New York, August 2009
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U.S. ANNOUNCES CHANGES IN POLICY FOR DETENTION OF IMMIGRANTS
 Washington,
D.C. - On August 6, 2009 the Obama administration announced that it plans to
change policies regarding how the country detains
immigration violators.
Immigration detention centers have been under fire recently, for the
mistreatment of detainees as well as providing inadequate medical care. The
exact details regarding proposed changes to immigration detention centers are
not clear, and it can take up to several years before any changes are in effect.
However, details that are known include a plan to offer a centralized authority
over immigration detention centers, as well as to offer increased oversight of
immigration detention centers, in order to ensure the humane treatment of
prisoners as well as adequate medical care. One immediate change announced by
the Obama administration is that families will no longer be sent to the T. Don Hutto Residential Center, an immigration detention facility near Austin
Texas,
which has been subject to lawsuits and claims of inhumane treatment. |
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IMMIGRATION REFORM HIGHEST PRIORITY FOR HOMELAND SECURITY CHIEF
 Monterey,
CA - The Security Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
Janet Napolitano, claimed comprehensive immigration reform is a top priority of
the Department and will begin drafting legislation on behalf of the Obama
administration. Among the changes that Ms. Napolitano has already made include a
significant reduction in immigration raids at workplace processing plants, an
activity that came into fruition under George W. Bush’s administration. Instead
of targeting those that are not eligible to work in the United States, the
current administration is placing more emphasis on fining and penalizing the
employers who knowingly hire undocumented immigrants. Ms. Napolitano seeks to
offer tougher enforcement at U.S. borders and to create more secure
driver’s
licenses in an effort to prevent terrorist attacks. In addition, under the
current DHS administration, deportations of widowed immigrants have been
thwarted, and pathways to facilitate easy processing for abused women seeking
asylum in the
U.S. are being created. |
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CALIFORNIA SEES DECLINE IN IMMIGRATION
 San
Diego, CA - Two recently released studies indicate that immigration to the
United States is declining, and the state of California is losing popularity as
the destination of choice for most immigrants. More specifically,
illegal
immigration from Mexico has slowed down, with only 662,000 Mexicans apprehended
by Border Patrol in 2008. This is 40 percent less than one of the highest years
for apprehension of Mexican immigrants which was 1 million in 2004. Many
analysts believe that there are two likely explanations for the decrease in
immigration to the U.S. from Mexico. First, fewer Mexicans are trying to enter
the U.S. illegally due to the downturn in the U.S. economy. Most immigrants come
to the U.S. for jobs, and with fewer employment opportunities available, the
desire to immigrate to the United States also decreases. California appears to
be losing allure among immigrants to the United States, with Stanislaus County
reporting a “leveling off” of its immigrant community. In 2007, 25.8% of the
county was made up of illegal and legal immigrants, which is not much of a
change from 25% in 2000.
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U.S. CITIZENS WRONGLY FACED DEPORTATION
 Phoenix,
AZ - According to reports, hundreds of United States citizens have been
wrongly detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Some of these
American detainees have even been incorrectly deported. By law, immigration
authorities only have jurisdiction over non-American citizens, and American
citizens cannot be deported. Legally, once an individual is placed in detention
for a suspected immigration violation, the responsibility rests on them to prove
their citizenship. However, immigration detainees don’t have certain legal
protections that U.S. inmates have such as a right to legal counsel.
Furthermore, many of the U.S. citizens who ended up in immigration custody have
difficulty proving their citizenship, such as those who were born abroad and
acquired custody through an American-born or naturalized parent, or those with
mental health problems. In addition, many of the inmates are poor and cannot
afford a lawyer. An increasing amount of people have commented how these
detentions are unconstitutional. An attorney at San Francisco's Asian Law Caucus
states "The constitution is the same that applies to U.S.-born citizens as to
naturalized citizens.” When asked about
American citizens who end up in
immigration deportation, Janet Napolitano, Homeland Security Secretary stated
“If there’s an error made, we want to rectify it as soon as possible.”
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PROOF OF LEGAL STATUS REQUIRED FOR SOME BUSINESS OWNERS
 Gainesville,
GA - In some cities, business owners must prove U.S.
Citizenship or lawful
permanent resident status before they are able to obtain a business license.
These new regulations are the result of advocacy on behalf of some state groups
such as the Georgia Municipal Association, which advocates for local governments
to require proof of lawful immigration status. The Association cites the Georgia
Security and Immigration Compliance Act of 2007, which states that “if you
provide a public benefit, the citizenship of the person receiving the benefit
needs to be verified.” There has been deliberation over whether a
business
license is a public benefit; since a “business license” is essentially a tax,
but according to the Georgia attorney general “...we want cities to be in
compliance with the law, so one of our recommendations was it just may be better
to pass the law.”
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NATIONAL WORKER ID CARDS EXPECTED TO BE INTRODUCED
 Washington,
D.C. - A national worker ID card has been proposed to help ensure the
work eligibility of employees. With the
increased enforcement of employers who knowingly hire illegal workers, the
National Worker ID will likely assist employers in remaining legally compliant.
The card would contain the individual’s fingerprints and other biometric data,
and would essentially be a fraudulent-proof ID so that employers could easily
depict workers who are authorized to work in the United States. According to
Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y) the worker ID card has far-reaching
implications: “The ID will make it easy for employers to avoid [hiring]
undocumented workers, which will allow for tough sanctions against employers who
break the law, which will lead to no jobs being available for
illegal immigrants, which will stop
illegal immigration." The idea of the national Worker ID card will most likely
be presented in the fall of 2009.
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UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION SUPPORT
511 Avenue of the Americas # 45
New York, NY 10011
Phone: (646) 233-3836
Fax: (646)792-3296
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