Immigration Law

NEW ARIZONA REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN THEME: IMMIGRANTS WANT TO COME AND KILL YOU

Posted on October 13, 2010
Lovely...

H-1B EXHAUSTION TARGET: MID-MARCH 2011

Posted on October 13, 2010
1300 regular H-1Bs were claimed last week and 500 masters cap cases, each slightly more than the recent pace, but not enough to change the target date for exhaustion of either category. Look for masters cap numbers to run out around the end of the year and regular cap numbers to run out in March unless the pace starts to change.

REALITY FORCING CONGRESSIONAL HISPANIC CAUCUS TO LOWER EXPECTATIONS

Posted on October 13, 2010
Congressman Luis Guitierrez is sounding like piecemeal immigration reform will be the new order of the day in the next Congress. Here's what the Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting: The man widely seen as the leader of the nation's immigration reform movement told a Cleveland audience Monday that a worthy but flagging crusade may need to lower its expectations...

BUSINESS OWNERS: SIGN THE IMMIGRATIONWORKS USA PETITION TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

Posted on October 13, 2010
ImmigrationWorksUSA is launching a national petition drive, President Obama, Can You Hear Us Now? to let the Administration know that that business needs an immigration reform bill and one that will work for America's employers. While the business community is highly supportive of strong enforcement measures to prevent illegal immigration and also a pragmatic path to legal status for the millions of individuals illegally present in the US, business needs to remind the President that immigration reform is incomplete and ultimately unworkable unless the question of the fugure flow of workers is addressed through the establishment of a genuine guest...

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DAVID LEOPOLD ON THE NEED FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM

Posted on October 13, 2010
My friend David Leopold, current president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (I'm on its board of governors) talks to Nora O'Donnell of MSNBC about Lou Dobbs, the new deportation statistics and the need for immigration reform.

QUESTIONS

Posted on October 12, 2010
I enjoyed lunch last week with my friend Angelo Paparelli at the International Bar Association meeting in Vancouver where I was speaking on US immigration policymaking. Angelo's great when he's on a rant and he's got a doosy in his latest blog post with an extensive list of pretty difficult questions for the various agencies that manage the US immigration system.

BOXER HOPES TO EXPEDITE CITIZENSHIP PROCESS TO COMPETE IN OLYMPICS

Posted on October 11, 2010
Permanent resident Erick de Leon, a Mexican national, is hoping to have his citizenship application process expedited in order to compete in the 2012 Olympics in London. The New York Times reports that the process has been anything but easy despite his being one of this country's best hopes for reclaiming gold in boxing...

ARIZONA LOSES ANOTHER BATTLE IN THE COURTS

Posted on October 09, 2010
Opponents of Arizona's SB1070 immigration law scored another victory in the courts yesterday. In the case of Friendly House v. Whiting, the court overruled a motion to dismiss the case challenging the law. The judge noted that "Racial discrimination was a motivating factor for [S...

NOVEMBER VISA BULLETIN IS OUT

Posted on October 09, 2010
Here are the highlights: Family 1st- no improvement for most countries; one week advance for Mexico and one month for the Philippines Family 2A - Solid improvements; world numbers jump from April 2010 to June 2010; Mexico moves up three months to March 2010...

REPORT: LOU DOBBS EMPLOYED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Posted on October 08, 2010
Oh the hypocrisy. Maybe this is why Dobbs started to sound a little more moderate on immigration just before he left CNN under mysterious circumstances. Does anyone think Sheriff Arpaio is likely to have something in his background as well?

DEPORTATIONS HIT RECORD HIGH

Posted on October 08, 2010
According to DHS, nearly 400,000 individuals were deported, half of them those charged with crimes. If you listen to the antis, they'll have you believing that the federal government is doing nothing to enforce immigration laws. But the statistics tell the story...

AMERICA'S VOICE: REPORTS OF LOW LATINO TURNOUT IN ELECTION CONTRADICTED BY NEW RESEARCH

Posted on October 08, 2010
A newer poll than the Pew one I mentioned yesterday shows a much higher percentage of Latino voters intend to participate in the election next month. If that's the case, several key races in states like California, Nevada and Colorado could be affected.

REPUBLICAN PRAYER FOR LOW LATINO TURNOUT MAY BE ANSWERED

Posted on October 06, 2010
...and the Democrats failure to move an immigration bill appears to be the big reason why, according to a new poll from the Pew Hispanic Center. Lest Republicans think all is goo, the poll shows that Democrats have solidified their support with Latino voters and are winning the block by a three to one margin...

TPM INTERVIEWS ME REGARDING WHITMAN I-9

Posted on October 02, 2010
Here's the link.

WISH ME LUCK

Posted on October 01, 2010
I'm riding tomorrow in the BCB100, Memphis' annual century bike ride benefiting LeBonheur Children's Hospital. For those of you who don't know that much about road biking, a century is a 100 mile bike ride and it is to cycling what the marathon is to running...

WHITMAN NANNY I-9 SHOWS VIOLATIONS

Posted on October 01, 2010
TMZ has posted the Whitman nanny's job application and the employee's I-9. It's not clear whether Whitman or the agency handled the I-9 and that's because the form itself is not signed and dated by the employer or its agent as required by law. The form also doesn't have a social security number under the List C documentation, another violation...

MED SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION: HEALTH CARE REFORM WILL BALLOON ALREADY SEVERE DOCTOR SHORTAGE

Posted on October 01, 2010
The shortage of 39,000 doctors expected by 2014 is now estimated to be 63,000 as a result of 30,000,000 more people having access to health care. Isn't it time to pass physician immigration reform legislation so that more foreign doctors trained in the US get the opportunity to stay?

ANTIS: JAIL WHITMAN

Posted on October 01, 2010
An interesting development. While some conservative groups came to Meg Whitman's defense and accused Democrats of just playing dirty tricks, the very anti-immigrant Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC) was quick to condemn the gubernatorial candidate: "It's pretty clear from all parties involved that Whitman did intentionally or unintentionally hire an illegal immigrant for nine years, which is a violation of federal law," William Gheen, president and spokesman of ALIPAC told TPMMuckraker in an interview Thursday...

MENENDEZ-LEAHY BILL DROPS

Posted on October 01, 2010
While I was out of town yesterday, the Menendez-Leahy immigration reform bill dropped in the Senate. The bill is not going to go anywhere this session or in the lame duck session after the election. Perhaps it is meant to re-emphasize to base voters that the Democrats are the pro-immigration party...

MORE DETAILS ON WHITMAN NANNY CONTROVERSY EMERGE

Posted on September 30, 2010
Confusing. Nicandra says Meg never made her complete an I-9. But Meg apparently got a social security number since she allegedly received a no match letter. And uber-lawyer Gloria Allred claims she's got documentation she's going to release.

ABERCROMBIE & FITCH FINED OVER $1 MILLION AFTER I-9 AUDIT

Posted on September 29, 2010
A & F was fined one of the largest amounts ever against an employer in the state of Michigan as a result of problems discovered with the company's I-9 forms. The well known apparel retailer operates 26 stores in Michigan under the Abercrombie & Fitch as well as the Hollister labels...

MEG WHITMAN CENTER OF NEW IMMIGRATION CONTROVERSY

Posted on September 29, 2010
Oy vey. Thanks to a reader for posting this link. Apparently, a former housekeeper of Meg Whitman, the GOP candidate for governor in California, is accusing the candidate of continuing to employ her even though she knew the employee was illegally present.

H-1B EXHAUSTION TARGET: MARCH 1, 2011

Posted on September 28, 2010
1300 more H-1Bs were used last week, an uptick from prior weeks. I'm moving my exhaustion date up two weeks based on my rolling four week average formula. We had a 1700 H-1B week four weeks ago so if the numbers next week are back to normal we could see my moving the date back again...

CRIST: IMMIGRATION REFORM NEEDED TO SAVE SOCIAL SECURITY

Posted on September 28, 2010
I've blogged about this subject before and it's nice to see a politician campaigning on this. And in Florida, this is a big deal given the large senior population. From Huffington Post: Studies show that 11-14 million people are in the country as non-citizens, and if we are willing to have a thoughtful, reasonable pathway to citizenship ? earning citizenship ? then those 11-14 million people can become productive, participating members of the American economy, paying the payroll taxes, helping Social Security going forward, and making America stronger financially,? Crist told The Huffington Post in an interview on Friday...

COLBERT SPEAKS THE TRUTHINESS

Posted on September 25, 2010
Most people have now heard about Stephen Colbert's testimony in front of the House Immigration Subcommittee this week on the subject of new laws for migrant farmworkers. Some have criticized the Committee for letting the comedian speak. I say, how high can the standards be if they let me testify? My friend Stuart Anderson of the National Foundation for American Policy has a thoughtful piece explaining why the testimony was helpful...

OBAMA: DON'T EXPECT ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS TO AVOID GRIDLOCKED CONGRESS

Posted on September 23, 2010
Not that we got our hopes too high, but when you hear something like this, it's hard to argue with Latino voters who ask whether it really makes a difference whether Republicans or Democrats are in charge.

DREAM ACT CAN'T PROCEED

Posted on September 21, 2010
The Senate voted 56 to 43 against proceeding with debate on the Defense Department budget bill. Now we must wait to see what Reid's next step will be. [UPDATE: Senator Reid was one of the no votes so that means he can bring the bill back during this Congress which means we need three votes (to make up for Prior and Lincoln's defections and the missing Republican vote)]

CRITICAL DREAM ACT VOTE THIS AFTERNOON

Posted on September 21, 2010
It's not 100% clear exactly how votes will proceed, but the future of the DREAM Act will be determined this afternoon when the Department of Defense Appropriations bill comes up for a vote. Sources on the Hill tell me that while the votes to pass DREAM are still not lined up, discussions are under way with several Senators and that there is still a chance for passage...

H-1B EXHAUSTION TARGET: MARCH 15, 2011

Posted on September 21, 2010
900 more H-1Bs were used last week which remains about the same pace we've seen for a while. 38,300 visas have been used of the 65,000 quota. 300 masters cap cases have been used bringing the total left down to 14,000 of 20,000. Those numbers will likely run out in January.

RARE MOMENT OF HONESTY

Posted on September 20, 2010
The hypocrisy displayed by many members of Congress who want to see a crackdown on employers who hire illegally present immigrants really gets my goat. I would venture a guess that a sizable majority of them have had such workers mow their lawns, watch their kids, clean their houses, put on their roofs, etc...

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