Articles Posted in News

Indian Government sources had said that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security had contacted the ministry of external affairs (MEA), India around the time Mr Pacheco was incarcerated for his alleged involvement in the mysterious death of his girlfriend Nadia Torrado — he was in jail from July 9 till July 26, when he was awarded bail. He is a former Goa, India tourism minister Francisco Xavier “Mickky” Pacheco was caught on the backfoot on Sunday once again as reports surfaced that the US State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security had informed India that Mr Pacheco might be involved in a big immigration and money laundering racket.

Mr Pacheco used to operate an employment agency along with his estranged wife Sara Pacheco which specialized in finding employment for Goans abroad. But according to the former minister, he has had nothing to do with the agency since he separated from his wife around four years back.

Mr. Mickey Pacheco has been accused by the US Bureau of Diplomatic Security of running an international immigration and money-laundering racket. The bureau got in touch with the external affairs ministry through the US embassy in Delhi and reportedly backed its allegations with documents and details of banking transactions. The ministry then passed on the information to the CBI. The evidence is being described as substantive. According to the US Bureau of Diplomatic Security report, Pacheco had 15 million dollars in his account in the US. He recently transferred 2 million dollars to India.

Figures show that between 2005 and 2009, illegal US immigration fell by more than 60 per cent. In the first half of the decade, an average of 850,000 people were moving to the US without the correct US visas. However, this has fallen to just 300,000 between 2007 and 2009, according to new figures released by the Pew Hispanic Centre.

The fall is thought to be the result of a combination of factors, including tougher border controls and the recession. The drop has also impacted the overall estimated number of illegal immigrants living in the US. In 2007, the number was thought to total around 12 million. This number had fallen by around eight per cent to 11.1 million by last year.

Some 60 per cent of the people moving to the US without US visas are coming over the border from Mexico, with a further 20 per cent coming from other parts of Latin America. The remaining illegals come mostly from Asia, Africa and Canada.The new figures may go some way towards calming the national debate about Arizona’s new US immigration act, which encourages law enforcement officers to question people about their immigration status if they have reason to believe they may be living in the US illegally.

Haitian F-1 students experiencing severe economic hardship from the Jan. 12, 2010 Haiti earthquake eligible for employment authorization. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has approved special relief for certain F-1 Haitian students who have suffered severe economic hardship as result of the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti. This relief applies only to students who were lawfully present in the United States in F-1 status on Jan. 12, and enrolled in an institution that is certified by ICE’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program.

The suspension of certain regulatory requirements, by notice in the federal register, allows eligible Haitian F- 1 students to obtain employment authorization, work an increased number of hours during the school term, and, if necessary, reduce their course load while continuing to maintain their F-1 student status. F-1 students granted employment authorization by means of this notice will be deemed to be engaged in a full course of study if they meet the minimum course-load requirements specified in the notice.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will celebrate the grand opening of its new field office and application support center in Bedford on Thursday, Sept. 2, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, naturalization ceremony and tours of the facility. USCIS Associate Regional Director Shelley Goodwin will preside during the naturalization ceremony and will administer the Oath of Allegiance to 25 citizenship candidates. She will be joined by USCIS’ Boston District Director Denis Riordan and USCIS’ Manchester Field Office Director Simon Abi Nader.

Gov. John Lynch will join USCIS and delivering remarks for the special naturalization ceremony. Joining USCIS for the ribbon-cutting ceremony will be Bedford Town Manager Russell Marcoux, Mayor of Manchester Ted Gatsas and Glenn C. Rotondo, acting regional administrator of General Services Administration, New England region.

The new office, at 9 Ridgewood Road, will provide a range of immigration services, including naturalization interviews, lawful permanent resident processing, fingerprinting and photographic services and is well-suited to serve the area’s immigrant community. The new facility replaces the former Manchester location on Canal Street. The new office is based on a national model for new USCIS office locations throughout the country.

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables nationals of 36 participating countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business (visitor [B] visa purposes only) for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. The program was established to eliminate unnecessary barriers to travel, stimulating the tourism industry, and permitting the Department of State to focus consular resources in other areas. VWP eligible travelers may apply for a visa, if they prefer to do so. Nationals of VWP countries must meet eligibility requirements to travel without a visa on VWP, and therefore, some travelers from VWP countries are not eligible to use the program. VWP travelers are required to have a valid authorization through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) prior to travel, are screened at the port of entry into the United States, and are enrolled in the Department of Homeland Security’s US-VISIT program.

If you are a national of a Country on the US visa waiver scheme you will from 8 September 2010 have to pay a fee of $14 under the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). From January 2009 everyone entering the US under the visa waiver scheme needs to apply under ESTA. So far there has been no fee for applying under ESTA.

ESTA takes up to 72 hours (3 days) to process and is valid for up to two years. So you should make sure that you leave enough time for the processing of your application. If you are thinking of visiting the US in the next two years and are a national of a visa waiver Country you should consider applying now and so avoid the new fee.

On 8/5/10, with hours left before the beginning on the August recess, the Senate passed a $600 million emergency spending bill aimed at increasing border security. The bill, titled the Emergency Border Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2010, was passed by a voice vote.

Senator Schumer (D-NY), along with several Democratic colleagues, introduced the Border Security Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2010 (S.3721) and used it as a substitute amendment to H.R. 5875, a bill passed by the House of Representatives on 7/28/10. Further action is required before H.R. 5875, as passed by the Senate, can be sent to President Obama’s desk for signature.

It is unclear at this point if the House of Representatives, which is set to return for a short two day session on 8/09/10, will take up the Senate measure or whether they will wait until September. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano released a statement urging the House of Representatives to pass the bill.

The report, “Deportation by Default,” documents cases of non-citizens who could not understand questions, were delusional, couldn’t tell the date or time, and didn’t understand the concept of deportation for example, saying they wanted to be deported to New York. Thousands of mentally disabled immigrants are entangled in deportation proceedings each year with little or no legal help, leaving them distraught, defenseless and detained as their fates are decided. Their plight is detailed in a report issued Sunday by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union, who exhort federal authorities to do better.

Shortcomings outlined by the two groups include no right to appointed counsel, inflexible detention policies, insufficient guidance for judges on handling people with mental disabilities, and inadequately coordinated services to aid detainees while in custody. No one knows what to do with detainees with mental disabilities, so every part of the immigration system has abdicated responsibility. The result is people languishing in detention for years while their legal files and their lives are transferred around or put on indefinite hold.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Defense (DOD) today announced that National Guard deployments to the Southwest border will begin on Aug. 1 as part of the administration’s unprecedented efforts to combat the transnational criminal organizations that smuggle weapons, cash and people across our Southwest border. The President has also requested $600 million in supplemental funds for enhanced border protection and law enforcement activities, which are critical to our ongoing efforts.

“Over the past year and a half, this administration has pursued a new border security strategy with an unprecedented sense of urgency, making historic investments in personnel, technology and infrastructure,” said Secretary Napolitano. “These troops will provide direct support to federal law enforcement officers and agents working in high-risk areas to disrupt criminal organizations seeking to move people and goods illegally across the Southwest border.”
In May, the President authorized the deployment of up to an additional 1,200 National Guard troops to the Southwest border to provide support for intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, and counternarcotics enforcement—providing support for one year as part of the administration’s unprecedented efforts to crack down on transnational smuggling and cartel violence, as CBP continues to recruit and train additional officers and agents to serve on the Southwest border. In deploying these personnel, the National Guard Bureau is operating under a request for assistance from DHS. Border security is a law enforcement mission, and these troops will augment the Administration’s efforts to crack down on the drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations that operate along our Southwest border.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano today traveled to Laredo, Texas to announce more than $47 million in fiscal year 2010 Operation Stonegarden grants for the Southwest border states. She also met with law enforcement leaders to discuss the Department’s efforts to support state, local and tribal law enforcement in protecting communities from cross-border threats. She said, “Over the past year and a half, this Administration has pursued a new border security strategy with an unprecedented sense of urgency, making historic investments in personnel, technology and infrastructure while combating transnational criminal organizations that smuggle weapons, cash and people across our shared border with Mexico.” She said that Operation Stonegarden is one part of our overall strategy to provide state, local and tribal law enforcement on the frontlines the resources they need to confront the complex and dynamic challenges that exist along our borders.

The fiscal year 2010 Operation Stonegarden grants—totaling $60 million nationally—support 15 border states and the Territory of Puerto Rico to enhance the capabilities of federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to secure U.S. borders and territories. Funds were allocated using CBP’s sector-specific border risk methodology based on threat, vulnerability, miles of border and border-specific law enforcement intelligence. Nearly 80 percent of the fiscal year 2010 funding will go to Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas—up from 59 percent in 2008. Operation Stonegarden grants can be used to support law enforcement personnel, overtime, and other related costs to increase operational readiness.

This memorandum outlines the civil immigration enforcement priorities of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as they relate to the apprehension, detention, and removal of aliens. These priorities shall apply across all ICE programs and shall inform enforcement activity, detention decisions, budget requests and execution, and strategic planning.

A. Priorities for the apprehension, detention, and removal of aliens
In addition to our important criminal investigative responsibilities, ICE is charged with enforcing the nation’s civil immigration laws. This is a critical mission and one with direct significance for our national security, public safety, and the integrity of our border and immigration controls. ICE, however, only has resources to remove approximately 400,000 aliens per year, less than 4 percent of the estimated illegal alien population in the United States. In light of the large number of administrative violations the agency is charged with addressing and the limited enforcement resources the agency has available, ICE must prioritize the use of its enforcement personnel, detention space, and removal resources to ensure that the removals the agency does conduct promote the agency’s highest enforcement priorities, namely national security, public safety, and border security.

Priority 1. Aliens who pose a danger to national security or a risk to public safety
The removal of aliens who pose a danger to national security or a risk to public safety shall be ICE’s highest immigration enforcement priority. These aliens include, but not limited to:
• aliens engaged in or suspected of terrorism or espionage, or who otherwise pose a danger to national security; • aliens convicted of crimes, with a particular emphasis on violent criminals, felons, and repeat offenders; • aliens not younger than 16 years of age who participated in organized criminal gangs; • aliens subject to outstanding criminal warrants; and • aliens who otherwise pose a serious risk to public safety.

Priority 2. Recent illegal entrants
In order to maintain control at the border and at ports of entry, and to avoid a return to the prior practice commonly and historically referred to as “catch and release,” the removal of aliens who have recently violated immigration controls at the border, at ports of entry, or through the knowing abuse of the visa and visa waiver programs shall be a priority.

Priority 3. Aliens who are fugitives or otherwise obstruct immigration controls
In order to ensure the integrity of the removal and immigration adjudication processes, the removal of aliens who are subject to a final order of removal and abscond, fail to depart, or intentionally obstruct immigration controls, shall be a priority.

Continue reading