When Immigration Matters

The United States v. Arizona
Drawing a Clear Line Between Federal and State Immigration Authority

As a follow up to President Obama's immigration speech last week, Kiran Chetry, Anchor of CNN's American Morning interviews Univision anchor Jorge Ramos, author of a new book, "A Country for All".  Ramos comments on President Obama's speech and urges him to make comprehensive immigration reform a priority. Last week, President Obama called for securing the borders and paving the way for an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants to become legal citizens. 

This article really struck me about the impact of Arizona's tough, new immigration law.  Although, they are all living and working in the US legally, they could be adversely impacted as the new law requires state and local law enforcement officials to inquire about immigration status during any lawful stop such as a minor traffic violation. 

Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court voted unanimously in Carachuri-Rosendo v. Holder that a lawful permanent resident who is convicted of minor drug possession offenses does not warrant classification as having been convicted of an "aggravated felony." As a result, the Court held that Mr. Carachuri-Rosendo cannot be deported without an opportunity to make a case for why he should be allowed to remain in the United States.  "The decision is an important step toward addressing some of the absurdities of the immigration laws passed in 1996 that treat a shoplifter and a murderer in the same manner. Those laws have largely taken away the ability of immigration judges to look at the facts of a case and determine if the punishment fits the crime," said Benjamin Johnson, Executive Director of the American Immigration Council.
 
Many individuals like Mr. Carachuri-Rosendo, who had two misdemeanor convictions in the criminal court system, then face a separate set of rules under the federal immigration court system. The government had urged the Court to adopt a rule which would allow the immigration authorities to reclassify a misdemeanor conviction as an aggravated felony, which would subject even a lawful permanent resident to mandatory deportation.
 
The Supreme Court found the folly in this approach and notes in its decision, "It is quite unlikely that the 'conduct' that gave rise to Carachuri-Rosendo's conviction would have been punished as a felony in federal court." Applying a common sense approach, the court found that Carachuri-Rosendo's "petty simple possession offense is not typically thought of as an 'aggravated felony.'"
 
Before 1996, only the most serious criminal convictions could be defined as aggravated felonies. In 1996, Congress expanded the definition of aggravated felonies - lengthening the list of crimes that could trigger deportation for an immigrant, including even minor crimes where the person did not serve any jail time.
 
"The Supreme Court's decision restores a level of measure and rationality to immigration policies that often are unnecessarily strict and unforgiving," said Beth Werlin of the American Immigration Council's Legal Action Center. 
 
"The decision is an important step toward addressing some of the absurdities of the immigration laws passed in 1996 that treat a shoplifter and a murderer in the same manner. Those laws have largely taken away the ability of immigration judges to look at the facts of a case and determine if the punishment fits the crime," said Benjamin Johnson, Executive Director of the American Immigration Council.
 
In far too many cases, immigration judges still lack discretion.  Congress now should follow the Supreme Court's lead and restore immigration judges' discretion to take into account the individual circumstances of each case before taking the drastic measure of ordering a person deported.

Here is the latest H-1B cap count released (June 11, 2010).  More information can be found at the USCIS H-1B Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 Cap Season Page.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is seeking public comment on a proposed federal rule that would adjust fees for immigration benefit applications and petitions. The proposal would increase overall fees by a weighted average of about 10 percent but would not increase the fee for the naturalization application.

Is South Carolina about to pull an Arizona?   Illegal immigration has become a hot topic around the nation and there's even discussion that South Carolina may pass a similar law to Arizona.

I was honored to a write a chapter for the 2010 edition of the book Employing International Workers.  Specifically, the chapter I wrote relates to what employers need to know when employing foreign nationals.  It is titled “Key Issues an Employer needs to Understand When Sponsoring an Employee for a Non-Immigrant Visa or Green Card”.   It is really an informative book for those involved in the immigration process.  It is now available in book stores.  

Houston - CBP Service Port Director Estell announced that CBP at George Bush Intercontinental Airport – IAH will be going to an automated CBP Form I-94W (paperless) for Visa Waiver Program (VWP) travelers who successfully apply on-line for the required Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).  After June 8, 2010, the ESTA registered VWP travelers will not be issued a paper I-94W.  The CBP officers will stamp VWP visitors’ passports with the admission stamp and annotate their passports with the admission class and the exact admission validity date.  The stamp will be the evidence of the VWP visitors’ status.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced that it has revised the Employment Authorization Document (EAD), or Form I-766, to incorporate the addition of a machine-readable zone on the back of the card.