Dear Readers:

Immigration and the war on terrorism again made headlines this week when Canada announced that it is warning its citizens traveling to the US that our new security measures are discriminatory. Specifically, they have problems with the new special registration program where people born in certain countries have to be fingerprinted and photographed upon entry and have to check in periodically with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The Canadians raise a troubling question. On the one hand, American society is built on a foundation of fairness where people expect to be treated equally. On the other hand, if people with certain profiles are disproportionately found to be connected with terrorist activities, should our security concerns trump notions of fairness? Where do you draw lines?

I don't pretend to have the answers. But the Canadian warning does at least remind our governing officials that it is not just the immigration lawyers and Muslim community groups that are concerned about the direction of US immigration policy. I tend to give the benefit of the doubt to our government more often than many of my colleagues around the US, but I certainly am concerned that not enough input is being given from all parties affected. And I would like to think that in one of the most creative and technologically advanced societies on the planet we could come up with solutions that allow us to have meaningful security without necessarily trampling a range of civil liberties.

This week we also report on another story that made the front pages of newspapers across the country. More than 200 Haitians swam to shore in South Florida and were promptly rounded up and detained. Haitian advocates in Florida are asking the question why refugees from nearby Cuba are granted instant legal status when they arrive and Haitians are sent home. The issue may, in fact, factor into the Florida Gubernatorial race where Jeb Bush, the brother of the US President, is locked in a tight battle with Bill McBride. As background on the issue, we are re-running our ABCs of Immigration story on HRIFA, an amnesty bill geared toward certain Haitians in the US.

Speaking of elections, next Tuesday's House and Senate elections will no doubt play a crucial role in the immigration debate in Congress over the next few years. Issues like 245i, H-1B quota extensions, due process reform and more will be affected by which parties control the two houses of Congress. We'll report next week on the results and how the immigration debate will be impacted.

Finally, as always, we remind readers that we're lawyers who make our living representing immigration clients. We would love to discuss becoming your law firm. Just go to http://www.visalaw.com/intake.html to request an appointment or call us at 800-748-3819 or 901-682-6455.

Kind regards,