REPUBLICANS NOW CALLING FOR PIECEMEAL IMMIGRATION REFORM

By Greg SiskindHow very 2010. Separate reports have Senate Immigration Subcommittee Chair Jon Cornyn (R-TX) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) calling for passage of individual pieces of immigration reform such as STEM legislation and the GOP's DREAM-lite bill.
In the past, I advocated for this strategy arguing that the perfect was the enemy of the good and trying to pass smaller measures made more sense than going for the whole enchilada. But that was during a time when the GOP (particularly the anti-immigrant forces within the party) had a lot more power than they do today. 
The times have changed. First, we obviously know the message from the election and have a number of emboldened GOP members interested in comprehensive reform. Second, it's looking like we'll get filibuster reform next month which should make passing a Senate bill easier. Finally, there's a sense that people want to get immigration done and off the table and not drag on.

Paul Ryan Interested in Immigration Reform
This is a bit surprising given everything said during the campaign. From Politico: Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) said Wednesday that Paul Ryan had reached across the aisle to work with him on immigration reform and added that the Wisconsin Republican told him, “I want to do it because it’s the right thing.” “I saw my good friend just coming off running for vice president of the United States, Congressman Ryan, we’re going to see each other next week. We’re talking. He says to me, ‘Luis, I want to do it because it’s the right thing. I don’t want to deal with it from a political point of view.’ I think that’s very, very encouraging,” Gutierrez said on MSNBC. Not to be cynical, but perhaps Ryan wants a high profile role in immigration reform because of this guy.
Lindsey Graham Suggests Full Citizenship for Legalization Beneficiaries Possible Refreshing.
From America's Voice: In an interview with CQ yesterday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) reiterated his support for comprehensive immigration reform and even “suggested that he could support citizenship…with preconditions, including an emphasis on granting citizenship first to immigrants who are currently waiting to receive it,” writes CQ reporter, John Gramlich. Said Graham, “I don’t like the European model of having millions of people in our country who can’t assimilate. It’s just not good for the culture. It’s just not good policy.”

GEORGIA DEMOCRATS DEMAND REPEAL OF ANTI-BUSINESS PROVISIONS OF HB87

Georgia House Democrats, headed by Rep. Debbie Buckner, filed the “Citizenship Protection Act” to repeal a controversial provision of HB87 that requires U.S. citizens to repeatedly prove their citizenship to renew professional licenses, to obtain business licenses and in other dealings with state or local governments.

This is a very annoying requirement of HB87 and has caused lots of problems in delaying renewal of professional licenses by several weeks per person, the majority of whom are American citizens. A U.S. citizen should not have to prove his or her citizenship every year to keep their business or professional license. Instead, this should only be required once.

"This requirement that Americans prove their citizenship to do their jobs is contrary to the goal of getting Georgians back to work and should be immediately repealed in January", said House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams. “We are pleased that Rep. Buckner is moving forward to tackle this issue. This should be a bi-partisan bill that everyone can support to support professionals and small businesses.”
For more information, visit www.gahousedems.com

I hope this passes... but doubt the Republican controlled Congress in Georgia will do anything...

CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGE TO GEORGIA'S DRIVER'S LICENSE LAW

Fernando Castillo-Solis, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico is challenging the constitutionality of the state’s driver’s-license law. The case is set to be heard by the Georgia Supreme Court on Monday.  He is arguing that the law that requires motorists who have lived in Georgia for 30 days or more to get a state-issued license before driving and does not allow issuing such license for undocumented immigrants  discriminates against them. Since undocumented immigrants are ineligible for Georgia licenses, they don’t have the same protection.
Mr. Castillo-Solis was cited at a traffic stop in Gwinnett County in 2010, where he was charged with driving without a license and failing to register his vehicle.
This argument was thrown out by the lower court judge and this individual appealed. I don't know what he is thinking or what his lawyer advised him, but I don't think he has any good chance of winning this argument with the Georgia Supreme Court.

ACLU FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST DHS AND ICE DEMANDING FOIA TRANSPARENCY

While I was out of the country last week, the ACLU of Georgia and the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR) filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The suit seeks public records which they have filed under FOIA or Freedom of Information Act documenting the effects of Georgia’s increasing involvement in immigration enforcement, including information that will shed light on increasing reports of racial profiling and police abuse. 

The two organizations requested the records over six months ago and DHS/ICE has not yet released the records. 

The records sought in the lawsuit will reveal who is being targeted for immigration enforcement, and how increased immigration enforcement by police is impacting public safety and civil rights and may cause abuse under HB87.

Under the Freedom of Information Act, the agency should release the record within 20 days. Six months is certainly excessive under that standard. I will blog on updates when available. 

U.S. IMMIGRATION POLICY STIFLES IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURSHIP

A new study by the Kauffman Foundation indicates that since 2005, less U.S. companies were founded by immigrants or foreign-born entrepreneurs, with the most significant drop in the state of California within technology firms.
The Kauffman Foundation is right on the money. Our immigration system is more and more unwelcoming to immigrant entrepreneurs. Coupled with a recession and more difficult business environment in the U.S. in the past few years, less immigrant entrepreneurs are finding the U.S. an attractive place.
The Kauffman Foundation report shows that the proportion of companies founded by immigrants nationwide has dropped to 24.3 percent from 25.3 percent in the past five years. In Silicon Valley, the decline was worse: dropping to 43.9 percent from 52.4 percent.
This is alarming for anyone who cares about innovation, job creation or U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace. This is what we have been telling everyone for years, that we have a broken immigration system that needs to be fixed and welcome entrepreneurs.
The U.S. can reverse the trend of declining immigrant entrepreneurship with changes in policies and opportunities. We really ought to have start-up business visas for these entrepreneurs and expand the number of green cards for skilled foreigners to work in these start-ups in order to make the U.S. more attractive.
USCIS has started taking encouraging steps like their entrepreneurs in residence program, which had little effect so far. What we need is opening doors and our immigration system for entrepreneurs who bring innovation, investments and jobs to the U.S.
Hopefully the new elections will bring a different Congress which will actually do something about the problems in this country, instead of the “do nothing” mode we have endured so far.

HB87 CREATING SIGNIFICANT LICENSING DELAYS IN GEORGIA

Another bad outcome of HB87 part of the law of unintended consequences: Now, because the state needs to check a person's identification and legal status in the United State, and they are short-staffed, thousands or even more U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents are stuck unable to renew their license on time. Over 200 professions require licensing in the state of Georgia, and they are now taking weeks or months to be renewed instead of days that it took in the past. For some nurses, one of the critical shortage occupations in the state, the wait can be as much as 3 months.
Of course, no one could prove that there were significant numbers of undocumented immigrants receiving state licenses for any occupation. Now, because of HB87, people have to show a "secure and verifiable document" to obtain the license, which many people do not have and is not even required to vote.
The Georgia Secretary of State, Brian Kemp, said his office cannot keep up with all the calls (almost 500,000 calls) due to the delays. The state licenses about 500,000 people. HB87 took an automatic process and made it much more bureaucratic, with no increase in funds or a way to go through rough patches.
Yes, people might die because a U.S. citizen nurse cannot get her license on time, what a sad state of affairs all because some hot heads in the Georgia legislature wanted to look like they were "cracking down on illegal immigration" and passed HB87.

ROMNEY WOULD KEEP DACA IF ELECTED

Great news to all who fear filing for DACA - Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals - in fear that Romney would be elected President and cancel the program. On CNN, Romney states that he will continue the program for people who were granted DACA by the current administration.
See:
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/02/romney-would-allow-young-immigrants-granted-waivers-to-stay/?hpt=hp_t2
This is great news and the first positive announcement out of Romney about something positive for immigrants. Nothing to fear now, everyone who qualifies need to apply!
The first DACA cases have been approved and are waiting on many more.
For assistance with these cases, call us at 404-935-0056 contact us at http://www.visalaw.com/atlanta.html