USA Green Card Immigration Blog

The Associated Press: AP Interview: Leader has back-up immigration plan.

The head of the nation’s leading Latino legal advocacy group said if comprehensive immigration legislation seems unlikely in 2010, Congress should make down payments by passing smaller-scale reforms.

In an interview with The Associated Press Friday, Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said he fully expects work on rewriting immigration law to begin in Congress next year.

But if Democratic leaders delay, because of elections and a hostile political climate for immigrants, Congress should take up the issue gradually and in smaller ways, Saenz said. Lawmakers could address the need for foreign agricultural workers, provide legal status to high school graduates brought to the country illegally as children, and create equity for same sex partners who want to come to the U.S. or get green cards.

“As of right now, I have not been convinced that comprehensive immigration reform cannot move in 2010, so it needs to move. It needs to include all of these elements and many more,” Saenz said. “If that is not possible, then I’m interested in discussing this idea of down payments with a commitment to fulfill the obligation through comprehensive immigration reform that is not postponed indefinitely.”

Previously, immigration advocates have been reluctant to address immigration reform piecemeal to keep the various interest groups united on difficult issues, such as legalizing millions of people who are in the country illegally.

Immigration officials consider more fee increases — latimes.com.

Immigrant rights groups fear that further fee hikes would cut many out of the citizenship application process. The immigration agency, which must be self-supporting, faces a $118-million shortfall.

U.S. immigration officials are considering another possible round of fee increases and budget cuts next year, prompting concern among immigrant rights groups.

Alejandro Mayorkas, the new director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said during a visit to Los Angeles on Wednesday that “financial challenges” have caused the agency to consider potential fee increases but no decision has been made.

The agency is facing a $118-million revenue shortfall this year in part because applications for citizenship and skilled worker visas are below projections, according to officials.

Citizenship applications plunged to 58,000 last year from 254,000 the previous year in the Southern California district. Most experts blame the decline on a fee increase of 69% to $675 in 2007.

But immigration officials said the agency is required by law to be self-supporting and that the fee increase was required because a special congressional appropriation to help reduce application backlogs had run out.

To help close the shortfall, Mayorkas said, the agency has requested $206 million from Congress.

“It is financially responsible to examine all of the options that are available . . . as the agency confronts financial challenges,” Mayorkas said.

Immigrant advocates said, however, that any additional fee increase would severely hamper legal immigrants from pursuing citizenship.

“Right now the high cost of citizenship is putting the dream of naturalization out of reach of low- and moderate-income legal permanent residents, and any future increase will just make the situation worse,” said Rosalind Gold of the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund in Los Angeles.

Immigration reform needs real debate.

A major problem in this country is a lack of Immigration reform. We as Americans have benefited from immigration from the inception of this country. We need to continue to use immigration for the benefit of American Citizens. Yes, there is a way that we as Americans can benefit without the fear of losing jobs.

Jobs are available but we as Americans cannot obtain them because of one reason or another but not because of the illegal immigrants. Most of the time, young Americans cannot find a job because of their criminal record. Many young people cannot get a job because of the stringent requirements that U.S. Corporations are demanding on new recruits and the inability of young people to clear their records after they have paid the price to society.

Until we understand that Immigration will benefit us as Americans our U.S. economy will continue to be affected. Since Immigration officials began deporting Mexican illegal immigrants, our economy has gone down and will continue to go down. Immigration should have been Obama’s first move and then plenty of tax money would be available to further help the Medical Insurance Reform.

Commentary: Denying health care to immigrants would be harmful to America | McClatchy.

SAN DIEGO – Barring immigrants, irrespective of their status, from purchasing health insurance through whatever plan Congress legislates only endangers the health and the economy of the entire United States. As recognized by numerous international treaties and accords, and any number of sovereign states, access to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health is a basic human right. Good health is essential to a person’s ability to participate in his or her community. A community’s failure to provide adequate preventive or curative medical care poisons its workplaces, schools and the social fabric of daily life. In short, a successful society demands the good health of its citizens.

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