[May 15, 2008]

¨ù                 that Thomas P. O'Brien, U.S. Attorney (Los Angeles), faced sharp criticism from prosecutors within his office who say he is pressuring them to file relatively insignificant criminal cases to drive up statistics that make the office eligible for increased federal funding?

¨ù                 that the prosecutors said O'Brien's effort to increase filings amounts to a quota system in which lawyers face possible discipline and other career consequences if they fail to achieve their numbers?

¨ù                 that it also detracted from their traditional mission of prosecuting complex, time-consuming cases that local authorities are unable to pursue?

¨ù                 that O'Brien acknowledged that he had set "performance goals" to reverse years of declining productivity in the Los Angeles office but denied that the goals were quotas?

¨ù                 that he said that his office does not and never will have quotas for its criminal prosecutors and to suggest that any attorney in this office must charge a certain number of defendants each year or face discipline is simply not true?

¨ù                 that Daniel Richman, a law professor at Columbia University and a former federal prosecutor in New York said that quotas are controversial because they call into question whether prosecutors are motivated by the pursuit of justice or are merely trying to "hit a number¡±?

¨ù                 that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff signed to a Visa Waiver Program (VWP) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Yu Myung-hwan?

¨ù                 that he security enhancements outlined in the agreement puts Korea on the path toward visa-free travel to the U.S., and potential designation as a VWP member as early as later this year?

¨ù                 that if a traveler believes any property has been wrongfully seized by CBP, then participation in the administrative forfeiture process is the primary means of challenging property seized for forfeitures?

¨ù                 that to the extent there may be other avenues to challenge the possession by CBP of a traveler¡¯s property would depend on the facts and circumstances of that detention?

¨ù                 that information on the redress process for seized property can be found in the CBP Informed Compliance Publication entitled: ¡°What Every Member of the Trade Community Should Know About: Customs Administrative Enforcement Process: Fines, Penalties, Forfeitures and Liquidated Damages¡± dated February 2004?

¨ù                 that evidence of prior violations of nonimmigrant status is considered in deciding if an arriving alien is able to prove that s/he will abide by the conditions of admission as a nonimmigrant and is done on a case-by-case basis?

¨ù                 that factors to be taken into consideration include: the nature of the violation (e.g., working or studying on a B-2 admission), the frequency of violation (was it a single event or was it repeated?), the duration of the violation (was it for a week or for six months?) and the time elapsed since the violation occurred (did it occur ten years ago or last year?)?

¨ù                 that an alien who presents a facially valid nonimmigrant visa but who fails to prove that s/he fits the definition of, and will  meet the conditions for, the claimed nonimmigrant classification is inadmissible as an immigrant without a valid immigrant visa?

¨ù                 that such an alien is properly subject to expedited removal and visa cancellation?

¨ù                 that in July of 2007, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)  received 460,000 applications for naturalization?

¨ù                 that that was three times the record for any previous month and that for the year, USCIS received 1.4 million naturalization applications, almost double the normal annual volume?

¨ù                 that the USCIS is hiring and training hundreds of additional immigration officers to adjudicate these cases?

¨ù                 that the agency is also conducting naturalization interviews on weekends, after normal business hours and in additional locations?