My grandmother turns ninety-two years old this Fourth of July. Born and raised in Hawaii, she is one of seven daughters of an immigrant Chinese farmer. She grew up speaking Chinese, but raised her children to be American. To her, being American is more than just eating hamburgers instead of Chinese food; it is a love affair with endless possibilities. A bank teller, married to a butcher, my grandmother sacrificed all financial possessions to support her children's education. The result: a doctor, an engineer, a certified public accountant, and two Ph.Ds.

           

America is a collection of success stories like my grandmother's. We are a nation born out of a common struggle to establish a greater good for all. Our history may be shorter than many nations, but our progress is unparalleled.   

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On June 15, 2012, President Obama announced one of the biggest moves of his presidency on immigration policy and in the process, will offer needed relief to an estimated 800,000 to 1.3 million or more young people anxious to attend college, be productive and contribute to the future of this country.  

 

No longer willing to wait for a dysfunctional and far-right Congress, he will effectively implement the DREAM Act's goals on his own by implementing a change in immigration policy - which is arguably the boldest thing he's done since the 2010 midterms. "This is not amnesty, immunity or a pathway to citizenship," he said in his address to the American public today.  For the details 

 

Immigration laws dictate employer's duties to prevent the hiring, training, and dismissing of undocumented workers. Various federal enforcement offices including ICE, OSC, DHS, and DOJ, audit and enforce employer compliance. When an employer knowing or unknowingly violates an immigration law, they suffer severe fines. This current policy of forced "partnership" between private business and government agencies to regulate illegal immigration, is now being extended to public universities.  To read more 

 

 

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) reported that ICE has issued another round of 500 NOIs (Notices of Inspection) focusing on agriculture, critical infrastructure and other industries, which is the 2nd wave of 500 NOIs in the month of June 2012.  The NOI  informs the employer that their I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification forms will be audited by ICE to determine their compliance with federal employment related immigration laws.

 

As we reported back in February, employers must make sure they are hiring only people who can work legally in the U.S. Businesses that previously have received warning letters or administrative fines may now be the subject of yet more fines if ICE Special Agents determine that  the employer continues to make the same mistakes.  We link to more

 

 

The Supreme Court struck down three of the four key measures of Arizona's controversial immigration law S.B. 1070. Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court; a 5-3 decision reconfirming federal immigration laws preemption over redundant state immigration laws. Specifically, the ruling struck down Arizona's attempt to criminalize the mere presence of immigrants, employment of immigrants, failure to register as an alien, and allowance of warrantless arrests based on probable cause. However, the ruling did preserve a state's right to enlist local police to enforce immigration laws.  Read more