western union

Western Union

They aren't about telegrams anymore. They've stopped sending telegrams in order to focus on money transfers, particularly through remittances: the money that U.S. residents send back to their home countries. A large share of remittances are sent by illegal aliens and thus the more illegal immigration (or immigration in general), the more money Western Union makes. Because of that, Western Union strongly supports at least mass immigration if not explicitly supporting illegal immigration.

See 2004's "The Fastest Way To [profit from illegal immigration]" for an introduction, and note that even biased illegal immigration supporters like the Arizona Republic and the New York Times have come close to doing exposes on Western Union's borderline activities.

Western Union was formerly part of the First Data Corporation, but was spun-off into an independent company on October 2, 2006 ( link).

Last modified Feb 21, 2011
Discussed in (click each link for the full post):

NYT almost follows the money on Western Union (U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Ken Salazar) - 11/24/07

Jason DeParle of the New York Times almost follows the money on Western Union, a company that makes almost a billion dollars per year off legal and illegal immigrants sending money home ("remittances"): lin

First Data Immigration Reform panel - 10/03/07

First Data Corporation - the current or former parent company of Western Union - conducted several immigration "reform" panels around the country in 2004. The [[July 22, 2004]] version was held in Denver and is described here. That page describes how a fight broke out, which appears to have been initiated by an illegal immigration supporter. And:

Letter: last 100 conservatives who support Senate amnesty bill must band together! - 06/05/07

A group of about 30 conservatives have sent an open letter to the rest demanding that they band together and support the Bush/Kennedy/Kyl massive illegal alien amnesty bill. The letter itself is full of half-truths, such as their claim that "it will make sure that the law is enforced first, before any other provisions of the legislation take effect".

First Data Western Union and Latino Advocacy Organizations Call For Action on Immigration Reform - 10/19/06

press release/[[March 3, 2004]] First Data Creates $10 Million Empowerment Fund

Rights group sues Ariz. to stop wire transfer seizures - 10/19/06

Capitol Media Services/Howard Fischer/[[October 19, 2006]]/ link An immigrant rights group wants a federal judge to block Arizona from using a tactic Attorney General Terry Goddard says is necessary to block human- and drug-smuggling rings. Legal papers filed in U.S. District Court contend warrants issued by Goddard's office to seize wire transfers of $500 or more violate federal constitutional requirements that government must have probable cause before taking the money.

Suit filed over wire transfers - 10/19/06

Arizona Republic/Dennis Wagner/[[October 19, 2006]]/ link

ICIRR in suit against Terry Goddard over Western Union wire transfers - 10/19/06

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights ("ICIRR") is "sponsoring" a class action lawsuit against Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard over that state's program that tries to stop human smuggling by seizing Western Union wire transfers that meet certain criteria. ICIRR is "sponsoring" three nobody plaintiffs - at least one of whom is a legal resident - who had money seized and couldn't get it back because they couldn't prove that the transfers were legitimate. The attorney is Matt Piers; another attorney who may have just filed the papers is Tim Eckstein (azstar). As detailed...

Jill Capuzzo/NYT: corruption, illegal activity are good for Riverside, New Jersey - 07/27/06

Jill Capuzzo of the New York Times offers a ludicrously transparent article in support of illegal immigration: "Town Battling Illegal Immigration Is Emptier Now". Don't you feel sad and all just by reading the headline? It continues. The lesson the NYT wants you to learn is that the best way for Riverside NJ to prosper is just to give a wink and a nod to illegal immigration. If they don't, cue the tumbleweeds.

Arizona Republic almost does expose on Western Union - 03/19/06

Chris Hawley of the AZ Republic offers the somewhat surprising article "Wire firm a force in debate over immigration". It's surprising because in a rare move for the AZ Republic it comes close to reporting the actual truth. They come close to implying that Western Union and their parent company First Data are profiting off illegal immigration, are encouraging illegal immigration, and are corrupting our political system. ...In recent years, Denver-based First Data has openly campaigned for immigration reform, which could legalize millions of undocumented workers, and has created a $10...

More on Raul Hinojosa of UCLA - 07/15/05

Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda is an associate professor of political economy at the University of California at Los Angeles, and the MSM frequently turns to him for a "Latino" viewpoint. For instance from 2001: -- IMMIGRATION: The recently released UCLA study on the economic impact of the broad legalization of undocumented Mexican immigrants working in the United States is reported in today's Agence France-Presse, Copley News Service and Associated Press. Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda, director of UCLA's North American Integration and Development Center and author of the study, is quoted in each article. AP...

The Denver Post's sloppy journalism - 07/10/05

Last year a fight broke out during a one-sided immigration forum in Colorado. An anti-illegal immigration activist had attended the meeting and spoke out against the biased panel and the various statements they made. A pro-illegal immigration activist reportedly told her to shut up, and it degenerated into fisticuffs and torn clothing. The pro-illegal immigration activist, Julissa Molina-Soto, was arrested, tried, and eventually found not guilty. However, the other participant, Terry Graham, has brought a civil suit against her and the company that sponsored the forum. A description and...

Tying up the loose ends on Colorado's guide for the illegal alien - 02/09/05

Colorado recently removed from its website a guide that gives tips for illegal aliens living in Colorado. Those involved in producing the guide included, to varying degrees: the Mexican government, the Colorado Department of Education, Colorado Gov. Owens, various "immigrant's rights" groups, and First Data/Western Union. Rep. Tom Tancredo complained about the guide and caused it to be removed from Colorado's site. This, of course, caused the other side to fire up their race-baiting and strike back. From a group called ProgressNow (link): Colorado Department of Education Vice-Chairman asks:...

"The Fastest Way To [profit from illegal immigration]" - 07/24/04

FirstData is the parent company of Western Union, and they're now a major processor of credit card transactions in addition to their original business of money transfer. As described here (rmpn . org/weblog/archives/permalink/002096.cfm), they've also decided to attempt to unseat U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo (house . gov/tancredo/Immigration), who represents the district in Colorado where their headquarters are based.