This week the INS issued an updated version of the address change form, AR-11. The new form is available on the INS website at http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/files/ar-11.pdf. There is also a new address to which the forms should be sent: Immigration and Naturalization Service, Change of Address, P.O. Box 7134, London, KY 40742-7134.

*********

A lawful permanent resident has filed suit against the Texas Department of Public Safety, claiming that the agency unlawfully seized his immigration papers and held them for more than three months, claiming they were fraudulent.  According to the lawyer representing Juan Pozo, the incident is part of a pattern of increased scrutiny of Hispanic applicants for driver’s licenses since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2002.

*********

This week began with Veterans Day, the annual commeration of the contributions of those who have served in the US military. Over the past few years, the military has become increasingly reliant on noncitizens to maintain a strong force. Today, about 31,000 of the 1.4 million military personnel are permanent residents.  An even higher percentage of Medal of Honor winners have been noncitizens – about one in every five of the 3,459 winners of the award, which recognizes exceptional bravery in combat. 

*********

This week the AFL-CIO, America’s largest labor union, announced that it had filed a complaint with the International Labor Organization to protest a Supreme Court decision significantly limiting the remedies available to undocumented workers who are the victim of unlawful employment practices.  According to the complaint, the decision in Hoffman Plastic Compounds v. National Labor Relations Board violates international treaties on the rights of workers by rewarding those employers who violate laws against employment of undocumented immigrants and by penalizing workers who exercise right to join a union, which is guaranteed both by US law and by international treaty.  It will likely be at least a year before the ILO hears the complaint, and even then the possible remedies are limited to a formal complaint to the US government.  A summary of the Supreme Court opinion is available at http://www.visalaw.com/02mar5/2mar502.html, and the opinion itself is available at http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/01pdf/00-1595.pdf.

*********

In the months since the September 11^th terrorist attacks, the US government has cracked down on noncitizens in a variety of ways. One of these ways has been to target immigrants who use money transfer services to send funds to family members outside the US. Many companies providing this service have been accused of providing funds to terrorists, and now those who seek to send money home must be checked against government lists of suspected terrorists. Many immigrants who use such transfer services are undocumented, and the new regulation of the industry will make many hesitant to continue sending money home.  Each year, immigrants in the US send about $30 billion to family members outside of the US.

*********

According to a recent survey by the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, the number of international students enrolled at US institutions of higher education has increased in the year since the September 11^th terrorist attacks, despite tighter visa scrutiny. The survey of 50 public universities shows that undergraduate enrollment increased by 1.4 percent, while enrollment of graduate students increased by 7.1 percent.  Despite the increase in enrollment, reports of lengthy delays in visa processing were widespread, as were problems with other government agencies, such as the Social Security Administration. 

*********

This week the US Senate approved the nomination of Tony Garza to be the new US Ambassador to Mexico.  During his confirmation Garza expressed hope that immigration reform talks between the US and Mexico would soon return to the level of prominence they had before the terrorist attacks. Garza also expressed support for an extension of Section 245(i). 

*********

Opponents of the new requirement that airport baggage screeners be US citizens won an important step in their court battle this week when a federal judge refused to throw the case out of court. The judge rejected both the government’s arguments – that the requirement was authorized as part of Congress’s control over immigration and that it was authorized because baggage screeners are comparable to police officers, who are legitimately required to be citizens.  Despite the ruling, because the new rule is set to go into effect nationwide next week, and most noncitizens are expected to lose their jobs. 

*********

This INS has suspended five employees as part of an internal investigation into how a man believed to have ties of the terrorist organization Hezbollah obtained US citizenship. According to unnamed INS sources, those suspended include the senior officer in charge of investigations in New York and a supervisor for cases involving suspected terrorists.  Officials say the investigation began last month after a joint FBI-New York City police terrorism task force noticed that a person they were investigating had been naturalized. 

*********

The United Nations High Commission on Refugees recently released its first annual report on the world refugee situation.  The report is available online at http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/template/+RwLFqv5BwBo5Boq5eUh5cTPeUzknwBoqeRzknw
Bo5Boqwce6lxxwGxddAeRyBDXWeRDlmqeIybnM.