support for immigration reform

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Immigration Lottery Hurting STEM Fields

U.S. immigration policy, especially the quota on H-1B visas, is preventing IT, biotechnology, and engineering companies from hiring the best and brightest professionals even in the face of increasing shortages of qualified workers in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.  According to reports from many sources, there are an ever increasing number of new STEM jobs being created in the U.S. and the competition to fill these jobs is fierce.  Many companies, particularly in the software and mining industries, are having an increasingly difficult time filling open STEM positions.

Nissa Szabo, Industry Affairs Manager of the Colorado Technology Association is well aware of this problem, “In Denver the unemployment rate in the IT and high tech sectors is less than 1%. A lack of available talent poses a major challenge to our members in terms of growing their businesses.”

Many of the news reports on this subject do not make the connection between the critical shortages in STEM positions and U.S. immigration policy.  It is estimated that approximately 50% of individuals pursuing advanced degrees at American universities are foreign students.  Accordingly, half of the available talent being turned out by U.S. educational institutions will need work authorization, usually H-1B visas, to fill open STEM positions.  Unfortunately, U.S. immigration law only allows for 85,000 H-1B visas each year.  During recessionary times, these 85,000 visas would last for six to eight months of a given fiscal year.  Last year, by contrast, on the first week that H-1B visas were available USCIS received almost twice the number of applicants as available visas, and, therefore, established a computerized lottery for determining which applications would receive increasingly valuable H-1B “numbers.”  As a result, approximately half of the applicants who qualified for H-1B status were turned away and many of these deserving candidates had no other option for obtaining work authorization. Given the continuing economic recovery, it is quite possible that USCIS could receive a higher number of petitions when it starts accepting new H-1B applications on April 1, 2014 for the next fiscal year.

As immigration lawyers, we therefore must advise our corporate clients that, notwithstanding the fact that they have engaged in a long and expensive recruitment effort and have found the perfect candidate,  they will have a 50% chance, or less of actually being able to employ their candidate in H-1B status.  In many cases, the individual has already started working for the company as part of their student visa practical training and are already making sizeable contributions.  Should the employer lose the H-1B lottery, it will need to terminate the productive employee. Some commentators describe the U.S. employment-based immigration system as the last bastion of Soviet-style economic planning where the government tells companies who they can and cannot hire.

Unfortunately, the push for comprehensive immigration reform has stalled (hopefully not died) in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill passed by the Senate, if it became law, would almost double the number of H-1B visas available to American employers. In addition, the bill provides that H-1B numbers could be increased further based on changing economic conditions. The Senate bill also includes provisions to protect against the abusive or fraudulent use of H-1B visas. These provisions represent a reasonable compromise between many different stakeholders and would make great strides in addressing the problems described in this article. Ms. Szabo of CTA agrees: “comprehensive immigration reform would be a major piece in solving the talent dilemma facing CTA’s members.”

At this critical point in time, it is important for attorneys to urge their corporate clients to “weigh in” on this important issue so that comprehensive immigration reform can move forward, more H-1B visas can be made available, and U.S. companies can have the freedom to select and employ the professionals of their choice.

This article by Senior Partner, Ken Stern,  was originally published on January 6, 2014 in Vol. 12,  No.1 of Law Week Colorado.

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House Democrats Arrested During Rally For Immigration Reform

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.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 79 Comments

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.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 80 Comments

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.

by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 612 Comments

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.
by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 703 Comments

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.
by SCwpadmin SCwpadmin 32 Comments

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.

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Immigration Reform in 2013?

The 2012 election put the spotlight on immigration reform.  The candidates’ contrasting positions on immigration policy was highlighted throughout the presidential campaigns and the results of the Presidential Election have been attributed in part to how those positions influenced voter turnout and the margin in favor of President Obama.  In the wake of the election, many are waiting to see whether immigration reform will remain a priority of the White House and a commitment of Congress.    


There are early signs that although the “fiscal cliff” is the immediate priority, immigration reform remains a key issue to be tackled in the coming months. At a news conference the week after the election, President Obama said he expects Congress to propose a comprehensive immigration reform bill in early 2013.  There have also been encouraging signs that Congress is committed to taking action on meaningful immigration reform.  A day after the election, Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner (R) told ABC News that he was confident Congress could work with the White House on a comprehensive immigration solution.  An encouraging sign that needed bipartisanship for immigration reform may be present also include post-election statements from top Republicans affirming that the party needs to move forward on immigration reform. 

Taking a cue from poll results collected a day after the election that showed majority support for immigration reform, including wanting to see undocumented people in the United States provided with a “path to citizenship,” is a smart move for both parties.  But while the reality of votes and election demographics is undoubtedly a significant motivator for bipartisanship on immigration reform, both parties’ ideological underpinnings provide independent reasons to enact reform. Now, we all hold our breathe to see if, and how, the two parties will work out a compromise in 2013 that repairs our broken immigration system.  

 

 

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