We are bringing the world’s smartest people to our shores, training them, and then making them leave.
From his early childhood, Sanjay Mavinkurve dreamed of coming to America and making it big. So his parents, who are from India, sent him to boarding school in Cleveland, Ohio when he was 14. He did so well that he gained a scholarship to Harvard, where he completed both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in computer science. In his spare time, he helped conceive the design for Facebook and wrote its first computer code. After graduating, Sanjay joined Google and designed key parts of their mapping software for mobile devices.
In 2006, foreign nationals residing in the U.S. were named as inventors or co-inventors in an astounding 26 percent of patent applications filed in the U.S.Opponents of H-1B visas complain that these visas cause job losses and damage the engineering profession. To some extent, they are right. If we bring in too many workers at the lower end of the scale, we could end up causing a reduction of salaries to the point that Americans don’t consider the profession worthwhile. And there are indications that enrollments in computer science have already dropped. The fact is that if we flood the market with workers with any skill, we end up hurting individual members of the profession; if we brought in 100,000 doctors, dentists, or plumbers, we would cause salaries to drop, create unemployment, and discourage Americans from studying these professions.
So we want skilled immigrants, but we want them to come on the right visas as permanent residents. The battles being fought are about bringing in more people with H-1B visas—not about those who are already here with them and stranded in “immigration limbo.†Which means that we’re going to be compounding the hardship on workers who are already here and forcing more, like Sanjay, to abandon America.
Unlike many of the problems facing the United States, this one isn’t hard to fix. All we have to do is to increase the number of visas offered to skilled workers in the EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 categories from 120,000 to around 300,000 per year. And we need to remove the per-country limits. Instead of requiring graduates from top universities who receive jobs from American corporations to go through the tedious H-1B visa process, we should provide a direct path to permanent residence. We are now competing with the rest of the world for the best talent. We need to do all we can to attract and keep skilled immigrants, rather than bring them here temporarily, train them, and send them home.
Vivek Wadhwa is Executive in Residence at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering and a Wertheim Fellow at Harvard Law School’s Labor and Worklife Program.
America's other crisis is how to get these jobs back into the hands of americans who got screwed out of proper wages due to the H1b program
Pregnant inmate shackled to hospital bed during labor
By TRAVIS LOLLER • Associated Press • July 15, 2008
A pregnant illegal immigrant found herself shackled to a hospital bed while enduring labor after being arrested on a charge of driving without a license, according to police and her attorney.
Juana Villegas of Nashville was arrested and taken to the Davidson County Sheriff's Office on July 3 after a Berry Hill police officer pulled her over for alleged careless driving and found she had no driver's license.
Sheriff's spokeswoman Karla Weikal said a check of her immigration status found she had been previously deported, making her a medium-security inmate. Weikal said the sheriff's office knew the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency planned to release Villegas on her own recognizance because of the pregnancy, but she had to stay in jail until she had seen a judge on the local charges.
Villegas' attorney, Elliott Ozment, said Villegas was still in jail awaiting a hearing on the driving charge when she went into labor on the night of July 5. She was taken to Nashville General Hospital at Meharry, where she was handcuffed to the bed by her right wrist and left ankle until shortly before the birth.
Weikal gave a similar account, but said she was shackled to the bed only by the ankle. She said officers took off all restraints two hours before the birth and put them back on about six hours after the birth. A guard was with her at all times.
"The bottom line is she was an inmate in custody," Weikal said. "If she had escaped from the hospital, that would have been the story."
Lawsuit may be filed Ozment said his client endured unnecessarily harsh treatment for a misdemeanor violation. He said he is still deciding whether to file a lawsuit in the case.
"It was a denial of her basic human rights," Ozment said. He said officers would not allow her to take a breast pump with her from the hospital even though she was separated from the baby for more than a day after she was discharged from the hospital, causing painfully engorged breasts. He also said officers shackled Villegas' feet together when she had to go to the bathroom, making it difficult to perform basic hygiene necessary after birth.
Weikal said she could not discuss the details of Villegas' medical care and said she did not know whether Villegas was shackled for trips to the bathroom. She said Villegas' baby was with her for about 40 of the 60 hours she was in the hospital, but agreed that she was separated from the baby for about 34 hours between the time she was released from the hospital and the time she was released from jail.
Ozment said the hospital staff was kind to his client.
"The nurses requested the cuffs be removed and the guards refused," Ozment said. "The nurses were very upset, they were crying."
Robin Embry, a spokeswoman for the hospital, said she could not comment on a specific patient's case, but said that the decision on when to restrain prison patients is left to the discretion of the officers who are present and that physicians can only recommend that restraints be removed.
Case isn't unusual Weikal agreed, saying an inmate's custody level plays a role in the decision.
She also said Villegas' case was not unusual. "People want to ignore the fact that we have 500 females incarcerated every day," she said. "Currently, there are 25 females who are pregnant in jail."
The federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency released Villegas on her own recognizance July 10 after a judge sentenced her to time served for the traffic violation.
Weikal said the detention was especially long in this case because courts were not in session on Friday, July 4; then Villegas went into labor over the weekend and was not released from the hospital until July 8.
Sheriff's spokeswoman Karla Weikal said a check of her immigration status found she had been previously deported, making her a medium-security inmate. Weikal said the sheriff's office knew the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency planned to release Villegas on her own recognizance because of the pregnancy, but she had to stay in jail until she had seen a judge on the local charges.
Now why oh why would we release her ??? she is a felon. deported and entered again!! pregnant so she can deliver a usc child. which she did.. Now we are on the hook to provide welfare for the "usc child" USA should have snagged her and deported her back before she could deliver the child on usa soil.
I dont get it with these drama queen writers. american felons who are pregnant have same treatment in hospitals.
Now a lawsuit is coming soon . Should have deported her and saved themselves the money that they will probably pay out just to settle.
Create The TOOL!!! . Create A Life To Benefit The Family. For This Child Will Be The SAVOR Of The family! LOVED YES, Used Also! . And Creating Difficulty For Another Innocent!!!
I Have Seen The EXTREME!!! It Is Possible The Mother Would Have Bolted, And Grabbed The Child From The Hospital. Ready To leave Or Not!!!! Safe To Leave Or Not!!! Jeapardise The Childs Well Being To Save Self And child. In Thee Paranoia Of The Situation! .
Reality Says That The Deciet Will Probably Prevail! HUMANITARIAN RULES!!! Never Able To See That Was The Plan All Along!!!
Cut Her Own umbilical Cord And Tie It Off with A Shoelace!!! EASY!!!! Desperation Creates A Whole New Set Of Tactics For Survival!!! The System Already Knows This!!! The Average Person Never Gets To See The REAL!!!!
This message has been edited. Last edited by: MakeItRight!,
They have a "ladder of USC" in Arizona, on the fence bordering Mexico. Ever heard of it? It's in some hidden place in the middle of the desert. Every day hundreds of pregnant women (in labor!) pay $$$$ coyotes who help them climb the ladder and then throw them over to US soil. Children are instantly born upon the impact, when their mothers land on sand from 6 feet height. Ridiculous, but true !!!
Have all the good s.ex you can, in all the ways you can, for as long as ever you can !
-- Sabuntium The Great
Posts: 928 | Location: Originally from: Galaxy of Centaurus A (also known as NGC 5128) | Registered: 06-26-2008
U.S. immigration officials plan to unveil a program next week that will allow illegal immigrants without criminal records to "self-deport" by turning themselves in to federal agents, the San Antonio Express-News reports.
Julie Myers, director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told Spanish-language TV network Univision that Operation Scheduled Departure will give people a few weeks to pack their belongings and leave without being detained, the newspaper reports.
Douglas Rivlin, spokesman for the National Immigration Forum, told the Express-News the program is an "attempt to entice people to sign away their rights and get out of the country as quickly as possible before even talking to a lawyer." The paper reported 16,000 immigrants have accepted a similar offer by the U.S. Marshals Service.
Illegal immigrants returning home in large numbers
12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, July 31, 2008
By DIANNE SOLÃS and STELLA M. CHÃVEZ / The Dallas Morning News
By several measures, illegal immigrants appear to be returning home in large numbers, pushed by enforcement efforts and the sagging economy.
A report issued Wednesday in Washington put the size of the exodus at more than a million over the last year, though its methodology was criticized.
Also Wednesday, Mexico's central bank said that remittances – payments sent home by Mexicans working abroad – have slowed after years of steep increases. That announcement came as the Mexican government considers ways to receive and help find work for returnees.
In Dallas, officials said nearly 500 families have gone to the Mexican consulate this year seeking documents needed to enroll their children in Mexican schools. That's twice as many as in all of last year.
The last time Mexico – the country that sends the U.S. the most legal and illegal immigrants – saw a repatriation of significant magnitude was in the 1950s.
This time, the drivers appear to be concerns about the job market and stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws, said Roberto Suro, a University of Southern California professor who formerly directed the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington.
"There is every reason to suspect there is some response to the enforcement efforts that have created an atmosphere of fear," he said, "but knowing what number to put on it is very, very difficult."
Census data
The Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington think tank, did put a number on the migration: 1.3 million over the last year.
That estimate was based on data collected monthly by the Census Bureau on the number of foreign-born adults living in the U.S. The latest data was from May. And the estimates are based on the assumption that the "overwhelming majority" of the estimated 12 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally are Hispanics who are younger adults with relatively little education.
Other groups were quick to criticize that assumption, and the assertion that the population of illegal immigrants peaked last August as Congress debated legislation that would have provided legal status to those here illegally. Critics of the report also said that a lost job doesn't necessarily force a construction worker to leave the country.
Less cash
But construction job losses are affecting remittances, Bank of Mexico President Guillermo Ortiz said Wednesday. He said about 22 percent of Mexican workers in the U.S. have jobs in construction, an industry that has slowed sharply.
Gone are the days when migrants came back to Mexico each year flush with cash, then returned to jobs waiting in the United States, as they did during the boom years of 2002 to 2006.
Now, more migrants rounded up by U.S. immigration officials are being sent home penniless. Others have decided to return for good.
'I want to stay here'
Among them is Nancy Romero, 27, who waited Wednesday for documents from the Mexican consulate in Dallas.
She was with her two boys, ages 6 and 4, but not her husband, who was deported 15 days ago. He was detained after being involved in a traffic accident.
Ms. Romero said, "Returning to my country fills me with emotion. But I also feel for my children because they have so many opportunities here."
Her 6-year-old, Jose, a U.S. citizen, interrupted the conversation to say, "I want to stay here, so I can learn English."
That sentiment is common, according to the Mexican consul in Dallas, Enrique Hubbard, who spends many mornings talking to people about their plans.
"People say they have been out of a job for a long time, or people worry they will be arrested and have to go back," Mr. Hubbard said. "Practically all of them say they have children born here ... and then when the kids grow up, they will have to choose what country they live in. It is very sad, heartbreaking."
Veronica Escobedo, a U.S. citizen raised in Mexico, has three children. She fears for her husband, an illegal immigrant.
"We have family members that have been deported," she said. "My husband is scared and said, 'I don't want the same thing to happen to me.' "
The consul said discussing such emotional decisions is tricky.
"Sometimes, we start questioning the reasons for them to go back and we give the false impression that we don't want them," says Mr. Hubbard, a former ambassador. "They are welcome. It is their home."
Welcomed home
The Mexican government is considering building reception facilities for returnees at four border points, including Nuevo Laredo and Ciudad Juárez, Mr. Hubbard said. A group of Mexican governors is lobbying for preferential hiring of returning immigrants for large infrastructure projects, he noted.
Such a move comes after two Mexican governors came to Dallas last summer to meet with immigrants, who angrily asked them why there was no plan for jobs when they return.
Now, a Mexican government Web site for the Interior Ministry shows a group of Mexicans in line at a metal fence in San Ysidro, California. The headline reads: "Program of Human Repatriation." The subtext: "The federal, state and municipal government and civil society are organizing to help you with dignified treatment so that you can return to your community of origin. We will provide: Medical and psychological help, shelter and food, and communication with your loved ones and information on your options for employment."
Self-deportation
Against this backdrop, the U.S. government detailed Wednesday a pilot program for self-deportation aimed at illegal immigrants from multiple countries who live in five cities. None are in Texas. U.S. immigration officials said there are about 460,000 illegal immigrants who have been given final orders to leave the country but have no criminal charges filed against them.
The migrants would be given 90 days to plan their return to their homelands.
On Wednesday afternoon, Juan and Lucia Estevez and their two boys could only think of returning to Mexico. The couple said they're tired of living as illegal immigrants. They came here hoping to buy a house, but instead saved money to build a home in Mexico City. They plan to leave Friday, over the objections of their 13-year-old son.
Staff writers Javier GarcÃa and Brendan Case and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Another good article in ILW - the rule of law prevails over anti-immigrationists.
The Mills Of God
Two events of note occurred today.
In the first event, US v. Ramos (No. 06-51489, 5th Circuit, July 28, 2008), better known as the Ramos and Compean case, the 5th circuit put the kibosh on efforts by the anti-immigrationists to defend criminals in the uniform of the Border Patrol (the convicted Border Patrol agents Ramos and Compean had argued that they had shot at a fleeing drug smuggler in self defense). The court said "Although disputed, the evidence, taken in the light most favorable to the jury verdict, supports the scenario that [a drug smuggler] fled toward the Mexican border after Compean took a swing at him with his shotgun and that, while he was in flight, the defendants without provocation fired their weapons at him several times." The court noted that "The jury was the fact- finder. The jury heard all of the evidence. The jury returned the verdict. The jury did not believe the Border Patrol agents. It convicted them. The government's evidence, if believed, is sufficient to uphold the convictions. And that is pretty close to the bottom line on guilt or innocence of these agents."
The rule of law has been upheld by the 5th circuit. All those who propound the rule of law should rally behind the court's order. Since the anti-immigrationists repeatedly and loudly proclaim their support for law and order, one would expect them to support the 5th circuit's action. However, as we have long argued, the anti-immigrationists purported support for law and order is only a fig leaf for their real motivation. Their real motivation is, and has always been, bigotry. In the eyes of the anti- immigrationists, when bigotry clashes with law, the law must yield. We will therefore not be surprised if they attack the 5th circuit's order. The anti-immigrationists do not trust trials by jury, they would much prefer trial by diktat. However, today, in the 5th circuit, the antis lost their case (see case below).
In the second event, The Office of Professional Responsibility at DOJ issued a report (see report below), on its Investigation Of Politicized Hiring By The Office Of The Attorney General (i.e. by key aides to the AG), saying: "Kyle Sampson, Jan Williams, and Monica Goodling each violated Department of Justice policy and federal law by considering political or ideological affiliations in soliciting and evaluating candidates for IJs, which are Schedule A career positions, not political appointments. Further, the evidence demonstrates that their violations were not isolated instances but were systematic in nature. The evidence demonstrates further that Goodling violated Department policy and federal law by considering political or ideological affiliations in selecting candidates for the BIA." This report confirms what a number of people have long suspected as to how things were done under the Ashcroft and Gonza*** eras at EOIR.
What does this report mean going forward (beyond possible charges against those who broke the law)? This report specifically mentions two IJs (Garry Malphrus and Mark Metcalf) who were appointed on political grounds despite the fact that they never applied for the jobs, nor were they interviewed by EOIR. Inasmuchas a system of justice must not only be impartial, but must be seen to be impartial, such systematic bias in selecting IJs and members of the BIA over several years cries out to be corrected. AG Mukasey's statement that he would "ensure that ... the conduct described in this report does not occur again at the Department" while a step in the right direction, is not enough, something more dramatic is needed. Perhaps Congress will consider moving EOIR into DHS in the future. Today, however, the DOJ's watchdogs stood up for the rule of the law.
Today's remarkable events attest to the truth of a well known epigram of Freiherr Friedrich von Logau (as translated by Longfellow) which says:
Though the mills of Godgrind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small; Though with patience he stands waiting, with exactness grinds he all.
Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, as long as ever you can.
'Self-deportation' program gets off to a very slow start
Last update: August 5, 2008 - 9:02 PM
SANTA ANA, CALIF. - Wanted: Illegal immigrants with clean records who have ignored court orders to leave the country. Immigration officials are standing by to help you leave the country. No jail. No joke.
That invitation drew only one taker -- in Phoenix -- by midafternoon Tuesday, the first day of a new federal "self-deportation" program that offers eligible illegal immigrants the chance to turn themselves in, get their affairs in order and leave the country without being detained.
The tepid response only reinforced doubts about the idea, which has drawn criticism and even ridicule from both sides of the immigration debate.
"You would have to be crazy -- who would want to turn themselves in?" said Angel Martinez, a construction worker who waited Tuesday outside Immigration and Customs Enforcement's office in Charlotte, N.C., while his son visited a friend detained on immigration violations.
The offer runs through Aug. 22 in Santa Ana, San Diego, Chicago, Phoenix and Charlotte. It could be expanded nationwide if successful.
Thanks Mrs B. I had seen that the Ramos & Compean case had lost their appeal. I'm not surprised. They didn't follow the rules of engagement correctly and claiming self-defense from a fleeing drug smuggler is just unbelievable. The fact he was a drug smuggler doesn't matter. Shame on Lou Dobbs for trying to whip up support for these criminals.
Proudie: it's not that surprising the "self-deport" initiative isn't working too well. After all the high profile ICE raids and subsequent deportation, who would believe the US Government is genuinely going to help you leave without being detained! If they had done this a few years ago, it might have worked better.
We voted Democrat. They'll be no need to sneak in anymore
It is no surprise on the takers of self deport. The option is there. Now there is no longer a reason to cry about being caught in a roundup for detainment. The option was there and they just chose to roll the dice.
Thanks. I can actually understand both sides of the coin on this one. I am sure the stepped-up enforcement of late has caused many, many undocumented immigrants concern that the offer is less than genuine and perhaps a trick and they could still end up behind bars. I honestly don't know what I would do if I were in their shoes. Hard to say, but I'm very thankful that I don't have to make that decision!
Facing deportation, teen achieves college dream with help of Danville benefactor
By Matt O'Brien Contra Costa Times Article Last Updated: 08/15/2008 06:15:51 AM PDT
Arthur Mkoyan, 18, from Fresno, photographed on Wednesday, August 13, 2008, in Danville, Calif.,...
DANVILLE — On the first day of his freshman orientation, Arthur Mkoyan arrived at UC Davis, with his mom, dad, little brother and a woman who was a stranger to all of them just a month ago.
The 17-year-old from Fresno toured the campus this week with what family members say is his restrained, quiet enthusiasm. But his newest friend and benefactor, Sherry Heacox of Danville, was positively bursting with excitement.
Heacox, a food importer who works from her home near downtown Danville, called the Fresno family last month and told them the unimaginable: She wanted Mkoyan to attend his school of choice. And she was going to pay for it.
"She's wonderful. She's just unbelievable," said Asmik Karapetian, Arthur's mother. "It's like a dream come true."
As graduation from Fresno's Bullard High School approached in June, the student with a perfect GPA and a passion for science had been forced to abandon his plans to attend UC Davis. His father was sitting in an Arizona prison after federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents came to arrest him in April.
After school ended, the teen and his parents were scheduled to be deported to Armenia, a country Mkoyan does not remember and has not seen since he was a toddler. His 13-year-old brother, an American citizen who has never set foot in Armenia, likely would return with them.
The story of the Central Valley teen and his family, which has attracted national media attention,
"We gave them all the tools to live here 16 years and then we changed our minds," she said. "I just don't understand our willingness to waste talent."
Instead of letting him study chemistry at a top-ranked research school, Heacox came to learn that the United States might end up shipping Mkoyan off to serve in the Armenian military, since service is compulsory there for young adult men. He turns 18 in October.
Ruben Mkoian, Arthur's father, whose surname is spelled differently, fled Armenia for the United States in 1991, a year when the former Soviet republic was wresting itself from Moscow's collapsing control. The family said they left the country because Mkoian, a law enforcement officer, had exposed corruption in the agency he worked for and caused the family to be harassed at home and at the general store they owned.
As Mkoian arrived in California on a temporary visa and sought political asylum, his wife and 1-year-old son fled for the Russian city of Rostov, where they waited for a time. When they followed Mkoian to Fresno, Arthur was 4. He said he remembers the plane trip and seeing his dad.
"We didn't do anything illegal," Karapetian said. "We have work permit, driver's license, paying taxes. We did our best, but I guess it doesn't matter."
The asylum case was never granted approval by a judge, only rejected, appealed, delayed and finally rejected for a final time earlier this year on the grounds that there was not enough evidence to demonstrate a danger if they returned home to Armenia.
"Arthur, this is not his fault," Karapetian said. "We brought him here. He grew up here. This is his home. He worked very hard, never gave up."
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein put the deportation on hold June 10, Arthur's graduation day, using a rare legislative maneuver.
"As long as our legislation is pending, they will not be removed," Feinstein spokesman Scott Gerber said. "In this case, she thought that Arthur and his family merited a private legislation. We're going to work to see that it's passed."
The move also temporarily released the teen's father, who works as a truck driver. Yet with so much uncertainty, Arthur dropped his plans for his dream school, UC Davis, so he could stay closer to home, attending a community college until the situation was resolved. His undocumented status also made him ineligible for financial aid, so his family could not afford an education that UC Davis says costs boarding students about $25,000 per year.
Heacox could not get Mkoyan out of her head and talked about it with her husband, who told her, "OK, do something about it." The couple, Danville residents for about 13 years, had just watched their daughter graduate from four years at UC Santa Barbara.
Heacox put pen to paper and tracked the family down. Arthur was in another room when his mother answered the phone, talking to someone for what seemed like more than an hour.
"It was just exciting," he said. "I didn't really believe it at first."
Heacox said "there's been an amazing outpouring of public support," with some donors putting money into Arthur's college account for side expenses. As possibly the most famous incoming freshman arriving at UC Davis this fall, the teen said he is neither hiding nor making a big deal of his status as a potential deportee.
"If anybody wants to know, I'd be happy to tell them about it," he said.
Aug 19, 2008 9:31 AM (31 mins ago) By PAMELA CONSTABLE AND N.C. AIZENMAN, AP
WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Jose Trivelli, a graying engineer from Peru, spends his days fixing Internet connections at a Tysons Corner hotel and his evenings listening to a laptop computer program with cartoon characters and a chirpy voice that helps him pronounce such phrases as, "I'd like to open an account" and "Let me call my manager."
At 52, he admits to being slightly embarrassed by the simplistic instructional program, but he says his U.S.-born children, who speak perfect English, are so enthusiastic about his efforts that they help him with difficult words and dream of the day he will be promoted to manager.
Trivelli's employer, Marriott International, has a more ambitious motive for offering thousands of foreign-born housekeepers, cooks and maintenance workers its no-cost "Thirst for Knowledge" program, which simulates conversations in banks, hospitals, shops and schools as well as in hotel kitchens and lobbies.
Marriott and another Bethesda-based company, Miller & Long Concrete Construction, are among several dozen major U.S. corporations spearheading a campaign to turn the divisive national debate about immigration in a more positive direction.
"This is a mission for us," said Andy Chaves, a human resources manager for Marriott and a member of the White House Task Force on New Americans. "When our employees become proficient in English and assimilate into our society, it benefits the company, the community and the individual."
Amid increasing public hostility to immigrants and intensifying efforts by local and federal authorities to crack down on illegal immigration, these business leaders hope to counter criticism of immigrants by highlighting the contributions they make and improving their ability to integrate.
Some companies that employ immigrants have been reluctant to associate themselves with the effort, however, citing fears of public criticism and government scrutiny amid increasingly aggressive federal efforts to track down illegal immigrants and punish their employers.
One company that has taken a strong public stance in favor of helping immigrant workers is Miller & Long. Myles Gladstone, the firm's personnel director, said that it once hired mostly African Americans but that since the early 1990s, fewer U.S.-born workers have applied, and they have been largely replaced
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we should provide a direct path to permanent residence. We are now competing with the rest of the world for the best talent. We need to do all we can to attract and keep skilled immigrants, rather than bring them here temporarily, train them, and send them home. 
. Create A Life To Benefit The Family. For This Child Will Be The SAVOR Of The family! LOVED YES, Used Also! 
