Exciting times at the Hacking Immigration Law this week. Jennifer is preparing an appeal for the Eighth Circuit on the issue of whether DHS can use an alien’s erroneously completed I-9 from to try and deport them. She also has an asylum interview on Monday. Jim gave an immigration talk today at the Islamic Center of Rolla. Adela was on television this week during press coverage of a meeting between St. Louis police and the local Bosnian American community. Poor Feven is trying to teach us all how to use our new phone system.
Here are this week’s news stories.
New Racial Profiling Regs Carve Out Huge Exception for Immigration Purposes
The Department of Justice issued sweeping new regulations this week governing the ability of federal law enforcement to use racial profiling. The rules now prohibit law enforcement from using a person’s “race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or gender” in deciding whom to stop or arrest. It also prohibits the FBI from using these attributes when beginning a national security investigation. But DOJ carved out a rather significant loophole for itself, retaining the right for Homeland Security, the CIA and the TSA to use racial profiling at the border and in deciding whom to allow into the country. Critics of racial profiling are upset. Even outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder is frustrated with the exception, explaining that he was quite disappointed with the exemption.
DACA relief starts in February, DAPA begins in May
Consistent with what we have been hearing, NBC News reported this week that President Obama’s new deportation policies will start taking effect in stages. In February, applicants for the expanded DACA protection will be able to apply for relief. Eligible parents of U.S. citizens will be able to apply for DAPA in May. We are already starting to file motions in deportation court to postpone or close proceedings for those who appear entitled to relief under the President’s program.
ICE Lawsuit Claims Pressure to Slow/Stop Certain Deportations
The government’s top deportation attorney in Arizona has filed suit in federal court claiming that she was subjected to “relentless bullying and harassment” after pushing back against administration orders to grant prosecutorial discretion to slow or stop some deportations. The Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) union has vehemently objected to Obama’s earlier use of such discretion and these complaints are expected to rise with the new, more open directive. The female prosecutor alleges age and gender discrimination, saying that she was subjected to a concerted effort to force her out.
CIS to purge E-Verify Records that are More than 10 Years Old
If you are a US employer and you have participated in E-verify for more than 10 years, you may want to log in to the system and download your records that are more than a decade old. CIS will start purging all such records after the 10-year window so you should download your Historic Record Report before the end of 2014.
Job Applicants with “Non-White” Sounding Names Have Harder Time Finding a Job
CNN Money published the results of a survey that found that people with “foreign sounding” names have a much harder time finding a job. The survey looked at 28 industrialized nations, including the U.S., and found that people with non-white sounding names had to send out 2 or 3 times as many resumes in order to find a job.
