A new, more modern Tecate port of entry was recently opened in eastern San Diego County.  The new facility has five times more space than the old and has technology tools such as license plate readers, radiation portal monitors and gamma ray inspections systems that will provide better border security.  The improvements are the result of a continuing three-year, $18.8 million construction project.  The facility was originally built in 1993.   

***** 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that beginning March 1, 2005, travelers to the United States will receive a newly designed admission stamp in their passport. The new stamp was designed with special security features that make it harder for counterfeiters to alter travel documents.   The stamp will no longer indicate the admitting agency as U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Instead the new stamp states “Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection” signifying the merger of portions of the INS, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Border Patrol and the U.S. Customs Service into one agency. In addition to the new stamp design, travelers will also notice the color of the ink has been changed from its former orange/rust color to that of Red and Blue. According to a press release, the two-color approach was also employed to thwart counterfeiting.  

The new admission stamp and security ink was successfully tested at the JFK International Airport in New York beginning on January 1, 2005. Upon the completion of that trial period on February 28th, the remaining ports of entry began using the new stamp and ink. 

***** 

A new I-864P became effective on March 22nd and the previous 2004 edition may be used only through 3/31/05.  This form is used to determine the minimum income requirement needed to complete Form I-864, Affidavit of Support under Section 213A of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This form does not need to be filed. It is used only for assistance in completing Form I-864.   

Last week the Office of Immigration Statistics revamped its website and has a new web address.  It is http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/statistics/index.htm. 

***** 

The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) concluded last week that an H-1B could be extended for the number of days the individual was shown to have been outside the country.  This was a non-precedent decision and can be found on AILA’s website, www.aila.org. The case is highly important as it will support applicants seeking to gain time beyond their six year limits based on the accumulation of days spent outside the US during the H-1B period.  

*****

According to a fact sheet recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tuberculosis rates rose in 17 states, and states with large numbers of recent immigrants, including New York, New Jersey, Florida and California, accounted for most new cases.  Infection rates for Asians were 20 times as great as those of whites, and rates for blacks and Hispanics were 8 times as great as those of whites, according to the report.   

A tuberculosis specialist, Dr. Kenneth Castro, told the New York Times that the high rates for Asians are a reflection of trends in the country of origin.  China and India have the most cases in the world and there are relatively high rates in Vietnam and the Philippines.  Comparatively, the higher rates for Hispanics and blacks reflect a combination of high rates in Mexico and the disproportionate rate of incarceration, homelessness and drug abuse among those populations, according to Castro. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fact sheet is online at: http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/ressrel/fs050317.htm.

***** 

In February, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Real ID Act, a proposal endorsed by Bush that effectively denies undocumented immigrants the right to obtain driver’s licenses.  If the bill passes, it would also clear the way for construction of an expanded border wall near San Diego.   

The 10-foot-tall primary fence made of welded steel was completed in 1993 along a 14-mile section of the border from the Pacific Ocean to the Otay border crossing.  The final segment of fencing whose funding depends on the passage of REAL ID, along with a chain-link fence running parallel to new perimeter roads, is only 3.5 miles long and is the last segment of a 14-foot-tall secondary fence about 130 feet north of the existing fence.  According to United Press International, some border state politicians have insisted that the United States continue with its fencing planes, claiming that the walled surveillance zones with motion sensors and bright lights like the one in San Diego are critical to the nation’s effort to prevent terrorists, drug smugglers and undocumented immigrants from crossing on to the U.S. soil. 

***** 

A recent study by the Pew Hispanic Center found that more than 6 million undocumented immigrant Mexicans now live in the United States, making up more than half of the nation’s nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants.  The report found that undocumented immigrants have dispersed far more widely than 15 years ago, with nearly 40 percent now living outside of the six states that traditionally have attracted the most immigrants.  The states attracting the most immigrants are California, Texas, Florida, New York, Arizona, Illinois and New Jersey, in that order.  The Pew Hispanic Center report is online at http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/44.pdf.