Today we participated in a very informative conference sponsored by the Immigration Policy Center, the research division of the American Immigration Law Foundation, where they introduced a Special Report that addresses what’s wrong with our immigration system and how to fix it.

This special report looks at the impact our outdated and inefficient immigration system is having on our nation and discusses the failures of the system under two broad categories: structural failure and inadequate responses.

“We are embarking on a new round of immigration reform debates and to accomplish genuine reform, we must understand that immigration is about more than the 11-12 million people living without status in our country” said Mary Giovagnoli, Director of the Immigration Policy Center. “That group is a symptom of our failure to create an immigration system that works for the needs of America. It is time to shift the terms of the debate. We need to begin a discussion about what living without a functional immigration system has done to our nation over the last 20 years. We need to begin to ask the question: how is it in all our interests to reform immigration?”

We link to the Report above and encourage your comments

Assistant Secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) John Morton announced standardized Memorandums of Agreement (MOAs) with 67 state and local law enforcement agencies to participate in 287(g) partnerships-improving public safety by prioritizing criminal aliens who are a threat to local communities, ensuring consistent and uniform policies and providing a force multiplier for ICE’s immigration enforcement efforts across the country.

The media has been all over this story as it concerns the Maricopa County Sheriff Arpaio meltdown when the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano ordered him to stop arresting suspects based solely on the fact that they are illegal aliens. The Arizona sheriff who has been called the “toughest” in America, defiantly said he will continue his sweeps which have netted thousands of illegal aliens. He says that he can still operate within the law, under Arizona human smuggling laws – and told reporters, “it’s all politics”.

The new ICE partnerships include the Jail Model, in which local law enforcement agencies designate Jail Enforcement Officers to identify aliens already incarcerated within their detention facilities who are eligible for removal, as well as the Federal Task Force Model, in which agencies designate officers to work with Federal agents in locating, processing and removing criminal aliens from the United States.

• 55 agreements have been signed by ICE and the partnering agency;
• 12 agreements have been reached and await approval by the local jurisdiction’s supervisory authority; and
• Six agreements have negotiations underway.
• Six jurisdictions did not re-sign the new 287(g) agreement or withdrew during negotiations for a variety of reasons, including implementation of the Secure Communities program, budgetary constraints and limited program utilization.

We link to the ICE News Release for more on this story.

We’ve had several blog posts on the reverse brain drain issue.  This is a very interesting post that we found on TechCrunch today by Vivek Wadhwa, an entrepreneur turned academic who is a Visiting Scholar at UC-Berkeley, Senior Research Associate at Harvard Law School and Executive in Residence at Duke University.  The writer expresses concerns as to what is occurring in the IT sector today and why the brightest and the best are deciding not to put down roots in the USA.

Vivek spent Columbus Day in Silicon Valley meeting a roomful of new Indian arrivals to the USA. The event was organized by Think India Foundation, a think tank that seeks to solve problems that Indians face.

When introducing the topic of skilled immigration, the discussion moderator, Sand Hill Group founder M.R. Rangaswami asked the obvious question. How many planned to return to India?  He was shocked to see more than three-quarters of the audience raise their hands.  One has to ask why would such talented people voluntarily leave Silicon Valley, a place that remains the hottest hotbed of technology innovation on Earth? Or to leave other promising locales such as New York City, Boston and the Research Triangle area of North Carolina?

What they learned was that the average age of the Indian returnees was 30 and the Chinese was 33. They were really well educated: 51% of the Chinese held masters degrees and 41% had PhDs. Among Indians, 66% held a masters and 12% had PhDs. These degrees were mostly in management, technology, and science. Clearly these returnees are in the U.S. population’s educational top tier—precisely the kind of people who can make the greatest contribution to an economy’s innovation and growth. And it isn’t just new immigrants who are returning home, we learned. Some 27% of the Indians and 34% of the Chinese had permanent resident status or were U.S. citizens. That’s right—it’s not just about green cards.

We link to a letter co-authored by the Semiconductor Industry of America (SIA) and the Industry of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) to the Congressional Subcommittee on Immigration.  The letter calls for sensible immigration reform – reforming quotas to match industry needs – reducing the ever-growing visa wait times for green-cards for skilled worker.

A Compliance Review Report was recently released in support of the Administrative Site Visit Verification Program to assist inspectors. The report outlines the  type of information USCIS is seeking when site visits are conducted.  We note that if an individual requests the presence of an attorney, and an attorney is not immediately available, the site visit is terminated.  Remember, a subpena is not required by the FDNS in order to complete an inspection because USCIS governs the fling of immigration petitions, and the government is permitted to take testimony and conduct broad investigations relating to pending petitions.

The inspectors are looking at the overall appearance of the facility, whether or not there was a representative of authority available to speak with them, whether or not the facility appears to be a legitimate business – and more.  We link to the Report and to an AILA Practice Pointer Article about FDNS (The Office of Fraud, Detection and National Security).

Please feel free to contact Immigration Solutions with any questions if you require assistance with work site compliance of any kind.

At a rally Oct. 13th on the west lawn of the United States Capitol, U.S. Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL) addressed a crowd of thousands who demanded change to our nation’s broken immigration system. Rep. Gutierrez’ address responded to a recent call from the immigration advocacy community to introduce comprehensive immigration reform in the House of Representatives. Rep. Gutierrez has been actively talking to advocacy and civil rights groups, faith-based groups, labor groups and his colleagues on the Hill to identify the most essential components of such a comprehensive bill. Today, he presented a broad outline of those core principles.

In a statement Rep. Gutierrez said, “We simply cannot wait any longer for a bill that keeps our families together, protects our workers and allows a pathway to legalization for those who have earned it.  It is time we had a workable plan making its way through congress that recognizes the vast contributions of immigrants to this country and honors the American Dream.  I am preparing such a plan, and will introduce  it in the near future.  It will include the following core principles”:  A pathway to legalization, effective border enforcement, humane interior enforcement, protects workers, verifies employment, addresses family unit, Ag Jobs, Dream Act, establishes a future flow of foreign workers that is fair to employers and workers, and promotes immigrant integration. For more, we link to the Press Release

Other rallies took place across the country as well, demanding that Congress enact a broad and humane solution to fix the nation’s broken immigration system. Families, spiritual leaders, and community members gathered to encourage members of Congress and the Obama administration to follow in Rep. Luis Gutierrez’s (D-IL) footsteps and make family unity, workers’ rights, and a commitment to workable solutions fundamental parts of their collective vision for comprehensive immigration reform.

“Immigrants are an integral part of the fabric of American society,” said Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center. “For too long, the flawed and ineffective immigration system has kept them apart from loved ones and made it difficult for them to fully participate in the communities they live and work in.”

The complete title of this study is “Breaking the Immigration Stalemate: From Deep Disagreements to Constructive Proposals”.  The study was done by The Brookings-Duke Immigration Policy Roundtable at Duke University.  They describe themselves as an interdisciplinary “think and do” tank committed to understanding and addressing real-world ethical challenges facing individuals, organizations and societies worldwide.

This is an excellent study that in the end, they feel they were able to agree on a set of recommendations that address the most vexing and controversial issues stymieing immigration reform.

The study proposes 6 policy changes. These changes include emphasizing enforcement at the workplace, setting standards for the legalization of illegal immigrants and establishing an independent Standing Commission on Immigration.

The October 6 event featured the release of the Roundtable’s report and a discussion of the proposals and the potential pitfalls to achieving them. The report is the result of months of deliberation by the Roundtable, a joint project of the Brookings Institution and the Kenan Institute for Ethics. Roundtable members represent a broad spectrum of conflicting views from across the “pro-immigration” and “restrictionist” divide, but have nonetheless come together in support of this single set of recommendations.

We link to the Summary of this report, and for more reading with full audio of the event go here.

A memo by Marcy M. Forman, Director, Office of Investigations at ICE, for Assistant Director, Deputy Assistant Directors and Special Agents in Charge, outlines ICE’s new Worksite Enforcement Strategy.

We additionally link to an accompanying ICE Fact Sheet and an Overview of Worksite Enforcement.

Immigration Impact reports today, the United States Supreme Court opens its October session. Among the cases it will hear this term, two may have a significant effect on immigrants. The first case involves the intersection of the criminal justice system and immigration and the important role that lawyers play in safeguarding the rights of immigrants. The second case deals with immigrants’ access to federal court review—review which provides necessary oversight of government decision-making in immigration cases. These cases present the Supreme Court with opportunities to reaffirm that immigrants must be afforded fair process and a meaningful opportunity to be heard.

For a summary of the cases, refer to the above link.

Today, the New York Times reports that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, USCIS, within the Department of Homeland Security is taking steps to prepare to process the visa applications that would be generated if comprehensive immigration reform with a broad legalization component passes the Congress in the next year. Referring to the expected surge in processing, USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas told the Times, “We are under way to prepare for that.” The following is a statement by Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, a non-partisan, non-profit pro-immigrant advocacy organization in Washington.

The federal government is gearing up to process immigrants into the legal system and onto the tax rolls, which means the Obama Administration is serious about aligning itself to fight for immigration reform before Congress faces voters again in 2010.

We know that lawmakers in the House and Senate are developing legislative proposals and we know the commitment of Democratic leaders and the President to moving reform forward. Just last week, 111 Democrats in the House wrote to President Obama requesting immigration reform action this year. So we feel confident that a comprehensive immigration package will be unveiled this fall and will move forward early next year.

For additional info.

Newspapers are reporting today that during the official Q&A session following the  Chicago bid for the Olympic Games, I.O.C. member, Syed Shahid Ali, from  Pakistan , asked President Obama how smooth it would be for foreigners to enter the United States for the Olympic Games because doing so can sometimes be “a rather harrowing experience.”

While this I.O.C. member’s concerns raise a red flag about the need for a change in our immigration
policies, a litany of voices have been warning for years that the  U.S. is slowly adopting an anti-visitor policy that is harming business, higher education and families. Stories in the press and report after report have all highlighted how our broken immigration system is hampering our nation’s ability to attract the best and the brightest and stay competitive with other nations around the world.  For more on this