ILW.COM - immigration news: Immigrant's Weekly January 28, 2002

Immigrant's Weekly

Editorial Board:
Arthur L. Zabenko, Esq., Marc Ellis, Esq.

Jan 28, 2002
Previous Issues

Immigration is about people's lives. The ongoing discussion in the Letters to the Editor illustrates well the tension between laws and the way people live their lives. Though writing from different viewpoints, the authors seem to be able to agree that people who are working in the US illegally doing jobs most American do not want to do and supporting their families instead of looking for help from the government are not necessarily bad people. Yet they are in violation of the law. Current estimates of the number of people who are in the US illegally and whom the INS is unwilling or unable to find and remove range around 9 million. When this many people, who are not bad people, are in violation of a law, which was not meant to be a bad law, a new solution is needed. ILW.COM provides the forum opinions related to all aspects of immigration law. Send letters to weeklyeditor@ilw.com

The California Service Center processing times have been updated. We also provide information on processing times at the Eastern Service Center in Vermont, the Northern Service Center in Nebraska, and the Southern Service Center in Texas. We thank the American Immigration Lawyer's Association which makes this information available to the public. If you find a case taking more or less time than indicated on these pages, send the information to times@ilw.com. As the hub for immigration information ILW.COM is a place to share the latest and most up-to-date immigration information.

Articles

Enriched or Entangled? - Opportunities and Risks In Hiring Foreign Workers (Part I)
In the first of two parts Angelo A. Paparelli and J. Ira Burkemper offer suggestions on how businesses can avoid problems and enjoy the benefits of hiring foreign citizens.

A Long, Long Wait For Resident Status; INS Pledges Faster Processing of Cases
According to the Washington Post until recently INS officials were estimating that it could take as many as 20 more years to process thousands of Salvadorans and Guatemalans who fled their homelands in the 1980s and have lived for years in legal limbo, but INS officials said this week that the agency had decided to commit additional resources for overtime and perhaps extra staff to handle more NACARA cases.

Let's Do the Time Warp Again: The Magic of Nunc Pro Tunc
Jose Latour writes that in the hands of a sharp immigration attorney, nunc pro tunc is a virtual time machine where INS can literally turn the clock back and undo some pretty horrific messes.

For Refugees, a Longer Wait at America's Door
According to the New York Times [registration required] the INS, in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, has increased its scrutiny of refugees seeking to enter the United States and the relatives who sponsor their entry.

The ABCs of Immigration - Special Handling Labor Certifications
Greg Siskind and Amy Ballentine write about special handling labor certifications used for professors at colleges and universities, and for aliens of exceptional ability in the performing arts.

En Banc Ninth Circuit Decision - ET Comes Home
Carl Shusterman writes about the recent decision in Socop-Gonzalez v. INS, No. 98-70782 (9th Cir. Dec. 5, 2001), in which the court held that the 90-day period for submitting a Motion to Reopen was "equitably tolled" because the person relied on the erroneous advice of an INS officer when he withdrew his appeal.

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Letters to Editor

Dear Editor:

I have read the responses to my letter of January 16, which you published. In the service of my government, I spent several years working in Mexico and there I learned to appreciate the people of that country. Since my retirement back to the mid-western city of my birth, I continued my interest in the welfare of the Mexican people. I attend church services at a Spanish language church, which on Sundays is filled wall-to-wall, standing room only, with Mexicans and other Latinos who come to worship. There I see and admire the Mexican devotion to family life. I have social contact with them and am aware that many are undocumented. Most have employment, generally in menial jobs. None that I know are dependent on social services. They are all very conscientious about being law abiding, as they want to avoid problems. Many indicate they want to obtain permanent legal residence here at some time (just as my ancestors did).

Mr. Frecker, who favors immigration restriction, in his January 17 letter agrees with me: "the vast majority of them (Mexicans) are honest hard-working people who are coming here to make a decent living." These undocumented Mexicans now in our country had as much of a chance of getting here legally as I do of winning my state lottery when I never buy a ticket. As one recently told me, "We didn't come here to break a law. We came because we and our families were hungry and we had no work." It is admirable that many send as much as they do back to support their loved ones. This is not country allegiance; this is family devotion. (My grandfather did the same for his German parents years ago.) With the possible exception of the nursing profession, our country has an abundance of educated skilled personnel. It is with the low -paying unpleasant jobs that we have problems. These are the jobs that the Mexican immigrants are filling. They are the ones who bus the tables in our restaurants and wash the dishes in the kitchens. They wield the picks and shovels in our constructions. They are the gardeners who landscape our yards (the ones who actually work the dirt). They harvest the fruits and vegetables that are on our tables. They sweat in our factories and warehouses. They do the hard, menial, dirty jobs that no one else will do. Immigration regulations should consider these classes of employment and those who do these jobs now (and have been doing so without papers for many years).Their contributions should be acknowledged and they should be granted legal status.

Richard E. Baer, DVM

Dear Editor:

I've been reading with some interest the debate in the Letters to the Editor on ILW.COM regarding illegal/undocumented aliens in the US. I am a natural-born US citizen, and I have a few thoughts.

1. These people are breaking the law.
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[To read the whole letter, click here].
.......
The people who have to be convinced to change the law are the rank and file US citizen. Many elections where immigration was a key issue have shown that the government continues to be made up of people who support the will of the majority of their electors. It's those voters who need to be convinced that more immigration is necessary. I used the word "convinced" for a reason - in the US the right answer on matters of governmental policy is determined by the will of the majority of voting citizens. There is no absolute truth when it comes to issues that involve people.

Mark Smith
New Jersey

Immigrant Life

Illegal immigrants have as much right to be in United States as the legal immigrants?

Anne responds: "To live the American Dream...that's what we all are here for, whether legal or illegal. But it is unfortunate for the ones who don't have the proper authorizations to be restricted from living that dream."
FOB writes: "reality check: legal immigrants paid for their previledges while those illegal ones do not have."
Luis says: "I am a illigal worker, i work for a good company, i pay taxes like everybody else, i don't get pay under the table like some people think we do, i don't get tax refund and the goberment keep that money that i work very hard for. i don't mind not getting tax refund, that is the price i have to pay for being illigal immigrant."