The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced this week that e-Passport readers are now in place at New York ’s JFK International Airport , Los Angeles International Airport , Washington D.C. International Airport, and Newark Liberty International Airport .  The implementation of these e-Passport reader stations will continue at U.S. airports for the next few weeks.  This implementation is to meet an October 26, 2006 deadline requiring that " U.S. ports of entry have the capability to compare and authenticate data in e-Passports issued by Visa Waiver Program countries," according to a DHS press release.  

The e-Passport is intended to securely identify an individual, protect their privacy, and protect them from identity theft.  DHS created the program as an effort to curb illegal entry into the United States using fraudulent documentation.  When applying to enter the United States , foreigners who have a valid passport with a digital photograph do not need to obtain a new e-Passport until their current passport expires, if the passport was issued before October 26, 2006.  

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A class action suit has been filed against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on the grounds that the DHS has refused to follow the precedent decision of the Ninth Circuit in Perez-Gonzalez v. Ashcroft.  The Ninth Circuit court held that individuals who have been removed from the U.S. may apply for adjustment of status with a I-212 waiver application.  

Northwest Immigrants Right Project, the American Immigration Law Foundation, and Van DerHout, Brigagliano & Nightingale, LLB have brought the class action suit against the DHS.  The case, Duran Gonzalez v. U.S. Dept of Homeland Security, C-06-1422, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington on Thursday, September 28, 2006.  

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Immigrants have received five of this year’s 25 prestigious MacArthur Fellowships, which are awarded to talented individuals that exhibit exceptional creativity and promise.  All five of the foreign recipients were educated in schools in the United States .