Dear Readers:

The big immigration news this week is the extension of the US VISIT program to Visa Waiver country nationals. The timing of the change is interesting. While many have complained that making the entry process to arduous for visitors to the US will hurt our tourism industry, there has been a push to extend the digital fingerprinting and photographing to all nationals and not just people requiring a visa. This has largely been tied to a nagging fear that terrorists would use the Visa Waiver program to more easily enter the US. After the March 11^th attacks in Spain, it is less likely that American allies in Europe will be as opposed to this type of measure and there is an indication that other countries may even be planning similar systems for themselves. Personally, I am not opposed to the system if it can be implemented in a way that minimizes the disruptions in the processing of visitors at ports of entry. Taking a digital fingerprint and photo takes just a few seconds so this should not cause delays if the training and equipment are in place. And I’d rather have these types of measures in place than simply closing our borders.

I had the pleasure this week to watch the three night PBS miniseries "The New Americans." The documentary follows five groups of immigrants from the point when they are leaving for the United States through their first few years in this country. As an immigration lawyer, I obviously have more exposure to the immigrant experience than most Americans. Yet I still found the series eye opening. PBS tracked a variety of people and the differences and similarities in their stories tell a lot about immigration in America today.

The groups tracked included several Ogoni refugees from Nigeria, Dominican baseball players trying to make it into the Major League, an Indian technology worker and his family, Mexican farm workers and a Palestinian woman who came to the US to be with her US-born Palestinian-American husband.

The common theme interwoven throughout the documentary was the psychological hardship that each of the families must face. That included being far away from loved ones in other countries especially during a family crisis. That included facing grave financial crises. That included trying to maintain legal status in the US when the laws are frequently unclear and unforgiving. The hardships also included trying to adapt to being in a new homeland while maintaining ties to one's homeland.

What I think I found most interesting was the fact that the filmmakers made a point of tracking the families for several years. After a short time, people become so comfortable with the cameras that you get the sense that they are paying very little attention anymore. And the honesty with which their lives are portrayed seemed more telling than any of the so-called reality shows airing on the major networks.

Little was sugar coated and the happy endings you might expect - family overcomes adversity and lives the American dream - did not always materialize. For example, Anjan, the Indian computer programmer, comes to the US just as the tech bubble is bursting and finds himself losing his job - and his immigration status - just as he learns his wife is pregnant with their first child. The strain on the couple's marriage is telling and when they return to India, it is with a terrible sadness at failing to make a success of their time in the US. Naima, the Palestinian woman, is torn between trying to live a quiet life in the US free from the raw emotion of the Arab-Israeli conflict. She works in a Jewish pre-school while her American husband is becoming a rising leader in an Arab political organization that is deeply involved in protesting Israeli policies in the region. The extremely frank dialogs between Palestinians in the documentary probably were some of the most interesting discussions I have ever seen on television concerning the conflict.

While immigrants can presumably relate to the stories presented in the series, the folks that one really wishes would have tuned in are the Lou Dobbs and others out there who have attempted to de-humanize immigrants in America and portray them as being criminals out to break our laws and steal our jobs. I doubt that people who buy into this are likely to be watching PBS and so I am somewhat pessimistic that the series will really have a big impact on the public debate. But I congratulate PBS and the series producers for bringing these stories to the American people. I also encourage you to visit the web site for the series at http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/newamericans/newamericans.html and to consider buying the videotapes of the series.

It’s great having now practiced several years and knowing many of the best immigration lawyers in the country. It’s even better seeing lawyers that started out around the same time I did in immigration law who are now becoming stars in this field. One such person is Margaret Stock. I met Margaret in the early 90s at an annual meeting of the American Immigration Law Association. She and I both were running our own immigration law offices in less traditional markets – Margaret in Anchorage, Alaska and me in Nashville, Tennessee. A few years ago, Margaret left Alaska to become a professor at West Point, the country’s premiere military university. She is now one of the top experts on immigration and national security issues as well as immigration and the military. This week I has the pleasure of watching Margaret testify in front of the Immigration Subcommittee of the US Senate. Margaret ably argued that solid intelligence building is probably more effective in fighting terrorism than making immigration virtually impossible.

Finally, as always, we remind readers that we're lawyers who make our living representing immigration clients and employers seeking to comply with immigration laws. We would love to discuss becoming your law firm. Just go to http://www.visalaw.com/intake.html to request an appointment or call us at 800-748-3819 or 901-682-6455.

Regards,

Greg Siskind