Paschal Quoted in Paper about Immigration Refor

The Charlotte Post had an interesting article on black voices in the debate on immigration reform. Paschal Nwokocha was quoted.

The President Lays out his Immigration proposal

A day after the bipartisan U.S. senators introduced their immigration reform framework, the president took the stage in Las Vegas, where he laid out "markers" for immigration reform. We link here to the text of the speech.   The President's outlines appear pretty much identical to the immigration outline he discussed during a stop in El Paso,Texas on May 10, 2011.

For all immigration reform advocates, the heaving lifting begins: getting congress to finally pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

Senators Introduce Frame Work for CIR

On January 28, 2013, a bipartisan group of senators introduced a frame work for comprehensive immigration reform. We link here to the actual text of the proposal.

New Immigration Rules to Facilitate Family Unity

The USCIS just announced the new rules to facilitate family unity and avoid protracted separation from loved ones. As has been covered elsewhere, the new rule will encourage more people to step out of the shadows and address their immigration status.

Under the new rule, an applicant must meet all of these requirements to qualify for the waiver:
1)Applicant must be present in the U.S. at the time they file for the waiver;
2)Applicant must prove hardship to U.S. citizen spouse or parent;
3)Applicant must be barred from readmission based only on unlawful presence in the U.S. and have no other grounds of inadmissibility;
4)Applicant must be a beneficiary of an approved immediate relative petition;
5)Applicant must have a case pending with the Department of State based on the approved immediate relative petition and paid the immigrant visa processing fee;
6)Applicant must depart from the United States to obtain the immediate relative immigrant visa; and 7)Applicant must be able to prove extreme hardship to her or his U.S. citizen spouse or parent.

This is great news for thousands of foreign nationals who qualify for unlawful presence waiver, but are afraid of taking trip overseas for fear of long separation from their loved ones. We join other immigration advocates all over the country in thanking and congratulating the Obama Administration on the steps it has taken in the past one year in making the immigration system more humane. More remains to be done.

Immigration Changes: "Gotta Happen This Year"

Great NPR news story on Immigration Reform: It gotta happen.."

Economic argument for CIR

In this well-articulated article, Chris Farrell lays out the argument on why CIR will be a boost to the economy and reduce crime. "Throughout the country, foreign-born newcomers have revived beaten-down neighborhoods as immigrant entrepreneurs have opened small businesses and immigrant families have put down stakes. Immigrant workers have played a vital role keeping a number of industries competitive, such as agriculture and meatpacking. Cities with lots of immigrants have seen their per capita tax base go up, according to David Card, an economist at UC Berkeley. Despite the popular impression that a rising tide of immigrants is associated with higher crime rates, research by Robert Sampson of Harvard University and others offer a compelling case that it’s no coincidence that the growing ranks of immigrants tracks the reduction in crime in the U.S. ... A fast track to legality offers Washington a rare twofer: a just move that’s economically efficient."

2013--Year for CIR..Finally?

The Los Angeles times reports that President Obama intends to push for Comprehensive Immigration Reform early 2013.