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Venture Capitalists Push Two-Year Visas For Immigrant Entrepreneurs
The Hill, March 5. Venture capitalists lobbied Capitol Hill this week to win support for legislation offering two-year visas for immigrant entrepreneurs. Legislation sponsored by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), the Start-Up Visa Act, would grant immigrant entrepreneurs a two-year visa if they have the support of a qualified U.S. investor for their startup venture. The bill has received plaudits from the technology community, which has long complained that there are not enough visas for skilled immigrants. Many of the most successful tech companies were founded by immigrants, such as Intel, eBay, Yahoo and Google.
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USCIS Revises Form I-485 and its Filing Locations
US Migration Expert, March 5. Recently the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has revised Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, and implemented new filing locations for the form. According to USCIS, the changes are part of an overall effort to transition the intake of USCIS benefit forms from Service Centers to Lockbox facilities; in an attempt to provide the public with more efficient and effective initial processing of applications and fees. Visa Applicants must now submit Form I-485 to a USCIS Lockbox facility, depending on the eligibility category under which they are filing, as provided in the form instructions.
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New Way Pushed To Verify Workers' Legal Status
Arizona Republic, March 5. A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers led by Arizona Democrat Gabrielle Giffords is pushing for a new federal system to verify who is legally allowed to work in this country. The proposed system promises to do a better job of preventing illegal immigrants from getting jobs than the current online system, known as E-Verify. A recent report found flaws in the existing system. First introduced two years ago by Reps. Giffords and Sam Johnson, a Texas Republican, the proposed system is only now gaining attention following the publication of the government-commissioned report, which estimated that more than half of the illegal immigrants run through the E-Verify system are wrongly being deemed authorized to work because they use stolen identities.
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28,000 Haitians In U.S. Seek Protected Status
The Record, March 5. More than 28,000 Haitians living in the United States, including more than 800 in New Jersey, have applied for protection from deportation since January, immigration officials say. The Obama administration suspended deportations of Haitians who had been in the U.S. by Jan. 12, when a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced a few days after the earthquake that undocumented Haitians would be eligible to apply for an immigration benefit known as Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, which allows those who receive it to live and work here for up to 18 months.
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Family Facing Deportation Breakup Wins Reprieve
San Francisco Chronicle, March 4. A San Francisco bus driver's wife and two stepsons, who faced deportation to Australia this week after a schoolyard fight and a city crackdown thwarted their attempt to win legal status, won a reprieve from federal authorities Wednesday. Immigration officials had ordered Tracey Washington and her sons, ages 13 and 5, to leave the United States by Friday because they remained here after their visa waivers expired in May. The family and their lawyer brought the case to public attention in a news conference this week. On Wednesday, officials said they would give the Washingtons at least 60 days to resolve their situation.
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Key Homeland Security Posts Go Unfilled
CNN News, March 4. The war on terror is being fought without some key generals. The Obama administration, more than a year after taking power, and Congress have not filled some key positions in the Department of Homeland Security -- notably the top jobs at the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection. Together, the two posts manage about half of all DHS employees. But for differing reasons, the posts are unfilled or occupied by placeholders. In the case of the TSA, Erroll Southers -- whom President Obama nominated in September -- withdrew from consideration in January after a contentious confirmation battle with Senate Republicans. The White House has yet to name a new nominee, all but ensuring the post won't be on board for months.
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Gov't Offers New Assurance Census Data Is Private
Associated Press, March 4. With the 2010 population count looming, the government provided new assurances Thursday that information Americans fill out on their census forms will be kept confidential and not be used for law enforcement. In a letter to Congress, the Obama administration provided its legal position that census data cannot be disclosed under the Patriot Act, the nation's main counterterrorism law. The government has previously given legal assurances the information will not be used for immigration enforcement.
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State Rolls Out New Online Visa Application For Temporary Visitors
NextGov.com, March 4. The State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs is rolling out a new online application process for nonimmigrant visas aimed at reducing processing time. This is the bureau's first step to building the Consular Electronic Application Center, a Web-based system that eventually will host online applications for immigration visas and passports. The new nonimmigrant visa application, DS-160, combines three forms into one online platform. Once an applicant submits the document online, consular officers can screen it before the visa interview and ask the candidate to fill in any missing information. Applicants must complete the form in English, but they can view as pop-ups foreign translations of the questions.
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Per Capita Spending For Immigrant Health Care Far Less Than For U.S. Citizens
American Medical News, March 3. Annual health spending on noncitizen immigrants is about half the spending on native U.S. citizens, largely because many noncitizens lack jobs with health insurance and are ineligible for most public coverage, according to 'Trends in Health Care Spending for Immigrants in the United States,' published in the March Health Affairs. Average per-person health care spending for noncitizens was $1,904 in 2006, compared with $3,723 for citizens, according to the study. Public spending on noncitizens also was relatively low. Between 1999 and 2006, it averaged $780 annually for noncitizens and $1,200 for U.S. natives, the article concluded.
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Startup Visa Backers Taking Tweets To DC
The Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, March 3. A group of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs plans to bring thousands of tweets supporting a new startup visa to Washington on Thursday. The trip organized by venture capitalist Dave McClure of San Francisco-based Founders Fund is backing the creation of a two-year visa for immigrant entrepreneurs who raise a minimum of $250,000, with $100,000 coming from a qualified U.S. angel or venture investor. The immigrant entrepreneurs can then become citizens if they create five or more jobs (not including their own family members), attract another $1 million investment, or produce $1 million in revenue. The group has asked Twitter users to tweet their support at @2gov using the hashtag #StartupVisa at exactly 10 AM Pacific time on Wednesday.
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Reverse Auction for Investor Visas – Sen. Kerry Drops Price to $100,000
CIS Immigration Blog, March 2, OPINION. It's bad enough that people can buy their way into the United States, as described in a previous blog. But if a bill (S. 3029) introduced by Senator John Kerry (D-MA) passes the price will be reduced to $100,000. The price was once was $1 million, then it fell to $500,000. And the $100,000 does not even have to be your money. For years the Congress set the price of an investor visa at $1 million, and the investment had to produce ten jobs for someone other than the migrant investor's family. Currently, you have to put up half a million and some consultant will figure out the needed "indirect" job-creating benefits, in the program as outlined by USCIS. As pointed out in the earlier blog, the half-million-dollar investment, once examined, turned out to actually cost the investor $113,500 and it would produce green cards for everyone in the family; so, if there were five in the family, that would be $22,700 per visa.
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Who’s Creating US Jobs? Mexicans
Christian Science Monitor, March 2. For Pierre Gama, the fourth kidnapping was the final straw. Armed carjackers made him drive his car in circles until he gave them the numbers to his credit cards. With two small children and a wife – who was with him during one such secuestro express – the security entrepreneur wanted out of Mexico City. Mr. Gama proposed moving to Canada, but his wife said it was too cold there. So he opted for an escape route a growing number of his wealthiest countrymen are taking: He bought his family’s way into the United States by spending about $200,000 on a San Antonio restaurant and catering business.
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Bill To Criminalize Presence Of Illegal Immigrants
Associated Press, March 2. Over the last several years, immigration hard-liners at the Arizona Legislature persuaded colleagues to criminalize the presence of illegal border-crossers in the state and ban soft immigration policies in police agencies - only to be thwarted by a Democratic governor's vetoes. This year, their prospects have improved: A proposal containing those two enforcement ideas has momentum, and even opponents expect the current Republican governor to approve the changes. Among other things, the proposal would make Arizona the only state to criminalize the presence of illegal immigrants through an expansion of its trespassing law.
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Court To Rule On Dismissing Government In Detainee Suit
Providence Journal, March 1. A federal judge will hear arguments this week on whether the federal government should be dismissed as a defendant in the lawsuit filed by Lin Li Qu, the widow of the Chinese immigrant detainee who died two years ago while in the custody of the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls. The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday at 10 a.m. before U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith. Qu, through her lawyers, has sued U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, otherwise known as ICE, as well as Wyatt and a host of others, claiming that they neglected to offer Hiu Lui Jason Ng, the detainee, the proper care when he complained of debilitating back pain in the final months of his life. Just before he died in August 2008, doctors discovered that Ng, 34, was suffering from advanced liver cancer and he had a fractured vertebrae.
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Once Again, Ireland's Young Prepare To Leave
Observer, February 28. In the tiny sub-post office at Liscarney, on the road out of Westport, under the snow-touched pyramid of Croagh Patrick, postmaster William Joyce is considering his schooldays. 'In my class maybe a third left. It was America then.' Joyce, 54, got married and stayed put. 'I've the farm as well as the post office and the wife works; one job is not enough around here.' His three teenage sons are at college, the first generation of the family to reach further education. 'I knew the boom wouldn't last. All the young crowd working on borrowed money with two cars to every house, out every weekend, they didn't see the day coming when it would have to be paid back. They knew nothing else. But the minute the banks stopped, everything stopped.
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Protests, Grand Jury Challenge Sheriff Joe Arpaio
Associated Press, February 28. With a sheriff's helicopter beating overhead, the man known as ''Sheriff Joe'' stood behind a line of officers as 10,000 people marched past -- but this was not the usual show of affection and support for Joe Arpaio. ''Joe must go! Joe must go,'' whole families chanted, as they rounded the corner in front of the county jail complex run by the five-term Maricopa County sheriff famed for his confrontational tactics, his harsh jail policies and a gift for publicity. The parade of mostly brown-skinned people wanted to show they hated his trademark immigration patrols. For years, Arpaio has been the rare politician whose popularity remained rock solid no matter the criticism. He was the self-proclaimed ''America's toughest sheriff,'' unbeatable at the polls.
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Report Says Fewer Illegal Immigrants Coming To California
North County Times, February 26. The Golden State appears to have lost some of its luster among illegal immigrants because of its sluggish economy and high cost of living, analysts say. California still has the largest number of illegal immigrants of any state, but its share of the nation's illegal immigrant population dropped from 30 percent in 2000 to 24 percent in 2009, according to a report recently released by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Immigration Statistics. The report also noted an overall decline in the country's illegal immigrant population, from 11.6 million in 2008 to 10.8 million in 2009. The report did not include population estimates by county. Illegal immigration has long been a topic of controversy in North County, where opposing groups have clashed on the streets and in city halls on how to address the undocumented population and its effects on the region.
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New Start-up Visa Promises: Create Jobs, Get a Green Card
Inc., February 26. Amid reports of the damage brain drain inflicts on the economy, Senators John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Richard Lugar, Republican of Indiana, Wednesday introduced the Start-up Visa Act, which would open up the U.S. to immigrant entrepreneurs. If passed, the bill would grant foreigners U.S. visas if they can secure at least $100,000 from a sponsoring angel investor or at least $250,000 from a qualified venture capital firm. After two years, if the immigrant entrepreneur can create five or more jobs (hiring his or her children or spouse is not included), attract an additional $1 million in investment, or produce $1 million in revenue, he or she can become a legal resident.
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Two U.S. Bills Seek to Lure Immigrant Entrepreneurs
Science Magazine, February 26. Foreign scientists who want to start a U.S. company would have a better shot at doing so under two bills introduced recently in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The bills, which have received broad support from venture capitalists, would create a new path within U.S. immigration law for entrepreneurs who have attracted venture capital for their startup. Immigration reform is a political hot potato, however, so success may depend on convincing Congress that job creation is a non-partisan issue. On Wednesday Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) introduced the StartUp Visa Act of 2010. A press release explains that the bill would permit an 'immigrant entrepreneur to receive a 2-year visa if he or she can show that a qualified U.S. investor is willing to dedicate a significant sum-a minimum of $250,000-to the immigrant's start-up venture.' It would create a new visa category, EB-6. Under current law, immigrant entrepreneurs who receive a EB-5 visa must agree to invest at least $1 million in a new business that would employ 10 or more people.
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Report: E-Verify Misses A Lot Of Illegal Workers
San Bernardino Sun, February 26. Touted by some as an essential tool for stopping illegal immigration, an independent research firm says the E-Verify system flags less than half the number of illegal workers it checks. E-Verify, a free online program used voluntarily by employers, fails to catch 54 percent of the illegal workers run through the system because it can't detect identity fraud, the report states. Started as a pilot program in 1997, E-Verify is used by more than 180,000 employers nationwide. It allows employers to run a worker's information against Homeland Security and Social Security databases to make sure the person is allowed to work in the United States. Critics say the report shows the need to find more effective ways to stop employers who willingly violate immigration laws.
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Guest Worker Woes
Human Resources Executive, February 26. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, about 500 guest workers were brought in from India to work for Signal International, a Mississippi-based marine oil-rig company, as it worked to repair hurricane-ravaged oil rigs. Those workers likely had no idea that they'd someday end up in the middle of separate investigations by three federal agencies -- the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security -- as well as a federal court case involving allegations of labor abuse and human trafficking. But, they probably should have, say immigration-law experts. H2-B visas are used for skilled laborers, as opposed to highly skilled or professional workers (for whom the H1-B visa is used), as well as for temporary and seasonal workers.
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Tech Group Urges Passage Of Immigration Legislation
The Hill, February 25. A leading tech group on Wednesday urged lawmakers to adopt legislation that would allow immigrants to remain in the United States if they proved to be skillful entrepreneurs. That bill -- the StartUp Visa Act of 2010, introduced this week -- would enable foreign workers in the United States to obtain two-year visas if they "can demonstrate that a qualified U.S. investor is willing to dedicate a significant sum -- a minimum of $250,000 -- to the immigrant's startup venue," explained the Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC) in a letter of support on Wednesday. Ultimately, those workers would have to maintain a businesses that created at least five new American jobs in its early years, ITIC emphasized.
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Senate GOP Worried Tax Credits In Jobs Bill Could Flow To Illegal Immigrants
The Hill, February 22. Senate Republicans are concerned that the jobs bill set for a preliminary vote Monday could fund tax credits for employers to hire illegal immigrants. The GOP expressed worries that the $15 billion jobs package crafted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), does not go far enough to ensure that businesses don't use new-jobs tax credits in the bill to write off jobs given to illegal immigrants. Democrats said the complaint was little more than an excuse by Republicans to not support the bill, and argued that existing laws already bar employers from hiring illegal immigrants. At issue are the tax credits in the Reid bill that would let businesses claim a $1,000 deduction for each worker they hire who had been previously unemployed.
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High-Tech Border Fence Is Slow Going
Los Angeles Times, February 22. An ambitious, multibillion-dollar project to hot-wire the new Southwest border fence with high-tech radar, cameras and satellite signals has been plagued with serious system failures and repeated delays and will probably not be completed for another seven years -- if it is finished at all. The system, originally intended to be completed next year, languishes in the testing phase in two remote spots of the border in Arizona. There, the supposedly state-of-the-art system combining sensor towers, communication relay systems and unattended ground sensors has been bogged down with radar clutter, blurred imagery on computer screens and satellite time lapses that often permit drug smugglers and undocumented workers to slip past U.S. law enforcement agents, government officials candidly admit.
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Questions Over Drop In Migrant Population
Arizona Republic, February 21. Arizona has seen the sharpest decline in undocumented population of any state, losing 18 percent, or more than 100,000, of its illegal immigrants in 2008, according to a new government report. Experts agree that the decrease in Arizona's undocumented immigrant population was fueled by the staggering loss of jobs the state experienced during the recession, and that to lesser extent immigration crackdowns also contributed to the decline. But the situation does not simply mean a certain number of people have left the country. In any given year, some new illegal immigrants arrive in the U.S. and others leave. Experts agree that the number of new illegal immigrants entering the country is in decline. But there is disagreement over whether the number of people leaving has increased.
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More Investing Their Way To Visas
Houston Chronicle, February 20. Mexico's elite have been known to frequent Houston for shopping or to visit a doctor, some buying Galleria-area condominiums for convenience. But more wealthy Mexicans now are viewing Houston as their investment destination and new home. Mexicans with enough cash are increasingly taking advantage of a special visa that offers immigrants a chance to live in the United States if they invest in this nation. Immigration lawyers said escalating violence in Mexico is the top reason for the increase in wealthy Mexicans relocating to Houston. The government's E2 visa requires someone who moves to the U.S. to invest at least $150,000 in a new or existing company. The number of Mexicans toting the E class of business visas, the vast majority of which are E2, more than doubled to 16,411 in 2008 from 7,903 in 2005 — the last year figures were available. Mexican entrepreneur Eduardo Parra moved to Houston eight years ago after avoiding being kidnapped. He is applying for an E2 visa so he can continue his business operations here.
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Conservatives Woo Hispanics
Washington Times, February 19. A conservative group has begun a new initiative to bring Hispanics into their movement by emphasizing traditional social issues, but the fight over immigration may prove this to be a futile effort. The American Principles Project announced this week its Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, a new initiative that will promote conservative values in the Hispanic community and attempt to persuade conservatives on immigration reform, opening doors to a possible untapped mass of support in the nation's growing Hispanic community. 'We believe that it is time that the conservative movement proactively and intelligently reach out to Latinos, because we believe strongly that Latinos are conservative, that Latino values are conservative values,' said Alfonso Aguilar, a spokesman for the partnership. Clarissa Martinez De Castro, the director of immigration and national campaigns at the National Council of La Raza, agreed that Hispanics are traditionally socially conservative and pro-family.
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Understanding Anti-Immigrant Sentiment
MIT News, February 19. Immigration is a long-simmering issue in the politics of many countries, including the United States. A 2007 Pew poll found that three-quarters of all U.S. citizens want to further restrict immigration. But what’s behind such strongly held views? Conventional wisdom holds that American attitudes toward immigrants are shaped by both economic and cultural considerations. In trying to explain the economic concerns of U.S. citizens, social scientists have pointed to two forms of self-interest: Fear over increased competition for jobs, and resentment over having to pay for the social services used by immigrants and their families.
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Arab, Muslim Community Makes Case For Immigration Reform
NY1 News, February 18. For many Arab and Muslim Americans, learning how to navigate the immigration system is not an easy task. It was also one of the issues on the agenda at a town hall meeting in Brooklyn Wednesday night. 'People are applying for citizenship passing the exam and waiting two to three to even up to five years to get cleared,' said Linda Sarsour of the Arab American Association of New York. Elected officials at the meeting said immigrants from Arab and Muslim countries face a system that treats them with suspicion. 'I've had instance in my own offices with constituents who have been detained unfairly for hours on end awaiting clearance. We have to come up with a system which is more effective and efficient,' said Congresswoman Yvette Clark.
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Money Sent Home To Latin America And The Caribbean Shrinks 11 Percent
The Medill Report, February 17. Before 2009, Javier Theia used to send $120 to his parents in Mexico eight times a year. But now, he struggles to send $80, andthe number of his transfers declined to four times a year. Since September 2009, Theia, a Mexican employee at a restaurant in downtown Chicago, has seen his work hours reduced from eight or nine per day to six or seven. Consequently, his income decreased. “It’s bad when I got a cut back,” Theia said. “I want to help my parents more, but I also have to pay the rent, buy food and raise my kids.” Theia said he’s still luckier than many other Latino immigrants. “I know many people from Mexico and Colombia losing their jobs,” Theia said. “They can’t send money to their homes anymore.”
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Rating a Green Card Lottery Service
As luck would have it, I ran into a Chilean named Enrique Arroyo this past week here in Albuquerque's One-Up lounge. When I mentioned that I co-authored "Win the Green Card Lottery", I got an earful. Enrique entered the diversity visa lottery (DV-2011) in October 2009 using a paid lottery service -- one he randomly picked via a Google search for "green card lottery". Unfortunately, he paid them several hundred dollars via credit card for a 5-year "VIP service" after he received a telephone solicitation.
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Census Reaches Out to Hispanics, Illegal Immigrants
ABC News, February 16. Pedro trekked across the border from Mexico 10 years ago in search of a better life. But now, standing outside a Mexican bakery in Phoenix, he shuffles his feet and shifts his eyes from side to side as he speaks. 'I'm always looking around, just in case,' he said. Pedro, who would not give his last name, is an illegal immigrant. 'America is the place for opportunity,' Pedro said. 'I knew I had to cross over.' He is single and has been working in construction in Arizona since his arrival. 'I've got a clean record,' Pedro, who's in his 30s, said. 'I just mind my own business.' But despite that clean record, Pedro is one of many illegal immigrants living in Arizona who plan to ignore the upcoming Census 2010, even though he knows it's confidential.
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Hispanics Flee Law, Job Loss
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 16. Latinos are leaving their once-thriving neighborhoods in Gwinnett and Cobb counties in search of friendlier alternatives. It shows in business closures, arrest statistics, church attendance and something as simple as a busy highway turned deserted at night. A shortage of jobs is behind this exodus. Stepped-up immigration enforcement also is a factor. In November, the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department became the fourth law enforcement agency in Georgia to screen inmates for immigration status and hold the undocumented for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Cobb, Hall and Whitfield are the other counties.
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Franken Wants Deportation Reprieve For Liberians In Minn.
KSTP News February 16. Sen. Al Franken and 12 other congressmen signed a letter to the white house Tuesday urging President Obama to extend the Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Liberians living legally in the United States. 'For the last twenty years, Minnesota has been home to one of the largest Liberian communities in the country,' said Sen. Franken. 'Roughly 25,000 Liberians currently call Minnesota their home and over 1,000 of them would face deportation if we allow these protections to expire.' Since 1991, Liberians who were forced from their homes because of civil war and sought refuge in the United States have been granted either Temporary Protected Status or approved DED. This protection is currently set to expire March 31, 2010.
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Illegal Alien Population Drops
One News Now, February 16. A grassroots immigration enforcement activist believes that increased enforcement at state and local levels has been a major factor in the recent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report that showed the illegal alien population declined by almost a million people. The DHS reports that the illegal alien population in the United States dropped to 10.8 million in 2009 from 11.6 million in 2008, marking the second consecutive annual decline and the largest in at least three decades. William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC), says the decline is not just because of the struggling economy.
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More Latino Students Are Going Away To College
Los Angeles Times, February 15. It took months for her homesickness to ease and the benefits of life in a new city to become apparent. But Jeanny Fuentes said she now has few regrets about leaving Los Angeles and her close-knit family to attend college nearly 3,000 miles away. By enrolling at Boston College, the 18-year-old freshman became part of a national trend in which Latinos are increasingly attending colleges farther from home. That is bending some cultural traditions but creating what education experts say is a significant and often welcome demographic change to college admissions across the country.
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GOP Hopes To Capitalize On Latino Disappointment With Obama
McClatchy Newspapers, February 15. As one of the first Latinos in the nation to endorse Barack Obama, Democratic state Sen. Gilbert Cedillo of Los Angeles campaigned hard for the president, but he's disappointed now. The reason: Obama has yet to do anything on a comprehensive overhaul of immigration laws, as he promised to do when he ran for president. 'I think he's in danger of breaking the spirit of solidarity and hope,' Cedillo said. 'More than a broken promise, it's the danger of breaking people's sense of hope in the Latino community.' While the president carried the Latino vote by large margins 15 months ago, many Republicans are out to capitalize on Latino dissatisfaction with Obama and Washington's Democratic leaders. They think that could help them immensely in the 2010 elections.
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Underdog Hayworth Says He'll Rap McCain On Illegal Immigration
Christian Science Monitor, February 15. In explaining his decision to try to end John McCain's 24-year career in the US Senate, J.D. Hayworth, Mr. McCain's opponent and a fellow Republican, borrows an idea from an unlikely source: Barack Obama. 'This is another year of change, but this time it’ll be a year of conservative change,' says Mr. Hayworth, who on Monday announced he would take on Senator McCain in Arizona's GOP primary in August. 'The energy behind self-identified conservatives is really high, and that’ll make the difference.' In a phone interview with the Monitor on Monday, Hayworth said he hopes his campaign will tap into the surge in conservative activism, as measured by 'tea party' activists and the popularity of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R).
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GOP Bill Aims To Retool Immigrant Birthright Citizenship
San Bernardino Sun, February 14. Republican lawmakers in Congress are sponsoring a bill that seeks to abolish birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to illegal immigrant parents. Federal law automatically grants citizenship to any person born on American soil, regardless of the immigration status of the child's parents. Supporters of the bill say that many people come to this country for the express purpose of having children who are American citizens, making the family eligible for welfare and other government benefits. 'You have many people coming to this country illegally,' said Rep. Gary Miller, R-Brea, a co-sponsor of the legislation. 'They come to this country and have babies. The children are citizens. The children are eligible to go to school. They receive food stamps and social programs. The American taxpayers are paying for it.'
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Immigration Cases Flooding U.S. Courts
Arizona Republic, February 13. Stepped-up immigration enforcement is overloading U.S. immigration courts and undermining the ability of judges to rule fairly because they are under growing pressure to decide cases quickly, experts say. The flood of cases is creating backlogs that, at least in Phoenix, will take years for judges to decide whether immigrants facing deportation can legally stay in the U.S., according to an examination by The Arizona Republic. 'There is a huge pressure to run through (cases) to maintain their dockets,' said Gerald Burns, a Chandler immigration lawyer and chairman of the American Immigration Lawyers Association Arizona chapter. 'They have an immense pressure to keep their dockets in check.'
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ICE Non-Criminal Detentions Fell For 3 Months
Associated Press, February 12. A decline in detentions of immigrants without criminal records led to an overall drop in the detention population late last year, a data research group reported Friday. Roughly one in four immigration detainees — or 27 percent — had criminal records between October 2008 and September 2009, the Syracuse University-based Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse reported. But the number of immigrants with criminal convictions increased to about four of 10 — or 43 percent — between October and December 2009 and is trending upward, according to TRAC. There was no increase in the overall number of detainees with criminal arrests. The numbers are tracked by fiscal year, which is a 12-month period beginning on Oct. 1. ICE told TRAC it agreed with the findings, but says more complete data shows a modest increase in the detention of immigrants with criminal records.
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Striking While the Iron is Hot: Drop in Unauthorized Immigrant Population a Good Time for Immigration Reform
Immigration Impact, February 11. The number of unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. dropped by roughly 1 million last year, according to a new report released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) yesterday. As of January 2009, the number of unauthorized immigrants currently residing in the U.S. totaled 10.8 million, down from 11.6 million in January 2008, marking the second consecutive year of decline. As numerous reports have noted , not since 2005 has the number of unauthorized immigrants been so low.This decline seems to provide further support for the historic connection between illegal immigration and the economy—when there are no jobs, illegal immigration declines overall. The DHS report itself suggests the dip in unauthorized immigrants “coincides with the U.S. economic downturn”—as does the independent Migration Policy Institute .
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Tom Tancredo Tea Party Speech Slams "Cult of Multiculturalism"
CBS News, February 5. The Tea Party convention kicked off last night with an explosive speech from former Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo, who lambasted "the cult of multiculturalism" in the U.S. Tancredo, at left, also called President Obama a "socialist ideologue," who was elected because "we do not have a civics, literacy test before people can vote in this country," according to ABC News. "People who could not spell the word vote or say it in English put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House -- name is Barack Hussein Obama," he said, Fox News reports. EDITOR'S NOTE: We strongly disagree with Tom Tancredo's statements.
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Complete Text of Sarah Palin's Tea Party Convention Keynote Address
Since our last article on Sarah Palin her apparent popularity has continued to escalate. She has been given a job as a Fox News contributor and was paid $100,000 to be the keynote speaker at the recent Tea Party Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. Why should we care about Palin? Well, anyone who purports to be a populist possible Presidential candidate needs to be thoroughly vetted for his or her views. And in this case, we want to know exactly how she feels on comprehensive immigration reform. Unfortunately, we were unable to find any reference at all to the actual text of her keynote (although there is no shortage of videos). So we used Microsoft Vista's speech recognition software to help create a file containing the text of Sarah Palin's Tea Party speech. You can download the file here in PDF format, or view the entire speech below.
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Immigration activists concerned about anti-Latino Sentiment at Tea Party Convention
KPCC News, February 8. This weekend’s Tea Party Convention in Nashville featured a speech by former Congressman Tom Tancredo. He suggested President Obama was elected by folks who couldn’t spell 'vote' or say it in English. Immigration activists say they're watching the growth of the Tea Party movement closely. Immigration reform advocates say they are concerned that an anti-Latino sentiment could grow within the Tea Party crowd. Frank Sharry, who heads up the group America’s Voice, says if that anti-Latino sentiment becomes a big part of the Tea Party movement, Republicans will pay a price.
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Super Bowl, Earthquake Relief Efforts Put Spotlight On Haitian American Presence In The NFL
Washington Post, February 5. Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Pierre Garçon carefully folded the Haitian flag into a bandanna and proudly put it -- instead of a Colts baseball cap -- on his head Tuesday as he held an obligatory meeting with the media in the lead-up to Sunday's Super Bowl. With the flag's emblem displayed across his forehead and television cameras running, Garçon hoped to inspire more help for his country. Garçon did not hesitate to reach out. The earthquake that devastated Haiti on Jan. 12 has led to an unanticipated aftershock here in the United States: Haitian Americans are standing up to proclaim their heritage, while discovering a sense of unity and community that many had never felt before.
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Drama As Obama’s Aunt States Case For Political Asylum
Boston Herald, February 5. From the designer sunglasses to the security entourage in gray suits and ear pieces, it was evident yesterday the towering, 6-feet-plus-tall Zeituni Polly Onyango is no garden-variety illegal alien. The Kenyan aunt of President Obama - who arrived at U.S. Immigration Court in a wheelchair, but glided out on foot to the tapping beat of a cane - testified for 2 hours before Judge Leonard I. Shapiro in support of her second bid to be granted political asylum and continue living in Boston public housing. 'This is America. Justice will be done,' Margaret Wong, Onyango’s Cleveland, Ohio, attorney, told reporters. Wong refused to stipulate on what grounds Onyango seeks shelter from being sent packing back to East Africa.
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Suit Challenges Law Allowing College Aid To Undocumented Students
Monitor, February 5. For Carmen, as for many people, a college degree represents an opportunity for a better future. But her future is far more difficult to ascertain than it is for most U.S. college students. She is one of several thousand undocumented immigrants attending Texas universities and colleges, according to the Immigration Reform Coalition of Texas (IRCOT). Carmen — who declined to give her last name for fear that her current employer could face repercussions — came to the U.S. from Chiapas in 1992 at age 14, unsure of what was happening or what her future held. Now, at 32, she is pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Texas-Pan American with the peace of mind that even if she is forced to leave the U.S., the federal government cannot take away her college education and the hope of better employment in Mexico.
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E-2 Visas Provide Immigration Opportunities to Wealthy Mexicans Fleeing Violence
Latin America News Dispatch, February 4. Last year Jorge, a Tijuana business owner who asked for anonymity for safety reasons, was driving home from work when several cars attempted to corner him. When he realized that he was in the middle of a classic kidnap setup, he quickly accelerated and squeezed his Mini-Cooper in between two of the cars. As Jorge escaped, shots rang out behind him and he arrived to the police station with a bullet wound to his arm. At the station, however, the police told Jorge that there was little that they could do for him. 'I was told that as soon as I left they could not guarantee that I would live.' They asked Jorge if he wanted to be taken to the airport or the U.S.-Mexican border. Even though Jorge’s life was threatened in Mexico and he fears returning, he does not want to risk losing his tourist visa in the United States by applying for political asylum or refugee status.
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500,000 Non-Immigrant Visas To Chinese
United Press International, February 4. The U.S. embassy in Beijing reported about 500,000 non-immigrant visas were issued to Chinese last year, 20 percent of them to students and exchange visitors. The number was up 5 percent from the previous year, China Daily reported, adding the figures were provided by Mandarin-speaking U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman. The 100,000 visas given to students and exchange visitors were for those planning to study or to do research in the United States, the report said. The report did not say the purpose for the remainder of the visas, but presumably included those to tourists and business leaders. Huntsman was quoted as saying in 1979, when the two countries established diplomatic ties, only 4,700 non-immigrant U.S. visas were issued.
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Youngsters In Spanish-Speaking Homes Watch Less TV
Reuters, February 4. Young Latino children whose mothers speak Spanish watch less television than their peers with English-speaking moms, a new study shows. The findings have important implications for efforts aimed at helping reduce TV watching among Latino kids, Dr. Darcy A. Thompson of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, an investigator on the study, told Reuters Health. But first, she said, further investigation is needed to understand the reasons behind the differences in TV watching patterns she and her colleagues observed. Thompson and her team looked at data for the year 2000 from the National Survey of Early Childhood Health on 1,347 mothers of children four to 35 months old to examine whether language might be linked to TV habits. About half of the study participants were white; 21 percent were English-speaking Latinas; and 27 percent were Spanish-speaking Latinas.
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Poll: 54% Say Immigration Reform Will Not Pass This Year
Orange County Register, February 3. Readers were divided when responding to an ocregister.com poll on whether they believe immigration reform will pass in 2010. The unscientific poll showed that 54 percent of responders said no when asked the following question: 'Do you think immigration reform will pass this year?' About 34 percent said they think immigration reform will pass, while only 12 percent of 119 respondents said 'maybe.' The poll was part of a posting about how the Webisphere has been a flutter with news analysis and commentary as to whether immigration reform is dead this year in light of recent political events – one of them being the recent election of Massachusetts' new Republican Senator Scott Brown, who is against immigration reform.
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Border Fence Plagued By Glitches, Long Delays
Associated Press, February 3. An ambitious, $6.7 billion government project to secure nearly the entire Mexican border with a 'virtual fence' of cameras, ground sensors and radar is in jeopardy after a string of technical glitches and delays. Having spent $672 million so far with little to show for it, Washington has ordered a reassessment of the whole idea. The outlook became gloomier this week when President Barack Obama proposed cutting $189 million from the venture. Ultimately, the project could be scaled back dramatically, with the government installing virtual fences along a few segments of the nation's 2,000-mile southern boundary but dropping plans for any further expansion, officials said.
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Suit Points to Guest Worker Program Flaws
New York Times, February 1. Immigration authorities worked closely with a marine oil-rig company in Mississippi to discourage protests by temporary guest workers from India over their job conditions, including advising managers to send some workers back to India, according to new testimony in a federal lawsuit against the company, Signal International. The cooperation between the company and federal immigration agents is recounted in sworn depositions by Signal managers who were involved when tensions in its shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., erupted into a public clash in March 2007. Since then, hundreds of the Indian workers have brought a civil rights lawsuit against the company, claiming they were victims of human trafficking and labor abuse. Signal International is fighting the suit and has sued American and Indian recruiters who contracted with the workers in India. The company claims the recruiters misled it — and the workers — about the terms of the work visas that brought them to this country.
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Secretary Napolitano Announces Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Request
Department of Homeland Security, February 1. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano unveiled the Department’s $56.3 billion fiscal year 2011 budget request today—prioritizing efforts to enhance security measures that protect against terrorism and other threats and reflecting the Department’s commitment to fiscal discipline and efficiency. “Our proposed budget is designed to ensure we have the resources we need to secure America,” said Secretary Napolitano. “We are committed to strong fiscal discipline, eliminating redundancy and investing our resources in what works while enhancing security across the board.”
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To Mention Immigration or Not To Mention Immigration? That is the Question
Immigration Impact, January 28. In last night’s State of the Union Address , President Obama’s comments on immigration were simple, ‘we should continue the work of fixing our broken immigration system—to secure our borders, enforce our laws, and ensure that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nation.’ It was neither detailed nor overly passionate, but signaled that immigration reform was still a priority for his administration under a broader push for greater civil rights. However, President Obama’s minimalist approach to the issue has set off tensions on both sides of the issue. One particularly anti-immigrant crusader characterized the President’s comments on immigration as some sort of “code,” noting that ‘he (Obama) seemed to be trying to signal to the supporters of “amnesty” and comprehensive immigration reform that he was still behind them, but in words that the voters watching on TV wouldn’t understand.’ On the other hand some pro-immigrant groups have begun writing the obituary for immigration reform after last night, feeling the President just didn’t say enough.
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Immigration Reform is Necessary for America's Economic Recovery
Huffington Post, February 2. In his State of the Union speech, President Obama committed his Administration to pass comprehensive immigration reform. There are those who claim that this year immigration reform is a diversion from the priority task of fixing the economy -- and also politically impossible to achieve. In fact, comprehensive immigration reform is critical for America's long term economic success and is one of the few political initiatives that could receive genuine bipartisan support in the current Congress.
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Haitians Slow To Apply For Visas
National Journal, February 2. Wislyne Jean Louis and other Haitian nationals have their pictures taken during a temporary protected status application clinic on Jan. 30 in New York City. (Credit: Michael Nagle/Getty Images). As of Monday afternoon, just 1,500 of the estimated 200,000 Haitians living in the U.S. illegally had applied for temporary protected status, an emergency program that grants 18-month visas to undocumented immigrants in the event of a natural disaster or political instability in their home country.
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Fate Of Obama’s Aunt To Be Fought Behind Closed Doors
Boston Herald, February 2. The illegal alien aunt of President Obama could learn this week whether she can put down roots in Boston - or start packing her bags for a one-way trip back to Kenya. And, save for U.S. Immigration Court Judge Leonard I. Shapiro, she’ll know before anyone else. Zeituni Polly Onyango has persuaded Shapiro to bar the public from her removal proceeding Thursday morning at the John F. Kennedy Federal Building, though it’s unclear why. “I assume (Shapiro) thought it would be a three-ring circus. She’s the aunt of the president of the United States - the most famous man in the world,” said Mike Rogers, spokesman for the Ohio law firm defending Onyango, 57, against the Department of Homeland Security.
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Gaps Emerging In US Census Outreach To Immigrants
Associated Press, February 1. The government is fumbling some efforts to assure immigrants that U.S. census data won't be used against them, including gaps in outreach and foreign language guides that refer to the decennial count as an investigation. With the launch of the head count weeks away, the Census Bureau's outreach has been falling short in at least a dozen major cities, such as Chicago, Dallas, New York, San Jose, Calif., and Seattle, according to a report being released Monday by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Many of their states are on the cusp of gaining or losing U.S. House seats and face a redrawing of legislative boundaries that may tilt the balance of political power. The legal group is partly critical of the Obama administration, citing its refusal to give fuller assurances that census data would be kept confidential and to suspend large-scale immigration raids during the count - as was done in the 2000 census. AALDEF said it wasn't ruling out legal action to get stronger guarantees.
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Paterson Mother Of Soldier Killed In Iraq Fears Deportation
Star Ledger, February 1. On Tuesday morning, Eugenia Galdos visited her son's grave at the Totowa Cemetery to ask for help. When he was alive, Sgt. Christian E. Bueno-Galdos had helped his father attain permanent residency and was doing the same for his mother. But when Bueno-Galdos, 25, was killed along with four other soldiers in May 2009 by a mentally disturbed U.S. soldier at a clinic in Baghdad, his mother's path to citizenship apparently halted. Months have passed without an official explanation of the delay in processing her immigration papers. The uncertainty has led Galdos to fear deportation despite recent encouragement from staffers in the office of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), she said. 'I don't want to go because I have my son buried here,' Galdos said. 'My son gave his life for this country.' Bueno-Galdos and his family arrived from Mollendo, Peru, when he was 8. He received his citizenship while in the U.S. Army, which he joined in 2002. Bueno-Galdos specialized in the detection and analysis of lethal chemicals.
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Immigration Reform Again Coming into National Focus
Contra Costa Times, January 31. Patricia Hernandez has the unenviable job of cleaning up the mess left by undergraduates at UC Berkeley. 'Whatever they break, we fix it,' she said, sitting on a dormitory couch during her morning break. 'Change light bulbs, fix furniture, fix toilets, unclog toilets, replace toilets.' Hernandez, 48, is not complaining, just describing. She is proud of the job she has held for 18 years and the financial security it brings. She loves that her brother is a cook at a nearby campus cafeteria and that her daughter works as a pharmacy technician a few blocks away. She loves it because 40 years ago, she was living in a Mexican orphanage. Twenty-five years ago, she was living in a car in Southern California and struggling to find work because she was an illegal immigrant. 'Like everybody else, I jumped the border,' she said. Then, about 23 years ago, she got lucky. For Hernandez and thousands of other Bay Area residents 1987 marked the end of a life of hiding and the beginning of life as an American. It was the year the Immigration Reform and Control Act, approved by Congress in 1986 and signed by President Ronald Reagan, went into effect. In a matter of months, Hernandez went from being undocumented to having a green card, and years later she was able to obtain citizenship. She sighs today as she imagines how life would be different without it.
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White House Releases Visitor Records
Associated Press, January 29. The Obama administration's immigration policy is among the issues that visitors went to the White House complex to discuss in recent months, records disclosed Friday show. The White House is releasing visitor records periodically to help meet President Barack Obama's promise of transparency. Most of the roughly 75,000 newly disclosed records cover October. The majority of visitors on the list were there for White House tours. Hundreds of guests saw Obama at events ranging from trick-or-treating on Halloween to wheelchair basketball to gatherings on such issues as financial regulations, small businesses and hate crimes. The Democratic National Committee's ethnic council had two briefings with Obama aides last year, including one in October, said James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute and an attendee. Similar briefings were held when Bill Clinton was president in the 1990s, Zogby said. The events are also open to non-Democrats, he added.
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German Home Schoolers Granted U.S. Political Asylum
Associated Press, January 27. A German couple who fled to Tennessee so they could home school their children has been granted political asylum by an immigration judge in Memphis. The decision clears the way for Uwe Romeike his wife and five children to stay in Morristown, Tennessee, where they have been living since 2008. Uwe Romeike and children (compliments of Assoc. Press) German law requires children to attend public or private schools, and parents can face fines or prison time if they don't comply. Romeike, an evangelical Christian, said he believes Germany's curriculum is 'against Christian values.' The family was represented by the Virginia-based Home School Legal Defense Association. HSLDA staff attorney Mike Donnelly says the family is delighted. 'They were relieved and grateful. They've been living here for 18 months [and] they've really enjoyed it,' says the attorney. 'They love the freedom; they like not having to look over their shoulder, waiting for someone to try to catch them and fine them or take their children away.'
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U.S. Keeps Foreign Ph.D.s
Wall Street Journal, January 27. Joy Ying Zhang, working Tuesday in his office at Carnegie Mellon's Silicon Valley campus, says he doesn't plan to return to China. Most foreigners who came to the U.S. to earn doctorate degrees in science and engineering stayed on after graduation—at least until the recession began—refuting predictions that post-9/11 restrictions on immigrants or expanding opportunities in China and India would send more of them home. Newly released data revealed that 62% of foreigners holding temporary visas who earned Ph.D.s in science and engineering at U.S. universities in 2002 were still in the U.S. in 2007, the latest year for which figures are available. Of those who graduated in 1997, 60% were still in the U.S. in 2007, according to the data compiled by the U.S. Energy Department's Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education for the National Science Foundation.
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Rally Celebrates Contributions From Immigrants
Orange County Register, January 26. Prayer vigils and press conferences took place across the country today -- from Santa Ana to Tennessee -- to tout the release of a report detailing the contributions of immigrants to California. Non-denominational Christians, Muslims, African American Evangelical leaders and other faith leaders joined business leaders, professors and labor leaders at First United Methodist Church of Santa Ana to call for what they called humane comprehensive immigration reform. 'This issue transcends race and faith,' said Shakeel Syed, executive director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California in Anaheim. 'From the gold diggers in the 19th century ... to the governor in the 20th century, we are a state of immigrants. We are the state of California.'
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Immigrants Have Clout In Inland, State Economies, Report Finds
Press-Enterprise, January 26. Immigrants are a potent economic force in the Inland area and statewide, and although many arrive poor, their incomes tend to rise the longer they remain in the United States, a study released Tuesday found. The report, by the Sacramento-based California Immigrant Policy Center, also found that long-term immigrants are far more likely to be homeowners than more recent arrivals, and that Inland immigrants have higher homeownership rates than those in the rest of the state. The higher Inland homeownership rate in part reflects how Riverside and San Bernardino counties are often second stops for immigrants, many of whom first rent in Los Angeles County and then move to the less expensive Inland area to buy a home, said Manuel Pastor, director of USC's Program for Environmental and Regional Equity, which analyzed 2005-07 census estimates for the report.
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A Chance for Immigration Reform
San Diego Union-Tribune, January 24, Opinion. Sometimes conventional wisdom is wrong. That’s how it is with the assumption that Republican Scott Brown’s victory over Democrat Martha Coakley in the Massachusetts Senate race means that there will be no immigration reform this year. The senator-elect has said he opposes what he calls “amnesty” for illegal immigrants. In fact, Brown already knows how to turn illegal immigration into a wedge issue. As a state senator, he recently introduced a bill that would require anyone suing employers for violating state wage laws to show proof of citizenship or legal residency. That is one of the worst ideas I’ve ever heard. Under current law, just because people are in the country illegally doesn’t mean they don’t have legal recourse if employers don’t pay them. That’s how it should be.
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U.S. Official Offers Aid To Haitians In L.A.
Los Angeles Times, January 25. For more than four hours Sunday, the pleas and prayers filled La Mission Chretenne D'Haiti, a Pentecostal storefront church on West Adams Boulevard that ministers to mostly Haitian immigrants and their children. Samuel Baptiste, a 37-year-old electronics worker, wondered how to get his fiancee to the United States and away from their homeland, which was devastated by the recent earthquake. Nadia Caton fretted that her mother, who arrived in Los Angeles from Haiti on Saturday with her year-old son, needed to find a way to extend her month-long visa. And Lissage Modeus, a 49-year-old security worker, wanted to know whether his cousin, who is currently in immigration detention, would be deported to the Caribbean island nation. Leading the prayers was the Rev. Jean-Renaud Guillaume, the church's founder and pastor. But fielding the myriad immigration questions was Jane Arellano, Los Angeles district director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
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Officials Fearful Of Potential Scammers
Bradenton Herald, January 24. Estimates of the number of Haitians who live in Manatee and Sarasota counties vary widely, ranging from 1,500 to 15,000. Whatever the number, the Haitian population could increase over the next 18 months after the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti. Officials caution that with the U.S. government decision Thursday to allow Haitians legally or illegally in the U.S. to apply for temporary protected status due to the earthquake, some could be victimized once again by scammers. 'People come up to these immigrants and might say, 'We will help you apply for temporary protected status,' in return for a fee,' said Kathy Redman, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in Tampa. 'We want to get the word out that Haitians who want to apply should beware of these storefront operations which will pop up.'
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U.S. Speeds Up Adoption Process, and Orphans Arrive
Wall Street Journal, January 24. When 18-month-old Finder Pierre spotted the teary eyed woman approaching him at the Miami International Airport, he perked up and uttered, 'mama.' Finder Pierre was among 80 Haitian orphans who landed in Florida Friday. The children are beneficiaries of a swift humanitarian response spurred by the Jan. 12 earthquake that devastated the impoverished nation. Finder Pierre now is the son of Tishri and Eddie Campa, a formerly childless California couple who had been trying to adopt from Haiti since 2008. Matched with the boy in April, they had expected the earthquake would further delay his arrival. Instead, the temblor jolted both the Haitian and U.S. governments into action.
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Immigration Reprieves Can Be Long-Lasting
South Florida Sun Sentinel, January 22. In the winter of 1998, after Hurricane Mitch devastated Central America, the Clinton administration offered short-term legal residency to about 150,000 undocumented Nicaraguans and Hondurans already living in the United States. 'It is a temporary status,' Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris Meissner told reporters in announcing the decision. 'The work authorizations will be issued only for 18 months. It is breathing room.' Today about 83,100 of them are still here, as succeeding administrations granted extension after extension of their right to live and work in the United States. They remain under what's called Temporary Protected Status, the same program offered this week to an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 Haitians in the United States at the time of the Jan. 12 earthquake.
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Wanted: Investors From Afar
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 22. St. Louis wants to tap more overseas capital by giving more overseas capitalists the right to live here. Local economic development officials are applying to the State Department to put the St. Louis region on a list of places that qualify for a little-used, but increasingly popular, visa program designed to attract foreign money into the U.S. It's called an EB-5, and it's meant for immigrant investors. The program offers permanent residency status to anyone who puts $1 million into a U.S. business, or $500,000 in areas with high jobless rates, and creates at least 10 jobs within two years.
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Visa-Fraud Probe: Workers Feel 'So Disposable'
Orlando Sentinel, January 22. Jenneta Ocaya cried over the telephone when she broke the news to her three children in the Philippines. She and her husband could send them no money. After federal agents searched an Orlando office of her labor contractor, Very Reliable Services Inc., on Dec. 7, it shut down, leaving Ocaya without a job and owing her $1,200 in back pay, she said. Husband Danilo Ocaya, who also worked for VR Services, said he was owed about $900. The Ocayas are among an estimated hundreds of legal, foreign workers struggling in Orlando in the wake of Operation Anarchy, a sweeping visa-fraud investigation in Brazil that targeted VR Services and related businesses that provided housekeepers, janitors and restaurant workers to some of the most well-known hotels in Central Florida's tourism corridor, the Orlando Sentinel has learned.
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The Ethiopian Dream: Come To America Then Go Back Home
Tadias, January 22. It was an elaborate scam: a beautiful bride, a dashing groom, a smiling best man and bridesmaids draped in matching gowns.The photo was taken to bamboozle American immigration officials. Apparently, the bride was already living in America, and the groom, living in Ethiopia, just wanted to further his education in the U.S. So, he paid her a couple thousand dollars to marry him. I’ve been told that some Ethiopian men living in America return to Ethiopia for a few weeks just to find a wife and bring her back to the U.S., even though they barely know each other. The man gets a young pretty woman who shares his culture, and the woman gets to come to America. This is similar to what I used to hear of the young teenage women who lived in rural parts of Ethiopia. They would be married off to wealthy landowners who could afford to pay big dowries to the girl’s parents. Still others come to America through diversity visa lotteries — a program that gives visas to countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.
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Census Brings Bright Spot to Maryland's Gloomy Jobs Picture
somd.com, January 22. Hermine Duebsie needs this job. She holds her application and I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form in hand and waits for a proctor from the U.S. Census Bureau to administer a basic skills test. The test, meant to be fairly simple -- reading, basic math, map reading and following instructions -- is a deciding factor in securing a part-time, six-to-10-week, interviewer's job with a flexible schedule and $18.50 an hour, a rate that varies by location. "The pay is great, and it's a government job. I think this job is most important," said Duebsie, a Montgomery County Community College student with no other source of income.
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Senator Graham Ready to Tackle Tough Issues, Immigration Included
Immigration Impact, January 22. In response to the election of Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown to the U.S. Senate—which many Republicans are spinning as a loss of political momentum for President Obama and as a victory over health care reform—South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham today expressed a willingness to tackle tough issues, including immigration. In a Congress Daily article this morning, Graham confronted partisan politics: Is the message that Democrats shouldn’t take on anything controversial and is the message that we should not work with them on anything controversial?
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Supreme Court Protects Immigrants’ Access to Court Review
Immigration Impact, January 21. Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision ensuring that immigrants facing deportation have fair process in the review of their cases. The Court ruled that individuals who seek to reopen their deportation orders have the right to appeal to the federal courts if the immigration court refuses to reopen the case. The Court’s decision protects immigrants’ access to federal court review and affirms the role of the courts in our system of checks and balances on government power.
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Thriving Military Recruitment Program Blocked
New York Times, January 22. A highly successful program by the armed forces to recruit skilled immigrants who live in this country temporarily has run into a roadblock, leaving thousands of potential recruits in limbo. The Army stopped accepting applications for the program last week, officials said Thursday, because the Pentagon had not completed a review required to keep the recruitment going. The program, which started as a pilot in February, allowed recruiters to enlist immigrants, most of them in the Army, with special language or medical skills who are in this country on temporary visas. Successful recruits are offered the chance to become United States citizens within a few months.
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Brown's Victory Not Expected To Affect Immigration Reform
O Journal, January 22. Unlike health care reform, Republican Scott Brown's upset win in the Senate special election is not expected to have significant impact on immigration reform. With Brown's victory Republicans gained the 41st vote they needed in the Senate to sustain a filibuster in the health reform bill. But as far as immigration reform, his vote is just one of many votes that still need to be conquered, say local officials and immigrant advocates. 'I don't think this has any negative impact on immigration,' said Cong. Barney Frank (D-Mass.). 'It's a tough issue, maybe one more vote would be better. But this does not make it harder. We're still working hard to get it on the agenda.'
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Census To Begin Sending Out English-Spanish Questionnaires
Press-Enterprise (Riverside, January 21. The Census Bureau this year for the first time is mailing out forms with questions in Spanish and English. Thirteen million U.S. households will receive the questionnaires, said census spokeswoman Sandra Alvarado. Census tracts in which at least 20 percent of people 5 and older speak Spanish at home will receive the bilingual questionnaires, Alvarado said. She did not know how many Inland homes would receive the forms. One in three Riverside and San Bernardino counties residents speak Spanish at home, according to 2006-08 census estimates. The census has long provided foreign-language forms to people who request them. This year, questionnaires are available in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Russian and Vietnamese, with guides in 59 languages to help recipients fill out the 10-question form in English.
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Haitians Granted Protected Status Face Tough Job Market
Palm Beach Post, January 21. Undocumented Haitians granted temporary protected status under the federal government's new immigration program will emerge from the fringes of society into an already strained Florida job market, state officials said. Even so, Haitian activists who spent years fighting for temporary protected status were optimistic Thursday. It was the first day Haitians could apply for the new government program, launched after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastated parts of Haiti, killed an estimated 200,000 people and left as many as 1.5 million homeless.
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Calls to End the Diversity Visa “green card” Lottery Are Premature - Part II
Albuquerque Immigration Examiner, January 18. In my last op-ed I discussed one of several recent articles that portray the annual diversity visa lottery in a negative light, and wrongly associate green card lottery winners as welfare recipients, with fraud, terrorism, and take jobs away from Americans. This part will debunk these myths and offer a possible solution to the possible jobs issue. First, everyone supports planned changes to visa screening procedures. This will likely include increased cooperation between countries, streamlined communication between agencies, better integrated data, body scanning, and possibly profiling, but of course nothing as elaborate as Israel's system because of the sheer numbers here in the U.S.
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Changing the Pillow for the Headache?
The Sunday Leader, January 16, OPINION. Power, greed, avarice have all conspired to make Sri Lanka what it is today. To put it simply, it’s hard work being a Sri Lankan. The rot though began way back in time. DS Senanayaka, was the master of all manoeuverers. Forging links between himself and the British Governor, he ensured that his son succeeded him to the exclusion of Sir John Kotelawala, who had every right to expect to be the Prime Minister in succession to DS. Since then, the country has gone downhill politically, with little resurgence. The quest for power and fame, over and above one’s own station in life, has led to an appalling dereliction of public service on the part of elected and appointed officers. Persons entrusted by elected leaders to carry out public duties are, either, routinely corrupt or become corrupted once in office.
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Limbaugh Criticizes Aid to Haiti: The U.S. Military is Meals on Wheels
Media Matters, January 15, OPINION. There's nothing like a little self-congratulation to kick off your show, and Rush caves to the urge by telling us that he called it: Just as he predicted, the Associated Press has put out an analysis contrasting Obama's response to the earthquake in Haiti to Bush's response to Katrina. This is foreshadowing of Rush's defensive obsession with the media's coverage of Haiti that will persist throughout the first hour of his show. Briefly, Rush turns to the Massachusetts Senate race, gleefully noting a Washington Examiner column by Byron York that reports Martha Coakley trailing Scott Brown in the polls. Returning to the topic of Haiti, Rush responds to the allegation that he discouraged donations to the stricken country, saying that he only meant to discourage people from donating through the government. However, the White House website is providing links to organizations like the Red Cross, not taking donations itself.
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A Real-World Education In Portland
Portland Press Herald (ME), January 15. Their lives so far couldn't have been more different, yet Jason Rapaport and Alain Nkulu have fostered a spirit of brotherhood in a few days that could close a million-mile gap. Rapaport is a Williams College student who is living with Nkulu and his family this month. Rapaport's stay is part of a unique winter study program, started by a Portland lawyer, that offers first-hand knowledge of the modern immigrant experience. Nkulu, 39, is a former veterinarian who hails from Lubumbashi, a city of 1.3 million people in the wartorn Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was jailed and sentenced to death for opposing the ruling party and came to Portland in 2007 seeking political asylum.
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In Miami's Little Haiti, Nothing To Do But Work, Wait, Hope, Pray
Los Angeles Times, January 15. At the Haitian Relief Information Center hastily set up in the heart of Little Haiti, county social worker Shirley Sieger was, in theory, there to help people seeking information from quake-ravaged Port-au-Prince. But Thursday there was little she could do, for others or herself. Sieger had been calling the cellphone number of her mother, Olga Marie Dejean, 71, over and over again, to no avail. She shuddered as she recounted her efforts. Then the tears came. Her colleague, Irene Taylor-Wooten, enveloped her in a hug. 'Come on, baby, come on,' Taylor-Wooten said. 'Hang on in there. We gonna pray.'
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Schumer vs. Kerry
Politico, January 15. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is heading for a collision with Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) over whose pet issue will get top billing in the Senate later this year. Schumer is taking a lead role in immigration — and is pushing Democrats to prioritize a potentially toxic issue leading up to the November elections. Kerry is a lead negotiator on climate change and is demanding that a climate bill get pushed to the front of the line. Kerry and Schumer — who have a history of competitive tensions — are maneuvering behind the scenes to get White House and Senate leadership to promise to give their respective issues time this spring. But the reality is that there is room for only one more big issue on the 2010 agenda: the so called third thing, after health care and financial reform. And accomplishing even one will be a serious stretch for lawmakers unwilling to take on another politically explosive fight after the bruising health care battle.
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Close State Department Lottery Of Death
Fredericksburg.com, January 14, OPINION. If our nonsensical border procedures are not dangerous enough, a little-known program truly takes the "Shoot Ourselves in the Foot Award." The Diversity Visa Lottery, run by the State Department, gives green cards to 50,000 foreign lottery applicants each year who are picked at random by a computer in Kentucky. More than 1 million foreigners have already been admitted here from countries such as Yemen, Somalia, and Iran. In fact, current residents from 13 of the 14 countries on the State Department's recent "terror" list are eligible for green cards (most countries with close ties to the U.S., like Canada and the United Kingdom, are not included in the program). Seventy-five percent of the "winners" pass an "investigation" and are admitted here, irrespective of their job skills or whether they have any relatives here. Those who are lottery-selected supersede legitimate applicants (many of whom have been waiting years for admittance to the U.S.). EDITOR’S NOTE: We completely disagree with the ignorant ranting tone of this article.
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Deportations to Haiti Halted After Earthquake
National Journal, January 13. The Department of Homeland Security announced this afternoon that it will halt the deportation of illegal Haitian immigrants in the wake of a devastating 7.0 earthquake in that country. But some lawmakers and immigration advocates are lobbying President Obama go further and grant Haitians in the U.S. a safe haven through a controversial emergency program. The program, called temporary protected status, is designed to shelter tourists, students and illegal immigrants in the U.S. in the event of natural disasters and political upheaval in their home countries, letting the Department of Homeland Security issue them 6- to 18-month visas.
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Immigration: Another Obama challenge in 2010
Deutsche Presse Agentur, January 13. With health care reform practically under his belt, another crucial reform, immigration, was emerging as a major challenge for US President Barack Obama in 2010. A large portion of the immigrant community has laid its hopes on Obama to solve a problem that spans several administrations. Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), defines migration reform as 'one of the preeminent civil and human rights issues of our time.' The US immigration system is 'broken,' he said recently. At issue is the status of an estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants who are already living in the United States, most of them Latinos.
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Study: Amnesty Would Help Fix State's Financial Woes
Contra Costa Times, January 12. For the second time in as many weeks, researchers at a major university have concluded that legalizing undocumented immigrants would provide a powerful jolt to the economy. California, home to about one-quarter of the country's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, stands to gain about $16 billion over time from an amnesty program, according to a study released Tuesday. Amnesty would help fix Sacramento's budget crisis by increasing the state and local tax base by about $350 million in the short run, said USC economist Manuel Pastor, co-author of the report. The report follows UCLA professor Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda's study released last week that showed comprehensive immigration reform injecting $1.5 trillion into the U.S. economy over the next decade. 'The economy is sometimes used as an excuse to not think about comprehensive immigration reform,' said Pastor, co-director of the USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration, which put out the report. The report follows UCLA professor Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda's study released last week that showed comprehensive immigration reform injecting $1.5 trillion into the U.S. economy over the next decade. EDITOR’S NOTE: Both reports are now available on our site.
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Poll Shows Black Optimism Has Surged Since Obama Election, Hispanics More Skeptical On Race
Associated Press, January 12. One year after the election of President Barack Obama, black optimism about America has surged, while Hispanics have become more skeptical about race relations, according to a Pew Research Center poll released Tuesday. Thirty-nine percent of blacks say African-Americans are better off now than five years ago, according to the poll. In 2007, just 20 percent of blacks felt that way. Fifty-three percent of African-Americans say the future will be better for blacks, and 10 percent say it will be worse. Three years ago, 44 percent of blacks said the future would be better, and 21 percent said it would be worse.
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SSA Fails To E-Verify 19 Percent Of New Hires, IG Says
Federal Computer Week, January 11. The Social Security Administration failed to perform required verifications of the Social Security numbers of 19 percent of its own new hires during a recent 18-month period, according to a new report from the agency’s inspector general, Patrick O'Carroll Jr. The SSA also improperly screened the identities of 75 volunteers, job candidates and existing employees and was either too early or too late in verifying the eligibility of 49 percent of its new hires, according to the audit of Jan. 6. SSA officials asked to review some of the findings with the IG, and agreed with all the recommendations for improvements.
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Put Homeland Security in Charge of Issuing Visas
Family Security Matters, January 11, OPINION. On December 30, 2009, I was a guest on a Monterey, California radio talk show discussing the events leading to the Christmas Day capture of a Nigerian national who attempted to detonate a bomb aboard a Detroit bound U.S. airliner. During The Mark and Jim Show, I suggested that the responsibility of issuing visas to travel to the United States be given to the Department of Homeland Security and taken away from the Department of State. I reasoned that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agent with real world experience would do a better job of screening foreign nationals who never intend to return home or have ill will towards the U.S.
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Interagency Gaps Let Bomb Suspect Retain Visa
Washington Times, January 11. U.S. visa-revocation procedures broke down in a welter of interagency uncertainty in the case of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a failure that current and former officials say allowed the Nigerian Islamist known to U.S. intelligence to board an airliner with a homemade bomb on Christmas Day. However, the visa shortcomings were not the main focus of President Obama's recent comments on the security and intelligence failures related to the attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit. 'The system isn't broken, but what failed fundamentally in this case was the lack of focus on the potential threat threads tied to attack-planning directed at the United States,' said Juan Zarate, who was a counterterrorism adviser to President George W. Bush. He is now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
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Rich Immigrants, in Families of Five, Can Buy Green Cards for $100,000 Each
Center for Immigration Studies, January 11. OPINION. The headline above was not the headline used by the Washington Post of January 9 over an immigration policy story; the Post's bland take was: "Immigrants invest in U.S. businesses in exchange for visas", but either heading would have been equally accurate. The rich have always had a way to avoid troublesome programs that weigh on the rest of us. During the Civil War, on the Union side, a young man could avoid the draft by hiring a substitute. During the Vietnam War, if you could afford to stay in graduate school for years, you could avoid that war's draft, as former Vice President Cheney did. And it is true in the immigration process as well. The visa in question is the EB-5. If you are an alien and want to come to the U.S. on a permanent basis, you can invest as little as $500,000 in a government-approved entity and get an immigrant visa for yourself, your spouse, and your three children (in this example), meaning that the visas would cost you $100,000 each.
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Immigrants Invest In U.S. Businesses In Exchange For Visas
Washington Post, January 10. The number of foreigners willing to invest $500,000 to $1 million in a U.S. business in exchange for a visa roughly tripled in the past fiscal year, as dozens of cash-strapped enterprises and local governments scrambled to attract wealthy foreign backers through a previously obscure provision of immigration law. Under the EB-5 visa program, immigrants who can demonstrate that their investment created or preserved at least 10 U.S. jobs after two years are granted legal permanent residency along with their spouses and children.
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Washington In Spotlight At Electronics Show
Washington Post, January 9. The nation's top techie, the geek-in-chief, strode across the crowded floor of the Consumer Electronics Show like a high-roller in Caesar's Palace. At the LG Electronics booth, executives rushed to have their pictures taken with him. At the Skype display, a crowd gathered as he looked at a teleconference demonstration. A representative at the Intel booth was giddy with laughter, tripping over her planned demonstration of Flikr photo applications. Most Americans might not even know that the country has a chief technology officer, but at this year's CES, Aneesh Chopra is being treated like a celebrity.
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For Immigrants, New Travel Concerns
New York Times, January 9. Eating spiced lamb at a bustling Yemeni restaurant in Downtown Brooklyn, Mahib Alkrizy said that since Sept. 11, 2001, his wife, a religious Muslim who covers her hair, has come to expect being patted down and stared at when she travels by plane. Around the corner at Abu Yasser Travel Agency, employees waved a reporter away — they were tired of even talking about the Obama administration’s recent decision to impose tougher airline screening measures for people flying from 14 countries, including Yemen. 'People who travel a lot, they’re getting used to it,' said Abdul Alzundani, a clerk at the office of Yemenia, the national airline, nearby.
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Experts: World Watch Lists Are Flawed Terror Tool
Associated Press, January 8. Around the world, watch lists are a key tool against terrorism - but highly imperfect. Experts say simple issues like fickle spelling and incomplete data, as well as deliberate deception and uncooperative countries, all make it possible for a determined terrorist like bomb suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to slip across borders. British officials are proud of their list, which contains more than 1 million names, including that of Abdulmutallab. That didn't stop the young Nigerian boarding a flight from Amsterdam to the United States with explosives in his underwear - a stark reminder of the perils of flawed information-sharing and the limits of watch lists.
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What is the Proposed Prevent Unauthorized Migration (PUM) Visa?
myUSAi.org, December 29. The “Prevent Unauthorized Migration" (PUM) visa is a newly proposed visa outlined in Sections 317 and 318 of H.R. 4321 -- the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR ASAP) bill, sponsored by Congressman Luis Gutierrez, D-Illinois. For a summary of CIR ASAP please see here. The complete text is available on our immigration reports page. If enacted, the PUM visa will provide 100,000 visas annually to natives from countries with large numbers of unauthorized (illegal) immigrants. These visas will be distributed via a random computer lottery system similar to the current “green card lottery” in place today for natives of countries with low numbers of legal immigrants.
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State Department Using 'Diversity Visas' to Encourage Immigration to U.S. from Terror-Ridden Yemen
CNSNews.com, January 5. The State Department has awarded 1,011 special “diversity visas” allowing Yemeni nationals to immigrate to the United States since 2000, the year 17 U.S. sailors were killed when the USS Cole was attacked by terrorists in the Yemeni port of Aden. The "diversity visas" are designed to encourage immigration from countries that do not otherwise send significant numbers of immigrants to the United States. EDITOR’S NOTE: CNS News is a far right wing site that does not represent the views of most Americans.
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Democrats Considering Health Care-Immigration Deal To Overcome Key Sticking Point
Talking Points Memo, January 4. Lawmakers who want to extend health coverage to illegal immigrants will not block the passage of the final health care reform bill so long as the White House offers a substantive promise to start pushing comprehensive immigration legislation this year. Democrats who want a comprehensive bill that reforms immigration law but also offers a pathway to citizenship have threatened to vote against health care if illegals aren't included in the new system, making immigration one of the sticking points as Democratic leaders negotiate the final details. Democratic leadership aides believe that a firm White House promise of a comprehensive immigration bill will be enough to quell any House dissent.
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Give Homeland Security Role In U.S. Visas: Senator
Reuters, January 3. The Homeland Security Department rather than the State Department should handle U.S. visas overseas to meet security threats, the chairman of the Senate homeland security committee said on Sunday. Connecticut independent Joe Lieberman raised the idea during a discussion on ABCs 'This Week' of the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound plane on Dec 25. 'I believe, incidentally, that we ought to take a look at taking the visa application and admission responsibility from the State Department. It doesn't really fit with foreign policy anymore,' he said. 'And in an age of terrorism, I think the Department of Homeland Security ought to be handling visas abroad.' The 23-year-old Nigerian accused of the attempted bombing, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, held a multiple-entry U.S. visa issued in London, according to a statement by his family. Leaders of the Senate committee say they will convene a hearing this month to examine airline security.
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U.S. Figures Show Most H-1B Visa Holders Are Under 35
ComputerWorld, January 4. The U.S. reached the 85,000 H-1B visa cap late last month thanks to a fourth quarter spike in demand. And, according to data recently released by the AFL-CIO labor union, most of the visa-holders are less than 35-years-old and most likely from India. About half work in computer-related occupations. The AFL-CIO compiled its numbers from a number of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service reports showing the make-up of visa users. With the reaching of the H-1B cap, the USCIS now won't accept new visa applications until April 1 for fiscal 2011, which begins on Oct. 1. The government data studied by the AFL-CIO covers a number of years through the 2008 fiscal year and shows a largely consistent pattern of visa usage. For instance, 54% of 2008 visa recipients were from India, close to the percentage from the past several years, according to the USCIS reports. Two thirds of H-1B petitions approved in 2008 were for workers between the ages of 25 and 34, compared to 48% in 2007 and 66% in 2006.
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Feds Charge Record Number Of Immigration Crimes
San Jose Mercury News, January 4. As Israel Gonzalez-Reyes recently stood before a San Jose judge for sentencing, his case had all the ingredients of the most common crime in the nation's federal courts over the past year. The 39-year-old defendant had been deported to his native Mexico on eight separate occasions, repeatedly returning to the United States before winding up in jail, usually charged with a variety of state crimes ranging from burglary to drunken driving. Federal prosecutors had had enough — this time around, Gonzalez-Reyes was charged under criminal immigration laws forbidding the illegal re-entry of a deported alien back into the United States.
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Obama Pushes Ahead On Immigration Overhaul White House Preps Its Allies For Battle As It Assures Latinos On A Citizenship Bill
Los Angeles Times, December 31. With the health care battle still unfinished, the Obama administration has been laying plans to take up an issue that could prove even more divisive: a major overhaul of the nation's immigration system. Senior White House aides privately have assured Latino activists that the president will back legislation next year to provide a path to citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States. In a recent conference call with proponents, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina, political director Patrick Gaspard and others delivered the message that the White House was committed to seeing a substantial immigration bill pass and wanted to make sure allies were prepared for the fight. In addition to the citizenship provision, the emerging plan will emphasize efforts to secure U.S. borders against those trying to cross illegally. But that two-track approach was rejected repeatedly in the past by Republicans and other critics who insist that a border crackdown must demonstrate its effectiveness before any action on citizenship is considered.
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Requests For Work Visas Hint At Upturn In Economy
Houston Chronicle, December 30. A few weeks ago, Houston immigration attorney Jay Aiyer started to see sure signs that the economy is rebounding: More of his clients requested work visas for professional foreigners and the government finally ran out of H-1B visas. 'If we're seeing business visas start to be used up, it means that the overall economy is in a growth pattern,' Aiyer said. 'They're not going to be bringing folks in from abroad during a recession.' For the last few years, it would have been futile for employers or their attorneys to submit H-1B applications past April, when U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services starts accepting submissions. The limit of 65,000 petitions was typically reached within days of the application process opening, but the recession killed demand for these once highly coveted visas. The agency didn't dole out all the visas until last week.
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White House Prepares For Immigration Fight
United Press International, December 30. The Obama administration has told immigration reform backers the president is committed to giving illegal immigrants a path to U.S. citizenship, officials said. Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina and other top officials delivered the message in a conference call, the Los Angeles Times reports. Staff members have also told Hispanic leaders privately that President Barack Obama will back legislation in the next year. Former President George W. Bush failed to win significant support for immigration reform within the Republican Party and some prominent Republicans, including Sen. John McCain of Arizona, back reform but may not back an Obama bill, the newspaper said. Another problem is the looming midterm elections. Henry Cisneros, who served in former President Bill Clinton's Cabinet, said a bill would need to be agreed on in the spring.
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Feds Test Stricter Temporary Worker Procedures
Scripps Howard News Service, December 30. The U.S. government has started ensuring that temporary workers leave the country when their work visas expire -- an enforcement procedure that to date has been lacking. Temporary workers who entered the country as of Dec. 8 at the San Luis or Douglas ports of entry in Arizona are required to register their final departure. The pilot program for exiting H-2A and H-2B temporary workers is expected to last about a year, said Joanne Ferriera, spokeswoman with U.S. Customs and Border Protection H-2A visas are for temporary workers in agricultural jobs, while H-2B visas are for temporary, non-agricultural workers. 'We'll evaluate how the program worked, and from that we'll make a decision whether it continues or expands,' Ferriera said. The new program applies only to workers entering the country on and after that date, Ferriera said. Frequent border crossers and commuters do not need to register every departure. The program will also help 'secure U.S. borders more effectively and streamline existing guest-worker programs,' according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection press release. The agency said that more than 205,000 H-2 guest workers crossed into the U.S. in the 2009 fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.
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No More Visas for the State Department
National Review Online, December 29, OPINION. The mishandling of the would-be airplane bomber Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab’s visa is only the latest piece of evidence that the granting of visas should be taken away from the State Department. Doing so would improve our national security — and actually help the State Department itself. The granting of visas has little to do with State’s main function, which is to manage relations with foreign governments. The department’s “mission statement” reads as follows…
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'Negative Mindsets' Among Illegals A Real Threat
One News Now, December 29. Florida grassroots immigration enforcement advocacy organization says a recent incident in Florida illustrates that a substantial section of the illegal alien population is virulently anti-American. According to the Naples News, 33-year-old Mauricio Escalante, who is in the U.S. illegally, was arrested by Collier County sheriff's deputies December 19 for allegedly stabbing 17-year-old Charlie Guzman to death on a street in Immokalee. According to sheriff's office reports, the incident stemmed from a dispute over the victim's group speaking English, not Spanish. William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, believes there is a prevalent anti-American mindset among many illegal aliens in the U.S. 'Granted, not even most illegal aliens are murderers or what not,' he acknowledges, 'but there are some very negative mindsets in the ranks of illegal aliens who look at Americans as unwanted, evil, English-language invaders.'
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Let's Abolish the Casino Visas – a Bit of Targeted Immigration Reform
CIS, December 16, OPINION. Restrictionists should call them Casino Visas, and the awarding body, the Visa Casino. The terms are equally as accurate as Visa Lottery, but the negative implications are – appropriately – stronger. A good way to tackle the needless expenditure of up to 55,000 "diversity" visas each year is to use the congressional Floor Amendment as a technique for targeted immigration reform, the subject of an earlier blog. If a majority of the members of a legislative body favor a measure, even one bottled up in committee, they can often bring up the matter on the floor; this is usually done in the shape of an amendment to another bill. EDITOR’S NOTE: The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) is a “nativist” site that does not represent the views of most Americans.
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Immigration Reform Facing Long Odds
Houston Chronicle, December 28. Immigration reform is increasingly looking like a political albatross that could hurt Democrats in the 2010 midterm elections whether President Obama succeeds or fails in overhauling today's widely disliked system. After postponing action for a year because of the national economic crisis and a drawn-out debate over health reform, President Obama is being pushed by advocates of comprehensive reform to fulfill the campaign promise he made in 2008. A 2010 reform push faces daunting political challenges: Solid Republican opposition to key provisions, and division among Democrats over both strategy and substance. Democrats facing tough re-election battles in states from Arkansas to North Dakota will be hard-pressed to vote to legalize the status of unauthorized immigrants during an economic downturn. But continuing inaction on the issue could alienate crucial Hispanic voters who helped deliver the White House to Democrats last year. And that could cost Democrats swing congressional seats in Nevada, New Mexico and even Texas.
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Program Has Guest Workers Register As They Leave US
Arizona Daily Star, December 28. The U.S. government has started ensuring that temporary workers leave the country when their work visas expire — an enforcement that to date has been lacking. As of Dec. 8, temporary workers who entered the country at the San Luis or Douglas ports of entry are required to register their final departure. The pilot program for exiting H-2A and H-2B temporary workers is expected to last about a year, said Joanne Ferriera, spokeswoman with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. H-2A visas are for temporary workers in agricultural jobs, while H-2B visas are for temporary, non-agricultural workers. 'We'll evaluate how the program worked, and from that we'll make a decision whether it continues or expands,' Ferriera said. The new program applies only to workers entering the country on and after that date, Ferriera said. Frequent border crossers and commuters do not need to register every departure.
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House Bill Would Cut Local Immigration Enforcement Program
Washington D.C. Examiner, December 28. A bill introduced in the House would eliminate an immigration enforcement program used by Prince William and Loudoun counties,but experts say enforcement partnerships between federal and local governments likely will survive. The program, known as 287(g), deputizes local law enforcement officials to enforce some federal immigration laws. Critics have argued that it lacks direction and can lead to racial profiling. In Virginia, Prince William and Loudoun counties, Manassas City, Manassas Park City and Herndon have partnered with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, in the program. The program's value is probably more symbolic at this point with the expansion of another program, known as Secure Communities, said Michael Fix, senior vice president and director of research at the Migration Policy Institute. MPI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that studies the migration of people worldwide.
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UIC Student Cast Into Immigration Debate
Gannett News, December 28. Rigoberto Padilla, 21, came to the United States from Mexico when he was 6. He went to school in Chicago, joined the honor society and dreamed of becoming a lawyer -- all while living here illegally. Padilla's status wasn't a problem until he applied for college and couldn't qualify for financial aid without a Social Security number, he says. In January, the University of Illinois at Chicago junior was charged with drunken driving. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, paid a fine and got court supervision, but that brought him to the attention of immigration officials and triggered deportation proceedings. 'It was one mistake in my life,' he says.
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Immigration Bill Offers New Protections for Illegal Aliens
HS Today, December 23. Analysts at the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) Tuesday presented a comparison of the comprehensive immigration reform bill introduced by Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) with previous immigration bills considered by the US Senate in 2006 and 2007. Doris Meissner, MPI senior fellow and director of its US Immigration Policy Program, emphasized that the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security And Prosperity (CIR ASAP) Act of 2009 (HR 4321) faces its biggest challenges from questions of its impact on the economy and enforcement.
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Visa Quota Is Finally Reached
Boston Globe, December 23. In another sign that the economy might be turning around, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services has filled this year’s quota of 65,000 applications for H-1b guest worker visas, which allow companies to hire foreign workers for jobs they say they cannot fill with US-born applicants. Unlike previous years, it took nine months for companies to use up the allowed visas under the program, because the sharp recession cut into demand for workers. In 2007 and 2008, the quota was exhausted in less than a week. Companies apply for the visas, and then use them to hire foreign workers with special skills who work in the United States for three to six years. H-1b visas are popular with high-tech companies and are often used to hire scientists and engineers.
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A Closer Look at Immigration Reform Legislation in the New Year
Immigration Impact, December 22. Everyone pulled out the sports analogies last week when Congressman Luis Gutierrez and his 91 co-sponsors introduced H.R. 4321, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 —and rightly so, as this bill marks the opening bell in the 2010 immigration debate. It is not only the first major piece of comprehensive reform legislation introduced in the 111th Congress, but the first since the last debate on immigration reform, which took place in May and June of 2007 in the Senate .
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The Grinch Who Stole Immigration Reform
Oakland Tribune, December 24, OPINION. Just in time for Christmas, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has given Latino voters a valuable gift: clarity.So much of politics is masked in smoke and mirrors. If you convince Latino constituents that the other party is out to get them, you’ll become their BAF – best amigo forever. And so it is that most Latinos I know have been led to believe that on immigration reform, Republicans are inherently bad and Democrats are intrinsically good. And, they tell me, any day now, President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats will discover their backbones and deliver what they’ve promised when pandering to Hispanic groups: comprehensive immigration reform that allows illegal immigrants to work their way to legal status, even if it means jumping through more hoops than Ringling Bros.
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CAP Proposal Links H-1B Visas With Demand
Albuquerque Examiner, December 22. As you may know, H-1B visas are a type of non-immigrant temporary visa given to foreign workers in “specialty occupations” including: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (a.k.a. the “STEM” fields). Currently, the maximum number is set at 65,000 visas each fiscal year (or 85,000 if you also count those reserved for individuals with advanced degrees). In past years, the available numbers were filled within the first week. For example, the cap was reached on the very first day (April 1, 2008) of the 2007 fiscal year. But this year with the decline in the U.S. economy, the 65,000 figure was about right since visas were still available in December 2009. EDITOR’S NOTE: The CAP Report is available at myUSAi.org on the Immigration Reports page.
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A Closer Look at Immigration Reform Legislation in the New Year
Immigration Impact, December 22. Everyone pulled out the sports analogies last week when Congressman Luis Gutierrez and his 91 co-sponsors introduced H.R. 4321, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 —and rightly so, as this bill marks the opening bell in the 2010 immigration debate. It is not only the first major piece of comprehensive reform legislation introduced in the 111th Congress, but the first since the last debate on immigration reform, which took place in May and June of 2007 in the Senate .
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Supreme Court to Decide Whether Long Term Resident Can Be Deported Based on Possession of Anxiety Drug
Immigration Impact, December 21. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would decide whether a permanent resident who was convicted of a second drug possession offense can be deported without an opportunity to make a case for why he should be allowed to remain in the United States. This case, which will resolve a split in the federal courts, will affect hundreds of immigrants who face deportation each year. It also serves as an unfortunate reminder that we still struggle with the adverse effects of the overbroad and unforgiving immigration laws passed by Congress in 1996.
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Obama Naming Hispanics To Top Posts At Record Pace
Associated Press, December 21. President Barack Obama is on track to name more Hispanics to top posts than any of his predecessors, drawing appointees from a wide range of the nation's Latino communities, including Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and Colombians. That won't necessarily give the president a free pass on issues such as immigration, but it may ease Hispanics' worries about whether Obama will continue reaching out to a group that was key to his winning the White House. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is by far Obama's most famous Hispanic appointee. In less than a year in office, the president has also tapped at least 48 other Hispanics to positions senior enough to require Senate confirmation. So far, 35 have been approved.
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Texas Watch: Congressional Hispanic Caucus' Effort To Advance Immigration Reform Faces Roadblocks
Dallas Morning News, December 20. Immigrant advocates were pleased last week when the Congressional Hispanic Caucus unveiled an ambitious reform plan that would, among other things, create a pathway to citizenship for 12 million undocumented immigrants. It was an effort to get the issue off the back burner, a warning that impatience with the president is brewing, and a gambit to define the liberal wish list. On those fronts, the bill proposed by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., and others, was a success. But it has no hope of going anywhere. House Democratic leaders aren't interested in taking up the divisive issue in an election year – not without cover from the Senate and White House.
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States Get More Time To Comply With Real ID
Washington Post, December 19. The Obama administration will abandon a Dec. 31 deadline for states to tighten security requirements for driver's licenses, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced Friday. Delaying the requirement, which faces opposition from governors and Senate Republicans over how it should be implemented, jeopardizes an immigration and security measure adopted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But it also removes concerns that tens of thousands of holiday travelers could have been subjected to heightened airport security checks if they lacked the new licenses. Under a controversial 2005 domestic security program passed by Congress and known as Real ID, states were required to issue more secure licenses by the end of 2009. Those would be the only licenses accepted by federal officials for such purposes as boarding commercial aircraft. Instead, states now have until May 11, 2011, to comply with Real ID, Napolitano said.
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Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Gutierrez Challenges the Harmful Status Quo
Huffington Post, December 15. Today, Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) introduced the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity (CIR ASAP) Act of 2009." Congressman Gutierrez has been joined by members of the faith community, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Black Caucus, Asian Pacific American Caucus, and Progressive Caucus. This legislation marks a path for the nation to tackle the nation's broken immigration system. We at NCLR commend Congressman Gutierrez for his leadership, for advancing immigration solutions, and for being the first to provide a platform that will allow the American government and the American people to begin this critical conversation. Fixing the immigration system will not only help end the exploitation and demonization of immigrant families and anyone perceived to be immigrant, but it will also level the playing field for American workers, lift wages and increase tax revenues.
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Keep Ugliness Out Of Immigration Debate
CNN.com, December 14, OPINION. 'Tis the season of peace on Earth and good will toward men. Yet you wouldn't know it from the screed from the conservative radio talk show host who recently charged into the immigration debate with gums flapping. He called for a crackdown on illegal immigration but also a wholesale tightening of immigration policy so we admit fewer legal immigrants as well. The radio talker was half-right. Americans must get serious about stopping illegal immigration, mostly by doing something we never seem to do with much enthusiasm: punish employers. But legal immigration shouldn't be dragged into the mix. Legal immigrants -- with their energy, passion and optimism -- have always been this country's most valuable import. Even in bad economic times, we need more of them and not less.
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Immigration Delays Top Complaint From Oklahoma Muslims, Report Says
Oklahoman, December 11. Government agencies accounted for more than half of civil rights complaints from Oklahoma Muslims last year, according to a report released Thursday by a state advocacy group. Most of the complaints reported were regarding immigration delays, said Razi Hashmi, executive director of the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Immigration problems have been reported by members of other minority communities, particularly Hispanics, Hashmi said. The number of civil rights cases reported increased from 22 in 2007 to 41 in 2008, according to the annual report, which is the first to be issued by the state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
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Tuition Cuts Demanded For Some Immigrants
Star Ledger, December 11. Immigration rights advocates are making a push for long-stalled legislation that would qualify undocumented immigrants for the same lower tuition rates New Jersey residents pay at state colleges and universities. Advocacy and faith-based groups organized roughly 100 of their members at the Statehouse yesterday to lobby lawmakers to pass the bill before Gov. Jon Corzine leaves office next month. Shai Goldstein, executive director of New Jersey Immigration Policy Network, called the issue one of 'fundamental justice.' 'How can we, the great state of New Jersey, not allow -- not allow -- access to our great universities, our great public universities, when other states like Oklahoma and Utah have done so?' Goldstein said. 'We are denying these students equal access to education. Period.'
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Lawsuit Says Police, Border Patrol Agents In Ohio Use Racial Profiling To Stop Hispanics
Associated Press, December 11. An Ohio law firm that works with migrant farmworkers is accusing authorities in northern Ohio of stopping and questioning Hispanics without probable cause. A lawsuit filed in federal court in Toledo accuses U.S. Border Patrol agents and police officers in three northern Ohio cities of racial profiling. A message seeking comment was left Friday with the Border Patrol's office in Chicago. Twelve people and two organizations are joining the lawsuit filed Thursday.
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Amnesty Bill Set To Hit Congress Floor Next Week
Examiner (San Diego), December 11. On Tuesday, December 15, Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL) will introduce new legislation, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009, to the U.S. House of Representatives. Gutierrez will have the support of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. An estimated 15-20 million illegal immigrants will grab the golden ticket enabling them to come out of the shadows and become American citizens. The immigration reform legislation comes at a time when the country faces 10 percent unemployment and bankrupt states from coast to coast. This overly ambitious Congress has passed a plethora of bills despite stubborn recession that continues to put a grip the U.S. economy. Here is a sampling of programs House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has passed just this year; $700 billion financial bank bailout, $787 billion stimulus, $1.5 trillion health care expansion, $200 billion doctor fix, $800 billion cap and trade and a $250 billion omnibus spending bill.
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Napolitano: Migrant Reform Still A Priority
Arizona Republic, December 11. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Thursday that overhauling the nation's immigration laws is still a top priority for President Barack Obama and that Congress is poised to act despite some lawmakers' concerns that a push could complicate Democratic re-election prospects. Napolitano, Obama's point person on the topic, said key Senate Democrats, including Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, are onboard with moving ahead early next year. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., chairman of the Senate's immigration subcommittee, is working on the bill. 'We're ready to go, and the president wants to get it done,' Napolitano said in a meeting with The Arizona Republic's Editorial Board. That might prove tricky in an election year, with some Democrats already on the defensive and fatigued by a protracted and bruising battle over health-care reform.
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Congress Slashes Subsidy For Jailing Illegal Immigrants
Sacramento Bee, December 10. California and other financially strapped states will lose tens of millions of federal dollars that they spend to jail illegal immigrants charged with crimes, under Congress' latest spending bill. The $1.1 trillion plan, finalized by House and Senate negotiators Tuesday night, combines six of the large yearly appropriations bills passed by Congress to keep the government running. State officials and members of the California congressional delegation had lobbied hard once again to increase aid to the states for the program, hoping to cash in on California's increased clout in Washington this year. But their efforts fell flat, with the program set to be cut by more than 18 percent.
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Immigration Database Adding Self-Check Option
Washington Times, December 10. U.S. immigration authorities are planning to add a self-check system so workers can pre-screen themselves with E-Verify, the controversial electronic database used on a voluntary basis by some employers to screen their employees. The move would try to bridge the gap between the two sides in the immigration debate by putting power in the hands of workers, who could make sure of their status before applying for new jobs. Alejandro Mayorkas, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said the move is in the works, though he said it's too early to provide details. 'We are developing it with the goal of employees being able to self-check,' he said. In a briefing with reporters, Mr. Mayorkas also said definitively his agency 'will be ready' to implement any immigrant-legalization program Congress might pass, though he would not give any specifics and said a lot depends on what the new law would look like. He also said it might take more funding from Congress to get the agency ready.
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More Immigrants Leap Into Business Ownership
Boston Globe, December 10. People thought Melissa Vo was crazy to launch a new restaurant in the middle of a recession. The single mother, a refugee from Vietnam, had never managed a business, and the only place she could afford to rent in February was a tiny hole-in-the-wall across from a laundry and a corner bodega in Chelsea. But Vo, after 25 years in America, believed that the only way to make it was to become her own boss. Call it immigrant drive, or desperation, but immigrant-owned businesses are popping up at levels unimaginable decades ago. Last year, an estimated 61 percent of new businesses were launched by immigrants, according to a Babson College survey.
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High-Skilled Immigration To Be Addressed In Schumer-Graham Bill
The Hill, December 10. A report released this week by the Center for American Progress (CAP) includes recommendations that could serve as a blue-print of sorts for a broad immigration reform bill being crafted by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Immigration subcommittee, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). An overhaul of the U.S. immigration laws has for years been a high priority for technology companies that say they need more H-1B visas and green-cards to hire high-skilled workers and keep the industry competitive on a global scale. Microsoft founder Bill Gates and others make yearly pilgrimages to Washington to make their cases for lifting the visa caps. The topic came up at least a dozen times in last week’s job summit at the White House.
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Magazine lists Queens all-immigrant Newcomers High School among nation's best high schools
New York Daily News, December 10. An all-immigrant Queens school with students from 50 countries cracked the top 10 of U.S. News & World Report's coveted list of the nation's 100 best high schools. Newcomers High School in Long Island City, which only accepts students who have arrived in the country in the past year, placed sixth - the highest ranking of the 12 city public schools that were honored. 'For many students, they were at JFK [airport] Wednesday, and today they are here,' said Principal Orlando Sarmiento, a native of Colombia. 'This is a little Ellis Island.' The school, which enrolls close to 1,000 students who speak 30 different languages, offers eight Advanced Placement courses and myriad arts and music programs funded through a federal grant.
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Questions On Public-Private Prisons For Immigrants
National Public Radio, December 10. In remote places along the southwest border of the US, the consequences of recent immigration crackdown are changing the face of imprisonment in this part of America. There, public-private prisons are being built to hold immigrants both legal and illegal. These prisons are publicly owned by local governments, privately operated by corporations, publicly financed by tax-exempt bonds, and located in depressed communities, says journalist Tom Barry, who reported on a new trend in dealing with immigrants in a recent issue of the Boston Review.
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Panel Pushes Immigration Overhaul
El Paso Times, December 9. The time has come for the U.S. government to focus on other aspects of immigration besides enforcement, a panel of national security and law- enforcement experts said Tuesday. 'While we have made unprecedented investments in security at the border, more enforcement resources alone will not make us more secure,' said James W. Ziglar, ex-commissioner of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service and a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute. 'We must find a pragmatic way to prevent future unlawful immigration and deal with the existing undocumented population already here by enacting comprehensive immigration reform.'
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Report Analyzes Importance Of Highly Skilled Immigrants To U.S. Economy
National Journal, December 8. A new report released Tuesday by the Center for American Progress highlights the importance of highly skilled immigrants to the U.S. economy, but argues that 'arbitrary restrictions' keep companies from fully utilizing this talent pool. 'Reforming our high-skilled immigration system will stimulate innovation, enhance competitiveness, and help cultivate a flexible, highly-skilled U.S. workforce while protecting U.S. workers from globalization's destabilizing effects,' the report said. Among the reforms the report recommends include establishing a market-based mechanism for setting the annual levels of H-1B visas available for skilled foreign workers, raising the green card cap and streamlining the process for obtaining a green card.
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Sotomayor Draws Retort From a Fellow Justice
New York Times, December 8. The Supreme Court released its first four decisions in argued cases this term on Tuesday. They were all minor, but one was notable for being Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s Supreme Court debut and for prompting a testy concurrence from Justice Clarence Thomas. The case concerned whether federal trial-court rulings concerning the lawyer-client privilege may be appealed right away. Justice Sotomayor, with methodical reasoning and a formal writing style, said no. . . . In an otherwise dry opinion, Justice Sotomayor did introduce one new and politically charged term into the Supreme Court lexicon. Justice Sotomayor’s opinion in the case, Mohawk Industries v. Carpenter, No. 08-678, marked the first use of the term 'undocumented immigrant,' according to a legal database. The term 'illegal immigrant' has appeared in a dozen decisions.
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Outdated Visa Rules Don't Support Dual Careers in India
Wall Street Journal, December 8. Imagine your boss calls you with an offer of an international assignment. It's important for the business, it's your dream job and you will be posted for three or four years. But there's a sting in the tail: Your spouse won't be able to get an employment visa to work there. This is the stark reality that hits many professional staff who are transferred by companies, diplomatic missions and international organizations in support of billions of dollars of international trade, investment and development work. India is one of the countries that do not currently allow spouses to work. It is rarely the case that governments have consciously decided not to permit spouses to work. More often, it is a historical hangover from a time when spouses were women and women did not work.
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Census Finds Increase In Foreign-Born Workers
New York Times, December 7. Nearly one in six American workers is foreign-born, the highest proportion since the 1920s, according to a census analysis released Monday. Because of government barriers to immigration, the share of foreign-born workers dipped from a 20th-century high of 21 percent in 1910 to barely 5 percent in 1970, but has been rising since then, to the current 16 percent. In 2007, immigrants accounted for more than one in four workers in California (35 percent), New York (27 percent), New Jersey (26 percent) and Nevada (25 percent). For the first time, the Census Bureau also compared immigrants by generation. Generally, income and other measures of achievement rose from one generation to the next, although educational attainment peaked with the second generation.
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Huge US Visa Fraud Scheme Broken Up In Brazil; Suspects Accused Of Taking In $53 Million
Associated Press, December 7. Authorities arrested 11 people Monday in an alleged U.S. work-visa scam that raked in more than $50 million from thousands of Brazilians since 2002. Some of those scammed went to the U.S. and wound up as illegal aliens because promised jobs didn't exist. Brazilians seeking temporary working visas were charged up to $15,000 each in what a statement from the U.S. Consulate called one of the largest cases of U.S. visa fraud ever. Similar schemes were uncovered in Russia, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, Romania and the United Arab Emirates.
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Dobbs Turns 180 On Amnesty Stance, Loses ALIPAC Support
News Now, December 7. A grassroots immigration enforcement advocacy organization is withdrawing its support for Lou Dobbs' possible presidential bid after the former CNN anchor and commentator told a Spanish language television network that he now supports amnesty for illegal aliens. During his long tenure at CNN, Dobbs became a champion of the pro-enforcement cause, prompting Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC) to sponsor websites which called for his presidential candidacy. But recently Dobbs created shockwaves when he told Telemundo that he now supports the idea of providing a so-called 'pathway to citizenship for millions of illegals.'
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Obama in Punt Formation on Immigration
SignonSanDiego.com, December 6, OPINION. The paradox of the Obama administration’s plan to achieve comprehensive immigration reform – one of these days, when it gets around to it, be patient, yada yada – is that the agency responsible for removing illegal immigrants is now supposed to find a way for millions of them to stay. Given that agency’s law enforcement bent, don’t be surprised if it is much better at the former than the latter. The Department of Homeland Security is where you’ll find U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is the administration’s point person for immigration reform.
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Naturalization Event To Be Held At Denver School
Associated Press, December 4. A Denver elementary school is hosting a naturalization ceremony for a class studying immigration. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials say 29 new citizens from 15 countries will be taking their oath of allegiance at the Dunn IB World School Friday morning. A class of fifth graders there asked immigration officials to hold the ceremony at their school because they're studying the topic. One student will be reading an essay on 'What it means to be an American citizen' as part of a school contest. The new citizens are from countries that include Brazil, China, Colombia, Germany, Mexico and Poland.
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Guam Exempt From H-2B Cap
Pacific Daily News, December 4. Guam is now exempt from the national annual cap on the hiring of foreign workers under H-2B visas, the Guam Department of Labor announced yesterday. However, local program filing requirements and procedures remain the same, the release stated. Guam's exemption from the visa limit was allowed under the law that phased in U.S. immigration law in the Northern Marianas. The federal law went into effect on Nov. 28. The same law allows Guam employers to apply -- with the Guam Department of Labor -- for a Temporary Labor Certification and authorization to import H-2B workers, said Greg Massey, Guam Labor's Alien Labor Processing and Certification Division administrator. The approval comes from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Massey said the exemption from the national cap is a 'good thing,' because it gives employers on Guam the opportunity to file applications on a needs basis rather than trying to 'jump through a window to get in the cap,' he said.
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Views On Migration Not Much Changed By Slump
Reuters, December 3. Western public attitudes to immigration have not been greatly affected by the global economic downturn, an opinion poll published today showed. Voters surveyed in the United States, Canada, Germany, Britain, France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands all saw the economy as their country's most pressing issue, but immigration was the second biggest issue for Britons and Italians. Roughly half those surveyed in the Transatlantic Trends: Immigration opinion poll, conducted by the U.S. think-tank German Marshall Fund with partners, saw immigration as more of a problem than an opportunity, only slightly up from last year.
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Indian Talent Helps Silicon Valley: US Think Tank
IANS (India), December 3. Global technology and innovation hub Silicon Valley needs ‘Indian talent and entrepreneurial energy’ to build powerful businesses, according to a economic and policy think tank in the US. In a report titled ‘Global Reach: Emerging Ties Between the Bay Area and India’, the Bay Area Council Economic Institute said Silicon Valley success stories have always had an Indian edge and the cooperation with Indian talent will continue ‘to unleash powerful businesses’. The institute is a public-private partnership of business, labour, government and higher education that works to support the economic vitality and competitiveness of California and the Bay Area.
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Report Claims Illegal Immigrants Have Small Impact On Country's Economy
Redlands Daily Facts, December 2. Illegal immigrants drive down wages of low-skilled American workers, but they aren't a drain on the overall economy, according to a report released Wednesday. Businesses and undocumented workers are the clear beneficiaries of the nation's immigration system. The losers are people at the bottom rung of the labor ladder who compete with illegal immigrants for low-wage jobs, according to the report by the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C. When the pros and cons are tallied up, illegal immigration's overall impact on the economy is small, the report says.
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H-1B Demand Spike May Signal Improving Outlook For Skilled Pros
Computerworld, December 2. Demand for H-1B visas has accelerated over the last six to eight weeks after being flat for months. This comes as the number of companies planning to increase college hiring is also on the rise. Together, the trends may be early indicators of an improving economy for skilled professionals. Throughout summer and into September, demand for H-1B visas flatlined at about 45,000 visa petitions. But on Friday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service released data showing that in two weeks alone it had received 3,300 H-1B petitions, continuing a spike that began in October that has increased the number of visas petitions to 58,900, approaching the 65,000 cap.
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Reports Find Lapses in Immigration Detention System
New York Times, December 2. A growing number of noncitizens are being held unnecessarily and transferred heedlessly in an expensive immigration detention system that lacks basic fairness, a bipartisan study group and a human rights organization concluded in reports released jointly on Wednesday. Confirmation of some of their conclusions came separately from the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, in an investigation that found detainee transfers by Immigration and Customs Enforcement were so haphazard that some arrived at a new center without having been served a notice of why they were being held, or despite a high probability of being granted bond, or with pending criminal prosecutions or arrest warrants in the previous jurisdiction.
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Immigrants Here Mostly In Top Jobs
Pittsburgh Tribune Review, December 2. Pittsburgh has few immigrants, compared to other regions. But those who do arrive here are more likely to work as managers or professionals than immigrants in the nation's 24 other largest metropolitan areas, a new report based on census data says. The Fiscal Policy Institute, a New York-based, nonpartisan research organization, looked at documented and undocumented immigrants using data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey for 2005 through 2007, and concluded in a report released Tuesday that immigrants contribute to a region's economy in direct relation to their share of the population. In most of the 25 metropolitan areas studied, roughly a quarter of all immigrants and a third of U.S.-born workers fall into the managerial and professional category, said David Dyssegaard Kallick, director of the institute's immigration research initiative.
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Health Care Reform Could Provide Benefits to Illegal Immigrants
HS Today, December 2. Experts argue value of verification of legal status as requirement for participation in health care exchange Could a health care reform law pave the way for an immigration reform bill? Advocates and opponents of the Obama administrations' plans for comprehensive immigration reform have staked out ground in the current health care reform debate, arguing in favor of or against verification clauses in the Senate and House versions of the bills. Verification of US citizenship or legal residence in purchasing health insurance would be expensive and rely upon badly designed systems, insisted Marc Rosenblum, a senior analyst at the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), based in Washington, DC. 'And where do you locate that screening?' Rosenblum questioned. 'There is a difference between screening out to make sure that unauthorized immigrants don't get any benefits that they are not entitled to versus making sure that they are not able to purchase their own insurance, which adds a new restriction that doesn't now exist.
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Let's Give Visas to Startup Founders
BusinessWeek, December 2, OPINION. Bring up the topic of economic stimulus and job creation, and you won't hear much about immigration. If the topic does arise, it's usually because somebody believes foreigners are taking U.S. jobs. It's time to bring the immigration question squarely into the debate over jobs. A change to immigration policy could help create jobs and rev up economic growth. It's a change that wouldn't be hard to bring about. I'm talking about the establishment of a Startup Founders Visa program. The program would make it easier for those with great ideas and the desire to start a company to live and work in the U.S. The idea is simple, yet powerful. By letting in company founders, the U.S. would bring in risk-takers who want to create jobs and potentially build the next Google (GOOG), Cisco Systems (CSCO), or Microsoft (MSFT).
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Hecklers Upstage Ariz. Sheriff During Interview
Associated Press, December 1. Hecklers broke out into song and forced a high-profile Arizona sheriff to abandon a First Amendment forum sponsored by Arizona State University's journalism school. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was asked by a panel of journalists Monday night to explain his relationship with the media, his various law enforcement policies and whether his office conducts racial profiling. Arpaio told the panel that his office is an 'equal opportunity law enforcement agency' that will arrest anyone who violates the law. Later in the interview at ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, protesters began loudly singing and chanting as Arpaio was asked about a federal investigation and his policies on illegal immigration. The sheriff told the panel the outburst was 'ridiculous' and he left the stage.
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Switzerland and the Minaret
Wall Street Journal, November 30, OPINION. Nearly 58% of Swiss voters Sunday cast their ballots in favor of banning the construction of new minarets in the Alpine republic, a surprise result that led at least one Swiss member of parliament to declare that "the foundations of Switzerland's direct democracy have failed." That is clearly wrong. Swiss direct democracy shows its mettle when Swiss voters use it to stand up to their political elites, as happened here. Having said that, Sunday's vote, for all the hand-wringing leading up to it, was a decidedly mild-mannered sort of protest. The construction of new minarets is banned, but the building of mosques is unaffected, and the vote does not affect the four existing minarets in the country. Nobody's freedom of worship is threatened, but a symbolic message has been sent.
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Latino Voters See Universal Health Care As The Top Priority
La Opinion, November 30. Latino voters in the United States see health care reform as the most important priority for the country and a solid majority expresses support for universal health care that includes a public option. These are among the findings of a poll of 1,000 registered Latino voters, conducted November 1-14 by Impremedia, Latino Decisions and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Center for Health Policy at the University of New Mexico, in the 21 states that have the largest Latino populations. 'Health care reform is now expected by Latinos and [is] very important to them. The issue is on the national agenda and they definitely want to see action on this bill', said associate professor of political science, Matt Barreto of the University of Washington, and a partner in Latino Decisions.
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Health Bills Fail To Block Illegals From Coverage
Washington Times, November 30. Hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants could receive health care coverage from their employers under the bills winding their way through Congress, despite President Obama's explicit pledge that illegal immigrants would not benefit. The House bill mandates, and the Senate bill strongly encourages, businesses to extend health care coverage to all employees. But the bills do not have exemptions to screen out illegal immigrants, who usually obtain jobs by using false identities and are indistinguishable from legal workers. A rough estimate by the Center for Immigration Studies suggests that the practical effect of the mandates would be that about 1 million illegal immigrants could obtain health insurance coverage through their employers. Democrats who wrote the House bill said that employer coverage for illegal immigrants is not intentional, but rather the outcome of people breaking the law. EDITOR’S NOTE: Any conclusions derived from studies conducted from the Center for Immigration Studies should be considered suspect.
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City Of Dallas Regional Center Program Trades Green Cards For Development Capital
Dallas Morning News, November 28. In Dallas, like in so many parts of the country, cash for big-time development deals has all but dried up. But City Hall thinks it has found a new money tree that backers hope will bloom, in time, with hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign investment. After years of trips to China and other parts of the Far East, council member Ron Natinsky and city staff have crafted what they expect will be a powerful new development tool that could help fund the redevelopment of downtown and poorer areas of Dallas. The program - known as the City of Dallas Regional Center - is a citywide adoption of a federal immigration program that trades green cards and the promise of permanent residency for investments of $500,000 or $1 million.
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Three Major City Groups Will Honor Immigration Advocates For Their Contributions
NYDailyNews.com, November 22, OPINION. This year Thanksgiving, that most American of holidays, comes early in New York, the quintessential immigrant city. Monday, the American Jewish Committee joins the New York Immigration Coalition and the New York Interfaith Network for Immigration Reform to honor the many contributions of immigrants to the city and to the nation. "As we approach Thanksgiving, we have to commit ourselves to make America better," said Diane Steinman, director of the American Jewish Committee and co-chairwoman of the state Interfaith Network for Immigration Reform.
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Amnesty's Last Chance?
Slate.com, November 15, OPINION. Is it good for Obama's health care effort that this comes out now? Doesn't it potentially make 2010 midterm voters more uneasy about Dem overreach? Maybe it placates Hispanic lawmakers who might be upset at the treatment of illegals in the health bill itself--but that's Obama again playing the inside game of keeping Congress' factions happy. His problem is the outside game of keeping the public on board, no? ... Wait, I forgot. Health care reform is a fait accompli. Never mind. ... P.S.: Or maybe Obama has concluded that health care reform gets more unpopular when voters think about it, so he's changing the subject.
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Arrests Of Illegal Immigrants Along Border Drop 25%
Los Angeles Times, November 25. Arrests of illegal immigrants along the California-Mexico border declined 25% this year as a weak economy and bolstered enforcement efforts appear to be discouraging treks north, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said Tuesday. The downward trend is evident across the Southwest border as apprehensions fell to levels not seen since the early 1970s. The U.S. Border Patrol arrested 556,000 people last year, 152,200 of them in California, according to statistics released for the federal fiscal year ending Sept. 30. Apprehension levels, considered the best available indicator of illegal crossing activity, have fluctuated for decades, but have steadily declined since 2000, when there were 1.6 million arrests.
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Pro-Immigration Reform PACS Growing In Influence
Associated Press, November 25. Two fledgling political action committees that support allowing some illegal immigrants to become citizens are raising more money than their immigration-control counterparts, signaling a possible fundraising shift ahead of next year's congressional races. Immigrants' List and ImmigrationPAC, both established less than four years ago, have raised $100,000 combined this election cycle. That's a relatively small amount in the influential realm of PACs but still more than established groups that back enforcement-only policies, who have seen donations slow to a trickle. 'Even a small amount of pro-immigration reform PAC money, pro-immigration muscle, makes it a two-sided debate,' said Tamar Jacoby, who heads ImmigrationWorks USA, a federation of mostly small and medium businesses that support a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants and streamlining the employment visa process.
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Dobbs Reaches Out to Latinos, With Politics in Mind
Wall Street Journal, November 25. Former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs, pondering a future in politics, is trying to wipe away his image as an enemy of Latino immigrants by positioning himself as a champion of that fast-growing ethnic bloc. Mr. Dobbs, who left the network last week, has said in recent days that he is considering a third-party run for a New Jersey Senate seat in 2012, or possibly for president. Polls show voters unhappy with both parties, and strategists believe Mr. Dobbs could tap populist anger over economy issues just as Ross Perot did in the 1990s. First, though, Mr. Dobbs is working to repair what a spokesman conceded is a glaring flaw: His reputation for antipathy toward Latino immigrants. In a little-noticed interview Friday, Mr. Dobbs told Spanish-language network Telemundo he now supports a plan to legalize millions of undocumented workers, a stance he long lambasted as an unfair 'amnesty.' EDITOR’S NOTE: It will be difficult for Lou Dobbs to erase a half decade of misinformation on the subject of immigration and his shameless pandering to the anti-Obama “birther” movement.
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Coakley Says She Would Support Immigration Reform
MetroWest Daily News, November 25. Immigration policy needs to be resolved on a federal level, and the nation's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants need 'a path to citizenship,' Attorney General Martha Coakley said yesterday. 'We need a policy that makes sense for 12 million people who are stuck in a purgatorial status quo,' said Coakley, one of four Democrats hoping to fill the late Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. 'It doesn't do us any good to do nothing.' A distinction should be made between hardened criminals here illegally and those whose only crime is immigrating without going through proper channels, she said, though, 'I think there have to be some penalties involved' for those who have broken the law in coming into the country illegally. Violent criminals and drug dealers should be deported, but the federal government 'doesn't have either the detention centers or the ability to deport' every person in this country who is here illegally, she said.
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More Migrants Applying For U.S. Citizenship
Arizona Republic, November 24. The number of legal immigrants applying for citizenship rose this year in Arizona, mirroring an increase in applications nationally. The increase comes despite sharply higher application fees and the economic downturn, which have combined to make it more difficult for immigrants to afford to apply for citizenship, advocates say. The increase also follows a year in which applications fell. Although applications rose 11 percent in fiscal 2009, their number remains among the lowest in several years. Officials say applications could fall again if fees are increased next year to help cover budget shortfalls. 'In this economic climate, steep application fees are probably contributing to the reduced levels of naturalization filings,' said Doris Meissner, senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute. 'A fee increase would be likely to exacerbate the problem.'
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The Ties That Bind The Mexican And US Economies
Public Radio International, November 23. The economic crisis in the US has been a wrecking ball to the Mexican economy, which has taken the biggest hit in Latin America. The following is a partial transcript; for full story, listen to audio. Today, at least 70 percent -- the overwhelming majority -- of Mexico's exports goes to the US market. And US businesses invest nearly $100 billion dollars a year in Mexico's economy. The economic crisis in the US has been a wrecking ball to the Mexican economy, which has taken the biggest hit in Latin America. As unemployment soars, the Mexican government is estimating a six to seven percent contraction in GDP this year. 'The US economy goes down, hurts the Mexican economy; but in return, as the Mexican economy struggles to get back on its feet, it also slows down our recovery,' said Andrew Selee, Director of the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center.
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CBO Estimates That Senate Health Reform Would Leave About 8 Million Illegals Uninsured
CNS News, November 23. An estimated eight million illegal aliens would be left without health insurance under the Senate health-care bill, that was cleared for debate Saturday, according to a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of the plan. 'By 2019, the CBO and JCT (Joint Committee on Taxation) estimate, the number of nonelderly people who are uninsured would be reduced by about 31 million, leaving about 24 million nonelderly residents uninsured (about one-third of whom would be unauthorized immigrants),' the CBO report said. The eight million figure, meanwhile, is only an estimate. Though the Census Bureau says there are 9.5 million uninsured who are 'not citizens,' the government does not actually track how many illegal aliens there are in the United States because it does not ask about immigration status. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, there are an estimated 11.9 million illegals in the United States. Six-in-10 Hispanic adults in the U.S. who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents – or 7.1 million -- lack health insurance, the center estimated.
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Arpaio Would Be Leading GOP Contender for Ariz. Governor
CQ Politics, November 23. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (R) performs best among a field of Republican candidates in hypothetical match-ups for next year's Arizona governor's race, a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Nov. 18 found. In the survey of likely Arizona voters, Arpaio was the only GOP candidate to top likely Democratic nominee Terry Goddard, the state's current attorney general, 51 percent to 39 percent. Goddard led state Treasurer Dean Martin (R) 40 percent to 38 percent and incumbent Gov. Jan Brewer (R) 44 percent to 35 percent. The margin of error was 3 percent. Arpaio, who is not in the race but has not ruled it out, benefits from the national profile he has earned by taking a hard line against illegal immigration in his county. Though controversial nationally, he remains popular in Arizona -- 63 percent of likely voters rated him favorably including 43 percent very favorably. Thirty-one percent viewed him unfavorably.
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Immigration Backers Fly Solo
Roll Call, November 23. House Democrats leading the charge for comprehensive immigration reform are taking a new tack in their efforts to send a bill to President Barack Obama next spring: Do it without Republicans. Members say they are feeling newly emboldened to go their own way after the White House this month signaled a willingness to tackle the controversial issue next year. What’s more, Democrats recognize the issue is a politically sensitive one for Republicans hoping to curry favor with Hispanic voters in 2010. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), who heads the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Immigration Task Force, said Hispanic lawmakers were taking notes during the health care reform debate, when House Republicans stood firm in their opposition to key aspects of the Democratic plan. In the end, he said, Democrats preserved the heart of their proposal by holding together, not by chipping away at core principles to win over Republicans. 'Had we negotiated with the Republicans on a bipartisan basis, we wouldn’t have had a public option, so there would have been nothing to mobilize us. We did that with immigration reform in the past,' Gutierrez said, signaling that he plans to begin the immigration reform process with a less compromised bill than he has before.
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Jobless Rates Soar For Immigrants: Agency Provides Interviewing Tips And More
South Florida Sun-Sentinel November 23. They come to refugee resettling agencies hoping to find any kind of lead. They listen closely to this country's interviewing tips--smile, maintain eye contact, give a firm handshake. Most have given up on landing a job in their field. But the harsh reality is that at a time when the unemployment rate is high for American citizens, for refugees with the legal right to live and work here, finding a job in South Florida is a daunting prospect. 'Manufacturing has slowed down tremendously,' said Sharol Lewin, programs Coordinator at Youth Co-Op, a resettlement agency with a state contract to assist refugees in Miami, Broward and Palm Beach counties with job counseling and other social services. 'Nowadays, when someone hears about a job opening, they have a friend out of work that they share the news with.' Sandra Bernard, 30, knows all about the challenges. Bernard and her husband moved here from Haiti seven months ago. With her husband facing persecution for his political stance back home, they were granted political asylum.
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Iraqi Refugees Move To Mich. Despite Poor Economy
Associated Press, November 22. The U.S. government resettled Mazen Alsaqa in Massachusetts in February. Within a month, the Iraqi refugee moved to Michigan. It wasn't that Alsaqa disliked Worcester, Mass. But he never thought twice about staying. Even though the U.S. government tried to keep him away from the Detroit area and its soaring unemployment, that was the only place Alsaqa wanted to live. Tens of thousands have fled Michigan's troubled economy in recent years, yet Iraqi refugees continue to move there despite a U.S. government policy trying to limit refugee resettlement in the Detroit area. Family ties and cultural support from the region's large Middle Eastern community appear no match for the U.S. effort, which tries to place refugees in cities where they stand a better chance of financial success.
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You Can Go Home Again
San Diego Union, November 22, OPINION. In the past, I’ve advised undocumented immigrants from Mexico to learn English, become legal, value education, refuse handouts, resist entitlement, and culturally assimilate. Now, given a disturbing trend tied to the wobbly U.S. economy – one that turns the immigration equation upside down – I have one more piece of advice: Consider going home. Let me explain. It’s not because they shouldn’t be here in the first place. That’s a given. Regular readers know that I don’t support illegal immigration. In fact, I support speedy deportations, workplace raids and tighter borders. I also support comprehensive immigration reform that gives illegal immigrants already here a pathway to earned legal status. There’s no contradiction. You can’t have conditional reform without enforcement.
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Odds of a Green Card Lottery Winner Actually Getting a Green Card – Part II
In our last article on the green card lottery we discussed the overall chances of winning based on the number of entrants and the number of random selectees. Today we discuss region to region differences and relate this to the monthly Visa Bulletins published by the U.S. Department of State. Visas are distributed on a regional basis unequally, with those regions sending fewer immigrants to the U.S. in the previous five years receiving more diversity visas. Logically, different countries within each region will have more or less applications filed each year. Therefore, those countries with more entrants will have more lottery winners and visa versa. However, as a part of the DV lottery rules, no one country can have more than 7% or 3,500 of the total allotted 50,000 immigrant visas
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Sarah Palin's Immigration Policy
Immigration Examiner, November 18. Since the 2010 election is over and U.S. voters rejected the tired Republican platform that devastated America’s economy and wrecked American’s reputation abroad, former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s views on immigration would seem moot. However, with her apparent popularity spiking alongside her “Going Rogue” book tour, Democrats and Republicans alike are giving her a second look.
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Immigrants Sworn In As U.S. Citizens At Redding Ceremony
Redding.com, November 20. Clutching a rolled-up American flag in one hand, Mahmoud Saad couldn't stop grinning Thursday as he sat beside 15 other immigrants in a jury box inside a Redding courtroom. After all, the 26-year-old Chico State University electrical engineering student from Egypt had been waiting much of his life to recite the words that would make him a U.S. citizen.
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Watchdog Notes Scheduling Issues With Visitor-Tracking Project
NextGov.com, November 20. The Homeland Security Department should establish a master schedule to better manage a six-part project to track foreigners leaving the United States, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office. Currently, each component of the exit-tracking project has its own schedule, officials told GAO. The project is part of the broader U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program created in 2003 to gather biometric and biographic information on foreigners as they enter and leave the country. DHS has the capability to monitor visitor entries at 300 U.S. ports, but has yet to establish a comprehensive system for tracking departures.
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Campus Groups Share Thoughts On Immigration Reform
The Daily Illini, November 20. A vote on immigration legislation is being postponed until early next year. However, Congress is expected to start drafting an immigration reform bill this fall. The Obama administration supports a policy that would enable illegal immigrants to obtain citizenship, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has tried to determine how much support this policy will receive. 'I’d like to see the government come up with a way that the undocumented can kind of come out of the shadows and prove that they can be hardworking citizens and want to contribute to society,' said Jesse Hoyt, junior in LAS and president of La Colectiva, a group that focuses on social justice and immigration reform. He said his group supports the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, or DREAM Act, currently in Congress, which would allow undocumented students the opportunity to become citizens after meeting certain requirements, such as serving in the military or completing at least a bachelor’s degree.
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Lou Dobbs and His Many Issues
San Diego Union Tribune, November 19, OPINION. Many Latinos probably feel like salsa dancing in the streets now that CNN has finally cleared the air by purging itself of Lou Dobbs. Dobbs’ problem wasn’t that he opposed illegal immigration. That’s true of most Americans. Yet somehow they don’t wind up being caricatured – as Dobbs was recently on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” – as a paranoid Latino-phobe warning of an invasion of folks eager to wash dishes, pick lettuce and do other jobs for which Americans have lost their appetite. How did Dobbs get so lucky? “You could be a racist and not be against illegal immigration,” said Enrique Morones, a San Diego-based immigration activist and anti-Dobbs crusader. “And you could be against illegal immigration and not be a racist – although, a lot of times, if not most, they go hand in hand.”
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Dobbs Weighing Future In Politics
The Hill, November 19. Recently departed CNN anchor Lou Dobbs on Thursday revealed he was mulling a possible run for the Senate or White House. 'Right now I feel exhilaration at the wide range of choices before me as to what I do next,' Dobbs, who left CNN last week, told Reuters in an interview today. 'I am ruling nothing out.... I have come to no conclusions and no decisions,' he added. 'Do I seek to have some influence on public policy? Absolutely. Do I seek to represent and champion the middle class in this country and those who aspire to it? Absolutely. And I will.' Dobbs, who CNN officials said left the network 'amicably,' has long garnered national attention for vocalizing his political views. He has been especially outspoken against immigration -- a stance that many have speculated put him at odds with CNN.
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HIV Travel Law Change Brings Peace Of Mind
Houston Chronicle, November 19. Each time Houston writer Pablo Chapoy packed for a trip to Mexico, he carefully counted out his daily doses of his HIV medication, mixing them in with his vitamins and supplements in clear, plastic baggies.Mindful of the United States' long-standing restrictions on the admission of HIV-positive immigrants and visitors, the 61-year-old green-card holder felt it was too much of a risk to just pack medication in its original prescription bottles. What would happen, he wondered, if U.S. Customs inspectors stopped him on his return trip to Houston and questioned him about his pills? But no longer.
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Busy Agenda Clouds Hopes For Immigration Reform
Reuters, November 19. Some U.S. Democrats see momentum building for an overhaul of immigration laws that would legalize millions of undocumented workers, but analysts say a crowded agenda and struggling economy may once again sink hopes for reform next year. Representative Luis Gutierrez says he will introduce a comprehensive reform bill in the Democrat-controlled Congress in December, offering a path to citizenship for law abiding undocumented workers.
'It's my feeling that we just can't wait any longer for a bill that keeps our families together, protects our workers and allows a clear pathway to legalization for those who have earned it,' the Illinois Democrat said. Gutierrez was speaking in a conference call on Wednesday, which organizers said reached 60,000 participants gathered at house parties in 45 states.
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Govt Wants To Expand Expedited Screening Of Low-Risk, Arriving Travelers At More Airports
Associated Press, November 19. The Homeland Security Department wants to expand speedy screening of preapproved, low-risk air travelers arriving in the United States to most international airports in the country. For more than a year, the department has been testing this program at seven airports across the country and found that participating travelers cut their average waiting time to be screened from 10 minutes to three. The voluntary program, called Global Entry, would be open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents at least 14 years old. They would have to pay a $100 fee and undergo a background check. If accepted into the program, they can go through expedited screening when they fly into the United States.
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Rahm Blamed For Immigrant Ban
Politico, November 19. Hispanic lawmakers say an old adversary, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, has his fingerprints all over a push to prohibit illegal immigrants from buying health insurance plans in a new market for people who don’t get insurance through their employers. 'A forensic study would show it all leads back to Rahm Emanuel and the White House,' said Illinois Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez, a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus who worked with Emanuel when the president’s top aide was in the House. 'This analysis is inaccurate,' said a White House aide who had been shown the comments made by Hispanic lawmakers. The health care bill passed by the House earlier this month would prevent illegal immigrants from getting subsidies to buy insurance, but they would be permitted to buy plans from the exchange with their own money. The Senate bill would cut off that option.
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CIS Report Attempts to Erase 100 Years of Research
Immigration Impact, November 19. A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), Immigration and Crime: Assessing a Conflicted Issue, attempts to overturn a century’s worth of research which has demonstrated repeatedly that immigrants are less likely than the native-born to commit violent crimes or end up behind bars. The CIS report focuses much of its attention on questioning the accuracy of the 2000 Census data used in two particular studies, one from the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) and another from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC)—both of which dispel the myth of immigrant criminality. However, CIS ignores not only the many other sources of data in these two studies, but also the myriad studies from other researchers which have reached the same conclusion.
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Immigrant Jobless Rate Soared During Recession
Dallas Morning News, November 18. Immigrants had a lower unemployment rate than native-born workers during the last economic boom but the Great Recession reversed that trend, according to a study released Wednesday by the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank. Hit hard by the housing bust, immigrants had an unemployment rate of 9.2 percent during the first three months of 2009, compared to 7.8 percent jobless rate for those born in the United States.
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After Accidental Deportation, Critics Say Immigration Officials Making Mistakes
Miami Herald, November 18. Two months after questions were raised about the legality of his deportation by U.S. authorities, a Salvadoran man returned from his homeland Tuesday to a tearful reunion with his wife in Miami. Meanwhile, friends and relatives of two Miami Dade College students are drumming up support to keep the two men from being deported to their native Venezuela. The cases, say immigrant rights advocates, have rekindled fears that immigration authorities are stepping up detentions and deportations.
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Their Future Is Ours
New York Times, November 16. There are 16 million children in immigrant families in the United States, one of the fastest-growing segments of the population. It’s an old American story made new in the age of globalization, when waves of human displacement in recent decades have led to immigration on a scale not seen since Ellis Island. But a country that has been so good for so long at integrating new Americans is stumbling under the challenge.
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The United States Association of Immigrants at myUSAi.org Ads Facebook Connectivity
Examiner.com, November 16. Last week the United States Association of Immigrants at myUSAi.org announced secure Facebook Connect technology allowing users to import their existing Facebook identity for easy access by millions of existing Facebook members worldwide. As the first social networking site for immigrants and potential immigrants to the USA, myUSAi members can create their own groups, upload photos, and download free forms directly from Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Department of State. The site also offers current Immigration News and daily news covering Citizenship, Sending Money Abroad, Buying a Home and other subjects useful to USA visa holders.
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Don't Fall For 'green Card Lottery' Scams, Urges Us Immigration Official
Voxy.co.nz, November 13. With just over two weeks to go in the 2011 U.S. 'Green Card Lottery,' United States immigration officials in Auckland are warning applicants to watch out for private companies which offer to apply on their behalf in exchange for significant fees. These companies' services are unnecessary and add little or no benefit to the applicant, say officials. In particular, unsolicited emails advising that the recipient has 'won' a visa or a lottery 'promotion' are likely to be straightforward scams. "New Zealanders should be aware," says Nick Greanias, U.S. Consular Chief in Auckland, "that while some of these companies offer a genuine, if very limited, service for the fees they charge, the on-line Lottery application process is both straightforward and free to enter for eligible applicants."
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HIAS Still Aids Immigrants, But Most Don't Resemble Sergey Brin
The Forward, November 13. When Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google and now the 26th richest man in the world, left the Soviet Union as a 6-year-old Jewish refugee in 1979, it was the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society that secured American visas for him and for his family and settled everyone into a new home. What HIAS did for Brin, it did for tens of thousands of Soviet Jews. It was another twist in the life of an organization that has been around since 1881 and has transformed over the decades to meet the changing needs of Jews running away from persecution -- from those who fled czarist Russia to those escaping today from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Iran. As Brin announced recently, it is for helping his family to, as he wrote in his blog, start life anew in this land that he is giving HIAS an unrestricted gift of $1 million on the 30th anniversary of his own arrival in the United States. The gift has put a renewed spotlight on HIAS.
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S.F. Sanctuary Policy: Feds Not Going to Look the Other Way
New York Times, November 13. San Francisco city employees may soon need a sanctuary policy of their own. Why? When the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, feisty as usual, batted aside Mayor Gavin Newsom’s office amid en route to pushing through their sanctuary ordinance bill this week, they provoked a bona fide heavyweight: the United States Justice Department. The U.S. Attorney for the northern district of California, Joseph P. Russoniello, warned Thursday in a letter to the city attorney that the federal government, which constitutionally retains the exclusive power to set immigration policy, “cannot, as a general matter, promise not to prosecute for violations of federal law.” The ordinance in question changes city officials’ obligations to report juveniles to immigration authorities if those juveniles get caught up in the criminal justice system. Previously, young people were reported when they were arrested for felony crimes. Under the new ordinance, city authorities are supposed to report the juveniles not at the time of arrest but only in case of a conviction.
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H-1B With Uncertified LCAs To Be Accepted
The Indian Express, November 12. US immigration authorities have announced that they would accept petitions for H-1B visas, popular among Indian professionals, without the certified Labour Condition Applications (LCAs) for a 120-day period till March 4 next year in view of processing delay at Department of Labour. The decision in this regard from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) came after it received a number of requests from the affected people that the agency should accept H-1B petition filings that include LCAs that have been filed with the Department of Labour (DOL) but have not yet certified by DOL. Processing delays arising from DOL's recently implemented 'iCERT' system have resulted in increased processing time, beyond seven days, for certain LCA certifications. Employers and beneficiaries are being negatively impacted by DOL's increased processing time which currently delays their ability to file with USCIS petitions for H-1B visas, 12,000 slots of which are still to be filled up.
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Over 11,000 H-1B Slots Still Up For Grabs In US
Press Trust of India, November 12. Over 11,000 H-1B visa slots, once the most sought-after among Indian professionals, are still vacant against the Congress-mandated cap of 65,000 for the fiscal 2010, according to US immigration authorities. 'As of October 30, approximately 53,800 H-1B cap-subject petitions had been filed,' the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said. This is against the Congressionally-mandated cap of 65,000 H-1B visas for this year. This is for the first time in several years that thousands of H-1B visas are still to be filled up. In previous years, the entire visa slots used to be grabbed on day one. Many a times, the USCIS had to resort to a computerised lottery to determine the successful candidates.
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Immigrant Family Stricken With Grief Over Loss Of Son At Fort Hood
Austin American Statesman, November 12. At a St. Paul, Minn., funeral home, plans are under way for a three-day traditional Hmong funeral this month for Army Pfc. Kham Xiong, 23, who immigrated to the United States from Thailand as a child. Yee Vang, a manager at Legacy Funeral home, said the family has grown so distraught in recent days over the loss of Xiong that they can hardly talk about it to the public. 'It is too difficult,' Vang said. Xiong was one of 13 killed in the mass shooting at Fort Hood on Nov. 5. He is survived by his wife, Shoua Her, and three young children, ages 4, 2 and 10 months, according to The Associated Press. They had moved to Fort Hood in July. 'Kham Xiong came to America from Thailand as a small child. He was a husband and father who followed his brother into the military because his family had a strong history of service,' President Barack Obama said during his Tuesday speech at the Fort Hood service to remember those lost last week. 'He was preparing for his first deployment to Afghanistan.'
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Balloon Boy Parents To Plead Guilty Friday; Mother Faced Deportation To Japan
Coloradoan.com, November 12. Prosecutors this morning formally charged the parents of Fort Collins balloon boy Falcon Heene, who are set to plead guilty tomorrow in a pre-arranged deal. Richard and Mayumi Heene will turn themselves in to the county's chief judge on a personal recognizance bond at 8:30 a.m., said Linda Jensen, a spokeswoman for Larimer County District Attorney Larry Abrahamson. Richard Heene has been charged with one count of attempting to influence a public servant, a class 4 felony. The penalty range for a class 4 felony is 2-6 years in the Department of Corrections and a fine of $2,000 to $500,000.
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Immigrants Vital to U.S. Military, Report Finds
San Fernando Valley Sun, November 11. With Veterans Day and the tragic events of Fort Hood fresh in the public mind, a new report from the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) entitled Essential to the Fight: Immigrants in the Military, Eight Years After 9/11 should provide some perspective. One of the main points of the report is that 'Without the contributions of immigrants, the military could not meet its recruiting goals and could not fill its need for foreign-language translators, interpreters and cultural experts.' Margaret D. Stock who is an attorney in Anchorage, Alaska and a Lieutenant Colonel in the Military Police Corps, U.S. Army Reserve, wrote 'Essential to the Fight'. EDITOR’S NOTE: This report is available on our immigration downloads page.
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US lawmaker seeks tighter checks on H-1B visa frauds
Business Line, November 9. The din over H-1B visa programme is rising once again.
US Senator Charles Grassley – the co-author of the Durbin-Grassley Bill, which had proposed to limit the H-1B hirings to 50 per cent of the total workforce of an employer – has shot off a letter to US immigration authorities seeking tighter checks on frauds and abuse of the high-skilled visa programme. The Senator has also expressed concern that the prosecution for violation have remained low. In a letter to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Iowa Republican pointed out that within the last year, Citizenship and Immigration Services officials have made an effort to identify employers who misrepresented their hiring intentions. However, few prosecutions have seemingly moved forward, he said.
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House Passes Landmark Health Care Reform Bill That Leaves Intact Provisions
MicEvHill.com, November 9. The House of Representatives has passed a landmark health care reform Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) bill that would require every person in the United States to purchase health insurance, establish a new entitlement to federal health care affordability subsidies for lower income individuals and families, and enact significant new consumer reforms to protect the rights and benefits of the insured. The House passed the measure late in the evening on Saturday, November 7, 2009, by a vote of 220-215. For the most part, the House-passed health care reform bill would provide legal immigrants with the same access to its benefits that U.S. citizens would enjoy, while barring federal health care affordability subsidies to persons who are not lawfully present in the United States. Unlike the health care reform bill that has been reported by the Senate Committee on Finance, the House-passed measure defies the wishes of President Barack Obama by permitting illegal immigrants to purchase health insurance products with their own funds.
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Green Card Deal For Rich Investors
The Irish Independent, November 8. A bill signed into law last week by US President Barack Obama will allow wealthy Irish people to get green cards to live in the United States in second homes provided they invest in projects that will provide 10 jobs in a high unemployment area. The little-known programme, known as EB-5 regional centre programme, is a highly beneficial permanent residence option for the wealthy individual, according to Ron Klasko, who is chairman of the EB-5 committee of the American Immigration Lawyers' Association. The programme requires an investment of at least $500,000 (€336,000) in a high unemployment or rural area in a commercial enterprise that will employ 10 full-time US workers. The investor has to be able to document that the funds are legal, but does not have to be involved in day-to-day management. Under the law, the permanent home obtained by the Irish investor is conditional for two years and can be made permanent upon satisfying the US Customs and Immigration Service at the end of the two years that the investment proceeds have not been withdrawn, and that the jobs have been created.
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Odds of a green card lottery winner actually getting a green card
Immigration Examiner, November 9. Many DV lottery sites estimate the chances of winning the lottery based on the overall chances of getting selected. These odds are dependent on the number of entrants and other factors. For DV-2011, we previously estimated that approximately 17 million will register for the calendar year 2009 lottery from eligible countries. If accurate, then the overall chances of receiving a winning letter from the U.S. State Department are 100,000 in 17 million, or 0.6 percent (one in 170). However, the odds of getting a visa are 50% of that, since only 50,000 of the initial 100,000 are actually issued a visa. This means the overall odds are not 1 in 170, but closer to 1 in 340. But is this really true?
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Around 2000 Lankans Will Migrate To USA Under The Green Card Visa- SOMIT
DailyMirror, November 9. Every year, US State Department Grants 50,000 Visas under the Diversity Visa Lottery, popularly known as Green Card Lottery to selected lot of countries. The leading Green Card Application Processing Center in Sri Lanka, SOMIT Pvt. Ltd, says 650 Sri Lankans have won the Green Card lottery this time. Winners who are married would be able to take their spouses and unmarried children under 21 years of age also with them and therefore around 2000 Sri Lankans would be going for permanent residency in USA under this scheme. Since the entry qualification is just G.C.E. O/L, this is the easiest way to migrate to USA. One need not have to take exams like TOEFL or IELTS to prove the English language proficiency or have blood relations in the USA or a specific amount of money in the bank to apply for the Green Card. Further there is no US Dollar fee to be paid .All you got to do is submit an error free application by electronic means as per the rules of the DVL. SOMIT does this job well as they have all equipment and a trained staff to forward application accurately.
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Lou Dobbs Takes Flak From Many Directions. He Fires Back Too.
AXcess News, November 4, OPINION. CNN's Lou Dobbs is a man with a mission: Keep hammering on immigration in the United States.He's been at it for years, warning that immigrants (illegal and sometimes legal) are a threat to the country's economic and social well-being, maybe even its domestic tranquility and security.Whether or not he believes everything he says - and apparently he does - it's a very effective broadcast shtick, a hot-button political issue and one that's easily played (and manipulated), especially when the economy has been faltering and terrorist attacks from abroad remain a threat.
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Supreme Court Query Puts Janet Napolitano On The Spot
The Politico, November 6, 2009. A simple query from the Supreme Court is forcing the Obama administration to wrestle with the limits of states’ authority to enforce immigration laws — and also is throwing an uncomfortable spotlight on Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. On Monday, the justices asked the Justice Department to provide its views on Arizona’s attempt to force employers to verify the immigration status of potential employees. The law being challenged in the cases was signed by Napolitano in 2007, when she was governor of Arizona. Napolitano has stated that she believes the law is constitutional, but business groups and immigration reform advocates generally in President Barack Obama’s camp are asking the Supreme Court to strike down the statute.
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Judge Gets Cleric's Case Back
Associated Press, November 6. The lengthy deportation case of an influential New Jersey Muslim leader has been sent back to an immigration judge for a rehearing. In a 12-page ruling made public this week, the Board of Immigration Appeals rejected some arguments that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security made in the case against Imam Mohammad Qatanani, the 45-year-old spiritual leader of the Islamic Center of Passaic County. The panel, however, also challenged some of the reasoning that led to Judge Alberto J. Riefkohl's ruling in September 2008 granting permanent resident status to Qatanani. A Palestinian, Qatanani lives in Paterson with his wife and three of their U.S.-born children. The panel recommended the judge further evaluate evidence - which he considered questionable and accorded 'very low evidentiary weight' - that DHS obtained from Israeli officials that the agency claimed proved Qatanani had been convicted of charges linking him to Hamas, classified by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization.
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Denver Immigrant Asylum Center Latest To Close
Associated Press, November 5. A Denver center that offered counseling and legal help to immigrants who sought asylum after they were tortured in their home countries has closed after losing its federal grant. The Rocky Mountain Survivors Center closed last month. About 50,000 people seek asylum in the U.S. each year. Torture-survivor programs in other cities including Atlanta and Detroit are struggling to stay open after federal funding cuts. A center in Philadelphia has closed. Annual reports show about 250 people received help in Denver each year. The Denver center received nearly $4.2 million in federal grants over eight years. The Denver Post reports that the money wasn't renewed this year, and board members couldn't find enough private funding.
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Italians, Not Texans, Building Signature Dallas Bridge
WFAA News, November 5. Seventy million dollars worth of federal, state and city funds are pouring into the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. Supporters hope the span will be a signature for the city. But it may be remembered for something else, because the key jobs in its construction -- tens of thousands of man hours of work — are going to Italians. On the construction site in the Trinity River bottoms, an American inspector told News 8: 'If you don't speak Italian, it's going to be tough to communicate.' In broken English, a man who appeared to be a foreman, told me all the welders and helpers on the project — eleven in all — are from Italy. The Texas Department of Transportation is buying the bridge. The steel comes from Italian company Cimolai. Cimolai imported the workers to build the span without giving Texans a chance at the jobs, which would have been required under H-2B visas, the kind specified for construction jobs.
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Migrant Remittance To Developing Nations To Touch $317 Bn
Press Trust of India, November 5. Migrant remittance flow to developing countries, including India, will be around $317 billion this year, a lower-than-expected fall from the year-ago level, but will return to the recovery path in years to come, the World Bank has said. Remittance flow to developing countries will touch $317 billion in 2009, and going forward, the inflows to these nations are expected to remain almost flat in 2010, (with a modest rise of 1.4 per cent) and grow by 3.9 per cent in 2011, the World Bank said in its Migration and Development Brief. The projected remittance flow this year will represent a 6.1 per cent fall from the 2008 level against the earlier expectation of a 7.3 per cent dip. The officially recorded remittance flow to developing countries reached $338 billion in 2008, higher than the previous estimate of $328 billion, according to the newly available data with the World Bank.
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Honoring His Mother, And Alma Mater
Washington Post, November 5. At 9, Madieu Williams immigrated to Prince George's County from Sierra Leone, one of the poorest nations on Earth. The move gave his family a sense of perspective. His mother told him over and over that if he ever found himself in a position to make a difference, he should do it. At 28, Williams finds himself in a relatively prosperous position: He plays free safety for the Minnesota Vikings. And Wednesday, he made a difference. In a morning news conference, the University of Maryland announced the creation of the Madieu Williams Center for Global Health Initiatives. The former U-Md. star is providing a $2 million endowment. It is the largest gift to the flagship school from an African American alumnus and the largest sum donated by someone so young.
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Vitter Amendment On Census Falls In Senate Vote
The Times Picayune, November 5. Sen. David Vitter's bid to require the 2010 Census to ask all respondents about their citizenship was killed today when the Senate voted to invoke cloture and end debate on the Commerce spending bill without having to consider the Louisiana Republican's amendment. The Democratic leadership, which had been trying to block the Vitter amendment since early October, eked out a victory with the bare number of votes needed to invoke cloture, prevailing 60 to 39. Vitter's Democratic colleague, Sen. Mary Landrieu, who had been caustic in her criticism of Vitter's measure, voted with the majority. Vitter intended the citizenship count as a predicate to seeking to require that House seats be apportioned strictly on the basis of the citizen population of the United States, and not, as has always been the practice, on the total population. Without the change, Vitter said that Louisiana will be one of nine states to lose a congressional seat that would not lose the seat if reapportionment were based strictly on a count of citizens.
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The Truth About Immigration
LouDobbs.com, November 4. …"I've said for some time that the only rational actor in this entire immigration crisis, illegal immigration crisis, is the illegal alien, trying to benefit himself, herself and better their lives. But illegal employer is acting against the national interests, acting against the law in every respect. How can we get to the employer who is so shamelessly exploiting the illegal alien and so shamelessly flaunting U.S. law?" EDITOR’S NOTE: Lou Dobbs has shamed himself repeatedly on this topic with commentaries designed to demonize Latinos by association with illegal immigration and fear-mongering based on ignorance. This attempt to dress up his image is a good start to help repair his tarnished reputation, but will not likely do anything to advance comprehensive immigration reform, which he adamantly opposes, nor will it undo years of clearly negative stereotyping by Dobbs.
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2011 U.S. Diversity Visa Lottery: Open Until November 30.
Afrik.com, November 4. Each year, the U.S. government makes 50,000 permanent residence visas (“green cards”) available through the Diversity Immigrant Visa program. Visa applicants are selected through a computer-generated, random lottery. The selection of a person’s name in the lottery gives that person the opportunity to take the next steps in the visa application process.
Registration for the 2011 Diversity Visa Lottery (DV-2011) is open from October 2 to November 30, 2009, the U.S. State Department has announced. Applicants must submit their entries electronically, and they are strongly urged to apply early because heavy demand on the lottery Web site may cause delays as the deadline nears
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New Immigration Law Goes Into Effect; 'Widow's Penalty' Ends
WRDW News, November 3. A new immigration law is now in effect and this means new changes for Americans who marry foreign nationals. What's known as the widow penalty has ended now that President Barack Obama put the pen to the paper. This is especially meaningful to our military community, but it can affect anyone. Under the old law, if a United States citizen married someone from outside the country and then died within two years of the marriage, the spouse was deported. Now the spouse can stay. 'Tomorrow is tomorrow. We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow,' said Rev. Masaki Chiba. Rev. Chiba is Japanese born and can't imagine a 'tomorrow' without his wife and children. He married his wife Charisse, an American, after they met in college. He became a U.S. citizen almost 20 years ago.
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Activists Press Obama To Stick With Change Promise
Associated Press, November 3. With opponents speaking out at health care town halls and 'Tea Party' demonstrations, supporters of President Barack Obama gathered Tuesday in the Chicago park where he gave his election night speech to celebrate and encourage his mantra of change. A group that included the Rev. Jesse Jackson, proponents of immigration reform and gay rights activists signed a letter praising how far Obama has come on health care reform. The letter also asked the president to quickly address issues such as immigration, unemployment and the environment. 'Opposition to significant change is always fierce ... Protectors of the broken status quo predictably attempt to manipulate fear to block reforms in many arenas,' the letter read. 'On this anniversary of your election we urgently ask that you show ... courage in support of everyday Americans and the common good.'
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Students From Nepal Form A Growing Kinship At Community Colleges In North Texas
Dallas Morning News, November 2. At home in Katmandu, Nepal, Pankaj Karki researched colleges in the United States. He initially decided to attend a university in South Dakota. But when he arrived there, he was one of just nine students from his country. 'I was kind of homesick over there, and it was hard to adjust,' he said. Then his aunt and uncle told him about North Lake College in Irving. The country that sends the most international students to Dallas community colleges may come as a surprise. It's Nepal, a nation bordered by India and China and the home of Mount Everest and the Himalayan mountain range. There are 1,366 Nepalese students enrolled in the community college district. The campus within the college district with the greatest concentration is North Lake, with 832 Nepalese students.
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Keep Illegals Out of Census? No!
Press-Telegram, October 31, OPINION. There's an old saying in politics: "If you don't vote, you don't count." In short, areas where voting turnout is low lose influence in government and the money and services that come with it. But there's something even more basic at stake when it comes to getting counted in the federal Census that's conducted every 10 years. If you don't get counted, this principle might read, then you simply won't count - for anything. That's why a current effort by some Latino clergy to encourage a Census boycott by illegal immigrants makes little sense. Its not that these ministers and priests, members of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy & Christian Leaders, fear Census takers will report illegals to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, leading to their deportation. This has never happened, and the Barack Obama administration vows to keep that record intact.
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Senate Votes To Take Up Jobless Benefit Extension
Associated Press, November 3. After weeks of political haggling, the Senate agreed Tuesday to take up legislation that would give people running out of unemployment insurance benefits up to 20 more weeks of federal aid. Senate Democrats, saying that 7,000 people a day are exhausting their benefits, called on their colleagues to move quickly to a final vote. Republicans insisted they get a chance to offer amendments on the benefit bill and other issues. Also in play was the possibility the bill would be used as a vehicle to extend another policy that has been central to the Obama administration's efforts to revive the economy: an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers. The vote was 87-13 to bring the bill to the floor. Sixty votes were needed to pass that procedural hurdle.
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Church Leaders Urging Welcome Of Immigrants
Providence Journal, November 2. Hoping to set a new tone in the debate on immigration, some of the state’s religious leaders are reminding the faithful of the biblical command to “welcome the stranger” in their midst. The Rhode Island State Council of Churches will release on Monday a 2,600-word document developed over the course of a year by the council’s Faith and Order Commission. The governing board adopted the document two weeks ago. The Rev. Donald Anderson, the council’s executive minister, said it is less a policy paper on immigration than an outline of biblical principles that should help those who seek to approach the issue with the eyes of faith. “I think everyone agrees that the system we have now is broken,” he said Friday. “We’re not trying to suggest that everyone must come up with the same conclusion as to how to fix it. But we say that if you are a person of faith, your attitudes and approach on immigration must be consistent with your faith perspective.”
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Former National Guard Soldier Fights Deportation
Yakima Herald Republic, November 1. Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry's father told him to serve the country he loves. Heeding those words, the 36-year-old Pakistani immigrant living in Yakima joined the Army National Guard and was sent to active duty at Fort Lewis and Fort Irwin in Southern California. Now, the country he served is kicking him out. Immigration authorities are denying him U.S. citizenship because he failed to disclose old misdemeanor convictions in Australia when he applied for a visa a decade ago. Chaudhry - who claims he was coerced into pleading guilty to the crimes, for which he paid fines - says he didn't realize they were classified as convictions at the time. He alerted U.S. immigration authorities after learning otherwise years later. He says his honesty is costing him his dream of living in this country with his wife Ann, a U.S. citizen.
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Secret Mission Rescues Yemen's Jews
Wall Street Journal, October 31. In his new suburban American home, Shaker Yakub, a Yemeni Jew, folded a large scarf in half, wrapped it around his head and tucked in his spiraling side curls. 'This is how I passed for a Muslim,' said the 59-year-old father of seven, improvising a turban that hid his black skullcap. The ploy enabled Mr. Yakub and half a dozen members of his family to slip undetected out of their native town of Raida, Yemen, and travel to the capital 50 miles to the south. There, they met U.S. State Department officials conducting a clandestine operation to bring some of Yemen's last remaining Jews to America to escape rising anti-Semitic violence in his country. In all, about 60 Yemeni Jews have resettled in the U.S. since July; officials say another 100 could still come. There were an estimated 350 in Yemen before the operation began. Some of the remainder may go to Israel and some will stay behind, most in a government enclave. The secret evacuation of the Yemeni Jews -- considered by historians to be one of the oldest of the Jewish diaspora communities -- is a sign of America's growing concern about this Arabian Peninsula land of 23 million.
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Immigrant Violence in France Gives Ugly Glimpse into America’s Future
Virginia Beach Conservative Examiner, October 30, OPINION. Most of us are all too familiar with the lawless attitude displayed by illegal aliens, as they take to our roads without drivers licenses nor insurance and are all too often drunk (It is actually a measure of manhood in Mexico for a man too drink excessively, then get behind the wheel of a car. Enforcement of driving laws in Mexico is basically non-existent.) Illegal aliens account for 29 percent of this nation's prison population and present a much greater and more present danger to America than Iraq or Afghanistan ever could. In 2006, we saw huge numbers of illegal aliens marching in the streets of more than 20 U.S. cities, as these invaders demanded their 'rights.' In Dallas alone, 500,000 demonstrators filled the streets waving Mexican flags and shouting threats of 'Reconquista' (re-conquest of the American Southwest).
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Slump Sinks Visa Program
Wall Street Journal, October 29. A coveted visa program that feeds skilled workers to top-tier U.S. technology companies and universities is on track to leave thousands of spots unfilled for the first time since 2003, a sign of how the weak economy has eroded employment even among highly trained professionals. The program, known as H-1B, has been a mainstay of Silicon Valley and Wall Street, where many companies have come to depend on securing visas for computer programmers from India or engineers from China. Last year, even as the recession began to bite, employers snapped up the 65,000 visas available in just one day. This year, however, as of Sept. 25 -- nearly six months after the U.S. government began accepting applications -- only 46,700 petitions had been filed. In addition to the weak economy, companies have curbed applications in the face of anti-immigrant sentiment in Washington and rising costs associated with hiring foreign-born workers.
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Hands (And Especially Bullets) Off Lou Dobbs!
VDare.com, October 29, OPINION. Dobbs broadcasts have educated millions of Americans that illegal immigration is out of control and creates a variety of damage in the country, e.g. diminished national sovereignty, cheap labor displacing citizens, border chaos, increased local crime and overpopulation overwhelming infrastructure. Many Americans who would have otherwise felt isolated and intimidated by the otherwise unrelenting Open Borders propaganda came to understand that they were not alone from watching Lou Dobbs Tonight. EDITOR’S NOTE: We disagree with most of VDare’s opinions, but do agree that the Dobbs’ house shooting is, at the very least, attempted sensorship by parties unknown and is not part of civilized behavior in America.
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Undocumented Youth Encourage Others.
Chattanooga Times Free Press, October 29. Ricardo came to the United States when he was 12 and is studying business administration. Sandra immigrated here when she was 9 years old and is majoring in psychology.Beyond their search for higher education, both college students also share a secret: They were brought to the United States illegally by their parents. Sandra and Ricardo started a group called Youth in Action, coordinated by the Coalition of Latino Leaders, to encourage others in their situation to go to college and get involved with the community. They asked to be identified only by their first names because of their legal status, 'Our main goal is to encourage (other undocumented youth) to change their way of thinking that 'This is it;' that if you don't go to school, that's it; that if you are not legal, that's all you can do,' said Sandra, a 24-year-old Mexico native.
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Wirba Family To Reunite After Five Years
El Dorado Times, October 28. Each year, the U.S. State Department sponsors the diversity visa lottery, a Congressionally mandated program that awards 50,000 visas to people who meet strict eligibility requirements and live in countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. The visa winners are chosen by a computer-generated, random lottery drawing. This year, four of El Dorado resident John Paul Wirba’s family members won the lottery and are scheduled to arrive in Kansas today. John Paul, who is originally from Cameroon in West Africa, has been in the U.S. for the past five years and attends Butler Community College. He also has a full time job to support his wife Donielle and daughter Camryn.
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CNN's Ramping it's 'Latino in America,' But It's Getting Ruined by Lou Dobbs
New York Daily News, October 18, OPINION. Ironically, the series comes at a time when CNN has a huge trust problem with Latinos - and its name is Lou Dobbs. Dobbs, some say, has thrown ethics overboard and has made a career out of vilifying immigrants. 'The truth is that CNN already airs a nightly program on Latinos in America. It's called 'Lou Dobbs Tonight', and for 260 hours a year CNN provides air time for anti-immigrant distortions and anti-Latino propaganda,' said Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice, a national pro-immigration reform group. America's Voice, along with Media Matters, and Presente.org, have called on CNN to dump Dobbs. 'They (CNN) think that a few hours of serious reporting on Latinos by sunny Soledad O'Brien can make up for thousands of hours of anti-Latino extremism from the dark Lou Dobbs,' said Roberto Lovato, of Presente.org and a leader of the movement to dismiss Dobbs.
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Green Card Lottery Entrant Financial Considerations
Albuquerque Immigration Examiner, November 1. As part of our continuing series on the DV-2011 diversity visa lottery, today we look at the costs involved. First, it costs nothing for entrants to self-register at the official U.S. government web site at www.dvlottery.state.gov. However, as we have discussed before, there are reasons why entrants may want to use a paid lottery service. According to annual research conducted by myGreencard.com, the average fee charged by green card lottery service providers in the 2009 lottery is $58 for one person for one year, and $79 for two persons. Many registrants pay for additional services that could substantially increase the cost to as much as $500-$1000 per family. If you win the lottery there are fees charged by the United States Department of State. You will be charged $775 per applicant.
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Study Co-authored by BC’s Skerry Proposes Major Immigration Reforms
Boston College Chronicle, October 24. A Boston College faculty member is co-author of a new study recommending major reforms of US immigration policy, including a mandatory workplace verification system linked to a legalization program for undocumented immigrants, admitting more skilled and fewer family-sponsored immigrants, and improving temporary worker programs. Professor of Political Science Peter Skerry was one of three conveners of the Immigration Policy Roundtable, a group of 20 scholars, community leaders, political and policy entrepreneurs, think tank analysts and former government officials who produced "Breaking the Immigrant Stalemate: From Deep Disagreements to Constructive Proposals.” EDITORS NOTE: Although we do not agree with all the findings of this study, it is available in our Free Reports section.
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'Sweeps' Afoul of Both State And Federal Law
Arizona Republic, October 24, OPINION. Joe Arpaio's self-promoting "sweeps" may be a lot of things. But "legal" isn't one of them. Clearly, there is some part of that word the Maricopa County sheriff does not comprehend. Arpaio claims he has the authority to continue wasting his scarce resources chasing down broken tail lights on cars and terrorizing Hispanic neighborhoods. Others beg to differ, including the federal Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
ICE officials signed an agreement with Arpaio on Friday stipulating, unambiguously, that his authority to track the immigration status of suspected illegal immigrants under the 287(g) program extends only to inmates processed through county jails. "That does not provide him any authority to conduct activities outside the jails," Assistant Homeland Security Secretary John Morton said Friday in an interview with an Arizona Republic editorial writer. With his classic, melodramatic defiance working in overdrive, Arpaio has tried claiming he had the authority from . . . somewhere else. He has cited a mishmash of "law," virtually none of which exists, as it turns out.
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US Weighs Immigration Fee Hike
Agence France Presse, October 23. The US could raise the price of immigration-related fees as it battles a budget shortfall spurred by the global financial meltdown, a senior official said on Wednesday. The cash-strapped US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is considering hiking fees, reducing expenditures or seeking help from Congress to address its financial woes, said agency director Alejandro Mayorkas. 'We will, as an agency, potentially have to make cuts, and we will, potentially, have to raise certain fees to meet the financial challenge brought about by a decline in revenue,' Mayorkas said. Immigration-related applications have dropped 'markedly' over the past year amid the economic downturn, and are behind the agency’s revenue decline, he said. USCIS was flooded with applications in 2007 ahead of last year’s US presidential elections and an increase in citizenship fees from 400 to 675 dollars. A record 7.7 million immigration applications were registered in 2007.
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Report: Immigrant Parents Who Learn English Better Able To Help Kids
Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City), October 23. Yolanda Nacasio wants to learn English for many reasons. But one reason trumps them all: her kids. She said Thursday she wants to learn English to 'help with homework, for when I have an appointment for the doctor for her ... for when we go to the store.' Nacasio has been taking English classes at Jackson Elementary School for about a month. Offering immigrants more such opportunities to learn English helps them better support their families, according to a new report released earlier this week by Voices for Utah Children. The non-profit advocacy group hopes the report will shed more light on Utah's immigrant families. For example, children born to immigrants made up about 16 percent of Utah's child population in 2007, and the vast majority of those children -- about 80 percent -- were U.S. citizens.
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CNN’s Special on Latinos Stirs Protests Against Anchor
New York Times, October 22. CNN’s broadcast of a four-hour documentary about Latinos this week turned into a political rallying cry for activist groups that are calling on the cable news channel to fire Lou Dobbs, a veteran anchor with anti-immigration views. An array of minority groups held small protests in New York and other cities on Wednesday, the first night of the 'Latino in America' presentation. They are trying to highlight what they say are years of lies about immigration by Mr. Dobbs, who anchors the 7 p.m. hour on CNN. CNN, a unit of Time Warner, has not commented on the protests, or covered them on its news programs. One of the activists featured in the documentary said on Wednesday she tried to bring up what she called Mr. Dobbs’ 'hatred' on one of the channel’s news programs, but that her remarks were cut from the interview. Isabel Garcia, a civil rights attorney who was featured in the documentary and attended an protest against Mr. Dobbs in Tucson on Wednesday, said that she felt censored by CNN after the channel edited her comments about the anchor out of an interview. She had anticipated a 15-minute conversation about immigration opposite the Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona, a staunch believer in immigration enforcement, on the prime-time program 'Anderson Cooper 360.'
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U.S. Immigration Reform Bill Could Be Introduced By First Quarter
The Carrib World News, October 23. A bill pushing for comprehensive immigration reform in the U.S. may be introduced by next February or March, CaribWorldNews understands. Sources tell CWNN that New York Senator Chuck Schumer this week promised a group of over 100 clergy in Washington, D.C, that the bill will be introduced by the first quarter of 2010. Schumer also reportedly expressed confidence that the bill, which has as many critics as it has supporters, can be passed. In fact, as he told the gathering, he promised the late Senator Ted Kennedy he will see the bill passed. The pastors under the group Churches United to Save and Heal were in D.C. as guests of Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, and were calling for action on comprehensive immigration reform that could put millions of undocumented migrants on a path to legalization.
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As Deadline Looms, Questions Arise Over Rifqa Bary's Immigration Status
Orlando Sentinel, October 23. As a deadline looms for lawyers to provide her immigration paperwork to an Orange County judge, Fathima Rifqa Bary's own words indicate there may be troubles with her legal status in the United States. Rifqa's guardian ad litem already raised the possibility that the 17-year-old Ohio teen runaway isn't in the country legally. And now, the teen's own statements indicate that something may be amiss. Rifqa told agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement during an Aug. 24 interview that her family couldn't travel 'because of our legal status here.'
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US Embassy Opens 2011 DV Visa Lottery
Peace FM Online, October 21. The United States (US) Consular Section on Wednesday announced the opening of entries for its Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery for 2011 which would be closed at exactly 12 noon on November 30, 2009.Mr Michael Evans, Chief of the Consular Section, addressing a round table conference in Accra, said the closure would be without further extensions and encouraged applicants to apply early to enable the Embassy to work on the necessary arrangements.He explained that the DV Visa Lottery programme was instituted by the US Government to give opportunity to non-Americans who wished to become citizens to apply and aided to secure visas and the necessary documents for their acceptance as American citizens.
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Green Card Lottery Assistance
iBerkshires.com, October 22. The Berkshire Immigrant Center will help residents to apply for the annual Diversity Visa (green card) Lottery on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, 88 South Street in Pittsfield. Assistance will be offered during this time on a first-come first-served basis or on other days by appointment. Attendees are asked to use the Church’s north-side entrance near the Pittsfield Cooperative Bank. Staff from the Berkshire Immigrant Center will be on hand to take or scan digital photos of applicants and family members and to submit applications as required over the internet. A suggested donation of $5.00 per primary applicant is requested. Spanish-speaking interpreters will be available. Anyone who would like to attend who is in need of an interpreter of another language should contact the Center in advance by calling (413) 445-4881.
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Evangelical Group Leans Left
One News Now, October 21. A Protestant renewal organization is blasting the National Association of Evangelicals for its liberal stance on illegal immigration. Earlier this month, the Board of Directors for the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) passed a resolution endorsing so-called 'comprehensive' immigration reform. Critics argue, however, that this is nothing more than support of amnesty for illegal aliens. NAE president Leith Anderson testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security as part of a panel of religious leaders which advocated loosening immigration policies. Mark Tooley, president of The Institute on Religion & Democracy, says the NAE endorsement was appreciated by the head of that panel. 'New York Democrat [Senator] Chuck Schumer understandably greeted the evangelical testimony enthusiastically because, in effect, they were supporting his efforts to revive the idea of comprehensive immigration reform,' says Tooley, 'which would, in essence, create a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.'
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Military Paves Path To Citizenship
Newsday, October 21. More than 10,000 legal immigrants in the U.S. military became citizens last fiscal year, the most since the Vietnam War, according to preliminary figures released by the federal government this week. While the citizenship process for some can take multiple years, about 10,505 men and women in the armed forces took advantage of the government's expedited citizenship process for green-card holders in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. That includes 8,850 naturalized domestically and another 1,655 who were naturalized while serving abroad. 'Obviously we're delighted to have high-quality recruits willing to serve this country and citizenship is appropriate,' said Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Les Melnyk. 'These are Americans by choice and they've chosen to serve their adopted country during a time of war.'
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Widows Win Path to Get Green Card
Wall Street Journal, October 21. A bill passed by Congress Tuesday grants a victory to a small group of immigrants who risked being deported. A provision attached to the $41.8 billion Homeland Security appropriations bill ends a controversial interpretation of federal law, known as the 'widow penalty.' The clause required a couple be married at least two years in order for the foreign spouse to qualify for legal residency in the U.S. That had thrown several hundred immigrants whose spouses had died before the two-year minimum into a legal fight to stay in the country. The provision passed Tuesday removes the two-year marriage requirement, permitting widows and widowers of U.S. citizens to apply for a green card for themselves and on behalf of their children born abroad. Thousands of people are believed to have been deported under the 71-year-old law, according to immigration experts. Currently, another few hundred foreign spouses living in the U.S. had been trying to stave off deportation.
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Immigrant Scientists Create Jobs and Win Nobels
Wall Street Journal, October 19, OPINION. Of the nine people who shared this year's Nobel Prizes in chemistry, physics and medicine, eight are American citizens, a testament to this country's support for pioneering research. But those numbers disguise a more important story. Four of the American winners were born outside of the United States and only came here as graduate or post-doctoral students or as scientists. They came because our system of higher education and advanced research has been a magnet for creative talent. Unfortunately, we cannot count on that magnetism to last. Culturally, we remain a very open society. But that openness stands in sharp contrast to arcane U.S. immigration policies that discourage young scholars from settling in the U.S. Those policies come at a high price. Graduate and postgraduate student immigrants are essential to creating new, well-paid jobs in our economy. Of the 35 young innovators recognized this year by Technology Review magazine for their exceptional new ideas, only six went to high school in the United States. From MIT alone, foreign graduates have founded an estimated 2,340 active U.S. companies that employ over 100,000 people.
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Green Card Lottery Registrants - Email Addresses Now Required
Immigration Examiner, October 16. We recently highlighted the fact that very little changed from last year’s DV-2010 diversity visa lottery to this year’s DV-2011 lottery. The list of ineligible countries are the same: Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam. And the photograph requirements are the same (600x600 pixels, full 24-bit color, jpg format, file size less than or equal to 240K). Personal eligibility requirements are also identical—proof of the equivalent to a 12-year U.S. high school secondary education, or experience in an accepted occupation.
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Kenyan Green Card Winner Dies In American University
The Standard, October 16. A Kenyan student collapsed and died at Kennesaw State University in Atlanta, Georgia, US. The first-year Bachelor of Science student died on Tuesday. A family spokesperson Elizabeth Mungai, whom we spoke to from Atlanta, said Francis Kamau Gikaru, 30, had just left the university’s clinic where he had gone for allergy medication and was walking to his class when he collapsed. Health officers, who promptly arrived at the scene, pronounced him dead on arrival at Kennestone Hospital, ten miles West of the city of Atlanta. His father, Mr John Gikaru who is in Nairobi, also confirmed the sad news. In an interview with this reporter in Atlanta, Ms Mungai said family members and Kenyans in Atlanta were in shock. "I have just talked to his father in Kenya and he is devastated," she said. In an interview with this reporter in Atlanta, Ms Mungai said family members and Kenyans in Atlanta were in shock. "I have just talked to his father in Kenya and he is devastated," she said. His wife, Jane Wanjiru Kamau, said did Gikaru not have any medical issues nor had he complained of any pains prior to the incident. She said they settled in the US in May, last year, after winning the Diversity Visa (commonly known as the Green Card).
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Some Police Agencies Resist New Immigration Controls
USA Today, October 15. Some state and local police are having second thoughts about working with the federal government to enforce immigration laws. Under what's known as the 287(g) program, agencies sign a voluntary agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and are trained to check legal status of prisoners and crime suspects, and to initiate deportations. The contract can specify enforcement in jail, in the community or both. Several police agencies have complained that new rules set by the Obama administration would cost too much time and money and, in some cases, damage their relationship with immigrants.
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Poll: Mexicans say Mexican-Americans Owe Loyalty to Mexico Over U.S.
CNS News, October 15. Nearly 70 percent of Mexicans surveyed said that Mexican-Americans – including those born in the United States – owe their primary loyalty to Mexico, not the U.S., according to a Zogby poll commissioned by the Center for Immigration Studies. The in-person poll, taken during August and September, sampled 1,004 Mexicans across the country on subjects related to illegal immigration and amnesty in the United States. When asked 'Should the primary loyalty of Mexican-Americans be to Mexico or to the U.S.?' 68.8 percent of respondents in Mexico said that it should be to Mexico, while only 19.7 percent said it should be to the United States. Another 11.5 percent of respondents said they were not sure.
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Judge: Immigrants' Kids Who 'Age Out' Lose Place
Associated Press, October 14. A federal judge has ruled that adult children who turn 21 while waiting for family-sponsored green cards have to wait anew once they 'age out' of their parents' applications. U.S. District Judge James Selna ruled in Los Angeles against a group of immigrants with green cards who sued the federal government, arguing a 2002 law means grown children should be allowed into the country when their parents file new paperwork on their behalf. Friday's final ruling means the plaintiffs' children who became adults while waiting for processing must start the application process from the beginning. Immigration attorneys say thousands of immigrants have waited a decade or more for their older children to join them in the U.S.
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Healthcare Reform May Leave Some Legal Migrants To U.S. In Limbo
Reuters, October 14. Immigration, particularly what to do with millions of illegal immigrants living in the shadows, has long been a divisive issue in the United States — so it comes as little surprise that undocumented migrants are excluded from benefits under President Barack Obama’s signature drive to overhaul healthcare. But legislation to reform the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare system to cut costs, extend coverage and regulate insurers could also exclude more than a million legal permanent residents living, working and paying taxes in this country of immigrants from core benefits, according to a study published this month.
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Democrats Face Uphill Climb On Immigration
The Hill, October 14. A small cadre of Democrats on Tuesday continued to push Congress to take up a major immigration reform bill even though the issue has all but evaporated from the majority’s agenda. At an afternoon rally in front of the Capitol, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s immigration task force, said an immigration overhaul is long overdue. 'We simply cannot wait any longer for a bill that keeps our families together, protects our workers and allows a pathway to legalization for those who have earned it,' Gutierrez said.
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Immigrants' Top Advocate
Washington Times, October 13. It was her very first asylum case. Twenty-five years ago, immigration lawyer Crystal L. Williams represented a Salvadoran woman who had walked from Mexico to the United States seeking refuge. Several of her family members were opponents of the government of El Salvador, and for being related to them, the woman had been arrested and tortured. The details are so horrific that even now, Ms. Williams cannot speak of them. Though unique in nature (only exiled or escaped members of a social group were given refuge) this case marked Ms. Williams' first asylum victory and sealed her fate as an advocate and change agent of immigration law. On Oct. 1, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) named her as its executive director.
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Family Fighting To Remain In U.S.
Press-Enterprise, October 13. Until last week, Whitney Serrano, a first-year student at Summit High School in Fontana, was dreaming about going to college to study veterinary medicine. Now Whitney, 14, is worried her college dreams will be crushed. Her illegal-immigrant parents on Oct. 6 were ordered to leave the United States within 60 days. The U.S.-born Whitney cannot imagine living in Mexico, a country she has visited only twice. 'This is the only life I've known since I was born,' the Bloomington girl said Tuesday after a San Bernardino immigration-reform rally. 'Going to Mexico would change everything. I'd have to start over again.'
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Immigration Debate Simmers On Back Burner
Charlotte Observer, October 12. The debate over what to do about 12 million illegal U.S. immigrants has stalled, and some reform advocates in Charlotte fear that President Obama lacks the congressional support to pass a bill anytime soon. With immigration caught up in the debate over health care, advocates' optimism about Obama's pledge of reform has faded. 'There is a lot of fear that the immigration debate is going to be more vicious than the debate of health care,' said Rafael Prieto of Charlotte, a former Spanish-language newspaper editor. 'The president is not going to be as effusive as he has been with health care. And it's going to be so much more poisonous because there is going to be no one to defend the undocumented.'
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1.5 Million Immigrant Children Lack Health Insurance
Frontera NorteSur (New Mexico State University), October 12. The offspring of Mexican immigrants are three times more likely to not have health insurance than other children living in the US, according to the study, which also reported that 86 percent of the uninsured children are US citizens. Nearly one in four children of Mexican immigrants residing in the United States does not have health insurance. That’s the conclusion of a new study presented in Santa Fe, New Mexico, this week. The study, a collaborative effort of Mexico’s National Population Council (Conapo) in conjunction with the University of California and the Health Initiative of the Americas, found that 1.5 million of 6.3 million children of Mexican immigrants in the US lack health insurance coverage.
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U.S. Can’t Trace Foreign Visitors on Expired Visas
New York Times, October 12. Eight years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and despite repeated mandates from Congress, the United States still has no reliable system for verifying that foreign visitors have left the country. New concern was focused on that security loophole last week, when Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, a 19-year-old Jordanian who had overstayed his tourist visa, was accused in court of plotting to blow up a Dallas skyscraper. Last year alone, 2.9 million foreign visitors on temporary visas like Mr. Smadi’s checked in to the country but never officially checked out, immigration officials said. While officials say they have no way to confirm it, they suspect that several hundred thousand of them overstayed their visas.
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Report: Iraqi Refugees In U.S. And Michigan Face Problems
Detroit Free Press, October 7. A report out of Georgetown University released today says the U.S. government is failing to help Iraqi refugees resettle. 'Iraqi refugees face odds so heavily stacked against them that most end up jobless, some even homeless,' the report says. The report was based on interviews with Iraqi refugees – more than half of them from metro Detroit – that were conducted by students at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington D.C. in partnership with human rights groups at the university. In recent years, thousands of Iraqi refugees have been accepted in the U.S., a significant percentage of them coming to Michigan because of relatives and the high numbers of Arabic speakers.
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US Starts Diversity Visa 2011 Green Card Lottery
Novinite.com, October 2. Bulgarian and other nationals around the world, looking to get a US green card now have another opportunity to bet on the annual lottery.The US Department of State has announced that registration for the 2011 Diversity Visa Lottery begins at 7 PM Bulgarian time on October 2, 2009.Persons who wish to participate in the lottery program must register online through the designated Internet website during the registration period. The website for registering for the 2011 DV Lottery, www.dvlottery.state.gov, will be available from Octob2, 2009 through 7 PM Bulgarian time on November 30, 2009.
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Obama Drops Rule Aimed At Immigrants' Bosses
San Francisco Chronicle, October 9. The Obama administration has repealed a rule that would have threatened employers with prosecution unless they fired workers whose Social Security numbers did not match entries in a government database, ending a two-year battle in a San Francisco federal court. Although the Department of Homeland Security formally withdrew the 'no-match' rule Wednesday, the administration is supporting another program enabling employers to check workers' names against electronic records that are supposed to screen out illegal immigrants. That program, E-Verify, is voluntary for most employers but mandatory for the 170,000 companies holding federal contracts and for their subcontractors. This week, a House-Senate conference committee voted to extend E-Verify for three years.
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Arizona Sheriff Vows to Enforce Immigration Law Whether ‘Feds’ Like It or Not
CNS News, October 9. Calling himself “the poster boy” for those who support the enforcement of federal immigration laws, Sheriff Joe Arpaio said he will continue to arrest individuals who are in the country illegally, even if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) does not renew the 287(g) agreement that the Maricopa County (Ariz.) Sheriff’s Office has operated under for the past two years. “We’ve been doing it for two years and have been very successful, but I guess they don’t like to enforce illegal immigration laws,” Arpaio told CNSNews.com. “[It] doesn’t make any difference. I’m still going to continue my programs, regardless of what the feds like or don’t like.”
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Ghana Is First With 8,752 And Nigeria Is Second With 6,006 Win 2010 US DV Lottery
GlobalPost, October 8. 6,006 Nigerians win 2010 US DV lottery. The United States (US) Mission in Nigeria has said the country ranked second in the number of winners of the US 2010 Diversity Visa (DV) lottery. Nigeria had 6,006 winning entries as against Ghana, with 8,752 winning entries, topping the list across the world.
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In Pursuit Of Dream America
Kathmandu Post, October 8. Destination America: land of opportunity beckons. With registration opening for Diversity Visa (DV) 2011 on Oct. 2, cyber cafes in the Capital are drawing people in droves. “It has just started and we hope to see many people visiting our centre for registration,” says Raji Rajak, a supervisor at a DV registration facilitating centre in the Capital. According to her, last year, her centre processed over 20,000 registrations. Girish Regmi, 34, has a decent government job in Kathmandu with a four-year-old daughter and his wife. But the lure of America drives him on as it does 20-year-old Arpan K.C., who aspires to settle and work in the U.S.
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H-1B bill unlikely to come up in Congress, says Nasscom
Livemint.com, October 8. A National Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) said on its return from the US on Tuesday that a so-called Durbin-Grassley bill is unlikely to be presented for Congressional hearing in its current form. ' We met with the senators and other stake holders and we can confidently say that the bill will not go for Congressional hearing in its current form,' said Ameet Nivsarkar, vice president at Nasscom, who was part of the team. 'The issues raised in the bill proposed by Durbin and Grassley will now be incorporated into the comprehensive immigration reform bill introduced by another Senator Charles E Schumer, which is expected to come up for hearing in January or February of 2010,' he said. Senator Schumer represents New York state and is chairman of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee.
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Detroit Free Press, October 7. Speaking in Dearborn on Tuesday to about 60 Arab-American and religious leaders, U.S. Commerce Se
San Antonio Express-News, October 8. The biggest obstacle to immigrant assimilation is legal status, or the lack thereof. So says a new report from the conservative-leaning Manhattan Institute, 'Measuring Immigrant Assimilation in the United States,' which found legal barriers to citizenship — nonexistent in the early 1900s during Italian and Irish immigrant waves — are keeping newer immigrants from assimilating. This happens despite proportionately more of the recent immigrants having better English skills and similar desires to be naturalized, the report states. The report by Jacob L. Vigdor of Duke University also found Mexicans assimilate slower than other immigrants and become citizens at lower rates. Political refugees assimilate more quickly because their status guarantees a pathway to citizenship.
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Commerce Chief: Immigrants Can Rebuild Country
Detroit Free Press, October 7. Speaking in Dearborn on Tuesday to about 60 Arab-American and religious leaders, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said that metro Detroiters with roots in the Middle East can help grow the economy but sometimes face problems with discrimination. Drawing upon his experiences as the son of Chinese immigrants, Locke said, 'We are all immigrants except for the Native Americans ... America owes a great debt to Arab-Americans and people of the Islamic faith.' Noting that many Arab-Americans are small-business owners, Locke said: 'We need to unleash the power of entrepreneurs.' To that end, Locke unveiled the department's first-in-the-nation 'Commerce Connection' office, a one-stop shop in Plymouth for businesses to access all the federal government has to offer, from research and development tools to grants and to licensing assistance.
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Newsweek, October 6. As Rep. Joe Wilson illustrated with his 'You lie!' outburst during Fire' gathering, aimed at lobbying again
Salt Lake Tribune, October 7. Utah Sen. Bob Bennett has switched strategies in his bid to get the Census to exclude undocumented immigrants when assigning congressional seats to each state. In recent weeks, the Utah Republican has pushed legislation that would require the Census Bureau to collect citizenship data in its once-a-decade count, but in a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday he said his proposal would 'obviously' not pass in time to impact the 2010 count. So he teamed with Louisiana GOP Sen. David Vitter to offer an amendment to a budget bill that he thinks could result in a quick policy change. The amendment would cut off funding for the Census unless this citizenship question was asked on all future counts.
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The Question Remains
Newsweek, October 6. As Rep. Joe Wilson illustrated with his 'You lie!' outburst during Fire' gathering, aimed at lobbying against 'amnesty' for illegal immigrants. On the other side, the United We DREAM Coalition organized 125 events around the country a few weeks ago in support of a law that would legalize certain undocumented high-school graduates. Today's news may be dominated by the health-care debate, but a new battle over immigration President Barack Obama's speech to Congress, the illegal-immigration issue remains as hot as ever. Lou Dobbs still fulminates about it most evenings on CNN. Conservative talk-radio hosts descended on Washington, D.C., last month for a 'Hold Their Feet to the reform looms ahead. As Obama repeated yet again last month, in an interview with Univision anchor Jorge Ramos, 'I am not backing off one minute from getting this done.'
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Report: U.S. Should Give Preference to Skilled Immigrants Over Relatives
Washington Post, October 6. The United States should cut back on the admission of immigrants who are extended-family members of U.S. citizens and permanent residents to make room for more skilled workers, a new independent panel recommended Tuesday. The 20-member panel, set up by the Brookings Institution and Duke University's Kenan Institute for Ethics, reflected an 'unprecedented' range of liberal and conservative thinkers, and was designed to provide a model rather than a specific road map for policy makers as the Obama administration hopes to take up immigration reform early next year, said Noah Pickus, director of the institute and convener of the group. The panel's 36-page report, released Tuesday, added weight to calls for Congress to create a standing commission to advise it in setting future immigration levels, variations of which have been proposed by the AFL-CIO and Service Employees International Union and the Council on Foreign Relations.
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San Francisco Sanctuary Rule Change Moves Ahead
San Francisco Chronicle, October 6. San Francisco officials on Monday moved closer to amending the city's controversial sanctuary ordinance and restricting when local authorities can report juveniles for possible deportation. The public safety committee of San Francisco's Board of Supervisors approved the legislation on a 2-1 vote, with Michaela Alioto-Pier dissenting. The legislation is expected to go before the full board later this month. A veto-proof majority supports amending the policy so that federal immigration officials are notified if a juvenile is convicted of a felony. Current policy, enacted by Mayor Gavin Newsom last year, requires immigration officials be contacted when a juvenile is arrested on suspicion of a felony.
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Transient Students Struggle
Daily World, October 6. Many students entering kindergarten can look forward to graduating with the same students they started school with. In today's mobile society, however, some may end up in different school districts with different sets of classmates. Their parents may move across town to a bigger house or across the country for a better job. Changing schools can be tough for a child who has to learn new routines, make new friends and sometimes struggle to catch up with their new classmate. But there is a segment of the school population for whom moving from place to place and school to school is a way of life. They get their education in bits and pieces.
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Agency Plans for Visa Push by Residents Made Legal
New York Times, October 2. Although President Obama has put off an immigration overhaul until next year, the federal agency in charge of approving visas is planning ahead for the possibility of giving legal status to millions of illegal immigrants, the agency’s director said Thursday. 'We are under way to prepare for that,' Alejandro Mayorkas, the director of the agency, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, said in an interview. Mr. Obama has told immigration officials that a legalization program would be part of legislation the White House would propose, said Mr. Mayorkas, who became director in August. The agency’s goal, he said, is to be ready to expand rapidly to handle the gigantic increase in visa applications it would face if the legislation, known as comprehensive immigration reform, passed Congress.
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Senators Reject Five-Year Wait For Immigrant Healthcare
The Hill, October 1. Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee defeated a Republican amendment to a healthcare bill that would require legal immigrants to wait five years before accessing federal health benefits. Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) proposed the amendment, arguing that instituting such a limit would discourage people from coming to the United States to access government programs. But Democrats argued that a five-year waiting period would be unfair to immigrants legally residing in the United States and paying taxes. Moreover, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) argued, it would run counter to the bill's requirement that nearly everyone obtain health insurance or face a financial penalty. 'This amendment sets up a Catch 22 for legal immigrants,' Menendez said. Under current law, legal immigrants must wait five years before they can receive Medicaid benefits. Earlier this year, Congress passed legislation lifting that restriction for the Children's Health Insurance Program.
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Iraqi And Afghan Refugees Who Assisted U.S. Forces Pursue A Fresh Start
Sacramento Bee, October 1. Farhad Kareem Faraj and his wife eat mahshi, stuffed vegetables Iraqi-style, in their sparse one-bedroom apartment on Watt Avenue, and try to map a future in the country of their dreams. Jwana Mohammed Shalih Hussein, Faraj's wife, was a physical therapist in Iraq. To help her find work here, she's taking English classes at Sacramento's Winterstein Adult Center with about 50 other Iraqi refugees. Faraj, 35, doesn't need English classes -- he spent four years as a translator for U.S. troops in Iraq, going door-to-door in search of Iraqi resisters trying to expel the Americans. He's getting restless applying for low-end jobs and itching for new action. 'It's dangerous, but I miss the fun of going after terrorists,' he said. 'Maybe I'll go to Afghanistan.'
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Liberals Seek Health-Care Access For Illegals
Washington Times, September 28. Fearful that they're losing ground on immigration and health care, a group of House Democrats is pushing back and arguing that any health care bill should extend to all legal immigrants and allow illegal immigrants some access. The Democrats, trying to stiffen their party's spines on the contentious issue, say it's unfair to bar illegal immigrants from paying their own way in a government-sponsored exchange. Legal immigrants, they say, regardless of how long they've been in the United States, should be able to get government-subsidized health care if they meet the other eligibility requirements. 'Legal permanent residents should be able to purchase their plans, and they should also be eligible for subsidies if they need it. Undocumented, if they can afford it, should be able to buy their own private plans. It keeps them out of the emergency room,' said Rep. Michael M. Honda, California Democrat and chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
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Fees Deter Many From Citizenship
Boston Globe, September 28. Nearly 300,000 legal immigrants in Massachusetts are eligible to become US citizens, but only a small percentage each year are reaching that goal, raising concerns that huge swaths of people are being priced out of the American dream. Fees to apply for citizenship have soared in the past two decades from $60 a person to $675, making them among the highest in the Western world, researchers say. At the same time, assistance for navigating the often confusing system is dwindling because of state budget cuts. Citizenship is considered the ultimate pathway to integration in society, requiring that immigrants learn English and US history and defend the Constitution. It grants them the right to vote, apply for federal jobs, and bring their families to the United States.
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Undocumented UM Student's Hopes Hinge On DREAM Bill
The Great Falls Tribune, September 27. Carlos Rivera wants what just about every other university student in the United States wants: to earn his degree and set off into the world in pursuit of the American Dream. But before Rivera can realize that dream, he's going to have to get through a nightmare most college students can't even fathom. That's because Rivera is on the verge of being deported to Mexico, and unless Congress moves past the health care debate and on to immigration reform -- specifically a bill known as the DREAM Act -- Rivera's chances of staying in the country beyond winter are slim.
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To Be 'Made' Is A Long Process
Aikenstandard.com, September 26. Some U.S. citizens are born, and some are made. One group can obtain citizenship a lot easier than the other. For those not born in this country, it can be a long and twisty road to U.S. citizenship. The first step is obtaining permanent resident status, either by marriage or by employment, then obtaining sponsorship from a citizen, either a member of the immediate or extended family or an employer, according to Augusta-based immigration attorney Paul Balducci. Permanent residents have all the rights of citizens - except for the right to vote and the right to run for public office - and can apply for citizenship after five years of residence in the United States.
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Officials Push Swine-Flu Shots For Migrants
Arizona Republic, September 26. With swine-flu vaccinations set to begin next month, public-health officials are mobilizing to ensure that the nation's estimated 11 million-plus illegal immigrants are vaccinated. And unlike the divisive debate over whether illegal immigrants should get federal health care, there is little dispute that they should receive the H1N1 shots. 'We believe it's important that all people be vaccinated regardless of immigration status if there's a pressing public-health concern,' said Jon Feere, legal policy analyst at the Center for Immigration Studies, which opposes taxpayer-funded health care for illegal immigrants and wants to reduce immigration.
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For Mexicans Seeking To Cross The US Border, It's Not Just About Jobs Anymore
Christian Science Monitor, September 25. New data about Mexican immigration to the United States find that the evaporation of jobs during the US recession has done little to dissuade millions of Mexicans from wanting to move across the border amid growing signs that many Mexicans are motivated to leave home not by the lure of higher wages but by fears for their safety. To be sure, economic opportunity is still the main driver behind Mexican immigration. That's meant the overall number of Mexican's in the US has shrunk slightly in the past year as construction came to a standstill and suburbanites put their gardens at the bottom of their priority lists.
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California Immigrants Facing Deportation Find A Friend In Dianne Feinstein
Sacramento Bee, September 25. On the morning of Jan. 28, federal agents knocked on Shirley Tan's door, showed her a deportation letter and put her in handcuffs. 'I was put into a van with two men in yellow jumpsuits and chains and searched like a criminal in a way I have only seen on television and in the movies,' said Tan, 44, a housewife and mother from Pacifica. But Tan is still in the United States today, and she says there's only one reason why: 'the great compassion' of California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein. People seeking to get around U.S. immigration laws have found a good friend in the state's senior senator, who is going to unusual lengths to help her constituents avoid deportation. Feinstein, a member of the Judiciary Committee, is the Senate's leader in using 'private bills' as a way to keep people in the country who otherwise would be forced to leave.
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Immigration Agency Head: Fee Hikes A Last Resort
Associated Press, September 24. The head of the federal agency in charge of processing millions of applications for citizenship and immigration to the U.S. says he understands the hardships that raising application fees would have on the community. But Alejandro Mayorkas, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, stressed to reporters Thursday that raising fees is only one option the agency has as it grapples with a revenue shortfall. The agency depends on fees from applications for immigration-related services to pay for its operations. 'The potential fee increase is not something that is taken lightly. We understand very well its impact,' Mayorkas said. 'In my personal view, it would be something of last resort and ... it should be as respectful as possible of the burden it in fact imposes.'
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Immigrants' Fast Path To Citizenship: Enlist
Orlando Sentinel (FL), September 24. Stephane Paul had not been to the U.S. when he started dreaming of being in the U.S. military. He was a wide-eyed child in Haiti when his father gave him some book covers depicting American soldiers in action. 'They had people in choppers, giving out food to other people, flying in and doing humanitarian work,' said Paul, 23. 'I always thought it was cool.' Paul, who came to Orlando to live with his mother in 1999, took his first chance to enlist. Fresh out of Edgewater High School, he tried the Marines but later joined the Army, completing basic training last year. Pfc. Paul felt as if he were missing something, though: He was not a U.S. citizen. Like Paul, more than 20,000 immigrants in the U.S. military are legal residents but don't have citizenship. And more are taking advantage of a streamlined process to become Americans.
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Immigrants Cling to Fragile Lifeline at Safety-Net Hospital
New York Times, September 24. If Grady Memorial Hospital succeeds in closing its outpatient dialysis clinic, Tadesse A. Amdago, a 69-year-old immigrant from Ethiopia, said he would begin ''counting the days until I die.'' Rosa Lira, 78, a permanent resident from Mexico, said she also assumed she ''would just die.'' Another woman, a 32-year-old illegal immigrant from Honduras, said she could only hope to make it ''back to my country to die.'' The patients, who have relied for years on Grady's free provision of dialysis to people without means, said they had no other options to obtain the care that is essential to their survival. But the safety-net hospital, after years of failed efforts to drain its red ink, is not backing away from what its chairman, A. D. Correll, calls a ''gut-wrenching decision'': closing the clinic this month.
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Students Push For Bill To Help Undocumented Grads
Associated Press, September 23. Students throughout Texas joined others nationwide by holding rallies, presentations and petition drives on Wednesday to support legislation that would allow high school graduates to either join the military or go on to higher education as a way to become legal immigrants. Students, religious leaders, educators and immigrant advocates gathered inside Dallas City Hall at noon for a press conference before heading out to make Congressional visits. More than a dozen college students held signs spelling out: PASS the DREAM ACT NOW!
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Special Visas Help Abused Illegal Immigrants
Associated Press, September 23. For years, Laura Teresa Leon Sanchez says, she was beaten, raped and robbed by her boyfriend. If she tried to leave, he threatened to have her deported. 'I was a ghost. I was nothing,' said the Mexico City native who was living in the United States illegally. 'He would say, 'I'll call immigration, and just like this, you'll be gone.'' Sanchez eventually got help from authorities — along with a special visa offered by the government to encourage illegal immigrants to report violent crime. Created in 2000, the 'U' visa program was on hold until rules for its implementation were adopted in 2007. Now the government is approving thousands of requests. Records from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service show that 4,400 visas were issued this fiscal year — up from just 52 last year.
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Immigration Service Revamps Web Site To Offer More Interactive Tools
NextGov, September 22. Citizen and Immigration Services unveiled its new interactive Web site on Tuesday that includes an application that allows foreigners to track the status of their citizenship applications, keep records up to date, and access forms and other resources. The Web site, which is available in English and Spanish, 'provides the public with the latest tools to improve responsiveness and access to immigration services,' said Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Homeland Security Department, in an announcement. Those filing for immigration and citizenship benefits can submit applications online and enter their 13-character application receipt number at the My Case Status Web portal to track the status of the application, from initial acceptance through production of the citizenship document and scheduling of the oath ceremony. They also can register to receive automatic e-mail or text message updates, change their address and find estimated processing times for submitted forms.
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Don’t Expect Boycott to Calm Lou Dobbs Down
Kansas City Star, September 20, OPINION. I want to believe a boycott could shut Lou Dobbs up. But I live in reality, not the land of wishful thinking that is behind a campaign called Drop Dobbs. Advertisers are being urged to pull their dollars from the CNN host’s time slot or face rebuke. Organizers are fed up with Dobbs’ often distorted views, like the contention he once made that South Asian illegal immigrants were infecting the U.S. with leprosy in untold numbers. Health experts pounced on the ludicrous claims. Dobbs refused to correct himself.
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Activist Mounts Campaign Against CNN's Lou Dobbs
Miami Herald, September 21. A Miami-based Hispanic group is mounting a national campaign against conservative CNN talk-show host Lou Dobbs, urging the network to restrain what they call ``his disparaging and inaccurate'' remarks about Hispanic immigrants. Jorge Mursuli, a longtime human rights activist in South Florida who now heads Democracia U.S.A., hopes to create a grassroots movement to silence Dobbs' unrelenting crusade against illegal immigrants. Mursuli contends that Dobbs has blamed immigrants for a rise in leprosy in the United States, of pushing for a so-called ``superhighway'' of illegal immigrants from Mexico to Canada and contributing to an illegal immigrant crime wave.
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Obama Edges Away From Immigration Bill Timeline
Politico, September 20. President Barack Obama said he's not backing off of his commitment to immigration reform, but edged away from his promise to have a bill he strongly supports in Congress by the end of his first year in office. 'Now, whether that bill gets introduced on November 15th or December 15th or January 15th, that's not really the issue,' Obama said in an interview with Univision, aired Sunday. 'I mean, it would be easy for us to get a bill introduced. The challenge is getting the bill passed. And there I've been realistic. What I said is that this is going to be a tough fight and that we're going to have to make sure that we are working as hard as we can to do it. I am not backing off one minute from getting this done, but let's face it, I've had a few things to do.'
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Obama Embraces Promise To Move On Immigration
Associated Press, September 20. President Barack Obama says undocumented workers should not be included in the health care overhaul plan he's trying to push through Congress. He tells Univision's 'Al Punto' show that if undocumented immigrants want to buy insurance, that's a matter to be settled with insurance companies. But he does not think they should be able to participate in insurance exchanges set up under the new health care plan. He says children of legal residents should have access to health care. The president also says that overhauling immigration policy will be hard, 'but I think we can get it done.' He's not giving a timetable, though.
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Mexicans Making Use Of Business Visas To Reach U.S.
San Antonio Express-News, September 20. None of his wealth could protect Mexican entrepreneur Pierre Oliver Gama Valdes from organized criminal gangs threatening his family for money; if anything, business success put a bull's-eye on his back. But wealth did help Gama, who said he has started businesses that employ 500 people, get him and his family a ticket out of Mexico's line of fire, fast. It bought him legal residency in San Antonio and perhaps citizenship later, almost no questions asked. Gama, 34, and a business partner who followed him here are among thousands of Mexico's affluent citizens using U.S. business visas to essentially buy an escape from their nation's drug war. These visas, known as the 'E' and 'L' series, allow this growing class of elite drug war refugees involved in business and trade to gain residency and possible citizenship and bypass immigration entanglements that commonly block their less-affluent countrymen. They are taking full advantage as never before, according to immigration attorneys, real estate agents and business people.
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Illegal Immigrants Embroiled In Health Care Debate
News-Press, September 20. The waiting room at Family Health Centers' Bonita Springs clinic Thursday afternoon was almost standing room only. Mothers tried to entertain squirming children. Adults gazed in boredom at cartoons. Many were uninsured immigrants who'd crossed the border illegally from Mexico or Guatemala. Family Health Centers of Southwest Florida is the sole provider for many uninsured immigrants. To those waiting, expanding health reform to include undocumented people is only humane. 'We are all human beings and we all deserve an opportunity to be healthy,' said Elena Mejia, 27, on hand with her 2-year-old. To those ensnared in the reform debate, it's a politically prickly issue.
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Rahall Backs China, Russia Visa Waiver
Pacific Daily News, September 19. A key U.S. lawmaker has joined Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo in asking the Department of Homeland Security to include China and Russia in a visa waiver program for Guam and the Northern Marianas. Rep. Nick Rahall, (D-W.Va.) chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, and Bordallo, chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, sent a joint letter asking for a meeting with Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to discuss the new CNMI immigration law. A release from Bordallo's office yesterday said the meeting has been scheduled for next week. Northern Marianas Delegate Gregorio Sablan and Gov. Benigno Fitial are expected to attend the meeting.
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Obama: Legalize Illegals To Get Them Health Care
Washington Times, September 18. President Obama said this week that his health care plan won't cover illegal immigrants, but argued that's all the more reason to legalize them and ensure they eventually do get coverage. He also staked out a position that anyone in the country legally should be covered - a major break with the 1996 welfare reform bill, which limited most federal public assistance programs only to citizens and longtime immigrants. 'Even though I do not believe we can extend coverage to those who are here illegally, I also don't simply believe we can simply ignore the fact that our immigration system is broken,' Mr. Obama said Wednesday evening in a speech to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. 'That's why I strongly support making sure folks who are here legally have access to affordable, quality health insurance under this plan, just like everybody else.
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Media Matters: Fox News' Incomplete, Misleading ACORN Coverage Is Just Nuts
Media Matters, September 18. If you get your news from right-wing talk radio and Fox News, you probably think America is being overrun by a hyper-corrupt organized prostitution ring headquartered in the White House. In case you missed this story: Two conservative activists, Hannah Giles and James O'Keefe, visited a host of ACORN offices around the country posing as a pimp and prostitute. They asked for help establishing a brothel, and even stated that underage girls would be working for them. They had a surveillance camera and recorded at least four interactions with ACORN employees and claimed these employees provided them with assistance. All of the employees implicated have now been fired, and federal aid to ACORN has been cut off. Still, the story at this point really has a lot more to do with Fox News and conservative media activism than with ACORN.
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Anti-Immigration Group FAIR Mars Smart Reform Push By Faith Groups
NYDailyNews.com, September 17. One Family Under God.That is the name leaders of several religious traditions gave to a multilingual prayer service they held in Manhattan a few days ago. Its purpose: to show solidarity for fair and smart immigration reform. "The need for comprehensive immigration reform remains as pressing as ever," the religious leaders said in a written statement. "Our communities continue to suffer because of raids, anti-immigrant press, hate crimes against the immigrant community, and a broken immigration system that keeps at least 12 million people undocumented." The immigrant and faith groups - Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Yoruba - that took part in the prayer service at St. Mary's Church on Grand St. made an impassioned call for justice for hardworking, taxpaying communities.
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Gillibrand Backs Immigration Reform In Boro Visit
YourNabe.com, September 17. The Emerald Isle Immigration Center in Woodside got a visit from a distinguished newcomer to the borough’s constituency Monday when U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) dropped by to tour the facility and talk with residents about immigration issues. Since Gov. David Paterson appointed Gillibrand in January to fill the seat left vacant when Hillary Clinton became U.S. Secretary of State, Gillibrand has been working to appease pro-immigration groups skeptical of her record in the U.S. House of Representatives. As a congresswoman, Gillibrand represented a conservative constituency near Albany and voted against amnesty for illegal immigrants and for making English the official language of the United States.
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New Driver License Legislation Proposed
Secure ID News, September 17. Some believe that new proposed driver license legislation would help states better secure IDs while also protecting citizen privacy. Others say it 'guts' an existing law and takes states back to pre-9/11 identity vetting for IDs. A hearing held in the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on the proposed bill called the Providing Additional Security in States’ Identification (PASS) Act of 2009. Testimony revealed very different takes on the bill that would basically roll back, REAL ID. It’s not clear how the proposed change would impact states already complying with REAL ID and rolling out new documents. Even with this new bill looming, some states are still moving ahead to comply with REAL ID.
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Santa Ana Man, ACLU Settle Suit With Immigration
Orange County Register, September 16. A federal suit filed by five people who claimed they were mistreated while held in an immigration detention facility has been settled, the American Civil Liberties Union announced Wednesday. The suit claimed, among other allegations, that a Santa Ana man was made to sleep on a concrete floor, unable to brush his teeth or change his clothes for weeks while he was held at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Los Angeles. Abelardo Chavez Flores, who was 52 when the ACLU of Southern California filed its lawsuit in April, is one of five plaintiffs represented in the case. The ACLU said that as a result of the suit, immigration officials agreed on a variety of requirements, the ACLU said.
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Should U.S. Citizenship Be Automatic For U.S.-Born?
Orange County Register, September 16. The issue of birthright citizenship is intensifying, as groups on both sides of the immigration debate battle out the possibility of an immigration overhaul. On the eve of Citizenship Day, immigration advocates reacted to illegal-immigration opponents who are trying to cut off automatic citizenship for children born on U.S. soil. A California initiative created by San Diego resident Ted Hilton hopes to impose new rules for birth certificates, calling for the state to issue one type to children of U.S. citizens and green card holders and another to children of temporary residents and those here illegally. 'I think the automatic citizenship policy is bankrupting California and we have to terminate that,' Hilton said. He said he hopes the California Taxpayer Protection initiative will be on the June ballot. His group has until mid-November to collect 400,000 signatures.
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Business Reaction to E-Verify: OMG
New York Post, September 14. New York business leaders worry that a new federal requirement forcing employers to verify the work status of their employees could raise costs and waste time, while some small businesses say they know almost nothing about how the system works. 'However you cut it, this will add costs to government contracts at times when the federal budget is already over the top,' said Kathryn Wylde of the Partnership for New York City. The program, called E-Verify, took effect last week, and requires any employer on a federal government contract to collect documents from their employees proving their eligibility to work, and run it through a database to match it with Social Security and other government records.
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Honduran Leader Says U.S. Voids Visa Because Of Coup
Reuters, September 12. Honduran de facto ruler Roberto Micheletti said on Saturday the United States has revoked his visa to pressure him to step down and reinstate exiled President Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted in a June military coup. Micheletti, however, was defiant of the latest move by Washington, which said earlier this month it was cutting more than $30 million in aid to the poor Central American country. 'We will not back down. Dignity does not have a price in our country,' Micheletti told Honduran radio. Asked if he his visa had been canceled, Micheletti said: 'Yes.'
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Number of Immigrants Applying for U.S. Citizenship Is Down 62%, Study Finds
Washington Post, September 12. The number of immigrants applying to become U.S. citizens plunged 62 percent last year as the cost of naturalization rose and the economy soured, according to an analysis released Friday by the National Council of La Raza, a Latino advocacy organization. In late 2007, the application cost increased from $330 to $595, plus an $80 fee for computerized fingerprinting. Partly in anticipation of the price increase, 1.38 million people filed applications in 2007, creating a backlog that nearly tripled the average processing time. Last year, the number of applicants fell to 525,786, the smallest since 2003. The largest was 1.41 million, in 1997, just before a 76 percent fee increase.
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Ask the US Consul
The Sunday Times, September 12. Want to visit the US? Or has your application been turned down? Our monthly column ‘Ask the Consul” conducted with the US Embassy in Colombo provides answers to questions regarding obtaining an American visa. Next month’s column will focus on the Diversity Visa Lottery (“Green Card Lottery”) and readers are invited to submit questions related to the Lottery. The Diversity Visa Lottery allows randomly selected applicants to immigrate to the United States on an expedited basis, provided they meet the necessary requirements.
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Health Fight Arouses Immigration Battle
Politico, September 10, OPINION. Regardless of how the stormy health care debate ends, the lingering question will be whether the rest of President Barack Obama’s legislative agenda was swept away in the political debris. One priority that has become entangled in the messy health care discussion is immigration, a reliable lightning rod for conservatives who habitually try to confuse any issue by playing to xenophobes’ fears. In recent town hall meetings and media interviews, conservative Republicans falsely claimed illegal immigrants would get free health insurance under the president’s plan. Though blatantly untrue, the statement has taken on a life of its own and compounded headaches for some Democrats who are wavering on Obama’s health care proposal.
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Obama Won’t Give Federal Insurance Benefits to Illegal Aliens, He’ll Make Them Legal First
CNSNews.com, September 10. In his speech to a joint session of Congress last night, President Obama said that his health care reform plan will not insure “illegal immigrants.” The statement instantly became a matter of controversy when Rep. Joe Wilson (R.-S.C.) yelled out in the House chamber, “You lie.”Wilson has since apologized for his outburst. But President Obama’s statement about illegal aliens and health care reform deserves further scrutiny. “There are also those who claim that our reform efforts would insure illegal immigrants,” said Obama. “This, too, is false.
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Green Card Lottery Registration for DV-2011 Starts October 2nd
Examiner.com, September 12. It's now official. The dates for the DV-2011 green card lottery will run from Friday, October 2 until Monday, November 30, 2009. Curiously, the instructions for the lottery have not yet been announced, but will be published at later date on the U.S. State Department web site.
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Taking the Temperature of Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Immigration Impact.com, September 9. The energy in Washington changes as soon as Congress returns from recess, and this year the air is particularly charged with anticipation of the health care reform debate to come. In the immigration world, we are watching the debate as a barometer of what to expect later in the session when the long-promised Schumer bill is introduced. The timing of the next round of Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) legislation has always been contingent on the Obama administration’s ability to successfully manage, at a minimum, the health care and probably, the climate change debates. As health care, in particular, has grown increasingly complex, partisan, and ideological, the chances of completing CIR legislation before 2009 ends further diminish. That’s not to say, however, that nothing is happening. Behind the scenes work on immigration reform is taking place daily, as this summer’s developments demonstrate.
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CIS Adds to Falsehoods about Health Care Reform
Immigration Impact.com, September 9. It would seem that the Center for Immigration Studies has decided to jump on the talk-radio bandwagon of far-right commentators who are loudly attempting to derail substantive health care reform through fear-mongering and falsehoods . Although CIS has so far steered clear of the baseless rants about “death panels” and “socialized medicine,” it has issued a new report that seeks to buttress an equally farcical claim: that health care reform will leave American taxpayers footing the bill for millions of unauthorized immigrants who will receive federally subsidized health insurance. Specifically, the report argues that H.R. 3200 (America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009) could give health insurance to 6.6 million unauthorized, low-income immigrants at an annual cost to the federal government of $30.5 billion.
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20,000 H1B visas still up for grabs in the US
Press Trust of India, September 8. About 20,000 H-1B visas, one of the most sought after for overseas professionals including Indians, are still up for grabs in the US which is struggling to fill up the allocated number of 65,000, even as less than a month remains before the start of the next financial year. Primarily meant for computers and information technology professionals, the H-1B visas have been one of the most sought after for foreign professionals in previous years. The US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has been receiving several times the number of the allocated quota. However, this year, the USCIS is struggling to fill up the 65,000 H-1B visas as mandated by the US Congress.
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Disputed E-Verify Rules Go Into Effect
Congress Daily, September 8. A coalition of business groups continued to wage a legal battle Tuesday as a government mandate took effect requiring federal contractors to verify the immigration status of employees working on government projects. After months of delay, the Homeland Security Department implemented a rule requiring most federal contractors and subcontractors to use its E-Verify system to prove employees working on government projects are legally in the country. The path to implementing the mandate cleared Friday when the U.S. District Court for the Southern Division of Maryland refused to grant a business coalition led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce an emergency injunction that would prevent the rule from taking effect.
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Out-of-work Undocumented Migrants Seek End to Crackdown
Hispanic Business, September 8. Hundreds of undocumented workers who recently lost their jobs are asking the government to stop taking a 'hard line' on immigration policy and to offer a solution to the desperate situations of many of them. 'We're demanding that (President Barack) Obama stop the application of a hard line on existing immigration laws,' Nativo Lopez, the head of the Mexican American Political Association, told Efe. Lopez said that more than 2,200 undocumented workers recently have been fired from several manufacturing firms in Los Angeles. 'The majority of the people don't know it, but Obama has the executive discretion to put a stop to the verification of employment documents, E-Verify, and the sending of letters of Social Security discrepancies,' the activist said.
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Green Card Lottery Entrants: Enter Now Or Later?
Examiner.com, September 8. Diversity visa entrants have the option to self register after the lottery opens, or use a paid lottery service anytime during the year. This article will discuss the issues involved if you decide to enter before the U.S. State Department announces the official diversity visa lottery instructions. The risk of entering before the official announcement is that a critical rule will change that renders your lottery application obsolete. If your birth country appears on the new visa-ineligible list, then your entry will be invalid. In this case, if you use lottery service and enter early in the year, they should list their policy for rule changes and refund your money. In a previous article we speculated that countries ineligible in 2008 will also be ineligible in 2009. However, there is no guarantee of this, nor is there any guarantee there will not be other changes that could affect your application.
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Where Newspapers Thrive: Orange County's Little Saigon
Los Angeles Times, September 8. In a dimly lighted warehouse at the end of an alleyway in Orange County's Little Saigon, five reporters sat side by side on mismatched chairs, talking on telephones and typing away on their keyboards. There was no air conditioning, and two large fans provided little relief from the muggy air. This was the temporary home of Viet Herald Daily News, the newest paper to hit the stands in this ethnic enclave. At a time when most U.S. newspapers are struggling to survive, Vietnamese-language news media here are flourishing.
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Ugly Fight Forecast For Immigration Reform
Ventura County Star, September 8. The issue is so divisive its inclusion in this article guarantees dozens, if not hundreds, of online comments and e-mails soaked with enough anger and conviction that any middle ground will likely be swamped. And no, the topic isn’t healthcare reform. As Congress and the White House resume efforts to reshape health insurance and access to care, a growing line of observers and experts predict that success or failure could dictate the fate of a path to citizenship for the nation’s estimated 12 million illegal immigrants. If President Barack Obama wins the healthcare battle, the odds are probably 50-50 he’ll be able to convince Congress to pass immigration reform, said Kareem Crayton, associate professor of law and political science at USC.
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Fewer Migrants Head Home Amid Recession
El Paso Times (TX), September 8. Many immigrants hurt by the recession decided to ride out the downturn rather than return to their home countries, according to a Migration Policy Institute report released today. The report found that fewer Mexican citizens tried to enter the United States, and fewer Mexican citizens who were in the United States illegally tried to return home. 'This recession has caused people to stay put at both ends, in their adopted countries and in their home countries,' said Michelle Mittelstadt, spokeswoman for the Migration Policy Institute in Washington. 'Even in countries that are paying immigrants to leave, such as Japan, the Czech Republic and Spain, the immigrants are not taking them up on these offers to (go home).'
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U.S. Expands H-1B Fraud Case Against IT Services Firm
Computer World, September 7. The U.S. government late last month filed a new, expanded 18-count indictment that now seeks $4.9 million from a New Jersey IT services firm it has accused of fraudulently using H-1B visas. The government alleges that South Plainfield, N.J.-based Vision Systems Group Inc. paid its H-1B workers in multiple states based on low prevailing wage rates in Iowa through the creation of shell businesses in that state. The indictment charges that the methods used by Vision Systems 'have substantially deprived U.S. citizens of employment.' The initial 10-count indictment against Vision Systems, filed on Feb. 12, was part of a government investigation dubbed Operation Pacific Vision that led to the arrest of 11 people in six states on H-1B fraud charges.
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Ruling Halts Woman's Deportation, Orders Visa
Salt Lake Tribune, September 6. Since she left her native country of Mexico as a child in 1998, Rocio Gonzalez-Martinez has never been back. She was raised in Utah by her Mexican-born aunt and U.S. citizen uncle, Santa Clara resident Lyle Dahlberg. But while Gonzalez-Martinez, 22, calls her uncle the 'only father I have,' the federal government claimed Dahlberg's adoption of her a few years ago came too late. It began proceedings to deport her. The decision didn't sit well with U.S. District Judge Bruce Jenkins, who issued a sharply worded ruling last week that a blanket policy has no place in adoptions.
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Delays in Muslims’ Cases Spur Interfaith Call to Action
New York Times, September 4. Early one morning last June, fully two hours before his appointment, Mustafa Salih arrived at a federal office here in the Washington suburbs. He wore the new suit he had bought for the occasion. A friend, accompanying him, carried a camera to record the event. Mr. Salih had not slept the previous night. High emotion was not supposed to be the province of a middle-aged accountant, which was exactly what Mr. Salih was. But on that particular morning, he was scheduled to be sworn in as an American citizen, the culmination of a process that had begun when he immigrated from Sudan in 1991.
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Davidson County May Drop 287-G Deportation Program
News Channel 5, September 4. Metro disagrees with some of the new rules that allow local police to enforce federal immigration laws. Some Hispanic groups believe the program needs a review. Nashville Hispanic Chamber of Commerce president Yuri Cunza said 287-G unfairly targets Hispanic communities. He said many Hispanics do not trust police because their perception was the program encourages racial profiling. 'It's hard to determine if there's racial profiling or not because pretty much everybody that gets taken to jail is unlikely to be released due to the nature of the program. So, who will be our witness? Who is going to tell us?' said Cunza. 287-G began in Nashville April 2007. Sheriff Daron Hall said since then, crime committed by illegal immigrants is down 46 percent. 'Ours has been referred to as a model program by folks in ICE in Washington D.C. We only do the program behind the walls of the jail once you're arrested for other crimes,' said Hall. Since the program's inception the sheriff's office has identified more than 6,000 illegal immigrants that have been processed for deportation.
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How the Lowest-Paid Workers Get Ripped Off
US News and World Report, September 3. In large cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York, there's a good chance that the employee mopping up drips at the car wash, the delivery driver at the nearby gourmet grocery store, and the temp worker hired to do janitorial work are not being paid much. It turns out, there's also a good chance they are not even being paid what they've earned. According to a new study, the average low-wage urban worker earning $339 a week is cheated out of $51 of that amount by an employer committing one or more workplace violations—such as paying less than minimum wage, refusing overtime pay, requiring off-the-clock work, or preventing workers compensation claims. Whether damning proof of the government's inability to adequately enforce labor laws or evidence of a need for stronger standards, the report offers insight into the working lives of an often under-the-radar demographic.
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E-Verify Required For Federal Contractors
Nashville Business Journal, September 3. Federal contractors and subcontractors will be required to use E-Verify starting Sept. 8 to confirm the eligibility of employees to work in the United States, labor attorneys at Miller & Martin say. Implementation of the new rule has been delayed several times. If the new date stands, most contractors who perform contract services for the federal government are mandated to verify new hires and current employees by logging onto the federal database at www.everify.com, which is free to use. Previously, use of the service was voluntary, say the attorneys in the firm’s labor and employment practice group. Several exemptions apply: They include 'COTS' contractors, or companies that provide 'commercially available off-the-shelf items,' and companies whose contract does not exceed $100,000 for contractors and $3,000 for subcontractors. The E-Verify is an automated system that allows employers to enter I-9 information to check it against government database records to electronically verify the employment eligibility of new hires and verify social security numbers.
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Nasscom Proposes New Service Visa To Replace H-1B To End Abuse
Economic Times (India), September 1. The country’s software industry body Nasscom has proposed a new category of service visas for the US to replace the controversial H-1B. Nasscom has initiated dialogue with key Congressmen and industry groups, such as TechAmerica, Compete America and the US India Business Council, for the proposed change in visa. It is also encouraging a more comprehensive debate on the issue of immigration abuse rather than limiting it only to H-1B or L1 visas. “We do not wish to encourage the abuse of visas for immigration. Our objective is to get the work done and bring back our people. There are 11,000-12,000 Indians who go to the US for work and their average stay is less than two years,” said Som Mittal, president, Nasscom. He said the service visa, along the lines of the work permit that Europe currently has for overseas workers, would help address the concerns of visa abuse.
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Should Universal Health Care Be a Human Right?, Part II
In a previous commentary I proposed that universal health care is a human right, not a privilege, based in part on international treaties signed by representatives of the United States of America.
On the international front, most industrialized nations (except the United States) already insure all their citizens for routine and preventive medical services. For this reason, I’m going to fast forward past the ongoing, mostly irrational debate and assume that wiser Democratic heads will prevail, guaranteeing that all Americans will ultimately be provided with medical care via some yet to-be-determined reform legislation. This raises the question whether the 10-12 million or so illegal and undocumented immigrants should also receive non-emergency medical treatment.
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Invisible Immigrants, Old and Left with Nobody to Talk To
New York Times, August 31. They gather five days a week at a mall called the Hub, sitting on concrete planters and sipping thermoses of chai. These elderly immigrants from India are members of an all-male group called The 100 Years Living Club. They talk about crime in nearby Oakland, the cheapest flights to Delhi and how to deal with recalcitrant daughters-in-law.
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Farewell Senator Kennedy
Albuquerque Examiner, August 30. There was no greater friend to immigrants or the disadvantaged in the United States Senate than Edward (Teddy) Moore Kennedy, son of Joseph and Rose Kennedy, who died August 26 at the age of 77, and was laid to rest yesterday. Senator Kennedy’s fingerprint was on almost every piece of progressive legislation passed by Congress where he was the third longest serving senator in U.S. history.
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Homeland Secretary Calls Immigration Policy Overhaul 'A Priority'
Dallas Morning News, August 28. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Thursday that she was optimistic that a bipartisan immigration-policy overhaul would, at some point, get through Congress. 'This is not a new issue,' she said in a meeting with The Dallas Morning News' editorial board. 'It's just putting together a comprehensive package that covers the immigration issues from A to Z. ... It's a priority for both me and the president.' Napolitano expressed hope that the effort, which has bogged down in Congress in years past, would not be as contentious as it was under former President George W. Bush.
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Immigration Reform: Will Walden Be On Board?
Public News Service, August 28. Oregon 2nd District Congressman Greg Walden will be greeted - and perhaps grilled - today in Bend by a coalition of groups who think he should be doing more to support immigration reform. His Web site does not mention immigration as an issue, and the Republican has been strictly conservative on that front, voting to build a wall along the southern U.S. border.
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Health Care Bill Has Curious Coverage For Illegal Immigrants
CNN News, August 27. Immigrants living illegally in the United States could be mandated to have health insurance under the proposed health care reform bill but would be ineligible to receive subsidies to afford such coverage, a report from the Congressional Research Service says. The report, prepared by the nonpartisan policy research arm of Congress, provides a close reading of the treatment of noncitizens in the House bill on health care reform, HR 3200. While the report found that federal subsidies to obtain health coverage would be restricted to U.S. citizens and legal residents, it also noted that the bill does not specify a citizenship verification system, something that critics say creates a loophole for undocumented immigrants to receive subsidies anyway.
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EEOC Official Seeks To Help Migrant Hispanic Female Laborers
Birmingham News, August 27. Commissioner Constance Barker of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission brought her campaign against sexual assaults on female Hispanic migrant farm workers to Birmingham on Wednesday. Barker, a Florence native and one of five commissioners who set policy for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, discussed with Birmingham District Director Delner Franklin-Thomas and regional attorney Emanuel Smith a strategy on how to prevent the problem faced by workers. In an interview, she talked about the role of the EEOC and how the Birmingham district office, which oversees Alabama and Mississippi, has become a leader in getting labor lawyers and businesses to work together to resolve cases.
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Kennedy 'Fashioned The Modern Day' Immigration System
USA Today, August 26. Sen. Edward Kennedy's first major legislative victory helped change the face of the country and shaped his own political career. In 1965, Kennedy had been in the Senate less than three years. His party's leaders gave him the job of pushing a bill to eliminate the quota system that had made it virtually impossible for anyone from anywhere but western Europe to immigrate to the USA. Eliminating national quotas for immigration had been the goal of every U.S. president since Harry Truman— including Kennedy's brother John F. Kennedy. That was probably one reason that 'Ted seized the cause,' in the words of his biographer, Adam Clymer. Passage marked 'the first of many times Ted Kennedy fulfilled an unfinished dream of one of his brothers,' Clymer wrote.
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Get Ready For Another Uproar
San Diego Union Tribune, August 26. A few months ago, I was talking to a group of political strategists who insisted that — given the Obama administration's desire to pursue both immigration reform and health care reform — immigration should go first. Otherwise, they said, health care would fail because of public fears that illegal immigrants would get free medical services. Make those immigrants legal, they said, and it would defuse the issue.
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DREAM Act Would Aid Migrant Students
News Tribune , August 26. Ricardo Sanchez knows some hard-working students who might not be able to use the college degrees they're earning because they aren't U.S. citizens. He brought a few of them to the Tri-Cities on Monday to help illustrate why he believes federal legislators should approve the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, which would provide a pathway to citizenship for certain young people. 'We're trying to get people to acknowledge (that addressing the issue) should be a top priority,' said Sanchez, board chairman of the Latino/a Educational Achievement Project in the Seattle area. He was in town for a forum on the act -- known as the DREAM Act -- at Columbia Basin College in Pasco. He and several students who would be able to take advantage of the new law if it passed spoke with the Herald's editorial board beforehand.
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U.S. Limits Visas In Honduras, Stepping Up Pressure
Reuters, August 25. The United States said on Tuesday it would temporarily restrict the issuing of U.S. visas in Honduras, raising pressure on the government that took power after a June 28 coup to step down. The State Department, which has repeatedly condemned the military coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya, said that from Wednesday it would only provide visa services to potential immigrants and emergency cases at its embassy in Tegucigalpa. The Obama administration has urged Honduran authorities to accept proposals put forward by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, whose efforts to end the crisis have stalled over the de facto government's refusal to allow Zelaya to return to power.
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Groups Push For Federal Immigration Reform.
San Francisco Bay Guardian, August 25. Michael Tsui grew up in San Francisco. The youngest child of a single mother, he went to public schools, worked hard, did well and, at 21 years old, he’s now a computer-engineering student at San Jose State University. The young man looks, sounds and acts like any other American college student working towards graduation and worrying about job prospects. Except Tsui isn’t worried he won’t find a job in his chosen field and location; he’s worried that he can’t work legally and might be deported. Tsui is an undocumented immigrant, brought here from Hong Kong at the age of five by his mother along with two older siblings on tourist visas. His tourist visa was transferred to a student visa, but when that expired, Tsui entered the nebulous and shadowy world of the undocumented.
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Healthcare And Immigration Converge Explosively
Christian Science Monitor, August 25. Two hot-button issues are converging to crank the political dial way past 'riled-up' – healthcare reform and immigration. President Obama and Democratic supporters of health insurance legislation insist that bills now being considered exclude illegal immigrants from any coverage. Their opponents’ response boils down to 'Oh, yeah?' As with many such disputes, it’s unlikely that agreement will be reached, even if substantial reform legislation is passed into law – by no means a certainty. For one thing, nobody knows for sure how many illegal immigrants are in the United States or how many of those have received medical treatment at public expense. Neither the US Census Bureau nor hospitals ask about citizenship status.
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Hispanics A Tough Sell On Health Care Reform
National Journal, August 24. As one of the least likely demographic groups to have insurance, Hispanics might be expected to have high hopes for the current reform efforts. Yet, more than any major demographic except Republicans, they expect an overhaul to worsen their situation. In the nearly two dozen congressional districts with a Hispanic majority, the number of people with health insurance is 16 percentage points below the national average, according to a NationalJournal.com analysis. Hispanics accounted for 15 percent of the nation's population in 2007, but 32 percent of the nation's uninsured.
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It's Like Having E-Zpass For The Airport
Star-Ledger, August 24. For $100 and a fingerprinting session, frequent international travelers can now shave a few minutes off their wait time after landing at Newark Liberty International Airport. Starting today, pre-approved U.S. citizens and permanent residents re-entering the country can skip passport-checking lines and pass through an automated kiosk instead. 'For frequent business travelers, it's a great program,' said John Saleh, a spokesman for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office in New York. 'They come off the plane with their carry-on, they go up to the kiosk, and they're out the door within a couple minutes.'
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AP Analysis: Mel Martinez's Senate exit signals crossroads for GOP efforts to woo Hispanics
Associated Press, August 23. Florida Sen. Mel Martinez's resignation closes the latest chapter in the Republican Party's tumultuous, decade-long effort to woo the nation's Hispanic voters. The Cuban-American's impending departure could leave no Hispanic Republicans in the Senate and three in the House — compared to 21 Democrats in Congress — and a sense that the national GOP is at a major crossroads with the nation's fastest-growing demographic group. Although most Hispanics outside of Florida have long leaned Democratic, the Republican Party earned the trust of many at the beginning of the decade by tapping into socially conservative, religious and pro-business sentiment. Martinez both rode and propelled that wave.
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Visa Applicants Need To Be Savvy About Rules
Phnom Penh Post, August 24. I am an expatriate American businessman living in Phnom Penh. I am familiar with visa procedures, not just for the US, but for Australia and the European Union as well. I have assisted Cambodians in successfully travelling to all three. I want to comment on the accusations of unprofessional behaviour by the visa section at the US Embassy that appeared recently in your paper. For some time I have occasionally been called on by a local visa service company that specialises in Australian visas to assist with matters related to the United States. I interviewed a cross-section of Cambodians previously denied visas to the US. I spoke with people seeking all common types of visas, from applicants denied a simple tourist visa to visit family to individuals that won the coveted diversity visa lottery then failed to complete the immigration process.
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US embassy reschedules Diversity Visa interviews
The New Nation, August 21. The Consular Section of the US Embassy in Dhaka has rescheduled interviews for Diversity Visa (DV) applicants re- fixing the dates on September 8, 9, and 10, a US embassy statement said here on Thursday.Individuals with interview scheduled for one of those dates were sent letters notifying the new interview dates. Individuals may also check with the US Embassy's website at http://dhaka.usembassy.gov for the new date. "If an individual fails to appear on his/her new interview date, it will not be possible to reschedule the interview for an alternate day," the statement said.
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Sarah And The Death Panels
Human Events Online, August 21. "The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil." Of Sarah Palin it may be said: The lady knows how to frame an issue. EDITOR’S NOTE: We strongly disagree with the majority of Patrick Buchanan’s views.
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Hurdles Shown in Detention Reform
New York Times, August 21. In the fall of 2006, a man’s death brought a team of government investigators to the large, privately run immigration jail in Eloy, Ariz., in the desert between Phoenix and Tucson. Medical care was so poor, the team later warned federal immigration officials, that 'detainee welfare is in jeopardy.' Another death there soon spurred another inquiry, and another scathing report was issued about the care provided by the private company, the Corrections Corporation of America. But the government scrutiny did not add up to much for Felix Franklin Rodriguez-Torres, 36, an Ecuadorean construction worker who wound up in Eloy that fall as an unauthorized immigrant after being jailed for petty larceny in New York City. By mid-December, a fellow detainee told the man’s relatives, Mr. Rodriguez lay pleading for medical help on the floor of his cell, unable to move.
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Foreign Admits to U.S. Grad Schools Plunge
Business Week, August 20. For the first time since 2004, international admissions to U.S. graduate schools are down. The deteriorating job market and problems with visas and financing are to blame. In a startling reversal from recent years, U.S. graduate schools' admission offers to prospective international students fell sharply this year, with several countries seeing double-digit declines, according to a report by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS).
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Obama Addresses Immigration Reform
Politico, August 20. President Barack Obama on Thursday managed to undo some of the damage he did recently with immigrants’ rights advocates — who were angered when Obama said in Mexico that immigration reform would have to wait until after health care and energy bills passed Congress. Obama dropped in on a White House meeting with more than 100 immigration reform backers — and the message, according to some who were there, was that Obama would push for immigration reform even as the health-care debate continues to unfold. 'I think he’s more forward-leaning,' said Angela Kelley, an immigration reform expert with the liberal Center for American Progress think tank. 'The takeaway from Mexico was that this is just kicking the can down the road. The takeaway from today is they’re rolling up their sleeves and leaning heavy into the issue.'
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Health Care Reform Bills Would Not Verify Citizenship Status of Beneficiaries, Conservative Analysts Say
CNS News, August 20. The health care reform bills Congress is considering would not require people who sign up for government health care programs to verify their eligibility. That opens the door for millions of illegal aliens and other non-citizens to receive medical services paid for by taxpayers, a panel of experts from the conservative Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) and The Heritage Foundation said Wednesday. 'This takes an unprecedented step in opening up the U.S. welfare system to illegal immigrants,' Robert Rector, senior fellow on domestic policy at The Heritage Foundation, told an audience at the National Press Club in Washington.
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Kyl Slams Democratic Healthcare Plan for Illegals
Newsmax, August 19. Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., says Democratic healthcare plans may end up providing aid to illegal immigrants. In a conference call with reporters Tuesday, he defended Republicans who say Democratic healthcare reform proposals would finance care for those living here illegally, Roll Call news service reports. 'It’s a logical question for people to ask,' Kyl said during the call. The issue has come up at recent town hall meetings on healthcare. Kyl says that Democrats have long fought restriction on government services for illegal aliens.
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New Study Shows Immigrants Help Americans Move Up
Alliance for Worker Freedom, August 19. While the immigration debate has taken a backseat to the Democratic agenda of cap-and-trade and government run healthcare, 12 million illegal immigrants are still here, working and secretly contributing to our economy (Ssshhh!). The U.S. government spends substantial resources on building fences, airtight border control, and punishing employers who higher illegal’s. With all the money we spend trying to keep people who want to work out of this country, it is worth asking “what benefits do we get from harassing immigrants?”
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Immigration Out of Sight
Wall Street Journal, August 19, OPINION. …A new study published by the Cato Institute finds that the focus on repelling immigrant labor does more harm than good to the U.S. economy. "Increased enforcement and reduced low-skilled immigration have a significant negative impact on the income of U.S. households," write Peter Dixon and Maureen Rimmer, the study's authors. "In contrast, legalization of low-skilled immigrant workers would yield significant income gains for American workers and households." EDITOR’S NOTE: This study is available for download on our Immigration Reports page.
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Controversial Legislation May Give Immigrant Students a Chance at College
US News and World Report, August 19. When Marisol Hernandez arrived for her first day of third grade at a public school in Compton, Calif., about 10 years ago, she couldn't read any of the words that filled her textbooks but was nevertheless happy to have them. Her family had just moved from Mexico, and even from her 8-year-old perspective, Marisol (in order protect her identity, U.S. News is using a pseudonym for this student) sensed she was in the land of opportunity. A shooting in the cafeteria of her school soon shook Marisol's faith, but it wasn't until she moved to Colorado and entered high school that she became truly disillusioned. It was then that she learned of her status as an undocumented immigrant and the impact this would have on her ability to go to college.
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Foreign Nurses Find Recession In U.S.
Examiner.com, August 17. She literally felt it, the thud when she hit the ground, after just 3 weeks of floating on the clouds. All the giddy excitement that she felt when she first set foot on U.S. soil, all those dreams of a nice house and a nice car and a nice paycheck, all gone. Giselle, a 40-year old nurse from Manila, arrived at LAX in November with a nonimmigrant H-1B work visa. She and 11 other nurses had been offered jobs as Registered Nurses at an Alabama rehabilitation company.
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Amnesty's a Year Away, and Always Will Be
CIS Immigration Blog, August 14, OPINION. In between Quebecois meals bathed in gravy, or meat pies, or meat pies bathed in gravy, I missed something from a story this week on Obama's latest signal that amnesty's not happening any time soon: But immigrant advocacy groups have been keeping up the pressure to hold Mr. Obama to his promise to Hispanic voters – that he'd make immigration reform a top priority during his first year in office. 'If we don't see a vote in Congress sooner than later, we will see a large Latino community not showing up at polls in midterm elections…. That is something the Democratic Party needs to measure,' says Francisco Lopez, executive director of CAUSA, the largest Hispanic advocacy group in the Pacific Northwest. EDITOR’S NOTE: We strongly disagree with the majority of CIS’s anti-immigrant views.
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Bipartisan Visa Program Could Fix Nation's Illegal Immigration Mess
Investors.com. August 14, OPINION. The recession and beefed-up enforcement have temporarily slowed illegal immigration, but the problem is far from fixed. As President Obama and congressional leaders prepare to tackle immigration once again, they should learn from the past and create a system that accommodates the future needs of a recovering economy. Even with fewer immigrants entering the country illegally, the number already here remains at nearly 12 million. One in 20 workers is here without authorization.
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Americans Cannot Deny the Fear Factor in Immigration Debate
Sacramento Bee, August 20, OPINION. When talking about immigration, Americans need to get their stories straight. The debate is about to start up again. Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York has said that he intends to introduce, after Labor Day, legislation calling for comprehensive immigration reform. Schumer has an ally in Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who is working to rustle up support from his side of the aisle.
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Ineligible Countries for the 2009 Green Card Lottery
Examiner.com, August 19. In my last article on the diversity visa lottery, we estimated that a record 17 million people may apply this year. The U.S. State Department is expected to announce the new diversity visa program instructions and rules for DV-2011 later this month or in early September. The latest rules will include new registration dates, possible changes to personal eligibility requirements and photographs, and of course, the list of ineligible countries
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Small Immigration Victories – Part II
Examiner.com, August 17. Last week I discussed the first of two relatively small victories in the ongoing battle against the inhumane treatment of undocumented immigrants. The first occurred in nearby Roswell, New Mexico and the second is national in scope
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Actor's US 'Detention' Prompts Outrage In India
AP, August 16. Angry fans burned a U.S. flag in protest Sunday, a Cabinet minister suggested searching visiting Americans and an actress tweeted her outrage after Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan said he was detained for questioning at a U.S. airport. Though U.S. immigration officials denied he was formally held, fellow Indian film stars and political leaders condemned what they called "humiliating" treatment given to Khan, a Muslim who is well-loved in a largely Hindu country. One Cabinet minister suggested a "tit-for-tat" policy toward Americans traveling to India.
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Immigration Reform Can Wait No Longer
Today's Catholic, August 14, OPINION. The current Congress, which just recessed until September, certainly has its hands full trying to deal with the economic crisis and struggling with health-care reform. Nevertheless, both issues, and many others, must not be an excuse to address the urgent need for comprehensive immigration reform. This is a matter that needs immediate resolution because of its magnitude and importance to the fabric of our society. I have to say that this issue is deeply personal for me. I am both an American citizen and an immigrant, born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico. Some of my ancestors were in what’s now Texas, since the early 1800’s and I’ve always had family and friends on both sides of the border. So I have many conflicting emotions about the way this debate has played out in recent years.
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GOP's Problem with Hispanics Story Highlights
CNN News, August 14, OPINION. David Iglesias, the former U.S. attorney for New Mexico, is a cautionary tale for young Hispanics who think the road to political power leads through the Republican Party. If so, it's a road with a lot of potholes. Iglesias went from the GOP's golden boy to its whipping boy -- all during one administration. When the former Navy lawyer was appointed by President George W. Bush, Iglesias was thought to be a symbol of Republican inclusiveness and someone who might help lure Hispanic voters to the party. But by the time Iglesias was fired -- in December 2006, along with eight other U.S. attorneys -- he had become a symbol of something else: how schizophrenic Republicans are on the issue of Hispanic political participation.
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Death Penalty Sought For 3 Tied To Border Group
AP, August 13. Prosecutors said Thursday they plan to seek the death penalty against the leader of an anti-illegal immigrant group and two others charged in an Arizona home invasion that left a 9-year-old girl and her father dead. The trio are alleged to have dressed as law enforcement officers and forced their way into a home about 10 miles north of the Mexican border in rural Arivaca on May 30, wounding a woman and fatally shooting her husband and their daughter.
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US Immigrants Face New Challenges
Voice of America News, August 11. Immigrants come to the United States to begin a new life, yet they often face difficulties in their new home that they never imagined. "Many of these immigrants and refugees have endured significant hardships in their native countries, including poverty, war trauma, persecution and rape," says clinical psychologist Dennis Hunt. "But few may have anticipated the stress on their families that was waiting for them in the United States."
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Green Cards Draw Foreign Investors To Florida
Miami Herald, August 11. As wealthy foreign nationals increasingly flock to South Florida to buy distressed real estate, some are seeking an added return on their investment: a green card. Local immigration attorneys say a growing number of Latin American and European clients are applying for investor visas, which in some cases lay down a fast track to residency and eventually citizenship. Others offer a chance to live and work in the country indefinitely. As the region's real estate market continues to buckle under unsold properties, widespread foreclosures and failed condo projects, new interest in investor visas is helping whet the already hearty appetite of foreign nationals being drawn to the market by steep bargains. The visa opportunity isn't for someone buying a single condo: a significant investment is required.
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Mexico Might Not Have The U.S. To Kick Around Anymore
Los Angeles Times, August 12, OPINION. The United States hasn't prevailed in Mexico City since Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee fought alongside each other to vanquish Santa Ana, but the American soccer team will try again today as it takes on the Mexican national team in a key World Cup qualifying match in Azteca Stadium. Despite how fiercely competitive the U.S.-Mexico soccer rivalry has become in the last two decades, the Americans have never won in Mexico City.
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Sonia Sotomayor and the Reconquest of America
PressTV, August 11, OPINION. When Puerto Rican judge, Sonia Sotomayor took her oath of office on Saturday, August 8th, and was sworn in as a Chief Justice to the United States Supreme Court, she represented, for many Hispanic Americans, not only herself, but the Latino community as a whole. Indeed, for numerous Latinos, the appointment of Ms. Sotomayor to the highest judicial body in the land embodied a major step in a process that began many years ago in the United States and is now nearing completion - a process known as “la reconquista”.
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Illegal Immigrants Face Life-And-Death Decisions Without Health Insurance
Chicago Tribune, August 11. As he pushes his cart around the Southwest Side selling steamed ears of corn, sliced cucumbers and other street food, Omar Castillo embodies a potential life-and-death issue that has become the third rail in the debate over health-care reform. Peddling snacks -- doused with lime and chili powder and priced at $1.50 each -- is how Castillo, 19, is trying to pay for expensive medication he needs to stay healthy after receiving a kidney transplant last year.
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Should Immigrants Get Government Backed Health Care?
The Business Insider, August 10. OPINION. How should healthcare reform treat foreigners living in the United States? The question is a sensitive one because Americans experience so many confusing emotions when it comes to immigration. But it's one that policy makers will inevitably have to face because of the sheer numbers of foreigners without insurance who have taken up residence in the US. There are something like 9.2 million non-citizens who lack health insurance, about one-fifth of the total of 46 million people without insurance in the United States.
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Healthcare, Illegal-Immigrant Debates Merge: GOP Pushes For 'Citizenship Verification Tools’
Star Telegram, August 10. The explosive issue of extending benefits and providing additional coverage for illegal immigrants is one battle Democrats are trying to avoid as they continue their hard push to overhaul the nation’s healthcare system. Democrats say that safeguards are already in place to prevent the more than 12 million illegal immigrants in the country from being covered by any government insurance program, and they insist that nothing will change in the bills they are pushing.
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Anchor Babies: No More U.S. Citizenship
NewsWithViews.com, August 10, OPINION. Does it make sense to taxpayers for 400,000 pregnant mothers to break across America’s borders annually—and birth their babies into instant citizenship in the United States? Is it fair for American taxpayers to pay for those births in hospitals via the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA)? Does it stand to reason that taxpayers must then pay for those children to enjoy 13 years of schooling at the expense of our children? Does anyone realize that the costs run into the billions and trillions of dollars over the decades?
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Obama Sees Early 2010 Start On Immigration Reform
Reuters, August 7. President Barack Obama said on Friday he expects Congress to overhaul the country's immigration system, an issue that fires up emotions on both sides of the political divide, by "early next year.” Speaking to Hispanic reporters at the White House, Obama said he hopes a bill for comprehensive immigration reform will be drafted by the end of this year.
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Sotomayor Takes Oath From Chief Justice Roberts
Yahoo News, August 8. Sonia Sotomayor became the Supreme Court's newest justice Saturday, pledging during a brief ceremony at the high court to defend the Constitution and administer impartial justice. Sotomayor, 55, is the first Hispanic justice and only the third woman in the court's 220-year history. She took the second of two oaths of office from Chief Justice John Roberts in an ornate conference room, beneath a portrait of the legendary Chief Justice John Marshall. Her left hand resting on a Bible that was held by her mother, Celina, Sotomayor pledged to "do equal right to the poor and to the rich." EDITOR’S NOTE: Sotomayor’s confirmation came at the expense of pointless ideological opposition from Republicans. Hispanics should remember this in the next election.
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Obama Aims To Overhaul Immigration Jail System
Los Angeles Times, August 7. Pledging more oversight and accountability, the Obama administration announced plans Thursday to transform the nation's immigration detention system from one reliant on a scattered network of local jails and private prisons to a centralized one designed specifically for civil detainees. The reforms are aimed at establishing greater control over a system that houses about 33,000 detainees a day and that has been sharply criticized as having unsafe and inhumane conditions and as lacking the medical care that may have prevented many of the 90 deaths that have occurred since 2003.
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U.S. Reopens Visa Program for Foreign Workers
Wall Street Journal, August 7. The U.S. government said Thursday that it resumed accepting applications for the H-2B foreign temporary worker visa after receiving far fewer petitions from U.S. employers than anticipated. The congressionally mandated annual cap for H-2B visas is 66,000, and the government has issued only 40,640 this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. 'Because of the low visa issuance rate, [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] is reopening the filing period to allow employers to file additional petitions for qualified H-2B temporary foreign nonagricultural workers,' the agency said in a statement.
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2 Chinatown Fake Immigration Lawyers Arrested In NY
China View, August 7. Two operators of an immigration assistance office in New York City's Chinatown neighborhood have been indicted and arrested for scheming to defraud a Chinese immigrant attempting to bring members of his family to the United States, the Manhattan District Attorney's office announced on Thursday. Kevin Tong Hui You, 50, and Linda Xiao Ling Chen, 36, of New York City, were indicted on charges of grand larceny, scheming to defraud, practicing or appearing as an attorney-at-law without being admitted to the bar and registered as a lawyer, and violating the Immigration Assistance Services Law, said Manhattan District Attorney (DA) Robert M. Morgenthau.
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Clemson Professor Arrested On Immigration Charges Speaks Out After Release
WSPA News, August 6. Together again with her husband, Tharwat Alasadi says she has a new lease on life. “Now I feel so good,“ the 29 year old Clemson professor says. “It was difficult for me. I’ve never been in a situation like that before.“ The Fulbright scholar was arrested by immigration agents in July. She spent 11 days in an Alabama jail. For Tharwat and her husband, the time felt like 11 years. “This was my half,“ says husband Taiyo Davis. “When that gate opened and she stepped across, I had my other half.“
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U.S. Citizenship And Immigration Services Investigate H-1B
New York Daily News, August 6. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is investigating H-1B employers to check for fraud. H-1B status is available to a professional worker defined as someone in a job requiring a particular four-year college degree or the equivalent in education and experience. The employer need not prove that no U.S. workers are available. However, the employer must pay the H-1B worker the wage paid to other workers in the area or at that company, whichever is higher. According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association, USCIS has hired outside contractors for this work. Investigators will want to make sure that employers and employees aren't filing fraudulent petitions and applications.
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Petitions For Employment-Based US Green Cards Down Sharply In Poor Economy, Job Market
Associated Press, August 6. The number of petitions from employers trying to bring foreigners to work permanently in the U.S. has declined dramatically over the last two years, an Associated Press review of government data has found. With the nation facing a deep recession and high unemployment, the government has received about half the number of employer-sponsored applications for work-based green cards in fiscal years 2008 and 2009 than it did in each of the previous years. There were almost 235,000 applications submitted in fiscal 2007, almost 104,000 the following year, and fewer than 36,000 through the first eight months of fiscal 2009, according to data obtained by the AP.
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Report: Latinos, Asians Pump Billions Into Colorado
Associated Press, August 5. An immigration policy group says Latinos and Asians in Colorado have a buying power of nearly $26 billion and their businesses employ more than 53,000 people. The Washington-based Immigration Policy Center said in a report Wednesday that the Latinos and Asians, who make about 22.6% of Colorado's population, will be an important part of the state's economic recovery. The report was based on U.S. Census figures and data from other research groups. The policy center says the purchasing power of Latinos in 2008 was $21 billion, while Asians had a buying power of $4.8 billion. Nationally, the purchasing power for both populations was $1.5 trillion in 2008, about 14% of the U.S.
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Roswell May Soften Immigration Policy
KRQE News, August 5. Roswell police may change a controversial immigration policy which sparked racial tension in the city in 2007 when a pregnant high school student was deported after being ticketed for a parking violation. The change would mean Roswell police could not contact or detain a person on the sole basis of investigating their immigration status. This would include victims, witnesses and persons reporting crimes. 'We feel the city police should not be doing the job of ICE or immigration,' Rev. Juan Montoya of The Alliance for Peace and Justice said.
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Polish Widow Fights To Stay In U.S. After Husband's Death
Contra Costa Times, August 4. Dorota and David Lamoree planned a long life together. She was pursuing an education in the sciences. He was enjoying a career in law enforcement. Six weeks after the couple wed, David, a Rio Vista police officer, died in a crash on his way home from work. As the Polish immigrant mourned her husband’s death, Dorota also realized that the tragedy placed her in a stressful predicament. Her lawful link to the United States was gone. 'You’re no longer a spouse of an American citizen,' she said. 'And this kind of visa (I had) is just for a spouse, it’s not for widows.' The fate of immigrants who lose their citizen spouses in the first two years of marriage can be complicated. The threat of deportation adds to the trauma of loss.
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Queens Man Pleads In $100K Immigration Scam
North Country Gazette, August 4. A Queens man has pleaded guilty to defrauding five members of the Trinidad community in the South Ozone Park and Richmond Hill sections of Queens by promising to expedite and produce legitimate green cards and other U.S. documents after collecting a total of nearly $100,000 from them.
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Healthcare Scheme Would Benefit Illegal Immigrants
The Hill, August 3, OPINION. While much of the public debate surrounding the Democrats’ healthcare plan has focused on the massive costs to be paid by American taxpayers, another flaw has stayed under the radar — until last week. That’s when the National Council of La Raza and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus pushed to include illegal immigrants in the president’s healthcare effort. Despite statements to the contrary, the Obama administration could force the American people to pay for the healthcare of millions of illegal immigrants in the U.S. EDITORS NOTE: The Devil is in the details. Don’t let Republicans torpedo overall health care reform with scare tactics. Lamar Smith’s Op-Ed partisan rant clearly represents why immigrants of all nationalities should register as Democrats for the next election.
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Railhawks' Bundu Has A Story To Tell
News & Observer, August 2. Carolina RailHawks forward Sallieu Bundu wants to write a book about his life. He'll warn you this will not be a short book. It will be about growing up in war-torn Sierra Leone and then traveling on foot to Guinea to seek refuge. About traveling to the United States on his brother's lottery visa only to be turned away from professional soccer teams because of missing paperwork.
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Appetite Grows For Mandatory Worker Verification
Journal of New England Technology, July 31. Momentum appears to be growing for legislation that would require all employers, not just federal contractors, to use the E-Verify system to confirm that their employees are eligible to work in the U.S. E-Verify is a web-based system that allows employers to check the Social Security and visa numbers submitted by workers against government databases. More than 137,000 employers now use the system, which approves 97 percent of workers in a few seconds. Beginning Sept. 8, federal contractors will be required to use E-Verify to confirm that new hires and current employees working on federal contracts are authorized to work in the U.S. The requirement also will apply to most subcontractors. Many members of Congress want to expand E-Verify to all employers, as a way to end the 'jobs magnet' for illegal immigration.
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Number Of Immigrants In The Country On Decline
MetroWest Daily News, July 30. A new report by a center that favors restrictions on immigration shows a decline in the number of illegal immigrants living in the country, a result of both increased immigration enforcement and the poor U.S. economy. The report by the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, released yesterday, said the illegal immigrant population decreased 13.7 percent, or 1.7 million, from a peak of 12.5 million in the summer of 2007 to 10.8 million in the first quarter of 2009. EDITOR’S NOTE: this study is available on our web site on our Free Downloads Page.
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Bad Employer Bailout? Reform Could Fund Health Care for Illegal Workers
Fox News.com, July 30. Health care reform could end up bailing out employers who hire illegal immigrants and skimp on their health benefits. Under the legislation being considered on Capitol Hill, undocumented workers would technically not be covered. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said as much in an interview Sunday. 'No, illegal immigrants are not covered by this plan,' she said. But the reality, immigration analysts say, is that the legislation is missing any mechanism to keep illegals out of the system. And if they exploit that loophole, taxpayers could be on the hook for billions to cover health care costs their employers do not. EDITOR’S NOTE: for a fair, balanced and accurate viewpoint on this or any topic, do NOT look to Fox News. Instead, see “FACT CHECK: Distortions Rife in Health Care Debate” at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090802/ap_on_go_co/us_health_care_fact_check
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Republican Disinformation Campaign Threatens Health Care Reform - Part II
Right now there are powerful but subtle forces at work in America designed to torpedo health care reform. My last article discussed reasons why many conservatives are resisting these changes, including exaggerating fears that undocumented aliens will significantly raise the cost and by underestimating the impact of legal immigrants in the system. Let’s start with their illegal alien argument.
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Number Of Mexican Immigrants Dips In U.S.
Statesman Journal, July 30. The number of Mexican immigrants crossing the border into the U.S. hit a 10-year low in the past year, but those already living in the nation appear to be staying put, according to a new report by the Pew Hispanic Center. The report is based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's monthly Current Population Survey, Mexico's National Survey of Employment and Occupation, and the U.S. Border Patrol. The study estimates that immigrants arriving in the U.S. from Mexico dipped by 249,000 from March 2008 to March 2009, a decline of about 40 percent from the previous year.
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What Goes Up
The Economist, July 30. Things that grew rapidly in 2008 included home foreclosures, government deficits and the ranks of the jobless. More encouragingly, remittances to developing countries also expanded. The World Bank reckons that migrant workers sent $328 billion home to their families last year, 15% more than in 2007. This continued growth is particularly striking because it came in a year when other private financial flows into the developing world declined dramatically. The net inflows of private capital to these economies dropped by nearly two-fifths, from $1.16 trillion in 2007 to $707 billion, as panicky rich-world investors turned inward and foreign banks became increasingly reluctant to lend across borders. Dilip Ratha of the World Bank wryly remarks that migrants are being “thrust into the role of a sort of lender of last resort.”
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U.S. Rejects Call for Immigration Detention Rules
The New York Times, July 29. The Obama administration has refused to make legally enforceable rules for immigration detention, rejecting a federal court petition by former detainees and their advocates and embracing a Bush-era inspection system that relies in part on private contractors. The decision, contained in a six-page letter received by the plaintiffs this week, disappointed and angered immigration advocacy organizations around the country. They pointed to a stream of newly available documents that underscore the government’s failure to enforce minimum standards it set in 2000, including those concerning detainees’ access to basic health care, telephones and lawyers, even as the number of people detained has soared to more than 400,000 a year.
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Immigration Detention Centers Failed to Meet Standards, Report Says
Los Angeles Times, July 29. The federal government routinely failed to follow its own standards regulating immigration detention centers across the country, denying detainees sufficient recreation time and adequate access to attorneys, legal materials and telephones, according to a new report issued Tuesday. As a result of the widespread violations, hundreds of thousands of detainees faced tremendous challenges in making their case to stay in the U.S. and were frequently denied basic due process rights, according to the report. EDITOR’S NOTE: This report is available on our web site on our Free Downloads Page.
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Millions Of Illegals Covered Under Obama Healthcare
One News Now, July 29. The ranking Republican on the House Subcommittee on Immigration says Democrats have refused to pass an amendment that would prevent illegal aliens from being covered in the Obama healthcare plan. Democrats recently defeated a Republican-backed amendment offered by Rep. Dean Heller (R-Nevada) that would have prevented illegal immigrants from receiving government-subsidized healthcare under the proposed plan backed by House Democrats and President Obama. Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa), the ranking member on the House Immigration Subcommittee, finds it outrageous that Democrats want to force hardworking Americans to foot the healthcare bill for those who are in the country illegally.
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Obama Setting The Priorities On Immigration
Los Angeles Times, July 26. As Congress moves slowly on immigration reform, President Obama is making numerous policy changes in enforcement and other areas that are designed to shift priorities and boost confidence in the administration as it lays the groundwork for possible legislation. Most of the changes are being driven by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and are primarily aimed at illegal immigrants with criminal records and employers who hire undocumented workers. Napolitano is working with lawmakers to develop a strategy for comprehensive legislative reforms.
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Federal Officials Warn Against Immigration Fraud
Associated Press, July 26. U.S. Department of Justice officials are warning those needing help with immigration cases to protect themselves from fraud. The department's Executive Office for Immigration Review says people should be cautious of those who pretend to be immigration attorneys or accredited representatives. The EOIR says visa consultants, immigration consultants and 'notarios' can't represent anyone in immigration court, can't provide legal services and can't give legal advice. EDITORS NOTE: the 2009 edition of Win the Green Card Lottery! has new section with more detail on this topic.
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Obama Moves To Grant Political Asylum To Women Of Domestic Abuse
Guardian, July 24. The Obama administration has moved to grant political asylum to foreign women who suffer severe physical or sexual abuse from which they are unable to escape because it is part of the culture of their own countries. The decision, made evident in a court case involving a battered women from Mexico, ends years of dispute over the issue which saw the Bush administration stall moves toward recognising domestic violence as legitimate grounds for asylum made during Bill Clinton's tenure.
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U.S. Paper Chase May Slow H-1B, Green Card Use
ComputerWorld, July 27. Federal regulators, particularly the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services bureau, may be slowing the process of obtaining H-1B visas and green cards by adding to the mounds of paperwork required by applicants, according to immigration attorneys. Several attorneys said in interviews that various regulatory agencies have increased the scope of their so-called requests for evidence from those who apply for new H-1B visas or permanent residency cards, or try to renew existing ones. In recent months, the USCIS has compelled some applicants to provide corporate payroll records, zoning maps and even building fire-safety plans, they added.
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Immigration Advocates Call ‘Wise Latina’ Attack Dog Whistle Politics
Washington Independent, July 24. During her four-day confirmation hearing, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor was grilled for having said she would naturally be influenced by her ethnicity and gender, just as other judges would be influenced by theirs. Because she is Latina, however, the debate over whether personal background ought to influence one’s judgment took on a particular cast, with the assumption made, largely by white male senators, that Sotomayor would be particularly sympathetic to minorities, women and immigrants.
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Controversy Precedes Latino Conference
Chicago Tribune, July 26. An influential Latino civil-rights group kicked off its national conference in Chicago on Friday by spotlighting immigrants taking their oaths as citizens, a tribute to the American dream. But the National Council of La Raza has been forced to defend itself against charges that its aggressive advocacy for Latinos, especially illegal immigrants, is harmful to America. On talk radio, its very name is decried as racist, and one former congressman even recently termed it the 'Latino KKK.'
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Skilled Immigrants on Why They're Leaving the U.S.
Business Week, July 26. Lured by the prospect of climbing to the top of his field, New Delhi native Swaroop Ganguly came to the U.S. 10 years ago and earned a PhD in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 2005. He became an expert in an emerging technology called spintronics, used to power semiconductors, and worked at several chip companies, including Freescale Semiconductor. But Ganguly, now 32, is moving back to India this summer. Although he has been doing postdoctoral work at the University of Texas, he figures his prospects for research and professional development are probably better in his home country. 'I feel quite excited about going back,' he says.
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Green Cards For Grads
Washington Monthly, July 26, OPINION. I recently spent several days in Northern California and came down with a mild case of wealth poisoning. This often happens when I travel to places like San Francisco and Palo Alto. The greenness, tidiness, and modernity of the Bay Area start to chafe, like a Barbra Streisand interview, and I become homesick for the soothing grime of Los Angeles. The feeling is especially strong in Silicon Valley, which seems determined to show the world how rich you can get without having any fun.
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Tougher US immigration laws would be a mistake: Bill Gates
Indian Express, July 24. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates warned that the US immigration laws may get tougher but he also advocated for free exchange of talent. 'US Congress is very tough on immigration in general. That's unfortunate. What about making an exception for few smart people... Free exchange of talent is very important,' Gates said at a joint conference with IT body Nasscom. Amidst the US Government talking about protection, tougher visa norms etc he commented, 'Immigration policy (of US) might actually get more strict. It would be a great mistake.
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Lawmaker to introduce bill to require biometric verification of workers
Nextgov.com, July 22. A senator plans to introduce a bill before the Labor Day holiday that would require American workers to have their employment eligibility verified using biometric technology. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said on Tuesday the bill would call for the E-Verify system, which businesses are encouraged to use to validate job applicants' Social Security numbers, to include a biometric identifier such as a fingerprint.
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Will You Win The Green Card Lottery In DV-2011?
Albuquerque Immigration Examiner, July 20. In our last diversity visa article I summarized how to check the status of last year’s entry online at the U.S. State Department “E-DV” website. For entrants from countries with extremely slow or corrupt postal mail, online registration checking may be the best way to determine if you won, especially if you did not use a lottery service. We also discussed the chances of being selected, which depend not only on the overall the number of entrants, but on the specific number of entrants from your birth country. Today we will pursue this topic further.
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Nigeria: Should We All 'Check Out' of the Country?
Lagos Daily Independent, July 20. It sounds very much like an apocryphal tale. But it is true that the joke is once again on Nigerian society in general and the medical profession or the health sector in particular. What I am saying is that Nigeria has lost yet another batch of medical experts to the larger world. Thousands of highly trained medical doctors have just departed these shores for greener pastures abroad as the outcome of incessant strikes embarked upon by the National Association of Resident Doctors.
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Borvanov Hits Biggest Payday
Denver Post, July 20. Borvanov vaguely remembers learning tennis as a child in the former Soviet Union. He holds better memories of coming to the United States nine years ago when, in his words, "my mother won the green card lottery."
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Little-Known Visas Free Immigrants From Abuse
Oregonian, July 18. When 14-year-old Magdalena Juan Felipe set out to illegally cross the border from Guatemala to Mexico and then into the United States, she was drawn by the hope of leaving the dire poverty of her home for a chance at an education in Oregon. But the half sister who urged Juan Felipe to come to Portland forced her to work at a food processing plant, confiscated all her money and beat her. The girl -- who spoke no English or Spanish and did not know where to turn for help -- was reduced to living in servitude. Ironically, relief came when Juan Felipe was caught in an immigration raid. She qualified for a special visa available to victims of crime and trafficking who cooperate with police and prosecutors, despite fear of deportation. The relatively unknown visa allows Juan Felipe, now 21, to legally live and work in the United States.
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Governors Say They Don't Want Added Federal Expenses For Health Care, Secure Driver's Licenses
Associated Press, July 19. Many of the nation's governors said Sunday they don't want Congress to force states to pick up extra expenses, from health care to national security. Democrats and Republicans attending the summer convention of the National Governors Association said state budgets are already strained by recession. Governors meet twice yearly to seek bipartisan consensus on issues affecting their states, including federal mandates for shared programs such as the Medicaid health insurance program for the needy. Only 25 governors attended the weekend meeting as some stayed home to tackle budgets.
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Aging Immigrants Seek An Infusion Of Youth
Boston Globe, July 20. The old men climb a narrow staircase in Chinatown to a room filled with smoky incense, stacks of Chinese-language newspapers, and a shrine holding offerings of wine and cups of tea. For nearly a century the group has offered a gathering place for lonely immigrants, who banded together to help one another make it in America. The Gee How Oak Tin Association of New England was their family when the US government barred them from bringing relatives from China. It helped them find jobs, rent apartments, and raise children who speak flawless English and go to college. Now, the organization is looking to those very children for its survival.
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Qwest Bilingual Service Corners Hispanic Market
Arizona Republic, July 20. Twenty-five years ago, four Qwest employees in Arizona launched El Centro de Qwest, a bilingual call center to cater to Spanish-speaking customers, giving callers the option to dial for help in Spanish. Now Qwest has 350 people working in the operation, which has expanded to Salt Lake City, and about a tenth of the company's call-center workers are bilingual. About 12 percent of customers for the Denver-based company request service in Spanish, and the numbers are growing strong far outside the traditional Hispanic market in Arizona.
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Top Visa Lottery Countries for 2010
CIS.org, July 16, OPINION. Last week the State Department announced the lucky winners in this year’s Visa Lottery, who will be arriving in communities near you by September, 2010. Fourteen percent of the winners (13,988 people) hail from countries of special interest in the war on terror… The visa lottery serves no purpose other than to increase immigration for immigration’s sake. It offers green cards to people who offer no particular skills and who lack close family ties here. EDITOR’S NOTE: We disagree with most of the Center for Immigration Study’s opinions and activities.
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U.S. to Admit Palestinian Refugees from Iraq
Inter Press Service, July 17. Approximately 1,350 Palestinian refugees from Iraq are being considered for resettlement in the U.S. after being referred to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 'Really for the first time, the United States is recognizing a Palestinian refugee population that could be admitted to the U.S. as part of a resettlement program,' Bill Frelick, refugee policy director at Human Rights Watch (HRW) in Washington, told the Christian Science Monitor last week. A State Department spokesman said that the resettlement process for the group actually began in 2008, and so far 24 Palestinians from Iraq have arrived in the U.S. It will be the largest-ever resettlement of Palestinian refugees into the U.S. It accepted seven Palestinians in 2007 and nine in 2008.
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HIV Travel Ban May Be Lifted For Infected Visitors
MSNBC News, July 17. Foreigners who have HIV would be allowed to travel and immigrate to the United States under a plan by federal health officials to lift a 22-year ban on infected visitors that critics say was unnecessary from the start. Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are seeking public comment through Aug. 17 on the proposal, which would remove HIV from the list of diseases that can bar entry to the country and do away with HIV testing as part of medical exams for permanent residence and, in some cases, travel visas.
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Homestead Taps 'Immigrant Investor' Program To Sell Ferndale Project
Bellingham Herald, July 16. Homestead Northwest of Lynden has found a buyer for its Correll Commons retirement condo project in Ferndale, tapping into money raised through a low-profile 'immigrant investor' program that gives participants a shot at U.S. residency. In a deal that closed in late June, Correll Retirement LLC paid Homestead $1 million for vacant property that is ready for construction of 26 attached condo units at a site south of Main Street, just west of downtown Ferndale. A related entity, New WORC Development and Management LLC, also paid Homestead about $220,000 for a completed condo unit.
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Poll: Women Changing The Face Of Immigration Debate
South Florida Times, July 17. Close your eyes and imagine what an immigrant looks like. For many years, conventional wisdom would have painted a picture of a man with limited education or skills, living alone in the United States, working to send money back home to his family. But recent research suggests that conventional wisdom is missing the mark. Data suggest that half of U.S. immigrants are women, and they are facing radically different challenges than those which confronted their male counterparts of decades past. They are keeping their families intact and raising children while taking on the traditionally male role of provider. And against many odds, they are succeeding.
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Abolish Immigration Fees
ilw.com, July 10, OPINION. Fees to process immigration petitions have reached gouging proportions, and many families and small businesses are unable to file for benefits to which they are entitled under the immigration laws because of high fees. While the government makes exceptions for a few cases of hardship, we oppose the very idea of charging processing fees for immigration benefits, here's why.
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Large Immigrant Populations Keep Cities Safe, Just Ask El Paso, TX
Immigration Impact, July 10. El Paso, Texas, is a relatively poor, Hispanic, gun-friendly city and home to many undocumented immigrants. Yet although El Paso is adjacent to a violence-riddled Mexican city, it's actually counted among the safest big cities in the US. Many Americans believe that immigrants--especially illegal immigrants--are associated with high levels of crime. However, according to criminologist Jack Levin, El Paso is safe because of its immigrant population.
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Obama Revives Bush Idea to Catch Illegal Workers
Washington Post, July 9. President Obama will abandon a controversial immigration crackdown, sought by his predecessor, to pressure U.S. companies to fire 9 million workers with suspect Social Security numbers, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced yesterday. Instead, Obama will mandate that federal contractors confirm the identities of 4 million workers against federal databases beginning in September, pushing ahead under pressure from Senate Republicans with another long-stalled Bush administration initiative.
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With USA In A Recession, Rural Mexico Feels The Pain
USA Today, July 9. Not long ago, this remote Mexican mountain town was in the middle of a construction boom — as families proudly built their American-style dream homes, using cash sent home by relatives working in the USA. Work on those houses has stopped, leaving shiny steel rebar jutting awkwardly out of concrete walls all over this town of 4,500. Meanwhile, residents have been forced to cut back on staples such as rice and corn. Eggs, meat and milk are now out of reach for many families.
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Task Force to Recommend Overhaul of U.S. Immigration System
Washington Post, July 8. A bipartisan task force will recommend today that the United States overhaul its immigration system in response to national security concerns, saying that the country should end strict quotas on work-based immigrant visas to maintain its scientific, technological and military edge. 'The continued failure to devise and implement a sound and sustainable immigration policy threatens to weaken America's economy, to jeopardize its diplomacy, and to imperil its national security,' concluded an independent Council on Foreign Relations panel, co-chaired by former Florida governor Jeb Bush (R) and former Clinton White House chief of staff Thomas V. 'Mack' McLarty III.
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HIV Travel Restriction Set To Be Lifted
Brownsville Herald, July 8. A rule that prevents many HIV-positive immigrants and travelers from entering the United States will likely be lifted before the year is up, after the Department of Health and Human Services earlier this month recommended changing the regulation. Immigration and HIV/AIDS advocacy groups have been working to repeal the 22-year-old rule, which they call discriminatory, dangerous, and debilitating to the strength of the U.S. scientific community. A large number of foreigners with the human immunodeficiency virus would benefit from the change, the groups say, when these individuals would finally be able to enter the country to see loved ones, attend medical conferences, or seek advanced medical treatment.
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Schumer: Immigration Bill To Be Ready By Labor Day
Associated Press, July 8. The lead Democrat steering an immigration overhaul through the Senate said Wednesday he expects to have a bill ready by Labor Day that is more generous to highly skilled immigrant workers than those who are lower skilled and is tough on future waves of illegal immigration. In an interview with The Associated Press, Sen. Chuck Schumer said an immigration bill can be done by the end of the year or early next year that works out disagreements between labor and business interests on the flow of legal foreign workers.
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Gillibrand Finds New Ground On Reform
Irish Echo, July 8. Even as she faces into a battle for her Senate seat next year against Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is moving away from her onetime opposition stance on immigration reform. In doing so she has received strong support from the Obama White House and her fellow New York senator, Charles Schumer, both powerful allies, as she girds herself to fight to retain her seat in the now to be contested 2010 Democratic primary.
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Study Finds Gaps in Aid for Non-English Speakers in State Civil Courts
New York Times, July 4. When Maythe Ramirez went to Superior Court in Contra Costa, Calif., for a child custody hearing in 2006, she wanted to tell the judge that her husband beat her and should not be allowed broad visitation rights. The court did not provide an interpreter for her, however, and Ms. Ramirez, who speaks almost no English, could not follow the arcane proceeding, much less participate. 'It is really as if you are doing nothing in court,' she said in Spanish through an interpreter, 'standing still and not being able to explain what’s really happening.'
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Young Undocumented Migrant In Miami Can Stay In U.S. Another Year
Miami Herald, July 3. Walter Lara, the undocumented Miami resident scheduled to be deported Monday, gets to stay in the United States for another year. Department of Homeland Security officials deferred Lara's deportation until July 3, 2010, according to a letter sent to the 23-year-old just weeks after activists rallied on Capitol Hill and lawmakers sought to halt his deportation. Advocates had vowed to hold a July 4 hunger strike to press the case. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson, Nicole Navas, would only say that ''ICE exercised its authorized discretion'' to defer the deportation issue.
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Over 20k Vacancies Still Left For H1B Visas
Press Trust of India, July 2. Nearly three months after the US immigration agency started accepting petitions for the H-1B visas for highly-skilled foreign professionals, it is still looking for more than 20,000 applications to fill the Congressionally-mandated cap of 65,000. Amid the economic downturn and protectionist provisions in the US stimulus package, the demand for the visas, which is mostly availed by Indian professionals, has slowed down. The latest figures released by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reveal that approximately 44,800 H-1B petitions have been received by it so far. In the last few years, there was huge demand of H-1B visas, with the USCIS receiving several times the quota of 65,000 in the first few days itself. It had to resort to computerised lottery to determine the successful applicants.
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Online Status Checking Is Now Available For DV-2010 Entrants
Albuquerque Immigration Examiner, July 2. A previous article resulted in several questions about the diversity visa (green card) lottery. Today we are happy to announce that the State Department has finally put in place a system for entrants to check the status of their entry at: http://www.dvlottery.state.gov/ESC.
You just need three pieces of information from your 2008 registration: 1) your Confirmation Number, 2) your Family Name (Last Name), and 3) your Birth Year. If you did not enter using a last name, check the box for “No Last/Family Name”.
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Undocumented Aliens Are Not Associated With Higher Rates Of Crime
Albuquerque Immigration Examiner, June 30. Although we are proponents of legal, not illegal immigration, sometimes the rhetoric of the far right becomes so warped that I cannot help but shed light on their propaganda. One of their ongoing populust rants is their proposition that illegal immigrants commit an excess of crime.
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Sen. Nelson Rallies Against Student's Deportation
Miami Herald, June 29. Sen. Bill Nelson has called for authorities to halt the deportation of a Miami man whose immigration story has inspired protests and riled up immigration activists throughout South Florida. In a letter last week addressed to a top federal immigration official, Nelson praised Walter Lara, a 23-year-old who is to be deported July 6. He called him ''exactly the type of person'' a new immigration bill is ''trying to help.'' Lara's story ''vividly illustrates'' the need for Congress to pass the DREAM Act, Nelson, a Democrat, said. The bill would grant certain immigrants who graduate from U.S. high schools conditional permanent residency.
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House Restores Funding To Jail Illegal Immigrants
Washington Examiner, June 28. The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to restore $400 million in funding for state and local jails to incarcerate criminal illegal immigrants, a program which would reimburse Fairfax and Prince William counties a total of $1.5 million. The Commonwealth of Virginia would also receive $1.7 million if funds for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program provided under the measure, which was included in the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, are approved. SCAAP funding had been cut in President Barack Obama’s proposed fiscal 2010 budget.
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LAPD Names Its First Islamic Chaplain
Los Angeles Times, June 29. American Muslims have never been much of a presence in the Los Angeles Police Department, accounting for less than 1% of its nearly 10,000 officers. But now, with department leaders eager to improve relationships with local Muslims, top brass have named the force's first Islamic chaplain: a Pakistani-born spiritual leader who has spent much of the last decade trying to build bridges between law enforcement and Los Angeles County's diverse Muslim communities. Sheik Qazi Asad, 47, will serve as a reserve chaplain at the LAPD's North Hollywood station. The volunteer post requires about eight hours of service each month. But to Asad and his LAPD patrons, it represents an opportunity to expose officers to a culture and faith that many may find unfamiliar, even foreign.
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Alleged Fraud Puts Immigrants In Limbo
Boston Globe, June 28. Hundreds of immigrants desperately seeking legal residency poured into his Boston office, waiting for hours as the line curled out the door. In the Brazilian community, word had spread from cooks to bakers to seamstresses that Dvorak was the lawyer to know. They filled out piles of paperwork, paid thousands of dollars, and waited for green cards to arrive in the mail. Now, eight years later, the US government has begun rejecting dozens of Dvorak’s clients, saying it found fraud, such as fake employment letters, in a significant number of cases, according to a copy of a rejection letter that lawyers say clients are receiving. The unexpected action is wreaking havoc from Maine to Cape Cod. Immigrants who plunked down hard-earned cash with high hopes of staying in America are now racing to other lawyers for help.
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FAIR's Response to Sen. Charles Schumer’s Seven Point Plan for So-Called 'Comprehensive Immigration Reform'
FAIRus.org, June 25. In advance of the White House summit on immigration, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), chairman of Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Refugees, issued a seven point plan for reforming America’s immigration policies. Unfortunately, Sen. Schumer’s plan is short on details and even shorter on protections of the vital interests of the American people. It also conveniently ignores the history of immigration politics and policies since 1986.
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Obama Urges Congress Not To Put Off Immigration Reform
Christian Science Monitor, June 25. President Obama Thursday called for some 'heavy lifting' on immigration reform on Capitol Hill, but there’s no move there to rush into it. With energy, healthcare, and financial regulation on a fast track, there’s little running room for an issue that has baffled lawmakers for the past three years. But for president and a critical mass of interest groups heavily invested in comprehensive reform, even a symbolic stake in the ground is a start. 'The consensus is that despite our inability to get this passed over the last several years, the American people still want to see a solution,' Mr. Obama said after a bipartisan meeting with House and Senate members. 'We’ve got a responsible set of leaders sitting around the table who want to actively get something done and not put it off until a year, two years, three years, five years from now, but to start working on this thing now,' he said.
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Mayoral Candidate Decries 'Sanctuary City Policy'
KOB News, June 25. A candidate for mayor says Albuquerque is a sanctuary city for foreign criminals because of a question police aren't allowed to ask suspects. Richard 'RJ' Berry says if he is elected mayor, things will change. 'I will get rid of the so-called sanctuary city policy that Mayor Chavez has put in place that prohibits officers from asking suspects in crimes about their immigration status,' he said Wednesday. At least two suspected gangster gunmen in the deadly Denny's robbery spent some time in the Bernalillo County jail in recent months.
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Employer Use Of Federal E-Verify Program On The Rise
USA Today, June 24. Construction company CEO David Dominguez no longer worries about inadvertently hiring workers who are in this country illegally. That's because he uses E-Verify, the federal program that allows him to quickly check the legal status of potential employees. Dominguez, who builds residential interiors in Arizona and California, said that as word gets around about the program, job applicants without legal status avoid businesses such as his, Andrew Lauren Co., which use E-Verify. 'The system works,' Dominguez said. His San Diego-based company has been using E-Verify for several years in hiring office workers and laborers. The voluntary federal program has seen a rapid growth in use this year, Department of Homeland Security records show. More than 1,000 employers are signing up each week on average, and employment checks are approaching 200,000 a week.
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Will Immigration Reform Move Off The Back Burner?
Politico, June 24. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) still believes he has the votes to pass comprehensive immigration reform. The only problem is finding floor time — and the political will in the Senate — to dig in on a heated issue that blew up in the Senate two summers ago. 'What is impeding comprehensive immigration reform is any floor time to do it,' Reid told reporters. 'I think we have the floor votes to do it.' President Barack Obama has expressed his commitment to comprehensive immigration reform, and on Thursday he will host a group of House members and senators to discuss how to move a bill forward. But, with a full schedule of health care reform, a climate change bill and a Supreme Court nomination already crowding the agenda, Republicans are skeptical that an immigration bill would be coming in the near future.
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By The Numbers: Quantifying The Economic Impact Of Mass. Immigrants
WBUR News, June 24. Schools, welfare and taxes. Those are the big concerns some people have about immigrants’ impact on public spending. UMass Boston economist Alan Clayton-Matthews actually tried to quantify these impacts using the most recent census data from 2007. “Immigrants tend to have larger households with more children and therefore make a higher use of the public education system than do natives,” Clayton-Matthews said. His study shows that immigrant-headed families sent about 179,000 students to public schools across the state. Those children make up about 19 percent of school children, even though they are 15.5 percent of the state’s population. That costs the state about $300 million to $440 million a year. But that’s not the whole picture. “Fewer immigrants are incarcerated in proportion to their population,” Clayton-Matthews said. And, “since immigrants tend to be younger, there are fewer elderly immigrants who are institutionalized in nursing or long-term care facilities.”
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Mock Graduation Today For Students In Country Illegally
Orange County Register, June 23. It's 'graduation day' for students who are in the country illegally and who say they want a pathway to residency and a chance for a better life. Up to 100 illegal immigrant college students in Orange County will join the expected hundreds of others across the country scheduled to walk in mock graduation ceremonies today, organizers say. 'It's in solidarity to support the plight of undocumented students,' said Alexis Nava, a member of the Orange County Dream Team, who helped coordinate today's ceremony. 'It's a mock graduation to be symbolic, recognition of what students face once they graduate.' The 6 p.m. ceremony in Orange is intended to support the DREAM Act, which would allow undocumented students to apply for legal permanent resident status, protect them from deportation and make them eligible for student loans and federal work-study programs.
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Report Says Immigration Crucial For Housing Recovery
Forbes Magazine, June 22. Harvard brain trust predicts 'strong' demographics will drive housing recovery, but immigration is a wild card. A perceived strain on government resources has caused some Americans to begrudge the country's immigrant population. But Harvard researchers, in a new white paper released Monday, are saying that a slowdown in immigration could hurt the long-term real estate market. In the 2009 State of the Nation's Housing Report, Harvard economists say real estate remains under considerable strain due to rising unemployment, falling home prices and tighter lending standards. 'The best that can be said of the market is that house-price corrections and steep cuts in housing production are creating the conditions that will lead to an eventual recovery,' says Eric S. Belsky, executive director of the Joint Center for Housing.
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Ethiopian Wins Lottery For New Life In U.S.
ThOnline.com, June 22. Argaw Oremo won the lottery -- but it's not the lottery worth millions of dollars; it's the lottery for a chance at a new life in the United States. Oremo's name was drawn from the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, a computerized lottery that randomly selects 50,000 people out of a pool of 9.1 million applicants from countries with low rates of immigration to obtain a "Green Card." It allows them to be permanent residents of the United States.
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Immigration Agency Says Backlog Virtually Gone
Associated Press, June 22. FBI name checks on people seeking to work, live or become citizens of the United States are getting completed more quickly, winding down a backlog that had left some petitions pending for more than a year, immigration officials announced Monday. The delays have come during the FBI's routine checks for possible criminal backgrounds and national security questions. But now, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials say, nearly all name check requests submitted to the FBI are now being answered within 30 days. The remaining 2 percent within 90 days.
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Immigration: More Foreign Nurses Needed?
Business Week, June 21. For more than a decade, the U.S. has faced a shortage of nurses to staff hospitals and nursing homes. While the current recession has encouraged some who had left the profession to return, about 100,000 positions remain unfilled. Experts say that if more is not done to entice people to enter the field—and to expand the U.S.'s nurse-training capacity—that number could triple or quadruple by 2025. President Barack Obama's goal of expanding health coverage to millions of the uninsured could also face additional hurdles if the supply of nurses can't meet the demand. Some lawmakers are looking to the immigration pipeline as one means to raise staffing levels. In May, Representative Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) introduced a bill that would allow 20,000 additional nurses to enter the U.S. each year for the next three years as a temporary measure to fill the gap.
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78% In Poll Say No To Illegal Immigrant Students Act
Orange County Register, June 19. Readers overwhelmingly oppose a bill that would provide students who are in the country illegally a pathway to residency among other rights that are now granted to resident students. More than 75 percent of readers responding said no to the following question: 'Do you think college students who are in the country illegally should be given a path to residency, protected from deportation and eligible for student loans and federal work study programs?, according to an Orange County Register poll. Only 21 percent of 1,631 respondents said they supported the idea, which is part of the DREAM Act, or Development, Relief and Education for Minor Aliens. About 1 percent said they didn't know how they felt about the measure.
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Parents' Citizenship Is Son's Joy
News Observer, June 21. Ronald Bilbao will remember his 21st birthday not for gifts that he received, but for one that he gave. This year on his birthday, Bilbao, a rising senior at UNC-Chapel Hill, sponsored his parents for legal residency in the United States -- 25 years after they left their native Venezuela for Miami. His parents had been among this nation's estimated 12million illegal immigrants, with no way to rectify their immigration status, since 1984. But several years ago, they discovered that they were among a small group of illegal immigrants who have a path to citizenship. In the nation's complex web of immigration laws, there is a provision that allows people who entered the country on legal visas and remained after the visas expired to apply for permanent residency -- but only if they have an immediate family member who is a U.S. citizen and at least 21 years old. Ronald, a U.S. citizen born in Florida, was their ticket.
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Governor Speaks Up For Immigrants
San Diego Union Tribune, June 17, OPINION. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been taking a beating from the public for recent comments intended to force Californians to stop blaming illegal immigrants for the state's budget crisis. Schwarzenegger is not backing down. In fact, he's ratcheting up the rhetoric. In the process, he's comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable. There's more of that on the way. During a recent meeting with The San Diego Union-Tribune editorial board, Schwarzenegger compared the tendency of Californians to treat Latino immigrants as scapegoats for the state's economic crisis to how Jews were blamed by the Nazis for Germany's economic difficulties following World War I.
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How Big Brother Is Using Immigration Debate For Control
DC Immigration Examiner, June 17, OPINION. Big Brother and Big Bro lite are coming and their names are Chucky and Dano. Furthermore, they are using the immigration debate as the groundwork for the mark of the beast. No, this is not the opening of another bad novel; however, it is what is happening in Washington, D.C. as you read this. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y) has been picked to create the Senate’s comprehensive immigration legislation. In a book he penned in 2007, the senator favored a “forgery-proof” worker ID card, secured with biometric data such as fingerprints, for all eligible workers in America. Schumer, the chairman of the Senate Immigration, Refugees and Border Security subcommittee, is expected to hold hearings next month.
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Should U.S. Deny Citizenship To Children Of Illegal Immigrants? Two Views
AJC, June 17. Georgia Rep. Nathan Deal’s pending legislation in Congress that would end the lunacy of awarding birthright citizenship to children born in the United States to illegal alien parents should have become law when he first introduced it six years ago. It should be passed into law now. It won’t be. But the issue needs to be discussed. One of the myths surrounding the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the current convoluted misinterpretation of its birthright citizenship clause is that automatic U.S. citizenship is granted to every child born on American soil. It is not. Doing so was never the intention of Congress. Despite lawfully present parents, children born in the United States to diplomats and other public ministers of foreign nations are not awarded what is arguably the most coveted and valuable title in the world: “United States citizen.”
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Obama Is Vague On Immigration Reform Timeline
Los Angeles Times, June 20. President Obama this morning again backed immigration reform, but left open the timing for any push through Congress. Speaking before Latino leaders at the Esperanza National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast and Conference in Washington, Obama said he remained committed to changing the current immigration policies to include a path for citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States. As he has in the past, Obama also called for strong border regulation. 'Together, we must build a future where the promise of America is kept for a new generation,' Obama said. 'We also know that keeping this promise means upholding America's tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. Those things aren't contradictory; they're complementary.
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Immigrants, Who Once Worked As Nurses, Filling Up Special SCC Class
Times-Herald, June 18. Rihong Chang is so eager to return to nursing that twice a week she drives seven hours from Los Angeles to Solano Community College for a class that will get her closer to her dream. Chang, 41, worked as a nurse in her homeland of China for 20 years. But, in California, an exam is barring her from her chosen work. Before she can take the National Council Licensing Exam (NCLEX) to return to nursing, she must take certain classes which are both difficult to find and get into. Like her classmates, Chang was nearly desperate to land a spot in Solano College's summer psychiatric mental health nursing class. She must take it before she can apply to take the exam.
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U.S. Bishops Call On Obama For Immigration Reform To End Migrants’ Suffering
Catholic News Agency, June 18. Cardinal Francis George, President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), speaking at the conference’s annual spring meeting, called on President Barack Obama and congressional leaders to enact 'comprehensive' immigration reform. 'It has been clear for years that the United States immigration system requires repair and that reform legislation should not be delayed,' Cardinal George said, speaking on behalf of the bishops. Stating that the bishops urge 'respect and observance of all just laws,' he added that they do not 'approve or encourage' illegal entry into the United States. 'From a humanitarian perspective,' he said, 'our fellow human beings, who migrate to support their families, continue to suffer at the hands of immigration policies that separate them from family members and drive them into remote parts of the American desert, sometimes to their deaths. This suffering should not continue.'
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More Than 100 Kids Sue Over Parents' Deportations
Associated Press, June 17. Roughly 150 children are asking President Barack Obama to halt the deportations of their parents until Congress overhauls U.S. immigration laws. The children are all U.S. citizens and say their constitutional rights are being violated because they, too, will likely have to leave the country if their parents are forced to leave.
The group is gathering Wednesday in Miami to talk about the case. They originally brought their lawsuit against the Bush administration. It was refiled in January in Miami. The children's attorneys say the parents came to the U.S. before 1996 immigration changes made it more difficult for them to become legal residents, and thus expected they would be allowed to stay.
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Siding With The Barbarians
FPIF, June 15. With EU Green Card Lottery, for instance, they launched a campaign that drove potential migrants to a website to apply for an imaginary "EU Green Card" — a sharp commentary on global immigration management. Their design agency Transitioners specializes in political transitions, and questions the centrality of revolution and transition in Western society.
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Real ID Opposition Sparks Revisions To National Driver's License Standard
Computerworld, June 15. Widespread opposition to a 2005 bill designed to create a national standard for driver's licenses has prompted a revised version of the bill that no longer contains its most controversial provisions. The proposed revision is called the 'Providing for Additional Security in States' Identification' Act of 2009, or Pass ID Act, and was introduced in the U.S. Senate late on Monday by Senators Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), George Voinovich (R-Ohio), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Jon Tester (D-MT), Max Baucus (D-MT) and Thomas Carper (D-DE). The bill is a revised version of the Real ID Act of 2005, which was signed into law by then President Bush but the implementation of which has almost stopped amid cost concerns and fears that it could end up becoming a de facto national ID card.
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Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Reexamined – Part II
Examiner, June 18. The responses to my last article reveal deeply held feelings that surface on both sides of this issue. Few supported my suggestion to end automatic birthright citizenship because it would result in children born here to parents from some countries to be “stateless”. Several took issue with the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) study showing little relationship between recent immigration and unemployment among U.S. natives, including FAIR. They responded by blasting the entire report, claiming the IPC study mixed data from both illegal and illegal immigration. Ultimately, the issue boils down to the question of how to handle the numbers of undocumented aliens already here.
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E-Verify All the Time
Immigration Impact, June 12. Have you ever seen the movie Groundhog Day where Bill Murray finds himself living the same day over and over and over again? Welcome to the world of E-Verify , the federal electronic employment verification system (EEVS) that purports to accurately confirm workers’ authorization for employment. Again and again policymakers have attached mandatory E-Verify proposals to any moving piece of legislation—whether it is related to the issue or not. Just today two amendments were offered to the DHS appropriations bill to expand the E-Verify system, and both were rejected. Subcommittee chair David Price (D-NC) argued that E-verify must be taken up as a part of comprehensive immigration reform – not as part of the budget. But E-verify amendments are likely to continue into the near future.
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Dems Likely To Ignore Amnesty Issue For Now
The One News Now, June 12. Former Congressman Tom Tancredo does not think it is wise for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to push the idea of passing an amnesty bill this year. Reid, (D-Nevada) recently told a group of Hispanic leaders that he wants to take up 'comprehensive immigration reform' this year. Congress soundly rejected an amnesty proposal in 2007. But the Majority Leader told his audience that immigration reform is going to happen by the end of this Congressional session, which ends in 2010, but added that he wants to get it accomplished this year if possible.
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Immigrant’s Criminal Past Colors a Group’s Legal Challenge to Detentions
New York Times, June 11. The news media campaign was all set to go. There was even a Web site ready with a sympathetic profile of Alexander Alli, 49, the man the American Civil Liberties Union had chosen as the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking custody hearings for more than 1,000 legal immigrants long locked up while they challenged the government’s efforts to deport them on the basis of criminal convictions. Alexander Alli with his family. The lead plaintiff in a lawsuit, he was part of an identity theft ring. But at the last minute someone at the civil liberties union checked the details of Mr. Alli’s criminal history. It turned out that Mr. Alli, a native of Ghana whose wife and three children, all United States citizens, live in the Bronx, had taken part in one of the biggest cases of identity theft in this country.
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Feinstein Farm Jobs Bill May Lead to Immigration Fix
Santa Monica Mirror, June 11. There's a slowdown all along the Mexican border. Border Patrol agents caught fully 27 percent fewer illegal immigrants trying to sneak into the United States between November 1 and April 30 than during the same six months a year ago. Some of this slowdown stems from intensified enforcement efforts ranging from expansion of the physical and electronic border fence that's growing daily. The Department of Homeland Security's E-Verify program, allowing employers to tell quickly whether job applicants enjoy legal immigration status, also is a factor. But America's economic miseries are behind most of the slowdown. Construction, hotel and many other categories of jobs often taken by illegal immigrants have dried up, so there's less of a magnet for people coming here.
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Study Finds State Failing In Insuring Immigrant Kids
The Associated Press, June 10. New Jersey's percentage of uninsured immigrant children is higher than the national average, and the state has a poor track record of making sure those children receive health coverage, according to a Rutgers University report released yesterday. The report came out as immigrant and health care advocacy groups are calling on the state to restore $1 million that was eliminated in the latest round of budget tightening. The money was earmarked for community outreach efforts to educate legal immigrants on available state health programs.
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Department of Homeland Security Suspends “Widow Penalty”
Immigration Impact, June 10. This week, the Obama administration took another step toward restoring fairness and humaneness to the immigration system. On Tuesday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that she would grant a two-year reprieve to immigrants who were married to U.S. citizens but did not complete the permanent residency process because their American spouses died during the application process.
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Wanted: A Smarter Immigration Policy
Wall Street Journal, June 9, OPINION. Log onto the Web site of the U.S. Consulate in Chennai and you will see a snapshot of what visa processing is doing to the competitiveness of American companies and research institutions. Click on the link to "Case Status Report," and there is a list of hundreds of visa applications from Indians who await processing. The oldest dates back to 2005, and dozens of others have been pending for a year or more while Washington plods through security background checks. In recent months I have been in contact with many individuals caught in this Kafkaesque bureaucracy. Most are scientists and engineers who have earned advanced degrees from U.S. universities and are (or were) working for American companies in Silicon Valley, Wall Street and other centers of the U.S. economy.
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Schumer: Sotomayor 'Within the Judicial Mainstream' on Immigration
Washington Post, June 8. A key Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee has conducted a review of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor’s immigration cases as an attempt to counteract conservatives’ characterization of the appeals court judge as an out-of-step liberal. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), chairman of Judiciary’s immigration subcommittee, assigned his staff to analyze how Sotomayor voted in 955 immigration cases in which she has participated throughout her judicial career, with a special focus on cases that involved foreigners trying to win asylum claims in order to remain in the United States.
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Panel To Consider Immigrants' Effect On Economy
Chicago Tribune, June 8. With the national unemployment rate at a 25-year high, an almost unavoidable set of questions has become a focus of both sides in the nation's Immigration debate as the Obama administration plans to convene a bipartisan summit on the issue Monday. Are the estimated 11.6 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. taking jobs from Americans? And how would providing them with lawful status help or hurt the nation's struggling economy?
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Immigration Reform Advocates Enthusiastic, But Wary Of Its Prospects
Catholic News Service, June 8. An enthusiastic clamor of supporters rallied for immigration reform at a June 4 town hall meeting, though a subtext of frustration arose around the postponement of a meeting with President Barack Obama. Advocates from 31 states gathered at the Church of the Reformation on Capitol Hill to build support for comprehensive immigration reform legislation. It was one part of events launching the Reform Immigration for America Campaign, a national effort bringing together grass-roots organizations, labor unions, business interests and faith-based communities to support a revamped immigration policy.
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Immigration Reform's Hidden Factor
San Diego Tribune.com, June 7, OPINION. A month ago, before most Americans had ever heard of Sonia Sotomayor, I predicted to a group of friends that Latinos would get either a Supreme Court justice or immigration reform – but not both. My theory: The political gurus in the Obama White House know that many Americans think the country does too much to accommodate the nation's largest minority as it is. Asking for more would seem gluttonous.
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Seeds for Immigration Policy Debate Could Be Planted in Spending Markup
Congressional Quarterly, June 5. The markup of the House’s Homeland Security appropriations bill could turn into the first proxy skirmish in an anticipated battle over comprehensive changes to immigration policy. The draft that the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee will take up is expected to hew closely to President Obama’s $42.7 billion proposal, and Democrats on the panel say their priorities are reflected in the $1.4 billion included in the request for capturing and deporting illegal aliens who have committed crimes, as well as in recent guidance from the Department of Homeland Security prioritizing a crackdown on employers of illegal immigrants.
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Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Reexamined
In my last article I proposed we consider a compromise on the 14th amendment, if necessary, to help pass comprehensive immigration reform. As you may know, this amendment allowed former slaves and their dependents to become U.S. citizens after the Civil War. Currently, there are few reasons why the 14th amendment cannot be modified to restrict citizenship to those born in the U.S. -- with at least one lawful permanent resident parent. This may placate those on both sides of this issue who are still unwilling to vote in favor of this bill.
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U.S. Census Sparks Feud Over The Counting Of Illegal Immigrants
Los Angeles Times, May 31. In a high-stakes battle that could affect California's share of federal funding and political representation, immigrant activists are vowing to combat efforts by a national Latino clergy group to persuade 1 million illegal immigrants to boycott the 2010 U.S. census. The Washington, D.C.-based National Coalition of Latino Clergy & Christian Leaders, which says it represents 20,000 Latino churches in 34 states, recently announced that a quarter of its 4 million members were prepared to join the boycott as a way to intensify pressure for legalization and to protect themselves from government scrutiny.
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Cuba Agrees to Resume Immigration Talks With U.S.
Washington Post, June 1. Cuba has agreed to restart talks with the United States on immigration and has signaled its willingness to cooperate on issues including terrorism, drug trafficking and even mail service, a sign that the island's communist government is warming to President Obama's call for a new relationship after decades of tension, U.S. officials said Sunday. The breakthrough was announced as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton began a three-day trip to Latin America, where she is expected to face pressure to take further steps to ease the U.S. policy of isolating Cuba.
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New Border Crossing Rules Taking Effect
Associated Press, June 1. U.S. residents will need passports or high-tech documents to re-enter the country from Canada or Mexico under new rules taking effect Monday. A military ID or an enhanced driver's license, which has extra security features, can also be used to cross the northern or southern borders. Michigan is one of four states offering the enhanced driver's licenses. Standard driver's licenses or birth certificates will no longer be enough under the rules, which have gradually been tightened since the Sept. 11 attacks. Travelers not complying with the new requirements will get a warning and be allowed to enter the U.S. after a background check.
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Florida Case Angers Muslim Groups
Wall Street Journal, May 30. A federal immigration judge denied bail Friday to a 23-year-old engineering student from Tampa who has been charged by the U.S. government for engaging in terrorism. The defendant, Youssef Megahed, has already been acquitted by a federal jury of related charges. But now, he faces essentially the same charges again in an immigration court, where if he is found guilty he faces deportation back to his native Egypt.
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A Korean Invasion Blindsides The U.S. Army -- But In A Good Way
Wall Street Journal, May 29. Suk Joon Lee, a South Korean immigrant, feared his days in the U.S. were numbered. His ice-cream shop wasn't doing well, and if it failed, his investor visa could be revoked. Then Mr. Lee stumbled upon a Korean-language Web site that described a way out: a program that the Army was about to launch that offered a shortcut to getting U.S. citizenship. The site was created by another Korean immigrant, James Hwang, and it explained in minute detail the steps required to qualify.
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Most U.S. Hispanic Kids Have Immigrant Parents
Washington Post, May 29. A majority of Hispanic children are now U.S.-born children of immigrants, primarily Mexicans who came to this country in an immigration wave that began about 1980, according to a report released yesterday. The analysis of census data by the nonpartisan, Washington-based Pew Hispanic Center charts a substantial demographic shift among the nation's 16 million Hispanic children, who constitute one of the fastest growing child populations in the United States and account for more than one of five U.S. children. As recently as 1980, nearly six of 10 Latino children were in the third generation or higher, meaning that their parents, and often their grandparents and great-grandparents, were native-born U.S. citizens. Only three of 10 were in the second generation -- born in the United States to parents who immigrated.
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Cuomo Widens a Probe Into Immigration Fraud
New York Times, May 28. Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo said Thursday that his office had issued more than 50 subpoenas to individuals and businesses in New York City — including numerous immigrant-assistance organizations, a travel agency, an English-language school and a church — as part of a widening investigation into immigration fraud.
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We Welcome the Nomination of Sotomayor
Albuquerque Examiner, May 28, OPINION. Appointed by George H.W. Bush to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals I 1998, Sonia Sotomayor will be a welcome addition to the U.S. Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice David Souter. Born into modest circumstances in the South Bronx with Latino parents and carrying top academic credentials, Sotomayor adds the missing Hispanic element to the makeup of our highest court. Should she bring her life experiences into decisions usually rendered by wealthy white males, Sotomayor will represent the interests of nearly 15% of the U.S. population.
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Court Pick Could Buy Time On Immigration
The Hill, May 26. President Obama’s decision to nominate federal appeals court Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court may help him delay a thornier challenge: what to do with millions of illegal immigrants living in the United States. The nomination of the first Hispanic justice drew praise Tuesday from the Latino community at a time when many are growing anxious over inaction on broad legislation that would put illegal immigrants — most from neighboring Mexico — on a path to citizenship. Hispanic lawmakers have been pressing Obama to deliver for a key demographic that helped put him in office, with immigration reform the top priority.
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Nearly One Million Californians Seek Medical Care In Mexico Annually
Science Daily, May 27. Driven by rising health care costs at home, nearly 1 million Californians cross the border each year to seek medical care in Mexico, according a new paper by UCLA researchers and colleagues published today in the journal Medical Care. An estimated 952,000 California adults sought medical, dental or prescription services in Mexico annually, and of these, 488,000 were Mexican immigrants, according to the research paper, 'Heading South: Why Mexican Immigrants in California Seek Health Services in Mexico.'
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Irish Dems Celebrate in D.C.
Irish Echo, May 27. A little over six months after the Democratic Party's clean sweep of the November elections, the Irish American Democrats lobby group last week held a coming in party for some of its new favorite members of Congress at the Phoenix Park Hotel on Capitol Hill. The group's political action committee, headed by Stella O'Leary, reckons it had a little something to do with that sweep and at the get together introduced some of the November winners who had received its backing.
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Face Of Immigration Now More Feminine
Asbury Park Press, May 26. Maria Carmen Irineo has been taking English classes in Georgetown for almost six years. The native of Mexico understands the language of her adopted country. But she wants to speak it better when she goes to a store or is approached on the street. More important, Irineo wants to help her daughters with their homework and in teacher conferences. 'I want to be able to communicate with my daughters, with their schoolteachers,' Irineo, 38, said. 'I want a better quality of life for my children than I had.'
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Deal Wants Change To Citizenship Rules
WXIA News, May 26. There's a big push on to changing American immigration policy, and it's starting in Georgia. A Georgia congressman is behind a plan to change a long standing federal law that gives citizenship to any baby born on US soil. It's a long-standing policy stemming from the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. The current language states: 'All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherin they reside.' Under his proposal, Georgia congressman and Republican gubernatorial candidate Nathan Deal says that babies born in the United States would be granted citizenship if at least one of their parents is already an American citizen or national.
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Obama Nominates Judge Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme Court Justice
FOXNews.com, May 26. President Obama nominated federal Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday, citing her 'inspiring life story' and 'distinguished career' in his decision. Sotomayor, 54, would be the first Hispanic on the high court if confirmed. She would succeed Justice David Souter, who is retiring. The president, in his announcement, said he was looking for a justice with a 'common touch and a sense of compassion' as well as experience and depth of knowledge. He said Sotomayor, who grew up in a Bronx housing project and has an extensive judicial background, would come to the Supreme Court bench with more varied experience than anyone currently on the court when they were appointed.
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Immigrants Not To Blame For Unemployment, Claims Report
San Bernardino County Sun, May 25. California has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. But immigrants aren't to blame for the problem, according to a new report by a nonprofit research organization. Even in a time of recession, there is no correlation between the number of newly arrived foreign-born workers in a given state, county or city and the unemployment rate among workers born in this country, according to the Immigration Policy Center. The highest unemployment rates are found in counties located in manufacturing centers and rural areas. Those places tend to have relatively few recent immigrants, the report said.
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Immigration Reform Could Emerge Again In The Fall
The Hill, May 25. Senate Democrats may be close to 60 votes on a measure that would represent the first step towards immigration reform under President Obama. The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act is a concept dear to Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin's (D-Ill.) heart, and while health care reform may get this summer’s headlines in Washington, the DREAM Act may be a sleeper. Defeated in Oct. 2007 on a cloture vote of 52-44, the Senate’s new math appears to approach the necessary threshold of 60 votes based on the 2007 votes, election results and co-sponsorship.
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Obama In Fresh Overture To Cuba On Immigration
Associated Press, May 24. In a fresh overture to Cuba, President Barack Obama is asking the communist government to resume talks on legal immigration of Cubans to the United States. Obama's proposal would reopen discussions that had been closed off by former President George W. Bush since they were last held in mid-2003. His move comes ahead of the United States' attendance at a high-level meeting early next month of the Organization of American States, where Cuba's possible re-entry into participatory status with the regional bloc - which was taken away in 1962 - will be discussed.
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Immigrant Soldiers Earn Military Honors
Star-Ledger, May 23. The first foreign country Christian Bueno-Galdos ever traveled to was the United States, where he moved when he was 7. The second was Iraq, where he was killed this month serving under the U.S. flag. Bueno-Galdos, a U.S. Army sergeant originally from Peru, was one of about 31,000 foreign-born soldiers now in the U.S. armed forces - about 1.5 percent of the military - according to the Defense Department. Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, about 150 immigrants have been killed while serving. Several among them, including Bueno-Galdos of Paterson, lived in New Jersey.
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Hispanic Voters Say Immigration's No. 1
New York Daily News, May 21. They have enough problems already, but a poll released Monday is sure to give anti-immigration extremists and Republican leaders plenty more to fret about. Conducted by Bendixen & Associates, a Miami-based consulting firm, and sponsored by America's Voice, a pro-immigration reform group, the poll confirmed for the umpteenth time that immigration is a defining issue for the 12 to 13 million Hispanics who are eligible to vote in the U.S.
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Immigrants Hard Hit
Scripps Howard News Service, May 19. The workplace is turning far less favorable for immigrants -- legal and illegal -- in the United States, a new study of U.S. labor statistics shows. Unemployment in the first quarter of 2009 for immigrants -- defined as those who were not U.S. citizens at birth -- was 9.7 percent, compared with 8.6 percent for the native-born, according to the study by the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that argues for tighter immigration policies. The Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows the states with the highest immigrant unemployment rates are Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada.
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US Measure Hastens Petitions By Children Of Aging Filipino Veterans
Manila Times (Philippine Islands), May 21. Rep. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) has refiled a bill seeking to expedite the processing of immigrant visas of children of aging Filipino World War II veterans. The Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act, or House Resolution 2412, aims to exempt the sons and daughters of Filipino veterans from immigration numerical quotas that have delayed processing of their US visas, leaving them no choice but to wait as much as 18 years. Hirono said thousands of Filipinos petitioned by their veteran parents stand to benefit once the bill is enacted into law. She added that a companion bill would soon be introduced in the Senate by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), the chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
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Study: Immigration Doesn't Impact Unemployment
Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City), May 19. Contrary to conventional wisdom -- and anti-illegal immigration rhetoric -- immigration rates have no direct effect on unemployment rates, according to a study released Tuesday. The Center for Immigration Policy, the research arm of the pro-immigration American Immigration Law Foundation, compared rates of unemployment with immigration rates in states across the nation, and found no direct correlation. 'The level of unemployment in the U.S. is painful, sometimes scary and very difficult for those directly impacted,' said Dan Siciliano, executive director of the Program in Law, Economics and Business at Stanford Law School and a research fellow for the Washington, D.C.-based center. 'But the notion that immigration is causally related to unemployment belittles and questions the challenges of unemployment.'
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Dimon Rails Against Foreign Worker Rules
Financial Times (London), May 20. Rules preventing US banks from hiring foreigners are a 'complete and utter disgrace' and could prompt overseas governments to retaliate against American expatriates, Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, warned on Tuesday. Mr Dimon told his company’s annual shareholder meeting that the provisions, which apply to lenders in receipt of government aid, had forced JPMorgan’s executives to 'look 40 or 50 overseas [graduates] in the eye' and tell them their job offers had been rescinded. 'We should be able to go to colleges and give jobs to kids without regard to where they were born,' he added. 'The worst thing that can happen . . . is that foreign governments will tell Americans they cannot have jobs over there.'
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Immigrants' children might get help from DREAM Act
Orlando Sentinel, May 19. Walter Lara is a scared 3-year-old, crouching with his mother under a stopped train. She holds him close and whispers to stay quiet as footsteps approach. Then he wakes up. Only in his dreams does Lara, 23, remember his illegal crossing into the U.S., when his mother brought him from Argentina to reunite with his father. But now the Sorrento man has about a month to return to a country he knows little about. Like Lara, tens of thousands of young immigrants were brought here illegally as children. They have grown up American, speaking English and attending schools. But if caught, they are deported. A bill that would help them gain permanent residency, known as the DREAM Act, is gathering some traction in Congress.
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Former Detainee's Lawsuit Is Tossed
Los Angeles Times, May 19. The Supreme Court served notice Monday that it would set a high bar for anyone seeking to hold top government officials liable for abuse suffered by prisoners held as part of the Bush administration's war on terrorism. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy spoke for a 5-4 majority in throwing out a lawsuit against former Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III that claimed the two ordered the roundup of hundreds of Muslim men after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 'It should come as no surprise that a legitimate policy directing law enforcement to arrest and detain individuals because of their suspected link to the attacks would produce a disparate, incidental impact on Arab Muslims, even though the purpose of the policy was to target neither Arabs nor Muslims,' Kennedy said. 'The Sept. 11 attacks were perpetrated by 19 Arab Muslim hijackers who counted themselves members in good standing of Al Qaeda, an Islamic fundamentalist group.'
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Immigration: When Only 'Geniuses' Need Apply
Business Week, May 17. In the coming weeks, President Barack Obama will begin his push to overhaul the U. S. immigration system, and almost every aspect of the effort will prove controversial. Millions of undocumented, low-skill immigrants and their supporters will square off against groups like the Minutemen, who want to close the border with Mexico and expel people who are in the country illegally. Technology companies such as Microsoft (MSFT), IBM (IBM), and Google (GOOG) will argue to make it easier for high-skill workers to come to the U.S., while tech workers will lobby fiercely to restrict such programs.
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Newest AgJOBS bill enjoys bipartisan House support
Capital Press, May 16. The AgJOBS bill that is back in Congress shows early bipartisan support in the House of Representatives. But its chances of passage, as usual, are up in the air. California's Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced the Agricultural Jobs, Opportunity, Benefits and Security Act to the U.S. Senate on Thursday, May 14. Reps. Howard L. Berman, D-Calif, and Adam Putnam, R-Fla., simultaneously introduced the same legislation in the House of Representatives. The bill would start a five-year program to find undocumented farmworkers, legalizing those having worked in the U.S. for two years. It would also tweak the H-2A guestworker program, which is said to be cumbersome and seldom used.
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Border Czar: U.S Had Plan To Stem Swine Flu Spread
NPR News, May 15. The idea of closing the border with Mexico was raised as one possible defense against the spread of the swine flu, but rejected. Alan Bersin, the Obama administration's 'border czar,' more formally known as assistant secretary for International Affairs and Special Representative for Border Affairs, says the U.S. does have contingency plans in case such a measure were ever needed, but the country was never even close to enacting that in reaction to this particular virus.
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A Human Bridge to the Have-Nots in Washington
New York Times, May 15. For years, the divide between the White House and the impoverished black and immigrant neighborhoods in the nation's capital has often seemed insurmountable. But in recent months, Michelle Obama has become something of a human bridge between the two worlds. Mrs. Obama has repeatedly traveled to Anacostia and other neighborhoods rarely visited by the power elite here in an effort to reach out to young people who are struggling to succeed.
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Recession Means Far Fewer Mexican Immigrants
Newsmax, May 15. What’s the best way for the U.S. to stanch the flow of illegal Mexican immigrants? Engineer the worst recession of the past 70 years, apparently. Mexico’s census data shows that its emigration to all other countries dropped 25 percent (or 226,000 people) in the year ended last August from the prior year, The New York Times reports. Nearly all Mexican émigrés – legal and illegal – choose to move to the U.S. The decrease is largely due to Mexicans forgoing illegal immigration to the U.S. because of limited job opportunities here. In the eyes of some experts, the drop-off in immigration will help U.S. workers. While it’s commonly believed that unskilled Mexicans who come here merely take jobs Americans don’t want, The Center for Immigration Studies claims that’s not completely true.
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20 Former Agriprocessors Workers In Iowa Get Visas
Associated Press, May 15. Twenty former workers at the Agriprocessors Inc. plant in Postville have received visas under a law that protects crime victims. The first wave of women and children arrested last year at the plant have been granted U-visas by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, allowing them to legally live and work in the country for four years. They can apply for a green card in the third year. Sonia Parras-Konrad, a Des Moines attorney who led the effort, says the visas are a big step toward vindicating the immigrants and giving them justice.
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The Democrats' Dilemma Over Immigration
SignOnSanDiego.com, May 10. OPINION. Democrats are in a tough spot on immigration reform. Actually, make that a number of tough spots. For one thing, they're caught between pandering to Latino constituents who want them to strike a deal that legalizes millions of illegal immigrants and catering to organized labor, which adamantly opposes the one element of reform Republicans say must be part of the deal: guest workers.
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Sheriff Joe Arpaio To Recruit and Arm Citizens
Immigration Impact, May 8. Rather than cleaning up his police department and addressing allegations of racial profiling and discrimination, Arpaio has decided to recruit and arm more Maricopa citizens in the absence of state funds. Back in April, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in Arizona voted to postpone the acceptance of $1.6 million from the state to help pay for County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s controversial immigration enforcement tactics. Observers said the decision could signal that the board is concerned by federal inquires into Arpaio’s practices that stem from his hard-line immigration tactics which include the deputization of volunteer “posses” to perform immigration sweeps, armed workplace raids, and set up checkpoints.
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Obama Reverses Stance On Immigration
Washington Times, May 8. On the thorniest of political issues, President Obama has embraced the enforcement-first position on immigration that he criticized during last year's presidential campaign, and he now says he can't move forward with the type of comprehensive bill he wants until voters are convinced that the borders can be enforced. Having already backed off his pledge to have an immigration bill this year, Mr. Obama boosted his commitment to enforcement in the budget released Thursday. The spending blueprint calls for extra money to build an employee-verification system and to pay for more personnel and equipment to patrol the border.
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Sessions Called Incendiary On Immigration, Linked to White Nationalist: Report
Huffington Post.com, May 7. Since becoming the top ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Jeff Sessions' record has been almost solely analyzed for tealeaves on how he will approach Barack Obama's forthcoming Supreme Court nomination. The Judiciary Committee, however, has a far broader purview than simply the consideration of judiciary picks, all of which Sessions will hold heavy influence over. On Thursday, the Alabama Republican's resume in regards to one of those other fields -- immigration reform -- was placed under the microscope by the immigration reform group America's Voice. In a document provided to the Huffington Post, America's Voice doesn't hold back its punches, calling Sessions "one of the leading (and loudest) voices against comprehensive immigration reform in the United States Senate." They also tie the Senator to John Tanton, an anti-immigration activist described as a white nationalist by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
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Nursing Program Gives Immigrants Path Out of Poverty
Voice of America News, May 7. Many American hospitals encourage patients to fill out a comment card about the service they received. Iryna Zhgya gets a lot of these comments. She keeps them in a binder at her home and enjoys looking through it, reminiscing. She pulls out a comment card from one especially difficult patient and reads, 'Iryna is an excellent RN, and she knows how to be firm but yet gentle.' Zhgya learned those skills back in Ukraine. 'I knew how to take care of patients,' she says matter-of-factly. 'I was a nurse. I knew how to turn people every two hours and how to watch for the sores on their body.' And nursing in the United States, it turns out, isn't all that different from being a nurse anywhere else. The ideas are the same: You're making sure a patient's needs are met. Politics, economics bring foreign-trained nurses to U.S.
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The Immigration Debate, Again
Los Angeles Times, May 7. OPINION. Immigration reform -- you may think you've seen this movie before, too many times already. You know the arguments. You dread the polarization. And you doubt that Congress can do any better at making the compromises needed to fix the system. But with the Obama White House rekindling the conversation about immigration, skeptics ought to think again. None of the problems have gone away, after all. Neither the economic downturn nor enhanced enforcement has driven 12 million illegal immigrants to leave the country. Enforcement is still far from effective, either on the border or in the workplace. And even in a recession, we still seem to need foreign workers, especially at the bottom of the economy.
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Obama Budget Not a Replacement for Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Immigration Impact, May 7. The Obama Administration appears increasingly poised to move forward on comprehensive immigration reform, as promised. Yesterday the White House announced budgetary initiatives that signal a change in priorities and pave the way for immigration reform. At the same time, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, testified before the Senate yesterday about her plans to protect our borders and enforce our immigration laws in smarter and more effective ways. While the changes are welcome, they’re still just fiddling along the edges of a real solution. Comprehensive immigration reform is the only real way to fix the problem.
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Boy With Hearing Disability May Be Deported With Dad
Daily Mail, May 6. Four-year-old Daniel Ricardo was born with a severe hearing impairment. Without hearing aids, the world is a whisper in the breeze when he hears it at all. But Daniel was lucky. He was born in a Morgantown hospital. He has access to doctors and therapists who help him to hear and, just as importantly, to understand what he is hearing. His teachers at school try to make sure he is caught up, even though his communication skills are two years behind. But Daniel's luck may be running out. His father, Ben Ricardo, an illegal immigrant, is being sent back to Mexico. There is little chance that Daniel, who was born in America and is a U.S. citizen, can stay here without his father.
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Making the Punishment Fit the Crime
New York Times, May 5. OPINION. When illegal immigrants apply for jobs, they sometimes present made-up Social Security numbers. Too often prosecutors charge them with felony identity theft — which outrageously overstates the crime. The Supreme Court has called a halt to the practice, ruling 9 to 0 that federal identity-theft law does not apply. Ignacio Flores-Figueroa, a Mexican citizen, gave his employer counterfeit papers that contained his real name and another person’s Social Security number. When caught, he was charged not only with improperly entering the United States and misusing immigration documents, but also with aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence.
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Swine Flu Could Shine Glaring Light On Uninsured
Associated Press, May 5. Swine flu could shine a glaring light on the best and worst about American-style health care. At top labs, scientists are optimistic they can make a vaccine that's effective against the new virus. But in a country where one in seven people lack medical insurance, doctors worry that some individuals won't get needed protection because of cost. It could leave the rest of society more vulnerable. In a flu epidemic, the uninsured face the worst options: flooding the emergency rooms or self-medicating with cold preparations and hoping for the best. Many might not be aware they can also go to a federally-funded community health center and see a doctor or nurse for little or no cost.
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Illegal Immigrants Deserve Medical Care For Swine Flu
Los Angeles Times, May 4. OPINION. The swine flu scare may be hype. Maybe not. Either way, it's reassuring to know that hospital emergency rooms and community clinics are treating anyone who's sick, including illegal immigrants."Swine flu knows no borders," notes Carmela Castellano-Garcia, chief executive of the California Primary Care Assn., an organization of roughly 700 clinics. "It pays no regard to income or immigration status."
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The Case for Amnesty
Boston Review, May. OPINION. Miguel Sanchez can’t earn enough to pay the bills in his hometown. He tries for several years to obtain a visa to come to the United States and is rejected every time. In 2000 he enters on foot with the help of a smuggler. He makes his way to Chicago where he has relatives and friends and starts working in construction, sending money to his father. Miguel works weekends at Dunkin’ Donuts and goes to school in the evening to learn English. In 2002 he meets an American-born U.S. citizen who lives in his neighborhood. They marry in 2003 and now have a four-year-old son.
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E-Verify For Federal Contractors Delayed Again
YourHub.com, May 4. This executive order, signed by the former President Bush, requires all federal contractors with contracts of $100,000 or more to use an electronic verification system, defined by the department of Homeland Security as the E-verify system, for all employees working on the contract (new hires and current employees alike). The same requirement is placed on all subcontractors of these contracts that are receiving $3,000 or more. This executive order was originally slated to be effective January 15, 2009, but has been delayed several times. The latest of these delays was announced recently and will postpone the effective date until June 30, 2009.
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Army Extends Immigrant Recruiting
Los Angeles Times, May 4. Sgt. Richard Ramirez helps Jason prepare enlistment documents Friday. Until recently, Jason — the Army asked that recruits’ last names not be used — would have been turned away because he has a student visa. The lanky 19-year-old from South Korea has lived in the Southland since he was 9 years old. He is as comfortable speaking English as his native Korean. And he desperately wants to join the Army. Late last week, the teenager walked into a recruiting office in an Eagle Rock mall wearing a pendant shaped like a dog tag around his neck. Until recently, local recruiters would have had to turn him away. His student visa would not have qualified him to enlist. Only citizens or permanent residents who carry green cards were eligible to serve. But starting today, 10 Los Angeles-area Army recruiting offices will begin taking applications from some foreigners who are here on temporary visas or who have been granted asylum.
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The Natives are Restless. Or is that Nativists?
HispanicVista.com, April 30. OPINION. Last November US nativists were handed their lunch, and they didn’t find it easy to swallow. To their shock Barrack Obama was elected President of the United States, and that was only part of the bad news for them – the champions of Nativism lost seat after seat in Congress and the Senate. They were so sure that America thinks like them. After all in their mind, they are the true patriots, the true defenders of the holy grail of Americanism. And their Americanism is quite simple – if you are not a white Euro-American it’s OK for you to be here but as a subservient class, and not too many can be here at any one time because it’s un-American for non Euro-American whites to be in the minority, and that means in complete control of the government.
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Origin of Au Pairs Becomes Barometer of Labor Market
Wall Street Journal, April 29. Mary Poppins is flying across the Atlantic -- again. These days, she is landing weekly at the Stamford Holiday Inn, where dozens of new au pairs gather for orientation -- diapers, first aid, the one-hand stroller-fold -- before being dispatched to their new employers: working parents across the U.S. Mary has been here before. In fact, when the U.S. State Department launched its au pair program in 1986, British nannies like her were its bread and jam, alongside the French, Germans and Swedes. But then opportunities in their home countries improved, and child care grew less desirable as a profession for young women (only a handful of au pair workers are men). Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia filled the void, also encouraged by changes in U.S. immigration laws governing the au pair visa, known as a J-1. Last year, the State Department issued 359,447 such visas, which admit seasonal workers, exchange students and au pairs, a 5% increase from the prior year and a 41% jump from five years ago.
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For Obama, Labor Battle Looming On Immigration
Arizona Republic, April 29. Twice under George W. Bush's administration, fierce objections to legalizing illegal immigrants killed comprehensive immigration reform. Now, as the Obama administration prepares to tackle the divisive issue, battle lines are being drawn again, this time over how the United States lets foreign workers enter the country. As President Barack Obama's predecessor found out, immigration reform is highly volatile and likely will require the expenditure of political capital. But Obama is under pressure to fulfill campaign promises to the Latino community.
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Immigrant Visa update for U.S. Embassy in Sierra Leone
Cocorioko News, April 29. To apply for an immigrant visa, foreign citizens must be sponsored by U.S. citizen relatives, U.S. green card holders, or prospective employers, and must be the beneficiary of approved petitions. Petitions are filed by the sponsoring individual at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Office nearest them.
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Home Free: DV-Lottery Paperwork Error Nearly Exiled Dutch Family
The Hook.com, April 27. When Dutch citizens turned Crozet residents Gerard and Paulien van Dijk were preparing their application for permanent residency in the United States seven years after moving here, they thought they had everything in order. They triple-checked the proper forms with their attorney and even pulled their children out of Albemarle schools to move to a foreign country in hopes of complying with American immigration regulations.
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H-1B, J-1 Immigrants More Productive Than Americans, Study Says
Wall Street Journal, April 27. Immigrants who come to the U.S. on work or trainee visas ultimately outperform American-born workers and contribute to the country’s productivity, new research shows. Examining measures such as earnings, patenting, commercializing and licensing patents, publishing books or papers and presenting at major conferences, McGill University economics professor Jennifer Hunt concluded that those who were most successful came to the U.S. on temporary work visas for the highly skilled, known as H-1Bs, or student/trainee visas, such as J-1s or F-1s. Meanwhile, those immigrants that came to the U.S. as legal permanent residents performed as well as those who were born in the U.S. But, those immigrants who came to the U.S. as dependents of those with temporary visas — spouses, relatives, etc. — were less productive than native Americans.
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Foreign IT Pros Working In U.S. Earning More Than Americans
Information Week, April 28. While opponents of H-1B and L-1 visas have long argued that the temporary work programs encourage employers to hire cheap foreign labor, a new study says noncitizen IT professionals earn pay that's on average 5% to 9% higher than American workers with similar education levels and IT experience. The report, 'Does High-Skill Immigration Make Everyone Better Off? United States' Visa Policies And Compensation Of Information Technology Professionals,' by two researchers at the University of Maryland, analyzed skills and pay data on more than 50,000 IT professionals who participated in InformationWeek salary surveys from 2000 to 2005.
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Sheriffs: Are You In School Legally?
Capitol Media Services, April 28. Some border county sheriffs want Arizona schools to start asking students whether they're in this country legally. Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik originated the idea and said millions of dollars in Arizona taxes go to teach English to children who have no legal right to be here. He also said there's a link involving illegal immigration, social problems and gangs. Only thing is, a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision appears to make it illegal for school officials to ask. In a 5-4 decision, the justices overturned a Texas law that authorized school districts to refuse to enroll anyone who couldn't prove legal residence.
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Schumer Working On Immigration Reform – Again
Newsday, April 25. When President Ronald Reagan signed the historic but ultimately ineffective 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, one lawmaker he thanked by name was Charles Schumer. A little-known Democratic congressman from Brooklyn, Schumer brokered a key compromise on agricultural workers that revived a bill that had been pronounced dead and led to passage of the first major immigration overhaul in decades. Yet the sweeping law, which paired amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants with a crackdown on employers who hired them, failed in its promise to stem the tide of undocumented workers. That seminal experience may prove key for Schumer, now New York's senior U.S. senator, as he opens a new chapter of 'comprehensive immigration reform,' with a hearing scheduled for Thursday.
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Survey: Fifth Highest Number Of Undocumented Immigrants Live In NJ
The Home News Tribune, April 26. When Harry Pangemanan of the Avenel section of Woodbridge was taken into federal custody Jan. 12, and faced the prospect of immediate deportation to his native Indonesia, he had himself to blame for making his presence in the United States known. Pangemanan and his wife Yana are two of an estimated 11.9 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States, according a survey by the Pew Hispanic Center published this month. They became known to authorities when they began the process of seeking citizenship. They have been repeatedly denied, making them subject to the possibility of immediate deportation. Undocumented immigrants make up about 4 percent of the population and 5.4 percent of the workforce. An estimated 500,000 undocumented immigrants live New Jersey, the fifth highest in the nation, trailing only California, Texas, Florida and New York, according to the Pew survey.
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A Family Divided By 2 Words, Legal and Illegal
New York Times, April 26. For the father, the choice was obvious: An engineer with several jobs yet little money, he saw no future for his daughter and son in their struggling country, Ecuador. Eight years ago, he paid coyotes to smuggle him into Texas, then headed to New York, where his wife and children flew in as tourists, and stayed. But the consequences of that clear-cut decision -- the immigrant's perennial impulse to uproot for the sake of the next generation -- have been anything but simple. The daughter excelled in her Queens high school and graduated from college with honors, but at 22 is still living in this country illegally. So while her former accounting classmates hold lucrative corporate jobs and take foreign vacations, she keeps the books for a small immigrant-run business, fears venturing outside the city and cannot get a driver's license in the country she has come to love.
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Green Card Logjam Keeps International Nurses Out Of U.S.
Tennessean, April 26. 'It's frustrating,' Hegna, 35, said in a long-distance telephone call from his home country in Southeast Asia. 'I want to provide a good future for my family.' While he waits, the husband and father has been working as a registered nurse at Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City in the Philippines. Hegna is among 700 nurses whom Franklin-based Health Care Corporation of America International is primed to bring to U.S. hospitals but can't because of a government slowdown in processing green cards. Green cards allow internationals to set up permanent residence here through employment or as a family member of another legal resident or citizen.
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Visa Rules Widen The Rift Between Vietnam And U.S.
Los Angeles Times, April 21. Luong Vu asks his daughter the same question each time she visits his Westminster hospital room: 'When are my sons coming?' Kimberly Vu sighs, as usual. 'We are still waiting,' she says to the 85-year-old family patriarch, who is fast losing his battle with prostate cancer. But his sons aren't coming. Cuong and Vuong Vu live an ocean away in a suburb of Ho Chi Minh City, and their requests for visas to the United States for a final reunion have been denied over and over again. The U.S. Consulate says the brothers have failed to prove they will return to Vietnam after the visit. The brothers' argument that they have family, businesses and homes in Vietnam has not swayed immigration officials.
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Feds Seize Assets of Companies Suspected of Hiring Illegal Aliens
Law.com, April 21. In February 2005, federal agents received a tip that illegal aliens working at an Albany, N.Y., wood pallet plant were ripping up their W-2 income tax forms to avoid detection. Quietly, the feds began to investigate. The probe culminated more than a year later, when teams of U.S. immigration agents stormed 40 plants nationwide belonging to IFCO Systems North America, Inc.
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Jobless Rates Pose Threat to Immigration Reform
Roll Call, April 20. Sky-high unemployment rates threaten to stall immigration reform despite a push by Hispanic and Asian lawmakers to keep the issue on the agenda this year. The Obama administration has signaled that it plans to start working on the controversial subject but hasn’t committed to getting it done this year. And some Democrats privately acknowledge that the economy — and in particular the jobless numbers — has to start turning around before they can consider bringing a comprehensive reform bill to the floor. Otherwise, Democrats in many vulnerable districts will face endless attacks that they are granting legal status to illegal workers at a time when millions of Americans are joining the unemployment rolls. 'Whether that is right or not, there is a lot of economic insecurity, and people could be vulnerable to that message,' a House Democratic leadership aide said. The aide also said immigration reform could end up tripping up the rest of the agenda if it were put on the floor too quickly.
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Migration, Drug Enforcement Possible Early Discussion Topics For US-Cuba Talks
Associated Press, April 18. Cuba and the U.S. are likely to tackle migration and drug trafficking first if the two cold-war foes can successfully start talks, which would precede any meetings between presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro. More prickly themes such as human rights, the U.S. embargo and subjects involving the presidents would likely be set aside for later. Restarting U.S.-Cuba talks on a modest level would be easy. Until five years ago, the two countries held biannual meetings on migration aimed at preventing a mass exodus like the 2004 rafters crisis that saw tens of thousands of Cubans flee to the U.S. in rickety boats. President George W. Bush suspended them as unnecessary.
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Labor Agreement Could Backfire On Immigration Reform
The Hill, April 18. Organized labor’s new unified front in support of comprehensive immigration reform could disrupt what’s left of the delicate bipartisan balance on one of the most politically charged issues in Congress. Earlier this week, labor celebrated the coming together behind a single set of immigration reform principles after years of being at odds with itself over various parts of a planned immigration overhaul. But that unity could have the unintended consequence of driving a wedge between Democrats and those few Republicans whose support will be critical to getting a major immigration reform bill through the Senate – and could even prevent such a bill from having bipartisan support in the House.
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Obama: Immigration Reform Key
Politico, April 16. President Obama said immigration reform will be part of his administration’s efforts to tackle issues plaguing the U.S.-Mexico border. 'Immigration reform has to be part of a broader strategy to deal with our border issues,' Obama said in an interview with CNN en Espańol. 'I've already met with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and committed to working with them to try to shape an agenda that can move through Congress.' Obama’s remarks come in advance of his arrival in Mexico City today, where a number of pro-immigration protests are planned as he meets with President Felipe Calderon. Obama praised Calderon for his 'outstanding and heroic job' handling violence along the border.
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All Together Now
The Economist, April 16. America receives more immigrants than any other country. But its system for dealing with them is a model of dysfunctionality, with 11.9m illegally present in 2008, up 42% since 2000. Past efforts at reform have failed dismally. In 2006 protesters filled city streets after the House of Representatives passed a bill making illegal immigration a felony; but the proposal failed to pass muster in the Senate. The Senate’s own effort in 2007 fared even worse. Police clashed with a crowd in Los Angeles. Opponents of reform barraged senators with so many calls that their phone system crashed. The Senate’s bill, designed to please all sides, ended up pleasing no one.
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Report: Immigration Reform is Basic Economics for FL
Public News Service, April 14. The dollars and cents of immigration reform make a lot of sense for the beleaguered U.S. economy. The net economic gain would be $66 billion in new state and federal revenue, according to a new report. The review, from the nonpartisan Immigration Policy Center, notes that Florida is one of the states with the most to gain if undocumented workers were provided a pathway to legal status. About 500,000 immigrant workers would be affected.
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Immigration Reform and Hard Times
New York Times, April 13. OPINION. The Obama administration said last week that it would begin a major push for immigration reform this year. The country’s two big labor federations just announced that they are joining forces to support that effort, which includes a path to citizenship for undocumented workers. That’s double good news.
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Tech Recruiting Clashes with Immigration Rules
New York Times, April 11. The question comes from one of dozens of engineers around a crowded conference table at Google. They have gathered to discuss how to build easy-to-use maps that could turn hundreds of millions of mobile phones into digital Sherpas — guiding travelers to businesses, restaurants and landmarks. “His plane gets in at 9:30,” the group’s manager responds.Google is based here in Silicon Valley. But Sanjay G. Mavinkurve, one of the key engineers on this project, is not.
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Emanuel Now a Backer of Immigration Action
Wall Street Journal, April 10. As the White House gears up to push an immigration overhaul, advocates are finding they have an unexpected ally in White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Mr. Emanuel has long been a voice of caution on easing rules for immigrants, fearing such a position could hurt Democrats at the polls. That stance has antagonized Hispanic lawmakers and activists, who favor a clearer, easier path to citizenship for certain illegal immigrants.
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Immigration: Help for Victims of Crimes: The U Visa
Sampan, April 10. Lei Mei was born in Nanjing, China and came to the United States in 2004 on a tourist visa. Within a month of entering the United States, Lei Mei moved to Boston and began working at a garment factory in the area. She began to date Eduardo, a citizen of Mexico who illegally entered the United States by crossing the border in the Arizona desert. Lei Mei has been in the United States since 2004 and is currently in the United States illegally without a valid immigration visa.
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Report To Blast Conditions At Ga. Detention Center
Associated Press, April 10. Immigrant rights groups plan to release a report blasting the conditions at a federal immigration detention center in southwest Georgia. Georgia Detention Watch, a coalition of immigrant rights groups, plans to release the report at a news conference Friday morning.
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Doctor, Hospital File Suit On Residency Decision
North Platte Telegraph, April 10. A lawsuit was filed this week in U.S. District Court by Great Plains Regional Hospital and local oncologist Dr. Ifran Vaziri in an effort to compel federal officials to make a decision on Vaziri's application to become a legal permanent resident. Vaziri and his wife Rashida, who are Pakistani, have been waiting three years to get permanent residency. They have turned to congressional representatives, made repeated inquiries to federal officials and now say they've exhausted their administrative options in trying to get a decision on their applications to become legal permanent residents.
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Obama May Make 50,000 Illegal Irish US Citizens
Belfast Telegraph, April 10. Irish-American immigration reform lobbyists were celebrating last night following news that President Obama is keen to implement reforms that could ultimately grant American citizenship to some 50,000 undocumented Irish living illegally in the USA. Kelly Fincham, executive director of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR), warmly welcomed a statement on Wednesday by the President’s newly appointed deputy assistant, Cecilia Munoz, that she is keen to put in place a “policy reform that controls immigration and makes it an orderly system”.
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Immigration Emerges As Issue For Obama
Christian Science Monitor, April 9. Call it a trial balloon – on one of the thorniest issues in US politics. Immigrant rights groups hailed a report in The New York Times today that President Obama plans to take up immigration reform this year. Opponents said the move could jeopardize healthcare reform and other elements of the president’s agenda in tough economic times. The report, sourced to deputy assistant to the president Cecilia Munoz, reopens in the press an issue that has yet to hit the floors of Congress. It also sends a message to Hispanic groups that helped elect Mr. Obama that their concerns for a path to legalization for some 12 million undocumented workers have not been forgotten.
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Rev. Al Sharpton Demands Sheriff Arapiao’s Resignation
Immigration Impact, April 7. In an act of solidarity with the immigrant community, National Action Network’s Reverend Al Sharpton and ACORN’s Chief Organizer and CEO, Bertha Lewis called for Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s resignation and an end to racial profiling on a national media call today. Never one to miss the national spotlight, Sheriff Arpaio is currently the focus of a Department of Justice investigation for abuses of the 287(g) program, “alleged patterns of discriminatory police practices, and discrimination based on a person’s national origin.” Rev. Al Sharpton charged.
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'Great Debate' To Tackle Country's Divide Over Immigration
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, April 6. Great debates always have moved America, beginning with one about building a National Road through the hills of Western Pennsylvania. Now, the National Road Heritage Corridor wants to air America's next 'great debate.' On April 14, the organization will host 'The Great Debate 2009, Immigration and America: A Nation Divided' at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pa. Honorary debate chairman Jim Kane said the panel will include a cross-section of experts on both sides of America's immigration debate: John Quinones, co-anchor of ABC's 'Primetime;' syndicated columnist Cal Thomas; Hazleton Mayor Louis Barletta; Roy Beck from Numbers USA; and Sister Janice Vanderneck of the Latino Catholic Community.
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U.S. Visa Limits Hit Indian Workers
Washington Post, April 6. With his master's degree in electrical engineering at North Carolina State University almost complete, Ravi, 24, received a promising job offer from a technology firm. He called his parents back in India, happy that he was on track for an H-1B work visa, which is seen as a steppingstone to U.S. citizenship. But just before Thanksgiving, Ravi got a call from his future employer. 'They told me that because of the economic downturn they couldn't hire me in anticipation of tougher times ahead. They were laying off other American employees, and cutting my job would be a proactive measure,' said Ravi, who gave only his first name because he did not want his job prospects affected. 'I do feel bad for anyone losing a job, whether it's an American or an H-1B foreign worker. But for foreign students, if we don't get a job, we have to go back to our home countries. When I talk to my parents, they tell me not to worry, to just come home. But I had really hoped to stay.'
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States Move Against In-State Tuition For Illegal Immigrants
Christian Science Monitor, April 3. Of all illegal immigrants, young people who were brought to the US as children have been the ones most likely to win concessions from the public. But the recession appears to be changing that, driving sentiment against educational benefits for undocumented college students. Some states are explicitly refusing to allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition fees at colleges, reversing a previous trend. In-state tuition tends to be two to three times less than what out-of-state students pay. Since 2006, four states – Georgia, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Arizona – have made undocumented students ineligible for in-state tuition rates. In Arizona, the ban came through a voter initiative after legislation was vetoed by the governor.
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The Times They Are A-Changin’
Immigration Impact, April 3. Who would have believed a year ago that a conservative New York legislator named Kirsten Gillibrand, who formerly opposed immigration reform, would become the junior New York Senator and co-sponsor the Dream Act , giving the children of the undocumented a shot at higher education, in her first few months in office? And who would have imagined that undocumented workers caught up in work-place raids would be given due process when ICE raided their workplace, just a few months after some of the worst and most unjust workplace raids had taken place in our country’s history?
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Court: No Secret Evidence In Asylum Case
San Francisco Chronicle, April 3. A federal appeals court ruled that immigration officials can't rely on secret evidence from 'reliable confidential sources' to deny political asylum to a former East Bay woman, who claimed she'd be tortured if deported to India because of her marriage to a separatist leader. Before denying legal status to an immigrant, the government must disclose enough information about the evidence to allow the immigrant to dispute it, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said Wednesday. The court didn't say whether immigration officials had to turn over the evidence itself or merely a detailed summary, but said secrecy made little sense in this case because the woman, Rajwinder Kaur, was well aware of the underlying facts.
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A Rush for Work Visas Even as Demand Dips
New York Times, April 1. The yearly scramble by employers for temporary visas for foreign scientists and technology engineers started on Wednesday, with immigration authorities expecting fewer new petitions this year because of the recession and because of new restrictions on financial companies that received emergency federal aid. For five business days beginning Wednesday, Citizenship and Immigration Services will accept petitions for the temporary visas known as 1 for the 2010 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. In recent years, visa limits were reached in the first days of the application period.
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National Inventors Hall Of Fame In Akron To Induct Seven Immigrants
Global Village, April 2. When it celebrates the spirit of invention next month, Akron's National Inventors Hall of Fame will quietly acknowledge a little-known facet of American innovation: Seven of the 16 people being honored as great American inventors are immigrants. The class of 2009 inductees, focused on the people who pioneered high technology, includes inventors from Egypt, China, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Korea and Canada. Receiving a lifetime achievement award will be Andy Grove, the Hungarian-born co-founder of Intel Corp.
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Let the Immigrants In
SpliceToday.com, April 2. OPINION. My girlfriend’s Israeli father is constantly hassled about his accent, asked where he is from, given dirty looks, made to feel unwelcome in his western Michigan city. He once told me that it has never felt like home and it never will. We have failed him. I may be an idealist, but I am not foolish—I know it is impossible to make all feel welcome, and I know that despite past rhetoric, we’ve never even really tried. We must as a people embrace more intensely our new neighbors, our new colleagues, our new citizens. This is what makes us who we are and what makes us the most we can be. We must break this trend and turn it the other way.
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Round Five for the DREAM Act
AS/COA, April 2. In a first step to bring immigration reform back to the front burner, Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Rubin (D-IL) and Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) introduced the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act) in the Senate on March 26. A similar bill called the American Dream Act was submitted in the House of Representatives in a bipartisan effort. Yet, despite domestic debate over immigration in recent years, the controversial initiative has not reached the national spotlight. As an example, during President Barack Obama’s interactive town hall meeting held on March 26, none of the top ten questions voted on by more than 3.5 million people were related to immigration reform.
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One Oath Leads to Another
New York Times, April 2. Stephen Chi was born in Norway to Chinese immigrant parents, grew up in Sweden, received undergraduate and graduate degrees at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan, mastered five languages and now works as an information technology consultant in New York City. But for all the experiences his peripatetic life has given him, it has also left him with a profound sense of rootlessness. So he recently applied to enlist in the United States Army. 'I don’t feel like I belong anywhere,' Mr. Chi, 30, said on Wednesday. 'I wanted to become part of something bigger.' Until last month, Mr. Chi’s application would have been rejected outright because only American citizens and permanent residents — immigrants who carry green cards — were permitted to enlist in the American military. But under a new program that began Feb. 23 and is intended to increase the number of highly skilled soldiers, the American military is now allowing some temporary immigrants to enlist.
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For Gillibrand, New Sign of Shifting Stance on Illegal Immigration
Congressional Quarterly, April 2. Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand continued her change in tone on illegal immigration Thursday when she announced she was cosponsoring the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. Gillibrand joins 14 of the Senate's more liberal Democrats as well as two Republicans and Independent Joseph I. Lieberman as co-sponsors of the bill (S 729). The DREAM Act, which was introduced March 26, would amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to allow states to provide higher education funding for children who came to the United States as illegal immigrants. 'Current law is unfairly punishing thousands of young people who have spent nearly their entire lives in this country,' Gillibrand said in a statement. 'This legislation says that if they work hard and play by the rules, then they will have the opportunity to get a good education and earn their way to legal status.'
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A Rush for Work Visas Even as Demand Dips
New York Times, April 1. The yearly scramble by employers for temporary visas for foreign scientists and technology engineers started on Wednesday, with immigration authorities expecting fewer new petitions this year because of the recession and because of new restrictions on financial companies that received emergency federal aid. For five business days beginning Wednesday, Citizenship and Immigration Services will accept petitions for the temporary visas known as 1 for the 2010 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. In recent years, visa limits were reached in the first days of the application period.
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Businessmen Flee Violent Mexico To U.S.
Associated Press, April 1. A Mexican business leader says 'a significant number' of businessmen working along the U.S.-Mexican border have transferred their offices to U.S. cities to escape a wave of crime and extortion threats in Mexico. The head of the Mexican Employers' Federation says business owners in the border cities of Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez have moved their operations to San Diego and to El Paso, Texas.Federation President Ricardo Gonzalez said Tuesday that extortionists have demanded payments from businesses in the region ranging from small shops to much larger firms. Gonzalez did not give an exact number.
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Moving Beyond the Failed Immigration-Enforcement Legacy of the Bush Era
Immigration Impact, April 1. A new report from America’s Voice highlights both the immense challenge and enormous opportunity confronting the Obama administration as it devises a new approach to immigration enforcement that moves beyond the failures of the Bush era.
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Appreciating our Immigration System
MicrosoftOnTheIssues, April 1. OPINION. As I mentioned in my post Monday, today begins the period for U.S. employers to apply for H-1B visas for high-skilled foreign workers. Given the economic downturn, we are filing substantially fewer H-1B applications than we filed last year. Unlike previous years, a solid majority of our applications this year are for employees who are already working for Microsoft in the United States, so we can retain their talent and specialized skills in this country rather than risk losing them to a foreign competitor. As we have previously said, even with the down economy, Microsoft will create several thousand new jobs this year as we invest in new growth areas and emerging technologies. The vast majority of our U.S. hires in the coming 12 months will be American workers. But to succeed and continue adding jobs in the highly competitive global technology business, Microsoft and other U.S. companies must be able to hire top talent wherever it is located.
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U.S. Job Losses Not Due to H-1B Visas, Report Says
Business Week, March 30. US lawmakers may be busy putting restrictions on the country's primary temporary work visa, H-1B, but new H-1B visaholders each year represent just seven in 10,000 civilian workers in the US, according to a report by an American public policy organisation. As per the report by the National Foundation for American Policy (NAFP), 107,686 new H-1B petitions were approved by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services in 2008, including those exempt from being included in the H1-B quota of 85,000 visas annually. In comparison, the American civilian labour force stood at 154.6 million in 2008.
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Immigration Courts Face Huge Backlog
USA Today, March 30. The nation's immigration courts are now so clogged that nearly 90,000 people accused of being in the United States illegally waited at least two years for a judge to decide whether they must leave, one of the last bottlenecks in a push to more strictly enforce immigration laws. Their cases — identified by a USA TODAY review of the courts' dockets since 2003 — are emblematic of delays in the little-known court system that lawyers, lawmakers and others say is on the verge of being overwhelmed. Among them were 14,000 immigrants whose cases took more than five years to decide and a few that took more than a decade. 'It's an indication that they just don't have enough resources,' says Kerri Sherlock Talbot of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
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A Confirmation Fight For A Challenging Job
Baltimore Sun, March 30. In the annals of the capital's acid partisanship, their names are boldfaced: candidates for America's highest civil rights post who never got confirmed. During the last Democratic administration, conservatives succeeded in blocking Senate approval of Lani Guinier and Bill Lann Lee to head the civil rights division at the Justice Department. Now, they're gearing up to put Thomas E. Perez, a Maryland lawyer selected for the job by President Barack Obama, through the grinder. Senate sources predict that the state's labor secretary will be confirmed for the federal post, but history suggests that it won't be without a fight. 'This is arguably the most difficult position to fill in the federal government when it comes to Senate confirmation,' said Roger Clegg, a former official in the civil rights division.
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Binational, Same-Sex Couples Face Immigration Problems
San Jose Mercury News (CA), March 29. Shirley Tan's calm and happy life — San Mateo County housewife, mother of twin 12-year-old boys, singing in the church choir — blew up at 6:30 a.m. on Jan. 28, with a knock on the front door. Within minutes, the immigration agent standing there had the 43-year-old Tan in handcuffs. She is scheduled to be deported to her native Philippines on Friday. If Jay Mercado, Tan's partner of 23 years and the mother of her sons, were a different gender, it's highly unlikely that knock ever would have come. As a U.S. citizen, Mercado could have sponsored a wedded spouse for legal permanent residency.
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Still Coming to America
Wall Street Journal, March 27. Despite measures to curb migration into the U.S., the huddled masses are still lining up. There’s proof of that in the queues outside U.S. embassies, from Mexico City to New Delhi. In this country, further proof might surface next Tuesday, as the government begins accepting applications to sponsor highly skilled workers on so-called H-1Bs into the country. At J.M. Clayton Seafood in Cambridge, Md., workers, mostly immigrants, pick crab meat from the shell of Chesapeake blue crabs.Bethesda, Md.-based immigration attorney Donald Mooers calls it his “annual march to FedEx,” as he sends off the paperwork needed to bring the workers in by the start of the next fiscal year. In years past, demand has doubled supply; 65,000 visas are available, with exemptions made for foreigners working at universities or holding a master’s degree or higher. In 2007 and 2008, a lottery actually had to be held to winnow down the group.
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U.S. Deters Hiring of Foreigners as Joblessness Grows
Wall Street Journal, March 27. As more Americans lose their jobs, the U.S. government is actively discouraging the recruitment of foreign workers, from dude ranchers and fruit pickers to lifeguards and computer programmers. At least three avenues of legal immigration have seen roadblocks erected. In the most visible and controversial move, companies receiving federal bailout money now face extra hurdles before they can hire highly skilled guest workers on an H-1B visa. On Friday, the Labor Department will close a public-comment period for a proposal to suspend an agricultural guest-worker program, known as the H-2A.
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DREAM Act Introduction Shows Momentum is Building for Immigration Reform
Immigration Forum, March 26. Today’s introduction of the DREAM Act is yet another indication Congress is getting ready to reform our broken immigration system. The DREAM Act is an important component of immigration reform and we expect it to be part of the broad reforms that Congress will debate this year. Its introduction shows that the political will needed to achieve comprehensive immigration reform is growing, highlighted by the strong commitment voiced by leaders who are central to the effort to get legislation passed — including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and President Obama.
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Citizen Children Neglected and Deserted in Wake of Immigration Raids
Immigation Impact, March 26. Miguel is a US citizen child who grew up in Minnesota like any other little American boy. But his parents are undocumented workers from El Salvador who worked at the Swift plant in Worthington, MN. On December 12, 2006, the plant was raided by ICE, and more than 200 workers were detained, including Miguel’s mother. Miguel returned home from second grade that day to discover that his mother and father were not there and that his two-year-old brother was left alone. For the next week, Miguel stayed home caring for his brother-with no information about what had happened to his parents.
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Rift Develops Between Muslims, FBI Over Mosque Surveillance
Orange County Register, March 26. A coalition of Islamic organizations angered by reports of the government sending a paid informant to infiltrate Orange County mosques is threatening to cut ties with the FBI and accusing the agency of using 'McCarthy-era tactics.' The announcement by the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections comes on the heels of Irvine resident Craig Monteilh's admission that he spent more than a year pretending to embrace Islam in various Southern California mosques as part of an FBI-led effort to weed out terrorist threats.
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Are Immigrant-Owned Businesses Surviving Better than Most?
Wall Street Journal, March 23. The values that immigrants learned about being thrifty, avoiding excessive debt and relying on family support from their native countries are helping them better ride out the recession than most entrepreneurs, according to an article last week by the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Virginia. That pay-as-you-go philosophy was born and ingrained from cultures where credit is not as readily available as in the U.S., says Gregory Fairchild, an associate professor of business administration at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. Immigrants rely on personal savings more; he notes that in some Asian cultures, the savings rate is as high as 15% to 20% versus the low single-digit savings rate in the U.S.
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US To Woo Millionaire Immigrants
Inquirer (Philippine Island), March 19. Following the footsteps of Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, the United States is now stepping up efforts to attract millionaire immigrants who can help stimulate its badly battered economy by investing and creating jobs, INQUIRER.net learned Thursday. The US Department of Homeland Security, particularly its Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman, issued a set of recommendations to 'stabilize and energize [its] employment creation immigration visa (EB-5) program.' The report noted that while the US Immigration Act of 1990 allocates 10,000 fifth employment-based (EB-5) immigrant visas to investors and their family every year, less than 1,000 have been used. Between 1992 and 2004, a total of 6,024 such visas were issues, or an average of 500 a year. This underutilization is caused by a confluence of factors, including program instability, the changing economic environment, and more inviting immigrant investor programs offered by other countries,' said the report issued March 18.
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E-Verify Program Will Survive At Least Through September
Gannett News Service, March 19. The fate of a national employee verification program aimed at combating illegal immigration is safe for now, but it's unclear whether Congress will renew it beyond this fall. As long as the program, called E-Verify, is on the books, a New Jersey assemblyman wants all businesses in the state to use it to check the legal status of prospective employees. But immigrant-rights advocates are prepared to fight any attempt to expand the use of E-Verify in New Jersey, arguing that the Internet-based system is riddled with errors. The latest congressional action on E-Verify came this month, when the Senate rejected an effort by Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., to extend the program for six years. Sessions had tried to attach the extension to the $410 billion spending bill that President Barack Obama has signed into law.
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US Stands To Lose High-Skilled Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Study
Press Trust of India, March 19. The United States stands to lose high-skilled immigrant entrepreneurs and science and engineering workforce due to protectionist measures it is putting in place in the wake of the economic recession, cautions a latest study. The survey comes in the context of the large banks, such as Bank of America, and other US companies reducing plans to hire foreign national students due to concerns over political backlash amidst growing US job losses.
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Schools Soften Landing For New Immigrants $1.3m Effort Focuses On Language, Culture
Boston Globe, March 18. Until two months ago, Isamar Mejia was attending school in Santo Domingo and planning to become a lawyer. Then her mother and stepfather moved to Boston and told the 16-year-old she would have to finish school here, even though she spoke not a word of English and had never seen snow. Like other teenage immigrants, Mejia faced the prospect of entering a school in the middle of the year, behind in her classes, confused by her surroundings, a prime candidate for dropping out, according to school statistics. The nervous junior instead joined a new experiment by Boston public schools that is aiming to halve the system's dropout rate over the next four years by providing lessons in language and culture to older students who have recently arrived to the country. Mejia and 21 other students are now learning English and how to navigate the city's streets and customs at the Newcomers Academy, which is designed to ease the transition to diploma-granting schools.
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Filipino Teachers Exchange Homeland For Jobs In America
Los Angeles Times, March 18. Filipino exchange teacher Ferdinand Nakila landed in Los Angeles expecting 'Pretty Woman' scenes of swank Beverly Hills boulevards and glittering celebrities. What he got was Inglewood, where he stayed for two weeks in temporary housing and encountered drunkards, beggars, trash-filled streets and nightly police sirens. It got worse. In training sessions about American classrooms he received in the Philippines, he was told his students might not be quite as polite and respectful as those in his homeland. Nothing, however, prepared him for the furious brawl that broke out in one of his Los Angeles classrooms, where two girls rolled around on the floor clawing at each other while the other students jumped on the desks and cheered.
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Martinez Heats Up Immigration Debate
Politico (Washington, DC), March 18. As national Republican Party conservatives debate whether the party’s tent is big enough for the more progressive leanings of its first African-American chairman, Michael Steele, another Republican leader has reignited his own cause that always threatens to blow the top off the tent. Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida, the former Republican Party chairman who vividly remembers the 'variety of names' conservatives called him because of his work on immigrant rights, is readying for another big brawl over the issue. Right now, months before President Barack Obama is expected to outline his own immigration plan and before Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) decides how to re-engage on the issue — presumably after Obama shows his hand — Martinez is heating up the debate that will stretch his own party’s tolerance for increased immigration and multiculturalism.
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Reports: Health Care For Potential Deportees Poor
NPR News, March 17. Two new reports document something that has emerged as a serious issue for federal immigration authorities: a lack of adequate health care for detainees. With some 400,000 people held by immigration authorities last year alone, stories about detainees receiving inadequate health care abound, and sometimes the consequences are fatal. A recent case in Virginia involved a 48-year-old man, originally from Germany, named Guido Newbrough. He was being held in a county jail last year in Virginia when he became sick with a severe bacterial infection. Susana Barciela of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center says it was a death that could have been prevented. 'Seventy-five percent of the people who are treated for this disease properly survive,' she says. 'But he was given no treatment whatsoever, even though he'd been complaining for weeks.'
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Most Colleges Knowingly Admit Illegal Immigrants as Students, Survey Finds
Chronicle of Higher Education, March 17. More than half of the colleges that responded to a recent survey said they knowingly admit illegal immigrants to degree or diploma programs under certain circumstances, according to findings released on Monday by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. The report of findings was based on responses from 613 of the association’s 2,000 U.S.-based member institutions. Of those that responded either fully or partially to the survey, 54 percent said they did, and 46 percent said they did not, knowingly admit undocumented students.
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Migrant Workers Sending Less Money to Latin America
Wall Street Journal, March 17. Funds sent by overseas workers back to Latin America and the Caribbean are expected to drop steeply in 2009, shrinking a crucial source of cash for many families in the region. Remittances to the region began to slow in 2008 after a decade of growth, according to the Inter-American Development Bank, as countries such as the U.S., Spain and Japan, slid into recession. This year, remittances to the region are likely to decline for the first time since the bank began tracking annual flows in 2000, according to a new study by the Washington-based multilateral institution. Migrant workers -- the lifeline for millions of families in Latin American and the Caribbean -- sent home a record $69.2 billion last year, nearly 1% more than in 2007. For countries that have reported data for January, totals were down significantly. Mexico, which receives the lion's share of U.S. remittances, experienced a 12% drop compared to January 2008. In the same month, Colombia suffered a 16% drop, while Brazil saw a 14% decline. Guatemala and El Salvador each experienced an 8% decline.
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Latinos Roar After Finding Their Voice
Denver Post, March 17. About 150 people, many of them young and Latino, gathered at the state Capitol on Monday to rally in support of the in-state tuition bill for illegal immigrants, which has been sent on a detour to the Senate Appropriations Committee — where the likelihood of it seeing the light of day is what is called in legislative parlance iffy.The rally was brief but rousing. Passionate speeches. Much cheering. About a month earlier, the three Latino members of the Denver City Council balked over the naming of the plaza at the new justice center because, up until then, the complex bore no Latino names.
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Immigrants Can Help Fix the Housing Bubble
Wall Street Journal, March 17. The Obama administration should seriously consider granting resident status to foreigners who buy surplus houses in this country. This makes more sense than the president's $275 billion housing bailout plan, which Americans greeted with a Bronx cheer. The federal bailout forces taxpayers to subsidize overextended homeowners who bet on ever-rising house prices and used their abodes as ATMs, and it doesn't get to the basic problem -- the huge inventory of excess houses. We estimate that 2.4 million houses over and above normal working inventories are left over from the 1996-2005 housing bubble. That's a lot, considering the long-term average annual construction of 1.5 million single- and multi-family units.
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Valley Wants More Skilled Foreign Workers; H-1B Issue Remains Big
Investor's Business Daily, March 16. Despite steep job losses, Silicon Valley firms continue their long quest to allow more skilled foreigners to work in the U.S. The high-tech hub lost 15,600 jobs in December alone, 1.3% of its 1.2 million total jobs, but executives and officials say that hasn't lessened the need for highly skilled workers. The federal H-1 B program gives temporary visas to skilled foreign workers like engineers and scientists, but caps the number at 85,000 per year. And even with today's high unemployment, when it might be easier for companies to find skilled U.S. job hunters, there's a push to end the cap. 'We're not in favor of controls at all. It should be wide open, the more the merrier,' said Russell Hancock, president of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a large public-private group supported by many of the region's tech companies.
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Irish Premier's U.S. Trip Has Dark Tone
New York Times, March 16. With the formerly highflying Irish economy now in an even deeper tailspin than the American one, the Irish prime minister's annual St. Patrick's Day visit to the United States has an unusually somber feel about it. In a speech Sunday night at the American Irish Historical Society on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, Prime Minister Brian Cowen of Ireland said he would urge the Obama administration to expand visas for Irish workers and allow them to stay two years here instead of the current one. And in a move to woo Irish-Americans, Mr. Cowen proposed measures to make it easier for Americans to claim Irish citizenship, reversing a restrictive course the Irish government took in 2005. ''The connections between Ireland and America remain strong,'' Mr. Cowen said, ''but we cannot take them for granted.''
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Fewer People Applying For U.S. Citizenship
Dallas Morning News, March 16. Demand is off at the federal agency that handles everything from citizenship applications to work visas. The slump follows fiscal year 2008, when there was a tight contraction in citizenship requests at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Reduced demand extends into the North Texas offices of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, says the top manager of that agency, Michael Aytes. 'We are seeing the effect of the economy,' Aytes, the interim deputy director of the agency, said in a recent Dallas visit. '[But] we are particularly concerned about naturalizations.
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Immigrants Face Detention, Few Rights
Associated Press, March 16. America's detention system for immigrants has mushroomed in the last decade, a costly building boom that was supposed to sweep up criminals and ensure that undocumented immigrants were quickly shown the door. Instead, an Associated Press computer analysis of every person being held on a recent Sunday night shows that most did not have a criminal record and many were not about to leave the country voluntarily or via deportation. An official Immigration and Customs Enforcement database, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, showed a U.S. detainee population of exactly 32,000 on the evening of Jan. 25. The data show that 18,690 immigrants had no criminal conviction, not even for illegal entry or low-level crimes like trespassing. More than 400 of those with no criminal record had been incarcerated for at least a year. A dozen had been held for three years or more; one man from China had been locked up for more than five years.
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Labor Dept: Suspend Bush's Guest Worker Rules
Associated Press, March 14. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis wants to rethink rules issued by the Bush administration that changed the nation's guest farmworker program. Bush's overhaul to the program was intended to make it easier for farmers to hire foreign field workers. Solis announced Friday she plans to suspend the new rules for the program for nine months so her department can review and reconsider them. Farmworker advocates have argued the changes would lower wages in the fields and erode labor protections. Growers criticized the fix too, saying it doesn't streamline the process or provide the comprehensive immigration reform they've been looking for. The proposal to suspend the rule will be made official on Tuesday, and is open to public comment for 10 days.
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Condoleezza Rice Regrets Lack Of Immigration Reform
Silicon Valley Business Journal, March 13. The lack of meaningful immigration reform by the Bush administration is one of Condoleezza Rice's biggest regrets as she looks back on her time as secretary of state, she reportedly told a group in Stanford Friday. Associated Press reported that Rice, the keynote speaker at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research summit in Palo Alto, said the country "can't have people living in the shadows," and pointed to the tremendous accomplishments of many immigrants, including Mountain View-based Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) co-founder Sergey Brin.
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Immigrants Didn't Cause Your Problems
CNN News, March 13. OPINION by Ruben Navarrette Jr. Here's the good news: Authorities say that fewer illegal immigrants are crossing the U.S.-Mexican border. The Los Angeles Times recently reported that arrests along the U.S.-Mexico border in the last five months are down 24 percent from the same period last year. At the current rate, the level of apprehension this year could be the lowest since 1975.
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Why Arizona's Sheriff Joe Arpaio Must Go - and Soon
Daily News, March 12, OPINION by Albor Ruiz. Thirty-five thousand people from all over the country signed a petition calling on the departments of Justice and Homeland Security to investigate Arizona's infamous Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Meanwhile, Arpaio received a letter from the Justice Department Wednesday informing him of a probe into allegations of discriminatory and unconstitutional searches and seizures. Finally, it seems that the abusive Maricopa County lawman could get what's coming to him.
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Admitting Highly Skilled Immigrants Would Boost Economy
San Francisco Sentinel, March 12. When people think of what to do to help the U.S. economic recovery, admitting more immigrants into America isn’t what usually comes to mind. But a new study by Arlene Holen, an economist and senior fellow with the Technology Policy Institute, could contribute to resolving the current economic crisis. The study finds that letting in more highly-skilled immigrants would generate more tax revenue, and over time raise labor earnings and national income.
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Two U.S. Immigration Amendments Extended
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, March 12. Congress has extended two immigration-related laws that impact the Jewish community. On Wednesday evening, the Senate passed an extension through Sept. 30 of the Religious Worker Visa Program, portions of which had expired on March 6. The program makes as many as 5,000 permanent immigrant visas available each year for religious workers employed by various denominations, and is particularly helpful to small Jewish communities in remote areas who have difficulty hiring rabbis, cantors and Hebrew school teachers. The House has already passed an identical bill and the extension will go into effect once it is signed by the president. 'This is an important step in ensuring that the Jewish community can keep the dedicated and experienced teachers and other foreign religious workers that we rely on,' said Gideon Aronoff, President and CEO of HIAS, in a statement.
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It's a Terrible Time to Reject Skilled Workers
Wall Street Journal, March 11. Thanks to the Employ American Workers Act (EAWA), which was folded into the stimulus bill, it's become harder for companies getting government support to hire skilled immigrants with H-1B visas -- they'll have to show they haven't laid off or plan to lay off an American from a similar occupation. Supporters say the law will help U.S.-born workers and stimulate our economy, but this is just wrong. The economy is not of fixed size, in which more foreign-born workers necessarily mean fewer U.S. workers. Productive foreign-born workers can help create more jobs here. Keeping them out damages us.
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Advocates Blast Immigration Restrictionists for Disseminating Faulty Data
Washington Independent, March 10. OPINION by Daphne Eviatar. Sure enough, the story I wrote about that appeared Monday in USA Today that said the stimulus bill would provide jobs for some 300,000 undocumented immigrants has created a firestorm. Picked up widely and the subject of a fear-mongering report on Lou Dobbs’ primetime show on CNN last night, the story cited the conservative Heritage Foundation and the immigration restrictionist group Center for Immigration Studies for their recent studies claiming that, of 2 million estimated construction jobs they estimated would be provided by the stimulus package, 15 percent of those would likely go to immigrants who aren’t legally authorized to work.
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They're Taking Their Brains and Going Home
Washington Post, March 8. Seven years ago, Sandeep Nijsure left his home in Mumbai to study computer science at the University of North Texas. Master's degree in hand, he went to work for Microsoft. He valued his education and enjoyed the job, but he worried about his aging parents. He missed watching cricket, celebrating Hindu festivals and following the twists of Indian politics. His wife was homesick, too, and her visa didn't allow her to work. Not long ago, Sandeep would have faced a tough choice: either go home and give up opportunities for wealth and U.S. citizenship, or stay and bide his time until his application for a green card goes through. But last year, Sandeep returned to India and landed a software development position with Amazon.com in Hyderabad. He and his wife live a few blocks from their families in a spacious, air-conditioned house. No longer at the mercy of the American employer sponsoring his visa, Sandeep can more easily determine the course of his career. "We are very happy with our move," he told me in an e-mail.
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US Consul Offers Clarification For Those Seeking Diversity Visas
UB Post, March 12. The UB Post interviewed the United States Embassy’s Chief Consul Robert Pope regarding visa affairs of Mongolian citizens interested in traveling or working in the US. What are the main goals of the US Embassy Consular Section in Mongolia? One of our consular section’s goals is to give more information to the Mongolian people about the whole [visa] process, so that people are less disappointed than they have been in the past. One of the things we are trying to do is to encourage people, who are qualified, to apply, not to discourage people, but to have people think before they apply and spend money. If there are certain categories of people that have trouble getting a visa, we prefer that they know that going in, rather than finding out when they get into the visa process. One of the things that has been a concern between the Mongolian and US Government is the very high historic rejection rates in the visa process. We have changed those considerably in the last year, and the approval rate, which is what I would prefer to talk about, has gone up from about 30 percent to close to 50 percent now. We are trying to get more qualified people applying, and fewer less qualified people, so we can get the approval rate up higher and higher over time. And, we have been very successful in the such short term.
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US Extends Stay Of Foreign Athletes
Yahoo News, March 9. U.S. immigration officials have agreed to let foreign athletes extend their careers in the United States beyond a 10-year limit, as long as the athletes leave the country first and apply for a new visa. The change came in a new policy memo issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, following months of lobbying by sports leagues and lawyers for foreign athletes. The memo, obtained Monday by The Associated Press, also came after the AP made inquiries to the agency about the limit. The leagues and lawyers had complained that CIS recently began enforcing the 10-year limit, endangering the U.S. careers of foreign athletes. CIS officials countered that they've enforced the limit for years, which is based on a 1990 immigration law.
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Nervous Employers Turn To ID Check For Workers
Boston Globe, March 6. A federal system that lets employers check the legal status of their workers is soaring in popularity across the country, growing by 1,000 companies a week, fueled by anxiety over workplace raids and uncertainty over the future of the nation's illegal immigrants. Leading the trend are Arizona and Mississippi, which have made the system mandatory for all employers, and 10 other states that require it for state agencies and contractors. But the system is also ballooning in states where it is optional, such as California, Texas, and Massachusetts.
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Crackdown On Illegal Immigration Brings Distrust, Racial Profiling Risks
Salt Lake Tribune March 6. A recent federal study gives credence to immigrant community activists' fears that a proposed local-federal strike force could lead to racial profiling and drive a wedge of distrust between undocumented residents and law enforcement. Rep. Brad Dee, R-Washington Terrace, is pushing for the formation of a nearly $1 million strike force to target felonies in the immigrant community ranging from document fraud to human and drug trafficking. Local law enforcement would join ranks with agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to target what Dee assures would be only the worst criminals among those in the country illegally.
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Hispanic Caucus Calls For Immigration Reform, Local Testimony
Desert Sun, March 5. In a movement to press for immigration reform, political and religious leaders will hear testimony Saturday about the need to keep families together. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Chicago, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and Rep. Joe Baca, D-Rialto, will be at St. George Catholic Church in Ontario as part a national effort called the National Family Unity Outreach Tour. The tour is to press the Obama administration to address immigration reform this year. 'No city in America has been spared the devastating effects of our broken system,' Gutierrez is quoted in a news release. 'As a nation —as citizens— we cannot wait any longer for fair and just immigration reform. Across this country, parents and children, husbands and wives are being torn apart by a system that values quotas over family values and which undermines our economic security in a time of crisis. Through this effort, Californians are standing up for real, lasting change.'
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Congresswoman Calls for Humane Treatment of Immigration Detainees
EGP News, March 5. In the wake of three immigration detainee deaths over the last six months, a local congresswoman introduced legislation last week to adopt humane and legally enforceable standards for immigration detention facilities. The three incidents of detainee deaths occurred in Monroe, Louisiana, Farmville, Virginia and Central Falls, Rhode Island. Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) introduced the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act of 2009 (H.R. 1215) on Feb 26 to ensure immigrant detainees receive fair and humane treatment while in detention.
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100,000 Indians Will Return From US In Next 3-5 Years
Birmingham Star, March 5. As many as 100,000 Indians and an equal number of Chinese will return to their native countries in the next three to five years, a move that will greatly boost their economies and undermine technological innovation in America, a new US study warns. The study on immigration by a team at Duke, Harvard and Berkeley universities led by Vivek Wadhwa, an Indian-American technology entrepreneur turned academic, says 'America's loss is the world's gain'. There are no hard numbers available on how many have returned, but anecdotal evidence shows that this is in the tens of thousands, says Wadhwa, executive-in-residence for the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University and fellow at the Labour and Worklife Programme at Harvard Law School.
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House Panel Scrutinizes Immigration Program
Associated Press, March 5. The federal government will rewrite its agreements with local and state law agencies that enforce immigration laws to provide greater guidance and control. That's the word from an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement official. William Riley says a draft document is circulating within the agency to more clearly explain the purpose of a controversial program known as 287(g). ICE currently has 67 agreements with local and state police agencies to enforce federal immigration laws. As more police agencies have signed on to the program, allegations of racial profiling and civil rights violations have risen.
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New E-Verify Program Could Keep Fewer From Being Denied Work
KNXV News, March 4. A new E-Verify program will help make sure that foreign-born citizens eligible to work in the U.S. will not be denied a job because of mismatches, according to a press release from the U.S. Dept of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services. Last year, an E-Verify program evaluation found that foreign-born citizens were more likely to receive mismatches, or Tentative Non-confirmations (TNC), when applying for jobs as opposed to U.S.-born citizens. If the Department of Homeland Security or the Social Security Administration is unable to immediately confirm a citizen’s work eligibility, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services can now check State Department records prior to issuing a TNC.
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