he could help us."

After leaving the store, the group soon found themselves surrounded by mall security who demanded to know where the sunglasses were. When Castillo took out her cell phone to try to make a call the security guard took the phone from her and put it in her purse.

The mall security guards were directed to the four teens by the store employee who specifically described the group and accused them of theft. Yet, when confronted with the video footage showing that the teens had taken nothing, the employee declared that he didn't recognize the teens.

The mall's management released a statement: "This is not a mistaken-identity case. This is a case of erroneous information given to NorthPark security guards by an employee of a store, although NorthPark didn't know it when the teens were detained."

The teens and their families are accusing the mall of racial profiling, and while they accept the public apology the mall will make, they are calling for the dismissal of the store employee and head of mall security.

The teens' families claim the experience traumatized their children. According to Mia Castillo, "It was humiliating. It comes to racial profiling. It's disgusting that something like that would happen."

Farmers Branch — The city of Farmers Branch admitted that they inadvertently asked 11 apartment complexes to check the citizenship status of prospective renters, even though a federal judge has ruled against enforcing the city's proposed ban of renting to undocumented immigrants.

Farmers Branch residents who support ban on renting houses to undocumented residents celebrate earlier this year in the city council chambers.
(Source: Dallas Morning News)

The violation of the federal ruling was contained on an annual application for a rental license that must be renewed each year by apartment complexes. Managers at seven of the 11 apartment complexes signed the form but two crossed out the inappropriate language. The blame for the violation of the court order was attributed to the use of an application form that had been drafted in fall 2006, after the city council had passed the ordinance banning apartment rentals to undocumented immigrants but before a federal ruling had been issued.

City officials do not know if any prospective renters were turned away but have vowed to inform apartment managers that they are not obligated to check the legal status of potential renters.

An attorney, Bill Brewer, who represents three apartment complexes who sued the city of Farmers Branch over the ordinance last year, said that the city's use of the application with the flawed language amounts to contempt of court. He has asked a federal court that the city be sanctioned.

Lewisville, TX: Over the past three months, police have conducted three undercover operations using plainclothes police officers to halt the practice of day laborers going into the street to meet would-be employers.

Citing safety concerns, the Lewisville police say that people looking for work in the streets is illegal and unsafe when they rush out into the street to approach a car. Yet, day laborers fear that the police are there to arrest undocumented immigrants.

Officials say that the operations are not immigration enforcement measures since among the 10, who have been arrested thus far for failing to show identification, are from Mexico and Guatemala and have not been transferred to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In fact, they were able to eventually be freed from jail.

However, the Lewisville police department does cooperate regularly with ICE and has handed over 116 individuals to ICE in the last six months as a result of traffic violations.

Local Hispanic activists are trying to create a deal with the city to provide a day labor center where workers can meet potential employers in a safe environment.

Farmers Branch, Texas, the Dallas suburb that started a firestorm of controversy when they adopted an ordinance banning undocumented immigrants from being able to rent apartments or houses, has been rejected for a federal program empowering jail officers to identify undocumented immigrants.

Known as 287 (g), the program is administered through the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency or ICE. It's a federal program that trains jail officers to identify undocumented immigrants and start deportation proceedings.

At first, reports of the town's denial of entry into the federal program was said to be because of a shortage of funds but ICE spokesman, Richard Rocha, denies funding is an issue. Rather, Mr. Rocha said ICE works to pair the right program with local law enforcement agencies.

As a result, ICE offered an alternative to city officials: a detective in the Farmers Branch police department would work part time on a regional task force, "probably targeting document and benefit fraud." The detective will be trained in using federal databases and interviewing individuals to determine their citizenship status.

When the detective is not working on the task force or on other duties, the detective would be free to help identify undocumented immigrants in jail.

The city has already been implementing the Criminal Alien Program or CAP in which jailers ask all prisoners to verify their legal status in the country. If the prisoners cannot do it, the police department contacts ICE agents who interview them further.

Since August 2006, Farmers Branch has detained 659 such prisoners.