http://www.bibdaily.com/ Bender's Immigration Bulletin -- Immigration Law News en-us "A News 8 investigation found that hundreds of aircraft mechanics have been brought into the United States to work at aircraft repair facilities. Insiders say the companies that are importing the mechanics are so eager to save money, they’re overstating their qualifications. The result may be a threat to safety, abetted by lax enforcement of immigration law." WFAA, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Immigration authorities have postponed for one year the deportation of Walter Lara, an immigrant from Argentina who said he had come to the United States illegally with his parents when he was 3, officials said. Mr. Lara, an honors graduate of high school and community college in Miami, was the focus of a campaign by supporters of proposed legislation known as the Dream Act, which would grant legal status to young illegal immigrants who have lived for years in the United States." New York Times, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Foreign nationals caught using fraudulent documents to enter the country through the San Luis port of entry are now being prosecuted for identity theft. Since January, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has initiated a zero-tolerance policy targeting those who use false identification to cross the border." Yuma Sun, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Republican voters ... overwhelmingly support comprehensive immigration reform, reject enforcement-only approaches and believe that comprehensive reform will help the economy." America's Voice, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "[L]andscaping businesses, a construction company, and a retail company - were given three business days to turn over the employment-eligibility forms, known as I-9s, for all present and past employees, Pace said. The businesses were also told to turn over other employment records." Arizona Republic, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "In its ruling, the 9th Circuit expressed concern about blaming a petitioner for delays caused by administrative agencies. Similar issues were raised in recent rulings by the 2d and 7th circuits, both of which sided with petitioners. "Here, the [judge] abused her discretion by failing to provide any explanation for her decision, and failing to take into account any of the facts and circumstances of Ahmed's case that were relevant to the grant or denial of a continuance," Judge David R. Thompson wrote for the 9th Circuit panel." NLJ, July 6, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com Ann Allott of Allott Immigration Firm, author of the first employer guide on the new Form I-9 published this year by LexisNexis Matthew Bender, said the increased focus on employers is proof that the Obama administration is delivering on the president’s promise to hold businesses accountable for their hiring practices. http://www.bibdaily.com "Citizens delivered by midwives along the U.S.-Mexico border will get to reapply for passports for free under a tentative settlement with the State Department over stalled applications. U.S. District Judge Randy Crane gave preliminary agreement Wednesday to the settlement. He also gave the lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and an immigration attorney preliminary class action status." AP, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "A new national survey confirms our most recent polls that the majority of Americans support comprehensive immigration reform. But what's most interesting about this polling data from the Benenson Strategy Group is that 62 percent of Republicans polled say that illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay and apply for citizenship." Houston Chronicle, July 3, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "It is a milestone in any nation’s life when leaving becomes a choice, not a necessity." Anand Giridharadas, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com Defendant arranged marriages between foreign nationals and U.S. citizens for a fee. ICE, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "A telephone survey of Arizona high school students by the conservative Goldwater Institute found that appallingly few could pass the U.S. citizenship test that immigrants must take to become naturalized citizens." Arizona Daily Star, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com ICE is cracking down. LexisNexis Matthew Bender has a resource, the Immigration Enforcement: I-9 Compliance Handbook, by Ann Allott, Dan Kowalski and Camille Griffin. http://www.bibdaily.com "Seeking to inject their views into the revived debate over immigration overhaul, several big-city police chiefs urged Congress on Wednesday to draft a new policy that improves public safety by bringing illegal immigrants out of the shadows." New York Times, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and the blogosphere have been buzzing over the past 48 hours, as thousands of grassroots activists and Congressional leaders contacted the Department of Homeland Security to stop the deportation of Walter Lara, a 23 year-old honor student facing deportation this Independence Day weekend. Today, Walter Lara was granted a one year stay of his deportation." SEIU, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is proposing to revise the Part 34 regulation to remove ‘‘Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection’’ from the definition of ‘‘communicable disease of public health significance.’’" Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 126 / Thursday, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "The Department of Homeland Security delivered good news just in time for the Fourth of July weekend to a Central Florida man who was facing deportation because he had been brought illegally to the U.S. as a child. Walter Lara found out Thursday that he was getting a one-year deferral on his order to leave the country, buying him, his advocates and supporters time to pursue his legalization, either through a private bill that has already been introduced or through a larger immigration reform bill pending in Congress." Orlando Sentinel, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "The Obama administration announced a crackdown Wednesday on hundreds of companies suspected of employing illegal immigrants, signaling a shift in strategy: going after employers instead of workers." WSJ, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Federal officials Wednesday notified more than 650 businesses around the country, including nearly 50 in Los Angeles, that their records will be audited as part of a widening effort to find companies that hire illegal immigrants." Los Angeles Times, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Five immigrant rights organizations have filed a petition asking the Department of Justice to begin an official rulemaking to permit immigration judges to appoint counsel in certain cases." BLT, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com By Kathy Brady, Immigrant Legal Resource Center. This is a preliminary advisory on the Supreme Court’s decision in Nijhawan v. Holder, 557 U.S.__ (2009), 2009 U.S. LEXIS 4320, 2009 WL 1650187 (June 15, 2009). http://www.bibdaily.com "[W]e hold that the theft of an automobile under the California grand theft statute is not a “crime of violence” under 18 U.S.C. § 16(b)." Nguyen v. Holder, July 2, 2009. [Hats off to Ron Kaplovitz!] http://www.bibdaily.com " Top law enforcement officials from across the country are urging their colleagues to build trust -- not fear -- among immigrant communities. The group, which included Miami police Chief John Timoney, argued that undocumented migrants, in particular, often refuse to report crime -- both as victims and as witnesses - because they fear being deported. Although police agencies do not regularly enforce federal immigration laws, some agencies have chosen to report people, causing deportations and subsequent backlashes from immigrant communities." Miami Herald, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "The Obama Administration is proposing a policy change that would effectively lift a ban on HIV-positive visitors from entering the United States." Seattle Times, June 30, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Whereas Mukasey wielded a sledge hammer, Holder has opted for a tuning fork, sounding out the stakeholders both within the affected government agencies and among the private immigration bar and advocacy community. Holder’s fair-minded, constructive approach affords all parties an opportunity to recommend what a modified framework for raising ineffective assistance of counsel claims should look like." Thomas K. Ragland, June 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Maira Estela Zelaya died in the Arizona desert on Monday, June 15, trying to get home to her family in Des Moines. If the politicians in Washington had put in place long-overdue immigration reforms, perhaps now she would be with her mother, brothers and other relatives, who talk about how she loved to cook and take care of them. Instead, they held her funeral last Thursday at Trinity United Methodist Church and buried her in Highland Memory Gardens Cemetery." Linda Lantor Fandel, June 30, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com WASHINGTON - "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is launching a bold, new audit initiative today by issuing Notices of Inspection (NOIs) to 652 businesses nationwide - which is more than ICE issued throughout all of last fiscal year. The notices alert business owners that ICE will be inspecting their hiring records to determine whether or not they are complying with employment eligibility verification laws and regulations." ICE, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "A former US government official in Iraq, Johnson, 28, has spent the last two years trying to save Iraqis who worked for the United States as interpreters, embassy workers, subcontractors, and in other jobs, and as a result were forced into hiding, tortured, raped, or killed by insurgents and militia." Boston Globe, June 30, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "A broad three-year Justice Department project to make the Immigrations Courts fairer and more effective has not achieved many of its specific goals, according to a point-by-point analysis by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). The partial failure of the ambitious project started by the Bush Administration in August 2006 leaves many problems for the Obama Administration and Congress to confront. The TRAC analysis examines each of the 22 steps that former Attorney General Gonzales listed in his program to improve the operations of the special court and judges -- which of them have been completed and which have not." TRAC, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "American Apparel, Inc. (NYSE Amex: APP) announced that it received notice from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) that ICE has been unable to verify the employment eligibility of approximately 200 current American Apparel employees because of discrepancies in these employees’ records. Additionally, ICE notified the Company that based upon its review of government databases, approximately 1,600 other current employees of the Company do not appear to be authorized to work in the United States." Business Wire, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "He was born on the Fourth of July, an irony he would only appreciate later, during the dark period of his life, when liberty and freedom became far more than mere words in his high school history book. Daniel Guadron has been fighting the odds all his young life, mostly as a happy warrior, winning admirers and supporters at every turn. It's not just that he excelled in school: The straight-A student mastered English within months of emigrating from Guatemala at 13, then mastered French. He's aced every math test he has ever taken." AP, June 30, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com Deming, N.M. – "U.S. Border Patrol agents in Deming located a tourist from California after he became disoriented and lost in the vast New Mexico desert. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Deming station were notified that someone had set off an Emergency Rescue Beacon. Agents responded to the distress call and, within minutes, were able to locate the individual. The individual identified himself as a United States citizen from California who was traveling through the area when he became confused and subsequently lost." http://www.bibdaily.com "Plaintiffs seek to preliminarily enjoin Defendants from temporarily substituting a regulation that governs the short-term employment of nonimmigrant agricultural workers. (Id.) Plaintiffs allege that the Department of Labor (“DOL”) “suspended” a rule and (re)imposed a new rule without following the requisite procedures for “rule making” as set forth in the Administrative Procedures Act (“APA”), 5 U.S.C. §§ 553 and 701. The court notes that it has not been required to, nor has it attempted to evaluate the substantive merits of any of administrative rules or regulations. The scope of review the court applies to administrative actions is narrow, and “a court is not to substitute its judgment for that of the agency.” Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Ass’n of the U.S., Inc. v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 463 U.S. 29, 43 (1983). In accordance with this standard, the court has evaluated Plaintiffs’ motion and the process by which the DOL formulated the rule at issue in this case. For the reasons set forth herein, Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction (Doc. 2) will be granted." North Carolina Growers' Assn. v. Solis, M.D. N.C., June 29, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "I used to think, 'Why don't they just get a visa and come here legally?' " Bischoff said of illegal immigrants. "Now, after going through the endless process of paperwork and extreme cost and still not being guaranteed you'll get approval, I understand why." http://www.bibdaily.com "His mother isn't in the picture. His illegal immigrant father was deported. Now, the 13-year-old waits for a Georgia court to decide his fate. Among the options: keeping the boy in the only country he's ever lived in, but as a ward of the state, or sending him to his father in Guatemala, a country he's never seen. It's a tangled case that defies easy solutions. The boy is a U.S. citizen and says he wants to stay in his native country. His father, a bus driver without regular work, says he would gladly take his child — though he agrees the boy would be better off in the U.S." AP, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "A visa program that lets foreigners invest their way into permanent residency is getting a new lease on life, thanks to the recession and tight credit." Florida Trend, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "NIJC, CLINIC, NWIRP, NIF, and the BC law clinic filed a Petition for Rulemaking today, asking EOIR to begin rulemaking to permit Immigration Judges to appoint counsel in certain circumstances." NIJC, June 30, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "[T]his kind of racism is the new, 21st century grandchild of the hatred once publicly directed at blacks." http://www.bibdaily.com "Attorney General Eric Holder announced today the appointment of Brian M. O’Leary as the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s (EOIR) Chief Immigration Judge." USDOJ, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement believes that about one-third of American Apparel Inc.'s Los Angeles work force isn't eligible to work in the country. ICE said 1,600 employees appear not to be authorized to work in the U.S., American Apparel disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late Tuesday. Those employees appear to have obtained employment by providing documentation which ICE believes to be suspect and not valid, American Apparel said." WSJ, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "He's a Pakistani immigrant who helped the United States in the war on terror, but now the U.S. government wants to deport him." Anna Werner, June 30, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Immigration officers are investigating workplaces in every state in the U.S. to check whether they are hiring illegal workers. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told members of Congress in an e-mail Wednesday morning that it is beginning audits of documents that employees fill out when they are hired. The documents are known as I-9's." AP, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Starting today, South Carolina’s largest businesses will be subject to random audits of their employment documents as part of a crackdown on hiring illegal immigrants. The S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation will focus its attention on businesses that typically hire immigrant workers, said Jim Knight, a department spokesman. “For instance, you can be pretty sure construction and landscaping will be on that list for audits,” Knight said." The State, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "A new law aimed at preventing the trafficking of children into the United States is having a major impact on when and how those children are returned to their families." Arizona Daily Star, June 30, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "The BIA’s finding that Men was not credible because she was unable to explain why the police had not designated specific dates for her to report back to the police after they released her from detention, its finding that Men was not credible because she was able to travel twice to Beijing while under government surveillance, and its demeanor finding that Men did not display adequate emotion when describing her harassment and detention are based on improper speculation and conjecture." Men v. Holder, June 29, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "[W]e find that Shi was denied a full and fair hearing due to the IJ's obvious bias. Throughout the hearing, IJ Anna Ho badgered Shi with loaded, pejorative questions and effectively abandoned her role as a neutral fact finder." Shi v. Holder, June 26, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "This removal proceeding, involving a claim for cancellation of removal pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(b), has gone on far too long. The record reflects delays, late filings, and the failure to present proper documentation on the part of lawyer after lawyer." Moya-Garcia v. Holder, June 29, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Rivera ... said the tone of the immigration debate has had serious consequences for Hispanics. “We have created a slanderous condition and environment in our country, where the 46 million of us who have Latino roots now feel beleaguered, now feel besieged, now feel as if we are ‘the other,’ ” he said." Houston Chronicle, June 30, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "The BIA’s rejection of Chen’s argument provides no indication that the agency applied the standards articulated in its own case law when it determined that “over-birth” children in China do not constitute a particular social group under the asylum statute. ... If the BIA determines on remand that Chen’s claim fails, it should explain why “over-birth children” do not constitute a “social group,” or why the hardships Chen alleges she faced had no nexus to or were not motivated at least in part by her membership in that group." Chen v. Holder, June 29, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Walter Lara is an honor student who has lived in the U.S. since his parents brought him here from Argentina when he was just 3 years old. Almost 20 years later, Walter is set to be deported this July 4th weekend." SEIU, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "U.S. Senator Bill Nelson has drafted a letter on Walter's behalf to Sec. Napolitano requesting that they defer action on Walter's deportation because "he has earned the chance to live and work here and call America home." A nationwide plea has been made asking for people who support Walter to add their names to the letter. It will be delivered tomorrow, Thursday, July 2, to the Department of Homeland Security." Latina Lista, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "On Tuesday, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) initiated the final regulatory steps toward halting implementation of the ban." VOA, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "[s]tudy after study shows that there is little, if any, relationship between immigration and unemployment rates at the regional, state, or county level. Furthermore, the potential economic benefits of a legalization program have been widely documented. Available research suggests that — had the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 passed — it would have generated a much needed $66 billion in new revenue during 2007-2016 from income and payroll taxes, as well as various administrative fees. Giovanni Peri, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of California-Davis, further suggests that immigrants don’t even compete with the majority of natives for the same jobs because they tend to work in different occupations." The Wonk Room, June 30, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "On Tuesday, June 30, 2009, the Office of the Citizenship and Immigrations Services Ombudsman submitted its 2009 Annual Report to Congress. The 2009 Annual Report includes: * A review of USCIS Transformation * The most pervasive and serious problems USCIS customers experience such as Requests for Evidence, customer service, and FBI name checks * Eight Annual Report recommendations that cover file transfers and tracking, DNA testing, and more * Eight formal recommendations that cover motions to reopen, EB-5 investor visas, T and U visas, EADs; and more * Ombudsman facilitation of interagency meetings." http://www.bibdaily.com FAQs – Implementation of Final H-2B Regulations for Temporary Labor Certifications in the Entertainment Industry; DOL, June 22, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "A U.S. federal probe has found that about a third of American Apparel's factory workers in the Los Angeles area had supplied suspect or invalid records and were not authorized to work in the United States. The findings, from a January 2008 federal investigation, may deal a blow to the corporation's image as a proponent of immigration reform." Reuters, June 30, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "There is a lot of confusion surrounding Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs)—what they are, who has them, and the purposes for which they are used." Michele Waslin, June 30, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com Matter of Werner, Interim Decision #3648, 25 I&N Dec. 45 (BIA 2009) - (1) The Attorney General has not delegated authority to Immigration Judges, under 8 C.F.R. § 1236.1(d) (2009), to redetermine the conditions of custody imposed by the Department of Homeland Security with respect to aliens who have not been issued and served with a Notice to Appear (Form I-862) in relation to removal proceedings pursuant to 8 C.F.R. Part 1240 (2009). (2) An alien admitted to the United States pursuant to the Visa Waiver Program who has not been served with a Notice to Appear pursuant to 8 C.F.R. Part 1240 is not entitled to a custody hearing before an Immigration Judge under 8 C.F.R. § 1236.1(d). Matter of Gallardo, 21 I&N Dec. 210 (BIA 1996), superseded. http://www.bibdaily.com "While use of the visa in the private sector at companies like Microsoft is well-known and hotly debated, less is known about school districts' use of the program. In fact, at least 40 Washington school districts have applied for H-1B visas to employ teachers and staff over the past five years." Seattle Times, June 28, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com If you subscribed to the hardcopy BIB you'd have read Greg Sauter's "Aguilar v. ICE: Litigating Workplace Immigration Raids in the Twenty-First Century" in the Apr. 1, 2009 issue. Harvey Kaplan says it's the best article any student of his has written in his 25 years of law school teaching! http://www.bibdaily.com "This memorandum implements the district court’s order in Ruiz-Diaz v. United States, No. C07-1881RSL (W.D. Wash. June 11, 2009)." USCIS, June 25, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Petitioners who filed or will file a Petition for Special Immigrant Religious Worker Visa (Form I-360) with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) on behalf of individual beneficiaries are hereby notified that you or your beneficiary may now file an Application for Adjustment of Status (Form I-485) and, if your beneficiary seeks employment status as an adjustment applicant, an Application for Employment Authorization (Form I-765) even if USCIS has not yet issued a final administrative decision regarding the I-360 petition." IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON, RUIZ-DIAZ v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. C07-1881RSL, CLASS ACTION. June 11, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "There will be a meeting on the President’s FY 2010 Refugee Admissions Program on Thursday, July 9, 2009 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Refugee Processing Center, 1401 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 700, Arlington, Virginia. The meeting’s purpose is to hear the views of attendees on the appropriate size and scope of the FY 2010 Refugee Admissions Program." Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 122 / Friday, June 26, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "On March 23, 2009, the Court found that 8 C.F.R. § 245.2(a)(2)(i)(B) was an unreasonable and impermissible construction of the governing statute and granted plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment. Rather than sign the proposed order provided with plaintiff’s motion, the Court provided defendants an additional opportunity to consider and comment upon the practical and legal effects of the relief requested." Ruiz-Diaz v. USA, June 11, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com STIPULATION AND AGREEMENT OF SETTLEMENT AND RELEASE, Castelano v. Clinton, S.D. Tx., McAllen Div. http://www.bibdaily.com "The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has agreed to implement new procedures designed to ensure the fair and prompt review of U.S. passport applications by Mexican Americans whose births in Texas were attended by midwives. Under the agreement, no eligible applicant should be denied a passport." ACLU, June 26, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that the Employment Eligibility Verification form I-9 (Rev. 02/02/09) currently on the USCIS Web site will continue to be valid for use beyond June 30, 2009." USCIS, June 26, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "In all ways that matter, my parents and today’s migrants are the same people." Anthony M. Graziano is a SUNY professor emeritus. His most recent book, “La Bell’America,” will be published this fall. http://www.bibdaily.com "How we as a nation deal with illegal immigration has become a defining moral issue for our nation. Ultimately, the question we face is this: are we going to allow hardliners who want nothing less than the expulsion of millions of immigrant families already living in our communities to dominate the debate? Or are we going to live up to our tradition as both a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws and write a new chapter in the American story of how including "them" makes for a stronger "us?" Immigration reform will not be easy, and yet, this is the kind of big issue that led you to proclaim the fierce urgency of now and run for President. This is your kind of fight, Mr. President. History is calling." Frank Sharry, June 24, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Using the approach that sometimes some good can come of a bad decision, this advisory reviews the specific holding in the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Nijhawan v. Holder, No. 08-495, 2009 WL 1650187 (U.S. June 15, 2009), analyzes the decision’s impact on application of the categorical approach to aggravated felony determinations generally, and provides specific suggestions on how Nijhawan may be used affirmatively to overcome unfavorable case law in certain jurisdictions on certain aggravated felony issues, including the reach of the sexual abuse of a minor and drug trafficking grounds. The advisory also attaches an Appendix Chart summarizing the impact of the Nijhawan decision on the analytical approach to be applied to each of the various aggravated felony grounds." Dan Kesselbrenner and Manuel D. Vargas, with assistance from Stephanie Kolmar and Patrick Taurel, June 24, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com Society of American Law Teachers (SALT), June 16, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "The Society of American Law Teachers—SALT—sent the Obama Administration recommendations to immediately revise nine categories of immigration policy through executive orders and administrative directives while Congress tackles the task of comprehensive immigration reform." June 17, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com Kathy Brady, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, June 2009. Copyright 2009 ILRC. http://www.bibdaily.com Some interesting stuff here... http://www.bibdaily.com "USCIS announced today that effective June 29, 2009, it will resume Premium Processing Service for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, in accordance with 8 CFR 103.2(f)(2)." USCIS, June 22, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com June 22, 2009: "This issue covers Child Status Protection Act litigation, a recent Supreme Court decision in a fraud offense case, a final order in a religious worker class action, a court of appeals decision finding jurisdiction to review a cancellation denial, and an update in the Orozco litigation (involving adjustment of status where the admission involved fraud or misrepresentation)." Copyright 2009 AILF. http://www.bibdaily.com "The central finding of TRAC's new report is that the judge-by-judge asylum disparities in the Immigration Courts are down. Among the fifteen immigration districts that decide the bulk of all asylum matters, the court data showed that disparity rates in ten of them have declined. This change in a significant number of busy districts does not mean that disparities have gone away. There were in fact, some districts where the disparities increased. But these findings indicate that the size of disparities have generally come down in magnitude." TRAC, June 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com Questions and Answers, May 6, 2009, USCIS REFUGEE, ASYLUM, INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE, Quarterly Meeting with AILA. http://www.bibdaily.com "This memorandum amends the Adjudicator’s Field Manual by providing guidance on the adjudication of Form I-140, Petition for Alien Worker filed for certain physicians." USCIS, June 17, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Neither section 244(b)(5) of the Act, nor the regulations require the exhaustion of internal DHS appeal procedures before an Immigration Judge may conduct a de novo review of the respondent's eligibility for TPS. The Act merely requires that an alien have been denied benefits prior to asserting TPS eligibility in removal proceedings. ... Since the Respondent applied for TPS with DHS, and was denied, he may assert his right for TPS before the Immigration Judge." Matter of X-, June 16, 2009. [Hats off to Sarah Kate Heilbrun of San Francisco.] http://www.bibdaily.com Bookmark this fantastic ILRC page, and scroll down to the growing list of free online resources. http://www.bibdaily.com "Effective July 1, 2009, all Visa Waiver Program (VWP) emergency or temporary passports must be electronic passports (e-Passports) to be eligible for travel to the United States under the VWP. This includes VWP applicants who present emergency or temporary passports to transit the United States." CBP, June 15, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "This AFM update provides United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) personnel with instructions related to the timing of job creation and the meaning of “full-time” positions in the EB-5 program." USCIS, June 17, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "In this report, you’ll read about the human toll exacted by the Bush administration’s enforcement-only policy." National Commission, June 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "A detailed study of the recent performance of the Immigration Courts — undertaken by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) — draws upon a variety of sources including hundreds of thousands of internal administrative records obtained from the EOIR under the Freedom of Information Act. The key conclusion: the failure of the Justice Department even to fill existing judge vacancies, combined with growth in the number of matters the judges are handling each year, has exacted some very real costs." TRAC, June 18, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com CRS, May 18, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com June 12, 2009: Response to Recommendation 40, Employment Creation Immigrant Visa (EB-5) Program Recommendations. http://www.bibdaily.com USCIS, June 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com Neufeld memo, USCIS, June 15, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com The Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Department of Justice, is seeking an individual to serve as the Deputy Chief Immigration Judge. $132,012 to $162,900 per year. http://www.bibdaily.com Roxanne Lynn Doty, Associate Professor, Dept. of Political Science, Arizona State University - Univ. of Arizona Press, 2009: "In this solid and theoretically grounded look at contemporary, post-9/11 border vigilantism, the author observes the dangerous and unproductive manner in which private citizens seek to draw firm and uncompromising lines between who is worthy of inclusion in our society and who is not." http://www.bibdaily.com Department of State, June 16, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "The lead respondent argues that he is not removable under section 212(a)(9)(C)(i)(I) of the Act, and that because he was waved through the United States-Mexico border by an immigration officer in January 2000, this qualifies as a lawful admission under section 101(a)(13)(A) of the Act (Respondent's Appeal Brief at 11-13). The lead respondent also asserts that because he was not asked any questions by the immigration officer, and because he was not asked to show any documents, he did not engage in fraud or misrepresentation, and therefore, he is eligible for adjustment of status under section 245 of the Act. We· conclude that the lead respondent was "lawfully admitted" in 2000 when the immigration officer permitted him to pass through the port of entry, even though he did not have valid entry documents at that time. Matter ofAreguillin, 17 I&N Dec. 308 (BIA 1980) (admission occurs when the inspecting officer communicates to the applicant that he has determined that the applicant is not inadmissible; that communication has taken place when the inspector permits the applicant to pass through the port of entry). Given that the lead respondent was "lawfully admitted," he is not removable and not inadmissible under section 212(a)(9)(C)(i)(I) of the Act. As a result, he is also not barred from pursuing his application for adjustment of status." Matter of Juarez, A074-083-211, June 5, 2009. [Hats off to John Wheat Gibson!] http://www.bibdaily.com USCIS, June 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "The Least of These explores one of the most controversial aspects of American immigration policy: family detention." http://www.bibdaily.com "It has been necessary to retrogress the Mexico Family First and Third preference cut-off dates, as well as the China Employment Second preference cut-off date for July to keep visa issuances within those annual category numerical limits." DOS, June 8, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "We hold that Article I military courts have jurisdiction to entertain coram nobis petitions to consider allegations that an earlier judgment of conviction was flawed in a fundamental respect." U.S. v. Denedo, June 8, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), in consultation with the USCCB General Counsel's office, has prepared the attached legal analysis of civil laws relating to the issuance of marriage licenses to persons in the U.S. without proper immigration documentation. The main conclusion is that civil authorities cannot deny a marriage license due to an applicant's immigration status or lack of Social Security number." CLINIC, Apr. 3, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com EOIR, June 5, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) announced today that it has posted the “Immigration Judge Benchbook” (Benchbook) online, as part of ongoing efforts to better meet the information needs of the people it serves." EOIR, June 4, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com From Prof. Michael Wishnie at Yale Law School: "In the last couple of days we have received decisions in some of the cases arising from the June 2007 New Haven raids. The Immigration Judge has granted four motions to suppress and terminated proceedings, concluding that ICE agents illegally entered homes "without a warrant, without probable cause, and without consent," in egregious violation of the Fourth Amendment. IJ Straus wrote that the actions of the ICE agents were not even "on the margins" of permissible conduct." [Hats off to Mike and Yale law students Bram Elias, Stella Burch Elias, Sara Edelstein, Nichole Hallett, Dale Kotchka-Smith, Jane Lewis, Deborah Marcuse, and Anant Saraswat, and co-supervised by Hope Metcalf and Chris Lasch!] http://www.bibdaily.com Jayne Fleming, full-time Pro Bono Counsel at Reed Smith LLP, is the 2009 recipient of the Daniel Levy Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in Immigration Law. She gave these remarks at the award ceremony in Las Vegas on June 3, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com Why pouring billions of dollars into CAP, 287(g), and Secure Communities subverts the criminal justice system, erodes due process, and makes us less safe; Immigrant Justice Network, June 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "According to the anti-immigration group NumbersUSA, immigration to the United States is all about arithmetic: immigration increases the U.S. population, and more people presumably means more pollution, more urban sprawl, more competition for jobs, and higher taxes for Americans who must shoulder the costs of “over-population.” At first glance, this argument is attractive in its simplicity: less immigration, fewer people, a better environment, more jobs, lower taxes. However, as with so many simple arguments about complex topics, it is fundamentally flawed and misses the point." IPC, June 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com Over 55 papers by noted experts on current immigration topics. Toggle the "products per page" button to 100 to see them all on one page. Return often as more are added. http://www.bibdaily.com "A News 8 investigation found that hundreds of aircraft mechanics have been brought into the United States to work at aircraft repair facilities. Insiders say the companies that are importing the mechanics are so eager to save money, they’re overstating their qualifications. The result may be a threat to safety, abetted by lax enforcement of immigration law." WFAA, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Immigration authorities have postponed for one year the deportation of Walter Lara, an immigrant from Argentina who said he had come to the United States illegally with his parents when he was 3, officials said. Mr. Lara, an honors graduate of high school and community college in Miami, was the focus of a campaign by supporters of proposed legislation known as the Dream Act, which would grant legal status to young illegal immigrants who have lived for years in the United States." New York Times, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Foreign nationals caught using fraudulent documents to enter the country through the San Luis port of entry are now being prosecuted for identity theft. Since January, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has initiated a zero-tolerance policy targeting those who use false identification to cross the border." Yuma Sun, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Republican voters ... overwhelmingly support comprehensive immigration reform, reject enforcement-only approaches and believe that comprehensive reform will help the economy." America's Voice, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "[L]andscaping businesses, a construction company, and a retail company - were given three business days to turn over the employment-eligibility forms, known as I-9s, for all present and past employees, Pace said. The businesses were also told to turn over other employment records." Arizona Republic, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "In its ruling, the 9th Circuit expressed concern about blaming a petitioner for delays caused by administrative agencies. Similar issues were raised in recent rulings by the 2d and 7th circuits, both of which sided with petitioners. "Here, the [judge] abused her discretion by failing to provide any explanation for her decision, and failing to take into account any of the facts and circumstances of Ahmed's case that were relevant to the grant or denial of a continuance," Judge David R. Thompson wrote for the 9th Circuit panel." NLJ, July 6, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com Ann Allott of Allott Immigration Firm, author of the first employer guide on the new Form I-9 published this year by LexisNexis Matthew Bender, said the increased focus on employers is proof that the Obama administration is delivering on the president’s promise to hold businesses accountable for their hiring practices. http://www.bibdaily.com "Citizens delivered by midwives along the U.S.-Mexico border will get to reapply for passports for free under a tentative settlement with the State Department over stalled applications. U.S. District Judge Randy Crane gave preliminary agreement Wednesday to the settlement. He also gave the lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and an immigration attorney preliminary class action status." AP, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "A new national survey confirms our most recent polls that the majority of Americans support comprehensive immigration reform. But what's most interesting about this polling data from the Benenson Strategy Group is that 62 percent of Republicans polled say that illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay and apply for citizenship." Houston Chronicle, July 3, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "It is a milestone in any nation’s life when leaving becomes a choice, not a necessity." Anand Giridharadas, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com Defendant arranged marriages between foreign nationals and U.S. citizens for a fee. ICE, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "A telephone survey of Arizona high school students by the conservative Goldwater Institute found that appallingly few could pass the U.S. citizenship test that immigrants must take to become naturalized citizens." Arizona Daily Star, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com ICE is cracking down. LexisNexis Matthew Bender has a resource, the Immigration Enforcement: I-9 Compliance Handbook, by Ann Allott, Dan Kowalski and Camille Griffin. http://www.bibdaily.com "Seeking to inject their views into the revived debate over immigration overhaul, several big-city police chiefs urged Congress on Wednesday to draft a new policy that improves public safety by bringing illegal immigrants out of the shadows." New York Times, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and the blogosphere have been buzzing over the past 48 hours, as thousands of grassroots activists and Congressional leaders contacted the Department of Homeland Security to stop the deportation of Walter Lara, a 23 year-old honor student facing deportation this Independence Day weekend. Today, Walter Lara was granted a one year stay of his deportation." SEIU, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is proposing to revise the Part 34 regulation to remove ‘‘Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection’’ from the definition of ‘‘communicable disease of public health significance.’’" Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 126 / Thursday, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "The Department of Homeland Security delivered good news just in time for the Fourth of July weekend to a Central Florida man who was facing deportation because he had been brought illegally to the U.S. as a child. Walter Lara found out Thursday that he was getting a one-year deferral on his order to leave the country, buying him, his advocates and supporters time to pursue his legalization, either through a private bill that has already been introduced or through a larger immigration reform bill pending in Congress." Orlando Sentinel, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "The Obama administration announced a crackdown Wednesday on hundreds of companies suspected of employing illegal immigrants, signaling a shift in strategy: going after employers instead of workers." WSJ, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Federal officials Wednesday notified more than 650 businesses around the country, including nearly 50 in Los Angeles, that their records will be audited as part of a widening effort to find companies that hire illegal immigrants." Los Angeles Times, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Five immigrant rights organizations have filed a petition asking the Department of Justice to begin an official rulemaking to permit immigration judges to appoint counsel in certain cases." BLT, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com By Kathy Brady, Immigrant Legal Resource Center. This is a preliminary advisory on the Supreme Court’s decision in Nijhawan v. Holder, 557 U.S.__ (2009), 2009 U.S. LEXIS 4320, 2009 WL 1650187 (June 15, 2009). http://www.bibdaily.com "[W]e hold that the theft of an automobile under the California grand theft statute is not a “crime of violence” under 18 U.S.C. § 16(b)." Nguyen v. Holder, July 2, 2009. [Hats off to Ron Kaplovitz!] http://www.bibdaily.com " Top law enforcement officials from across the country are urging their colleagues to build trust -- not fear -- among immigrant communities. The group, which included Miami police Chief John Timoney, argued that undocumented migrants, in particular, often refuse to report crime -- both as victims and as witnesses - because they fear being deported. Although police agencies do not regularly enforce federal immigration laws, some agencies have chosen to report people, causing deportations and subsequent backlashes from immigrant communities." Miami Herald, July 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "The Obama Administration is proposing a policy change that would effectively lift a ban on HIV-positive visitors from entering the United States." Seattle Times, June 30, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Whereas Mukasey wielded a sledge hammer, Holder has opted for a tuning fork, sounding out the stakeholders both within the affected government agencies and among the private immigration bar and advocacy community. Holder’s fair-minded, constructive approach affords all parties an opportunity to recommend what a modified framework for raising ineffective assistance of counsel claims should look like." Thomas K. Ragland, June 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Maira Estela Zelaya died in the Arizona desert on Monday, June 15, trying to get home to her family in Des Moines. If the politicians in Washington had put in place long-overdue immigration reforms, perhaps now she would be with her mother, brothers and other relatives, who talk about how she loved to cook and take care of them. Instead, they held her funeral last Thursday at Trinity United Methodist Church and buried her in Highland Memory Gardens Cemetery." Linda Lantor Fandel, June 30, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com WASHINGTON - "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is launching a bold, new audit initiative today by issuing Notices of Inspection (NOIs) to 652 businesses nationwide - which is more than ICE issued throughout all of last fiscal year. The notices alert business owners that ICE will be inspecting their hiring records to determine whether or not they are complying with employment eligibility verification laws and regulations." ICE, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "A former US government official in Iraq, Johnson, 28, has spent the last two years trying to save Iraqis who worked for the United States as interpreters, embassy workers, subcontractors, and in other jobs, and as a result were forced into hiding, tortured, raped, or killed by insurgents and militia." Boston Globe, June 30, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "A broad three-year Justice Department project to make the Immigrations Courts fairer and more effective has not achieved many of its specific goals, according to a point-by-point analysis by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). The partial failure of the ambitious project started by the Bush Administration in August 2006 leaves many problems for the Obama Administration and Congress to confront. The TRAC analysis examines each of the 22 steps that former Attorney General Gonzales listed in his program to improve the operations of the special court and judges -- which of them have been completed and which have not." TRAC, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "American Apparel, Inc. (NYSE Amex: APP) announced that it received notice from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) that ICE has been unable to verify the employment eligibility of approximately 200 current American Apparel employees because of discrepancies in these employees’ records. Additionally, ICE notified the Company that based upon its review of government databases, approximately 1,600 other current employees of the Company do not appear to be authorized to work in the United States." Business Wire, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "He was born on the Fourth of July, an irony he would only appreciate later, during the dark period of his life, when liberty and freedom became far more than mere words in his high school history book. Daniel Guadron has been fighting the odds all his young life, mostly as a happy warrior, winning admirers and supporters at every turn. It's not just that he excelled in school: The straight-A student mastered English within months of emigrating from Guatemala at 13, then mastered French. He's aced every math test he has ever taken." AP, June 30, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com Deming, N.M. – "U.S. Border Patrol agents in Deming located a tourist from California after he became disoriented and lost in the vast New Mexico desert. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Deming station were notified that someone had set off an Emergency Rescue Beacon. Agents responded to the distress call and, within minutes, were able to locate the individual. The individual identified himself as a United States citizen from California who was traveling through the area when he became confused and subsequently lost." http://www.bibdaily.com "Plaintiffs seek to preliminarily enjoin Defendants from temporarily substituting a regulation that governs the short-term employment of nonimmigrant agricultural workers. (Id.) Plaintiffs allege that the Department of Labor (“DOL”) “suspended” a rule and (re)imposed a new rule without following the requisite procedures for “rule making” as set forth in the Administrative Procedures Act (“APA”), 5 U.S.C. §§ 553 and 701. The court notes that it has not been required to, nor has it attempted to evaluate the substantive merits of any of administrative rules or regulations. The scope of review the court applies to administrative actions is narrow, and “a court is not to substitute its judgment for that of the agency.” Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Ass’n of the U.S., Inc. v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 463 U.S. 29, 43 (1983). In accordance with this standard, the court has evaluated Plaintiffs’ motion and the process by which the DOL formulated the rule at issue in this case. For the reasons set forth herein, Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction (Doc. 2) will be granted." North Carolina Growers' Assn. v. Solis, M.D. N.C., June 29, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "I used to think, 'Why don't they just get a visa and come here legally?' " Bischoff said of illegal immigrants. "Now, after going through the endless process of paperwork and extreme cost and still not being guaranteed you'll get approval, I understand why." http://www.bibdaily.com "His mother isn't in the picture. His illegal immigrant father was deported. Now, the 13-year-old waits for a Georgia court to decide his fate. Among the options: keeping the boy in the only country he's ever lived in, but as a ward of the state, or sending him to his father in Guatemala, a country he's never seen. It's a tangled case that defies easy solutions. The boy is a U.S. citizen and says he wants to stay in his native country. His father, a bus driver without regular work, says he would gladly take his child — though he agrees the boy would be better off in the U.S." AP, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "A visa program that lets foreigners invest their way into permanent residency is getting a new lease on life, thanks to the recession and tight credit." Florida Trend, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "NIJC, CLINIC, NWIRP, NIF, and the BC law clinic filed a Petition for Rulemaking today, asking EOIR to begin rulemaking to permit Immigration Judges to appoint counsel in certain circumstances." NIJC, June 30, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "[T]his kind of racism is the new, 21st century grandchild of the hatred once publicly directed at blacks." http://www.bibdaily.com "Attorney General Eric Holder announced today the appointment of Brian M. O’Leary as the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s (EOIR) Chief Immigration Judge." USDOJ, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement believes that about one-third of American Apparel Inc.'s Los Angeles work force isn't eligible to work in the country. ICE said 1,600 employees appear not to be authorized to work in the U.S., American Apparel disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late Tuesday. Those employees appear to have obtained employment by providing documentation which ICE believes to be suspect and not valid, American Apparel said." WSJ, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "He's a Pakistani immigrant who helped the United States in the war on terror, but now the U.S. government wants to deport him." Anna Werner, June 30, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Immigration officers are investigating workplaces in every state in the U.S. to check whether they are hiring illegal workers. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told members of Congress in an e-mail Wednesday morning that it is beginning audits of documents that employees fill out when they are hired. The documents are known as I-9's." AP, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Starting today, South Carolina’s largest businesses will be subject to random audits of their employment documents as part of a crackdown on hiring illegal immigrants. The S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation will focus its attention on businesses that typically hire immigrant workers, said Jim Knight, a department spokesman. “For instance, you can be pretty sure construction and landscaping will be on that list for audits,” Knight said." The State, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "A new law aimed at preventing the trafficking of children into the United States is having a major impact on when and how those children are returned to their families." Arizona Daily Star, June 30, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "The BIA’s finding that Men was not credible because she was unable to explain why the police had not designated specific dates for her to report back to the police after they released her from detention, its finding that Men was not credible because she was able to travel twice to Beijing while under government surveillance, and its demeanor finding that Men did not display adequate emotion when describing her harassment and detention are based on improper speculation and conjecture." Men v. Holder, June 29, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "[W]e find that Shi was denied a full and fair hearing due to the IJ's obvious bias. Throughout the hearing, IJ Anna Ho badgered Shi with loaded, pejorative questions and effectively abandoned her role as a neutral fact finder." Shi v. Holder, June 26, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "This removal proceeding, involving a claim for cancellation of removal pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(b), has gone on far too long. The record reflects delays, late filings, and the failure to present proper documentation on the part of lawyer after lawyer." Moya-Garcia v. Holder, June 29, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Rivera ... said the tone of the immigration debate has had serious consequences for Hispanics. “We have created a slanderous condition and environment in our country, where the 46 million of us who have Latino roots now feel beleaguered, now feel besieged, now feel as if we are ‘the other,’ ” he said." Houston Chronicle, June 30, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "The BIA’s rejection of Chen’s argument provides no indication that the agency applied the standards articulated in its own case law when it determined that “over-birth” children in China do not constitute a particular social group under the asylum statute. ... If the BIA determines on remand that Chen’s claim fails, it should explain why “over-birth children” do not constitute a “social group,” or why the hardships Chen alleges she faced had no nexus to or were not motivated at least in part by her membership in that group." Chen v. Holder, June 29, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Walter Lara is an honor student who has lived in the U.S. since his parents brought him here from Argentina when he was just 3 years old. Almost 20 years later, Walter is set to be deported this July 4th weekend." SEIU, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "U.S. Senator Bill Nelson has drafted a letter on Walter's behalf to Sec. Napolitano requesting that they defer action on Walter's deportation because "he has earned the chance to live and work here and call America home." A nationwide plea has been made asking for people who support Walter to add their names to the letter. It will be delivered tomorrow, Thursday, July 2, to the Department of Homeland Security." Latina Lista, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "On Tuesday, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) initiated the final regulatory steps toward halting implementation of the ban." VOA, July 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "[s]tudy after study shows that there is little, if any, relationship between immigration and unemployment rates at the regional, state, or county level. Furthermore, the potential economic benefits of a legalization program have been widely documented. Available research suggests that — had the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 passed — it would have generated a much needed $66 billion in new revenue during 2007-2016 from income and payroll taxes, as well as various administrative fees. Giovanni Peri, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of California-Davis, further suggests that immigrants don’t even compete with the majority of natives for the same jobs because they tend to work in different occupations." The Wonk Room, June 30, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "On Tuesday, June 30, 2009, the Office of the Citizenship and Immigrations Services Ombudsman submitted its 2009 Annual Report to Congress. The 2009 Annual Report includes: * A review of USCIS Transformation * The most pervasive and serious problems USCIS customers experience such as Requests for Evidence, customer service, and FBI name checks * Eight Annual Report recommendations that cover file transfers and tracking, DNA testing, and more * Eight formal recommendations that cover motions to reopen, EB-5 investor visas, T and U visas, EADs; and more * Ombudsman facilitation of interagency meetings." http://www.bibdaily.com FAQs – Implementation of Final H-2B Regulations for Temporary Labor Certifications in the Entertainment Industry; DOL, June 22, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "A U.S. federal probe has found that about a third of American Apparel's factory workers in the Los Angeles area had supplied suspect or invalid records and were not authorized to work in the United States. The findings, from a January 2008 federal investigation, may deal a blow to the corporation's image as a proponent of immigration reform." Reuters, June 30, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "There is a lot of confusion surrounding Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs)—what they are, who has them, and the purposes for which they are used." Michele Waslin, June 30, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com Matter of Werner, Interim Decision #3648, 25 I&N Dec. 45 (BIA 2009) - (1) The Attorney General has not delegated authority to Immigration Judges, under 8 C.F.R. § 1236.1(d) (2009), to redetermine the conditions of custody imposed by the Department of Homeland Security with respect to aliens who have not been issued and served with a Notice to Appear (Form I-862) in relation to removal proceedings pursuant to 8 C.F.R. Part 1240 (2009). (2) An alien admitted to the United States pursuant to the Visa Waiver Program who has not been served with a Notice to Appear pursuant to 8 C.F.R. Part 1240 is not entitled to a custody hearing before an Immigration Judge under 8 C.F.R. § 1236.1(d). Matter of Gallardo, 21 I&N Dec. 210 (BIA 1996), superseded. http://www.bibdaily.com "While use of the visa in the private sector at companies like Microsoft is well-known and hotly debated, less is known about school districts' use of the program. In fact, at least 40 Washington school districts have applied for H-1B visas to employ teachers and staff over the past five years." Seattle Times, June 28, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com If you subscribed to the hardcopy BIB you'd have read Greg Sauter's "Aguilar v. ICE: Litigating Workplace Immigration Raids in the Twenty-First Century" in the Apr. 1, 2009 issue. Harvey Kaplan says it's the best article any student of his has written in his 25 years of law school teaching! http://www.bibdaily.com "This memorandum implements the district court’s order in Ruiz-Diaz v. United States, No. C07-1881RSL (W.D. Wash. June 11, 2009)." USCIS, June 25, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Petitioners who filed or will file a Petition for Special Immigrant Religious Worker Visa (Form I-360) with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) on behalf of individual beneficiaries are hereby notified that you or your beneficiary may now file an Application for Adjustment of Status (Form I-485) and, if your beneficiary seeks employment status as an adjustment applicant, an Application for Employment Authorization (Form I-765) even if USCIS has not yet issued a final administrative decision regarding the I-360 petition." IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON, RUIZ-DIAZ v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. C07-1881RSL, CLASS ACTION. June 11, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "There will be a meeting on the President’s FY 2010 Refugee Admissions Program on Thursday, July 9, 2009 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Refugee Processing Center, 1401 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 700, Arlington, Virginia. The meeting’s purpose is to hear the views of attendees on the appropriate size and scope of the FY 2010 Refugee Admissions Program." Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 122 / Friday, June 26, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "On March 23, 2009, the Court found that 8 C.F.R. § 245.2(a)(2)(i)(B) was an unreasonable and impermissible construction of the governing statute and granted plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment. Rather than sign the proposed order provided with plaintiff’s motion, the Court provided defendants an additional opportunity to consider and comment upon the practical and legal effects of the relief requested." Ruiz-Diaz v. USA, June 11, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com STIPULATION AND AGREEMENT OF SETTLEMENT AND RELEASE, Castelano v. Clinton, S.D. Tx., McAllen Div. http://www.bibdaily.com "The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has agreed to implement new procedures designed to ensure the fair and prompt review of U.S. passport applications by Mexican Americans whose births in Texas were attended by midwives. Under the agreement, no eligible applicant should be denied a passport." ACLU, June 26, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that the Employment Eligibility Verification form I-9 (Rev. 02/02/09) currently on the USCIS Web site will continue to be valid for use beyond June 30, 2009." USCIS, June 26, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "In all ways that matter, my parents and today’s migrants are the same people." Anthony M. Graziano is a SUNY professor emeritus. His most recent book, “La Bell’America,” will be published this fall. http://www.bibdaily.com "How we as a nation deal with illegal immigration has become a defining moral issue for our nation. Ultimately, the question we face is this: are we going to allow hardliners who want nothing less than the expulsion of millions of immigrant families already living in our communities to dominate the debate? Or are we going to live up to our tradition as both a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws and write a new chapter in the American story of how including "them" makes for a stronger "us?" Immigration reform will not be easy, and yet, this is the kind of big issue that led you to proclaim the fierce urgency of now and run for President. This is your kind of fight, Mr. President. History is calling." Frank Sharry, June 24, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Using the approach that sometimes some good can come of a bad decision, this advisory reviews the specific holding in the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Nijhawan v. Holder, No. 08-495, 2009 WL 1650187 (U.S. June 15, 2009), analyzes the decision’s impact on application of the categorical approach to aggravated felony determinations generally, and provides specific suggestions on how Nijhawan may be used affirmatively to overcome unfavorable case law in certain jurisdictions on certain aggravated felony issues, including the reach of the sexual abuse of a minor and drug trafficking grounds. The advisory also attaches an Appendix Chart summarizing the impact of the Nijhawan decision on the analytical approach to be applied to each of the various aggravated felony grounds." Dan Kesselbrenner and Manuel D. Vargas, with assistance from Stephanie Kolmar and Patrick Taurel, June 24, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com Society of American Law Teachers (SALT), June 16, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "The Society of American Law Teachers—SALT—sent the Obama Administration recommendations to immediately revise nine categories of immigration policy through executive orders and administrative directives while Congress tackles the task of comprehensive immigration reform." June 17, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com Kathy Brady, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, June 2009. Copyright 2009 ILRC. http://www.bibdaily.com Some interesting stuff here... http://www.bibdaily.com "USCIS announced today that effective June 29, 2009, it will resume Premium Processing Service for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, in accordance with 8 CFR 103.2(f)(2)." USCIS, June 22, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com June 22, 2009: "This issue covers Child Status Protection Act litigation, a recent Supreme Court decision in a fraud offense case, a final order in a religious worker class action, a court of appeals decision finding jurisdiction to review a cancellation denial, and an update in the Orozco litigation (involving adjustment of status where the admission involved fraud or misrepresentation)." Copyright 2009 AILF. http://www.bibdaily.com "The central finding of TRAC's new report is that the judge-by-judge asylum disparities in the Immigration Courts are down. Among the fifteen immigration districts that decide the bulk of all asylum matters, the court data showed that disparity rates in ten of them have declined. This change in a significant number of busy districts does not mean that disparities have gone away. There were in fact, some districts where the disparities increased. But these findings indicate that the size of disparities have generally come down in magnitude." TRAC, June 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com Questions and Answers, May 6, 2009, USCIS REFUGEE, ASYLUM, INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE, Quarterly Meeting with AILA. http://www.bibdaily.com "This memorandum amends the Adjudicator’s Field Manual by providing guidance on the adjudication of Form I-140, Petition for Alien Worker filed for certain physicians." USCIS, June 17, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "Neither section 244(b)(5) of the Act, nor the regulations require the exhaustion of internal DHS appeal procedures before an Immigration Judge may conduct a de novo review of the respondent's eligibility for TPS. The Act merely requires that an alien have been denied benefits prior to asserting TPS eligibility in removal proceedings. ... Since the Respondent applied for TPS with DHS, and was denied, he may assert his right for TPS before the Immigration Judge." Matter of X-, June 16, 2009. [Hats off to Sarah Kate Heilbrun of San Francisco.] http://www.bibdaily.com Bookmark this fantastic ILRC page, and scroll down to the growing list of free online resources. http://www.bibdaily.com "Effective July 1, 2009, all Visa Waiver Program (VWP) emergency or temporary passports must be electronic passports (e-Passports) to be eligible for travel to the United States under the VWP. This includes VWP applicants who present emergency or temporary passports to transit the United States." CBP, June 15, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "This AFM update provides United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) personnel with instructions related to the timing of job creation and the meaning of “full-time” positions in the EB-5 program." USCIS, June 17, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "In this report, you’ll read about the human toll exacted by the Bush administration’s enforcement-only policy." National Commission, June 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "A detailed study of the recent performance of the Immigration Courts — undertaken by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) — draws upon a variety of sources including hundreds of thousands of internal administrative records obtained from the EOIR under the Freedom of Information Act. The key conclusion: the failure of the Justice Department even to fill existing judge vacancies, combined with growth in the number of matters the judges are handling each year, has exacted some very real costs." TRAC, June 18, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com CRS, May 18, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com June 12, 2009: Response to Recommendation 40, Employment Creation Immigrant Visa (EB-5) Program Recommendations. http://www.bibdaily.com USCIS, June 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com Neufeld memo, USCIS, June 15, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com The Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Department of Justice, is seeking an individual to serve as the Deputy Chief Immigration Judge. $132,012 to $162,900 per year. http://www.bibdaily.com Roxanne Lynn Doty, Associate Professor, Dept. of Political Science, Arizona State University - Univ. of Arizona Press, 2009: "In this solid and theoretically grounded look at contemporary, post-9/11 border vigilantism, the author observes the dangerous and unproductive manner in which private citizens seek to draw firm and uncompromising lines between who is worthy of inclusion in our society and who is not." http://www.bibdaily.com Department of State, June 16, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "The lead respondent argues that he is not removable under section 212(a)(9)(C)(i)(I) of the Act, and that because he was waved through the United States-Mexico border by an immigration officer in January 2000, this qualifies as a lawful admission under section 101(a)(13)(A) of the Act (Respondent's Appeal Brief at 11-13). The lead respondent also asserts that because he was not asked any questions by the immigration officer, and because he was not asked to show any documents, he did not engage in fraud or misrepresentation, and therefore, he is eligible for adjustment of status under section 245 of the Act. We· conclude that the lead respondent was "lawfully admitted" in 2000 when the immigration officer permitted him to pass through the port of entry, even though he did not have valid entry documents at that time. Matter ofAreguillin, 17 I&N Dec. 308 (BIA 1980) (admission occurs when the inspecting officer communicates to the applicant that he has determined that the applicant is not inadmissible; that communication has taken place when the inspector permits the applicant to pass through the port of entry). Given that the lead respondent was "lawfully admitted," he is not removable and not inadmissible under section 212(a)(9)(C)(i)(I) of the Act. As a result, he is also not barred from pursuing his application for adjustment of status." Matter of Juarez, A074-083-211, June 5, 2009. [Hats off to John Wheat Gibson!] http://www.bibdaily.com USCIS, June 1, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "The Least of These explores one of the most controversial aspects of American immigration policy: family detention." http://www.bibdaily.com "It has been necessary to retrogress the Mexico Family First and Third preference cut-off dates, as well as the China Employment Second preference cut-off date for July to keep visa issuances within those annual category numerical limits." DOS, June 8, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "We hold that Article I military courts have jurisdiction to entertain coram nobis petitions to consider allegations that an earlier judgment of conviction was flawed in a fundamental respect." U.S. v. Denedo, June 8, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), in consultation with the USCCB General Counsel's office, has prepared the attached legal analysis of civil laws relating to the issuance of marriage licenses to persons in the U.S. without proper immigration documentation. The main conclusion is that civil authorities cannot deny a marriage license due to an applicant's immigration status or lack of Social Security number." CLINIC, Apr. 3, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com EOIR, June 5, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) announced today that it has posted the “Immigration Judge Benchbook” (Benchbook) online, as part of ongoing efforts to better meet the information needs of the people it serves." EOIR, June 4, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com From Prof. Michael Wishnie at Yale Law School: "In the last couple of days we have received decisions in some of the cases arising from the June 2007 New Haven raids. The Immigration Judge has granted four motions to suppress and terminated proceedings, concluding that ICE agents illegally entered homes "without a warrant, without probable cause, and without consent," in egregious violation of the Fourth Amendment. IJ Straus wrote that the actions of the ICE agents were not even "on the margins" of permissible conduct." [Hats off to Mike and Yale law students Bram Elias, Stella Burch Elias, Sara Edelstein, Nichole Hallett, Dale Kotchka-Smith, Jane Lewis, Deborah Marcuse, and Anant Saraswat, and co-supervised by Hope Metcalf and Chris Lasch!] http://www.bibdaily.com Jayne Fleming, full-time Pro Bono Counsel at Reed Smith LLP, is the 2009 recipient of the Daniel Levy Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in Immigration Law. She gave these remarks at the award ceremony in Las Vegas on June 3, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com Why pouring billions of dollars into CAP, 287(g), and Secure Communities subverts the criminal justice system, erodes due process, and makes us less safe; Immigrant Justice Network, June 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com "According to the anti-immigration group NumbersUSA, immigration to the United States is all about arithmetic: immigration increases the U.S. population, and more people presumably means more pollution, more urban sprawl, more competition for jobs, and higher taxes for Americans who must shoulder the costs of “over-population.” At first glance, this argument is attractive in its simplicity: less immigration, fewer people, a better environment, more jobs, lower taxes. However, as with so many simple arguments about complex topics, it is fundamentally flawed and misses the point." IPC, June 2, 2009. http://www.bibdaily.com Over 55 papers by noted experts on current immigration topics. Toggle the "products per page" button to 100 to see them all on one page. Return often as more are added. http://www.bibdaily.com