Former SI swimsuit model denied U.S. entry
MIAMI, Florida (AP) — Former Sports
Illustrated swimsuit model May Andersen, accused of hitting a flight
attendant on a plane from Amsterdam to Miami, was refused entry into
the U.S. on Monday, officials said.
Andersen, 23, will be
returned to the Netherlands on the next available flight, said U.S.
Customs and Border Protection spokesman Zachary Mann.
The model,
who has appeared in SI’s swimsuit edition and posed for Victoria’s
Secret, was charged with assault after allegedly becoming unruly and
violent on the flight last Thursday. She was held in the Miami-Dade
County jail and then moved to federal immigration custody.
Mann
said Andersen was seeking to enter the U.S. under the visa waiver
program, which permits some visitors to enter without visas. His agency
on Monday determined that Andersen was “inadmissible” under that
program.
The specific reasons for the denial were not provided because of federal privacy protections.
Andersen
was charged with simple battery, resisting arrest without violence and
disorderly intoxication. It was not immediately clear Monday how the
immigration decision would affect that case.
Her attorney in Miami did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Bush: Massive Deportation Not Realistic
Via Yahoo.com
04/24/2006
IRVINE, Calif. – President Bush, rebutting lawmakers advocating a law-and-order approach to immigration,
said Monday that those who are calling for massive deportation of the
estimated 11 million foreigners living illegally in the United States
are not being realistic.
“Massive deportation of the people here is not going to work,” Bush
said as a Congress divided over immigration returned from a two-week
recess. “It’s just not going to work.”
In addition to speaking here, Bush was meeting Tuesday with a bipartisan group of senators at the White House to press his case.
Bush spoke in support of a stalled Senate bill that includes
provisions that would allow for eventual citizenship to some of the
illegal immigrants already here. Some conservatives say that would
amount to amnesty.
“This is one of the really important questions Congress is going to
have to deal with,” Bush said. The president said he thought the Senate
“had an interesting approach by saying that if you’d been here for five
years or less, you’re treated one way, and five years or more, you’re
treated another.”
Standing in the center of a theater in the round-type setting with
an audience full of business people, Bush spoke sympathetically about
the plight of foreigners who risk their lives to sneak into the United
States to earn a decent wage. He said the U.S. needs a temporary guest
worker program to stop people from paying to be smuggled in the back of
a truck.
“I know this is an emotional debate,” Bush told the Orange County
Business Council. “But one thing we can’t lose site of is that we are
talking about human beings, decent human beings.”
Several hundred demonstrators from both sides of the immigration issue protested outside Bush’s speech.
More than an hour before Bush arrived, protesters from the Minuteman
Project — the volunteer border patrol group whose co-founder ran for
Congress in Orange County — were chanting “Go back to Mexico” and “God
Bless America.”
Officials: Radio host’s call to kill border crossers dangerous
The Associated Press
04/24/2006
Via KVOA
A Phoenix talk show host who suggested killing border crossers may have intensified racial tensions in the state, two officials wrote in a letter sent Friday to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin.
Brian
James, a fill-in talk show host with Phoenix AM radio station KFYI,
suggested on the air last month that a solution to the immigration
problem in Arizona would be to kill illegal immigrants as they cross
the border.“What we’ll do
is randomly pick one night every week where we will kill whoever
crosses the border,” James said in the March 8 broadcast. “Step over
there and you die. You get to decide whether it’s your lucky night or
not. I think that would be more fun.”He
said he would be “happy to sit there with my high-powered rifle and my
night scope” and kill people as the cross the border. He also suggested
that the National Guard shoot illegal immigrants and receive “$100 a
head.”In a letter to
Martin, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and U.S. Attorney Paul
Charlton called the remarks irresponsible and dangerous.
Continue reading article
Social Security Number Delays and Employment Authorization
An individual who has applied for a Social Security Number but is subject to administrative delays by USCIS/SSA may lawfully begin working until he or she receives the SSN, as long as they can produce other documents evincing work eligibility (See Form I-9 for a listing). The following excerpts and supporting documents are provided for further information.
“Do I need to have a number before I start working?
We
do not require you to have a Social Security number before you start to
work, but the Internal Revenue Service requires employers to report
wages using the Social Security number. While you wait for your Social
Security number, your employer can use a letter from us stating that
you applied for a number.”
– From Social Security Administration SSA Publication No. 05-10107 – April 2003
In
fact, it is an I-9 violation for a US employer to specifically require an SSN prior
to the employee starting work.
See also:
“There is no federal law administered by any federal
agency which prohibits the hiring of a person based solely on the fact
that the person does not have a Social Security Number (SSN).
Similarly, there is no federal law which prohibits the making of a
payment to a person based solely on the fact that the person does not
have an SSN.
Further Reading:
Fact_Sheet – Employment_Discrimination
US Dept. Of_Justice – Guide_To_Fair_Employment
Social_Security_Online – Employer_Responsibilities_When_Hiring_Foreign_Workers
Source: Frist will revive immigration bill
Proposal would increase border-security funding by $2 billion
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Senate Majority
Leader Bill Frist will bring a stalled immigration bill back to the
Senate floor by Memorial Day, a Republican leadership aide said Friday.
In
what the aide called a “bow” to right-wing critics of the bill, the
Tennessee Republican also will propose increasing funding for border
security by $2 billion.
Frist said he would revive the bill after it stalled in the Senate earlier this month, but he gave no timetable.
Two
weeks ago, the Senate was near a compromise on increasing border
security, creating a guest-worker program and developing a system
through which illegal immigrants already in the country could gain
legal status.
Proponents of the latter called the system “earned citizenship,” while opponents decried it as “amnesty.”
The
bill was puttering, but it stalled when Senate Minority Leader Harry
Reid of Nevada objected to Frist’s decision to let GOP senators amend
the measure.
Supporters say the compromise bill has the support
of 65 to 70 senators, enough, if necessary, to overcome a filibuster by
conservatives who object to the “earned citizenship” or “amnesty”
clauses.
If the measure were to pass the Senate, it would have
to be reconciled with an immigration plan passed by the House in
December. The House version includes neither a guest-worker program nor
a legalization process.
Department of Homeland Security unveils comprehensive immigration enforcement strategy for the nation’s interior
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
PRESS RELEASE 04/20/2006
|
WASHINGTON The new interior enforcement strategy represents the second phase of The interior enforcement strategy will complement the Department’s
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said, “Illegal ICE Assistant Secretary Myers said, “This strategy lays down a Goal one: identify and remove criminal aliens, fugitives and other immigration violators
Goal two: build strong worksite enforcement and compliance programs to deter illegal employment
Goal three: uproot the criminal infrastructure that supports illegal immigration
|
|
— ICE — |
DHS/USCIS Final Rule on Special Immigrant Visas for Fourth Preference Employment-Based Broadcasters
[Federal Register: April 18, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 74)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 19805-19806]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18ap06-2]
—————————————
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
8 CFR Part 204
[CIS No. 2106-00]
RIN 1615-AA47
Special Immigrant Visas for Fourth Preference Employment-Based
Broadcasters
AGENCY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of
Homeland Security.
ACTION: Final rule.
—————————————
SUMMARY: This rule adopts, without change, the interim rule published
by the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (Service) in the
Federal Register on October 11, 2001, that established procedures under
which the International Broadcasting Bureau of the United States
Broadcasting Board of Governors, or a grantee organization, could file
immigrant visa petitions for foreign language alien broadcasters. The
rule explained the requirements that alien broadcasters must meet in
order to be the beneficiary of an immigrant visa petition. The public
did not submit any comments to the interim rule.
DATES: This final rule is effective May 18, 2006.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alanna Ow, Adjudications Officer,
Business and Trade Services Branch, Office of Program and Regulations
Development, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of
Homeland Security, 111 Massachusetts Avenue, NW., 3rd Floor (ULLICO),
Washington, DC 20529, telephone (202) 616-7417.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 203 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides
for the allocation of preference visas for both family and employment-
based immigrants.\1\ The fourth preference, employment-based category
(EB-4), allows for the immigration of a variety of aliens who possess
various specialized job skills or abilities. Id. at 203(b)(4). Section
101(a)(27) of the INA also offers definitions of the various jobs or
professions that aliens must hold or possess in order to qualify for
the EB-4 category.
—————————————
\1\ The first preference, priority workers, allows for the
immigration of workers with extraordinary abilities in the sciences,
arts, education, business, or athletics; outstanding professors and
researchers; and certain multinational executives. Id. at 203(b)(1).
The second preference allows for the immigration of professionals
holding advanced degrees. Id. at 203(b)(2). The third preference
allows for the immigration of skilled workers in short supply and
professionals holding baccalaureate degrees. Id. at 203(b)(3).
—————————————
Legislative and Regulatory History
On November 22, 2000, President Clinton signed the Special
Immigrant Status For Certain United States International Broadcasting
Employees Act (IBE Act), Public Law 106-536. Section 1 of the IBE Act
amended section 101(a)(27) of the INA by adding a new subparagraph. The
amendment established a special fourth preference employment-based
immigrant category for immigrants seeking to enter the United States to
work as broadcasters in
[[Page 19806]]
the United States for the International Broadcasting Bureau of the
United States Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) or a BBG grantee.
(Currently, BBG grantees are Radio Free Asia, Inc. and Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc.)
On October 11, 2001, at 66 FR 51819, the former Service published
an interim rule in the Federal Register that added 8 CFR 204.13 and
established an administrative procedure for the BBG and its grantees to
use in order to petition for the services of an alien broadcaster. The
interim rule also codified the provisions of the IBE Act and put into
place procedures for the BBG, its grantees, and former Service
officers, now U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
officers, to follow.
Why Does the BBG Need Alien Broadcasters?
The BBG and its grantees are charged by Congress to broadcast
internationally on behalf of the United States Government. This
requires that the BBG attract and retain a large number of foreign
language broadcasters. These broadcasters must have the unique
combination of native fluency in the broadcast language combined with
an in-depth knowledge of the people, history, and culture of the
broadcast area. Historically, the BBG has experienced difficulty in
finding and employing members of the domestic workforce possessing this
unusual combination of skills to meet the United States Government’s
international broadcasting needs.
By creating a new special EB-4 subcategory, the IBE Act allows the
BBG and its grantees to directly petition for alien broadcasters. Being
able to offer immigrant status to an alien broadcaster and his or her
spouse and children may assist the BBG in fulfilling its obligation as
the international broadcasting conduit for the United States
Government. Under section 203(b)(4) of the INA, only 100 such visas may
be made available in any fiscal year to alien broadcasters coming to
work for BBG or a BBG grantee. This numerical limitation does not
apply, however, to the spouses and children of such immigrants.
Did the Former Service Receive Any Comments on the Interim Rule?
The former Service did not receive any comments during the 60-day
comment period in response to the interim rule. Accordingly, the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is now adopting the interim rule
as a final rule without change.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
DHS has reviewed this regulation in accordance with the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 605(b)), and, by approving it, certifies that
this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. The October 11, 2001, interim rule provided a
special process that benefits individuals who will be coming to the
United States to work as broadcasters. It did not affect small entities
as that term is defined in 5 U.S.C. 601(6). Since this final rule does
not make any changes to the interim rule, this final rule likewise will
not affect small entities.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
This rule will not result in the expenditure by State, local, and
tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100
million or more in any one year, and it will not significantly or
uniquely affect small governments. Therefore, no actions were deemed
necessary under the provisions of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of
1995.
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996
This rule is not a major rule as defined by section 804 of the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Act of 1996. This rule will not
result in an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; a
major increase in costs or prices; or significant adverse effects on
competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or on
the ability of United States-based companies to compete with foreign-
based companies in domestic and export markets.
Executive Order 12866
This rule is not considered by DHS to be a “significant regulatory
action” under Executive Order 12866, section 3(f), Regulatory Planning
and Review. Accordingly, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has
waived its review process under section 6(a)(3)(A).
Executive Order 13132
This rule will not have substantial direct effects on the States,
on the relationship between the National Government and the States, or
on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various
levels of government. Therefore, in accordance with section 6 of
Executive Order 13132, it is determined that this rule does not have
sufficient Federalism implications to warrant the preparation of a
federalism summary impact statement.
Executive Order 12988 Civil Justice Reform
This rule meets the applicable standards set forth in sections 3(a)
and 3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988.
Paperwork Reduction Act
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, all
Departments are required to submit to OMB, for review and approval, any
reporting requirements inherent in a rule. This rule does not impose
any new reporting or recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork
Reduction Act.
List of Subjects in 8 CFR Part 204
Administrative practice and procedures, Aliens, Employment,
Immigration, Petitions.
Accordingly, the interim rule amending 8 CFR part 204, which was
published in the Federal Register at 66 FR 51819, on October 11, 2001,
is adopted as a final rule without change.
Dated: April 11, 2006.
Michael Chertoff,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 06-3655 Filed 4-17-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-10-P
USCIS Case Status On-Line Not Working Properly
April 21, 2006
VIA American Immmigration Lawyers Association
USCIS has confirmed that the Case Status On-Line system is experiencing
difficulties and work is underway to correct the problem.
U.S. Immigrant Protests Did Not Lead to Sympathy
(Angus Reid Global Scan) – 04/21/2006 – Many Americans are upset at the public
demonstrations organized by immigrants, according to a poll by Opinion
Dynamics released by Fox News. 71 per cent of respondents think it is
inappropriate for illegal immigrants to protest for changes in U.S. law.
Last
month, the Pew Hispanic Center calculated the number of undocumented
immigrants in the United States at somewhere between 11.5 million to 12
million. While California is home to most workers, Arizona, Georgia and
North Carolina have the greatest rates of increase.
On Apr.
10, protests against proposed immigration laws took place in 102
American cities. An estimated 500,000 people gathered in Dallas. Also,
an event called a “Day Without Immigrants”—meant to showcase the
importance of both legal and illegal immigrants—has been scheduled for
May 1. 47 per cent of respondents say the protests have made them less
likely to support easing immigration laws in the U.S.
In
December 2005, the House of Representatives passed a bill that seeks to
make it a felony to be in the U.S. illegally or to help an undocumented
person stay in the country. The proposal also calls for the
construction of a new 1,100 kilometre fence on the U.S.-Mexico border.
On
Apr. 6, several senators announced a compromise package that would
place illegal immigrants in three different groups depending on the
amount of time they have spent in the U.S. The plan, called the “roots
concept” by Republican lawmakers, would favour persons who have lived
in the U.S. for more than five years. The proposal was not ratified
before a two-week congressional break.
Polling Data
Do you think it is appropriate for immigrants who are in the United States illegally to protest for changes to U.S. law?
|
Yes |
26% |
|
No |
71% |
|
Don’t know |
3% |
Have
the immigration protests and demonstrations made you more or less
likely to support easing immigration laws in the United States?
|
More likely |
20% |
|
Less likely |
47% |
|
No difference |
25% |
|
Don’t know |
8% |
Source: Opinion Dynamics / Fox News
Methodology:
Telephone interviews with 900 registered American voters, conducted on
Apr. 18 and Apr. 19, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
US detains 1,200 illegal migrants
Via BBC.com
US authorities have arrested almost 1,200 people in
what they say is the largest raid of its kind on migrants working
illegally in the country.
The alleged illegal immigrants worked for the same crate company and were held in nine different states.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the
raid was a warning to workers and employers “who tolerate or perpetuate
a shadow economy”.
The US Senate has been deadlocked over plans to reform immigration rules.
The Senate is due to resume its debate in a few days.
President George W Bush has proposed the introduction of
a “guest-worker” scheme – but this faces stiff opposition from some in
his own Republican party who see it as being too soft on lawbreakers.
According to the BBC’s Washington correspondent, James
Coomarasamy, the latest raid is clearly designed to counter that
impression.
BUSINESSES WARNED OF ILLEGAL LABOR CRACKDOWN
Over a thousand already arrested in largest workplace immigration raid in U.S. history
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
<!– commented out ad
–>
WASHINGTON – Federal officials warned businesses of an expanding
crackdown on the employment of illegal immigrants Thursday as agents
completed what was called the largest workplace immigration raids in
national history, targeting a company with U.S. headquarters in Houston.
“History shows that there are large companies that operate with a
business model that relies to a significant extent on undocumented
illegal labor,” Department of Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff
said. “I can tell you that we are continuing to investigate other
companies as we speak here today.”
The raids in 26 states began Wednesday, hitting 40 work sites of the
U.S. subsidiary of a Dutch company. More than a thousand workers were
arrested by Thursday, along with a few executives.
Chertoff said IFCO Systems, an industrial pallet manufacturer, had
been under investigation for more than a year, after federal agents
were tipped to what he described as a systematic plan to increase
profits by hiring and exploiting illegal workers.
The investigation began, according to an agents’ affidavit, when a
worker at an IFCO plant in New York witnessed Hispanic employees
tearing up IRS W-2 forms; he supposedly was told by a company manager
that the workers were illegal immigrants with fake Social Security
cards who would not be put on federal tax rolls.
As the case developed, agents uncovered a system of gathering
illegal workers in Houston and sending them by bus to New York to work
at an IFCO plant there, officials said.
The company said it was cooperating fully with the federal
investigation and that it hoped to “have this matter resolved as soon
as possible.”
The U.S. Immigration Law Blog by Ashwin Sharma 
A Look at Past U.S. Immigration Controls
Via Forbes.com
By The Associated Press
,
04.23.2006, 11:52 AM
A listing of past U.S. efforts to stem illegal migration from Mexico.