NoDoubleStandard at Calling a Spade a Spade ("Rants of a Foreign Service Officer on the things that matter to you -- and matter to you not at all") examined some of the visa waiver program's weaknesses.
Money quote(s):
"(A)t VWP's inception in 1986, the focus was on facilitating travel for citizens of countries posing a low risk of overstay. Because French citizens, for instance, weren't likely to remain the U.S. as illegal workers, it didn't make any sense to make them apply for visas. It's a waste of resources to process visa applications, when the refusal rate is next to zero.
The initial focus wasn't security."
"The program is now tighter, because measures were taken to make abuse of VWP more difficult. Let's face it; if the primary concern is thwarting terrorist and criminal travel, it's far more effective to abolish the program and interview everyone. Does that mean VWP should be shut down? Of course not. As the report states, "security, freedom and prosperity" have to be balanced."
&
"Further expansion of VWP, however, will require a renewal of DHS's ability to grant refusal-rate waivers for countries above the 3% cutoff, so that countries under 10% could still conceivably enter the program after June 30, 2009.
My take?
Bad idea."
Read the whole thing.
Showing posts with label illegal workers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label illegal workers. Show all posts
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
LAT - Homeland Security shifts focus to employers
From my archive of press clippings:
Los Angeles Times
Homeland Security shifts focus to employers
A new policy will aim enforcement efforts at those who hire illegal workers. But immigration raids will continue, sources say.
By Josh Meyer and Anna Gorman March 31, 2009
Reporting from Los Angeles and Washington -- Stepping into the political minefield of immigration reform, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano soon will direct federal agents to focus more on arresting and prosecuting American employers than the illegal laborers who sneak into the country to work for them, department officials said Monday.
The shift in emphasis will be outlined in revamped field guidelines issued to agents of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, as early as this week, several officials familiar with the change said.
Read the whole article here.
_________
josh.meyer@latimes.com
anna.gorman@latimes.com
Antonio Olivo of the Chicago Tribune contributed to this report.
Los Angeles Times
Homeland Security shifts focus to employers
A new policy will aim enforcement efforts at those who hire illegal workers. But immigration raids will continue, sources say.
By Josh Meyer and Anna Gorman March 31, 2009
Reporting from Los Angeles and Washington -- Stepping into the political minefield of immigration reform, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano soon will direct federal agents to focus more on arresting and prosecuting American employers than the illegal laborers who sneak into the country to work for them, department officials said Monday.
The shift in emphasis will be outlined in revamped field guidelines issued to agents of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, as early as this week, several officials familiar with the change said.
Read the whole article here.
_________
josh.meyer@latimes.com
anna.gorman@latimes.com
Antonio Olivo of the Chicago Tribune contributed to this report.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
MH - Focus on employers heartens immigration activists
Miami Herald
Focus on employers heartens immigration activists
Posted on Thursday, 04.02.09
The Obama administration has announced a new strategy on immigration, lifting South Florida advocates' hopes for changes.
BY TRENTON DANIEL
tdaniel@MiamiHerald.com
Joubert Pascal recounts how the Bush administration showed little leeway for his fellow countrymen from Haiti but is now holding out hope that the Obama camp may offer some leniency.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"Pascal and South Florida immigration advocates welcome the Department of Homeland Security's recently announced priority to target employers who hire undocumented workers instead of the actual laborers, but they also view the new focus with caution and concern."
"The wait-and-see stance among South Florida immigrants and their allies comes after DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano ordered an overhaul of the federal agency so that it focuses more on prosecuting the employers who hire undocumented workers, rather than on the employees themselves."
"South Florida immigration advocates say workplace raids occur in South Florida, but that they tend to be low profile and fewer than in other parts of the country. Still, some say DHS's shift could signal a new direction."
&
"Operation Endgame is the DHS initiative that seeks to expel all undocumented immigrants by 2012. Return to Sender was a 2006 DHS sweep that apprehended more than 2,000 immigrants with criminal records and other status violations."
Focus on employers heartens immigration activists
Posted on Thursday, 04.02.09
The Obama administration has announced a new strategy on immigration, lifting South Florida advocates' hopes for changes.
BY TRENTON DANIEL
tdaniel@MiamiHerald.com
Joubert Pascal recounts how the Bush administration showed little leeway for his fellow countrymen from Haiti but is now holding out hope that the Obama camp may offer some leniency.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"Pascal and South Florida immigration advocates welcome the Department of Homeland Security's recently announced priority to target employers who hire undocumented workers instead of the actual laborers, but they also view the new focus with caution and concern."
"The wait-and-see stance among South Florida immigrants and their allies comes after DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano ordered an overhaul of the federal agency so that it focuses more on prosecuting the employers who hire undocumented workers, rather than on the employees themselves."
"South Florida immigration advocates say workplace raids occur in South Florida, but that they tend to be low profile and fewer than in other parts of the country. Still, some say DHS's shift could signal a new direction."
&
"Operation Endgame is the DHS initiative that seeks to expel all undocumented immigrants by 2012. Return to Sender was a 2006 DHS sweep that apprehended more than 2,000 immigrants with criminal records and other status violations."
Thursday, April 2, 2009
re: "Obama: Sending Jobs Overseas Bad - Illegals Takings Jobs Here Just Fine"
Fred at Fred Fry International ("Citizen Journalist and Observer of Human Nature") talks about the varying impacts of outsourcing jobs and illegal workers.
Money quote(s):
"(T)he President has been hammering US Corporations for sending some work overseas, blaming this 'outsourcing' for lost American jobs. These Corporations have been vilified by the President specifically and Democrats in general.
This same President however fails to see that the end result is the same if they go and let these corporations go and hire illegal aliens to do the work. Sure the job is still here, but instead of sending the work overseas, they brought the foreign worker here to do the job. Illegal aliens are outsourced labor. Instead of sending the work to them, they came to the work."
&
"(I)f a company is outsourcing jobs to Mexico, each Mexican that takes one of those jobs is one less Mexican trying to get to the US. But when a Mexican in the US illegally takes a job in the US, the end result is the same, in that there is one less job available to an American. Not only that, but his 'success' is noted back at home, only encouraging more people to come illegally in search of work.
By letting Illegal Aliens work in the US, they are now competing for jobs that are very difficult if not impossible to send overseas. Think construction and landscaping as two of those industries where the work pretty much needs to be done here."
One thing Fred forgets to mention is the many millions of U.S. dollars in remittances sent home by illegal workers, money which is then lost to the U.S. economy.
Money quote(s):
"(T)he President has been hammering US Corporations for sending some work overseas, blaming this 'outsourcing' for lost American jobs. These Corporations have been vilified by the President specifically and Democrats in general.
This same President however fails to see that the end result is the same if they go and let these corporations go and hire illegal aliens to do the work. Sure the job is still here, but instead of sending the work overseas, they brought the foreign worker here to do the job. Illegal aliens are outsourced labor. Instead of sending the work to them, they came to the work."
&
"(I)f a company is outsourcing jobs to Mexico, each Mexican that takes one of those jobs is one less Mexican trying to get to the US. But when a Mexican in the US illegally takes a job in the US, the end result is the same, in that there is one less job available to an American. Not only that, but his 'success' is noted back at home, only encouraging more people to come illegally in search of work.
By letting Illegal Aliens work in the US, they are now competing for jobs that are very difficult if not impossible to send overseas. Think construction and landscaping as two of those industries where the work pretty much needs to be done here."
One thing Fred forgets to mention is the many millions of U.S. dollars in remittances sent home by illegal workers, money which is then lost to the U.S. economy.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
NYT - Report Faults Homeland Security's Efforts on Immigration
From my archive of press clippings:
New York Times
Report Faults Homeland Security's Efforts on Immigration
By GINGER THOMPSON
Published: February 11, 2009
WASHINGTON — An immigration policy group said Wednesday that the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration mission has been undermined by wasteful spending along the southern border, law enforcement efforts that focused on snaring illegal workers rather than high-risk criminals, and an often hostile bureaucracy that discourages people eligible for legal entry from playing by the rules.
New York Times
Report Faults Homeland Security's Efforts on Immigration
By GINGER THOMPSON
Published: February 11, 2009
WASHINGTON — An immigration policy group said Wednesday that the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration mission has been undermined by wasteful spending along the southern border, law enforcement efforts that focused on snaring illegal workers rather than high-risk criminals, and an often hostile bureaucracy that discourages people eligible for legal entry from playing by the rules.
Read the whole article here.
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