2010 Naturalization Numbers
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has released the number of people who became U.S. citizens via naturalization in 2010. In 2010, the total number of persons naturalizing was 619,913.
Secure Communities Implemented, incl. Providence
The Providence Journal reports that Secure Communities has been implemented throughout Rhode Island, including in Providence, whose police department had requested to opt out. Attorney General Kilmartin maintains that local police departments may not opt out. Secure Communities checks fingerprints of those arrested against the federal immigration database to identify those who are here illegally. Opponents of Secure Communities say it creates unnecessary tension between police and the immigrant community and disrupts families long-established in this country to deport people who have not committed any crimes.
Report from Fed Reserve Bank urges Immigration Law Reform
A report issued in March 2011 by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas urges immigration reform for the good of the U.S. economy. We are losing valuable employees particularly in the engineering, math and science sectors (STEM for short) because of our broken visa/ greencard system. Attorney Carl Shusterman writes at length about this report on his site as others have reported, for instance here.
RI supports education for immigrants; split on Arizona law
The Providence Journal reports that at an Immigration Forum held last Saturday at Brown University, findings were discussed about Rhode Islanders’ views towards immigration. The state seems split on whether to adopt an Arizona-style law (which would allow local police to demand proof of valid U.S. papers) but there is overwhelming support for the education of immigrant children. The article can be found here.
Providence police makes clear it is arresting criminal aliens
The Providence Journal reports that newly-sworn in Providence police chief Pare is emphasizing that his department will continue to aid Federal immigration officers in arresting immigrants in violation of immigration law because they have committed crimes. Pare does not feel however that his police force should be responsible for arresting immigrants who have committed civil violations of immigration law (which represents the vast majority of offenses, for example, overstays of visas). Pare has asked the Federal Government for permission to opt out of “Secure Communities,” a federal program which checks the fingerprints of arrestees against a federal immigration database. Pare and Mayor Taveras fear that Secure Communities would breed distrust of the police force and discourage illegal people from reporting crimes. The article can be found here.
Providence asks for permission not to participate in “Secure Communities”
The Providence Police Dep’t via its Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare has asked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for permission to opt out of the Federal “Secure Communities” program. Under that program, cities and states would check the fingerprints of people charged with crimes against a federal immigration database. The goal is to identify deportable people and commence deportation proceedings against them. Pare and Mayor Taveras do not want Providence to participate in the federal program because it would make the city’s citizens fearful and create a chasm of mistrust between the police and the immigrant population which ultimately could be more dangerous. R.I. Attorney General Kilmartin has already announced that R.I. will participate in the program, which means it applies to the State Police. More about the Providence request is described here in the Providence Journal.
March Visa Bulletin published
The March visa bulletin has been published by the State Department. It is available here. If you want to understand what the different categories mean, feel free to call our office for an explanation. The categories are split between employment and family, and categories are set out within those as well.
Attorney Gregoire to speak at Boston Bar Association this afternoon
Attorney Claudia Gregoire will be speaking this afternoon at the Boston Bar Association this afternoon at a talk called “Children Across Borders: A Panel Discussion on International Custody Disputes & the Enforceability of Foreign Divorce Decrees” and in particular about a case between a French father and American mother who battled for custody of their children. Attorney Gregoire represented the father. The advertisement for the talk can be found here.
RI Legislature Weighing E-Verify Bill
After Governor Chafee was inaugurated, not even 24 hours elapsed before he repealed former Governor Carcieri’s hotly debated E-Verify Order which required state agencies to verify people’s immigration status before hiring them or contracting with them to do state business. Now, Representatives in the RI General Assembly are debating a bill which would bring E-Verify back into full force. The bill would certainly be vetoed by Governor Chafee in any case, so the General Assembly would require a supra-majority to override the Governor’s veto. More description about the hearing held last week and the debate that ensued (between civil liberties advocates against the bill and the bill’s advocates) can be found at the Providence Journal’s website, more specifically here.
Man sentenced in RI Fed. Ct. for Pretending to be Immigration Lawyer
Audeliz Villegas was sentenced this week in the U.S. Federal Court for the District of Rhode Island to six months in prison, three years supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution to two victims that he defrauded. The conviction and sentence were imposed because Villegas posed as an immigration attorney and impersonated a federal immigration agent.
This is a warning to all prospective clients and people with immigration problems that they should demand to see people’s qualifications and carefully review attorneys’ licenses, including calling the RI Bar Association to verify that the attorney is indeed an active member of the Bar.
