In Our Community: Immigration News

Immigration-related news from June 15 to June 20. Enjoy!

Some Senators used amendments to the Senate Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2010 to show just how strong they could be on immigration, in anticipation of this fall's upcoming immigration debate that is sure to polarize members into enforcement and path to legalization camps. Republican Senators Vitter, Sessions, Grassley and DeMint all introduced enforcement-heavy amendments to the bill.

Here's a great overview of what we expect to see when the immigration debate heats up this fall. Includes advantages and disadvantages of the E-verify system, and where the major players will line up when the debate hits the floors of Senate and House this fall. For info on the REAL ID debate, this article has it all. Here's another article with details on the employee identification debate.

Julia Harumi Mass from the Sacramento Bee writes an impassioned plea for comprehensive immigration reform here.

A new decision by the Obama Administration makes it easier for foreign women who are victims of domestic abuse to gain asylum in the United States. This comes after 8 years of stasis from the Bush Administration, where immigration courts were theatres of inaction on the subject of battered women seeking refugee status.

On a related note, Department of Homeland Security has moved to expand the 287(g) program, which enlists local law enforcement to root out undocumented immigrants in counties across the U.S. Although the program has re-prioritized by making criminals migrants their most important targets and by providing nationwide oversight rules, the program may be bad news for victims of domestic abuse, who will be more reticent to report their grievances for fear of being deported or detained. The New York Daily News' Albor Ruiz weighs in on the 287(g) debate here. The ACLU opines on the 287(g) program here.

ICE reports here that deportations in Washington, Oregon and Alaska have jumped 10% in the last year, partly due to the Obama Administration's focus on deporting those immigrants with criminal records. Same thing in Maryland. A more personal deportation hearing about a Jamaican immigrant who was finally granted a hearing after 5 and half years in detention.

In Dobbs Ferry, NY, The Children's Village provides a home for undocumented minors. Jose's story is particularly worth reading.

In other detention news, a swine flu outbreak has required 72 detainess to be quarantined, causing many to miss important hearings, even if they might not be officially confirmed to have the virus.

A troubling new decision from the Supreme Court came down June 15, when the court unanimously decided against Manoj Nijhawan, who had been convicted of money laundering over $10,000. The new decision makes it easier for immigration officials to deport individuals based on information based on information not specificially determined by a judge or jury as grounds for a criminal conviction, thereby reducing the objective and consistent standards by which immigrant criminals can be deported.

Caddo Mills, TX considers letting Emerald Correctional Facilities build a 500 to 1,000 bed correctional facility.

Last but not least, the Sheriff Joe Arpaio charade continues here.

That's all folks. Thanks for reading.

E-Verify Amendment Tabled in Yesterday's Senate Debate Over Omnibus

Last night, the Senate voted to table Senator Sessions amendment (attached to the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009, S.Amdt. 604 to H.R. 1105) to extend the E-Verify program for six years with a vote of 50::47.

The E-Verify program, which I talked about extensively during debate of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 (S. 1 and H.R. 1), is extremely problematic due to database errors, exorbitant costs, backlogs, and worker intimidation.

I was a bit disconcerted that the amendment was only tabled by a difference of 3 votes--seven democrats joined all the republicans in voting against the tabling motion--especially considering that if it had not been tabled, it likely could have derailed the entire Omnibus bill. I think this demonstrates that we still have a lot of work to do, as this is obviously not an issue divided strictly along party lines.

Despite the defeat of the Sessions amendment, the Omnibus still extends the E-Verify program until the end of FY2009.

E-Verify Is Out!

As I posted last week, immigration and labor advocates have been working nonstop to track the stimulus package in the House, Senate, and Conference to make sure that participation in the E-Verify/Basic Pilot program is not made mandatory for people receiving stimulus funds (S. 1 or H.R. 1).

Our work paid off!

The conference report released this morning confirmed that we managed to keep E-Verify out of the stimulus package. Page 135 of the report reads:

"The conference agreement does not include the following provisions proposed by the House: requirements for timely award of grants, use it or lose it requirements for grantees; set-asides for management and oversight; as these issues have been addressed, in certain circumstances, within the appropriate appropriating paragraphs. In addition, the conference agreement does not include the following provision proposed by the House: requirements regarding funding for the State of Illinois; and requirements for participation in E-Verify."

Good work friends! And if our victories over SCHIP and the E-Verify say something about the future of immigration policy, things are looking good!