As a result of congressional redistricting, two Pennsylvania congressmen are running against each other this year. Rep. Tim Holden (D-PA), who currently represents the state’s 6th district, and Rep. George Gekas (R-PA), who currently represents the state’s 17th district and is the Chair of the House Immigration Subcommittee, are running against each other. As chair of the immigration subcommittee, Rep. Gekas has not been very responsive to the concerns of immigrant advocates, including most recently limiting an extension of the Conrad State 20 program from four years to two years. Rep. Holden voted in favor of a section 245(i) extension. And in other election news, Carlos Nolla, a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, is running for the House of Representatives in the Fourth District of Kansas.
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Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado has introduced a private bill that would grant permanent residency to Jesus Apodaca and his family. Apodaca, who had been accepted to the University of Colorado but could not attend because as an undocumented immigrant he would have to pay out of state tuition, was targeted for deportation by Rep. Tom Tancredo, also of Colorado, after talking about his problems with the Denver Post. One fact that makes this so interesting is that both Campbell and Tancredo are Republicans, and their disagreement here shows very obviously a deep divide within the Republican Party on immigration issues.
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The Bush administration recently announced that undocumented immigrants will be covered under a rule allowing states to extend government health care to developing fetuses. This is perhaps the first time that undocumented immigrants have been able to receive any form of government-sponsored health insurance. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson described the move as benefiting fetuses who will one day be US citizens, adding that providing prenatal care dramatically lowers health costs after birth.
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The US has again added a country the nationals of which are subject to special immigration registration requirements. Now, in addition to nationals of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Yemen, Egyptians will also be included in the program. This information comes from the US Embassy in Cairo, not the INS.
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Last week, a federal grand jury indicted Samuel Kooritzky on 38 counts of conspiracy, fraud, making false statements and money laundering. Kooritzky is accused of filing as many as 2,700 fraudulent applications for labor certifications. The applications purported to be filed on behalf of restaurants in northern Virginia, but none of the establishments listed as employers had any idea of the scheme. According to prosecutors, Kooritzky charged immigrants as much as $30,000 for her services, making more than $11 million and perhaps as much as $21 million. Officials do not think that any of the immigrants involved realized that the applications were not authentic. Last month, Kooritzky’s partner, Ronald Bogardus, pled guilty and faces up to 10 years in prison.
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This week nationals of Liberia were again granted Temporary Protected Status, which allows them to live and work in the US without fear of deportation as long as TPS lasts. Liberians were initially granted TPS in 1991, and when it expired in 1999, they were given a different type of relief called deferred enforced departure. This relief expired on September 29, 2002. Because the situation in Liberia, which continues to be plagues by civil violence, has not improved, the government has reauthorized TPS.
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A San Diego man recently pled guilty to charges of grand theft stemming from his impersonation of an immigration attorney. Tony DeLorenzo conned at least three people, posing as an attorney and promising to legalize their status, and in fact, doing nothing for them but taking their money. He faces up to a year in prison, which could be reduced if he makes restitution to the victims.
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Advocates for Haitian citizens who have been in detention in the US since last December finally got a chance to present their arguments before Congress this week. Many members of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee expressed shock and anger upon learning the specifics of the detention. Making advocates hopeful Congress might step in and stop the automatic detention of Haitian asylum seekers was the broad agreement on the issue from members across the political spectrum. The Bush administration had long denied that it had a special policy just for Haitians, but now describes it as a necessary national security measure.
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