General information

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin No Comments

Retired General John F. Kelly Nominated as Secretary of Homeland Security

President-Elect Donald Trump announced that he is nominating retired Marine General John F. Kelly as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.  The Department of Homeland Security is one of the largest Cabinet departments in the federal government and is responsible for enforcing our nation’s immigration laws, among other responsibilities.

General Kelly is a four-star General who was most recently head of the United States Southern Command, a unified Combatant Command located within the U.S. Department of Defense responsible for operations, security, and contingency planning in the Caribbean, Central and South America.  General Kelly also served as the Assistant Commander of the First Marine Division in Iraq in 2003 and 2004 and was named the U.S. Top Commander in Iraq in 2008.  General Kelly is a widely-respected military officer whose son was killed during combat in Afghanistan in 2010.  His combination of military and southern-border experience in addition to his personal experience with the sacrifices inherent in war and combat have been suggested as leading reasons for his nomination.  In order to assume his nominated role as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security General Kelly will need to be confirmed by the Senate, where he is not expected to face much opposition.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 755 Comments

Will Detained Immigrants be Held Without Bond Hearings?

Today the United States Supreme Court hears an important case concerning the constitutionality of immigrant detention, and in particular, whether immigrants subject to lengthy detention have the opportunity for release on bond.  The case, Jennings v. Rodriguez, is a class-action lawsuit that asks the Court to consider whether detained immigrants must be afforded bond hearings with the possibility of release if they have been detained for six months or more.

In general, indefinite detention without a bond hearing is not allowed under the U.S. Constitution, and it is well established that the Fifth Amendment entitles noncitizens to due process of law in deportation proceedings.  Reno v. Flores, 507 U.S. 292 (1993).  However, under the Supreme Court precedent of Demore v. Kim, 538 U.S. 510 (2003), among other cases, and using the plenary power doctrine, the federal government has defended its ability to detain immigrants during removal proceedings for a “limited time of duration.”  Limited time of duration is undefined.

Jennings v. Rodriguez seeks to clarify this discrepancy.  The lead class representative in Jennings v. Rodriguez is 38 year-old Alejandro Rodriguez.  Mr. Rodriguez is a legal permanent residence who was brought to the United States as a child.  He was convicted of a drug possession charge which resulted in him being placed into removal proceedings.  While in proceedings he was detained for three years without a hearing.  Another class participant, an asylum-seeker who suffered torture in Ethiopia, was detained for nine months without a hearing simply because his proof of identify was deemed insufficient – a Department of Homeland Security officer found that he was not a danger to society.  Had this asylum-seeker been given a bond hearing before an immigrant judge this issue could have been presented and clarified, allowing his release.

These indefinite detentions are unjust and unacceptable.  A bond hearing to assess a noncitizen’s potential flight risk and danger to the community is one of the most basic, fundamental due process requirements for civil detention.  The argument presented in Jennings v. Rodriguez is merely calling for the opportunity to present arguments for release before an immigration judge.  This minimal due process protection should be afforded to noncitizens in civil immigration detention.

A decision from the Court on this case will not be made for several months, and at the latest, by the end of June 2017.  The outcome of Jennings v. Rodriguez will significantly impact President-elect Trump’s strategies and proposals for immigration.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 237 Comments

Join us: I-9 Roundtables

In the wake of the Presidential Election, there has been much speculation about how immigration enforcement will change in a Trump presidency. While we wait to determine the exact tenor of the incoming administration, we do know that I-9 audits remain a potential target area and a concern for employers. On Monday, USCIS released a new Form I-9, and employers will be required to use the updated form by January 22, 2017.

We invite you to join us for a free roundtable to discuss the changes to the Form I-9 as well as a conversation on best practices for completing and retaining the form.

As a reminder, fines for paperwork errors on the I-9 recently increased significantly from $110 to $1,100 per employee to $216 to $2,156 per infraction.
Follow this link for RSVP information.
Breakfast Session
January 11th from 8:30 am-9:30 am

Lunch Session
January 18th from 12:00 pm-1:00 pm

Location: 650 S. Cherry St.
Denver, CO 80246

*Room details will be sent prior to the event.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin No Comments

New Form I-9

 USCIS has announced that the new I-9 form. Below are they key takeaways you need to know now.
Important Dates:
  • New form published on November 14
  • Employers must use the updated form by January 22, 2017
  • All prior versions are invalid after January 21, 2017

Changes to the Form:

  • Electronic format is simpler to complete
  • Prompts and features designed to reduce errors

As a reminder, fines for paperwork errors on the I-9 recently increased significantly from $110 to $1,100 per employee to $216 to $2,156 per infraction.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin No Comments

Beyond Immigration Enforcement: Trump’s Plans for High-Skilled Immigration

While most of Donald Trump’s future plans for U.S. immigration law have centered on enforcement (i.e. his “10-Point Plan”), throughout the campaign he has made both vague and direct statements regarding U.S. high-skilled immigration policy under a Trump administration.

On one hand, Trump companies have often used high and low skilled visa categories to satisfy their employment needs. However, Trump has regularly attacked the H-1B program during the campaign. Beyond the many statements that he will suspend immigration from certain regions (particularly those “that export terrorism and where safe vetting cannot presently be ensured”), he has also said he will “end the use of the H-1B as a cheap labor program.” In fact, many Trump campaign events featured American workers allegedly displaced by companies that have used high-skilled visa categories to staff themselves. Moreover, within his 10-Points, Trump also stated he will “[e]nsure that a biometric entry-exit visa tracking system is fully implemented at all land, air, and sea ports.”

Given this ambiguous preview of what high-skilled immigration policy modifications lay on the horizon, when such policies will be implemented and what they will look like post January 20th is anyone’s guess.

 

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 47 Comments

Study Shows the Size of U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Workforce Has Decreased Since 2009

Despite much talk this election cycle about unauthorized workers and “illegal” immigrants, a recent study from the Pew Research Center shows that the overall number of unauthorized workers in the U.S. has not risen since the end of the recession in 2009. Instead, the number of unauthorized workers has declined in recent years.

The study, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, found that while the U.S. total workforce grew by approximately 3.5 million between 2009 and 2014, the unauthorized immigrant workforce shrank slightly, by an estimated 100,000. This relative stability comes after a period of rapid growth in the unauthorized immigrant population during the 1990s and early 2000s, which peaked prior to the beginning of the recession in 2007. Currently,  unauthorized immigrants make up approximately 5 percent of the total U.S. labor force, or approximately 8 million workers, and are primarily employed in the agriculture and construction industries. In all sectors, however, U.S-born workers outnumbered unauthorized immigrant workers.  Since then, eight states have experienced significant declines in the number of unauthorized workers in their labor force: Alabama , California, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Nevada, South Carolina and Rhode Island. Although the rhetoric may continue, the available data fails to demonstrate any influx of unauthorized immigrant workers.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 118 Comments

The Application Period for the Diversity Visa Lottery closes on November 7th

The Diversity Visa program selects 55,000 registrants at random from nations with historically low levels of immigration to the United States. Those selected are then given the opportunity to apply for Lawful Permanent Residence (a “green card”) in the U.S. The deadline for applicants to register for the 2018 Diversity Visa program is 12:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on the first Monday in November (11/07/2016). Beginning May 2, 2017, the results of the lottery will be available.

Those wishing to apply are encouraged to do so as early as possible and avoid applying in the final week of registration. Because of heavy demand for the lottery, the registration process may be significantly delayed.

Registration details and program instructions (including a list of eligible applicants) may be found here. There is no fee to register! To register for the Diversity Visa program, submit an entry at the official registration site: dvlottery.state.gov.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 34 Comments

Obama Administration Contemplating Ending For-Profit Immigration Detention Centers

In August, the Federal Government announced its decision to end the use of for-profit prisons to house federal inmates. According to a memo released by the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the DOJ based their decision primarily on the facts that the cost savings of private facilities are negligible, and such facilities failed to provide “the same level of correctional services, programs and resources.”

Immigration detention facilities house far more detainees than the private facilities the federal prison system has used. However, it remains in question what the implications of this decision will be on the federal practice of contracting with private corporations to house immigrant detainees. The Obama Administration has budgeted $2.1 billion for detention operations in 2017, a system that currently holds over 31,000 people in custody on any given day. Out of the ten largest immigration detention facilities in the United States, nine are operated by private companies, housing about two-thirds of all immigrant detainees.

Figures for how much of the detention operations budget flows to private companies have not been released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). However, federal budget data analysis by Grassroots Leadership, an Austin, Texas based non-profit organization, has found that about $1 billion a year, or half the annual budget for detention operations, went to private companies.

In late August, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Jeh Johnson, ordered a review of ways to end the use of private detention facilities. While Secretary Johnson has not taken a side on this issue, his Homeland Security Advisory Council is expected to make a recommendation by the end of November on the results of DHS’s review.

 

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin No Comments

The “Crime of Violence” Category in Immigration Law may soon be Void for Vagueness

In a 2015 case called Lynch v. Dimaya, the 9th Circuit held that 18 USC § 16(b), the statute that defines “crime of violence” for immigration purposes, to be unconstitutionally vague. The Court labeled the statue’s definition, as incorporated into INA § 101(a)(43)(F), to be vague following the Supreme Court decision in Johnson v. United States (2015). There, the Armed Career Criminal Act’s residual clause definition for “violent felony,” namely its language “involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another” had been labeled unconstitutionally vague.

Before Dimaya, the open nature of Subsection (F)’s “crime of violence” definition included many criminal convictions, and conviction with a term of imprisonment of at least one year for a crime of violence constitutes an “aggravated felony.” In the immigration context, designation of a conviction as such is often devastating to non-citizens, making their options for relief from removal few and far between. Essentially, by designating “crime of violence” as vague, the 9th Circuit narrowed the definition of which crimes can be considered aggravated felonies as crimes of violence.

The Supreme Court now seems poised to follow Johnson itself as the 9th Circuit did. Following government appeal, the Supreme Court granted a petition for writ of certiorari in Dimaya on September 29, 2016, to determine “[w]hether 18 U.S.C. 16(b), as incorporated into the Immigration and Nationality Act’s provisions governing an alien’s removal from the United States, is unconstitutionally vague. Given this development, and the Supreme Court’s recent history in Johnson, immigration practitioners and non-citizen clients may very well soon witness the jurisprudence of “crime of violence” unconstitutional vagueness expanding to the entire nation.

 

 

 

 

 

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 716 Comments

Immigration Programs Set to Expire at the End of the Month

Four immigration programs are set to expire on September 30th unless Congress chooses to reauthorize them in a spending bill for the new fiscal year. If the programs are not extended by Congress prior to September 30th, pending applications would be put on hold until the programs are reauthorized.

Conrad 30 Waiver Program

The Conrad 30 Waiver Program was created to address a severe shortage of qualified doctors in medically underserved communities across the United States. Under the program, J-1 medical doctors are able to waive the requirement that they return to their foreign residence for two years after the program’s end before applying for another immigrant or nonimmigrant visa. In turn, the J-1 medical doctors must agree to work fulltime for three years in a health care facility located in an area designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a Health Professional Shortage Area, Medically Underserved Area, or Medically Underserved Population.

EB-5 Regional Center Investor Program

The EB-5 Regional Center Investor Program allows foreign entrepreneurs to apply for permanent residency if they make a substantial investment in a designated “Regional Center.” Regional Centers are economic development agencies located in targeted employment areas, which are designated and monitored by USCIS. Normally, EB-5 applicants would be required to make an investment in a commercial enterprise which would create at least ten permanent, fulltime jobs for U.S. workers. By investing in a Regional Center, however, the investor is able to meet these requirements indirectly through the aggregated efforts of the economic development agency.

H-2B Returning Worker Program

Under the H-2B Returning Workers Program, returning H-2B temporary, non-agricultural workers are exempt from the annual H-2B cap of 66,000 visas if they had already been counted against the cap during one of the previous three years.

Non-Minister Special Immigrant Religious Workers Program

The Non-Minister Special Immigrant Religious Workers Program, under the EB-4 immigrant visa category, allows non-minister religious workers to apply for permanent residence through their employment with a bona fide, non-profit religious organization in the United States. Special Immigrant Religious workers entering as ministers would be unaffected by the expiration.

Top