Immigration Lawyer Blog

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

Nine people pleaded guilty to charges connected with their involvement in a scheme in central Ohio to arrange marriages between foreign nationals and U.S. citizens. The sentences were announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office and U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE). Brian Moskowitz, ICE special agent in charge of the Office of Homeland Security Investigations in Ohio and Michigan, along with Carter M. Stewart, U. S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced the sentences by U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley.
The sentences were imposed on the following individuals:
- Hasan Salohutdinov of Dublin, Ohio, and an illegal alien from Uzbekistan, was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment followed by deportation. He pleaded guilty on April 5, 2010, to one count of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and on count of presenting false statements to U.S. immigration authorities. Salohutdinov introduced other Uzbeks into the scheme in order that they might pay to engage in sham marriages.
- Dmitry Pani also of Dublin, and an illegal alien from Estonia, was sentenced to one year imprisonment. Pani also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud.
- Sviatlana A. Piskunova of Columbus pleaded guilty to conspiracy and sentenced to time served.
- Laura Elizabeth Grace Scott of Columbus pleaded guilty to conspiracy and was sentenced to two years probation which includes six months of home confinement.
- Courtnie Susann Good of Columbus pleaded guilty to marriage fraud and was sentenced to two years probation which includes six months of home confinement with electronic monitoring.
- Elbek A. Saidjanov of Philadelphia, Penn., pleaded guilty to marriage fraud and was sentenced to time served, about seven and one-half months.
- Iskander Odilovich Tairov, of Galloway, Ohio, pleaded guilty to marriage fraud and was sentenced to two years probation.
- Brent James Woods of Columbus pleaded guilty to marriage fraud and was sentenced to four years probation including four months in Alvis House.
- Djafar B. Sobirov of Columbus pleaded guilty to marriage fraud and was sentenced to two years probation.

Pani established an informal "business" to find U.S. citizens who would accept money to enter into sham marriages with aliens for the purpose of evading a provision of the immigration laws of the United States, and to aid and abet in the making of false statements to immigration authorities with respect to those sham marriages in an effort to convince the immigration authorities that they were genuine marriages. Salohutdinov, who had entered into a sham marriage in Illinois, moved to Ohio and came to know Pani. Salohutdinov and Piskunova joined the conspiracy with Pani and arranged sham marriages for certain other aliens that Salohudinov knew of.

The sham marriages typically occurred shortly after the alien and the U.S. citizen met each other, sometimes even the same day. Saidjanov, an alien, came to Columbus from Philadelphia, PA, and paid Pani to arrange a sham marriage on Feb. 9, 2009, with Good. Saidjanov also paid his girlfriend, who is an alien, too, to enter into a sham marriage on the following day. These sham marriages took place at The Columbus Wedding Chapel, in Columbus. After the marriages, Sadijanov and his girlfriend returned to Philadelphia, and did not live with their new American spouses.

"Today's sentences are a reminder that America's legal immigration system is not for sale," said Moskowitz. "ICE will aggressively investigate and bring to justice those who seek to compromise the integrity of that system for personal profit or to avoid immigration laws."
Stewart commended the investigation conducted by ICE agents, and the assistance of the ICE Office of Enforcement and Removal, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Columbus Police Department, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Brown, who prosecuted the case.

The new coalition government will impose a permanent immigration quota next year, promising to cut levels of migration to rates last seen in the 1990s and dramatically reduce the numbers of non-Europeans allowed to live and work in the U.K. It's long been a flagship cause for the country's Conservative Party, which leads Britain's governing coalition and bitterly complained in opposition that unchecked immigration had strained public services, distorted labor markets and fueled social divides.

British Prime Minister David Cameron won much attention on his recent trip to the United States with his program of savage spending cuts. He's also been sharpening his shears on another front: immigration. But business leaders warn the immigration quota could leave the country short in vital industries — leaving some areas without adequate medical staff, stalling efforts to meet deadlines to build new nuclear power stations, and leaving care workers needed for a growing elderly population in short supply.

It means the crackdown will target workers from Africa - who make up the largest group of non-European migrants working in the U.K. and Commonwealth countries such as India, Pakistan and Australia. Citizens of Commonwealth nations lost preferential treatment from Britain on immigration in the 1970s. Americans, who number about 80,000 working in the U.K., will also face new difficulties. Unemployment in Britain stands at 7.8 percent, a slight fall from recent months. But 7.82 million workers are in part-time employment, the highest rate since records began in 1992.

Saudi nationals can now get five-year multiple-entry temporary resident visas to enter Canada. The changes facilitate the movement of students and business people between Saudi Arabia and Canada. Despite the stricter visa controls, the number of Saudis entering Canada on temporary resident visas has increased considerably since 2002. In 2009, Canada granted temporary resident visas to 5,292 new Saudi students and 1,665 Saudi workers in 2009, according to data compiled by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Starting in 2002, Saudi nationals were required to apply for temporary resident visas before coming to Canada to visit, study or work, and each visa was only valid for a period of 18 months. These strict visa requirements were imposed on Saudis due to security concerns over fraudulent Saudi passports. Prior to 2002, Saudi nationals could enter Canada without a visa.

There are currently around 8,200 students from Saudi Arabia at Canadian academic institutions, including 750 medical doctors. Two thousand more students from Saudi Arabia are expected to start studying in Canada before 2011. Canada hopes that the more lenient temporary resident visa policy will permit more Saudi visitors, students and workers to enter the country.

The UK government assured foreign investors that the proposed caps on immigration for economic migrants will not hurt companies seeking to do business in UK, and any changes to the takeover laws will not single out foreign investors.

“The policy will be managed to make sure that foreign investors interests are not harmed,” said secretary of state Vince Cable, at an event announcing UK’s national FDI figures. “The new government was expected to demonstrate that it was managing immigration. We are aware that foreign investors need to bring in high level managers, skills, and have intra-company transfers,” in a first such assurance that overseas investors are not hit by immigration caps. He also clarified that while the independent takeover panel is in the process of reviewing UK’s takeover laws, which were “too permissive in the past, the changes will not be enormous, and it will affect both domestic and foreign companies in the same way.”

The new government has committed to cut non-EU economic migration to ‘thousands’, but a mechanism to implement this policy has yet to be worked out. UK’s takeover laws are currently being tightened, after widespread criticism of the Kraft-Cadbury takeover, which resulted in massive job losses in the UK.

Canadian immigration feels that that the investment requirements are too low. The investment requirements have not changed for more than ten years. The current system attracts more applicants than are required each year under the immigration plan. This has resulted in an increase in processing times. Canadian immigration intends to significantly increase the investment requirements for the immigrant investor program:
* A personal net worth of $1.6M instead of $800,000
* An investment requirement of $800,000 instead of $400,000

Immigration Minister Kenney said: "Canada needs investor immigrants.These changes are necessary to keep Canada's program competitive with that of other countries, and keep pace with the changing economy."

UK Immigration has confirmed that the permanent limit on Tier 1 (General) applications under the points based system will start in April 2011. The interim limit on Tier 1 (General) visas will start on 19 July 2010.
Following are the major changes to the Tier 1 visa system:

* The passmark for the Tier 1 visa (General) will increase from 95 to 100 points from 19 July 2010 for many applicants. This will mean that fewer people will qualify for the Tier 1 (General) visa from 19 July 2010. Further details of people who do not have to come under the higher passmark can be found below.

* There will be a monthly interim limit on Tier 1 (General) visas from 19 July 2010. If in any one month your application is received after the limit is reached you will have to wait and your application will then be considered under the limit for the following month. The good news is that many people are excluded from this limit. Please see further details below.

* If you are already in the UK under the Tier 1 (General) visa and are applying for an extension or you are in the UK under another immigration category and wish to switch to Tier 1 (General) you will not come under the interim limit.

* If you are in the UK in any of the following categories and wish to extend your stay or switch to Tier 1 (General), you will only need to gain the lower points score of 95 points:
- Tier 1 (General)
- Highly Skilled Migrant Programme
- Writers, Composers and Artists
- Self-Employed Lawyers
* If you wish to come under the Investor, Entrepreneur and Post-study work categories of Tier 1 you will not come under the interim limit. There will be no limit on the number of applications that can be made.

* If you are in the UK in an immigration category not mentioned above for example Tier 1 (Post-study work) or Tier 2 visa then you will have to gain the higher 100 points to be able to switch into Tier 1 (General).

* If you are applying for entry at a British Embassy or Consulate from outside the UK you will have to gain the higher 100 points to come under Tier 1 (General).

Hence, if you are affected by the changes in the Tier 1 (General) points system and new Tier 1 limit you should consider applying before 19 July 2010.

All U.S. Consular Sections worldwide will introduce a two-tiered fee structure for nonimmigrant visas. This structured system coincides with a small global application fee increase, designed to balance the costs of recent enhancements to the visa application process.

All applicants for business or tourism (B-1/B-2), crew member (C-1/D), student (F or M), or exchange (J) categories will now pay $140 and receive a white receipt. Petition-based work visas (H, L, O, P, Q, and R categories) will now pay $150 and receive a green receipt. These two receipts will still be purchased at approved Banks branches. K (fiancé) applicants will now pay $350 and will continue to pay their fees at the Consular Section.

Applicants who purchased their receipts before June 4 will pay the balance between the old and new fees at the time of the interview. The previous application fee was $131 for all visas.

Mr. Jason Kenney, Minister for Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism has discussed and clarified the various changes which is the part of new Immigration Plan 2010 of Canada.
Canada is adjusting its 2010 immigration plan to put even greater emphasis on economic recovery and further reduce the federal skilled worker backlog.

The government is also proposing new eligibility criteria for the immigrant investor program so it makes an even greater contribution to the Canadian economy. Proposed regulatory changes will require new investors to have a personal net worth of $1.6 million, up from $800,000, and make an investment of $800,000, up from $400,000.

The minister clarified at the outset that these changes were not in any way a reduction of immigration numbers, but a way to bring in more transparency, controls and lastly a speedier more efficient processing system. One of the most important factors contributing to an immigrant’s economic success is the ability to speak one of Canada’s official languages. Under changes to the federal skilled worker program and the Canadian experience class, all new applicants are required to include the results of an English or French language test as part of their application. The language requirements themselves, however, are not changing.

According to the minister, “With the results of a language test, FSW applicants will know before they apply exactly how many points they will be awarded for language ability on the federal skilled worker selection grid. Canadian Experience Class applicants will also know in advance if they meet the minimum language requirements necessary as part of their application.”

He added: “In keeping with the Action Plan for Faster Immigration, processing times are expected to improve because the visa officer simply assigns points based on the language test result instead of taking the time to review a written submission. Finally, many regulatory bodies and industry sectors require language testing or other proof of language assessment, so in taking the test, applicants are one step further on the path to integration into the Canadian labor market.”

On the federal skilled worker category, Canada still receives thousands more applications each year than can be processed and accepted. This is true even when you consider that Canada has the highest relative level of immigration in the developed world, with a quarter million permanent residents admitted every year. Effective immediately, to be eligible to apply as a federal skilled worker, applicants must either have a job offer, or they must have experience in one of 29 in-demand occupations. These occupations were identified through analysis of updated labour market information and consultations with provinces, territories, stakeholders and the public. The government will limit the number of applications considered for processing to 20,000 per year as a way to better manage the supply of applications with labour market demand. Within the 20,000 limit, a maximum of 1,000 applications per occupation will be considered. The limit does not apply to applicants with a job offer.

Arranged employment is one of the six factors under Canada's new points system for selecting immigrants under the skilled worker category. It is essentially a genuine job offer by a Canadian employer that is validated by Human Resources & Skills Development Canada (HRSDC). According to the minister, this category ensures that immigrants are not stuck in the “survival job conundrum” and will be given priority at all times.

The minister also confirmed that there would be a comprehensive review of the provincial nominee program in conjunction with provinces to design a more standardized program that would benefit all provinces. Additionally, the Auditor General has asked for more information on the program as there is a lack of data on whether it meets its objectives and whether immigrants who come in under this program get jobs commensurate with their education and previous careers and lastly whether they move out of the province after landing.

Australia's new immigration policy aims to let in only the professionals it needs and to tell its citizens that their jobs will not be taken by immigrants in times of recession. It comes as a huge concern for Indian students in Australia as it has toughened its immigration laws and has brought down the list of professions which qualify for immigration from 400 to 181. Over the last one year, Indians have been at the receiving end of Australian racial attacks and mindless street violence. The tough new rules on the grant of student visas and permanent residence status will make it much harder for Indians to go to Australia.

Students who are already in Australia will be allowed to complete their courses but may have to return after a grace period. UK and Canada too have cracked down on immigrants from India.Australian High Commissioner, Peter Verghese said, “We want students to come to Australia to study. We want them to come to Australia to do a course which they judge is in their best interests. We want to separate out the study pathway from the migration pathway.”

It is clarified that beginning July 1, the number of visa-eligible jobs will drop from 400 to 181. The number of Indian students in Australia had exploded from just 8,000 in 2005 to a 100,000 in 2010. The growing visibility of Indians and shrinking jobs in Australia led to friction and a violent backlash. Graduates in cooking, hairstyling and gardening courses cannot hope for permanent residence. Instead, preference will be given to those on the new Skilled Occupations List which includes engineers, accountants, teachers, nurses, even welders and midwives.

The newly elected government finally come up with the numerical cap on its work permit for non-EU workers. The new permanent limit entering the United Kingdom will come into effect from April 2011. It will be announced after 12 week consultations within the government and with businesses and other interested groups.

Indians comprising the bulk of non-EU skilled immigrants to Britain- could be the worst affected after the British coalition government on Monday confirmed a stringent interim limit of 24,000 on work permits to be issued between July 19 and March 31 next year.
Home Secretary Theresa May said: “The government believes that Britain can benefit from migration but not uncontrolled migration. I recognize the importance of attracting the brightest and the best to ensure strong economic growth, but unlimited migration places unacceptable pressures on public services.”

It is widely understandable that this step will bring major fundamental changes in the way workers from outside the European Union will be chosen. It is also believed that high income group professionals may be excluded from the immigration curbs.

One of the most divisive issues for the new coalition Government in Britain has been immigration. The Labour Government had a points-based system, where decisions on who to let in was based on “points” they accumulated based on skills and experience. It's a system that has been fiercely opposed by the now-in-government Conservative Party, which had been consistently calling for new immigration to fall to “tens of thousands a year” rather than “hundreds of thousands” through the introduction of a cap on numbers.

A far cry from their coalition colleagues, the Liberal Democrats, who during the election campaign had mooted an amnesty for illegal immigrants.In the early days of the coalition, it seemed that the Conservatives had had their way – with the idea of the cap making its way into a joint policy document that had followed many hours of hard bargaining between the two sides. It is said that a consultation would shortly be taking place with “businesses and other interested parties” on a wide range of issues relating to the cap and its implementation.

The Conservative plans to cut immigration have been widely criticized not only by human rights campaigners, but also by business leaders, who have argued that the cap could hear the economic recovery, by depriving businesses of key skilled staff and universities of students, deter foreign investors from putting their money into Britain, and lead to tit-for-tat tighter restrictions on British companies operating abroad.

The India of today is shining in real sense. The recent concluded G-20 summit in South Korea affirmed the views of India in terms of financial independence. The narrative space within which this triadic India is situated today defies any specific statistical analysis. It is inevitable that a India surges ahead on its own steam, and that is what India shining denotes—the rebirth of a nation in terms of self-awareness, self-consciousness, self confidence, and the desire to take on the world. This is India shining.

Canadian Govt. too add a feather in India shining campaign by planning to invite Indian entrepreneurs to buy small companies in Canada that do not have succession plans through their Investor Visa program. Minister for advanced education, Rob Norris, explained, “nearly 40 percent of the SMEs do not have succession plans. In order have continuity of business we invite Indian entrepreneurs to explore acquisition of such SMEs.”

The Canadian province of Saskatchewan is hoping to attract Indian investors to move to Canada and buy SMEs in the region. The province is also keen to attract Indian students studying in Canada to stay on living and working in the country in order to enhance the local economy and create jobs.

In order to try to make this happen, Norris is now leading a delegation of officials to India to try to cement relationships between the two countries. He explained that attracting Indian investment will safeguard thousands of jobs and the huge contribution SMEs make to the local economy. The program is intending to attract C$100 million in investment from India. Norris says Saskatchewan is the perfect destination for firms focusing on research and development and state capital Saskatoon is one of Canada’s top ten entrepreneurial cities. This makes it a great destination for Canadian work visa holders and others looking to move to Canada.

It is the time which demands sincere commitments from India to make it a good deal.

The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in South Africa due to safety and security issues related to the FIFA World Cup taking place in nine cities across the country from June 11 to July 11, 2010. This travel alert expires July 31, 2010. Complete information about the World Cup for American visitors is available on the U.S. Mission to South Africa's dedicated World Cup website. It is well known that large-scale public events like the World Cup may present a wide range of attractive targets for terrorists. There is a heightened risk that extremist groups will conduct terrorist acts within South Africa in the near future. The Department of State will provide information to its public once it receives information of any specific and credible threat through an updated Travel Alert or Travel Warning. All US citizens in or traveling to South Africa are urged to register with the U.S. Mission to South Africa in order to receive these alerts as quickly as possible. It further says to ensure visitors at all places by taking ample precautions like avoid carrying or displaying expensive items or wearing eye-catching jewelry, stay in a group, and avoid walking at night, be alert and aware of your surroundings at all times, looking out for your own personal security, keep doors locked and windows closed while driving, avoid having purses, phones, bags and luggage in plain view, be wary of street vendors at traffic lights, planted obstacles and staged “accidents” that may be traps for unsuspecting motorists. Do not stop for cars with flashing lights unless they are clearly marked as police or emergency service vehicles. Park your car in secure, gated parking lots or garages wherever possible, and do not leave bags or valuables in plain view. Keep a copy of your passports all time while ensuring to keep originals at safe location. Need to report matters pertaining to lost or stolen passports or to US Consulate.

Top Justice Department officials have drafted a legal challenge asserting that Arizona's controversial immigration law is unconstitutional because it impinges on the federal government's authority to police the nation's borders, sources said Wednesday.

At the same time, the government officials said, the department's civil rights section is considering possible legal action against the law on the basis that it amounts to racial profiling of Latinos who are legally in Arizona but conceivably could be asked to provide documents proving their citizenship.

U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. met Wednesday with nine top police chiefs who object to the Arizona legislation and promised them he would act on the recommendations soon, a spokesman said.

The police chiefs urged Holder and the Obama administration, which has grave reservations about the Arizona measure, to stop the law. The chiefs said it would seriously hamper local police work if officers had to serve as border patrol policemen.

More here...

This is a letter by Rev. Dr. Billy Bruner, Letter to the editor. Another point of view about the Arizona Law debate:

I am writing this letter in concern over so many being upset about a law dealing with “illegals.” There are those who support the illegal immigrants and feel that any law against them is injustice. If these same people are supports of “illegalism,” I wonder, would they support me driving my car without a tag, without proper driver’s license and etc.? The state of Arizona passed a law against “illegal” immigrants, not “legal” immigrants — against those who violate the law of their state and that of the U.S., as far as I can understand the law. I cannot understand why there is so much concern by American citizens about being stopped by a law enforcement officer. I do not care if one stops me, because I have nothing to hide. I may be disappointed that I am being delayed, but the fact is that if the officer is doing the stopping due to some matter that affects the laws of the county, state or national government, I have no concern. Any officer who does this outside of the legal rights he or she has concerning their position as an officer should not be an officer in the first place. I contend that those who oppose this so strongly are those who have something to hide, and/or are against the democratic laws of our great nation. I close this about “illegals” by saying that the current administration will oppose the Arizona law because it affects those who supported Obama politically. It is a political issue rather than a true matter of dealing with illegal immigrants.

More here...

We feared that this may happen, and it did. Immigration reform has become the first of President Barack Obama's major priorities dropped from the agenda of an election-year Congress facing voter disillusionment. Sounding the death knell was Obama himself.

The president noted that lawmakers may lack the "appetite" to take on immigration while many of them are up for re-election and while another big legislative issue — climate change — is already on their plate.

"I don't want us to do something just for the sake of politics that doesn't solve the problem," Obama told reporters Wednesday night aboard Air Force One.

Immigration reform was an issue Obama promised Latino groups that he would take up in his first year in office. But several hard realities — a tanked economy, a crowded agenda, election-year politics and lack of political will — led to so much foot-dragging in Congress that, ultimately, Obama decided to set the issue aside.

Read more....

Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday that the federal government may go to court to challenge Arizona's new law which makes it a state crime to be in the United States illegally.

The controversial bill gives Arizona law enforcement the authority to stop people whom officers have "reasonable suspicion" of being in the country illegally, detain these individuals while verifying immigration status, and arrest undocumented immigrants for transfer to ICE custody. The bill, also known as the "Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act" also makes it a crime to be in the state illegally and to provide transportation to someone you know is undocumented.

Those who oppose the bill are concerned about possible civil rights violations, and worried that the legislation will lead to racial profiling -- a major concern for Arizona's approximately 30% Hispanic population and larger mixed race population. The bill does not list the characteristics officers will be looking for to determine "reasonable suspicion."

The Justice Department and the Homeland Security Department are reviewing the state law, which takes effect in late July or early August, 90 days after the Arizona Legislature adjourns.

A number of options are under consideration including "the possibility of a court challenge," the attorney general said in response to questions on the Arizona law posed during a news conference on another topic.

Read more here...

The owner of the landmark restaurant and bakery The French Gourmet and a longtime manager there pleaded not guilty to federal charges that they hired illegal workers and lied to the government that they had the proper work documents.

Michel Malecot, president of the restaurant, bakery and catering business on Turquoise Avenue in Pacific Beach, and Richard Kauffmann a manager and pastry chef, were charged with 16 counts of conspiracy, harboring illegal immigrants and false attestation. The charges stem from a raid conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the business in May 2008.

Malecot posted a $75,000 bond and Kauffmann a $60,000 bond after entering their pleas in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Nita L. Stormes.

The indictment alleges that Kauffmann and other managers would hire illegal workers and then certify on government forms that they had verified their Social Security and other documents and they were legal to work in the country.

In a half-dozen instances alleged in the indictment, the restaurant received “no match” letters form the Social Security Administration saying the Social Security numbers submitted in the forms were not valid. The restaurant would then submit new forms with new Social Security numbers falsely saying that the documents appeared genuine, the government charged.

More from the Union Tribune....

Now that Arizona lawmakers have passed what's considered some of the toughest immigration legislation in the country, other states are watching to see whether they should follow in the state's footsteps or stand back.

Arizona's bill orders immigrants to carry their alien registration documents at all times and requires police to question people if there's reason to suspect they're in the United States illegally. It also targets those who hire illegal immigrant day laborers or knowingly transport them.

Critics, including immigrant advocates and the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, are concerned that the legislation will foster racial profiling, arguing that most police officers don't have enough training to look past race while investigating a person's legal status.

The bill made it through the state Senate on Monday after it was passed by the state House last week. It's now awaiting the signature of Republican Gov. Jan Brewer. Supporters of the measure expect her to sign it. Latino members of Congress are calling on Brewer to veto it.

more here...

Even though most Americans are putting money into the Social Security fund, those taxes are falling short of what's needed to break even. Commentator Robert Reich, NPR says letting more immigrants into the U.S. may be the answer.

The biggest reason Social Security is in trouble, and Medicare as well, is because America is aging so fast. The baby boom generation is retiring. Seniors are living longer. And families are having fewer children.

Add it all up and the number of people who are working relative to the number who are retired keeps shrinking.

Thirty years ago there were five workers for every retiree. Now there are three. Within a couple of decades, there will be only two workers per retiree. There's no way just two workers will be able or willing to pay enough payroll taxes to keep benefits flowing to every retiree.

This is where immigration comes in. Most immigrants are young because the impoverished countries they come from are demographically the opposite of rich countries. Rather than aging populations, their populations are bursting with young people.

Once the American economy recovers, most new immigrants to the U.S. will be working for many decades.

Get it? One logical way to deal with the crisis of funding Social Security and Medicare is to have more workers per retiree, and the simplest way to do that is to allow more immigrants into the United States.

Read the Article here...

Never a dull moment here in San Diego County. Dozens of minor aftershocks continue to rattle nerves as well as the ground Monday following one of the strongest earthquakes to ever hit the region.

Two people were killed and at least 100 injured when a 7.2 temblor rocked Baja and the county Sunday afternoon. At least five subsequent quakes have measured 5.0 or greater, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

On the Immigration front, more than three dozen Haitian earthquake survivors were released from Florida immigration jails on last week after more than two months in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Many had lost relatives in the Jan. 12 earthquake; some had been pulled from the rubble themselves. In the chaotic days and aftershocks that followed, many had been seeking security, food or treatment at the Port-au-Prince airport when they were waved onto military transports or other planes by United States Marines, only to be detained for lack of visas when they landed.

Lawyers at the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, who had urged their release for weeks, were jubilant as they waited with relatives outside the Broward County Transitional Center, a privately operated jail in Pompano Beach, for the last ones to walk out. Immigration officials said 40 Haitian survivors would be released on orders of supervision by nightfall. This came on the day that The New York Times reported that at least 30 earthquake survivors were being detained.

Read more here...

Many students come to the US to gain great education and future opportunities as a result. At the same time, many prospective students, intend to use the student visa as a cover in order to stay in the US. After 9/11 the rules became tougher, if a student fails to attend school, he must be reported and and may be loose his status. Yet, there are some schools across the country that will enroll students, but will not require attendance. Only to make money.

A Florida language school helped illegally obtain student visas for foreign nationals who never went to class, violating laws enacted after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks exposed weaknesses in the program, authorities said Thursday.

Eighty-one student visa holders purportedly studying at the Florida Language Institute have been arrested. None was on any federal watch list or linked to terrorism, U.S. authorities said, though investigators were checking their backgrounds. The school's owner, Lydia Menocal, 58, and employee Ofelia Macia, 75, allegedly made $2.4 million over the past three years from foreign nationals applying for U.S. student visas. It was not clear how much they charged each student for the paperwork, authorities said.

Menocal and Macia were charged with conspiring to commit an offense against the U.S., and Menocal faces other charges including falsifying immigration documents, according to a grand jury indictment. ICE officials said the takedown of the school was the largest visa fraud investigation in the agency's history

More here...

Anne Arundel County state senator is continuing his efforts to better identify illegal immigrants in the state's prison system, hoping an increased number of deportations could save Maryland money. Well, it will take more than that to save them money.

The Senator has proposed legislation to require the state Division of Parole and Probation to contact the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency if a pre-sentence investigation report indicates someone has an unlawful immigration status. What a great use of government resources, as if the Division of Parole and probation is not busy as it is, but well he is a Senator.

"The main issue was to catch them on the front end," he said. "It has the potential to have quite a bit of savings. Every dollar we can save is certainly a benefit."

Sheriff Arpaio is determined to bring down illegal immigrants, even the Federal government is not a barrier anymore. It is Arpaio's law or the highway. When the federal government stripped Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his deputies of their power to enforce federal immigration laws on the streets, the sheriff repeatedly said nothing would change.

The sheriff said that starting today every one of his deputies will go through training to specifically target illegal immigrants. I wonder what kind of training that is?

The sheriff announced that he is ramping up the county's fight against illegal immigration by increasing the number of trained deputies from 100 to nearly 900. Sheriff Arpaio also did not comment on when the new enforcement would start. Isn't it time for some serious Fed action against this Sheriff to send a clear message to all the antis?

Read the article from AZ Family here

According to New America Media, Massachusetts could spell trouble for Democrats, but advocates of immigration reform say it’s not over yet.

By capturing the seat held by former Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy who passed away last summer, Republican Scott Brown brings a different vision to the historically blue state. While Kennedy was known as a champion of health care reform and was co-author of the 2006 McCain-Kennedy immigration reform bill, Brown has spoken out against both.

But advocates of immigration reform were quick to dispel fears that the election could be the death knell for immigration reform in 2010.

“This was a race that revolved around the issue of change, and Scott Brown – in spite of having a long history of being anti-immigrant, was able to tap into that wave,” Ali Noorani, executive director of National Immigration Forum and chair of Reform Immigration FOR America, said in a telephonic press conference Wednesday. “What didn’t happen is that we did not articulate that immigration reform is part of that change agenda.”

Janet Murguía, president and CEO of National Council of La Raza, added that the campaign by Democrat Martha Coakley made a fatal error in the election in Massachusetts – It “did not engage the Latino community,” she said.

Advocates of reform also note that, while some predict that the Massachusetts Senate race could spell the end of immigration reform, “conventional wisdom” isn’t always right.

Read more...

I recently was interviewed by the Latin America News Dispatch about our work with Mexican clients relocating to San Diego. The majority of clients are in need of immediate assistance to relocate due to the increasing violence. Our work with Business owners is to assist with obtaining an E2 visa for new investors or L1A for Mexican companies setting up Branch offices in the US. We expect this trend to continue in 2010.

Paola Reyes write:

As Mexico’s two year-old drug war intensifies, leading to greater violence and insecurity in the city of Tijuana, many families are moving across the border to San Diego.

Some are taking their businesses with them.

From 2000 to 2008 there was a 34 percent increase in the number of Hispanics living in Chula Vista, San Diego’s second largest municipality, and an 11 percent increase in those living in San Diego. Overall Hispanics comprise 51 percent of the Chula Vista population and 28 percent of the San Diego population, according to the San Diego’s Regional Planning Agency.

“People go out less at night and business [at the Tijuana location] shrank,” according to Eduardo Angulo Venenzuela, a member of the family that owns the Mexican restaurant chain Los Arcos.

People living in San Diego go less frequently to Tijuana to eat as well, he added.

In order to compensate, many Tijuana restaurants came to them. Tacos El Gordo is a popular taco shop chain in Tijuana that recently opened a San Diego location. One online reviewer on Yelp aptly explained why the San Diego location is so popular, “I know the tacos in TJ [Tijuana] are so tasty and cheap but no one wants to go down there these days because of the killings.”

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This story was posted originally at Immigration Impact, we thought it is worth sharing today.

Today, we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man whose dream of equality and human rights changed the course of history. His legacy will be remembered this week by people of all colors and creeds who still believe in the American dream and who continue to fight for equality, civil rights and the basic human dignity they deserve. Over the weekend, thousands of human rights activists took to the street in Phoenix, Arizona, to march for civil rights and for “long-overdue federal action on immigration.”

So what is the link between immigration and civil rights? In a recent editorial, Rev. Harvey Clemons Jr., the pastor of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Houston, connects Dr. King’s fight for equality with the struggle many immigrants face today.

Immigration is about human dignity and the nobility of parents of different tribes and nations facing the risk of coming to a foreign land, a land of opportunity, to work for a better tomorrow for their children…Dr. King invoked the truth, the truth being that all humans ought to be treated with a certain dignity. It would be natural for us to look to him as an example for fighting for a just cause.

Gerald Lenoir, director of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, also draws parallels between the struggles of African Americans and the struggles of recent immigrants:

Even some of the migration experiences of African-Americans, coming from the South, leaving conditions of economic injustice and terrorism from both legal authorities and groups like the Ku Klux Klan, we see that same kind of movement in people across borders.

Something to think about.

Thousands of immigrant rights advocates marched in front of a county jail in Phoenix Saturday in a protest that was aimed at Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's immigration efforts and was marked by a clash between a small group of protesters and police officers.

Organizers say the protest was meant to show officials in Washington that Arpaio shouldn't handle immigration enforcement, and that Congress and the Obama administration need to come up with a way for immigrant workers to come to the country legally.

Critics have accused deputies working in Arpaio's immigration efforts of racial profiling, which the sheriff denies. He says his deputies approach people when they have probable cause to believe they had committed crimes.

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Here is an interesting story by the NY Daily News. An advocate for immigrants is under fire for sending text messages to warn Hispanics about crime sweeps by an Arizona sheriff. What a horrible thing to do, don't you think:))

According to The Associated Press, Lydia Guzman, director of immigrant advocacy group Respect/Respeto, began sending text messages to alert thousands of people to the sweeps, which critics say are just an excuse to round up illegal immigrants.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said his department doesn’t engage in racial profiling, and that the real goal of the texts is to help illegal immigrants avoid arrest. What a saint, he must be nominated for a human rights award.

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According to the LA Times, Predator drones, the unmanned aircraft used by the U.S. military in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones, will soon be employed to track illegal immigrants on the Mexico-California border.

The drone, will be operated out of the Antelope Valley by the military contractor General Atomics. The drones will fly above the border region with advancing electronic tracking equipment looking for illegal immigrants crossing into California.

According to the San Diego-based company, the drones will transmit information to U.S. authorities on human smuggles as well drug smuggling.

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Here is a good one from the Houston Chronicle. some Houston charities are asking whether children are in the country legally before giving them toys.

The Salvation Army and a charity affiliated with the Houston Fire Department are among those that consider immigration status, asking for birth certificates or Social Security cards for the children.

What is the point here???

The point isn't to punish the children but to ensure that their parents are either citizens, legal immigrants or working to become legal residents, said Lorugene Young, whose Outreach Program Inc. is one of three groups that distribute toys collected by firefighters.

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