Immigration Resources
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by elianaphelps on Feb.10, 2010, under Immigration Law Reform
Los Angeles-based immigrant rights advocates announced Tuesday that they have filed formal complaints against a Santa Clarita councilman they say deserves to be censured for violating the city’s code of ethics and conduct by declaring himself “a proud racist.”
They also accuse Kellar of being a member of the Santa Clarita Valley Independent Minutemen group — a staunch anti-illegal immigration organization whose members sometimes patrol the U.S.-Mexico border in an attempt to prevent illicit crossings. Kellar has denied being a member of the group, which helped organize the rally at which he spoke.
Bob Kellar (ex mayor, ex cop and veteran councilman) has said that he stands by his remarks, which he said were personal and have been misconstrued. He insisted that he abhors racism, and he has received zealous support from many Santa Clarita residents.
Full story on the LA Times site.
by lauraj on Jul.31, 2009, under Deportation, E-Verify, Immigration Law Reform, Law and Policy
What has caused the drastic decline in illegal immigration from Mexico?
In the past year, the number of illegal immigrants crossing the border into the U.S. has reached the lowest level of the past ten years. With the tough economic environment continuing in the U.S., it comes as no surprise to see that fewer immigrants are taking the risk of illegally crossing the border into the U.S. in order to find work. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) placed the unemployment rate for June at 9.5 percent or 14.7 million unemployed people with the prediction of ending the year at an estimated 10.5 percent. Many of the sectors that have been hardest hit tend to employ a large percentage of undocumented workers such as construction and landscaping.
by lauraj on Jul.10, 2009, under Immigration Law Reform, Law and Policy
With an estimated illegal immigrant population close to 3 million, California looks at the cost of illegal immigration and its impact on the state’s budget deficit, which has ballooned to $26.3 billion. Taxpayers frustrated with the current budget crisis and illegal immigration activists are calling for legislators to discontinue welfare payments to children born in the U.S. to illegal immigrant parents. Since the children were born in the U.S., they are eligible to receive welfare benefits. The reasoning behind cutting the benefits to legal immigrant children is the hope that it would save the taxpayers $640 million a year and also no longer provide an incentive for illegal immigration in the future.
by lauraj on Jul.02, 2009, under Immigration Law Reform, Law and Policy
Immigration Reform: President Obama says unlikely this year
Now that the White House has had its first official meeting on immigration reform, are we any closer to seeing reform legislation in Congress before the end of the year? With health care and the economic crisis still consuming Congressional attention, it looks as though immigration reform will have to get in line and wait its turn. Stalling matters even further is the fact that there is no consensus among legislators regarding how to approach reform, which issues need to be addressed and how to implement them.
After a bipartisan meeting with members of congress at the White House, President Obama admitted, “there is not by any means consensus across the table.” He also added, “I have asked my Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Janet Napolitano, to lead up a group that is going to be working with a leadership group from both the House and the Senate to start systematically working through these issues from the Congressional leaders and those with the relevant jurisdiction.” The issues are rather complex ranging from having to deal with the estimated 12 million illegal aliens already living in the U.S. to stricter enforcement of immigration policies and reinforcement of U.S. borders.
On a positive note, Representative Anthony Weiner (D) adds, “I think we do have the votes, or, once this process begins, we will have the votes, if we handle the process right. Let’s start legislating. Let’s not be afraid of our own shadow here.”
(source: whitehouse.gov and nydailynews.com)
by lauraj on Jun.26, 2009, under Immigration Law Reform, Law and Policy
The White House finally holds meetings on immigration reform.
The long awaited bipartisan meeting between the White House, lawmakers and special interest groups on immigration reform has finally arrived and has begun to set the tone for legislation that is hoped to take shape in the fall. A difficult balance is trying to be achieved between more stringent enforcement of illegal immigration on the one hand and a possible citizenship plan for the estimated 13 million illegal aliens that are already living in the U.S on the other.
The man in charge of coming up with the immigration reform draft is Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) who faces the tough challenge of creating a bipartisan bill that could come up for vote in the next legislative session. Senator Schumer states, “I do not believe that a bipartisan immigration bill can be enacted if my colleagues on the other side of the aisle do not believe that Democrats are serious about enforcement.”
Immigration Reform Plan:
Although immigration reform is long overdue, the time frame in which Senator Schumer hopes to bring this about might be overambitious considering other pending legislation such as health care reform. Robert Gibbs, President Obama’s press secretary, said that Obama would like to deal with immigration reform this year. However, he stated “currently where we sit, the math makes that real difficult.”
(source: hispanicbusiness.com)
by lauraj on Jun.21, 2009, under E-Verify, Immigration Law Reform, Law and Policy, WHTI
President Obama Speaks on Immigration Reform
At the Esperanza National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast and Conference, President Obama reiterated his commitment to immigration reform. He assured the crowd that immigration is essential to the United States. However, he also reiterated that illegal immigration must be stopped and our borders must be strengthened. As for the question of what to do with the millions of illegal immigrants already living in the U.S., the President addressed the issue by saying, “For those who wish to become citizens, we should require them to pay a penalty and pay taxes, learn English, go to the back of the line behind those who played by the rules. That is the fair, practical and promising way forward.”
Although President Obama gave no timetable as to when immigration reform can be expected, a Senate immigration subcommittee chaired by Senator Schumer a Democrat from New York hopes to get a reform bill together in time for the fall legislative session. The Obama administration has been working on other aspect of the immigration problem such as border security and employment verification through programs such as the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) and E-Verify.
(source: voanews.com)
by lauraj on Jun.21, 2009, under Immigration Law Reform, Law and Policy
New Worker ID Program Proposed to Ensure Employment Eligibility
A controversial new issue has been brought to the immigration debate in the form of national worker identification cards. Favored by Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), the new chairman of the Senate’s immigration subcommittee, who believes that the ID system is the best way to guarantee that a worker is eligible for employment. Unlike the Social Security card, the current ID card used to show employment eligibility, the new ID card would contain biometric data such as a fingerprint in an effort to make the new card more difficult to forge.
Some businesses and communities have embraced the idea of a national ID card while other civil rights organizations and labor activists have concerns about the possible right to privacy violations. The other looming aspect to this debate is the cost. With a skyrocketing budget deficit, this new program will surely bring with it a heavy price tag not just for the initial program but also for maintenance and compliance enforcement. The worker ID card could be part of the comprehensive immigration reform bill expected to come sometime during the fall legislative session.
(source: latimes.com)
by lauraj on Jun.05, 2009, under Immigration Law Reform, Law and Policy, Resources, WHTI
Green Card Legislation Introduced
One of the biggest misconceptions legal immigrants with green cards have is that their legal status is equivalent to that of a United States citizen. However, that notion is quite far from the truth. Even with permanent resident status, an immigrant with a green card can still be deported back to the country of origin if the federal government deems necessary. Representative Mike Honda, a democrat from California, just introduced legislation giving green card holders the same rights as citizens when it comes to bringing their spouses and children to the US. The initiative, called the “Reuniting Families Act”, hopes to give legal immigrant families more stability and could possibly lay the groundwork for future immigration reform.
(source: NIA Council)
Oakland Approves ID Cards for Illegal Immigrants
Oakland California becomes the third major city to offer government issued ID cards to illegal immigrants. The measure was overwhelmingly approved by the Oakland City Council with great support from the community. However, now the legislature must figure out how to implement the plan and, more importantly, how to pay for it. With California’s budget crisis still in a tail spin, the issue of paying for this new benefit will be difficult to solve. New Haven Connecticut was the first to offer legal ID cards in order for immigrant residents to utilize social services followed by San Francisco.
(source: Judicial Watch)
WHTI Now in Effect
The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) has now been implemented as of June 1, 2009. Although Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) states it is committed to being flexible, it is important to keep in mind the documentation necessary in order to cross into the United States by land, sea or air. The documents accepted by the new WHTI policy are:
Documentation for U.S. and Canadian citizen children traveling under the age of 16 and arriving from Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean, can utilize documents such as an original or copy of their birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, a Naturalization Certificate or a Canadian Citizenship Card. For further information or questions about the WHTI program, please click on WHTI.
(source: US Customs and Border Protection)
NCLR Joins Immigration Campaign
The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., helped launch the Reform Immigration for America Campaign. Leaders from the business, religious, labor and civil rights communities have come together to pledge their support to the Obama administration in hopes of assuring that immigration reform is not a forgotten campaign promise. For more information of the Reform Immigration for America Campaign, please visit www.reformimmigrationforamerica.org.
(source: National Council of La Raza)