Immigration News

Source: National Journal

A year ago, President Barack Obama addressed immigration in his State of the Union address saying  “I strongly believe that we should take on, once and for all, the issue of illegal immigration,” he said. “I know the debate will be difficult and take time. But tonight, let’s agree to make that effort.”

The initiative would allow spouses, parents, or children of US citizens who have been illegally in the country to legalize their status without a lengthy wait abroad.

USCIS announced a Notice of Intent to change its current process of not initiating consideration of waivers necessary for illegal immigrants to return to the U.S. until they have left the United States. Eduardo Soto, CEO  of Como Inmigrar a USA ,  stated: "this is a big step forward in a field the Obama Administration has done little about” said the immigration lawyer in Miami.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -(Source: Univision)  With the coming  elections one year from now, Marco Rubio, the Republican senator for Florida, and possible vice presidential formula, is trying to take a different angle from his party. Rubio wants to refocus on the need to reform the immigration system, rather than face the problem of the eleven million undocumented immigrants who already are in the United States.

During a hearing on human trafficking of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, Rubio said "it is a growing problem, we need to create awareness about it. Reforms are needed to create a modern system of immigration." He added that the United States, although one of the countries to be reached by more smuggled immigrants, is processing only 103 cases, compared to 2,803 in Europe.

US immigration authorities announced Tuesday a series of immigration policies to facilitate permanent residency to foreign investors that contribute to job creation and startup companies in high unemployment areas.

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas said the objective is to stimulate foreign investment in the technology sector as to benefit foreign workers with specialized training.

Representative Luis V. Gutierrez, a Democrat from Illinois who has become a perennial thorn on immigration for President Obama, was arrested Tuesday afternoon along with about a dozen activists in a protest outside the White House.

The protesters were arrested peacefully after they sat down on the White House sidewalk, following a rally where demonstrators denounced the Obama administration for deporting more than one million immigrants in the last two years.

The action follows similar moves by Georgia and Alabama, and a milder measure in North Carolina, as a number of states crack down on illegal immigration.

The governor is expected to sign the bill that will allow the state to revoke the business license of any employer who knowingly employs "unauthorized aliens."

By a 69-43 vote, the state House of Representatives agreed to Senate amendments that require employers to use the federal E-Verify database to check their employees' residency status.