Dear Readers:
Nine months on, the September 11th attacks still dominant immigration news. This week, the Bush Administration announced its intentions to move the INS into the new Department of Homeland Security. A separate plan circulating in Washington would leave INS benefits administration with the Department of Justice and the Bush Administration is said to be open to this change. In any case, expect massive changes and chaos that would follow such a move. Of course, whether the long-term benefits of such changes will be worth the inevitable transition problems remains to be seen.
According to Michigan Democratic Senator Carl Levin, more than 600 foreign nationals have been detained and placed in closed immigration proceedings since September 11th. The use of closed proceedings has been very controversial with many constitutional scholars questioning their legality.
The INS released statistics showing a massive 65% increase in naturalization applications since September 11th. But the increased scrutiny of applications since September 11th has actually caused a decline in the total number of applications actually adjudicated.
This week, we have many of our regular features including Legislative Update, Border News, News from the Courts and more. We also reintroduce a feature that has appeared in this publication over the last eight years. Election 2002 will discuss how immigration is figuring into the many Congressional races and state and local races around the US. In 2000, immigrants had a profound impact on voting patterns around the country. Will they have the same influence this year? Will anti-immigrant sentiments propel candidates to victory, resulting in tighter immigration rules? We’ll be exploring these issues as we move closer to the November elections.
I also wanted to publicly express my appreciation to Amy Ballentine who took charge last week in getting the newsletter produced while I was in Buenos Aires. Gilda Bollwerk of our Memphis office and me spent last week in Argentina. We began the week with a pair of seminars attended by more than 400 people. We then had appointments with a number of people at our new affiliate office in Buenos Aires. We’re looking forward to returning to Buenos Aires in a few months.
As we note each week, there are various ways you can communicate with us if you have questions:
– email at gsiskind@visalaw.com
– if you need a telephone or in person consultation go to http://visalaw.wpengine.com/intake.html or call 800-748-3819 or 901-737-3194 and request an appointment
– online individual chats (go to http://visalaw.wpengine.com/chatlive.htm)
– weekly group chats at Monster.com
Many people also do not realize that our law firm is typically capable of handling immigration matters anywhere in North America so please don’t assume that just because we don’t have an office in your home town we can’t handle your work.
Hope you have a great weekend,
Greg Siskind
Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk. The information provided in this article has not been updated since its original posting and you should not rely on it until you consult counsel to determine if the content is still valid. We keep older articles online because it helps in the understanding of the development of immigration law.