IMMIGRATION ISSUES

New Proposed Rule Would Decrease Time Abroad for Many Consular Processing Cases

2012-01-08T12:25:00.004-07:00

On Friday, Alejandro Mayorkas, the director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, announced a proposed rule which could help thousands of families seeking to legalize the immigration status of one of their members.

Currently, if a person present in the United States entered the country without being inspected, she must leave the country in order to gain lawful permanent resident status based on the petition of a spouse or other immediate family member. As soon as they leave the United States, their previous unlawful presence triggers a 3 or 10 year bar to their return. So when they are abroad in their home country, they must file for and obtain a waiver of their unlawful presence bars before they can return. In order to obtain the waiver, they must establish that their absence from the United States is causing "extreme hardship" to their qualifying family members in the United States who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.

The problem is that the adjudication process for these waivers can sometimes take a year or longer. So at a minimum, the families face a long period of separation while trying to become legal. And of course, there is no guarantee that the waiver will be approved after the long adjudication.

If implemented, the new proposed process would allow those seeking to legalize their status through consular processing to submit their waiver applications for pre-approval before leaving the United States. While such applicants would still have to leave the United States to receive their status, the new process would have the potential to drastically decrease the time that they are abroad away from their citizen spouses and families.

As of now, the new rule is just a proposal and has not been implemented. There is no date certain for implementation. Also, it appears that the new pre-approval process would only be available for the waiver of unlawful presence bars. Those who also need waivers for bars triggered by criminal convictions or past fraud would have to continue to follow the old process where their waivers are submitted and adjudicated abroad.

Click Here to see the New York Times Editorial

Call for "Humane" Immigration Policy in GOP Presidential Debate

2011-11-23T08:36:00.004-07:00

Last night, the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination gathered for their eleventh debate (still thirteen to go). This debate focused on national security issues. Late in the debate, the topic turned to immigration policy and specifically on what to do with the 11 million people in the United States without immigration status.

While most of the candidates only spoke about the need to secure the border, Newt Gingrich, who is currently at the top or near the top of national GOP polling, set himself apart from the crowd by actually addressing the 11 million people who are already here and calling for a "humane" solution. Gingrich indicated that deporting someone who has been living, working, paying taxes, and attending church in the United States for 25 years is not practical and not humane.

"I do believe if you've come here recently and you have no ties to the U.S., we should deport you," Gingrich said, but he stated, "I don't see any reason to punish someone who came here at 3 years of age and wants to serve the United States of America," in apparent support of DREAM Act-type legislation.

Gingrich indicated that for those who have been here for a long period of time with deep roots in our community and have not committed crimes, there should be some way to legalize their status without separating families. He added that if Republicans want to be the party of families, they cannot support ripping these types of families apart. Gingrich recognized the potential political problems his stance could make for him in the GOP, saying, "I'm prepared to take the heat for saying, 'Let's be humane in enforcing the law without giving them citizenship but by finding a way to create legality so they are not separated from their families.'"

Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House with unquestioned conservative credentials, deserves credit for standing apart from the crowd and trying to shift the conversation toward realistic solutions in the midst of a GOP primary.

Mitt Romney's response to Gingrich during the debate was with unflinching opposition to anything that smelled of amnesty. Romney, though, has in the past taken a very similar position to Gingrich regarding those already in the country. As recently as 2007, Romney was quoted in the Lowell Sun newspaper saying, "I don't believe in rounding up 11 million people and forcing them at gunpoint from our country. With these 11 million people, let's have them registered, know who they are. Those who've been arrested or convicted of crimes shouldn't be here; those that are paying taxes and not taking government benefits should begin a process toward application for citizenship, as they would from their home country."

While it would be an overstatement to suggest that there is broad support for any type of immigration reform in the Republican party, the fact that two top candidates for the nomination are (or recently have been before becoming staunchly anti-amnesty) supportive of a humane and realistic approach to dealing with those already in the country without status is the first hint in a long time that there may be some daylight for future immigration reform.

Read the RealClearPolitics article on the immigration exchange in last night's debate here.

DHS: Pilot Project for Deportation Case Review in Denver

2011-11-17T10:03:00.004-07:00

The Department of Homeland Security will conduct a review of all pending deportation cases around the country to conduct a triage of the courts' overwhelmed dockets. The review is intended to focus resources on deporting those who have committed serious crimes or pose national security risks.

The review will include six-week pilot projects in the immigration courts in Denver and Baltimore. During the pilot projects, teams of immigration agency lawyers will evaluate each case pending before those courts. Those cases which are not determined to fit with the government's priorities may be administratively closed but will not be dismissed. The fact that a person's case is administratively closed will not entitle him to any work permit or any other immigration status. Additionally, the administratively closed deportation case can be reopened in the future at any time the government chooses.

Click here to see the New York Times article on the review of deportation cases.

Author of Arizona Immigration Law Loses Recall Election

2011-11-09T11:04:00.002-07:00

Russell Pearce, the author of the controversial Arizona legislation aimed at illegal immigrants, lost a recall election last night and has been voted out of office.

He was forced into the recall election after disapproving constituents collected more than 10,000 signatures. He was defeated in the election by fellow Republican Jerry Lewis, who said that Pearce's immigration law had made Arizona "a pariah." Lewis is proposing a more cooperative stance against illegal immigration which aims to seek solutions by working with federal authorities and other parties.

Click here to read the CNN article on the recall election.

Boulder County DA Vows to Prosecute Crimes Against Immigrants

2011-11-09T10:11:00.004-07:00

In an interview with Colorado Public Radio's Ryan Warner today, Boulder County District Attorney, Stan Garnett, discussed his new focus on prosecuting crimes against undocumented immigrants. Garnett's decision to act comes as a response to countless cases of exploitation of immigrant communities.

Garnett's firm commitment to protect crime victims, regardless of immigration status, has drawn heavy criticism from anti-immigrant members of the community. Despite public uproar, Garnett is unwavering in his belief that immigration status is irrelevant to the prosecution of criminals and that all victims deserve protection. Garnett also hopes to foster a relationship of trust with law enforcement, so immigrants feel comfortable reporting crimes. He describes his policy as aligned with the values of law enforcement throughout Boulder County.

Stan Garnett's promise to prosecute crimes against immigrants is a welcome one, especially when contrasted with other counties whose District Attorneys inexplicably refuse to certify U Visa applications filed by victims of serious and violent crimes.

Watch Ryan Warner's interview with Stan Garnett here.

Tancredo Either Dishonest or Completely Uninformed in 9News Debate with Julien Ross

2011-11-02T11:00:00.007-06:00

On Tuesday, Will Ripley of 9 News hosted a debate on immigration and border-related issues with former U.S. Representative and Colorado gubernatorial candidate Tom Tancredo and Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition Director Julien Ross.

Click here to watch a 9 minute clip of the debate.

For one of the loudest participants in our national dialogue on immigration issues, Mr. Tancredo displayed a surprising naïveté and ignorance on critical issues.

In the face of Mr. Ross’s point that 3/5 of the 11 million undocumented people in this country have been here for over a decade and are deeply rooted to their communities, Mr. Tancredo insisted that implementation of E-verify will cause them all to self-deport. Mr. Ross recommended a more comprehensive approach which would require the undocumented population to come out of the shadows and register, pay taxes, pay a fine, go through a background check, and learn English. This would immediately bring this population out of the shadows and allow immigration enforcement authorities to identify and focus on those who have been convicted of violent or dangerous crimes. In combination with an E-verify-type system, the proposals from Mr. Ross and others could be the backbone of a reform that would both deal with the 11 million undocumented people here now while preventing illegal immigration in the future.

Beyond his naïve belief that E-verify by itself will cause 11 million people to self-deport and resolve our immigration issues, Mr. Tancredo demonstrated startling ignorance of the law on his pet issue. At about minute 5:00 of the clip, the conversation turned to the DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors). Mr. Ross told the story of a young man named Edgar who was brought to the United States as a seven year old, went to our schools, and then graduated from police academy. Our communities have invested resources in Edgar to educate him and now he is ready to serve his community as a police officer. But Edgar can’t do so because he does not have any documentation. The DREAM Act would allow people like Edgar to obtain a legal status and would allow our society to reap the benefits from these people that we have already invested our resources in.

Mr. Tancredo’s argument against the DREAM Act is that it is a way in which to give amnesty to all of the DREAM Act eligible person’s family members. At minute 6:10, Mr. Tancredo states that the “minute you become a legal resident, you have the ability to apply for that same residency for all of your family.” With Mr. Tancredo’s years of advocacy on immigration issues, he either knows that his statement here is completely untrue but says it anyway to try to advance his agenda or he has been utterly careless in researching an issue on which he holds himself out as an expert. First, DREAM Act students would not immediately become lawful permanent residents but would have to pass through a period of conditional status. Moreover, even when they do eventually become permanent residents, they cannot apply for that same status for all of their families. For instance, a permanent resident from Mexico can file an immigrant petition for his spouse, but under current wait times the spouse would not be able to gain resident status for years. The same would be true for the child of a permanent resident. Under section 1153(a) of Title 8 of the U.S. Code, a permanent resident cannot petition at all for his parents or brothers or sisters. If some day, say in 11 years (six years in conditional status plus five years as lawful permanent resident as required for naturalization), the DREAM Act kid successfully became a naturalized citizen, at that time he could apply for his parents and siblings. Of course, the siblings who were born in Mexico would have to wait for 15-20 more years under current processing times to be able to get their resident status.

The idea that the DREAM Act allows the beneficiary to get amnesty for his entire family “the minute he gets his status” is absurd and can be debunked with a few minutes of research. It’s not immediately clear which would be worse: if Mr. Tancredo knew this and lied about it or if he honestly doesn’t understand and hasn’t researched this issue that he spends so much of his time advocating on.

Kudos to Julien Ross of CIRC for his performance in the debate. As for Tom Tancredo, there are plenty of arguments to be made on different sides of the immigration debate and there is no need for him to make misrepresentations about the facts or the law. If he wants to carry the bullhorn for the anti-immigration reform crowd, he owes it to them research the issues and present the facts honestly.

Napolitano Predicting Record Deportations

2011-10-07T14:17:00.005-06:00

On October 5, 2011, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jane Napolitano wrote an Op-Ed piece for Politico about the enforcement of immigration laws.

Secretary Napolitano sought to respond to critics of immigration policy from both sides. In the editorial, she predicted that next year DHS will break records with the number of deportations from the United States but explained that "while the overall number of individuals removed will exceed prior years, the composition of that number will consist of more convicted criminals, recent border crossers and repeat immigration law violators than ever before."

The administration's focus on prioritizing which individuals should be deported with limited resources makes sense. However, her prediction that DHS will break records for deportations next year calls into questions the hope for those low-priority individuals who seek prosecutorial discretion. Rather, it seems more likely that DHS will see that "record" number of deportations for the coming year as a mandate from above or a quota. Unfortunately, the data can be easily massaged to make it look like DHS has really sharpened its focus on high-priority aliens. By lumping all criminal offenses together, DHS can crow about the removal of criminal aliens. Secretary Napolitano stated in her Op-Ed that "50 percent of immigrants removed from our country had been convicted of a criminal offense."

Such statistics don't delve into what percentage were deported for drug offenses or violent offenses and what percentage were deported after being pulled over for having a tail light out and then convicted of driving without a license because their international driver's license is only good for a short period here in the United States.

All crimes are not the same and we should remember this for the coming year when DHS produces statistics of record deportations of "criminal aliens."

Click here to see Secretary Napolitano's Op-Ed .

Far Reaching Human Consequences of Failure to Change Immigration Laws

2011-10-06T14:59:00.002-06:00

In a time of consistent inaction on any issue important to the governance of the United States by the United States Congress, the question becomes how individuals work within antiquated, draconian, biased and divisive immigration laws. The United States bases its existence on the rule of law, and sees the Constitution as a living document; therefore, ensuring that one is following the immigration law is of paramount importance.

Putting aside the fact that current immigration law is a hindrance to free market economy because employers basically have to ask permission from the United States Department of Labor to hire the employee of their choice (ask any employer who has chosen the perfect person to work for him and has had to navigate business based visas, the PERM Labor Certification Process, and the minimum six year waiting period for professionals to be eligible to then apply for permanent resident status); and not taking into account the fact that permanent residents of this country have to wait years to live with their spouses and children, it is becoming ever more clear that the human toll of the immigration laws in the United States is devastating, and affect so many, it becomes difficult to fathom why Congress has refused to act.

When considering all those that immigration law affects, consider those in the gay and lesbian community. People who are legally allowed to marry in a minority of states remain ineligible to petition for their spouses to remain in the United States because of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). DOMA denies same-sex couples all federal marital benefits, such as tax preferences, Social Security and spousal immigration rights. This means that even for same sex couples that are legally married to a United States citizen that citizen in their state, the government still does not allow them to petition for the foreign national spouse to remain in the United States. There are a number of Congress men and women who believe this is unfair, and have introduced bills to repeal DOMA and allow same sex married couples to petition for one another, but in the meantime families continue to suffer under Congress’ inaction. Just because a bill is introduced, it does not mean it will be passed, or even looked at.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2011%2F10%2F05%2FMNEJ1LDPA3.DTL

Decline in Unauthorized Aliens Residing in US

2011-10-04T10:58:00.009-06:00

Whether it is the economy or an increase in worksite enforcement, the number of unauthorized aliens in the United States has declined since 2008. According to the Congressional Research Service report published September 22, 2001, an estimated 10-11 million unauthorized aliens lived in the U.S. as of 2010, compared to over 12 million in 2007. The report surveyed the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Surveys (CPS) published since 1986, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS) reports based on the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) since 2000.

The report analyzed data collected not only on the number of unauthorized aliens in the U.S., but also countries of origin, residence in the United States, and year of arrival. The majority of unauthorized aliens residing in the U.S. as of 2010, approximately 30% of the total population, entered between 2000 and 2004. Only 9% of the current unauthorized alien population entered the U.S. between 2005 and 2009 according to a 2010 CPS report. Unauthorized aliens migrating from Mexico have declined since 1986, from 69% to 57% in 2010, while aliens originating from Asia have increased by 6%. The greatest number of unauthorized aliens continue to reside in California and Texas. According to the report, Colorado is not even in the top ten states "with unauthorized resident aliens" with a 2010 headcount between 140,000 to 325,000.

Contributing factors to the rise and fall of the unauthorized alien population in the U.S. since 1986 included economics, legislation, and enforcement. Some analysts attributed the rise of unauthorized aliens to "lax enforcement of employer sanctions," introduced in 1986 (Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986). These analysts point to the decrease in unauthorized aliens since work site enforcement increased in 2007-2008. However, the decrease in population since 2007 may also be attributed to the 2008 housing downturn and the subsequent recession.

In addition, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) "may have inadvertently increased the population of unauthorized resident aliens." Among other penalties, the act introduced the three and ten year bars to admission for aliens unlawfully present in the US for 180 days or more. These provisions "coupled with incrased resources for border enforcement" in the wak of the 911 terrorist attacks, according to the report, have created a "caging effect" that has "stymied what had been a rather fluid movement of migratory workers along the southern border." The result of IIRIRA "raised the stakes" and "created an incentive for those who succeed in entering the United States to stay."

2013 Diversity Lottery Opens October 4, 2011

2011-09-29T09:36:00.006-06:00

The U.S. Department of State ("department") announced on September 27, 2011, that registration for the 2013 Diversity Lottery Program will open October 4, 2011. The department will accept electronically-submitted, registration applications (E-DV Form) until noon (EDT) on November 5, 2011.

Annually, the department sets aside 55,000 immigrant visas for the Diversity Visa Program. Out of the 55,000, 5,000 visas are allocated and available to aliens eligible to apply under the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA). The department selects and distributes the available 2013 Diversity Visas to nationals from among six geographic regions and up to 7% of applicants from any single, eligible country.

Nationals of countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants tot he United States or more are not eligible to register for the Diversity Visa Program. The list of ineligible countries includes natives from the following: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born)*, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.

*Natives of Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan are eligible to register.

Eligible registrants must submit an E-DV Form at www.dvlottery.state.gov to enter the lottery. The department will no longer accept paper entries. The official, electronic form is only in English. However, registrants may find unofficial translations of the electronic form on the department's website, in Albanian, Armenian, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian, and Uzbek. Other translations of the form or assistance with translations may be available at the respective US Embassy website or foreign post in the registrant's country of residence.

The electronic registration system provides each registrant with a unique confirmation number. On or after May 1, 2013, registrants can return to the department's website to check if their confirmation number has been selected. If selected, the departmen will then send instructions to the successful registrant on how to apply for an immigrant visa.

Every year through the wonders of internet technology more fraudulent websites are created as scams charging unnecessary fees to unwary lottery registrants. The websites often appear as official government websites. Scammers may also send emails or letters "posing as the U.S. government." Please remember that the department does NOT collect a fee from registrants to enter the Diversity Visa Program. In addition, the department will NOT send registrants status updates or selection notices via email or regular mail. Registrants must check the department's website using their confirmation number for updates on their entry.

California Dreaming

2011-09-15T14:49:00.003-06:00

The California DREAM Act has been signed into law. The Act, (AB 130) gives to undocumented students access to "privately funded scholarships for attendance at community colleges, state colleges, and public universities" in that state. Because there is no cost to the taxpayers, the measure passed easily. With the passage of AB 130, the legislators are now looking at AB 131, a much more controversial bill which would allow undocumented students to apply for state tuition assistance and Board of Governors fee waivers at community colleges. AB 131 would also give these students gain eligibility for university grants. Given the current economic situation in the United States, but especially in California, AB 131 may not be the boon that these students had hoped for since they will be "last in line" for the financial benefits after U.S. citizens and Permanent Residents. Nevertheless, to be given the opportunity to gain a college education where none existed before can only be counted as good. For more information on this subject, please follow the link below.

http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/x/145178/Labour+Relations/California+Passes+Part+1+Of+The+DREAM+Act+For+State+College+University+Students&email_access=on

First Reported Cases Benefiting from 8/18/11 Obama Administration Announcement

2011-08-26T14:07:00.006-06:00

Scattered reports in the media have indicated that the August 18, 2011 announcement by the Obama Administration may be starting to have some effect.

CNN reports that an Arizona attorney was contacted by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials and told that she should request that her case be dismissed. The Huffington Post reports that two teenage men in Georgia have also had their deportation cases closed under the new policy.

Despite these reports of what seems to be an implementation of the August 18 announcement, it is important to recognize that the announcement is not an amnesty and does not grant anyone legal status. There is no new application that can be filed or that a person can sign up for. The announcement does not create any new way to file for a work permit either. The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) put out a consumer advisory warning that there is no sure way to know whether one's case would be safely considered "low priority" under the new announcement and no sure way to know that a particular "low priority" case won't be prosecuted anyway.

While it will be interesting to see if these sporadic reports turn into a general trend of closing cases deemed "low priority" by DHS, for the time being there seems to be little change on the ground.

To read the CNN article, click here;

For the Huffington Post article, click here;

To review the AILA consumer advisory, click here.

Obama's Amnesty? Not so Fast

2011-08-19T12:21:00.006-06:00

The Obama Administration announced on Thursday that it will make a case-by-case review of some 300,000 immigrants facing possible deportation in immigration courts around the country. The stated goal of the review is to focus on removing convicted criminals who might pose a threat to national security or public safety.

The Thursday announcement follows a June memo from the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), John Morton, outlining when and how ICE agents could use prosecutorial discretion in immigration cases.

Administration officials, to this point speaking anonymously, have indicated that those whose deportations are put on hold may be eligible for work authorization. Whether this would come in the form of an order of deferred action or some other way is unclear.

In fact, much of how this new policy will play out on the ground remains unclear. We know that it does not give anyone a new path to lawful permanent resident status. As of yet, there is no known way to affirmatively apply to have one's case put on hold or to apply for work authorization based on the new policy.

How this new policy unfolds will depend on how DHS officers and attorneys implement it. Which immigrants actually end up benefiting from this new policy is still far from clear.

Read the Washington Post Article.

Prosecutorial Discretion Memo, What Does It Mean?

2011-07-22T13:29:00.005-06:00

On June 17, 2011, John Morton, Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), issued two memos encouraging the expanded use of prosecutorial discretion by ICE officers, agents, and attorneys in all phases of civil immigration enforcement.

The new Morton memo is significant because it clarifies that the actions that can be used to exercise prosecutorial discretion include decisions on whether to:

- Issue or cancel a notice of detainer;

-“Reissue” or “serve” Notices to Appear (NTA); this gives an ICE officer the flexibility to allow a respondent to accrue the necessary continuous residence or continuous physical presence time for LPR and non-LPR cancellation, respectively;

-Settle or dismiss a proceeding; this appears to apply at all stages of a removal proceeding, including federal court appeals.

The memo cites as favorable factors to consider: whether the case falls within agency priorities, whether the person has graduated from a U.S. high school or is in pursuit of higher education, family relationships. Only a few negative factors are listed warranting “particular” consideration, including national security risks, serious felons, repeat offenders, those with lengthy criminal records, gang members, and “egregious” immigration violators.

The memo encourages ICE officers to proactively consider prosecutorial discretion even without being asked to do so.

Only a month after the roll-out of the new Morton memos, it is still to be seen how they will play out in the field. Hopefully they will be used to help ICE keep its focus on its stated goal of deporting serious criminal offenders and dangers to the community while spending less time chasing the deportations of DREAM Act eligible and other non-priority cases.

For the Morton Memo, click here.

For an excellent detailed advisory by Mary Kenney for American Immigration Council, click here.

ACLU Wins $200,000 Settlement from Maricopa County Sheriff for Illegal Detention of Citizen and LPR

2011-07-08T09:50:00.005-06:00

68-year old Julian Mora and his son were driving in their truck when they were pulled over by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department. They had not violated any traffic laws, but were nonetheless ordered out of the truck, zip-tied, and transported to a nearby work-site immigration raid that was being conducted. After being transported to the raid, they were detained for three hours by the police.

After three hours, they were given the chance to prove that they were lawfully in the U.S. Because Julian Mora is a lawful permanent resident who has lived in this country for over 30 years and his son is a U.S. citizen, they were easily able to do so.

The American Civl Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arizona brought suit on behalf of Mora against the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department and yesterday a settlement was reached for $200,000.

New state laws seeking to further involve local police in immigration enforcement will make these scenarios more and more common. Law enforcement officers in states with new "papers please" laws will inevitably detain U.S. citizens and some of these detentions will end up being for far more than three hours. Imagine the case where a U.S. citizen speaks with an accent and does not have ready access to his birth certificate or passport. Where the citizen is mentally disabled and is unable to explain his situation to the police. There are infinite complications that can and will cause people to be unable to prove their legal status at the drop of a hat. With time, these "papers please" laws will result in more and longer detentions by local police officers of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who can't prove their status on the spot. And when that happens, the taxpayers will be on the hook for more expensive lawsuits and settlements.

See the ACLU press release here.

ABC News Journalist Outs Self as Undocumented in Support of Dream Act

2011-06-22T08:54:00.004-06:00

In the wake of Congress failing to pass the DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) last year, Jose Antonio Vargas decided to reveal his status as an illegal immigrant.

Vargas is an ABC News Journalist who won a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007. He arrived in the United States at the age of twelve from the Philippines and did not learn that he did not have immigration status until years later.

Vargas' story is one of many that should put a human face on the potential beneficiaries of the DREAM Act who ended up in the U.S. without immigration status through no fault of their own. Hopefully Congress considers his story and so many others like it and gets DREAM back on the table.

For more, click on the links:

-The short Denver Post article on Vargas speaking out

-Video of Vargas talking about being undocumented

Georgian Farmers Blame Labor Shortage on State's New Immigration Law

2011-05-27T08:45:00.004-06:00

Georgia recently passed an Arizona-like bill that goes into effect on July 1. Among other things, Georgia House Bill 87 requires private employers to use an employment eligibility verification system and provides authority for law enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration laws and investigate the immigration status of Georgia residents.

As reported recently in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, migrant farm workers are choosing not to settle in Georgia because of HB 87. This has created a severe labor shortage among fruit and vegetable growers and potentially puts millions of dollars of crops in jeopardy.

Prospects for resolving the shortage look grim. Farmers say they are unable to recruit Georgia residents to work in their fields, because "it is temporary, hot and physically demanding." The president of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association said his farm is struggling against the worker shortage even after boosting pay to attract more migrant workers.

As states continue to pass piecemeal immigration laws, the labor shortage in Georgia will undoubtedly repeat itself throughout the rest of the United States. Georgia's struggle to save its crops exposes the country's dependence on migrant workers and calls for a guest worker program, both for the sake of our economy and the protection of immigrant workers.

Read more here in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Denver Immigration Court Overloaded

2011-05-23T11:21:00.003-06:00

An article in Sunday's Denver Post documents the overwhelming caseload at the Immigration Court in Denver, Colorado. According to the article, two of Denver's immigration judges have as many as 2,400 pending cases each at any given time.

Judge Dana Leigh Marks, president of the National Associate of Immigration Judges, is quoted as saying that the necessarily rushed nature of the proceedings with such an inundation of cases is akin to trying death penalty cases in a traffic court setting.

With the enactment of Secure Communities and other programs designed to sweep more and more people into removal proceedings, the court's caseload seems likely to get worse. In the midst of the current budget struggles, it is difficult to envision Congress passing funding for more immigration judges and court staff to ensure due process and meaningful hearings in immigration court.

To read the article in the Denver Post, click here.

United States Citizenship & Immigration Service Extends Temporary Protected Status to Haiti

2011-05-19T12:08:00.001-06:00

On May 17, 2011 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitians who qualified and applied during the designated time and who received TPS from the government. This move is a welcome and much needed recognition of the tens of thousands of human beings present in the United States who remain in need of protection from return to Haiti, a country still suffering from the earthquake that occurred more than a year ago. The extension is valid from July 23, 2011 until January 22, 2013.

Additionally, DHS has re-designated Haiti for Temporary Protected Status, allowing Haitian Nationals who were not covered by the initial designation but whom were continually present in the United States since January 12, 2011 to make a filing for TPS now. This measure allows people who entered the United States during the year following the earthquake to apply for TPS.

http://aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=35422

The "A" Word

2011-05-10T15:01:00.004-06:00

After previous failures to get any traction on comprehensive immigration reform or the DREAM Act, President Obama has again ramped up his efforts to call for reform. The outlines of the President's proposed plan are nothing new. He emphasized the need to pore further resources into securing the borders and prosecuting business owners who willfully employ undocumented workers. At the same time, those illegally in the country could begin a legalization process after they (1) admit to having broken the law, (2) pay taxes and a fine, (3) learn English, and (4) undergo background checks to ensure that they have no serious criminal history.

For opponents of reform, the broad outline of the plan will be immediately deemed as unacceptable because it amounts to an amnesty. With so much of the political debate centered on whether or not a given plan is an amnesty, it is probably worth looking at what the word amnesty means.

According to dictionary.com, the definition of "amnesty" is (1) a general pardon for offenses, especially political offenses, against a government, often granted before any trial or conviction; (2) an act of forgiveness for past offenses, especially to a class of persons as a whole; or (3) a forgetting or overlooking of any past offense.

The relevant definition word “pardon” is defined as (1) a release from the penalty of an offense; a remission of penalty, as by a governor; or (2) forgiveness of a serious offense or offender.

Would requiring offenders to (1) admit to having broken the law, (2) pay taxes and a fine, (3) learn English, and (4) undergo background checks to ensure no serious criminal history before they could start a legalization process really be an amnesty? Such requirements seem more akin a mass guilty plea and sanction (a presumably substantial fine and English classes) than a "release from the penalty of an offense" or a "forgetting or overlooking of any past offense."

When a person pleads guilty to DUI, he admits to having broken the law and then is required to pay court costs and fines and often agrees to take classes. DUI and other criminal offenders are not seen as having been granted amnesty.

A reform program should be envisioned as a mass guilty plea with serious sanctions attached. It would be to American society's benefit that fines will be paid, those who do not know English will be required to learn it, and 10 or so million people will no longer be living in the shadows.

Colorado Springs-Based Immigration Scam Shut Down

2011-04-20T16:15:00.003-06:00

The Denver Post reports that an immigration-help services company named "Simply Done Immigration" has been shut down after a settlement with the Colorado Attorney General's Office.

The company represented its staff members as being immigration document experts despite having no legal or immigration training. The company also inferred an affiliation with the U.S. government. In addition, it sold forms which can be obtained for free from government immigration offices or from the website www.uscis.gov. Simply Done Immigration will also be forced to pay $20,000 in consumer restitution.

The Attorney General's office deserves kudos for going after this company and others like it whose scams prey on the immigrant community and cause untold damage to people's lives when sometimes irreversible mistakes are made on immigration filings.

For more information, click on the below links:

-the Denver Post article on "Simply Done Immigration"

-the list of forms available for free from the official United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website

-the USCIS initiative to combat the unauthorized practice of law.

White House Posts Blog Regarding Immigration Reform

2011-04-20T11:08:00.000-06:00

Many in the immigration community have wondered when the current Administration was going to focus its attention on Immigration Reform. Immobilized by a flailing economy, war, an oil spill crisis, world wide natural disasters, health care reform, a budget crisis, etc., many have thought that there will be no change to the crippled United States immigration law for at least another two years.

Yesterday, the President reiterated his dedication to immigration reform and met with national leaders in government, faith and community based organization to discuss his intent and continue to press this as a priority, not just for him but for all of the people in the room. President Obama listened to the concerns of those present and requested and received input on how to advance legislative efforts. The President urged serious and civil discussions around the country to help create the space for congressional action.

As an immigration practitioner, we are every day firsthand witnesses to the frustration and inconsistencies of our broken immigration laws; human beings unable (but certainly not unwilling) to change their documentation status and come out of the shadows. The frustration is deepened by what feels and looks like a federal government turning its back and consciously choosing not to act. And as the debate rages on and security remains at risk. A part of any immigration reform debate needs to address the undocumented population and ensure those that are deserving are able to remain and eventually earn Lawful Permanent Resident status while allowing Immigration & Customs Enforcement to focus its energies and resources on those that are a true threat to our national security.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/04/20/working-together-create-21st-century-immigration-system

Staunch Cold War Ally Faces Deportation from U.S.

2011-04-19T11:33:00.004-06:00

General Eugenio Vides Casanova, a former defense minister from El Salvador, was found by a 1983 United States Department of State report to have "acquiesced" in the cover-up to the rape and murder of four Catholic nuns and the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero. He has also been found liable for the brutal and systematic torture of the detained Salvadorans during his time in power.

At the same time, Mr. Vides Casanova was a valued cold war ally of the United States who was praised for his iron-fisted approach to the battle with marxist guerillas. He was awarded the Legion of Merit award by President Reagan. He eventually retired to a coastal community in Miami, Florida.

Now, the Department of Homeland Security is seeking to deport this once valued ally for his role in torture and other human rights abuses. An immigration court in Florida is scheduled to hear Mr. Vides Casanova’s removal proceedings this week. Though normally removal proceedings take only a half-day, the immigration court has scheduled Mr. Vides Casanova’s case for a full week. Former U.S. ambassadors are supposed to both testify against Mr. Vides Casanova and in his defense.

This case involves a fascinating intersection between the U.S. history of realpolitik foreign policy in opposing leftists and Latin America and the Department of Homeland Security’s desire to deport a man responsible for severe human rights abuses. It will be interesting to see how it unfolds.

For more on the removal proceedings against General Eugenio Vides Casanova, click on the following links:

-article from the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting ;

-article from The Guardian;

-article from The New York Times.

Gay Immigrant Rights Activists Allege Civil and Human Rights Violations at Immigration & Customs Enforcement Detention Centers

2011-04-14T16:58:00.001-06:00

As the current executive administration battles budget issues, economic crises and proves to the anti-immigration reform movement that it is tough on employers for hiring undocumented workers, another, arguably more marginalized group of immigrants comes forward asserting rights to fair treatment under the law. On March 4, 2011 the Obama Administration announced that it will not defend the Defense of Marriage Act. This statement gave same-sex partners across the country hope that they would have the opportunity to petition for their loved ones just like heterosexual United States citizens are allowed to petition for their spouses.

Now, a group of gay immigrants are alleging Human Rights Abuses at already beleaguered Immigration & Customs Enforcement Detention Facilities. The complaints have been filed with the Department of Homeland Security alleging civil and human rights abuses of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender immigrants being detained pending removal proceedings. The Heartland Alliance National Immigrant Justice Center wants the agency's Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties to investigate the treatment of sexual minorities in DHS custody, and to craft policies to address any violations and oversee their implementation.

http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2011/04/gay-immigrants-allege-human-rights-abuses-in-ice-detention-centers.html

Major Portions of Harsh Arizona Immigration Bill Remain Blocked

2011-04-11T12:49:00.001-06:00

Today, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to lift a stay that blocks major sections of last year’s tough immigration enforcement bill, passed in Arizona. The law, SB-1070, was set to take effect last July 29, 2010. However, the U.S. Justice Department sued to block the law, arguing that the Arizona law violates the constitution because immigration is a federal issue. The day before the law was set to take effect, a federal judge ordered an injunction blocking the enforcement of many parts of the law. Arizona governor Jan Brewer filed an appeal of the judge’s ruling, which the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied today. You can see the full article here.

2010 Census Results Could Affect 2012 Presidential Elections

2011-03-24T14:48:00.000-06:00

With the Presidential Campaign season quickly descending upon us, candidates may find that a true discussion on immigration reform will be not only advantageous to their election; but required. Results from the 2010 Census are slowly trickling in, and some of the most astonishing numbers indicate a substantial growth in the Latina population. The 2010 Census has revealed that over the past decade the adult Latino population has almost doubled in Nevada, Virginia and North Carolina; but one of the most riveting statistics is the 60 percent or more increase in Indiana and Ohio, historically known as battleground states.

What does this mean for political hopefuls? That it truly is time to focus on Comprehensive Immigration Reform. It means that Conservatives cannot simply ignore the growing problem and that liberals need to truly focus on reform instead of mentioning it in a sound-bite and then glossing over the matter after a successful campaign and election.

Motions to Reopen from Abroad

2011-03-22T16:31:00.004-06:00

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals is being urged to reconsider its decision upholding a Board of Immigration Appeals regulation barring foreign nationals from filing motions to reopen from outside the United States. The Tenth Circuit's 2009 decision in Rosillo-Puga v. Holder is contrary to the position of the five other circuit courts to consider the issue. The case of Contreras-Bocanegra v. Holder is currently before the Tenth Circuit and the foreign national and amici curiae in that case are urging the court to grant en banc review of the case and then reverse course and recognize noncitizens' opportunity to seek review of unfavorable decisions from outside the United States.

For legal analysis of the Tenth Circuit's decision in Rosillo-Puga v. Holder, see my comment on the Denver University Law Review Online.

Utah Governor Signs Four Immigration Measures into Law

2011-03-18T13:03:00.003-06:00

Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed into law a package of four bills that will increase immigration enforcement but also implement a guest worker program. One of the bills is similar to that in Arizona by requiring police to check the immigration status of anyone stopped for a felony or serious misdemeanor. The bill does not sweep as broadly as Arizona's but could likewise lead to a landslide of unintended consequences. Another bill creates a guest worker program for illegal immigrants in the state. And the last set of bills allow businesses to recruit Mexican workers and American citizens to sponsor foreign residents who want to work or study in Utah.

With the signing, Governor Herbert urged the federal government to address immigration. Because his signing of the measures upset both anti and pro-immigrant groups, he made it known that his primary goal was to force the federal government to act.

Fortunately, Utah's package of bills is focused on more than enforcement measures by implementing a guest worker program. Nonetheless, the country's broken immigration system will not mend through the passage of piecemeal legislation, state-by-state. Hopefully the federal government will heed Utah's call to action.

Extensions for Stranded Japanese & Pacific Travelers

2011-03-14T09:04:00.002-06:00

Nationals of Japan and other Pacific based countries currently “stranded” in the United States due to the earthquakes and tsunamis in that region may be eligible for a 30 day extension of nonimmigrant or visa waiver program (VWP) status in the United States. On March 11, 2011, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that individuals in the US affected by the recent events in the Pacific who have expired or expiring status may extend his/her status in one of the following ways:

For Japanese nationals or foreign nationals of certain Pacific countries in VWP status:

If you are at an airport, when your flight has been cancelled, you may request an extension from the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP); OR
If you are NOT at an airport, you may request an extension from the local USCIS office.

For Japanese nationals or foreign nationals of certain Pacific countries in a nonimmigrant status:

You may apply for the 30 day extension at a local USCIS office; AND
You must bring your passport, I-94 Arrival Departure Record, and evidence that you are stranded in the United States (i.e., cancelled itinerary or tickets from the airline).

USCIS Launches Plan to Crack Down on Illegitimate Immigration Practitioners

2011-03-09T13:57:00.000-07:00

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services director Alejandro Mayorkas has asked the U.S. attorney generals to help him in the fight against individuals and businesses portraying themselves as immigration lawyers, despite not being authorized to practice law. These fake lawyers are sometimes known as “notarios,” and can charge extremely high fees and give fraudulent, inaccurate advice to people seeking immigration benefits. The campaign aims to track down and stop these practitioners, in addition to educating immigrants about how to recognize fake lawyers.

Last May, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers filed a complaint against a Colorado Springs-based business for defrauding hundreds of people who needed immigration assistance. The Colorado Springs Non-Profit Corporation, which also operated under the names Immigration Center, U.S. Immigration Center, ImmigrationHelpLine.org and U.S. Government Helpline, sold forms that are otherwise available for free on www.uscis.gov, and frequently sold the wrong forms. Further, employees of these businesses were paid on commission according to how many sales they made, and they falsely advertised themselves as “document specialists” who supposedly had a special, “inside relationship” with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. However, none of these employees had prior government experience and were not authorized to give legal advice. The company was fined $2.5 million dollars for taking advantage of people who went to them for advice.

If you feel that you have been deceived by a fake immigration lawyer, you can make a complaint with the Colorado attorney general’s office on their website, located here: https://www.coloradoattorneygeneral.gov/departments/consumer_protection/file_consumer_complaint

To read more about USCIS’ campaign and the case against the Colorado Springs Non-Profit Corporation, please visit:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/09/AR2011030903015.html

http://www.walletpop.com/2010/05/18/colorado-immigrant-aid-business-penalized-2-5-million-in-fraud/

A Welcome Call for Reform of the Federal Immigration Enforcement Programs in the United States

2011-03-04T16:33:00.002-07:00

The University of California, Berkeley Law School produced a new report - "Borders, Jails, and Jobsites: An Overview of Federal Immigration Enforcement Programs in the U.S." - that analyzes the difficult policy issues surrounding immigration enforcement. The report focuses mainly on the two administrative agencies primarily responsible for immigration enforcement: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), both under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

"Borders, Jails, and Jobsites" provides a broad overview of border enforcement, immigration enforcement in the interior, workplace enforcement and detention. Within each area, the report makes informed and intelligent recommendations for reform.

Perhaps most concerning are the unintended consequences of immigration enforcement programs in the United States. The root of the problem appears to be the lack of clarity regarding the states' role in implementing and enforcing federal immigration law. For example, in a policy reversal, the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice issued a memorandum in 2002 stating that states have "inherent authority" rather than "delegated power" to enforce federal law related to immigration. The memo has caused confusion, as some states - like Arizona - embrace their inherent authority, while others consider the memo flawed and unsupported in law. Until the role of states is clarified by the federal government, the majority of immigration enforcement programs will continue to foster distrust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement. Hopefully federal and local governments will begin to implement some of the recommendations suggested in this recent report.

Mexican Police Chief to Seek Asylum in U.S.

2011-03-04T13:24:00.001-07:00

Last October, Marisol Valles Garcia, a 20-year-old college student from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, was hired as police chief of the small border town, Praxedis Guadalupe Guerrero in Chihuahua; a town taken over by drug cartels and corruption. Marisol was studying criminology and was offered the job after two other job candidates stepped down when the town’s mayor and his son were killed. Now, after just five months on the job, Marisol has reportedly fled Praxedis for the United States. It is reported that after Marisol received death threats from a criminal group that wanted to force her to work with them, she fled to the U.S. last week with her husband and son to seek asylum.

Two months ago another Mexican border down was left without a police chief. Police chief and sole officer on the force in Guadalupe, Erika Gandara, was kidnapped. Erika’s fate is still unknown.

To read more on Marisol’s story and her quest for asylum, please visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41904784/ns/world_news-americas/?GT1=43001

What Part of Unconstitutional Doesn't Arizona Understand?

2011-03-02T13:07:00.003-07:00

The Arizona legislature continues to crank out anti-immigrant bills at a prolific rate. Here is a roundup of some of the latest lowlights with analysis below:

SB 1308 and SB 1309: Proposed as a challenge to the birthright citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

SB 1405: Requiring hospital employees to report anyone who seeks the use of an emergency room and cannot prove that they are in-country legally.

SB 1407: Requires schools to count children who cannot prove they are lawfully present in the country and report to state authorities.

SB 1611: Mandates that those convicted of "aggravated" theft of another's identity, which includes those who take the identity of a fictitious person invented only to obtain employment, serve six months in jail, even if the judge sentences them to probation. SB 1611 also makes it a crime for those unlawfully present to drive in Arizona, which leads to a minimum jail sentence of 30 days. [The fact that these bills would produce a huge spike in tax-payer funded incarceration of non-violent offenders is presumably not a great concern for some corporations who are heavy political donors to those crafting the legislation.].

SB 1611 also requires schools to require proof of citizenship or legal immigration status (purportedly to aid in the counting required in SB 1407). If a child does not produce documents, SB 1611 requires that the school refer the case to local law enforcement.

While there is much to criticize in the details of this bevy of anti-immigrant legislation [trying to check the immigration papers of people being rushed into the emergency room... really?], a general point of concern is the Arizona legislature's apparent indifference for the Constitution of the United States. Those who are trumpeting this legislation as necessary to enforce "the rule of law" do so while thumbing their noses at the foundational document of our legal system.

The 14th Amendment of the Constitution requires that children, even those without immigration status, have access to K-12 public education. Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982). The drafters of SB 1407 and SB 1611 are well aware of Plyler, but persist in choosing to propose legislation which has the very thinly veiled goal of keeping undocumented children out of public schools. They can still enroll, but their case will be turned over to local law enforcement when they cannot produce papers. Arizona local law enforcement, would then have reasonable suspicion about the family's immigration status and have to investigate under Arizona law and turn over the family for deportation proceedings. The takeaway is therefore, "Enroll your kids in school as guaranteed by the Constitution and we will use that information to deport you." The purpose of this legislation is to keep undocumented kids out of public schools despite it being well-settled law that the Constitution guarantees these children access to public education.

This should give us pause: Do the Arizona legislators swear to uphold the Constitution before beginning their public service? If so, how do they square that oath and commitment with their proposals for legislation that they know is undoubtedly unconstitutional?

Fact Sheet for SB 1407

Fact Sheet for SB 1611

Departments Working Together to Ensure Timely Adjudication of Petitions for Immediate Relatives in Removal

2011-02-25T10:52:00.000-07:00

The United States Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) and Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE); both divisions of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have issued memoranda indicating a commitment to work together in the adjudication of Immediate Relative petitions for individuals in removal proceedings. USCIS has agreed to adjudicate petitions for individuals who are detained in 30 days, and 45 days for nondetained foreign nationals.

This move represents recognition between the departments that adjudication and completion of cases is an efficient, timely manner requires the participation of both divisions and that communication between the two is paramount to case completion. Since the Legacy Immigration & Naturalization Service was dissolved and the Department of Homeland Security formed there are now three different agencies that have authority over foreign nationals coming into the United States as well as their presence here. While this has served to decrease adjudication times in some instances, it has become more difficult in some instances for individuals in removal proceedings to complete their cases, causing considerable delays. USCIS has jurisdiction over all immigrant petitions, and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) cannot adjudicate an adjustment of status application until the petition has been approved. Generally ICE will have the file because they are the enforcement division and therefore communication between ICE and USCIS is key in ensuring adjudication on these petitions.

USCIS to Issue one Document to be Valid for Both Employment Authorization and Travel Permission

2011-02-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

The Untied States Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) announced today in an “Interim Memo for Comment” that it will eventually begin issuing one document to cover both employment authorization and travel permission, rather than an employment authorization card and a paper advance parole document. The comment period closes on February 28, 2011 and the memo is in effect “until further notice”.

The new card will be the current I-766 (Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and will have look like the current employment authorization card, but will have an endorsement indicating that reentry into the United States after international travel is also authorized.

This change in documentary procedures in no way changes the analysis of whether an individual is eligible for advance parole, and is remains extremely important to analyze whether an applicant for adjustment of status can, in fact, travel outside of the United States and be eligible to reenter given their personal immigration history. Hopefully, USCIS will continue to be as careful in adjudicating these applications and not inappropriately grant advance parole to someone who is ineligible.

New Mexico Mandates Local Police to Inquire About Immigration Status Upon Arrest

2011-02-01T08:07:00.005-07:00

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports today that Governor Susana Martinez has directed state police on Monday to start asking about the immigration status of people arrested for crimes. This follows a nation-wide movement toward using local law enforcement officials as lead enforcers of federal immigration law. At first glance, one might think that these laws make perfect sense. After all, what better time to figure out a person's immigration status than after she has been arrested for a crime?

The problem with mandatory directives like the one imposed by Governor Martinez is that it will cause a chilling effect between the local immigrant communities and the police. For instance, if a woman knows that her boyfriend does not have immigration status and they get into a volatile argument, might she be less likely to call the police when that argument starts to cross a line into abuse? Similarly, in some jurisdictions the police have mandatory arrest policies for domestic violence calls. If there has been a fight, many times both parties are arrested and the actual facts are sorted out later after the situation has been calmed. This possibility of a dual arrest could further dissuade domestic violence victims from contacting police. Our law enforcement officers rely on their relationship with the communities they serve in and we should think long and hard before enacting any policy which discourages victims and witnesses from reporting crime to police. As the country marches further and further toward using local law enforcement as the dragnet to round up and deport immigrants, such efforts in the name of the rule of law could actually come at the expense of the effectiveness of our local law enforcement.

To read the story about Governor Martinez ordering New Mexico Police Officers to inquire about immigration status on arrest, click here.

USCIS Reports that Fiscal Year 2011 H-1B Cap has been Reached

2011-01-31T13:26:00.001-07:00

For employers in the United States seeking to hire professionals, one pool of applicants has been closed off for Fiscal Year 2011. The H-1B visa, available to professional companies seeking to employ a foreign individual in a professional position, is capped each year at a total of 65,000 visas for the entire country. The United States Citizenship & Immigration Service announced on January 27, 2011 that is has received enough petitions to meet the cap and will no longer take new ones. There are an additional 20,000 visas set aside for individuals with a United States earned Master’s Degree with an offer of employment in a position that requires a Master’s Degree, and that cap was reached on December 22, 2010 for Fiscal Year 2011.

Unfortunately, this continues to hinder free market professionalism during a lingering economic downturn. Companies are now unable to hire an employee if he/she is foreign born and does not have authorization to be employed in the United States. This loss tends to force individuals who are educated in the United States out of our job market and therefore out of the United States professional pool, making employers lose a competitive edge. In order for the United States to continue to participate in the global economy and increase our competitiveness, we must reform our immigration system to show that we do in fact want the best and the brightest here, using their knowledge and professional skills for United States corporations and small businesses.

http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=34289

Grants Available to Help Permanent Residents Become Citizens

2011-01-27T16:40:00.001-07:00

Last week U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that there are three grants available this year to help prepare lawful permanent residents for citizenship and to promote immigrant integration in the United States. The grants total approximately $8.5 million and will provide citizenship preparation programs in cities across the country. There will be an estimated 35 award recipients to be announced by USCIS in September 2011.

Two of the grants will help strengthen citizenship preparation programs, while one of the grants will increase the capacity of organizations to offer citizenship services in underserved communities. Interested parties may apply for these funding opportunities at www.grants.gov and applications are due by April 1, 2011.

For more information, please visit http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=15b82dad650ad210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

EB-5 Visa Program: Expanding Investments in American Businesses

2011-01-24T14:01:00.000-07:00

NPR reported last week on the recent increase in popularity for the fifth employment based visa preference category, or the “EB-5” category. The EB-5 visa category, which was created by Congress in 1990, is available to immigrants seeking to enter the United States in order to invest in a business or company that will benefit the economy. There are two ways to invest within the EB-5 category: either by creating a new commercial enterprise, or investing in a troubled business. The minimum investment is $500,000, and must create at least 10 full-time jobs. The jobs must be created for U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or others lawfully authorized to work in the United States, and it does not include the intending immigrant investor or members of their family.

The EB-5 category can provide a quicker way to permanent residence than other categories because it allows qualifying applicants to self-petition for their permanent residence. The intending immigrant must file a Form I-526 Petition for an Alien Entrepreneur, followed by the I-485 application to adjust status to lawful permanent resident. The applicants are granted conditional permanent residency for a two year period, and finally, they must file a Form I-829 Petition by an Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions 90 days prior to the two year anniversary of the granting of the conditional Green Card.

NPR reported that with the current U.S. economic climate, it has been increasingly difficult for businesses to obtain the loans and start-up capital that they may need to expand their businesses. Many are turning to foreign investors to provide that financial backing, and then those foreigners are able to apply for the EB-5 visa category. NPR interviewed Bill Stenger, the owner of a ski resort in Vermont who is expanding from seasonal winter recreation to being a year-round resort, who reported that they had raised nearly $200 million dollars from foreign investors. With that, the resort had been able to hire 50 individuals so far.

To read more on the EB-5 program or to see the NPR article, please visit:

http://www.npr.org/2011/01/18/132940734/resort-draws-investors-with-immigrant-visa-program

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextchannel=facb83453d4a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextoid=facb83453d4a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD

U.S. and Cuba Discuss Immigration

2011-01-12T13:21:00.001-07:00

The Washington Post reports today that diplomats from the United States and Cuba met in Havana to discuss immigration issues. Roberta Jacobsen, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, led the discussion for the United States. The talks this morning focused on an agreement the U.S. has had with Cuba for the last 17 years, where 20,000 visas are issued to Cubans each year.

As was expected and customary for these twice-yearly meetings, the topic of immigration quickly turned to other issues between the two countries, including the U.S.’s trade embargo and Cuba’s detention of Alan Gross, an American accused of spying.

To read the full story, please visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/12/AR2011011202450.html

USCIS Implements Help HAITI Act of 2010

2011-01-06T12:14:00.004-07:00

On January 3, 2011 the United States Citizenship & Immigration Service announced the implementation of the Help HAITI Act of 2010; a law aimed at granting Lawful Permanent Resident status to certain orphaned children devastated by the Haiti Earthquake and paroled into the United States under the Haitian Orphan Parole Program.

To be eligible, children must: 1) file aForm I-485; Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, with fee, on or before December 9, 2013; 2) have been inspected and granted parole into the United States under the humanitarian parole policy announced by the Secretary of Homeland Security on January 18, 2010(this program was closed to new parole requests on April 15, 2010); 3) be admissible to the United States as an immigrant, however visa and passport requirements are waived; and 4) be physically present in the United States on the date the application is filed and on the date that CIS makes a decision on the case. Importantly, CIS states that it is not necessary for a U.S. citizen to adopt a Haitian parolee in order for the Haitian parolee to obtain a green card under the Help HAITI Act of 2010. However, adoption by a U.S. citizen will be necessary for the Haitian parolee to obtain automatic citizenship under section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

The Act will serve to give opportunity never known before by these orphans whose lives were so completely altered by the earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010.

Colorado to use Secure Communities Program

2011-01-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week 9News in Denver reported that Colorado Governor, Bill Ritter, signed a memorandum of understanding with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to begin using the program Secure Communities. Secure Communities allows local law enforcement agencies to run the fingerprints of alleged criminals through state and federal websites to check their immigration status.

Congress set aside $1.4 billion to expand Secure Communities and ICE hopes to have it operating in every jail in the country by 2013. Thirty-five other states are currently participating in the program, as well.

To read the full story, please visit http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=173517&catid=222

U.S. States Again Take Aim at “Birthright Citizenship”

2011-01-05T16:54:00.000-07:00

Today the Washington Post reported that state representatives from across the country are joining ranks to support legislation that would deny U.S. Citizenship to children born in the U.S. whose parents are undocumented.

This effort is aimed at the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which currently grants citizenship to all children born within the United States. The proposal would challenge the current interpretation of the 14th Amendment, and would require that all children born in the U.S. have at least one parent who is a permanent resident or citizen to qualify for U.S. citizenship. The strategy is reported to be explicitly designed to draw legal challenges, and the proponents are hoping that it will force the Supreme Court to ultimately and explicitly decide on the application of the 14th Amendment. Proponents of the new strategy said they would revive the concept of “state citizenship” and would then draw a distinction between children born to parents with and without status. The states would issue a different birth certificate to children of permanent residents and U.S. citizens, versus the birth certificate issued to children born to undocumented immigrants, tourists, and foreign students.

Pennsylvania State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R) reported that he was planning to introduce legislation within weeks in Pennsylvania, and that legislators in about 40 states had expressed support, including Virginia, Arizona, Nebraska, Alabama, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah.

The Washington Post further reported that opponents of the proposal are calling the challenge racially motivated, and directed at Latino persons. They cite past challenges to the 14th Amendment, raised in the context of challenging the legitimacy of African American, Chinese American and Japanese American citizenship. Further, many of the opponents cite Supreme Court rulings over the past hundred years that uphold the current interpretation of the 14th Amendment: that every child born in this country is an American.

To read the full article, visit: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/05/AR2011010503134.html?hpid=topnews

Immigrant Father of U.S. Marine Faces Deportation

2010-12-30T13:26:00.000-07:00

The Washington Post published a story today on the possible deportation of an illegal immigrant father of a Marine in Kentucky. Juan Andres, a citizen of Guatemala, came to the U.S. as a teenager; he is now 41. Mr. Andres has five U.S. Citizen children, one of which is a Marine awaiting deployment to Afghanistan.

On December 9th of this year Mr. Andres was arrested after accompanying a friend to an immigration office in Louisville, Kentucky to act as a translator. An official in the office suspected Mr. Andres was not in legal status and he was arrested.

According to the immigration attorney of Mr. Andres, they are asking that his case go before an immigration judge. If he is granted a hearing, Mr. Andres will be seeking ten year cancellation of removal, in an attempt to become a permanent resident. Mr. Andres is currently in immigration custody awaiting a hearing.

To read the full story, please click http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/30/AR2010123002115.html

Senate Fails to Pass DREAM Act

2010-12-21T09:40:00.003-07:00

The Senate voted 55-41 against the DREAM Act on December 18, 2010. The unfavorable vote ended the hope of passing the bill this session. The bill fell five votes short of overcoming a Republican filibuster on Saturday. Sixty votes were necessary for the bill to succeed.

Senator Richard Durbin, one of the main backers of the DREAM Act, has pledged to continue fighting for the bill. However, with the swearing in of a majority Republican senate in January 2011, the DREAM Act will face a steep uphill battle.

President Barack Obama estimated that the DREAM Act would have “cut the deficit by $2.2 billion over the next 10 years.” The bill offered as many as 11 million undocumented individuals a path to legal status through education or military service. An estimated 65,000 undocumented students will graduate from high school in the next year, who may have benefited from the DREAM Act.

Hundreds of undocumented students, who had risked exposure in support of the DREAM Act, held vigil in the Senate Gallery during the vote on Saturday. When the Senate failed to pass the bill, the students gathered in prayer with hope for a better future.

Questionable Rights in Removal Proceedings for Immigrants with Mental Diabilities

2010-12-13T17:06:00.005-07:00

The Legal Action Center of the American Immigration Council issued a report recently on the treatment in removal proceedings of immigrants with mental disabilities. In contrast to the criminal justice system, there are no safeguards in removal proceedings for respondents with mental disabilities. To be sure, unreported numbers of noncitizens with mental disabilities are deported each year before anyone assesses their mental capabilities or psychological well-being.

As reported by the Legal Action Center, this is an alarming and urgent issue based on numerous reports of the mistaken deportation of U.S. citizens with mental disabilities. In a recent case before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), the Legal Action Center argued that the current immigration laws do not provide sufficient protection to noncitizens with mental disabilities. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had appealed this particular case after the immigration judge terminated removal proceedings when he determined that the respondent could not understand the charges against him, among other issues. After the Legal Action Center submitted its brief, DHS withdrew its appeal, and the BIA dismissed the case, leaving the Immigration Judge's decision as the final one.

The Legal Action Center is correct that the current immigration regulations provide no safeguards for immigrants suffering from mental incapacity. Specifically, there are no procedures in place for ensuring that these respondents receive a full and fair hearing. Although respondents in immigration proceedings are not afforded many of the rights that defendants in criminal proceedings receive - such as the opportunity to undergo a psychological evaluation - the discrepancy in treatment of those with mental disabilities should not be overlooked.

Red the Legal Action Center's report here.

House Passes DREAM Act, Senate Vote Likely Today

2010-12-09T08:37:00.003-07:00

By a 216-198 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday passed the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors ("DREAM") Act, setting the stage for a vote in the Senate today.

The DREAM Act was drafted as a way to create a path to legal status for immigrants who were brought to this country illegally when they were under the age of 16. To qualify, the applicant would have to have lived in the United States for at least five years, obtain a high school or GED diploma, demonstrate that they are a person of good moral character, and attend college or serve in the armed forces for at least two years.

By most accounts, the DREAM Act faces an uphill battle in the Senate where it is likely to require 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.

To read the CNN article on the House vote, click here.

DREAM Act Would Reduce Deficit Over Ten Year Period

2010-12-03T14:00:00.002-07:00

The DREAM Act, a bill under consideration by Congress which would create a pathway to citizenship for the children of undocumented workers who meet certain requirements, would reduce the deficit by $1.4 billion over the next 10 years according to a Congressional Budget Office ("CBO"), and independent and nonpartisan agency. The deficit reduction would come as a result of the increase in revenues by having a larger pool of authorized workers.

The CBO report indicates that the longterm effects of the DREAM Act on the deficit are less clear and could potentially increase the deficit after 2020 when beneficiaries of the DREAM Act are eligible to become lawful permanent residents. But according to an article in the Huffington Post by Elise Foley, DREAM Act proponents argue that such longterm projections fail to take into account that beneficiaries of the DREAM Act will enter higher paying jobs over time and will thus increase revenue through paying more taxes.

The DREAM Act is expected to come up for a vote during the current lame-duck session.

To see the CBO report, click here.

First-Ever Fee Waiver Form from USCIS

2010-12-03T11:32:00.000-07:00

Last week U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that on November 23, 2010, they introduced a standardized form for requesting waivers of the fees charged for immigration-benefit processing. Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver, is now available for use.

Before form I-912 was introduced, USCIS received many concerns about not having a standardized form to request a fee waiver. The lack of a fee waiver form led to confusion about the criteria and standards used to approve the fee waivers. The new form identifies clear requirements and instructions.

For more information, please visit: www.uscis.gov

Military Naturalizations at Record Levels

2010-11-12T14:30:00.002-07:00

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") naturalized over 11,000 members of the United States armed forces during the 2010 fiscal year. The announcement, coming on the week of Veterans' Day, indicated that this is the highest number of service members naturalized in one year since 1955. The USCIS press release quotes USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas as saying:

“As our nation’s immigration agency, USCIS makes every effort to provide members of the military and their families with exceptional access to our services. We are proud to partner with the Department of Defense in these efforts."

USCIS's commendable commitment to serving members of the military and their families is something that every member of the armed forces should know about and take advantage of if it can help them or their families. To read the USCIS press release, click here.

The 11th Annual Cross-Border Crime Forum Ministerial

2010-11-11T13:23:00.001-07:00

On November 10, 2010, officials from the United States and Canada met during the 11th annual Cross-Border Crime Forum (CBCF) Ministerial to discuss crime and border safety. The purpose of the CBCF is to enhance cooperation “on key cross-border crime and security issues,” focusing on cross-border investigations and the resulting prosecutions. Some of the issues discussed by officials include terrorism, mass-marketing fraud, and organized crime. The two nations also discussed the possibility of streamlining information sharing and enforcement efforts.

In addition to participating in the CBCF, officials from both the United States and Canada took part in the official signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the Sharing of Currency Seizure Information. This MOU will create a notification protocol for both countries when border officers on either side of the U.S.-Canadian border intercept more than $10,000. This type of protocol will help identify potential threats and assist in money-laundering and terrorist-financing investigations.

To read more about the proceedings at the CBCF, please visit: http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1011/101110washington.htm

Twenty-Three New Immigration Judges Sworn In

2010-11-09T10:18:00.002-07:00

On November 5, 2010 a swearing-in ceremony was held for twenty-three new Immigration Judges, increasing the number of judges serving the United States' fifty-nine Immigration Courts from 239 to 262. The ceremony was held at the headquarters of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) in Falls Church, VA. Chief Immigration Judge Brian M. O'Leary says that EOIR expects "...to further enhance the corps by additional immigration judges before the end of the calendar year." The new judges will serve courts in several states, including California, Florida, Colorado and Texas. One hopes that adding to the judicial roles in this way will help reduce the time gap between initial and final hearings. For further information, and for information on the individual judges, see:

http://www.justice.gov/eoir/press/2010/IJInvestiture11052010.pdf

USCIS to Begin Bilingual Information Series

2010-11-08T16:42:00.000-07:00

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services started this fall the first in a series of public engagement sessions that will be in Spanish. The sessions will occur each quarter, and each session will focus on a specific immigration-related topic. The sessions will be broadcast via live webinars, teleconferences, and will also include opportunities for in-person engagements. Each session will have a question-and-answer period.

The series is part of the USCIS’ continued efforts to expand its outreach to the communities they serve. Learn more about these efforts and opportunities to engage in dialogue with USCIS here: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

Prisons + Profit = SB1070?

2010-11-05T15:46:00.003-06:00

A recent story by National Public Radio details the origins of Arizona's controversial Senate Bill 1070 ("SB 1070"). According to the report, a company called Corrections Corporation of America sent executives to a meeting with Arizona state Senator Russell Pearce. Corrections Corporation of America reports reveal that the Corrections Corporation of America is aggressively pursuing the immigrant detention market and expecting a significant portion of its revenue from contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

At their meeting, the company executives and Senator Pearce discussed created a model for the bill that would months later become the finalized version of SB 1070. The NPR story reports that the sponsors of the legislation soon began to receive significant campaign donations from the same private prison corporations that had been pushing the bill.

In sum, the same corporations that will profit enormously from the increased "civil" detention of immigrants pushed and helped formulate the policy to increase instances of such detention in Arizona. This may be a good way to increase corporate profits but it sure is a vulgar way to make public policy.

Read the NPR piece here.

Increased USCIS Filing Fees to go Into Effect This Month

2010-11-01T14:59:00.000-06:00

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted a reminder on its website that the new fee schedule for application and petition fees will go into effect on November 23, 2010. All applications and petitions postmarked or filed on or after this date must include the new fee, or they will be rejected.

The new fee schedule was published on September 24, 2010. Filing fees will increase by an average of 10%. To view a complete schedule of fees, which includes the existing fees and the new fees that will take effect on November 23, please visit:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=92c5e116de9eb210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

Boulder Restaurant Owner Pleads Guilty to Harboring

2010-10-29T14:49:00.003-06:00

Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") announced this week that a Boulder resident was convicted of one count of harboring illegal aliens and one count of failure to pay taxes. The man, who pleaded guilty in Federal District Court, was a citizen of Thailand who is in the United States on an E-2 investor visa.

According to the plea agreement, from 2001 the man would sponsor Thai nationals to come work in his three Boulder area restaurants. He would then force them to pay him exorbitant fees to pay him back for his bringing them here, work them overtime without reporting such work to the IRS, and attempt to charge them $18,000 if they violated any term of his "contract" or caused him any damage. He faces up to ten years imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine for the harboring conviction and up to five years imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine for the failure to pay taxes conviction.

To read ICE's news release on the matter, click here.

Private Prison Industry is Catalyst for AZ Immigration Law

2010-10-29T13:52:00.005-06:00

As heated debates over SB 1070 - Arizona's new immigration law - continue to rage, few are concerned over who drafted the controversial legislation. That could change, however, with the recent publication of a story on NPR's Morning Edition, exposing the forces at work behind SB 1070.

During the first few months of the law's litigious aftermath, NPR poured over corporate and campaign finance records. The records revealed that the private prison industry not only promoted Arizona's law, but actually helped draft it based on a business model designed to imprison undocumented immigrants.

SB 1070 took shape last December at the meeting of a group called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) - a membership organization of state legislators and high powered corporations including, ExxonMobil, the National Rifle Associate, and Corrections Corporation of America - the largest private prison company in the country. NPR reports that Corrections Corporation of America identifies immigrant detention as its next target market. With this goal in mind, ALEC drafted a bill at its December meeting, which later became - almost word for word - SB 1070.

Among others, the Geo Group, a private company that contracts with the government to manage the immigration detention center in Aurora, Colorado, provided donations to the bill's co-sponsors.

Read NPR's startling report in its entirety here.

DHS and Mexico Cooperate to Reduce Crime at the Southwest Border

2010-10-29T13:26:00.000-06:00

On October 22, 2010, twenty-four Mexican Customs officers graduated from the inaugural Mexican Customs Investigator Training (MEXIT) in Charleston, S.C. The 10 week training session, modeled on the U.S. ICE Special Agent Training Program, was designed to train Mexican law enforcement officials to more effectively identify and fight crime along the southern border and within Mexico. The training and graduation represents the continuing effort of DHS/ICE to partner with Mexico in combating drug cartels; money laundering; weapons, drug, and human trafficking; and other criminal organizations that operate across the U.S.-Mexico border, threatening the security of people living in both countries.

The training included instruction in both Mexican and U.S. customs law, as well as an emphasis on investigative techniques and officer safety. Both Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Mexican Secretary of Finance, Ernesto Cordero Arroyo, attended the graduation ceremony. In an ICE news release, Secretary Napolitano said that fighting the drug cartels “demands a response that is transnational and coordinated,” while Secretary Cordero remarked that “A well-functioning border is an opportunity for growth – it opens doors to commercial exchange, peace, progress, and human development.” The training is designed to lead to more cooperation and information sharing so both countries can more effectively fight crime on the border.

The Mexican Customs Investigator Training is part of a multiyear, Department of State-led initiative designed to provide assistance to Mexico and Central America to better equip law enforcement agencies to complete their missions. So far, the United States has contributed $1.4 billion in aid for Mexico through the initiative. President Obama is committed to shared responsibility with President Felipe Calderón and the government of Mexico to secure the Southwest border and ensure the security of both nations.

Read more:
http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1010/101022northcharleston2.htm

Ninth Circuit Ruling Affects Religious Worker Adjustment of Status Applications

2010-10-28T15:39:00.001-06:00

On October 13, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a mandate overturning the permanent injunction ordered by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington allowing special immigrant religious workers to file their Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, concurrently with the organizations' Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant. Ruiz-Diaz v. USA, No. 09-35734 (9th Cir. Aug. 20, 2010). What this means for Religious Workers going forward is that jointly filed I-360; Petitions and I-485 Applications all must be into the United States Citizenship & Immigration Service on or before November 7, 2010. Any joint filed petitions/application received on November 8, 2010 or after will be rejected.

Many Religious workers will be adversely affected by this ruling, and must now scramble to have their organization file the petition and application in six days, ensure that their non-immigrant status will somehow be maintained, or depart the country if they cannot maintain non-immigrant status until their I-360 petition is approved and immigrant visa process through the United States Consulate abroad. For more information on this ruling, see: http://aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=33492

Redesigned Naturalization Certificates

2010-10-27T09:00:00.001-06:00

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced this week that they have redesigned the Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550) with new security features as an additional effort to reduce fraud in the immigration system. As of Monday, October 25, 2010, all USCIS offices began using the redesigned certificates.

These new certificates feature a digitized photo of the naturalization candidate, along with his or her signature embedded into the document. The background of the certificates has a color-shifting ink pattern and USCIS are now using a more secure printing process.

Along with redesigning the certificate, USCIS also announced that by the end of the year, they will be using an automated production process for the new certificates. Automating the production process will increase consistency and shorten the time it takes to prepare certificates. USCIS offices in Denver, Atlanta, and Baltimore will be the first to implement the automated process, which begins this week.

USCIS also note that previously issued Certificates of Naturalization are still valid.

For more information on the redesigned Certificate of Naturalization, please visit: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=d7592699c75db210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner Calls for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

2010-10-21T10:40:00.003-06:00

In remarks addressed to the Migration Policy Institute, Customs and Border Patrol ("CBP") Commissioner Alan Bersin detailed recent accomplishments and future goals of the agency's enforcement efforts at the border. Refreshingly, he also indicated an understanding that immigration at root is a matter of labor markets and challenged the country to tackle the tough issues in order to enact comprehensive immigration reform. Commissioner Bersin identified three key elements that must be included for successful reform. First, he indicated that the Federal government must continue to take the responsibility to secure the borders. Second, a reform needs to implement responsibility and accountability from employers. Finally, he indicated that those currently here without status must be required to register, admit that they are present in violation of the law, pay a fine and back-taxes, and learn English to get started on the path to citizenship. Commissioner Bersin aptly concluded his remarks with a challenge to Congress to "move past the false debates and start focusing on the long term needs of our nation."

Read the CBP Commissioner's remarks in their entirety here.

Border Arrests Down

2010-10-20T12:04:00.000-06:00

A southern Colorado television station reported yesterday that border patrol arrests along the U.S.-Mexico border are down for the fifth straight year. According to Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano, there has been a 17 percent drop in arrests between 2009 and 2010, due to increased enforcement along the border that is slowing illegal immigration. There are currently 20,500 border patrol agents stationed along the border, which is an all-time high.

To read the complete article, please visit http://www.kktv.com/news/headlines/Border_Arrests_Down_Seventeen_Percent_105251658.html

Abercrombie & ICE

2010-10-19T08:58:00.002-06:00

On September 28, 2010 ICE reached a settlement with clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch as a result of an I-9 Notice of Inspection ("NOI") issued to that company in November 2008. The inspection brought to light "technology-related deficiencies" but no knowing hires of unauthorized aliens. Despite this fact, as well as Abercrombie's cooperation in the inspection and in resolving the technical problems, the company was assessed a fine of slightly more than $1 million. Brian M. Moskowitz, special agent in charge of ICE HSI for Ohio and Michigan, hopes that the settlement with Abercrombie will "...serve as a warning to other companies that may not yet take the verification process seriously...." For additional information and details, see http://www.subjecttoinquiry.com/

Department of Homeland Security Continues Increased Enforcement of Employer Sanctions Laws

2010-10-18T12:40:00.001-06:00

As an election draws closer, the current Administration continues to push enforcement of employer sanctions laws. On Friday, October 15, 2010, three individuals in Miami-Dade, FL pled guilty to harboring undocumented aliens rather than face lengthy and expensive trials. Luis Daniel, the president of Hialeah-based Daniel Builders, Inc.; his wife Marta Duque; and son, Ariel Daniel, entered guilty pleas to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and conspiracy to induce aliens to remain in the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain. The maximum statutory penalty for these violations is ten years in federal prison and sentencing is on December 10, 2010. The workers were employees of the company, which was a sub-contractor, building an expansion to an elementary school and Daniel Builders, Inc. did not pay overtime, and Social Security and federal income taxes were not withheld from paychecks.

Immigrants Sue Over ICE's 287(g) Program

2010-10-15T14:11:00.002-06:00

Three immigrants in Georgia have filed a lawsuit challenging 287(g), an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) program that allows ICE to delegate some of its responsibilities to local law enforcement.

Specifically, 287(g) allows state and local law enforcement to enter into into a partnership with ICE, so that ICE may delegate to them immigration enforcement duties within their jurisdictions. Before delegating duties, the parties must enter into a Memorandum of Agreement, which defines the scope and limitations of the proposed delegation. The program also requires a 4-week training program.

Currently, in Colorado, both the El Paso County Sheriff's Office and the Colorado Department of Public Safety have agreements with ICE under 287(g).

The 287(g) program has been criticized by immigrant rights groups for promoting deportation for minor offenses, such as traffic violations, as opposed to focusing on serious crime; leading to racial profiling and; creating a fear of police among immigrant communities.

The Georgia lawsuit alleges that ICE has failed in its training and supervision duties under the program. It further asserts that ICE has improperly delegated its power.

Read more here.

USCIS Travel to Sea to Welcome New Citizens

2010-10-14T14:39:00.000-06:00

On October 9, 2010, the Deputy Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Bangkok District Office, Stacy Strong, traveled out to sea on board the USS George Washington Navy aircraft carrier to provide immigration training to the crew and to direct a naturalization ceremony for 22 sailors from nine different countries.

Two days before the actual ceremony, Strong and another USCIS officer boarded the ship in order to interview the citizenship candidates and administer the naturalization test. They also conducted immigration training and outreach to the ship’s legal staff and crew. During the officers’ stay, other sailors aboard the aircraft carrier learned that USCIS expedite naturalization applications for members of the military and they began working with the legal staff to start the naturalization process.

For more information on immigration services and benefits for members of the U.S. armed forces and their families, please visit http://www.uscis.gov/military.

To read the complete article on USCIS’ trip to sea, please visit http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=4e800d1fd9bab210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

Citizenship After One Hundred Years

2010-10-12T16:16:00.003-06:00

Over one hundred years ago Eulalia Garcia Maturey's mother brought her to the United States. She simply boarded a ferry with her baby girl in her arms and crossed the river to Brownsville, Texas. Things were simpler in 1909. In 1940 Congress passed the World War II Alien Registration Act requiring, among other things, that noncitizens register with the government. Eulalia complied, and on April 4, 1941 was issued a Certificate of Lawful Entry. She did not really understand what this meant, but in 2008, Eulalia knew she had to find out. So her niece took her to the USCIS office in Brownsville to see what they could learn. Not surprisingly, Eulalia's name was not found in the agency's computer system. Fortunately, she had taken care to keep her Certificate of Lawful Entry safe, and that was all the officer needed. Now, one hundred and ten years after her arrival here, Eulalia Garcia Maturey will become a United States citizen. "I was raised her, and I want to die here," she says. For more of Eulalia's story, see:

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/10/11/101woman.citizen.document/

Local Governments Cannot Opt Out of the “Secure Communities” Program

2010-10-12T14:45:00.000-06:00

“Secure Communities” is Immigration & Customs Enforcement’s “comprehensive strategy to improve and modernize the identification and removal of criminal aliens from the United States.” Put into practice, when a person is arrested and routinely fingerprinted, even for a something as routine as a traffic infraction, their fingerprint check is run against a database maintained by the Department of Homeland Security. The goal is to discover if that individual has any immigration violations as well, and if so they are often turned over to the custody of ICE. Some communities, including Arlington County, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Santa Clara County in California, have voted to opt out of participating in the Secure Communities program. Officials cite that the program can lead to racial profiling. However, because the agreement is between the federal government and state governments, not the local governments, ICE announced last Friday that local leadership cannot opt out of participation. ICE director John Morton announced that he would meet with local leaders to discuss this issue if they wished.

Read more:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/08/AR2010100805657.html

http://www.ice.gov/secure_communities/

Record High Deportations from U.S.

2010-10-08T16:35:00.003-06:00

On October 6, 2010, Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") announced that it had deported more people in fiscal year 2010 than in any year in history. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and ICE Director John Morton announced that they had deported 392,000 people. According to ICE, more than 195,000 of the people deported had been convicted of some crime.

While those who see enforcement as the only important policy piece of our immigration system will likely be happy to see the record numbers, one has to wonder whether the immigration court staff is growing at an similar rate in order to ensure that all are afforded full and meaningful due process before being removed.

To see the ICE announcement, click here.

For a New York Times article on the record numbers, click here.

Human Rights Watch Drafts Letter to Secretary Napolitano On Immigration Detainers

2010-10-06T14:09:00.002-06:00

The international organization Human Rights Watch released a letter to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano commenting on the new Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") draft detainer policy. The draft detainer policy was drafted with the goal of clarifying and standardizing the circumstances that should lead to ICE placing immigration detainers on foreign nationals held by local law enforcement agencies. While Human Rights Watch applauded DHS for its attempt to formalize a detainer policy, it pointed out that the current draft policy does not do enough to safeguard the rights of detained immigrants.

Importantly, the draft policy does not include any requirement that there be a clear legal basis for the issuance of a detainer and does not provide detainees with any grounds to challenge their custody under a detainer. Human Rights Watch also suggests that ICE implement data tracking systems on the duration of time individuals spend in the custody of local law enforcement due to ICE-issued detainers, how many people are held under detainer who are not ultimately served with a Notice to Appear, the underlying basis for detainers, and the immigration status of persons held under detainer (including how many U.S. Citizens are mistakenly held on detainers).

To read the complete letter to Secretary Napolitano, click here.

Open Houses at USCIS Offices

2010-10-06T14:01:00.000-06:00

On Tuesday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on its website that it will be hosting open houses at its offices across the country for community stakeholders and the general public. The open houses are for the community to learn more about USCIS programs and to meet USCIS personnel. Attendees of the USCIS open houses will be able to tour USCIS offices and watch mock naturalization interviews.

The open house for the USCIS Denver Office will be on October 25, 2010, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. To view a list of open houses for other USCIS offices, visit http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=f87f9d6fd9c7b210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

To read more about the open houses, please visit http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=95a921e7bcc7b210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=a2dd6d26d17df110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD

USCIS Brings Naturalization Ceremony to Troops Stationed Overseas

2010-10-05T14:51:00.000-06:00

Since September 2001, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has naturalized more than 63,800 members of the military in ceremonies across the United States and in 21 countries. Last Friday, October 1, 2010, USCIS conducted the first naturalization ceremony to be held at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. In keeping with the commitment to “bring immigration services to the troops wherever they serve,” USCIS officials administered the oath of naturalization to 88 service men and women. Currently, USCIS offers a streamlined naturalization process for permanent residents who are on active duty with the U.S. military. Expedited naturalization processing is also available to the spouses and children of U.S. citizen military members, provided they meet all eligibility requirements and their U.S. Citizen spouse has been deployed abroad for a year or more.

Find more information on citizenship and services available to U.S. military personnel at USCIS’ website:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill Introduced in the Senate

2010-09-30T10:19:00.000-06:00

Today, in an effort to reform the irretrievably broken immigration laws, Senators Menendez and Leahy have introduced the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010 (S. 3932). http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=33248

Going outside the norm and not giving the bill any long detailed name, and just calling it what it is, the 874 page bill attempts to address border issues, interior enforcement issues, worksite enforcement issues, reform the current system for legal immigration to bring it into the 21st century, address the current undocumented population, and other reforms.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association has developed a summary of the bill, which can be found here: http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=33249.

Major Colorado ICE Operation Leads to Arrests

2010-09-29T15:21:00.004-06:00

According to the Denver Post, Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") has just completed a three-day operation which led to the arrest of 78 immigrants in towns across Colorado and in the town of Wamsutter, Wyoming. Using a law called Reinstatement of Removal, ICE has stated that those with prior orders of removal will be immediately removed from the country. Those subjected to Reinstatement of Removal will not have the opportunity to present a case for relief from removal in front of an immigration judge.

Read the full article from the Denver Post here.

Secure Communities Program goes Statewide in Texas

2010-09-29T12:09:00.000-06:00

It was announced today that the federal program, Secure Communities, which automatically checks the immigration status of arrested individuals upon fingerprinting, is being implemented statewide in Texas. While many local jails have used the Secure Communities program for years, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported that the program is now active in all 254 counties in Texas. ICE report that the use of this program has resulted in more than 41,000 deportations of illegal immigrants nationwide.

To read the complete article, please visit http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7223407.html

Immigration Reform A Central Issue in 2010 Election Debates

2010-09-27T15:23:00.001-06:00

Several states, including Colorado, have both Senate and Gubernatorial elections this November. Although always a controversial issue, immigration policy is again a point of disagreement between political candidates, a fact that was showcased at the recent debates.

On Saturday, candidates for Colorado governor debated for the first time. Democratic candidate John Hickenlooper, Republican Dan Maes, and American Constitution Party candidate Tom Tancredo met to discuss their opinions on everything from charitable giving, to decreasing the size of government, to immigration. Tancredo accused Hickenlooper, the current Denver Mayor, of running a “sanctuary city.” He further claimed that because Hickenlooper had encouraged Denver to become a “sanctuary city” he had made it a “magnet” for undocumented immigrants. Hickenlooper firmly denied the labeling of Denver as a “sanctuary city.” Denver CBS news quotes Hickenlooper as responding, "The bottom line, it goes to every large city, every small city in this country, or almost everyone, we have the same challenges. There is not space in the prisons for everyone the Congressman wants us to put in jail." None of the candidates presented a clear plan for how they would address the issue of undocumented immigrants currently living in the state.

Immigration reform was also an issue in last week’s debate between Colorado’s Senate candidates Michael Bennet and Ken Buck. Bennet, the Democratic incumbent, is a co-sponsor of a federal bill to allow in-state tuition for some undocumented college students who are in the country illegally but came to the country as small children. Buck said he opposed extending in-state tuition without asking undocumented students to agree to military or community service as a way to earn their education.

See more coverage of the Colorado debates:
http://cbs4denver.com/campaign2010/buck.bennet.debate.2.1920033.html
http://cbs4denver.com/news/governors.debate.maes.2.1893985.html

Mexican Journalists Flee Drug War to Seek Asylum in the United States

2010-09-24T14:01:00.004-06:00

Mexican journalists, reporting and opining on the drug-related violence in Mexico, have become a prime target for the warring cartels.

NPR recently reported that the war has claimed more than 28,000 lives. And more than thirty reporters have been killed or disappeared since 2006. In response, Mexican President Felipe Calderon announced a series of measures designed to protect journalists covering the country's drug war.

Despite Calderon's attention, journalists are fleeing to the United States to seek asylum. However, only one Mexican journalist - Jorge Luis Aguirre - has been granted asylum since the cartel war erupted. Unfortunately, asylum officers and immigration judges tend to assume that most Mexican asylum seekers are simply victims of widespread, random violence, which is an insufficient basis on which to assert a successful claim.

Nonetheless, journalists remain hopeful that Aguirre's case will open the door for more approvals.

Read more here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130087939

DHS Announces Registration Period for 2012 Diversity Visa Lottery

2010-09-24T12:13:00.006-06:00

Registration for the 2012 Diversity Visa Lottery Program opens at noon on October 5, 2010. Electronic applications for entry must be received on or before noon on November 3, 2010.

Annually the Department of State (DOS) administers the Diversity Visa Lottery Program which makes available up to 55,000 visas for qualified citizens and nationals of select countries. Department of State has made available 50,000 visas for the 2012 Diversity Visa Lottery. Individuals from the following countries are not eligible to apply during the 2012 Diversity Visa Lottery Program registration period:

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.

*Persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan are eligible for the 2012 Diversity Lottery

Individuals of the above designated countries may still be eligible to apply based on cross-chargeability. For example, if an individual’s spouse is a national or citizen of a country not listed above, the individual may be eligible to apply for the diversity lottery. Instructions on determining eligibility, preparing, and submitting an application for the 2012 Diversity Visa Lottery Program are available on the DOS website.

New for the 2012 Diversity Lottery Program, DOS is administering the entire process electronically. Applicants selected for the lottery will not receive notification of selection in the mail or email. Instead, on or after May 1, 2011, applicants should check the status of their applications on-line on the E-DV website.

Individuals need to remember the program is a lottery. DOS will select up to 100,000 applicants to participate in the lottery. DOS will assign an individual a number designating his/her place in the visa lottery. The applicant must check the status of his/her designated visa number and, if selected for a visa, the date of his/her interview on the E-DV website. If the applicant is scheduled for an interview, he/she will need to provide additional evidence to qualify for permanent residence, including educational and professional documentation per the DOS instructions.

Please note that the DOS does NOT collect a fee to participate in the diversity lottery. Further, DOS does not employ or designate any outside consultants or websites to administer the lottery or complete applications. Using the services of an outside consultant or submitting an application on an unauthorized website does not increase your chances of selection in the lottery. If an eligible applicate is unable to file or desires assistance with preparing the application, we would recommend seeking assistance from a licensed attorney who specializes in immigration. A licensed attorney may charge for legal services to assist you in the process.

ICE Helps to Arrest Gang Members in New Orleans

2010-09-24T10:23:00.001-06:00

Yesterday U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported that its office, along with the Offices of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and various local law enforcement agencies in the New Orleans area, arrested twenty-eight individuals with ties to the MS-13 and Latin Kings street gangs. After a three-day operation in the New Orleans area, the twenty-eight individuals are now facing criminal charges or deportation. Of the twenty-eight arrested, eighteen are from Mexico, six are from Honduras, three are from El Salvador, and one is from Guatemala.

These arrests were made as part of Operation Community Shield, which is “an ongoing initiative by the ICE HSI National Gang Unit in which the agency uses its powerful immigration and customs authorities in a coordinated strategy to attack and dismantle criminal street gangs across the country.” According to the article, HSI’s National Gang Unit “identifies violent street gangs and develops intelligence on their membership, associates, criminal activities and international movements” in order to stop gang operations.

Operation Community Shield began in February 2005, and to-date, ICE agents nationwide have arrested more than 18,000 gang members and gang associates, who are frequently foreign-born individuals involved in human and contraband smuggling, immigration violations and other crimes with a connection to the border.

For more information, please visit http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1009/100923neworleans.htm

New Fees Effective November 23, 2010

2010-09-24T09:39:00.002-06:00

Department of Homeland Security published in the Federal Register today, September 24, 2010, that the new fee schedule for US Citizenship and Immigration Service benefits will go into effect on November 23, 2010. All "[a]pplications or petitions mailed, postmarked, or otherwise filed on or after November 23, 2010 must include the new fee." The fee increase applies to applications and petitions in all immigration benefit catagories.

Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert to Testify in Capitol Hill on Immigration Reform

2010-09-23T17:00:00.000-06:00

Following his summer-long campaign “Take Our Jobs,” a joint campaign with the United Farm Workers meant to challenge the idea that illegal immigrants are “taking American jobs,” Comedy Central’s satirical host of “The Colbert Report” will testify this Friday on Capitol Hill. Mr. Colbert will appear before the U.S. House of Representatives committee meeting on undocumented agricultural workers. The hearing, Protecting America's Harvest, is about the bipartisan-sponsored AgJOBS bill, currently under consideration in both the House and the Senate. The bill would grant a path to legal status for undocumented farm workers provided they continue to work in agriculture. Not everyone is pleased by Mr. Colbert’s planned attendance, and many consider that Mr. Colbert’s inexpert testimony will make the hearing into a joke. As Utah Republican Representative Jason Chaffetz told ABC News, "It'll be entertaining. He's the best fake newscaster in the country, and it's fitting for this fake hearing to have Colbert."

Read more on the hearing and Colbert’s “Take Our Jobs” campaign at:
http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_16156329
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/stephen-colbert-testify-congress-republicans-laughing/story?id=11708891
www.takeourjobs.org

DHS Increases Filing Fees - Final Rule

2010-09-23T12:39:00.006-06:00

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today issued an advance copy of the final rule to increase certain government filing fees. USCIS will publish the final rule in the Federal Register on September 24, 2010. The advance copy does not provide an effective date.

Not all fees will increase, but the majority of fees have been increased "by a weighted average of 10 percent." USCIS also added three new fee categories for Regional Center Designation under Immigrant Investor Pilot Program, Civil Surgeon Designation, and Department of Homeland Security Processing of Immigrant Visa requests. The final rule "finalizes the interim rule that established the premium processing service and fees," but also increases the premium processing filing fee for inflation from $1000 to $1225. For selected applications or petitions, an applicant or petitioner may file a premium processing fee to expedite the process and require that the government respond to the petition or application within 15 calendar days.

DHS explains in the final rule that the increase in fees comes as the result of a comprehensive review of costs related to processing and the conclusion that the current fees do not properly cover the true cost of processing. For example, the fee for travel documents for asylees and refugees was decreased from $305 to $135. The Naturalization Application fee remains the same, $595, although the accompanying biometric fee has increased to $85, for a total of $680 to file a Form N-400 Application for Naturalization, if the applicant is not an armed services veteran.

Other changes to common benefits include an increase in fees for Form I-485 Application to Adjust Status from $930 to $985, plus the increased biometric fee, for a total of $1070. Form I-130 Petitions for Alien Relatives have increased from $355 to $420. Form I-129 Petitions for Nonimmigrant Workers, which include H-1Bs, L-1s, and O & P nonimmigrant status, has increased from $32o to $325.

State Department on Facebook?

2010-09-22T11:13:00.003-06:00

It's true. In response to the American public's demand for a government they can "be part of," and that actually works, the U.S. Department of State has launched a Facebook page. The goal is to better "...engage the American people" and to allow them to share stories and express their views and concerns about foreign affairs issues. Subjects of posts for this week include comments on the flooding in Pakistan, USAID's progress towards meeting its goals, and transcripts of statements made by DOS officials. The page, which can be accessed without an account, provides valuable information, as well as links to State Department sites, and allows for comments by visitors on all posts. It can be accessed at:

http://www.facebook.com/EngageStateDept

DREAM Diverted

2010-09-21T16:04:00.001-06:00

Last week, United States Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stated that he was going to add the DREAM Act as an amendment to the 2011 fiscal year defense bill, S. 3434. Today, when the motion to proceed to consideration came up for vote it failed to reach the 60 votes necessary to proceed. Senator Reid switched his vote on the motion to a “no” vote so that he could save the possibility of bringing the bill up again later.

This serves as a blow to millions of children who were brought here under the age of sixteen by their parents and are currently undocumented. The DREAM Act would allow these individuals, if they have been accepted to college, have a high school diploma or GED, to obtain Lawful Permanent Resident status.

The saddest part about the vote today is that those that are not in favor of immigration reform were able to tout this as “amnesty” when it clearly is not; using terms like “granting citizenship” and “disguised amnesty” continue to harm opportunities for young people educated in the United States who have no other way of obtaining any lawful status. These people are therefore either forced to return to a country that they have no actual memory of or remain in the shadows, further deepening a rift in classes and igniting deeper tensions in an already disturbing debate on immigration reform.
http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=33166

Denver Post Editorial: Denver is No Sanctuary City

2010-09-16T13:57:00.004-06:00

The Denver Post released an editorial on September 13, 2010 refuting the assertion that Denver is a sanctuary city for undocumented immigrants. As pointed out in the Post's editorial, the notion that the undocumented are safe from deportation simply because they are with the Denver city limits is demonstrably false.

The Post cites Denver's efforts to join the Secure Communities program and a city ordinance requiring contstruction contrators to verify the immigration status of empoyees in order to gain city contracts as evidence that Denver is not turning a blind eye to illegal immigration.

Read the full Denver Post editorial here.

ICE Rescues Individuals Held in Los Angeles Area Residence and Continues Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking

2010-09-16T10:31:00.000-06:00

Immigration & Customs Enforcement officials rescued 44 individuals being held in a house in Riverside, California, following a tip from a concerned relative. The relative called police, saying that the smugglers had threatened to kill his relative, who was being held because the family had been unable to make another payment to secure his release. Los Angeles police in turn alerted ICE to the human smugglers.

After a thorough search of the suspected neighborhood, ICE agents discovered the human smuggling "drop house" in the Riverside area. All 44 individuals were in a small bedroom at the back of the house. The windows were boarded up and the room's only door was locked from the outside. As a further deterrent against escape, all of the individuals had been stripped of their shoes. Some had gone days without food.

Human smuggling is a brutal reality, and remains a problem. As part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) "Blue Campaign", ICE has continued its efforts to educate the public about the plight of human trafficking victims. Recently, they have placed an anti-trafficking message in foreign language newspapers across the United States; it will appear in Chinese, English, Korean, Thai, and Spanish. The advertisements highlight some of the indicators of human trafficking. The public can notify ICE by calling 1-866-DHS-2-ICE if they suspect that someone is being exploited.

To read more about Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s involvement in these activities:
http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1009/100908riverside.htm
http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1009/100916washingtondc.htm

Senate May Reconsider DREAM Act Next Week

2010-09-15T09:18:00.005-06:00

The Senate may reconsider the DREAM Act again as early as next week. Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced in his blog posted September 14, 2010, that he intends to add the DREAM Act to the Defense Authorization bill which the Senate will vote on next week. The DREAM Act would not be alone as an added amendment to this upcoming defense bill; also included as an amendment to the defense bill, the equally controversial repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which would allow gays and lesbians to openly serve in the military.

The DREAM Act would allow students who came to the United States under the age of 16, and who have been present in the United States for more than five years, to obtain their permanent residence if they complete college or join the military. In many cases these children have been in the United States since they were too young to remember their home country and have been raised as Americans. Most often they were brought to the United States by their parents and did not have a choice in or even knowledge of their immigration. If the children were removed from the United States, we would be sending them home to a “foreign country.” The DREAM Act gives these children an opportunity to become involved and productive members of the American society.

The Senate last considered the DREAM Act as a stand-alone bill in 2007. In 2007, it was narrowly defeated by 8 votes. If passed by the Senate, the Act would still undergo scrutiny in the conference committee reconciliation and would then be up for a vote in both the Senate and House of Representatives. Presently the House of Representative’s defense bill does not include the DREAM Act amendment.

Board of Immigration Appeals Rules on In Absentia Notice Requirements

2010-09-14T11:36:00.001-06:00

Individuals with orders of removal in absentia in the Eleventh Circuit received a potential boost today when the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) held that its decision in Matter of G-Y-R applies within the Eleventh Circuit.

In 2001 the BIA handed down its decision on Matter of G-Y-R-, 23 I&N Dec. 181 (BIA 2001), holding that entry of an in absentia order of removal is inappropriate where the record reflects that the alien did not receive, or could not be charged with receiving, the Notice to Appear that was served by mail at an address obtained from documents filed with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The BIA determined that section 239(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), authorizes the entry of an in absentia order only after the respondent receives the warnings and advisals contained in the Notice to Appear. Id. at 187.

Later, in 2002, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that it is not a violation of due process to require foreign nationals to inform the government when their address has changed, and that, in fact “aliens have an affirmative duty to notify the Government of a change of address.” Dominguez v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 284 F.3d 1258 (11th Cir. 2002). This decision was made without reference to the BIA’s determination in Matter of G-Y-R. Because the DHS had provided notice to the most recent address provided by the alien in that case, the court held that she received proper notice, even though she had moved. Id. at 1260. In reaching that conclusion, the Eleventh Circuit stated that “an alien’s failure to provide a change of address will preclude the alien from claiming that the DHS did not provide proper notice.”; therefore making an in absentia order valid even if the foreign national did not receive the notice to appear, if they had moved and not informed the government of their new address.

Since 2002 the Board of Immigration Appeals has consistently applied its decision in Matter of G-Y-R- in all appellate circuits except the Eleventh, however, in its recent decision in Matter of Jorge Anyelo, 25 I&N Dec. 337 (BIA 2010), the BIA has determined that the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in the Dominguez case is not in contradiction with Matter of G-Y-R, and therefore Matter of G-Y-R- should be applied uniformly in cases like this one, arising within the Eleventh Circuit.

The BIA has stated in its decision in Matter of Jorge Anyelo, that in making an interpretation of the statute, the phrase “address provided under section 239(a)(1)(F) of the Act” in section 240(b)(5) of the Act means that an Immigration Judge’s authority to enter an in absentia order of removal was contained in that section, and that the Immigration Judge could exercise that authority only if it was established that the written notice complied with section 239(a), which requires the notice to contain warnings and advisals that the alien “must immediately provide (or have provided) the Attorney General with a written record of an address and telephone number (if any) at which the alien may be contacted respecting proceedings under section 240.” INA § 239(a)(1)(F).

The Eleventh’s Circuit’s decision in Dominguez was primarily devoted to the issue of due process rather than statutory interpretation and hence it noted an alien’s affirmative duty to provide the Government with a correct address. The decision also cited section 239(c) of the Act, which states that service by mail is sufficient if there is proof of attempted delivery at an alien’s last known address provided in accordance with section 239(a)(1)(F) of the Act.

In Matter of Jorge Anyelo, the BIA indicates that it does not disagree with the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in Dominguez that due process is not violated by a statute that found notice adequate if sent to an alien’s last provided address. The BIA is stating that, as it held in Matter of G-Y-R-, section 240(b)(5) is not such a statute and that an Immigration Judge therefore has no authority to order an alien’s removal from the United States in absentia unless the alien has received (or can be properly charged with receiving), at his last provided address, the section 239(a)(1)(F) warnings and advisals contained in the Notice to Appear.

Therefore, according to the BIA, the holding in Matter of Jorge Anyelo is in fact consistent with Dominguez, in that the Eleventh Circuit’s decision states that the “statute clearly provides that notice to the alien at the most recent address provided by the alien is sufficient notice.” Dominguez v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 284 F.3d at 1260. And because the court in Dominguez never considered the BIA’s holding in Matter of G-Y-R, that an address does not qualify as “one provided under section 239(a)(1)(F)” unless the notice with the necessary warnings and advisals was received at the most recent address provided because 239(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) authorizes the entry of an in absentia order only after the respondent receives the warnings and advisals contained in the Notice to Appear.

The BIA has now stated that it will hereafter apply its holding in Matter of G-Y-R to cases in the Eleventh Circuit, as that decision is in fact consistent with the decision in Dominguez.

USCIS to Celebrate Constitution Day and Citizenship Day by Welcoming New Citizens

2010-09-14T10:33:00.001-06:00

In honor of this week’s Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will welcome more than 9,000 new citizens during special naturalization ceremonies. For the celebration, USCIS is working with the National Park Service to host naturalization ceremonies at twenty-two national park sites across the country from September 13 to September 24.

Highlights from this year’s celebration include a ceremony on September 15 at the foot of the largest giant sequoia in Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park in Three Rivers, California. Twenty-five naturalization candidates will participate in this ceremony. Another sixty candidates will attend their ceremony at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, Missouri on September 17; while yet another naturalization ceremony will take place at the Lincoln National Memorial on September 22.

Additional naturalization ceremonies will be held at other national parks and historic sites around the country, including the Grand Canyon and the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum.

To read more and to view a complete list of the 2010 Constitution Day and Citizenship Day naturalization ceremonies, visit http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=175e1177c6b0b210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=a2dd6d26d17df110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD

Another Side of ICE

2010-09-13T11:41:00.003-06:00

Many of us are only familiar only with the "immigration" side of Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), and do not realize the importance of the "customs" side of the agency. Part of ICE's mission is also to investigate the theft or looting of cultural heritage objects and return them to their country of origin. U.S. customs laws permit ICE to confiscate such treasures, after which they work with experts to authenticate and identify them. Examples in 2010 include the return of a gold bookmark once belonging to Adolph Hitler to Spanish Authorities, and as the return of pre-Columbian and Salvadoran Mayan artifacts to Peru and El Salvador respectively. For information on other artifacts restored to their rightful owners and ICE's efforts in this area, see:

http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/factsheets/cultural-artifacts-repatriation.htm

Department of Labor Delegates Issuance of U Nonimmigrant Status Certificates to Administrator of Wage and Hour Division

2010-09-12T18:35:00.003-06:00

On September, 10, 2010, the Department of Labor delegated the authority to issue U visa certifications to the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division.

U visas are available to victims of crimes who have assisted law enforcement with the investigation and prosecution of the criminal activity. USCIS requires - in almost all cases - a "certification" of the U visa form from law enforcement, the prosecuting attorney, or the judge, if a case goes to trial.

Now, the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division also has regulatory authority to certify a nonimmigrant's U visa form; victims of workplace abuse should seek U visa certification from this agency. The certification authority derives under Section 1513(b) of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 and related Department of Homeland Security regulations. Read the relevant portion of the Federal Register here.

Contractors Indicted in the Largest-Ever Federal Human Trafficking Case

2010-09-10T11:47:00.000-06:00

Earlier this month in Honolulu, Hawaii, the U.S. Justice Department indicted six contractors for engaging in a conspiracy to commit forced labor and document servitude. The contractors, executives of Global Horizons Manpower, are accused of abusing the H2-A guest worker program in 2004 and 2005. The indictment alleges that the company conspired to obtain the forced labor of approximately 400 Thai nationals by enticing them to come to the United States with false promises of lucrative jobs, but then holding them in virtual slavery on farms in Hawaii and Washington State. The defendants made the Thai workers pay high recruiting fees before coming to the United States. Many of the workers were forced to take on crushing debts, secured by their family property and homes, in order to pay the recruitment fees; the indictment further alleges that significant portions of these fees went directly to the defendants themselves. Once in the U.S., the defendants confiscated the workers’ passports and they were forced to live in substandard housing and work for little pay. They were further told that if they complained or fled, they would be fired, arrested, or deported. Most of the workers were unaware of their rights, and felt forced to accept the abuse because if they left, they would be unable to pay off their debts, and so to return home to Thailand would mean their families would lose their land and homes.

This case, the largest human-trafficking case ever brought by the federal government, highlights the continuing need for immigration reform. Clearly there is a need for programs to help low-wage workers know their rights and report abuses, and for stronger legislation to protect the rights of workers coming to the United States.

Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/opinion/08wed2.html?_r=1&ref=immigration-and-emigration
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/September/10-crt-999.html
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2010/09/largest_federal_human_traffick.php

Telephonic Confirmation for NIV Petitions

2010-09-07T10:32:00.003-06:00

The Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) has begun a program of verifying information in employment-based nonimmigrant petitions it is receiving from USCIS. The checks, done mostly by telephone, are random and unannounced, and seek to verify information on the petitioner, the beneficiary, and the position offered. Practice pointers for such telephonic reviews include recommendations that employers obtain the names of callers and confirm their credentials before providing information, that they contact counsel immediately upon receipt of such a call, that they not speak with any government agents or contractors without a witness present, and that they retain complete copies of all petitions and supporting documents filed with USCIS. Employers should also remember that information obtained through this verification process can be used in the postadjudication process and/or could be referred to USCIS or ICE for further investigation. Further information can be found at:

http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/article.asp?articleid=109140&email_access=on

Legal Costs to Defend Arizona’s Immigration Law to top $1 Million

2010-09-03T13:10:00.000-06:00

USA Today reports that defending the state of Arizona against lawsuits related to its new immigration law could cost more than $1 million. To date, more than $440,000 have been paid in legal fees; and these fees only account for charges incurred through the end of June. Legal costs related to the lawsuit filed in July by the U.S. Department of Justice have not yet been calculated.

Jan Brewer, Governor of Arizona, has a legal defense fund, which is used to fund the state’s legal expenses. Taking in to account all of the current outstanding bills, expenses could top $1 million or more.

Since Arizona’s immigration law took effect on July 29, seven federal lawsuits have been filed.

To read more, please visit: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-09-03-arizona-lawsuits_N.htm

Number of Undocumented Living in U.S. Drops

2010-09-02T14:52:00.002-06:00

A new study finds that the number of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. has dropped for the first time in two decades. The estimated number of undocumented decreased by 8% from its all-time high of 12 million in 2007. Whether the drop should be attributed more to tougher enforcement measures or a struggling economy is sure to be the subject of contention.

For more on this story, see the AP article here.

New Report Indicates Decrease in Unlawful Entries to the United States

2010-09-01T11:53:00.002-06:00

According to a study released by the Pew Hispanic Center last week, for the first time in decades there has been a significant decrease in the numbers of people attempting to unlawfully enter the United States each year. Since the year 2000, attempted entries to the United States have decreased by almost 67%, down from about 850,000 in the period from 2000- 2005, to about 300,000 in the years between 2007 & 2009. The decrease in entries have contributed to an 8% overall reduction in the number of unauthorized immigrants currently living in the United States. Possible factors contributing to the decreased numbers could include the U.S. economic recession or increased U.S. immigration enforcement efforts.

Find the report at: http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=126

DREAM Act Could Impact 700,000 Immigrants

2010-08-29T18:26:00.003-06:00

The Sunday Denver Post included a sad and interesting editorial on the prospective DREAM Act and the 700,000 undocumented immigrants it could impact. The DREAM Act would give conditional permanent residence to young people who enter the country illegally under the age of 16 and attend college or serve in the military.

Daniel Glick of High Country News followed the journey of a young Taiwanese man named Chih Tsung Kao, who illegally entered the United States with his family when he was four years old. Chih attended high school and college (at the Colorado School of Mines) in the United States. After college, Chih refused to spend his life working in the service sector, but couldn't get a job as an engineer. Without options in the United States, Chih made the difficult decision to return to his native Taiwan - where he had a job offer and could contribute to society.

Chih's story is, unfortunately, all too common among teenagers and young adults in the United States. If adopted, the DREAM Act could provide options for children like Chih, who enter the United States unknowingly and are later left completely without options.

Read the Denver Post article here:

http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_15906274

Hope for Detainees

2010-08-27T17:10:00.002-06:00

A memo issued by ICE Assistant Director John Morton on August 20, 2010 offers hopes to thousands of immigrants with applications pending before USCIS. Citing as his objective the promotion of "...the efficient use of government resources, Mr. Morton's new policies include expedited adjudication of applications and petitions for both detained and non-detained aliens, and dismissal without prejudice of certain removal cases "where no serious or adverse factors exist." To read the memo in it's entirety, click here:
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/us/27immig_memo.pdf

Phony Immigration Attorney Indicted on Felony Charges

2010-08-25T15:47:00.004-06:00

The dangers of those posing as immigration lawyers even though they are unlicensed were again highlighted on Monday in New York. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office indicted a man posing to be an immigration lawyer on charges of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, Unauthorized Practice of Law, and violations of various subsections of the Immigration Assistance Services Law. All too typically, this man defrauded people out of thousands of dollars, promised them green cards which never materialized, and disappeared when they tried to contact him about what had happened with their cases. If he is convicted, he could spend more than 7 years in prison.

For the District Attorney's Press Release, click here.

Improved Customer Service on USCIS.gov

2010-08-25T14:48:00.000-06:00

Earlier this month U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the launch of new web features on USCIS.gov that are designed to expand the access of case information for users of the website. These new features are part of USCIS’s commitment to improve customer service and provide improved access to case status information, essentially reducing the need for customers to make InfoPass appointments to speak with a USCIS representative in-person.

The website enhancements include a new online inquiry tool, tailored case status information, and new features for Spanish-speaking users (available at USCIS.gov/espanol). The online inquiry tool allows customers to submit an electronic inquiry directly to a USCIS Field Office or Service Center to request case status information if their application is outside the posted processing times. Unfortunately, this inquiry tool is only available to check the status of an Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card or an Application for Naturalization. However, the response time of USCIS if you use the inquiry tool is now less, as they are committed to responding within 15 days instead of the previous commitment of 30 days.

As for Spanish-speaking customers, they can now receive Spanish e-mail updates about their case status and they can also change their address online in Spanish.

To read more and to access these new features, please visit: USCIS.gov