Obama, on Telemundo, rules out freezing deportations of most illegal immigrants

The Washington Post

President Obama on Tuesday ruled out using his executive authority to freeze deportations for most of the 11 million immigrants in the country illegally, saying such a move would violate federal law.

With a comprehensive immigration overhaul stalled on Capitol Hill, advocates have called on the president to move forward without congressional approval to halt the deportations, estimated at more than 1,000 per day.

But Obama said such a move is “not an option.” During an interview at the White House with Telemundo, the Spanish-language television network, Obama defended his decision last summer to defer the deportations of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the country illegally by their parents as children. The legal rationale in that case, he said, was to allow federal agencies to devote more time and resources to high-priority immigration cases such as those involving people with multiple criminal convictions.

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Obama: Senate immigration bill would pass House if it got a vote

The Washington Times - President Obama said Sunday the immigration reform bill that passed in the Senate would get through the Republican-controlled House if leadership put it up for a vote.
“It would pass, it would pass,” Mr. Obama told ABC's “This Week With George Stephanopoulos.”

House Republicans are walking a fine line in discussing immigration reform, a debate that’s stalled as the party tries to reconcile its concerns about a path to residency status or citizenship for people who came to the United States illegally with its lagging support at the polls among Hispanics — a key and increasing voting bloc.

Mr. Obama said the legislation that passed the Democrat-controlled Senate — providing a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented residents while tightening up border security — “wasn’t perfect, wasn’t my bill, but got the job done.”

To read the full article, please click:  Obama: Senate immigration bill would pass House if it got a vote

House Immigration Reform Measure Pushed By Group Of Republicans

Huffington Post - In the five weeks since he declared his support for a comprehensive immigration overhaul, U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster has gotten an earful.

One constituent told the second-term Republican that immigrants carry disease. Another said immigrants would steal jobs away from Americans.

"You cannot stop illegal immigration by rewarding it," another man said at a recent town hall-style meeting in Groveland, a rural community west of Orlando. "Amnesty is a reward."

As Congress returns to work this week after its summer break, Webster faces perhaps an even tougher crowd: fellow Republicans.

Webster is among about two dozen GOP lawmakers who support an eventual path to citizenship for millions of people who are living in the U.S. illegally. These Republicans are facing the daunting challenge of trying to persuade colleagues to follow them.

Most Republicans oppose this approach on citizenship, and there is little political incentive for them to change their minds. Only 24 of 233 Republicans represent districts where more than one-quarter of their constituents are Hispanic.

To read the full article, please click:  House Immigration Reform Measure Pushed By Group Of Republicans

October Visa Bulletin Available

To see the complete U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin for October 2013, please click:  October 2013 Visa Bulletin

Family-Based Immigrant Visa Priority Dates:

Family-Sponsored	All Charge-ability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	01OCT06	01OCT06	01OCT06	22SEP93	01JUN01
F2A	08SEP13	08SEP13	08SEP13	01SEP13	08SEP13
F2B	01MAR06	01MAR06	01MAR06	08MAR94	08FEB03
F3	22JAN03	22JAN03	22JAN03	22MAY93	01JAN93
F4	08AUG01	08AUG01	08AUG01	15OCT96	22MAR90

Employment-Based Immigrant Visa Priority Dates:

Employment- Based	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	15SEP08	15JUN08	C	C
3rd	01JUL10	01JUL10	22SEP03	01JUL10	15DEC06
Other Workers	01JUL10	22SEP04	22SEP03	01JUL10	15DEC06
4th	C	C	C	C	C
Certain Religious Workers	C	C	C	C	C
5th Targeted Employment Areas/ Regional Centers and Pilot Programs	C	C	C	C	C

Congress May Go After Con Artists Who Offer Help In Immigration Cases

Fox News Latino - They spin visions of a new life in the United States, and give assurances that they can deliver the keys to the door that leads to the American Dream.

But too often, the immigrants who turn to these crooked lawyers or con artists who overstate their ability to do immigration work end up with nothing but more problems, and the scammers end up with their money.

Now, Congress is considering expanding protections for immigrants who might fall victim to these scammers.

Bills in both chambers are meant to address a potential spike in legal fraud against immigrants if Congress approves pathways to citizenship under comprehensive immigration reform. Lawmakers fear more immigrants could be approached by unqualified individuals who overcharge and sometimes offer no services.

To read the full article, please click:  Congress May Go After Con Artists Who Offer Help In Immigration Cases

Cap Reached for 2013 U Visas

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has approved the statutory maximum 10,000 petitions for U nonimmigrant status (U visas) for fiscal year 2013. This marks the fourth straight year that USCIS has reached the statutory maximum since it began issuing U visas in 2008.

Each year, 10,000 U visas are available for victims of crime who have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse and are willing to help law enforcement authorities investigate or prosecute those crimes. A U-visa petition requires certification of assistance from law enforcement.

The U-visa program was created by Congress to strengthen the law enforcement community’s ability to investigate and prosecute cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and other crimes while also offering protection to victims. More than 76,000 victims and their family members have received U visas since the program was implemented.

USCIS will continue to accept U-visa petitions and process them in the order in which they are received. USCIS will resume issuing U visas on October 1, 2013, the first day of fiscal year 2014 and is when visas will be available again.

To read the USCIS release, please click:  USCIS Approves 10,000 U Visas for Fourth Straight Fiscal Year

White House Official Says Immigration Reform Vote Not Likely Until October

Fox News Latino - The Obama administration’s domestic policy director urged supporters of comprehensive immigration reform on Wednesday to do as the civil rights leaders of the 1960s did – not let opponents defeat them.

Cecilia Muñoz, one of the most senior Latino officials in the White House, linked the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech with today’s fight for immigration reform in an interview with Fox News Latino.

“Today is about celebrating how far we’ve come and recommitting to the work that is ahead,” Muñoz said, adding that just as the civil rights movement of the 1960s addressed jobs, so does immigration reform.

“Immigration reform is just one piece of the agenda,” she said, “we can now quantify what it means for creating jobs, not just for immigrants, but for the rest of us.”

To read the full article, please click:  White House Official Says Immigration Reform Vote Not Likely Until October