Immigration Resources
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by lauraj on Dec.14, 2009, under Law and Policy, criminal immigration
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency arrests 300 in California over a three day sweep.
According to ICE, the nearly 300 arrested had a serious criminal record or criminally violent background. One third of those arrested have already been deported and the remainder are awaiting deportation processing. ICE defends its position on continued sweeps in the illegal immigrant community in an ongoing effort to improve public safety. However, skeptics question the validity that these sweeps are only targeting illegal criminals and not the entire illegal immigrant community.
by lauraj on Sep.29, 2009, under Law and Policy, U Visa
What is a U visa?
A lesser known visa, the U non-immigrant visa, was established for illegal immigrants who are victims of crimes. While living illegally here in the U.S., these victims must have endured mental or physical abuse and be willing to help law enforcement and government officials investigate and prosecute the abuser. The U non-immigrant visa was established in 2000 but put on hold until 2007. It was created to persuade illegal immigrants living in the U.S. to report violent crimes. Most criminal activity against illegal aliens in the U.S. goes unreported and undocumented due to the threat of deportation if the victim comes forward.
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 Jul.01, 2009, under Deportation, Law and Policy
ICE arrests 65 gang members in San Diego as a push in their anti-gang effort continues.
A week long operation conducted by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), along with other state and local agencies, arrested 65 gang members and associates all of whom are now facing criminal charges or deportation. Five cities were the target of ICE’s National Gang Unit called “Operation Community Shield” which included San Marcos, Vista, Escondido, Poway and San Diego. Special agent in charge of ICE’s San Diego Office of Investigations Miguel Unzueta said, “Our ongoing joint enforcement efforts have substantially weakened several of the transnational gangs operating in this area.”
According to ICE, of those arrested 39 were considered violent street gang members and 14 are facing felony criminal charges for re-entry after already being deported. Operation Community Shield is a coordinated effort between ICE and other customs and immigration agencies as well as state and local law enforcement which work together in an effort to target criminal street gangs.
(source: ice.gov)