New York, December 2010
The United States Immigration Newsletter
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The DREAM Act Dies in United States Senate
 Washington,
DC:
The US Senate voted against the DREAM Act in December, by 55 votes against 41. While three Republican senators voted for the passing of the act, and five Democrat senators voted against it, the vote followed party affiliation for the most part, with Democrats voting for and Republicans against. The purpose of the
DREAM Act was to give certain illegal immigrants, particularly some of those who were brought to the U.S. as children, a chance at becoming legal residents of the U.S., and even provide them with a possibility of becoming U.S. citizens. As the DREAM Act failed to pass in the Senate is also a clear indication of how slim the chances are for comprehensive immigration reform to make it through Congress. President Obama promised during his presidential campaign in 2008 that he would reform the immigration system, and he called the DREAM Act vote “incredibly disappointing.” Obama said that “there was simply no reason not to pass this important legislation. But opponents of Obama’s immigration reform sais that the DREAM Act would have been as reward for illegal activity, as it would have given people who are in the U.S. illegally a chance at becoming U.S. citizens. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the DREAM Act would have helped 300,000 to 500,000
illegal immigrants. The DREAM Act would have made it possible to become conditional legal residents for illegal immigrants who are less than 30 years old, and who came to the U.S. before they turned 16, lived in the country for five years without committing serious crimes, graduated from high school and went to college or joined the military.
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Millions Enter the U.S. Without Proper ID
 Washington, DC:
While the
Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative officially came into effect in the summer of 2009, requiring U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers to enforce strict ID regulations for crossing the border into the United States, millions of travelers are still entering the U.S. without the required ID documentation, such as a passport of other secure Identification. It was the Office of the Inspector General who recently released a report that describes how the Customs and Border Protection has failed to implement the new and stricter border protection rules, even after 18 months. Only travelers who repeatedly fail to properly identify themselves are subjected to additional inspection. According the report that is about 9,000 people. Meanwhile over a million travelers crossed the
border without proper identification in Texas alone. The report also says that until the stricter ID requirements are properly enforced the CBP is putting the U.S. at risk, as travelers who falsely claim to be citizens of the U.S., Mexico, Canada or Bermuda is allowed to enter the U.S. The CBP has been working on the implementing the new ID requirements since 2008. Back then, U.S. citizens could enter the U.S. after orally declaring themselves citizens. The CBP has received over $360 million to fund the implementation of the new ID requirements, and have added both personnel and technology, but still lack proficient resources at several border ports of entry to the U.S. |
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U.S. Government Resumes Deportation of Haitians
 Miami, FL:
Temporary Protected Status means illegal immigrants who come from countries at war, or that have hit by natural disasters, can stay and work in the United States for 18 months. Only Haitians who were already in the U.S. illegally when their home country was hit by the large earthquake are eligible to apply for
TPS, and so far over 61,000 have. Half of them have applied from Florida. Government officials say they have expected 70,000-100,000 applications by the application deadline in January. At the same time, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirms that they will soon resume deporting Haitians who have been convicted of crimes. Haitian advocates has said that deportation to
Haiti is a death sentence, as the country is not only ruined by the catastrophic earthquake, but also plagued by a cholera outbreak killing thousands of people. Part of the reason for ICE to deport the convicted Haitians is that they cannot, by U.S. law, be detained indefinitely, but must be released if they cannot be deported. Immigration authorities in the U.S. plan to depart some 700 Haitians next year, a spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement says. In the capital of Haiti more than a million people are homeless after the earthquake, and there is a travel warning in effect issued by U.S. Department of States after the unrest that followed the Haitian presidential elections in November. |
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