NY Times Topic of the day

Immigration and Emigration

There has been no significant movement toward federal immigration reform since a bipartisan effort died in 2007, blocked by conservative opposition. But it has been the subject of a fever of legislation at the state level, and President Obama has suggested that could make it an issue in the coming presidential campaign.

To the dismay of Hispanic supporters, the Obama administration has not made a push for comprehensive legislation and has instead focused on a stepped-up campaign of deportation, with nearly 400,000 immigrants removed a year in 2009 and in 2010.

In a speech in May 2011, Mr. Obama stood near the border with Mexico and declared it more secure than ever. In doing so, he was trying to pressure Republicans to tackle comprehensive immigration overhaul, while at the same time working to show vital Hispanic voters that he is not the one standing in the way.

But his claim of strengthening border security won him little credit among Republicans. And it only served to alienate many Latino voters whose main concern was having Mr. Obama deliver on his campaign promise to create a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million immigrants who are here illegally.

The Obama administration's enforcement strategy has met resistance even among its usual allies. Democratic Governors from Massachusetts, Illinois and New York — states with large immigrant populations — have decided not to participate in Secure Communities, a fingerprint-sharing program.

In August 2011, the White House announced that the Department of Homeland Security would, on a case-by-case basis, suspend deportation proceedings against people who posed no public safety threat. The policy shift has been criticized by some as a backdoor form of the so-called Dream Act — a bill, blocked by Republicans in Congress, that would provide relief to illegal immigrants who were brought to the United States as children and who want to attend college or join the armed forces.

A month later, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agencyannounced that it had arrested 2,901 immigrants with criminal records, highlighting the Obama administration’s policy of focusing on such people while putting less emphasis on deporting illegal immigrants who pose no demonstrated threat to public safety.

Officials from the agency portrayed the seven-day sweep, called Operation Cross Check, as the largest enforcement and removal operation in its history. It involved arrests in all 50 states of criminal offenders of 115 nationalities, including people convicted of manslaughter, armed robbery, aggravated assault and sex crimes.

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SC House Passes “Immigration Reform”

Three years ago, South Carolina “Republicans” bragged that they had passed the “toughest immigration law in America.”

Not so much, apparently.

On Tuesday, an updated version of “immigration reform” cleared the S.C. House of Representatives by a 69-43 vote – prompting state lawmakers to once again boast that they had “cracked down” on this hot-button issue.

The House vote sets up a showdown with the State Senate, which passed a fee-laden version of the bill earlier this year.

The “Arizona-style” legislation that passed the House requires state and local law enforcement officers to verify the immigration status of individuals they arrest or stop for traffic violations – and to “complete a data collection form” regarding the “age, gender, and race or ethnicity” of each individual.

That data will be managed by a new Immigration Enforcement Division of the S.C. Department of Public Safety (DPS). Meanwhile, lawmakers would be given the authority to deny state and federal funding to any local law enforcement agency that fails to comply with the new law.

“If the federal government refuses to enforce these laws, the South Carolina General Assembly will support state laws that do,” House Speaker Bobby Harrell said.

That’s tough talk, for sure … but what actually happens after illegal immigrants are identified?


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513 immigrants, stuffed into two semi trucks

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PHOENIX - A recent photograph showed 513 immigrants, stuffed into two semi trucks en route from Guatemala to the United States. Busted by an x-ray machine which showed people packed like sardines.…

Georgia passes immigration reform

Georgia has passed an immigration reform bill that is similar to Arizona's SB 1070, which had empowered that state's local law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of criminal suspects they believed were in the country illegally. However, after signing the legislation on Friday, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal made sure to say the state is trying to work with, not against, the federal government in enforcing the nation's immigration laws.

Along with giving local law enforcement the authority to enforce federal immigration laws, Georgia's "Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011" also requires employers to use the federal E-Verify system to confirm the legal status of new hires. It also includes provisions on new training for police officers and sheriff's deputies to implement the law, as well as additional funding to counties for confinement of state inmates. "Georgia is a welcoming state with vibrant immigrant communities and a highly diverse population," Deal said in a statement. "There's no better way to promote the quality of life of all who live here and no better way to protect taxpayers than upholding the rule of law."

Georgia has the sixth-highest number of illegal immigrants of any state, according to Deal, and that status creates "enormous expense to Georgia taxpayers." "Those who claim that this law will have a negative financial impact on Georgia completely ignore the billions of dollars Georgians have spent on our schools, our hospitals, our courtrooms and our jails because of people who are in our state illegally," Deal said.
Deal also said lawmakers took into account federal objections to other states' immigration laws, such as Arizona's SB 1070, when writing Georgia's new law. For example, a federal judge threw out parts of Arizona's law in July, including the portion allowing police to ID suspected illegal immigrants. "We do not wish to go to war with the federal government. We wish to partner with the federal government to enforce the current law of the nation," Deal said. "Illegal immigration is a complex and troublesome issue, and no state alone can fix it. We will continue to have a broken system until we have a federal solution. In the meantime, states must act to defend their taxpayers."

Read Deal's entire press release and download the new law.

HB 87 - Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011; enact

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Si Se Puede! Fight new Immigration reform in Georgia

DEVELOPMENT RELIEF & EDUCATION for ALIEN MINORS: DREAM ACT

The Dream Act

The DREAM Act (acronym for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) is a American legislative proposal first introduced in the Senate on August 1, 2001^[1] and most recently on May 11, 2011 when the bill was re-introduced in the U.S. Senate ^[2].
This bill would provide conditional permanent residency to certain illegal and deportable alien students who graduate from US high schools, who are of good moral character, arrived in the U.S. legally or illegally as minors, and have been in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the bill's enactment. If they were to complete two years in the military or two years at a four year institution of higher learning, the students would obtain temporary residency for a six year period. Within the six year period, a qualified student must have "acquired a degree from an institution of higher education in the United States or [have] completed at least 2 years, in good standing, in a program for a bachelor's degree or higher degree in the United States," or have "served in the armed services for at least 2 years and, if discharged, [have] received an honorable discharge."^[3] Military enlistment contracts require an eight year commitment, with active duty commitments typically between four and six years, but as low as two years.^[4][5] "Any alien whose permanent resident status is terminated [according to the terms of the Act] shall return to the immigration status the alien had immediately prior to receiving conditional permanent resident status under this Act."^[6]
In a December 2010 report, the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the November 30th, 2010 version of the dream act would "reduce deficits by about $1.4 billion over the 2011-2020 period and increase government revenues by $2.3 billion over the next 10 years."^[7] Moreover, a recent UCLA study estimates that between $1.4 trillion and $3.6 trillion in taxable income would be generated for the economy over a 40 year period based upon estimates ranging between 825,000 and 2.1 million potential DREAM Act beneficiaries successfully obtaining legal status through the legislation.^[8]

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The Dream Act - Info

This information is based on the current legislation introduced on March 26, 2009 by Senator Richard Durbin and Representative Howard Berman.

Purpose

The purpose of the Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors Act, also called the DREAM Act, is to help those individuals who meet certain requirements, have an opportunity to enlist in the military or go to college and have a path to citizenship which they otherwise would not have without this legislation. Supporters of the DREAM Act believe it is vital not only to the people who would benefit from it, but also the United States as a whole. It would give an opportunity to undocumented immigrant students who have been living in the U.S. since they were young, a chance to contribute back to the country that has given so much to them and a chance to utilize their hard earned education and talents.

Would I qualify?

The following is a list of specific requirements one would need in order to qualify for the current version of the DREAM Act.

• Must have entered the United States before the age of 16 (i.e. 15 and younger)
• Must have been present in the United States for at least five (5) consecutive years prior to enactment of the bill
• Must have graduated from a United States high school, or have obtained a GED, or have been accepted into an institution of higher education (i.e. college/university)
• Must be between the ages of 12 and 35 at the time of application
• Must have good moral character

If you have met all those requirements and can prove it, once the DREAM Act passes you will be able to do the following:

What do I need to do if the DREAM Act should pass?

If the DREAM Act passes, an undocumented individual meeting those qualifying conditions stated above, would have to do the following:

1. Apply for the DREAM Act (Since the legislation has not yet passed, there are no specific guidelines on how to apply)
2. Once approved and granted Conditional Permanent Residency, the individual would have to do one of the following:
   
   1. Enroll in an institution of higher education in order to pursue a bachelor's degree or higher degree or
   2. Enlist in one of the branches of the United States Military
3. Within 6 years of approval for conditional permanent residency, the individual must have completed at least two (2) years of one of the options outlined in the previous step
4. Once 5 ½ years of the 6 years have passed, the individual will then be able to apply for Legal Permanent Residency (dropping the conditional part) and consequently will be able to apply for United States Citizenship

Those who have already completed at least 2 years of college education towards a bachelor's degree or higher degree, will still have to wait the 5 ½ years in order to apply for Legal Permanent Residency even though you may have already obtained a degree.

Students who do not complete the requirements will be disqualified .

Sources

To see the text of the legislation go here. Under word/phrase, click on Bill Number instead, type in S. 729 (in the Senate) or H.R. 1751 (in the House), in the search box and you will be directed to the bill.

More Info on the DREAM Act

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AZ. Gov. Brewer predicts: Obama's El Paso talk of immigration reform no sale

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Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona predicts, "I believe, that  tomorrow, he's going to be talking about comprehensive immigration. Well, that's not going to sell in Arizona.  I don't think it's going to sell in America."

"I believe he's doing it for political reasons and I think that no one wants to talk about any of these other issues, until we get our borders secured," said Brewer, adding, "The people of Arizona are frustrated - this issue is not going to go away."

 

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The Obama administration has fought back in courts against implementation of Arizona's Bill 1070, a law fully supported by most border states but so controversial that liberals have labeled it "The Gestapo Law,". The Federal government has  posited it as an infringement on Federal responsibility. The Department of Justice prevailed, winning an injunction blocking Arizona's rights to go forward with many of  their immigration enforcement plans.

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