6. News Bytes:
Students Hold Sit-In at Immigration Building in LA
The Associated Press reports that six illegally present students and their supporters were arrested in demonstrations at immigration offices in Los Angeles over the Secure Communities program. Youth activist Mohammad Abdollahi says five illegally present students and graduates held a sit-in Wednesday at the building where federal officers ready immigrants for deportation. Officers detained them and released them several hours later.
http://www.chron.com/news/article/Students-hold-sit-in-at-immigration-building-in-LA-2140168.php
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Clinic Rejects Immigrants after Impasse with Hospital
The New York Times reports that negotiations collapsed between Atlanta’s public hospital, Grady Memorial, and the world’s largest dialysis provider, Fresenius Medical Care, leaving twenty-two immigrants suffering from renal failure without treatment. The difficulties for the immigrants, most of whom are illegally present and ineligible for Medicare, began when Grady Memorial shut its outpatient dialysis clinic due to budget constraints. After intense public pressure, the hospital agreed to pay for the immigrants to receive treatment at Fresenius clinics, but after two years the contract expired and the two sides have been unable to negotiate an extension. Fresenius notified its patients that they would no longer be able to receive treatment at the clinics and instead would need to wait until their conditions deteriorated enough to justify life-saving care in an emergency room.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/02/health/02grady.html
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South Sudan: U.S. to Grant Citizens Protected Status for First Time
The Sudan Tribune reports that the Obama administration added the newly formed Republic of South Sudan to the list of countries included under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program. TPS is a temporary immigration status granted to nationals of designated countries as part of the US Immigration Act of 1990. During the period for which a country has been designated under the TPS program, the registrants are allowed to remain in the United States and obtain work authorization and may not be deported unless they commit certain crimes. TPS does not lead to permanent residence status in the US.
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?iframe&page=imprimable&id_article=40045
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Perry to New Hampshire Voters: No Border Fence
The New American reports that at a campaign stop in New Hampshire, presidential hopeful Rick Perry reaffirmed his opposition to a border fence. Perry quipped that building a 30 foot tall, 1,200 mile long fence would only boost the business for 35-foot ladders. Instead, he said he supported “strategic fencing” and National Guard troops to prevent illegal immigration and violence from Mexican drug cartels.
http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/8854-perry-to-granite-staters-no-border-fence
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New Regional Visa Center Goes Online
The Herald Bulletin (IN) reports that United States Citizenship and Immigration Services certified Energize-East Central Indiana’s efforts to create a new regional visa center. The center is part of a plan to bring more foreign investment dollars into Madison and other counties in east central Indiana. Rob Sparks, executive director of the Madison Country Corporation for Economic Development, said the center will allow foreign investors an easier path to U.S. citizenship through the EB-5 immigrant investor program. According to Sparks’ office, the center is in contact with two prospective investors who could bring approximately $500 million in capital investment and create more than 2,000 new jobs.
http://heraldbulletin.com/local/x601186741/New-regional-visa-center-goes-online
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US Delays Rule that Would Increase Wages for Migrant Workers at Seafood Plants
The Associated Press reports that the Department of Labor will delay implementation of visa changes that will increase wages for migrant workers at seafood processing plants. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) said in a statement that regulations for H-2B visa workers, set to take effect Oct. 1, have been delayed until Nov. 30. Mikulski said the wage rule would have raised the hourly wages of temporary foreign workers here on H-2B visas, leading to the loss of 1,000 jobs in Maryland’s seafood industry. She vowed to fight for a long-term solution to the issue.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/mikulski-says-us-delays-rule-that-would-increase-wages-for-migrant-works-at-seafood-plants/2011/09/22/gIQATLlMoK_story.html
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USCIS Announces Use of Fiscal Year 2011 Employment-Based Visa Allocations
U.S. citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that employment-based immigrant visas have been distributed for fiscal year 2011. Every fiscal year (October 1st – September 30th), USCIS offers at least 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas to qualified applicants. USCIS will continue accepting adjustment of status applications based on the September visa bulletin through the entire month of September.
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USCIS Transformation: December 2011 Deployment of the New Electronic System
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued an executive summary of the planned agency shift of all immigration services from a paper-based model to an electronic account-based model. The summary provides an overview for the shift and addresses concerns stakeholders raised about features and functions during a July 27, 2011 stakeholder engagement.
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