During a rally for immigration reform on Tuesday, several House Representatives were arrested for blocking traffic. The Representatives, all Democrats, included John Lewis, GA; Kieth Ellison, MN; Charles Rangel, NY; Jan Schakowsky, IL; and Luis Gutierrez, IL. The rally was held on the National Mall, in spite of ‘closure’ due to the government shutdown, to urge Republican members of Congress to pass immigration reform legislation. While the Senate has passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill that could be taken up by the House, House Democrats have released their own bill. The House bill is similar to that of the Senate and, it seems, is equally unlikely of passing in the Republican-controlled House.
Colorado Voices Its Support for Comprehensive Immigration Reform
This week, more than 50 Colorado businesses and civic organizations joined together to urge Colorado representatives to vote in favor of comprehensive immigration reform. In a letter emphasizing Colorado’s unique ties to the immigrant community, the group pointed out how immigration reform will benefit Colorado’s tourism and agriculture industries by providing a steady stream of willing workers. The letter also urged immigration reform as the right thing to do for Colorado immigrant families.
Aspen’s Chamber of Commerce endorsed the letter just before U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton’s (R-Cortez) visit to the mountain town, scheduled for Friday. The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition reports that immigration activists will be on hand during Rep. Tipton’s visit to push the message home.
Immigration Reform Still on the Table for 2013
As immigration activists continue to put the pressure on the government to pass immigration reform, there have been signs that a vote on more limited immigration reform bills may occur in 2013. On Sunday, President Obama told ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” that if the Senate’s immigration reform bill were put up for a vote in the House, it would pass. While House leaders have made no indications that the Senate’s bill will be presented for vote, other immigration and border security bills may be considered by the House in 2013. In a memo to House Republicans, House Majority Leader, Eric Cantor, recently stated that the Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees have produced bills which the House may consider this fall. The Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Bob Goodlatte, also stated that he expected votes as soon as October on bills related to border security, internal enforcement, guest workers, and high-tech visas. Nevertheless, according to Mr. Cantor, it appears that any other immigration related reforms will not be considered until “we pass legislation securing our borders and providing enforcement mechanisms to our law enforcement officials.” We will continue to keep you apprised of any new developments on immigration reform.
Ken Stern to Speak on the Critical Ethical Issues of Immigration Reform
Attorney Ken Stern will be speaking to the The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at the University of Denver as part of their summer seminar series. His talk, entitled “The Real Issues behind Comprehensive Immigration Reform,” will explore the critical ethical issues and matters of principle that need to be resolved as part of our ongoing immigration debate as reflected in comprehensive immigration reform.
OLLI is an adult learning membership program designed for men and women age 50 and “better” who wish to pursue lifelong learning. OLLI members, from diverse backgrounds and professions, share the desire to stay intellectually active and engaged.
The New Reforms: What You Need to Know
Originally published in the May 20, 2013 edition of Law Week Colorado.
By Maya Wilbourn
The Senate “Gang of Eight’s” bipartisan comprehensive immigration bill, SB 744, makes great strides in fixing our current broken immigration system, which tears families apart, hurts businesses and deters the best and the brightest from staying in America. It also shows the price of compromise and the give and take that almost always accompanies a comprehensive solution to a complex problem.
Undocumented can finally get in line
The bill allows undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. before December 31, 2011 to apply to become registered provisional immigrants, or RPIs, after paying fines and back taxes. These immigrants would receive authorization to work in the U.S. and travel abroad. According to the bill, RPIs must wait 10 years and the Department of State must certify that the current immigrant visa backlogs have cleared before they could apply to become lawful permanent residents. After three years as legal permanent residents, they could apply to become naturalized citizens.
DREAMers, or those individuals who entered the U.S. before age 16, could apply to become lawful permanent residents after holding registered provisional immigrant status for five years, passing a background check, earning a high school diploma and pursuing higher education or military service. DREAMers who become legal permanent residents would be eligible to apply to become naturalized citizens immediately.
New family member restrictions
The bill would speed up the processing of immigrant visas for spouses and children of lawful permanent residents by reclassifying them as “immediate relatives.” The existing system keeps these families apart for two or more years. The bill would also allow immediate relatives to bring derivative family members and would bring back the V visa to allow certain family members to stay together while waiting for the processing of immigrant visas.
On the other hand, the bill also contains provisions restricting family-based categories including the elimination of the fourth preference category for brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens. It also limits U.S. citizens from sponsoring their married sons and daughters over age 31.
Merit-based system replaces lottery
The bill replaces the diversity visa lottery, which awards immigrant visas to individuals from countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S., with a new two-track merit-based system for permanent residency. The first track awards points to applicants for factors such as education, length of employment, type of employment, family members in the U.S. and length of residence. The second track establishes a process to eliminate the backlog of pending family-based and employment-based immigrant visas and also provides a way for people in registered provisional status to eventually become lawful permanent residents.
Employment-based system changes
The bill creates a new temporary W visa for less-skilled workers in order to stem the future flow of undocumented immigration, an important piece that was not included the last time comprehensive immigration reform was passed in 1986. The program starts with a 20,000 annual cap that can rise up to 200,000, depending on a formula and recommendations of a new federal bureau. Although the cap may not be sufficient in early years, it is the product of compromise between industry and labor unions. The bill also provides some relief to the agriculture industry by creating a new temporary agricultural worker program to replace the antiquated H-2A program and allowing certain undocumented agricultural workers to stay in the U.S. with a new “blue card.”
For H-1B professional workers, the bill increases the annual cap to a floor of 110,000 and a ceiling of 180,000, allows spouses to work and gives terminated employees a grace period. At the same time, the bill imposes new recruitment and wage requirements that are unnecessary and will result in immigrants being paid more than their U.S. citizen coworkers. There is also a restriction against the outplacement of workers, which ignores the way our economy works in many sectors.
A long needed measure for entrepreneurs is included in the bill, which creates a temporary X visa and a new category for permanent residency for immigrants investing in businesses, creating jobs and generating revenue.
The bill exempts the following permanent residency categories from annual numerical limits: employment-based first preference immigrants, doctoral degree holders, physicians who completed foreign residency requirements and employment-based derivative family members.
Additionally, the bill requires all employers to use E-Verify within five years and increases the penalties for employer noncompliance.
The time is now
As is often the case with political compromise, the Senate bill does not solve everything. But it provides a path for the undocumented, increases immigrant visa numbers, eliminates the backlog, creates more employment visa categories and allows young DREAMers to go to college. The public overwhelmingly supports immigration reform and lawmakers from both sides should keep the momentum going to pass a good bipartisan bill in 2013.
-Maya Wilbourn is a senior associate attorney with Stern & Curray. She can be reached at 303-407-4100.
Día Nacional de Acción y El Proyecto de Ley de Reforma Migratoria
 |
| Emily Assunta White en D.C. |
Una abogada de Stern & Curray, Emily Assunta White, recientemente viajó a Washington D.C. para reunirse con miembros del Congreso de Colorado acerca de la urgente necesidad de una reforma migratoria, incluso un camino a ciudadanía para las 11 a 15 millones de personas en los Estados Unidos sin estatus de inmigración legal. Emily ha asistido en años anteriores, pero informa que este año fue en gran medida el más productivo desde que cada oficina del Congreso parecía estar de acuerdo en que hay que hacer algo para arreglar nuestro sistema roto de inmigración y que debe hacerse pronto. Los informes en Capital Hill indicaron que el proyecto de ley del Senado “Gang of Eight” se introduciría esta semana y a finales de este miércoles, el proyecto de ley finalmente se introdujo.
A pesar de que la ley de inmigración del Senado (S.744) tiene más de 800 páginas, Emily ha identificado algunos de los cambios potenciales más importantes:
- Legalización para algunos inmigrantes indocumentados. Esto permitiría darle estatus legal a los inmigrantes indocumentados que entraron a los Estados Unidos antes del 31 de diciembre de 2011 mediante la creación de una categoría llamada Inmigrante Provisional Registrado (Registered Provisional Immigrant-RPI). Aquellos que son elegibles para este estatus estarían dispuestos a pagar una multa e impuestos atrasados, y se les dará autorización de trabajo y viaje. Después de 10 años como un RPI, podrían solicitar una tarjeta verde, y más tarde, la ciudadanía.
- La creación de un nuevo tipo de visa para trabajadores temporarios, llamada visas W. Un W-1 permitiría a los trabajadores menos calificados una manera de trabajar legalmente en el país, mientras que las visas W-2 y W-3tomarían el lugar del programa del trabajador agrícola H-2A.
- Los cónyuges y los hijos de residentes permanentes legítimos se considerarían parientes inmediatos, y los derivados de parientes inmediatos se permitirían. Como resultado, se eliminarían los períodos de espera de varios años para el cónyuge y los hijos de los residentes permanentes legales. La compensación consiste en que la categoría preferente basada en la familia para hermanos y hermanas de ciudadanos estadounidenses sería eliminada, significando que un ciudadano de los Estados Unidos ya no podía solicitar a un hermano.
- Estafar a sabiendas a un inmigrante, incluyendo fingiendo ser unabogado o representante de inmigración, se haría un delito.
En los próximos días, semanas y meses, sin duda, habrá muchos debates sobre lo que el proyecto de ley significará si se promulga y probablemente habrá muchas propuestas de enmiendas al proyecto de ley. Emily se quedará activa en esfuerzos de la defensa que ocurren alrededor de la legislación propuesta. Cuando haya actualizaciones significativas de la legislación o nueva información para compartir, enviará una actualización a través de nuestro boletín de noticias de la reforma de inmigración.
Los abogados de Stern & Curray también actualizarán nuestra blog y página de Facebook con frecuencia. Estén atentos para más información acerca de esta fascinante, legislación histórica.
¡Extienda la palabra y comparta este boletín de noticias con sus amigos y queridos quiénes son afectados por la reforma de inmigración!
National Day of Action and the New Immigration Reform Bill
 |
| Emily Assunta White in D.C. |
Stern & Curray attorney, Emily Assunta White, recently traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with Colorado members of Congress about the pressing need for immigration reform, including a path to citizenship for the 11 to 15 million people in the United States without lawful immigration status. Emily has attended in years past, but reports that this year was by far the most productive as every Congressional office seemed to agree that something must be done to fix our broken immigration system and that it must be done soon. Reports throughout Capitol Hill indicated that the Senate’s “Gang of Eight” bill would be introduced this week and as of late last Wednesday, the bill was finally introduced.
While the Senate immigration bill (S.744) is over 800 pages long, Emily has identified some of the most important potential changes:
- Legalization for some undocumented immigrants. The bill would give legal status to undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. before December 31, 2011 by creating a category called Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI). Those who are eligible for this status would pay a fine and any back taxes, and would be given work and travel authorization. After 10 years as an RPI, they could apply for a green card, and later, citizenship.
- Creation of a new visa type for temporary workers, called W visas. A W-1 would allow lesser-skilled workers a way to work in the country legally, while W-2 and W-3 visas would take the place of the H-2A agricultural worker program.
- Spouses and children of legal permanent residents would be considered immediate relatives, and derivatives of immediate relatives would be allowed. As a result, several year waiting periods for spouse and children of legal permanent residents would be eliminated. The tradeoff is that the family-based preference category for brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens would be eliminated, meaning that a United States citizen could no longer apply for a sibling.
- Knowingly defrauding an immigrant, including by pretending to be an attorney or immigration representative, would become a crime.
Over the next days, weeks, and months, there will no doubt be many debates about what the bill will mean if enacted and likely many proposed amendments to the bill. Emily will be staying active in advocacy efforts taking place around the proposed legislation. When there are significant updates to the legislation or new information to share, she will send an update through our immigration reform newsletter.
Stern & Curray attorneys will also be updating our blog and our Facebook page frequently. Stay tuned for more information about this exciting, historic legislation.
Will Undocumented Immigrants Finally Obtain Relief?
In the aftermath of the 2012 presidential election, the possibility of comprehensive immigration reform has been resurrected. It is important to analyze the current movement to reform our immigration system in an historical context. Important questions include: Why did the last amnesty in the 1980s not resolve this problem? How have the government and the business community contributed to the growth of illegal immigration? What other efforts have been undertaken by the Obama administration to address the situation of undocumented individuals in the absence of comprehensive reform?
The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), which became law on November 6, 1986, had three major components: legalizing undocumented workers, creating employer sanctions, and enforcing protections against citizenship-based discrimination. In addition to IRCA-based sanctions, the legacy Immigration & Naturalization Service routinely conducted work-site raids and the Social Security Administration started sending “No-Match” letters to employers if they could not verify an employee’s social security number. Over time, however, employer sanctions enforcement and work-site raids dwindled to the point of becoming almost nonexistent. This change in strategy resulted, largely, from continuing protests from one segment of our society.
Interestingly, this “hue and cry” did not come from immigrant rights groups or the ACLU; it came from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other employer groups. The 1990s was a time of prosperity in the U.S. and the need for semi-skilled and unskilled workers greatly expanded. In past times, this need was filled by new waves of immigrants. Unfortunately, IRCA did not create a mechanism to expand immigration in the face of economic need and many of these jobs were filled by undocumented workers. Consequently, companies complained that stricter enforcement measures were creating hardships for many businesses.
For many years, an unspoken truce existed whereby the federal government did not aggressively enforce employer sanctions or conduct work-site raids, while at the same time no initiatives were created to grant lawful status to the millions of undocumented workers employed in the United States. This truce ended about the time of the 2006 Congressional elections which elevated illegal immigration to a major political issue along with the highly-publicized SWIFT work-site raids. These events are sometimes referred to as the “Bunker Hill” of a new war against undocumented workers.
With the election of President Obama, immigration reform activists hoped for the introduction and passage of comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants. During President Obama’s first term, however, comprehensive immigration reform was a non-starter. Behind the scenes, though, the administration has taken a number of unilateral steps to provide some relief to undocumented workers. Starting on August 15, 2012, young undocumented individuals, often referred to as “DREAMERS” could apply for deferred action status, which allows them to remain in the United States for an initial period of two years and obtain work authorization.
On January 2, 2013, USCIS instituted a “state-side” waiver program which allows undocumented immediate relatives of U.S. citizens to apply for waivers of inadmissibility in the United States. Previously, the application had to be presented outside the U.S. and, if denied, the undocumented applicant would be unable to reenter the country thereby dividing families. This new program protects families from this draconian outcome. Despite these limited benefits, most of the estimated 12 to 15 million undocumented workers, many of whom are children, siblings, or parents of U.S. citizens, must live in the shadows, unable to obtain work authorization, driver’s licenses, or benefits despite the fact that most undocumented workers pay taxes. Although a majority of Americans now favor granting legal status to undocumented workers, opposition to such measures in Congress has allowed this untenable situation to continue.
One of the main impediments to immigration reform is the conflict between principle and practicality. Most people would agree that it is both impractical and detrimental to our country to have 10 to 15 million people, who are overwhelmingly law-abiding and hardworking, and who are closely connected to the larger community, live as an underclass in our society. The possibility of deporting all of these people or encouraging them to self-deport is quixotic at best. At the same time, many people feel that, on principle, we cannot reward people who have broken the law. This sense of principle is one of the main impediments to crafting a practical solution to this issue.
Concerns about civil liberties also punctuate this issue. For example, the government could solve the issue of illegal immigration by creating a counterfeit-proof ID card that must be used by all individuals for a number of purposes, including applying for work. Many people fear that a national ID card would give “big brother” authority to the federal government.
If the truth be told, some people are also concerned that legalization, as well as any expansion of immigration, will accelerate the process of people of color becoming the majority population in the U.S. Finally, an overarching question remains as to whether our immigration policy should serve our historical mission of welcoming the poor, the oppressed, and the “huddled masses” or whether it should be a tool for nation-building with a focus on economic growth and development. Hopefully these issues will be fully aired in the upcoming debate on comprehensive immigration reform.
Perhaps, compassion, political reality, and even a sense of duty and history, will motivate law makers to provide relief to undocumented workers in a way that also provides for the future needs of our country, including finding innovative ways to mesh the needed flow of immigration with border security, discrimination protection, and effective employer sanctions.
By: Kenneth Stern and Emily Assunta White
This article originally appeared in the March 11, 2013 edition of Law Week Colorado.
USCIS Releases Updated DACA Statistics
On July 15, 2012, the Department of Homeland Security announced a new deferred action program for certain individuals who came to the United States as children and who meet educational, continuous presence, and other key requirements. Under this program, known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, eligible individuals may request deferred action and work authorization for a period of two years, which is subject to renewal. At this time, the program does not provide applicants with legal status, it simply places them in a period of authorized stay during which any removal action is deferred.
On February 15, 2013, United States Citizenship and Immigration Service issued updated statistical data on DACA cases processedbetween August 15, 2012 and February 14, 2013. The data indicates that a total of 423,634 DACA applications have been accepted for processing, and that 199,460 applications have been approved to date. The data also ranks DACA applicants in terms of their country of origin and state of residence; the top three countries of origin among DACA applicants are Mexico, El Salvador, and Honduras, and the top three states of residences are California, Texas, and New York.
Comprehensive immigration reform may provide avenues to legal permanent residence for DACA beneficiaries in the near future. Please check our blog regularly for the latest updates on immigration reform.
Comprehensive Immigration Reform on a Fast Track?
Undocumented immigrants have waited a long time for relief. Due to the political nature of comprehensive immigration reform and Congressional deadlock, Congress has not addressed this issue in decades. Recently, the Obama administration has created some stopgap measures like deferred action for dreamers and state-side waiver processing. Interesting statements made by key Republican congresspeople suggest that the Republican Party may now be on board for comprehensive immigration reform. Our office has been contacted to make a number of presentations about comprehensive immigration reform including looking at this issue from an historical perspective. We caution our clients, however, that this process is in its earliest stages and it will take, presumably, months before there is some type of reform. Clients should therefore be aware that there are unscrupulous individuals, such as notarios, who are trying to charge people fees to file applications for comprehensive immigration reform. There are currently no applications to be filed and our office, other lawyers, and community groups, will be providing alerts regarding this issue. Stern & Curray hopes that comprehensive immigration reform is passed in the near future.