California Lawmakers Move to Shield Illegally Present Immigrants from Deportation
FoxNews.com reports that California Governor Joe Brown is considering a bill that would bar police from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on cases that involve illegally present immigrants arrested for minor crimes. The bill, referred to as the Trust Act, would replace the Secure Communities program. The current program stipulates that whenever a suspect is booked in jail, their fingerprints go through an immigration database. If the suspect is found to be in the U.S. illegally, he or she can be held by ICE and then ultimately removed from the country. Under the Trust Act, police would not be obligated to honor an ICE-ordered detention for certain minor crimes. The California District Attorneys Associate and the California Sherriffs’ Association oppose the law, in part because it appears to violate federal code. Some, like California Attorney General Kamala Harris, claim that the federal codes in question are “discretionary, not mandatory,” and that California is fully within rights to enforce the Trust Act.
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Congress’s Illegal-Immigration Detention Quota Costs $2 Billion a Year
Bloomberg Businessweek reports that ICE is detaining more undocumented immigrants facing deportation than ever before. Despite the Obama administration’s more lenient approach towards some immigrants, an overall decline in border crossings, and pressure from Republicans to cut the federal budget, ICE spends roughly $2 billion every year to maintain a 34,000 undocumented immigrant detention quota. Congress has twice turned down White House requests to cut the quota and utilize less costly measures-such as utilizing ankle bracelets and keeping low-risk offenders under more lenient supervision-to decrease federal spending.
Critics of the so-called “bed mandate” argue that the detention policy is extremely lucrative for prison companies. It also allows lawmakers to easily present themselves as “getting tough” about border defense and other immigration issues. The Senate’s immigration bill would allow ICE greater discretion to release low-risk detainees, though it includes a provision that would likely continue funneling work to private prison companies.
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U.S. SEC Warns of Investment Scams in EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program
The Latin American Herald Tribune reports that USCIS and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy have teamed up to warn potential EB-5 applicants of fraudulent investment scams. These scams target foreign nationals who seek to become permanent lawful U.S. residents through the Immigrant Investor Program (or EB-5 visa). Some organizations, according to the SEC, have attempted to misuse the EB-5 program in order to carry out fraudulent securities offerings. In one case, the SEC alleges that regional center USA Now falsely promised investors a 5% return on their investments and an opportunity to obtain an EB-5 visa. The promoters solicited investors before USCIS could officially approve the business. Investors reportedly did not even obtain conditional visas as a result of their investments.
USCIS and SEC advise that all investors take the following steps before investing in businesses purportedly affiliated with the EB-5 visa:
- Confirm that the business’ regional center has been designated by USCIS; there is a current list at http://www.uscis.gov.
- Obtain copies of the regional center’s initial application (form I-924) and annual information collection supplements (I-924A).
- Request investment information in writing.
- Ask if promoters are being paid and be wary of promoter information that is inconsistent with investment offering or private placement memorandum from the issuer.
- Confirm with other companies purportedly signed onto the project.
- Examine structural risk via loan documents and offering statements in order to determine if the loan is secured by collateral promised to investors.
- Consider the developer’s incentives by researching principal and developer investments.
They also suggest that investors be aware of the following red flags:
- Promises of visas or lawful permanent residency; EB-5 visas are not guaranteed to investing foreign nationals, but are rather awarded on a case-by-case basis when all eligibility rules are met.
- Guaranteed investment returns or no investment risk.
- Investment claims of continueous growth or high rates of return
- Investment projects that have not yet registered with SEC; some regional centers may not be registered, despite being designated by USCIS.
- Unlicensed sellers.
- Layers of companies run by the same individuals.
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=1052202&CategoryId=12396
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San Francisco Passes Law to Prohibit Immigrant Holds
Reuters reports that San Francisco officials have moved to curb their relationship with ICE by ending the Secure Communities program. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to pass an ordinance that prevents police from detaining illegally present immigrants who have been arrested for crimes for up to 48 hours past their release dates. San Francisco Supervisor, John Avalos, proposed the bill to encourage domestic violence victims and witnesses of crimes to come forward without fear of immigration authorities. Los Angeles put forth similar legislation in December 2012 under Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca.
San Francisco Deputy Sheriff’s Association and Police Chief Greg Suhr criticized the ordinance. Suhr suggested an amendment that would allow law enforcement officials to detain immigrants accused of “serious crimes.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/02/us-usa-immigration-sanfrancisco-idUSBRE99102Y20131002
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Suicides at CCA-run ICE Detention Center Spark Investigation
Corrections.com reports that two detainees committed suicide at the Eloy Detention Center outside Phoenix, Arizona in April 2013. The two deaths occurred only three days apart. Allessandra Soler, executive director of the ACLU of Arizona, noted that suicides often “signify a much larger problem,” such as insufficient mental health services or sub-par medical care. The expansion of the immigration detainee population (including those charged with crimes, asylum seekers, and other detainees who are no criminally charged) has led to ICE’s utilization of privately-operated prisons. There has not been an increase in mental health professionals or other resources to accompany this expansion. Many detainees have complained of insufficient medical care at ICE facilities; between October 2003 and December 2012, 131 prisoners have died in federal immigration custody as a result of strokes, cardiac arrest, and asphyxia.
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Chris Christie Comes Out In Support Of Dream Act For New Jersey
The Huffington Post reports that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie stated he would support legislation to offer in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants. In 2011, Christie said he would veto such a measure. Only a month prior to his outspoken support of this legislation, Christie was compared to Texas Governor Rick Perry for opposing the DREAM Act. The Star-Ledger writes that Christie’s efforts reflect an effort to win over Latino voters and to boost his prospects for the 2016 Republican presidential primary.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/15/chris-christie-dream-act_n_4100904.html
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More Immigrants Asking for Asylum
The Wall Street Journal reports that in fiscal 2013, more than 27,000 immigrants made credible-fear claims while seeking asylum in the U.S. Most immigrants with asylum claims enter via Mexico, though they come from many different parts of the world-Central America, Asia, Africa, the Middle-East, etc. The drastic spike from 10,730 claims in 2012 has led some officials to question the authenticity of these claims. Immigrants crossing the border-either legally or illegally-need only state that they need asylum in order to avoid immediate deportation proceedings. They then participate in a Credible Fear Interview, during which time they must prove that they have legitimate fear of persecution in their native country. If an immigration officer deems their case has merit, the claimant receives a “pass.” Homeland Security data shows that in fiscal 2013, 85% of credible-fear claimants received passes, but receiving a pass is not a guarantee of asylee status.
Many courts then release asylum-seekers to await their asylum hearing, which can take up to half a year or more. In fiscal 2102, over 8,000 asylum-seekers failed to show up for their court hearings, according to Justice Department data. In order to combat these disappearances as well as other forms of asylum-fraud, Homeland Security has added almost 100 more asylum officers this summer alone, and it has deployed the 278 asylum officers it supervises across the country.
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USCIS Message: Workload Transfer from National Benefits Center to Service Centers
USCIS has announced that is has recently begun transferring casework from the National Benefits Center to the Nebraska, Texas, and California Service Centers. Included in the casework is the form I-130. USCIS will notify those with transferred cases. The transfer will not further delay case processing. Individuals can check on the processing times for their petitions here, or they can sign up to receive automatic case status updates via email here. Applicants who receive requests for evidence or any other type of communication from USCIS are advised to read the notice carefully in order to ensure that they respond to the same service center that sent the notice.
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USCIS Advises on Cases Affected by Shutdown
USCIS has announced that it will consider the government shutdown an extraordinary circumstance and accept petitions for H-1B, H-2A, or H-2B visas that were not filed in a timely fashion due to this circumstance. Petitioners must submit evidence proving their claim and they must meet all other applicable requirements.
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USCIS Interim Policy Memorandum
USCIS has announced that students under the F-1 visa program who engage in post-completion OPT are eligible for a 17-month STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics) extension even if they have not yet completed the thesis requirement or equivalent for their STEM degree.
Students must meet the following requirements to be eligible for the extension:
- The student has not previously received a 17-month OPT extension after earning a STEM Degree.
- The basis degree for the student’s current period of OPT is a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree in one of the degree programs on the current STEM Designated Degree Program List (for a more information, visithttp://www.ice.gov/sevis).
For more information, visit the Feedback Opportunities section of the USCIS website.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk.