The federal government, via the Department of Justice, has made it clear.  Alabama will lose federal funding if law enforcement agencies violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  In a December 2,2011 letter to Alabama law enforcement agents, local police chiefs and sheriffs were warned to be very careful when enforcing this new immigration law.  If enforcing Alabama’s immigration law violates the Civil Rights Act, Alabama will lose federal money.

In effect, under Alabama’s new immigration law, law enforcement must check the immigration status of everyone pulled over during a routine traffic stop; if proof of legitimate immigration status cannot be immediately provided and the officer thinks the individual is not in the United States legally, the officer must make an arrest.

The LA Times reports two examples of inappropriate stops and false arrests of a German citizen and a Japanese citizen, both in the United States legally.

Ways Alabama May Lose Money because of the Strict Immigration Law

• ·         Lawsuits for false arrest and harassment
• ·         Sick time and paid leave for overwhelmed law enforcement officers
• ·         Loss of taxes and spending of those who have fled the state for fear of harassment
• ·         Loss of federal funding if Civil Rights Act of 1964 is violated
• ·         Loss of farming revenue because workers have fled the state and food is rotting in the fields
• ·         Loss of tourist income because damage to Alabama’s image

In fact, financial loss has already been felt by the state government; Alabama’s revenue commissioner has stopped county officials from asking for proof of legal immigration status from individuals who want to renew their car tags.

Don’t allow yourself or your loved ones to be bullied by state immigration laws such as Alabama’s new law.  If you need help with any immigration issue, consult with a qualified immigration attorney. 

Where to Get Help with Immigration Issues

We focus our practice on immigration law, current immigration policies, and helping people just like you, every day.  We will listen to your concerns and answer your questions; you are not alone.

If you have an immigration issue, your next step is to contact our office:  513-791-1673 or Thomasjr@geygan.com.  We will gently walk you through your immigration issues, guiding you and your family, and aggressively representing you before law enforcement officials, in court, and before the Department of State, as needed.

Immigration reform makes headlines nearly daily.  On May 11, 2011, the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, introduced the DREAM Act in the United States Senate.  The legislation seeks to address some of the 11 million undocumented persons currently in the United States.

• · What is the DREAM Act?

The DREAM Act would help undocumented college students and members of the military become U.S. citizens.  The Act only applies to those who were brought to the U.S. as young children illegally, through no fault of their own.

• · What is the rationale behind the DREAM Act?

The DREAM Act recognizes that the people who would benefit are fully Americanized, having gone to school in the U.S. and, perhaps, not even realizing that that they are not citizens until they apply for a college, a job, or a driver’s license.

By going to college and serving in the military, these people are bettering and contributing to the well-being of the United States.

• · What’s the status of the DREAM Act?

On June 28^th of 2011, Senator Dick Durbin led a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security hearing on the DREAM Act amnesty bill.  At the beginning of the hearing, Durbin stated, “When I look around this room, I see America’s future, our doctors, our teachers, our nurses, our engineers, our scientists, our soldiers, our congressmen, our senators, and maybe our president.”

• · Will the DREAM Act pass Congress and become law?

Only the future will tell if the DREAM Act becomes law.  It may be attached to other immigration measures such as the E-Verify measure which is the government’s social security number internet verification system.

The E-Verify measures have not yet become law and critics are concerned that there will be numerable false positives.  In other words, workers who are citizens may be turned down for work if their social security number is not verified.

There is also discussion that the DREAM Act may be attached to a military spending bill.

• Where to get help with your immigration issues

If you have immigration questions or concerns, be sure to consult with a qualified immigration attorney.  Immigration is a very specialized area of law; be sure your attorney focuses his or her practice on immigration law.

We focus our practice on immigration law and help people just like you.  You are not alone.

Your next step is to contact our office:  513-791-1673 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting  or Thomasjr@geygan.com.  We will analyze your case and legal opportunities as well as gently walk you through the immigration process.  In addition we explain immigration issues such as how to get a green card or become a citizen, represent you in front of the Department of State as needed, and aggressively fight for your legal rights.

Immigration Hot Topics in the News

Not a day passes without immigration issues in the news.  It’s a hot topic, making headlines, acting as the focus of television and radio commentary, and creating media sound bites.  In fact, just this morning (June 20, 2011), CNN has reported that Arizona Senator John McCain has blamed the recent tragic Arizona wildfires on illegal immigrants.

Other hot topics:

Three states (New York, Massachusetts, and Illinois) have refused to participate in fingerprint-sharing system that is an integral part of the Obama administration’s immigration enforcement strategy.  Although the fingerprint-sharing system has caused uproar across the country, these three
states, which have large immigrant populations, are the only states, thus far, who have stepped forth to refuse participation.

“Under the program, everyone who is booked into jail, immigrants and citizens, would have their fingerprints checked against F.B.I. criminal databases, as is routine, and also against Department of Homeland Security databases of immigration violations.”  New York Times, June 7, 2011.

As of June 1, 2011, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have received 13,600 out of 65,000 available cap-subject H-1B petitions for FY-2012 and 9,300 out of 20,000 available petitions under the H-1B Master’s Cap Exemption.

U.S. employers may help highly qualified workers enter, live, and work in the United States.  To avoid U.S. workers being adversely affected by the importation of labor, the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) held that the higher of the two wages must be used to support
the permanent labor certification (PERM) application where there are two or more prevailing wage determinations (PWDs),.  (Matter of Take
Solutions, Inc., 2010-PER-00907, 4/28/2011).

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) permit investors who will create jobs and invest significant sums of money in the United States, to enter, live, and work in the U.S.   May 19, 2011, the USCIS proposed significant enhancements to the administration of the USCIS Immigrant Investor Program, commonly referred to as the EB-5 Program to make it faster and easier to obtain an EB-5 visa.

Whereto get help with your immigration issues

If you have questions about how any of these immigration hot topics affect you, you are not alone.  At Geygan and Geygan, Ltd., focus our practice on immigration matters and we help people just like you every day.  We understand the both the legal system and immigration law issues.  We will gently walk you through your personal immigration issues, represent you in your immigration interview, and aggressively fight for your legal rights. You can reach us at
513-793-6555 or Thomasjr@geygan.com.