BENDER'S IMMIGRATION BULLETIN
'Go Back to Mexico'
"A group of Tea Party activists in Washington D.C. recently told two Hispanic Texas border congressmen to "Go back to Mexico" as they were on their way to vote on the House floor. Apparently, even elected officials should be carrying their documents these days. Even when they're on their way to vote in the U.S. Congress." Melissa del Bosque, Oct. 22, 2010.
Angelo on IRCA
"You don't need an Andy-Warhol quarter- hour of fame, however, to be blind-sided by the immigration laws. Even nondescript employers face serious problems because Congress structured the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) badly from inception. IRCA took a police function the identification of foreign citizens with no right to be in the country” and outsourced it to America's seven million employers." Oct. 31, 2010.
DOL Extending Comment Period for H-2B Rulemaking
"The Department will publish in the Federal Register a notice extending the comment period on a recently published proposed rule - Wage Methodology for the Temporary Non-agricultural Employment in the H-2B Program, 75 FR 61578 (October 5, 2010). In an order dated October 27, 2010, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas (CATA) v. Solis, et al., Civil No. 2:09-cv-240-LP, 2010 WL 3431761 (E.D. Pa.) extended the deadline by which the Department must promulgate the final rule until January 18, 2011. In order to provide the public with additional time to comment on the NPRM and to ensure that the Department has adequate time to review and address the comments, the Department has extended the public comment period through November 12, 2010." DOL, Oct. 29, 2010.
Note for opera buffs: To Cross the Face of the Moon
"Houston Grand Opera’s 41st world premiere follows one family from its patriarch’s distant American dream to their generations-long quest for fulfillment in the country that still does not quite feel like home. The work’s story, by acclaimed director and writer Leonard Foglia, is based on first-hand accounts of Mexican immigrants to Houston. The score of To Cross the Face of the Moon is by José “Pepe†MartÃnez, music director of the world-famous Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, who will make their only Houston appearance this year at the opera’s concert premiere on November 13 in the Brown Theater."
Reid promises DREAM Act vote in lame duck
"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) vowed on Spanish-language television to bring the DREAM Act back for a vote in the lame-duck session." The Hill, Oct. 31, 2010.
Small government GOPers reverse course, ask for massive government spending
"At a rough estimate, deporting 11 million people would cost about $80 billion, said a senior administration official familiar with the ICE budget." Chicago Tribune, Wash. Bureau, Oct. 30, 2010.
Virtual Failure on the Border
"It is past time to pull the plug on the “virtual fence†that the federal government has been trying to erect on the border with Mexico. The Secure Border Initiative Network — a series of towers with radar and cameras that is supposed to spot trespassers along most of the 2,000 miles of border — is a costly failure." New York Times Editorial, Oct. 31, 2010.
Appeals court to mull states' role in immigration
"Arizona's tough and controversial new immigration law will get its day before a San Francisco appeals court Monday, with the central issue being just what role state and local authorities can play in confronting those who cross the border illegally." AP, Oct. 30, 2010.
Birthright Citizenship Under Threat - Again
"How soon we forget. Or maybe we just weren't paying attention from the beginning." Dan Kowalski, Oct. 2010.
Catholic Healthcare West I-9 Settlement
"CHW will pay to the United States Treasury a civil penalty in the amount equal to two- hundred and fifty-seven thousand dollars and no cents ($257,000.00)."
How Immigrants Create More Jobs
"Over all, it turns out that the continuing arrival of immigrants to American shores is encouraging business activity here, thereby producing more jobs, according to a new study." Tyler Cowan, Oct. 30, 2010.
More settlement agreements posted on OSC website
Going back to 2006, including settlements re document abuse, citizenship, national origin, and H-1B recruitment.
OSC Letters of Resolution Summaries
Interesting new page from OSC. Three letters already issued in FY2011; 35 issued in FY2010.
Restaurant owner sentenced to prison, forfeits $750K for harboring
"George Anagnostou, 41, of Kingsville, Md., was sentenced today to four months in prison and four months home detention with electronic monitoring, followed by two years of supervised release, for harboring for private financial gain and commercial advantage at least 24 unauthorized alien employees of Timbuktu and By the Docks restaurants. Anagnostou also forfeited a 2009 Harley Davidson, $378,386.21 from five bank accounts; $99,890 seized from the restaurants and Anagnostou's home on March 11, 2010; and at today's sentencing paid an additional $256,696.67, also believed to be proceeds of the crime." ICE, Oct. 28, 2010.
Man Forfeits'09 Harley For Failing To Fill Out I-9s, news at 11
"The owner's hog (his motorcycle), over $378k from five bank accounts; and nearly $100k in cash was seized from the restaurants and the ownerâresidence on the day of the immigration raid meaning those assets were not available to him to apply as professional fees in his defense. At the conclusion of the criminal proceedings yesterday, the owner forfeited an additional $250k as proceeds of the crime. Section 274.1 of chapter 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations provides Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents the same authority previously granted to Customs and Border Protection agents to seize items suspected of having been acquired as proceeds of a criminal undertaking. The seizure is authorized pre-adjudication; meaning, that if there is enough evidence to support the seizure, the assets may be held in escrow during the pendency of the administrative or criminal investigation. ICE is indiscriminate when it comes to applying its authority and can select executives at large companies as well as small business owners." Dawn Lurie, Kevin Lashus, Oct. 29, 2010.
Ariz. immigration law three months later: no arrests
"The nation's toughest immigration law has been in effect for three months. But after the federal courts prevented key portions from going into effect, it has failed to live up to both opponents' worst fears and supporters' greatest hopes." Arizona Republic, Oct. 29, 2010.
ICE raids Nashville apartments
"On the sidewalk in front of The Clairmont Apartments, representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition denounced an Oct. 20 raid of the southwest Nashville complex by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents that is said to have resulted in the detention of more than 20 residents who were allegedly undocumented. Immigrant representatives and witnesses say agents broke into the apartments and arrested men and women at gunpoint, forcing them to leave their children behind. " Nashville Scene, Oct. 28, 2010.
Rights Groups File Emergency Injunction to Obtain Police-ICE Collaboration Documents
"The National Day Laborer Organization Network (NDLON), the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic of Cardozo Law filed an injunction in federal court to require the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency to turn over critical documents on the ability for communities to opt-out of the "Secure Communities" (S-Comm)." NDLON, Oct. 28, 2010.
Colo. restaurant owner pleads guilty in connection with a human trafficking prosecution for harboring illegal aliens and tax-related charges
"As part of the plea agreement, Opas Sinprasong, 52, of Boulder, Colo., will forfeit $766,000 and two residential properties. He also faces incarceration and restitution to compensate the victims of his crimes. Sinprasong also agreed to be deported to Thailand after he completes his prison sentence, if any is imposed by the judge." ICE, Oct. 27, 2010.
DOL releases FLC report
"The Department has released The Foreign Labor Certification Report: 2009 Data, Trends and Highlights Across Programs and States (2009 Annual Report). The 2009 Annual Report presents employment-based immigration program data drawn from applications submitted to the Department by employers across the country." DOL, Oct. 27, 2010.
