Archive for February, 2010
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
Stewart Rabinowitz, of the Dallas-based law firm Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, offers some perspectives on the island nation’s current calamitous chaos.
On January 13, 2010, DHS Deputy Press Secretary Matt Chandler, in response to the devastating earthquake epicentered in Port au Prince, Haiti, announced a suspension of removals to Haiti. Chandler said, “Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Assistant Secretary John Morton today halted all removals to Haiti for the time being in response to the devastation caused by yesterday’s earthquake. ICE continues to closely monitor the situation.”
The Administration considered and on January 15, 2010 granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the wake of the disaster. TPS allows citizens of countries so designated who are in the U.S. illegally to stay and work in the U.S. legally for up to 18 months. Haitians who were residing in the U.S. on the day of the quake and who meet other requirements are eligible to apply. Presently, the DHS is readying for the registration of what DHS estimates to be 100,000-200,000 Haitians eligible to TPS. The registration period will begin on the date that DHS publishes notice in the Federal Register. Qualifying Haitians in the U.S. will have a 180 day window thereafter in which to file. TPS can be extended multiple times depending on Department of State’s assessment of country conditions. “Conditions are horrific there, almost unimaginable,” said Stewart Rabinowitz with the Dallas-based law firm Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, “I am pleased that the Administration wasted little time in recognizing the severity of the situation.” According to Rabinowitz, Haiti is the poorest nation in the Northern Hemisphere, and this latest natural disaster, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, the first major event of this kind in at least 200 years, is only the latest in a string of natural disasters. “Haiti has yet to recover from Tropical Storm Fay and hurricanes Gustav, Hanna, and Ike, which pounded Haiti in August and September 2008, killing a total of 793 people and leaving hundreds more missing. The country has also experienced riots over skyrocketing food prices and must endure a continued presence of UN troops to maintain order and now, a major earthquake in a country where buildings possess very little structural integrity.”
At least qualifying Haitians here can register for TPS and obtain employment authorization and can begin to assist family members in Haiti by remittances they will be able to send home to help in that country’s rebuilding process.
To learn more about Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, P.C., call 1.972.233.6200 or visit Rabinowitzrabinowitz.com.
Tags: Dallas immigration, Dallas Immigration attorney, Dallas Immigration lawyer
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Sunday, February 14th, 2010
Stewart Rabinowitz, of the Dallas-based law firm Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, echoes some timely comments against the despicable modern-day practice of human trafficking coincident with ICE efforts to combat the practice.
Recently U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) described the increasingly prevalent practice of human trafficking, which has emerged as a global phenomenon. “It’s the equivalent of 21st century slavery,” said Stewart Rabinowitz, of the Dallas-based law firm Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, “It may include forced labor, prostitution, child labor, or indentured servitude, but every day, people of all ages in many countries lead lives of desperation that are anything but quiet. In fact, their situations may be precarious if not also outright dangerous.”
Typical scenarios are varied but may include elements of the following: A young woman is smuggled across the U.S. border with the promise of a better life. Once she arrives here, she is forced to work as a prostitute to pay off her smugglers. With no travel or identity documents and unable to speak the language, she is trapped in a nightmare with little hope for escape.
Human trafficking is a serious cross-border crime, often leading to tragic consequences, and ICE is leading a U.S. federal government effort designed to investigate and dismantle human trafficking organizations.
“Criminal networks are becoming increasingly sophisticated when it comes to human trafficking,” asserted Rabinowitz, “It is a disturbing trend that should be met with an equally sophisticated response to proactively attack these criminal entities.”
The ICE has instituted several programs dedicated to combating human trafficking including:
Assuming the lead role in the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center (HSTC), the U.S. government’s intelligence center for federal agencies involved in combating human smuggling, human trafficking, and terrorist travel.
ICE is training law enforcement and government partners around the world, conducting training sessions on trends in trafficking, undercover operations, and conducting investigations in foreign countries.
ICE is overseeing a variety of outreach and public awareness efforts, including the “Hidden in Plain Sight” campaign to educate citizens on recognizing the signs of human trafficking and reporting suspected trafficking victims.
ICE’s efforts are paying off. The agency opened 566 human trafficking investigations in Fiscal Year 2009, a 31 percent increase over the previous fiscal year and which led to 388 arrests, 148 indictments and 165 convictions.
To learn more about Rabinowitz & Rabinowitz, P.C., call 1.972.233.6200 or visit Rabinowitzrabinowitz.com.
Tags: Dallas immigration, Dallas Immigration attorney, Dallas Immigration lawyer
Posted in Press Releases | No Comments »
Sacramento and Solano Counties’ law enforcement agencies are the first in northern California to benefit from a program developed by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security that identifies and removes dangerous criminal aliens.
On January 12, 2010, law enforcement agencies in Sacramento and Solano counties became the first counties in northern California to participate in an initiative developed by the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Homeland Security (DHS), referred to as Secure Communities. The Secure Communities program has been designed to remove dangerous criminal aliens from the community and is administered by U.S.Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Secure Communities permits ICE to determine whether an individual arrested by a participating state or local law enforcement agency is a dangerous criminal alien so ICE can take the appropriate action to remove the individual from the community.
The Secure Communities program makes biometric identification technology accessible to the local law enforcement agencies in Sacramento and Solano counties that use electronic booking machines. Formerly as part of the booking process, local arrestees’ fingerprints were taken and checked for criminal history information against the DOJ biometric system maintained by the FBI. Under Secure Communities’ processing, that fingerprint information will now be simultaneously checked against both the FBI criminal history records and the biometrics-based immigration records maintained by the DHS.
If there is a match with fingerprints in DHS’s biometric system, the new automated process notifies ICE, enabling the agency to take appropriate action to ensure dangerous criminal aliens are held until ICE can transfer them into ICE’s custody. The agency gives top priority to foreign nationals who pose the greatest threat to public safety, such as those with prior convictions for major drug offenses, murder, rape, robbery and kidnapping.
“Secure Communities provides local law enforcement with an effective tool to identify dangerous criminal aliens,” said Acting Secure Communities Executive Director Marc Rapp. “Enhancing public safety is at the core of the ICE’s mission. Our goal with Secure Communities is to use information sharing to prevent criminal aliens from being released back into the community, with little or no additional burden on our law enforcement partners.”
Sacramento and Solano counties join five other California counties participating in the Secure Communities program.
Since October 2008 when the program began, Secure Communities has identified more than 11,000 foreign nationals charged or convicted with Level 1 crimes, such as murder, rape and kidnapping.
