Immigration News
Check out daily roundups of immigration-related news stories, read articles that quote and cite AILA and AILA leadership, and check out analysis from AILA members and leadership on the AILA blog.
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The Senate is at it again! Hold Onto your INA!!!
The Senators are coming, the Senators are coming! That's right, the Senate is debating the DHS Appropriations bill right now, and immigration amendments are being offered. I blogged about the Sessions E-Verify proposal yesterday. Well bill, that passed by voice vote this morning, but not before the
There He Goes Again–Sessions and E-Verify
Senator Sessions cannot leave his hands off of E-Verify. Now in “stealth“ mode, Senator Sessions has slyly introduced an E-Verify amendment (SB 1371) during today's full Senate vote on the DHS appropriations bill. The Sessions amendment calls for a permanent reauthorization of the Basic Pilot/
Employers Beware: ICE Commences Nation-wide Audit of Business Immigration Records
Guest blog by Josie Gonzalez, Gonzalez & Harris U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today that it is issuing 652 Notices of Inspection (NOIs) to businesses in order to audit I-9 records that contain information regarding an employee's right to work legally in the U.S. ICE was qu
Schumer And Immigration
Okay, the opening salvo is fired. Senator Schumer has announced the starting point of this year's immigration reform debate, kind of. In an article in the Washington Post, Senator Schumer has outlined what he sees as the baseline of immigration reform. Spencer Hsu, of Washington Post reports that Sc
Senator Ensign, Immigration and “Illegal”
What is the deal with Senator Ensign? He cheated on his wife? Don't all politicians do that? (The answer is no, not all politicians do that). So, what is the a big deal? Let me tell you-Because Senator Ensign is a HYPOCRITE! Senator Ensign received a 100% rating from every anti-immigration group out
Vivek Wadwha–A Voice in The Wilderness?
As many regular readers of this blog know, I am impressed by the amazing work of Vivek Wadhwa, research associate at Harvard, and an entrepreneur in residence at Duke. This week his most recently published article, The University Of Competition, in Outlook India, points out the obvious-“with its fla
Due Process for Immigrants, is Due Process for all Americans
This blog post was contributed by AILA Immediate Past President Charles H. Kuck: Attorney General Holder took a step towards restoring a semblance of constitutional protection to all Americans last week, when he overturned the decision of Attorney General Mukasey in Matter of Compean, an Immigration
Immigration and AILA–One Year Later
A year ago I began my journey as AILA President with a speech at our annual conference in Vancouver. I focused my words on five principles in which I believe, God, Family, the Constitution, Service, and Litigation. Today is my last day as AILA President. As I reflect on the last year, I see that [&#
The Harbingers of Doom–UPLers and Those Who Assist Them
Today, New York Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, turning his attention rather momentarily away from Wall Street, issued more than 50 subpoenas to individuals and businesses in New York City, as part of a widening investigation into immigration fraud by unauthorized practitioners and businesses, inclu
Temporary Worker Programs, An Essential Component of Immigration Reform
Deborah Notkin, AILA Past President, contributes today's blog on CIR: For those of us who have long been committed to Comprehensive Immigration Reform including a path to legalization for the undocumented, family reunification, restoring the order of law AND having a reasonable temporary worker visa
Sotomayor and Immigration Reform
Is it possible? Is there really link between President Obama's bold nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, with possible movement or non-movement on Immigration Reform this fall? The folks over at http://www.electoral-vote.com/ note that there may be a link: “A side effect of the Sotomayor nomination
ICE and Nursing Mothers–To Bond or Not To Bond
A week ago I was contacted by a reporter in North Carolina who became involved in a story about a undocumented immigrant. The undocumented immigrant has been in the United States for 13 years, was the mother of five U.S. Citizen children, ranging in age from 9 1/2 to 9 months. She was taken into [&#
Making Sure Congress Gets It
A guest post from AILA Board of Governors Member Dagmar Butte: I recently received a response to a Contact Congress letter from a new Senator that appeared, on its face, to fully support CIR. As I read the letter more carefully; however, it became apparent that the letter focused almost exclusively
Changing the Rules in the Middle of the Game
In the first week of May—without comment or, apparently, any concern for its impact—U.S. immigration officials unilaterally rewrote the law, disqualifying thousands of families and workers trapped half-way through the green card process. As a result, people who just last month would have been welcom
Seeing the Immigration World In Black and White
Today's Washington Post contains the rebuttal of Rep. Lamar Smith, a fellow Texan and the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, to Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D. Ill) regarding recommended reforms to our dysfunctional immigration laws. See http://tinyurl.com/odg4hm Rep. Smith has worked on t
The Continued Attacks on The H-1B and L-1 Visas
It seems unrelenting these days. Attacks by anti-immigrationists on the two of the most useful non-immigrant visa categories, the H-1B and L-1 visas. The most recent attacks are based either on junk science or no science at all. Recently we received at the AILA National Office a letter from Professo
It’s The Economy Stupid
The New York Times reports this morning that American and Mexican researchers have charted a marked decline in illegal crossings from Mexico into the U.S.—the result, they say, of the ailing U.S. economy. http://tinyurl.com/qnjmf7. This trend suggests that the economy, not arbitrary and unworkable c
What is the Deal with H-1Bs and Congress
You have to wonder. Why do some member of Congress use the H-1B visa as a punching bag? What is it with Durbin and Grassley, two unlikely allies on this issue?
Take this Immigration Quiz
Admit it. Every now and then you veg out in front of the computer cruising the Internet. At least I do. Tonight was just such a night. But I ran into this immigration quiz. The purpose of this quiz is to point out how far we have come, or perhaps how far we have not […]
Postville, One Year Later
Today marks the one year anniversary of the ICE raid at the Agriprocessors meat packing facility in Postville, Iowa. The raid, which was the largest worksite enforcement raid in U.S. history, resulted in the conviction and deportation of more than 300 undocumented immigrants, mostly uneducated Guate
Postville Gives Attorney General Holder An Opportunity To Do Justice
By AILA Board of Governors member Leslie Holman Yesterday Attorney General Eric Holder, Jr. told 11 new U.S. Prosecutors: “Your job as assistant U.S. attorneys is not to convict people,“ Holder said. “Your job is not to win cases. Your job is to do justice. Your job is in every case, every dec
Why Don’t You Just Come Legally–The Visa Mess
Okay, we all know there are no visas available until October 1, 2009 for any third preference employments immigrant. It stinks. It makes no sense in how we grow the economy and bring in “legal“ workers. And, we know there is a 5-9 year wait in this category. We know that there are between 8-50
ICE and Ankle Bracelets–Better Than No Detention at All?
ICE DRO (Detention and Removal Officers) were trolling the Immigration Courtrooms this week in Atlanta looking for respondents who were appearing for their hearings, but whom had previously not been detained by ICE, and thus had no bond or restraints on their liberty. You ask, what would ICE be doin
Promoting UPL – another danger of hooking up on the Internet
by AILA Board of Governors member Leslie Holman “Hooking up“ on the Internet may result in an unintended coupling that has nothing to do with finding love. A few years ago my teenaged daughter was horrified when I asked her and her group of friends whether they were going to hook up with other
Is Stephanie Rose The Right Pick For U.S. Attorney in Iowa?
A prosecutor's job is to do justice, not merely to convict. The Supreme Court's decision in Flores-Figueroa v. United States raises serious questions about whether Stephanie Rose, who has been nominated to be U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa, is the right choice for the job. http://ti