President Obama stated his opposition to a bill in Georgia, similar to the anti-immgration bill struck down in Arizona, that would allow law enforcement to investigate the immigration status of criminal suspects.

“It is a mistake for states to try to do this piecemeal. We can’t have 50 different immigration laws around the country. Arizona tried this and a federal court already struck them down,” Obama told WSB-TV in an interview taped Tuesday.

To help the Georgia bill overcome the legal challenges that halted Arizona’s bill, Georgia legislatures removed the “reasonable suspicion” aspect of the bill. In its place, Georgia police can perform an immigration check if the criminal suspect cannot produce any form of identification or give basic details that could help an officer verify their identity.

A immigration bill passed late Thursday night by the Republican-dominated Georgia House and Senate.  This bill, similar to the Arizona’s, authorizes law enforcement to question suspects in certain criminal investigations about their immigration status. It also authorizes long prison terms for those who use fake documents to get a job and punishes people who transport illegal immigrants during the commission of a crime. 

The new law would also require private employers to check the immigration status of newly hired workers E-Verify federal database.  The new bill exempts small businesses from the E-Verify requirements and gives the businesses required to use it a 30-day grace period to correct good-faith violations.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided today to uphold a preliminary injunction against Arizona’s anti-immigrant legislation, SB 1070. The court denied the state’s appeal of a federal district court’s July decision that prevented segments of the law from going into effect due to U.S. Constitutional violations. 

One of the most controversial provision of SB 1070 requires state and local police to ask for proof of immigration status from every individual stopped for a traffic violation or other civil infraction if they have a ‘reasonable suspicion’ that the person is in the U.S. in violation of the immigration law.  The Ninth Circuit decision confirms the notion that the federal government has the exclusive power to regulate and enforce immigration laws.

On August 31, 2010, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) returned 96 immigration violators to the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and Cambodia in a chartered flight that originated from Seattle.  The group included 79 males and 17 females who had been held in ICE custody at various detention facilities across the U.S. before being transported to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington.  According to ICE, 66 of the individuals who were returned had committed criminal offenses in the U.S., including homicide, felony drug trafficking and possession, rape and other sex crimes, aggravated assault, weapons possession, grand theft, and burglary.

According to ICE Director John Morton,”this year, ICE expects to remove a record number of criminal aliens from the country and charter flights like this are a big part of making that happen.”

For the full text of this story, visit:  http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1009/100903washingtondc2.htm

July 12, 2010:   The immigration debate has spread to America’s favorite pasttime – baseball.   The 2011 MLB All-Star Game is set to take place in the state of Arizona, the home of a new immigration law which has fueled contraversy across the nation.  Opponents of the new law, including civil rights organizations, politicians, and even some MLB players, are urging the MLB to move next year’s All-Star Game to another state. 

Set to take  effect on July 29th, the new Arizona law makes it a crime under state law be in the country illegally.  It empowers polic officers to question a person about his or her immigration sattus if they are investigating a crime, responding to a complaint or making a lawful stop.  The law has been challenged by the U.S. Department of Justice, which filed suit in federal court on July 6, 2010.

With this year’s All-Star Game hours away, a number of MLB players are voicing their opinions.  San Diego Padre’s catcher, Yorvit Torrealba, a native of Venezuela, supports moving the game.  According to an article by ESPN, Torrealba stated, “I don’t think anyone has the right to approach me or my family just because we’re Latino.”   If the game is not moved from Arizona, Torrealba says right now he’s “50-50″ about whether he’d attend.  ”I think they should move [the game], because it’s going to be a lot of Latin players in the All-Star Game,” Torrealba said.  “I guarantee you they want to take their families.  In my mind, I would be like, ‘I wonder if my family is all right here?’ That’s why they should move it; that way nobody has to worry about that stuff.”

The Presente.org, a political activist group, has initiated an internet campaign to move the game.  Sources have said that the group has already collected over 100,000 signatures through its webpage www.movethegame.org.

To view the full text of the ESPN article, visit:  http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/otl/news/story?id=5372305

Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pratt issued a 41 page ruling dismissing 8 of 18 counts involving mail fraud against Vision Systems Group Inc. and suppressing electronic data.  This has been viewed as a major blow to the government’s case against the New Jersey-based IT company.

In February 2009, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents issued a search warrant which permitted them to search Vision Systems’ paper and electronic records.  The agents collected almost 100 boxes of evidence and made digital images of 21 hard drives.  As a result of the search, 11 individuals were arrested in 7 states and criminal charges for conspiracy and mail fraud were brought against Vision Systems.  The government alleged the company established shell companies in Iowa to take advantage of the state’s lower wage requirements for H-1B workers.  Initially, the government sought $7.4 million in forfeitures but this has since been reduced to $4.9 million.

In his ruling, Judge Pratt found the government’s search criteria was “over-inclusive” and that it failed to examine the digital images within the required 60 day timeframe.  He also opined that the government’s handling of the electronic search was “highly reckless.”

The criminal trial is scheduled for April 28, 2010.

On March 26, 2010, Maricopa County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 21 workers during raids of 4 McDonald’s restaurants Scottsdale, Tempe and Mesa.  The workers are being held on suspicion of identity theft.  Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has stated that it will take more time to determine whether any of the arrested workers are unauthorized workers as officials suspect.

03/15/2010:  Lorraine Henderson, former Regional Director of Customs and Border Protection, is on trial, facing charges of encouraging her housekeeper, an illegal immigrant, to remain in the country.  This is a felony and punishable by up to 10 years in prison.  Henderson was arrested in December 2008 after being caught on wire by her housekeeper who was working undercover with authorities.  She allegedly warned her housekeeper not to leave the US because she would not be let back in.  Henderson’s lawyer, Francis J. DiMento, did not make an opening statement on her behalf.   The trial is expected to last 8 days. 

For the full article, visit:  http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/03/_a_former_top_h.html

03.02.2010:  Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is issuing 180 Notices of Inspections to businesses in 5 states ( Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas & Tennessee). The notices inform businesses that ICE will be inspecting their I-9 records for compliance with the employment verification laws. 

Last year, ICE issued 652 NOIs on July 1, 2009 and 1,000 NOIs in November 2009.  Prior to 2009, inspections of this level were unheard of.  Under the Obama adminstration, ICE has  implemented a comprehensive enforcement strategy aimed at  employers which knowingly hire unauthorized workers.  Under this strategy, ICE has focused it resources on auditing employers’ I-9 records.  While the audits are designed to identify the “bad actor” employers , employers which have acted in good faith can face hefty fines if technical violations are discovered in their I-9 records. 

To view the March 2, 2010 press release from ICE, visit the follwoing link:  http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1003/100302neworleans.htm