Migrations

New Blog Site

2006-03-22T12:17:00.000-08:00

Migrations has moved to a new site. Please visit us at migrations.wordpress.com

Congress Debates On Immigration Reform

2006-03-16T16:05:00.000-08:00

This week, the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee started the controversial debate on immigration reform. The debate on the 12 million undocumented population started, but the committee deferred any votes on the subject until after next week's congressional recess.

2006-03-14T11:39:00.000-08:00

Salvadorans immigrants are returning to their home country and make significant impacts in more than financial ways. Here's the story from the Washington Post.

TPS Extended for El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua

2006-03-02T10:01:00.000-08:00

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was extended for an additional 12 months for El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The decision was made to assist these countries in recovering from the natural disasters that have affected them.

Senate to Begin Debate on Comprehensive Immigration Reform on Thursday

2006-03-01T13:21:00.000-08:00

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to begin debating comprehensive immigration reform tomorrow, March 2. Please call, fax, and write the Senate Judiciary Committee today and tell them:

(1) Any workable immigration reform bill MUST provide the current undocumented population with the opportunity to earn permanent legal status. (2) Limitations on judicial review and due process for noncitizens deny our democracy's deeply held values and are an affront to the rule of law, which is founded on fundamental principles such as the right to a day in court, checks and balances, and freedom from unjust and arbitrary detention.

Senate Judiciary Committee (by state):

Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Phone: (202) 224-4124
Fax: (202) 224-3149

Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Phone: (202) 224-4521
Fax: (202) 224-2207

Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Phone: (202) 224-3841
Fax: (202) 228-3954

Joseph Biden (D-DE)
Phone: (202) 224-5042
Fax: (202) 224-0139

Charles Grassley (R-IA)
Phone: (202) 224-3744
Fax: (202) 224-6020

Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Phone: (202) 224-2152
Fax: (202) 228-0400

Sam Brownback (R-KS)
Phone: (202) 224-6521
Fax: (202) 228-1265

Edward Kennedy (D-MA)
Phone: (202) 224-4543
Fax: (202) 224-2417

Charles Schumer (D-NY)
Phone: (202) 224-6542
Fax: (202) 228-3027

Mike DeWine (R-OH)
Phone: (202) 224-2315
Fax: (202) 224-6519

Tom Coburn (R-OK)
Phone: (202) 224-5754
Fax: (202) 224-6008

Arlen Specter (R-PA)
Phone: (202) 224-4254
Fax: (202) 228-1229

Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Phone: (202) 224-5972
Fax: (202) 224-3808

John Cornyn (R-TX)
Phone: (202) 224-2934
Fax: (202) 228-2856

Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Phone: (202) 224-5251
Fax: (202) 224-6331

Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
Phone: (202) 224-4242
Fax: (202) 224-3479

Herbert Kohl (D-WI)
Phone: (202) 224-5653
Fax: (202) 224-9787

Russ Feingold (D-WI)
Phone: (202) 224-5323
Fax: (202) 224-2725

Immigrants Contribute to US Olympic Team

2006-03-01T11:14:00.000-08:00

Immigrants have long contributed to the success of the US Olympic team. This year includes: Tanith Belbin, who with partner Ben Agosto, won a silver medal in Ice Dancing; Korean-born Hyo Jung Kim who competed in speed skating; and Russian-born Denis Petrukhov, who represented the U.S. in ice dancing.

Halliburton, KBR, Awarded Million Dollar Contract to Build Detention Centers

2006-03-01T11:10:00.000-08:00

The New York Times reported that Kellogg Brown & Root, the Halliburton subsidiary, was awarded a contract worth up to $385 million to to build temporary immigration detention centers in the case of an "unexpected influx of immigrants." According to a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement the centers will only be built if an emergency situation arises.

New Senior Advisor for Refugee and Asylum Policy

2006-02-10T12:11:00.000-08:00

Igor V. Timofeyev is the new senior advisor for refugee and asylum policy. The is a new position created as part of a six-point agenda for improving DHS.

Expedited Removal Expanded

2006-02-02T16:29:00.000-08:00

On January 30, 2006, the Dept. of Homeland Security announced that expedited removal will now apply to those who have spent 14 days or less in the U.S. and are apprehended within 100 miles of the border or arrive by sea and are apprehended within 100 miles of a coastal border area.

2006-01-29T13:12:00.000-08:00

Argentine “Playboy” playmate and her family were deported on January 5 after living illegally in the United States. Her attorney is arguing that she should be considered a person of "extraordinary ability," in part because of her physical beauty. Here's Tucker Carlson take on it.

2006-01-27T12:14:00.000-08:00

A sophisticated tunnel with air conditioning was found at the San Diego - Mexico border which apparently was used for drug trafficking.

Pinochet's Daughter Seeks Asylum

2006-01-26T12:49:00.000-08:00

Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet's 60-year-old daughter sought asylum in the United States at Dulles airport. She was taken into custody, this happened days after her father was indicted by a Chilean court on tax evasion charges.

H-1B Exemption Cap Reached for FY 06

2006-01-19T10:17:00.000-08:00

USCIS has received enough H-1B petitions that meet the exemption requirement from the H-1B numerical limitations for foreign workers with a U.S.-earned master's or higher. The "final receipt date" for the 20,000 cap-exempt H-1B petitions is January 17, 2006.

Catholic Church Worried About Pending Legislation

2006-01-17T10:07:00.000-08:00

Roman Catholic bishops are worried that anti-immigration legislation passed recently by the House could jeopardize their work in providing aid to immigrants. The proposed law would make it a criminal offense for anyone to knowingly "direct or assist" an undocumented person.

I Have A Dream

2006-01-16T12:21:00.000-08:00

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.”

Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963.

E-Passports Test at SFO Airport

2006-01-15T14:01:00.000-08:00

Today, the DHS started testing e-Passports, which contain chips with biographic and biometric information, at Terminal G at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The pilot program is being conducted by the governments of the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore and will run through April 15, 2006.

Participants include citizens of Australia, New Zealand who have been issued the new e-Passports, Singapore Airlines crew, and U.S. diplomatic and official e-Passport holders.

Feds Say Operation Streamline II Working

2006-01-15T13:39:00.000-08:00

Operation Streamline II is a government pilot program that is aimed at non-Mexicans immigrants that were "catched and released" at the border due to lack of bed space in detention centers. Under the new program, the government has freed up beds in county jails to make room for the new immigrants. Federal authorities say that the number of people apprehended has decreased since the start of the pilot program.

Non-Immigrant Visa Cap Count

2006-01-12T15:05:00.000-08:00

Click here for the latest non-immigrant cap count for temporary workers.

Attorney General Issues Memo to Immigration Courts

2006-01-12T14:55:00.000-08:00

In response to many newspaper articles citing reports of Immigration Judges mistreating immigrants, the Attorney General issued a memoranda on January 9, 2006 stating that he would be conducting comprehensive review of the U.S. Immmigration Courts.

New USCIS and ICE Appointments

2006-01-06T16:24:00.000-08:00

Emilion Gonzalez will begin his tenure as USCIS Director, an Undersecretary rank position within the Department of Homeland Security.

Julie Myers was appointed as Assistant Secretary for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

President Signs VAWA

2006-01-06T16:20:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, President Bush signed the Violence Against Women Act into law. The new law provides for funding to prevent domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. The VAWA also provides grants for law enforcement to combat crimes against women.

Santillan v. Gonzalez

2006-01-05T11:17:00.000-08:00

Late last month, a U.S. District Court entered a permanent injunction requiring the Department of Homeland Security to issue documentation of legal status after a class member appears at their local office and requests documentation.

2006-01-03T11:21:00.000-08:00

The Miami Herald today has an opinion on reforming the U.S. immigration court system.

Immigration to U.S. Unusually High in 2005

2006-01-02T11:01:00.000-08:00

The crackdown on dissidents, constant blackouts, poor economies are factors cited for unusual high numbers of people immigrating to the U.S. in 2005.

Senate Confirms USCIS Director

2005-12-29T14:48:00.000-08:00

Last week, the Senate confirmed the appointment of Emilio T. Gonzales as the Director of USCIS. The previous director, Eduardo Aguirre, is now the ambassador to Spain.