The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Commerce held a joint press conference last week to announce a number of steps the Bush Administration is taking that the White House believes will result in improved border and interior immigration enforcement, streamlined guest worker programs, improved overall immigration processing and more assimilation of new immigrants. Critics believe that many of the changes – particularly the social security no match rule - could have a profoundly negative effect on the US economy and create social chaos across the country. The most important change for businesses is likely the social security no match letter which will be covered in more detail in a separate memorandum to file. Here is a quick overview of the announced changes.

Border Security

The White House announced the following border security benchmarks to be achieved by the end of 2008:

- 18,300 Border Patrol Agents (with an additional 1,700 to be added in 2009)

- 370 miles of fencing

- 300 miles of vehicle barriers

- 105 camera and radar towers

- Three additional unmanned aerial vehicles to patrol the borders with an additional one to be added in 2009

All illegal border crossers from countries other than Mexico will be returned to the border and removed from the country (continuing the policy of no "catch and release" of such intending immigrants).

Funding for detention bed space will increase in order to allow for holding 31,500 illegally present immigrants. The White House also said it will continue to work with "recalcitrant" countries to repatriate citizens of those countries.

DHS will expand the list of dangerous organized gangs from other countries whose members are barred from entering the US .

DHS will implement exit tracking under the US-VISIT program at all airports and seaports by the end of 2008. And DHS will establish a new pilot-basis land-border exit system for guest workers.

A phased-in requirement that passports be used for travel in to Canada and other countries in the region will be retained and starting January 31, 2008, DHS will phase in a requirement for passports to be used at all sea and land ports of entry. Passports have been required at airports since January 2007 (though backlogs in passport processing have resulted in some exceptions being permitted).

Beginning this autumn, the Homeland Security Secretary will deliver a "State of the Border" annual report advising on efforts to secure the border.

Interior Enforcement

The White House is training hundreds of state and local law enforcement officers to assist in immigration enforcement under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

By the fall, USICE expects to have increased by five times the number of ICE enforcement teams devoted to removing fugitive aliens.

The Justice Department will issue a rule holding that aliens in voluntary departure status who file motions to reopen their cases will have their voluntary departure status terminated and make the alien subject to the order of removal and subject to a new $3000 civil penalty for failing to comply with a voluntary departure agreement.

Worksite Enforcement

ICE is releasing the long awaited "no-match" regulation (see separate summary on this new rule). Employers will have 90 days to resolve no match letters involving mismatched social security numbers and worker names.

DHS will publish a new rule in the coming months that will cut down the number of acceptable documents for I-9 purposes.

Civil fines for knowingly hiring illegally present immigrants will be increased by 25%. The number of criminal investigations will be increased as well. The White House noted that the number of prosecutions have increased from 24 in 1999 to 716 in the most recent fiscal year.

DHS will begin a rulemaking process to require federal contractors to participate in the Basic Pilot electronic verification system. DHS will also help states that are now requiring the use of the system for their states’ employers. Data sources used in the system will be expanded to fight identity theft and DHS will seek to partner with states that volunteer to share photographs in their department of motor vehicle databases.

Guest Worker Program Changes

The White House has directed DHS to look at the H-2A agricultural worker program to find ways to provide farmers with an "orderly and timely flow of legal workers, while protecting the rights of laborers."

The H-2B program will be converted to an attestation system akin to the PERM program for green cards. This is expected to dramatically speed up processing on H-2B cases.

TN visas for Canadians and Mexicans will now be granted in three year increments, the same as for H-1Bs.

DHS and DOL are being directed to study and report on further administrative reforms to visa programs for highly skilled workers.

Improving Existing Immigration

The White House will reform and expedite the background check process by investing substantial new funds to address the backlog and to work on new projects to streamline the system to reduce waiting times without sacrificing security.

DHS and the Social Security Administration will study ways to prevent workers from getting credit in social security for money paid in while out of status.

Assimilation

According to DHS, USCIS will begin using a new citizenship test starting next month that emphasizes "fundamental concepts in American democracy, basic US history and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship." The test will be standardized in order to deal with perceived disparities in the quality of testing between district offices.

USCIS’ Office of Citizenship will begin offering a web-based training program to help people prepare for the naturalization process. USCIS will also convene eight regional conferences aimed at training citizenship instructors and volunteers preparing people for the new examination and online training materials for instructors will also be provided.

Web-based English language training will also be available for the general public.