OBAMA'S STIMULUS BILL AND IMMIGRATION ISSUES: E-VERIFY MANDATE DROPPED BUT H-1Bs LIMITED
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the stimulus bill) that President Obama signed into law on February 17, 2009 dropped a previously planned, immigration-related provision requiring that all U.S. employers use e-Verify—but added a new provision for recipients of funding through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) that wish to hire H-1B foreign professionals.
E-Verify
Senate and House conferees removed a provision from the economic stimulus package that would have required companies to verify the immigration status of their workers.
The decision to strip the measure was hailed by pro-business and pro-immigrant groups, but left fuming those who advocate stricter enforcement of immigration laws.
"Removing the problematic employment verification provision from the economic stimulus package will help unemployed Americans get back to work," said Caroline Fredrickson, the ACLU's top Washington lobbyist. "E-Verify is known to create significant delays in hiring new employees, a consequence our economy and American workers should not have to suffer in such difficult economic times."
But House Judiciary ranking member Lamar Smith, R-Texas, called the decision to remove the E-Verify requirement "outrageous" and "a gross disservice" to U.S. citizens and legal immigrant workers. "It is a simple matter of accountability," Smith said. Smith pointed to an analysis from the conservative Heritage Foundation that the stimulus bill would create jobs for about 300,000 undocumented workers without the E-Verify requirement. (Government Executive.com, February 13, 2009.)
The E-Verify system is run by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Citizen and Immigration Services, together with the Social Security Administration (SSA). It is a free Internet-based employment eligibility verification system that lets employers compare information from an employee's job application with data from the DHS and SSA to determine work eligibility in the U.S. Arizona, Georgia, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Missouri now mandate the use of E-Verify, according to Sheri Steisel, an immigration policy expert at the National Conference of State Legislatures in Washington. Legislation is pending in 13 additional states that would mandate public or private employers to verify the status of new hires using E-Verify.
Recent enhancements to the E-Verify system include a photo-screening tool for biometric verification and naturalization data that can be used to confirm the citizenship status of recently naturalized U.S. citizens. All federal contractors and subcontractors were supposed to start using the program this May under the assumption that it will be renewed.
The proposal by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) was added to the economic recovery package in the Senate on Feb. 6. A conference committee retained the provision in the version of the bill that is expected to win final congressional approval in the coming days. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Immigration Lawyers Association had lobbied against inclusion of the provision.
The proposed restrictions require firms that receive money under the federal Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) to comply with hiring rules set for "H-1B dependent" firms — those with more than 15% of their workers on visas. Those rules set a number of strict requirements for hiring H-1B holders, including a need for companies to attest that they actively recruited American workers and are not displacing or replacing U.S. citizens with foreign workers.
Section 1610 of the act requiring hiring of American workers in companies receiving TARP funding is called the "Employ American Workers Act". Notwithstanding any other provision of law, it shall be unlawful for any recipient of funding under title I of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–343) or section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act (U.S.C. 342 et seq.) to hire any nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(h)(i)(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(h)(i)(b)) unless the recipient is in compliance with the requirements for an H–1B dependent employer (as defined in section 212(n)(3) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(3))), except that the second sentence of section 212(n)(1)(E)(ii) of such Act shall not apply.
The Employ American Workers Act will become effective up the stimulus bill's enactment. It is important to note that the law will remain effective for two years after its enactment. Thus, it will affect cap-subject H-1B petitions for fiscal years 2010 and 2011, as well as H-1B transfers to TARP recipients until the provision's sunset date.
The amendment falls short of preventing large banks from using H-1Bs brought into the U.S. by outsourcing firms like India-based Infosys (INFY), Wipro (WIT), and Tata (TCS.NS), which are among the top recipients of petitions for the H-1B visa program. In other words, a bank could still legally force a laid-off American employee to train a replacement worker who is on an H-1B visa on an outsourcing firm’s payroll.
NATIONWIDE PRAYER VIGILS FOR CIR (COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM): "PRAYER, RENEWAL AND ACTION ON IMMIGRATION".
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition, a broad based interfaith group, has begun a series of nationwide prayer vigils to raise awareness of the need for comprehensive immigration reform. “Prayer, Renewal and Action on Immigration” is the name of the campaign launched this week with help from U.S. Reps. Luis V. Gutierrez and Mike Honda. The coalition has also prepared a platform on immigration, signed by over 500 congregations from coast to coast, which asks the new President and Congress to uphold family unity, along with creating a process for earning legal status, implementing worker protections, restoring due process and facilitating immigrant integration.
The interfaith platform on humane immigration reform speaks to the moral dimensions of public policy. The signers value family unity, justice, equity, compassion and the humane treatment of all persons. They call on the new administration and 111th Congress to pass equitable immigration reform in 2009.
To read the platform of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition and to view the impressive and diverse list of signers, click:
Status of Religious Freedom Worldwide: Report of International Religious Freedom
The Report on International Religious Freedom is released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. The report is submitted to Congress annually by the Department of State in compliance with Section 102(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA of 1998). The purpose of the act is to advocate on the behalf of individuals persecuted in foreign countries because of religion.
The report is a useful tool for attorneys investigating county conditions and searching for a report on abuses of religious freedom. It is also fascinating reading for lay people concerned with social justice. It also contains interesting appendices including the Overview of U.S. Refugee Policy.
"More than one-half of the world's population lives under regimes that severely restrict or prohibit the freedom of their citizens to study, believe, observe, and freely practice the religious faith of their choice. Religious believers and communities suffer both government-sponsored and government-tolerated violations of their rights to religious freedom."
--International Religious Freedom Act of 1998
At the Law Offices of Curtis Pierce, we think that it is imperative to understand the immigrant experience and the special needs of immigrant clients. The experience of this vulnerable population is detailed in both fiction and academic writing. We feature noteworthy books on our newsletter in order to increase awareness of the struggles and obstacles that immigrants overcome before they are accepted into our society.
The Devil's Highway: A True Story
by Luis Alberto Urrea
The author describes the conditions and historic events that lead to the beginning of the illegal immigration into the US and draws a clear parallelism with our times, when there are several tasks in the US that Americans are reluctant to do, thus illegal immigrants are needed for this. When price changes in international markets adversely affected the Mexican economy and overpopulation became a problem, some Mexicans decided to come to the US. They ended up with a comfortable life, so when others found out, a growing interest in crossing the border developed.
Organizations of coyotes were formed to provide supply for the growing demand, and the poor people seeking a better future became just a means to an end. These individuals in their attempts have to fight against the heat of the desert, thirst, exhaustion, "la migra" (Border Patrol) and the coyotes themselves. On top of this, the control at the border has intensified throughout the last years, so the groups seeking a new future have to go through more dangerous paths each time. In the case of the twenty-six Mexicans that are the center of this story, the point of entry was the Devil's Highway, a deadly desert in Arizona that has claimed numerous victims through the years.
Urrea shows his knowledge of the topic in question and uses this in his descriptions with no holds barred. One of the most shocking passages of the book was the explanation of the different stages of death by heat, which go from heat stress to heat stroke. Be aware that this book describes conditions that are brutal and disturbing.
LITTLEIMMIGRATION INTELLECTUALS: Immigration Books For Children
The Dragon's Child: A Story of Angel Island by Laurence Yep and Dr. Kathleen Yep
Appropriate for ages 8 - 12
Ten-year-old Gim Lew Yep knows that he must leave his home in China and travel to America with the father who is a stranger to him. Gim Lew doesn't want to leave behind everything that he's ever known. But he is even more scared of disappointing his father. He worries about not passing the strict immigration test administered at Angel Island.
The Dragon's Child is a touching portrait of a father and son and their unforgettable journey from China to the land of the Golden Mountain. It is based on actual conversations between two-time Newbery Honor author Laurence Yep and his father and on research on his family's immigration history by his niece, Dr. Kathleen S. Yep.
Historian Kathleen S. Yep and her uncle Laurence craft a compelling tale based on transcripts of his father's 1922 immigration interview. The Yeps relate the harrowing experiences of ten-year-old Gim Lew, who, after crossing the Pacific with his father, is interned on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay, where he must submit to lengthy detailed interviews about his home, village and neighbors, in order to prove he is who he claims to be. To pass this detailed interrogation, he has conscientiously studied a family book containing specifics about his home: How many windows in your house? How many steps? How are the houses in your village arranged?, etc. To enter "The Golden Mountain," he must answer the questions perfectly, leaving no room for doubt by the immigration officers. The boy's frustration and anxiety rise from the page, as does this particularly xenophobic moment in U.S. history. Fiction based on facts and the authors' smooth narration vividly evokes the past and its inhabitants.
FOR IMMIGRATION ATTORNEYS ONLY:
WHAT'S NEW IN IMMIGRATION LAW that I had better know?:
Immigration Law is constantly evolving. New cases, regulations, statutes, and memoranda are published almost every day. It is extremely difficult to keep up with all the changes. This section is intended to provide immigration attorneys with information concerning at least some of the most important developments in immigration law that took place in the last month. In other words, what happened in the last month of which I absolutely should be aware?
Are the beneficiary of a form I-140 petition filed in a preference category that has been designated for premium processing service;
Have reached the 6th year statutory limitation of their H-1B stay, or will reach the end of their 6th year of H-1B stay within 60 days of filing;
They are only eligible for a further H-1B extension upon approval of their Form I-140 petition as prescribed by American Competitiveness in the
Twenty-first Century Act (AC21) provisions 104(c)1 ; and
Are ineligible to extend their H-1B status under AC21 §106(a)2
ATTORNEY CURTIS PIERCE RECOGNIZED
Curtis Pierce was named a Super Lawyer in the December 2008 issue of Super Lawyers -Corporate Counsel Edition, a publication for attorneys who specialize in business litigation.
PROCESSING TIMES & CASE STATUS
· To view processing times and your case status, click one of the links below to connect to the correct U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services information page.
“The only title in our democracy superior to that of President (is) the title of citizen”.
Former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis.
(In the case Ng Fung Ho v. White, 259 U.S. 276, 284 (1922), Justice Brandeis wrote that deportation can deprive an individual of "life, or of all that makes life worth living.")
In the words of President Kennedy,
the United States is a "nation of immigrants."
IMMIGRATION LAW E-NEWSLETTER Curtis F. Pierce
Attorney At Law
Certified Specialist, immigration & nationality law The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization
THE PACIFIC CENTER
523 WEST SIXTH STREET, SUITE 348
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90014
TEL (213) 327-0044 FAX (213) 327-0066
