Speaking recently, Janet Napolitano, President Obama’s Secretary of Homeland Security indicated that without question the administration’s policy was going to be that of expanding immigration enforcement, especially against businesses. This comes on the heels of another declaration that H-1B visa sponsors are being audited in much larger numbers, thanks to the additional $500.00 H-1B “Fraud Fee” which is tacked on to every H-1B filed by an employer for a new employee.
Ms. Napolitano declared that she wanted to focus more on enforcement of immigration laws against gang members and convicted felons as well as employers who had a history of hiring illegal immigrants in order to exploit them.
In other enforcement news:
• Homeland Security officials have also touted the benefits of the e-verify database, claiming that less than 19,000 of 6.4 million queries have resulted in incorrect denials.
• Additionally, Napolitano indicated that enforcement by local agencies under agreements known as “287(g)” would be reviewed in order to enhance federal oversight and make it a priority to deport immigrants who were criminal fugitives or already in custody, rather than as a blanket enforcement mechanism.
Obviously, President Obama’s campaign promises have not yet evolved into reality. It remains to be seen what positive steps the Obama Administration is going to take especially given his statements made on his recent visit to Mexico for the G8 Summit.
So – just how much enforcement will we see before any reform? Will we even need reform if enforcement continues at the present pace?
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About the author:
I practice in the areas of immigration and small business law in Akron, Ohio. In addition to my law practice, I am also an adjunct (part-time) professor of immigration law at the University of Akron, School of Law (“Akron Law”). My busy and challenging immigration practice comprises cases from all areas of immigration including family, business, and student visas, employment, H-1b, Labor Certification, PERM, O-1, L-1, EB-1 and EB-2, as well as more specialized areas of practice such as asylum, deportation, removal, and federal and state court litigation. I work from the beginning to end of complex applications involving spouses of US Citizens and their immediate family. I am especially proud to represent clients in fiancé, marriage, and citizenship cases and bring their families to the USA. Likewise, I defend clients vigorously in deportation or removal cases and work hard to win their “green cards”. For your regular reference please bookmark my blog – The Law Offices of Farhad Sethna. Please give us your feedback and let us know if the information we presented was helpful.
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