Secret House group close to immigration-reform agreement – The Hill From the story: ”A bipartisan group of House negotiators is even further along in drafting a comprehensive immigration overhaul than its counterpart in the Senate, but the path to passage in the lower chamber is lined with thorns.”

A rocky road to reforming immigration – New York Times From the story: “Comprehensive reform failed to happen six years ago, despite the push from the high-powered coalition led by President George W. Bush and Senators John McCain and Edward M. Kennedy.” While prospects appear better today, “the same obstacles persist.”

Obama to meet with labor, CEOs on immigration – USA Today This week, the president is set to meet “with labor leaders and progressive leaders, as well as a number of CEOs from across industries, to discuss his commitment to getting a bipartisan bill passed in 2013.”

Why immigration reform in 1986 fell short – Washington Post More on the legacy of IRCA, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which “has not turned out to be the triumph that Reagan envisioned. Instead, those on both sides of the immigration debate see it as a cautionary lesson.”

Lawyers say surveillance of Muslims flouts accord – New York Times A federal judge is being asked by civil rights lawyers to order an independent review of the New York Police Department’s counterterrorism tactics: “The lawyers say the police’s tactics have placed Muslim communities under surveillance in violation of longstanding federal court guidelines.”

Why gets Latino support in LA mayor’s race? – LA Weekly According to a new poll, Latino support is up for underdog candidate Emanuel Pleitez, who is of Mexican-Salvadoran descent. Meanwhile, Latino voter support seems to have dropped for Eric Garcetti, who has more distant Mexican roots.

Gov. Pat Quinn has pledged to sign the bill, saying in a statement that it will make the state’s roads safer.

“More than 250,000 immigrant motorists on our roads today have not passed a driving test, which presents a dangerous risk to other drivers,” said Quinn, a Democrat. “Illinois roads will be safer if we ensure every driver learns the rules of the road and is trained to drive safely.”

The bill, which the state’s House of Representatives approved 65-46 on Tuesday, says immigrants can apply for the temporary licenses — good for three years — if they have lived in the state for more than a year. The driver’s licenses cannot be used as identification to buy weapons or board airplanes, officials have said.

The state’s Senate approved the bill in a 41-14 vote last month.

Immigrant rights advocates praised the move.

“The Illinois Legislature has shown the way forward on immigration,” Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, said in a statement.

But opponents of the measure raised concerns about fraud and said the proposed law didn’t go far enough to resolves the state’s immigration problems.

“It’s an issue that everybody walks away from,” said Jim Sacia, a Republican representative.

Quinn said he was looking forward to signing the bill, arguing that motorists will save millions in insurance premiums and the measure will “empower more immigrants to become stronger contributors to our economy.”

New Mexico and Washington also allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. Utah issues driving privilege cards to undocumented immigrants who have lived in the state for more than six months.

For months, driver’s licenses and other state benefits have been at the heart of a battle in the nationwide immigration debate.

In August, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer ordered officials in her state not to provide driver’s licenses or any other benefits to immigrants granted “deferred status” under the new federal deferred action program that allows accepted applicants to remain in the United States and work without fear of deportation for at least two years.

Under the federal policy that federal officials announced last year, people younger than 30 who arrived in the United States before the age of 16, pose no criminal or security threat, and were successful students or served in the military, can get a two-year deferral from deportation and apply for work permits

PHOENIX — As many as 1.26 million immigrants may be eligible for temporary relief from deportation under a new Obama Administration initiative, and another 500,000 more could be eligible in the future, according to revised estimates released by the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute on Tuesday.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service will begin accepting applications on Aug. 15 from immigrants who were brought to this country illegally as children and who wish to be considered for deferred action. If they are approved, they will be spared from deportation for two years, and can become eligible for a work permit.

Officials say each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The Obama Administration first announced the program June 15. The young people who would benefit are often known as “DREAMers” in reference to the DREAM Act, a stalled federal bill that would have provided a pathway to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants.

Last Friday, USCIS, which is under the Department of Homeland Security, released updated guidelines specifying who would be eligible for the program.

Among the requirements are that applicants must be younger than 31 as of June 15, must have arrived in the U.S. before age 16, must be over the age of 15 if they have not been in deportation proceedings, and must not have a criminal record.

They new guidelines also made clear the program would be open to individuals who haven’t graduated high school or received a GED, as long as they are enrolled in a school program.

That distinction prompted the Migration Policy Institute to redo their analysis.

“So with that additional guidance from DHS, that means that our estimates have increased by 350,000 unauthorized immigrants,” said Michelle Mittelstadt, communications director for the Migration Policy Institute.

The Institute’s analysis also showed that about half of the population that could benefit from the initiative lives in the southwestern United States.

by Harry DeMell

In the ILW of February 14, 2012 Mr. Yale-Loehr argued that a truncated Dream Act would be immoral and should be opposed. I believe that he is wrong.http://www.ilw.com/articles/2012,0214-Loehr.shtm

The immigration bar has made the same mistake over and over again. They ask too much and are surprised when they get nothing. During the early 2000s we might have gotten a Dream act passed but were unable to get beyond CIR. There was a feeling that if Dream passed it would take the wind out of a new amnesty. We hunkered down for everything and got nothing.

With the drop in the economy we pulled back our request and asked just for Dream, but by then it was too late because with the economy in free fall congress had to wait until the dust settled before they could justify any legislation in this area.

The immigration bar then put their hopes in our new president who did absolutely nothing for the immigrant community other than a few politically placed media blurbs. That president was two senate votes away from passing some significant legislation. No effort was made. I don’t believe that two of several Republican senators couldn’t have been brought on board.

We need to get some legislation passed to show the American people that passing compassionate legislation can be beneficial to America. We need to show that the sky won’t fall. Only then can we ask for more.

It’s false compassion to ask for more than we can realistically expect to get. We need to get some benefits passed both substantive and procedural. The only area where we have been successful is in the Supreme Court where, although ideologically divided between conservative and liberal, reason has prevailed and sound judgment has given the immigration bar the victories that it hasn’t earned. Yes Steve, we need more. Yes Steve, this military only act seems exploitive. But Steve, we need to start somewhere. After twenty-two years of failure, the immigration bar needs to take a fresh look at a losing strategy of having their heads in the clouds and forgetting the reality of the situation on the ground.

Washington —Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced the publication of a Final rule that would establish Global Entry—a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) voluntary initiative, which allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers to streamline the international arrivals and admission process at airports for trusted travelers through biometric identification—as a permanent program.

	Global Entry is currently available at 20 U.S. international airports.

“Global Entry expedites the customs and security process for trusted air travelers through biometric verification, while helping DHS ensure the safety of all airline passengers,” said Secretary Napolitano. “Making Global Entry permanent will improve customer service at airports across the country and enable law enforcement to focus on higher-risk travelers.”

Global Entry—currently available at 20 U.S. international airports—allows pre-approved members a streamlined, automated alternative to regular passport processing lines. The program currently reduces average wait times by more than 70 percent, with more than 75 percent of travelers using Global Entry processed in under five minutes.

The final rule, published today, sets forth federal regulations that replaces the current pilot with a permanent Global Entry program. The final rule provides CBP with the ability to more readily expand the program to additional U.S. international airports. In addition, age eligibility criteria have changed to allow more families to enjoy the benefits of the program. Persons under the age of 18 who meet the general eligibility criteria and have the consent of a parent or legal guardian will now be eligible to participate in Global Entry.

Those members currently participating in the pilot will not experience a break in membership or need to re-apply when the program becomes permanent. Members currently participating in the pilot will have their time credited to the five year membership as proposed in the rule.

At Global Entry kiosks, members insert their passport or lawful permanent resident card into a document reader, provide digital fingerprints for comparison with fingerprints on file, answer customs declaration questions on the kiosk’s touch-screen, and then present a transaction receipt to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers before leaving the inspection area.

To date, there have been approximately 1.8 million admissions with Global Entry by more than 260,000 members and more than 1 million trusted travelers receive Global Entry benefits. The program is available to U.S. citizens and U.S lawful permanent residents, as well as Mexican nationals. Citizens of the Netherlands may also apply under a special reciprocal arrangement that links Global Entry with the Dutch Privium program in Amsterdam. Canadian citizens and residents may participate in Global Entry through membership in the NEXUS program.

by Paul Taylor, et al for the Pew Hispanic Center

Overview

Nearly two-thirds of the 10.2 million unauthorized adult immigrants in the United States have lived in this country for at least 10 years and nearly half are parents of minor children, according to new estimates by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center.

These estimates are based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s March 2010 Current Population Survey, augmented with the Center’s analysis of the demographic characteristics of the unauthorized immigrant population using a “residual estimation methodology” that the Center has employed for many years.

The characteristics of this population have become a source of renewed interest in the wake of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s recent endorsement of a proposal to create a path for unauthorized immigrants to gain legal status if they have lived in the country for a long period of time, have children in the U.S., pay taxes and belong to a church. Several of Gingrich’s opponents for the Republican presidential nomination have criticized the proposal as a form of amnesty that would encourage more immigrants to come to the U.S. illegally.

The Pew Hispanic analysis finds that 35% of unauthorized adult immigrants have resided in the U.S. for 15 years or more; 28% for 10 to 14 years; 22% for 5 to 9 years; and 15% for less than five years.

The share that has been in the country at least 15 years has more than doubled since 2000, when about one-in-six (16%) unauthorized adult immigrants had lived here for that duration. By the same token, the share of unauthorized adult immigrants who have lived in the country for less than five years has fallen by half during this period—from 32% in 2000 to 15% in 2010.

The rising share of unauthorized immigrants who have been in the U.S. for a long duration reflects the fact that the sharpest growth in this population occurred during the late 1990s and early 2000s—and that the inflow has slowed down significantly in recent years, as the U.S. economy has sputtered and border enforcement has tightened. It also reflects the fact that relatively few long-duration unauthorized immigrants have returned to their countries of origin.

Currently, illegal immigrants must leave the country before they can ask the government to waive a three- to 10-year ban on legally coming back to the U.S. The length of the ban depends on how long they have lived in the U.S. without permission. 

The official said Thursday the new rule would let children and spouses of citizens ask the government to decide on the waiver request before the illegal immigrant heads to his or her home country to apply for a visa. The illegal immigrants still must go home to finish the visa process to come back to the U.S., but getting the waiver ahead of time could reduce the time an illegal immigrant is out of the country.

 The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the proposed policy change had not been made public.

 The waiver shift is the latest move by President Barack Obama to make changes to immigration policy without congressional action. Congressional Republicans repeatedly have criticized the administration for policy changes they describe as providing “backdoor amnesty” to illegal immigrants.

 Immigrants who do not have criminal records and who have only violated immigration laws can win a waiver if they can prove that their absence would cause an “extreme hardship” for their citizen spouse or parent. The government received about 23,000 hardship applications in 2011 and more than 70 percent were approved, the official said.

 Applications for the waiver can take as long as six months to be acted upon, the official said. The new rule is expected to reduce that processing time to just days or weeks, the official added.

 ”This would streamline the process (and) reduce the time of separation between family members,” the official said.

 The proposal will be published in the Federal Register on Friday. The official said the administration hopes to change the rule later this year.

 Immigration has become a difficult issue for Mr. Obama ahead of the November election. As a presidential candidate, he pledged to change what many consider to be a broken immigration system.

 To that end, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced plans last year to review some 300,000 pending deportation cases in an effort to target criminal illegal immigrants, repeat immigration law violators and those who pose a national security or public safety threat. Napolitano said the DHS would delay indefinitely the cases of many illegal immigrants who have no criminal record and those who have been arrested for only minor traffic violations or other misdemeanors.

 A pilot program to review about 12,000 cases pending in immigration court in Baltimore and Denver was launched in November and ends next week. The review is expected to expand to other jurisdictions later this year.

 Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton also issued a memo in June outlining how immigration authorities could use discretion in deciding which illegal immigrants to arrest and put into deportation proceedings. Morton wrote in the memo that discretion could be used in a variety of cases, including for people with no criminal record and young people brought to the country illegally as children.

 Congressional Republicans have decried the policy changes, arguing that the Obama administration is circumventing Congress to essentially provide amnesty to countless illegal immigrants.

 Rep. Lamar Smith, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, has been among the most vocal critics and has accused Obama repeatedly of not enforcing immigration law.

 Several attempts at an immigration law overhaul have failed in recent years, including the so-called DREAM Act, which would have allowed for some young illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to earn legal status if they went to college or joined the military.

“Every year, tens of millions of tourists from all over the world come and visit America. And the more folks who visit America, the more Americans we get back to work. We need to help businesses all across the country grow and create jobs; compete and win. That’s how we’re going to rebuild an economy where hard work pays off, where responsibility is rewarded, and where anyone can make it if they try,” said President Obama.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, international travel resulted in $134 billion in U.S. exports in 2010 and is the nation’s largest service export industry, with 7% of total exports and 24% of service exports. The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that every additional 65 international visitors to the United States can generate enough exports to support an additional travel and tourism-related job. According to the travel industry and Bureau of Economic Analysis, international travel is particularly important as overseas or “long-haul” travelers spend on average $4,000 on each visit.

Today’s announcement calls for a national strategy to make the United States the world’s top travel and tourism destination, as part of a comprehensive effort to spur job creation. The number of travelers from emerging economies with growing middle classes – such as China, Brazil, and India – is projected to grow by 135%, 274%, and 50% respectively by 2016 when compared to 2010.  Nationals from these three countries contributed approximately $15 billion dollars and thousands of jobs to the U.S. economy in 2010.  In addition, Chinese and Brazilian tourists currently spend more than $6,000 and $5,000 respectively each, per trip, according to the Department of Commerce. The Department of State has made tremendous progress in processing non-immigrant visas from these key markets, allowing them to issue more than 7.5 million visas in the last fiscal year, a 17% increase from the previous fiscal year. In the 2011 fiscal year, consular officers adjudicated more than a million visa applications in China and more than 800,000 in Brazil, representing 34 % growth in China and 42% growth in Brazil. Improving visa processing capacity for China and Brazil is particularly important because of this growth.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS:

Today’s Executive Order charges several agencies to take part in efforts to increase travel and tourism in the United States:

• The Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior will be charged with:
  • Co-leading an interagency task force to develop recommendations for a National Travel & Tourism Strategy to promote domestic and international travel opportunities throughout the United States, thereby expanding job creation. This Task Force will coordinate with the Corporation for Travel Promotion (currently doing business as BrandUSA), a non-profit corporation established by Congress through the Travel Promotion Act of 2009 to promote travel to the United States, and the Tourism Policy Council to ensure private sector participation and cross-agency coordination.
  • A particular focus of the Task Force will be on strategies for increasing tourism and recreation jobs by promoting visits to our national treasures. The Department of the Interior manages iconic destinations in our national parks, wildlife refuges, cultural and historic sites, monuments and other public lands that attract travelers from around the country and the globe. In 2010, more than 400 million visits were made by American and international travelers to these lands, contributing nearly $50 billion in economic activity and 400,000 jobs. Eco-tourism and outdoor recreation also have an outsize impact on rural economies, particularly in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming.
• The Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security will be charged with:
  • Increasing non-immigrant visa processing capacity in China and Brazil by 40% in 2012.
  • Ensuring that 80% of non-immigrant visa applicants are interviewed within three weeks of receipt of application.
  • Increasing efforts to expand the Visa Waiver Program and travel by nationals eligible to participate in the Visa Waiver Program, and expanding reciprocal trusted travel programs for expedited travel (such as the Global Entry program).
• The Department of Commerce will be charged with:
  • Establishing and maintaining a publicly available website with key information and statistics from across the Federal Government to assist industry and travelers in understanding visa processes in key travel and tourism markets, and entry times into the United States.

Additional initiatives announced today include:

• New Pilot Program and Rule Change for Visa Processing in China and Brazil:
  • Today, the Departments of State and Homeland Security announced a pilot program to simplify and speed up the non-immigrant visa process for certain applicants, including the ability to waive interviews for some very low-risk applicants, such as individuals from any country renewing non-immigrant visas, or, in Brazil, younger or older first-time applicants. Link to fact sheet HERE for more information.
• Final Rule to Expand and Make the Global Entry Program Permanent:
  • Global Entry is a program within the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection that was created as a pilot in 2008 to facilitate expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States. Through a final rule, the Administration will expand and make the Global Entry program permanent. Due in part to innovative public-private partnerships, the Global Entry program now has more than 246,000 members, more than one million trusted travelers have Global Entry benefits, and efforts are underway to expand enrollment even further. There are currently 131 Global Entry kiosks at 20 airports and since launching, members have used Global Entry kiosks over 1.7 million times, saving CBP officers over 36,450 inspection hours—staff hours that CBP has then re-allocated to expedite regular passenger queues. This final rule will allow the program to be expanded to an additional 4 airports in Minneapolis, Charlotte, Denver and Phoenix, making the Global Entry program and expedited clearance available in airports that service approximately 97% of international travelers.
• Appoint new members to the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board:
  • A new membership of 32 private sector CEOs have been appointed by Commerce Secretary Bryson to serve on the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board. The Advisory Board will build upon the work undertaken by the past Board addressing travel facilitation, visa policy, improving the international travel entry experience, aviation security, energy security, crisis communications and research and data, among other issues. This Board consists of corporate executives across the nation, representing all aspects of the travel and tourism industry, who are appointed to a two-year term to advise the Secretary of Commerce on policies affecting the travel and tourism industry. See the full list of new members HERE.
• Nomination of Taiwan to Visa Waiver Program:
  • Currently, more than 60% of international tourists do not require a U.S. visa, in most cases because they travel under the Visa Waiver Program.  The Secretary of State has formally requested that the Secretary of Homeland Security consider Taiwan for the Visa Waiver Program. Over the past year, Taiwan has undertaken significant efforts to improve its law enforcement and document security standards to meet the strict requirements for Visa Waiver Program eligibility. Under the Visa Waiver Program, participating nationals can travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. The program was established to promote travel and tourism with our foreign partners, stimulate the tourism industry, and permit the Department of State to focus consular resources in other areas. Since November 2008, the Department of Homeland Security has added nine countries to the Visa Waiver Program, bringing the program total to 36 countries.

But the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has joined groups such as the National Immigration Law Center and the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund in filing suit against the state of Arizona for a law that severely sanctions employers for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. On Wednesday the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case.

The groups argue that the Legal Arizona Worker’s Act, and similar legislation in other states, unconstitutionally conflict with existing federal law. The legislation is part of an emerging trend, as state lawmakers complain the federal government is not doing enough in its traditional role of immigration regulation.

The United State Justice Department has filed a brief in support of the groups, arguing that the state laws are generating confusion among employers and employees.

“Those provisions,” writes Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal, “disrupt a careful balance that Congress struck nearly 25 years ago between two interests of the highest importance: ensuring that employers do not undermine enforcement of immigration laws by hiring unauthorized workers, while also ensuring that employers do not discriminate against racial and ethnic minorities legally in the country.”

In some cases the state law imposes harsher sanctions on employers than under federal law.

Robin Conrad of the Chamber of Commerce says, “American businesses are overwhelmed by the cacophony of complex and often conflicting state and local immigration regulations.”

Conrad says that States are frustrated with the “broken immigration system” but that “the confusing patchwork of immigration regulations doesn’t solve our immigration problems, and instead makes it more difficult for employers to create jobs and grow the economy.”

The law also mandates that employers check the immigration status of potential employees through a federal database called the E-Verify program. Under federal law, however, the use of E-Verify is voluntary.

“We’re talking about kids who have done nothing wrong,” said Hilary Greene, program director of the Berkshire Immigrant Center. “Giving them the opportunity to attend college or serve in the military, and down the road to get a job – these are all things we want our youth to do, because it’s good for our country and good for our economy.”

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, or DREAM, Act allows the children of undocumented immigrants to receive six years of provisional residency if they plan to attend college or serve in the military for at least two years.

The benefits of the DREAM Act include the ability to apply for in-state tuition at the college level, as well as to receive a green card after completing either the college program or military service. The green card, which can be renewed every 10 years for continued residency in the U.S., is the first step towards applying for full citizenship.

Eligible youth must have arrived in the U.S. before age 16, lived in the country for at least five years, have no criminal record and must have graduated from a U.S. high school or earned a GED.

“It’s not a hand-out – it’s not something that American citizens aren’t getting and we’re making a special exception,” Greene said.

Greene

explained that because these students would be paying instate tuition – rather than not going to college and not paying tuition at all – the DREAM Act would actually act as a revenue boost for many local colleges and universities.

Berkshire County politicians such as state Sen. Benjamin B. Downing said they agreed with the DREAM Act.

“It’s something that’s had bipartisan support in the past, and I think making sure that immigrant children who have met certain requirements and want to go on to higher education or serve in the country’s military should have a path to citizenship,” Downing said.

U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, who cosponsored the DREAM Act in the U.S. House in 2007 and in 2009, said the bill was the moral high ground for dealing with immigrant youths in this country.

“Allowing young people whose only crime is having been brought to this country as children to pursue a path to citizenship, if they enroll in college or military service, is a matter of common decency,” Olver said in a statement. ” These young people did not choose to come to the United States, but this is the only homeland they know. Allowing them to earn citizenship through academic pursuit or service to country, is a very reasonable thing to do.”

In addition, the non- partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated last week that the approval of the DREAM Act would reduce federal deficits by $ 1.4 billion between 2011 and 2020.

“We’re not giving anyone anything free,” Greene added. “By denying them the chance to improve themselves, we are hurting our country.”

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