The Obama administration took the battle over immigration to the Supreme Court on Friday, formally asking the justices to review a federal court decision that left in place a nationwide injunction against President Barack Obama’s sweeping initiative to grant quasi-legal status and work permits to millions of immigrants here illegally.

DAPA would grant deferred action status to those who have lived in the United States for at least 5 years and have not committed felonies or repeated misdemeanors, and have children who are US citizens or lawful permanent residents. Deferred action is not full legal status, but in this case would come with a three-year, renewable work permit and exemption from deportation. The Court will hear arguments in April and rule by June.

Read more here    From Politico here

Last October, CA was the 10th state to sign into law driver’s “permits” for undocumented immigrants. In response to an email concerning this topic and whether this would be an acceptable List B document for I-9 purposes, the OSC posted a Technical Assistance letter response a few days ago on its website.

It has been my understanding that the permits will contain language that states that they are not to be used for “federal official purposes,” and will contain a notice on the card that reads: “This license is issued only as a license to drive a motor vehicle. It does not establish eligibility for employment, voter registration, or public benefits. ”

The matter, however, is timely addressed and is a reminder to examine driver’s licenses more closely and read the fine print on the front and back. Here’s a link to the letter that was posted on Feb. 7th. You’ll see it posted under the heading “Fiscal Year 2014.”

Also, here’s an article with an example of the card being used in Illinois stating “not valid for identification” indicated  very clearly at the top of the card.

If any of our readers more recently have run across one of these cards presented during the I-9 process, please share with us.

USCIS released I-9 instructions to employers today regarding how to fill out the I-9 form for new and existing DACA employees.  There have been many questions and speculations  concerning how to handle the Form I-9 with existing employees; thus, this guidance is certainly welcomed.  We would advise you to print out the instructions and keep them for reference and attach them to either your I-9 reverifications or your new I-9 forms (whichever is appropriate based upon the instructions) for existing DACA employees.

Please note also that the DACA website has been updated with new FAQ’s, instructions offered in various languages and Filing Tips.

To review, the DACA initiative offers a two year grant of reprieve from deportation as well as work authorization for unauthorized immigrants who were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012 and who can demonstrate that they meet the following criteria:

• Entered the United States before the age of 16
• Have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007 and up to
the present time, and were physically present on June 15, 2012 and at the time
of application
• Are currently in school, have graduated from high school or earned a GED, or
are honorably discharged veterans of the US armed forces (including the Coast
Guard)
• Have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, or three or more
misdemeanors; or otherwise pose a threat to public safety or national security
• Entered the country illegally or overstayed their visa prior to June 15, 2012.

You might wish to refer to our previous blog post on DACA and sign up to receive our free newsletters, blog posts and I-9 information and updates.

By:  Timothy Sutton, Communications Editor

Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! is a comedic quiz program on NPR, testing listener’s knowledge of current events against some of the best and brightest in the news world. While figuring out what’s real news versus what’s made up, the show’s host presents a scenario to the contestant to determine if the scenario is fact or fiction. If you weren’t tuned into C-SPAN, you may have legitimately mistaken the House oversight committee’s interview, of the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Janet Napolitano, as the latest episode of Wait Wait.

In this episode, members of the Congressional oversight committee rapidly fired questions at Napolitano, cutting short her responses, attempting to validate their “real news,” as something more than “made up.” The result, a trial like inquisition reminiscent of the famous scene between Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson from A Few Good Men, with Napolitano ceremoniously remarking “you can’t handle the truth!” In reality, with grace and imperturbable resolve, Napolitano slowly roasted over the House Committee’s rotisserie.

Attacks upon the DHS Secretary by Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX), Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Conyers (D-MI), and many more; indicated summary judgment has been rendered against the DHS for their approach to immigration enforcement, particularly in the areas of: visa overstays, boarder security, and deferred action. The business community should take note; Napolitano’s significant immigration reforms have yet to satisfy Congressional discontent. Looking forward, expect tighter regulation of business immigration under the guise of immigration overhaul.

Here are some DHS immigration reform highlights Napolitano submitted to Congress:

• Current DHS immigration reform focuses resources on repeat immigration law violators
• Numerous improvements were made to welcome business people…staying true to our history as a nation of immigrants
• Deterring Employment of Aliens not authorized to work by:

1. Eliminating high-profile raids and focusing on compliance through criminal prosecution of egregious employer violators, Form I-9 inspections, civil fines, and debarment
2. Since 2009, ICE audited more the 8,079 employers, debarred 726 companies, and imposed $87.9 million in financial sanctions

• Educated the business population through instituting:

1. E-Verify with more than 385,000 participants
2. E-Verify self-check

• Improving Legal Immigration:

1. Streamlining path for EB-5 entrepreneurs and clarifying the EB-2 classification
2. Instituted Entrepreneurs in Residence program and proposed regulatory changes in the Federal Register in April 2012 to minimize delays of family based immigration petitions
3. Reduced processing of benefit requests through Electronic Immigration System of Registration (ELIS)
4. Implemented “Study in the States” initiative to attract international students through a streamlined visa process

• Comprehensive Immigration Reform:

1. Supporting the Supreme Court’s decision on Section 2(B) of S.B. 1070

Napolitano capped off her remarks on immigration stating, “only a nationwide solution will resolve the challenges posed by the current immigration system.”

Despite the Congress clearly conveying their message to DHS, “Wait wait, don’t tell me, you think you’re doing a good job…” Napolitano’s focus on streamlining existing immigration policies is positive news for US businesses. Until the promise of streamlining comes to fruition, removing your business from the auditing radar, enrolling in E-Verify, and becoming Form I-9 compliant remain immigration best practices.

If you can handle the truth about current immigration policies, subscribe to our blog and stay informed by checking out our I-9 Employer Resource Center and join our LinkedIn Group.