NEWS BYTES The US has provided an additional $2 million in funding to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to deal with the problem of 2.5 million people that have been displaced because of the ongoing civil war in Angola.
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At the most recent liaison meeting between the Texas Service Center and the American Immigration Lawyers Association and an interesting fact about the expiration of the Visa Waiver Pilot Program was revealed. Ordinarily people who enter on the VWPP are not eligible to change to any other status in the US. However, since the program expired a few months ago, visitors who are otherwise eligible for admission on the VWPP are being paroled into the US. As such they are eligible to change status, including applications for adjustment of status. In related news, the INS and the State Department have agreed to continue granting parole to VWPP eligible travelers until September 30. The Senate is expected to address the matter when they return to business after Labor Day.
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A teacher charged with smuggling boys into the US for sexual purposes has been sentenced to 27 months in prison. Michael Charles Smith pled guilty earlier this year to charges of harboring undocumented aliens and possession of child pornography in exchange for having the smuggling charge dropped. Smith is alleged to have been part of a larger group of people engaged in child sex and smuggling activities in the US and Mexico. An investigation is ongoing into other members of the group.
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We recently reported that the INS uncovered a scheme to knowingly use undocumented workers. See http://www.visalaw.com/00jul3/19jul300.html. Since then, complaints have surfaced about the way the INS treated the workers. According to the American Friends Service Committee, 40 INS agents forced 35 workers waiting for their paychecks to the ground at gunpoint, even though none of the workers offered any resistance.
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Volunteers have begun a program to supply water to undocumented migrants crossing the desert southwest. They have stored two one gallon jugs of water at 100 locations in the southern California deserts, marking each site with a 30 foot tall flagpole. The program was the idea of John Hunter, the brother of Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), who helped organize the program, and to secure federal government permission for the plan. Rep. Hunter has a long history of opposition to undocumented migration, but also believes that something should be done to prevent deaths in the harsh desert conditions.
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This week a federal judge revoked the citizenship of Theodor Szehinskyj, who the Justice Department accuses of participating in Nazi era persecution. Szehinskyj claimed to have spent the war as a slave laborer on a farm in Austria. However, the owner of the farm said, in videotaped testimony, that Szehinskyj left the farm to join the Waffen-SS. Szehinskyj now faces deportation proceedings.
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The family of the Bahraini princess who illegally came to the US to marry a Marine she fell in love with now says that while they would prefer her to come home, they will accept her decision to stay in the US. Nonetheless, Meriam Al Khalifa still faces deportation because she used military documents forged by her boyfriend to enter the US. She is seeking asylum on the grounds that she will face persecution in Bahrain for marrying a non-Muslim. A spokesman for Al Khalifa’s family said they while they forgive her, they will not accept her American husband.
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The Chief of Police in San Salvador has joined with activists and politicians in Los Angeles in protesting the deportation of Alex Sanchez, a citizen of El Salvador and former gang member. Since his gang days he had become active in community anti-gang programs, work his supporters say caused the Los Angeles Police Department to harass him. Sanchez is currently seeking a special visa available to those who work with the government in investigations. According to the Salvadoran police chief, who testified this week at Sanchez’ deportation hearing, he should not be deported because he faces a high probability of being murdered in El Salvador. < Back | Next > Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk. | 
