E Pluribus Unum

The President's remarks were appreciated and eloquent, yet left the impression that they had been said before and there was no tackling of the issues. There was no clarion call to Democrats, while he did call the republicans out and asked them to put aside politics, it was a meek request. This was not a President using the weight and force of his office to deal with the most challenging social and moral issue of the last 30 years. This was a rundown of politics to this point. While as an advocate, we had hoped for more force and action, we were pleased with the passion and eloquence making the issue part of the "fabric of our national identity".

While the President pulled at the heartstrings of our national pride, pointing out the contributions of giants like Einstein, Tesla, Carnegie, and Brin, he also pointed out the simple contributions of a small business owner, and a young woman who joined the military to defend our country. Moving from people, he pointed out the effect of migration on our economy. Describing the U.S. as the engine of the global economy. it was because of migration, that the U.S. enjoys a younger, faster growing workforce than our competitors.

Ultimately the President's remarks focused on how the Politics of who can enter and how is contentious and divisive and we need Bipartisan support to pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform. He called on all parts of the machine to be accountable: Government, Business, and Individuals. The Government needed to enforce its laws, Businesses needed an effective tool to verify employees, and individuals needed to admit they had broken laws, pay fines, learn English prior to joining the pathway.

What was new in his call for Comprehensive Immigration Reform was his call to reform the legal immigration system that he acknowledged is also broken. He called on a system that would allow us to draw the best and brightest, unite families, and stop punishing kids (specifically naming the Dream Act).

As the President said we look forward to the day that his courage and leadership will lead us to a "system that is fair and reflective of our values", but until we in the reform community start to see action, the countless calls begin to lose their weight.

Obama on Immigration then and tomorrow

Below are some clips of Obama and his views on Immigration. Tomorrow we will preview his views on Immigration based on his speech.



and seeing the process move this "first year":

Political Winds Change Adjudications at the California Service Center

In the age of the Global Marketplace, multinational companies are vying for business not just within our borders but around the world. In many instances this means employing personnel from around the world in order to maintain a competitive advantage and keep their products on the cutting edge.

The U.S. Congress in its collective wisdom identified this Global Marketplace and adapted U.S. Immigration laws to allow multinationals the tools and human power to succeed by enacting the intracompany visa. The classification allowed for the transfer of executives and managers (L-1A) and specialized knowledge employees (L-1B) from overseas offices to the United States. A highly useful integration and innovation program, the L-1 visa classification allowed U.S. companies (whether it be based in or subsidiaries of foreign companies) to draw on the collective wisdom of its international workforce and bring those crucial employees to the U.S.

Over the course of the last 3 years, there has been a sea change in the way the immigration service is interpreting qualifications for these visa classifications. With a critical eye and an assumption that U.S. employers are shirking the immigration laws by taking advantage of the L-1 classification, the USCIS has single-handedly put the squeeze on the international marketplace and by extension the ability of the U.S. to compete on an international level.

Petitions that were approved 3 years ago are now being denied authorized extensions because of the misplaced fear and tragic assumptions of the USCIS. Employers are confused and looking for a more efficient way and place in which to conduct their global outreach and sales. Why battle with time, money and uncertainty when you can run to Canada, Ireland, Finland, Australia and be assured of a certainty, promise your clients a certain talent and achieve your goals without a surprise from the USCIS.

The policy shift threatens congresses ability to regulate the immigration laws of the U.S., contradicts years of agency guidance and interpretation, and interferes with the image of the United States as an economic power player on the global stage. All because of a shift in USCIS interpretation of why employers are using this category and the "we will show you mentality" of government bureaucrats left to their own devices. Nationally very little is understood of the economic implications of decisions by an officer at the California Service Center. Internationally, this malaise is well understood. Countries are capitalizing on our inability to hold true and speak with one voice on immigration policy. Companies are slowly realizing that their own government is hindering their ability to compete, and many are taking action.

On a weekly basis, I read of another multinational opening a North American base of operations outside the borders of the United States. This is tragic not just for the company, but hardworking Americans. Americans that would have been employed at these facilities are now seeing jobs forced outside the U.S. not necessarily because of cheap labor but rather a more stable immigration policy. We see companies moving operations to attractive and competitive international hubs with the capability of cornering the U.S. Market from outside our borders.

As we argue and the xenophobes create a political firestorm, those xenophobes may soon find they are begging for visas and jobs in Canada, Europe and Australia. How many more Detroits will come to bear before we realize the economic battle was loft at the California Service Center?

New Visa Issuance Fees at U.S. Embassies

The Department of State (DOS) has updated the fees they are going to be charging for processing visas at U.S. Embassies overseas. Previously the DOS charged a flat $131.00 fee regardless of visa type. These new fees will take effect on July 13, 2010. The new fees will affect all persons applying for a visa to be placed in their passports prior to travel to the United States. The new fees are based on the type of visa and services rendered by the U.S. Consulate.

Please remember these fees are only representative of the visa issuance fees incurred by applicants at a U.S. Embassy, they do not include Department of Homeland Security filing fees which remain unchanged.


For more information on these fees, please see the following link:
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/06/143724.htm

Arizona's Immigration Laws

The State of Arizona has enacted 2 very disturbing immigration laws aimed at enforcement and threatening the United States ability to speak with one voice on issues that affect all of the sister states. As these types of laws crop up among the various sister states, the United states is placed in a perilous economic and social predicament. Chief among them, is our national identity. We are a country of immigrants and as we rip that stripe from our identity we lose a sense of ourselves, who we are and what our imange means to the huddled masses yearning to be free. Second, our economic competitiveness as a land of opportunity is seriously jeopardized when we create a climate of hostility and make it difficult for multinational companies to operate within our borders. A company faced with a common compliance code in one country would certainly choose to operate in that system, rather than operate in a system that requires 50 different sets of compliance procedures.

The current administration had made efforts to challenge the latest of the Arizona laws and the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case challenging the other. These cases must be addressed and we wait with baited breath for the processes and rule of law to do what is right, restore our national identity and make the United States an attractive economic powerhorse in which to compete in the global marketplace.

Legislation Introduced Targeting Entrepreneurs & Job Creation

On February 24, 2010, Senators Kerry (D-MA) and Lugar (R-IN) introduced the "StartUp Visa Act of 2010." By helping immigrant entrepreneurs secure visas to the United States, the bill seeks to stimulate job creation and increase America's global competitiveness. The StartUp Visa Act of 2010 would create a new EB-6 category for immigrant entrepreneurs, drawing from existing visas under the EB-5 category.

"Global competition for talent and investment grows more intense daily and the United States must step up or be left behind," said Sen. Kerry. "Everywhere Dick Lugar and I travel for the Foreign Relations Committee, we see firsthand the entrepreneurial spirit driving the economies of our competitors. Creating a new magnet for innovations and innovators to come to the United States and create jobs here will offer our economy a double shot in the arm- robust job creation at home and reaffirmation that we're the world's best place to do business."

Over 160 venture capitalists from around America have endorsed the proposal, and the National Venture Capital Association, which represents over 400 venture captilalists, applauded the proposal.

Building Bridges to a Safer Community Without 287(g)

Image by conner395 via Flickr

In the last few years, we have seen an explosion of 287(g) agreements between ICE and local police departments. 287(g) is a federal program that allows local police to enforce federal immigration laws or assist in the enforcement of those laws. The idea was to assist the Federal immigration agencies with local manpower on the streets. The outcome of these agreements was not foreseen and now police chiefs are fighting to rebuild bridges to the immigrant communities.

With the onset of 287(g) the local immigrant communities became even more isolated and the police lost there ties to a community that had become suspicious of police activity began to fear all kinds of police involvement in there community. The police lost a conduit and to solving and preventing crimes. No longer can the police rely on a community to report or to open dialogue with a community that fears the police will now deport them.

The local police force is charged with "protecting and serving" the community. These agreemnets are impeding and preventing the police from performing these basic functions. We need a neutral police force that has an open dialogue with all members of the communty in order to protect and serve the population at large.

It seems that local police agree: Police Leaders Call For Immigration Reform

"We can’t afford to have a group of residents be afraid of reporting crime because they believe we may report them for deportation. To allow that fear to exist in the minds of victims or witnesses endangers them and the rest of the community and lets criminals off the hook."

The counterpoint to this story is that a Police Force is supposed to enforce the laws, and if someone is guilty of violating the law then the Police are obliged by their position to enforce those laws. The problem is that the immigration system in the United States is one of the most complicated areas of our Federal Law, even more so than the U.S. Tax Code. By this logic, we should have local police also enforcing our U.S. Tax Code. Better still what if we ask local police to begin enforcement of Federal Securites Law, they could help us find the next Bernie Madoff!

Simply put, 287(g) is a waste of police resources that burns bridges to an already isolated community.