US Government Cracks Down on Immigration Scams

Federal officials are cracking down on immigration scams.

In a press conference this past week, federal officials explained that immigration services scams are getting so sophisticated that fraudsters now advertise online with websites that perfectly mimic those of official government agencies.

So the federal government is setting out to raise awareness about such scams.

Officials from several federal, state and local agencies, as well as immigration lawyers and advocates, met in Newark in recent days to expand nationwide a campaign that started in seven pilot cities. It focuses on enforcement, education and interagency collaboration.

"They are not just high-tech scams, they are people in the neighborhoods: people who know people, people who are out there shaking hands," said Kelvin Chen, an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission, as he spoke about the need to increase awareness among immigrants who are often preyed upon by members of their own communities.

The campaign is aimed at educating legal and undocumented immigrants to avoid everything from unlicensed service providers to websites that mimic those of government agencies. Most scams involve people who pretend to be able to provide legal aid or other services for immigrants, take victims' money and fail to deliver.

The initiative is also intended to inform immigrants about how to get legitimate legal help and how to report fraud. It began in Atlanta, Baltimore, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York City, San Antonio, and Fresno, Calif.

The campaign, spearheaded by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, features ads, posters and leaflets published in English and Spanish, and a website with information available in 12 additional languages.

USCIS officials say they are working to strengthen partnerships at the federal, state and local levels to improve coordination, information sharing and enforcement.

Several speakers at Thursday's conference said it's often challenging to get victims of immigration scams to report them, either out of fear of deportation, or after the trauma of being scammed not just of money, but often, of important documents such as birth certificates that are sometimes stolen by unscrupulous practitioners.

By the time they reach the offices of attorney Lloyd Bennett of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, they've often been steered wrong elsewhere.

Bennett said an acute and ongoing problem in the northern New Jersey communities where he works is with "`notarios," or storefront offices that offer an array of immigration services and are prevalent in Spanish-speaking communities.

Bennett said the word "`notario"' or "notary" is actually translated as "attorney" in many Spanish-speaking countries, so those seeking services assume they are legitimate.

"My clients have absolutely no idea what's going on, they see a sign for a `notario,' they walk in, they get scammed," Bennett said. "They're given forms or applications for programs that don't exist, or they steal their money, or sometimes applications are filed, but incorrectly, and when it comes to their attention, it's often too late."

This is based on a story by The Associated Press.

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Why is it 'humane' to let those who broke our immigration laws escape consequences?

During the presidential campaign of 2000, George W. Bush was criticized by some conservatives for calling himself a "compassionate conservative." Some believed the term to be redundant.
Now we're in the middle of the 2012 presidential campaign, and candidate Newt Gingrich has called for a "humane" policy on illegal immigrants. Mr. Gingrich wants illegal residents who have been in America for 25 years to stay, so as not to "separate families."

Seeking to clarify comments he made during the Republican debate on national security last week, Mr. Gingrich told Fox News, "I am for deporting all recent unattached illegals. I am for a local citizen panel to consider certification of those who have been here 25 years and have family and community (ties) and have been law abiding and taxpaying."
First, why 25 years? Why not 24, or 23? How about 15? What if the children are adults? If a single parent remained because of divorce or death, would that parent be deported?

Second, what is to keep the local citizen panel from being co-opted by liberal interest groups working for the Democratic Party? Mr. Gingrich's call to "...be humane in enforcing the law without giving them citizenship..." may sound good to some, but once those here illegally have been "certified," interest groups will surely lobby on their behalf for full citizenship.

Republicans should not have to prove their "compassion" by supporting a statute of limitations on lawbreakers. Instead, Republicans should present examples of immigrants who have come to America legally and built a life while obeying the law.

Gingrich is correct when he says we are not about to round up 11 million illegal immigrants, as America rounded up more than 100,000 Japanese at the start of World War II, many of them U.S. citizens. But doing nothing or granting Mr. Gingrich's proposed "path to legality" (through certification) will only draw more illegals.

In my ideal world (and some U.S. laws might have to change to accomplish it), this is what I think should be done: Illegal immigrants who have jobs, pay taxes and are law abiding can stay as temporary residents provided they are doing jobs no American citizen wants to do. An employer can prove that by advertising for a position and if no citizen applies, the illegal immigrant may be hired for a fixed period of time, after which the position must be advertised again.

The illegal immigrant should be forbidden any unemployment or welfare benefits. Medical insurance, or the cost of any care, should be provided by the employer. Immigrant children can be educated in public schools (and taught English) provided their parents pay property taxes. If an illegal immigrant is renting or living with others, he or she should pay a certain amount to defray the cost of education. If a child is born in America to illegal immigrants, that child should not automatically receive U.S. citizenship (a court ruling reinterpreting the Constitution would be required to change the automatic granting of citizenship to children of illegal immigrants born in the U.S.)

After two or three renewals of the illegal's special visa, the person must return to his or her native land for a specified period of time and then apply for re-entry.

Should the illegal immigrant desire citizenship, that person should first learn English and American history. The path ought to be rigorous so that we know the person is coming to America for more than just the goodies the U.S. government provides.

Most importantly, we must protect and secure our country's borders. Mr. Gingrich's hero, Ronald Reagan is credited with saying, "A nation that cannot control its borders is not a nation."

Something else troubles me about this debate. Why is it compassionate to suggest ways for people who have broken our laws to escape the consequences but cruel to require that they obey our laws in not entering the country illegally in the first place?

Everyone wants a better life for themselves and their children. American citizens mostly seek that better life by conforming to the law. Illegal immigrants should do the same.

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Economists: Job effects of Alabama immigration unclear, may take years to determine

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Economists say it may take years and extensive research to determine whether Alabama's new law clamping down on illegal immigration helps or hurts the state's job market.

Supporters of the law have cited improving unemployment numbers in a few counties with large Hispanic populations to claim the law is helping create jobs for legal residents. Critics were bolstered by an industry report last week that showed fewer construction jobs in Alabama, presumably because the sector contracted as workers left the state because of the law.

Experts said neither claim holds much water, at least statistically.

Illegal immigrants don't show up in labor statistics because they are part of an "underground economy" and often are paid off-the-books and in cash, they said. Federal unemployment statistics are based on random telephone interviews, and people living in the country illegally typically don't have listed phone numbers so they aren't contacted.

Also, they said, employment trends typically build gradually and take time to become visible to statisticians. The law didn't take effect until Sept. 29.

Malcolm Getz, an economist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., said short-term effects of the law will be masked by other things within the marketplace, like the continuing recovery of the financial industry.

"Empirical evidence on the issue will be several years off," Getz said. He suspects the law will hurt the state's economy in the long-run but said no proof is readily available.

He says those factors include the continuing recovery of the financial industry.

Keivan Deravi, of Auburn University Montgomery, said the only way to accurately assess the impact of the law is to research the state's agriculture and construction industries, which both have large numbers of immigrant workers.

"(The impact) can easily be captured if we start collecting all this anecdotal information and putting it in a database, but that has not been done yet," Deravi said.

The law's effect on employment is being watched because Republican supporters said it would free up positions for legal Alabama residents. They say unemployment should fall as illegal residents flee the state, allowing legal residents to fill in the gaps.

But legal residents aren't taking all the jobs that are being vacated. The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, headed by Republican Commissioner John McMillan, plans a meeting with farmers and owners of agriculture-related businesses in Mobile on Tuesday to discuss solutions to what the agency called "chronic labor shortages created by Alabama's new immigration law."

Deravi said legal residents may fill positions once held by illegal immigrations, but any such changes would likely be small so far. The random phone surveys used to compile unemployment statistics would have only a tiny chance of finding people who got work because of the law, he said.

Part of the problem is that no one knows exactly how many illegal immigrants live in the state. Similarly, no one knows exactly how many are employed or how many might show up in companies' reports or paperwork, said Ahmad Ijaz, an economist at the University of Alabama.

"Most illegal immigrants are not included in the labor force. They generally work off the official payrolls for subcontractors or sub-subcontractors so no one really knows the exact numbers," Ijaz said. "Besides, (the) construction industry is in a recession anyway, so it will be awhile before we know once the construction industry picks back up to what the impact is."

Getz, in an interview conducted by email, said it will be difficult to ever get an accurate idea of the effects of the law.

"What changes are due to immigration policy and what is due to other events is difficult to say," he said. "Associating specific changes to immigration policy when many forces are at play is speculative. Careful analysis won't be possible for a number of years."

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85-year-old immigrant smuggler gets 2½ years in prison after surviving decades in the business

SAN DIEGO — An 85-year-old woman who led a female-dominated immigrant smuggling ring was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison Thursday in a case that stands out at a time when larger, more violent organizations along the U.S.-Mexico border have muscled groups like hers aside.

Felicitas Gurrola was charged with moving up to 80 people a month past border inspectors at the nation’s busiest border crossing in San Diego by having them assume false identities. Her method was relatively safe compared to common and sometimes fatal smugglers’ tacks like leading groups through remote mountains and deserts or stuffing them in car trunks and engine compartments.
“This was a very well-organized, safely run operation,” said her attorney, Thomas Matthews. “No one was ever put in danger.”

Prosecutors argued that Gurrola deserved more than three years in prison for conspiracy to bring illegal aliens into the United States, saying she was a high-level smuggler compared to the lowly operatives that usually get captured by U.S. authorities. Gurrola led the organization with her daughter and another woman who were also sentenced.

“We’ve essentially been able to pull back the curtain,” said Daniel Zipp, an assistant U.S. attorney.

Gurrola — appearing frail with long, gray hair — apologized in a barely audible voice.

“I’m remorseful. I ask for forgiveness. I’m very nervous. I can’t speak,” she said through a Spanish interpreter.

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw gave Gurrola’s daughter, Hilda Moreno, 2½ years in prison. Guadalupe Ojeda, who managed a Gurrola-owned hotel in Tijuana that was used as a staging ground for migrants, got three years and one month in prison.

Small family-run organizations used to dominate the migrant smuggling business, but they have faded in the last decade along with a dramatic increase in border security. As smuggling fees have skyrocketed from hundreds to thousands of dollars, larger, more violent criminal groups have pushed them aside.

Gurrola managed to survive the industry turmoil until her arrest earlier this year, aided by her 54-year-old daughter and others, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigators. She met migrants at Tijuana’s Suites Royal Hotel where she gave them immigration documents belonging to others and told them to memorize the information. An underling knew how to read codes on the documents to determine information such as whether they were new issues or renewals.

In the morning, migrants had their hair done to resemble the person on the immigration documents, said Johnny Martin, an ICE supervisory special agent. Gurrola lined them up and assumed the role of immigration inspector. She berated them when they fumbled for answers.

Guides then led migrants through the San Ysidro border crossing, joined them on a commercial bus to the Los Angeles area and collected $3,500 per person on arrival, investigators said. The guides returned to the border in time for dinner.

“She had been doing it for a long time and she found her niche,” Martin said.

Gurrola was indicted on immigrant smuggling charges in 1982 but never arrested, according to an affidavit filed with a criminal complaint. She allegedly boasted on a wiretap that she had been in the business for more than 40 years.

As part of an agreement with prosecutors to dismiss some charges, Gurrola’s daughter surrendered her home in Chula Vista, outside San Diego.

Gurrola, a legal U.S. resident who was born in Mexico, lived in Chula Vista with her daughter, Martin said. They invited friends to sit on lawn chairs in the garage and watch television. They often visited San Diego-area casinos to unwind.

David Baker, the daughter’s attorney, told the judge that the smuggling organization was wrong, but he drew a contrast with more violent groups.

“It can be said they had a certain ethic in the way they ran their business,” he said.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Alabama immigration law catching the wrong people?

Since the implementation of new, tougher immigration laws in Alabama, there have been more than a few changes and plenty of controversy. One of the first things we heard was that crops were rotting in the fields with nobody left to harvest them. In those cases, the argument could still certainly be made that the workers in question were there illegally in most cases, so the system was working as designed. But now there seem to be new situations where the law of unintended consequences has come into play. Officials have now detained two executives from auto manufacturing companies operating in the state. The latest one was from Honda.

To arrest one foreign car-making executive under Alabama’s new tough immigration laws may be regarded as a misfortune; to arrest a second looks like carelessness.

A judge has acted to put a Japanese employee of Honda Motor Company out of his misery by dismissing immigration charges against him, three days after he was booked under Alabama’s new immigration laws that have been billed as the most swingeing in America. Ichiro Yada is one of about 100 Japanese managers of the company on assignment in southern state.

Yada was stopped in Leeds, Alabama, at a checkpoint set up by police to catch unlicenced drivers. He was ticketed on the spot, despite the fact that he showed an international driver’s licence, a valid passport and a US work permit.

The previous case involved the arrest of a representative of Mercedes-Benz under similar circumstances. So while well intentioned, the wide net of the law seems to be catching more fish than anyone anticipated, and it’s going to be embarrassing to have to keep tossing them back.

Mr. Yada was in possession of three different forms of identification which clearly showed that he was in the country and operating legally. But the import of this goes far beyond one employee of one company. The success of bringing foreign automobile manufacturing operations to the American south was widely touted as smart economic policy leading to the stimulation of business growth and all of the badly needed jobs which come with it. Too many incidents like this are going to have corporate leaders thinking twice about bringing their operations to a place where their workers may be unduly harassed.

It may be time for a fresh look at this law to see if it might not have been worded a bit better.

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Visa Granted to Sister of New Jersey Girl with Cancer

The sister of a 5-year-old girl being treated for a life-threatening case of leukemia was granted a temporary visa to try and save her sister’s life.

United States Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey announced on Friday night that federal immigration officials had granted a humanitarian visa to the sister of Yarelis Bonilla, who needs a bone marrow transplant. Her sister, Gisselle, is her closest match. The case had become a source of contention among some immigration advocates because Gisselle, 7, lives in El Salvador and her family, after realizing she was a match, had applied for a visa on humanitarian grounds – but was denied twice.

At a press conference at a hospital in Newark, N.J. where Yarelis is undergoing treatment, Menendez, a Democrat, announced that this time, after his office personally pleaded on the family’s behalf, the federal government decided to reconsider. A frail and pale-looking Yarelis, wrapped in a light-blue fleece blanket with a surgical mask covering her mouth, sat in a wheelchair scribbling on a notepad during the press conference.
“This was what the humanitarian visa was designed for,” Menendez told reporters at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. “It was a life or death situation.’’

Yarelis Bonilla, who lives in New Jersey with her mother, was diagnosed with leukemia in May. The prognosis for childhood leukemia is relatively positive, but Yarelis had not responded well to several rounds of aggressive chemotherapy, said Dr. Peri Kamalakar, the director of hematology/oncology for three hospitals in northern New Jersey and who is part of the team that is treating the girl.

A bone marrow transplant was her best chance for survival. After efforts to find a match, doctors in El Salvador confirmed that Yarelis’s 7-year-old sister was the closest match – but a visa stood in the way of coming to her sister’s aid.

Gisselle, who has an appointment at the American Embassy in San Salvador on Monday to finalize the necessary paperwork, has 30 days to travel to New Jersey to donate her bone marrow. Her humanitarian visa allows her to stay for three months.

The mother of the two sisters, Maria Bonilla, said at the press conference that she was grateful for the positive outcome and had always been hopeful that things would end up working out.

“I’m glad,” she said. “But I always had faith.”

A timid Yarelis curled up in the wheelchair next to her mom. A doll with a red hat sat next to her as she played tic-tac-toe by herself. At one point, she interrupted the press conference to say she was hungry.

“This gives her hope for life,” said Mariam Habib, a lawyer for the American Friends Service Committee who had formally applied for humanitarian parole for Gisselle. “Now it’s in the hands of her doctors and in the hands of God.”

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Immigration: Divorce and immigration

Editors note: "Immigration Matters" today features Guam-based attorney Catherine Bejerana Camacho.

Mabuhay and hafa adai!
Although the holiday season is generally a happy period, it is also a time when individuals start reflecting on the state of their personal relationships. In fact, law firms experience a surge in divorce work during this period.

Deciding whether or not to divorce your spouse is a complicated and emotional process in and of itself. The process becomes even more complicated if the decision affects your immigration status in the United States.

The following paragraphs highlights how the decision of whether or not to divorce becomes even more complicated if an individual received his or her resident card as a result of a petition filed by their spouse.

The first instance in which your immigration status becomes an important consideration in the divorce process is when you received your resident card as a result of a petition filed by your spouse, and you have not yet celebrated your two-year anniversary at the time of the petition's approval. You will note that at the time of the adjustment interview, the interviewing officer advised you and your spouse that your resident card was only valid for two years.

The interviewing officer also said you are required to file a petition in order to remove the conditions on your resident card. This is because your marriage is subject to the Marriage Fraud Act, which was enacted to discourage marriage solely to obtain immigration benefits.

Ideally, in order to remove the conditions on your residency, you and your spouse should file a joint petition before your resident card expiration. At this time, you are required to submit evidence about your marriage that you have accumulated since your petition's approval.

However, should you and your spouse divorce prior to your card's expiration, you are able to file a petition removing the conditions on your residency. Because of your divorce, you have to submit additional evidence regarding your relationship and the circumstances of your divorce. In addition to submitting evidence about your marriage, you should also submit evidence that you had intended into entering a bonafide and genuine relationship. Notwithstanding such intentions, your relationship did not work out.

If you were abused or mistreated, you should submit evidence demonstrating such.

The second instance in which your immigration status becomes an important consideration is during the naturalization process.

A divorce will not preclude you from becoming a citizen, but it may take you longer to qualify for naturalization. Generally, a naturalization applicant should be a resident cardholder for a period of five years in order to qualify for naturalization. However, if you received your resident card based on a petition filed by your United States citizen spouse and you are still married to and reside with that same spouse, then the waiting period is reduced to only three years.

Divorcing your spouse before filing your application or during the naturalization application process can affect your ability to take advantage of that reduced three-year period.

In sum, because divorce may have implications on your immigration status, most immigration attorneys would always advise you to marry foremost because you love that individual. Your immigration status should not be the main consideration. If you follow this rule, then a divorce later down the line should not have that significant impact on your status.

Your individual case, may contain facts that may potentially change the outcome of your case. A consultation with an experienced immigration attorney will provide you with a more comprehensive assessment of your case.

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Kenney Plays Immigrants For Suckers With “You Bare All Costs” Super Visa

But Most Immigrants, Especially With Deep Pockets, Will Be Happy Being Suckers!

But the NDP immigration critic is worried that the new 10-year visa for parents and grandparents may be hard to obtain. People applying to sponsor a parent or grandparent will have to show they can support their visiting relatives. To be accepted, the visitors will be required to have private health insurance coverage during their stay in Canada. Critics say not all immigrants will qualify to bring family members.
VANCOUVER – That wily Conservative immigration minister Jason Kenney is playing immigrants to be suckers with “you bare all costs for your loved ones coming from your homeland” Super Visa, which the Harper government was busy trumpeting this week as the visa came into effect on Thursday, Dec. 1.

But by the looks of it – most immigrants, especially the wealthy ones, will be happy being suckers as it allows them to bring their immediate family – parents and grandparents – quickly to Canada with just taking eight weeks to get visa.

But the NDP immigration critic is worried that the new 10-year visa for parents and grandparents may be hard to obtain.

The new visa is part of the Conservative government’s plan to battle an enormous backlog of about 165,000 parents and grandparents who are trying to join family in Canada, reported CBC News.

The so-called super visa will be good for 10 years, but will have to be renewed every two years.

People applying to sponsor a parent or grandparent will have to show they can support their visiting relatives. To be accepted, the visitors will be required to have private health insurance coverage during their stay in Canada.

NDP immigration critic Don Davies likes the new super visa for parents and grandparents, but he wants assurances that they will be easy to get, unlike a five-year visitor’s visa that has been available for years.

“I have cases in my office in Vancouver where someone’s sponsoring their parents, say from New Delhi, and their application is in the lineup for 10 years,” Davies said.

“So they apply for a visitor visa to come and they’re turned down because they have a permanent resident application in the queue and the officials think that they won’t leave.”

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says that won’t be a problem — people who have applied for permanent residency will definitely be eligible for the visa.

“The department informs me that they’re confident that the approval rate for these parent super visas will actually be very high,” Kenney said last week at an appearance before a parliamentary committee.

Kenney said the new health insurance requirement may make it easier for visa officers to say “yes.”

“One of the reasons we are requiring that people demonstrate they have health insurance when they come into Canada, is to add greater certainty for our visa officers that admitting people is not going to end up representing a net cost to Canadian taxpayers,” he told the committee last week.

Debbie Douglas, the executive director of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, said that overall, the new program is a “really good way forward” in terms of serving parents and grandparents.

But she noted that there are still concerns about how visas will be allocated, as well as the health insurance requirement.

To be eligible, the applicant must:

• Be a parent or grandparent of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident;

• Provide a written commitment of financial support from their child or grandchild in Canada, including proof that the child or grandchild meets the minimum necessary income (Low Income Cut-Off);

• Undergo the Immigration Medical Examination;

• Submit proof that they have purchased comprehensive Canadian medical insurance, valid for at least one year; and

• Satisfy the visa officer that they meet all other standard admissibility criteria.

Current processing times through the Family Class indicate that many parents and grandparents could wait for eight years or more to be accepted to Canada. With the Super Visa, they could be enjoying the company of their family in about eight weeks.

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Immigration forum held at local library

BLOOMINGTON — Concerns over federal immigration detainers issued for inmates of the McLean County jail were discussed at a public forum Saturday sponsored by leaders of the local Hispanic community.

Specifically, leaders called on Sheriff Mike Emery to stop honoring requests from the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold suspects brought into the jail. The jail notifies ICE to check on the immigration status of all people born outside the U.S., a policy Hispanic leaders have criticized because some of those held by immigration are charged with misdemeanor or traffic offenses.

Emery said he does not intend to change jail policy.

“We will continue our cooperation with the federal government,” Emery said when contacted by The Pantagraph after the forum.

About 90 people attended the event, organized by Illinois People’s Action and Latinos United for Change. The forum was at the Bloomington Public Library.

Dr. Laurie Bergner with the McLean County League of Women Voters and Illinois People’s Action shared information she received in meetings with the sheriff on local immigration issues.

“The sheriff considers cooperating with ICE to be part of his job in keeping our community safe,” said Bergner.

Many of those coming through the jail doors have been arrested by Bloomington and Normal officers, said Bergner.

Statistics for traffic stops by Bloomington, Normal and sheriff’s police do not reflect an effort to target minority drivers, including the 4.4 percent of the McLean County population that is Hispanic, said Bergner.

Between July and October, detainers were issued for 63 inmates, according to sheriff’s data. ICE does not disclose to police its reasons for holding suspects.

The stories of several Hispanic residents who have been detained were shared personally or though others who told the accounts because the individuals were fearful of being identified publicly because of their immigration status.

One story involved a student who worked as a painter who was deported after he was arrested for drunk driving and an ICE check disclosed an expired visa. “The local community may be safer without him but it’s less interesting,” said the person who read the story on the man’s behalf.

A Latinos United staff member, Sonny Garcia, said personal stories are being collected on an Internet blog by Mary Cunningham, a supporter of the Hispanic community.

“One of the tactics we’re trying to use is to get more stories, make it hit home more for the community,” said Garcia.

In addition to asking people to sign a petition asking Emery to end his cooperation with ICE, Garcia also recommended support for a state driving certificate that could allow immigrants to drive legally and obtain insurance. At the federal level, comprehensive immigration reform is needed to address the issues facing an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, said Garcia.

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Australia immigration minister wants more refugees

SYDNEY — Australia's Immigration Minister Chris Bowen Saturday called for a lifting of the nation's annual refugee intake from 13,750 to 20,000 but said he still wanted asylum-seekers processed offshore.

The proposal won the support of the ruling Labor Party at its national conference in Sydney, but Bowen has said the target is aspirational while plans to send boatpeople to other countries have been blocked by the High Court.

"We have to tackle this with a soft heart and a hard head," Bowen told delegates.

Bowen said refugees were risking their lives on boat journeys between Australia and Indonesia, a perilous stretch which saw close to 50 people drown in a shipwreck off Christmas Island a year ago.

"There have inevitably been others that we simply don't know about," he said.

In a bid to deter people-smugglers, Canberra in May announced plans to send 800 boatpeople to Malaysia in exchange for accepting 4,000 of the Southeast Asian nation's registered refugees.

But the plan collapsed in August after Australia's High Court ruled offshore processing illegal.

Bowen has said he still wants to see a regional solution to the problem which in 2010 peaked when people-smugglers brought close to 7,000 asylum seekers on the dangerous boat journey to Australia.

The issue provoked debate Saturday, with some Labor delegates saying the Malaysia solution violated Australia's international obligations.

"Australia cannot contract out its legal obligations," backbencher Melissa Parke said.

But in backing Bowen, Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said people-smugglers were "not modern-day Oskar Schindlers" -- a reference to the German industrialist credited with saving Jews during WWII.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," he said.

"This is profiting from desperate people."

After the High Court blocked offshore processing, which was also slated to include Papua New Guinea, the government of Prime Minister Julia Gillard has taken on onshore processing and widened community detention.

Since the so-called Malaysia plan was scuppered, the number of boatpeople arriving in Australia has ballooned, with two more boats carrying close to 100 asylum seekers intercepted off Western Australia on Friday.

Two other boats carrying more than 200 asylum-seekers were intercepted on Thursday.

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An immigrant's path from bicycle to deportation

LIVERMORE -- The path to deportation for Eduardo Lopez-Reynoso began when he blew past a stop sign on a bicycle.

The 26-year-old Mexican immigrant was near downtown Livermore when police officers stopped him just after 11 a.m. Oct. 28, a Friday.

Neighbors watching the tall, flannel-shirted man get handcuffed and plopped into the back of a police cruiser on Chestnut Street wondered what he had done. A drug test later showed he had used methamphetamine.

Five days later, federal agents dropped him just over the Mexican border.

Lopez's swift deportation illustrates the sometimes controversial reality behind Secure Communities, the Obama administration program that puts local police officers in the Bay Area and around the country on the front lines of federal immigration enforcement.

In the Bay Area, sheriffs in Alameda and Contra Costa counties have embraced their new role, while local government leaders in Santa Clara and San Francisco counties are actively resisting.

Supporters say the rapidly-expanding network helps track down and boot out the "worst of the worst" criminal immigrants from the country.

Critics of the program argue that its net sweeps up too many others, sending waves of fear through immigrant communities and tearing apart families.

Lopez's case appears to fall between those two extremes. Repeatedly arrested for using drugs, he was a nuisance to Livermore police but had no record of serious
Of the thousands deported from the Bay Area after the Secure Communities database flagged them in a local jail, 68 percent were convicted of a crime. The crimes ranged in seriousness from murder to traffic violations, but the federal government, while publicizing the total numbers, has declined to break down its arrest and deportation statistics by specific criminal charges.

Although local police making an arrest start the Secure Communities process once they fingerprint a suspect, they don't track the results.

The case of Lopez was so routine, in fact, that Livermore police Chief Steve Sweeney only knew about his deportation after a reporter told him. Local police did their job, Sweeney said, and federal agents did theirs.

"We book them and that's the end of it for us," Sweeney said. "He wasn't treated any differently than anybody else would have been."

Some time after encountering Lopez, police gave him a drug test and arrested him on suspicion of being under the influence of drugs.

Then at Alameda County's Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, the Secure Communities immigration records database flagged Lopez as someone who could be deported and immigration agents sent a note -- called a detainer -- asking jailers to keep him.

After years laboring in construction, but never having permission to live and work in the United States, Lopez was suddenly on a fast track out of California. Days later, he would join more than 5,600 immigrants deported from the Bay Area as a result of Secure Communities, implemented in each of the region's nine counties last year.

Liberal-minded local government leaders have debated their role in the federal dragnet.

Santa Clara and San Francisco counties sought to resist the automatic transfer of low-level offenders and noncriminals from county jails to federal custody, believing that deportation fears will erode local police relations with immigrant communities.

Alameda and Contra Costa counties, in contrast, established close relationships with ICE, and their sheriffs say federal agents should have the leeway to take whomever they want. Both East Bay counties deport more noncriminals than the region as a whole.

Lopez had a criminal conviction on his record, and was what immigration officials call a "criminal alien." In February, according to court records, he had been caught walking across railroad tracks near Livermore's North Oak Street. A police officer found a charred smoking pipe in his pocket. Asked whether the pipe was for smoking methamphetamine, Lopez said, 'Yes,' according to a police report. A judge later dropped the charge down to disturbing the peace, an infraction.

The late October arrest triggered his journey toward deportation.

On Nov. 2, a long black Chevy Express van with tinted windows carried Lopez, several other Mexican and Central American men and one woman from Santa Rita across the bay to the financial district of San Francisco, just around the corner from the landmark Transamerica building.

Agents escorted the group through the freight loading dock of the U.S. Appraisers Building, a gray 16-story monolith built in the 1940s to replace the burned-down Angel Island immigration center.

Once known as a "detention hotel," according to a government website, the Sansome Street building housed immigrants for days or weeks before federal authorities stopped keeping people overnight there in 1960. Many detainees now get sent each evening to jails in Richmond, San Jose or near Sacramento, at the federal government's expense, while others go south -- to federal or private prisons near the border or directly to Latin America.

All the East Bay immigrants that day -- from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras -- lined up quietly facing the concrete wall of a loading garage. They rode an elevator to the sixth floor, entering a sunlit booking room with a sweeping view of Telegraph Hill. No one appeared to be paying much attention to the scenery.

In fact, by late morning, Lopez was feeling resigned. He was ready to go home, he said in a brief interview.

"I'd like to see my mom and dad," he said. They live in a town in Mexico's Jalisco state, not far from the city of Guadalajara. Here in the United States, Lopez struggled to find work and shared a small apartment with a relative and friend. Back home, he said, economic prospects would be even more dim, but he wanted to rejoin his family after more than five years apart.

Immigration officials swiftly obliged. Lopez waived his right to a court hearing and agreed to voluntarily return to Mexico. The agreement means he will not be banned from seeking a green card in the future, though it is difficult for most in Mexico to obtain one. About 11 percent of all Secure Communities deportations are voluntary, according to UC Berkeley Law School's Warren Institute.

Latino immigrants are the most affected by Secure Communities. Although they make up 77 percent of the nation's illegal immigrant population, they account for 93 percent of the people arrested through Secure Communities, according to a recent report by the institute.

The report found that 52 percent of those arrested through Secure Communities get a hearing with an immigration judge. Of those who get to make their case, and are not citizens, 2 percent are granted relief from deportation. The institute said its figures, culled from public records requests, were disturbing and raised questions about the fairness of the program.

ICE responded by saying the report "fails to acknowledge how the program has enhanced public safety."

Hours after Lopez volunteered, agents took him to a plane -- part of a flight service nicknamed ICE Air -- that flew him to San Diego.

Agents then drove him to the San Ysidro land port between the United States and Mexico, dropping him off at the border. A man who woke up before dawn in an East Bay jail was in Tijuana that night.

He would have to find his own way home to Guadalajara, about 1,200 miles further south.

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GMA asks SC to stop gov’t from preventing her travel

MANILA, Philippines (1st UPDATE) - Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo filed with the Supreme Court (SC) this morning yet another pleading to compel the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Bureau of Immigration (BI) to allow her to travel abroad in compliance with a temporary restraining order(TRO) issued by the high court on a travel ban against her.

In a 12-page urgent motion filed at 11:12 this morning, Mrs. Arroyo stressed that she is "without any other plain, speedy and adequate remedy" but to ask the high tribunal to direct the DOJ and BI to cease and desist from preventing her from leaving the country.

Mrs. Arroyo intends to travel to various countries to seek further medical treatment for her hypoparathyroid disorder, cervical spine problem, and bone mineral deficiency.

Last Tuesday, despite the issuance of the TRO, immigration officials barred her and her husband, Mike, from leaving for their first destination, Singapore. This, after Justice Secretary Leila De Lima gave marching orders for immigration officials to bar the Arroyos from flying pending a ruling on a motion for reconsideration (MR) government intended to file then. The MR was filed on Wednesday.

Mrs. Arroyo stressed theTRO is immediately executory, and lambasted the DOJ and BI for its "defiance."

"By thus continuing to enforce and implement the assailed orders (watch list order and DOJ Department Circular No. 41) and directing the attached agencies of the DOJ to stop petitioner GMA (Mrs. Arroyo) from leaving the country, the respondent DOJ Secretary openly defied the immediately executory TRO issued by this honorable court in blatant disobedience of and resistance to a lawful order of this honorable court," the motion read.

The motion claimed the "defiance of a lawful order" of the high court is "without any justification."

"[I]t would be unthinkable if the decrees of this honorable court are left to the mercy and caprice of a party who does not feel bound by it, even if he were so impelled by the most worthy of motives. If, as here, the Filipino people could see with their own eyes the sad spectacle of an order of the highest court of the land being flouted and disregarded, without action for such an odious breach, then, not only this High Tribunal, but the law itself, stands in disrepute," the Motion read.

The motion stressed Mrs. Arroyo was able to comply with the court's conditions for the temporary relief, namely:

- a cash bond of P2 million;
- a Special Power of Attorney appointing her duly authorized legal representative to officially receive summons and processes on her behalf while she is abroad; and
- a formal undertaking that she will report to the Philippine consulates and embassies in her countries of destination.

The motion also named immigration Acting Executive Director Eric Dimaculangan, Legal officer Atty. Rodulfo Pio III, and a certain "Mr. Vizconde" as the ones who stopped Mrs. Arroyo from boarding her plane Tuesday night.

"When asked to produce the document pertaining to respondent DOJ Secretary's directive, the named BI officials failed to show any. Moreover, they gave no heed to the certified true copy of this court's TRO shown to them as proof of the 'existence' of the TRO and refused to even read the same, again on the basis of respondent DOJ Secretary's verbal directive," the motion read.

The justice department issued a watch list order(WLO)against Mrs. Arroyo, her husband, Mike, and several others last October 27 in connection with electoral sabotage charges pending before a joint DOJ-Commission on Elections preliminary investigation committee. The charges alleged Mrs. Arroyo was behind massive vote-rigging in the 2007 midterm elections on behalf of candidates under her Team Unity ticket.

Mrs. Arroyo questioned the constitutionality of the travel ban before the high tribunal.

Mrs. Arroyo's latest motion, along with other pleadings earlier filed with the high court in connection with the Arroyo travel ban case, is expected to be tackled in tomorrow's special full court session called by Chief Justice Renato Corona. Court spokesman Atty. Jose Midas Marquez said the special session was called because the court was "concerned" about ongoing tensions between government and the Arroyo ca
mp.

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Tourism industry in “new visa mess”

Sri Lanka’s tourism industry won some concessions regarding the free, visa-on-arrival (VOA) this week after it was extended for three more months but was confronted with more confusion when immigration authorities said the extension applies only for bookings made prior to December 31.

A new clarification issued by immigration authorities issued on November 30 states that the existing facility of “Free Visa on arrival will continue until 31 March 2012 for those who are making travel arrangements before 31 December 2011.” This system will be in force alongside the new visa regulation under the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) system that will be operational from January 1, 2012.

However, this was a cause for concern within the industry as Sri Lanka Inbound Tour Operators President Nilmin Nanayakkara notes “this is a big mess.” Immigration authorities informed the tourism industry on Thursday during a meeting that the travel agents in Colombo need to inform their principals to submit proof of date of bookings made.

At this point Mr. Nanayakkara raised concern over the matter stating it was not possible to which the official delivering the presentation during the meeting stated they were unable to take up this issue.
In this respect, the industry is expected to take up this matter with higher authorities, it was pointed out.
Earlier during the week when the new clarification on the visa policy was conveyed to the industry, Tourist Hotels Association President Anura Lokuhetty speaking with the Business Times said it was a good move by the government.

But he noted that the new visa regulation must be clear and without confusion else it could impact negatively on travelers and tour operators. The industry has expressed concerns over the technical lapses, which they believe is the fault of the “software developer” as a result of which it has “created a bit of suspense in Europe”, Mr. Nanayakkara said.

He pointed out that according to the current regulations there is no possibility of ascertaining when bookings were made as tour operators “are not going to waste their time” on this. Government regulation on the new visa policy has run into trouble time and again as it was faced with pressure both locally and internationally.

It first met with problems when the online system was not functioning efficiently as pointed out by the tourism industry. Then the new visa policy initially introduced with a processing fee of US$50 came under pressure from the Indian authorities who requested the immigration authorities to consider a reduction for SAARC countries.

Following this request, the Sri Lankan authorities were compelled to reduce the visa-processing fee to US$10 for SAARC countries and US$20 for non-SAARC nations among a number of other changes for children and travellers on transit.

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New Asheville exhibit presents diversity of immigrant experience in WNC

Community exhibit presents diversity of experience in WNC
ASHEVILLE — For Carolina McCready, art, the language of the human spirit, teaches people how to feel about complex issues, cutting through the static of biased politics and hate.

That theory is the organizing principle behind The Artery’s new exhibit about immigration, “Nuestras Historias, Nuestras Voces” (Our Stories, Our Voices). The community art project is sponsored in part by Latino Advocacy Coalition, where McCready is co-director. The exhibit reception is 7-9 p.m. today.

“Art talks to people’s hearts — people can learn much more through art and the way that it speaks to you,” McCready said. “Since immigration is such a polarized and complicated topic, we hope to speak to people’s hearts and not their minds.

“The effects of local immigration enforcement efforts on our communities are large, and the general public needs to feel these stories.”

The pieces in the multimedia exhibit — which includes works from seven artists with roots in Texas, Mexico, Romania and elsewhere — are inspired by The 100 Stories Project, a documentation project focusing on human rights abuses, and designed as a tool for organizing in immigrant communities, McCready said.

“The stories project started in 2008 spearheaded by five grassroots groups in Henderson and Buncombe counties,” she said. “Immigrants living in Western North Carolina have faced dramatic discrimination and abuse in recent years.”

Those abuses, she said, include workplace raids, such as the 2008 raid at Mills Manufacturing in Asheville and this week’s raid at Shogun Buffet and Hibachi Grill, as well as denial of driver’s licenses for undocumented residents, limited access to higher education and constant use of discriminatory license checkpoints.

“The local deportation programs had devastating effects on immigrants in Western North Carolina,” McCready said.

Those effects prompted the groups to start documenting these stories and have been used in theater pieces, art exhibitions, meetings with elected officials, and in protests and marches.
These stories inspired artist Martha Skinner to create a “10 X 10” table and performance. The project involves a collective drawing by 10 local immigrants to the stop-and-go rhythm of music created by another 10 local immigrants, she said in an email.

She envisions the piece to represent “the many faces of immigration and the transformation that takes place when one merges the stories of two cultures.”

Curator Victor Palomino conceived the exhibit to demonstrate this community’s diversity of experience and emotion.

“As artists, we hope to create dialogue and include the voices of those living in the shadows,” Palomino said. “This exhibition conveys the moments of resilience and celebration, as well as episodes of discrimination and fear experienced in a diverse range of ways.”

Organizers plan to take the exhibit to UNC Asheville and Warren Wilson College. “We would love to see the exhibit travel to other community locations and centers,” McCready said.

“By presenting the stories of Latino experiences in WNC and sharing them widely, we can take a first step in creating an environment in which cross-cultural dialogue might begin,” McCready said.

Also contributing to the 100 Stories Project are the Center for Participatory Change, WNC Workers Center and Nuestro Centro Coalition of Latin American Organizations.
In addition to Skinner, a Colombian designer and educator, the multimedia exhibit at The Artery features Sandra Garcia, a visual artist of Colombian descent; DeWayne Barton, a sculptor, poet, and African American organizer; Adrianna Vasiut, a Romanian painter; Kenna Sommer, a local visual artist and teacher; Chris Corral, a Texas native of Mexican descent who is a figurative painter; Oscar Santana, local Latin music DJ from Mexico.

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Australian Immigration May Ban Kim Kardashian From Traveling While Sis Dates Aussie Bieber

As Kim Kardashian faces a possible ban by Australian immigration which may prevent her from traveling to Australia, her half sister Kylie Jenner is dating Cody Simpson, known as the Aussie Bieber.

The Kardashian sisters are always making the news. Now Kim Kardashian is facing scrutiny from the Australia Department of Immigration regarding three separate visa incidents as her little half sis dates the Aussie Bieber.

Always jet-setting, it seems the Immigration Department in Canberra believes Kim Kardashian was visiting for more than a pleasure trip. Apparently Kim in on a watch list after three separate incidents related to her visa.

While Kim's visa application indicates she is a tourist, she was actually in Australia for a business appearance. It was as heavily promoted as the rest of her life including her recent split from ex-husband Kris Humphries.

After looking closely at the most recent trip, the Department of Immigration checked out Kim's previous travel to Australia. Apparently KK did the same stuff in 2010 and dating back to 2007.

The Daily Telegraph reported future visits by Kim Kardashian will now be closely watched by the Immigration Department. If Kim breaches the condition of her visa, the department can cancel it or counsel her.

During her most recent trip to Australia, Kim promoted her handbag range at Hugo's. She also promoted her television show and Blonde beer during previous visits. With vast media coverage, the visa issue was sure to get noticed eventually.

Meanwhile, Kylie Jenner needs to take note of her sister's situation since she recently started dating 14-year-old Australian pop star Cody Simpson. Known as the Australian Justin Bieber, Simpson was signed by Bieb's manager Scooter Braun. Kylie Jenner, 14, is the youngest of the famous Kardashian sisters and has done modeling and appeared on their reality show.

According to E!Online, Kylie and Cody met at the Hollywood premiere of Breaking Dawn: Part 1 in November. Kylie and sis Kendall interviewed Cody Simpson for Ryan Seacrest's On Air radio show. Kylie told Cody, “You are my rumor boyfriend on Twitter. Nice to finally meet you.”

Later Kendall said, “I think Kylie should date Cody Simpson because they'd be so cute together.” After the premiere, an enthusiastic Cody Simpson tweeted the Jenner sisters and indicated he had a good time on the red carpet and “see ya soon I hope.” Now the adorable duo was spotted over the weekend kicking back at L.A.'s Grove Mall. Kylie had said, “I'd marry an Australian.”

As Kim Kardashian's fairytale romance goes down the tubes, it seems her little sister Kylie Jenner has found sweet teen romance with the hope of her own fairytale wedding. Of course the Kardashians should still maintain good will with the Australian Department of Immigration despite the fact Cody Simpson moved to the United States. According to the Herald Sun, Simpson released his Coast to Coast EP in September which debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200.

A source told US Weekly, “They are a couple! They are so cute together.” Representatives for Kylie Jenner and Cody Simpson have not commented yet about the suspected coupling.

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County receives U.S. aid, for now, to fight illegal immigration

It has become an annual exhibition in the government's eternal struggle to balance budgets and fight illegal immigration.

Politicians propose removing the federal funds that flow to local law-enforcement agencies as reimbursement for the costs of housing undocumented immigrants, and every year those funds are reinstated.

This year's restoration of funding came just before Thanksgiving in a quietly passed appropriations bill that included funding for farms, research and transportation. The bill also included $240 million to reimburse jailers for the costs of housing undocumented inmates.

On Wednesday, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors passed a portion of those funds through to the Sheriff's Office, giving the agency $2.2 million to offset some of the costs associated with undocumented inmates.

The federal funds also included more than $9 million for the Department of Corrections.

The money is allocated annually based on the number of days each undocumented immigrant is housed in a jail or prison. The reimbursement rate is about $30 per inmate per day.

Daily incarceration costs can vary based on factors such as where the inmates are housed. It costs about $56 each day to keep a convict in an Arizona state prison.

County jails and the state have received nearly $100 million through the program since 2006, but federal lawmakers eye the money each year when it comes time to balance the budget.

This year's allotment was in jeopardy after President Barack Obama introduced a budget in the spring that eliminated the money, but the funding found its way into a multifaceted appropriations bill that Obama signed Nov. 18.

Officials in Arizona were thankful for the $12 million that came the state's way this year but said it does not come close to covering taxpayers' costs.

"Some money's better than nothing," Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said. "It's still not as much as we should be receiving."

It is a familiar refrain that crosses party lines.

Former Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano regularly billed the federal government in an attempt to recapture some of the expenses the state incurred to house undocumented inmates. And former Republican state Treasurer Dean Martin followed suit and sent federal officials a $1 billion bill in early 2010 in an ill-fated attempt to recoup some of the same expenses.

But in a climate where every federal dollar spent is being scrutinized, it can be hard for politicians to balance their desire for the federal government to meet its obligations and for fiscal conservatism.

Gov. Jan Brewer is among them.

Brewer is sensitive to the federal government's budget crunch, said spokesman Matt Benson, but Brewer wants cuts to come from areas other than the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program.

"The governor doesn't believe that SCAAP funding for states is the best approach to reducing federal spending because ultimately those costs are being born by the states," Benson said. "It's not like they disappear."

Rep. Jeff Flake, a fiscal conservative, was among the six Arizona delegates who voted against the appropriations bill that included SCAAP funds. Sen. John Kyl and Reps. Ed Pastor and Paul Gosar voted for the measure, and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords did not vote.

Flake said Arizonans who are not accustomed to the money serving as a political football should get used to it.

"Unfortunately, I think that what's past is prologue here. We're going to see more of this battle every year," Flake said. "There will be increased pressures, I think, on all funding. It's not like you have to rob something in another area of government (to continue funding the program)."

Keeping the reimbursement program alive, Flake said, will require reducing some of the money that flows from the Department of Homeland Security to state and local law-enforcement agencies if there is not an obvious connection to federal mandates.

"Whether we like it or not, providing funding for local fire departments and (Community Oriented Policing grant) funding, that certainly is appreciated by folks at the local level, but there's not really a federal nexus there," Flake said. "Here, there is

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It's Politics: Rep. Grace Napolitano signs on in challenging Alabama anti-immigration law Read more: It's Politics: Rep. Grace Napolitano signs on in challenging Alabama anti-immigration law

Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Santa Fe Springs - who recently returned from a trip to Alabama, is one of 39 congressional Democrats who signed on in support of the U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit against Alabama's anti-immigrant law.

The amicus brief, which was filed Nov. 21, asserts foremost that the Alabama statute is unconstitutional because it is preempted by federal law.

H.B. 56 requires schools to demand documentation from enrolling students and police to check the immigration status of "reasonably suspicious" people during routine stops, who they would then hand over to federal authorities.

Landlords cannot rent to undocumented tenants; employers cannot hire undocumented workers.

"The entire state is now suffering the consequences of these extreme policies, and it is clearer than ever before that we need real immigration reform at the national level," Napolitano said.

ASSEMBLY CAMPAIGNING: Ana Valencia, the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District board member who is running for the Assembly, will hold a "Holiday Celebration" from 3-6 p.m. Sunday at the Half-Off Book Store, 6708 Greenleaf Ave., Whittier.

There will be food, music by Latin Flavors and a raffle.

Those coming are asked to bring a nonperishable food item to be donated to Neighbors Helping Neighbors in South Whittier.

The suggested donation is $20.

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Bentley says immigration job arrests won't stop Alabama job recruitment

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Gov. Robert Bentley said the arrests of two international auto plant workers under Alabama's immigration law "look bad" but maintained the state will still be successful in recruiting industry.

"We have had some unfortunate incidents that certainly look bad. But we are continuing to recruit jobs to the state. We have announcements that will be coming up very soon," Bentley said in response to questions about the arrests.

"Jobs are still coming to Alabama. We feel like Alabama is open for business," Bentley said.

Alabama's new immigration law has ensnared two international workers from two of the state's much coveted foreign automobile manufacturers.

A visiting German Mercedes-Benz executive was arrested and taken into custody after being unable to produce proper documents while driving a rental car in Tuscaloosa. The man was released after an associate retrieved his passport, and the charge was dismissed.

A Japanese man employed by Honda was issued a ticket for driving without a valid license and was arrested for being in violation of a section of Alabama's immigration law that requires everyone to have a valid license while driving. The worker produced a valid passport and a Social Security card that allowed him to work in the United States, but did not have a valid Alabama or Japanese license with him.

City officials said he was released on a signature bond at the checkpoint and was not taken to jail. The charge was dismissed after a copy of his Japanese license was shown to the court.

Critics have said the state is giving the impression that it is hostile to foreigners. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote an editorial inviting Mercedes to move to Missouri.

"Our state has many advantages over Alabama. We are the Show-Me State, not the 'Show me your papers' state,'" the paper wrote.

But proponents of the law have dismissed those concerns, saying the law worked and that the incidents have been exaggerated in the media.

Bentley, as he has said before, stated he is open to tweaks in the law, particularly those that would make it clearer.

"We are going to look at all aspects of it and see if there are any simplifications or clarifications that need to be made," Bentley said.

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JOEY KENNEDY: Alabama's harmful immigration law creating labor shortages

Alabama's overreaching immigration law has done a great job of chasing people out of the state and opening up jobs. Problem is, Alabama people aren't filling those jobs.

Analysis has already shown that the drop in Alabama's unemployment rate is not because of the harsh immigration law but, instead, due mostly to seasonal hiring, government hiring and thousands of unemployed jobseekers giving up.

There are jobs out there, but not the kind many Alabamians apparently want to do or are trained to do. I know, I know. What's the evidence?

John McMillan, Alabama's commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, is holding a meeting in Mobile on Tuesday to address the chronic labor shortages created by the immigraton law in south Alabama.

McMillan is a conservative Republican, but he knows the immigration law is hurting the state's construction industry and farmers. And before somebody starts hollering that illegals shouldn't be holding those jobs, understand that many of the people who have left the state are documented workers but fled because they didn't want be harassed under the law. Why work in a state where you are looked upon with suspicion when you can drive 50 or 100 miles and work in a state that accepts you for your skills and work ethic?

The press release from the agriculture department says the "purpose of the meeting is to bring agribusiness owners and farmers together with federal and state officials to help solve the chronic labor shortages created by Alabama's new immigration law."

This supposed job-creation law turns out to be more of a labor shortage creation law. That's what happens when lawmakers really have no clue what they're doing, but do it anyway to get a thrill out of being able to brag how tough they are. Macho-men!

That's not new, though. There's never been a shortage of bullies in Alabama who like pushing around others, especially those who are less fortunate. Sadly, it's part of our state's personality, and we fail to learn from our mistakes.

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The US Immigration Test

If you have applied for naturalization, you will need to pass the citizenship test in order to get your US citizenship. Many applicants worry about this US immigration test, but millions of Americans pass this test regularly. With a little work and preparation, so can you. The citizenship requires you to know two basic things: the English language and US civics. As part of the US immigration test, you will be required to speak, read, and write in English. You will also be required to show knowledge of US history and civics by answering questions about these subjects. You can pass the citizenship test, however, if you:

Start early. The earlier you start preparing for your US immigration test, the more time you will have to master the knowledge. Ideally, start preparing as soon as you apply for naturalization or as soon as you realize that you want to apply for naturalization.

Sign up for classes. Classes are an excellent way to prepare for the citizenship test, since they allow you to work with a teacher and other students to get the support you need. Your community likely has citizenship classes that help you prepare for the naturalization test specifically. You may also want to sign up for additional English classes if you need additional work on your English.

Find more resources to study. Even if you have an excellent citizenship class in your area, the class will likely only meet a few times a week. You will be able to prepare far more fully if you study on your own in addition to taking classes. There are many resources that can help you. The USCIS website has a great deal of information about the citizenship test, including practice questions. Your local library generally will have books about the citizenship test. As well, the American Immigration Center Inc. has a number of interactive study kits that can help you prepare for the citizenship test on your own time and at your own pace.

Set aside time every day and every week to study. If you are working and taking part in all your usual activities while also trying to prepare for your naturalization US immigration test, it may be hard to find time to study. A good solution is to schedule time to study every day or every week. This way, you will have enough time to devote to mastering the material.

Take practice tests and focus on those areas where you are having trouble. The best way to pass the naturalization test is to find out which areas you need to work on and focus mostly on those areas. Taking practice tests and taking a citizenship class can show you which subjects you need to spend more time studying.

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Malaysia swap deal remains ALP policy

The ALP has backed a huge boost to the nation's refugee intake while maintaining a controversial plan to process asylum seekers offshore under a deal with Malaysia.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen's proposal to keep the people-swap deal as party policy and increase the refugee intake to 20,000 a year, from 13,750, was accepted at the ALP national conference in Sydney on Saturday.

"We have to tackle this with a soft heart and a hard head," Mr Bowen said.

Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor told delegates that boat people smugglers were "not modern-day Oskar Schindlers" - a reference to the German industrialist credited with saving more than 1100 Jews during World War II.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," he said.

"This is profiting from desperate people. This is exploitation whatever way you cut it."

Under the deal announced in May, Australia would send 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia for processing and receive 4000 people already judged to be genuine refugees.

But the High Court has ruled offshore processing is illegal and the government has not had the numbers to change the law.

The Gillard government has now adopted onshore processing and community detention as a default position.

After the conference vote, Mr Bowen admitted the result did not mean Opposition Leader Tony Abbott would support the government's policy.

"Any complaints about boat arrivals are particularly hollow when the (opposition) have a solution before them," he told reporters.

Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said the government's asylum seeker policy had failed and any policy decisions taken by the ALP national conference would not change that.

He dismissed Mr Bowen's proposal as "a desperate plan to a divided party for a failed Malaysia people-swap".

Meanwhile, an alternative proposal from the Labor Left to scrap offshore processing of asylum seekers was beaten.

Backbencher Melissa Parke told the conference the Malaysia deal fundamentally discriminated against the human rights of asylum seekers.

"Australia cannot contract out its international legal obligations," she said.

Ms Parke said it was irresponsible to send asylum seekers to a country that did not recognise refugees.

Australian Manufacturing Workers Union organiser Darren Dwyer said the debate was about human rights, not "some pinko ideology".

He said he felt ashamed to be a Labor member.

The Bowen proposal was supported 206-179.

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Cepeda: Gingrich’s tightrope walk

Moments after the last Republican presidential candidate debate ended, the ever-breathless blogosphere started wondering if Newt Gingrich was making a play for the Latino vote with his controversial remarks about being humane to America's 11 million illegal immigrants.

Of course he was. Gingrich may be many things — a highly paid consultant to eyebrow-raising clients, a philanderer and a prolific, if ungifted, author — but he's not ignorant of Hispanic voting power.

For the past few years, Gingrich has been working overtime to eradicate the fallout from his infamous 2007 speech to the National Federation of Republican Women when he said Spanish was "the language of living in a ghetto."
"Whether you are first-, second-, third- or fourth-generation Hispanic — or whether you speak English or Spanish or both," the website's "About Us" page says, "our content is catered to what unites us all, which is our American Hispanic Heritage."

Last December, "The Americano" had its first national forum, pulling together a who's who of Hispanic conservatives to discuss a variety of leadership topics, including immigration and national security, which no doubt provided much input to Gingrich's immigration stance. The event got big play on Latino traditional and social media.

So there's no mistaking that Gingrich has been diligently courting Latino voters. But doing that while still convincing the far-right wing of the Republican Party that he's not a "Republican in name only" because of his centrist immigration views is a difficult tightrope to walk.

Unfortunately for Gingrich, the only immigration view most people seem to be able to agree on is that the 1986 Simpson-Mazzoli amnesty didn't work. And though immigration is not the top concern for Latino or other voters, it provokes the strongest emotions from both sides. As a result, because Gingrich's immigration "solutions" are largely moderate and reasonable, they are the antithesis of what the vocal extremes deem acceptable.

Every plank of his treatise can be ardently disputed by both sides. For instance, Gingrich's No. 1 priority is for the border to be "controlled." But while ultra-liberals, citing the unprecedented show of force at the border and record number of deportations, scoff at what they see as an accomplished goal, ultra-conservatives refuse to consider any other aspects of immigration law reform until there is an air-tight seal between the U.S. and the rest of the world.
We could pingpong Gingrich's other points, too: Visa and guest-worker programs seem to be held in equally low regard by both sides, though for different reasons, and neither side seems willing to entertain a permanent noncitizen "legal" status. As I recall, there was practically a second civil war the last time anyone seriously suggested, as Gingrich does, that our country's official language should be English.

If we've learned anything in the last few years, it's that neither the far right nor the far left wants compromise — their arguments are framed only as triumphant wins or tragic losses. This makes Gingrich's middle-ground stance his greatest weakness concerning the immigration issue.

After the debate, his campaign was diligently tweeting out the link to his official immigration platform, "10 Steps to a Legal Nation." Since winning the endorsement of The Union Leader, New Hampshire's largest newspaper, Gingrich's website's home page has prominently featured the news headline "Newt's Plan to Secure the Border First," and this has become the talking point du jour.

Who can blame him? Taking the middle ground on immigration is like setting up shop in Death Valley. The end of the balancing act has already begun. Watch for Gingrich to leap off the tightrope with a hard-right lurch.

Unlike other Republicans who combine their desire for small government and low taxes with a head-on-fire dislike of illegal immigrants, Gingrich has gone in the opposite direction of the hard-liners and built some platforms on which to gamely court Latinos.

In September 2009, he started up "The Americano," a bilingual news and opinion site geared toward "celebrating Latino heritage and conservatism in America." Founded and edited by Sylvia Garcia, a longtime Gingrich Communications employee who had also overseen his Spanish-language website, the site launched with the aim of being "inclusive of all americanos that have come to live to the United States."

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ICE busts child porn ring

An Ontario man who federal immigration agents say had amassed one of the largest collections of child pornography was arrested Friday and released on bail later that day by a federal judge.

Michael Peterson, who was arrested with seven other people as part of a child porn sting, was suspected of possessing more than 500,000 pictures and 7,500 videos depicting child porn, according to federal agents.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials called it one of the largest collections of child pornography ever found.

ICE agents arrested Peterson, 58, about 6 a.m. at his Ontario home on suspicion of possessing, receiving and distributing child pornography.

"The images and videos contained children, between the approximate ages of 18 months to 17 years old, posing nude or engaged in explicit sexual acts with other children, with adults or with children and adults," according to a criminal complaint filed against Peterson.

The arrests include four other local men, from Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, Colton and Mentone.

The case stemmed from an undercover investigation by Delaware-based Homeland Security agents, who were focusing on a peer-to-peer file sharing network.

In May, undercover agents connected with Peterson using the name "mikeytoo" on a peer-to-peer file sharing. In one day, the agents downloaded 57 images and five videos depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit activities and nude photos directly from mikeytoo's network, according to the criminal complaint.

Agents tracked the Internet protocol address to Peterson's home and raided his residence in July, seizing nine external hard drives, three laptop computers, two computer towers, one flash drive, a video camera and other electronic items.

During the search of Peterson's home, agents saw two laptops on a table, one of which was actively downloading child pornography through the peer-to-peer network under the username "mikeytoo," according to the complaint.

"The open laptop was later found to contain 44 images containing child pornography, and the hard drive attached to the computer was later found to contain more than 7,000 movie files and more than 300,000 images files containing child pornography," according to the complaint.

ICE Homeland Security Investigators and field agents said they have never seen a collection as big as Peterson's.

"I was absolutely flabbergasted," said Debra Parker, assistant special agent in charge for ICE Homeland Security Investigation in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. "I just cannot imagine a half-million images."

But law enforcement officials were not the only ones surprised by Peterson's alleged actions.

His neighbors in the 3100 block of Centurion Place also were shocked to hear what he was accused of, especially because there are so many children living in the area.

"It's pretty disturbing he could live quietly in your midst," said Scott Marx, who lives nearby. "There are kids playing in this neighborhood."

A married couple living two doors away from Peterson and his male partner said the men kept to themselves and didn't talk to anyone. They found out about the child pornography charges on Friday.

"This is so scary," said Israel Berber. "We have a 2-year old and a 7-year old and kids are always out here playing."

"They just don't look like the type to do something," Berber's wife, Hilda Garcia, said about Peterson and his partner. "It's a pretty safe neighborhood."

The male partner was not included in the arrests Friday.

Peterson, a pipefitter, was taken into custody after months of forensic analysis on the seized property.

"Before we can bring a case we have to establish the fact that they are in possession of and involved in illegal activity," said Virginia Kice, an ICE spokeswoman.

Establishing that a suspect is for a fact involved in illegal activity can be a timely process.

"It can take a significant period of time," Kice said.

Also arrested in the ring were David Christopher Jelaca, 37, a registered nurse from La Quinta; Alexander Scott Branson, 25, of Upland; Ronald Sousa, 67, of Cathedral City; Bolivar Arnoldo Guillen, 59, of Rancho Cucamonga; Ronald R. Jaenson, 66, of Colton; John Anthony Serrano, 37, of Barstow; and Anthony Starkweather, 20, of Mentone.

The eight defendants arrested Friday made their initial court appearances in the afternoon in United States District Court in Riverside. As of 8 p.m., four of them had seen the judge and were granted release with bail.

Federal prosecutors and defense lawyer Alan Eisner argued before Judge David T. Bristow for more than hour late Friday about whether Peterson should be detained or eligible for release in lieu of bail.

While Assistant United States Attorney Ami Sheth argued that the sheer volume of images made Peterson a danger to the community, Eisner said his client had no criminal history, no prior offenses, no passport and had been in a 20-year relationship with a life partner.

Peterson didn't commit any hands-on offenses, and there was no evidence of him luring victims or chatting online using sexual terms, his defense lawyer said. The defendant also didn't flee while he was out of custody during the five months between the agents' search in July and his court appearance Friday.

Bristow determined the defense had met the burden in arguing for release and ordered Peterson to home detention, with intense supervision, electronic monitoring and a number of other conditions.

Bail was set at $250,000 bail, and the judge said "significant resources" had been made available for Peterson's bail.

"This is a difficult case," Bristow said. "And it's difficult precisely because of the volume of images."

In a different case, the FBI arrested a ninth man this week on suspicion of possessing and distributing child porn. Enrique Garcia, 26, of Hemet, appeared in federal court in Riverside on Thursday and is free after posting bail. Garcia is scheduled to be arraigned in Los Angeles on Monday.

The cases are part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood, which targets people who exploit children through the Internet.

"Every time these illegal images are produced, transmitted or viewed, a child is victimized," Parker said. "We owe it to the young victims in these cases to pursue the offenders aggressively, since many of the children who are sexually exploited by those who produce child pornography will bear the emotional scars for rest of their lives.

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Mitt Romney’s “Solution” to Immigration Calls for Latino Immigrants to Go “Home

Mitt Romney has officially staked out the most extreme immigration position possible: the removal of every undocumented immigrant in the nation. His message to Latino immigrants is: “go home.”


In the recent dustup over Newt Gingrich’s limited but sensible recognition of the simple fact that America will not and should not move to expel 11 million undocumented immigrants—many of whom have lived and worked here for well over a decade—Mitt Romney’s current position on immigration reform has become clear: anything short of mass deportation is “amnesty.”


At last week’s Republican presidential debate, Newt Gingrich reiterated his view that some undocumented immigrants who are deeply rooted in America should have a path to legal status – but not citizenship. Gingrich said:


I don’t see how the party that says it’s the party of the family is going to adopt an immigration policy which destroys families that have been here a quarter century, and I’m prepared to take the heat for saying, let’s be humane in enforcing the law without giving them citizenship but by finding a way to create legality so that they are not separated from their families.


Gingrich’s “red card” proposal calls for legalization but no citizenship, which is applicable only to a small group of undocumented immigrants. This falls well short of the comprehensive immigration reform plan of 2006 that received the backing of 23 Republican Senators and President George W. Bush. Even an earlier incarnation of Mitt Romney expressed support for an earned citizenship policy that goes well beyond what Gingrich is now proposing. In a 2006 interview with Bloomberg News, Romney said, “We need to begin a process of registering those people, some being returned, and some beginning the process of applying for citizenship and establishing legal status” and said in reference to undocumented immigrants, “We’re not going to go through a process of tracking them all down and moving them out.


Despite this past support for comprehensive immigration reform, the shape-shifting Romney is now intent to shore up his anti-immigrant bona fides at any cost, labeling the Gingrich plan “amnesty” and sending out an Iowa mailer that touts Romney’s unparalleled tough record on immigration. In the spin room after last week’s debate, Romney adviser and spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom explained the Romney immigration plan:


“You turn off the magnets, no in state tuition, no benefits of any kind, no employment. You put in place an employment verification system with penalties for employers that hire illegals, that will shut off access to the job market, and they will self retreat. They will go to their native countries.”


The bad news for Romney is that by admitting that the goal of his immigration plan is to expel the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently settled in the United States, he positions himself on the wrong side of the issue for three quarters of the American people and the millions of Latino voters who view immigration as a personal and defining issue.


In his painfully obvious attempt to pander to the hard right on immigration to shore up his conservative credentials, Mitt Romney has instead run headlong into a political disaster of his own making. His best argument in the primary is his electability in the general election. And yet by taking such a hard line position on immigration, he is making it impossible to win the 40% of the Latino vote he needs to win swing states such as Colorado, Florida, New Mexico and Nevada. His desperation on immigration is literally undermining the rationale for his candidacy.

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Obama puts pressure on Republicans on immigration reform

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama urged Americans on Tuesday to help him push Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform — a divisive issue that lawmakers have been unwilling to take up in recent years.

“I am asking you to add your voices to this debate,” Obama said in a speech near the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso. “We need Washington to know that there is a movement for reform gathering strength from coast to coast. That’s how we’ll get this done.”

The president said reform should include efforts to secure the border, crack down on businesses that exploit undocumented workers, and require the nearly 11 million immigrants in this country illegally to pay fines and back taxes, learn English and undergo background checks before they can apply for legal status. He also said American farmers need a legal way to hire immigrant workers.

Children of illegal aliens should be allowed to become U.S. citizens if they go to college or join the U.S. military, Obama said. He said he will continue to support DREAM Act legislation, as it’s known, aimed at helping those young immigrants. The full name is Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors.

Critics said the president knows reform efforts are going nowhere in a politically divided Congress and is just trying to rally Hispanic voters to help him win re-election in 2012. Obama received more than 65 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2008.

“President Obama’s immigration speech today was driven by politics and politics alone,” said Rep. Ben Quayle, R-Ariz. “Instead of real solutions and reforms, the president offered finger-pointing and spin.”

Supporters applauded him, saying he’s taking a leadership role on the issue and articulating his plan to fix the nation’s broken immigration system.

“I’m pleased the president laid out a blueprint for comprehensive immigration reform that tackles the problem from all fronts,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Immigrant rights’ groups have been pressing Obama to take the lead on the issue for more than two years, and the president could no longer sidestep the issue, political scientists said.

“He can’t duck this issue just because Congress can’t figure out what to do,” said Eric Herzik, chairman of the political science department at the University of Nevada, Reno. “Nothing may happen from his proposals, but then the Congress has to explain that to voters — as much if not more so than President Obama.”

Herzik said Obama is trying to stake out a moderate position between liberals, who call for blanket amnesty and an end to all deportations, and conservatives, who want to pass tough Arizona-style enforcement laws that target illegal immigrants.

“Obama has to find a middle ground,” the professor said.

Obama’s blueprint for reform echoed efforts by Senate leaders in the last Congress to come up with a framework for legislation. That bill died when Republicans and conservative Democrats balked at taking up the controversial issue in an election year. Last-minute efforts to pass the DREAM Act at the end of 2010 also failed.

The president said it is time for Republicans to return to the negotiating table instead of calling for more border security measures.

Republicans say the border must be enforced before anything else changes.

Obama touted his administration’s efforts to secure the Southwest border by increasing the number of Border Patrol agents to about 20,000, deploying unmanned surveillance aircraft from Texas to California, and forging new alliances with Mexico to combat drug cartels.

“We have gone above and beyond what was requested by the very Republicans who said they supported broader reform as long as we got serious about enforcement,” Obama said. “But even though we’ve answered these concerns, I suspect there will be those who will try to move the goal posts one more time. They’ll say we need to triple the border patrol. Or quadruple the border patrol. They’ll say we need a higher fence to support reform.

“Maybe they’ll say we need a moat,” Obama joked. “Or alligators in the moat. They’ll never be satisfied. And I understand that. That’s politics.”

But members of Congress from Southwest border states said their call for more security measures is based on real dangers faced by their constituents amid escalating violence by Mexican drug cartels.

Instead of pushing for comprehensive reform, Obama should endorse a $4 billion bill to put 6,000 National Guard troops and 5,000 more Border Patrol agents on the border, said Arizona Republican Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl, co-sponsors of the Border Security Enforcement Act.

“President Obama speaks about our broken immigration system,but what about our broken borders?” McCain and Kyl said in a joint statement. “During the president’s first visit to our nation’s southern border, we hope he will finally see first-hand the continued security challenges facing all of those who live along our southwest border. We hear from our constituents on a daily basis, and, while some progress has been made in some areas, they do not believe the border is secure. In fact, a recent GAO report confirmed that the Border Patrol has operational control of only 44 percent of the southwest border

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U. S. Legislative Immigration Update August 8, 2011

Department of Justice Sues Alabama

In a complaint filed early last week, the U.S. government filed suit against the State of Alabama to prevent the state’s recently-passed immigration law from taking effect in September. In the filings, the U.S. argued for H.B. 56 to be preliminarily and permanently enjoined from enforcement. The federal government asserts that numerous provisions of Alabama’s law are preempted by federal laws and therefore violate the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution. (U.S. Const., Art. VI, Cl. 2) The complaint also claims one of the provisions violates the Constitution’s Commerce Clause. (U.S. Const., Art. 1, Sec. 8, Cl. 3)

The U.S. government is petitioning the courts to rule that the power to regulate immigration is one of the authorities that is exclusively vested in the federal government, and therefore H.B. 56 is preempted. (U.S. Const. Art. 1, Sec. 8, Cl. 4 assigns the federal government with the power to establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization) The complaint acknowledges that while a “state may exercise its police power in a manner that has an incidental or indirect effect on aliens, it may not establish its own immigration policy or enforce state laws in a manner that interferes with the federal immigration laws.” (U.S. v. State of Alabama & Governor Bentley, p. 2)

The federal government asserts that the state has gone too far with its enactment of H.B. 56, crossing the constitutional line from being able to regulate legitimate areas of local concern into interfering with federal immigration law and corresponding policies of the federal government. By emphasizing maximum enforcement of immigration laws, the government argues, “H.B. 56 ignores the many other objectives that Congress has established for the federal immigration system.” (U.S. v. State of Alabama & Governor Bentley, p. 4) The complaint notes that “assuring effective enforcement of provisions against illegal immigration and unlawful presence is a highly important interest, but it is not the only goal of the federal immigration laws. The laws also take into account other uniquely national interests, including facilitating trade and commerce; welcoming those foreign nationals who visit or immigrate lawfully and ensuring their fair and equitable treatment wherever they may reside; responding to humanitarian concerns at the global and individual levels; and otherwise ensuring that the treatment of aliens in our nation does not harm our foreign relations with the countries from which they come or jeopardize the treatment of U.S. citizens abroad.” (Id. at 10, 11)

In particular, the federal government seeks to immediately prevent the implementation of the following provisions of H.B. 56:

§ 6: This section requires all Alabama state and local law enforcement agencies to enforce H.B. 56 to their full extent. If an enforcement agency refuses to do so, the agency may be subject to a private right of action by any lawful resident of Alabama and be forced to pay a civil penalty. The agency may also face sanctions and a loss of appropriations from the State of Alabama.
§ 10: Section 10 makes it a criminal offense in Alabama to violate federal laws which require aliens to carry their registration cards (8 U.S.C. § 1304) and register with the federal government (8 U.S.C. § 1306(a)). Under federal immigration laws, unlawful presence by itself is not a criminal offense, although it may subject an alien to the civil remedy of removal. (8 U.S.C. §§ 1182(a)(6)(A)(i), 1227(a)(1)(B)&(C)) Federal laws provide that unlawful presence may become an element of a criminal offense when an alien is unlawfully present after having previously being removed or voluntarily departing from the U.S. (8 U.S.C. § 1326) It is unlawful entry into the U.S. that the federal immigration laws have deemed to be a criminal offense. (8 U.S.C. § 1325) Additionally, the federal government asserts its control over alien registration, including some situations where the federal government may have knowledge of an alien’s presence even though the alien may not have proof of their registration. (U.S. v. State of Alabama & Governor Bentley, p. 16)
§ 11(a): This section makes it a crime for an unauthorized alien to solicit work in the state of Alabama.
§ 12: Section 12 allows Alabama law enforcement officers to verify an individual’s immigration status with the federal government if reasonable suspicion of unlawful presence arises during a lawful stop, detention or arrest.
§ 13: Section 13 makes it a crime to knowingly: conceal, harbor or shield an illegal alien from detection; inducing an illegal alien to come to reside in the state; transport an illegal alien in furtherance of the individual’s unlawful presence. It also renders it a state crime to knowingly enter into a rental agreement with an illegal alien.
§ 16: This section penalizes employers who knowingly seek a tax deduction for wages paid to illegal aliens.
§ 17: Section 17 allows lawful citizens of Alabama a private right of action to sue employers who have discharged or failed to hire a citizen employee while hiring or retaining an alien unauthorized to work in the U.S.
§ 18: This section requires motor-vehicle drivers to carry a license with them. If an individual is arrested for driving without a license and an officer cannot verify that the individual actually has a valid driver’s license, authorities must initiate an inquiry into the individual’s immigration status and may detain the person while verification is pending.
§ 27: This provision prevents Alabama state courts from enforcing the terms of a contract of which an illegal alien is a party to the contract, and the other individual had knowledge that the alien was unlawfully present at the time of the contract.
§ 28: Section 28 requires public elementary and secondary schools to determine the citizenship status of enrolling students for reporting purposes.
§ 30: This section makes it a felony for an illegal alien to enter into a business transaction with a state or local government within Alabama.

By moving for a preliminary injunction, the U.S. is asking the federal courts in the Northern District of Alabama to prevent H.B. 56 from taking effect until a full trial can be heard on the merits of the case. The motion is scheduled to be heard on August 24. (The Birmingham News, August 4, 2011)

Civil rights and religious groups have also filed suit against the state. In addition, Mexico and 15 other nations filed amicus briefs to support the U.S. government’s suit against Alabama. (The Birmingham News, August 4, 2011) The law’s original sponsor, Rep. Micky Hammon, continues to stand by H.B. 56. "The Obama administration and the federal bureaucrats have turned a blind eye toward the immigration issue and refuse to fulfill their constitutional duty to enforce laws already on the books.” Hammon said. “Now, they want to block our efforts to secure Alabama's borders and prevent our jobs and taxpayer dollars from disappearing into the abyss that illegal immigration causes." (Associated Press, August 2, 2011)
DHS Tells Governors it Doesn’t Need Their Permission for Secure Communities

On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sent letters to governors of the 39 states participating in Secure Communities, informing them that it was rescinding their memorandums of agreement to participate in the fingerprint-sharing program. (LA Times, Aug. 6, 2011) The rescissions, however, do not signal an end to the program, but rather an acknowledgement by the government that Secure Communities is a mandatory program that does not require an agreement with the state. (Id.) “This change will have no effect on the operation of Secure Communities in your state,” clarified Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director, John Morton, in the letters.

The open-borders lobby was outraged over the announcement. Chris Newman, Legal Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) alleged in a statement, “All the deception in the world can’t hide the fact that the S-Comm [Secure Communities] is horrible policy. By entangling local police in immigration enforcement, S-Comm is criminalizing immigrants and leading to the Arizonification of the country.” (NDLON Press Release, Aug. 5, 2011) Margaret Huang, Executive Director of the Rights Working Group, argued, “By continuing to support this program they [the U.S. government] are sanctioning racial profiling, eroding the trust local law enforcement agencies have built with communities of color and showing the international community that our immigration system does not respect the basic human rights of all persons in our country.” (Rights Working Group Press Release, Aug. 5, 2011)

The decision by federal immigration officials to rescind the separate state agreements and continue to set up the program unilaterally comes on the heels of several governors insisting the program was voluntary. Since May, the governors of New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts—states with some of the largest illegal alien populations in the U.S.—have announced the cancellation or suspension of their agreements to participate in the program. (New York Times, Aug. 6, 2011; see also FAIR Legislative Update, June 6, 2010) The federal announcement could also affect legislative efforts in California to prevent the state from participating in Secure Communities. (Fox News Latino, May 27, 2011) There, the California Assembly passed AB 1081, which would require local jurisdictions wishing to participate in Secure Communities to do so expressly by passing a local ordinance. (See AB 1081 at §2) AB 1081 would also limit the submission of fingerprints to those convicted of – rather than arrested for – a crime. (Id.)

According to DHS, Secure Communities is scheduled to take effect nationwide by 2013.
House Passes Two Immigration Bills before Recess

Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed two immigration bills: H.R. 398 and H.R. 1933. (See Roll Call Votes 684 and 685) The first bill, H.R. 398, is sponsored by Immigration Subcommittee ranking chair Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). H.R. 398 would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to toll (stop from running) the 90-day period in which an alien and petitioning spouse must file a petition and complete an interview to remove the alien’s conditional legal permanent resident status while either the alien or petitioning spouse is a member of the U.S. military serving abroad. (H.R. 398 at § 1(a)) Under current law, when a legal resident marries a foreign national, the alien spouse is granted lawful permanent residence on a conditional basis for the first two years they are in the country. (INA § 216(a)(1)) The Attorney General removes this conditional status only after he makes a favorable determination that the marriage between the alien spouse and petitioner is legitimate. (INA § 216(c))

The second bill, H.R. 1933, is sponsored by Judiciary Chair Lamar Smith (R-TX). H.R. 1933 would reinstate an expired program that admits nonimmigrant nurses to work in “health professional shortage areas.” The expired program, which terminated in 2009, provided for 500 nonimmigrant visas each fiscal year to aliens who obtained a nursing license, passed the requisite exam, and were otherwise eligible. (See the Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Act of 1999, Public Law 106-95) Each alien was granted an admission period of three years under the prior Act. Similarly, H.R. 1933 would allow the government to issue 300 visas to eligible foreign nurses each year for the next three years. (H.R. 1933 at §§ 1(a)-(b)) At the end of this initial period, admitted nurses can extend their stay for an additional three-years. (Id. at § 1(a)) Under the bill, visa recipients may also accept new employment as a nurse upon the successful petition of a new hospital employer. (Id. at § 1(c))

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