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Passports Required for Air Travel
 WASHINGTON, DC
- Traveling to the United States by air may require extra planning. Individuals
traveling to the U.S. from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Mexico or Canada must be
prepared to present their
passports or Passport card (PASS card). The PASS card
will be available to U.S. citizens for the purpose of international travel to
and between the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean. The passport
requirement became effective as of January 23, 2007 and includes U.S. citizens.
In some instances, an Alien Registration Card, U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner
Document or Air NEXUS card may be accepted. The appropriate documentation is
needed to establish the traveler’s identity and citizenship. Individuals
traveling within the United States or its territories (Puerto Rico, American
Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the U.S. Virgin
Islands and the Swains Island) are not required to present a
passport. The
Department of State and Department of Homeland Security introduced this new
measure under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative to improve border
security and facilitate travel. This measure is the first phase with the second
phase to become effective as soon as January 1, 2008. The second phase would be
identical but would extend the passport measure to include travel by land or
sea. |
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Screening Efforts at Jails on the Rise
 HOUSTON, TX
- Prison inmates throughout the United States are being targeted by immigration
and federal officials if they are foreign-born and cannot show documentation to
prove their legal status in the country. After serving their respective prison
time, illegal immigrants are being
deported. In some instances the U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have placed full-time personnel at
selected prisons under the Criminal Alien Program. The purpose of the program is
to deport illegal immigrants in the prison system so that they are not able to
commit additional crimes in the United States. Due to the high cost of employing
full-time personnel at prisons specifically for this purpose and the limited
budget, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had solicited the help of
local prison officials. The agency is offering to train prison officials in
immigration law so they are able to identify
illegal immigrants in the prison
system. Currently about 21 local enforcement agencies throughout the United
States have taken up the offer and have ended up deporting thousands. Meanwhile
the ICE budget has been increased and by 2008 they are projecting to add an
additional 220 Criminal Alien Program officers. |
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Southern California Illegal Immigrants Living with Deportation Fears
 LOS ANGELES, CA
- As immigration raids are becoming more common throughout the United States, immigrants
are taking greater notice. Areas specifically targeted include areas with large
Hispanic populations such as Southern California. When in public, illegal
immigrants are sometimes on the lookout for federal agents. About the only place
the immigrants feel safe these days are their homes and sometimes not even there
as they may receive an unexpected knock on their door by a federal agent. The
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is stepping up their efforts to round
up illegal immigrants in “Operation Return to Sender.” The immigration raids are
well executed and have resulted in the detainment of hundreds of
illegal
immigrants. The immigrants are taken into federal custody for deportation
purposes. Some claim that individuals targeted include those without
deportation
orders and those who are simply out in public. During the seven day operation
more than 750 illegal immigrants were detained.
The majority of the immigrants
were of Mexican descent and the remaining came from 14 different countries that
included Trinidad, Ukraine, Poland and Japan. It is estimated that the United
States currently has anywhere from 10 to 12 million illegal immigrants with
greater than 2.5 million immigrants residing in California alone. |
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New Colorado Law Denies Illegal Immigrants Housing Aid
 DENVER, CO
- A significant portion of the illegal immigrants in Colorado come from either
Central America or Mexico and some have been using government assistance for
housing expenditures. Many illegal immigrants who were attracted to Colorado in
the first place for its cheaper housing now find themselves in a dilemma. Should
they stay or leave since a new state law requires that tenants show
identification and sign paperwork claiming they are legally in the United States
to qualify for subsidized rent and government-built facilities? Once their
leases come to an end they will not be able to renew since they are in the
country illegally. Even those with counterfeit documents cannot use these as
landlords are checking the validity of the documents using federal databases.
Some immigrants have contemplated moving further but still remaining in
Colorado. Other counties have cheaper rent and landlords may not require
identification. The new housing law went into effect August 1, 2006 but it is
unknown how many immigrants have left the region due to their
illegal status or
simply wanting to relocate. However, some business owners have started to feel
the effects of Hispanics moving out of certain areas like Telluride as their
sales have fallen. |
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Solution Lies in Comprehensive Immigration Reform
 WASHINGTON, DC
- As part of his recent State of the Union address, President Bush addressed the
need for immigration reform that was comprehensive and worthy for such country
as the United States. He envisions an immigration reform that would
simultaneously decrease the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. and provide
opportunities for economic growth.
Some of the issues needing to be addressed
include the individuals residing in the country illegally,
border security and
illegal crossings, and additional state and local expenditures as a result of
increased immigration.
Bush’s Plan includes:
- Stepping up border security with a combination of technology, personnel and infrastructure.
- Improving immigration law enforcement and penalizing employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.
- Introducing a temporary guest worker program that would heavily penalize those not adhering to its policies.
- Encouraging assimilation so that new immigrants understand and live the American values.
Later on this year
the Senate and House of Representatives will introduce their respective
immigration bills. |
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U.S. Embassies and Consulates no longer processing I-130s
 NEW YORK, NY
-In order to comply with the new Adam Walsh Act, the U.S. Embassies and
Consulates have introduced some changes regarding visa applicants. The Adam
Walsh Act is an extension of Megan’s law which targets sexual offenders. As a
result of the new law, notification procedures and employment information
regarding sexual offenders have been increased and sexual offender registration
standardized. In addition, sexual offenders who may want to sponsor family
members may be affected. Family members are no longer able to submit the
I-130
application to U.S. Embassies and Consulates for other family members (spouses,
children, parents and siblings) abroad who wish to come to the U.S. Now the
I-130 applications must be submitted to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service
(USCIS) centers located worldwide. The new process is an extra security measure,
but sponsors will not incur additional travel or appointments. Since U.S.
Embassies and Consulates do not have access to criminal databases, they are not
able to fulfill the requirements of the act.
The USCIS will now deal with these types of applications. If the sponsor has
been convicted of certain sexual crimes, the I-130 application may be rejected.
Download form I-130 for further information. |
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DISCLAIMER:
This newsletter is published by U.S. Immigration Support, an independent organization. U.S. Immigration Support is not affiliated with the United States government. Please review our disclaimer for more information. |
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The U.S. Immigration Newsletter is published by:
U.S. Immigration Support
511 Avenue of the Americas # 45
New York, NY 10011
Web: www.usimmigrationsupport.org
Email: info@usimmigrationsupport.org |
