Thread: Life is made tougher for immigrants

Life is made tougher for immigrants
By Ouisa D. Davis / Guest columnist
Article Launched: 08/24/2007 12:00:00 AM MDT

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Citizenship and Immigration Services knows well -- a sure-fire way to guarantee revenues is to increase fees and make it mandatory for a population to pay those fees. And immigrants are a captive audience with neither voice nor choice.

Less than a month after doubling most immigration fees, US CIS has announced that over 275,000 legal permanent residents must have their identification cards re-issued. Why? Because they were issued with no expiration date.

Let's be clear here -- permanent resident status does not expire. It's not like a driver's license or a passport. Permanent resident status is just that, the ability to reside in the U.S. permanently. Of course, we encourage naturalization, but neither existing law nor the Constitution requires it.

So why do we need an expiration date on permanent resident cards? We don't. But immigrants are a revenue source. And CIS is desperately in need of funding. Historically, the agency is one of the most underfunded departments of the federal government -- and the most inefficient.

At a cost of $370 per card, these legal immigrants will generate approximately $101.8 million for the agency. Who can resist that temptation?

There's no way around this new conundrum.

Permanent residents will fall victim to a myriad of new immigration problems. For example, in 1996, several non-serious crimes were declared deportable offenses. Thankfully, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that applicationof the laws for such convictions is unconstitutional. However, in order to assert that defense, the immigrant will be detained, undergo deportation proceedings and a trial in order to clear their record.

While waiting for their new card, permanent residents will be unable to certify employment eligibility. The applicant will probably be given a paper document or a receipt letter. With the requirement for verifiable proof and recent threats of workplace enforcement, employers will likely hesitate when presented with a beaten-up paper entry permit or a CIS receipt notice as proof of employability.

Who decides whether or not a document is valid for travel or employment? Employers? TSA officials at the airports? Border Patrol officers untrained in the intricacies of immigration laws? Local law enforcement? Will the immigrant be jailed under mandatory detention laws while we figure it out?

Affected immigrants will be buried in the processing backlog. As it is, the average processing time for issuance of a permanent resident card is six months. What happens when over 275,000 new applications flood the CIS processing center? What guarantee do we have that CIS will be prepared with adequate staff?

And then there's the question of FBI background checks. The system is completely overwhelmed. That's one reason it's taking so long for U.S. citizens to get passports. With a six- and nine-month waiting period, people remain in limbo while background checks are completed.

Will permanent residents be permitted to travel within the U.S. while awaiting new ID cards? Will they be able to apply for citizenship? Will they be permitted to file applications to immigrate spouses and minor children who remain in their native land?

An obvious way to avoid this problem is for permanent residents to apply for citizenship. That only takes between 13 and 36 months. Oh, and by the way, that fee has also increased -- from $470 to $755. It's a captive audience.

Ouisa D. Davis is an attorney at law in El Paso.

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... wtopic&f=6

Let's see. The older green cards were issued between 1977 to 1989. NOW, Ruiz is considering becoming an American citizen because he is getting older and because of the benefits American citizens have. He's been here all these years and never tried to become a American citizen. What is wrong with this picture?




http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5080088.html

Aug. 23, 2007, 11:13PM
Fee to renew green card has workers concerned
Only holders of the old-style documents may need to reapply




DETAILS

More information on the proposed green card change is available at the USCIS Web site: www.uscis.gov.
Jorge Luis Ruiz is one of 750,000 legal residents the government wants to check out.

That's because Ruiz, a 54-year-old Houston butcher, has an older "green card" or resident alien card without an expiration date.

The government, for security reasons, has proposed that legal immigrants such as Ruiz reapply for a new card, a process that includes a fingerprint check and stringent background investigation. The cost is nearly $400.

Ruiz predicts the proposed change will cause pain in the immigrant community.

"Do you think someone who earns $7 an hour is going to be able to afford a new mica, and still pay all the bills?" said Ruiz, using the Spanish slang for the credential. "And especially if only one in the household is working?"

Instead of renewing the card, Ruiz is now considering spending a little bit more and becoming a U.S. citizen. "I'm thinking about that because I'm getting older and because of the benefits American citizens have," he said.

The proposal, published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, would require people who were issued green cards between 1977 and 1989 to pass a fingerprint and background check and pay a $370 processing fee, or face criminal penalties.

"We're doing this for security reasons," said Maria Elena Garcia-Upson, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service spokeswoman in Texas. "We need to make sure that everyone out there is walking around with a secured card. ... Our world changed after 9/11."


Comments being accepted
The proposal is not yet law, and the federal government plans to accept comments through Sept. 21, officials said.

Benito Juarez , director of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, said there are relatively few immigrants in Houston with the cards.

"These are the old, old cards," Juarez said. "I don't think there are a lot of them ... "

Under the plan, legal residents would have 120 days to replace their green cards, which are proof of authorization to work and live in the U.S.

Lawful permanent residents would have to pay a $290 replacement application fee plus $80 for electronic fingerprints and a photo. Those who repeatedly fail to comply face up to 30 days in prison and a $100 fine.

Green cards issued within that 12-year window, from 1977 to 1989, had no expiration dates. Newer green cards must be renewed after 10 years.


Expert offers advice
One immigration expert in Houston said legal residents with the older cards should instead apply for full citizenship.

"The best move is to become a U.S. citizen," said Nelson Reyes , executive director of the Central American Resource Center in southwest Houston. "Because it costs $675 to become a U.S. citizen, and to renew the card is nearly $400. These costs are similar, but the benefits of becoming a U.S. citizen are greater."

Crystal Williams, deputy director for programs for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said the proposed law is, "to some extent, asking people to report themselves for deportation." Under a 1996 immigration law, permanent residents convicted of a range of crimes are subject to deportation, even if the offenses occurred years ago.

The new background and fingerprint check required under the proposed law would bring applicants' criminal history to the attention of immigration officials, Williams said.

Williams also said she is concerned that the affected green card holders may not realize — if the rule becomes law — that they need to renew their green cards, since they have been in the U.S. for so long.

susan.carroll@chron.com; james.pinkerton@chron.com

Let's be clear here -- permanent resident status does not expire.

The status as Permanent Resident does not expire but the card has an expiry date of 10 years. It has to be renewed every 10 years. I think the reasons are you have an updated photo on your greed card, some Perm Residents die or leave the country and give it up.. renewals also prevent somebody else to use the card or collect benefits in behalf of a dead resident.

Earn your right to be here, don't cry and complain that its to hard! You are not handed things in life you must work for them!