Posts Tagged ‘Obama’
President Obama Invites Public to Press Congress About Immigration
On May 10, 2011 President Obama invited the public to push Congress for comprehensive immigration reform. Discussing innovation, entrepreneurship, and the American Dream, the President spoke clearly about the urgent need to fix the broken U.S. immigration system. He stated that immigration is a key component of ensuring our success in the 21st century. He also provided a blueprint that offers numerous ideas that would translate into specific legislation and encourages both parties to work in the country’s best interest.
Tags: entrepreneur, immigration reform, Obama
Posted in Alerts, immigration reform, Politics/Current Events | Read More »
Obama Signs Border Security Bill
As an update to prior blog posts, President Obama signed the $600 million emergency border security bill into law on 08/13/2010.
The bill includes additional funding for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) totaling $254 million, additional funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) totaling $80 million, and additional funding for border security fencing, infrastructure and technology totaling $14 million. The bill also includes $32 million to acquire and deploy unmanned aircraft systems and $6 million to construct two (2) operating bases for use by CBP to carry out enforcement activities. In addition, the bill allocates $196 million to the Department of Justice for border security efforts and $10 million to Courts of Appeals and District Courts for the increased workload that will arise as a result of the increased security.
Please note that the bill also raises filing and fraud prevention and detection fees for L visas by $2,250. It also raises the fees for H-1B visas by $2,000 for applicants who have more than 50 employees in the U.S. if more than 50 percent of their employees are on L or H-1B visas.
Tags: border security, CBP, H.R. 6080, ICE, Obama
Posted in Alerts, Crimes and Immigration, immigration reform, Politics/Current Events | Read More »
Emergency Bill Headed to Obama’s Desk
In a prior post, we informed readers that the Senate was going to vote on the emergency Border Security Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2010 in September 2010 when it returned from its August recess. This is a $600 million spending bill aimed at U.S. border security. Apparently, the Senate has moved on the measure before its recess, passing it by unanimous vote on 08/12/2010. The bill will now head to President Obama’s desk, where it is expected to be signed into law.
Tags: border security, Emergency spending bill, House, Obama, Senate
Posted in Alerts, Crimes and Immigration, immigration reform, Politics/Current Events | Read More »
I-9 Audits on The Rise, Fines to Increase
As part of its immigration enforcement strategy, the Obama Administration has announced that it would focus on employers who hire undocumented workers. In July, over 650 employers were told that they were being audited for potential immigration violations, and apparently many more will be audited in the weeks and months to come.
“You are going to see audits regularly and on a larger scale,” said John Morton, the new chief of U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement to the Wall Street Journal. Apparently, civil fines could exceed $800 per employee. Yet this increased focus on employer compliance does nothing to address the fact that certain industries, namely, agriculture, construction, as well as others, depend heavily on immigrant labor.
In addition, despite the Obama Administration’s stated goal of going after ‘bad actor’ employers, the New York Times reported recently that immigration related prosecutions of undocumented immigrants (rather than the employers who hire them) were up significantly since Obama took office.
What we need in this country is not more enforcement, but sensible reform that addresses our economic need as a nation. We must legalize the status of the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows who have a critical role to play in the U.S.’s economic recovery. President Obama and Janet Napolitano thus far have only paid lip service to the need for reform. What we need from them now is leadership and action.
Tags: audit, I-9, immigration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, immigration enforcement, Obama
Posted in Employment Verification | Read More »
