OC Immigration Attorney

A bipartisan group of senators has agreed on a set of principles for a sweeping overhaul of the immigration system, including a pathway to American citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants that would hinge on progress in securing the borders and ensuring that foreigners leave the country when their visas expire.

The senators were able to reach a deal by incorporating the Democrats’ insistence on a single comprehensive bill that would not deny eventual citizenship to illegal immigrants, with Republican demands that strong border and interior enforcement had to be clearly in place before Congress could consider legal status for illegal immigrants.

Their blueprint, unveiled on Monday, will allow them to stake out their position one day before President Obama outlines his immigration proposals in a speech on Tuesday in Las Vegas, in the opening moves of what lawmakers expect will be a protracted and contentious debate in Congress this year.

Lawmakers said they were optimistic that the political mood had changed since a similar effort collapsed in acrimony in 2010. Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona and one of the negotiators, said he saw “a new appreciation” among Republicans of the need for an overhaul.

“Look at the last election,” Mr. McCain said Sunday morning on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos.” “We are losing dramatically the Hispanic vote, which we think should be ours.” The senator also said he had seen “significant improvements” in border enforcement, although “we’ve still got a ways to go.”

He added, “We can’t go on forever with 11 million people living in this country in the shadows in an illegal status.”

President Obama has already changed some rules that will help families in which one spouse is in the United States illegally. Those plans will go into effect on March 4th, 2013.

Debates over immigration miss the critical border‐security issues. Critics of current U.S. border strategies correctly point out that illegal drugs are still being smuggled across our southwestern border in wholesale quantity and that the flow of illegal border crossers, although reduced in recent years, is still significant. Until the border is “fixed,” they refuse to consider any immigration reforms. The Obama Administration takes the opposite tack, saying with great pride that it is creating a “21st Century Border”—one that is more secure now than it has ever been. Neither side in this debate seems interested in defining what a “secure border” means. And, without a definition, it is hard to say who is right or even what constitutes success or failure.

With all the overheated border‐security rhetoric, it is commonly assumed that the problems on the border are basically simple and that they can be fixed the old‐fashioned way with a greater infusion of money and manpower and maybe a better fence. The prevailing assumption is that all we need to stop illegal crossings of drugs, people, cash, and guns are more Border Patrol agents, more National Guard troops, and more surveillance and sensors to cover the hundreds of rugged miles between lawful ports of entry. The dispute is over how much is enough, with one side saying the current buildup has done the job and the other saying we need even more. Lost in this war of words is any understanding of the nature of modern‐day smuggling.

It is easy to be misled by focusing exclusively on the border as a physical barrier. Rather than being just a line in the desert sand, the southwest border is a complex, multidimensional interrelationship of immigration laws, cyberspace money transfers, and international business connections. Consequently, smugglers must understand and move easily in the multidimensional universe that is the border. Superbly organized, technologically adept, and very well funded, they can penetrate border defenses almost at will.

If this country wants to stop smuggling and not just present an obstacle to immigration reform, we must take a broader and more analytical approach to what motivates the smugglers—and the means by which they illegally move drugs, money, guns, and people in such large volumes with such impunity. Going after the contraband product or smuggled people, as this country has been doing for years, is destined to be an endless chase. The cartels will just regroup and continue operations, learning from their mistakes. If we are serious about stopping the threat on the border, we have to dismantle the criminal organizations that carry the contraband and take away the tools that make them so effective. Anything less will fail.

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The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether an aggressive Arizona statute targeting illegal immigrants interferes with federal law, entering another high-profile dispute between the Obama administration and conservative state governments.

Among other provisions intended to drive illegal immigrants from the state, the 2010 Arizona measure, known as SB 1070, requires police to arrest people they stop whom they suspect of being foreigners without authorization to reside in the U.S. Federal courts have blocked much of the Arizona measure from taking effect, agreeing with the Justice Department that it undermines federal authority over immigration.

The U.S. Supreme Court is likely to hear the case by April and issue a decision before July. That is the same time it is expected to rule on the president’s 2010 health-care overhaul, which conservative activists and Republican leaders from 26 states contend exceeds federal authority.

The scheduling positions both cases for a significant role in next year’s presidential and congressional elections—and could make the Supreme Court, certain to be criticized by the losers in each case, itself an issue. Four of the nine justices are in their 70s, suggesting the next president could have at least one vacancy to fill on the closely divided court.

Arizona has become the center stage of the immigration debate over the last few years. Many other states have followed Arizona’s aggressive approach towards illegal immigration.

Rick Perry did not offer a clear answer when pressed on how he would handle immigration reform during an interview Tuesday night with Greta Van Susteren of Fox News. When asked to pinpoint a solution, the Texas governor could not or would not offer one.

“I know it’s one that people ask a lot and the fact is it’s just an intellectual conversation until we secure the border,” Perry said on Van Susteren’s show. She asked how he would deal with the 11 million-plus illegal immigrants currently residing in the country.

“What would you do? What would you do?” Van Susteren continued to ask.

“I’m not going to sit here and go through and talk about all the different options because there may be some ideas that haven’t been talked about yet, so I’m going to stick with folks like Sheriff Arpaio who is with me today and who is endorsing my candidacy, and work on securing the border, because until you get the border secure, all of these issues about immigration reform are frankly just intellectual engagement,” Perry said.

“You know, governor, with all due respect, I think that’s half an answer,” Van Susteren said.

“I think I’ve laid out a number of concepts and ideas. I don’t know which of those the American people want and that’s the reason we need to have this long and lengthy conversation,” Perry said later in the interview. “I don’t know if I have all of the right answers and one thing I have learned on this very volatile issue of immigration and immigration reform, we need to talk to the American people, we need to get their input, we need to listen to them.”

Arizona Congressman Flake introduced the Border Security Enforcement Act of 2011 a couple of months ago.

The House Bill Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to deploy at least 6,000 National Guard personnel to perform operations in the Southwest Border region (Region) (the area in the United States that is within 150 miles of the U.S.-Mexico international border) to assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection in securing such border.

Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to increase, by September 30, 2016, the number of Border Patrol agents stationed in the Region by 5,000.

Directs the Attorney General, the Secretary, and the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to: (1) implement Operation Streamline in the Region; and (2) reimburse state, local, and tribal law enforcement for related detention costs.

Authorizes the chief judge of each federal judicial district in the Region to appoint additional full-time magistrate judges who shall have the authority to hear all cases and controversies in the district in which the respective judges are appointed.

Directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to enhance border enforcement preparedness and operational readiness through Operation Stonegarden.

Directs the Secretary to: (1) construct, as needed, additional Border Patrol stations in the Region to provide operational support in rural, high-trafficked areas; (2) upgrade existing Border Patrol forward operating bases and establish new bases as needed; (3) complete the construction of a permanent checkpoint near Tubac, Arizona, and deploy additional temporary roving checkpoints in the Region.

Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to direct the Secretary to: (1) complete the required 700 mile southwest border fencing by December 31, 2011; and (2) construct double- and triple-layer fencing at appropriate locations in the Region.

Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) and the Secretary of the Interior to provide U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel with access to federal lands under their respective jurisdictions (within 150 miles of the Region) for security activities.

Directs the Secretary to establish a two-year grant program to improve emergency communications for persons who live or work in the Region and who are at greater risk from border violence.

Provides for: (1) specified equipment and technology enhancements; and (2) reimbursement of state, county, tribal, and municipal costs associated with the prosecution and pre-trial detention of federally initiated criminal cases declined by local U.S. Attorneys’ offices.

Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to include ultralight vehicles within the definition of “aircraft” for purposes of aviation smuggling provisions.

Provides for DOD-DHS cooperation in identifying DOD equipment and technology that could be used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to improve security along the U.S.-Mexico border by: (1) detecting border tunnels and ultralight aircraft, and (2) enhancing wide aerial surveillance.

Find out the latest developments of the bill here.

The U.S. Border Patrol released statistics regarding border patrol apprehensions over the last decade.

The Tucson, Arizona sector consistently led the nation for illegal alien apprehensions. San Diego, California was the second highest sector.

Undocumented alien arrests peaked in fiscal year 2000 and consistently declined over the decade. There was a rise in apprehensions in fiscal year 2004-2006.

In 2010, the number of border apprehensions was at its lowest in the last ten years.

Not surprisingly, the southwest border accounted for nearly 97% of all apprehensions, while the northern border and coastal borders accounted for the remaining 3 %

President Obama plans to unveil a “blueprint” on Tuesday regarding what he wants Congress to include in a comprehensive immigration reform bill, according to senior administration officials.

Obama is scheduled to visit El Paso, Texas, with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano as part of the White House’s increased efforts to return immigration reform to the national spotlight.

A senior administration official told reporters in a conference call Monday evening that Obama’s renewed push for an immigration bill was not merely a political move attempting to paint Congress as the inhibitor and the White House as the doer in the eyes of Latino voters ahead of the 2012 elections.

“While it may be true that there are significant obstacles in Congress, we believe the American people expect the policymakers to do their job,” said an official. “So we do not accept the argument that because there are some in Congress who are unwilling to act that we ought to just wash our hands of trying to get this done.”

Topeka — A legislator said Monday it might be a good idea to control illegal immigration the way the feral hog population has been controlled: with gunmen shooting from helicopters.

Rep. Virgil Peck, R-Tyro, said he was just joking, but that his comment did reflect frustration with the problem of illegal immigration. After one of the committee members talked about a program that uses hunters in helicopters to shoot wild swine, Peck suggested that may be a way to control illegal immigration.

Appropriations Chairman Marc Rhoades, R-Newton, said Peck’s comment was inappropriate. Asked about his comment, Peck was unapologetic. “I was just speaking like a southeast Kansas person,” he said.

He said most of his constituents are upset with illegal immigration and the state and federal government response. He said he didn’t expect any further controversy over his comment. “I think it’s over,” he said.

Last month, another state legislator, Rep. Connie O’Brien, R-Tonganoxie, apologized after referring to a college student as an illegal immigrant because of her “olive complexion.”

(One more reason I’m glad I don’t live in Kansas.)

According to U.S. documentary “The Fence”, Washington’s plan to build a fence on the border with Mexico has cost $3 billion and has not deterred illegal immigrants or drug traffickers from entering the country.

The documentary argues that illegal immigrants and smugglers can easily climb over, dig under and even drive over the wall, which is only a few feet high in parts, has no razor wire, and abruptly ends in the desert.

The director and narrator, Rory Kennedy – who is a daughter of the late U.S. Senator Robert Kennedy-, spent weeks traveling along the border from California to Texas as the fence was being built in 2009. It is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Moreover, up to 500 people die every year crossing the U.S.-Mexican border, according to U.S. immigration experts and the Mexican government, a sharp jump from a decade ago. Tougher border security and the fence’s construction have forced migrants to take more dangerous, remote routes into the United States.

Some 650 miles of the 670-mile wall called for under the Secure Fence Act and signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush in October 2006 have been built. It contains 120,000 tones of metal and materials, ranging from railroad ties to concrete and chain link fencing.

But it remains a magnet for Republicans keen to show their get-tough credentials in the run-up to the November U.S. elections. Arizona Republican John McCain, facing his toughest re-election battle in years for the Senate, demanded that the government in May to “complete the danged fence.”

U.S. Border Patrol agents say the wall and virtual fencing cut the number of people caught trying to cross into the United States by a quarter in the fiscal year 2009.

Immigration experts counter that the deep U.S. recession in 2008-2009 and the resulting lack of jobs in the world’s biggest economy was a bigger factor behind the drop.

But critics also are questioning the wisdom of spending billions on the fence during hard economic times.

Future U.S. administrations are likely to spend $6.5 billion on maintenance of the fence over the next 20 years, the United States Government Accountability Office says, although researchers at the U.S. Congress say it could be more.

The documentary airs on U.S. cable television.

According to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky), Congress “ought to take a look at” changing the 14th Amendment, which give the children of illegal immigrants a right to U.S. citizenship. McConnell’s statement signals growing support within the GOP for the controversial idea, which has also recently been touted by Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

After McConnell stated in an interview that the 14th Amendment provision should be reconsidered in light of the country’s immigration problem. Kyl, then in a TV interview said that there is a constitutional provision in the 14th amendment that has been interpreted to provide that , if you are born in the United States, you are a citizen no matter what. However, according to Kyl, the question is, if both parents are here illegally, should there be a reward for their illegal behavior?

Kyl added that he suggested to Graham that “we should hold some hearings and hear first from the constitutional experts to at least tell us what the state of the law on that proposition is.”

It is unclear when such hearings would occur. Democrats, who control the Senate, set the chamber’s hearing schedule.

Proponents of comprehensive immigration reform strongly oppose the Republican-led effort, which could play a major role in firing up both the left and right this election year.

The escalating debate on the 14th Amendment comes in the wake of the legal battle between Arizona and the federal government over the state’s immigration law. The idea of changing the nation’s policy on this issue has picked up steam among conservatives in recent weeks.

Graham, who had considered working with Democrats on immigration reform earlier this year, now claims that birthright citizenship is a mistake. Adding that we should change our Constitution and say if one comes illegally and has a child, that child is automatically not a citizen.

McConnell said the Obama administration needs to improve its ability to secure the country’s borders before tackling a change to the amendment. However, while Obama’s push for immigration reform is considered dead in the 111th Congress, some Democrats on Capitol Hill are pushing for a scaled-back bill to move this fall.

One such option is Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin’s (D-Ill.) Dream Act, which would give undocumented students the right to apply for permanent residence in the U.S. Durbin’s bill has attracted praise from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), but Durbin has publicly noted that some Democrats are not on board.