USA Green Card Immigration Blog

A compassionate and sensible step on immigration – KansasCity.com.

The following editorial appeared in the Sacramento Bee on Monday, Aug. 22:

It’s not amnesty, back-door or otherwise. It’s just a little more sanity in our broken immigration system.

The Obama administration has announced that it will suspend deportation proceedings against thousands of illegal immigrants who aren’t a danger to public safety, including those who came to America as young children and have graduated from high school and gone on to college or into the military.

Other “low-priority” cases likely to benefit under the new policy are veterans and spouses of veterans, caregivers for a seriously ill relative or for a person with a mental or physical disability and those with family members who are citizens.

It only makes sense to target limited manpower and resources to deporting those who are violent criminals and drug smugglers, or who pose a national security threat.

This is not a blanket policy; immigration officials will review, case by case, nearly 300,000 people now in the deportation pipeline to distinguish those who may qualify for relief from those who should be expelled as soon as possible. It also doesn’t automatically grant citizenship, though many could eventually apply for legal status.

Predictably, zealous activists against illegal immigration, along with elected officials in their thrall, are railing against this change. They are still not facing the reality that if they got their way, we would have to figure out how to find and deport more than 10 million people.

With this new policy, President Barack Obama is doing administratively much of what Congress hasn’t had the courage and common sense to do legislatively by passing the DREAM Act, a bill to give relief to college students who are illegal immigrants.

“Young people who arrived here at an early age and either serve in the military or are in good academic standing should not be removed from the country and separated from their families,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who urged Obama to make the change, said in a statement. “Instead, they should be allowed to reach their full potential as productive American citizens.” She has introduced 14 private bills in the past two sessions of Congress to block deportations of such students their only recourse until now.

This new policy is a necessary step that upholds our tradition as an immigrant nation, but it is not a long-term solution. We still have to get serious about comprehensive reform to create a system that is fair and sensible.

Michael Bloomberg Calls Inaction on Immigration Reform ‘National Suicide’ – The Note.

While Democrats and Republicans trade jabs over how to more quickly stimulate job growth, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg today said both parties are overlooking “the one thing” that can do the trick: encouraging more legal immigration to the United States.

“It’s what I call national suicide – and that’s not hyperbole,” Bloomberg told a symposium at the Council on Foreign Relations. “Every day that we fail to fix our broken immigration laws is a day that we inflict a wound on our economy.”

Bloomberg cited a new report by the Partnership for a New American Economy, an advocacy group he founded jointly with News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, that found more than 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies were started by an immigrant or a child of immigrants and now employ more than 10 million people worldwide.

“Immigrants and their children have been responsible for creating millions more jobs in all 50 states,” he said. “The reason is simple: immigrants are dreamers and risk-takers who are driven to succeed, because they know that in America, hard work and talent are rewarded like nowhere else.”

Bloomberg said the “single most powerful step” to spur job growth is enacting a five-point bipartisan reform that would allow foreign graduates of U.S. universities to obtain green cards; lure foreign entrepreneurs to innovate on American soil; end caps on to visas for highly-skilled workers; ensure an abundant supply of agricultural guest-workers; and set green card limits based on the country’s economic needs, not an immigrant’s family ties.

Critics of looser immigration restrictions, and a path to legal residency for the nation’s estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, say Bloomberg’s proposals would take jobs from American workers and make the economic environment worse.

“We already have a system that allows 8 million foreign workers to hold jobs that millions of Americans who are unemployed would like to have. That’s a broken system,” said Roy Beck, president of Numbers USA, a group that favors tighter immigration restrictions.

“It’s not going to go anywhere because it makes no political sense,” Beck said of comprehensive immigration reform.  “Some people do not get that immigration is a jobs issue.”

Bloomberg disputed those arguments, insisting there is a way to address immigration – even in an election year – that will appeal to voters in both parties.

“The public cares about two things: housing and jobs. My house, my job,” he said. “And if you want to do something in this country to create jobs, better jobs and more jobs, and a better chance to keep your houses, the one thing we can do is not expensive for this country, it’s not a big stimulus of trillions of dollars, it is immigration reform.”

“That will get the best and the brightest from around the world, those that are the hungriest and willing to work the hardest to come here and create exactly what we need,” Bloomberg added.

Why Immigrants Are Good for Our Economy – Richard Florida – Business – The Atlantic.

Immigration remains a hotly debated issue across America and may prove a key sleeper issue in the looming 2012 presidential campaign, as my colleague Josh Green wrote yesterday. He notes that “whites are far more pessimistic about their prospects and their children’s prospects–and many mistakenly believe that illegal immigrants are the primary culprit.” He adds that “widespread misconceptions about the economic effects of immigration” stem “from a lack of information that’s largely due to both the Democratic and Republican parties’ unwillingness to pursue immigration reform, after years of failed attempts.”

Nonetheless, a wide body of research shows the ways that immigration powers the twin engines of American innovation and entrepreneurship. Foreign-born founders and entrepreneurs stand behind anywhere from a third to a half of Silicon Valley high-tech startups, and comprise huge shares of computer scientists and software engineers.

A new Brookings Institution report provides important new data and evidence on the role of immigration and immigrants across US metros. Two conclusions stand out.

The share of high-skill immigrants has risen consistently over the past several decades, as the chart above shows; there are more high-skill immigrants in the United States now than low skill ones. As the report notes, “In 1980, just 19 percent of immigrants aged 25 to 64 held a bachelor’s degree, and nearly 40 percent had not completed high school. By 2010, 30 percent of working-age immigrants had at least a college degree and 28 percent lacked a high school diploma.”

The map above charts immigrant skill levels–high, low or balanced–by metro area. The report classifies metros by type and timing of immigration, and notes that, “compared with their U.S.-born counterparts, low-skilled immigrants have higher rates of employment and lower rates of household poverty, but also have lower individual earnings, in all types of metro areas.” 44 of the nation’s largest 100 metro areas–including Washington, DC and San Francisco–are high-skill immigrant destinations, where college educated immigrants outnumber those that did not complete high school by at least 25 percent.

The report calls for a more pragmatic approach to immigration with a flexible admissions system that can respond to the evolving needs of the labor market as a cornerstone of regional and national competitiveness.

Let’s hope the administration, the Congress and the American people are paying attention. With such a fragile recovery, America can ill afford to cut off the stream of talented immigrants that are-and have long been-such a critical source of the innovative and entrepreneurial dynamism of its regional and national economies.

Obama is deceiving Hispanics on immigration – Andres Oppenheimer – MiamiHerald.com.

House GOP Hints At Immigration Reform For Skilled Workers.

Republican lawmakers on Thursday signaled a willingness to tackle immigration reform measures, specifically those relating to skilled worker visas.

Led by Virginia’s Bob Goodlatte, the House Republican Technology Working Group released its list of top technology concerns relating to economic growth in the U.S.

Under the banner of “Ensuring American Access to the Best Workers,” the group said it would “examine current visa and immigration laws to make sure we attract and retain the best and brightest minds from around the world.”

In addition to skilled workers, the group announced that it would also focus on access to network spectrum, cyber security issues, intellectual property protections, fair trade agreements, tax code and regulation reform.

While the GOP has historically championed free trade, tax reform and decreased regulation, the group’s embrace of immigration — however limited — was hailed by reform groups as a step forward.

Rebecca Peters, the director and counsel for legislative affairs at the American Council on International Personnel, told Huff Post that the GOP agenda was “very encouraging.” Her business advocacy group sees the recent bipartisan political movement — including the president’s immigration speech in El Paso, Texas, last month and the 2010 Republican plan for job creation — as evidence that reform might be on the horizon.

Compete America Executive Director Scott Corley, whose advocacy group focuses on immigration concerns for skilled workers, said in a statement, “We applaud the House Republican Technology Working Group for emphasizing the link between access to top talent and U.S. job creation. We encourage the growing list of supporters on both sides of the aisle to turn their talk into action.”

This Republican embrace of high-skilled immigrants partially reflects a stronger relationship between the GOP and the tech world. Both sides have dispatched emissaries in recent months: Tech companies, including Google, have ramped up their lobbying efforts in Washington, while Republican congress members have lately sought an audience with high tech denizens.

Retaining skilled workers and reforming intellectual property protections are both issues of concern to tech leaders and Republican leaders are taking notice.

“A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to talk to employers and employees out in Silicon Valley,” said House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). “They are on the frontlines of our country’s efforts to create new jobs, and they are concerned about the policies they are seeing coming out of Washington.”

Boehner has been well-compensated for the increased attention he’s paid to the tech world. In his visit to Northern California last month, he was estimated to have raised nearly a quarter of a million dollars at a Silicon Valley fundraiser in the home of HP executive Michael Holsten. Among those he met with were representatives from interest groups representing some of the Valley’s brightest lights, including Apple, Netflix and eBay.

High court backs Arizona immigration law that punishes businesses – CNN.com.

Washington (CNN) — The Supreme Court has backed an Arizona law that punishes businesses hiring illegal immigrants, a law that opponents, including the Obama administration, say steps on traditional federal oversight over immigration matters.

The 5-3 ruling Thursday is a victory for supporters of immigration reform on the state level.

It was the first high court challenge to a variety of recent state laws cracking down on illegal immigrants, an issue that has become a political lightning rod.

The outcome could serve as a judicial warmup for a separate high-profile challenge to a more controversial Arizona immigration reform law working its way through lower courts. That statute would, among other things, give local police a greater role in arresting suspected illegal immigrants.

The hiring case turned on whether state law tramples on federal authority.

“Arizona has taken the route least likely to cause tension with federal law,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts. “It relies solely on the federal government’s own determination of who is an unauthorized alien, and it requires Arizona employers to use the federal government’s own system for checking employee status.”

Arizona passed the Legal Arizona Workers Act in 2007, allowing the state to suspend the licenses of businesses that “intentionally or knowingly” violate work-eligibility verification requirements. Companies would be required under that law to use E-Verify, a federal database to check the documentation of current and prospective employees. That database had been created by Congress as a voluntary, discretionary resource.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit against the state, arguing that federal law prohibits Arizona and other states from making E-Verify use mandatory. The group was supported by a variety of civil rights and immigration rights groups. The state countered that its broad licensing authority gives it the right to monitor businesses within its jurisdiction.

The Obama administration recommended a judicial review and sided with businesses and civil rights groups.

A 1986 federal act significantly limited state power to separately regulate the hiring and employment of “unauthorized” workers. An exception was made for local “licensing and similar laws.” Under the law, employees are required to review documentation to confirm someone’s right to work in the United States, including checking the familiar I-9 immigration form. Civil and criminal penalties were strengthened, but businesses making a “good faith” effort to comply with I-9 procedures were generally immune from prosecution.

Roberts, backed by his four conservative colleagues, said, “Arizona went the extra mile in ensuring that its law tracks (the federal law’s) provisions in all material aspects.”

In dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted E-Verify is a voluntary program and said criticism that the federal government is not doing enough to enforce the law is irrelevant.

“Permitting states to make use of E-Verify mandatory improperly puts states in the position of making decisions … that directly affect expenditure and depletion of federal resources,” she wrote. Justices Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg also dissented.

Justice Elena Kagan did not participate in the case, since she had been the administration’s solicitor general last year when the case was being appealed to the high court.

Gov. Jan Brewer had backed the law, saying in December when the case was argued, “The bottom line is that we believe that if the (federal) government isn’t going to do the job, then Arizona is going to do the job. We are faced with a crisis.”

This case could serve as a bellwether to how the court will view a larger, more controversial state immigration law from Arizona. Much of that statute was tossed out by a federal judge in August and is pending at a federal appeals court. It would, among other things, give police authority to check a person’s immigration status if officers have a “reasonable suspicion” that the individual is in the country illegally.

The hiring case is Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting (09-115).

Obama playing games with immigration – CNN.com.

San Diego, California (CNN) — In August 2005, as part of a public arts project, David Smith — aka “The Human Cannonball” — was fired out of a cannon across the border from Tijuana, Mexico, to San Diego. He was caught in a net 150 feet from the border, and he had his passport in hand just in case he had to show it to the U.S. Border Patrol.

For several years, that was considered the best show ever to visit the border. Not anymore.

This week, President Obama — who has already declared that he is running for re-election — kicked off his 2012 Latino outreach effort by traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border at El Paso, Texas, and delivering a speech on immigration.

This wasn’t easy. Finding the border can be tricky when it is your first visit in the 26 months since becoming president.

Besides, immigration isn’t Obama’s favorite topic. You remember that subject in high school that you hated, because, well, you had no interest in it and so you weren’t good at it?

For Barack Obama, that subject is immigration. He’s terrible at it. He doesn’t seem to understand it. And he doesn’t appear to care about it. So he settles for using it as a political tool.

There is a sizable community of immigrants — legal and illegal — in Illinois. Yet, during his stint in the state Senate, Obama demonstrated little interest in the issue and proposed no bills specifically aimed at immigrants.

When Obama ascended to the U.S. Senate, he voted for a so-called “poison pill” amendment to a comprehensive immigration reform bill that would “sunset” a proposed guest worker program after five years. All of this was to please organized labor, but it doomed the compromise.

After becoming president, Obama broke his promise to Latino voters to make immigration reform a top priority and address it early in his administration. Then he added injury to insult by racking up a record number of deportations — nearly 800,000 in his first two years in office. The Department of Homeland Security deports about 1,000 people a day.

We know this because, in a futile attempt to convince Obama’s critics that he’s tough on border security, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano brags about those figures in speeches and before Congress like a proud fisherman posing for a photo while holding the catch of the day.

And how do you get to the point where you’re deporting more illegal immigrants than any U.S. president since Dwight D. Eisenhower launched “Operation Wetback” in 1954? You use local police as a force multiplier, letting municipalities enforce immigration law and deliver to you the apprehended immigrants — while you’re suing the state of Arizona for doing the same thing.

All of which brings us to that speech on the border. This would have been a good opportunity to apologize for his administration’s excesses, and maybe announce a new policy that — while still tough — is fairer and more humane.

But that’s not Obama’s style. He approaches a speech like this as an opportunity to make himself look good and his opponents look bad. Some of the content was terrific; some was farcical. Overall, the president’s speech was menudo (Mexican stew). It had a little of everything mixed in.

On the positive side, you had uplifting stories like that of Dr. Jose Hernandez, the son of immigrant farm workers, who grew up picking vegetables in Central California and became an astronaut. There was common sense about how idiotic it is for our country to educate foreign students, then send them home because we make it so difficult for them to stay. There was the heartwarming assurance that people could be proud of their heritage and still love the United States of America.

But, on the negative side, this was a political speech. And so it was full of deceptions and half-truths, finger-pointing and the ducking of responsibility.

We learned that it was Republicans who demanded the building of border fencing. (True, but Obama left out the part about how he voted for it in the Senate.)

We learned that, while in the Senate, Obama helped forge “a bipartisan coalition” to advance immigration reform. (Actually, Obama undermined that coalition when he helped torpedo immigration reform.)

We learned that Republicans killed the DREAM Act. (They didn’t. Five Senate Democrats did — Jon Tester, Max Baucus, Mark Pryor, Kay Hagan, and Ben Nelson — when they bolted from party leaders and voted against cloture.)

We learned that the administration focuses on deporting “criminal aliens.” (It’s true that — through initiatives like Secure Communities, a cooperative agreement between local law enforcement and federal immigration officials — the number of criminal aliens being deported is way up from the previous administration. But even so, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the total number of criminal aliens apprehended is less than 200,000. That still leaves hundreds of thousands of “noncriminal” deportations. In fact, Obama admitted in his remarks that those subject to removal include “families that are just trying to earn a living or bright, eager students or decent people with the best of intentions.”)

And finally, we learned that Obama thinks the United States shouldn’t be “in the business of separating families.” (Guess what? That is exactly the business we’re in. The Obama administration, for purely political reasons, separates hundreds of families every day.)

Are we done now? Enough gamesmanship, Mr. President. How about some leadership? You’ve shown you can get out in front of issues you care about. Try caring more about this one.

President Obama went to the border this week to share his usual campaign message of hope and change. He wound up spreading fertilizer.

Obama Pressures GOP on Immigration – WSJ.com.

EL PASO, Texas—President Barack Obama on Tuesday tried a new tack on immigration, saying that beefed-up security along the U.S.-Mexico border has proved effective enough that it should draw Republican support for an overhaul of the nation’s naturalization system.

Mr. Obama said his administration had met the concerns of Republicans by increasing law-enforcement manpower to record levels and installing new surveillance technology and fencing.

“We have strengthened border security beyond what many believed was possible,” he said at the Chamizal National Memorial, as a giant Mexican flag waved across the Rio Grande river.

The president cited several statistics to back up his assertion of tightened borders, including a nearly 40% decrease in arrests at the border, to about 463,000 in 2010. The administration says that is a sign that fewer people are attempting to illegally cross from Mexico.

Mr. Obama didn’t mention that deportations hit record levels last year—a trend that has drawn fire from some Hispanic advocates.

The speech was aimed in part at reassuring voters who are worried about border security, and in part at renewing support among Hispanic voters he needs to boost his re-election campaign, particularly in Rocky Mountain states.

He offered no new policy proposals Tuesday, and set no timetable for legislation. Instead, he called for those who support his proposals to build pressure for congressional action from outside Washington.

The president said the new border-control measures will prevent another wave of illegal immigrants from flowing into the country if those already here are allowed to stay.

Some prominent unions including the AFL-CIO have opposed immigration legislation in the past, concerned that new arrivals would pose competition for their members. Senators trying to craft an overhaul have said one of the obstacles has been coming up with a guest-worker program unions and business can support.

Mr. Obama’s legislative goals haven’t changed since he spoke on immigration last summer, including a path to citizenship for the 10.8 million people already in the U.S. illegally, a program many Republicans oppose as a reward for lawbreaking. Mr. Obama also supports a guest-worker program and making it easier for foreign students educated in the U.S. to stay.

There is virtually no GOP support in Congress for the legislation Mr. Obama wants, though some Republicans have embraced these ideas in the past.

Mr. Obama predicted that no matter what he does, some Republican foes of his approach will demand more. “Maybe they’ll need a moat,” he said. “Maybe they’ll want alligators in the moat.”

Arizona Republican Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl have crafted a $4 billion, 10-point plan that calls for double fencing where there is now single fencing and another 5,000 Border Patrol agents, on top of the 20,700 now in place.

“We hear from our constituents on a daily basis, and, while some progress has been made in some areas, they do not believe the border is secure,” Messrs. McCain and Kyl said in a statement Tuesday.

They also pointed to a Government Accountability Office report that found the U.S. has “operational control” of 44% of the Southwest border with Mexico, meaning it has the ability to detect, respond and interdict illegal activity.The administration says that isn’t a good measure and officials are working on a better one.

Republicans face pressure within their party to keep the focus on tougher immigration enforcement. But some GOP leaders say the party also needs to improve its standing with Hispanics, the fastest-growing voter group in the U.S.

But the president faces skepticism even from supporters heading into this latest push.

“The moment to use pressure is gone. You missed it. The train left the station,” said Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D., Ill.). “I want to be honest with my constituents and with the American people. I don’t want to rev them up for something that doesn’t have any possibilities of success.”

Obama renews call for immigration reform – CNN.com.

Washington (CNN) — President Barack Obama renewed his call for comprehensive immigration reform Tuesday, citing America’s legacy as a nation of immigrants and calling the need to find a solution for the millions of undocumented workers critical to the country’s common future.

“We define ourselves as a nation of immigrants — a nation that welcomes those willing to embrace America’s precepts,” Obama said during a visit to El Paso, Texas.

“It doesn’t matter where you come from. What matters is that you believe in the ideals on which we were founded, that you believe all of us are equal. …. In embracing America, you can become American. That is what makes this country great.”

The president’s remarks were part of an administration attempt to seize the initiative on a hot-button issue that has largely been ceded to state government leaders in recent months.

The speech took place against a backdrop of intense political maneuvering on the part of both Democrats and Republicans seeking to use the issue to their own advantage in the 2012 election campaign.

Obama has held a series of meetings with key Latino officials and reform advocates in recent weeks. Despite an aggressive push for substantive policy changes from his political base, the president indicated he has ruled out acting on his own to implement provisions of a reform bill that failed to win congressional approval last year.

At the same time, however, the president also signaled a shift in federal priorities. While continuing to highlight tougher border enforcement measures to national audiences, Obama noted during a recent Univision appearance that he has “redesigned our enforcement practices under the law to make sure that we’re focusing primarily on criminals.”

The deportation of non-criminals is declining “because we want to focus our resources on those folks who are destructive to the community,” he said.

A number of states — most notably Arizona — are moving in the opposite direction, pushing legislation making it easier to deport people solely for being in the country illegally.

Broad immigration reform “remains a priority” for the administration, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday. There has been bipartisan support for reform in the past, he noted, and “we think we can build support for it again in the future.”

The issue requires “focus,” “education,” and “persistence,” Carney said. “The sooner it gets done, the better for the country.”

El Paso Mayor John Cook told CNN he hopes to see a stronger push for more agents at border crossing points.

Obama has “already done a lot of work” to put “additional boots on the ground” along the border, Cook said Tuesday. But the number of customs agents near El Paso has remained the same since 2005 while the overall volume of trade with Mexico has risen substantially, he noted.

In terms of more extensive immigration reform, Cook said there “doesn’t have to be a pathway to citizenship” for undocumented immigrants. There should, however, be at least “a pathway to legalization.”

Let’s “get these folks — (roughly) 12 million people — out of the shadows,” he said. “Get them to come out and have their place in the United States be legal.”

Republican leaders have indicated an unwillingness to consider broader changes — including a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants — until the Mexican border is brought under tighter control.

Conservative frustration has boiled over in recent months in the form of a rash of state-level proposals to apprehend and deport illegal immigrants. Key parts of an Arizona law requiring police officers to check a person’s immigration status while enforcing other statutes were recently blocked by the federal courts.

The Justice Department sued Arizona, arguing that only the federal government has the authority to dictate immigration policy. Federal district and appellate judges have blocked that provision of the law, and the state asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take the case Monday.

Progressive reform advocates, meanwhile, have been frustrated by Congress’s inability to pass the DREAM Act, which would offer legal standing to immigrants who entered the United States illegally as children under the age of 16 and have lived in the country for at least five years.

Obama said Tuesday he would keep pushing for passage of the measure.

The bill would require, among other things, a high school or General Education Development diploma, two years of college or military service, and criminal background checks.

Advocates say the bill would give legal standing to young people brought to the United States by their parents who have bettered themselves and served their new country.

One Latino advocacy group — Presente.org — released a statement Tuesday blasting Obama for failing to issue an executive order stopping the deportation of young undocumented immigrants until legislation such as the DREAM Act is passed.

“All we have heard from President Obama are empty speeches,” the statement said.

Republican opponents equate the measure to amnesty, and have said it would signal to the world that the United States is not serious about enforcing its laws or its borders. They have also called the bill unfair to immigrants who, in many cases, waited years to come to the country legally.

“The president will have to present a plan that takes amnesty off the table and focuses, instead, on making a real commitment to border and interior security,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said Tuesday morning.

“If the president does these two things, he will find strong bipartisan support. If he doesn’t, he won’t.”

The DREAM Act was defeated by a Republican filibuster in the Senate last December after winning passage in the House of Representatives. Most analysts believe it has little chance of clearing the GOP-controlled House now.

Regardless, the immigration issue remains politically potent. Obama won several Western states in 2008 — including Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada — partly on the rising power of the Latino vote. Democrats believe Hispanic voters might put traditionally Republican Arizona in play next year.

In the long run, Democrats are also hoping to use their advantage among Hispanics to make inroads in core GOP states such as Texas.

Obama won over two-thirds of the nationwide Hispanic vote in 2008. His approval rating among Hispanics hovered around 68 percent during the first three months of this year, according to the most recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation polls.

For their part, Republicans have depended on the immigration issue in the past to fire up conservative voters. Some analysts also believe that if Democrats push too hard, too fast on immigration, particularly in tough economic times, it could push swing voters toward the GOP.

Obama assembles all-star cast to talk immigration – Yahoo! News.