New York, April 2010
The United States Immigration Newsletter
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ICE Quotas to Increase Deportations
 Washington, D.C.:
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is not satisfied with this year’s deportation numbers, despite
illegal immigrants with criminal records being deported in record numbers. Even though the agency
will most likely reach its goal of deporting 150,000 criminal immigrants, the total number of deportations is down. According to recent e-mails from the ICE head of detentions and removal operations, James M. Chaparro, ICE might just deport a little over 310,000 illegal immigrants this year. This is far less than the 400,000 deportations that was the agency’s goal. It’s also almost 20 percent less than last year’s 387,000 deportations. Chaparro explained in the e-mails how ICE will increase the number of Deportations by making more space available to detain illegal immigrants waiting to be deported. ICE will also check prisons and jails for illegal immigrants to deport, and offer early release to criminals who are willing to leave the country quickly. The most controversial step suggested in the e-mail however, is an increased focus on those whose only crime is to be in the U.S. illegally. This is not consistent with president
Obama’s promise to concentrate immigration enforcement on illegal immigrants who are dangerous or have committed violent crimes. Neither are the steps suggested by Chaparro consistent with promises by ICE Chief John T. Morton and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to primarily go after the most dangerous illegal immigrants. A spokesperson from ICE, Brian P. Hale, said that “Portions of the e-mail memo from Chaparro were inconsistent with ICE, Inconsistent with the administration’s point of view and inconsistent with the secretary. |
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Immigration Reform to Create “Mother of Backlogs”
 Washington, D.C.:
Department of Homeland Security has warned Congress that a proposed bill to legalize millions of illegal immigrants would be a bad idea. The reason, given by Assistant Inspector General Frank Deffer, is that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is in the midst of converting from its paper-based system to an electronic system of keeping records. This will take a few years. The USCIS is an agency of the Department Homeland Security. Deffer said in the House Judiciary Committee's immigration subcommittee that if another 12 million immigration applications were added to the USCIS system, it would create a severe backlog of applications. Currently the
USCIS handles about 6 million applications per year. The USCIS director, Alejandro Mayorkas said after the hearing that the USCIS will be “ready for Comprehensive immigration reform when it is enacted.” He also said that he expects Congress to give USCIS more resources to handle the increase in applications, should the bill pass. In a video message last week President Obama told immigrant rights supporters in a rally that he hopes to get a bipartisan
Immigration reform bill through congress this year. If the bill passes it is estimated to legalize 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. |
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Immigration Reform Unlikely This Year
 Washington, D.C.:
President Obama has renewed his promise to reform the immigration system. In a video recording he spoke to tens of thousands of activists at an immigrants’ rights rally in Washington D.C. Last week. “I pledge to do everything in my power to forge a bipartisan consensus this year on this important issue,” the president said in the message. It’s doubtful, however, that president Obama will honor his promise to change the
immigration this year, since administrations officials and lawmakers prioritize several other issues over that of immigration reform. It’s also been questioned whether Obama has used up his political capital after the battle over healthcare reform. With elections coming up in November is also been doubted that congress would have any will to pass an immigration reform bill. If president Obama does not get to the promised immigration reform by November, there is a chance that Democrats in Congress might be voted out of office by the Latino community that helped getting Obama into office in the 2008 presidential election. Obama got 75 percent of the Latino votes after he had promised to give illegal immigrants a path to
citizenship. |
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University Students Teach Immigrant Workers
 Washington, D.C.:
Students at the American University in Washington are teaching English to immigrants who
work at the University. Through a student-run program called CLASE, or Community Learners Advancing in Spanish and English, Julia Young, a sophomore at the University has led the effort to help the mostly Latino staff better their English reading skills. “I’ve noticed how invisible the workers are treated by the students though they’re such a vital part of the university,” said Young, who’s 19 years old. In the CLASE program students volunteers are paired up with university employees. They teach English to the employees, and sometimes the employees teach Spanish to the students. Other times the students also help immigrants prepare for the U.S.
Citizenship Test. One University of America employee who was contacted by CLASE volunteers is Ana Carolina Ebanks who makes burritos in the student dining hall. In Honduras she was a public defender. She lost her career when she came to America in 2004. Working long hours in a bakery just to make ends meet, she only learned the English she was able to pick up on the street or from TV. She was simply not able to find the time to go to school to learn the Language properly. Through the CLASE program she is now getting help in resuming her law career. |
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Senators release “Blueprint” to fix Immigration
 Washington, D.C.:
Two U.S. Senators have announced a four-pillar plan to create a “rational immigration system.” Last Friday Charles E. Schumer, a Democratic senator from New York, and Lindsey O. Graham, a Republican senator from
South Carolina, wrote that the U.S. immigration system is broken, and fixing it is essential for America’s future economy to prosper. The four pillars of the Senator’s plan are to require biometric
Social Security cards to prevent illegal immigrants from getting jobs, strengthening border security, admitting temporary workers, and making it possible for illegal immigrants to become legal residents. The Senators say that the large majority of Americans are opposed to illegal immigration, but in favor of legal immigration. They also say that instead of giving Americans “rhetoric and impractical calls for mass deportation,” illegal immigrants should be offered a chance to become legal. For immigrants who commit violent crimes or felonies in the U.S. on the other hand, the Senators propose a “zero-tolerance policy” The Senators’ blueprint would require all citizens and immigrants who want to work in the U.S. to obtain a high-tech Social Security card. Employers would be responsible for swiping the tamper-proof cards through a machine, this way making sure to only employ legal workers. Employers who refused to use the card, or who knowingly hired illegal immigrants would get large fines or even prison sentences. |
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Indiana Organization to Establish EB-5 visa Center
 Muncie, IN:
An organization in Indiana has applied to the Department of Homeland Security to be allowed to establish a federally designated U.S. Immigrant Investor Regional Center. The purpose of the center would be to create new investment and create more jobs in the east-central Indiana region. The organization, called Energize-ECI believes the EB-5 investor’s visa to be beneficial for attracting foreign investors to the nine counties that the organization is set to promote. Energize-ECI states that the EB-5
visa program is both important and under-utilized, and none of the 65 Regional Investment Centers are close enough to benefit east-central
Indiana. The promotional organization would market their Regional Center around the world, catering to potential investors who are interested in becoming U.S. citizens through the EB-5 program. The EB-5 program allows two-year conditional green cards to federally accredited investors who invest at least $500,000 in a qualified project. The investment must also create at least 10 full-time jobs to meet the requirements. The Regional Center will determine whether the investment has met the requirements, and if the project is approved, the investor is granted a permanent green card. |
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