America and the immigrant-rights community have lost one of their greatest champions. Senator Edward M. Kennedy's life-long commitment to civil rights extended from African Americans to the disabled to the millions of immigrants and refugees who come to our nation in search of a better life.  In 2007, Senator Kennedy said "From Jamestown, to the Pilgrims, to the Irish, to today's workers, people have come to this country in search of opportunity. They have sought nothing more than a chance to work hard and bring a better life to themselves and their families. They come to our country with their hearts and minds full of hope."

As Washington and the rest of the country continue to reflect on the monumental legacy of the late Senator from Massachusetts, many are contemplating the enormous leadership gap left in his passing. A tireless champion of health care, civil rights, education, immigration and many other worthy causes, Senator Kennedy's first major legislative victory - eliminating the national quotas for immigration - "helped change the face of the country and shaped his own political career." But the question remains, how do we continue Sen. Kennedy's drumbeat on immigration reform?

In looking forward, it’s important to remember how Senator Kennedy actually fought for the issues he so adamantly believed in. As many recent tributes detail, Senator Kennedy’s long list of accomplishments (including authorship of more than 2,500 bills) are a tribute to his belief that one keeps moving forward, making incremental change if that is all that can be accomplished, and to “never let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”

Here is a wonderful tour of his life from USA Today.

Immigration Impact for more on this article.

Immigration Policy Center Comprehensive Immigration Reform Primer

With Federal Skilled Worker applications underway under the new Canada Immigration regulations imposed on November 28, 2008, many applicants are pleased to see that Canada is keeping its promise to expedite the processing of these applications.  Many applicants are receiving their initial determinations within only 8-10 weeks and are pleased to begin the formal application process immediately thereafter.  Canada is hungry for the Skilled Workers of the world and is expediting these applications in order to attract new immigrants globally.  It looks like the Canadian government will be meeting, if not exceeding, their processing goal of only 6-12 months, per Skilled Worker application.  If you have ever considered relocating to Canada, now is the time to determine whether you can qualify under this program."

Contact Immigration Compliance Group directly with any questions re living and working in Canada. For those of you who missed our telephone conference on the topic, you can have a listen by going to our Recent News page and pulling up the audio conferences: https://www.immigrationcompliancegroup.com/recent-news.php or contact Ellen De Witt directly and tell her you heard about her through Immigration Compliance Group: ellen@dewittimmigration.com or call 519-969-6789.

Last week’s White House meeting on immigration marked another chapter in the years-long effort to enact comprehensive immigration reform. Janet Napolitano’s invitation to more than one hundred representatives from business, labor, faith, law enforcement, and immigration groups was a genuine attempt to listen to concerns and solicit ideas. The format—large group meeting addressed by the Secretary, small group discussion led by various DHS and White House officials, summary and surprise remarks from the President—gave people a chance to say just a little, but the cumulative effect was more important than we may realize.

From the perspective of the guests, the hour or so we had to discuss four major questions was just a drop in the bucket. Everyone knew that the four topics we were asked to consider could and should receive hours of discussion each: How do you create a manageable legalization program? How do you build a fair employment verification program that respects employer and employee rights? How do you manage future legal immigration, especially employment based immigration? How do you enforce immigration laws consistent with American values and due process? At best, everyone got to make a couple of points before the hour wrapped up. But the exercise was worth it, because critical themes emerged from those points. We link to more on this.

Back to Top

In a Wall Street Journal article from August 18th, the new ICE Chief, John Morton, said that the agency is set to increase the number of companies it will audit and systematically impose fines on violators. Violations could also lead to criminal charges, he said.

On July 1st, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced an audit of employers to verify whether their employees were eligible to work.  Mr. Morton said that 654 companies are currently being audited and that many more employers will be notified soon that they also will be under scrutiny by the government.

“You are going to see audits regularly and on a larger scale,” Mr. Morton said during a two-day visit to southern California, his first since being appointed four months ago. “You will see the resuscitation of…civil fines.”

How much notice can you expect to receive if DHS wishes to inspect our I-9s? The officer will give you at least 3 days' (72 hours) advance notice before the inspection. If it is more convenient for you, you may waive the 3-day notice. You may also request an extension of time to produce the Forms I-9. The DHS or DOL officer will not need to show you a subpoena or a warrant at the time of inspection.

Failure to provide Forms I-9 for inspection is a violation of the employer sanctions laws and could result in the imposition of civil money penalties.

With the 652 Notices of Inspection sent out, it is increasingly important for businesses to be aware of the rules involving I-9 inspections or other government audits. HR, management, and whoever is the person of first contact, must all be trained on the proper procedures in case of a government audit or inspection.

The best protection in case of an audit or inspection is to have I-9 records ready for inspection at all times. This requires annual I-9 audits and regular training.

If you have not addressed your I-9 issues, we would strongly urge you to do so.  Our Employer Compliance Unit is up to speed on the law, can develop a compliance program that is tailored to your needs and your industry; we can perform onsite or offsite audits and training and can recommend electronic I-9 compliance and reporting systems with optional E-Verify interface if you’re ready to go paperless.

Are you wondering how to convert to I-9 electronic storage? You can convert your existing I-9s easily by scanning and indexing them into an electronic I-9 software program. We would be glad to assist you with recommendations concerning this. We are fans of a system that also has an optional E-Verify interface. Have a listen to our teleconference on the subject: https://www.immigrationcompliancegroup.com/July_Conference_Call.mp3

For our employer compliance services and solutions please click here.

For what may by the first time, the number of H-1B petitions withdrawn by applicants or rejected by U.S. authorities is exceeding the number of new petitions for the visas - as published in Computerworld 7/22/2009.  Particularly IT employers are finding it extremely difficult to respond to the burdensome and extensive requests for additional evidence, and are withdrawing their petitions in this season of high scrutiny and enforcement. We link to the article.

The already slow economy may be held back further from recovery if the government overreaches as it focuses on violations. While enforcement of laws and tracking violators are important, employers should not be discouraged from filing proper H-1B petitions for needed workers.

We’ve been covering this topic at Immigration Compliance Group for quite awhile.  Canada has figured out how to implement a much more user friendly immigration system to navigate than the USA.  The Immigration Impact article states, f we needed any proof that our dysfunctional immigration system inhibits our economic growth, our neighbors to the north have provided us that proof. Canada is actively exploiting, to their economic benefit, our backlogged and broken immigration system. Canada is recruiting the best and brightest American-trained foreign nationals through a streamlined immigration process. After receiving a U.S. education, these talented foreign nationals are now contributing to Canada’s economic future instead of ours.”

Congress! - it’s time to wake up so that we stop “saying goodbye” to the brightest and best! For more on this: https://immigrationimpact.com/

I’m struck how user friendly this sounds.  Some might think it’s a complete deviation from the norm for the Department of Homeland Security!  …and what an excellent idea it is. DHS describes it as follows:

The Department of Homeland Security’s Travel Redress Inquiry Program (DHS TRIP) is a single point of contact for individuals who have inquiries or seek resolution regarding difficulties they experienced during their travel screening at transportation hubs–like airports and train stations–or crossing U.S. borders, including:

• denied or delayed airline boarding

• denied or delayed entry into and exit from the U.S. at a port of entry or border checkpoint

• continuously referred to additional (secondary) screening

People who have been repeatedly identified for additional screening can file an inquiry to have erroneous information corrected in DHS systems.

How does DHS TRIP work?

DHS TRIP is the central processing point for redress inquiries. Requests received online are routed for redress to the appropriate DHS components. Components will review the request and reach a determination about a traveler’s status.

How is the information used?

The Department of Homeland Security safeguards the privacy of any personal information that you provide in your inquiry to DHS TRIP. The information that you provide will be used to process your request for redress. For more info please click here.