Badmus

In the first week of the pilot program designed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), only six individuals turned themselves in for self deportation or removal.   Only those without criminal records are eligible for the program, which gives them three months to get their affairs in order.  ICE estimates that approximately 450,000 individuals are eligible for the program.

To read more about the program, click here.

By Michelle Richart

Categories: Legislation and Policy, Immigration Litigation and Removal, Family Immigration, Blogroll, General |

In the high heat of the election season, this common myth is constantly being sputtered on talk radio and the blogosphere. But consider these quick mythbusting facts!

FACT: One is more likely to be struck by lightning than to come across an actual case of voter fraud. Government records show that only 24 people were convicted of or pleaded guilty to illegal voting between 2002 and 2005, an average of eight people a year. This includes 19 people who were ineligible to vote, five because they were still under state supervision for felony convictions, and 14 who were not U.S. citizens; and five people who voted twice in the same election, once in Kansas and again in Missouri.

FACT: Most voter fraud allegations turn out to be something other than fraud. A review of news stories over a recent two year period found that reports of voter fraud were most often limited to local races and individual acts and fell into three categories: unsubstantiated or false claims by the loser of a close race, mischief, and administrative or voter error.” The report concludes that “when we probe most allegations of voter fraud we find errors, incompetence and partisanship.”

More mythbusting facts on this issue can be found in Chicken Little in the Voting Booth: The Heritage Foundation Sounds Alarm Over Non-Existent Problem of Non-Citizen “Voter Fraud”, a report from the Immigration Policy Center.

AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 08080665 (posted Aug. 6, 2008)

Categories: Legislation and Policy, Employment Immigration, Blogroll, General |

The first half of 2008 has been full of states enacting new laws regarding immigration.  In a newly released report, the NCSL Immigrant Policy Project reports that there have been over 1200 bills have been considered in the state legislatures of 45 states across the United States with at least 175 of those bills becoming law.  To read the report and to see which states have enacted new laws since the start of 2008, click here. 

By Michelle Richart

Categories: Legislation and Policy, Employment Immigration, Family Immigration, Blogroll, General |

According to the U.S. State Department, the new passport card, which can be used for travel between the United States, Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean is now in production and being distributed.  This passport card is not available to be used for air travel, but may be used for land or sea travel to these areas.   It is anticipated to be a more convenenient alternative to a traditional passport book for many travelers and may be obtained more quickly and at lesser cost. 

To read more about the new passport card, click here.

By Michelle Richart

Categories: Legislation and Policy, Blogroll, General |

On July 16, 2008, the U.S. Senate voted to lift the current ban on those with HIV from visiting and/or immigrating to the United States.  HIV is the only disease that is explicitly listed under immigration law and only approximately a dozen countries still have such a ban.  Some of those countries include Saudia Arabia, Sudan, Libya, and Russia.   Click here to see how your Senators voted.

Click here to read an article on CBS News about the possible lift of the HIV ban.

 By Michelle Richart

Categories: Legislation and Policy, Family Immigration, Blogroll, General |

Talk radio hosts would have you believe that by allowing legal immigrants to petition for their family members to join them in the US, we are throwing open the immigration flood gates through a process they refer to as “chain migration”. But, before giving up when you hear these erroneous statements, consider responding with a few quick mythbusting facts!

FACT: “Chain migration” is not possible under our immigration system. Current backlogs impose significant waiting periods on citizens and green card holders attempting to petition for a family member.

* According to the June 2008 Visa Bulletin Mexican spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents have a current estimated wait of 6 years, while the siblings of U.S. citizens from the Philippines must wait over 22 ½ years.

* Congress has established an annual ceiling of 226,000 visas for family-based immigrant petitions. Once that annual quota is reached, no more family-based immigrant petitions are granted regardless of the number filed.

* Despite alarmist predictions to the contrary, the General Accounting Office (GAO) has found that “massive chain migration is generally not occurring” and studies have determined that “a new immigrant will, ultimately, sponsor 1.2 dependents.”

FACT: U.S. citizens and green card holders can only sponsor direct immediate relatives (spouses, children, and siblings). It is impossible for anyone to sponsor their aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents or any other distant relatives for a visa to enter the United States.

* More than half of all family-based immigrant petitions in 2005 were for the spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens.

AILA Doc. No. 08070967.

Categories: Legislation and Policy, Family Immigration, Blogroll, General |

A Court finds a New York state professional licensure statute unconstitutional under both the equal protection clause and the supremacy clause in that it discriminates against those who are not citizens or permanent residents. Plaintiff is a veterinarian on a TN visa.  The Court found that New York’s limitation on licensure of qualified non-citizens is unconstititional.  New York licensing provisions for physicians and other professionals are very similar to the veterinariary licensing law in this case. For example, New York only issues limited licenses to physicians in H-1B status so long as they practice in underserved areas. This decision may signal the demise of these limitations on some IMG physicians practicing in New York. To read this important decision, click this link -  Kirk v. New York State Department of Education et al., (W.D. NY 6/23/08). AILA Doc. No. 08071060.

By Ann Massey Badmus

Categories: Legislation and Policy, Medical Professionals |

On 06/27/08, William Jerry Hadden, a Kentucky landlord who faced 62 charges in US District Court of renting apartments without verifying the immigration status of the future tenants, was found not guilty on all charges.

The trial is thought to be the first time the federal government has prosecuted a landlord for renting to undocumented immigrants, defense attorneys said in court filings.

Hadden’s defense attorneys steadfastly maintained his innocence and claimed that the federal government was twisting the intent of harboring laws, which they say were intended to target human traffickers or employers who are trying to hide their work forces. They further noted that it is not illegal to rent to undocumented immigrants, and Hadden therefore had no legal obligation to check any tenant’s immigration status.

The court agreed with the defense and ruled that there had to be evidence that the defendant intended to violate the immigration laws by concealing or hiding tenants.

AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 08070968 (posted Jul. 9, 2008)

Categories: Legislation and Policy, General |

MYTH: Illegal immigrants just don’t want to wait in line like everybody else.”Why don’t they just get in line?!” This question is forever poisoning the immigration debate and it’s posed by radio hosts, every day folks, and even members of Congress. But, before throwing up your hands in defeat when you hear the question, consider responding with these quick mythbusting facts!

FACT: There is no “line” for the vast majority of undocumented immigrants.

• There is no line and the “regular channels” do not include them. If given a choice, opinion surveys of undocumented immigrants indicate that 98 percent would prefer to live and work legally in the U.S. and would do so if they could. However, most do not have the necessary family relationships to apply for legal entry, or, if they do, they face years or decades of waiting time for a visa.

• The ways to “come legally” are restricted to certain categories of persons. Getting a green card is generally limited to four different routes: Employment (The number of green cards available for unskilled or low-skilled workers—hotel workers, landscapers, construction workers to name few — is limited to 5,000 per year for the entire United States); Family (A legal, qualified family member in the U.S. can seek permission (a petition) to bring in certain eligible foreign-born family members); Political refugees; and Lottery.

More mythbusting facts on this issue can be found in Why Don’t They Just Get In Line? The Real Story of Getting a “Green Card” and Coming to the U.S. Legally, AILA’s one page fact sheet.

“AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 08061164 (posted Jun. 11, 2008)”

Categories: Legislation and Policy, General |

This month the Office of the Inspector General released the results of their FBI Security Procedures Audit.  The redacted, 123 page report released to the public summarizes the current FBI name check program, it’s deficiencies, and makes recommendations.

Notably, last year, the FBI received 4 million name check requests and approximately 14% of those checks took more than 60 days, many taking several months.  The report also notes that approximately 50,000 naturalization applications are still pending background checks initiated more than one year ago and the same is true for approximately 45,000 application to adjust status to permanent resident.

 To read the report, click here. 

 By Michelle Richart

Categories: Immigration Litigation and Removal, Legislation and Policy, Family Immigration, Medical Professionals, Blogroll, General |