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 New Initiatives To Prevent Immigration Related
Job Discrimination
The Department of Justice
(DOJ) has awarded more than $700,000 in grants to 11 community service
groups so that they may educate the public about immigration-related job
discrimination and inform workers and employees about their rights and
responsibilities. The recipient organizations will assist discrimination
victims, conduct seminars for workers, employers, and immigration service
providers. For more information, please visit http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/osc.
 USCIC Changes Vaccination Requirements
The
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has published a list of
vaccines that are required for applicants seeking to adjust their status to
that of permanent resident. The required immunizations are:
- Rotavirus
- Hepatitis A
- Meningococcal
- Human papillomavirus
- Zoster
The
revised Technical Instructions to Civil Surgeons for Vaccination
Requirements can be found online at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dq/civil.htm .
To read the “Frequently Asked Questions” about vaccination requirements,
please visit the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov.
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HIV No Longer a
Barrier To Immigration
Prior to July 30,
2008 the U.S. was one of only 12 countries in the world that banned travel
for individuals who are HIV positive. The ban was enacted in 1987, and
HIV remained a ground for inadmissibility for years. However, all this
changed on July 30, 2008, when President Bush signed into law a bill that
authorizes $48 billion over the next five years to fight AIDS and other
diseases overseas. This bill also includes a provision that repeals the HIV
travel and immigration ban by amending the health-related ground of inadmissibility
to exclude any reference to HIV. Now that the bill is in effect, it will be
up to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to determine whether
individuals infected with HIV will be allowed to travel the U.S.
Virginia
Stricter Than Ever on Illegal Immigrants
 The Washington Post
recently reported that the state of Virginia has implemented a law that requires
jails to report all foreign born inmates to Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE), regardless of their immigration status and regardless whether or not
they are documented immigrants. Del. David B. Albo, who helped write the
law, was quoted saying, “with our new law, these people who are here
illegally should be afraid of living anywhere in Virginia right now.” All immigrants,
regardless of status, that are arrested anywhere in Virginia, will now be
reported to federal authorities, and anyone that is here illegally faces being
turned over to ICE, and possible deportation. To read the full Washington Post
article, log onto
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/27/AR2008072701973.html?nav=rss_email/components.
Controversial
Hiring of Immigration Judges
After a thorough investigation,
a report released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) Offices of
Professional Responsibility has confirmed that the Justice Department used
illegal hiring practices when hiring Immigration Judges and
members of the Board of
Immigration Appeals (BIA). According to the report, former White House
liaison Monica Goodling and chief of staff Kyle Sampson broke the law by
taking political beliefs into consideration when selecting candidates,
oftentimes relying on candidates’ political views rather than their
qualifications. After doing extensive research on the candidates’ political affiliations
and beliefs, Ms. Goodling favored Republicans and conservatives when
hiring. To read more on this topic, check out the articles in the
Associated Press: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/J/JUSTICE_POLITICS?SITE=NYONI&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
or in The New York
Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/washington/29justice.html?scp=1&sq=immigration%20DOJ&st=cse
New U.S. Passport Card
The
Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security recently
announced that U.S. citizens traveling between the U.S. and Mexico, Canada,
the Caribbean, and Bermuda by either land or sea will not need to bring
their U.S. passports as long as they obtain the new U.S. Passport Card. The
Passport Card, which is now being distributed, is a convenient, wallet
sized identification document. It is only valid for travel by land or sea,
and cannot be used when traveling internationally by air. To find
out how you can apply for a U.S. passport card, go to http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppt_card/ppt_card_3926.html.
ICE's New Program for Immigrants
To Turn Themselves In
From August 5 to August 22,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will be implementing a pilot
program called the Scheduled Departure Program, which encourages immigrants
that have overstayed their visa or have been ordered deported by an
immigration judge to report to ICE to have the agency arrange for their
departure. The idea behind the
program is to have immigrants that have been ordered deported avoid arrest,
and instead arrange for a peaceful departure from the U.S. This program
addresses the concerns that many immigrants have raised about ICE
disrupting families by detaining immigrants prior to deporting them. By
turning themselves in, immigrants that have been ordered removed from the
country will not only avoid being arrested, and will allow eligible aliens
to arrange for their families to depart together with them, if they wish.
According to Julie Myers, the Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for
ICE, “by participating in the Scheduled Departure Program, those who have
had their day in court and have been ordered to leave the country have an
opportunity to comply with the law and gain control of how their families
are affected by their removal.”This pilot program will only be
in effect from August 5 until August 22, and it will only apply to aliens
living in or around Santa Ana, CA, San Diego, CA, Phoenix, AZ, Chicago, IL,
and Charlotte, NC.ICE
will then evaluate the effectiveness of the program and will decide whether
it is something they wish to continue.
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