Boycott forces ClearHealth to relocate

The Arizona Republic reports that the medical company ClearHealth, which operates medical facilities in Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland, and Boston, will move its headquarters from Chandler, AZ to Las Vegas, NV because it faced losing clients in the boycott of Arizona.  David Uhlman, CEO of ClearHealth said he was competing for business in the Bay Area when an unidentified company told him its board of directors would not approve a contract with an Arizona-based company.  Although Uhlman and his company have maintained a neutral stance on SB 1017, he claims potential financial losses due to the boycott represented 30 to 40 percent of ClearHealth’s business and it could not continue to be based in Arizona.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/2010/08/01/20100801bizboycott-forces-clearhealth-to-relocate-0802.html

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Virginia legal opinion supports check of immigration status

The Washington Post reports that Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II issued a legal opinion authorizing law enforcement to check the immigration status of anyone stopped by police officers.  The opinion was written in response to a letter written by Del. Bob Marshall of the Virginia House of Delegates asking Governor Bob McDonnell to issue an executive order that authorizes police to check an individual’s immigration status when they make a stop.  Marshall modeled his request to the governor after a 2008 executive order by Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri calling for law enforcement officials to verify the immigration status of all non-citizens taken into custody or under investigation for any crime. 

Cuccinelli’s opinion differentiated between criminal violations of immigration law, such as crossing the border, and violations of civil immigration statutes, such as overstaying visas.  In his opinion, law enforcement officials can arrest an individual in violation of criminal law but not those having violated a civil statute.  He stressed that as long as officers have ‘the requisite level of suspicion,’ they may detain and question a person they suspect has committed a federal crime.  However, Cuccinelli hopes to avoid legal trouble for his state by not mandating the police force to perform the checks.

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Mexican guest workers, laid off, want BP’s help

The New York Times reports that five Mexican housekeepers who worked at the Ramada Plaza Beach Resort in Fort Walton Beach, FL have lost their jobs as a result of the hotel’s decline in business due to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and are seeking compensation from BP.  The oil spill has been especially detrimental for guest workers because under their H-2B visas, they can only work for the employer who arranged their visa and must leave the United States within 10 days of losing their job.

Saket Soni, executive director of the Alliance of Guestworkers for Dignity, is helping the laid-off housekeepers file claims with BP.  The alliance has filed a petition with the Labor Department, requesting that it issue a formal policy directing employers in the spill zone to pay guest workers their full wages due under contract as well as transportation costs for their trip home.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/06/us/06guest.html

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U.S. suspends new adoptions in Nepal

The Agence France-Presse reports that the United Stats has suspended adoptions of Nepalese children.  The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the State Department announced that they would ‘suspend adjudication of new adoptions petitions and related visa issuances for children’ listed as abandoned.  They cited serious flaws in determining whether the children had been abandoned, including examples of altered birth certificates.  Nepalese police and orphanage officials also complicated efforts by refusing to help confirm orphanage records.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jd4fgbFaPSLgZ0lcDMx6_z4MCLJw

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