How many time have you heard people blame immigrants, especially illegal, for all the crimes in the country.
The U.S. has 11.5 million illegal immigrants, about 4 percent of the total U.S. population, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. There are cases where such immigrants get involved in criminal activity, still it is far less than our regular population.
Here is an interesting article from IL
I got this note from the AILA local chapter and the ACLU. It looks like the border patrol and the police have no mercy when it comes to illegal immigrants. Is this really a time to enforce immigration laws, or should we be fighting fires and keeping our citizens safe?
The ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties applauds the massive outpouring of resources, volunteers, evacuation sites, and official and community responses to the tragic series of fires that are wreaking havoc on our region.We especially take note of the outstanding work of firefighters, rescue workers, law enforcement officers, other first responders, and of course the outpouring of community volunteers.
The ACLU is concerned for the safety of those forced to flee their homes with little but the clothes on their backs. We call on all parties responding to victims of these fires to make sure that particularly vulnerable populations are sent a strong message that all those in need should seek shelter, resources and assistance to stay safe, fed, and protected from the elements. The ACLU is monitoring various situations involving prisoners, detainees, farmworkers, Latinos, and immigrants. There have been some reports of troubling incidents of racial profiling.
It has been reported that at least one dozen evacuees at Qualcomm Stadium were detained by San Diego police officers who did not charge any of the individuals, but instead turned them over to U.S. Border Patrol after inquiring into their immigration status, apparently in violation of usual San Diego Police Department policy.
As a result of this incident, we were told, at least 25 evacuees who were in need of shelter and resources fled Qualcomm Stadium for fear of further immigration enforcement activities.
The ACLU is concerned that allowing immigration enforcement activities to take place at humanitarian evacuation sites could deprive people of emergency services they need, even if that is not the intended result. The message needs to be sent loud and clear that the only concern now is the safety of all members of the community. Immigrants cannot be left with the impression that seeking shelter comes with the risk that they or their family members could be handed over to immigration authorities. It would be particularly unreasonable and heartless to demand papers from people who are fleeing the fires, often leaving all their worldly possessions behind. We think this could have a devastating effect and keep many from seeking vital emergency services.
We call on the city and police to honor police department policies designed to preserve community trust in law enforcement, especially in the midst of a humanitarian crisis.
We know that city and law enforcement officials share our concerns that all those in need stay safe and receive all the resources and protection that we can offer them during the firestorm. As far as we are aware, the incident described above is an isolated one. Our Executive Director, Kevin Keenan, spoke with San Diego Chief of Police, William Lansdowne, who said he would issue a statement tonight saying that the San Diego Police Department is not interested in enforcing immigration laws and that evacuees should feel secure in seeking refuge at all evacuation centers, including Qualcomm Stadium.
Many of our local clients, Tech, Bio Tech, and other technology firms ahve been closed for business since Monday. See Report from Computerworld.com
Many of the workers in such compnay are on visas, like H1B and TN visas. We have set up a special email address for workers and employers to write in with questions about status and anything else they might need while not working.
I am hoping by the end of this weekend, business will be as usual in the county.
The Schumer-Hutchison amendment (H.AMDT. 3404) to increase the domestic supply of nurses and physical therapists by recapturing unused green cards from the years 1996 and 1997 has been introduced. There are estimates of 61,000 extra visas to come. Before the Schumer-Hutchison amendment was passed, it was amended by a Durbin second-degree amendment (H.AMDT. 3449) which attempts to increase the number of nursing faculty and students in the United States, encourages global health care cooperation, and creates a $1,500 fee for a recaptured green card from the underlying amendment. The Durbin amendment also requires that the petitioning healthcare worker attest that he or she has satisfied any outstanding commitment to work in his or her home country.
While these amendments have been incorporated into the Senate’s version of the Labor-HHS appropriations bill, this version must now be reconciled with the House’s version of the bill which does not contain these provisions. A conference between House and Senate members to reconcile the differences has yet to be scheduled. There is also the possibility that this bill will be combined with other appropriation bills as part of an omnibus package.
If this will pass will are looking at another year or so of Nurse visas, this is still far from being perfect.
This is crazy, as if the cap problems with H1B visas are not enough, expect a fee hike legislation to pass soon.
The Grassley-Sanders amendment (H.ADMT. 3396), as modified, was added to H.R. 3043. The amendment would add an additional fee of $3,500 to the H-1B visa program which would be used to create a special education fund to promote studies in the fields of math, science and engineering.
Who will hire H1B workers now?
I am not proud to be an American today. In a stunning display of heartlessness and gutlessness, the Senate voted today to quash the dreams and aspirations of hundreds of thousands of American students. The 52-44 vote in favor of proceeding to debate on the DREAM Act (S. 2205) fell eight votes short of the necessary 60 vote threshold. That eight-vote shortfall means a generation of American kids will remain stranded at the schoolhouse door. And while the vote is a nightmare for children, families, educators, and military recruiters throughout the country, it will also haunt the long-term political fortunes of those Senators standing on the wrong side of justice.
If this Bill failed to pass, don't expect any other immigration reform anytime soon.
A lot has happened in the last few days, and I wanted to make you all aware. Clients are calling the office and we are closed due to the fires. All Federal Government offices and courts are also closed today, we are trying to reach clients to letr them know that visa interview will be scheduled as well.
These are difficult times for San Diegans, but with every crisis we can see why they call this city the Finest. Up to 10,000 people stayed at Qualcomm Stadium overnight after being evacuated from their homes due to San Diego's devastating wildfires. The overnight stay was "extremely orderly" with no major incidents reported, according to a statement issued by City Councilman Jim Madaffer's office. More than 5,000 cars were in the Qualcomm lot, and evacuees slept in cots, tents and their cars.
I passed by the Stadium this morning and the mood of the people staying there is very good. As I donated a few gallons of water to the volunteers, I could see the numbers of people helping , donating food and goods and just spending time to listen. At this time of crisis we can this great city coming together as one unit. When we look backl at this disaster we will see that what matters is the people we love, our families and the hope for a new start for all of us.
At this time the battle with the fire is still going on, I will continue updating our clients and readers of the Blog.
As I am writing this blog entry from my office in downtown San Diego, San Diego County residents are ordered from their homes as wind-driven wildfires spread from the East County toward the coast.
In what may be the worst disaster to hit our county in decades, we can see a community coming together. Rich and poor, legal and illegal immigrants sharing shelters and stories. In such days we are all the same, just people trying to survive this disaster. Stories like Mario's the undocumented landscaper, assisting the family of a Border Patrol agent to load their truck so they can evacuate on time, will remain forever in my reflection on this terrible period in our city's history.
My thoughts are with the families and the firefighters keeping them safe.
I read Ruben Navarrette Jr. article on CNN earlier today and he couldn't be more accurate with his analysis of the above.
As an Immigration attorney, I often hear complaints from clients about Police Officers trying to play Immigration Judges. Staements like "your apssport has already expired so how come you are still here" (Most passport have extension sections that the officer was not aware of, also passports do not control one legal status in the US).
Until there centralized training for all US Police officials on immigration related isseus they should remain in the role as protectors of our society from criminals and leave the immigration enforcement to the Federal Governmet. Illegal immigrants that are afraid to ask for help from the police can be more like the subject of abuse by the real criminal our police officers should be going after.
Civil Rights movement leadres are not happy about House bill 1804, a tough Oklahoma immigration law that will go into effect November 1, 2007.This law blocks undocumented immigrants from obtaining jobs and places strict requirements for receiving public benefits. It also forces that law enforcement check a suspect's legal status on felony and DUI cases and requires court officials to consider a person's immigration status in setting bail.
Read more about this story here
California farmers wait for comprehensive immigration reform and prepare for work in the fields. The Associated Press reported that some Oregon farmers contend the U.S. government's decision to place National Guard troops along the Mexican border is contributing to a shortage of workers to pick their ripe fruit.
The stepped up efforts to crack down on illegal immigration is having an unwanted effect on American farmers. Some claim recent raids and threats to prosecute companies that hire undocumented workers have resulted in a severe labor shortage that could force some farms out of business and lead to higher food prices.
We are hoping for an immediate reform with respect to the H2A visa system, currently the only guest worker like system to hire farm workers. The system itself is very complicated and I am not surprised why not so many employers are actually trying to comply.
This will be useful to all our clients ready to schedule appointments in Ciudad Juarez. The following information was provided by Edward R. an AILA member in El Paso in response to one of AILA members in San Diego questions about the timing of and scheduling of InfoPass appointments in Ciudad Juarez:
"As to the pilot program in CJ [Ciudad Juarez] for 601s, the process is to book an INFOPASS appointment to submit the waiver filing after denial. This person [our chapter member] is trying to time the appointment so that the client will not have to wait long between denial and possible approval of the waiver. The pilot allows for 601s that are obviously approvable to be approved on the very day of the INFOPASS appointment. This results in the approved IV within a few days after that, if not the same day, and the applicant who was facing a long delay for waiver adjudication is suddenly just waiting in line for formal admission as LPR.
Problem is that everyone wants to do the same thing and the INFOPASS appointment schedule, which was the off the shelf solution for a DHS program, is not robust enough to handle the volume thrown at it. It creates a bottleneck and no one can get appointments. DHS knows about this and is trying to resolve the issue, but the more appointments they release, in theory, the demand will devour and all will end up in the same position down the line.
DHS does not want to terminate the program, which is still up and running, but it is at a loss at the moment as to how to solve the demand problem. I am not sure it can be solved. Best advice for a client is to go to CDJ prepared for a long wait, be it months to get the INFOPASS appointment or in case the program is cancelled and the usual 10 month wait comes into play."
Let's hope they keep this program, our clients report approvals in a matter of days.
It is always interesting to read what members of Congress think about key issues, in this case immigration.
Sen. Lott's opinion was published in the Clarion Ledger, among other things he says:
As you know, I had hoped to pass a broader immigration reform bill this year. I saw the July immigration debate as an opportunity, not necessarily to get an ideal border security plan in place, but as a foundation on which to build Senate support for stronger border security than we now have.
Read his Op Ed here
Clearly the need for reform is urgent and if all opinions of members of Congress will change in that direction, we may have chance....
A few hours ago we got reports from clients and media outlets in Los Angeles, about the big raids conducted by ICE and the Border Patrol, rounding up thousands of illegal aliens and processing expedited removals. This is just the beginning and the government is planning further raids before the holiday season in December.
Read more from the Herald Tribune here
Recently the Department of Labor announced that the permanent foreign labor certification program's backlog has been eliminated, with nearly 95 percent of cases completed and the rest awaiting responses from employers. The BECs have begun a transition and shutdown phase that will continue through December.
I can say that this is excellent news for many of our applicants that were waiting for so long for the DOL to get the files out with certifications. I am just hoping that we the free time on the DOL's hands they might just expedite PERM processing and handling to make it really an online experience.
It was actually a strange day for me today. After a hectic week trying to get most of our H2B visa cases ready for filing, I was actually dreaming about this at night. In my dream all H2B visas were gone on Monday morning and all the angry employers are burning tires in front of my office.
Well, when I arrived to the office on Monday, I realized that my dream has become a reality. No not the tires burning, but the H2B cap was reached. Many of the employers waiting so patiently to file for new temporary workers, will need to wait for April and loose million of dollars as a result. I was furious, but we need to start planning ahead and help the clients deal with this crisis.
Continue reading "H2B Visas - Cap is reached!!" »
Jacob Sapochnick is recognized as one of the most innovative, up and coming Immigration Lawyers in the nation. He devotes 100% of his practice to Immigration Law, representing Corporations, Hotels, Restaurants, and other organizations, as well as, entrepreneurs, and individuals worldwide. He also provides legal support and representation in family sponsored immigration matters.
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