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Comment
Election Bullseye
The House passed the FY 2009 Continuing Resolution (H.R. 2638) on Thursday, September 25th. Amazingly, Congress is apparently cutting immigration benefits, including eliminating the following: the Conrad 30 waiver J-1 program, H-2B returning worker provisions, special immigrant religious worker provisions, etc. Congress was expected to deliver modest immigration benefits, including some numbers for nurses and recapture of unused visa numbers, none of these new benefits were enacted. However, appropriations for the E-Verify program, the EB-5 program, and massive immigration enforcement were passed. In any other year, this would be the end of the legislative action. However, the currently contemplated $700B financial industry bailout is delaying Congress's adjournment, and this, coupled with the election mere weeks away creates a singular opportunity to enact immediate immigration benefits. Here's why.
More and more election analysts are coming around to the conclusion that what Florida was to 2000 and what Ohio was to 2004, Colorado will be to 2008 (for a detailed analysis, see
Stuart Rothenberg's commentary and Jay Cost's analysis). Our argument goes further and as follows: swing states swing the election, the Southwestern states are the key swing states; the Hispanic vote swings the Southwest, the immigration issue swings the Hispanic vote. Ergo, immigration swings this election. With every passing day as this becomes clear, we expect both campaigns to exert pressure on their respective sides in Congress to help their party win.
We urge immigration advocates in the Southwest states of Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico to ask their local Spanish language media to push Congress to enact immediate immigration benefits prior to adjournment. This gives the politicians the chance to show that they can deliver on the larger immigration promises that they are making with abandon in the heat of the election season. Both parties have the opportunity to woo the critical Hispanic vote by passing immigration benefit provisions NOW. A good start would be to restore the benefits as above and enact the modest benefits of nurse numbers and recapture prior to adjournment.
We welcome readers to share their opinion and ideas with us by writing to editor@ilw.com.
Focus
New 2008-2009 Edition For Immigration Practice By Robert C. Divine
Immigration Practice by Robert C.
Divine & R. Blake Chisam is an invaluable supplement to Kurzban's with a
different approach. It is also useful to newer practitioners and paralegals
in view of its easy to understand and practical style. For more info, see here. To order by fax, see here.
Article
Immigrants Of The Week: Marta Karolyi, Bernard Lagat, and David Zhuang
Greg Siskind honors the immigrants of this week.
Bloggings on Dysfunctional Government
Angelo Paparelli shares the latest entries as of September 19, 2008 on his Dysfunctional Government blog.
To submit an Article for consideration, write to editor@ilw.com.
News
USCIS Extends TPS To Nicaragua And Honduras Nationals
USCIS announced that it will extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to nationals of Nicaragua through July 5, 2010. For the Nicaragua press release, see here. For the related Q and A, see here. For the Honduras press release, see here. For the related Q and A, see here.
Classifieds
Help Wanted: Immigration Attorney
Washington, DC - USCIS Office of Chief Counsel (OCC) seeks experienced attorney for its Refugee and Asylum Law Division. This is a full-time position. Provide legal advice on domestic asylum law and practice, overseas refugee resettlement programs, temporary protected status, and CAT. Strong legal research and writing skills, and ability to complete assignments
with short deadlines essential. For more info, key in Job Announcement Number: COU-CIS-2008-0010 at USAJobs.com. Submit a resume (or Optional Application for
Federal Employment, OF-612) + cover letter discussing related work experience to: Ron Whitney, Refugee and Asylum Law Division Chief at Ronald.Whitney@dhs.gov. Must be received by close of business Friday, October 3, 2008. Position is at the GS-13-GS-15 levels, open until filled. No relocation reimbursement available.
Help Wanted: Immigration Attorney
Metropolitan Washington, D.C. law firm seeks associate with 3+ years of experience in employment and family-based immigration law. Excellent salary/benefits. This is a blind ad posting. Qualified candidates, send resume to: metrodclaw@gmail.com.
Help Wanted: Immigration Paralegal
Downtown Washington, D.C. - Boutique immigration firm seeks senior business immigration paralegal. Small, friendly environment with no billable hours requirements. Bachelor's degree required and 5 + years of business immigration experience preferred. Must be proficient in preparation of PERM cases, H-1B, L-1, O-1 and E-1/E-2 visas, I-140 EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 petitions, adjustment applications and consular processing. Bilingual English/Spanish preferred, but must have excellent English writing skills. Must be comfortable with extensive client contact and have the ability to multitask effectively. Compensation commensurate with experience and skill level. Please send resume with cover letter and salary requirements to: pschwartz@paulhaarlaw.com. No calls please.
Help Wanted: Immigration Paralegal
Midtown Manhattan - Prominent immigration law firm seeks paralegal with 3-5 years of business immigration experience. Applicant will work in high volume team environment. Applicant will have client contact and work with state-of-the-art case management system. Applicant must have excellent writing, communication and organization skills. Potential for assignment in firm's Bergen County, NJ office. Please send resume to: resumes@wildesweinberg.com.
EB-5 Business For Sale
US EB-5 opportunity - Lumber manufacturing, Barnes Manufacturing Co., Kenbridge, VA, Lunenburg County. $2.7 million USD. No debt or inventory included. To view pictures and an appraisal report, see here. To discuss further, contact Thomas Barnes at: barnestb@earthlink.net or call 434-955-0595 (after 10 am EST). All inquiries will be kept confidential.
Case Management Technology
Are you ready for the new changes in immigration? See why INSZoom has a 99% customer retention rate. Use our forms with peace of mind - 800+ updated within 24 hours of any new release, no patches or downloads. E-File 20+ forms. Access your firm's online database anywhere you have internet access. Client relationship management tools, practice management tools, group calendaring, emails, notes, reports, invoices, auto email alerts and reminders, document storage and assembly. A library of customizable
questionnaires, letters and email templates included. Online access for clients to check case status included. Compliancy modules: I9, LCA, AR 11, PERM. Optional services: credit card processing, Outlook & QuickBooks integration. One-time data entry and auto population into all documents will save you time and reduce errors. Customizable to support solo practitioners, mid-large law firms & corporations. We teach you how to customize the software to fit your
processes and communication needs. Founded in 1999, INSZoom is a profitable, financially sound company, employing 80+ engineers and 11 sales and support staff. INSZoom is the "world's largest immigration software company", built with flexible modules that allow you to manage and control technology. To schedule a complimentary online demo, call 925-244-0600 or email info@inszoom.com.
Headlines
Man Sentenced Five Years For Posing As Immigration Official
A South Bay man who posed as an immigration official, telling people he could quickly process their citizenship papers for a fee, was sentenced Friday to five years in state prison.
Colo. Leaders, Businesses Demand Immigration Reform
Colorado employers, religious leaders and Gov. Bill Ritter converged at the statehouse in separate events Thursday with a message to the next president and Congress: Fix the nation's broken immigration system.
Illegal Immigration, Electoral Votes
Amid lipstick smears and distortions from both presidential candidates, a forgotten issue that was once the biggest concern of this election cycle has largely faded from public consciousness: illegal immigration.
Economy, Immigration Could Boost Hispanic Vote
This year, experts and activists say, the struggling economy, immigration policy, the candidates themselves and groups promoting voter registration could make Hispanic voters a more powerful force around Arizona and the nation.
comingsNgoings
Readers can share their professional announcements (100-words or fewer at no charge), email: editor@ilw.com. Readers interested in learning about featuring your event or conference in Immigration Daily, see here. To feature your newsletter in Immigration Daily, see here.
Immigration Event - New York, NY
Immigrants' List (IL) cordially invites you to a cocktail reception and an introduction to the congressional candidates that IL will support in the 2008 election. Monday, October 27, 2008, 6-8pm, Cognac Restaurant, 1740 Broadway, New York, NY.
Hosted by: Ted Ruthizer, Marcia Needleman, Jan Brown,Ira Kurzban, David K. S. Kim,Cheryl David, Steve Klapisch,
Suzette Brooks -Masters, Maxine Lee, Noemi Masliah, Sheldon Zelig
Suggested Contribution Levels: Host:$500, Sponsor:$250, Friend:$100. Please RSVP to Joshua Gray at jgray@immigrantslist.org or (202) 939-8644. To learn more, see: http://www.immigrantslist.org/. ILW.COM is pleased to be an event media sponsor.
Letters
Readers are welcome to share their comments, email: editor@ilw.com (300-words or fewer preferred). Many letters to the Editor refer to past correspondence, available in our archives.
Dear Editor:
The 9/26/08 - ID letter of Jennifer Garcia
and others seem oblivious to a couple of things including that US
taxpayers also are "sick" of the financial, criminal and social burden
that Latino illegals and others impose and it is truly "ignorant" to
deny that the latter have no blame for the "US downfall". The "true
facts" are found in a current article by Michelle Malkin: "Illegal
Immigration And The Mortgage Mess" which makes these points: Most of the
areas hardest hit by the foreclosure wave are the nation's largest
illegal alien sanctuaries. Half of the mortgages to Hispanics are
subprime. A quarter of all those subprime loans are in default. La Raza
has received millions in federal funds to "counsel" their constituents
on obtaining mortgages with little to no money down. Illegal alien home
loan rackets have been found. Hispanics have been courted aggressively
by real estate agents, mortgage brokers and programs for first-time
buyers that offer help with closing costs. Ads proclaim: "Sin
verificacion de ingresos. Sin verificacion de documento." which loosely
translates as: 'Income tax forms are not required, nor are immigration
papers'. Fraudsters have engaged in massive house-flipping rings using
illegal aliens as straw buyers. With unwise policies of allowing illegal
aliens to use unverifiable "matricula consular cards" and taxpayer
identification numbers to open bank accounts, more forms of mortgage
fraud have burgeoned. Matricula cards are only needed by illegals and
have been liberally issued, once to a pet dog. Denial is also a river.
Jim Roberts
An Important disclaimer! The information provided on this page is not legal advice. Transmission of this information is not intended to create, and receipt by you does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Readers must not act upon any information without first seeking advice from a qualified attorney. Copyright 1995- American Immigration LLC, ILW.COM. Send correspondence and articles to editor@ilw.com. Letters and articles may be edited and may be published and otherwise used in any medium. The views expressed in letters and articles do not necessarily represent the views of ILW.COM.
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