Immigration Newsletter – February 15, 2011
Arizona Sues Federal Government For Weak Immigration
Enforcement.
Feb 11, 2011: Arizona is seeking $760 million from the federal
government to pay for costs accrued by the state to jail illegal
immigrants. According to a filing in a U.S. District Court by
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and state Attorney General Tom Horne,
the federal government has failed in its duty to prevent illegal
immigrants from crossing the Arizona border in vast numbers, which
has left the burden of enforcement on the state.
In the lawsuit, it is claimed that Arizona is being invaded by
illegal Mexican immigrants and the federal government is not doing
its part to help the state manage this influx of illegal
immigrants.
While control of the border is a federal responsibility, illegal
aliens who successfully cross the border and commit crime in
Arizona become an Arizona responsibility,” Horne said in a
recent television interview.
DHS and DOS Issue Annotated B-1 Visa for Foreign Maritime
Workers Applying for a Transportation Worker Identification
Credential.
Feb 09, 2011: The Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and
State (DOS) announced today that they have created an annotated
version of the B-1 visa, the visa that is issued to foreign
citizens who wish to enter the U.S. for business purposes. This
annotated version will now enable foreign maritime workers to be
eligible to apply for a Transportation Worker Identification
Credential (TWIC), which is a tamper-resistant biometric identifier
card maritime workers must have to enter secure areas of maritime
facilities.
“Strengthening the security of our maritime global supply
chain is critical to protecting our nation from evolving
threats,” said Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland
Security. “This new TWIC process is a critical step toward
ensuring that foreign maritime workers can quickly and efficiently
obtain the necessary credentials to do their jobs and help grow the
American economy.”
Under the new process, foreign maritime workers who must have a
TWIC to perform their official duties must notify DOS of this need
when they apply for a B-1 visa. Additionally, they must provide a
letter from their employer that indicates they will be required to
perform services in secure port areas.
USCIS Offices Closed Due to Severe Weather; Agency to Make
Adjustments Accordingly.
Feb 04, 2011: Because of the recent winter storms, a number of
USCIS offices, including the Texas and Nebraska Service Centers,
were closed during the week of January 31. USCIS has commented that
it will make adjustments to recognize those that filed petitions in
a timely manner or responded to requests for additional information
by the specified deadline.
For more information about the effects of the recent closings on
immigration applications and petitions, please contact the USCIS
National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.
Three Federal Agencies Partner to Combat Human Trafficking
Feb 01, 2011: The U.S. Departments of Justice, Homeland Security
and Labor announced a new initiative to help streamline federal
criminal investigations and prosecutions of human trafficking
offenses. THe nationwide Human Trafficking Enhanced Enforcement
Initiative will involve the use of specialized Anti-Trafficking
Coordinations, known as ACTeams, in certain pilot districts across
the U.S. These teams, which will be made up of prosecutors and
agents from various federal law enforcement agencies, will
implement a plan to combat human trafficking threats, and will
focus on developing investigations and prosecutions to help human
trafficking victims and bring traffickers to justice.
“This modern-day slavery is an affront to human dignity,
and each and every case we prosecute should send a powerful signal
that human trafficking will not be tolerated in the United
States,” said Eric Holder, Attorney General. “The Human
Trafficking Enhanced Enforcement Initiative takes our
anti-trafficking enforcement efforts to the next level by building
on the most effective tool in our anti-trafficking arsenal:
partnerships.”
States Enact Record Number of Immigration-Related Legislation
in 2010.
Jan 28, 2011: According to the National Conference of State
Legislatures (NCSL), state legislatures enacted a record number of
laws and resolutions related to immigration issues in 2010. A total
of 46 state legislatures and the District of Columbia enacted 208
new laws and adopted 138 resolutions, reported NCSL. Ten additional
bills were passed by the legislatures, but vetoed by state
governors. In comparison, in 2009, only 202 laws were enacted and
131 resolutions adopted.
Interestingly, there were less bills and resolutions introduced
to legislatures in 2010, as compared to 2009. In 2010, just over
1,400 bills and resolutions were introduced; in 2009, over 1,500
were introduced.
Key focuses for introduced bills and resolutions were law
enforcement, identification and driver’s license-related bills,
and employment-related legislation. E-Verify-related legislation
was enacted in four states in 2010. While the focuses above have
been seen in previous years, a new topic introduced in 2010 was
child abductions; three states passed laws to help prevent these
abductions.
Immigration-related legislation at the state level has been
steadily rising since 2005, when only 300 bills were introduced at
the state level.
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