A Note from the Editors:

Deportation To - Not From - US, INS Officer Reportedly Deported

There is never a dull moment in immigration law. Deportation is commonly thought of as deportation from the US, not as deportation to the US. Think again. Deportation is also commonly thought of as something INS officers do, not as something done to an INS officer. Think again.

An INS officer stationed at Calgary Airport, Canada came up with a novel idea - instead of accepting bribes to let people into the US, he would accept bribes to keep people out of the US. How so? Who would pay to keep people out? In our interconnected economy, companies around the world do business with the US, and their employees need to travel frequently to the US on business. Refusing entry to business visitors to the US can seriously hurt companies overseas. This is something a competitor would pay for. And that is what the INS officer did. He received bribes from a company in Canada for refusing entry into the US by its competitors' employees. Two competitors were affected, and one of them went out of business as a result.

For an article on the original charge in January 2002, see http://report.ca/archive/report/20020107/p23i020107f.html. For a short comment on this case by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trades in October 2002, see http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/tna-nac/report_parliament-en.asp. For a report on the Canadian criminal proceedings in October 2002, see http://www4.gov.ab.ca/just/ims/client/upload/CriminalCaseBulletinv821.htm#six. The INS officer has now reportedly been deported to the US after serving a 6-month sentence in Canada, see http://www.visalaw.com/03feb2/7feb203.html.

This incident highlights the fact that we live in an interconnected world and that companies across the globe are affected by immigration matters. Economics and immigration are intertwined.

We welcome readers to send their comments to weeklyeditor@ilw.com.

Articles

Editorial Says Undocumented Workers Should Be Legalized
An editorial in the Arizona Republic says "Millions of undocumented workers are filling jobs around the country: cleaning rooms in hotels, cutting meat in slaughterhouses, trimming trees in your neighborhood ... But the market can't resolve the issue of illegal immigration. It's up to the government to end this shadowy world of workers who do the job and pay taxes when they spend the money, but remain on the margins of society."

Special Registration: Spotlight On The Indonesian Community
Marc Hoffman, MBA, JD writes about Special Registration as it relates to the Indonesian community.

INS Extends Special Registration Deadline
The INS extended Special Registration deadlines, and permitted nonimmigrant aliens of Pakistan or Saudi Arabia to timely register on or before March 21, 2003, while nonimmigrant aliens of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, or Kuwait have been permitted to timely register on or before April 25, 2003.

Draft Patriot Act II Legislation Discovered
Cyrus D. Mehta writes about Patriot Act II, draft legislation from the DOJ, which would give the government additional powers to increase law enforcement prerogatives, while simultaneously decreasing judicial review.

8-year Old Boys Are Not Threats To America
The Courier Post of Bridgewater, NJ reports on the separation of a family by the immigration laws and quotes Rep. Andrews (D-NJ) "I don't think 8-year-old boys and their mothers are a threat to America."

100 Undocumented Workers Arrested
The Salt Lake Tribune of Salt Lake City, UT reports on the arrest of 100 undocumented workers at Champion Safe in Utah.

Improvements Are Coming
Asa Hutchinson, Undersecretary for Border and Transportation Security at the Department of Homeland Security, writes "One of the problems to fix is that many key employees lacked access to the information they needed to do their jobs effectively. That's about to change".

How Do I Get an Immigrant Visa Number?
Read comprehensive answer from INS on how to get an immigrant visa.

ILW Highlights

Find a Lawyer

On ILW.COM's Find a Lawyer page we provide a place where people needing the services of an immigration lawyer can find a lawyer to meet their needs and preferences. We currently have over 350 attorneys listed in the directory. The Find a Lawyer page allows searches based on location, areas of expertise and languages spoken. If you are looking for a specific lawyer or law firm, you can do so also.

Letters to Editors

To write to Editors, send emails to weeklyeditor@ilw.com.

Dear Editor,

Nuclear families should never be separated. So please if you are considering leaving your family to come to America, do the responsible thing and stay home were you belong, with your spouse and children. Anything less would be immoral. And, if you do chose to abandon your family to come to the United States, please do not blame the U.S. government for your separation.

Anonymous

Dear Editor,

Thank you, thank you!!!

At long last, someone dares to speak out against the immorality of separating loving, supportive spouses from one another, and parents from children who desperately need the love and guidance that only parents can provide! As the (American-born) wife of a Mexican man who is now, finally, a Legal Permanent Resident, I've experienced first-hand the agony of a loving father who has had to endure a 4-year separation from his only child who lives in Mexico. More than once, I've wondered if George and Laura Bush would feel that a 4-year forced separation from one of their daughters would be an, "extreme hardship." To the INS, it apparently is not.

Anonymous

Dear Editor,

Japanese Interment Was Justified Says Rep. Coble

You reported:
CNN.COM reports "Rep. Howard Coble, R-N.C., who heads the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, said on a radio call-in program Tuesday that he agreed with the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. "

Let's put a little history behind this; from http://ragz-international.com/asian_americans.htm

Incidentally, No Japanese American was ever found guilty of espionage against the United States.

Dave Anderson

Dear Editor,

I will lead the charge on this front, give me a task and a direction and I will do it!

I also believe that the INS or whatever it is now should not be allowed to "decide" if a marriage is "valid". I think all violations should be waived and or amnesty and a fine should be imposed for illegal alien spouses of US Citizens regardless of past immigration violations including failure to depart the country since its insane to ask a mother or father or spouse to abandon his family, wife, husband.

In fact effort should be made to draft legislation aimed at solutions to these problems. The current policy makes life miserable for inadvertant overstays and creates a quagmire of paperwork and costs the government a fortune in administration.

A bill that creates a substantial fine for overstays and purchased amnesty could possibly solve many issues for many folks involved in immigration and end the backlog to boot along with funding the whole mess.

Lets use 25k as a baseline fine for immediate amnesty for immediate family member )spouse or child under 18 )overstays and failure to departs. Apply , give government 6 months to investigate for felonies and then have a hearing where the cash is turned over and the green card is handed to them. Do the math..

And bottom line in this country MONEY TALKS.. most other "criminals" if they have enough money can buy thier way out of this mess. And the immigrants that can come up with 25k in cash in 6 months are probably going to be in good shape for the future and it also answers the "cost question" often raised in anti-immigrant arguments.

Name Withheld Upon Request [Ed. 10/29/03]

Dear Editor,

I am shocked that anyone would question the effective use of Legislative Assistants in obtaining data on petitions/applications pending at the Service Centers.

Is anonymous totally stupid? Why rock the boat at this stage of the game when we need all the positive assistance we can muster to have petitions/applications expedited when necessary.

I have been a professional Immigration Legal Assistant for the past 20 years and I have never encountered such stupidity from anyone in this profession.

Give it a rest, Anonymous.

Patrick J. Corr

Dear Editor,

I agree to have the permanent resident spouse applications to be treated like US citizens ones or at least take much more less time than what it is now.

Anonymous

Immigrant Life

What was the median income in 2001 for Hispanic households?

• $28,995
• $30,200
• $33,565

This week's chat schedule

When	Attorney
Monday, February 24 8:00 pm Eastern Time	Shari Moidel, Esq.
Wednesday, February 26 8:00 pm Eastern Time	Alice Yardum-Hunter, Esq.
Friday, February 28 8:00 pm Eastern Time	Karen Meade, Esq.

Classifieds

For information on advertising in the classifieds please click here.