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Comprehensive Immigration Reform failed in the Senate
 WASHINGTON, DC
- On June 29th the United States Senate killed the proposed comprehensive
immigration legislation, ending chances for President George W. Bush to pass his
immigration reform plan--a centerpiece of the president's domestic agenda.
Immigration reform supporters garnered just 46 of the 60 votes needed to
conclude debate and proceed to final passage. Sixty senators, including 37 of
Bush's fellow Republicans, voted against it. Most senators said they had no
plans to try to overhaul immigration law before the 2008 presidential election,
so it is unlikely that any major immigration bill will become law until 2009.
The biggest obstacle was to convince conservatives that the path to citizenship
for illegal aliens is not Amnesty. The bill's bitter end has a deeper meaning,
as it demonstrated that conservative Americans’ vision for US
immigration reform
should not include any type of
amnesty or legalization for undocumented workers.
"This vote effectively kills comprehensive immigration legislation in the 110th
Congress" - said Democratic Representative Zoe Lofgren, head of a House
Judiciary subcommittee on immigration.
The measure, the biggest rewrite of U.S. immigration law since 1986, would offer
12 to 20 million illegal immigrants a path to citizenship while tightening the
border with Mexico and creating a
guest-worker program to help employers fill
low-paying jobs.
President Bush, who had lobbied Republican senators to support the legislation,
acknowledged defeat, saying that - "Congress's failure to act on it is a
disappointment." The Bush administration is still interested in finding the
solution to the problem of illegal immigration, said Michael Chertoff, Bush's
homeland security secretary who helped draft the legislation. |
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Immigration Fees Increasing Due to Agency's Necessity
 WASHINGTON, DC
- Many immigrants come to the United States for a better life with the goal of
someday becoming permanent residents and eventually citizens. While applications
for permanent resident visas and citizenship continue to increase in record
numbers, the current immigration system has not been able to keep up. Emilio T.
Gonzales, the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, announced
that the immigration fees were going to be raised beginning July 30 due to
necessity. The majority of the agency’s budget (99%) comes from user fees based
on a principle that those who benefit from the services should fund the agency.
So the cost is borne not by the taxpayers but by the immigrants desiring
permanent residency and U.S. citizenship. Changing the immigration fees had not
been done since 1998 and many critics believe the fee increases are out of reach
for many. Those seeking a permanent resident visa will have to pay $930 compared
to the previous fee of $325. Likewise those seeking U.S.
citizenship will have
to pay $675 compared to the previous $330. Individuals wanting to bring their
fiancé or fiancée to the U.S. will have to pay $455 compared to the previous
$170. The funds from the new fees are expected to increase yearly revenue of the
immigration agency to $2.3 billion. The additional revenue will go towards new
technologies for security and background checks, improving training, hiring
nearly 1,500 immigration officers, purchasing computers and reducing processing
time of their four most popular services. These services include permanent visa
and citizenship applications, renewal of permanent visas and business petitions
for foreign worker visas. |
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Woman Believed She Was A Citizen and Voted; She Now Faces Possible Deportation
 ADELANTO, CA
- After running for a council seat in Adelanto, California and winning in 2004
did Zoila Meyer discover shortly that she was not an American citizen. Officials
investigated Meyer’s birthplace and current status after someone mentioned she
had been born in Cuba. It turned out that she was a permanent resident but not a
U.S. citizen. She gave up her council seat and applied for
citizenship
afterwards. Meyers’ parents brought her to the U.S. as a one year-old infant but
she had believed all her life that she was an American citizen. Now the mother
of four is facing deportation charges because she broke the law by voting three
years ago. In the United States, voting is a right and privilege reserved for
only American citizens. Meyers pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of voting
fraudulently. However, voting without being an American citizen is a serious
crime. It is considered a felony offense and could easily result in
deportation.
Meyers is terrified of deportation since that could mean leaving her family
behind and leaving the place where she has grown up most of her life. Meyer has
her hearing on July 18 where an immigration judge will decide whether to deport
Meyer or not. In the case of deportation, Meyer would be deported to Canada
since that is the last entry point on her immigration documents. The only thing
Meyer can do at this point to avoid deportation is to plead her case at the
immigration hearing. |
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Arizona Border Patrol Requesting Permanent Checkpoints
 TUCSON, AZ
- In an effort to improve its border security measures, the Border Patrol in
Arizona is seeking to build permanent checkpoints in Ajo, Tubac and Huachuca
City. Replacing the three temporary checkpoints with permanent ones would have a
price tag ranging from $40 million to $50 million. The Tucson sector while only
accounting for about 13% of the U.S.-Mexico mile frontier is the busiest of all
the border patrol sectors and accounts for around 37% of the
illegal immigrants
detained. In addition, the Tucson sector accounts for nearly 50% of the
marijuana confiscated at the border. Currently there are only temporary
checkpoints which many Border Patrol officers claim to be less effective because
they lack certain resources. The current strategy in
Arizona like in other
border states includes setting up barriers like fences, cameras, sensors,
checkpoints and patrols. Permanent checkpoints have such capabilities as x-ray
truck scanners and data links that allow names to be checked against criminal
databases. The desert terrain in Arizona slows down immigrants and the dust
generated from vehicles they travel in often gives away their location. However,
the Tucson sector still attracts many immigrants trying to get to the United
States since the lack of permanent checkpoints results in one less challenge
they have to face. As of 9/11, the Border Patrol has built only one permanent
checkpoint near Laredo (Texas), but the number of detainees compared to other
checkpoints has not changed significantly. For now, a combination of temporary,
permanent and internal checkpoints will continue. |
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U.S. Citizen Posing as Federal Agent Scammed Immigrants
 NEW YORK, NY
- There are many individuals who like to make a living by deceiving others. John
Nevarez, a United States citizen in East Harlem, posed as a federal agent. He
told his clients that he would be able to obtain permanent resident cards and
other documents. Nevarez would show them a fake federal agent badge and
convinced individuals that he was the person that could get them what they
needed. His fee was $8,000 per individual, but Nevarez took the money and never
delivered the promised documents. He was arrested in July 2006 and pleaded
guilty last month to immigration fraud (third-degree grand larceny). The New
York Police Department believes Nevarez scammed at least 40 individuals and made
at least $280,000. Nevarez tried to withdraw his guilty plea by claiming he was
under medication and did not fully comprehend what he was pleading guilty to. In
addition, Nevarez claimed he had been intimidated by the court. His lawyer, Eric
Sears, tried to get the judge to postpone Nevarez’s sentencing and even asked
for his client to be allowed to have a new lawyer represent him. The judge
refused and later sentenced him to three to six years of prison time. Nevarez
will be serving time concurrently for another fraud sentence having to do with
outstanding parking violations. In this fraud scheme, he told individuals that
he could dismiss their parking tickets for a fee. |
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U.S. Citizen With Mental Disabilities Mistakenly Deported
 LOS ANGELES, CA
- The purpose of deportation is to return individuals who are illegally in the
United States to their homeland. Unfortunately, the person being deported is not
always an illegal immigrant. This was the case of 29 year-old Pedro Guzman who
is an American citizen and also developmentally disabled. He was placed in the
Los Angeles County Jail for misdemeanor trespassing and served 40 days. Prior to
his jail release, Guzman was interviewed and the custody assistant became
suspicious that Guzman was an illegal immigrant. The U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement or ICE was contacted and he was later
deported to Mexico.
Guzman signed a form for voluntary deportation, but according to his family he
cannot read or write. At times Guzman tends to cover up his intellectual
disabilities by pretending to understand even though he may not. The last time
his family heard from Guzman was when he phoned on May 11 from a stranger’s cell
phone to tell them he had been deported. His sister could hear him asking
someone where he was at and then the phone call cut off. Guzman had no money on
him when he was deported. The Guzman family has gone to Tijuana, Mexico to
search for him but they have not had any luck. The ICE believes they followed
the correct procedures and claim to only deport individuals when there is
credible evidence that they are illegally in the U.S. Guzman’s family has asked
the Mexican and U.S. government for assistance in their search but have received
none.
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U.S. Immigration Support
511 Avenue of the Americas # 45
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