At a time when the prospects for immigration overhaul seem most dim, supporters have unleashed a secret weapon: a group of influential evangelical Christian leaders.

For more on this, read the story.

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If this is your first time visiting us, Immigration Solutions provides US and global visa services to individuals and employers throughout the USA and abroad.  We specialize in business immigration and have a depth of experience in the IT, healthcare, arts & entertainment sectors, amongst others.  We additionally provide employer compliance consulting services on proper I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) auditing, training, and work with our clients to develop compliant immigration policies and procedures.  We offer these services, as well, to government contractors and advise on FAR E-Verify enrollment and compliance issues.

The Obama administration has been holding behind-the-scenes talks to determine whether the Department of Homeland Security can unilaterally grant legal status on a mass basis to illegal immigrants, a former Bush administration official who spoke with at least three people involved in those talks told FoxNews.com on 6/21/10.

The issue was raised publicly by eight Republican senators who wrote to the White House last week to complain that they had heard the administration was readying a “Plan B” in case a comprehensive immigration reform bill cannot win enough support to clear Congress.

The White House has neither confirmed or denied this claim.  It’s unclear what section of the illegal immigrant population such a move would target. But the former Bush official said the discussions are real.

“The administration at the very minimum is studying legal ways to legalize people without having to go through any congressional debate about it,” the source said, calling the senators’ claim credible. “Whether somebody pulls the trigger on that, that’s another issue.”

The senators — Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; Orrin Hatch, R-Utah; David Vitter, R-La.; Jim Bunning, R-Ky.; Saxby Chambliss, Ga.; Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.; and James Inhofe, R-Okla  — claimed in their letter that the administration was looking at extending what is known as deferred action or parole to millions of illegal aliens in the United States.

For more on this story

In a very interesting Blog post on The Hill (the blog for Congress), Rep Dana Rohrabacher reports that the Obama administration’s reaction to Arizona’s efforts to get an untenable situation under control, has been disappointingly predictable and dismissive of the majority of the American people who support what Arizona is doing.   He further states, “At every turn this administration has attempted to vilify Arizona’s efforts to enforce the law from threats of litigation by the Justice Department to our President allowing Mexican President, Felipe Calderon, to lecture us  about our immigration laws from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.”

Rep Rohrabacher asserts that illegal immigration in the US is big business  for Mexico. After oil, the number two source of income  for Mexico is the roughly $25 billion of remittances sent back there from workers in the United States, many of whom are here illegally.

Rohrabacher blogs that one of the tactics used by the Mexican government to help maintain this revenue source is the issuance of what is known as a “Matricula Consular ID Card” to Mexican nationals who do not have proper documentation to be in this country legally. The purpose of this ID card is to help make it easier for illegals to access public services, obtain housing or open bank accounts.

According to a recent report by the Federation for Immigration Reform:

Matricula Consular ID cards — two million of which have been issued in the last two years, have drawn heated criticism because they are issued to illegal aliens who cannot access U.S.-issued identity documents. Because consular ID cards are only needed by people who aren’t legally in the U.S. in the first place, communities and businesses that accept the cards as valid ID are undermining immigration enforcement and compromising U.S. security.

Rohrabacher states that one of the tactics used by the Mexican government to help maintain this revenue source is the issuance of what is known as a “matricula consular ID card” to Mexican nationals who do not have proper documentation to be in this country legally. The purpose of this ID card is to help make it easier for illegals to access public services, obtain housing or open bank accounts.

According to a recent report by the Federation for Immigration Reform:

Matricula Consular ID Cards — two million of which have been issued in the last two years, have drawn heated criticism because they are issued to illegal aliens who cannot access U.S.-issued identity documents. Because consular ID cards are only needed by people who aren’t legally in the U.S. in the first place, communities and businesses that accept the cards as valid ID are undermining immigration enforcement and compromising U.S. security.

“There’s no way around the fact that consular ID cards are only needed by people who aren’t legally in the U.S. in the first place. Indeed, relying on the Mexican Matricula for identification is tantamount to admitting that the bearer is in the U.S. illegally, as no one here legally has a need for one.”

“The FBI and the Department of Justice say that the cards are not a reliable form of identification and pose “major criminal threats” and a “potential terrorist threat.”

For more on this story, go to the the blog link above.

The Immigration Policy Center reported today that President Obama will be meeting with Arizona Governor Jan Brewer on Thursday, June 3rd to discuss border security and Arizona’s controversial new immigration law SB 1070.  While both opponents and proponents are attempting to assess the impact the new law may have on residents of Arizona-citizens and immigrants alike, some  22 states (at last count) are considering similar legislation. Multiple lawsuits have been filed challenging the constitutionality of the law, opponents are mounting a boycott, and numerous polls show that a majority of the public both supports the Arizona law and comprehensive immigration reform.

The Immigration Policy Center has put together a Special Report on “What you Need to Know about the New Law and How it Can Impact your State”.  One of the opening statements of the Guide reads as follows:

“SB 1070 represents, among other things, a growing frustration with our broken immigration system.  Ultimately, the courts will decide the constitutionality of the law, while time will answer many questions about its impact.  In the short term, as other states contemplate copying Arizona’s version of immigration reform, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that an enforcement-only approach – whether attempted at the federal or state level – does not solve the immigration problem.”

As reported in the Washington Post 5/24/2010

Democrats crafting an overhaul of U.S. immigration laws are bringing a new approach to a long-stalled debate: giving a federal commission some power over the future flow of legal foreign workers.

Senate Democratic leaders are drafting a measure to authorize a commission to recommend levels of employment-based visas and green cards that let immigrants work legally in the United States. The plan would require Congress, in certain cases, to vote when immigrant labor is deemed out of line with demand. Although the commission would have limited influence over the skilled-immigrant market for technology and other industries, it would have a major role in regulating low-skilled foreign labor.

The commission idea originally came from Ray Marshall, Labor Secretary under President Jimmy Carter. The United States needs a nonpartisan panel that would use “rigorous” data analysis in its decisions, Marshall said in an interview.

The idea is another example of lawmakers showing a willingness to relinquish decision-making to commissions on issues that include reducing the federal debt, Iraq war policy and curbing Medicare costs.

“It’s the ultimate expression for the need for political cover,” said Ross Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University.

Legislation being drafted by Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) is expected to take a different tack, said a Schumer aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The panel they envision would have a stronger role in deciding immigrant-worker levels in lower-skilled occupations — such as hotel and restaurant jobs — than in higher-skilled ones.

We’ll see how all this plays out and will continue to report on any and all immigration reform measures.

If you’re an employer that despite your efforts to hire US workers, must rely on foreign workers to grow your business, sign this petition and send it to your representatives and then pass the link along.

Partisan haranguing took place yesterday with the Senate Democrats’ release of their version of a 26-page comprehensive immigration reform Draft for overhauling the nation’s immigration laws entitled “Conceptual Proposal for Immigration Reform“.  The Republicans immediately attacked it and criticized the Democrats for taking a partisan approach.

The draft includes a proposal to create a process to legalize an estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States and overhaul U.S. visa programs to bring foreign workers into the country to meet business needs. It also calls for a new visa class specifically for provisional workers.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the president telephoned some Republican senators this week to ask them to support immigration reform. The calls were to keep a promise he made to Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C, stating “We are going to need both Republicans and Democrats”.  However, Democratic leaders appear increasingly to be laying the groundwork to bring an all-Democratic immigration reform bill to the Senate floor.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, said lawmakers will not be intimidated by Graham’s threats to walk away from negotiating other legislation if immigration reform advances.

“I will say to him, ‘So what?’ ” she said. “We will not be intimidated by you.”

As we’ve all expected, the stage is set for quite a dramatic and compelling uphill road where immigration reform is concerned.  We will continue to report on this regularly.

President Obama on Friday strongly criticized restrictive immigration legislation pending in Arizona, calling for a federal overhaul of the nation’s laws instead.

Speaking at a naturalization ceremony for 24 active duty service members in the Rose Garden, Obama said that failure to enact immigration reforms would open the door to “irresponsibility by others. That includes, for example, the recent efforts in Arizona, which threaten to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and their communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe,” Obama said.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who faces a tough election battle and growing anger in the state over illegal immigrants, scheduled an afternoon news conference Friday to announce her decision.

The sweeping measure would make it a crime under state law to be in the country illegally. It would also require local police officers to question people about their immigration status if there is reason to suspect they are in the country illegally.

Obama indicated that he is monitoring the Arizona bill for civil rights and other implications, and said,  “If we continue to fail to act at a federal level, we will continue to see misguided efforts opening up around the country.”

Arizona has an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants and is the state with the most illegal border crossings, with the harsh, remote desert serving as the gateway for thousands of Mexicans and Central Americans.

Unfortunately — in the President’s remarks, he didn’t offer a timetable for trying to pursue an overhaul of immigration laws in Congress.  Earlier this month, the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, retreated from a promise he made to those attending an immigration rally in Las Vegas, where he had suggested Congress would start work on an immigration overhaul soon. Within days of the rally, he indicated that the Senate wouldn’t be able to take up the issue during the calendar period extending until the Memorial Day break. And it may even be a longer wait for advocates, because Congress will be tied up this summer with a Supreme Court confirmation battle heading into the midterm election cycle.

How much longer? — is the question being asked ….

For more on this

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Arizona passes Strict Immigration Act

On 4/13/10, the Arizona state House of Representatives passed a bill (S.B. 1070) directing police to determine the immigration status of non-criminals if there is a “reasonable suspicion” they are undocumented. The state Senate passed a similar measure earlier this year.

A bill creating the country’s strictest immigration stance yet has passed the Arizona House and State Senate, creating a situation where citizens will be subject to random confrontations with police regarding their immigration status.

SB 1070 calls for police to demand proof of citizenship in any situation in which “reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States.”

If you can’t present documentation of legal status, the law will allow for an automatic arrest.  Picture it — you go out for your morning run, do you take your driver’s license and your passport with you?  Didn’t think so.

But the means for demanding the documentation concerns immigrants rights groups who fear the draconian law will lead to racial profiling — specifically zeroing in on a Hispanic population that represents 30 percent of the Arizona citizenry.

For the text of the Bill

For more reading

LA Times

Immigration Impact Reports

The positive impact of Sunday’s rally on the mall for immigration reform is already in evidence.  Yesterday, after months of pressure, Senators Schumer and Graham finally released their blueprint for immigration reform and President Obama immediately pledged to help push bipartisan legislation forward. Next was Senator Reid who promised to make time for legislation on the floor this year and Senator Leahy also pledging his support. It’s hardly a coincidence that these statements all came days before the rally, which organizers predict will bring tens of thousands of people to Washington for an interfaith prayer service, three hours of speeches, and a peaceful march for change.

Cynics may ponder whether these are simply more empty promises, but that would ignore just how hard it is to get commitments from politicians on anything relating to immigration. The prospect of thousands of people calling you out on national TV has a way of focusing the political mind.

Immigration Solutions will re-visit this topic on Sunday.

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The 2 senators today released their plan to mend immigration in the Washington Post.  The announcement was praised by the President in this statement.  The Post article, authored by both senators, agrees that:

1. the system is broken
2. although our borders are more secure, there are still millions that enter the USA illegally with no way of tracking if they leave when their visas expire
3. employers are overburdened with a complex employment verification system for their workers
4. Most Americans oppose illegal immigration and support legal immigration

They further discuss continuing to hold employers accountable for the employment verification of their workforce and implementing a tamper proof ID system to decrease illegal immigration.

This is what Schumer and Graham propose and seek support on:

1. To introduce a biometric social security card to ensure that illegals cannot get jobs where each card would have its own unique identifier on the card and not in government databases.  Employers would swipe the card to confirm a person’s identify
2. Strengthen border and interior enforcement
3. Create a process for admitting temporary workers and allowing more lower skilled immigrants to come to the USA when the  economy is creating jobs and fewer in a recession.  Will also permit those who have put down roots in the USA  and succeeded in the workplace to obtain a green-card
4. Implement a path to legalization for those already here
5. Zero tolerance on gang members, felons, smugglers and terrorists and increase internal enforcement to apprehend and deport them
6. Complete an entry-exit system that tracks those that enter the USA on visas and report those who overstay to law enforcement databases
7. Increase the border patrol

The article closes with the following:

“For the 11 million immigrants already in this country illegally, we would provide a tough but fair path forward. They would be required to admit they broke the law and to pay their debt to society by performing community service and paying fines and back taxes. These people would be required to pass background checks and be proficient in English before going to the back of the line of prospective immigrants to earn the opportunity to work toward lawful permanent residence.

The American people deserve more than empty rhetoric and impractical calls for mass deportation. We urge the public and our colleagues to join our bipartisan efforts in enacting these reforms.”

We will continue to keep you informed and will report in more detail on the immigration plan in our April newsletter.

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