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January 2006 Newsletter January 31, 2006 DEAR CLIENTS AND FRIENDS: As we enter the week leading to Super Bowl XL, we recurrently see a commercial featuring Tom Brady, quarterback of the New England Patriots, surrounded by five burley guards representing the five levels of security for Visa, the credit card. Therefore, in tribute to our national fixation with the Super Bowl, I would like to share with you some of my thoughts on the five levels of security for visa, the immigration benefit. LEVEL #1: COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM We are hearing more and more on the subject of Comprehensive Immigration Reform. In fact, President Bush in this evening’s State of the Union is expected to focus quite heavily on this particular issue in terms of its benefits to our nation’s economic and humanitarian interests. So, what is Comprehensive Immigration Reform? In truth, it represents different things to different people. But at core, Comprehensive Immigration Reform is premised on a growing recognition that U.S. immigration laws and policy are so seriously flawed as to require a major overhaul in order to make it an effectively functioning system serving national needs, rather than trying to deal with the inadequacies of our immigration system in a piecemeal fashion. Comprehensive Immigration Reform does not ignore the need for tougher immigration enforcement or border protection. But it does state that hand-in-hand with toughened enforcement policies needs to be a reengineering of our system of immigration benefits. For example, various reform proposals now pending in the Congress would address such issues as: an increase in the numerical limitations (quota) for both temporary and permanent immigration; some form of earned legalization or guest worker provisions so as to allow productive, law-abiding illegal residents to normalize their immigration status in this country; possible revisions to certain immigration classifications; a partial or even full restoration of certain public benefits to permanent residents; and a re-examination of privacy concerns and civil rights protections to ethnic populations. The fundamental belief of proponents for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (of whom I am one) is that as long as there are gross inequities in our immigration laws, there will be a concomitant compulsion within many foreign national communities to immigrate illegally to the United States for purposes of family reunification, avoidance of persecution, and economic betterment. To focus solely on the enforcement of an outmoded, illogical system is simply a zero-sum game. The Bush Administration has announced its support for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, and there is emerging a strange business-labor coalition in favor of this type of initiative. However, the Senate and the House of Representatives remain far apart on immigration reform issues with the House limiting its commitment solely to enhanced immigration enforcement and border protection. While four separate immigration bills have been introduced within the Senate, they largely remain embedded at the subcommittee level, and it is quite unclear when and if they will work their way through to legislative passage. I do not believe that we will see within the next year Comprehensive Immigration Reform. However, I am absolutely convinced that within the next few years, we will see broad, fundamental revisions to our immigration laws that will better realize the positive role of immigration in enhancing America’s global competitiveness, our own domestic welfare, and our legitimate security concerns. The greatest asset in any organization, running from a mom-and-pop grocery store to gigantic multi-national oil conglomerates is the quality of their employees, and it simply makes no sense for the United States to restrict its access to human talent given emerging wide-scale shortages in our domestic skilled and technological workforce and the extraordinary demands faced by U.S. businesses to remain competitive in a tough globalized environment. LEVEL #2: TOUGHENED IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT AND BORDER PROTECTION In the immediate term, though, I envision that the Congress may very well pass new, harsh laws calling for the apprehension, detention and punishment of illegal aliens and toughened protection measures along our borders with Mexico and, even Canada. Some of these new enforcement measures will simply be the result of greater technological means to monitor and track the entry-exit of foreign nationals as well as their activities in the United States. As a general principle, I believe people – including foreign nationals – should obey the law, and that the United States should utilize new technologies to ensure legal compliance and to address our security concerns. But it does seem to me to be counterproductive and mean-spirited to begin to criminalize foreign nationals who break the law, even for minor infractions, or to create such a rigid system that there is no opportunity to judge the mitigating factors behind an alien’s violation of our immigration laws. We as a nation pride ourselves on the concept of due process – i.e., that every person has a right to a fair and full hearing before an impartial tribunal and that the punishment should fit the crime. But this basic principle in the immigration context is sadly violated. When it comes to broad classes of foreign nationals, I simply cannot see any justification for meting out severe punishments with no opportunity for any type of meaningful due process or the right to relief. There is a whole set of new Congressional initiatives that will only make matters worse by criminalizing seemingly small immigration violations. But in addition to federal action, the states have also become increasingly involved in immigration enforcement actions. More and more states have linked lawful immigration status with such benefits as driver’s licenses, state entitlements, or access to the courts, and are enlisting police forces not only to check on immigration status during routine traffic stops, but also to infiltrate local ethnic communities in order to discover visa violators. In my own state of Minnesota, the Governor has made immigration enforcement a cornerstone of his Administration by proposing a new, sweeping plan that includes such provisions as the creation of a state immigration enforcement effort and state-based sanctions for employers who hire illegal aliens. LEVEL #3: TARGETED LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES Though I personally do not see a swelling national resolve for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, I do anticipate that we will see some positive developments in certain specific pockets of our immigration system. I think that the Congress will sooner rather than later need to address forthrightly the crisis in the H-1B numbers. As you undoubtedly know, the H-1B Temporary Worker classification is the most widely used temporary, nonimmigrant visa classification covering the employment of foreign professionals. This category is capped at 65,000 numbers per year, and these numbers were exhausted even prior to the commencement date of this current fiscal year. While the Congress authorized 20,000 additional H-1B numbers to advanced degree professionals, these numbers have also been used up. As a result, U.S. businesses are at a distinct disadvantage in recruiting key foreign talent necessary for their business expansion and competitiveness. I believe that H-1B liberalization could take the form of one of two measures, or both. First, the Congress could simply raise the overall H-1B quota or, at least, create additional H-1B numbers for a more focused subgroup, such as aliens holding Master’s Degrees or above. For the second alternative, the Congress could expand the grounds for claiming an exemption to the H-1B quota cap, such as granting exempted status to all governmental agencies or for certain key occupations, such as physicians, healthcare workers, scientists, etc. I further believe that the Congress will continue to support immigration reform measures for foreign physicians, particularly those working in either designated medically underserved areas or in positions benefiting indigent, medically at-risk patient populations. We as a country have a significant and ever-growing shortage of physicians. The various state departments of health have over the years used the Conrad State 30 Waiver Program as an important recruitment and retention tool for channeling foreign physicians into practice sites in medically underserved communities or positions benefiting traditionally underserved patient populations. This Waiver Program will currently expire on June 1, 2006. I have over the years been heavily involved in the enactment of the Conrad Waiver Program, and I am certainly gratified to see that this Program seems to have widespread support within the Congress, the Bush Administration, and the states, given its proven contributions to meeting national objectives of providing enhanced access to physicians by the indigent, minority, and medically at-risk patient populations. In the near future, the Congress will begin its consideration of a renewal of this Program, and we will hopefully and presumably see its continuation and expansion. LEVEL #4: INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY I believe very strongly that when all is said and done, each individual needs to take responsibility for his/her own actions and to take appropriate, measured steps in order to attain one’s goals. I hold this as a personal credo and it certainly is a value I try to instill in my children. Ultimately, I think it also holds true for individuals seeking to gain immigration benefits in the United States. Particularly in this era of restrictive immigration benefits and enhanced immigration enforcement concerns, I think every foreign national needs to consider the following:
LEVEL #5: OUR OWN SERVICES IN THESE CHALLENGING TIMES We have seen a major, sustained surge in our firm’s business in the post-9/11 period as immigration becomes progressively more complex and difficult, and the stakes for failure more onerous. In a sense, the situation resembles a remark made to me by the General Counsel of a large university on the East Coast who stated that she felt comfortable working with local immigration counsel on relatively simple cases, but would refer to us exclusively complex and difficult cases and any high profile faculty recruitments. That is exactly what has been happening more generically over the past few years. Immigration across the board has become considerably more difficult and as a result, broadened sets of clients are seeking the services of reputable, top-ranked firms such as our own. At present, we are by far the largest immigration law firm in this region of the country, and we have a solid reputation for serving a diverse, national clientele. At present, our firm consists of six attorneys (although one works half-time under contract) and roughly 10 legal assistants. Our current or former clients are making immense contributions to this country in such diverse areas as medicine, research, academics, commerce, manufacturing, and the arts. I am immensely proud of and stimulated by our clients and by our work. I simply cannot imagine a more rewarding or challenging field than the one in which I work. In terms of some developments within the firm, I am at present heavily involved in achieving the passage of an extension of the Conrad State 30 Waiver Program so as to facilitate the recruitment and retention of physicians in medically underserved communities and academic medical centers. I will be appearing at a major conference of the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) in order to review current immigration developments affecting the physician community. I recently was appointed to the Board of the Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, a nationally respected human right organization, and I continue to be heavily involved as Vice-Chair of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), a 125-year-old immigrant and refugee rights organization providing migration and resettlement services to oppressed populations of all faiths. Our Senior Associate, Dinesh Shenoy, is a highly sought-after legal scholar and analyst. He recently returned from Puerto Rico where he conducted a session on new immigration developments at the mid-year meeting of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and he has also been invited to speak at our Association’s Annual Conference. Two of our employees have recently submitted their resignations in order to pursue once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Kathy Bonnifield will be working as a Director of International Programs of the McKnight Foundation, a nonprofit, philanthropic organization working to strengthen communities, families and individuals. Bree Peterson has accepted a five-month position at Integra Venture, a nonprofit organization in Bulgaria involved in entrepreneurialism and women’s rights, prior to enrolling in law school. We wish both these individuals much success in their new ventures. We have hired several new employees as Legal Assistants, and feel confident in their commitment to continue a tradition in this firm of excellence. First, Amy Anderson holds a degree in Biology and Philosophy, and is currently working in biomedical research. She received a number of academic awards and commendations during her university studies, including being named to Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities. She will be dealing heavily with our physician clientele. Second, Khatra Ali, a native of Somalia, pursued her education in the United Kingdom, Egypt, Somalia, and Kenya, culminating in a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from the University of Nairobi. She has previously worked for the United Nations and in community outreach efforts to the Somali and other ethnic communities in St. Paul and Nairobi. She will be working in a broad range of cases in both our employment and family-based practice areas. Third, Bryan Bradford holds two Master’s in Fine Arts (MFA) degrees – one in fiction and the other in nonfiction writing. He works heavily on various writing intensive immigration cases, including J-1 waivers, Priority Worker Petitions, and National Interest Waivers. We recently redesigned our Website so visit us at www.ingber-aronson.com in order to get to know us better. We are admittedly dealing in a strenuous immigration environment. As a firm, we certainly hope to see a restoration of a more welcoming, promotive national commitment to immigrant admissions and immigration rights. But until that day comes, we will continue to serve our community of clients and friends as an effective provider of immigration legal services. After all, we want our clients to enjoy the same level of visa security as Tom Brady of Super Bowl fame. As always, we would welcome your thoughts and comments on this Newsletter. Cordially, ROBERT D. ARONSON
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Aronson & Associates, P.A. |