AMERICAN IMMIGRATION LAWYERS ASSOCIATION CONDEMNS RECENT H-1B RAID

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has written a letter to the INS Associate Commissioner for Field Operations criticizing the recent INS raid at Randolph Air Force Base during which 40 H-1B computer consultants, all Indian nationals, were arrested and detained.  The letter outlines a number of problems with the raid, from the way in which it was conducted to its legal basis.

AILA points out that in the area of computer consulting, a position is rarely of long duration.  Therefore, the place where the worker is needed when the H-1B petition is filed is not necessarily going to still need workers when the petition is improved.  This situation is made even worse because of lengthy INS and Department of Labor delays.  Because it is unclear where an H-1B computer consultant will work when the petition is eventually approved, AILA argues that for the employer to use any worksite address other than their own would be inappropriate.

AILA also takes the position that the INS’s actions in conducting the raid were illegal.  The INS ties the need to file a new H-1B petition because of a change in job location to whether the Department of Labor requires a new labor condition application.  In 1996, Department of Labor regulations on short-term placement of workers were invalidated, leaving no requirement for the filing of a new labor condition application for short-term placement.  Therefore, amended H-1B petitions were not required. 

As more stories from those involved come out, the incident looks even uglier than it did initially.  INS officials apparently used racial and ethnic slurs in addressing the Indians.  Even worse, they did not detain workers of other nationalities who did not have their immigration documents with them.  While in detention, INS workers offered them only beef tacos while clearly indicating their awareness that the Hindu detainees were vegetarian.

The INS is clearly not pleased with the results of the raid, and has withdrawn control of the case from the San Antonio office responsible for the raid, and transferred it to Dallas. The agency’s actions have also prompted statements from both the State Department and President Clinton.  The administration has expressed its “deep regret” over the incident, and the Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia has apologized to the Indian Ambassador for the INS’s treatment of the Indian nationals.  Both the State Department and the Indian Ambassador have requested a report from the INS about the incident.