U.S. Immigration Law and U.S. Immigration Law and Policy--The Good, The Bad and Policy--The Good, The Bad and

the Downright Uglythe Downright Ugly

Charles H. KuckCharles H. KuckKuck Casablanca LLC

The Immigration Law Firmckuck@immigration.net www.immigration.net

404-816-8611

The Good

• Sorry, I could not think of any.

The Good

• Okay, There is some

• State Department is MORE flexible in granting Student Visas– 120 day Prior to Start of Study Visa App

• SEVIS, as the Student Tracking System, “seems” to be working somewhat efficiently

• Congress did NOT pass HB 4437!

The Bad

• Where do we start?

• What is going on?

• Why the great brouhaha about immigrants?

Our Bizarre Immigration Laws• 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act

• Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986

• Immigration Act of 1990

• Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996

• American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998

• American Competitiveness in the Twenty First Century Act of 2000

• Visa Waiver Permanent Program Act of 2000

• Legal Immigration and Family Equity Act of 2000

• Extension of 245(i) and other new laws for 2001

• PATRIOT Act of 2001

• Border Security and Visa Reform Act of 2002

Why Immigration and Why Now?

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AvailableWorkers

BabyBoomersPostBoomers

• The Coming Worker Shortage

• 80 Million Workers in the “Baby Boomer” Generation

• 46 Million Workers in the Generation that Follows!

• Immigration must be part of the solution

30 Million Workers

• Why do we need them?– It’s the Economy

• Where do they come from?– Immigration or higher birth rates?

• What options are available?• How do we plan and manage this???• How do we deal with 12 Million “illegals”

What Can America Do?• We clearly have an immigration crisis—our law

are – Not uniformly or properly enforced, and – Do Not reflect the economic/demographic reality in

which we live• So, Do we:

– Build a 50 foot wall all around America, and stretch a plastic cover over the top?

– Deport every single person who has ever violated their immigration status and their U.S. Citizen Children?

– Figure out a immigration solution that serves America’s Security and Economic Needs?

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1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004

Annual Migration to the U.S.Peaked in 1999–2000

Annual Immigration (in 000s)

Start Peak End

New Immigration Growth CentersNew Immigration Growth Centers

Immigration Categories

Major Destinations (67% of Immigrants) (6)

All Other States (23)

New Growth States (1990-2000 > 91%) (22)

Top 10 Growth States (135-274%) (10)

U.S. Border Enforcement SpendingFigure 1 U.S. Border Enforcement Expenditures, Fiscal Years 1960-2004

Sources: U.S. General Accounting Office; U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Public Policy Institute of California

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Concentrated borderenforcement strategyinitiated

U.S. Border Enforcement Spending

1996—IIRAIRA

• The BIG Kahuna of Immigration change• Punish visa overstayers and illegal

entrants– No legal way to legalize status if you come

illegally; and – If you leave after being illegally here (even to

fix your legal status), you can’t come back for 10 years

• SO, people chose to stay! Surprise!

The Immigration System is Broken

• I. The US immigration system is broken. – Visa number backlogs and processing delays

are excessively long Visa number backlogs and processing delays are excessively long for immigrant visa applicants.

– Family-based applicants have to wait from 4 to 22 years to come to the U.S.

– Spouse of Permanent Residents have to wait 7-9 years to come into the U.S. legally

The Immigration System is Broken

• Employment-based visas are currently unavailable for Bachelor degree holders for 5-7 years

• For Unskilled workers 10-15 years

• Professionals (Degree Holders) entering as non-immigrants (H-1B) wait for over a year due to numerical cap

Our Immigration System is Broken

• The current system does not serve our economic needs. – (1) US companies do not have enough skilled

workers to remain competitive in the global market.

• The World is Flat—Thomas Freidman

– (2) US employers, including hospitals, factories, software developers, and service providers suffer from employee shortage

Our Immigration System is Broken

• The current system does not reflect American values of fairness and equality. – Our laws and rules violate due process rights. – We have arbitrary detention of citizens, secret

immigration hearings, mistreatment of detainees, summary deportation and special registrations.

– Families are separated for a long time because of the visa backlog and processing delays.

The Downright

Ugly:The Politics of

Immigration

Would-be architects of “immigration reform”

Sen. John McCain Sen. Edward Kennedy Pres. George Bush

Rep. James Sensenbrenner

Immigration Proposals in Congress

• President Bush’s Proposal

• McCain/Kennedy Compromise Senate Bill

• Sensenbrenner House Bill

What are the Solutions: Bush• President Bush unveiled his immigration “proposal” in

January 2004 and reiterated it in January 2005 and then again in May 2006.

• Its salient points are:

– (1) It will grant temporary legal status to both foreign workers abroad and undocumented aliens in the US.

– (2) Authorized period of stay will be 3 years renewable for an unspecified period.

– (3) Travel back and forth will be authorized.– (4) A path to permanent resident status is provided– (5) Increased Border and Interior Enforcement

What are the Solutions: McCain/Kennedy

• The Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act (S 2611) was passed by the Senate in May 2006. Its salient points are: – (1) It will give earned adjustment to folks present in the

U.S. on April 5, 2001 (requires a fine/back taxes/wait in line for 6 years before starting 6 year process to residence/English language fluency)

– (2) Deferred Mandatory Departure for folks in U.S. from April 5, 2001 to January 7, 2004. Will have to leave the U.S. after 3 years to begin a process of legalization which will take 6-12 years.

– (3) AgJobs (worked in agriculture for 2 years-legal residence/payment of fines, back taxes, etc).

What are the Solutions: McCain/Kennedy

• (4) DREAM Act—Children brought against will who graduate from High School and College or who enter military service are allowed to legalize status

• (5) It will promote family unity and reduce backlogs by– (a) Exempting immediate relatives of lawful permanent residents

from the 480,000 annual cap. – (b) Increasing employment-based numbers from 140,000 to

290,000 per year.

• (6) It will create a national strategy for border security and lots of money!

• (7) Guest worker program of 200,000 a year under safeguard of job displacement of U.S. workers

What are the Solutions: McCain/Kennedy

• Employer Sanctions– Increased substantially– Mandatory electronic verification system for all

employers– Eliminates I-9– Add 3,000 ICE enforcement agents nationwide

What are the Solutions: Sensenbrenner

• Enforce the border

• Big Fences

• Lots of Money

• More Border Patrol

• Bigger Fences

• And deal with affirmative immigration issues later; Maybe.

More Downright Ugly—The Sausage of Washington

• The Republican House cannot agree with the Republican Senate on what the Republican President wants to do on Immigration Reform

• Perhaps a Democratic House can agree with a Republican or Democratic Senate on what a Republican President wants to do on Immigration Reform

Kuck Casablanca Immigration Resources for Your Issues,

Questions and AnswersCharles Kuck

ckuck@immigration.net

404-816-8611

1-866-286-6200

www.immigration.net