ICE Has Fined Texas Businesses over $600K Since October
Napolitano Reiterates the Need for Comprehensive Immigration Reform Legislation
On December 9, 2009, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano confirmed her stance that immigration enforcement is a necessity and must be achieved in conjunction with comprehensive reform of the United States’ broken immigration system. Secretary Napolitano stated, "We can no longer perpetuate a status quo that is unacceptable for workers, employers, law enforcement, faith leaders, and America as a whole. We must seize this moment to build a truly effective immigration system that deters illegal immigration, provides effective and enduring enforcement tools, protects workers from exploitation and retaliation, and creates a tough but fair path to legalization for the millions of illegal immigrants already here."
This statement, made at a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, reiterates the position of the Obama Administration and its intent to present a proposal for comprehensive immigration reform to Congress in early 2010.
Obama Planning to Address Immigration Issues This Year
President Barack Obama plans to begin addressing changes to the U.S. immigration system this year, even though he acknowledges that the recession makes the politics involved in this divisive issue even more challenging. As reported in The New York Times, a senior administration official stated that Obama will frame the new effort as “policy reform that controls immigration and makes it an orderly system.”
Without stating specific proposals, officials commented that the Obama administration favors legislation that would:
- bring illegal immigrants into the legal system by acknowledging that they violated the law and imposing fines and other penalties as deemed appropriate; and
- guard against future illegal immigration by strengthening border enforcement and being tough on employers who hire illegal immigrants, while creating a national system for verifying the legal immigration status of new workers.
Obama plans to speak publicly about immigration issues in May, and over the summer he will convene bipartisan working groups, composed of lawmakers and a variety of immigration groups, to begin discussing possible legislation. Administration officials are still debating the precise timing and strategy for the proposed legislation.
NPR Broadcasts Interview of Napolitano on Topic of Immigration Priorities
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano spoke with National Public Radio reporter Madeleine Brand about her views on federal immigration policy. Topics discussed include enforcement along the border, human trafficking, and criminal sanctions against employers who violate laws.
Obama's Immigration Agenda on White House Website
President Obama's immigration agenda has been posted on the official White House website. The broad agenda is composed of the following items:
Create Secure Borders: Protect the integrity of our borders. Support additional personnel, infrastructure and technology on the border and at our ports of entry.
Improve Our Immigration System: Fix the dysfunctional immigration bureaucracy and increase the number of legal immigrants to keep families together and meet the demand for jobs that employers cannot fill.
Remove Incentives to Enter Illegally: Remove incentives to enter the country illegally by cracking down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants.
Bring People Out of the Shadows: Support a system that allows undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine, learn English, and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens.
Work with Mexico: Promote economic development in Mexico to decrease illegal immigration.
It remains to be seen how the agenda will be implemented. For more information about developments in our nation's capital, visit Littler's Washington DC Employment Law Update.
