immigration Techniques

Asylum-seekers moved to mainland

2010-03-17T08:04:00.000-07:00

MANY Christmas Island asylum-seekers with refugee claims in the final stages of approval have been relocated to low security government-run immigration transit centres in Brisbane and Melbourne since October.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship yesterday confirmed that more than a dozen family groups, unaccompanied minors and single women have been resettled from the Indian Ocean territory to make way for the surge of new asylum-seekers.

That surge has pushed the island's crammed detention centre to bursting point. The centre, with a capacity of 2042, is now holding 1977 immigration detainees.

Those regarded as vulnerable, or in the final stages of immigration processing, are being fast-tracked off the island, said a senior DIAC official, who asked not to be named.

The department denied the detainee transfers meant a change in government policy, despite continued denials by the Rudd government that asylum-seekers on Christmas Island would not be transferred to the mainland because of the surge.

"As the numbers of people increase, then the number of people coming off will also increase as well," the official said.

His comments coincided with the departure yesterday of a mainland-bound department-charter flight believed to be carrying more than 100 people, although not all passengers were asylum-seekers. Last Wednesday, 39 asylum-seekers were flown off the island, 25 being going to special government-run transit accommodation in Brisbane and 14 to Melbourne

Source:theaustralian.com.au

Immigration raid leads to 20 deportations

2010-03-17T07:57:00.000-07:00

IMMIGRATION authorities will send 20 illegal workers back to China after a police raid on a Brisbane food processing plant.

The nine men and 11 women, all Chinese nationals, were working at the Morningside plant in the early hours yesterday.

A criminal warrant was also executed at the factory by the Australian Federal Police and immigration investigators to get evidence of the workers' employment.

Two men detained had their visas cancelled for working in breach of their visa conditions and the remainder of the group had all overstayed their visas.

Investigations are ongoing.

A Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) spokesman said they would pursue with the Director of Public Prosecutions any possible criminal prosecution related to the hiring and exploitation of illegal workers.

"This should serve as a warning that employing illegal workers will not be tolerated and that you can literally lose your workforce overnight,'' the spokesman said.

"All employers need to be aware it is a criminal offence to employ or refer a person for employment where that person is not entitled to work in Australia.''

Employers convicted of illegal worker offences face fines of up to $13,200 and/or two years' imprisonment per illegal worker.

Companies face fines of up to $66,000 per illegal worker.

Source:heraldsun.com.au/

Crackdown on smuggling and immigration off Welsh coast

2010-03-17T07:53:00.000-07:00

A crackdown on organised crime, drug smuggling, illegal immigration and people smuggling on the Welsh coast is being launched.

Coast Watch Wales brings together law enforcement bodies responsible for Wales' 750 miles of coastline.

These include police, coastguards and UK Border Agency officers.

Described as a "maritime Neighbourhood Watch", a single contact point will let boat users and coastal communities make tip-offs about suspicious activity.

With the help of the public, a dedicated team will look to identify vessels and individuals engaged in criminal activity, disrupt their operations and prosecute those involved.

Officers will assess and investigate intelligence provided via the Coast Watch Wales website and e-mail set up for people to pass on information, 24 hours a day.

The public can also phone the Crime Stoppers helpline, which is 0800 555 111, to leave information but are reminded to call 999 for emergencies.

Posters are being placed at key locations from marinas to seaside pubs.

Andy Edwards, deputy chief constable at Dyfed-Powys Police, said: "This is a significant first for Wales showing how everyone concerned with our coastline and the maritime community can work together to safeguard our national borders."
Marc Owen, UK Border Force Director for Wales, said they wanted to create a maritime version of Neighbourhood Watch.

"We're asking maritime communities to help us protect the Welsh coastline by making it simpler to report suspicious activity.

"The UK Border Agency works 365 days a year to prevent illegal immigration and smuggling at the Welsh coast - which forms a large part of the UK's border."

Recent high profile cases of illegal activity off the Welsh coast include Operation Panama Canal which investigated organised crime.

Centred on a business premises at Barry Docks it resulted with the arrest and prosecution of more than 20 people from the UK, Spain, France and Jamaica.

Bales of cocaine

About 400 kilos of cannabis, more than 60 kilos of Class A drugs, 10 kilos of other Class B drugs, two handguns and ammunition were recovered along with a large amount of cash.

The criminal gang had spent months visiting remote beaches and marinas in south and west Wales to conduct reconnaissance and had planned to transport drugs from Jamaica on board a yacht.

In 2008, bales of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than £2m washed up on beaches in north and west Wales.

All were found and reported by the public.

The same year police and UK Border agency officers intercepted a vessel docking at Port Talbot and two Venezuelan men were stopped as they left the ship.

Cocaine with an estimated street value of £500,000 was recovered. One of the men was jailed for 16 years at Swansea Crown Court.

Source:bbc.co.uk

Immigration detainees moved to N.J. protest boost in phone charges

2010-03-17T07:49:00.000-07:00

KEARNY -- Immigration detainees who were moved here when New York City shut its detention center last month face an 800 percent increase in telephone charges to contact relatives or lawyers, according to a report in The New York Times.

The report said more than 180 detainees were moved to the Hudson County Correctional Center here. Phone calls from the center cost more than 89 cents per minute and system was described as difficult to use, according to detainees who contacted the American Bar Association for help. Detainees threatened to conduct a hunger strike.

Source:nj.com/

Keep America a land of hope: A St. Patrick's Day wish -- for our nation to remain a beacon

2010-03-17T07:45:00.000-07:00

This St. Patrick's Day marks a dire economic situation in Ireland. The financial meltdown is sparking increased pressure for emigration to the U.S. in general, and New York in particular.

The flow of Irish immigrants into America directly corresponds to the Emerald Isle's economic status. During the 1990s, when the Celtic Tiger was among the world's most vibrant economies, Americans saw for the first time the seeds of a reverse migration when Irish-Americans sought opportunity in their ancestral home. But the Irish boom has gone bust along with the rest of the world's developed economies, and many who sought solace abroad must now come back to America to make a better life.

Problems facing Irish immigrants are exacerbated by demographic changes in immigration flows in recent decades. These changes, combined with the increasingly anti-immigrant feeling that hard times have always spawned, are conspiring to throw up a virtual "No Irish Need Apply" sign on the American border.

Visas for family reunification are given priority to would-be immigrants, and there are very few legal slots left after the family visas are distributed. At most, only a few hundred spots are left for the Irish, who are placed behind more recent arrivals from Latin America and Asia. Many immigrants with a place further down the list are forced into the shadows of undocumented status.

Irish immigration is best dealt with within the context of comprehensive immigration reform to rationalize and humanize a process for the 11 million undocumented immigrants who already live and work here. President Obama came into office promising such an overhaul, and has moved to finally turn his attention to it this year despite the likelihood of Republican opposition in Congress.

Absent that, there are interim steps that can help all immigrants in staking their claim to the American Dream, including expanding the available pool of legal entry visas for all immigrants.

A legislative reauthorization and expansion of diversity visas for historically underrepresented populations would permit the Irish and others to legally enter this country on the same grounds as recent immigrants who qualified under family reunification.

The DREAM Act would provide a path for legalization to those who arrived as young children with immigrant parents and were raised and educated in America. The DREAM Act would legalize young adults who are American in every way but their paperwork, and relieve pressure on the pool of visas for other immigrants. Congress must pass the legislation. It is the right thing to do.

It is unconscionable that so many Americans have forgotten where they came from, that all of us except Native Americans are immigrants or their descendants. Slamming the door behind us is not only bad policy, it is un-American. It doesn't seem as if it should be necessary to remind decision makers of the contributions Irish-Americans have made to this country, but apparently it still is.

Irish leaders here and abroad are frustrated by Washington's inability to confront a failed immigration policy that robs the United States of the important skills and energy provided by the immigrants that are the backbone of American life.

To honor the contributions of all immigrants, indeed to honor America, we should commit again this St. Patrick's Day to finally embrace and enact comprehensive immigration reform.

O'Dwyer, a lawyer in the Manhattan firm of O'Dwyer and Bernstien, is chairman of the Emerald Isle Immigration Center.

Source:nydailynews.com/

Immigration status of all O.C. jail inmates will be checked

2010-03-17T07:41:00.000-07:00

All inmates booked into Orange County jails will have their immigration status checked through a fingerprint identification program that started Tuesday.

Orange County joins 11 other California counties -- including Los Angeles, San Diego and Ventura -- that have started checking the status of inmates against a federal database as part of a national program to identify and deport undocumented immigrants who land in jail. The program, started in late 2008, is in place in dozens of municipalities nationwide.

Under the Secure Communities Initiative, jail officials will check inmates' fingerprints against FBI criminal records and immigration records maintained by the Department of Homeland Security, authorities said. The database houses fingerprints of people who have had contact with the department, such as those who have applied for some type of immigration benefit. Previously, specially trained deputies screened inmates upon arrival in Orange County jails. Those who were foreign-born were checked further for immigration status.

Since the Secure Communities Initiative began, 18,000 immigrants charged with crimes such as murder, kidnapping and rape -- known as Level 1 offenses -- have been identified nationwide. Of those, 4,000 have been deported. An additional 25,000 immigrants charged with lesser crimes such as burglary, domestic violence and some property crimes have been deported.

The program was introduced as Sheriff Sandra Hutchens negotiates with the Department of Homeland Security to house immigration detainees in county jails to help offset a massive budget shortfall.

Source:latimes.com/

Immigration system must be fixed now

2010-03-17T07:36:00.000-07:00

Most liberals and conservatives agree that our immigration system is seriously broken. With over 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., the failure of the current system is apparent. Some lay the blame on undocumented immigrants (or “illegals”) themselves. To the “anti-illegals” crowd, the problem is a lack of border security. They believe that immigrants enter the country illegally simply because they can.

This view illustrates what civil rights activist Lani Guinier calls “blaming the canary in the coal mine.” Back in the day, coal miners brought canaries with them into mines to detect poisonous gas. If the canary croaked, the miners knew to get out ASAP. The situation of undocumented immigrants and other marginalized groups is analogous to the canary in the coalmine. When we see these groups gasping for air, the solution is not to blame the canary, it is to recognize the poisonous environment we all share and act to change it.

Many immigrants lack lawful immigrant status not because it is easy to break our laws but because it is too hard to get legal status under the current system. As Senator McCain wrote in a 2005 editorial, “part of the failure of the existing system is its inability to provide sufficient legal channels to pair willing workers with willing employers.” Another big problem is the gigantic backlog for family-based immigration petitions. For example, according to the US State Dept.’s April 2010 Visa Bulletin, it takes over five years for a legal Mexican immigrant to get a visa for their child or spouse, and up to four years for a legal immigrant from China or India.

For many, the American dream remains elusive because our immigration system is broken. But, although reform is needed, pushing for legislative reform isn’t the only way we can help our local immigrant communities. The most important thing we can do is help change lives, and no change is greater than the opportunity to apply for citizenship.

Benefits of US citizenship include the ability to sponsor relatives and family members so they can immigrate to the US, the freedom to live and work permanently in the US, as well as the fact that a citizen cannot be deported or denied entry into the US. While there are an estimated 12 million undocumented in the US, according to the US Census Bureau there are also 12.6 million immigrants in the US with legal permanent resident status, and one half of them may now be eligible for citizenship.

On April 17, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) will sponsor “Citizenship Day 2010,” a single-day workshop providing assistance to immigrants eligible to become US citizens. This year, AILA will be hosting a citizenship workshop at Hofstra’s Law School. My fellow law students and I who are organizing the workshop are now looking for Hofstra students who are bilingual to assist us on April 17. The workshop also will be open to all Hofstra students and their family members. Legal assistance will be provided for free.

If you or your family member is a legal permanent resident considering becoming a citizen, or if you are otherwise interested in this nationwide effort to bring more people the benefits and blessings of American Citizenship, please contact me at JLESCH2@pride.hofstra.edu for more information.

Source:hofstrachronicle.com/

Phuket Immigration Eyes Expat Trouble-Makers

2010-03-17T05:29:00.000-07:00

THE NEW Superintendent of Phuket Immigration, Police Colonel Panuwat Ruamrak, plans a new data base to keep Phuket free of expat trouble-makers. He has already met with about 10 honorary consuls on Phuket and aims to improve relations with all diplomatic representatives.

German Honorary Consul Dirk Naumann said today that the move was ''very positive'' and that corruption, a distinguishing feature some time ago of Immigration on Phuket, no longer seemed to be evident.
Mr Naumann said the new approach by Immigration, along with the first group meeting of honorary consuls with the governor earlier this year, were positive steps towards solving some of the island's key issues, especially public transport.

Today Colonel Panuwat met Australian honorary consul and resort owner Larry Cunningham, who told him that Phuket ''still has very big problems.'' But he added: ''This governor is doing more that all the past governors.

''The tuk-tuk problem especially has to be fixed.''

Mr Cunningham said that Bali was rising again as a rival for Phuket because tourists were spreading the word about ''the tuk-tuks, the jet-skis, the mafia, the extortion by police.''

''If visitors have a good time, they will tell four or five people,'' Mr Cunningham said. ''If they have a bad time, they will tell 40 or 50 people.''

Mr Cunningham said that because he was a resort owner as well as honorary consul, he was very aware of the negatives on Phuket and wanted them to be corrected as soon as possible.

''It costs 500 baht for a 15-minute journey between Surin and Patong,'' Mr Cunningham said. ''That is extremely expensive.''

Yet, he added, the island represented good value in other ways.

''I took five people to lunch in Rawai recently and it cost me $50,'' he said. ''In Australia it would cost me 10 times that.''

He also said that the changes that the island needs had to be driven from Bangkok by the national government.

''Most of the local Phuket news media do not report the problems, and the Bangkok Post and the Nation never mention them,'' he said. ''As a result, the government in Bangkok does not know what's happening.''

Colonel Panuwat said that the motto of the Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, Lieutenant General Wooti Lippatapanlop, was: ''Make Phuket Clean and Safe.'' As a former Director of Tourism, Lt General Wooti understood the issues well, Colonel Panuwat said.

He said he planned to report regularly on the situation on Phuket and would make sure the information was passed to the Foreign Ministry and the Prime Minister's Department.

Source:phuketwan.com

It is not immigration

2010-03-17T05:26:00.000-07:00

It is not immigration. As fine as most of our Mexican brothers and sisters are, it is "invasion" to enter a country without permission. It is not immigration, and it has to stop.

America must remain free and independent. We cannot survive being overrun by people who do not wish to assimilate, and who do not appreciate the unique treasure of our Constitution or our heritage of freedom.

Yes, we had slavery, but millions of people fought and so many died to end it. Yes, we had discrimination and abuses, but millions of people who believed in the promise of the real America marched, wrote letters, sent telegrams, and voted, and some died to end that bad chapter. Yes, some of this still exists today in America, as it does everywhere, but no other nation in history tells people, "You are born free with unalienable rights from God." No man may take that freedom from you. You have a right and a duty to defend those freedoms.

Allowing the growing influx of immigrants who don't understand the heritage of America — or the countless sacrifices that have made it possible — will lead to the loss of that heritage, and of the promise that is America.

Americans are not against any people. We are made up of all nations. What we are so concerned with is people coming in not learning the language or the history and making no pledge of loyalty to our blessed Constitution — inspired by God, a great gift to the world, a document that has allowed for the greatest prosperity and overall success of any nation ever. Letting too many people come in illegally will lead to the neglect, disrespect, and loss of the protection and power of that great Constitution of the United States. There is no other nation like us, and if anyone has arguments to the contrary, it makes us wonder why they are here.

In 1917, my grandparents came through lawful immigration channels, and had to learn some English, our nation's official language, so they could understand and appreciate our culture. Here we are all Americans — not Irish, not Polish, not Italians, not Jews, not Mexicans, not Africans, though they are all here. We are all Americans first. We all speak English as our primary language. We do not wave foreign flags. None of us want to take over our nation for "The Race."

We Americans appreciate each other. We work together, we help and rescue each other, we defend each other, we wish each other well, we share the World Series and the Super Bowl, and we love George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Santa Clause, and Superman. We fight with each other, then embrace each other, laugh and poke fun at each other's peculiarities, and even give our lives for each other.

We don't mind if immigrants want to join us and become loyal freedom-loving Americans — but we fiercely mind if they want to overrun us and turn our one-of-a-kind gem of a nation into something else, or into the place they fled where there was no free opportunity, no free expression, no freedom to assemble, and no freedom to keep their government in check as "We The People" possess here in America. Stand back and observe the awesome power of a free people as they take back their government in the near future. We will not have to shoot and rampage. We have free political channels to get it done, unless those channels are shut down illegally by any leader wishing to put himself above the law or the will of this people — in which case, stand way back . . . .

Look at it this way, Mr. Illegal Immigrant. What if my eighteen friends and I decide to live in your house, as you discover when you return from work one day soon? We will help out some, but we will need your insurance card, and will be drawing regular "help" from your bank account. As soon as we get the chance, we'll be bringing in our brothers, sisters, uncles, and — sorry — you wouldn't want us to leave out our grandparents, would you? I know it will be difficult, but you can always move out, and so long as we can keep drawing from your account, we can all handle the rent, and oh, my brother says he can handle your job OK. The boss likes him at $5.00/hr. less. So, thanks, we'll be moving in soon!

If the tables were turned on you like this, Mr. Illegal Immigrant, you wouldn't like it any more than we do. Your basic premise, which is that this is an "immigration" problem, is erroneous. "Immigration" is when people are "allowed" and welcomed to enter the United States. When people come across our borders without permission — literally breaking in — it is called an "invasion."

Now the impulsive reaction may be to say, "Racist." No, not at all. We care not who the invaders are or where they are from. We only care that they threaten to overrun our society and harm its stability. We know that many of the Mexican people who come here are very good people. They go to church. They are family people and add to our society. But we also have a big problem of our prisons being too filled with invaders, and all of our resources strained. And yet they keep coming. Not good. Also, there have been many Middle-Eastern marauders caught coming in. How many were not caught?

. . . And, Mr. Illegal Immigrant, are you for amnesty — which would likely open the door even wider to unchecked immigration? If you are for that, then you wish to take over our nation completely, because that is what it would mean with many more millions coming in, with the borders STILL NOT SEALED!

So, I ask you, who has the wrong perspective? I say: #1 — Seal the borders! #2 — Remove all serious offenders from our prisons and parole rolls and deport those criminals back to their country of origin, with a warning that to return would be an act of aggression against the U.S. From that point on, any illegal immigrant who commits a serious crime should be immediately deported upon conviction.

That would be a good start. No more illegal immigrants allowed to invade. Those who are already here and obeying the law should be allowed to go through the customary channels to become legal citizens, if they are prepared to do so, but there should be no amnesty, and absolutely no permission to routinely bring in family members or others. Such a policy is not racist. It is fundamental to the survival of a free and independent America.

Related links

Don't look now! Amnesty is back
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=127604

We March for America
http://reformimmigrationforamerica.org/blog/march-index/

President Obama: "No Amnesty for Illegal Aliens!"
http://www.grassfire.com/117/petition.asp?Ref_ID=3235&RID=11671540

D.C. Immigration "March for America" — Bi-partisan or Bi-national
http://lezgetreal.com/?p=28074

Tea Party Against Amnesty Protests Announced for April 15
http://www.mmdnewswire.com/amnesty-tea-party-7407.html

Joe Legal vs. Jose Illegal
http://blogs4borders.blogspot.com/2009/09/joe-legal-vs-jose-illegal.html

© Neil Brian Goldberg

Source:renewamerica.com

Panel focuses on queer API's and immigration

2010-03-17T05:19:00.000-07:00

The National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance ( NQAPIA ) is currently hosting a series of LGBT immigration public forums in cities across the country. These events are designed to bring about public discussion of comprehensive immigration reform ( CIR ) and to educate LGBT Asian American, South Asian, Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander ( AAPI ) communities and allied organizations on immigrant rights. The group hosted one such exhaustive and detailed presentation March 8 at the Merlo Public Library in partnership with its local members and ally organizations Invisible to Invincible ( I2I ) : Asian and Pacific Islander Pride of Chicago; Trikone-Chicago, an LGBT South Asian Group; and Akabaka Productions, a Queer Muslim Group. The panelists were Ben de Guzman of NQAPIA, Chicago queer Muslim activist Ifti Nasim and local immigration attorney Mimi Wilson.
It is estimated that there are currently 12 million to 15 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. Immigration activists, emboldened by the Obama victory, are pressing for another reform package after one failed to make headway during the Bush years. For LGBTQs, immigration reform is an issue for a number of reasons, including employment status; asylum on the grounds of sexual orientation and romantic partnerships with citizens/permanent residents. The speakers emphasized that the interests of LGBTQs and immigrants are not mutually exclusive.

No one can be denied entry into the United States because of his or her sexual orientation or a same-sex relationship. However, lesbians and gays cannot sponsor their partners for citizenship or permanent residency while married straight people can. Some gay and lesbian groups and immigration groups are attempting to rectify that via the Uniting American Families Act which would exactly replicate the current system of spousal sponsorship. The most famous case currently under review is that of the Philipino-American lesbians Shirley Tan and Jay Mercado, who face separation if Tan is deported because of having been undocumented.

Wilson talked about three ways in which queers might gain entry/citizenship: employment-based, family-based and asylum. Ifti Nasim, a Pakistani Muslim man, spoke of his work and that of SALGA ( the South Asian Lesbian and Gay Association, now largely inactive ) Chicago in aiding appeals for political asylum. Nasim said it has become much harder for Muslims to gain admission after 9/11, let alone gain asylum. For instance, all Muslim immigrants over the age of 16 from 18 countries, including Nasim's native Pakistan, are now subject to greater scrutiny of their visa applications and must register and be fingerprinted.

de Guzman spoke of NQAPIA, which has more than 30 chapters and makes a point of distributing multilingual flyers and information brochures. He said, "We do two things: Work with LGBTs on race and economic issues and with others to address homophobia and transphobia in a way that reflects different experiences and languages." He added that they were "thinking intentionally about whom we are including in CIR. The attempt is to create a transparent process that depends on coalition building."

de Guzman said that the issues of immigration reform were fourfold: a path to citizenship that could bring the undocumented out of the shadows; family reunification petitions; concerns about heightened enforcement and militarized borders and detention centers; and future flow or how to continue making immigration measures more humane. Regarding the Asian American immigrant and queer community, he said that queers faced the fact that "our stories are not part of the mainstream dialogue." In addition, "the LGBT focus in the queer community has been very narrowly focused on binational couples." He was in favor of reform that would help couples like Tan and Mercado, referring to them fondly and proudly as his "sisters." But he also said that mainstream gay groups need to stop using UAFA as a "litmus test" by which to judge their support for CIR, noting that such an attitude indicated a "profound disrespect. … We need a dialogue that covers all four issues."

As an example of heightened enforcement, he spoke of Cambodian refugees who were caught shoplifting and deported on charges of aggravated felonies. ( The heightened charge is a result of a 1996 Act which expanded the definition of "aggravated felony" in immigration law to include minor offenses. ) Queer and transgender immigrants "have very limited access to health care in detention centers that often don't even process women, much less trans people." He added that, " [ W ] hat is required is not the addressing of LGBTs in CIR but LGBT aspects of CIR," and that the current need for reform also indicated a pressing need for "intersectional analysis" and that "it's at the margins, [ amongst queers and transgender people, ] that the boundaries between categories break down." de Guzman also pointed out one of the triumphs of recent LGBT immigration reform issues: the lifting of the HIV ban.

The discussion afterwards focused on local efforts to bring about greater dialogue between communities and their queer members. Members of I2I reported being welcomed when handing out flyers at the recent Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations. There is a mass mobilization for immigration reform in Washington, D.C., March 21. A group calling itself Rainbow Riders will be leading two buses of queer immigrants and allies from Chicago. Jacky Luna, who is a key organizer of the effort, asked for support and donations. The buses leave March 20; requests for more information or about donations may be e-mailed to toci47@hotmail.com .

Source:windycitymediagroup.com/

Immigration reform backers heading to D.C.

2010-03-17T05:14:00.000-07:00

Men and women from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru and other countries are spending their evenings at a Homestead community center writing slogans on large white sheets of paper.

``No More Raids,'' says one. ``No to the Separation of Families,'' reads another. ``Obama, Keep Your Promises,'' says a third.

The placards convey the aspirations of hundreds of undocumented immigrants and their U.S-born supporters who plan to board buses next week in Homestead and other Florida cities to participate in a March 21 march and rally in Washington, D.C. urging President Barack Obama to champion immigration reform.

``I'm going to Washington because the issue affects me personally,'' said Cynthia Moreno, an undocumented Mexican immigrant at Miami Dade College. ``I need the reform for myself, and for the millions of other undocumented immigrants living in the shadows right now.''

Moreno, 19, was one of about a dozen undocumented immigrants and supporters preparing placards this week at the offices of WeCount!, an immigrant rights organization in Homestead.

The rally comes at a time when the Obama administration appears ready to renew the uphill battle to legalize an estimated 10.8 million undocumented immigrants.

On Thursday, immigration reform advocates met with President Obama and were reassured of his commitment. Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., are drafting a bipartisan immigration reform bill.

In a speech last June, Schumer expressed optimism about the legislation, saying that Obama's ``leadership will be the critical difference in getting us over the hump this time around.''

Immigration activists plan to bring tens of thousands of supporters and undocumented immigrants to the nation's capital rally as a way to intensify pressure on the White House to act quickly on immigration reform.

``Florida's participation in the Washington event is remarkable,'' said Ali Noorani, executive director of Washington-based National Immigration Forum, one of the groups involved in organizing the rally.

Noorani said Florida organizers were planning to send 40 busloads to Washington, including about half a dozen from South Florida.

Moreno and the others are hopeful but skeptical of seeing legislation become law.

They desperately want immigration reform so they can stop being fearful of being deported, but are also tired of government promises.

Former President George W. Bush tried -- and failed -- several times to convince Congress to pass an immigration bill, while Obama last year put immigration reform on the back burner to advance healthcare reform.

``We have been fighting for immigration reform for years and nothing has happened,'' said Sebastián Sebastián, a 29-year-old Guatemalan artist in Homestead who will travel to Washington on one of the buses. ``It's time the government fulfills its promises.''

Source:miamiherald.com/

Cardinal Mahony to offer Mass at DC march for immigration reform

2010-03-17T05:10:00.000-07:00

Joined by three other bishops, Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles will offer a Mass for immigrants this Sunday, March 21, preceding an interfaith march for immigration reform.

The march, whose formal name is “March for America: Change Takes Courage and Faith,” is sponsored by 35 Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim organizations. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and its immigration reform campaign (Justice for Immigrants) are not among the sponsors, though Justice for Immigrants has organized Cardinal Mahony’s Mass and is clearly supportive of the march.

Source:catholicculture.org/

Top Republican Dick Armey urges immigration reform, saying GOP is all wrong on immigrants

2010-03-17T05:05:00.000-07:00

If you listen carefully, you can hear the sound of sanity.

Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey is urging the Republican party to rethink its attitude on immigration reform.

"Handle it with some sense of compassion and some sense of civility," he said Monday at he National Press Club.

"The Hispanic-American is the most natural-born constituency for the Republican Party since the Black American was in 1965. And these guys are trying to blow it.

"Just do it right... There is room in America. If you love America, if you love freedom, love work, are willing to pay your way, pay your taxes and obey the law, you should be welcome in America."

Sounds perfectly reasonable, no?

Source:irishcentral.com/

Mission District Mobilizes for Immigration Reform

2010-03-17T05:02:00.000-07:00

An earlier version of this article said there will be 18 buses with 1,000 passengers going to Washington D.C. to march for immigration reform. Those buses will actually be coming to San Francisco on March 24 to march. Only one will go to D.C.. The article also said that the Mission Asset Fund found that 40,000 immigrants were ready to become citizens. It was the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials who concluded that figure. We regret the error.

In what some are calling the largest march in the Obama presidency,a projected 100,000 people will gather in Washington D.C. this Sunday to demand immigration reform.

About a half-dozen of the marchers will be from the Mission District. Tomorrow they will embark on a seven-day bus ride, stopping in eight cities along the way to hold press conferences and fill the 55 spaces on-board.

The march is part of a week of action organized by several local and national groups, ranging from faith-based organizations to labor unions. Activists said their goal is to get Congress to pass a bill this year that will lead to the legalization of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants nationwide.

Some riders are longtime activists, while others, like Oscar Mangandid, a 20-year-old City College student, are newcomers to the cause. "I just want to be part of the momentum," said Mangandid, who got involved three months ago.

A U.S. citizen and Mission resident, he said he is going on this trip for his mother, who came here from El Salvador and recently told him the hardships she underwent when she was undocumented.

Another new activist is Jose Palacios, a legal resident originally from El Salvador. Palacios is not going to Washington but is helping organize the San Francisco effort. Saying that there is "too much injustice," he first became involved because people in his neighborhood were being deported. Read more HERE.

Source:sfgate.com/

Even US immigration hire illegal workers

2010-03-17T04:58:00.000-07:00

A court has been told how a senior ex-official working at US immigration and customs broke rules that she had taken an oath to uphold, when she encouraged her housekeeper to deceive US immigration and stay in the country.

The lady, Lorraine Henderson, who held a very prestigious job as regional director of Homeland security, was caught after a tip off and is currently suspended from the position without pay.

She was caught after the housekeeper, Fabiana Bittencourt, tape recorded her advising ‘not to leave the country’. or otherwise she would ‘not’ be allowed back into the country.

The case stems back to 2003, when Henderson hired the cleaner, but also crucially recommended her to her neighbour and work colleague Nora Ehrlich. In December 2005 all employees at the department for homeland security were advised not to hire illegal workers outside of their sphere of work.

Ehrlich asked Bittencourt of her US immigration status and when she discovered that she was in fact working illegally she promptly released her from her duties, she advised Henderson to do the same. 2 years later when Ehrlich discovered that Henderson was still employing the cleaner she tipped off authorities who arrested Bittencourt, who then co-operated and wore a wire to glean evidence against her employer.

Hendersons lawyer, Francis J. DiMento, had told the judge in the case that his client should not face trial due to a technicality about the nature of immigrant workers, it has however been denied and she will now face trial, where one of the prosecution

Source:globalvisas.com/

Jewish immigration up 17pc in 2009: Israel

2009-12-27T23:18:00.000-08:00

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Jewish immigration to Israel increased in 2009 by 17 per cent compared to the previous year, the first rise in a decade, the government said on Sunday.
According to figures presented by the Jewish Agency, the government body in charge of immigration, 16,244 people immigrated to Israel in 2009, whereas 13,869 had moved to the Jewish state the previous year. “We’ve recorded this year, for the first time in ten years, an increase in the number of immigrants,” the agency’s Chairman Nathan Sharansky told reporters.
Nearly half of the immigrants arrived from former Soviet states, with the rest came mostly from North and South America and Europe. Jewish Agency figures also showed that 331 Jews arrived in 2009 from Muslim states, including Turkey, Morocco and Yemen.
More than three million Jews have immigrated to Israel since its creation in 1948 - including one million from former Soviet states since 1990 - under the Law of Return, which offers citizenship and benefits to Jews from anywhere in the world.

Source:nation.com.pk/

French Mosque’s Symbolism Varies With Beholder

2009-12-27T23:14:00.001-08:00

MARSEILLE, France — The minaret of the new Grand Mosque of Marseille, whose cornerstone will be laid here in April, will be silent — no muezzin, live or recorded, will disturb the neighborhood with the call to prayer. Instead, the minaret will flash a beam of light for a couple of minutes, five times a day.

Bureau Architecture Méditerranée
One rendering of the Grand Mosque of Marseille had a taller minaret than the one now planned.
Normally, the light would be green, for the color of Islam. But Marseille is a port, and green is reserved for signals to ships at sea. Red? No, the firefighters have reserved red.

Instead, said Noureddine Cheikh, the head of the Marseille Mosque Association, the light will almost surely be purple — a rather nightclubby look for such an elegant building.

So is this assimilation? Mr. Cheikh laughs. “I suppose it is,” he said. “It’s a good symbol of assimilation.”

But as Western Europe is plunged into a new bout of anxiety over the impact of post-colonial Muslim immigration — reeling in varying ways from the implications of a recent Swiss vote to ban minarets altogether — some scholars see a destructive dynamic, with assimilation feeding a reaction that, in turn, spawns resentment, particularly among young Muslims.

Vincent Geisser, a scholar of Islam and immigration at the French National Center for Scientific Research, believes that the more Europe’s Muslims establish themselves as a permanent part of the national scene, the more they frighten some who believe that their national identity could be altered forever.

“Today in Europe the fear of Islam crystallizes all other fears,” Mr. Geisser said. “In Switzerland, it’s minarets. In France, it’s the veil, the burqa and the beard.”

The large new mosque, which its builders call “the symbol of Marseillais Islam,” is a source of pride here in France’s second-largest city, which is at least 25 percent Muslim. But it is also cause for alarm, Mr. Geisser said, embodying the paradox that visible signs of integration set off xenophobic anxiety. “All these symbols reveal a deeper, more lasting presence of Islam,” he said. “It’s the passage of something temporary to something that is implanted and takes root.”

The change has been significant over the last five years, Mr. Geisser said. “Now we’re at a crossroads,” he said, of a complicated European anxiety that stems from economic crisis; the fear of globalization; the perceived increase in immigration as European birthrates fall; and the subsuming of national states into an enlarged Europe.

“There is an angst over identity in Europe,” he said. “There’s a feeling that Europe is becoming smaller and less important. Europe is like an old lady, who whenever she hears a noise thinks it’s a burglary.” This generalized anxiety and fear is translated into a specific one, he argues: Islam, “a box in which everyone expresses their fears.”

The European Union is believed to have more than 15 million Muslims and perhaps as many as 20 million. France has five million to six million Muslims, the most in Western Europe.

In general, relations between Muslims and other Europeans have been good. But the terrorism associated with attacks in France in 1995 and 2001 in the United States has resonated through the years, reinforced by the Madrid train bombings in 2004; the killing that year of the Dutch film director Theo van Gogh, a critic of conservative Muslims; the London bombings of 2005; and the controversy over Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published the same year.

In 2004, France banned the head scarf (and other signs of religious affiliation) in public schools. It is now debating a ban on the burqa, by which the government seems to mean any full facial covering, including the niqab, which shows the eyes. That controversial measure is caught up in a government-sponsored debate over national identity, led by the ministry that also handles immigration.

Both measures have been widely criticized as political maneuvers by President Nicolas Sarkozy, capitalizing on social fears to unite the center-right and co-opt the far-right National Front before regional elections in March. He has tried to play down the religious element in the debate, but he has also urged Muslims to show “humble discretion” and avoid “ostentation and provocation”; a junior minister, Nadine Morano, said young Muslims should dress better, find jobs and stop using slang and wearing baseball caps backward.

The far-right and anti-immigrant parties did comparatively well in last June’s European elections, which had a low turnout. For the first time, Britain’s far-right party won two seats, and the Dutch Freedom Party secured 17 percent of the vote.

This year, the Danes and the Swiss have brought a new focus to mosques and minarets. Plans for Copenhagen’s first two large mosques have met with strong opposition from the right. The Swiss vote brought widespread condemnation of fear-mongering and racism, including from Switzerland’s own government.

Youcef Mammeri, a writer on Islam in France and member of the Joint Council of Muslims of Marseille, says that the debates over minarets, burqas and national identity have angered many French-born Muslims and brought them together in a defensive circle.

Source:nytimes.com/

Immigration Reform Advocates Make Push as Health Care Debate Winds Down

2009-12-27T23:10:00.000-08:00

Though Congress still has to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of legislation to revamp the nation’s health care system, the next issue in line is already stepping forward in Washington and at the grassroots.

The week before Christmas, a coalition of lawmakers unveiled a new reform bill that seeks to legalize undocumented immigrants by requiring them to register with the federal government, pay a $500 fine for each adult, learn English, pass background checks and meet other requirements before becoming eligible for a six-year visa that can eventually lead to a green card.

Though there is some skepticism over whether Congress will be willing to take up immigration reform early next year so soon after a tough health care debate, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), who has become a leader of a multiethnic coalition of immigration reform backers, said the plan right now is to get ready “so when they are done with their work, we can quickly act."

"[T]he patience, and the tolerance, and the dignity of our immigrant community has brought us to this moment - to this bill, to this final push for comprehensive reform," commented Gutierrez at a press conference introducing the bill.

"This bill is the right way to allow these people to reach their dreams," he added. "We’ve waited too long."

President Obama has said he expects to take up the immigration issue after the health care debate is over and Congress finishes work on energy reforms and regulating financial markets – potentially driving the debate close to midterm elections in November.

During the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast in June, Obama committed to providing a way for millions of undocumented immigrants to become U.S. citizens while also strengthening border security.

He specifically noted that the "fair, practical and promising way forward" on the immigration issue is to require illegal immigrants to pay a penalty, pay taxes, learn English and "go to the back of the line behind those who played by the rules."

"The American people believe in immigration," he said. "But they also believe that we can't tolerate a situation where people come to the United States in violation of the law nor can we tolerate employers who exploit undocumented workers in order to drive down wages."

Though Obama’s vow was welcomed by members of the Hispanic Christian community, Obama has yet to lay out a timeline for overhauling immigration.

Furthermore, with the U.S. economy still weak and recovery still slow, some say it might be premature to bring up immigration reform.

Supporters of the new bill, however, argue otherwise.

"For those who say that given the state of our economy, given the unemployment rate, this is not the time, I would say to you there is no wrong or right time. There is a moral obligation," commented Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, according to The Associated Press.

The newly unveiled legislation, sponsored so far by more than 80 House Democrats, is the culmination of months of discussions with community organizations, unions and other groups around the country in hopes of gaining enough momentum to get reforms passed.

A more moderate immigration bill, meanwhile, is expected to be introduced in the Senate next month, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) saying he hopes to launch a debate there during the first half of next year.

Source:christianpost.com/

House bill would cut local immigration enforcement program

2009-12-27T23:09:00.000-08:00

A bill introduced in the House would eliminate an immigration enforcement program used by Prince William and Loudoun counties,but experts say enforcement partnerships between federal and local governments likely will survive.

The program, known as 287(g), deputizes local law enforcement officials to enforce some federal immigration laws. Critics have argued that it lacks direction and can lead to racial profiling.

In Virginia, Prince William and Loudoun counties, Manassas City, Manassas Park City and Herndon have partnered with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, in the program.

The program's value is probably more symbolic at this point with the expansion of another program, known as Secure Communities, said Michael Fix, senior vice president and director of research at the Migration Policy Institute. MPI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that studies the migration of people worldwide.

Through Secure Communities, local agencies can access biometric records from the Department of Homeland Security to check inmates' immigration status. Prince William and Fairfax counties have joined the program.

Experts say the comprehensive immigration reform bill introduced by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., has a long way to go. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., also is crafting a bill, and House leadership has said the Senate must proceed first, according to Doris Meissner, director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at MPI.

Meissner said the program likely would survive because the Senate bill would have to attract Republicans to pass.

"My guess is that keeping 287(g) would be one of the things that would be part of a Republican agenda, knowing how the 287(g) story has unfolded since 1996," she said.

Alan Kraut, a professor of immigration history at American University, agreed.

"I think there has to be some cooperation at different levels," he said.

Should it survive, the program could expand throughout Virginia. Rebublican Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell has said he would like to see Virginia State Police trained for the program.

Source:washingtonexaminer.com/

Up to 50 Tamil migrants in BC soon to be released: immigration lawyer

2009-12-27T23:04:00.000-08:00

VANCOUVER, B.C. — About 50 Tamil migrants taken into custody off B.C.'s West Coast will soon be released and allowed to settle with their families already living across the country, says an immigration lawyer representing several of the men.

Immigration officials will be working through the holidays to process many of the men held in detention for two months after arriving on the Ocean Lady freighter in October, said Narindar Kang.

"The writing is on the wall and we're just waiting to schedule a date. It is, in essence, an agreement between both counsel," he said Friday.

The ship was intercepted in Canadian waters on Oct. 17 after crossing the Pacific from Sri Lanka. The group claims they were fleeing persecution after the country's bloody 26-year civil war.

Twenty-three men had been ordered released by the Immigration and Refugee Board as of Thursday and more than two dozen more would likely be freed within the first week or two of January, Kang said.

"Not only have there been formal orders, either by joint submission or by application of the detainees, but the other counsel have been receiving letters saying 'We are amenable to have your client released before we go to court,"' Kang said.

"I don't anticipate that there's going to be any issues with these individuals."

The remaining men in detention are being held on the basis of information that hasn't been revealed to them or their lawyers, Kang said. He and his colleagues will bring in special advocates to aid the detainees on these cases.

While the government has, in many cases, worked with the lawyers to devise mutually agreeable terms of release, it has also raised security questions about some of the men.

There are concerns the migrants may include those who may have links to the Tamil Tigers, the military arm of the Tamil separatist movement that's been at war with the Sri Lankan government for decades.

"We're hoping the nature of that evidence can be examined in a fairly quick fashion," he said.

Of the larger group to be released sooner than later, Kang says most have family members already living in Canada.

"Siblings, parents, cousins, in many cases immediate family members, and if not that than certainly extended family are here," he said.

"There's a strong foundation for their refugee claims. That's I think why - given the timing now and given the fact that at the public expense they've been detained for over two months - it wasn't making sense to the decision makers that they be detained further."

Officials with the Immigration and Refugee Board couldn't be reached for comment.

The migrants will be released on restrictions, including bonds in the range of $2,000 to $10,000, and requirements to report weekly and not associate with terrorist groups.

The majority plan to move to Toronto, while others will go to Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver.

"Many of these young men are highly educated professionals," Kang said.

"Once time passes and people come to know (this, they will realize) they never posed a threat and those individuals certainly should have been released a long time ago."

Source:AFP

Silver Lake man released from immigration detention

2009-12-27T23:00:00.000-08:00

Matthew Williams / The Herald (click to enlarge)
Raymond Eman leads a Bible study for several children before worship services Saturday at the Washington Indonesian Seventh-day Adventist Church in Lynnwood. Eman was recently in federal custody and faces deportation to his native home of Indonesia, where he fears he would face religious persecution for his Christian beliefs

Raymond Eman is many things: taxpayer, husband, father, church elder, nurse's aide, organizer of badminton tournaments and, until Tuesday, inmate at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma.

Eman, 48, is one of at least four Indonesian natives from Everett fighting U.S. government efforts to deport them. There are dozens more from the Puget Sound area.

Many are members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and, according to legal papers, they fear religious persecution in Indonesia because of their Christian beliefs.

Eman came to the United States on a tourist visa in 1985 and stayed after he was to return. He and his wife settled in the Northwest and have two children who were born in the United States. The family lives near Silver Lake.

“They have a credible fear of persecution,” said Albert Lum, a Pasadena, Calif., attorney who has represented Eman and dozens of other Indonesian immigrants in Western Washington. He withdrew from Eman's case after Eman's release this week.

Indonesia is a country of more than 200 million people with religious tensions that, at times, have erupted into violence during the past decade.

In 2005, three teenage Christian girls were beheaded and a fourth was seriously wounded on their way to school. The murders occurred in Central Sulawesi, a province of a bloody religious war in 2001-02 where about 1,000 Muslims and Christians were killed. Elsewhere, churches have been burned to the ground.

Herry Korompis, an Indonesian immigrant and U.S. citizen living in Seattle, said there can be calm periods of religious tolerance, but there always is fear of upheaval among Christians. Families with American-born children forced to return could feel particularly vulnerable, said Korompis, who attends church with Eman.

Eighty-eight percent of Indonesians are Muslim. About 6 percent are Protestant and 3 percent Catholic. The rest are a mix of other religions and faiths.

Eman's relatives in Indonesia were fearful of harm during the 1998 riots in the country's capital of Jakarta and have been threatened by Muslim extremists, Lum said.

It could be a tough sell for Eman and others to remain in the United States. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in California rejected Eman's argument of religious persecution in a November 2008 ruling. It upheld a ruling by the Board of Immigration Appeals in Virginia saying Eman did not establish a clear probability that he would be persecuted if he returned to Indonesia.

“The record does not compel the conclusion that the religious strife in Indonesia amounts to a pattern or practice of persecution against Christian Indonesians,” the judges ruled.

Eman, his family and his friends believe he came within hours of being deported last week. Instead, and unexpectedly, he and two other Indonesians living in Everett were released.

“He was released pending further review of his case,” said Lorie Dankers, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Tacoma. Dankers said she couldn't provide additional comment.

Supporters of the Indonesian immigrants speculate that the release could be related to an arrangement reached between a church and immigration officials in New Jersey.

The New York Times reported Dec. 12 of an unusual compact between a pastor and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Newark, N.J. Under the agreement, four Indonesians were released from a New Jersey detention facility and 41 others living as fugitives from deportation turned themselves in under church auspices.

“Instead of being jailed — as hundreds of thousands of immigrants without criminal records have been in recent years — they have been released on orders of supervision, eligible for work permits while their lawyers consider how their cases might be reopened,” The Times reported.

That's exactly what happened in Eman's case. Eman was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Nov. 3 on an expired visa. He spent more than 45 days in the Tacoma detention facility, meeting with his family and church members but separated by a window.

Eman arrived in the United States on a tourist visa in June 1985 and was never granted permanent residency.

He and his wife began seeking legal residency after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. Each time — before an immigration judge in Seattle, the Bureau of Immigration Appeals in Virginia, and the 9th Circuit — his case was rejected.

Members of the Washington Indonesian Seventh-day Adventist Church in Lynnwood continue to rally and pray for Eman and his family. His children, ages 11 and 8 and both U.S. citizens since they were born in this country, attend a Seventh-day Adventist school in Everett.

While at the detention center in Tacoma, Eman received a steady stream of visitors from his church. John Freedman, a pastor and president of the 21,000-member Seventh-day Adventist Western Washington Conference, wrote a letter to an immigration judge urging “leniency and mercy.”

Eman's release made for a special Christmas.

Instead of being placed on a one-way flight to Djakarta, he celebrated the holiday with his wife and children in their Silver Lake apartment and attended church services Saturday.

“That,” he said, “was my son's only Christmas wish. He wanted his Daddy home for Christmas.”

“You can't imagine how it felt,” Eman said. “I was saying, ‘Thank you, Lord, I don't know how it happened. I praise you and I can be with my kids. I don't need anything. I can be with my family now.'”

His release is a reprieve but not a guarantee he will be able to stay.

Eman will continue to live with the knowledge he can be deported at any time along with the nagging fear of prolonged separation from his family.

“I never thought I'm going to bring my kids to Indonesia,” he said. “I don't want to put my kids in danger. For my kids, it is very unsafe.”

Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.

Source:heraldnet.com/

Urge lawmakers to fix immigration laws

2009-12-27T22:57:00.000-08:00

As the director of a nonprofit Immigrant Legal Services program, I confront the irrationalities of our nation's immigration legal system on a daily basis. Our current system consists of antiquated laws that are only selectively enforced because it is missing the legal mechanisms for the entry of the immigrant workers upon which our economy relies.

The losers in the current system are not just undocumented immigrants - who have usually violated the law in economic desperation - but also the rule of law itself, which gets flouted every day by both employers and employees.

We need sensible reform to concurrently do three basic things: 1) Make it much more difficult to work illegally, by creating fraud-proof employment authorization documents; 2) Make it much easier for workers and their families to enter the U.S. legally, by providing visas for both low- and high-skilled laborers to match the needs of the economy; and 3) Require those currently present unlawfully to register with the government, pay a fine, undergo a criminal-background check, and get on a long-term path toward citizenship and integration.

The Comprehensive Immigration Reform ASAP bill (H.R. 4321) introduced recently is a good start. Our legislators - especially suburban representatives like Peter Roskam, Judy Biggert, Mark Kirk, and Melissa Bean who have opposed similar legislation in the past need to get on board.

Some will call this amnesty, but that's absurd: amnesty would imply forgetting the offense of an unlawful entry or overstay. This bill punishes that offense with a fine, which is an appropriate penalty-more realistic, affordable, and humane than deporting millions of people.

For our representatives to do nothing, while the rule of law is mocked day in and day out, amounts to what John McCain has called a de facto amnesty-one that they're voting for by their inaction.

Catherine Norquist

Director, Immigrant Legal Service Program

World Relief DuPage

Wheaton

Source:dailyherald.com/

Swedes positive about immigration: poll

2009-12-27T22:54:00.000-08:00

A majority of the Swedish population is positive about immigration, according to a new Sifo opinion poll. Members of the Left Party were the most positive, while Sweden Democrats were the most negative.

More Swedes favour euro over krona: poll (15 Dec 09)
Opposition poll lead 'very worrying': Reinfeldt (14 Dec 09)
Sweden Democrats score five percent in major poll (10 Dec 09)
Fifty-six percent responded in the affirmative to the question of whether or not immigration has been for the most part positive for Sweden. Around 30 percent answered that immigration was negative and 14 percent were doubtful or didn't know.

With 76 percent its members responding that immigration had been good for the country, the Left Party (Vänsterpartiet) was by far the most positive towards immigration.

The Sweden Democrat Party (Sverigedemokraterna) was the most pessimistic, with 93 percent answering that immigration had been negative for Sweden.

There was little variation between the other parties and small differences between the left and right.

The study, involving 1,000 randomly selected respondents, was commissioned by Riksdag & Departement magazine.

Source:thelocal.se/

Gays and Lesbians in the Cold on Immigration Reform Bill

2009-12-27T22:50:00.000-08:00

"The lawmaker said Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), who has led the House effort on comprehensive immigration reform, initially 'didn’t want to deal with it. At all.' Then he tried to work out a 'stupid' compromise whereby the same-sex partner provisions would be in the bill but they wouldn’t take effect for five or six years, said this Member. ..Gutierrez denied that he wanted to keep gay and lesbian language out of his bill. 'That’s just not true,' he said, pointing to his long-standing record of supporting the gay community. The real issue, he said, is that same-sex partner matters have not come up in past immigration reform debates and people are still figuring out how to bring the two camps together. 'There has never been a serious, in-depth discussion between the gay and lesbian community and the immigrant community. It’s never existed,' Gutierrez said. 'It’s a new conversation, but not one that I’m fearful of. I welcome it. But you can’t expect after nearly two decades of struggle for a new component' to be quickly embraced."

An amendment with a same-sex provision has been proposed by Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) who noted that a repeal of DOMA would alleviate the issue.

And:

Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) said she was 'very frustrated' because she 'wanted to see a bill that was comprehensive. But we deal with political reality here.' Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who earlier this year pronounced a DOMA repeal 'dead' this Congress, predicted it will be 'a very, very hard sell' to attach the same-sex provision to the immigration reform bill.

Gutierrez released a statement to the Windy City Times: "The process I am committed to being a part of in Congress will, I hope, address the unacceptable situation that lesbian and gay bi-national couples live under every day. … Everyone's goal should be a comprehensive immigration reform bill that includes a commitment to all families and honors our history as a nation of immigrants. That is my goal, and it is inclusive of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, too."

The paper adds: "Gutierrez also noted his support for the Uniting American Families Act, which would let U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to sponsor their gay and lesbian partners for immigration to the United States. That measure received a local boost in support last week as the Chicago City Council passed a resolution, introduced by Aldermen Tom Tunney and Daniel Solis, urging its passage in the House of Representatives."

Source:towleroad.com/

New law introduced calling for immigration reform

2009-12-27T22:49:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, December 15, Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez introduced a proposed law, called the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR ASAP). While CIR ASAP has many provisions dealing with immigration reform, here are some of the more hopeful and beneficial features of this proposed law:

• Reduces backlogs or waiting times for visas by adding visas (or “recapturing” unused visas from past years.)

• Spouses and children of Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR) will be treated the same as US citizens, meaning F-2A spouses and children would be immediately eligible for visas, vs. a 5 or more year wait.

• Special treatment or expedited processing of green cards for children of Filipino WWII veterans

• Skilled workers could file for adjustment of status, even if the priority date on their employment based petition is not yet current.

• No requirement that a stepchild be under 18 at time of their parent’s marriage, in order to be petitioned by a U.S. citizen stepparent.

• TNT parents of US citizen children can be protected from removal\deportation if the immigration judge believes that removal would not be in child’s best interest. Thus, having a US citizen child could protect a parent from deportation.

• New “PUM visa” (Prevent Unauthorized Migration) for people outside the US. Under PUM, 100,000 visas would be available through a lottery system, leading to green cards in 3 years for people outside the US who are non-college graduates.

• Earned legalization for people inside the US.

— Must be in US on December 15, 2009. So make sure you can document or save proof that you were in the US on that date.

— Grants conditional non-immigrant status for 6 years for illegal aliens.

— They can legally work, and travel outside the US during the 6 years, without triggering the 3\10 year bar.

— They are protected from removal\deportation while in conditional status.

— Must make contributions to US through work, education, military service, community service, etc.

— Can apply for a green card after that 6 year period.

I want to emphasize that this is only a PROPOSAL, and is not yet a law. There could be changes, additions, and deletions of some provisions. But you can help make it a law. You should write to your Senator and Congressman, voicing your support, and urging them to support immigration reform. Remember, Congress listens to voters, and if only people who want strict laws write to Congress, then only they will be heard. So raise your voice for compassionate immigration reform, and let your elected officials know that you support this law.

Source:philstar.com/