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Immigrants’ Rights Update
Volume 22, Issue 1 |
February 27, 2008 |
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IN THIS ISSUE
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Employer
Sanctions: State & Local Legislation & Litigation
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Immigrants
& Driver’s Licenses
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Employment
Eligibility Verification
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New on
NILC’s Website (since October 5, 2007)
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Employer Sanctions: State & Local
Legislation & Litigation |
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Flawed District Court Decision Upholds Missouri Local
Ordinance Sanctioning Employers of Unauthorized Workers |
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By
Linton Joaquin,
Executive Director
A federal
district court in eastern Missouri has upheld a local anti-immigrant
ordinance that prohibits employers from employing unauthorized
workers and sanctions violators by suspending their business
permits. The court rejected the plaintiffs’ contentions that the
ordinance is unlawful and preempted by federal law, as well as
claims that it violates due process and equal protection. The
ruling directly conflicts with an earlier district court decision in
Lozano v. City of Hazleton, 496 F.Supp.2d 477 (M.D.Pa. 2007),
which struck down a similar local ordinance. The Hazleton decision
is now on appeal to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The court
in Missouri did not address the rulings of the court in
Pennsylvania, except to note in a footnote that because it is not
bound by the Hazleton decision the court decided to conduct its own
analysis. That analysis would permit states and localities broad
freedom to legislate immigration restrictions, and it fails to
recognize the federal interest in ensuring uniform regulation in
this area. Read more >>
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Immigrants & Driver’s Licenses |
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Final REAL ID Regulations Fail to Ease New Burdens on
Immigrants |
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By Joan
Friedland, Immigration
Policy Director
The U.S. Dept. of
Homeland Security (DHS) has issued its long-delayed final regulations,
“Minimum Standards for Driver’s Licenses and Identification Cards Acceptable
by Federal Agencies for Official Purposes,” to implement the REAL ID Act of
2005. The regulations, which were published in the Federal Register on Jan.
29, give states considerably more flexibility than the act itself seems to
contemplate, and they substantially extend the time period for complying
with the act’s provisions. However, the rules pertaining to immigrants’
access to driver’s licenses are rigid, giving states little flexibility,
subjecting immigrants to burdensome requirements, and providing few due
process protections. DHS’s goal in easing the requirements for the states
is to lessen the cost and burden they will incur in implementing REAL ID’s
requirements; and this, in turn, appears intended to head off growing
opposition among the states to REAL ID. In contrast, the final regulations
do very little to ease the new burdens immigrants will face when the act’s
provisions take effect. Read more >>
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Employment
Eligibility Verification |
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Dept. of Labor Significantly Alters Employment Eligibility
Verification Rules for H-2A Workers |
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By Tyler Moran,
Employment Policy Director
Late last year the
U.S. Dept. of Labor (DOL) issued a
guidance
letter that requires State Workforce Agencies (SWAs), as of
Dec. 15, 2007, to verify the employment eligibility of any worker (U.S.- or
foreign-born) referred to an employer in response to an H-2A job order, and
that “strongly recommends” using the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s)
Basic Pilot/E-Verify system to do so. Basic Pilot/E-Verify is a voluntary,
Internet-based program designed to allow employers to electronically verify
whether newly hired employees are authorized to work in the United States.
The new employment eligibility verification requirements are one among many
provisions in the five-page guidance memo that have caused concern among
immigrant rights advocates. (Advocates detailed their concerns in a
Jan. 8, 2008, letter to DOL Secretary Elaine Chao.)
Read more >>
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NEW ON NILC’s WEBSITE (since
Oct. 5, 2007) |
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Job Openings at NILC |
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NILC Seeks a Senior
Employment Policy Attorney, who will be based in
NILC’s Los Angeles office (posted 2/25/08).
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Low-Income Immigrant Rights Conference |
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6th National Low-Income Immigrant Rights
Conference: December 6-8, 2007 (“Workshop
Descriptions” page)
Links are posted to (1) a transcript and video
of Rev. Nelson Johnson’s keynote address, (2) materials
presented during the plenary sessions, and (3) materials presented
during workshops.
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Immigration Law &
Policy |
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“Arrest and Detention” page | Orantes-Hernandez v. Gonzales, No. 82-01107
MMM(VBKx) (C.D.Cal. Nov. 26, 2007) (Modified,
Consolidated Injunction).
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“Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR)” page |
Pulling at a Thread: Anti-Immigrant Proposals Threaten Social Security
Traditions
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“Immigration
Records & Databases” page |
Freedom of Information Act: OPEN Government Act Restores Promise of FOIA
(James C. Ho, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, 12/31/07) (link to Dunn &
Crutcher website)
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“Local Law Enforcement Issues”
page |
TABLE: Laws, Resolutions and Policies Instituted Across the U.S. Limiting
Enforcement of Immigration Laws by State and Local Authorities
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“Miscellaneous Issues”
page |
Cities and Immigration: Local Policies for Immigrant-Friendly Cities
(link to Center on Wisconsin Strategies website)
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“Naturalization & Citizenship”
page |
Groups Sue to Stop Excessive Citizenship Delays: FBI Name Checks Disrupt
Lives, Stall Naturalization Process for Thousands
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Immigrant Student
Adjustment / DREAM Act |
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Recent
Developments in Undocumented College Student Issues (2005-Present [Fall
2007]), by Michael A. Olivas, Institute for Higher Education Law and
Governance (IHELG), Univ. of Houston Law Center (link to Univ. of Houston
Law Ctr. website)
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NILC
Statement on Senate DREAM Act Vote (“We are not giving up. Too
much is at stake.”) (10/24/07)
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DREAM Act: Basic Information (updated 10/23/07)
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Immigrants & Driver’s
Licenses |
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Driver’s
License Resource Guide (created 2/08)
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Overview of States’ Driver's License Requirements (updated 2/19/08)
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Why
Denying Driver’s Licenses to Undocumented Immigrants Harms Public Safety and
Makes Our Communities Less Secure
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A Retreat from Safety
(NILC statement regarding New York governor’s announcement that he would
rescind his driver’s license proposal)
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Employment-related
Enforcement |
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“Employment Eligibility Verification and Antidiscrimination Protections”
page
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Shuler-Tancredo Employment Eligibility Verification System: Poorly Designed,
Dangerous for the Economy
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Why States and Localities Should Not Require Employer Participation in the
Basic Pilot/E-Verify Program
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Basic Pilot/E-Verify: Not a Magic Bullet (latest update: 1/4/08)
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“Employer Sanctions: State & Local Legislation & Litigation” page |
State and Local Proposals That Punish Employers for Hiring Undocumented
Workers Are Unenforceable, Unnecessary, and Bad Public Policy
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“Workplace Enforcement by Immigration Authorities” page |
Immigration Enforcement During Labor Dispute: Sample Letter to U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Word for Windows file)
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Social Security-related (“No-Match” Letters,
etc.) |
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“Social Security Administration ‘No-Match’ Letter
Toolkit (3rd Edition)” page
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Facts About the Social Security "No-Match" Letter (2-pager)
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Why the Social Security Administration Should Terminate Its Employer
"No-Match" Letter Program
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What the Order Granting a Preliminary Injunction Means for the DHS Rule
about Social Security “No-Match”
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“Social Security Administration (SSA)-related
Information” page
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Government Abandons Current “No-Match” Rule Harmful to Legal Workers: Department of
Homeland Security to Issue Revised Rule Still Relying on Flawed Social
Security Database
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Preliminary Injunction Issued: Court Blocks Government from Implementing
Flawed Social Security “No-Match” Rule
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Public Benefits Issues |
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“Immigrant Children’s Health Improvement Act (ICHIA)” page |
Letter to Senators Urges Legislation to Benefit Immigrant Children
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Update Page: Guide to
Immigrant Eligibility for Federal Programs (updated insert and tables)
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INSERT | Errata and Updates
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Pages 102-03 | TABLE 8: State-Funded TANF Replacement Programs
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Page 108 | TABLE 9: State-Funded SSI Replacement Programs
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Pages 122-23 | TABLE 10: State-Funded Medical Assistance Programs
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Pages 126-27 | TABLE 11: State-Funded SCHIP Programs
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Pages 134-35 | TABLE 12: State-Funded Food Assistance Programs
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Page 175 |
TABLE 13: Federal Poverty Guidelines
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