Obama on new DREAM Act policy: This isn’t amnesty, it’s the right thing to do

Contrary to popular belief, this shift doesn’t appear to stem from any new executive orders from The One. It comes from a directive issued by Janet Napolitano (at Obama’s behest, of course) instructing DHS to defer action on all young illegals who meet the DREAM-like criteria specified in the directive. That’s why O is insisting that this isn’t amnesty: It’s not formal legalization, it’s de facto legalization insofar as they’re simply not going to enforce the existing law against a certain class of illegal immigrants. It’s prosecutorial discretion, in other words — exercised en masse on behalf of something like 800,000 people. President Romney’s DHS director could reverse it with a single memo, but of course Obama’s calculating that he won’t dare now that the precedent’s been established, especially given all the pressure Romney’s feeling and will continue to feel to be more competitive for Hispanic votes.
When O was asked about this last year, he claimed his hands were tied. Amazing what sorts of “evolution” can happen with Election Day bearing down:

THE PRESIDENT: I just have to continue to say this notion that somehow I can just change the laws unilaterally is just not true. We are doing everything we can administratively. But the fact of the matter is there are laws on the books that I have to enforce. And I think there’s been a great disservice done to the cause of getting the DREAM Act passed and getting comprehensive immigration passed by perpetrating the notion that somehow, by myself, I can go and do these things. It’s just not true…
[W]e live in a democracy. You have to pass bills through the legislature, and then I can sign it. And if all the attention is focused away from the legislative process, then that is going to lead to a constant dead-end. We have to recognize how the system works, and then apply pressure to those places where votes can be gotten and, ultimately, we can get this thing solved. And nobody will be a stronger advocate for making that happen than me. continue reading here @ hotair.com

Marco Rubio's Immigration Pivot: A Search for Solutions or Politics as Usual?

Recently Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said something that went largely unnoticed by the media but could foreshadow a seismic shift in the immigration debate.

Speaking with reporters after his keynote speech to the Latino Coalition Annual Economic Summit, the first-term Florida Republican speculated that Democrats may be better off politically with a broken immigration system than with one that actually functions.

"I think there are some in the Democratic Party -- not all -- but I think there are some people in the Democratic Party that think that the immigration issue is more valuable to them unsolved," CNN quoted Rubio as saying. "That it gives them something to talk about, that they can go back to Hispanic communities and make unrealistic promises every two years and win votes."

Rubio added, "And I think for some -- not all -- but for some Democrats, the issue of immigration is better politically if they just leave it the way it is now because they can use it against Republicans."
Rubio's claim is a serious indictment. Given the millions of people whose lives are impacted daily by immigration dysfunction -- including the hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens whose families are torn apart each year by the deportation of a loved one -- it follows that if Rubio were sincere about his allegation then he -- and the Republican party -- would be all about fixing the immigration system so that it works for American families and businesses.

Yet, since he arrived in Washington in January 2011, Rubio has seesawed between anti-immigrant and vaguely pro-immigrant positions, but doesn't really seem to have a core on the issue. And he has done little to set himself apart from those in the GOP who continually do what they can to stymie legislative and administrative attempts to ameliorate the harshness of the current law. Nor has Rubio stood up to the anti-immigrant fringe that rabidly opposes anything short of deporting the 12 million undocumented immigrants and virtually locking America's doors to newcomers. read full Story @ www.huffingtonpost.com

Human Rights Watch Reports: Farmworkers suffer sex abuse to avoid deportation and job loss

Human Rights Watch has released a report, "Cultivating Fear: The Vulnerability of Immigrant Farmworkers in the US to Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment." The report, a summary, recommendations, and a video are at the Human Rights Watch website.

The report acknowledges the help of CRLA staff members in providing information for the key sections on indigenous farmworkers and farmworkers from the LGBT community. The groundbreaking efforts of CRLA staff and clients and our work to fight sexual harassment are featured throughout the report.

The full report can be found here:

• In English
• In Spanish

Source: crla.org

Best Practices In INS Immigration Services

INS was the first governing body that had major control over the immigration issues of the country. The early days of US immigration history did not have any policy or legislation to regulate the immigrants. This was due to the fact that the Americans favored and actually encouraged open immigration. The country was greatly benefitted by the unique and varied skills of the immigrants which led to a rapid development.

How was the INS founded?

The country’s first immigration ins law was passed in the year 1864, which encouraged immigration by offering transportation and settlement benefits to the immigrants. Since the immigrant numbers were within a controllable limit, every state was able to tackle the issue on its own. It was considered to be a domestic issue before the influx of immigrants began to increase.

The Immigration Act of 1891 authorized the US Federal Government to undertake complete control of the immigration system. This led to the formation of the Office of Immigration under the US Department of Treasury. This streamlined the immigration process with the help of its immigration stations and its inspectors (offices who were stationed at all immigrant stations).

Till the year 1933, Immigration and Naturalization were treated as two separate issues. The merger of these two portfolios and the beginning of World War changed their importance. INS was thus born and it was immediately entrusted with the major responsibility of managing the country’s security. INS functioned under the US Department of Justice and was headed by a Commissioner.

Practices of the INS

A general idea of the role of INS is that, it is concerned with the deportation of illegal aliens. The truth is that, this is only a part in the list of responsibilities of the USCIS. The following are the functions of the IN

• Strict enforcement of immigration laws
• Helping the asylee and refugees to get the benefits that they are entitled to
• It works in association with other major departments like the Departments of State, Health, Human services, US Foreign Service and the UN

The INS had a workforce of about more than 25,000 employees and control over more than 250 Ports of Entry into the US. This helped them to screen all those who were entering the US and declare them to be eligible or not. This saved a great deal of money as deportation costs were minimized.

Illegal immigration became a persistent headache to the US after a few years of the formation of the INS. The entry of a large number of illegal aliens exposed the fragility of the nation’s borders as these were the main gateways for them. So the Border Patrol was put into action to continuously guard the borders and detain illegals. The officers patrol the borders on land, sea and air as the illegals find every possible way to come in to the US in an illegal fashion.

Major accomplishments of the INS

·         Apprehension of more than 1.5 million of illegals

·         Deportation of these illegals and around 176,000 criminals from the US

·         Winning more than 45,000 criminal cases.

·         Receiving around 5 million applications ( immigration benefits and naturalization) which brought in a revenue of  more than $1billion as fee.

All these were accomplished in the year 1999 which could be considered as the most productive and successful year for the INS.

Reasons for its downfall

It was very difficult for this national body to balance both its responsibilities. Even though the  US was proud of the fact that it was the most favorite choice of immigrants, it found it very difficult to manage the security issue at its borders. Immigration and naturalization procedures were going on very smoothly until terrorists staged a monstrous attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Three newly formed components – USCIS, ICE and CBP that were placed under the newly formed US Department Of Homeland Security shared the functions of the former INS.

Law Could Sow Discord Among U.S. Immigrants

The proposed Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, while aiming to diminish some of the backlog in the system which gives immigrants permanent American green cards, may cause rifts within the U.S. immigrant population.

The bill's critics have argued it may be promoting unfair employment options to non-permanent residents while U.S. citizens continue to look for work in the recession, according to the Washington Post. The act has also been attacked for favoring those immigration requests from workers originally residing in larger countries, such as India, over those hailing from smaller ones, like the Philippines.

Current laws only allow 140,000 green cards annually for those holding temporary work permits, and impose per-country quotas, which has greatly lengthened wait times for countries with large emigrating populations, like India.

Immigrants from smaller countries, however, believe that the new bill is unfair. The Post quoted an electrical engineer from Bangladesh who posted to an online message forum about the issue. The engineer wrote, “If this bill is passed, then thousands of people from India will get to
cut in line in front of me and add three to four more years to my already ridiculous wait time."

For some immigrants from India, however, many of whom already hold temporary teaching, government, and technology-related positions, wait times can stretch to more than 40 years, literally half a lifetime. Southern Methodist University professor Caroline Brettell believes that one of the greatest travesties of United States immigration services are those immigrants who have spent nearly their whole lives in this country, but remain unable to attain higher education or permanent employment.

"Why shouldn't smart immigrants, who might have come to the United States at six months, be able to go on to higher education? It would be economically productive and morally right," Brettell said during the Centennial Academic Symposium in Dallas, according to the SMU Daily Campus.


SOURCE: Law Could Sow Discord Among U.S. Immigrants

'If they make me go back, I will be lost'

From the outside, Ayded Reyes seems like she's living the American dream.

The 20-year-old, who attends Southwestern College in Chula Vista near San Diego, is California's top-ranked women's junior college cross country athlete. She carries a 3.50 GPA and her goal is to become an obstetrician. She is also a community volunteer who has worked extensively with children and the elderly. She is a young woman many describe as sweet, effusive and energetic, the "All-American" type.

There's just one catch: She's in the United States illegally.

Source: w.espn.go.com

LiveLeak.com - Washington Woman’s Story Illustrates Plight of Undocumented Immigrant Parents

LiveLeak.com - Washington Woman’s Story Illustrates Plight of Undocumented Immigrant Parents