Six Bills Addressing Immigration Killed
(AP)
DENVER Majority Democrats at the Legislature have killed six
Republican-backed bills addressing immigration, but the one of most
contentious political topics in Colorado this year still has plenty of
fireworks coming up.
Click to read story
Immigration issue key to business future
02/26/2006
Via MSNBC
Most everyone agrees that U.S. immigration policy is broken, but there’s a huge divide over how to fix it.
Millions of immigrants are in the country illegally, employers are
having trouble hiring the qualified workers they need from other
countries, and some lawmakers are concerned about the economic toll
illegal immigrants impose on the state’s education and health care
systems.
Those are just a few of the problems. But state and federal lawmakers
are proposing dozens of fixes, from clamping down on the country’s
borders to requiring employers to play a bigger role in verifying
workers’ legal status.
“There
is widespread agreement we have a problem,” said Rep. Paul Weissman,
D-Louisville, chairman of a state legislative committee that considered
10 proposed laws on immigration this week. “The disagreement is on the
solutions.”
Colorado
lawmakers debated 10 Republican measures Feb. 21 for more than seven
hours, hearing sometimes emotional testimony from private citizens,
employer groups, lawyers, activists and employees on both sides of the
proposals.
While
all but three bills were killed, the issue is likely to resurface later
this session and is almost certain to be a major issue in election
campaigns later this year. A group called Defend Colorado Now is
gathering signatures for a proposed ballot initiative that would amend
the Colorado constitution to deny non-emergency medical and other
services to illegal immigrants.
“The
public is frustrated, as we are, by the federal government’s inability
or unwillingness to fix this problem,” said House Speaker Andrew
Romanoff, D-Denver. “So people are turning, understandably, to other
levels of government.”
The
debate has big implications for employers and the economy. Immigrant
workers — legal and otherwise — play an important role in many
Colorado industries, including tourism, retail, construction and
technology. One in seven U.S. workers is an immigrant, according to the
National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), which is based in
Denver.
Top Indian scientist turned away by US immigration – Update
Via The Washington Post
02/24/2006
A decision two weeks ago by a U.S. consulate in
India to refuse a visa to a prominent Indian scientist has triggered
heated protests in that country and set off a major diplomatic flap on
the eve of President Bush’s first visit to India.
The
incident has also caused embarrassment at the highest reaches of the
American scientific establishment, which has worked to get the State
Department to issue a visa to Goverdhan Mehta, who said the U.S.
consulate in the south Indian city of Chennai told him that his
expertise in chemistry was deemed a threat.
In the face of outrage in India, the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi issued a
highly unusual statement of regret, and yesterday the State Department
said officials are reaching out to the scientist to resolve his case.
Top Indian scientist turned away by US immigration
Via The Register
By Chris Williams
02/24/2006
An Indian professor of organic chemistry was denied a visa by US
immigration. Goverdhan Mehta, 62, was hoping to attend a scientific
conference in Florida, but was denied permission by the embassy in New
Dehli.
Now a row has erupted between US officials, who say the application
was merely delayed, and the Paris-based International Council for
Science (ICSU), which is expressing “grave concern” over their more
stringent policies since September 11.
Hilariously-named ICSU deputy executive director Carthage Smith told
Reuters: “Professor Mehta is a very well-known scientist, but there are
many lesser known scientists to whom this is happening. The bigger
issue is important.”
Professor Mehta was subjected to “hostile treatment” at the embassy,
and asked to prove that his work could not be used for chemical
weapons. When asked what his doctoral thesis was about, he could not
remember details. He told the Deccan Herald in Bangalore:
“I did my PhD 40 years ago. I told them I did not remember the topic.
Science has progressed and changed completely since then.”
ICSU, which promotes free exchange of world science said: “It
clearly illustrates that, despite some progress, all is far from well
with regards to the visa policies and associated practices for
scientists wishing to enter the USA.”
A typically humourless spokesman for the US consulate said: “He was
asked for additional information and the application can be processed,
it can be continued.”
Sen. Specter lays out immigration reform plan
Via The Orange County Register
Judiciary panel chair’s idea includes guest-worker visa.
WASHINGTON – Judiciary Committee Chairmen Arlen
Specter this morning has laid down his own marker for comprehensive
immigration reform that combines enhanced enforcement with a temporary
guest-worker program as well as an opportunity for the estimated 11
million illegal immigrants here now to come out of the shadows and work
legally.
Specter’s bill – which combines elements from
several other immigration proposals – sets the scene for what is likely
to be a protracted and contentious debate, first in the Senate and then
with the House, which passed a bill in December that does not include
any new guest-worker provisions and would not allow illegal immigrants
to work here legally. The Judiciary Committee will begin reviewing the
proposal Thursday.
The measure responds to President Bush’s
call for immigration reform that includes tough enforcement measures at
the borders and interior sections of the country and the ability of the
business community to get the labor officials say the economy needs.
And it runs counter to a wing of the Republican party – mostly in the
House – who say such provisions amount to an amnesty and would reward
those who illegally entered this country or overstayed their visas.
The 350-page bill, obtained this morning by the Register, includes:
•
Additional enforcement agents, increased technology at the border, a
requirement for the Department of Homeland Security to submit plans for
systematic surveillance of land and sea borders, as well as a national
strategy for border security. It requires DHS to report to Congress on
whether a fencing system along the northern, southern and maritime
borders of the U.S. is necessary. It tightens laws regarding
deportation, increases penalties for document fraud, particularly as it
relates to marriage fraud.
• A new workplace enforcement
program, including a measure authored by Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona,
that would require employers to check the Social Security numbers of
new hires against a federal data base. Unlike the bill passed by the
House, most employers would have to check only new workers, although
the homeland security secretary could require workplaces with potential
homeland or national security concerns to also check the status of
current employees. The employer plan would be phased in over five years.
•
Creates a new temporary worker visa – H-2C. Residents of foreign
countries who can show they have a job waiting can get this visa for
three years, renewable for another three years. These workers would be
required to return to their home countries after their work visas
expire.
• Creates a new student visa category – F-4. This would
allow students pursuing advanced degrees in math, engineering,
technology or the physical sciences to stay in the United States for a
year after they graduate to look for work. If they get a job, they
would be allowed to get a green card after paying a $1,000 fee and
passing security clearances.
• Increases the number of employment-based green cards from 140,000 to 290,000.
• Increases the number of visas available for unskilled workers.
•
Creates a new conditional work authorization status. This would allow
illegal immigrants who can prove they were here and working in the
United States before Jan. 4, 2004, to pay a $500 fee, undergo
background checks, pay any income taxes owed for work before Jan. 4,
2004, and get a conditional work status. Illegal immigrants who have
been ordered deported would not be eligible for this status.
State cuts off suburban schools in enrollment spat
By Colleen Mastony and Diane Rado
Tribune staff reporters
Published February 23, 2006, 9:33 PM CST
Via The Chicago Tribune
Illinois education officials on Thursday voted to cut off state funds
to the Elmwood Park school district for refusing to admit an immigrant
teen to its high school.
The action not only blocks the district from collecting $3.3 million in
state aid, but could bar its student athletes from competition.
Although district officials can appeal, it remains unclear whether
doing so would enable them to receive their next state payment of
$331,587 due next week.
Amid tense and emotional exchanges with district officials Thursday,
the Illinois State Board of Education signaled that it will move
swiftly and powerfully to protect the right of immigrant children to go
to public schools, regardless of their immigration status.
Click to read story
DHHS Announces 2006 Poverty Guidelines
[Federal Register: January 24, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 15)]
[Notices]
[Page 3848-3849]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24ja06-66]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary
Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines
AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice provides an update of the HHS poverty guidelines
to account for last calendar year's increase in prices as measured by
the Consumer Price Index.
DATES: Effective Date: Date of publication, unless an office
administering a program using the guidelines specifies a different
effective date for that particular program.
ADDRESSES: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and
Evaluation, Room 404E, Humphrey Building, Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS), Washington, DC 20201.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about how the
guidelines are used or how income is defined in a particular program,
contact the Federal, state, or local office that is responsible for
that program. Contact information for two frequently requested programs
is given below:
For information about the Hill-Burton Uncompensated Services
Program (free or reduced-fee health care services at certain hospitals
and other facilities for persons meeting eligibility criteria involving
the poverty guidelines), contact the Office of the Director, Division
of Facilities Compliance and Recovery, Health Resources and Services
Administration, HHS, Room 10-105, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane,
Rockville, Maryland 20857. To speak to a person, call (301) 443-5656.
To receive a Hill-Burton information package, call 1-800-638-0742 (for
callers outside Maryland) or 1-800-492-0359 (for callers in Maryland).
You may also visit http://www.hrsa.gov/osp/dfcr/. The Division of
Facilities Compliance and Recovery notes that as set by 42 CFR
124.505(b), the effective date of this update of the poverty guidelines
for facilities obligated under the Hill-Burton Uncompensated Services
Program is sixty days from the date of this publication.
For information about the percentage multiple of the poverty
guidelines to be used on immigration forms such as USCIS Form I-864,
Affidavit of Support, contact U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
at 1-800-375-5283 or visit http://uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/affsupp.htm
.
For information about the number of people in poverty or about the
Census Bureau poverty thresholds, visit the Poverty section of the
Census Bureau's Web site at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty.html
or contact the Housing and Household Economic Statistics
Information Staff at (301) 763-3242.
For general questions about the poverty guidelines themselves,
contact Gordon Fisher, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning
and Evaluation, Room 404E, Humphrey Building, Department of Health and
Human Services, Washington, DC 20201--telephone: (202) 690-7507--or
visit http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of
1981 (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) requires the Secretary of the Department of
Health and Human Services to update, at least annually, the poverty
guidelines, which shall be used as an eligibility criterion for the
Community Services Block Grant program. The poverty guidelines also are
used as an eligibility criterion by a number of other Federal programs.
The poverty guidelines issued here are a simplified version of the
poverty thresholds that the Census Bureau uses to prepare its estimates
of the number of individuals and families in poverty.
As required by law, this update is accomplished by increasing the
latest published Census Bureau poverty thresholds by the relevant
percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers
(CPI-U). The guidelines in this 2006 notice reflect the 3.4 percent
price increase between calendar years 2004 and 2005. After this
inflation adjustment, the guidelines are rounded and adjusted to
standardize the differences between family sizes. The same calculation
procedure was used this year as in previous years. (Note that these
2006 guidelines are roughly equal to the poverty thresholds for
calendar year 2005 which the Census Bureau expects to publish in final
form in August 2006.)
2006 Poverty Guidelines for the 48 Contiguous States and the District of
Columbia
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Poverty
Persons in family unit guideline
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1....................................................... $9,800
2....................................................... 13,200
3....................................................... 16,600
4....................................................... 20,000
5....................................................... 23,400
6....................................................... 26,800
7....................................................... 30,200
8....................................................... 33,600
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For family units with more than 8 persons, add $3,400 for each
additional person.
2006 Poverty Guidelines for Alaska
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Poverty
Persons in family unit guideline
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1....................................................... $12,250
2....................................................... 16,500
3....................................................... 20,750
4....................................................... 25,000
5....................................................... 29,250
6....................................................... 33,500
7....................................................... 37,750
8....................................................... 42,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For family units with more than 8 persons, add $4,250 for each
additional person.
2006 Poverty Guidelines for Hawaii
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Poverty
Persons in family unit guideline
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1....................................................... $11,270
2....................................................... 15,180
3....................................................... 19,090
4....................................................... 23,000
5....................................................... 26,910
6....................................................... 30,820
7................................................. ...... 34,730
[[Page 3849]]
8....................................................... 38,640
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For family units with more than 8 persons, add $3,910 for each
additional person.
Separate poverty guideline figures for Alaska and Hawaii reflect
Office of Economic Opportunity administrative practice beginning in the
1966-1970 period. (Note that the Census Bureau poverty thresholds--the
version of the poverty measure used for statistical purposes--have
never had separate figures for Alaska and Hawaii). The poverty
guidelines are not defined for Puerto Rico or other outlying
jurisdictions. In cases in which a Federal program using the poverty
guidelines serves any of those jurisdictions, the Federal office that
administers the program is responsible for deciding whether to use the
contiguous-states-and-DC guidelines for those jurisdictions or to
follow some other procedure.
Due to confusing legislative language dating back to 1972, the
poverty guidelines have sometimes been mistakenly referred to as the
``OMB'' (Office of Management and Budget) poverty guidelines or poverty
line. In fact, OMB has never issued the guidelines; the guidelines are
issued each year by the Department of Health and Human Services. The
poverty guidelines may be formally referenced as ``the poverty
guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of 42
U.S.C. 9902(2).''
Some programs use a percentage multiple of the guidelines (for
example, 125 percent or 185 percent of the guidelines), as noted in
relevant authorizing legislation or program regulations. Non-Federal
organizations that use the poverty guidelines under their own authority
in non-Federally-funded activities can choose to use a percentage
multiple of the guidelines such as 125 percent or 185 percent.
The poverty guidelines do not make a distinction between farm and
non-farm families or between aged and non-aged units. (Only the Census
Bureau poverty thresholds have separate figures for aged and non-aged
one-person and two-person units).
Note that this notice does not provide definitions of such terms as
``income'' or ``family.'' This is because there is considerable
variation in how different programs that use the guidelines define
these terms, traceable to the different laws and regulations that
govern the various programs. Therefore, questions about how a
particular program applies the poverty guidelines (e.g., Is income
before or after taxes? Should a particular type of income be counted?
Should a particular person be counted in the family or household unit?)
should be directed to the organization that administers the program.
Dated: January 18, 2006.
Michael O. Leavitt,
Secretary of Health and Human Services.
[FR Doc. 06-624 Filed 1-20-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4151-05-P
Infosys May Face Legal Trouble
Bangalore, Feb 17: Information available on the web
says that Infosys Technologies might face a possible class action suit
in California from a law firm for allegedly not paying overtime wages
to its employees who are working on H-1B visas there.
However, an Infosys spokesperson told ET, “We have read this report
and are currently examining the issue. Until we do so, we are not in a
position to discuss this matter.”
A class action is generally defined as a practical procedural device
in litigation for determining the rights of and remedies, if any, for
large numbers of people who have in common questions of law and fact.
The
law firm — United Employees Law Group, PC has alleged that it is
investigating claims against Infosys offices in California for
allegedly not paying overtime wages to ‘immigrant computer programmers’
ie, Indians working in the US on H-1B visas.
It has further said that if a California-based employee, whether a
US citizen or a foreign citizen holding a H-1B visa, works in computer
software and is not paid at least $47.81 per hour or the annual salary
equivalent of approximately $99,445, and works more than eight hours a
day or 40 hours a week, they may be entitled to overtime wages.
The law firm has further said, “If you are an employee of Infosys in
California and make less than $47.81 per hour and do not receive
overtime wages, you may qualify for damage or remedies.”
Bridge suit rests on policy
02/17/2006
Via The Miami Herald
U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno will play the dual role of judge
and geographer in deciding the fate of 15 Cubans who arrived last month
on an abandoned bridge in the Florida Keys but were repatriated because
it was not considered U.S. soil.
The legal dispute, now unfolding in Miami federal court, has turned
a harsh spotlight on the federal government’s controversial ”wet-foot,
dry-foot” immigration policy.
Unlicensed doctor charged with providing fake immigration exams
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO – An
unlicensed doctor who allegedly injected immigrants with a saline
solution he claimed was a vaccine faces more than 100 criminal counts,
prosecutors said Thursday.
Stephen Brian Turner, 51, has been charged with 106 felonies for
allegedly providing fake immigration medical exams while unlicensed.
Charges include practicing medicine without a license, mishandling
blood samples and felony grand theft, according to prosecutors.
“Instead of helping these people, this defendant allegedly
manipulated them for his own personal profit,” San Francisco District
Attorney Kamala Harris said in a statement.
Turner was being held in county jail Thursday on $1.45 million bail after being arrested the day before at his Hayward home.
Prosecutors claim Turner stole $247,000 from 1,417 victims, most of
whom thought they were receiving legitimate immigration medical exams,
Harris said. Immigrants need to get routine physicals and vaccinations
to become citizens.
Investigators said in court documents that Turner injected patients
with saline rather than vaccines for illnesses like mumps and rubella.
Many of the patients visited Turner in a clinic in the city’s Mission
District, a hub for Latino immigrants, prosecutors said. He also is
accused of drawing blood for AIDS and syphilis tests that weren’t
performed.
Prosecutors said Turner surrendered his California medical license in 1998, but continued seeing patients until late last year.
Herman Franck, Turner’s lawyer, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Authorities are encouraging former patients to have medical exams performed again by another doctor.
Turner previously pleaded no contest to charges that he masturbated
in front of two young girls in 1984 while a radiology resident at the
University of Southern California, according to medical board records.
He was later convicted in Alameda County in 1993 of indecent exposure
for an incident near the University of California, Berkeley, campus,
board records show.
McCain Plans a Visit To Rally For Immigration Reform Plan
Via the New York Sun
02/17/2006
A Republican senator is
coming to New York to rally support for an immigration reform plan that
is winning many fans in immigrant circles. He’ll likely arrive before
New York’s Democratic senators even take a public stance on the
divisive issue.
Senator McCain, a Republican of Arizona who will likely run for
president in 2008, will headline a town hall meeting and rally for
immigration reform expected to attract 1,000 people to Lower Manhattan
on February 27. The evening will be an opportunity for him to push the
bipartisan bill he is sponsoring with Senator Kennedy, a Democrat of
Massachusetts.
He likely will not have to push very hard: Of the four immigration
reform plans in the Senate, it is by far the most popular with
immigrant organizers, lawyers, and union leaders in the city. Key to
its favorable reception is its inclusion of a legalization plan for the
nation’s estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, as well as a new
guest worker program.
More than a dozen local immigration groups, as well as the New York
branch of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Archdiocese
of New York, and various unions are sponsoring the town hall meeting.
In addition, key Democratic congressmen from New York are expected to
attend, including Rep. Charles Rangel.
New York immigrant leaders expressed frustration that their own
senators will not be standing with Mr. McCain and pushing for a path to
legal status for the city’s estimated 525,000 illegal immigrants, more
rapid family reunification, and new legal channels for immigrants to
work in America.
“We will know what Senator McCain thinks about this issue, but we
continue to be in the dark about what our own two senators think should
be done,” said Chung-Wha Hong, the executive director of the New York
Immigration Coalition, one of the groups sponsoring the event. “More
and more immigrants are asking why they aren’t taking a stance on this
issue and fighting for reform.”
In the past few weeks there has been an increase in organizing
efforts pertaining to immigration re form and criticism of Senators
Clinton and Schumer for their absence from the debate. Earlier this
month, hundreds of Irish immigrants congregated in Yonkers to organize
a campaign to promote the passage of the McCain-Kennedy bill. Taking a
different approach, dozens of immigrants from Queens on Tuesday rallied
in front of Mr. Schumer’s Midtown office, asking him to support
legalization and to take a stance against a bill that passed in the
House that would turn illegal immigrants into criminals. They then
marched to Mrs. Clinton’s office.
“They really have a responsibility to their constituency in New York
to play a leadership role in the Senate,” the director of Desis Rising
Up and Moving, Monami Maulik, said of New York’s senators. The group
has invited the senators to their own town hall-style meeting on
immigration in Queens, but Ms. Maulik said they have received no
response. “I think many immigrant communities have been disappointed
that they are not publicly saying anything,” she said.
In response to the protest, a spokeswoman for Mr. Schumer, Risa
Heller, touted his record, saying, “Senator Schumer has long been a
supporter of fair and rational immigration policy.” She said he “will
fight for legislation that both improves security and treats immigrants
fairly.” Mrs. Clinton’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
The Senate next month will take up what is expected to be a highly
contentious debate about how to solve the problems of immigration in
America. Some observers are saying Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Schumer are
biding their time to see which bill reaches the next level, a
politically savvy move considering that the McCain-Kennedy provisions
may not be included in the final bill.
“With immigration such a divisive issue in the country now, the New
York senators might not see it in their political interests to take a
stance on an issue that they may not get anything concrete to show for
later,” a visiting scholar at the Migration Policy Institute, Marc
Rosenblum, said. “Unless they’re going to come out and lead on it, it
makes sense to follow.”
Employee files class action suite against Tata America
VIA INDIATIMES NEWS NETWORK
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2006 02:23:52 PM
A
Nationwide Class Action Lawsuit has been filed against Tata America
International Corporation in the US against the company practice of forcing workers to hand
over federal and state tax refunds, reports Business Wire India. Tata America is
a subsidiary of the Tata
group.
The U.S. Immigration Law Blog by Ashwin Sharma 
Bush visits the New India
Stories highlighting President Bush’s visit to India
BusinessWeek via Yahoo! News – Wed, Mar 01, 2006
at Christian Science Monitor – Tue, Feb 28, 2006
at The Los Angeles Times (reg. req’d) – Tue, Feb 28, 2006
at The Washington Post (reg. req’d) – Tue, Feb 28, 2006
at MSNBC – Sun, Feb 26, 2006
at The Los Angeles Times (reg. req’d) – Wed, Mar 01, 2006
at Rediff (India) – Wed, Mar 01, 2006
at Asia Times Online – Wed, Mar 01, 2006
at Rediff (India) – Wed, Mar 01, 2006
at The New York Times (reg. req’d) – Tue, Feb 28, 2006