2004

AILA Press Release: This Week’s Count-Down: Will the Administration and Congress Get it Right?(132 KB - 12/1/2004)
As President Bush and Members of Congress refocus this week on intelligence reform, we urge them to reject the anti-immigrant and anti-civil liberty measures included in H.R. 10. We applaud Senate and House conferees who have resisted ill-conceived measures that will not make us safer. We urge President Bush to join his voice with theirs. AILA Doc. No. 04120160. En Español
AILA Press Release: House and Senate Conferees Meet on 9/11 Legislation (10/21/2004)
The Congressional conferees held their first meeting to resolve legislative differences between H.R. 10 and S. 2845. Congress and the White House must reject the onerous restrictions in H.R. 10 and produce a bipartisan measure behind which this nation can unite. AILA urges Congress and the White House to make the right choice. En Español
AILA Press Release: U.S. Slams the Door Shut on Highly Educated Foreign Professionals(44 KB - 10/4/2004)
On October 1, 2004, USCIS officials announced that the H-1B cap on visas had been reached. Unless Congress takes action now, employers will be barred from hiring new H-1B foreign professionals for an entire year. AILA calls upon Congress and the Administration to address this crisis and restore U.S. access to this important talent. AILA Doc. No. 04100411.
AILA Press Release: Congress Should Heed 9/11 Commission, Enact Measures that Enhance Our Security, and Not Be Derailed by Poison Pills(44 KB - 10/4/2004)
Both the House and Senate will vote on bills intended to implement the bipartisan 9/11 Commission’s recommendations. AILA urges House leadership to heed the 9/11 Commission’s admonitions and repudiate the use of this legislation to advance an anti-immigrant agenda, not our nation’s security needs. AILA Doc. No. 04100460. En Español
AILA Press Release: U.S. Employers Out of Luck?(43 KB - 10/1/2004)
With the new fiscal year beginning, time is running out for employers who seek to hire H-1B professionals and H-2B non-agricultural seasonal workers. Due to restrictive numerical limits on both visa programs, employers are anticipating a year-long blackout on H-1B and H-2B visas. “Congress needs to act now,” said Paul Zulkie, President of AILA. AILA Doc. No. 04100166.
AILA Press Release: H.R. 10: Congress Needs to Reject Anti-Immigrant Bill(60 KB - 9/29/2004)
AILA urges the House of Representatives to reject H.R. 10 as a fatally flawed bill that includes negative immigration-related provisions that would distract our government from effectively enhancing our security. AILA Doc. No. 04092960 En Español
AILA Press Release: Legislation Implementing the 9-11 Commission’s Immigration-Related Recommendations: Need to Get It Right (9/7/2004)
Congress must vigorously and carefully debate the first major bill to implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Congress needs to keep in mind that the ‘border and immigration system of the United States must remain a visible manifestation of our belief in freedom, democracy, global economic growth, and the rule of law . . .’
AILA Press Release: Visa Denials and “Culture of No” Hurt America (9/7/2004)
The denial of scholar Tariq Ramadan's visa is the most recent example of the “culture of no” that has permeated the visa issuance and immigration admissions process since 9-11. Visa applications themselves decreased 15% between 2002 and 2003, as anticipated delays and denials caused prospective visitors to decide to not apply for a US visa.
AILA Press Release: CBP Commissioner Bonner Strikes the Right Balance (8/13/2004)
AILA applauds the recent announcement by Bureau of Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) Commissioner Robert Bonner that gives CBP officers new discretion to grant no-risk travelers who overstayed under the Visa Waiver Program on a prior visit a one-time parole.
AILA Press Release: The Senate Needs to Be Allowed to Vote on AgJobs (7/8/2004)
AgJobs Act (S. 1645) has strong bipartisan support with 63 Senators who are cosponsoring this important measure. It is long past time for the Senate to consider and pass AgJobs. The status quo is unacceptable. AgJobs is a needed step on the road to reform. We urge the Senate to swiftly take up and pass this important measure. En Español
AILA’s Statement on Recent Supreme Court Decisions Supporting Due Process (7/2/2004)
AILA’s statement on the Supreme Court’s June 28 decisions in which the Court held that U.S. citizens subjected to indefinite detention as enemy combatants and noncitizens jailed at the Guantanamo Naval Base must be permitted to challenge their detention in court.
AILA Press Release: It is Time to Restore Due Process and Civil Liberties (6/16/2004)
On 6/16/04, Sens. Kennedy (D-MA), Leahy (D-VT), Durbin (D-IL), Feingold (D-WI), and Corzine (D-NJ) and Reps. Berman (D-CA) and Delahunt (D-MA) introduced the Civil Liberties Restoration Act (CLRA)--balanced legislation that restores critical protections and fundamental freedoms without compromising our safety. En Español.
AILALink Wins Award(100 KB - 6/7/2004)
AILA's research CD-ROM, AILALink, has just won Outstanding Achievement in the Best Use of Technology category from the international Association for Continuing Legal Education (ACLEA). AILA Doc. No. 04060710
AILA Press Release: Legislation that Gives “Fairness” a Bad Name (5/20/2004)
Senators Hatch (R-UT), Kyl (R-AZ), Chambliss (R-GA) and Cornyn (R-TX) on May 19 introduced the Fairness in Immigration Litigation Act. AILA opposes this bill as a broad attack on judicial review and habeas corpus. If enacted, this bill would lead us further astray from the due process protections that lie at the core of our nation’s identity.
AILA’s Statement on the SOLVE Act (5/4/2004)
AILA’s statement on the “Safe, Orderly Legal Visas and Enforcement (SOLVE) Act of 2004,” comprehensive immigration reform legislation introduced on 5/4/04 by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Representatives Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Luis Gutierrez (D-IL). En Español
April 20th Event Highlights End of Educational Dreams for Immigrant Students (4/21/2004)
On April 20th, elected officials and hundreds of students and advocates from around the country held a rally at the U.S. Capitol in support of the DREAM Act, S. 1545, and the Student Adjustment Act, H.R. 1684. The American Immigration Lawyers Association strongly supports the passage of this bipartisan legislation. Also En Español
AILA Press Release: Increased Fees Will Not Do The Job (4/15/2004)
AILA calls on Congress and the Administration to step up to the plate and change how they fund adjudications by directly appropriating funds to supplement user fees. Increased immigration application fees will not do the job alone. Fixing an overburdened system needs serious attention and serious funding. Also En Español
AILA Press Release: Legislation to Provide Emergency Relief to “Save Summer” Introduced (3/31/2004)
AILA urges Congress to quickly pass the “Save Summer Act of 2004,” introduced on March 29 in the House and the Senate. This critical bipartisan legislation would provide an emergency increase for the current fiscal year in the number of H-2B workers who enter the U.S. to perform temporary essential non-agricultural seasonal tasks.
AILA Press Release: A Year in Review: The Department of Homeland Security (3/1/2004)
March 1, 2004 marks the one-year anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) assumption of U.S. immigration functions. The American Immigration Lawyers Association offers its assessment. Also En Español
AILA Press Release: H-1B Cap Reached Signals Change Needed (2/18/2004)
AILA statement on H-1B visa cap being reached. AILA calls on Congress for immediate change to visa program. En Español.
AILA Press Release: AILA’s Statement on Legislation that Would Preserve DV Eligibility in the Face of Processing Delays (2/13/2004)
AILA comments on legislation (S. 2089) introduced by Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) on 2/12/04 that would allow aliens who are eligible for diversity visas to be eligible beyond the fiscal year in which they applied.
Ngwanyia v. Ashcroft- Judge finds Treatment of Asylees “National Embarrassment” (2/12/2004)
A federal judge issued a ruling in national class action filed by AILF & Mass Law Reform ordering government to adjust status of nearly 22,000 waiting asylees. Judge also railed against the INS's "Kafkaesque" procedures for asylees to obtain work permits. The case is Ngwanyia v. Ashcroft, No. 02-502(RHK/AJB) (D. Minnesota).
AILA Press Release: Not Up to the Challenge -- Statement of AILA on Proposed USCIS Fee Increase and the President’s Proposed FY 2005 Budget (En Español) (2/3/2004)
USCIS today proposed increases in fees for immigration applications of up to 55%. AILA calls on the Administration to conduct a study to determine what level of funding is necessary to adequately support USCIS’s adjudications functions, eliminate the backlog, and put this bureau on sound financial footing. Also En Español
AILA's Statement on House Democratic Principles to Fix Broken Immigration Laws (1/29/2004)
AILA commends House Democratic Leaders for issuing a comprehensive set of principles to guide immigration reform.
AILA’s Statement on the Introduction of the Immigration Reform Act of 2004 (1/21/2004)
AILA commends Senators Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Tom Daschle (D-SD) upon introduction of their bill, the Immigration Reform Act of 2004: Strengthening America’s National Security, Economy, and Families.
AILA’s Statement on the Bush Administration’s Immigration Reform Proposal (1/8/2004)
AILA issues a statement on the immigration proposal unveiled by the Bush Administration on 1/7/04.
AILA Press Release: Bush Administration to Refocus on Immigration Reform (1/6/2004)
President Bush is expected to announce on 1/7/04 his Administration’s immigration reform proposal. This announcement comes one week before the President will be meeting with Mexican President Vicente Fox. While details of the proposal are still unknown, AILA discusses the necessary components of any such reform. Also en Español.

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