A Note from the Editors:

$250 Thousand Million

Many involved in the immigration debate, both on the pro-immigration and the anti-immigration sides, all too often believe that immigrants are a net drain on the American economy. Those on the pro-immigration side then typically call for compassion for the immigrants, and those on the anti-immigration side typically call for a halt or reduction of immigrants. We believe that both approaches to immigration are wrong, and for the same reason - immigrants are solid contributors to the economy, and we could not prosper without large-scale immigration. Very often debates on this issue get quickly clouded by a veritable deluge of statistics from both sides, and many people find it hard to digest the slew of statistics that this topic inevitably generates. So, it might help to focus on just one statistic - not to settle the debate, but to get an idea of the enormity of the numbers involved. That might be sufficiently eye-opening for many of our readers.

The Social Security Administration maintains what it calls an "Earnings Suspense File" - an account where the Social Security contributions of those whose names and numbers do not match are deposited. Undoubtedly, some of these are contributions from Americans who made a mistake on their W-4s, but it is our estimate that at least 50% are from hard-working but undocumented immigrants. (See the graph on page 12 of the Audit Report from the Office of the Inspector General at the Social Security Administration at http://www.ssa.gov/oig/ADOBEPDF/A-03-00-10022.pdf - the spectacular drop in the Earnings Suspense File at exactly the time that immigrants were legalized through IRCA speaks for itself). Now back to the numbers. This account at the SSA now has about $500 Billion in it! That's right, about half a trillion dollars. Which means that, in our opinion, poor, undocumented immigrants have pumped in a quarter of a trillion dollars into Uncle Sam's pockets. It would not be a stretch to say that, but for large-scale immigration, we would have had deficits throughout the 1990s. As we said earlier in this opinion, we are not trying to settle the debate here - just to point out the enormity of the numbers. Lets see what a quarter trillion means - it means $250 thousand million. The monies deposited into the US treasury by undocumented workers are about the same as the entire net worth of a quarter of million millionaires. We hope that arguments of the economic value of immigrants will now look a little different. Immigration is not about penny ante, it is big bucks - no wonder it is also big politics.

Proofing error corrected. 5/7/03. Ed.

Articles

From The Beginning: Agile Immigration Advocacy For New Businesses: Finale
Susan K. Wehrer and Angelo A. Paparelli discuss immigration issues that may be relevant to a company in the initial stages of creation and will offer general guidance on possible immigration strategies for company principals and key employees. This is a compilation of the (3) articles in the series that originally appeared in each Monday's issue beginning in the April 14, 2003 issue of Immigration Daily.

Race, Nationality, and Reality: INS Administration of Racial Provisions in US Immigration and Nationality Law Since 1898, Part 3 of 8
Marian L. Smith writes "Unless the courts issued enough decisions to determine the eligibility of every possible "race" that might apply for citizenship, or until the Supreme Court might issue broad guidance on the definition of white persons, federal officials continued to live amid uncertainty."

2 DOS Employees And 7 Others Charged With Conspiring To Sell Visas
The Department of Justice announced in a press release that a federal grand jury in Sacramento returned an 18-count indictment charging nine persons, including two former State Department employees, in connection with an alleged corrupt scheme, operating out of the U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka, to sell entry visas to the US.

2/3rds Of Asylum Applications Are From PRC, Cuba, Colombia, And Haiti
The INS released the Refugees/Asylees Section (34 pps.) of its 2002 Statistical Yearbook Section which presents information on persons who are admitted to the US because of persecution abroad, including the number and characteristics of persons applying, approved, arriving, and adjusting to lawful permanent resident status. The Nationals of the People's Republic of China submitted the most applications (2,326), followed by Cuba (2,195), Colombia (1,230), and Haiti (759). These four countries accounted for about 67 percent of all applications in 2002.

Preventative Lawyering: How Defense Counsel Can Defend Immigrants' Rights
Lory Diana Rosenberg writes "It is imperative that criminal defense counsel understand the fundamental laws governing the immigration consequences of convictions."

TPS Extended For Nicaragua And Honduras
BCIS extended the designation of Nicaragua and Honduras under the temporary protected status program for 18 months until January 5, 2005.

INS Provides Additional Guidance On Child Status Protection Act
The Executive Associate Commissioner of the Office of Field Operations at the INS released a memo providing additional guidance to INS officers concerning the amendments made to the INA by the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA).

Is Your Name Osama?
MotherJones.com of San Francisco, CA reports that name profiling is creating problems for those American who have similiar names with those on various lists of suspected terrorists, money launderers, and narcotraffickers maintained by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC).

Results Of Hamilton College Immigration Opinion Poll
Paul Hagstrom et al and the Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center at Hamilton College find that more than 4 in 10 Americans favor decreasing immigration levels.

INS Provides Guidance On Photograph Waiver: Forms I-90 And I-551
The Executive Associate Commissioner of the Office of Field Operations at the INS released a memo providing additional guidance to regional directors on the waiver of photographs for Forms I-90, Applicants Seeking a Replacement or Renewal Form I-551.

France's Immigration Reform Limits The "Double Penalty" of Deportation After Time Served
Carl R. Baldwin discusses the French approach to immigration and deportation as an exercise in comparative immigration law.

An Immigration Roundup
Jose Latour discusses several immigration-related items on his mind.

EOIR Statistical 2002 Yearbook Says BIA completions Increased by 49% Between FY 01' And FY 02'
The Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) released its 2002 Statistical Yearbook and which is intended to provide an introduction to the types of immigration matters processed by EOIR on a daily basis. For example, six nationalities were among the top ten nationalities granted asylum each year during the five-year period: China, India, Russia, Albania, Somalia, and Haiti.

New Statistical Yearbook Section Says 573,708 Persons Naturalized In FY 02'
The INS released the Naturalization Section (12 pps.) of its 2002 Statistical Yearbook Section which presents information on the number and characteristics of persons who naturalize in the US.

The Interplay Between The H-1b And L Visa In Today's Economic Downturn
Cyrus D. Mehta writes "If there is a rebound in the economy, it is important for employers to have several visa options to bring the best and brightest from all over the world. This policy would doubtlessly enhance America's productivity and competitiveness, which in turn will create more jobs for US workers."

New Visa Classification Created For 9/11 Victims
The Department of State sought issued an interim rule with request for comments creating a new visa classification "SP" for certain immigrant victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack to file petitions for classification as special immigrants and sets forth the eligibility requirements for the issuance of an immigrant visa in that category, effective May 8, 2003.

How Do I Find Out More Information About The Visa Waiver Program?
Read a comprehensive answer from BCIS on the Visa Waiver Program.

ILW Highlights

Processing Times Updated

Vermont, Nebraska, California Processing Times have been updated.

Letters to Editors

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

Dear Editor:
Here are the results of the Margaret W. Wong & Associates immigration survey which we had written to you about on April 14, 2003.

Margaret W. Wong

Dear Editor:
Why is the Texas Service Center so far behind processing, compared with other Service Centers? We have filed 1-485's and they are now processing Nov 1, 2000. Other centers are processing forms from 2001 and 2002. We have been waiting so very long. We came to the US in 1997. We have now applied for the third time to renew our yearly employment cards and forms allowing us to leave the country if necessary. Why do we have to pay over and over because it is taking them so long? Any information would be appreciated.

Gill

Dear Editor:
Today, I'd like to make a strong plea to the US government to enforce the 86' amnesty. On 12/00 the LIFE Act was passed but I don't think it's enough to legalize illegal immigrants. There are people from countries, who have waited 10+ years to obtain a Green Card. The US economy is going down. In 1996, the Illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibility bill was passed. And as a result, many illegal immigrants were caused hardship, especially due to the 3 and 10-year bars. But, they still manage to make a living here and have been contributing to this country's economic growth. They never been acknowledged for their efforts. That's why, I strongly support enforcing amnesty. I suggest: the following proposals:1) Increase employer penalties. It's not enough right now. Penalties imposed on illegal immigrant(s) (ex. 3 & 10 years bars) are not fair. If employers don't hire illegal immigrants, there will be no reason for illegal immigrants to come to the US. The '86 Immigration Act had 2 different components; one was amnesty ; the other involved employer penalties. So, this new bill should also have 2 different sides. Support amnesty & increase employers penalties. For example, penalties could be the confiscation of his/her private property. And if the employer is an Alien or US naturalized citizen, they should be deported. If the employer is a US citizen, confiscate their private property. 2) Decrease the total number of immigrant quotas for 3 to 5 years. I think currently, it is 545,000. So, cut the number to 350,000 for 3 to 5 years. 3) If some employers complain, tell them not to hire illegal immigrants any more. Otherwise, they face severe penalties. 4) If amnesty can't be passed, consider putting another bill together. For example, reform the F (student) visa. It is possible that deflation will progress. With amnesty, this can be prevented. The newly legalized immigrants will be consumers, producers (workers) & taxpayers. According to the 2000 Census, over 1 million illegal aliens live in US currently. Through amnesty and legalization, the US can expect to receive more tax income. Please consider about amnesty during the 108th session of Congress.

Koji Morita

Immigrant Life

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Continued.

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