News

Government probing work of immigration law firm

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"The nation's largest immigration law firm is under federal scrutiny over whether it helped major U.S. corporations disqualify American job applicants and give thousands of high-paying positions to immigrants.

The unprecedented Labor Department inquiry centers on Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy -- a New York firm at the forefront of a political effort to ease hiring of skilled foreign workers...."

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080624/immigration_lawyers.html?.v=1

Fresno firm is E-Verify pioneer: Electronic system favored by feds is used to check employees' legal status.

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"Kris Stuebner, director of administration for the Fresno-based JEM, said the company started using the system because of the concern over hiring a legal work force. "We wanted to do the right thing," Stuebner said.

And while the system allows the company to check an employee's work status by quickly verifying a person's Social Security number and name, it's not without challenges, said Stuebner, who attended a seminar about E-Verify on Tuesday. The event, held at the Piccadilly Inn in Fresno, was sponsored by the California Employers Association...."

Senators say offshore firms are H-1B visas' biggest users

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Nine foreign-based companies that specialize in offshoring U.S. technology jobs received about 20,000 H-1B visas last year, according to data released yesterday by U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). The top user of H-1B visas is India-based Infosys Technologies Ltd., which received 4,908 visas in the 2006 fiscal year. It was followed by Wipro Ltd., which received 4,002 visas, and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., with 3,046.

House Republicans Seek to Force Floor Vote on Immigration Enforcement Bill

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Minority Whip Roy Blunt , R-Mo., said he expects about 100 Republicans to sign the petition by Rep. Thelma Drake , R-Va., which seeks to bring to the House floor border enforcement legislation introduced by Rep. Heath Shuler , D-N.C. Shuler’s bill has 141 cosponsors — 93 Republicans and 48 Democrats. But it is not clear how many Democrats will sign the discharge petition.

House GOP wants immigration vote

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... Rep. Thelma Drake (R-Va.), backed by her leaders, filed the discharge petition calling for a vote on the Shuler bill, which would add 8,000 border guards to the federal payroll, expedite the deportation of illegal immigrants and expand an existing database for employers to check the eligibility of a potential worker. ...http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/8977.html

Forging immigration reform

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... we joined together to craft the Secure America with Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act. The SAVE Act provides a three-pronged approach to curb illegal immigration: enhanced border security, employment verification and dramatically increased enforcement of our nation's existing laws...http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/mar/14/forging-immigration-reform/

By Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC) and Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA), in the Washtington Times, March 14, 2008

SAVE-ing Immigration Reform

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Something unorthodox occurred on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. The House Republican leadership began pushing a “discharge petition” — a procedural maneuver designed to force a floor vote — on a piece of Democratic legislation. The bill in question is the SAVE Act, authored by freshmen Congressman Heath Shuler (D., N.C.).

Treading on a taboo

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"Portland's fevered efforts to stave off global warming by reducing carbon dioxide began more than two decades ago. And how much progress have we made? None. Zero. Zilch. Every day we dump more planet-threatening gas into the atmosphere. Why? Because at the same time Portland's metro-area population has grown by 42 percent.

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