News

Presidential Executive Order Extends E-Verify to Federal Contractors

President George W. Bush

Published:  

On June 6, President Bush signed an executive order requiring Federal contractors to use E-Verify, a free, Internet-based system that enables employers to check an employee’s eligibility to work in the U.S. within seconds.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will now propose regulations to implement the order, which requires federal contractors to use E-Verify when they start work under new government contracts or hire new workers under existing contracts.

News

U.S. Farmers Move Business to Mexico in Search of Cheap Labor

strawberry pickers

Published:  

Due to the success of recent immigration raids, U.S. farmers are setting up operations in Mexico because they are having a hard time finding cheap labor that cannot be deported.

A recent survey by the Western Growers Associations shows that American companies now farm more than 45,000 acres and employ more than 11,000 people. Agricultural labor economist James Holt said that, "Employers can't find enough legal workers to replace this huge number of illegal workers....Their only option is to go where the workers are."

News

Harry Reid Pulls Ag Amnesty from Iraq Supplemental

ag worker

Published:  

In the face of enormous opposition from both sides of the aisle, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid opted to drop the agricultural amnesty from the Iraq Supplemental Spending Bill.

Reid decided to drop language, submitted by Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Larry Craig, that would have given a path to citizenship for 1.3 million illegal agricultural workers, as well as their families.

News

Hundreds Arrested in Largest U.S. Immigration Raid

Published:  

At least 100 immigration agents raided the Agriprocessing plant in Postville, Iowa, at around 10 am (cst) on Monday, May 12. Immigration officials told local authorities that 600-700 arrests were expected at the plant -- a facility that employees around 1,000 individuals.

The ICE raid was executed to look for evidence of suspected identity theft and fraudulent use of Social Security numbers, among other crimes. Immigration agents were also granted permission to investigate individuals suspected of being in the United States illegally.

News

H-2B Low-Skill, Nonimmigrant Visas

tulip farm

Published:  

H-2B visas are issued to temporary, or seasonal, low-skill workers. The annual cap on H-2B visas is 66,000. This cap was hit in the first quarter of FY 2004 and 2005. Almost immediately, the restaurant, tourism/resort, construction, and other similar industries began lobbying for an increase in the cap. Members of Congress are currently under heavy pressure from the restaurant, tourism/resort, construction and other similar industries to increase in the annual H-2B cap.

News

Congress split on importation of “high-skill” workers

keyboard

Published:  

In the opening months of the 110th Congress, several proposals that would boost importation of H-1B “high-skill” nonimmigrant alien workers have been introduced. It seems that, unfortunately, too many of our Members of Congress fail to see that allowing the mass introduction of foreign workers into the U.S. workforce not only ensures that countless native-born programmers, engineers, and professors stay unemployed or underemployed, it also drives down their wages if they are actually able to find a job.

News

Rohrabacher Calls for National Day of Prayer for Ramos and Compean

Ramos & Compean

Published:  

(May 8) Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) has called for a National Day of Prayer for law enforcement officials and, specifically, for jailed Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who are currently serving federal prison terms for wounding an illegal alien drug smuggler. At a press conference this week, Rep.

Pages