Florida officials recently announced that police officers in the state were being authorized to enforce federal immigration laws. The authorization comes under a pilot program, and will allow a 35 member Domestic Security Task Force to perform routine immigration enforcement. While the state says that it will focus on potential terrorists, many are concerned that undocumented immigrants, who have committed no crime other than unlawfully entering the US and working, will be targeted. A formal agreement should be signed in the next week, and if successful, the program could be expanded to other states.
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Officials in New York recently arrested a construction contractor accused of failing to pay thousands of dollars in wages owed to four undocumented immigrants. The move was hailed by immigrant advocates, who say that it could help reduce exploitation of people desperate for work. According to New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, more arrests of contractors should be expected.
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Internal INS memos obtained by the Baltimore Sun show that the agency is considering opening another investigation into the immigrant investor visa program. According to the memo, abused of the program raise “serious national security concerns.” The first investigation of the 12-year-old program concluded that 0 million had been illegally transferred into the US under the program, but did not investigate the sources of the money, or where it would ultimately end up. The memos come as Congress considers a bill that would allow people to bring their investments into compliance with program regulations.
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In the most recent INS embarrassment, the agency mistakenly deported a 70-year-old American citizen to the Dominican Republic. Deolinda Smith was deported last February, and she remains there, living in a nursing home. Smith was convicted of attempted manslaughter in 1997 and in 2001, released to a mental institution. Her attorney is working to set aside the deportation order, and the State Department is working on securing her return.
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A 22-year employee of the INS was recently indicted on charges of bribery and of selling immigration documents. Maria Chica, who was working as an information officer at the INS office in Los Angeles, is accused of stealing 22 green cards that were to be destroyed and selling them to an FBI informant. She faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
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A former consular officer in Guyana was recently sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison for selling hundreds of visas. When officials discovered Thomas P. Carroll’s scheme, the consulate was shut down for nearly two months and relations between the US and Guyana suffered. Officials say that they have not been able to locate any of the approximately 250 people who obtained visas from Carroll.
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INS officials are concerned that thousands of people eligible for Temporary Protected Status have not applied, even as a July 2 deadline for applying approaches. Only about 10,000 of an estimated 105,000 eligible citizens of Honduras and Nicaragua have applied to renew their status. Earlier this year, the government extended TPS until July 2003. TPS was initially granted after Hurricane Mitch hit Central America, to allow people in the US to work to support recovery efforts.
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The State Department recently announced that a new form will be used for J-1 visa waiver applications, as well as a fee increase from $ 136 to $ 230. The new form is available online at http://travel.state.gov/DS-3035.pdf.
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