Immigration Policy

Immigration Policy

A selective list of papers, transcripts, statements and press reports highlighting key issues of the day.

Administration

GAO Report Recommends Greater Oversight of ICE State And Local Partnering Program - The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report faulting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for poor management of the Sec. 287(g) programs by which state and a local law enforcement agencies participate in enforcement of federal immigration laws. GAO found that although the program is intended to address serious criminal activity, some partnering agencies have used their 287(g) authority "to process for removal aliens who have committed minor crimes, such as carrying an open container of alcohol." GAO also cited ICE's failure to articulate how participating agencies are supposed to use their authority, the nature and extent of ICE ’s supervision of participants, or the data participants were supposed to be tracking and reporting. GAO recommended improvements in all of these areas. (March 2009)

Napolitano Confirmation Hearing - President Obama's choice for Homeland Security Chief, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, sees fixing the U.S. immigration system as a high priority and seemed ready to let the Justice Department pursue employers rather than focus on mass arrests. (January 2009)

DHS Integration - GAO Report concludes that "unresolved issues regarding the roles and responsibilities of CBP, CIS, and ICE give rise to disagreements and confusion, with the potential for serious consequences."

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Backlogs

USCIS Adopts Procedures to Remedy Delayed Employment Authorization Applications - USCIS has adopted new processes to address cases where I-765 employment authorization applications have been pending for more than 90 days. USCIS regulations require adjudication in that period of time, and until 2006 applicants could expect to receive a temporary employment authorization at a District Office. Since then, applicants and their employers have had to resort to Congressional and attorney liaison as the only practical approach. USCIS’ performance in this area has progressively deteriorated to the point last year when adjudications commonly required five months or more.In response to recommendations issued by the independent (within DHS) Office of the USCIS Ombudsman’s, USCIS has committed to do the following:

Conduct routine sweeps of pending cases and escalating those pending at least 60 days;
Permits applicants to call the USCIS informational phone number the 75th day after filing and request priority consideration;
Prioritized cases will, within ten days, either be adjudicated or receive a temporary work authorization

USCIS refused to use stickers upon determination of eligibility for an extension of employment authorization, electing instead to continue issuing new cards. (February 2009)

Delayed EAD Processing - The USCIS Ombudsman has recommended procedures for USCIS to use in cases where Employment Authorization adjudications have been delayed beyond the 90 days required by regulation. Among other things, the recommendation calls for Receipt Notices for EAD renewals to include language authorizing continued employment pending final adjudication. (10/13/2008)

Cost to Business - Survey of 734 multinational businesses concludes that immigration processing delays have cost respondents $30.5 billion since 2002, with 51% of respondents stating that delays are getting worse. Delays were most acute for persons from China, India and Russia. Survey conducted by The Santangelo Group on behalf of eight major trade associations. (June 2004)

Backlog Reduction Progress - USCIS Backlog Elimination progress report provided to Congress. Earlier was subject of June '04 testimony of Director Eduardo Aguirre, Jr. before the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims. (November 2004)

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Border Biometrics

US Visit Implementation - GAO report concluding that DHS has fully or partially implemented legislative reuqirements of US Visit program mandates for FY 2005. (February 2005)

Biometrics Deployment - GAO Report on State Department roll out of biometric data gathering technology at consulates. Recommends that consular officials be provided greater guidance on what to do with the results of biometric searches in processing visa applications and calls for greater coordination between State and DHS. (September 2004)

Phase I - General Accounting Office audit report on Phase I implementation. Suggests improvement in management systems and accountability. (May 2004)

Biometric Technology - General Accounting Office testimony addressing benefits and limitations of biometric technologies at US border crossings and points of entry. Concludes that such technologies cannot be relied upon alone and that policy debate must balance security concerns with those of privacy and commerce.

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Counter-terrorism

Update on Visa Revocation Process - Follow on GAO Report identifying evidence of "continuing weaknesses in the State and Homeland Security processes for revoking visas of suspected terrorists (September 2004)

Visa Revocation Process - General Accounting Office report identifying communication failures among State, Homeland Security and Justice where State has revoked a visas of suspected terrorists and recommending establishment of new written policies at State. (June 2003)

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Filing Fees

GAO Federal User Fees – The Government Accountability Office outlined seven recommendations for USCIS that would “improve the timing and comprehensiveness” of its biennial User Fees Reviews. Among these are “[identifying] and [considering] the full costs of USCIS’ operations funded from the IEFA account” and using case projection information for workload management purposes in addition to revenue forecasting. The review stems from the dramatic fee increases imposed by USCIS in July 2007. (January 2009)

GAO Costing Methodology Improvements – The Government Accountability Office concluded that USCIS’ costing methodology for setting immigration application fees failed to include key costs, was inconsistent with Federal costing practices, and failed to provide adequate justification in many instances. GAO recommended that USCIS should improve its costing methodology so as to: 1) ensure that application fees cover the costs incurred by all federal entities for immigration processing operations in full, and 2) increase confidence that USCIS’ cost estimates “provide a reliable basis for setting application fees.” Among other things, GAO expressed concern that the Premium Processing program is being subsidized by filing fees paid by non-Premium filers. (January 2009)

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H-1b

Benefit Fraud and Compliance Assessment – H-1B Petitions – A USCIS report asserts that 21% of a random sampling of 246 H-1b cases were either patently fraudulent or were in technical violation of H-1b rules. The report found the highest incidence of noncompliance in smaller and newer employers and for position in accounting, human resources, business analysis, and sales and advertising. (January 2009)

US Chamber of Commerce Position - Argues that the US remain open to talented individuals with skills that are hard to find in America. Favors raising the cap.

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Identification Documents

Consular Identification Cards - GAO Report addressing the use in the US of consular identification documents issued to nationals of some countries to identify then while living abroad. The report identifies conflicting US Government positions - Treasury accepts them as valid identification, FBI states that some (e.g. Mexico) are unreliable. (August 2004)

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Immigration Law Reform

Think Tank Panel Would Expand Employment-Based Immigration Programs – Employment verification system seen as integral part to immigration reform, according to Brookings-Duke report.

Pew Hispanic Center Study on the Characteristics of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population in the U.S. - A Pew Hispanic Center released a study on characteristics of the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States over the past 20 years. Among its findings are that undocumented immigrant population growth is stabilizing and is spread more broadly across the country. The proportion of unauthorized immigrants in the work force has leveled off since 2007 at around 5.4%. Earning potential among this population is severely limited, with median household income being significantly lower than that of U.S.-born residents. Additionally, unauthorized workers do not experience a noticeable increase in earnings over time, as compared to other immigrants. This contributes to the large portion of the unauthorized population living in poverty. Unauthorized immigrants are also more likely to be poorly educated, with fewer than half of those aged 25-64 having a high-school education. However, as the number of U.S. citizen children of unauthorized immigrants is growing, so to is the proportion of children of unauthorized immigrants entering K-12 education. (June 2009)

Brookings Institute Survey Studies Immigration Policy in Prince William County - A survey series conducted by the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings investigates locally-based immigration policy approaches following the 2006-2007 failure of national immigration reform by studying policy responses to increased immigration to Prince William County. Prince William County has among the strictest enforcement strategies for immigration policy in the country, and has thus attracted much national and local media attention. (February 2009)

The Secure America and Orderly Immigration (SAVE) Act - Text of Bill as proposed.

Summary of SAVE Act - Prepared by Senate Staff.

White House Fact Sheet - January 7, 2004 press release outlining the program as proposed

Review of pending legislation - Review by National Conference of State legislatures (April 2004).

CATO Institute Congressional Testimony - Argues that enforcement efforts focused on Mexican immigration undermines anti-terrorism efforts and neglects the economic benefits afforded by new workers. (April 2004)

CATO Institute Immigration Position Paper - Favors expanding immigration quotas, focus on border control to combat terrorism, create a temporary worker visa for less-skilled Mexican citizens, repeal the H-1b cap, reinstate amnesty program, reverse decline of accepted refugee cases.

CATO forum on Bush Administration Immigration Proposal - Webcast from Jan 2004. Moderated by Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review and featuring Margaret Spellings, The White House; Frank Sharry, National Immigration Forum; Steven Camarota, Center for Immigration Studies; and Daniel T. Griswold, Center for Trade Policy Studies.

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Intracompany Transferees

Congressional hearing transcript - Text of February 2004 House Committee on International Relations hearing "L-1: Losing Jobs Through Laissez-Faire Policies." Chairman Hyde asks the musical question: "Are we being lax in the offshoring of American jobs often facilitated by inshore training, first given to L visa holders right here in the U.S. so they can take new skills and American jobs home with them?"

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Impact of Workforce

Congressional Research Service Report Addresses Unauthorized Employment in the U.S. - A Congressional Research Service report addressing unauthorized employment in the United States outlines issues with the current enforcement methods and options that have been put forth to reduce the incidence of unauthorized employment. The report identifies the I-9 paper-based employment eligibility system as being flawed due to its susceptibility to document and identity fraud. The pilot program E-Verify, a system of employment eligibility that cross-checks workers in Social Security Administration and DHS databases, also has its own shortcomings, including its inability to detect identity fraud and privacy concerns. Possible options the report identifies regarding the future enforcement of employment eligibility are mandatory participation in an electronic employment verification system, increased penalties for violators, imposed on both employers and employees, increased worksite enforcement, and data sharing between various government agencies. (June 2009)

Prospects For American Workers: Immigration's Impact - Transcript of House Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims. Chairman Hostettler: "If we want to improve the lot of blue collar workers and their families, immigration policy seems one place to start." (October 2003)

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Law Enforcement

Congressional Research Service Report Investigates the Role of Local and State Law Enforcement in Immigration Policy Enforcement - A Congressional Research Service report investigating the expansion of local and state law enforcement authorities’ jurisdiction with respect to immigration enforcement in the post-September 11, 2001, environment has identified a number of issues that Congress must address when determining the role of state and local law enforcement in immigration law enforcement, including the criminalization of civil immigration violations, resource allocation and funding, personnel training, and the impact on community relations and local law enforcement efficacy. (June 2009)

Police Foundation Study on Participation in ICE 287(g) Program - A study conducted by the Police Foundation on local and state police enforcement of immigration policy has found many obstacles to local and state authorities carrying out the enforcement of federal immigration policies. The study reports that costs associated with participating in the ICE 287(g) program, a program which allows federal officials to enter agreements tasking state and local law enforcement agencies with the functions of immigration officers, outweigh any potential benefits that might accrue to the local enforcement agencies. In particular, local enforcement authorities worry about the impact of civil immigration policy enforcement on the relationship between local police and immigrant communities. (June 2009)

Visa Overstays - House Hearing - Transcript of October 2003 hearing before House Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims. Chairman Hostettler: "Certainly, something needs to change, and soon, to dramatically reduce the number of visa overstays. If only one-tenth of 1 percent of these visa overstays are involved with or support terrorism, our current immigration system allows 300 supporters each year, or actual terrorists, to plan and carry out the next act of terrorism against our citizens on our own shores."

Visa Overstays - GAO Report - General Accounting Office Report concluding that the Department of Homeland Security is not properly counting foreign persons who remain in the US after expiration of lawful status. Discusses potential impact on national security. (May 2004)

State Police Enforcement - Washington Post byline article of April 25, 2004 regarding agreement between Virginia State Police and Department of Homeland Security granting the state the authority to enforce federal immigration laws.

State Police Enforcement - Christian Science Monitor editorial asserting that the federal governments should use local police support to enforce immigration laws as an anti-terrorism measure.

Overzealous Enforcement - In a case that typifies the frustrations borne by many foreign business travelers coming to the US, the Department of Homeland Security has apologized to a noted British writer for ignoring its own rules in refusing him admission to conduct a lecture tour. Immigration officials had stopped him in Vancouver upon learning that his honoraria would be $5,000 per event, which they deemed as too much money, a decision that was both arbitrary and capricious. McEwan innocently - and correctly - assumed that the Visa Waiver Program would support his entry The apology tried to gave McEwan assurance that the incident would not inhibit future admission to the US.

In what is no doubt a related move, DHS has announced a new policy which affords Port Directors discretion to "permit travel for foreign journalists who attempt to enter the U.S. with the wrong visa" (i.e., as a business visitor or under the visa waiver program (VWP)) rather than within the "I" category established for foreign media representatives. McEwan had sought entry as under the VWP

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Outsourcing

US Tech Worker Opposition - Wall Street Journal bylined article of October 10, 2003, describing growing opposition among engineers, skilled tech workers and specialty tech executives to further lowering of trade barriers, asserting a link to layoffs.

Economic Solutions to Labor Oversupply - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace May 2004 policy brief "Job Anxiety is Real - and its Growing." Asserts that oversupply of global workforce and availability of cheap and effective telecommunications has created new and fundamental changes to the link between domestic economic growth and US job creation.

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Science Visas

Science Students and Scholars II - GAO report finding improvements to shortcomings in Visa Mantis security clearance process descreibed in the report referenced below. (February 2005)

Science Students and Scholars - GAO report finding lengthy delays of four months and longer in the security clearance processing of visas for science students and scholars. Recommends substantial improvement in the interoperability of State FBI, and Homeland Security computer systems and in State department consular interview scheduling process. (February 2004)

Research Community Recommendations - Joint Statement of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and others citing concern over lack of transparency or and rationality in the visa processing system.

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Visa Waiver Program

Government Accountability Office Report - Concludes that 1% to 3% rejection rate for pre-travel VWP online registration would create significant new visa processing burdens on Consulates, while the addition of additional countries into the VWP would not. (January 2009)

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