Proposed Federal Immigration Law Promotes Enforcement, Reduces Opportunity

April 02, 2011

Federal legislation proposed by Republican Senator Orrin Hatch seeks to force local law enforcement agencies to further assist federal immigration policy or lose funding. Senate Bill 332, the Strengthening Our Commitment to Legal Immigration and America's Security Act, also eliminates the diversity visa, an immensely popular program that allows for 50,000 lottery-based visas every year. Several other provisions involving exit procedures, welfare benefits and drug crimes round out the wide-ranging bill. But some commentators are already calling the effort a political ploy with little chance of passage that is intended only to burnish the Senator's credentials among conservatives.

The law enforcement aspects of the bill are based on existing participation by municipal agencies in the Secure Communities program with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a program used to identify undocumented aliens who have ICE records after they have been arrested for a crime and taken into custody. Another trigger is community enrollment in the 287 (g) program, which confirms the status of arrested individuals who are undocumented but have never been investigated or detained by ICE.

In both cases, a local agency will lose reimbursement for incarceration expenses if it "fails to fully comply" with federal requirements. Senator Hatch recently said in an address to the Conservative Heritage Foundation that he would like to see greater federal involvement in local law enforcement and the elimination of so-called "sanctuary cities."

Another stated goal of the legislation is to deny visas to members of criminal organizations that engage in transnational criminal activity, an issue already addressed under section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The executive director of the American Immigration Council told The Salt Lake Tribune that this provision "is like outlawing dinosaurs in Utah. The law already prevents people who are members of gangs from getting visas."

Revoking the Green Card Lottery: Eliminating the Popular Diversity Visa (DV) Program

The biggest impact on immigrant families would come from the bill's provision to eliminate the diversity visa program under section 203 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Senator Hatch calls the DV program a "fraud-laden" system that "presents serious national security concerns." Yet he could cite only one dubious connection to terrorism: a 1992 diversity visa immigrant to California from Egypt who killed two people at the Los Angeles airport ten years later.

The intention of the visa lottery is to make permanent resident visas available to individuals from countries that have lower rates of immigration to the U.S. While there have been problems of fraud associated with this system, the primary victims are Green Card applicants themselves who receive letters from individuals posing as U.S. government personnel seeking payment. The U.S Federal Trade Commission has cautioned applicants that checking one's status online is the best protection from fraud.

Applications for 2012 diversity visas recently closed, and applications for future years are generally accepted during the month of October. The lottery aspect of the program is based on a computer-generated, random drawing used to select applicants. DV applicants must have a high school education or the equivalent as well as two years of recent work experience within an occupation that in turn requires two years of experience or training. DV-2012 applications were not accepted from the following countries due to their already large numbers of immigrants: Brazil, Canada, China (not including Taiwan, Hong Kong or Macau), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, South Korea, the United Kingdom and dependent territories (except Northern Ireland), and Vietnam.

An Immigration Lawyer Can Advise You About Legal Updates Regarding Visas and Citizenship

A certified immigration attorney can help applicants understand diversity visas as well as a wide range of immigrant and non-immigrant visa options, including:

- Employment-based visas (H1B visas, H2 visas, H3 visas, L visas and J1 visas)

- Investment-based visas (E visas and B-1 visas)

- Visas for persons of extraordinary abilities (O visas, P visas and EB-1 visas)

- Education-based visas (F visas)

- Family-based visa petitions (K visas)

- NAFTA trade visas (for residents of Mexico and Canada)

A consultation with an immigration law firm can help potential applicants or current visa holders understand a host of other issues, from asylum and refugee status to deportation defense. A lawyer who serves aspiring U.S. citizens each and every day is also an advocate for maintaining fair and reasonable immigration laws. By explaining the latest developments in immigration policy, a citizenship lawyer can help clients understand their prospects for living and working legally in America.

Article provided by Ronzio & Associates
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