Feds Reject Sheriff’s Bid for Immigration Program
Knoxnews.com reports that federal authorities turned down Sheriff Jimmy Jones’ application to bring the 287(g) program Knox County. The program, which gives federal authority to local law enforcement, has been used infrequently save for a recent backlash in southern states against undocumented immigrants. After reducing funding for the program last year, Congress is beginning to phase out the 287(g) program for a fingerprint-sharing program called Secure Communities. ICE Executive Associate Director Thomas D. Homan stated in a latter that the agency is limiting participation to law enforcement agencies that already have memoranda of understanding with ICE. He cited “resource concerns, including impacts of sequestration,” as the reasons for the decision.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2013/aug/20/sheriffs-application-for-287g-program-rejected/
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Barbour, Rendell: Congress Won’t Pass Immigration Legislation Until 2014
Ajc.com reports that former chairman of the Republican National Committee Haley Barbour believes immigration overhaul won’t move forward until next year. He predicts that Congress will be too busy with federal budget negotiations to pass any immigration legislation this fall. He also predicts that instead of one comprehensive bill, the House will pass several immigration bills. Barbour co-chairs the Immigration Task Force for the Bipartisan Policy Center with Former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, who agrees with Barbour’s predictions. Rendell worries how congressional primaries could affect the debate over providing a pathway to citizenship for illegally present immigrants. Democratic legislators will automatically reject any bills that lack a path to citizenship, Rendell claims. These differences in party priorities play a role in the speed at which the bill passes, and Rendell and Barbour are pushing for bipartisan consensus. Their task force recently released a report including recommendations for improving the immigration system, including a “robust worker visa program.” It also calls for ways to gauge the effectiveness of border security and it endorses a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
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New Obama Immigration Policy Goes Easier on Parents
ABC News reports that a new Obama Administration policy will modify the way ICE handles cases for “low-priority immigration offenders” who are parents of minors. The new policy will allow ICE officers to utilize alternative measures (on a case-by-case basis) when detaining non-criminal individuals in order to avoid leaving children without appropriate parental care. Detainees could end up in a facility closer to their home, rather than being placed in a more remote area. The policy also designates an ICE officer to act as a point person in each field office for cases like these. Officers will also be asked to include details about a detainee’s family in his or her case file. The policy does not give removal relief to undocumented immigrants, which, according to Marielena Hincapié, the executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, does not change the overarching issues faced by separated families.
The move provoked Republicans, who called it a “power grab” by the Obama administration. Policymakers see the movement as an indicator that small policy changes are feasible even if wide scale immigration reform is stagnant in Congress.
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N.C. House Overrides McCrory’s Vetoes on Two Bills
The Associated Press reports that the North Carolina House overrode Governor Pat McCrory’s vetoes on two bills. One of the bills would require the state to test Work First welfare program applicants or recipients who the agency “reasonably suspects” to be engaged in illegal drug use. Any applicant with a positive drug test would be required to pay for a substance abuse program and subsequent drug retest if, after a year, they choose to reapply for benefits. McCrory vetoed the bill with the belief that it would cost much and do little; current NC law already requires social service agencies to screen Work First applicants for substance abuse. His veto was overridden by a 77-39 vote, with State Reps. Debra Conrand and Donny Lambeth commenting that they felt the new drug-testing bill had the “right approach.”
The second bill would broaden E-Verify exemptions for employers who hire immigrant workers. McCrory opposed a provision in the bill that would exempt seasonal workers hired for periods of up to nine months (previously ninety days) from undergoing the E-Verify immigration status check. McCrory expressed concern that this could create a loop hole for some industries to hire illegally present workers in place of legal residents. Agribusiness associations and state Agriculture Commissionor Steve Troxler wrote letters to legislatuive leaders requesting McCrory cancel his veto. The House voted 84-32 to override; Republicans are divided on the E-Verify bill, but all Democrats present voted in favor of the override. Both bills will move to the Senate, where, if they pass, they will become law.
http://www.journalnow.com/news/state_region/article_424e299a-14fd-11e3-a72f-001a4bcf6878.html
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DHS OIG Final Report: Implementation of L-1 Visa Regulations
The Department of Homeland Security released a statement states that the DHS Office of Inspector General will be involved with re-structuring the L-1 visa program to minimize the potential for fraud or abuse. At the request of Senator Charles Grassley, the intracompany transfer visa program will take several steps will be improved by cooperation between the DHS and the Department of State in the following categories:
- Customs and Border Protection Officers will receive training that will enable them to fill their L-1 gatekeeper role at the northern land border more effectively
- Internal controls of the fee collection effort at the northern land border will be improved
- New office petitions will be more closely examined to reduce fraud and abuse
- An adjudicative tool that is accessible to all Federal personnel responsible for L-1 decisions will be available
- Visa Reform Act anti-“job-shop” provisions will be applied more consistently to L-1 petitions
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USCIS Reports Telephone Scams
USCIS released a statement on August 20th, 2013, warning stakeholders about a telephone scam targeting USCIC applicants and petitioners. Scammers display a misleading or inaccurate phone number in the recipient’s Caller ID, then pose as USCIS officials. They request personal information (e.g. Social Security number, passport number, or A-Number), then request payment to rectify supposed “issues” with the individual’s immigration records. USCIS never asks for any form of payment or personal information over the phone.
If you have been a victim of this scam, please report it to the Federal Trade Commission at: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/, or report it to an appropriate state authority. You can visit www.uscis.gov/avoidscams for information on where to report scams in your state.
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New Directive Issues on Solitary Confinement in Immigration Detention
ICE released a new directive regulating the use of solitary confinement in immigration detention facilities. The directive follows up on former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s commitment in the spring to reviewing ICE’s solitary confinement practices, and it applies to all ICE facilities nationwide. The new policy significantly increases ICE’s monitoring of the use of solitary confinement, in addition to setting important limits on its use. It stipulates that special attention be paid to individuals with mental disabilities and alleged victims of sexual abuse. Ruthie Epstein, a legislatively policy analyst for the American Civil Liberties Union described solitary confinement in both immigration detention and the criminal justice system “cruel, expensive, and ineffective.” The ACLU will closely monitor the directive’s implementation in coming months.
http://www.ice.gov/doclib/detention-reform/pdf/segregation_directive.pdf
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Immigration Roundup: E-Verify Changes on the Horizon
Bloomberg BNA reports that the National Immigration Law Center recently released a report questioning the accuracy of the E-Verify electronic employment eligibility verification system. Though only 7 percent of U.S. employers currently use the E-Verify system, new legislation passed by the Senate and the House Judiciary Committee would require all employers to use the system. This could broaden the scope of individuals affected by system errors to somewhere between 150,000 and 500,000 people. NILC’s report specified that the most recently calculated error rate for TNCs (tentative nonconfirmations) is 0.3 percent. Erroneous TNCs are much more common for lawful permanent residents and other work-authorized foreign nationals. These errors could lead to mismatches between each individual’s information and what their government records contain.
Though employers that use E-Verify are required to inform employees of TNCs and how to contest them, NILC claimed that many employers do not. In several cases employers took adverse job action against employees with TNCs, which is prohibited. Some employers have even wrongly used the E-Verify system to pre-screen job applicants. These practices in addition to the system’s error margin could lead to erroneous final nonconfirmations (FNCs), which would stigmatize individuals as “unable to work.”
USCIS recently announced some changes to the E-Verify system in an attempt to combat the aforementioned issues. As of September 8th, the TNC Notice and Referral Letter has been replaced with a Further Action Notice and a Referral Date Confirmation. The new notice will inform the employee of a TNC and tell him or her how to contest it with either the Social Security Administration or the Department of Homeland Security. Once an employer refers a TNC case to the SSA or DHS, E-Verify will produce a Referral Date Confirmation that the employer must give the employee; this confirmation will contain the deadline for the employee to contest the TNC.
http://www.bna.com/immigration-roundup-everify-b17179876672/
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Driver’s Licenses for Undocumented Immigrants Approved by California Legislature
The Huffington Post reports that the California State Assembly voted 55-19 to approve a bill allowing undocumented immigrants to possess driver’s licenses. Governor Jerry Brown indicated that he would sign it into law, making California the 11th state to put forth such a law.
The last minute approval came as a surprise to Assemblyman Luis Alejo, who was prepared to delay the bill due to controversy regarding the licenses’ appearance. Those who opposed special designation on immigrants’ licenses were persuaded to drop their objections, allowing the bill to move forward.
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U.S. Begins New Crackdown on Hiring Illegal Workers
The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. government is initiating the largest wave of audits since 2009. These audits hit just before the close of the government’s fiscal year (September 30th). Roughly 1,000 businesses across the country have been informed that they must submit documents for audits, including restaurants, food processing, high-tech manufacturing, agriculture, and other industries. The Obama administration is putting pressure on companies that hire blue-collar foreign labor as it presses for large-scale immigration reform. The audits are part of an attempt to “drive employers to get off the sidelines and contact government representatives” to press for immigration reform. Undocumented workers cannot be deported if uncovered during audits, but they can lose their jobs. Audits also lead to steep losses in productivity and hefty civil and criminal fines on behalf of employers.
Typically, ICE will send a notice of an audit to a business demanding documents (I-9 forms, worker rosters, payroll sheets, etc.). If necessary, ICE will then issue a “notice of suspect documents,” listing any workers with mismatched names, SSNs, or IDs. Workers must either quit or supply paperwork upon being informed by employers that their right to work has been challenged, and ICE subsequently issues fines both for clerical mistakes on forms and for hiring illegally present workers. Over the past four years, the government has audited over 10,000 employers suspected of hiring undocumented workers, cumulatively fining businesses over $100 million. According to Jennifer Roeper, an immigration attorney with Fowler White Boggs in Florida, even if no undocumented workers are discovered, employers can still be fined up to $1,100 for paperwork errors.
More employers have begun using the government’s E-Verify system to fend off potential government audits, but the system only checks the eligibility status of new workers. Employers also sometimes request too much documentation, resulting in discrimination suits and employee complaints. In June of 2013, Macy’s Inc. agreed to pay fines and revise its employment policies after workers complained about discriminatory practices involving immigrant workers.
One of the highest-profile targets of recent immigration audits was Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. At the end of 2010, the chain lost 450 Minnesota workers, in addition to workers in Washington D.C. and Virginia. In 2012, Chipotle announced that it was under investigation for possible criminal securities law violations related to communications to investors of work-authorization compliance. The company is cooperating fully with the investigation.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324755104579071331936331534.html
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Bill Would Let Undocumented Immigrants Be Lawyers
SFGate reports that a new bill passed in California will let the state’s high court license qualified lawyers regardless of their immigration status. The measure, AB1024, passed with a 62-4 vote, thanks largely to the case of undocumented immigrant Sergio Garcia. Garcia is one of many undocumented immigrants enrolled in California’s law schools. Currently, fifteen are attending law school or another professional graduate school at the University of California. Garcia’s father, now a U.S. citizen, applied for legal residency and a green card for his son when Garcia was 17, but the wait for his documents will likely take until 2019. Until then, Garcia has no legal residency status. The author of the bill, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, describes the bill as fulfilling “a promise to Dreamers” who have studied hard, passed the bar exam, and want to work as attorneys in America. The decision is the first of its kind in the U.S. California already allows noncitizens to practice law, but there is no record of any state knowingly licensing an undocumented immigrant as a lawyer. Federal law currently bars employment of undocumented immigrants, so Garcia and others like him will not be able to work for a law firm upon obtain a lawyer’s license. They can, however, represent clients as an independent contractor.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Bill-would-let-undocumented-immigrantsbe-lawyers-4816911.php
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DHS and DOS Outline New Policy on False Claims of Citizenship
The Department of Homeland Security released an amendment to how it interprets section 212 (a)(6)(c)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Adjudicator’s Field Manual is being changed to state that
- Only a knowingly false claim can support a charge that an individual in inadmissible under the aforementioned section. The individual claiming not to know that the claim to citizenship was false has the burden of establishing this affirmative defense by the appropriate standard of proof “clearly and beyond a doubt.”
- Individuals under the age of 18 at the time of the false citizenship claim THAT ALSO lacked the capacity to understand and appreciate the nature and consequences of a false claim to citizenship can also supply standard proof “clearly and beyond doubt” to combat inadmissibility.
USCIS will update the Adjudicator’s Field Manual and consult with the Department of State on procedures for addressing individuals previously denied admission.
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.