Immigration Law

Where Do The Leading Presidential Candidates Stand On Immigration?

Posted on November 23, 2007
The other day, someone asked me which presidential candidate would be best, strictly on immigration reform views. Here is a nice little summary from a Reuters news story:DEMOCRATS: New York Sen. Hillary Clinton Supports a guest worker program for immigrants if it does not undermine U...

Hispanic Surnames Break Into Top Ten In United States

Posted on November 17, 2007
In an article today, the New York Times reports that a recent U.S. Census Bureau study shows that for the first time ever, two Hispanic surnames have broken into the top ten most common names in the United States. Here are excerpts from the article:Smith remains the most common surname in the United States, according to a new analysis released yesterday by the Census Bureau...

Employer Handbook Now Available For Revised I-9 Form

Posted on November 11, 2007
For the first time in 16 years, the Federal Government has made major changes to the mandatory I-9 Immigration Form. All new employees must fill out these forms. The Department of Homeland Security has announced that the new I-9 form to verify new hire eligibility requirements will include changes that better reflect current employment eligibility verification requirements...

The Mexico Trucker Blog

Posted on November 11, 2007
I've written before about the perceived problems with relaxed restrictions on Mexican trucks entering the United States and going beyond the previously set mileage boundaries. There's a blog with a great deal of information about this situation and other, related matters...

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What Should We Call People Here Without Authorization?

Posted on November 05, 2007
There is an exhaustive article at ILW.com about how exactly we should refer to people who are in the United States without proper authorization. The article is definitely worth reading.This is a proposed guideline for the use of the terms "undocumented immigrant," "illegal immigrant," and "illegal alien" on Wikipedia...

Tech Industry Seeks Visa Reform

Posted on October 30, 2007
The Dallas Morning News had an interesting article yesterday about the tech industry lobbying to raise the cap on H-1B visas. Here are a few excerpts:High-tech workers here on federal permits are speaking out ? many for the first time ? over rules that leave them for years in personal and professional limbo...

Agreement Reached Regarding Deportations In Irving, Texas

Posted on October 19, 2007
The Dallas Morning News reports today that the City of Irving may have come to an agreement with immigration-rights advocates regarding the arrest and deportation of so many illegal aliens in Irving recently. Here are excerpts from the article:Illegal immigrants may be able to avoid being arrested in Irving if they can provide police with a Mexican identification card, a utility bill or a similar document, the city's mayor said Thursday...

Comprehensive Explanation of Irving, Texas Immigration Situation

Posted on October 13, 2007
The Dallas Morning News has a very good series of articles today about the immigration situation in Irving, Texas. Irving's "deportation" of a large number of undocumented aliens has been the subject of national discussion. These articles explain both sides of the situation.

Irving Illegal Immigrants' Charges Are Mostly Misdemeanors

Posted on October 11, 2007
The Dallas Morning News has a carefully-researched story today breaking down the charges against the illegal immigrants who have been deported from Irving, Texas after being arrested or detained by the Irving police. Surprisingly, only about 9% of the charges were felonies -- the type of charge that would normally cause someone to be deported by USCIS...

Judge Blocks U.S. Illegal Worker Crackdown

Posted on October 10, 2007
ABC News is reporting that a federal judge today blocked enforcement of new efforts to crack down on illegal immigrant workers. Here are excerpts of the online article:Judge Charles Breyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted a preliminary injunction against a program that would force employers to verify Social Security numbers and fire workers whose numbers did not match official records...

The Mess Congress Made: Immigration Inaction Is Fueling Irving Panic

Posted on October 09, 2007
Congratulations to the Dallas Morning News for an excellent editorial today regarding the immigration mess in this country. Many North Texans are reacting to Irving's crackdown on illegal immigrants by saying: Darn right, they're breaking the law, and it's about time we sent them packing...

Northern California Farmers Worry Fruit Will Rot On Trees

Posted on October 09, 2007
Yet another story about the plight of fruit and vegetable farmers in California was posted on the KNTV Web site. Here are excerpts:Farmers in and around Northern California are starting to feel the pinch from tighter border security and visa requirements, NBC11's Daniel Garza reported Monday...

Poll: Spanish Spoken Here -- Two-Thirds Don't Mind

Posted on October 09, 2007
ABC had an interesting article online yesterday about the attitude of Americans toward people who speak Spanish. The conclusion of this well-documented article was that approximately 2/3 of Americans don't mind if others speak Spanish around them. More people admit to being prejudiced against Arabs and overweight people than admit to prejudice against Hispanics speaking Spanish...

"Breaking Point" Reached In Farmworker immigration Problem?

Posted on October 08, 2007
The blog of the New York Times has an interesting post today about the "breaking point" being reached in the farmworker immigration situation. The bottom line is that farmers are not finding enough workers, due to immigration crackdowns. And while there are still unemployed American citizens, very few of them have any experience in farm work (or are interested in learning)...

Illegal Aliens Might Cause States To Gain Congressional Seats

Posted on October 06, 2007
United Press International has an interesting article about the fact that although illegal immigrants cannot vote, they are included in the official U.S. Census. And the census is what determines the number of seats each state has in the House of Representatives...

U.S. Sailor May Have To Leave Service If Wife Is Deported

Posted on October 05, 2007
CNN has an interesting article online about a sailor in the U.S. Navy who may have to quit the service because his wife is being threatened with deportation. Here are excerpts:Eduardo Gonzalez, a petty officer second class with the U.S. Navy, is about to be deployed overseas for a third time...

Inter-Country Adoptions

Posted on October 04, 2007
More and more frequently these days, we read of U.S. citizens adopting children from foreign countries. There was a story on CNN this morning about Guatemalan adoptions. Here is information from the USCIS Web site about inter-country adoptions:Adopting children from all over the world has steadily increased in the past decade...

Where Are Unauthorized Immigrants Coming From?

Posted on October 04, 2007
These figures go along with yesterday's post, and show the country of origin of current unauthorized immigrants. Mexico is by far the leader, with more immigrants than all other countries combined. Statistics from the Department of Homeland Security. country of birth of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population: January 2006 and 2000country of birth Estimated Population in January Percent of total Percent change Average annual change 2006 2000 2006 2000 2000 to 2006 2000 to 2006 All countries 11,550,000 8,460,000 100 100 37 515,000 Mexico 6,570,000 4,680,000 57 55 40 315,000 El Salvador 510,000 430,000 4 5 19 13,333 Guatemala 430,000 290,000 4 3 48 23,333 Philippines 280,000 200,000 2 2 40 13,333 Honduras 280,000 160,000 2 2 75 20,000 India 270,000 120,000 2 1 125 25,000 Korea 250,000 180,000 2 2 39 11,667 Brazil 210,000 100,000 2 1 110 18,333 China 190,000 190,000 2 2 - - Vietnam 160,000 160,000 1 2 - - Other countries 2,410,000 1,950,000 21 23 24 76,667

Finally, A Rational Discussion Of The Criminal Alien Program In Irving

Posted on October 03, 2007
My friend René Castilla has written an excellent guest editorial for the Dallas Morning News about the immigration situation in Irving, Texas, his current, and my former, hometown. In fact, this is by far the most rational and logical discussion of the situation that I have seen...

Where Do Illegal Immigrants Live?

Posted on October 03, 2007
Here are some interesting statistics from the Department of Homeland Security regarding the states in which illegal immigrants live. California, Texas, and Florida account for almost 50% of all unauthorized immigrants. State of Residence of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population: January 2006 and 2000State of residence Estimated population in January Percent of total Percent change Average annual change 2006 2000 2006 2000 2000 to 2006 2000 to 2006 All states 11,550,000 8,460,000 100 100 37 515,000 California 2,830,000 2,510,000 25 30 13 53,333 Texas 1,640,000 1,090,000 14 13 50 91,667 Florida 980,000 800,000 8 9 23 30,000 Illinois 550,000 440,000 5 5 25 18,333 New York 540,000 540,000 5 6 - - Arizona 500,000 330,000 4 4 52 28,333 Georgia 490,000 220,000 4 3 123 45,000 New Jersey 430,000 350,000 4 4 23 13,333 North Carolina 370,000 260,000 3 3 42 18,333 Washington 280,000 170,000 2 2 65 18,333 Other states 2,950,000 1,750,000 26 21 69 200,000

Judge Orders Further Delay In "No-Match" Implementation

Posted on October 02, 2007
The New York Times is reporting today that federal judge Charles R. Breyer has extended for ten more days the tempovary delay in implementing the government's no-match Social Security letter plans. Here are excerpts from the story:The ban further delayed the start of a rule, which establishes steps an employer must follow after receiving a notice from the Social Security Administration, known as a no-match letter, reporting that an employee?s identity information does not match the agency?s records...

Employers Brace For New Immigration Rules

Posted on September 30, 2007
The San Luis Obispo Tribune has an excellent article today on the potential impact of the government's new "no match" letters on employers. Here are excerpts: Businesses across San Luis Obispo County are closely watching a federal court decision expected Monday that could lead to greater workplace enforcement of illegal immigration...

Immigration From Iraq Or Afghanistan

Posted on September 29, 2007
At Kraft & Associates, we recently had an inquiry from a soldier who had just returned from Iraq. He had promised his Iraqi translator that he would try to help the translator gain entry into the United States. We had to tell this good-hearted military man that the United States has been embarrassingly slow to admit any Iraqi citizens into our country, including those who risked their lives by helping our military...

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