President's immigration plan creates confusion

A generally unnoticed aspect of the plan is the assertion by the Obama admin. that the immigration service has the capacity to deport serious criminals only. That's a heck of a lot of serious criminals! Around 400,000 in fact. It is graphic testimony to the high rate of criminality among illegals

President Obama's plan to put some deportations on hold is causing controversy and confusion.

Jess George with the Latin American Coalition says some so-called immigration lawyers are already coming out of the woodwork. "[They're] making people think that they may now be eligible for work permits or perhaps they should turn themselves in so they could forego the deportation process, that's absolutely not true," said Jess George, Executive Director of the Latin-American Coalition.

The Obama administration announced last week it would focus on deporting illegal immigrants who mainly pose a threat to national security or public safety. The decision allows many illegal immigrants, particularly students, to stay in the country.

The announcement comes after months of pleas from immigrant advocates. They pushed the president to make good on his election promises. "While it's a good thing for the movement, it's a good thing for the country moving towards pragmatic and humane laws, it's not a change," said George.

But some critics call the President's decision amnesty and an attempt to gain Latino voters.

"It's a type of pretty evil propaganda, well you say okay, we'll give amnesty to just the students, it's no fault of their own, boom, boom, 12,000 plus illegal immigrants will be having amnesty before you know it, " said William Gheen, president of Raleigh-based Americans for Legal Immigration.

The plan means about 300,000 deportation cases pending in Federal court will now be reviewed case by case.

George says it's far from amnesty, nor does it provide much security to illegal immigrants who think the Oval Office decision will put them on a path to citizenship.

SOURCE




USCIS Expands E-Verify Self-Check To 16 Additional States, Spanish Speakers

The Devil will be in the detail here but this should help scupper claims that the system is unrelible. If people can submit corrections to their own entry false positives should be eliminated

The Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Aug. 15 expanded E-Verify self-check, a service that allows individuals to check their own employment eligibility status before seeking employment, to 16 additional states.

In addition, E-Verify self-check is now available in Spanish, USCIS said.

E-Verify self-check was launched in March in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Mississippi, Virginia, and the District of Columbia (29 HRR 319, 3/28/11).

The service is now accessible to residents in California, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Washington.

“Self-check equips workers with fast, secure access to their employment eligibility information before they apply for jobs,” USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas said in an Aug. 15 statement. “By offering self-check to Spanish speakers and making the service more widely available, USCIS makes good on a promise to streamline and protect the integrity of the E-Verify process for employees and employers alike.”

Self-Check Offered Directly to Workers.

The self-check service allows U.S. workers to enter data into the E-Verify system to ensure the information relating to their work eligibility is accurate. It is the first online E-Verify program offered directly to workers and job seekers, USCIS said.

Employers use the internet-based E-Verify to determine employees' eligibility to work in the United States by entering information reported on the employee's Form I-9. When workers over age 16 use the self-check program, they enter the same information that employers would enter into E-Verify, USCIS said.

The self-check service is free and voluntary, and gives users the opportunity to submit corrections of any inaccuracies in their DHS or Social Security Administration records before applying for jobs.

The agency said it will “continue to evaluate and improve” the self-check service. USCIS intends to expand self-check nationwide by the spring of 2012, the agency said.

SOURCE