Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2011 Introduced: An Attempt to Fix a Broken Immigration System

When asked about immigration, John F. Kennedy once responded, “[e]verywhere, immigrants have enriched and strengthened the fabric of American life.” Although not an Immigration Attorney, John F. Kennedy recognized the answer to solving immigration involved more than mere enforcement and deportation.

In symmetry with John F. Kennedy, on June 22, 2011, Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey introduced the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2011 by citing the beneficial impact that immigrants have made on the U.S. economy.  Supported by Senators Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Harry Reid of Nevada, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, and Richard Durbin of Illinois, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2011 is as an attempt to fix a long-standing broken, immigration system.  Different than most “enforcement-only” immigration bills, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2011 attempts to propose what American Immigration Council’s Executive Director, Ben Johnson, calls, “lasting reform.”  The goal of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2011 is to create a counter-balancing strategy for the current population of unauthorized immigrants to “get right” with the law.  Johnson also stated, “[w]e need a practical solution that works for everybody, that addresses the current mis-documented employees and allows employers to maintain those workers.  Those employees are critical to their business.  Any sensible solution has to account for those people.”  While protecting U.S. citizens’ job and maintaining safety interests, the bill also attempts to allow the 12 to 15 immigrants illegally present in the U.S. before 2007 to become legal residents, a fact your Arizona immigration attorney can certainly appreciate.

With the paradoxical dilemma that illegal immigration bring to the U.S. economy, most immigration reform bills fail to recognize the entirety and complexity of immigration. Seeing the solution as securing U.S. employment and increasing safety by tightening the borders and increasing deportation, most immigration reform bills focus primarily on increasing enforcement to the already over-burdened enforcement bodies such as the Border Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security.

Previous immigration reform bills failed to recognize the beneficial impacts that immigrants, both illegal and legal, have on the U.S. Consequently, illegal immigrants who have been in the U.S. working, raising their families, and otherwise acting as responsible citizens, have been left with fewer options to legitimize their efforts in the U.S.  The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2011 attempts to address this failure by including a path for those in the U.S. illegally who have proven they are making a beneficial impact to remain here.  In order to balance the competing interests of protecting American jobs, while at the same time, enabling immigrants to continue to benefit the U.S. economy, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2011 includes both a mandatory employment verification system and a program requiring undocumented immigrants in the U.S. to register with the government, learn English and pay fines and taxes in order to begin the path to becoming Americans.

The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2011 also creates the Standing Commission on Immigration, Labor Markets and the National Interest, which can be be explained in depth by a qualified Arizona immigration lawyer. The Commission’s would regulate future flows of legal immigrants by studying and evaluating the labor market and economic conditions, and then recommending quotas for temporary and permanent employment-based visa programs to Congress.  The hope is to find the balance of protecting American jobs, while enabling immigrants to continue to benefit the U.S. economy.

The bill further avoids the negative affects of immigration enforcement by incorporating the DREAM Act, which creates a path to legal status for individuals who were brought to the U.S. in an undocumented status as children, as long as they meet age and other criteria and enroll in college or the U.S. military. The bill also incorporates the AgJOBS bill, which provides a path to permanent residency for farm workers and revises agricultural employer sponsorship requirements.

 Just like other Immigration reform bills, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2011 also attempts to promote more effective enforcement by providing additional resources and responsibilities to the Border Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security. The bill expands penalties for passport and document fraud, establishes new requirements for the Department of Homeland Security to track cross-border movement, creates new rules to ensure U.S. citizens are not unlawfully detained, and establishes new criminal penalties for fraud and misuse of Social Security Numbers.

Whether the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2011 or other bills will truly fix the broken immigration system, the complexities and competing interests in immigration reform and regulation leave the future of immigration laws unpredictable.

While politicians continue to attempt to fix the broken immigration system, Immigration Attorneys remain the best source to learn what options are available for foreign nationals (with or without legal status) who wish to protect their interests and legitimize their residency in the United States.

The Arizona immigration attorneys at Gunderson, Denton & Peterson, P.C. are qualified to assist you or to answer any immigration related questions you may have.

Sources Quoted from:

http://menendez.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=0c6c73f2-5366-4fde-bd9d-4e5d85c1b8f3

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/22/comprehensive-immigration-reform-effort-relaunched_n_882438.html

http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/analysis-reports/economic-observatory/2012/02/02/

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Gunderson, Denton & Peterson, P.C.
By
1930 N. Arboleda, Suite 201
Mesa, Arizona 85213
Office: 480-655-7440
Fax: 480-655-7099

Ice’s Memo on Prosecutorial Discretion: Reserved hope for Immigration Cases

On June, 17, 2011, ICE issued a new Memo on Prosecutorial Discretion, which gives hope for Immigration Cases that would otherwise be lost. Although most do not argue that aliens who break the law and/or pose a threat to national security and domestic safety should be excused back to their country, many also agree there are those in the United States who are administratively here illegally, but should be given the opportunity to remain.  Many are parents, children, grandparents and many are in school, trying to work, and trying to benefit society.  ICE’s Memo on Prosecutorial Discretion gives hope to those who are not a threat to national security and domestic safety, by giving enforcement officers and an Arizona immigration attorney’s discretion to administratively close certain immigration cases.  In turn, this discretion translates to additional time for those with immigration cases before ICE to seek advice from attorneys, in order to legitimize their situation. 

Reason behind ICE’s Memo on Prosecutorial Discretion

ICE issued the memo on Prosecutorial Discretion in order to counteract their overburdened immigration enforcement resources. The hope is ICE will be able to focus their enforcement resources on those immigration cases that pose more immediate and higher threats to national security and domestic safety.  Rather than focusing on immigration cases of law-abiding students, children, parents, and grandparents, ICE enforcement officers and attorneys are instructed to focus on criminals, terrorists, and threats to national security and domestic safety. 

Application of ICE’s Memo on Prosecutorial Discretion

The memo on Prosecutorial Discretion instructs those employed with ICE to use their prosecutorial discretion to focus on the “agency’s enforcement priorities.” In the memo, ICE establishes a non-exhaustive list, instructing enforcement officers and attorneys on what ICE enforcement priorities are, and what exactly they are able to do with this “prosecutorial Discretion.”  ICE enforcement officers and attorneys are instructed to consider everything on a case-by-case basis, giving less priority to the following:

·        Elderly Individuals
·        Pregnant or nursing women
·        Individuals present in the United States since childhood
·        Veterans and members of the U.S. armed forces; long-time lawful permanent residents; minors,
·        Minors who have been in the United States for more than five years, and are either in school or have successfully completed high school (or it equivalent);
·        People who came to the United States under the age of sixteen, who have been in the United States for more than five years, have completed high school (or its equivalent), and are now pursuing or have successfully completed higher education in the United States;
·        Those over the age of sixty-five who have been present in the United States for more than ten years;
·        Those who are a victim of domestic violence in the United States, human trafficking to the United States; or of any other serious crime in the United States;
·       Those who have been a lawful permanent resident for ten years or more and have a single, minor conviction for a non-violent offense;
·        Those who suffer from a serious mental or physical condition that would require significant medical or detention resources; or
·        Those who have had a very long-term presence in the United States, immediate family member(s) who are United States Citizens, and have established compelling ties and made compelling contributions to the United States.

The negative factors that ICE lists for enforcement priorities when exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with Immigration Cases are:
·   Individuals who pose a clear risk to national security;
·   Serious felons, repeat offenders, or individuals with a lengthy criminal record of any kind;
·   Known gang members or other individuals who pose a clear danger to public safety; and
·  Individuals with an egregious record of immigration violations, including those with a record of illegal re-entry and those who have engaged in immigration fraud.

ICE Enforcement Officers and Attorneys Use of Prosecutorial Discretion

A few months ago, Janet Napolitiano, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ordered a review of nearly 300,000 pending deportation immigration cases, applying this prosecutorial discretion, to ensure ICE’s resources were being prioritized. As a result, the DHS recommended 1,667 cases (about 14%) to be “Administratively Closed.”

Prosecutorial Discretion Impact on Immigration Cases

If the attorney can ensure the alien in question is not a threat to national security and public safety, the attorney is allowed to “administratively close” a particular case or matter by exercising their prosecutorial discretion.  However, “administratively closing” an immigration case is not the same as dismissing the case.  Rather, the immigration case remains on the deportation docket and ICE can reactivate it at any time. “Administrative closure” simply places the immigration case on the back burner while higher priority cases are prosecuted. Although Prosecutorial Discretion will not dismiss immigration cases, it provides hope by giving more time for those who are in the United States illegally to seek counsel from attorneys to legitimize their presence in the United States.

What you should do if you have an immigration case before ICE

Those who have an immigration case before ICE should request a review of their case under the standards of ICE’s memo for prosecutorial discretion. ICE will then review the immigration case under the standards set forth in the memo and either administratively close the case or keep it on the docket.  Either way, this review and/or having the immigration case administratively closed will provide essential time to seek advice from an Arizona immigration lawyer.

Published By:

Gunderson, Denton & Peterson, P.C.
By
1930 N. Arboleda, Suite 201
Mesa, Arizona 85213
Office: 480-655-7440
Fax: 480-655-7099

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