Immigration

Get the latest news on immigration, including immigration law, immigration reform, illegal immigration, and more.

Immigration Law Affects Alabama Businesses
Oct 13, 2011

A strict new immigration law that went into effect in Alabama on September 29 has impacted small businesses in the state.

Under the new law, business owners must furnish proof of legal residency to obtain or renew a business license. This new requirement is likely to cause administrative snafus, the Decatur Daily recently reported.

The city anticipates that after a January deadline, it will have to return business license renewal applications to owners who did not include proof of citizenship status, Tina Boyles, head of Decatur's revenue department, told the Daily.

Immigration Agency Clarifies Startup America Policies
Aug 23, 2011

To mark the six-month anniversary of the Startup America program, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency recently clarified immigration laws designed to promote domestic business investment and job creation.

A new Frequently Asked Questions page on the USCIS website specifies eligibility requirements for EB-2 visas.

Alabama Business Owners Anxious About E-Verify
Aug 23, 2011

By attending panels like the one recently organized by Alabama Employers for Immigration Reform, Alabama small business owners are educating themselves about how to comply with the E-Verify requirement of a state immigration law passed earlier this year.

The four attorneys on the AEIR panel stressed the importance of running every employee through the federal E-Verify database to determine their citizenship status, the Montgomery Advertiser reports.

There are no penalties for business owners who do not use E-Verify, but consequences will be harsh if authorities discover illeg

Businesses Struggle to Cope with Immigration Audits
Aug 17, 2011

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has audited a record number of businesses this year, forcing undocumented workers off payrolls and putting business owners in difficult situations, the Wall Street Journal recently reported.

As of August 6, ICE had audited or was in the process of auditing 2,393 companies, which the Journal said was the highest recorded number ever for a single fiscal year.

In 2009, the Obama administration scaled back deportation raids in favor of audits, which require employers to furnish documents establishing the citizenship status of employees.

Farmers Say Proposed Law Will Create Agricultural Labor Shortage
Aug 8, 2011

California farmers warn that immigration reforms recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives will hurt the nation’s agriculture sector, The Fresno Bee reports.

In June, Rep. Lamar Smith, a Republican from Texas, introduced a bill stipulating that all U.S. businesses use E-Verify, a federal database, to ascertain the citizenship status of employees.