News Update - July 2, 2009

By Alan Lee, Esq.

President Obama Begins Discussions on Comprehensive Immigration Reform

In a private discussion with congressional members of both parties at the White House on June 25, 2009, President Obama began discussions on Comprehensive Immigration Reform by stating the goal to provide a path to legal status for the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. The specifics have not been established yet, but positions are already beginning to be staked out. Republicans said they would only support a measure only if it included a guest worker program. Senator John McCain stated that an immigration overhaul had fresh urgency because of the surge in violence along the border in Mexico, but any immigration bill needed to include a guest worker program. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) later announced its principles to serve as guidelines:

a) Immigration reform must not create a national ID system.
b) State and local intrusions into immigration policy and enforcement should be halted immediately.
c) Reforms to our immigration laws should be fair and ensure that the constitutional guarantee of due process for every person is fully respected and vigilantly protected
d) Any new legislation to reform our immigration system must address endemic due process failures embodied in current law.

According to a study conducted by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, immigrants are a key element to reviving the housing market. Currently, housing prices continue to fall as job losses increase and credit eligibility requirements become tougher. However, minorities are likely to fuel 73% of household growth in 2010-2020 and immigration levels are a “wild card that could either dampen housing demand or lift production even higher.”

 


The author is a 26+ year practitioner of immigration law based in New York City. He was awarded the Sidney A. Levine prize for best legal writing at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1977 and has written extensively on immigration over the past years for the ethnic newspapers, World Journal, Sing Tao, Pakistan Calling, Muhasha and OCS. He has testified as an expert on immigration in civil court proceedings and was recognized by the Taiwan government in 1985 for his work protecting human rights. His article, "The Bush Temporary Worker Proposal and Comparative Pending Legislation: an Analysis" was Interpreter Releases' cover display article at the American Immigration Lawyers Association annual conference in 2004, and his victory in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in a case of first impression nationwide, Firstland International v. INS, successfully challenged INS' policy of over 40 years of revoking approved immigrant visa petitions under a nebulous standard of proof. Its value as precedent, however, was short-lived as it was specifically targeted by the Administration in the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004.

This article © 2009 Alan Lee, Esq.

 

Copyright © 2003-2012 Alan Lee, Esq.
The information provided here is of a general nature and may not apply to any particular set of facts or circumstances. It should not be construed as legal advice and does not constitute an engagement of the Law Office of Alan Lee or establish an attorney-client relationship.