Via press release, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (UCSIS) has announced the termination of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of Burundi .  The termination of status will take affect May 2, 2009.  After reviewing country conditions, USCIS determined that conditions in Burundi no longer support the TPS designation and are therefore terminating the designation.   

To allow sufficient time for eligible persons to re-register for the final 18 months of TPS for Burundi , the current Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) held by individuals who have been granted TPS are automatically extended through May 2, 2008.  For Burundi nationals to re-register for for TPS benefits, the 60-day re-registration period began on October 29, 2007, and will end on December 28, 2007.  Re-registration is limited to persons who have registered for TPS under the designation of Burundi and whose applications were granted or remain pending.  

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An expert panel appointed by the National Research Council published a report this month stressing the need for the federal government to create a commission to promote the free flow of scientific knowledge and research from other countries while balancing the threat from our enemies, The New York Times reports.  The report suggests the first step is for U.S. colleges to continue to bring in foreign science and engineering students.  "For more than 50 years," the report says, " U.S. research universities have welcomed and fostered the talents of both foreign-born and U.S. students in the service of national and economic security."  The panel warned that with fewer American students choosing careers in science and engineering, the American research effort cannot be sustained without a significant and steady infusion of foreign participants.  

However, the panel says that safeguards are needed to ensure that important research does not fall into the wrong hands.  It recommended the creation of a federal commission "to address ongoing shared concerns of the security and academic research communities," including export and visa policies and participation of foreigners in research.  Jacques Gansler of the University of Maryland , a former Pentagon official who is co-chairman of the committee, said research institutions have taken steps since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to address security concerns. "Both the security and scientific communities agree that losing our leading edge in science and technology is one of the greatest threats to national security," Dr. Gansler said.  

More information on the pane’s report is available from the National Research Council at http://sites.nationalacademies.org/nrc/index.htm.  

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The Bradenton Herald of Florida reports that immigration advocates descended upon the New College of Florida last week to protest an appearance by CNN’s Lou Dobbs, who visited the campus as part of a promotional tour for his new book.  Dobbs has become an outspoken opponent of legal and illegal immigration.  

Activists say his reporting is biased and incorrect when it comes to undocumented immigrants living in the United States .  "Lou Dobbs has been one of the instrumental factors in the propagation of hate and lies agains immigrants," said Jose Manuel Godinez Samperio, a protest organizer and New College student.  "We don’t want him in the community."  

"The things he says are pretty representative of the anti-immigration movement," Samperio said.  "The law isn’t that you have to be scared all the time and people have to oppress you."  

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Last week, Greg Siskind told a House Judiciary subcommittee that a board to review immigration visa applications denied at overseas U.S. consulates is "long overdue" and should be created.

The proposed board is part of the Save America Comprehensive Immigration Act that includes a path to citizenship for the 9 million to 20 million undocumented immigrants now in the country. It is one of several immigration-reform proposals pending in Congress.

Siskind was one of seven witnesses testifying about the bill introduced by Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-Texas.

He said the board, first recommended by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., in 1970, would bring fairness and oversight to the overseas visa application process and improve the image of the United States .

Because many consulates bar lawyers from representing their clients before State Department officials, a prospective immigrant may be asked legal questions that can lead to a denial, Siskind said. Currently, the ruling of a consular official denying a visa cannot be appealed.

The full text of Greg’s testimony can be found here.