The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a proposed rule to remove “Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection” from the definition of “communicable disease of public health significance,” which previously barred individuals from entering the United States. According to Bernie Wolfsdorf, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), “The rationale for maintaining HIV infection as an excludable condition is no longer valid based on current medical and scientific knowledge and public health practice, and experience which has informed us on the characteristics of the virus, the modes of transmission of HIV, and the effective interventions to prevent further spread of the virus. This proposed rule will remove a discriminatory provision of immigration law that weakens families, limits employment, and stifles innovation and invention.”
AILA Welcomes Obama’s Proactive Push for Comprehensive Immigration Reform This Year
Following President Obama’s meeting today with Congressional leaders on June 25, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) applauds the President’s commitment to moving forward on comprehensive immigration reform this year. “We believe the President is firmly committed to comprehensive immigration reform and will work with Congress to act and move us forward on this vital issue,” said Bernie Wolfsdorf, president of AILA. “The President has repeatedly said he wants immigration reform passed this year. Last year’s election results, as well as survey after survey, confirm that the American people want reform, so now is time for Congress to catch up with the voters and pass a bill.”
AILA believes that a sensible comprehensive immigration reform package must include smart enforcement, a path to citizenship for the 12 million undocumented immigrants currently living and working in the U.S., elimination of family and employment-based visa backlogs, adequate visas to meet the needs of U.S. families and businesses, a new visa program for essential workers, and due process protections to restore the rule of law in our immigration adjudications and courts.
Wolfsdorf added, “The current immigration system is broken and to allow the status quo to continue will only make things worse for the country. Until Congress deals responsibly with immigration – making taxpayers out of all immigrants, making all employers follow sensible rules, and creating a functioning legal immigration system – everything else on the President’s domestic agenda is vulnerable to being dragged down.” This is the year and this is the moment for a popular President to work with Congress to address a national issue in a way that benefits the American people and our economy.
All of the attorneys at Stern & Curray LLC are members of AILA who continually monitor developments surrounding changes to our immigration laws. For questions on the latest news and developments, please contact an attorney at Stern & Curray LLC.
Attorney General, Eric Holder, Withdraws No-Right-To-Counsel Decision
On June 3, 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder withdrew the decision made by the Bush Administration’s Attorney General, Michael Mukasey, to remove the right to counsel to immigrants in deportation proceedings. This law dictated that individuals facing deportation did not have a legal or constitutional right to legal representation. Therefore, immigrants who had incompetent representation could not complain or seek help if their case failed because of unfit representation. Mr. Holder has initiated procedures to reenact the previous law where individuals can reopen their cases if they were misrepresented and lost their case.
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Starts to Heat Up
There has been a great deal of conversation about comprehensive immigration reform on Capitol Hill. Some new bills have been introduced and some Democratic senators are “bullish” on the prospect of immigration reform before the end of 2009. Other pundits have expressed the opinion that President Obama’s decision to nominate Judge Sotomayor to the Supreme Court may take the pressure off him to push for immigration reform. Stay tuned.
Supreme Court Justice Nominated
On May 26, 2009 President Barack Obama named Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace Judge David Souter on the Supreme Court. If confirmed, Judge Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic and third woman to serve on the highest court. Judge Sotomayor’s confirmation is likely given her impressive personal history of accomplishment despite unfavorable odds.
AgJOBS Re-Introduced
The Agricultural Job Opportunities Benefits Insecurity Act of 2009 also known as AgJOBS was reintroduced in the Senate and House by Senators Feinstein and Representative Burmin. This Bill is substantially similar to other agricultural immigration reform acts in that it revises the existing H-2A Temporary Foreign Agricultural Worker Program and creates a path to earned legalization for those who have worked in agriculture for certain amounts of time. AgJOBS is a Bipartisan Bill that is backed by the United Farm Workers and Mini-Agribusiness companies. Stern & Curray LLC will keep you updated on the progress of this bill, but if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to give us a call.
Victory for Employers as Government Effectively Withdraws No-Match Rule
Employers scored a major victory last week, as the government effectively withdrew the regulation that would use Social Security Administration records for immigration enforcement. Late Friday, attorneys for the government filed a motion to stay the decision on the merits of the proposed no-match rule. The motion states that the Department of Homeland Security plans to publish new rules sometime in December that it claims will address the concerns outlined by Federal Court Judge Charles Breyer in his ruling granting the injunction against enforcement of the new rule.
This is widely viewed as a victory for employers. While not conceding any deficiencies with the rule, the government has apparently recognized that the potential for harm to lawful workers and employers due to inaccuracies in the Social Security database.
This motion gives employers a chance to put their houses in order before a new rule is published. The motion is certainly not an indication that the Department of Homeland Security will cease or suspend enforcement efforts, and the new rule is expected to keep employers in a very tenuous position in staffing their businesses. Employers should utilize this brief reprieve to assess their immigration, hiring, and retention policies in light of the trend of increased worksite enforcement, so that they are as prepared as possible for the new rules in place. Our firm is actively involved in assisting employers in the area of employee verification. Employers should contact us if they are interested in improving their verification procedures, and/or conducting an audit to determine if there is any current liability.
U.S. Ratifies the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption
On November 16th, President Bush signed Congress’ ratification of the Hague Convention on International Adoption. This Convention was negotiated in 2000, and aims to prevent improper adoptions and promote the integrity of international adoptions. The U.S. will officially become a member of the Hague Convention on April 1st, 2008. As of that date, the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security will become much more involved in intercountry adoptions. The Department of State will be designated as the central authority for intercountry adoptions in the United States and will be responsible for making sure that the Convention is implemented as required. In order to implement the Convention, the Department of State will need to accredit U.S. adoption service providers, maintain a registry of adoption cases and implement a system of receiving complaints and comments about accredited adoption service providers.
IMPLEMENTATION OF SOCIAL SECURITY NO MATCH RULES DELAYED AGAIN
At a hearing on October 1, a Federal Court Judge in California extended a Temporary Restraining Order against the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration from implementing new rules on Social Security No-Match Letters. The judge said he needed 10 more days to prepare a decision in the case. In the meantime, the government cannot mail the 140,000 already-prepared letters warning employers that they could face fines if they continued to employ workers whose Social Security number and names do not match government records.
SS No-Match Letters Update
Judge issues Temporary Restraining Order for New No-Match Rules: A federal district judge in San Francisco blocked the government from implementing its new rules on Social Security No-Match letters that were due to go into effect on September 14th. In a suit filed by the AFL-CIO and the American Civil Liberties Union, the judge granted a request for a nationwide temporary restraining order that will be in effect until October 1, when another judge will hold a hearing to decide whether to issue a permanent injunction in the case. We will continue to monitor the situation and put updates on our website.