HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM THE LAW OFFICES OF CURTIS PIERCE
IMMIGRATION NEWS
Rep. Joe Wilson shouted "you lie" after President Obama denied the health care plan would cover "illegal immigrants."
HEALTH CARE DEBATE SHINES SPOTLIGHT ON IMMIGRATION ISSUES
When Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) heckled President Barak Obama during his nationally televised speech on health care on Tuesday, September 8, 2009, he turned the heat up on the immigration debate. Wilson's outburst and the subsequent chorus of support he has received from his constituents and from right-wing talk radio are predictors of the tone and tenor of future attempts at immigration reform.
Still, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is drafting legislation to overhaul immigration, and President Obama says he intends to make a fresh push on the issue next year. (Washington Post, September 13, 2009)
Rhetoric or Fact?
What are the facts about HR 3200 and the undocumented? The bill, HR 3200, would set up a health insurance "exchange," in which consumers could compare policies and choose a plan. It would create a government-run health plan to compete with private insurers in that exchange, and extend subsidies for coverage to people who aren't already covered by employers or federal programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
It specifically bars undocumented individuals or "illegal immigrants" from receiving those subsidies. Section 246, which is included in the part of the bill that sets up the exchange, forbids payments "on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States." (CNN Politics.com, August 27, 2009).
The undocumented are already eligible for emergency care through the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, signed by President Reagan in 1986. This emergency care is often paid for by Emergency Medicaid, private insurance if the patients have it, out-of-pocket, or it's written off as bad debt or charity care by the hospital.
H.R. 3200 would extend Medicaid coverage up to 133 1/3% of poverty for populations that previously were not covered such as some parents and childless adults.
Wilson Raised More Than $200,000 after the "You Lie" Comment
Wilson's supporters have been opening their wallets since his outburst before a joint session of Congress. Less than a day after Rep. Joe Wilson formally apologized to President Obama over his "you lie" outburst, a campaign aide confirms that the South Carolina Republican has raised "more than $200,000" after the now-infamous moment. (CNN.com, September 11, 2009)
Predictions for Immigration Reform?
Joe Wilson has already warmed up the crowd for opponents of comprehensive immigration reform. President Barak Obama chose to make health care reform his first priority over immigration reform. In doing so, he may have weakened his chances of achieving both. Health care reform has ignited the fires of the culture war targeting illegal immigrants and by association, all immigrants. The path to comprehensive immigration reform just got steeper.
TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS (TPS) FOR HAITIANS?
The Republic of Haiti is the first independent nation in Latin America, the first post-colonial independent black-led nation in the world, and the only nation whose independence was gained as part of a successful slave rebellion. To date, it remains the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. What is President Obama's position on reversing President Bush's refusal to grant TPS for Haitians? As late as July 24, 2009, President Obama in a roundtable interview was recorded as saying that the review on the issue of Haitian TPS is not yet complete.
Shortly after Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, several groups that have long advocated on behalf of Haitian refugees and immigrants began calling for a halt to deportations to Haiti. These groups – Haitian Women of Miami (FANM), the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center (FIAC), the Florida Immigrant Coalition, Catholic Charities, UNITE for Dignity, the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition, Notre Dame D’Haiti Mission and Grace Haitian United Methodic Church – set up an online petition to broaden support.
Current events in Palm Beach County, Florida have brought attention back to the issue. On Friday, September 18, 2009, a public funeral was held for three Haitian women who perished at sea in a small craft trying to reach the U.S.
A dozen mourners gathered to give the women names -- Life, Courage and Hope -- and a dignified burial amid calls to not forget why the women died. ``We pray for you. We are with you,'' activist Marleine Bastien said in mourning the women. ``We are going to continue to fight for temporary protected status.'' (Miami Herald, September 18, 2009)
The burial took place amid a week of activities in South Florida and Washington marking the one-year anniversary of four deadly hurricanes that struck the Caribbean nation. Some Haitians used the anniversary to increase calls for the Obama administration to allow undocumented Haitians in the United States to remain temporarily and work.
Advocates of TPS hold that Haiti is experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. According to conservative estimates, over 800 people were killed and the total damage was equivalent to 15 percent of Haiti’s gross domestic product (GDP) in last year's hurricanes.
Many Hondurans and Nicaraguans are still getting TPS from a natural disaster (Hurricane Mitch) that occurred in 1998 and Salvadorians are still benefitting from TPS received following earthquakes in El Salvador in 2001. Haitian advocate groups point to this as justification for granting TPS to Haitians and for halting the deportation of the estimated 30,000 undocumented Haitians in the U.S.
Immigration authorities have temporarily halted deportations for all noncriminal Haitian deportees. In February, they deferred the deportation of a Haitian national at the last minute; federal officials didn't explain the reasons for the decision. And in August they released from detention the parents of an 8-month-old girl so they could attend her funeral. The infant was among the nine Haitians to die when the boat capsized off the coast of Palm Beach on May 13.
Will TPS be granted to Haitians under the Obama administration? Notwithstanding the humanitarian problems in Haiti, Haitian advocates have a weak presence in Washington.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT (VAWA) AT 15
The Department of Justice commemorated the 15th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which was signed into law on September 13, 1994. This critical legislation was created in recognition of the severity of the crimes associated with domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. The anniversary also marks 15 years since the creation of the Department's Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), which administers financial and technical assistance to communities around the country to facilitate the creation of programs, policies and practices aimed at ending domestic and dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.
Among other things, VAWA created special provisions in United States immigration law to protect battered noncitizens. These provisions were updated in 2000 by the Battered Immigrant Women's Protection Act. "We've made tremendous progress since the Violence Against Women Act first passed in 1994, but we have much more to do. We cannot rest. It will take all of us to fulfill the promise to end domestic violence and sexual assault," said Vice President Joe Biden, the author of the landmark Violence Against Women Act.
In recognition of the severity of the crimes associated with gender-motivated violence, Congress passed VAWA as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. VAWA is comprehensive legislation designed to end violence against women through criminal penalties, civil remedies, federal grant programs, and research and was reauthorized in 2000 and 2005. Since the passage of VAWA, there has been a paradigm shift in how the issue of violence against women is addressed in communities throughout the nation. (Reuters, September, 14, 2009)
How can I get lawful permanent residency under VAWA? How can I be granted cancellation of removal under VAWA? If you think you have a VAWA case, contact the law offices of Curtis Pierce for a consultation.
IMMIGRATION BOOKS
UNWELCOME STRANGERS: AMERICAN IDENTITY AND THE TURN AGAINST IMMIGRATION: THE NEW NATIVISM
David M. Reimers
New York: Columbia University Press, 1998,
The focus on scholarly books on immigration continues with a discussion of the new nativism. This month we are featuring Unwelcome Strangers by David Reimers. While this book was published in 1998, many of it themes have been resurfacing in the health care debate and its subsequent focus on immigration. In light of the current political climate, this book merits another look.
While it is a scholarly work, it is also very accessible to the general reader. Is it time for America -- a country founded and forged by immigrants -- to shut its doors? After decades of liberal policies that welcomed ever greater numbers of immigrants, America is seeing a surge in anti-immigration sentiment. Congressional debates, polls, incidents of violence, and the growing strength of anti-immigration groups all indicate a growing nativism. In Unwelcome Strangers, David M. Reimers enters into the emotionally charged immigration debate, looking at all sides of the argument. Who are the nativists, and are any of their views legitimate?
This scholarly investigation traces the history of American attitudes toward immigration and offers a new perspective on the current crisis. The core of this book uncovers the heated arguments of the anti-immigration forces, from environmental groups that warn against the consequences of overpopulation, to economic concerns that immigrants take jobs away from Americans, to assimilationist fears that newcomers -- especially from Latin America, and Asia -- threaten American culture. Reimers questions these arguments while acknowledging that pro-immigration forces hurt their position by not considering whether the United States can actually absorb one million immigrants a year.
Reimers sees potential solutions in English language instruction for newcomers, greater accountability of sponsors, and government intervention to counterbalance the negative economic impact some immigrants have on poor communities. Reimers charts the history of U.S. immigration policy and public reaction to newcomers, from the Puritan colonists to World War II refugees. The rise of nativism that began in the 1880s culminated with the highly restrictive immigration policies of the 1920s. Reimers shows how immigrant groups have historically been targeted -- whether for ethnic, racial, or religious reasons. Quakers, Catholics, and Jews were the focus of anti-immigrant sentiment as were Germans, Irish, Italians, and Asians. This history of prejudice throws light on later developments in immigration history, such as the public response to the Cuban refugee crisis, the growing proportion of Third World immigrants, and the relationship between legal and illegal immigration, right up to the battles over California's proposition 187 -- which proposed to restrict public assistance for aliens and their children -- and major congressional legislation passed in 1996 to deal with immigration.
For five consecutive years (2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006), Los Angeles Immigration Attorney Curtis Pierce has been selected as a Super Lawyer by Law and Politics and Los Angeles Magazine. After a survey of 65,000 lawyers, a blue ribbon panel review process and independent research of his background determined that he is among the top 5% of lawyers in all practice areas and top 2% of attorneys practicing immigration law in Southern California.
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It is published by the Law Offices of Curtis Pierce, 213-327-0044.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter is analysis and commentary of a general nature. Nothing in this newsletter applies to a specific case nor does it constitute legal advice.
Schedule appointment: For legal advice on your case, please schedule an appointment with Curtis Pierce, Certified Specialist, Immigration & Nationality Law, The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.
“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."
Curtis F. Pierce
Attorney At Law
Certified Specialist, Immigration & Nationality Law
The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization
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