Dear Readers:  

This week I am largely setting aside for advocacy work and I recommend my colleagues around the country consider the same. I start my week at a board meeting of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society in New York City . HIAS is working on a number of legislative issues including reauthorizing the Lautenberg refugee program for Indochinese and Eastern European refugees. They also are focusing on soling programs relating to “material support” provisions that unjustly keep many from qualifying for refugee status, the need to extend SSI benefits for refugees who have been unable to complete citizenship application processing as well as the overall need for comprehensive immigration reform.  

On Tuesday, I’ll visit a local family and children’s aide agency in Springfield , Massachusetts which has a model refugee process program that hopes to lean from and potentially use to help other affiliate agencies interested in expanding refugee services.  

From Massachusetts I’m off to Washington , D.C. for lobby days for two organizations in which I am very involved. Members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association go to Capitol Hill on Thursday to push for immigration reform. Then I’m back to Capitol Hill on Friday to work on physician immigration issues on behalf of the National Health Care Access Coalition.  

And some time this week I’m expecting the Senate to introduce it’s immigration reform bill. As I did last year, I expect to quickly produce a section by section summary of the legislation. The challenge will be getting this task accomplished while on the road, but I’ll give it my best.  

I’m also planning something new this year. I hope to have record podcasts giving my web site visitors the play-by-play of what’s happening in Congress. I’ll also be live blogging as the bills begin mark up in both Houses. We fully expect Visalaw.com to be THE place members of the public can go to for information on what’s happening.  

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In firm news, I’m back in the news for challenging Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn on the wisdom of her efforts to bar banks from offering debit cards to those without Social Security Numbers. Blackburn has made national news on this issue and has introduced a bill in Congress to bar the practice. Bank of America is offering such cards on a pilot basis in California . Blackburn has argued that this ban is needed to “secure” the financial system of the US . I am arguing that the real purpose is to punish undocumented immigrants and she should be honest about that goal. Furthermore, these little “controversies” only tend to prove the point of why we need serious immigration reform legislation rather than focusing on punishing our banks, our employers, our churches and others who see to lend immigrants a helping hand.  

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Finally, as always, if you are interested in becoming a Siskind Susser Bland client, please feel welcome to email me at gsiskind@visalaw.com or contact us at 800-748-3819 to arrange for a telephone or in person consultation with one of our lawyers.

Kind regards,

Greg Siskind

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