US Immigration

Subscribe to US Immigration via RSS

AUTHOR:  Harry J. Joe.

The United States Department of Justice announced on July 8, 2013 that its Civil Rights Division’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration – Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Labor Relations Board that will allow both agencies to share information, to

…

On July 10, 2013, the Second Circuit, applying the Supreme Court’s ruling in Hoffman Plastics, denied back pay to undocumented bakery workers who were terminated for participating in protected labor activities.  The Court rejected the argument that the matter should be distinguished from Hoffman Plastics since the petitioners committed no fraud in obtaining employment.  Unlike…

AUTHOR:  Harry J. Joe.

An employer who failed to complete an I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form within three days of an employee’s start date commits a substantive violation for which the good faith defense is not available to mitigate the assessed fine, according to a recent ruling from the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing

…

The U.S. Supreme Court has taken another swipe at an Arizona statute that addresses the State’s response to illegal immigration.  In Arizona v. Intertribal Council of Arizona, Inc., No. 12-71 (June 17, 2013), the Court invalidated part of Arizona’s voter registration law, which required applicants to submit documentary evidence of citizenship when registering to vote…

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s release of its decision in United States v. Windsor, No. 12-307 (June 26, 2013), DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano issued an updated statement confirming that “President Obama [had] directed federal departments to ensure the decision and its implication for federal benefits for same-sex legally married couples are implemented swiftly and smoothly.”…

 AUTHOR:  Harry J. Joe.

 Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s efforts to obtain enhanced civil penalties against employers for Form I-9 violations has met with resistance from the Justice Department’s Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO) in two rulings issued on March 18, 2013.
 
In the first, United States of America v. Siam Thai

…

The Senate’s immigration bill, S. 744, just voted out of the Judiciary Committee and sent for a vote by the full Senate, greatly increases potential penalties for employment verification related violations.   Under S. 744, the civil fine for a first offense of knowingly hiring or continuing to employ an undocumented worker ranges from $3,500 –

…

AUTHOR:  Robert Neale.

As the comprehensive immigration reform bill moves from the U.S. Senate’s Judiciary Committee to a full Senate floor debate, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to introduce its own version of a comprehensive immigration reform bill soon. Unlike the Senate bill, no details of the possible House bill have been…