Arizona Sues Federal Government For Weak Immigration Enforcement.
Feb 11, 2011: Arizona is seeking $760 million from the federal government to pay for costs accrued by the state to jail illegal immigrants. According to a filing in a U.S. District Court by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and state Attorney General Tom Horne, the federal government has failed in its duty to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing the Arizona border in vast numbers, which has left the burden of enforcement on the state.
In the lawsuit, it is claimed that Arizona is being invaded by illegal Mexican immigrants and the federal government is not doing its part to help the state manage this influx of illegal immigrants.
While control of the border is a federal responsibility, illegal aliens who successfully cross the border and commit crime in Arizona become an Arizona responsibility," Horne said in a recent television interview.
DHS and DOS Issue Annotated B-1 Visa for Foreign Maritime Workers Applying for a Transportation Worker Identification Credential.
Feb 09, 2011: The Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and State (DOS) announced today that they have created an annotated version of the B-1 visa, the visa that is issued to foreign citizens who wish to enter the U.S. for business purposes. This annotated version will now enable foreign maritime workers to be eligible to apply for a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC), which is a tamper-resistant biometric identifier card maritime workers must have to enter secure areas of maritime facilities.
"Strengthening the security of our maritime global supply chain is critical to protecting our nation from evolving threats," said Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security. "This new TWIC process is a critical step toward ensuring that foreign maritime workers can quickly and efficiently obtain the necessary credentials to do their jobs and help grow the American economy."
Under the new process, foreign maritime workers who must have a TWIC to perform their official duties must notify DOS of this need when they apply for a B-1 visa. Additionally, they must provide a letter from their employer that indicates they will be required to perform services in secure port areas.
USCIS Offices Closed Due to Severe Weather; Agency to Make Adjustments Accordingly.
Feb 04, 2011: Because of the recent winter storms, a number of USCIS offices, including the Texas and Nebraska Service Centers, were closed during the week of January 31. USCIS has commented that it will make adjustments to recognize those that filed petitions in a timely manner or responded to requests for additional information by the specified deadline.
For more information about the effects of the recent closings on immigration applications and petitions, please contact the USCIS National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.
Three Federal Agencies Partner to Combat Human Trafficking
Feb 01, 2011: The U.S. Departments of Justice, Homeland Security and Labor announced a new initiative to help streamline federal criminal investigations and prosecutions of human trafficking offenses. THe nationwide Human Trafficking Enhanced Enforcement Initiative will involve the use of specialized Anti-Trafficking Coordinations, known as ACTeams, in certain pilot districts across the U.S. These teams, which will be made up of prosecutors and agents from various federal law enforcement agencies, will implement a plan to combat human trafficking threats, and will focus on developing investigations and prosecutions to help human trafficking victims and bring traffickers to justice.
"This modern-day slavery is an affront to human dignity, and each and every case we prosecute should send a powerful signal that human trafficking will not be tolerated in the United States," said Eric Holder, Attorney General. "The Human Trafficking Enhanced Enforcement Initiative takes our anti-trafficking enforcement efforts to the next level by building on the most effective tool in our anti-trafficking arsenal: partnerships."
States Enact Record Number of Immigration-Related Legislation in 2010.
Jan 28, 2011: According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), state legislatures enacted a record number of laws and resolutions related to immigration issues in 2010. A total of 46 state legislatures and the District of Columbia enacted 208 new laws and adopted 138 resolutions, reported NCSL. Ten additional bills were passed by the legislatures, but vetoed by state governors. In comparison, in 2009, only 202 laws were enacted and 131 resolutions adopted.
Interestingly, there were less bills and resolutions introduced to legislatures in 2010, as compared to 2009. In 2010, just over 1,400 bills and resolutions were introduced; in 2009, over 1,500 were introduced.
Key focuses for introduced bills and resolutions were law enforcement, identification and driver's license-related bills, and employment-related legislation. E-Verify-related legislation was enacted in four states in 2010. While the focuses above have been seen in previous years, a new topic introduced in 2010 was child abductions; three states passed laws to help prevent these abductions.
Immigration-related legislation at the state level has been steadily rising since 2005, when only 300 bills were introduced at the state level.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
