6. News Bytes:
The Top Ten H-1B Visa Users in the U.S.
Computerworld reports that offshore outsourcing companies continued to make up the majority of the top ten H-1B visa users in 2011, according to new government data. In total, the new visa applications for the top ten users account for 22% of all the visas allowed by the U.S. each year. Eight of the top ten H-1b employers use offshoring business models.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9223745/The_top_10_H_1B_visa_users_in_the_U.S.
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Ron Paul Says Latinos Are Being Made “Scapegoats”
Politico (DC) reports that at a campaign stop in East Las Vegas, Ron Paul told about 100 Hispanics that they have been unfairly made “scapegoats” for the country’s economic troubles. “When things go badly, individuals look for scapegoats,” he said. “I just do not believe that barbed-wire fences or guns on our border will solve any of our problems,” he added. Paul was the only GOP presidential candidate to attend the event hosted by the nonpartisan group Hispanics in Politics. Paul called immigration a “complex issue” and stated that he felt the United States “should have a legal and generous immigration policy.” Paul’s message to Latino voters did have one notable rough patch in his opposition to the DREAM Act which would grant citizenship to some illegally present residents. He registered his objections with sympathy, explaining that he simply opposes spending federal money to help one minority group over another. “The DREAM Act was the only place where he was absolutely wrong,” said Fernando Romero, the president of the group that hosted the morning forum.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/72336.html
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Study Shows Alabama Immigration Law Costs $11 Billion
Politico (DC) reports that a cost-benefit analysis, conducted by economist Samuel Addy of the University of Alabama, determined that the estimated 40,000 to 80,000 unauthorized immigrant workers fleeing the state have resulted in 70,000 to 140,000 jobs lost and $2.3 to $10.8 billion reduction in Alabama’s GDP annually. The study’s conclusions were based on an examination of a wide range of costs that result from the law including its implementation, enforcement and litigation expenditures, costs derived from decrease in economic development opportunities, and reduced earning and spending from illegally present immigrants who have left the state.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/72308.html
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Obama Administration Eyeing Georgia’s Immigration Law
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that the Justice Department is reviewing Georgia’s tough new immigration law and is discussing it with businessmen and law enforcement officials, but it has not decided to sue to block the statue as it has in four other states, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Tony West said. West pointed out that the Obama administration is suing to block a similar law in Alabama and that both its law and Georgia’s statute are scheduled to come under review by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta at the end of February.
Chuck Kuck, a local immigration attorney who is fighting Georgia’s law in court, criticized the Justice Department’s decision to continue reviewing the law without filing suit saying, “once the 11th Circuit rules on this case there is no import in the federal government coming in.” On the subject of making a definitive decision about Georgia’s law, West added, “We still continue to have these conversations. I am not closing the door on anything at this point.”
http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/obama-administration-eying-georgias-1336827.html
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Alabama immigration Law May See Changes in Coming Weeks
Fox News Latino reports that Alabama lawmakers say they plan to propose changes to the state’s immigration law. House Majority Leader Micky Hammon, the sponsor of the immigration bill passed last year, said the new bill will not make major changes and is not aimed at softening the law. Parts of the law, such as a requirement for schools to track the immigration status of students, have been thrown out by the courts. Hammon said the courts have not finished reviewing the legislation and those provisions will not automatically be eliminated from the bill when making the changes.
An opponent of the immigration law, State Senator Billy Beasley (D), has pre-filed a bill to repeal it. Beasley acknowledged that he faces an uphill battle in Alabama’s Republican-controlled Legislature, but hopes some who voted for the passage last year will realize that the law is hurting the state. Sen. Beasley represents a mostly rural southeast Alabama district where farmers have complained the immigration law has stripped them of many workers they need to plant and harvest crops.
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/02/13/alabama-immigration-law-may-see-changes-in-coming-weeks/
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U.S. Department of State Issues Final Rule on L Visas
The U.S. Department of State issued a Final Rule permitting the issuance of L visas with validity periods based on the visa reciprocity schedule. Previously, L visas were limited to the petition validity period, which is determined by the Department of Homeland Security.
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