According to the Central Bank of Guatemala, remittances from the US have more than doubled during the first eight months of 2002. During the same period last year, the amount remitted totaled $398.7 million. So far this year, $944.4 million has been transferred from the US to Guatemala. Remittances were the largest source of income for Guatemala. Approximately 1.2 million Guatemalans live in the US.
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Immigration advocates in Seattle were recently disappointed with the news that Anna Ho, an immigration judge in the city, will not be transferred to San Francisco, as had widely been expected. The Executive Office for Immigration Review, the agency of which immigration judges are part, had requested the transfer, but it was stopped by Chief Immigration Judge Michael Creppy. In addition to being criticized by attorneys, Ho was criticized by the Ninth Circuit for her handling of asylum cases. She is one of three immigration judges in Seattle.
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The INS recently announced that it would not attempt to deport Vasily Ryjov, a citizen of Russia and widow of a victim of the September 11th terrorist attacks. His wife, Tatiana Ryjov, had won the diversity visa lottery just before the attacks, and when her husband applied for adjustment of status, his application was rejected. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) interceded on behalf of Ryjov, who has two US citizen children
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A group of 29 Haitians who arrived in the US last December and have been in INS detention since then have dropped their asylum applications, according to INS officials. This paves the way for their deportation. The lengthy detention of Haitians who arrived late last year received widespread attention and criticism, with advocates pointing out that people of other nationalities were not automatically detained as the Haitians were. Spokespeople for the Haitians say that while they fear returning to Haiti, even that will be better than indefinite INS detention.
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The mayor of a small Maine town recently created a stir when he issued a public letter asking Somali immigrants to stop moving to Lewiston. Over the past two years, the Somali population in the town of 35,000 has grown from zero to about 1,500. Saying that the town’s infrastructure cannot handle any addition residents, Mayor Laurier Raymond asked leaders of the Somali community to “exercise discipline.” The situation is likely to be repeated in small towns across the US as immigrants move to places that have never before experienced immigration.
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The State Department recently told the American Immigration Lawyers Association that the consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, would stop processing nonimmigrant visas for people who are not citizens of Mexico. The consulate in Ciudad Juarez was one of the most popular for third country nationals to obtain visas. The State Department gives two reasons for the change. First, the consulate is under tremendous pressure to process about 250,000 V visa applications. Second, 15 of the 38 visa processing positions at the consulate are currently vacant. The consulate will continue to process visas for third country nationals who are residents of Mexico, and for those Mexican nationals who live in the El Paso area and work in Ciudad Juarez.
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Despite pleas from advocacy groups, President Bush declined to raise the fiscal year 2003 refugee quota from 70,000, the number proposed a few weeks ago. Many had hoped that more refugees would be admitted this year because increased security measures last year meant fewer than 30,000 refugees were admitted. The 70,000 admission slots are allocated as follows: Africa – 20,000; former Soviet Union – 14,000; Near East and South Asia – 7,000; East Asia – 4,000; Eastern Europe – 2,500; Latin America – 2,500, with 20,000 slots to be made available as needed.
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