The New York Times has reported that Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona signed the nation’s toughest bill on illegal immigration into law on Friday. The move unleashed immediate protests and reignited the divisive battle over immigration reform nationally.

Even before she signed the bill, President Obama strongly criticized it. Speaking at a naturalization ceremony for 24 active-duty service members in the Rose Garden, he called for a federal overhaul of immigration laws, which Congressional leaders signaled they were preparing to take up soon, to avoid “irresponsibility by others.” The Arizona law, he added, threatened “to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and our communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe.”

The law, which proponents and critics alike said was the broadest and strictest immigration measure in generations, would make the failure to carry immigration documents a crime and give the police broad power to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. Opponents have called it an open invitation for harassment and discrimination against Hispanics regardless of their citizenship status.

The law is to take effect 90 days after the legislative session ends, meaning by August. Court challenges were expected immediately.

While police demands of documents are common on subways, highways and in public places in some countries, including France, Arizona is the first state to demand that immigrants meet federal requirements to carry identity documents legitimizing their presence on American soil. Ms. Brewer acknowledged critics’ concerns, saying she would work to ensure that the police have proper training to carry out the law. But she sided with arguments by the law’s sponsors that it provides an indispensable tool for the police in a border state that is a leading magnet of illegal immigration. She said racial profiling would not be tolerated, adding, “We have to trust our law enforcement.”

Ms. Brewer and other elected leaders have come under intense political pressure here, made worse by the killing of a rancher in southern Arizona by a suspected smuggler a couple of weeks before the State Legislature voted on the bill. His death was invoked Thursday by Ms. Brewer herself, as she announced a plan urging the federal government to post National Guard troops at the border.

President George W. Bush had attempted comprehensive reform but failed when his own party split over the issue. Once again, Republicans facing primary challenges from the right, including Ms. Brewer and Senator John McCain, have come under tremendous pressure to support the Arizona law, known as SB 1070. Mr. McCain, locked in a primary with a challenger campaigning on immigration, only came out in support of the law hours before the State Senate passed it Monday afternoon.

Governor Brewer, even after the Senate passed the bill, had been silent on whether she would sign it. Though she was widely expected to, given her primary challenge, she refused to state her position even at a dinner on Thursday for a Hispanic social service organization, Chicanos Por La Causa, where several audience members called out “Veto!”

The bill, sponsored by Russell Pearce, a state senator and a firebrand on immigration issues, has several provisions. It requires police officers, “when practicable,” to detain people they reasonably suspect are in the country without authorization and to verify their status with federal officials, unless doing so would hinder an investigation or emergency medical treatment. It also makes it a state crime — a misdemeanor — to not carry immigration papers. In addition, it allows people to sue local government or agencies if they believe federal or state immigration law is not being enforced.

Full article is available here.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has announced that, as of April 15, 2010, 13,600 H-1B petitions filed under the regular cap and 5800 H-1B petitions filed under the Master’s exemption cap have been received. As explained in our article on the H-1B category, the annual cap on H-1Bs is 65,000, with an additional 20,000 available to aliens with U.S. Master’s (or higher) degrees.

USCIS has also announced that, as of April 16, 2010, USCIS approved 62,622 H-2B petitions of the 66,000 allocated per fiscal year. Currently, the H-2B cap set by Congress is 66,000 per fiscal year, with 33,000 to be allocated for employment beginning in the 1st half of the fiscal year (October 1 – March 31) and 33,000 to be allocated for employment beginning in the 2nd half of the fiscal year (April 1 – September 30). Any unused numbers from the first half of the fiscal year are made available for use by employers seeking to hire H-2B workers during the second half of the fiscal year. There is no “carry over” of unused H-2B numbers from one fiscal year to the next.

Some nonimmigrants in the United States who were unable to depart on schedule due to the Icelandic volcano eruption that closed airports in much of Europe may now be at risk of overstaying their status while they wait for flights to resume. In response to this problem, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) and United States Customs & Border Protection (“USCBP) have both provided guidance on what relief may be available to such travellers.

Unfortunately, the USCIS/USCBP guidance is more of a summary of existing procedures than an announcement of special relief procedures. For example, the USCIS/USCBP guidance states that visitors who have entered under the Visa Waiver Program (“VWP”) should contact the local office of either USCIS or USCBP to arrange for a temporary extension of their status. This is nothing new; the VWP already provides that, in emergency situations, USCBP/USCIS may extend the applicant’s status by an additional thirty days. However, at least both notices confirm that travellers may seek this VWP extension from USBCP at the airport rather than the local USCBP or USCIS office.

For all other nonimmigrants, the USCIS/USCBP guidance simply tells them about the normal procedure for extending their stay within the United States. It even states that applicants should apply at least 45 days before their authorized stay expires. The only positive news appears in the USCBP guidance; it states that while the USCIS notice recommends initiating the process 45 days in advance, USCIS is “providing guidance on how to handle these cases over this weekend” (whatever that means).

We previously reported on the murder of several U.S. consular staff and their families in Ciudad Juarez, which occurred on March 13, 2010. The Globe and Mail has now reported that Mexican soldiers have arrested a gang member suspected in the killings of three people linked to the U.S. consulate in Ciudad Juarez.

Police spokesman Enrique Torres said the suspect arrested on Friday was a member of the Barrio Azteca gang, which authorities say works for the Juarez drug cartel on both sides of the border. Torres did not release the man’s name, but a Chihuahua state investigator who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss the case identified the suspect as Ricardo Valles de la Rosa, 45.

Consulate employee Lesley A. Enriquez and her husband, Arthur H. Redelfs, were killed March 13 in Juarez when gunmen opened fire on their sport utility vehicle after they left a birthday party. Their 7-month-old daughter was found wailing in the back of the vehicle. Jorge Alberto Salcido, the husband of a Mexican employee of the consulate, also was killed by gunmen after leaving the same event in a separate vehicle.

Torres said the suspect is a leader of the Barrio Azteca gang, but gave no other details. He said the suspect would be presented to the media later Monday. U.S. and Mexican authorities say the Barrio Azteca gang works for the Juarez drug cartel and operates on both sides of the border.

Initially a Texas prison gang, Barrio Azteca expanded across the Rio Grande into Juarez in the late 1990s, U.S. authorities have said. Last week, El Paso police and Texas state troopers arrested 25 people in a sweep of suspected gang members.

Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas, is one of the world’s deadliest places. More than 2,600 people were killed last year, and another 500 so far this year in the city of 1.3 million.

Drug-related violence in Mexico has claimed 17,900 lives since President Felipe Calderon declared war on the drug gangs in December 2006. Powerful drug cartels have been battling not only authorities but each other for turf and drug routes.

The Globe and Mail article appears here.

According to The Guardian, thousands of pro-immigration activists from across the United States will flock to Washington DC on 21 March to demand that President Obama and Congress pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill in 2010. Mainline Catholics and Protestants who have long defended the rights of illegal aliens plan to be front and centre, as they have been for years. But marching alongside them this year will be some fresh religious faces: evangelical Christians.

Last October, the conservative-leaning National Association of Evangelicals (“NAE”), which represents some 30 million evangelical Christians, passed a resolution at its annual meeting in support of comprehensive immigration reform. The resolution, which received little notice outside of religious circles, produced shockwaves among US conservatives who frequently look to Christian evangelicals for political support, but who are still wary of embracing immigration reform as a conservative-led cause.

Most evangelical Christians, including most NAE members, backed George W Bush for President in 2000 and 2004. Even so, when Bush pushed for comprehensive immigration reform in 2007, the NAE found itself too internally divided over the issue to take a public stand, and Bush’s proposed legislation suffered a crushing defeat.

What happened to change the NAE’s mind? NAE leaders say that continued “theological reflection” on the Christian concept of “witness” has led its 40-member denominations, including its largest group, the 3 million member Assemblies of God, to recognize the need for greater clarity and purpose in its national policy views. A similar process has led the NAE to issue policy statements on climate change, and to announce its support for congressional legislation to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

But another key factor is organizational: Hispanic evangelicals, whose ranks are steadily growing, have been actively lobbying the NAE to support immigration reform as a part of a broader campaign to make evangelical churches more attentive to the faith needs of their Hispanic members – in part, by promoting more Hispanic ministers but also by developing more culturally attuned models for worship and outreach.

A similar trend is underway in the US Catholic church, which remains home to 70% of Hispanics. The nation’s powerful Roman Catholic Bishops haven’t needed a new growth trend to convince them to embrace Hispanics or immigrants. But with the expanding Hispanic presence – an estimated 40% of the US Catholic church is now of Latino origin – the Bishops devote almost as much policy attention to immigration as they do their most visible concern, abortion.

The evangelical swing on immigration – and climate change – is also influencing secular leaders like the Republican senator Lindsey Graham, whose views on these issues largely dovetail with those of the NAE. Graham has replaced John McCain as the GOP’s leading moderate voice on immigration, and he’s currently working closely with Senate Democrats to get a reform bill passed in 2010.

Another recent “convert” on immigration is Gary Bauer, who served as President Reagan’s chief domestic policy advisor went on to found the Family Research Council, one of Washington’s most respected Christian pro-life organisations. Last month Bauer came out in favour of a phased legalisation programme that would tie green card processing for illegal aliens to demonstrated improvements in border and workplace enforcement. Dan Stein, president of the rightwing Federation of Americans for Immigration Reform, which opposes an “amnesty” of any kind, recently branded Graham and Bauer “traitors”.

For President Obama, the evangelical shift on immigration is especially welcome news. Last week he suggested to immigration advocates gathered at the White House that he may still push for comprehensive reform in 2010, even in the face of Republican opposition. It’s a dicey move, but one largely prompted by Democratic fears of an erosion of Latino electoral support. The NAE’s endorsement of immigration reform legislation, and its active lobbying on the Hill, could be just what Obama needs to cover his right flank.

The full article is available here.

Suspected drug cartel “hit teams” gunned down a United States consular employee and her husband in the Mexican border city of Cuidad Juarez and killed a co-worker’s Mexican husband in a separate attack, a U.S. official said Sunday. They came under fire in separate locations as they were driving Saturday.

Ciudad Juarez is a major hub for smuggling illegal drugs into the United States. It is directly across the border from El Paso, Texas.

The victims included a United States Citizen (“USC”) employed in the American Citizenship Services Section of the United States Consulate General in Cuidad Juarez (the “Consulate”), who was with her USC husband and infant daughter when they came under fire. The infant, who was in the back seat, survived the attack unharmed, but the woman and her husband were killed.

In the second attack, a Mexican employee of the Consulate was following her husband and two children in a separate car, when her husband’s vehicle came under fire, killing him and wounding the two children. Both families had attended the same social event earlier in the afternoon off-post away from the Consulate but it has not been determined if the victims were specifically targeted.

President Barack Obama said that he was “deeply saddened and outraged by the news of the brutal murders.” Shortly after the killings were disclosed by the White House, the U.S. Department of State issued a travel warning for Mexico. The travel warning said that due to the “recent violent attacks,” USCs were urged to “delay unnecessary travel to parts of Durango, Coahuila and Chihuahua states.”

The U.S. Department of State also announced that USCs working at consular posts in the northern cities of Tijuana, Nogales, Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and Matamoros were authorized to send family members home until April 12 because of security concerns. The departure authorization only affects relatives of U.S. Government personnel in those cities.

The United States Department of State has released its Visa Bulletin for April 2010. The Visa Bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers for each permanent residence category each month.

By comparing the priority date for a particular permanent residence case with the dates shown in the Visa Bulletin, it is possible to estimate how long it will take for a visa number to become available. This month’s Visa Bulletin also includes a section that provides background information on frequently misunderstood points including the applicability of INA §202(a)(5) and §202(e).

The April 2010 Department of State Visa Bulletin is available here.

In light of the recent natural catastrophes in Chile, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has reminded Chileans of U.S. immigration benefits available to eligible Chilean nationals upon request. USCIS understands that a natural catastrophe can affect an individual’s ability to establish or maintain lawful immigration status. Temporary relief measures available to nationals of Chile may include:

1. The grant of an application for change or extension of nonimmigrant status on behalf of a Chilean national who is currently in the United States, even in cases where the request is submitted after the individual’s authorized period of admission has expired;
2. Re-parole of individuals granted parole by USCIS;
3. Extension of certain grants of advance parole, expedited processing of advance parole requests;
4. Expedited adjudication and approval, where possible, of requests for off-campus employment authorization due to severe economic hardship for F-1 students;
5. Expedited processing of immigrant petitions for immediate relative(s) of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (“LPRs”);
6. Expedited issuance of employment authorization where appropriate; and
7. Assistance to LPRs stranded overseas without documents in coordination with the Department of State.

For more information on USCIS humanitarian programs, applicants are encouraged to visit the USCIS website or to call the National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283 [only callers within the United States may use this 800 number].

Today, Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the designation of Greece as a member
of the Visa Waiver Program (“VWP”). Greece’s VWP designation represents a major step forward in the continued and long-standing economic and security partnership between the United States and Greece, reflecting more than two years of coordination between the two countries on Greece’s entry into VWP.

In accordance with the VWP designation process, DHS has determined that Greece complies with key security and information sharing requirements, such as: (1) enhanced law enforcement and security-related data sharing with the United States; (2) timely reporting of lost and stolen passports; and (3) the maintenance of high counter-terrorism, law enforcement, border control, aviation and document security standards. In turn, Greek citizens will be permitted to travel to the United States for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa.

With this announcement, Greece joins the 35 nations already participating in VWP, established as a pilot program in 1986 and made permanent on October 30, 2000. Like VWP travelers from other countries, Greek citizens will be required to apply for an Electronic System Travel Authorization (“ESTA”) online, prior to using the VWP.

According to the official announcement, Greek citizens will be able to visit the United States without visas under the VWP in approximately 30 days.

The first Transatlantic Trends: Immigration survey was conducted in 2008, before the economic crisis began. The recently-published 2009 survey offers an opportunity to exam the shift in public opinion towards immigrants. Canada was also included in the survey last year.

Some of the key findings for Canada and the United States appear below.

Key Findings for Canada

1. Assessment of the Government’s management of immigration: Good or Fair (59%) / Poor or Very Poor (35%)
2. Public perception of what percentage of the population consists of immigrants: 37% (it is actually 20%)
3. Are there too many immigrants? Yes (24%)
4. Is immigration more of a problem than an opportunity? Yes (25%)
5. Do immigrants take away jobs from or bring down wages of native born workers? Take Jobs Away (32%) / Bring Down Wages (30%)
6. Do legal immigrants increase crime? Yes (29%)
7. Do illegal immigrants increase crime? Yes (51%)
8. Do you favor permanent over temporary migration? Yes (76%)

Overall, Canada’s score card was pretty good. Most Canadians think the Federal Government is doing a good or fair job of managing immigration.

Only 24% of Canadians thought that there were “too many immigrants” and only 25% of Canadians thought that immigration as more of a problem than an opportunity. Even with the current economic climate, a majority of Canadians did not blame immigrants for taking away jobs or bringing down the wages of native-born workers.

Although only 29% of Canadians believed that legal immigrants increased crime in the country, 51% did believe that illegal immigrants increased crime. However, the percentage was higher for all other countries included in the survey, with the exception of France.

In addition, Canadians overestimated the number of immigrants in the country. However, all countries included in the survey made this mistake.

75% of Canadians indicated that legal immigrants who come to the country should be given an opportunity to stay permanently. This would appear to run counter to the Federal Government’s move towards favoring temporary migration over permanent migration.

Key Findings for the United States

1. Assessment of the Government’s management of immigration: Good or Fair (34%) / Poor or Very Poor (63%)
2. Public perception of what percentage of the population consists of immigrants: 35% (it is actually 14%)
3. Are there too many immigrants? Yes (48%)
4. Is immigration more of a problem than an opportunity? Yes (54%)
5. Do immigrants take away jobs from or bring down wages of native born workers? Take Jobs Away (44%) / Bring Down Wages (44%)
6. Do legal immigrants increase crime? Yes (23%)
7. Do illegal immigrants increase crime? Yes (58%)
8. Do you favor permanent over temporary migration? Yes (70%)

The United States clearly did far worse than Canada, although arguably not as badly as some other countries. A majority of Americans believe that the Federal Government is doing a poor or very poor job of managing immigration.

Americans also overestimated the number of immigrants in the country. However, as stated above, every country made this same error.

Almost half of Americans believed that there were too many immigrants in the country and more than half considered immigration to be more of a problem than an opportunity. Almost half of Americans also believed that immigrants took away jobs and reduced wages for native-born workers.

While only 23% of Americans believed that legal immigrants increased crime in the country, 58% thought that illegal immigrants did increase crime. However, this percentage was higher for all other countries included in the survey, with the exception of France and Canada.

Surprisingly, 70% of Americans favored giving legal immigrants who come to the country an opportunity to stay permanently. Of course, the current immigration system in the United States makes it very difficult for many legal workers and international students to seek permanent residence, even when there are no U.S. workers available.

The 2009 Transatlantic Trends: Immigration survey is available here.