Immigration Reform Center

A sorry record on immigration

2011-07-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

Opinion: Navarrette: A sorry record on immigration - San Jose Mercury News: "SAN DIEGO -- President Barack Obama is returning to the scene of the lies.
He is scheduled to speak in the next few days at the annual meeting of the National Council of La Raza, one of the nation's largest Latino advocacy groups. The event, in Washington, is expected to draw 25,000 people.
It was during a speech to this same group in July 2008 that then-candidate Obama played the role of simpatico to the Latino community. He condemned immigration raids where 'communities are terrorized,' declared that it was time for a president who 'won't walk away from something as important as comprehensive (immigration) reform,' promised that he would make it 'a top priority' in the first year of his presidency, and insisted that the United States 'cannot and should not deport 12 million people.'
Now, Obama has become what he once criticized. He walked away from immigration reform, continued the raids that terrorize immigrant communities and deported nearly 1 million people. And he has done this not to clear the way for comprehensive reform, but because he sees a political benefit to being tough on illegal immigrants. In the United States, most of the undocumented population is from Mexico, and -- as the head of an immigrant advocacy group told me bluntly -- 'no one ever lost an election by being hard on Mexicans.'"

The DREAM Act To Be Introduced Into the Senate and House on Wednesday, May 11

2011-05-10T22:45:00.000-07:00

For Immediate Release

What: Press Briefing --- The DREAM Act To Be Introduced Into the Senate and House on Wednesday, May 11

Where: Immigrant Legal Resource Center
1663 Mission St., Ste. 602
San Francisco, CA 94103

When: 11 a.m. (briefing will be repeated in a briefer format at 12 noon)
For Further Information: Mark Silverman:, tel: 4l5 305 8217 – mark@ilrc.org
Bay Area contacts: DREAM Act students who are available for interviews: Natalia: at 408 568 2273, can appear in written press or on radio;
Saul, (408) 891 7921, can appear in written press or on radio; Monica, 925 698 9025, all media;

ILRC and Others Commend Senators and Congresspersons for Introducing the DREAM Act on Wednesday, May 11

San Francisco, May 10, 2011 -- The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), other organizations and DREAM Act students commend principal author, Senator Richard Durbin, co-sponsors Senators Boxer and Feinstein of California, and the other co-sponsors in the Senate, and Congressman Berman and other sponsors in the House for their planned introduction of DREAM Act legislation into the Senate and House on Wednesday, May 11th.

The DREAM Act, which based on last session’s provisions of the bills, provides the opportunity for undocumented students who entered the United States as children to obtain legal status if they pursue college education or join the military.

“The DREAM Act is good and fair for these children, good for our economy, and good older Americans who will be depending for the social security on contributions by younger workers and professionals, including the DREAM Act students, and generally good for our country,” stated Mark Silverman, Director of Immigration Policy of the ILRC.

Bipartisan Proposal for Immigration Reform: Charles Schumer and Lindsey Graham's Immigration Proposal

2010-03-18T20:15:00.000-07:00

Today, the Washington Post included an op ed article written by Democratic Senator Charles E. Schumer and Republican Lindsey O. Graham, in which they present the core traits of a bipartisan immigration reform proposal.

There is no doubt this proposal will contribute to the re-initiation of serious discussion about immigration reform.

The article and links are presented below.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/17/AR2010031703115.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

The right way to mend immigration
By Charles E. Schumer and Lindsey O. Graham

Friday, March 19, 2010

Our immigration system is badly broken. Although our borders have become far more secure in recent years, too many people seeking illegal entry get through. We have no way to track whether the millions who enter the United States on valid visas each year leave when they are supposed to. And employers are burdened by a complicated system for verifying workers' immigration status.

Last week we met with President Obama to discuss our draft framework for action on immigration. We expressed our belief that America's security and economic well-being depend on enacting sensible immigration policies.

The answer is simple: Americans overwhelmingly oppose illegal immigration and support legal immigration. Throughout our history, immigrants have contributed to making this country more vibrant and economically dynamic. Once it is clear that in 20 years our nation will not again confront the specter of another 11 million people coming here illegally, Americans will embrace more welcoming immigration policies.

Our plan has four pillars: requiring biometric Social Security cards to ensure that illegal workers cannot get jobs; fulfilling and strengthening our commitments on border security and interior enforcement; creating a process for admitting temporary workers; and implementing a tough but fair path to legalization for those already here.

Besides border security, ending illegal immigration will also require an effective employment verification system that holds employers accountable for hiring illegal workers. A tamper-proof ID system would dramatically decrease illegal immigration, experts have said, and would reduce the government revenue lost when employers and workers here illegally fail to pay taxes.

We would require all U.S. citizens and legal immigrants who want jobs to obtain a high-tech, fraud-proof Social Security card. Each card's unique biometric identifier would be stored only on the card; no government database would house everyone's information. The cards would not contain any private information, medical information or tracking devices. The card would be a high-tech version of the Social Security card that citizens already have.

Prospective employers would be responsible for swiping the cards through a machine to confirm a person's identity and immigration status. Employers who refused to swipe the card or who otherwise knowingly hired unauthorized workers would face stiff fines and, for repeat offenses, prison sentences.

We propose a zero-tolerance policy for gang members, smugglers, terrorists and those who commit other felonies after coming here illegally. We would bolster recent efforts to secure our borders by increasing the Border Patrol's staffing and funding for infrastructure and technology. More personnel would be deployed to the border immediately to fill gaps in apprehension capabilities.

Other steps include expanding domestic enforcement to better apprehend and deport those who commit crimes and completing an entry-exit system that tracks people who enter the United States on legal visas and reports those who overstay their visas to law enforcement databases.

Ending illegal immigration, however, cannot be the sole objective of reform. Developing a rational legal immigration system is essential to ensuring America's future economic prosperity.

Ensuring economic prosperity requires attracting the world's best and brightest. Our legislation would award green cards to immigrants who receive a PhD or master's degree in science, technology, engineering or math from a U.S. university. It makes no sense to educate the world's future inventors and entrepreneurs and then force them to leave when they are able to contribute to our economy.

Our blueprint also creates a rational system for admitting lower-skilled workers. Our current system prohibits lower-skilled immigrants from coming here to earn money and then returning home. Our framework would facilitate this desired circular migration by allowing employers to hire immigrants if they can show they were unsuccessful in recruiting an American to fill an open position; allowing more lower-skilled immigrants to come here when our economy is creating jobs and fewer in a recession; and permitting workers who have succeeded in the workplace, and contributed to their communities over many years, the chance to earn a green card.

For the 11 million immigrants already in this country illegally, we would provide a tough but fair path forward. They would be required to admit they broke the law and to pay their debt to society by performing community service and paying fines and back taxes. These people would be required to pass background checks and be proficient in English before going to the back of the line of prospective immigrants to earn the opportunity to work toward lawful permanent residence.

The American people deserve more than empty rhetoric and impractical calls for mass deportation. We urge the public and our colleagues to join our bipartisan efforts in enacting these reforms.

Charles E. Schumer is a Democratic senator from New York. Lindsey O. Graham is a Republican senator from South Carolina.

Washington Post: Backlog of hearings reaches all-time high in federal immigration courts

2010-03-12T15:53:00.000-08:00

A Washington Post article highlights the bottleneck that exists in the US judicial system, specifically in federal immigration courts:

Backlog of hearings reaches all-time high in federal immigration courts

By N.C. Aizenman

Washington Post Staff Writer

Friday, March 12, 2010; 11:08 AM

The backlog of deportation, political asylum and other cases awaiting a hearing in federal immigration courts has reached an all-time high even as a record number of judge positions remained unfilled, according to a report released today.

The analysis by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC, a nonpartisan research organization at Syracuse University, found that 228,421 cases were awaiting a hearing in the first months of the 2010 fiscal year that began Oct. 1, up 23 percent since the end of the 2008 fiscal year, and 82 percent higher than 10 years ago.

The average wait time for a hearing is also longer than ever: an average of 439 days nationwide, and as long as 713 days in Los Angeles and 612 days in Boston immigration courts. Virginia and Maryland are among the 10 states with longest wait times, averaging 478 and 430 days, respectively.

The complete article can be found here.

Obama looking to give new life to immigration reform - Los Angeles Times

2010-03-06T14:34:00.000-08:00

Today's LA Times reports that on Monday President Obama held a meeting to develop a strategy to advance a comprehensive immigration reform.

The new developments would include possibly making a public announcement on March 21, when an immigration reform march is scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C.

Obama looking to give new life to immigration reform - Los Angeles Times

Interim Manuel: Temporary Protected Status for Haitians in the US

2010-02-24T10:20:00.000-08:00

Below is a manual developed by the San Francisco-based Immigrant Legal Resources Center (ILRC). It is an INTERIM short manual to assist Haitians in the US seeking Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

CHAPTER 1
TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS (TPS)*

1.1 Introduction and General TPS Provisions

Congress, via the Immigration Act of 1990, created temporary protected status (TPS) so that persons from countries that are suffering the effects of civil strife or natural disaster can be allowed to remain legally, though temporarily, in the U.S. Chapter 1 of this manual describes the statutory and regulatory provisions. Chapter 2 provides information with URL links about the current TPS designation for Haiti.

{Note to this 2010 interim updated manual. This short manual was originally published in May 1999. This interim updated version has been written very quickly in February 2010 because practitioners need a guide NOW to assist Haitians who will be applying under the designation of TPS by the Attorney General on January 15, 2010. For this interim update we reviewed the current TPS statutory provisions, and confirmed that these statutory provisions in INA sec. 244 have not changed since our publication of the original manual in 1999. We have not checked the implementing regulations at 8 CFR 244 et seq to check to see if those regulations have changed since 1999. This interim 2010 updated short manual also does not include any updated case law or DHS memorandums since 1999. We did not more thoroughly update or review the original manual so that we could get it to practitioners as soon as possible. We intend to publish a more complete and thoroughly edited 2010 updated manual as soon as possible.}

Under the following specified circumstances, the attorney general may designate a country (or any part of a country) as one whose nationals or habitual residents may be granted TPS:

1. Where the attorney general finds that ongoing armed conflict within the country would pose a serious threat to the personal safety of persons from that country who were forced to return; or
2. Where the attorney general finds that an earthquake, flood, drought, epidemic, or other environmental disaster has caused a substantial but temporary disruption of living conditions in the country; the country would not be able to adequately handle the return of its nationals (and former residents); and it has officially asked to be designated as a country whose nationals are to be granted TPS; or
3. Where the attorney general finds that extraordinary and temporary conditions in the country prevent the safe return of persons to that country, unless permitting those persons to remain temporarily in the U.S. is contrary to the U.S.’s national interest.

The attorney general must publish TPS designations in the Federal Register, and the notice must specify the date on which the TPS program for the particular country takes effect. The initial period of designation may be for no less than 6 months and no more than 18 months. The attorney general must review the designation at least 60 days prior to its termination. At the conclusion of the initial period, the designation may be terminated or extended by notice published in the Federal Register. Typically, only persons who registered for TPS during the initial period are eligible for an extension.

It is completely within the attorney general’s discretion whether to designate a foreign state as one whose nationals, or persons who last habitually resided there, qualify for TPS, and whether to extend the designation; the statute provides that the courts may not review such decisions. The only non-discretionary grant of TPS was where Congress mandated a TPS program for persons from El Salvador to last from January 1, 1991, through June 30, 1992.

Eligible aliens who are in a valid nonimmigrant or other immigration status at the time of TPS designation do not forfeit or relinquish that status. Moreover, the statute provides that, for purposes of adjustment of status, persons granted TPS are considered as being in and maintaining lawful status as nonimmigrants. The legacy INS and now the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have taken the position that this provision does not annul the adjustment requirement of INA section 245(a), 8 U.S.C. section 1255(a), which requires that adjustment applicants have been inspected and admitted or paroled into the U.S. Under this interpretation, TPS aliens who initially entered the U.S. without inspection would not be able to adjust status unless they subsequently left the U.S. and on return were either admitted or paroled. {The INS also took the position that TPS aliens who initially entered without inspection but then traveled abroad and returned pursuant to advance parole after being granted TPS may be barred from adjustment under INA section 245(c), 8 U.S.C. section 1255(c), which bars the adjustment of aliens, other than special immigrants or the immediate relatives of citizens, who failed to maintain lawful status since the date they entered the U.S. We have not reviewed the current DHS position on this issue.

Although the INS initially took the position that TPS aliens returning to the U.S. with advance parole would be paroled in and then placed in exclusion proceedings after their TPS expired, Congress subsequently provided that non-excludable TPS aliens returning to the U.S. must be inspected and admitted rather than paroled into the U.S. Though TPS aliens enjoy these immigration- and employment-related benefits, the statute specifically provides that TPS aliens “shall not be considered to be permanently residing in the U.S. under color of law,” so they are ineligible for many forms of public benefits.

The statute requires the DHS to provide prompt notice of TPS designation to all aliens in removal proceedings who are eligible for the status. Implementation of a TPS program is the responsibility of Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) which is part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). All subsequent references to implementation of TPS are to DHS.

1.2 Eligibility and Application Procedures
To be eligible for TPS, aliens who are nationals or habitual residents of a designated country must meet the following requirements:

1. They must have been physically present in the U.S. continuously since the effective date of the most recent TPS designation of that state
2. They must have resided continuously in the U.S. since such date as the attorney general may designate (i.e., the attorney general may establish a date earlier than the date of TPS designation by which aliens must have been in the U.S. to be eligible for TPS)
3. They must be admissible as immigrants
4. They must not have committed one felony or two or more misdemeanors

The statute provides that brief, casual, and innocent absences, whether or not author¬ized by the attorney general, will not be considered to interrupt the required continuous physi¬cal presence. Also, such absences, as well as brief absences “required by emergency or extenuating circumstances outside the control of the alien,” are not considered to interrupt the required continuous residence.

Applicable Grounds of Inadmissibility: Although TPS applicants are required to be admissible as immigrants, some grounds of inadmissibility do not apply to them, such as: the grounds of Public Charge, Labor Certification, Unqualified Physicians and Documentation requirements. Additionally, many of the inadmissibility grounds that do apply can be waived. TPS applicants may request such waivers on Form I 601. One should bear in mind that there are still various inadmissibility grounds that cannot be waived.

Bars Not Listed in the Statute: A person who is subject to reinstatement of removal pursuant to INA § 241(a)(5) is probably barred from TPS. However, as of 1999 it had not been established by federal courts whether this may be applied retroactively either to people who were deported or returned to the U.S. prior to the effective date of this provision. The bars to discretionary relief found in INA §§ 240(b)(7), 240B(d), and 240A(c) or in the parallel provisions in the INA prior to IIRIRA should not apply because TPS is not a discretionary remedy.

Application Procedures: To obtain TPS, eligible aliens must register with the INS. To register, they must sub¬mit the following forms:

1. Form I 765 (Application for Employment Authorization Document)
2. Form I 821 (TPS form)
3. Two identification photographs {WE NEED TO confirmed in this update that the specifications are still -1/2" x 1-1/2" OR DELETE THIS INFORMATION XX}
4. Supporting evidence of identity, nationality, and proof of residence

The DHS will schedule the person to be fingerprinted.
The statute limits the filing fee to $50 for TPS registration. There may be a separate fee for documentation of employment authorization.. In addition, the applicant should submit a separate check or money order for fingerprinting. A fee waiver is available for applicants who can establish that their expenses exceed their income.

1.3 Annual Registration Requirement

XX {EDITING – CHECK IN PARTICULAR TO SEE IF STILL ACCURATE PER REGS} According to 8 CFR §244.17, persons granted TPS are required to register annually with the INS. This registration requirement applies to nationals of foreign states that have been designated or re-designated for more than one year as a TPS beneficiary under INA §244(b). Registration is accomplished by mailing or submitting in person Forms I-821 and I-765 within the 30 day period prior to the anniversary of the grant of TPS. Generally, registration by mail completes the registration requirement, however, the DHS may request a beneficiary to appear in person. If this happens, the failure to appear without good cause is considered a failure to register. The failure to register annually as required by 8 CFR §244.17 results in the withdrawal of the beneficiary’s Temporary Protected Status.

1.4 Risks and Benefits of Applying for TPS

The benefits of obtaining TPS listed in the statute INA §244 include:

a) Protection against deportation and detention §244(d)(4);
b) Employment authorization §244(a)(1)(b);
c) The ability to travel abroad with the permission of the DHS (advance parole) §244(c)(4)(B).

In addition, the time that a person is a beneficiary of TPS should not count as unlawful presence for purposes of the three and ten year bars. INA §212(a)(9)(B).

{The risk of applying is that once the period of TPS has expired the DHS might place the person in removal proceedings. At the time of the writing of this update in 2010, we do not know what the likelihood of this risk is. It should be noted that TPS recipients are required to register their address annually with the DHS in most circumstances as discussed in § 1.3. An important practical question is what the DHS does after the TPS period has ended. Is it likely that the Service will send a NTA (Notice To Appear) to the person? If the person has moved after the termination of TPS, but before the Service issues a NTA, may the Service base in absentia hearings on that notice given that the person had no ongoing obligation to continue to apprise the Service of his or her address?}

1.5 Persons With Prior Deportation/Removal Orders and Related Issues

Bars for in absentia removal or deportation orders and overstaying voluntary departure to not apply to TPS:

The bars to discretionary relief found in INA 240(b)(7) for an in absentia deportation or removal order do not apply to TPS. The provision lists specifically the relief (such as adjustment of status) for which a person is barred. TPS is not included. Similarly, the bars to relief for failing to depart pursuant to voluntary departure found in INA 240B(d) do not include TPS. The General Counsel indicated sometime before March 1999 that no motion to reopen is required to apply for TPS. This is consistent with the experience with Honduran and Nicaraguan TPS.

URL “APPENDICES”:

Below is the URL for the relevant statutory provisions in section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.f6da51a2342135be7e9d7a10e0dc91a0/?vgnextoid=fa7e539dc4bed010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=fa7e539dc4bed010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCRD&CH=act

Below is the URL for the TPS implementing regulations at 8 CFR 244 et seq.

http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_01/8cfr244_01.html

CHAPTER 2
TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS (TPS)
FOR HAITIANS

The Attorney General designated Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) on January 15, 2010 due to the devastation caused by earthquake that country. Haiti was designated to these countries pursuant to INA § 244 (b)(1)(B) allowing such a designation for environmental disasters. The designation is currently scheduled to end on July 20, 2010. To be eligible, a Haitian has to have resided in the United States on or before January 12, 2010.

Immediately below is the USCIS summary of the provisions of the designation of Haiti for TPS.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=9236745543256210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=9cf75869c9326210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

Immediately below is a more detailed summary on the USCIS website of the provisions of the designation of Haiti for TPS.

Immediately below is a more detailed USCIS description of Haitian TPS.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=848f7f2ef0745210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=848f7f2ef0745210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

Immediately below is the TPS designation of Haiti in the Federal Register.

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-1169.htm

Immediately below is a USCIS description of the TPS designation of Haiti in French.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=9aaa4f3d66446210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=9cf75869c9326210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

Five myths about the 2010 Census and the U.S. population - washingtonpost.com

2010-02-15T11:08:00.000-08:00

Five myths about the 2010 Census and the U.S. population - washingtonpost.com

National Immigration Forum: Temporary Protected Status Granted to Haitians

2010-02-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

National Immigration Forum - Policy Center

NILC: The Economic Benefits of the DREAM Act and the Student Adjustment Act

2009-09-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

Below is a fact sheet prepared by the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), discussing the benefits of the DREAM Act and the Student Adjustment Act. More information is available at the Dream Activist website (http://www.dreamactivist.org/)

NATIONAL IMMIGRATION LAW CENTER

The Economic Benefits of the DREAM Act and the Student Adjustment Act
February 2005

■ Introduction
The DREAM Act (Student Adjustment Act in the House) is bipartisan legislation pending in
Congress to clear up the immigration status of and address federal barriers to education and workconfronted by the U.S.-raised children of undocumented immigrants.

Under current law, about 65,000 students graduate from American high schools each year
who have been in the United States more than 5 years but who face limited prospects for
completing their education or working legally in the U.S. because they were originally brought
here by parents lacking immigration status. Among those prevented from working legally or
completing their education are valedictorians, honors students, award winners, homecoming
queens, class presidents, and other student leaders.

These young people deserve a fresh start, both in fairness to them and in our own selfinterest.

The pending legislation would address the issue in two ways:
• by providing a mechanism for certain long-term resident immigrant students with good
moral character to apply for legal residency so that they can work and otherwise fully
participate in their communities; and
• by deleting a federal provision that interferes with a state’s right to determine whether these
students qualify as “residents” for purposes of in-state tuition or other state education
benefits.

■ Impact on the Economy
REDUCED DROPOUT RATES
The DREAM Act would reduce the dropout rate of immigrant students. Foreign-born
students represent a significant and growing percentage of the current student population. The
proportion of foreign-born students in grades 6-12 increased from 1.7 to 5.7 percent from 1970
to 1995.

The children of undocumented immigrants are far more likely to drop out of high school than
are students who were born in the U.S. Immigration status and the associated barriers to higher
education contribute to this high dropout rate, which costs taxpayers and the economy billions of
dollars each year. The DREAM Act would eliminate these barriers for thousands of students.
Beyond eliminating barriers, the DREAM Act’s high school graduation requirement would
provide a powerful incentive for students who have not yet achieved legal residency to remain in
school until graduation. The impact of such a requirement for legal residency is impossible to
quantify, but would likely be huge.

INCREASED INCOME AND POSITIVE FISCAL IMPACT

Because the DREAM Act would lead more immigrants to graduate from high school and
college, it would also increase tax revenues and reduce government expenses. This positive fiscal
impact is likely to be quite large. For example, based on estimates in a 1999 RAND study, an
average 30-year-old Mexican immigrant woman who has graduated from college will pay $5,300 more in taxes and cost $3,900 less in criminal justice and welfare expenses each year than if she had dropped out of high school. This amounts to a total annual increased fiscal contribution of more than $9,000 per person.

The increased fiscal contribution would repay the required educational investment within a
few years and thereafter would provide a profit to taxpayers for several decades.

Some of those helped by the DREAM Act would be encouraged to graduate from high school
but would not go on to college. These, too, would greatly increase their fiscal contribution in the
years and decades to come. Almost half, or about $4,200, of the annual increased contribution of
the average 30-year-old Mexican immigrant woman discussed above is due to high school
graduation. The rest is attributable to the effects of college attendance and graduation.

Beyond fiscal impact, the DREAM Act would benefit the economy by significantly
increasing the income of affected immigrants, thereby stimulating spending and investment.
Again using numbers from the RAND study cited above, the average Mexican immigrant woman
who graduates from college as a result of the DREAM Act instead of dropping out would likely
increase her pretax income at age 30 by more than $13,500 per year.

All of these calculations are based solely on the educational advancements that the DREAM
Act would make possible. The income and fiscal contribution of DREAM Act students would
increase an additional amount due to their newly legalized immigration status and consequent
ability to work legally. Studies of the 1986 Reagan-era legalization program showed a dramatic
improvement in income for the newly legalized population. The cumulative impact of the
DREAM Act on the economy could amount to hundreds of billions of dollars.

A LEGAL WORKFORCE
The impact of the DREAM Act would not be limited to increased earnings, tax revenues, and
social services savings. Freeing thousands of young immigrants to join the legal workforce
would also help business and the economy fill crucial needs.

Under current law, most children of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S.
by their parents are unable to complete their education and are forced to work illegally in the cash economy. Many settle for work as domestic servants, day laborers, ambulatory sellers, and
sweatshop factory workers.

The DREAM Act would make tens of thousands of these young people eligible for work
authorization and Social Security numbers, allowing them to participate above-board in the
regular workforce. Once legalized, DREAM Act beneficiaries would be in a position to help fill
some chronic long-term labor needs that economists predict will threaten our economy if not
addressed in coming decades, including those for teachers, nurses, and service employees.

REWARD CHARACTER
Finally, the DREAM Act is good for the economy because it rewards character. These young
people had no say in the decision that resulted in their coming to the U.S., and it is inefficient as
well as wrong for the government to keep them from the achievements that they can earn by their own talent and hard work in the land where they were raised.

Bipartisan Visa Program Could Fix Nation

2009-08-18T14:33:00.001-07:00

Bipartisan Visa Program Could Fix Nation's Illegal Immigration Mess | Daniel Griswold | Cato Institute: Commentary

Posted using ShareThis

New Council on Foreign Relations Report on Immigration Reform: US Immigration Policy

2009-07-08T10:11:00.000-07:00

The Council on Foreign Relations has just issued a new report on immigration reform. The study, "US Immigration Policy", was developed by an independent task force chaired by Jeb Bush and Thomas F. McLarty III.

Below is an overview of the study:

Overview
“The continued failure to devise and implement a sound and sustainable immigration policy threatens to weaken America’s economy, to jeopardize its diplomacy, and to imperil its national security,” concludes a new Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Independent Task Force co-chaired by former Florida governor Jeb Bush and former White House chief of staff Thomas “Mack” McLarty.

“The stakes are too high to fail,” says the report. “If the United States continues to mishandle its immigration policy, it will damage one of the vital underpinnings of American prosperity and security, and could condemn the country to a long, slow decline in its status in the world.” For this reason, the report urges: “The United States needs a fundamental overhaul of its immigration laws.”

U.S. Immigration Policy contends that America has reaped tremendous benefits from opening its doors to immigrants, as well as to students, skilled employees and others who may only live in the country for shorter periods of time. But it warns that “the continued inability of the United States to develop and enforce a workable system of immigration laws threatens to undermine these achievements.”

Directed by CFR Senior Fellow Edward Alden, the CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force on U.S. Immigration Policy reflects the consensus of a bipartisan group of eminent leaders in the fields of immigration policy, homeland security, education, labor, business, academia and human rights. The group urges Congress and the Obama administration to move ahead with immigration reform legislation that achieves three critical goals:

- Reforms the legal immigration system so that it operates more efficiently, responds more accurately to labor market needs, and enhances U.S. competitiveness;

- Restores the integrity of immigration laws through an enforcement regime that strongly discourages employers and employees from operating outside that legal system, secures America’s borders, and levies significant penalties against those who violate the rules;

- Offers a fair, humane, and orderly way to allow many of the roughly twelve million migrants currently living illegally in the United States to earn the right to remain legally.

According to the report, the high level of illegal immigration in the country is increasingly damaging to U.S. national interests—“[it] diminishes respect for the law, creates potential security risks, weakens labor rights, strains U.S. relations with its Mexican neighbor, and unfairly burdens public education and social services in many states.”

But it contends that “no enforcement effort will succeed properly unless the legal channels for coming to the United States can be made to work better.” Therefore, “the U.S. government must invest in creating a working immigration system that alleviates long and counterproductive backlogs and delays, and ensures that whatever laws are enacted by Congress are enforced thoroughly and effectively.”

The Task Force lays out a series of concrete, realistic recommendations for legislation and administrative reforms that would be part of an immigration policy that better serves America’s national interests:

- Comprehensive immigration reform: A new effort to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill should be a first-tier priority for the Obama administration and Congress, and should be started without delay.

- Attracting skilled immigrants: The United States must tackle head-on the growing competition for skilled immigrants from other countries, and make the goal of attracting such immigrants a central component of its immigration policy. The report urges an end to the hard caps on employment-based immigrant visas and skilled work visas in favor of a more flexible system, the elimination of strict nationality quotas, and new opportunities for foreign students earning advanced degrees to remain in the United States after they graduate.

- National security: The Task Force calls for minimizing visa restrictions that impede scientific collaboration, noting that America’s long-term security depends on maintaining its place as a world leader in science and technology. The administration should also permit a broader effort by the U.S. military to recruit recent immigrants who are not yet citizens or green card holders, so as to bolster U.S. military capabilities.

- Employer enforcement: The Task Force supports a mandatory system for verifying those who are authorized to work in the United States, including a workable and reliable biometric verification system with secure documents. Tougher penalties should be levied against those who refuse to comply. It calls employer enforcement “the single most effective and humane enforcement tool available to discourage illegal migration.

- Simplifying, streamlining, and investing in the immigration system: Congress and the Obama administration should establish a high-level independent commission to make recommendations for simplifying the administration and improving the transparency of U.S. immigration laws. The government must redouble its efforts to reduce backlogs and other unnecessary delays by investing in the personnel and technology necessary for handling visa and immigration applications efficiently.

- Improving America’s image abroad: The administration and Congress should launch a comprehensive review of the current security-related restrictions on travel to the United States, with an eye toward lifting restrictions that do not significantly reduce the risk of terrorists or criminals entering the country.

- Border enforcement: The report favors the full implementation of the Secure Border Initiative to gain greater operational control of the country’s borders. It also calls for the expansion of “smart border” initiatives that use information technologies and targeting tools to help distinguish individuals who may pose a security risk to the United States while facilitating easier entry by the vast majority of legitimate visitors and immigrants.

- State and local enforcement: State and local police forces can and should be used to augment federal immigration enforcement capabilities, as long as this does not interfere with their core mission of maintaining safety and security in the communities they serve.

- Earned legalization: The Task Force favors a policy of earned legalization, not amnesty, for many of the illegal immigrants currently living in the United States. The DREAM Act, reintroduced in the 111th Congress, provides the right model by requiring that young people without status who wish to remain in the United States must attend college or perform military service and demonstrate good moral character in order to earn their eligibility for permanent residence.

- Upholding American values: The report identifies three areas that need immediate and serious review—incarceration policies, the severe penalties for minor immigration and criminal violations, and policies on refugees and asylees—and offers steps to address them, including:

o Expand the use of alternatives to detention, such as ankle bracelets or monitoring parolees.

o Allow greater discretion in implementing some of the penalties that were previously passed by Congress, such as the mandatory three, five, and ten year bars for many returning deportees.

o Create an office within the Department of Homeland Security that is responsible for refugee protection, and give greater priority for refugee issues throughout the Department of Homeland Security and in the White House.

The consensus on the bipartisan Task Force around these issues demonstrates that progress on immigration can be achieved. The report concludes that “the United States has the understanding, the capabilities, and the incentives to move forward and create a more intelligent, better functioning immigration system that will serve the country’s interests. It is time to get on with the job.”

The document can be accessed by clicking here.

E-Verify Frequently Asked Questions

2009-07-06T16:26:00.000-07:00

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) has developed a very useful and informative section with answers to the most commny asked questions about E-Verify (originally knows as the Basic Pilot/Employment Eligibility Verification Program).

The information is available by clicking here.

A Sample Question and Answer:

How Does E-Verify Work?

All employers must first complete an I-9 form for every new hire, within 3 business days of the date the employee starts work. The employer and newly-hired employee jointly complete the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form. The form asks for employee’s name and date of birth; social security number; citizenship status; an A number or I-94 number if applicable; documentation to establish work authorization; and proof of identity and expiration date, if applicable. Employees may choose from several documents to prove identity and authorization to work, such as a U.S. passport or unexpired employment authorization card, or a combination of a driver’s license and social security card. Documents must appear genuine. http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/m-274.pdf

An employer then enters information from the I-9 form into the E-Verify system, where it is compared against 425 million records in the Social Security Administration (SSA) database and 60 million records in the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) immigration databases. Most inquiries are resolved within 72 hours. Some inquiries can’t be confirmed instantly by DHS (“tentative nonconfirmation notices”) due to changes in citizenship status, name changes (e.g., marriage/divorce), or typographical errors.

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), 96% of verification inquiries are “instantly” verified. Tentative nonconfirmation notices (information mismatch) account for 2.96% and DHS verification “in process” accounts for 0.95%.

To resolve a nonconfirmation notice, the employee must visit an SSA office or call DHS toll-free. The employee has 8 federal workdays to start resolving the case. About one-half of those who receive a nonconfirmation notice contest the notice. Of these, about half of the employees will follow up.

NYT: Obama-Legislators Meeting A Step in the Right Direction

2009-06-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

In an editorial, the New York Times argues that the meeting held on Thursday between President Barack Obama and the bipartisan group of legislators was encouraging and is a step in the right direction.

Among the achievements of the meeting:

1. A bipartisan working group is created, showing some form of unity to address a difficult and controversial issue that, nevertheless, requires action and innovative policies.

2. Key principles to guide an evental reform are considered.

3. Obama takes the initiative and expresses commitment to achieve a reform.

4. There is time to move forward before next year's electoral processes complicate matters more.

The editorial is available here.

Video and Transcript of President Obama's Meeting with Legislators to Discuss Immigration Reform

2009-06-26T11:53:00.000-07:00

The following is the video and the official transcript of President Obama's meeting with a bipartisan group of legislators to discuss immigration reform.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release June 25, 2009

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AFTER MEETING WITH MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
TO DISCUSS IMMIGRATION

State Dining Room

3:17 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. We have just finished what I consider to be a very productive meeting on one of the most critical issues that I think this nation faces, and that is an immigration system that is broken and needs fixing.

We have members of Congress from both chambers, from parties, who have participated in the meeting and shared a range of ideas. I think the consensus is that despite our inability to get this passed over the last several years, the American people still want to see a solution in which we are tightening up our borders, or cracking down on employers who are using illegal workers in order to drive down wages -- and oftentimes mistreat those workers. And we need a effective way to recognize and legalize the status of undocumented workers who are here.

Now, this is -- there is not by any means consensus across the table. As you can see, we've got a pretty diverse spectrum of folks here. But what I'm encouraged by is that after all the overheated rhetoric and the occasional demagoguery on all sides around this issue, we've got a responsible set of leaders sitting around the table who want to actively get something done and not put it off until a year, two years, three years, five years from now, but to start working on this thing right now.

My administration is fully behind an effort to achieve comprehensive immigration reform. I have asked my Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Janet Napolitano, to lead up a group that is going to be working with a leadership group from both the House and the Senate to start systematically working through these issues from the congressional leaders and those with the relevant jurisdiction. What we've heard is through a process of regular order, they would like to work through these issues both in the House and in the Senate.

In the meantime, administratively there are a couple of things that our administration has already begun to do. The FBI has cleared much of the backlog of immigration background checks that was really holding up the legal immigration process. DHS is already in the process of cracking down on unscrupulous employers, and, in collaboration with the Department of Labor, working to protect those workers from exploitation.

The Department of Homeland Security has also been making good progress in speeding up the processing of citizenship petitions, which has been far too slow for far too long -- and that, by the way, is an area of great consensus, cuts across Democratic and Republican parties, the notion that we've got to make our legal system of immigration much more efficient and effective and customer-friendly than it currently is.

Today I'm pleased to announce a new collaboration between my Chief Information Officer, my Chief Performance Officer, my Chief Technologies Officer and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Office to make the agency much more efficient, much more transparent, much more user-friendly than it has been in the past.

In the next 90 days, USCIS will launch a vastly improved Web site that will, for the first time ever, allow applicants to get updates on their status of their applications via e-mail and text message and online. And anybody who's dealt with families who are trying to deal with -- navigate the immigration system, this is going to save them huge amounts of time standing in line, waiting around, making phone calls, being put on hold. It's an example of some things that we can do administratively even as we're working through difficult issues surrounding comprehensive immigration.

And the idea is very simple here: We're going to leverage cutting-edge technology to reduce the unnecessary paperwork, backlogs, and the lack of transparency that's caused so many people so much heartache.

Now, we all know that comprehensive immigration reform is difficult. We know it's a sensitive and politically volatile issue. One of the things that was said around the table is the American people still don't have enough confidence that Congress and any administration is going to get serious about border security, and so they're concerned that any immigration reform simply will be a short-term legalization of undocumented workers with no long-term solution with respect to future flows of illegal immigration.

What's also been acknowledged is that the 12 million or so undocumented workers are here -- who are not paying taxes in the ways that we'd like them to be paying taxes, who are living in the shadows, that that is a group that we have to deal with in a practical, common-sense way. And I think the American people are ready for us to do so. But it's going to require some heavy lifting, it's going to require a victory of practicality and common sense and good policymaking over short-term politics. That's what I'm committed to doing as President.

I want to especially commend John McCain, who's with me today, because along with folks like Lindsey Graham, he has already paid a significant political cost for doing the right thing. I stand with him, I stand with Nydia Velázquez and others who have taken leadership on this issue. I am confident that if we enter into this with the notion that this is a nation of laws that have to be observed and this is a nation of immigrants, then we're going to create a stronger nation for our children and our grandchildren.

So thank you all for participating. I'm looking forward to us getting busy and getting to work. All right? Thank you.

Oh, and by the way, I hope everybody has got their Hawaiian shirts -- (laughter) -- and their mumus for our luau tonight.

END

Reform Immigration for America: June 1 Kick Off Campaign

2009-06-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

Reform Immigration for America (RIFA) is a nation-wide effort that involves hundreds of community based organizations and other groups who believe that the time has come for a humane and rational comprehensive immigration reform.

Today, on June 1, RIFA participants and their supporters will be kicking off the national campaign in order to generate the necessary public awareness and legislative support to fix America's broken immigration system.

Information about the activities and the goals of RIFA can be found in their website. A map of the activities being held today throughout the nations, as well as a list of organizations holding such events, is found here.

Immigration Works USA Summit in Washington, DC

2009-05-27T12:36:00.000-07:00

Immigration Works USA, a national organization of employers, is organizing a summit in Washington, DC on June 15, in an attempt to lobby Congress to pass an immigration reform.

Below is the information pertaining to the conference that is posted on their website:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ImmigrationWorks USA invites you to a day-long strategy session and lobby day

STORMING THE HILL
Join the business grassroots campaign for immigration reform

WHEN June 15, 2009, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

WHERE Marriott Washington, 1221 22nd Street, NW

WHO SHOULD ATTEND
Employers for immigration reformBusiness owners who rely on immigrant workersTrade association executives who represent themCitizens who believe immigrants are good for America

Mounting evidence suggests that the administration and Congress will make a push to pass immigration reform in 2009, despite the recession. But even with large Democratic majorities in Congress, there can be no hope of enacting new law without Republicans and centrist Democrats. And there can be no hope of mobilizing these lawmakers without vocal support from employers who hire immigrants.

Business owners from across America are gathering in Washington to launch a national advocacy campaign. We’ll discuss our must-haves – what do employers need in a bill? We’ll coordinate strategy – grasstops tactics in the states and a national grassroots mobilization, using the new media to build an army of engaged, informed employers ready to make their views known to Congress.

It’s time to launch a national campaign – business owners standing up for what we need in an immigration bill.

Come to Washington to plan. Come to Washington to build. Come to Washington to make your voice heard with like-minded others from across America.

If you are INTERESTED IN ATTENDING, please email sreagan@ImmigrationWorksUSA.org.

We encourage you to STAY OVER in Washington and meet with your representatives on June 16.

To RESERVE A ROOM at the Marriott Washington, call 800 393-3053.

Welcome!

2009-05-21T22:44:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Immigration Reform Center.

During the next few days we will begin to provide an on-going coverage of the process to achieve an immigration reform in the United States.

There are numerous dimensions to this process, as well as an equal number of opinions and proposals floating around in Washington and throughout the nation. At the same time, the political and legislative scenario has shown an improvement over the situation that has predominated for nearly two decades, and that was described by many, including former president George W. Bush and current president Barack Obama, as a "broken system".

We will follow the developments that take place in the months that follow and offer high quality information and analysis to those concerned with this most significant issue.