Comment

Clock Ticks On AGJOBS

AGJOBS was until recently, billed as the one immigration legislation with enough support to pass a divided Congress, a measure that would grant qualified agricultural workers and their families temporary legal status in the US, with a path to obtaining a green card. However, it appears that AGJOBS has stalled in Congress in recent days. A symbol of the legislations' difficulties occurred last Wednesday, when Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) sought to tack the bill onto an unrelated class-action lawsuit reform bill. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist fended off the effort (see news item here). President Bush has said little on the topic, while Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry has pledged a comprehensive immigration reform bill to Congress in his first hundred days as President, including his signing of a bill that would help farmworkers. With little time remaining, the fate of AGJOBS looms. Immigrant's Weekly will keep you informed of the latest developments.

We welcome readers to share their opinion by writing to weeklyeditor@ilw.com.

Highlight

Family Immigration And Removal

ILW.COM's current seminar offerings:

Family Immigration: The Long Route From Love To Citizenship
The July 26th session will cover cutting-edge strategies for special marriage situations and bad marriage interviews. The deadline to register is Thursday, July 22nd. For more info, including detailed curriculum, speaker bios, and registration information, see: http://www.ilw.com/seminars/june2004.shtm. (Fax version: http://www.ilw.com/seminars/june2004.pdf.)

The Three Rs: Removal, Relief and Review
The July 28th session will cover Arrest and Hearing: detention issues, removal grounds, burden, defenses, suppression. The deadline to sign up for this session is Monday, July 26th. For more info, including detailed curriculum, speaker bios, and registration information, see: http://www.ilw.com/seminars/july2004.shtm. (Fax version: http://www.ilw.com/seminars/july2004.pdf.)

Articles

The McCarran-Walter Act: A Contradictory Legacy on Race, Quotas, and Ideology
Alicia J. Campi at the Immigration Policy Center writes "The [McCarran-Walter] Act was an important, historic piece of immigration legislation, although only an imperfect step toward ending discrimination based on race in US immigration policy."

Reverse Immigration: Foreign Nationals Working In India
Cyrus Mehta and Poorvi Chothani explain how foreign nationals can work in India.

Asylum Resource Series: Democratic Republic of Congo
USCIS Asylum Resource Information Center offers asylum information on Democratic Republic of Congo.

An Immigration Roundup
Jose Latour et al. provide a roundup of recent immigration events.

The Day After The Next 9/11: How Outsourcing Is Helping Al Qaeda
J. Michael Brower writes "When the pursuit of cheap labor enters the public sector in the form of privatization, the impact can be even more destructive."

Tax Residency Rules
Paula Singer, Esq. writes "US income and employment tax rules vary with the employee's immigration status and substantial presence in the US."

Chat

When	Attorney
Logon for chat Next Chat: Tue, Jul 20, 5:00 PM ET (New York Time) Questions will be accepted starting 15 minutes before the event.	Stuart J. Reich
Tue, July 27, 5:00 pm Eastern	To Be Announced
Tue, Aug 3, 5:00 pm Eastern	To Be Announced
Tue, Aug 10, 5:00 pm Eastern	To Be Announced
Tue, Aug 17, 5:00 pm Eastern	To Be Announced
Tue, Aug 24, 5:00 pm Eastern	To Be Announced
Tue, Aug 31, 5:00 pm Eastern	To Be Announced

Letters

Send your letters to weeklyeditor@ilw.com.

Dear Editor:
In response to luzr's letter, so companies should be able to bring in workers who'll work for $2 or $5 an hour? Sure, as long as they guarantee to support that person for the rest of their life, to pay for the education of his/her children, and to provide him/her (and family) with medical care for the rest of their days. But, they expect the rest of us to not only pay the taxes to provide for the basic care of these workers, but to buy their products with diminished wages. To send our young men and women, often from the poorest backgrounds, overseas to fight wars to protect corporate interests. And to look the other way while corporations and their officers loot company value, and stash the profits in bank accounts in the Caymans. What we are seeing now is strangely reminiscent of the late 19th century, when Robber Barons ruled the roost, the public was damned, and Randolph Hearst helped start the Spanish American War.

Ali Alexander

Dear Editor:
In response to your editorial, "What's in a name?", how about focusing on enforcing the federal law of 1986 - IRCA - Immigration Reform and Control Act? We have a current federal law that states that only US citizens or nationals, temporary resident aliens and permanent resident aliens are permitted to be employed in the US. What enforcement body is doing anything about that? Employers continue to employ undocumented, illegal aliens because they can. Thousands of employers continue to break a federal law with no fear, since there are absolutely no consequences. Hence, the myriad of problems resulting from this illegal practice continue. Doesn't matter what name you use (ICE, or...), we need an enforcement body that actually supports and enforces an existing federal law. Let us look at your comment in this most recent newsletter; I quote..."ICE should not lose sight of its primary mission: to help protect our homeland by hunting terrorists, it should leave dishwashers, cooks, and gardeners alone." By leaving the dishwashers, cooks and gardeners alone, do you mean that you are advocating that employers continue to violate the federal law? Are you now supporting continued illegal activities? What a sad state of affairs. I guess law abiding citizens, nationals and documented aliens, along with honest employers truly do not have a chance. The message is clear - go ahead, continue to break the law, no one cares and no one will stop you. Still proud to be a (legal) USC. God Bless America

Mary Ann V.M. Lopez