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Subject: [NIFL-ESL:7330] FW: Immigration Policy Update
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------ Forwarded Message
From: "Belanger, Maurice" <mbelanger@immigrationforum.org>
Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 15:20:23 -0500
To: "Belanger, Maurice" <mbelanger@immigrationforum.org>
Subject: Immigration Policy Update
National Immigration Forum
Date: February 27, 2002
To: Forum Associates and interested advocates
From: Maurice Belanger
Re: Immigration Policy Update
----------------------------------------------------
CONTENTS
1. No TANF for Immigrants in White House Welfare
Reauthorization
2. BIA "Streamlining" Regulations Published
3. Effort to Apprehend Absconders Prioritized by National
Origin
4. Applicants for Admission to be Checked for Criminal History
5. Argentines Now Must Obtain Visas
6. Items from the Federal Register
----------------------------------------------------
---------------
PUBLIC BENEFITS - Administration's Welfare Reauthorization Plan Excludes
Legal Immigrants
---------------
This year, Congress will consider the reauthorization of the 1996 Welfare
Reform law. On February 26, President Bush released his plan for welfare
reauthorization. The Forum has previously reported that the Administration
will support the restoration of food stamps to legal immigrants regardless
of their date of entry. However, the plan released on February 26 would
retain the current eligibility scheme for other benefits--Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), non-emergency Medicaid, and the Child
Health Insurance Program. A reference to these programs is made in a White
House document summarizing the President's plan under the heading
"Safeguarding Against Welfare Dependency Among Non-Citizens." According to
the document, this will ensure that "that welfare policy neither attracts
non-citizens to the U.S. to take advantage of welfare nor induces welfare
dependency among non-citizens who do receive welfare benefits." That
document is on the White House website at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/welfarereform/. A more detailed
description of the President's plan can be found at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/02/welfare-reform-announcement-
book.html
Under current law, newly arriving immigrants are barred from eligibility for
the first five years. After that time, immigrants are subject to "deeming."
(The immigrant sponsor's income is taken into account when determining
whether an immigrant meets the income requirements for the program.) After
the five-year bar, states have the option to determine eligibility.
The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) blasted the administration's
proposal. In a press release on February 26, Raul Yzaguirre, President of
NCLR, said "the exclusion from the Administration's proposal of prenatal
care, health care for children, and other critical services for legal
immigrants is simply outrageous." The full statement is on NCLR's website
at:
http://nclr.policy.net/proactive/newsroom/release.vtml?id=19920
Congress will be taking up competing measures to reauthorize the welfare law
later this year.
-----------
DUE PROCESS - Justice Department Publishes BIA Streamlining Regulations
-----------
On February 8, the Forum reported on a proposed rule about to be published
by the Justice Department that would make major changes in the Board of
Immigration Appeals (BIA). Cases going before the BIA would first be
screened by a single judge to determine whether the case merited review by a
three-judge panel. After a period during which the backlog of cases pending
before the BIA was reduced, the BIA would be reduced in size from 23 members
to 11. A letter sent by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
and other organizations asked, at a minimum, that the public be allowed 60
days to comment on such a major restructuring of the BIA. However, the
regulations, published on February 19th, allow just 30 days of public
comment. Comments are due March 21, 2002.
AILA will be circulating comments for other organizations to use or to sign
on to, and the Forum will circulate those comments when they are ready.
A summary of the proposed regulation, taken from the Federal Register,
follows:
QUOTE
This proposed rule will reform the structure and procedures of the Board of
Immigration Appeals. Under the new case management procedures, all cases
appealed to the Board will be examined by a Board member assigned to the
screening panel. Most cases will be resolved through summary decisions
issued by a single Board member. The assigned Board member on the screening
panel will also identify those cases that warrant review by a three-member
panel. The Board will no longer revisit factual determinations of
immigration judges on a de novo basis, but will be able to remand cases for
further factfinding where necessary. In addition, the rule will set specific
time limits for the disposition of cases. The Board's current jurisdiction
over appeals from decisions by the Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS) imposing various kinds of administrative fines (see 8 CFR 280) will be
transferred to the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer
(OCAHO). After a transition period of operation under the new procedures to
eliminate the current backlog of cases, the Board will be reduced in size to
eleven members from its present size of 19 members plus four vacancies.
UNQUOTE
The proposed regulation can be found at:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2002_register&doci
d=02-3801-filed
The House Immigration Subcommittee held a hearing on this topic on February
7th. Testimony from the witnesses can be found on the Judiciary Committee's
website at: http://www.house.gov/judiciary/immigration.htm
The views of the American Immigration Lawyers Association were presented in
testimony at: http://www.house.gov/judiciary/yaleloehr020602.htm
--------------
ANTI-TERRORISM - Deputy AG Counsels Racial Profiling in "Absconder
Initiative"
--------------
The Forum has previously reported that the INS has decided to enter the
names of persons who have been ordered deported into the FBI's National
Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. For the most part, these are
persons who have gone through deportation proceedings and were ultimately
unsuccessful. Rather than presenting themselves for deportation, they have
fled or "absconded." There are approximately 300,000 of these individuals
thought to be in the U.S. (As with anything else in immigration, however,
the picture of absconders is more complicated--some on the INS's original
list may have actually been protected by Temporary Protected Status, or may
have been ordered deported in absentia, without knowing it, or for other
reasons should not be on the list.) Once entered, these individuals will be
more easily detected by law enforcement agencies other than the INS. If an
such an individual is stopped in a traffic stop, for example, and their name
is matched in the FBI's database, they will be turned over to the INS. It
may take as long as a year to enter the names of all absconders into the
NCIC.
On January 25, the Deputy Attorney General sent a memo to the INS, FBI, U.S.
Marshals Service, and U.S. Attorneys that outlined a process in which the
government will add names and go after absconders based on the ethnic origin
of those who have absconded. The "Absconder Apprehension Initiative," as it
is called, will focus first on several thousand individuals "who come from
countries in which there has been Al Qaeda terrorist presence or activity."
These individuals will have their names entered in the NCIC first. The
government will then actively seek them out and apprehend them, to either
deport them or hold them for questioning. The individuals being sought are
not suspected of any terrorist activity. Apprehension teams will be formed
from available personnel from the INS, FBI, U.S. Attorneys Offices and local
Anti-Terrorism Task Forces, and the U.S. Marshals Service. Apprehension
teams were to have been formed for these absconders by February 11.
The memo was made public by the Washington Post on February 8, and can be
found on the Post's website at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac3/ContentServer?pagename=article&articleid=A
42330-2002Feb7&node=nation/specials/attacked/archive
The policy to target absconders by national origin is the latest in a series
of actions that has eroded trust of the Administration in the Arab American
community. Ziad Asali, President of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee, said in a February 8 press release, "Little by little we are
systematizing in our policies the stereotype that young Arab men are a
special class of persons who are to be treated differently than others."
The entire ADC press release can be found on their website at:
http://www.adc.org/press/2002/8February2002.htm
-----
VISAS - Visa Applicants, Applicants for Admission, to be Checked for
Criminal Record
-----
On February 25, 2002, the State Department published an interim regulation,
effective immediately, that provides guidance for implementing a section of
the USAPATRIOT Act. According to the interim rule, the FBI will supply the
State Department with criminal history record abstracts from the FBI
database and these records will be entered into the State Department's
lookout database. The names of all visa applicants and applicants for
admission will be checked against this database. If a name matches, the
applicant will be fingerprinted and pay the fingerprint fee. The
fingerprints will be forwarded to the FBI to confirm whether or not the
applicant has a criminal record. The interim rule also sets limits on the
State Department's use of the criminal history records.
Comments are due on or before April 26. The interim rule can be found at:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2002_register&doci
d=02-4541-filed
-------------------
VISA WAIVER PROGRAM - Argentine Nationals Now Must Obtain Visas to Enter
U.S.
-------------------
On February 21, the INS published an interim regulation that took Argentina
off the list of countries whose nationals can visit the U.S. for a period of
90 days or less without first obtaining a visa. The interim regulation went
into effect immediately. The summary accompanying the text of the interim
regulation gave the reasoning for taking Argentina off the list:
QUOTE
Due to the current economic crisis in Argentina and the increase in the
number of Argentine nationals attempting to use the program to live and work
illegally in the United States, the Department of Justice, in consultation
with the Department of State, has determined that Argentina's participation
in the [Visa Waiver Program] is inconsistent with the U.S. interest in
enforcement of the immigration laws of the United States.
UNQUOTE
Argentine nationals traveling to the U.S. as tourists or for business must
now obtain a visa at a U.S. consulate or embassy. More than 400,000
Argentines traveled to the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program annually.
Comments to the interim regulation must be submitted on or before April 22.
The proposed rule can be obtained from the Federal Register at
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2002_register&doci
d=02-4260-filed
FROM THE FEDERAL REGISTER
Foreign Students. On February 22, the INS published a notice in the Federal
Register about the continued use of Form I-724J, Application for Waiver of
the 2-Year Foreign Residence Requirement.
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2002_register&doci
d=02-4272-filed
Immigrant Students. On February 22, the Department of Education published
notice of its intent to use a new form, "Descriptive Study of Immigrant
Education." "The goals of the Descriptive Study of Immigrant Education are
to provide information about: (1) The types of programs and services for
immigrant children and youth and best practices for serving this population;
(2) the degree to which immigrant students are meeting state standards; and
(3) the way in which services are paid for and provided. The study will
include case studies of 15 districts that represent diverse circumstances
and populations, and a range of approaches to serving recent immigrant
children and youth." Comments are due on or before April 23, 2002.
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2002_register&doci
d=02-4224-filed
TEXT OF AMERICAN IMMIGRATION LAWYERS ASSOCIATION PRESS RELEASE ON PROPOSED
REGULATION TO RESTRUCTURE THE BOARD OF IMMIGRATION APPEALS
Press Release
For immediate release:
Tuesday, February 19, 2002
Bush Administration Proposed Changes to BIA Threaten Due Process
Advocates Call on Attorney General to Promote Reform that Affirms the
Independence and Impartiality of the Board of Immigration Appeals
Washington, D.C. - The Attorney General today issued a proposed regulation
that would negatively impact how the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)
functions by compromising due process and the independence of the
immigration court system. The BIA is the highest administrative appeals
body for immigrants and reviews decisions made by immigration judges and INS
officials in individual cases. Board members make decisions that ultimately
can determine whether someone who has been persecuted and tortured for his
beliefs will live or die and whether U.S. families will be united or
divided.
"The BIA often is the court of last resort for the vast majority of people
seeking review of decisions by immigration judges. It is vitally important
that the BIA remain a robust and vigorous review body," said Jeanne
Butterfield, Executive Director of the American Immigration Lawyers
Association (AILA). "It is puzzling that the Bush Administration would
reach out to immigrants on the one hand and pull the appellate rug out from
under them with the other."
The proposed regulation goes in the wrong direction, especially given recent
sweeping changes in our nation's immigration laws. Immigration laws are
incredibly complex and often unclear. Congressional intent is ambiguous.
The INS itself frequently argues positions that courts later hold are
contrary to congressional intent. Yet the Administration's proposed changes
seem to assume that the appeals heard by the Board do not involve complex
questions of law.
"AILA fully shares the Attorney General's concern that the Board achieve
timely and efficient adjudications and backlog reductions. But the
Administration's proposal would sacrifice justice in the name of
expediency," said Ms. Butterfield.
AILA, along with dozens of our coalition partners, called on the Attorney
General in a February 11 letter to bring together interested constituencies
to examine and recommend proposals to improve administrative review in a way
that will affirm the independence and impartiality of the BIA, facilitate
immigrants' access to the BIA, enhance due process, and promote an efficient
adjudications system.
Both due process and efficiency concerns would be met best by increasing the
number of Board Members, improving the screening of cases that have limited
factual or legal disputes, and instituting programs to provide free legal
representation in meritorious matters. Immigration courts must be
independent, impartial, and include meaningful checks and balances. To that
end, AILA advocates the creation of a separate and independent immigration
court and appellate system outside of the Department of Justice. These and
other issues are detailed in testimony AILA presented before the House
Immigration Subcommittee during a February 6 hearing.
"Who would feel comfortable going to traffic court knowing that the judge
worked for the police?" asked Ms. Butterfield. "The time has come for an
independent court."
###AILA###
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=====================================================
Maurice Belanger
Senior Policy Associate
National Immigration Forum
mbelanger@immigrationforum.org
http://www.immigrationforum.org
------ End of Forwarded Message
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