Angry that Governor Gray Davis vetoed a bill that would have allowed some undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, the Democratic Latino caucus of the legislature has announced that it will not formally endorse Davis in his bid for reelection.
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A former assistant director of the INS office in San Francisco was recently sentenced to six months in a halfway house and six months of home detention following his conviction of charges of defrauding undocumented immigrants. Ruben Banda was also sentenced to four years on probation, and will have to make restitution to eight victims.
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A pair of conflicting actions by the INS has resulted in the separation of a Sudanese family. The family, a mother and her four children, came to the US seeking asylum. The family was separated, with the mother, Eibtisam, and her six-year-old daughter, were detained in Pennsylvania, while the other children were allowed to live with family members in Colorado. The children in Colorado were granted asylum, while their mother and sister were denied. Before they could appeal the denial of an appeal by the Board of Immigration Appeals, the INS had deported the mother and daughter. A judge ordered the INS to stop the deportation, but it was too late. Family members say Eibtisam is a well-known political activist and faces serious threats in Sudan. Many observers say the outcome in this case is a result of new rules governing BIA procedures. In this case, only one BIA member denied the appeal. In the past, such appeals were heard by three judge panels.
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This week Senators Edward Kennedy, Democrat from Massachusetts, and Orrin Hatch, Republican from Utah, joined together in calling on President Bush to increase the recently proposed annual refugee limit. Bush recently announced his support for a limit of 70,000 refugees during fiscal year 2003. Many say this number is far too low, especially since heightened security checks kept 2002 admissions to about 27,000.
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This week activists presented one million postcards calling on Congress and President Bush to provide for the legalization of undocumented immigrants. The postcards were presented at a rally intended to make immigration an issue in next month’s elections. Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-MO), who attended the rally, said he would introduce legislation that would create a legalization program. However, he did caution that such legislation was unlikely to be considered before the election. Many observers feel that given current attitudes toward immigration, anything that can be cast as an amnesty will fail.
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The Labor Department this week issued a decision finding that Sun Microsystems, Inc. did not fully comply with regulations governing the H-1B visa program. The Department began investigating Sun after a former employee filed a complaint alleging that Sun discriminated against US workers in favor of H-1B visa holders. According to the decision, while Sun failed to make the required posting notices, the failure was not willful. Sun will be required to make the postings, but will not be subject to any fine or other penalties. < Back | Next > | 
