Ohio Senator Says No Workers’ Compensation for Illegal Immigrants
A Republican senator for Ohio is pushing to keep the nation’s largest state-run worker insurance program from giving benefits to illegal immigrants. He said the change would lower small business insurance premiums. Senator Bill Seitz, of Cincinnati, said that he was shocked to learn that the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation does not require workers [...]
Hispanic Group Sues Ohio for License Plate Policy
A Hispanic group has filed a lawsuit that asks a judge to stop Ohio’s policy of canceling vehicle registrations for thousands of people if they do not provide certain documentation. The League of United Latin American Citizens says that state officials, by way of the policy, are seeking proof of legal residency and entering the [...]
Connecticut Raid Retaliation for ID Cards
Ten residents of Connecticut have filed a lawsuit that accuses federal authorities of having violated their rights by conducting an immigration raid in response to a New Haven program. The program provides identification cards to foreigners that are illegally staying in the United States. The June 6, 2007 raid came two days after the city [...]
Expulsion of Grieving Spouses Rule Ended
President Barack Obama recently signed into law a bill that terminates a rule that made newly-married foreigners vulnerable to expulsion if their American spouses died within two years of marriage. The rule also required the expulsion to take place before their application for permanent residence was approved. Commonly known as “the widows’ penalty,” the rule [...]
San Francisco Changes Tack on Immigrant Minors
San Francisco is changing the way it deals with illegal immigrant minors who encounter trouble with law enforcement. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors gave approval on Tuesday to a new measure that would prevent law enforcement from giving minors to immigration authorities unless they have been found guilty of a felony. The move reverses [...]
Eight Immigrants Drown in Greece
Three adults and five children drowned in the Aegean Sea on Tuesday when their boat hit rocks near the shore and sank, Greek officials say. The boat was carrying seventeen illegal immigrants – an eighteenth man, suspected of being a member of a human smuggling operation, was arrested after being found nearby. Rescuers found nine [...]
Groups Call for Balance in Labor and Immigration Law
Immigration raids at workplaces during the Bush administration have interfered with ongoing labor investigations and allowed employers to exploit workers who complained about job conditions. The increased amount of immigration enforcement was held at the expense of labor protection, which is guaranteed to all workers regardless of immigration status, said several labor groups in a [...]
Immigrants Cite Sexual Orientation for Asylum
An increasing number of immigrants have used their sexual orientation to argue in court that it is too dangerous for them to return home. Victoria Neilson, an attorney for Immigration Equality, said that the nonprofit group successfully won over fifty asylum cases last year using sexual orientation as grounds. The group won thirty cases the [...]
Man Gets 18 Months in Gay Immigration Fraud
A man accused of advising immigrants to say they had been persecuted for homosexuality in their home country when applying for asylum has been sentenced to eighteen months in prison. Steven Mahoney, of Washington, advertised as an expert in immigration affairs, and ran Mahoney and Associates in Kent, Washington. His company advised immigrants on how [...]
Mexican Man Sentenced in Immigrant Hostages Case
A Mexican man was recently sentenced to twenty-five years in federal prison in connection with a group of men who held almost two dozen illegal immigrants hostage last year in a drop house in Phoenix. Prosecutors said that thirty-seven-year-old Evaristo Ortiz-Jimenez was sentenced Monday in a United States District Court. He had previously pleaded guilty [...]