USCIS Extends TPS for Salvadorans
USCIS DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible nationals of El Salvador for an additional 18 months, beginning March 10, 2012, and ending September 9, 2013. (Jan 2012)

Cecila Munoz named WH Domestic Policy Director
White House announced that current Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Cecilia Muñoz will now serve as Director of the Domestic Policy Council, where she will coordinate policy-making and supervise the execution of domestic policy in the White House. (Jan 2012)

USC Intends to Change Unlawful Presence Waiver Process
USCIS published a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register on January 9, 2012, stating it will consider regulatory changes that would allow certain immediate relatives to request provisional unlawful presence waivers prior to departing the U.S. for consular processing. (Jan 2012)

TPS Extension for Nicaraguans
USCIS announced an 18-month extension of the TPS designation of Nicaragua, effective 1/6/12 through 7/5/13, and automatic EAD extension for current Nicaraguan TPS beneficiaries.

TPS Extension for Hondurans
USCIS announced an 18-month extension of Honduras’ TPS designation, effective 1/6/12 through 7/5/13, as well as the automatic EAD extension for current Honduran TPS beneficiaries.

H-IB Cap Updated
USCIS updated its count of FY2012 cap-subject H-1B petitions and advanced degree cap-exempt petitions receipted. As of 10/14/11, approximately 43,300 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. USCIS has receipted 19,600 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees.

Court Rules DHS must respond to FOIAs within 20 days.
A Federal District Court in California granted partial summary judgment, ordering USCIS to respond to FOIA requests in 20 days absent unusual circumstances, and that Track 3 FOIA procedures (FOIAs for matters involved in removal proceedings) violates a 1992 settlement agreement and was promulgated in violation of the APA and FOIA. (Hajro v. USCIS, 10/13/11).

H-1B CAP UPDATE
USCIS updated its count of FY2012 cap-subject H-1B petitions and advanced degree cap-exempt petitions receipted. As of 8/26/11, approximately 29,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. USCIS has receipted 15,800 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees.

SUBWAY FRANCHISE PENALIZED FOR IMPROPER I-9s
OCAHO ordered the owner of a Subway franchise to pay $28,150 in civil penalties for failure to prepare and/or properly complete I-9 forms, finding that the penalties sought by ICE were disproportionate to the company’s size and resources. (U.S. v. Teelah Inc., 12/22/2010)

TOMATO PRODUCER FINED FOR UNAUTHORIZED WORKERS
ICE issued a press release announcing that Eurofresh, Inc., a large tomato producer in southern Arizona, was fined $600,000 and put on probation for a period of five years for knowingly hiring and continuing to employ unauthorized workers at the company between 2000 and 2006.

The Administration is making good, smart decisions on how to act in enforcing our current immigration laws. It is doing what any competent, effective, local law authority would do. The DHS has decided to spend its money and time where it benefits the public most, in the removal (deportation) of persons who are not only in the US without authorization, but are of danger to our communities, based on their conduct (not just their legal immigration status). This was supposed to have been the mission of the Secure Communities Program from the beginning. Under the new procedures, announced on August 18, persons who have been placed in removal proceeding, but do not have a criminal record, have long-term ties to the US, or other favorable factors, will be allowed to seek an end to the removal proceedings and even be issued some temporary status to be in the US. I support this new policy as being good for our country. It shows we have a smart administration that believes in enforcing the laws, but in a cost-effective, judicious manner, instead of depending on arbitrary random traffic stops to determine our how and when our immigration laws should be enforced.

NEW PROSECUTORIAL DISCRETION PROCEDURES
On August 18, 2011, DHS unveiled a new interagency process to ensure that resources are focused on the Administration’s highest enforcement priorities. As part of this process, an interagency team of DHS and Department of Justice (DOJ) officers and attorneys, including representatives from throughout DHS and from the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) and the Office of Immigration Litigation at DOJ, will identify low-priority removal cases that should be considered for an exercise of discretion (i.e. Dream Act immigrants). This review will be conducted on a case-by-case basis and will consider cases that are at the various stages of enforcement proceedings, including charging, hearing, and after a final order of removal. The interagency working group will also issue guidance to prevent low priority cases from entering the system on a case-by-case basis.

WHITE HOUSE SUSPENDS DEPORTATION OF DREAM ACT IMMIGRANTS
The Department of Homeland Security has announced on August 18 that it will prioritize the removal of people who have been convicted of crimes in the United States. They announced that they are strengthening their ability to target criminals even further by making sure they are not focusing our resources on deporting people who are low priorities for deportation. This includes individuals such as young people who were brought to this country as small children, and who know no other home. (i.e. Dream Act Immigrants) It also includes
Individuals such as military veterans and the spouses of active-duty military personnel. DHS, along with the Department of Justice, will be reviewing the current deportation caseload to clear out low priority cases on a case-by-case basis and make more room to deport people who have been convicted of crimes or pose a security risk. And they will take steps to keep low-priority cases out of the deportation pipeline in the first place. They will be applying “common sense guidelines” to make these decisions, like a person’s ties and contributions to the community, their family relationships and military service record.

Our communities are the bedrock of this country’s strength. What we believe, what we do, what we contribute, and what we protect in each of our communities is what makes our country strong. Immigrants are a vital part of our communities. Immigrants (both with legal status and without legal status) are members of our local neighborhoods, where they work, go to schools, participate at church, are consumers (purchase goods) in our economies, and are both victims and witnesses to local crimes. If we truly aspire to have “secure communities”, we must protect all those in our communities who support, contribute to and protect our American way of life.

The current ICE Secure Communities Program harms our communities. This Program has demonstrated that it does not do what it claims to do – that is to remove dangerous criminals from our communities, so that we are safe. What is has done is create fear and distrust of our local law enforcement by persons who are engaged in minor traffic violations. This hurts all of us in the communities, not just the undocumented. If persons in my neighborhood are afraid of the police, my local police cannot depend on its residents to contact them or assist them by reporting and informing them of serious criminal activity occurring in my neighborhood. This creates a community of “insecurity” and harms us all.

I agree that we need to address the status of persons in the US without proper documents, but this is not the way to do it, without causing harm to all of us. We need our Congress to pass (and pay) for laws that create a viable, cost effective, reasonable, and humane process to admit certain foreign nationals and the same to remove those who should not be here. This program does none of the above.

ICE en la Mira
Recientemente el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional le envió un memorandum a el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE por sus siglas en ingles) reiterándoles seguir los lineamientos establecidos al momento de implementar sus programas. La abogada en inmigración Carlina Tapia-Ruano nos explica el impacto de este memo en las operaciones de ICE y la necesidad de establecer un sistema para hacer denuncias relacionadas con esta entidad.

NATURALIZATION APPLICATIONS TO BE EXPEDITED
USCIS announced that it will prioritize the processing of Naturalization Applications, Form N-400, for certain SSI recipients whose SSI benefits will be terminated within one year of the date listed on their SSI notice and whose Form N-400 has been pending with USCIS for four months or more. (August 2011)

ILLINOIS DREAM ACT (SB 2185) SIGNED INTO LAW
Illinois bill (SB 2185) signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn on August 1, 2011. SB 2185 would qualify undocumented students for private funds to attend college. It would also allow individuals with SSNs or TINs to enroll in state-run college savings programs. (August 2011)

H-1B Count Updated
USCIS updated its count of FY2012 cap-subject H-1B petitions and advanced degree cap-exempt petitions receipted. As of 7/1/11, approximately 19,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. USCIS has receipted 12,200 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees. (July 2011)

POSSIBLE NEW BENEFIT FOR DREAM KIDS
On June 17, 2011, the USICE Office published a significant new Legal Memo addressing “prosecutorial discretion”. Under the new procedures laid out in the memo, certain foreign nationals may receive some significant benefits. Under the new Memo, ICE agents (and ICE Attorneys) have been given broad powers to do many things, including initiate and terminate removal proceedings against certain foreign nationals depending on certain circumstances. For example, persons who are routinely placed on ICE Detainers for having been charged with minor offenses (i.e. Traffic) may possibly avoid being placed in removal proceedings, depending on other factors in their case. The Memo outlines what those factors should be. In addition, person who seek to be placed in some type of legal proceeding, (i.e. request to be placed in removal proceedings, or be granted Deferred Action) may be provided this relief if the ICE agent chooses to exercise discretion. Persons who may benefit from the act of discretion include: minors, the elderly, persons who have USC or LPR close family members, and caretakers of persons with physical or mental disabilities. This is a particular benefit for persons who might have benefited under the DREAM Act. (June 2011)

COMPREHENSIVE REFORM INTRODUCED IN SENATE
On June 22, 2011, Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Harry Reid (D-NV), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) and John Kerry (D-MA) introduced the “Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2011,” a bill that seeks to fix a system that has been broken for far too long. The legislation proposes a balance of solutions, such as enhanced enforcement measures and a mandatory E-verify program which is paired with strategies to address the current population of undocumented workers, improvements to regulating future flows of legal immigration, a commission to study and regulate temporary worker programs, as well as efforts to support the integration of immigrants into America. (June 2012)

DHS EXTENDS HAITIAN TPS AND ALLOWS REDESIGNATION
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary, Janet Napolitano announced on May 17, 2011, that DHS would extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for an additional eighteen (18) months for Haitians currently residing in the United States. She also announced that she would permit Haitians who arrived up to one year after the earthquake, many of whom came in on visitor visas and other authorized measures, to apply for TPS. (MAY 2011)