I’ve never really liked Abercrombie & Fitch, the ultra-preppy clothing company that has long been dogged by allegations of racism and other bad behavior. That’s why, when I saw this story on AILA’s Infonet, I couldn’t help but smile – according to ICE’s website, Abercrombie & Fitch was fined $1,047,110 after an I-9 audit revealed “numerous technology-related deficiencies in Abercrombie & Fitch’s electronic I-9 verification system.” To be sure, ICE concluded that “no instances of the knowing hire of unauthorized aliens were discovered.” Unfortunately for the lords of preppiness, unintentional technical violations are still violations, and ICE is able to fine a company per violation – which often adds up to astronomical amounts of money. I imagine that’s why this case settled for an amount just over $1 million – the potential fine, counting all violations, was probably much higher than that.
Filed Under (USCIS) by Joe on 24-09-2010
I warned y’all, and now it’s official – USCIS filing fees are going UP starting November 23, 2010. If you thought $355.00 was a lot for an I-130 (petition for a family member), you’ll definitely think that the new $420.00 fee is way too much. The outrageous $1010.00 fee for an Adjustment of Status application (with Biometrics) will soon be a distant, sweet memory – the new combined fee will be $1070.00. Perhaps the most unjust fee hike is for work permits, which will soon cost $380.00 instead of $340.00. Many people need to work in order to pay the I-765 filing fee, yet need the work permit in order to find a job, putting them in a uniquely bizarre catch-22-type situation. As I said before, I don’t mind a fee hike if it results in some sort of concrete benefit. USCIS’s argument is that a fee increase is necessary in order to provide better service and remain adequately funded. I dispute both of those assertions. The quality of USCIS’s service – which has gotten a tad better in some respects since the last fee increase - is still woefully inadequate. And although it’s true that USCIS has seen a reduction in new applications (and therefore a reduction in funding) lately, I suspect that any drop is due to the negative atmosphere that USCIS has itself created from needlessly tough adjudications and needlessly high filing fees. I’m optimistic that USCIS will improve with some more cash on-hand, but I sure ain’t gonna hold my breath.
By now, you’ve probably heard that the Dream Act is on hold yet again, this time due to archane Senate rules and some uber-partisanship from our elected represenatives. According to an article in the Washington Post, the Republicans “stalled a Senate measure to allow children of undocumented immigrants to get on a path to citizenship, and accused the Obama administration of seeking amnesty for illegal immigrants through administrative changes within the Department of Homeland Security.” When I read statements such as that, I have to wonder how such absolute morons make it into such high-powered jobs. Well, maybe moron isn’t the right word – ignoramus might be better, or maybe just heartless. How can you say that giving children legal status that had no control over coming to this country is a bad thing? Of course, there needs to be cut-offs and limits (i.e., the parents of such kids should not benefit down the road from their kids’ acquiring status), but the Dream Act is hardly an amnesty; simply put, it’s good policy to officially incorporate kids that have grown up here into our society, and more importantly it’s also the right thing to do.
I remember reading about something the Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee said during the Civil Rights era. Mayor Ben West was asked whether he supported protesters seeking to desegregate the city, and he voiced his support. Later, he would recall something along the lines of “I could have answered that question as a politician, or I could have answered as a human being.” I sincerely hope that our elected representatives can stop acting like politicians for once and start acting like human beings instead. I know, it might be asking a lot for members of Congress to act human, but if they try hard enough, I’m sure they can make it happen.
This story appeared on ICE’s website yesterday: one of the people involved in selling “Letters of Refusal” out of the Armenian Consulate in Los Angeles pleaded guilty, setting the stage for the four other defendants in the case to face trial on their own. In case you aren’t in the know, “letters of refusal” are letters stating that a country will not issue an individual a travel document, which in turn means that ICE cannot effectuate a deportation. Individuals that have a final order of removal but cannot be deported can apply for a work permit and remain in the country in pseudo-legal status, as long as they check in with ICE once every month or so. Not a bad deal for those whose luck has run out, eh? Given that, it’s hardly surprising that letters of refusal are such valuable commodities, and that schemes such as the one out of the Armenian Consulate pop up on occasion – although c’mon guys, after enough letters of refusal, someone at ICE is bound to get suspicious.
The Senate might consider the Dream Act – the bill that would give certain undocumented students legal status – as early as next week, according to a blog post by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Reid wrote that he intended to include the Dream Act as an addendum to the Defense Authorization bill the Senate is debating next week. The House has already passed a version of this bill, which means that if the Senate OKs its version, it would have to go to conference committees for reconciliation and then back to each chamber of Congress for a re-vote. I certainly hope it survives this murky legislative process, but I’m not going to hold my breath – in an election year, with the country as polarized as it is, and with the Tea Party turning anything that begins with “imm” into a dirty word, I don’t think undocumented immigrants will be receiving early Christmas presents from Uncle Sam anytime soon.
I read an excellent opinion piece in the L.A. Times last week about the massacre of 72 migrant workers and their families in Tamaulipas, Mexico, written by Hector Tobar. Mr. Tobar raises many interesting points, but one really stood out to me: why aren’t people more outraged by what happened in Tamaulipas? I would normally excuse the apathy surrounding this event by saying that it involves a group of poor Latinos, and the media therefore doesn’t see a good story in their demise. Yet, as Mr. Tobar points out, immigrant rights groups haven’t really stood up for the 72 victims of Tamaulipas either. Groups that advocate completely open borders and the absolute right of everyone in the world to resettle in the United States haven’t shown the least bit of outrage at this incident, despite the fact that these 72 murder victims of were about to become the newly undocumented. Why is this? I think that people have come to expect violence from Mexico, and to them, the 72 innocent victims in Tamaulipas are just more examples of Mexican lawlessness and violence. I’m sorry, but I can’t accept that human lives are expendible simply because they happen to end in a country that’s already pretty violent, and I don’t think that anyone else should accept that either.
This has got to be one of the biggest bonehead things anyone can do. ICE announced the arrest of two Nigerian men accused of impersonating Customs and Border Protection Officers as part of an advance fee fraud scheme. Yes, the words “advance fee fraud scheme” mean that this is one of those sad situations involving Nigerian oil rights or your long-lost great-great-aunt’s will, and all you need to do is respond to an email and send a little bit of cash and fabulous riches will be coming your way in no time. This scheme seems unique in that it combined email fraud with impersonating a federal officer – something I’m sure most federal law enforcement agencies will take great pains to investigate and prosecute. Not too smart, guys.
It used to be that asylum was practically impossible to get in an Immigration Court. According to TRAC – the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University – the denial rate for asylum cases in Immigration Court was a whopping 89% nationally in 1986. Times have indeed changed. TRAC recently reported that thus far in 2010, the national denial rate for asylum cases in Immigration Court is approximately 50%, an incredible jump in just 24 years. Interestingly, the overall number of asylum cases in the court system has dropped, which is probably one reason so many more cases are granted (assuming, of course, that the types of cases that are no longer being filed weren’t very meritorious in the first place). Click here to read TRAC’s report and to find additional information on Immigration Court statistics.
Sheriff Joe, the king of Arizona law enforcement idiots, has found himself on the wrong end of a lawsuit – yet again. This time, the U.S. Justice Department sued him for failing to turn over documents in a probe of whether his hard-nosed tactics against undocumented immigrants violated their civil rights. I can already tell that there are some folks out there that couldn’t give a darn toot about the civil rights of undocumented immigrants – but that’s not the issue here. The issue is that the federal government asked a state agency as part of a legitimate investigation to turn over evidence, yet that state agency refused to cooperate. Such vigilante behavior (yes, vigilante) is completely unacceptable in a nation of laws, and the Justice Department is right to come down on the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department like a ton of adobe bricks. Check out this article in the L.A. Times for more information about the Sheriff Arpaio’s latest legal woes.
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