Sen. Clare McCaskill has moved to block the confirmation of Julie Myers (shown left), Bush’s nominee to be Assistant Secretary for Homeland Security and the top official at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The moves comes as part of the continuing fallout over a Halloween costume party Myers co-hosted, at which she awarded a prize for most original costume to an ICE employee who came dressed as an “immigration detainee”, a costume that included a striped prison uniform, dreadlocks, and skin-darkening make-up. (yikes!) Unsurprisingly, many took offense at the costume, Myers was forced to apologize, and the wearer of the costume was put on leave from the agency. Sen. McCaskill, who had long opposed Julie Myers’ appointment to the position of top immigration enforcer , then moved to place the nomination on hold, saying it was an example of cronyism. Sources say the nomination could well be dead as a result. Myers was installed in the top position at ICE by Bush in January 2006 as a recess appointment. Critics from all sides of the spectrum contend that Myers lacks the experience to justify making her chief of the agency. Read.

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A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released today cited major failures by US Customs and Border Protection at the nation’s Ports of Entry, with the result that thousands of individuals who were inadmissible under the immigration law, were nevertheless permitted to enter the United States. Read the NY Times coverage.

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New York Senator Charles Schumer (D, NY) stated that he is in favor of issuing a new Social Security Card with biometric identifiers as the preferred means of curbing the employment of illegal aliens.
Read more.

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Assistant Secretary Julie Myers, who is the top official of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, apologized today after an attendee at a Halloween party she co-hosted came to the party dressed in an “immigration detainee costume”, that is, in a striped prison uniform, dreadlocks, and allegedly, skin bronzer.  Ms. Myers awarded the person who wore the costume, later confirmed to be an ICE employee, a prize for “most original costume”.  After attendees and others pointed out that the costume was offensive, lacking in taste, and could potentially be taken as racist, Asst. Sec. Myers

apologized for “a few of the costumes,” calling them “inappropriate and offensive.” She said she and other senior managers “deeply regret that this happened.”

Read the CNN coverage.

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New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has announced a plan for New York State to produce three types of driver’s licenses, one of which would potentially be available to individuals regardless of immigration status. Spitzer’s plan has been highly controversial since its announcement, which came only after high-level consultation between Sec. of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff’s office and Spitzer. Read DHS’s press release.

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg has also been increasingly critical of the plan, saying that “I dont’ think that is where we ought to be”. Spitzer assailed Bloomberg as morally, factually and ethically wrong for taking a position opposed to the plan.
Read more.

Unsurprisingly, those in favor of an enforcement-only approach to the nation’s immigration problems, or who oppose “fixes ” for the immigration system are vehemently opposed. CNN commentator Lou Dobbs, who (for the uninitiated) devotes a large portion of his nightly newscast to promoting an enforcement centered approach to immigration and significantly decreased levels of legal immigration, went ballistic - there’s no other way to describe it - over the plan. His comments included personal attacks on Spitzer, whom he referred to at one point as a “rich spoiled brat” who was “treating the citizens of New York like his father’s tenants”.

Here are some clips from the controversy:

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The US Senate voted to pass a controversial provision that would raise the government fees employer’s must pay to file petitions for H-1B visas to $5,000.  (More coverage to follow….)  Read.

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USCIS has announced that its field offices in San Diego and Chula Vista, California, are closed because of the devastating fires that have been sweeping the area in recent days. Read the announcement.

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High tech workers, many in software, IT, and biotechnology experience a very high level of frustration with the slow pace of the US immigration system. Some claim that the economies of their home countries (particularly India and China) are being nourished by returning workers who have given up on the US immigration system, in the face of the fact that it can presently take 5-7 (or more) years for an individual to go through the steps of arriving in US as an H-1B, proving themselves at their job, finding an employer to sponsor them for permanent residency, and going though the three phases of an employment-based immigration case. Many of these workers had high hopes pinned on the immigration reform bill that was defeated this summer. Some have taken to protesting and want to separate their protest from those of illegal immigrants, trying to make it clear that they have obeyed the rules all their lives and are being treated unfairly and even victimized by a system that places low limits on both business visas for skilled workers and on the number of employment-based immigrants who can be granted permanent residency in any given year. Read more.

Here are a few clips from rallies that took place over the last few months in support of these skilled workers.

(Note: All video clips featured are shown to enrich the user’s experience and to educate the user by offering various perspectives on the issue in question; the fact that a video clip is featured is not to be construed as an endorsement by James E. Pittman, Esq. of the contents of the clip or any statements expressed therein.)

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A factory in Scranton, PA, that produces goods for the armed forces was raided today by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). During the raid, the factory operators were ordered to shut down the machinery and workers were divided between American citizens and non-citizens. Approximately 40 workers, alleged to be in the US illegally and/or working without authorization were taken into custody. Read more.

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A new law passed in France would allow immigration authorities there to require DNA testing to prove the claimed family relationships of prospective immigrants. Passage of the law followed an outcry from those concerned that the strong protections for privacy in French law were being violated or eroded by the new measures; some others were concerned about the high cost of DNA testing.

For comparison: DNA tests are often required in US immigration cases, especially where the prospective immigrants come from developing countries (the reliability or authenticity of whose documents the State Department frequently distrusts). There’s precious little opposition to DNA testing in this country that I’ve ever heard of - correct me if I’m mistaken. A DNA study for a parent-child or sibling case usually costs about $600.

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