Readout of President’s Calls to Senate Republicans on Immigration Reform
President Barack Obama and Senator John McCain in a press conference, taking place on March 4, 2009. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
______________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 19, 2013
Readout of the President’s Calls to Senate Republicans on Commonsense Immigration
Reform
“This afternoon, the President placed calls to Senator Graham, Senator McCain, and Senator Rubio to discuss their shared commitment to bipartisan, commonsense immigration reform and to commend the Senators for the bipartisan progress that continues to be made by the Gang of 8 on this important issue.
During the calls, which build on conversations that have taken place at the staff level, the President reiterated that he remains supportive of the effort underway in Congress, and that he hopes that they can produce a bill as soon as possible that reflects shared core principles on reform.
The President has made clear that he believes commonsense reform needs to include strengthening border security, creating an earned path to citizenship, holding employers accountable, and streamlining legal immigration.
As the President made clear when he met with Democratic Senators involved in the process last week, that while he is pleased with the progress and supportive of the effort to date, he is prepared to submit his own legislation if Congress fails to act.
He thanked the Senators for their leadership, and made clear that he and his staff look forward to continuing to work together with their teams to achieve needed reform.
The President did not speak with Senator Flake, who is traveling, but he looks forward to discussing the issue with him in the near future.”
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Senator Marco Rubio criticized by fellow Republican Senator David Vitter on Immigration Reform
Louisiana Senator David Vitter. An official photograph from his Senate website (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
On Laura Ingraham’s radio show, Senator David Vitter (R-LA) called out Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) on the latter’s support of the Bipartisan Framework for Comprehensive Immigration Reform. In doing so, Sen. Vitter has identified himself as one of the few vestigial remnants within the old Republican Party that cannot follow the simple math lesson taught by the recent Presidential Election:
Anti-Immigration Reform Platform=less than 40% of the Latino vote, where >40% of the Latino vote=White House.
Or put more simply:
Anti-Immigration Reform Platform=Bad
While I do agree that any Republican primary could still be won by an Anti-IR candidate, we have clearly witnessed that it is simply not possible for said candidate to “reset” or “restate” this position in time to win the Presidential Election
Excerpt from the radio show:
House Hearing Failed to Focus on Several Key Issues Crucial to Successful Immigration Reform
POLITICO Pro’s Deep Dive: Immigration, Technology and the 113th Congress (Photo credit: Cognizant Technology Solutions)
American Immigration Lawyers Association
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 06, 2013
Contact:
George Tzamaras or Belle Woods
202-507-7649 – 202-507-7675
gtzamaras@aila.org – bwoods@aila.org
Washington, DC – Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee held its first substantive hearing of the 113th Congress on “America’s Immigration System: Opportunities for Legal Immigration and Enforcement of Laws against Illegal Immigration.” While holding this hearing underscored the importance of immigration reform to our nation’s continued economic growth and future prosperity, for the most part the discussion failed to focus on some key issues that are vital to successful immigration reform.
“The solution to the tangled, unwieldy and dysfunctional immigration system is not a piecemeal approach, despite what several of the lawmakers and witnesses said yesterday. Instead, we need to create an immigration system that is balanced and inclusive,” said AILA President Laura Lichter. She continued, “At the hearing, we heard about the importance of border security and need to make our borders more secure, despite the fact that there have been billions of dollars invested and that the benchmarks established by each of the Senate immigration reform bills of 2006, 2007 and 2010 have been essentially met or exceeded. With immigration enforcement occurring at unprecedented levels, our country must address the needs of the 11 million undocumented residents, their families, and employers.”
Ms. Lichter noted, “Keeping all families strong and united is a core national value and interest, and we must continue our historic commitment to those values. We should not increase employment visas at the expense of reducing visas in family categories. Our immigration system must be flexible and capable of meeting the needs of American businesses and families.
“One important topic that didn’t seem to get much attention at the hearing was that we are currently denying basic due process to millions of people who live in the U.S. Long-time residents are subject to deportation even when they have strong ties to the community, pay taxes, and desperately want to become full-fledged members of our society. Many are eligible to apply for legal status, but because they lived in the U.S. for a period of time that was unauthorized they are now barred from fixing their status. Judges often have no ability to weigh the individual circumstances of the case while low-level officials often act as judge and jury, and the federal courts have been denied the power to review most agency decisions. Congress should restore fairness and flexibility to our system by authorizing immigration judges and officials to exercise discretion in considering the individual circumstances of each case,” she concluded.
AILA encourages lawmakers to commit to informed discussions that will shape a common sense immigration policy that helps to rebuild America’s economy, recognizes the contributions of immigrants, keeps families together, and strengthens America’s security.
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The American Immigration Lawyers Association is the national association of immigration lawyers established to promote justice, advocate for fair and reasonable immigration law and policy, advance the quality of immigration and nationality law and practice, and enhance the professional development of its members.
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- Gallup: Key immigration-reform proposals hold broad support (thehill.com)
- Immigration Reform: Five Years Later, What’s New?. (greatriversofhope.wordpress.com)
- Rep. Conyers at Immigration Hearing: ‘I Hope Nobody Uses the Term Illegal Immigrants Here Today’ (nationalreview.com)
- Barack Obama to meet unions and immigration lobbyists in support of his reform plans (irishcentral.com)
- Obama to lobby for immigration reform amid citizenship dispute (Reuters) (newsdaily.com)
Congressional Research Service Report: “Prosecutorial Discretion in Immigration Enforcement: Legal Issues”
Seal of the United States Department of Homeland Security. (Photo Credit: Wikipedia)
The latest CRS Report offers valuable information on Prosecutorial Discretion, and provides insight into how such Discretion will fit in with the different Comprehensive Immigration Reform plans currently being discussed in Washington. An extract follows: Read More…
President Obama Speaks on Comprehensive Immigration Reform
President Obama Speaks on Comprehensive Immigration Reform
White House Press Release on Comprehensive Immigration Reform entitled “Fixing our Broken Immigration System so Everyone Plays by the Rules”
VIA The White House, Office of the Press Secretary,
For Immediate Release, January 29, 2013
FACT SHEET: Fixing our Broken Immigration System so Everyone Plays by the Rules
America’s immigration system is broken. Too many employers game the system by hiring undocumented workers and there are 11 million people living in the shadows. Neither is good for the economy or the country.
It is time to act to fix the broken immigration system in a way that requires responsibility from everyone —both from the workers here illegally and those who hire them—and guarantees that everyone is playing by the same rules.
President Obama’s commonsense immigration reform proposal has four parts. First, continue to strengthen our borders. Second, crack down on companies that hire undocumented workers. Third, hold undocumented immigrants accountable before they can earn their citizenship; this means requiring undocumented workers to pay their taxes and a penalty, move to the back of the line, learn English, and pass background checks. Fourth, streamline the legal immigration system for families, workers, and employers.
Together we can build a fair, effective and commonsense immigration system that lives up to our heritage as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.
The key principles the President believes should be included in commonsense immigration reform are:
Ashwin Sharma interviewed about Immigration Reforms proposed by Sen. Rubio and the President
Immigration Attorney Ashwin Sharma was interviewed on the Channel 4’s Morning Show on the subject of the Gang of 8’s Bipartisan Framework for Comprehensive Immigration Reform versus President Obama’s proposal, and on the necessity of Immigration Reform in the country and within the Republican Party.
Text of Bipartisan Framework for Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Bipartisan Framework for Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Senators Schumer, McCain, Durbin, Graham, Menendez, Rubio, Bennet, and Flake
Introduction
We recognize that our immigration system is broken. And while border security has improved significantly over the last two Administrations, we still don’t have a functioning immigration system. This has created a situation where up to 11 million undocumented immigrants are living in the shadows. Our legislation acknowledges these realities by finally committing the resources needed to secure the border, modernize and streamline our current legal immigration system, while creating a tough but fair legalization program for individuals who are currently here. We will ensure that this is a successful permanent reform to our immigration system that will not need to be revisited.
Four Basic Legislative Pillars:
- Create a tough but fair path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants currently living in the United States that is contingent upon securing our borders and tracking whether legal immigrants have left the country when required;
- Reform our legal immigration system to better recognize the importance of characteristics that will help build the American economy and strengthen American families;
- Create an effective employment verification system that will prevent identity theft and end the hiring of future unauthorized workers; and,
- Establish an improved process for admitting future workers to serve our nation’s workforce needs, while simultaneously protecting all workers.
The Latest Information about the New Provisional Waiver for Unlawful Presence
VIA Travel.State.Gov
Important Instructions for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver Applicants
About the new waiver
On January 2nd, 2013, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that certain immediate relatives of U.S. citizens present in the United States, who are in the process of seeking immigrant visas with the Department of State to become lawful U.S. permanent residents, may apply and be approved for provisional unlawful presence waivers before departing the United States to attend their immigrant visa interviews. USCIS will begin accepting provisional unlawful presence waivers on March 4th, 2013.
If you would like to apply for a provisional unlawful presence waiver, please take the following steps:
Can I re-enter the U.S. with a valid I-94 and expired visa? – Automatic revalidation for certain temporary visitors
Canadian visa for single entry (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
VIA CBP.GOV
Under the automatic revalidation provision of immigration law, certain temporary visitors holding expired nonimmigrant visas who seek to return to the U.S. may be admitted at a U.S. port of entry by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), if they meet certain requirements, including, but not limited to the following:
A nonimmigrant who departed the U.S. for brief travel to Canada, Mexico, or an adjacent islands (for F and J nonimmigrant) for thirty days or less;
Nonimmigrant who have changed their nonimmigrant status (for F and J nonimmigrant) to another nonimmigrant status through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and has a valid (unexpired) Form I-94, Arrival-Departure Record, endorsed by DHS can travel to Canada, Mexico or an adjacent island for thirty days or less.
Nonimmigrant who is eligible to re-enter the U.S. pursuant to the authority of automatic revalidation is not able to benefit from the automatic revalidation process if the passport of the nonimmigrant reflects evidence that while in a contiguous territory or on an adjacent island the nonimmigrant applied for a new visa and is pending a decision or has been denied a new visa application.
For more information about automatic revalidation provisions and reentry to the U.S. visit the Automatic Revalidation Fact Sheet on page 18 of the Carrier Information Guide on CBP.gov. Note: Carrier Information Guide is currently being updated to accurately reflect the countries listed below.
Nationals of Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria are not eligible for automatic revalidation of an expired visa.
GAO Report – Additional Actions Needed to Strengthen Customs and Border Protection Efforts to Mitigate Risk of Employee Corruption and Misconduct
U.S. Customs and Border Protection :Original caption: CBP Officers uniforms and Border Patrol Agents uniforms pay tribute to fellow fallen officers during a Law Enforcement memorial service in Washington D.C. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The United States Government Accountability Office report (link below) delivered to Congressional requesters is comprehensively summarized by its very title: “Additional Actions Needed to Strengthen CBP [Customs and Border Protection] Efforts to Mitigate Risk of Employee Corruption and Misconduct”
“CBP is the largest uniformed law enforcement agency in the United States, with approximately 21,400 BPAs patrolling between the nation’s ports of entry and more than 20,000 CBPOs stationed at air, land, and seaports nationwide at the end of fiscal year 2011. … The total number of CBP employees increased from 43,545 in fiscal year 2006 to 60,591 as of August 2012….
On the U.S. southwest border, there are about 5,500 CBPOs and 18,000 BPAs as of the end of fiscal year 2011. CBPOs, based within OFO, are responsible for processing immigration documentation of passengers and pedestrians and inspecting vehicles and cargo at U.S. ports of entry. BPAs are based within the USBP and are responsible for enforcing immigration laws across the territory in between the ports of entry and at checkpoints located inside the U.S. border. Together, CBPOs and BPAs are responsible for detecting and preventing the illegal entry of persons and contraband, including terrorists and weapons of mass destruction, across the border.”
The GAO report concluded that much more could be done to decrease misconduct and corruption in the agency:
USCIS Releases Latest Data on (DACA) Cases Received Through 12/13/2012 – 70% of Total Cases Cite Mexico as Country of Origin
DREAMer Information Summit (Photo credit: Neighborhood Centers)
USCIS’ Latest Data on DACA Cases indicates that as of December 13, 2012, USCIS has accepted a total of 355,889 DACA cases, of which 102,965 have been approved, and 157,151 are pending. Just over 70% of all cases received by USCIS cite Mexico as the applicants’ country of origin. The top State of applicants’ residence is California.
The U.S. Immigration Law Blog by Ashwin Sharma 
Preview of President Obama’s immigration reform plan: nothing yet planned for STEM workers or Employment/Family Based Immigrants waiting in line
English: ‘USCIS To Issue Redesigned Green Card’ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
USA Today’s preview of the President’s Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) plan indicates that it presently includes proposals for increased border security funding, a reworking of the employment verification protocol and, most importantly, an eight year legalization path for undocumented immigrants along with criminal checks, exams and back taxes. Unfortunately, no word yet on relief for legal immigrants in the queue or STEM/Professional Workers.
Undocumented immigrants would wait eight (8) years to get a green card – the later of 1. eight years from the date the Immigration Reform passes or 2. until all legal immigrants currently waiting in line receive a green card (as the President had previously announced). This would essentially mean the maximum wait time would be eight years, as plenty of legal immigrants are currently waiting up to 24 years for a family based green card (F4 Preference: U.S. Citizen filing for a brother/sister born in the Philippines) or 11 years for an employment based green card (EB3 Preference – U.S. Employer filing for an Indian skilled/professional worker).
While no one begrudges relief for undocumented immigrants, Comprehensive Immigration Reform will not be “Comprehensive” unless additional visa numbers are added for the family and employment based immigrants waiting patiently in line.
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