[October 15, 2007]

SUSPENSION OF ENTRY OF PERSONS THREATENING LEBANON

            President George W. Bush has issued Proclamation 8158, entitled ¡°Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Persons Responsible for Policies or Actions that Threaten Lebanon¡¯s Sovereignty and Democracy.¡±  The proclamation suspends entry into the U.S. of Lebanese or Syrian government officials, former government officials, and private persons who deliberately undermine or harm Lebanon¡¯s sovereignty, its legitimate government, or its democratic institutions or contribute to the breakdown in the rule of law in Lebanon, including through the sponsorship of terrorism, politically motivated violence or intimidation, or the reassertion of Syrian control in Lebanon, as well as the spouses and dependent children of such persons.  The proclamation tasks the Secretary of State or a designee with identifying such individuals.  The ban is effective immediately and continues indefinitely.

FEDERAL COURT STRIKES DOWN CITY OF

 HAZLETON IMMIGRATION LAW

            In a decision dated July 26, 2007, a federal district court judge struck down as unconstitutional an ordinance passed by the City Council in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, that sought, among other things, to punish employers and landlords for doing business with undocumented immigrants.  The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)  and co-counsel successfully argued that anti-immigrant laws like Hazleton¡¯s are unconstitutional because they usurp federal immigration policy, fail to provide procedural protection to people before they are fired or evicted, and violate federal civil rights law.

U.S. FACING TECH LABOR 'BRAIN DRAIN' DUE TO IMMIGRATION LAW

Each year more than one million highly skilled immigrant workers, including scientists, engineers, doctors and researchers and their families, compete for 120,000 permanent U.S. resident visas. According to a recent study of immigration statistics entitled "Intellectual Property, the Immigration Backlog, and a Reverse Brain-Drain," the disparity between the large number of skilled workers waiting for visas and the small number that can be admitted to the U.S. is creating a potentially sizeable reverse brain-drain of highly skilled labor from the U.S. to the workers¡¯ home countries.

The study, conducted at Duke, NYU and Harvard, found that most Indian and Chinese foreign nationals in the U.S. have graduate degrees - a highly desired asset in their home countries' newly thriving economies- and rather than endure the long green card application process many are returning home. In 2003, approximately one in five new legal immigrants in the United States and about one in three employment-based new legal immigrants either planned to leave the United States or were uncertain about remaining.

¡°Given that the U.S. comparative advantage in the global economy is in creating knowledge and applying it to business¡± said Robert Litan, vice president of Research and Policy at the Kauffman Foundation ¡°it behooves the country to consider how we might adjust policies to reduce the immigration backlog, encourage innovative foreign minds to remain in the country, and entice new innovators to come.¡±

COURT EXTENDS ORDER THAT BLOCKS GOVERNMENT FROM
IMPLEMENTING FLAWED SOCIAL SECURITY NO-MATCH RULE

After a hearing held on October 3, 2007, a federal judge extended for 10 days an order that temporarily stops the government from implementing a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule that would cause U.S. citizens and other authorized workers to lose their jobs, and which would illegally use error-prone social security records as a tool for immigration enforcement. The judge's order also stops the Social Security Administration (SSA) from beginning to send notices to approximately 140,000 employers across the country notifying them of the new rule, which would impact approximately eight million workers.

"We are pleased that the judge saw the need to continue to block this rule that would lead to increased exploitation of workers," said John Sweeney, President of the AFL-CIO. "More than 70% of SSA discrepancies refer to U.S. citizens but the DHS regulation would encourage employers to fire any worker based on these erroneous discrepancies, especially if she has an accent or is perceived to be foreign born."

The extension of the temporary restraining order, which was handed down in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, came as a result of a lawsuit filed in August by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) and the Central Labor Council of Alameda County along with other local labor movements. In the lawsuit, the groups charged that the misguided rule violates the law and workers' rights, imposes burdensome obligations on employers, and will cause discrimination against workers who are perceived to be immigrants.

For years the SSA has sent "no match" letters to employers if the name and social security information reported by a worker on a W-2 form does not match up with the information contained in SSA databases. The "no match" letters were never considered reason to believe that an employee did not have permission to work in the U.S, and currently employers who receive "no-match" letters are not required to take any action. In fact, there are many innocent reasons for such discrepancies such as clerical mistakes, name changes due to marriage and divorce, and the use of multiple surnames that are common in many parts of the world.

Under the new DHS rule, employers receiving "no match" letters might be required to fire employees whose SSA discrepancies are not resolved within 90 days after the "no-match" letter is received. If the employer does not respond to a "no-match" letter, DHS may conclude that the employer had "constructive knowledge" that an employee was not authorized to work in the U.S. and prosecute the employer accordingly.

A NEW PUSH FOR A CALIFORNIA DREAM ACT

Students across the state are also asking Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
to sign the California Dream Act, which would relax some financial aid requirements for undocumented students. The act was approved by the state Legislature on Sept. 11 and remains on the governor's desk.

The National Immigration Law Center in Washington estimates that at
least 65,000 high school students in the U.S. graduate each year without legal immigration status.

Under the Dream Act, immigrants who have been in the country for at least five years, have a high school diploma and meet other requirements could receive conditional legal residency. Over the next six years, they would have to spend two years in college or the military to qualify for permanent legal residency, a step toward citizenship.

N.Y. TO ALLOW LICENSES FOR EVERYONE

New York will soon become the largest state to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses legally -- a policy that is sure to stoke the national debate about immigrants' rights and domestic security.

The change, announced Friday by Gov. Eliot Spitzer, means that 500,000 to 1 million illegal immigrants will be eligible for licenses by presenting a valid foreign passport. Since 2002, the state had required applicants to provide a Social Security number or proof of legal status to get a license.
Eight other states, including Maryland and Michigan, do not require proof of legal immigration status to get a license.
The decision immediately drew effusive praise and sharp rebukes, although supporters and critics agreed on one thing: The policy will have a sweeping effect on the lives of New Yorkers.

Spitzer and immigrant advocacy groups contend that by reducing the number of unlicensed drivers on the road, the new policy will improve traffic safety and save state motorists an estimated $120 million per year in insurance premiums, because with fewer unlicensed drivers there will be fewer uninsured motorists. The policy also will generate an estimated $6 million in new license fees, state officials said.