DREAM Act off to a Slow Start

Many young immigrants celebrated when President Obama implemented a new program that would defer the deportation of young, undocumented immigrants. According to a recent article in The Chicago Tribune, however, many young immigrants have yet to apply for the program’s protections.

Potential applicants must demonstrate “continued presence” within the United States for at least five years. After living and working under the radar for so many years, however, many immigrants who have lived in the United States for five years or more are having difficulty assembling the necessary documentation.

Furthermore, many young immigrants are waiting to file until after the 2012 presidential election. They fear that a Romney Administration would put them in danger by canceling or modifying the executive order.

Beyond worrying about themselves, many of those who qualify for the program are also worried that identifying themselves as undocumented immigrants may put their family members who do not apply for deferment at risk of deportation.

Since the federal government began accepting applications, there have been approximately 180,000 requests submitted. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services reports that 4,591 have been granted. The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that 1.7 million people are potentially eligible for the program.

Immigration attorney Laura Lichter is not surprised at the slow pace of applicants. Stated Lichter, “I look at my own cases, and it took me two weeks to pull in documents for the simple ones.”

Delaware Court Awards Workers’ Compensation to Deported Immigrant

In an unprecedented ruling, Delaware Superior Court Judge Jerome O. Herlihy declared employees who are injured on the job are entitled to workers’ compensation — even when the employee is an illegal immigrant who does not have a valid work permit.

According to The News Journal, 47-year-old Saul Melgar Ramirez was employed for Delaware Valley Field Services before his deportation to Honduras. In finding Ramirez entitled to compensation, the Delaware  Court affirmed a ruling by the state Industrial Accident Board. Delaware Valley Field Services plans to appeal the ruling to the Delaware Supreme Court. According a representative for Delaware Valley Field Services, they “respectfully disagree with the decision.”

The 29-page opinion noted that Ramirez’s case was one of first impression, meaning that the issues raised have not previously been addressed by Delaware courts. The decision has sparked both criticism and cheers. In the least, it should serve as a reminder to employers to be diligent in checking the immigration status of potential employees.

In response to the decision, Ramirez’s attorney Arthur M. Krawitz stated, “Our overriding concern is to make sure workers are protected on job sites,” “That is the purpose of Delaware’s worker’s compensation act . . . we think this is an important issue.”

ICE Looks for Site for Immigration Detention Center

Recently, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials bet with Joliet City Manager Tom Thanas in Washington D.C. to discuss building an immigration detention center. According to The Chicago Tribune, few details are currently available about the plan.

Thanas himself has yet to comment on the meeting. Joliet Councilwoman Jan Quillman stated, “I don’t know enough about it at this point to offer an informed opinion,” “My understanding is that this is all very preliminary.” Joliet Councilman Bog O’Dekirk added that the council members had only been made aware of the “very, very broad strokes” of the plan.

Plans for a similar facility in Crete, Illinois were abandoned when the Crete Village Board unanimously voted down a proposal to build an immigration detention center on 70 acres of privately owned land. The detention enter would have been privately built by Corrections Corp. of America.  Immigration activists who opposed the facility being built in Crete argued that for-profit operators would be less likely to maintain humane conditions for the immigrants they house.

The article expects similar protests against the potential Joliet facility, although unlike Crete, Joliet was previously home to a Correctional Center and is currently home to a juvenile prison, so the stigma of becoming a “prison town” has likely faded.

Latino Voters Plan to Hold President Obama Accountable

On Tuesday November 6, Latino voters showed up at the polls in record numbers to support President Obama. On Thursday November 8, they delivered a message to the president they helped to re-elect, “We got your back,” the crowd chanted, “Now it’s time for you to have ours.”

As reported by the Washington Post, over 100 representatives of various immigrant groups rallied at the White House on Thursday to celebrate the passage of Maryland’s “Dream Act.” They also encouraged lawmakers to pass similar legislation on a federal level.

According to managing director of United We Dream, Cristina Jimenez, “We know the Latino vote was crucial in the president’s reelection,” “The president and both Democrats and Republicans need to come together to create change in immigration policy — and Dreamers will hold the president accountable on this.” Reports show that 71 percent of Latino voters cast their vote for President Obama in Tuesday’s general election.

There are currently 11 million undocumented Latino immigrants in the United States. Through federal immigration reform, they are hoping that the government will create a path towards citizenship. Said one undocumented immigrant, “I don’t want to leave my sister or my grandmother because I am undocumented,” “Please, Mr. Obama, pass permanent immigration reform now because our families deserve happiness.”

Rise in Undocumented Mexican Immigrants

A new study published in the National Journal reveals that the number of undocumented immigrants entering the United States from Mexico is on the rise. Experts say the fact that the majority of these Mexicans are crossing the border for low-skilled jobs signals a much needed economic recovery within the United States.

Recently, several states have passed new immigration laws aiming to reduce the number of undocumented immigrants in the United States by making it impossible for them to live and work in their state. The study shows that these laws have had little impact. The study reinforces the simple notion that people will go where there they can find work.

Of the 114,000 new jobs the United States added in September, the majority were in fields that employ minorities — including documented and undocumented immigrants — such as health, transportation, and warehousing. The report also showed that migrant workers have been seeing increasing opportunities in leisure and hospitality, that Mexican migrants primarily enter the United States to find work as low-skilled laborers, and that immigrants deported from the interior of the United States are often heads of households aged 35 or older.

Alabama Immigration Law Creates Labor Shortage

Inspired by Arizona’s 2010 immigration reform, Alabama recently became one of five states to pass it’s own, similar immigration law. According to Alabama State Senator Scott Beason, the move was to remove illegal immigrants from the work force, and therefore “put thousands of native Alabamians back in the work force.” As Bloomberg News now reports, however, Alabama’s law is having quite a different impact.

Now a year old, the immigration law designed to drive out Hispanics has caused a labor shortage. To quell the shortage, Alabama businesses – mostly within the poultry industry – have imported hundreds of new workers willing to do the job.  These new workers consist of legal refugees from Africa and Haiti, as well as Puerto Ricans. Senator Beason is not happy about the refugees joining the workforce, stating, “We would prefer they hire native Alabamians.” Beason speculates that the refugees are being recruited to fill the positions left vacant because “they’re cheaper.”

Beason claims that the immigration law has had a positive impact in that Alabama’s unemployment has decreased from 8.8 to 8.5 percent in 2011. According to Beason, the lower unemployment rate “absolutely, directly coincides with when our law went into effect,” because “it put thousands of Alabamians into jobs.” According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, however, the decline in Alabama’s unemployment rate is due to a shrinking labor force.

Fifth Circuit Reviews Housing Ordinance Against Illegal Immigrants

A Dallas suburb is trying to prohibit illegal immigrants from renting homes within their town. As the Washington Post reports, they are taking their battle to the full 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

A new ordinance in Dallas suburb Farmers Branch requires all renters to complete an application concerning their legal status. The city’s building inspector would then examine the application to determine whether immigrants are legally in the United States. Not only does the ordinance require that illegal immigrants be denied, but it also provides that any landlord who knowingly rents to illegal immigrants may be fined.

Attorney for Farmers Branch Kris Kobach argued that the statute was enforceable because it does not conflict with federal law. The ordinance, according to Kobach, leaves the determination about whether someone is “lawfully present” to the federal government. Plaintiffs argue that the determination is left to the building inspector, which violates` federal law.

The ordinance was struck down by a federal district judge in 2010, then upheld by a three-judge panel of the 5th circuit earlier this year. The full fifteen-judge panel of the 5th circuit is widely considered one of the most conservative federal courts in the country.

“Show Me Your Papers” Immigration Law Sparks Protests

Now that the “Show Me Your Papers” provision of Arizona’s new Immigration Law is being enforced, The Huffington Post reports that protestors have taken to the streets in protest.

Police were given the immediate go-ahead to begin enforcing the “show me your papers” provision of Arizona’s new Immigration Law through a ruling handed down by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton on September 18. The law requires police officers to automatically question the legal status of anyone they suspect is in the country illegally.

On September 19, over three-dozen activists chanted “No papers, no fear” outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building. Other rallies were held all across Phoenix. According to organizer Carlos Garcia, the protestors are encouraging people – regardless of their legal status – not to comply with immigration enforcement efforts.

Civil rights advocates have set up a hotline to address questions concerning what rights people have when police question their legal status. Advocates are also pressuring police officers not to enforce the law, and in return immigrants will continue to cooperate with police in reporting crimes. However, failing to enforce the law could spark lawsuits against the police.

The advocates, who are planning more protests, will march from the Phoenix City Council to the Maricopa County Jail on Saturday.

President Obama and Mitt Romney Face Off on Immigration

ABC News has recently reported that, when it comes to immigration, the presidential candidates agree on virtually nothing.

On the issue of deportation, Mitt Romney favors self-deportation. Romney explained, “The answer is self-deportation, which is where people decide they can do better by going home because they can’t find work here because they don’t have legal documentation to allow them to work here.” Romney supports a system called E-Verify, where employers are required to check a person’s legal status before hiring him/her. Conversely, President Obama has recently announced a new system that grants young undocumented immigrants two-year work permits. Obama countered, “It makes no sense to expel talented young people, who, for all intents and purposes, are Americans.”

The candidates also differ on the issue of a boarder fence. When Congress voted to continue construction on the U.S.-Mexico fence, President Obama said,”That fence is basically complete.” Mitt Romney disagrees, stating that he would not only extend the current fence, but he would also reinforce it with a second layer.

Other issues the candidates disagree on include Arizona’s immigration law, and whether or not English should be the official language. While Mitt Romney supports Arizona’s immigration law, as well as instituting English as the Official Language, President Obama does not.

Labor Unions Use NAFTA to Attack Immigration Laws

An American labor union has recently filed a complaint stating that Alabama’s new immigration law  – HB 56 – violates the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

As reported by the Huffington Post, the complaint alleges that HB 56 violates NAFTA side agreement, the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC). The NAALC protects migrant workers by requiring that they are afforded legal protections equal to U.S. citizens where conditions of employment are concerned. According to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), HB 56 violates the NAALC “by creating a climate of fear and intimidation that chills immigrant workers and their co-workers who seek to form trade unions, bargain collectively or participate in other worker advocacy organizations.”

The Mexican government has accepted review of the complaint, and is now seeking a consult with the U.S. Government. The review will determine whether HB 56 is indeed “discriminatory” and “abusive” towards immigrant workers, as the complaint alleges. In a prepared statement, SEIU International Secretary-Treasurer Eliseo Medina said, “we hope that further review of Alabama’s racial profiling law will make clear its devastating impact on workers, on the law’s potential for minimum wage and overtime violations, and on workers’ freedom of association which are supposed to be protected under the NAFTA labor clause.”