Letters of the Week: Jun 18 - Jun 22

Please email your letters to editor@ilw.com or post them directly as "Comment" below.

Comments

[Kenneth Rinzler]

It's bad enough that the media have consistently misinformed the American public by incorrectly stating that President Obama's new prosecutoial discretion policy will only apply to aliens with "no criminal history", but now AILA's newly minted Secretary blogs the same misinformation on the AILA website. What an embarrassment for an organziation that always hails itself to be on the "cutting edge" of everything immigration, especially when again today they posted on the AILA website that no one is yet sure what will constitute a disqualifying "significant misdemeanor".

[Honza Prchal]

http://www.ilw.com/articles/2012,0621-taylor.shtm surprised me by showing that we Americans are importing more Asians and fewer Latin Americans lately. It also underscored some of the superior human capital Asians as a group tend to bring with them these days, a profile that compares favorably to prior waves of immigration from Asia or recent waves from Latin America and elswhere. I wonder if we imported more Latin Americans with a more intelligent legal immigration system, if they wouldn't test a whole lot higher than what we have recently been getting without our de facto system for preferring queue jumpers who tend to be illiterate even in Spanish over those poor patient souls who wait for years to come in legally from Latin America … plus those intrepid and/or desperate Cubans who survive the elements and avoid the Coast Guard.

(On a related note, what amazes me in other studies published in ILW.com is how well South Asians are doing in recent years, displacing Cantonese, Armenians, Jews, Hakka, Germans, Lebanese and Czechs from their old perches at or near the top of the immigrant performer heap. South Asians in Canada in the 1970s performed rather differently, and were caricatured by other immigrant groups as officious bureaucratic bumblers - a stereotype that would have virtually no traction among Americans familiar with recent South Asian arrivals.)

I am also reassured to see the huge emphasis across highly varied Asian cultures on having a successful marriage. We could, obviously, use more of that. Perhaps the example will rub off on more of us who’ve been here a while.

[Gladys Farris]

Dear Editor

I believe that some crimes should be balanced according to the individual moral conduct. If this is his first crime whatever it may be the individual record

[R. Yang]

Re : Mr. Roberts' letter

When ones put their feet inside the "Dreamers" shoes, will ones will say something like Mr. Roberts' letter ? Being brought here since very young age by their illegal immigrant parents and grew up as "Americans" in every way except on papers, do we really have such conscience to deport these young people to countries that they never know of and speak their languages because of the "sin" of their parents? Americans already have to compete with other Americans and also foreigners at home or overseas. So giving 1 million plus others a chance to realize their dreams for better future won't change the facts that yes, US citizens luckily born here must still compete with others whatsoever. I never understand why nativists really hate competition and think as if life should be easy and without struggle and good life should be an automatic entitlement of just being born as lucky citizens of particular countries.
It's ridiculous and hypocritical to do so. As my last message to all American parents, please don't spoil your kids that they never have to earn their good living just because they're born as Americans. Life is thought and competitive. It's wrong, delusional and destructive. Take my words.

[Jim Roberts]

Dear Editor:

King Barack's latest edict in granting amnesty to children of illegals is a blatant, self-serving and temporary policy designed primarily to save his own sinking campaign ship and puts those same children at
greater risk. After the rush to qualify for the Pied Pipers Program,
the names of those illegals will be conveniently available to ICE/DHS for deportation when the unwise program is overturned as it surely will be as it has been when attempted through Congress. Obamnesty, like any other scheme that attempts to avoid deportation that the existing law calls for is amnesty and shamnesty. The question that the courageous reporter asked is valid, "Why does BO care more for illegals than
American citizens?" Why, indeed! At a time when the latter are
hurting for jobs or well paying ones, to favor illegals, weaken enforcement efforts and to encourage more illegals to come is beyond foolish as the following articles elaborates:

"Can the President Rewrite Federal Law?
http://lewrockwell.com/napolitano/napolitano59.1.html

"Obama defiantly breaks the law and our Constitution":
http://www.newswithviews.com/Wooldridge/frosty775.htm by Frosty
Wooldridge

"The Dream Act Is a Nightmare"
http://www.eagleforum.org/publications/column/2012-06-20.html

Such inappropriate efforts are similar to the Congress extending the
debt limit when the real problem is their overspending. The real
problem is too much immigration that this kind of shamefull sham only adds to for the sorry purpose of political pandering.

[Kenneth Rinzler]

How AILA’s Compensation and Voting Policies Are Alike

Last week at its annual conference, AILA had its “election” and announced its officers for the coming year. As many readers undoubtedly know by now, with the exception of the Secretary/Future President slot, all of the positions were uncontested. Despite pleas by many members to announce the individual vote totals, the leadership – as expected – refused, and with all the courage it could muster instead came out with this: “Approximately 25% of 11,177 eligible AILA Members voted in the election.”

What can we learn from that?

Well, first of all, that apathy in AILA runs as high as anywhere else in society, if not more so.

Next, that when AILA constantly touts in its communications to government officials and the media that it represents the views of 11,000 members of the Immigration Bar, the claim is somewhat shaky. I think it’s fair to say that the overwhelming majority of members joined for information exchange and related practice-building reasons, not because of AILA’s never-ending promotion of amnesty.

Third, that for all we know, only three people voted for First Vice President, two for each of the three year Board of Governors’ seats, and 2,468 for the one year Board of Governors seat (and thus congratulations are in order for Ms. Sarah Peterson Stensrud, of the Minnesota/Dakotas Chapter, for her overwhelming victory).

“Approximately 25%.” No matter how you look at it, at most only 2,794 of our 11,177 eligible members voted, and maybe as few as a handful in many cases. We of course have no way of knowing, because the individual vote totals were not announced. What kind of “election” – amongst lawyers no less -- doesn’t have the vote totals announced? And what does “approximately 25%” mean? We couldn’t even be trusted with the exact number? Could you imagine a Congressional, Presidential, or city council election where the government went on TV and said “John Doe won; approximately 25% of the eligible voters turned out”?

AILA’s leadership never had any intention of announcing the individual vote totals, and I challenge anyone who honesty believes otherwise. The idea of “considering” it or presenting it to the Board of Governors was all a charade, for there is nothing in the bylaws or anything else to prevent the ExCom from simply doing it if they wished.

One may wonder how the above relates to AILA’s compensation policies. The answer is simple: secrecy.

A couple of days ago a colleague of mine posted the following on the Message Center:

“Actually, Kenneth, when you take the position that AILA's compensation practices are not typical in any way, you either have the facts to support your accusation, or you don't.
It is a distinction with a real difference to say that you do not believe Crystal [Williams, AILA’s Executive Director] when she says that AILA's compensation practices are fairly typical because of a conflict of interest versus saying that you do not believe Crystal because you actually know what other similar groups pay or because you simply don't like it.
If you have the facts, then you undoubtedly will share them with us in the spirit of openness that you champion. If you do not, then it's fair to say that you 'believe' that AILA's compensation practices are not typical in any way - not that you actually 'know.'
And that even if they are typical, you don't care, you just don't like them.”

Part of my response was as follows:

“The key fact is that AILA has never released what it bases its compensation policies on; it only always says they're fine. No organization has been more secretive than AILA. I will not fight a ghost and will let my comments stand as is.”

And that, in a nutshell, is the problem. No one can say who is right in this instance because the information an impartial arbiter would need to make an informed judgment, to wit, whether AILA’s compensation policies are “fairly typical” or not, is kept hidden from view, just like the election results. As with the questionable implementation of AILA’s conflicts of interest policy, apparently misplaced and only announced a year after adoption due to pressure, we don’t know what the ExCom bases its decisions upon. We have never seen the data. We can’t assess its reliability or relevance. We can’t make an informed choice. And possibly that’s because if we did see it and did question it, maybe we would want more input and maybe even demand some changes.

Another colleague recently said:

“The bottom line is that there are multiple means by which a member can express concerns, raise questions, and advocate issues within this organization. Use of the InfoNet message center serves certain purposes, but it does not supplant being an active member in the organization. Your posts and other published rants come off as being pious, vindictive and intended for purposes other than constructively contributing to AILA. Please utilize the means that are otherwise available to you if you are serious about the state of this association. Until then, I can’t imagine that a significant portion of the association’s members will ever take your valid points seriously.”

I could not ask for a better example of how AILA’s leadership thinks and engages in double-speak.

After clearly stating that there are “multiple means…to express concerns” he then criticizes my use of the forum specifically established for AILA members to communicate with each other, a forum which, not coincidentally, is moderated by various members of AILA’s staff, including the aforementioned Executive Director, presumably so that the leadership has another means of feeling the pulse of the organization. According to this person, using the Message center or submitting articles to ILW.COM does not qualify as being an “active member of the organization” and are not intended to “constructively contribute to AILA”. I must admit, I did not know that one could only try to improve AILA using “approved” methods.

I like to write. My late grandfather owned a bookstore and thus I was turned on to reading at an early age with my own personal lending library, my single mother was a distinguished teacher of English Literature and then ESL (English as a Second Language) at Passaic, New Jersey, High School for 25 years (including being a recipient of the Princeton University Award for Distinguished Secondary School Teaching and teaching other ESL teachers on USIA assignments in places from Poland to Belarus) who encouraged my reading and writing activities, and it comes easily to me. In all of the above I know that I am extremely fortunate. While some may consider my articles about AILA to be “pious, vindictive, and [for non-constructive purposes]”, others of larger intellect see more clearly.

This August 3 will mark my twentieth year as a member of AILA, an organization I joined (in fact, the only organization to which I belong) because I believed it would help me be a better attorney. I still believe that. But I also believe that AILA would better serve its members and the public at large if it were more open and less hypocritical

[Theresa Pepe]

Marco Rubio, a republican senator, was working a version of the Dream Act. President Obama waited until election time to make his one man decision to allow for the status of young Americans not to be deported. This is completely a political move. Not all republicans are against a good and suitable bill for young illegal immigrants.

[jimblaze17]

I remember when the DREAM ACT was being talked about..It was 10 years ago...Now, I'm 30..Would I be eligible...I hear it's open to only people under 30?....I would hope it would be '30 or under".

Is there a loophole that would allow someone like me to apply?..If it wasn't for the strict age limitation, I would be eligible.

[Agnes Gimenez]

Dear Editor,

I want to see more on EB3 reforms. It is a well known fact that US is suffering from shortage
of medical personnel, particularly nurses, who depend on Employment Based petition to work
in the US. The retrogression issue seems hopeless since it started in November 1, 2006.

Thank you.

[Joe Whalen]

The California Governor's Office of Economic Development (which took over EB-5 TEA duties from BTH) had a telecon today. They have had a slight change of heart on the issue of issuing letters. Good for Governor Moonbeam. [If you get that reference you are just too young and/or unaware.]

See: http://business.ca.gov/Programs/EB5Program.aspx