This link is a two page FAQ on an employer’s most asked questions about Social Security no-match letters. If you employ US citizens AND/OR foreign nationals, you must treat them exactly the same when hiring regardless of nationality. But no one ever said the I-9 rules were easy. Enjoy.
The DREAM Act Lives!
November 15th, 2010Congress will get another chance to pass the DREAM Act before the end of the year. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, will force a vote while they still control the Congressional agenda.
The DREAM Act allows the children of immigrants who came into the US illegally to legalize, become green card holders and eventually US citizens if they finish high school and either go to college or enroll in the military. For more details, see the link below. Casey Wolff, Esq.
http://immigrationimpact.com/2010/11/12/pelosi-reid-to-push-dream-act-in-lame-duck/
Your Blog Master Presents: “Freedom to Dream: Rights of Immigrants”
October 25th, 2010For those of you in Naples, Fl, on October 28, from 6:00-7:30, I will be presenting Freedom to Dream: Rights of Immigrants, at the Florida Gulf Coast University’s Renaissance Academy, 1010 Fifth Avenue South, Naples, FL. This is part of the Collier County ACLU presentations regarding fundamental civil rights and constitutional protections that are too often disregarded when immigrants are concerned.
This also gives your Blog Master an opportunity to finally meet those of you who follow this blog. For a copy of the Renaissance Academy Progam, use the following link: http://www.fgcu.edu/racademy/Fall%202010%20courses.pdf. Hope to see you.
Casey Wolff, Esq. , Blog Master
New GREEN CARD LOTTERY is Here!!!
October 12th, 2010The 2012 Green Card Lottery has started! Registration runs from October 5 to November 1, 2010. Winners are now notified electronically, not by US mail, starting May 1, 2011. If you would like my law firm to register you, then click on our website: www.naplesfloridalawgroup.com . Good Luck.
Busted: Immigration Myths You Need To Know
September 22nd, 2010The Brookings Institute is an internationally recognized “think tank” . When Brookings talks, we should listen.
Below are 7 myths that Brookings has “busted” concerning immigrants paying taxes, starting businesses, being deported, making a positive economic impact, etc. Most important is the Pew Research Center’s poll showing 63% of Americans favor reforming immigration laws to allow qualified illegal immigrants to legalize under certain conditions, including paying a substantial fine for violating immigration laws.
Enjoy the following:
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 20, 2010
Seven Myths That Cloud Immigration Debate
Immigration, Migration, U.S. Politics, Governance
Darrell M. West, Vice President and Director, Governance Studies
USA Today
SEPTEMBER 01, 2010 —
The United States is shockingly irrational in the way it handles immigration. Unlike other nations that strategically use immigration to pursue national goals, we lurch from concerns about border security to illegal immigrants to drugs and crime without considering our long-term political and economic priorities.
One of the chief sources of irrationality is the myths that have arisen about immigrants and immigration policy. Befitting a subject that is politically charged, here’s where ordinary Americans and policymakers often get it wrong:
Myth No. 1 — Illegal immigrants don’t pay taxes. They actually pay a variety of taxes. Because many undocumented workers hold jobs, a large number pay income, Social Security and Medicare taxes, as well as sales taxes when they purchase items in stores and property taxes when they rent or own homes. One study found that they pay $162 billion annually in federal, state and local taxes. Another project found that the average immigrant paid $1,800 more in taxes than government benefits received.
Myth No. 2 — The United States rarely deports illegal immigrants. In fact, the government deports 350,000 people annually. Since 1999, more than 2.2 million people have been deported from the United States, including visitors who overstayed their visas, lied on immigration forms, or committed serious crimes. State and federal officials regularly check the immigrant status of those who are arrested or serving time in prison.
Myth No. 3 — Economics and business drive U.S. immigration policy. Two-thirds of the 1 million official visas awarded each year are based on family unification. Conversely, only 15% of visas each year are awarded for employment purposes. Other nations devote a far higher percentage of visas to economic or employment-related reasons. Canada, for example, grants more than half of its visas for employment-related reasons.
Myth No. 4 — The United States makes a special effort to attract scientists, engineers and technological experts. Right now, we set aside only 65,000 of America’s nearly 1 million visas each year for high-skilled workers. This is well below the 195,000 high-skilled visas that the U.S. allowed from 1999 to 2004. One study found that 25% of all the technology and engineering businesses launched in the USA from 1995 to 2005 had a foreign-born founder. In Silicon Valley, that number was 52.4%.
Myth No. 5 — The courts treat immigrants fairly. In immigration court deportation proceedings, those who have a lawyer win their cases 46% of the time, compared with 16% for those without a lawyer. Because these are civil courts, defendants have no Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination and no guarantee of legal representation.
Myth No. 6— Americans oppose allowing illegal immigrants to stay in the United States and become citizens. Polling data suggest there is public support for a “path to citizenship” for illegal immigrants currently in the country, subject to certain conditions. Results from a Pew Research Center survey show that 63% favor a “path to citizenship” if illegal immigrants pass a background check, pay fines and have a job.
Myth No. 7 — News stories about immigration are balanced. Studies of mainstream print and broadcast coverage in recent years have found, for instance, that news outlets are twice as likely to focus on the costs rather than benefits of immigration.
Given the importance of immigration to our economic growth, security and national identity, we need a new narrative. We should think about finding the next Albert Einstein, Sergey Brin, or Andrew Grove, future innovators who can start businesses and create high-paying jobs. An immigration policy based on a
A Sane Voice About Fabricated Immigration Fears.
September 5th, 2010Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is simply making stuff up. The rhetoric coming from Arizona recently about illegal immigrants, border violence, desert “beheadings”, ”terror babies” , etc. is pure “b.s.” that is being legitimized by those who should know better. In true entrepreneurial spirit, Arizona has dusted off an old but effective product to sell into our recessionary climate: fear.
The New York Times editorial from Sept. 4, 2010 (see link below) is short, accurate and timely. It deserves your attention.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/05/opinion/05sun2.html?_r=1&emc=eta1
New York Mayor Bloomberg On Ground Zero, Muslims and Religion.
August 18th, 2010New York is the “freest city is the world”. In his stirring speach defending the rights of a property owner to build a house of worship on private property, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said:
“Our doors are open to everyone. Everyone with a dream and a willingness to work hard and play by the rules. New York City was built by immigrants, and it’s sustained by immigrants — by people from more than 100 different countries speaking more than 200 different languages and professing every faith. And whether your parents were born here or you came here yesterday, you are a New Yorker.”
The link below is the Mayor’s complete speech. Read it. Pass it on to those who ignore history. Pass it on to those who love history. This event is the making of history. Immigration, religious tolerance and the history of New York City symbolize why the US remains the “gold standard” for people around the globe.
http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/08/03/mayor_bloomberg_on_mosque
Your Blog Wizzard on Internet Radio
July 22nd, 2010The Progressive Radio Network interviewed your humble blog wizard, Casey Wolff, Esq., on immigration, immigration reform, Arizona’s new profiling law and the subtle racism behind much of the restrictionist rhetoric that overwhelms the media with its volume versus its content. Click the link below and enjoy.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-dr-molly-barrow-show
From Your Friendly Naples Florida Immigration Attorney: Republicans Still Don’t Get It. Latino Voters Don’t Vote Republican for a Reason.
March 3rd, 2010The Center for Immigration Studies, a conservative think tank linked to nativists and other unsavory characters, has discovered that Latino voters don’t like politicians who don’t like Latinos. Surprised? Don’t think so.
The demographics of the new Latino voters is generally pro-immigration, pro-reform, pro-family unity and against anti-immigration demagogs and closet-racists. In other words, the CIS recommends that the Republican Party write off the Latino voter and continue to be the party against immigration reform, against family unity and against the largest minority group in the US. What has happened to the Grand Ol’ Party?
Article is below:
Haitians Helping Haitians : TPS
January 16th, 2010Moving at “warp speed”, the Dept. of Homeland Security granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitians in the US. Illegal Haitians who register for TPS can work, obtain a social security number, pay taxes and send money back to Haiti. Haitians helping Haitians .
