This and That

Here are a few stories worth following -

ICE is going after employers previously subjected to I-9 audits.

Remember the engineer who publicly handed President Obama his resume and blamed H-1B workers for his unemployment. Turns out he has been turning down employment offers because they would require him to relocate to another state. Unfortunate, but not exactly what we led to believe.

ABC News reports that thousands of US citizen kids are being put in foster care when ICE deports their parents. Expect to hear more about this pretty shocking practice.

A business coalition in Kansas has crafted a guestworker bill to help address persistent shortages of workers in several sectors. Several other states are advancing guest worker bills as well.

DHS is expanding the E-Verify self-check system to all 50 states. Hopefully, this will cut down on the number of people who have found themselves unemployed as a result of problems in the database.

Kudos to ICE for appointing Andrew Lorenzen-Strait as its first Public Advocate. According to ICE, Lorenzen-Strait "will serve as a point of contact for individuals, including those in immigration proceedings, NGOs and other community and advocacy groups, who have concerns, questions, recommendations or other issues they would like to raise."

Comments

[Jack]

Schupak: What about comprehensive immigration reform?

Immigration lawyer DeMell: That's just a code word for 'amnesty'.

----

For an AILA member to admit that publicly is refreshing.

[George Chell]

As I have been saying when it comes to the economy and the law to hell with the law! As far as I am concerned this is my message to Kobach, Bentley and Brewer..if they cannot eat food let them eat the law they passed!

[Another Voice]

Jack the Republican antis shot themselves in the foot and "got in the way of business" with their state Immigration policies at the state level. Now they want to embrace as they always do hypocrisy and do a "guest worker program that they well know is not legally possible. Therefore is equally bad if they were serious they would produce the republican votes needed at the federal level to reform the immigration system. Now they have only saddle the ag Industry with losses and have decreased economic activity in the states where the implemented their genius ideas. So much for the party that is Pro-Business and small government.....can you smell the BS!!!

[George Chell]

The Supreme court has to decide whether states can pass new immigration laws: if they can, California has as much right to pass the Dream Act as Arizona can pass further restrictions.

or

The Supremes can decide that only the federal government can pass and implement laws in which case AZ,CA etc, cannot pass any legislation but can enforce laws in the books....and detaining people suspected of being illegal in the country due to looks is not in the federal law.

It is one way or the other.

[Jack]

Last year (regarding Utah) Tamar said, "sometimes you've got to try something else — even if it isn't perfect or constitutional".

This year (regarding Kansas) it's “This is just the sort of experimentation we need in the states – the laboratories of democracy." -- Tamar Jacoby

I bet the "immigrant rights community" will enthusiastically endorse entirely new immigration schemes at the state level (so long as they undermine the federal scheme) but when a state merely attempts to assist the federal government in the enforcement of its scheme, they are guardians of the Supremacy Clause and their legal arms reflexively file suit. The same goes for sanctuary policies. Can you be any more inconsistent? Patchwork = bad/illegal--unless the patch is what we like. Then it's federalism at its best.

[Legal and no longer waiting]

I see... D-lady came to the right place, LOL!

[George Chell]

"See what I mean those Wendel type folks are dangerous misinformation and nativism of the worst kind.."

You are being very polite my friend...they are not nativist...they are racists...and coming out of Texas it is not very surprising. I met an exonerated death row inmate, Clarence Brandley who is African American and he can tell you loads of stuff about racist whites in Texas. So, I wont be as kind as you.

"Maybe this can convince Gr"ass"ley to be more immigrant friendly?? It's his state after all..."

Charles "Assinine" Grassley may be...but have you ever thought about the fact that may be he does not want Chinese or any other non-whites in his state? Educated or otherwise? If he was for American workers he will fight against outsourcing of jobs, but he does everything possible to send jobs abroad..making it easier to outsource and giving corporations more incentives by blocking common sense reform?

[RR]

Maybe this can convince Gr"ass"ley to be more immigrant friendly?? It's his state after all...

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120213/NEWS/302130024/0/BASU/?odyssey=nav%7Chead

[Another Voice]

Se what I mean those Wendel type folks are dangerous misinformation and nativism of the worst kind is exactly what the awaken in people. In the current employment climate, they will turn from the Piñata of undocumented workers to a new Piñata of H1-B workers in no time. But wait.....they love "legal"Immigrants" they are just against "Illegal Immigration" right......?

[Greg Siskind]

D-Lady - your comment has been removed because you have violated one of the few rules I have for the comments. As a reminder, I delete comments with profanity as well, personal attacks and also immigration lawyer bashing. You are welcome to get your own blog to put out that type of content.

[gg]

@d-lady " H-1Bs have had 12 years now to turn America into a techno-paradise of prosperity. A lot of people have given up on them. "

I have seen all kinds of complaints against h1b but this one takes the cake. So you folks are no more looking upto your political elite or your best and the brightest but instead depending on these mediocre h1b's to turn america into a techno paradise of prosperity. So if that is the case why are you peop[e so obsessed about turning their lives into living hell. And what do you mean by lot of people give up on them d-lady ?

[George Chell]

And one more thing..I spoke to DHS friday as part of my work..and they said that big increases of Indians and other Asians you see in the Silicon Valley are indeed US born citizens, or foreign spouses of US citizens. They keep receiving complaints from Americans (mostly white) and when they check they find that they are US citzens or married to US citizens. They also told me that many of the people who complain think that anyone who looks Asian is a foreigner and should not be working in this country.

[George Chell]

D-Lady and the Wedels an example of white privilege. People who complain about 40,000 foreign programmers out of three million such jobs in the country are pathetic loosers and this includes Norman Matloff of UC Davis who defends these loosers!

"How can dumping 3 million mostly mediocre STEM workers into the US over the last 12 years not have an effect, even if it is not a directly observable one?"

Give me evidence that they are hiring a 2.0 or even a 3.5 foreigner over a 4.0 American I will support you. Otherwise Americans, especially white people need to get off their collective butts and work their butts off and compete in a global economy...the advise they give to minority Americans when they ask for Affirmative Action. Globalism failed D-Lady because she has a sense of entitlement just like many whites.

Complaining about H1-Bs and turning down jobs that are offered = white privilege and racism.

If you dont want a job offered to you in NY and the corporation thinks that the next best guy is Chinese, and you complain against that, you have a sense of white privilege at best or you are a racist at worst. And I think the Wedels are a combination of both. Strange I dont see white Americans complaining about white foreign movie actors, Patrick Jane of Mentalist or Kerry Wells of Unforgettable or Alex McCloughlin of Hawaii Five 0 although they take jobs from Americans. It is only an issue if Asians or blacks are the competitors. Pathetic!

[Sa]

"How can dumping 3 million mostly mediocre STEM workers into the US over the last 12 years not have an effect, even if it is not a directly observable one? "

May be these "displaced" people are not so great if they were replace by "mediocre STEM workers".

[Sa]

"Globalism is a failed experiment as far as America is concerned. "

Good , America is learning the lesson finally. We were lectured in 90s how Globalism is good for the world and how poor farmers in India should learn programming instead of farming. When the Chinese beat you at your own game , its bad for everyone . It sounds like hypocrisy to me .

[Sa]

"Your anti-Wedel comments are vile, all of you"

There is nothing vile here, compared to your posts at ALIPAC and Numbers USA. Wedel lost his job in the plant closure and has nothing to do with H1BS .

He is not willing to relocate for the fear losing his current wife or custody of his child , this has nothing to do with H1BS.

[D-Lady]

Your anti-Wedel comments are vile, all of you. How can dumping 3 million mostly mediocre STEM workers into the US over the last 12 years not have an effect, even if it is not a directly observable one? I have never been displaced by an H-1B, but I HAVE been crowded out of jobs by displaced programmers, system analysts, project managers and such who were themselves displaced by H-1Bs, so they decided to try to move over into my area of specialty. What did anyone think would happen? H-1Bs have had 12 years now to turn America into a techno-paradise of prosperity. A lot of people have given up on them. Globalism is a failed experiment as far as America is concerned.

[Another Voice]

Those people are dangerous the Wendell's, that is the face that the antis will look to put on their restriuctionist agenda and that can do a lot of harm with a high unemployment rate. It can easly misinform people about the high value of H1B's the article make sit sound like the think is a good business because the are some sort of high value slaves that corporations can exploit at the sacrifice of the american worker, is far from the truth but in high unemployment times it will ring true...really bad stuff.

[gg]

Mrs Wedel wants h1b quota by to be reduced by 30,000.

(not sure how slashing 30,000 would help her husband find a job)

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/02/are-americans-losing-high-skilled-jobs-to-foreigners/

[Another Voice]

Immigration speaker sparks controversy at CPAC

Brimelow participated on a panel discussion called "The failure of Multiculturalism: How the pursuit of diversity is weakening American Identity" at CPAC on Thursday. During the panel discussion, Brimelow and other panelists said immigration is polluting America.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57374439-503544/immigration-speaker-sparks-controversy-at-cpac/

[Another Voice]

'Oppo' men break silence on Kris Kobach

http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/02/oppo-men-break-silence-on-kris-kobach-114120.html

[Another Voice]

Labor Dept. Issues New Rules for Guest Workers

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/11/us/rules-revised-for-h-2b-guest-worker-program.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

[George Chell]

The guy from Texas sounds like a Chinese-American guy I met two years ago who was pointing to a Filipina-American couple and said that there is a shortage of Asian women because of couples such as these. But, when I asked him whether he would ask the Filipina woman out on a date, he said no because his parents will kill him. If I dont have a job, I will move half way round the world to any place that will give me a job. Many people who complain on that blog about hiring foreigners are the same folk who dont complain when Americans work abroad accepting fat salaries. To them it all comes to maintaining their privilege..a one way street where they get all the benefits. I dont want to bring the race issue up, but I am sorry if a white engineer does not get a job, it is by choice or the person has some personality problem. It is also odd that these white people complain about foreigners taking jobs but dont understand when black people complain about not getting hired. The job should go to the best person, end of story. If a 2.0 GPA foreigner is being hired over a 4.0 GPA American, I will support the American..however, if the American says that he or she should get hired because of citizenship only, I will encourage the corporation to move that job abroad.

[Legal and no longer waiting]

P Henry - what about young American college graduates? They also displace older workers. How dare they! The US should stop educating new engineers because the old ones have to compete with them!

[Grace]

@ P Henry

There's no indication that the H-1Bs in North Texas directly displaced this person, and every indication that jobs in his particular engineering specialization are no longer available in his vicinity. He either needs to get new skills, or he needs to relocate where he can use his existing skill set. He's been offered multiple jobs, but because they are not in North Texas, he's declining them. Blaming H-1B workers for his lack of a job is just a canard - it's his own personal circumstances, and unwillingness to relocate that are the cause of his continuing unemployment.

[gg]

@ phenry - " traitorous and shill " - ha ha ... i know these types who give excuses after excuses and always seek to blame others and never try to look at themselves. It is easy to modify custody agreements, often this can be accomplished just by a phone call between the parents. And nothing is stopping this guy from visiting his family once in a while or during weekends until he finds a better job closer to his place. His actual problem seems to be something else other than custody agreement and that is current the woman in his life wants to be closer to his semi-conductor job.

[Jugg]

Sen. Grassley will now write to the President asking to reform family law!

[gg]

" Remember the engineer who publicly handed President Obama his resume and blamed H-1B workers for his unemployment. Turns out he has been turning down employment offers because they would require him to relocate to another state. Unfortunate, but not exactly what we led to believe "

Ha Ha ... classic ..!! .. this guy is not the only one who wants jobs to follow him ... there are plenty of them who are not willing to leave their comfort zones ...

This is one of the reasons why USA is loosing its competitive edge to Asian tigers. I cannot imagine someone who cannot travel a few hundred miles for a job in the shoes of a H1 worker who travel thousands of miles to a foreign land to succeed. Yet he has no problem to blame H1 workers for his misfortunes.