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Recent Trends in Immigration- June 2003
Introduction: This Newsletter is intended to explain some of the important recent developments in immigration law.
HEADLINES
- US-VISIT PROGRAM
- AGENCY REORGANIZATION PLAN
- BILL FOR NON CITIZEN SOLDIERS
- ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS BURDEN TO TAXPAYERS
- "MOST WANTED" CRIMINAL ALIENS LIST UNVEILED
- IMPORTANCE OF REGISTRATION
- ILLEGALS' RIGHT TO SEEK CIVIL AWARDS UPHELD
- U.S. DATA COLLECTION
1. US-VISIT PROGRAM
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has made the US-VISIT (United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology) program one of its top priorities. US-VISIT is the Department's automated entry/exit system, which will expedite legitimate travelers, while making it more difficult for less genuine visitors. This system will be designed to collect and maintain information, including biometric identifiers, on foreign nationals to determine whether the individual should be prohibited from entering the U.S., or whether they may be entitled to receive, extend or adjust immigration statUS
The new system will rely on biometric features on passports that will enable immigration officers to identify visitors and their immigration history as they arrive at the port of entry. This information will also be available throughout the entire immigration enforcement system. The system will store information on visa violations and overstays.
In order to ensure the efficiency of the new program, Visa Waiver countries are being encouraged to improve passports so as to prevent tampering and to include biometric identifiers. Under congressional mandate, Visa Waiver countries are required to use biometrics by October 24, 2004. As a result, DHS will require proof of identification from foreign national visitors to the U.S. by two biometrics identifiers, fingerprints and photographs. Additional forms such as facial recognition or iris scan features may be used as the technology is perfected.
Additionally, the DHS will, for the first time, oversee the visa issuance process. DHS will be responsible for maintaining the integrity of visa issuance, working with the consular offices of the U.S. State Department. This unity of border and visa responsibilities will allow for a better flow of information and a coordinated response to immigration violations.
2. AGENCY REORGANIZATION PLAN
The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced a reorganization plan, which will take effect on June 9, 2003. The new plan creates a headquarters structure for the agency's operational components and a field structure that provides an integrated chain of command and more streamlined operations. ICE is the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The agency is comprised of several components from the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), the U.S. Customs Service, and the Federal Protective Service (FPS).
The reorganization plan establishes a structure that supports five distinct operational divisions of ICE. These operational divisions are: Investigations; Detention & Removal; Intelligence; Air & Marine Interdiction; and Federal Protective Service. All these components will report directly to the Assistant Secretary of ICE.
The structure eliminates redundancies and management layers by integrating the Customs and INS investigative functions into a single Investigations division. The plan also integrates the Customs and INS intelligence divisions into a single Intelligence division. The streamlined structure will enhance operations, promote strategic agility and have minimal budget impact in the short term. The field reorganization plan also aligns the reporting structures of Detention and Removal field units with the interim ICE Special Agent in Charge offices. The field regions and offices of the FPS and Air & Marine Interdiction divisions will remain essentially intact under the plan.
The changes are meant to foster greater accountability through the creation of clear chains of command. The field structure will also balance staffing and workload, ensure manageable spans of control, and respect Federal judicial lines.
3. BILL FOR NON CITIZEN SOLDIERS
The House Judiciary Committee recently approved a measure intended to speed the naturalization process for non citizens in the military. The bill would allow immigrant soldiers to apply for citizenship after serving one year in the armed forces. The bill will be presented to the full House of Representatives.
4. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS BURDEN TO TAXPAYERS
According to a 1997 study by the National Academy of Sciences, immigrants provide an economic benefit to the country in terms of taxes versus expenditures. However, the same study also found that the fiscal impact of an immigrant with less than a high school education drains the economy of $13,000 over his lifetime, and most illegal immigrants tend to fall into this category.
Officials and economists claim that illegal immigrants burden the state in the areas of education and law enforcement . States are required to provide education to every child between the ages of 6 and 18, regardless of residency statUS The number of undocumented children in the public school system is impossible to determine, as it is illegal for officials to collect information on immigration statUS
5. "MOST WANTED" CRIMINAL ALIENS LIST UNVEILED
The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unveiled a "Most Wanted" Criminal Aliens list, featuring criminal aliens from around the world who pose a continuing threat to the public safety. On this list are foreign nationals who have been convicted of committing serious crimes in this country. Each has been ordered deported from the United States, but remains at large. ICE brings new tools to the hunt for these criminal aliens by combining the full investigative and intelligence resources of the former Immigration & Naturalization Service and the former Customs Service. ICE agents have already arrested half a dozen criminal aliens.
The creation of a Most Wanted Criminal Aliens list is part of an aggressive new strategy at ICE known as the National Fugitive Operations Initiative. The aim of the effort is to reduce the number of alien "absconders" in the United States. Absconders are foreign nationals who have been ordered removed by an immigration judge, but have failed to comply with that order.
In 2002, the former Immigration and Naturalization Service removed more than 70,000 criminal aliens from the United States. In the first six months of 2003, more than 36,000 criminal aliens have been returned to their home countries. ICE officials are confident that the Fugitive Operations Initiative will enable the agency to boost those figures.
ICE's new Most Wanted Criminal Aliens list is posted on the ICE web site at www.bice.immigration.gov, enabling the public to view the criminal aliens and call in tips on their whereabouts. The web site is updated regularly as apprehensions are made. Anyone with information about those on the list should call 1-800-BE-ALERT (1-800-232-5378). The lines are staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
6. IMPORTANCE OF REGISTRATION
The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services appears to be treating the failure to register quite seriously. It has been reported recently that a physician from Pakistan was denied entry to the US at a Washington D.C. port of entry, based on his failure to register. The man had been previously living and working in the US and returned to Pakistan on a visit.
The citizens of 25 predominantly Muslim countries were required to abide by the "call-in" registration deadlines for foreign nationals already in the country. Special registration is still ongoing at all ports of entry for newly arriving nationals from the designated countries.
7. ILLEGALS' RIGHT TO SEEK CIVIL AWARDS UPHELD
New York trial judges recently upheld the right of illegal immigrant plaintiffs to seek damages. Judges in Manhattan and Staten Island have rejected defendants' contentions that the Supreme Court's March 2002 holding in Hoffman Plastics Compounds v. NLRB, 535 U.S. 137, should be expanded to bar illegal residents from using state courts to seek civil damages for alleged tortuous conduct.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Rosalyn H. Richter denied summary judgment last week in Balbuena v. IDR Realty LLC for a third-party defendant in a construction accident case. The defendant had argued that the plaintiff, Gorgonio Balbuena, could not maintain a claim for lost earnings because he was an illegal alien.
8. U.S. DATA COLLECTION
Efforts are under way within the federal government to use computer technology to probe databases for information about possible terrorist activities. The Pentagon took the spotlight last week when it released a report - mandated by Congress - on its Terrorist Information Awareness (ITA) program.
Currently, the BCIS is reputed to have upgraded their databases to include a broad range of information, including arrests, convictions, Department of Motor Vehicle information, etc.
Any questions or problems related to immigration?
CONTACT US NOW!!!
NEIL A. WEINRIB & ASSOCIATES
305 BROADWAY, SUITE 1002
NEW YORK, NY 10007
(212) 964-9282
YOUR FIRST CALL FOR FAST-TRACK
FULL-SERVICE IMMIGRATION EXPERTISE
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