I've written several times about the anti-immigrant crusader Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Phoenix, Arizona. While my posts have taken Sheriff Joe to task for grandstanding to get media coverage (a Fox reality show - really?), it is starting to become clear what may be motivating him. Apparently, he's just a pretty bad sheriff when it comes to the bread and butter things a sheriff is supposed to do.
The conservative Goldwater Institute (started by Barry Goldwater, the iconic Republican presidential candidate of 1964) recently released a blistering report on the Phoenix sheriff and had this fine list of accomplishments:
- violent crimes are up 69% from 2004 to 2007
- homicides are up 166% from 2004 to 2007
- 911 response times have risen significantly
- the arrest rate has declined
- the number of satellite booking stations has declined
- public access to department records has been cut off
- the sheriff's department is in deep financial trouble due to budget overruns, overtime and lawsuit settlements
Goldwater report on Phoenix Sheriff Joe Arpaio - Free Legal Forms
Today is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille, the creator of the Braille reading system used by blind people throughout the world. Most of you learned about the Braille embossed points that have been adapted in languages across the world.
A modern day Louis Braille was profiled this morning in the New York Times. T.V. Raman, a native of India, works at Google in California and, has been creating a variety of innovative technology tools for blind people. Like Louis Braille, Mr. Raman is also blind. He built a version of Google for the blind and is now working on a touch-screen phone geared toward blind customers. According to the Times:
“What Raman does is amazing,” said Paul Schroeder, vice president for programs and policy at the American Foundation for the Blind, which conducts research on technology that can help visually impaired people. “He is a leading thinker on accessibility issues, and his capacity to design and alter technology to meet his needs is unique.”
Some of Mr. Raman’s innovations may help make electronic gadgets and Web services more user-friendly for everyone. Instead of asking how something should work if a person cannot see, he says he prefers to ask, “How should something work when the user is not looking at the screen?”
Such systems could prove useful for drivers or anyone else who could benefit from eyes-free access to a phone. They could also appeal to aging baby boomers with fading vision who want to keep using technology they’ve come to depend on.
The long-running children's television show Sesame Street celebrates its 40th year on PBS this year. I was one of those toddlers that watched the show when it debuted and I'm glad the show was around when my own kids were young. Aside from all the great muppet creations on the show, there have been a lot of great "people" cast members as well. Some have been on the show since the early years. And many others have been introduced in the decades since.
One of the nice things about Sesame Street is that its cast members are diverse like America is. And one of the newest actors on the show is Nitya Vidyasagar who plays Leela on the show. Nitya was born in Oman of Indian parents. She immigrated to the US at age 12 and has been a stage actress for several years.
I've reported on various studies showing the number of illegally present immigrants is dropping. And I've reported on the various explanations from pro and anti immigration groups. But there has been less reporting on legally present workers who may be leaving. Anti-immigrant groups argue that enforcement is working and the raids on work sites and tighter border security are having the intended effect. Pro-immigration groups argue that the tough economy with growing unemployment is the reason for the drop. I've opined that it is probably a combination of the two.
And now there is a very interesting new piece of evidence supporting the argument that the economy is, in fact, affecting immigration to the country. Nicaraguans, El Salvadorans and Guatemalans have been eligible for Temporary Protected Status in the US for ten years since Hurricane Mitch hit Central America, killing thousands. TPS holders from those countries have been able to work with USCIS-issued employment authorization documents that have been extended on an annual basis.
Tuesday was the deadline for TPS extension applications for the Hurricane Mitch population, estimated at around 300,000. According to USCIS, only 54% of those eligible to extend had filed the applications as of last Friday. So unless there was a fairly massive surge over the last few days, a huge percent of TPS applicants have decided to head home or have already left.
This data is very significant because the TPS population has been legally residing in the US and working legally and they have no fear of worksite raids or border security. The only logical explanation for their failing to extend their status is the economy. This does not mean that enforcement is not a factor in the decline in the illegally present immigrant population. But it likely means that the economy is, indeed, a key factor.
My last post discussed one of two parts to the Arizona immigration law - the requirement to use E-Verify. The more controversial part of the law allows the state to revoke business licenses for employers who employ unlawfully present workers. According to a report in the Arizona Republic, after a full year in force, not a single employer has been prosecuted. That part of the law is very possibly unconstitutional and the courts are still in the middle of sorting out the issues. But the federal government is responsible for enforcing immigration law and that's where the focus needs to be rather than at the state or local level.
Last year at this time, we were telling Arizona employers to get their acts together and get ready to start using E-Verify. Beginning January 1, 2008, all employers in that state have been required to use the electronic employment verification system.
Now that a year has passed, it is easier to assess whether the system is working properly for Arizona employers. The USCIS Ombudsman has just issued a report containing his observations. The report finds that employers views of E-Verify largely reflect the size and sophistication of the employer. Mid-size and large employers seem satisfied with the speed and accuracy of the system. But smaller employers representing more than half of the work force complain that the system is not user-friendly. The Ombudsman is recommending that USCIS focus greater outreach efforts on small businesses. Actually, the Ombudsman has five specific recommendations:
- Simplify the language used in all E-Verify instructions and supporting documentation.
- Make all registration and operational documents publicly available on-line for review by prospective E-Verify end-users and employees.
- Ensure its education and outreach efforts reach small business communities.
- Develop and add a tickler/calendar system into E-Verify capable of issuing timely system prompts to employers to advise them of their next appropriate course of action for each specific open and unresolved TNC.
- Announce as a stated goal an intention to replace the current Form I-9 process for employers that voluntarily use E-Verify.
The report also had an interesting data note. In the next few weeks, E-Verify is likely to have its 100,000th employer sign up to use the system. That number should jump dramatically when 168,000 federal contractors start using the system beginning next month.
Turkish-born economist Dani Rodrick is a faculty member at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. He focuses on international political economy and has written a number of books and articles on "what constitutes good economic policy and why some governments are better than others in adopting it." His newest book is entitled One Economics, Many Recipes: Globalization, Institutions and Economic Growth which will soon be published by Princeton University Press. The publisher describes the book:
While economic globalization can be a boon for countries that are trying
to dig themselves out of poverty, success usually requires following
policies that are tailored to local economic and political realities rather
than obeying the dictates of the international globalization establishment.
One Economics, Many Recipes shows how successful countries craft
their own unique growth strategies and what other countries can learn from
them.
Professor Rodrik is now blogging and you can read what he thinks about economic developments around the world.
Here's an update of an article I wrote a few weeks ago. I've added a few things and incorporated various reader suggestions. Many of you had great ideas on immigration policy generally, but the common denominator must be that the measures directly bring investment in the US economy or directly result in job creation.
10 IDEAS FOR USING IMMIGRATION LAW TO STIMULTATE THE US ECONOMY AND CREATE JOBS
Anti-immigrants
love recessions because they can whip up fears of foreigners coming to the US
and stealing American jobs. But pro-immigration advocates can just as easily
make the case that immigrants are job generators for Americans. And immigration
can do even more to help the economy than is the case under the current system.
Here are ideas for changing immigration law to attract needed capital into
American businesses and enable employers to hire more American workers. Some of
these are changes that can be made by a government agency while others would
require legislative changes.
1. 1.
Create a retiree visa
What if we
could find people to immigrate to the US who are well off financially who want
to spend money in the US and who have no desire now (or likely in the future)
to try and find employment in the US? We can. They’re retirees and they’ve been
coming to the US for years. But many are reluctant to buy vacation or
retirement properties because they only get 90 or 180 day stays when they come
over and have to deal with convincing a CBP officer that they have strong ties
abroad and are going home after each trip.
Why not
create a retiree visa that would be limited to people who can show a steady source of non-work
income, they have their own health insurance and they own a residence in the US
without a mortgage?
2. 2.
Create a new medical visitor visa
You
may not have heard of medical tourism, but it is a very important new trend in
global health care. People are more and more frequently traveling outside their
own countries for health care. A lot of Americans are looking to go
abroad for procedures, particularly the uninsured, because of big cost
differences. And a lot of wealthy foreign nationals are coming to the US
because we have cutting edge treatments with some of the best doctors in the
world. Creating a separate tourist visa for people who have the financial means
to pay for their US treatment will give a boost to American hospitals and
having foreign nationals able to pay the full bill for their care helps to
underwrite Americans who don’t qualify for government funded care, but are not
well off enough to pay 100% of their medical bills.
3.
Make F-1s dual intent and expand STEM occupations list
When a
student applies for an F-1 visa, the student must demonstrate that he or she
has no intention to immigrate. But it’s pretty hard for someone to prove this
when they’re coming over for a program that lasts several years.
Making
F-1 visas a dual intent category and not denying entry on the basis of a lack
of ties to the home country will help in two very important ways. First,
foreign students very often receive no financial aid and are, in effect,
subsidizing American students unable to afford higher education without some
outside help.
Second,
a great number of American universities have been unable to find enough
American students to fill slots in graduate programs, particularly in the STEM
fields – science, technology, engineering and math. Those foreign students
often make it possible for a university to keep a department going that
otherwise might not survive and thrive without them here. And that means
American graduate students have MORE opportunities. International students also
help ensure that America’s place as the premiere country for research is
maintained.
F-1
students recently got good news when USCIS enacted a rule permitting practical
training to be extended an additional 17 months when they have a degree in a
STEM (science, technology, engineering or math) field. Unfortunately, USCIS
took a very restrictive reading on which jobs are in STEM fields. The social,
behavioral and economic sciences are left out despite the fact that the
National Science Foundation includes these occupations in their STEM fields
list. And how about including health science graduates? Even if the goal is
promote industries other than direct health care, it’s worth noting that many
of these graduates work in biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device
industries which are key export fields for the US.
4. 4. Improve
the EB-5 immigrant investor program
Over the past couple of years on this blog, I've reported on a number of disturbing examples of cruel and offensive treatment of those in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It's nice to be able to report on good news. According to a report in the Dallas Morning News, ICE has dramatically reduced the number of cases where the anti-psychotic drugs such as Haldol are used to forcibly sedate people being deported.
ICE was under considerable pressure to reduce or eliminate the practice as a result of law suits and public pressure. The News reports that ICE has instituted a new policy to require a court order and the recommendation of medical personnel before administering the sedating drugs. The new policy has had a dramatic effect:
Data collected through Freedom of Information Act requests by The Dallas Morning News show that Immigration and Customs Enforcement sedated only 10 people in the past fiscal year. Haldol was used in only three cases.
Over the past six years, through October, federal immigration personnel sedated 384 deportees, an average of 64 a year, the government disclosed. Of those cases, 356 involved the use of Haldol.
Here's a little information on Haldol:
Haldol is used to treat schizophrenia and such psychotic symptoms as hallucinations, delusions and hostility.
It is sometimes used in hospital emergency rooms to manage acute agitation and psychosis.
Medical authorities say the use of Haldol carries potential complications. The drug can trigger such adverse reactions as muscular spasms and a condition known as neuroleptic malignant syndrome that can result in a coma and even death if left untreated.
Scott Allen, an internist and co-founder of the Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights in Providence, R.I., said he opposes sedation except for deportees with schizophrenia or other mental illness.
In the past year, ICE has managed to significantly increase deportations and it has achieved this objective without resorting to doping deportees. Defenders of the practice of using the anti-psychotic drugs argued that ICE agents could not do their jobs without the drugs. The evidence now clearly shows otherwise.
ABC Television recently announced cancellation of Pushing Daisies, one of the most creative shows on network television. I regularly watch with my kids and we were really disappointed to hear the news that the plug was being pulled on this most enjoyable television series. I was happy to see that fans of the show have organized an online petition drive and are also trying to get other networks interested in picking up the show.
One of my favorite cast members on the show is British actress Anna Friel. Friel plays Charlotte "Chuck" Charles, one of the female leads on the show. She has been nominated for a Golden Globe for the role. Before Daisies, she acted in numerous movies as well as television series in both the US and Britain.
Detaining Polish grandmas? Really?
chamber of commerce suit over FAR reg - Free Legal Forms
Dave Bennion at Change.org writes a column on immigration law I read regularly and it's well worth adding to your bookmark list. Dave mentioned me in one of his latest posts in an article on immigration lawmaking during the economic crisis. Dave notes that my views on the subject are contrary to an opinion recently expressed in one of my favorite news magazines, The Economist.
More evidence that enforcement is working. The next time you hear an anti moan about the US not enforcing the laws on the books, ask them to talk to an IFCO stockholder.
The next Congress has the ability to stop nonsense like this. We're not living in an Orwellian state yet, but we're getting closer when the government starts tracking the movement of everyone. Green card holders are just shy of citizens in terms of their status in this country and you can bet that citizens are next on the list if the folks who came up with this rule have their way.
My friend Chuck Kuck, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, had this to say:
A bedrock principle of our society is freedom from government intrusion without reason. The sole reason permanent residents will be singled out for data collection is the fact that they are not yet United States citizens. Without any reason to suspect wrongdoing, the U.S. Government will now collect biometric data from lawful permanent residents each time they enter the United States; privacy is now extinct. The expansion of this unproven program is premature. The proposed implementation strategy requires a far more detailed assessment of the costs of implementation and ongoing administration. The impact on the free flow of international travel and trade especially in this current time of economic upheaval has not even been assessed. This new rule will only harm the U.S. economy even more, and lead to lost productivity, competition, and jobs. Be afraid.Here is USCIS' summary of the changes. I'll have more to say after I've gone through the full text of the new rule.
Reduces from six months to three months the time an H-2B worker who has spent three years in the U.S. must reside and be physically present outside the United States before he or she is eligible to re-obtain H-2B status; Prohibits H-2B employers and recruiters from imposing certain fees on prospective H-2B workers as a condition of securing employment;Eliminates USCIS’ current authority to adjudicate H-2B petitions where the Secretary of Labor or the Governor of Guam has not granted a temporary labor certification;
Enhances employer sanctions by imposing debarment provisions. If the Department of Labor finds that a petitioner substantially failed to meet any of the conditions of the H-2B petition or willfully misrepresented a material fact in such petition, USCIS may deny certain petitions filed by that petitioner for a period of at least 1 year but not more than 5 years. This debarment process is covered by the Department of Labor’s final H-2B regulations, which are being published in the Federal Register on [date]. H-2B employers who have been debarred by the DOL under these provisions are ineligible to obtain a temporary labor certification for the period determined by DOL. Because a temporary labor certification is required to qualify for H-2B classification, these employers will not be eligible to file H-2B petitions during the DOL imposed debarment period.
Beginning with petitions filed for workers for Fiscal Year 2010, prohibits H-2B employers from requesting an employment start date on Form I-129 that is different from the date of need stated on the accompanying approved temporary labor certification;
Clarifies USCIS’ authority to issue a notice of denial or revocation of a Form I-129 if USCIS determines that the statements on the petition or application for labor certification are inaccurate or fraudulent, or misrepresent a material fact;
Establishes a land-border exit system pilot program under which H-2B workers admitted through a participating port of entry must also depart through that participating port of entry and present, upon departure, designated biographical information, possibly including biometric identifiers;
Amends the current definition of “temporary services or labor” to include a specific one-time need of up to three years, without requiring the employer to demonstrate extraordinary circumstances;Reduces the minimum period spent outside the United States that would be considered interruptive of accrual of time towards the three-year limit; and
Allows the substitution of beneficiaries who were previously approved for consular processing, but have not been admitted, with aliens who are currently in the United States.
Remove the separate attestation requirement contained in the proposed rule and amend the Form I-129, “Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker,” to include the attestation provisions.
Offer H-2B petitioners a means to avoid denial or revocation of the H-2B petition in cases where USCIS determines that the petitioner discovers after filing that the worker paid or has agreed to pay to a third party prohibited fees as a condition of obtaining H-2B employment.
Permit the approval of H-2B petitions only for nationals of certain countries important to the operation of the program and appearing on a list to be published annually in the Federal Register. The initial list of participating countries to be published simultaneously with the Final Rule includes Mexico, Jamaica, and 26 others. DHS may allow on a case-by-case basis a worker from a country not on the list to be eligible for the H-2B program if such participation is in the U.S. interest;
Require H-2B employers whose petitions have been denied or revoked based on the payment of prohibited fees to demonstrate, as a condition of approval of H-2B petitions filed within one year of the denial or revocation, that the H-2B workers have been reimbursed or the H-2B workers cannot be located despite the petitioner’s reasonable efforts.
Require petitioners to provide notification to USCIS within 2 work days in the following instances: (a) where an H-2B worker fails to report to work within five work days of the employment start date on the H-2B petition; (b) where the non-agricultural labor or services for which H-2B workers were hired is completed more than 30 days earlier than the end date stated on the H-2B petition; or (c) where the H-2B worker absconds from the worksite or is terminated prior to the completion of the non-agricultural labor or services for which he or she was hired;
Provide that an employer may not file an H-2B petition more than 120 days before the date of the employer’s actual need for the beneficiary’s services or labor, as identified on the temporary labor certification. This ensures consistency between USCIS and DOL regulations.
Provide USCIS the flexibility to require H-2B petitioners to name beneficiaries, if located outside the United States, in the event that Congress reauthorizes the returning worker provisions or enacts similar legislation exempting certain H nonimmigrants from the numerical limits.
Not adopt the proposed provision to preclude an alien from being accorded H-2B status if USCIS finds that the alien has, at any time during the past 5 years, violated any of the terms or conditions of the current or previously accorded H-2B status, other than through no fault of the alien.
Reduces the minimum period spent outside the United States that would be considered interruptive of accrual of time towards the three-year limit; and
Allows the substitution of beneficiaries who were previously approved for consular processing, but have not been admitted, with aliens who are currently in the United States.
CPB announces 18,000 new border patrol agents hired - Free Legal Forms
When Michael Maggio passed away last February, it was a real blow to the entire immigration bar and the broader pro-immigration community. The man was a true legend in the field and his influence on immigration law will be felt for many years to come.
I was pleased to learn of a new web site honoring Michael's legacy. You can learn about the man and his legacy at www.michaelmaggio.org.
In many of those districts where the courts have exclusive jurisdiction to issue oaths, backlogs are increasing despite USCIS' commendable improvements in processing times. In at least one large metropolitican area earlier this year, a judge refused USCIS request to conduct extra ceremonies that would have allowed about 2,000 people to vote in the November election.
In another case, a USCIS official requested a judge conduct an additional ceremony so that the agency could meet its naturalization goals. The judge demanded USCIS pay and rent a historical venue to conduct the ceremony. When the USCIS official stated that the office didn't have the funds for this and requested that the court facilities be used. The judge failed to back down and USCIS was forced to pay for the rental costs of the venue.
And in another case, USCIS leased for a year a larger facility than the courthouse so that more people could be naturalized in each ceremony. But the judge refused to conduct the ceremonies unless USCIS nevertheless paid the courts rent money despite the fact that the court was not used.
And two more incidents warrant a direct quote:
Threatening Verbiage. One USCIS district office reported an episode that resulted in a judge threatening to have USCIS officials fired for conducting an administrative naturalization ceremony. These district officials had repeatedly petitioned the court to provide additional administrative ceremonies. The district officials then exercised their authority to oath persons waiting more than 45 days, since approval from the court was no longer required as a matter of law.38 The administrative oath ceremony got typical press coverage and the judge saw the event on the television news. He phoned a USCIS officer at 9:00 p.m. and threatened to have him and his colleagues fired for ignoring the judge’s decision.
The Washington Post's story on the report can be found here. And here is the Ombudsman's report.
USCIS Ombudsman Naturalization report - Get more Business Documents
About The Author
Greg Siskind is a partner in Siskind Susser's Memphis, Tennessee, office. After graduating magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University, he received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Chicago. Mr. Siskind is a member of AILA, a board member of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, and a member of the ABA, where he serves on the LPM Publishing Board as Marketing Vice Chairman. He is the author of several books, including the J Visa Guidebook and The Lawyer's Guide to Marketing on the Internet. Mr. Siskind practices all areas of immigration law, specializing in immigration matters of the health care and technology industries. He can be reached by email at gsiskind@visalaw.com
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