Tips for Holiday Visa Travel
The holidays are a time for fun, travel, and reconnecting with loved ones. Unfortunately, this time can also be complicated for immigrants if they travel abroad to visit family. Concerns about national security and illegal aliens have led to vastly increased border security, which can sometimes delay a return to the United States. As a [...]
With Fee Increases Possible, Now is the Time to Adjust Your Immigration Status
The economic downturn has affected nearly every sector of the economy—from college graduates who can’t find jobs to illegal immigrants struggling to keep work to feed their families, and from large companies unable to afford work visas for skilled foreign workers to a public sector starved for tax revenue. The unemployment rate in Nevada is [...]
Obama Nominee “on ICE” as After Raids of Immigrant Workers
Stephanie Rose, the president’s nominee for U.S. Attorney in northern Iowa, has seen her approval process delayed amid questions about her role in a series of workplace raids targeting undocumented workers. As in Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada a year before, Bush Administration officials led a raid on a meatpacking plant in Iowa in May [...]
As Remittances Flow Upstream, Immigrant Workers Remain in United States
Conventional wisdom contains many assumptions (most of them flawed) about what the lives, motivations, and characteristics of foreign nationals in the United States are like. About 18 percent of Nevada’s population, or about 470,000 people, are foreign-born. Those ignorant of what the immigrant experience is like often express beliefs that immigrants come to this country [...]
Healthcare Part III: Movement on Illegal Aliens Issue
On November 7, the U.S. House of Representatives passed, by a narrow margin, its version of a healthcare overhaul bill. Of Nevada’s representatives, Reps. Berkley [D] and Titus [D] from Las Vegas voted in favor, while Rep. Heller [R], representing Reno and Northern Nevada, opposed the measure. As we reported in previous posts on our [...]
Law Enforcement, Obama Seek Fewer ICE Raids, More Deported Criminals
The nation’s sheriffs, police chiefs, and other law enforcement leaders are beginning to speak out in support of comprehensive immigration reform and against the single-minded focus on catching illegal immigrants trying to earn money for their families. Police departments in Las Vegas, Nevada and elsewhere in the country have declined the opportunity to take on [...]
ICE Seizure of Two California VAWA Immigrants Raises Questions About Information Sharing
When ICE officials arrested two women in Southern California who had been approved for immigration relief under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), they embarrassed the organization even as their mistakes highlighted the need for better information sharing among law enforcement groups. One woman was arrested at her home when ICE came to the residence [...]
More Updates on Healthcare: Abortion and Illegals
An article in yesterday’s New York Times describes a fight in Congress over insurance coverage for abortions, and that battle is sure to arouse strong passions. States differ from one another and from federal policy when it comes to recognizing a woman’s reproductive rights. In Nevada, state law requires that birth control pills be treated [...]
EWIs, Legal Permanent Residents, and Healthcare
An estimated 65% of Nevada’s 170,000 illegal immigrants are uninsured, and in Clark County one in five people who use expensive emergency room care lacks insurance. As the debate over healthcare reform continues, Congressional Republicans want to prevent illegal aliens from having any healthcare coverage, even if they pay for it in full themselves. Additionally, [...]
Retiring Reno Leader Leaves Void in Services and Assistance for Immigrants
After 11 years as executive director of Nevada Hispanic Services, Jesse Gutierrez has retired from Nevada Hispanic Services, located in Reno, Nevada. In addition to organizing cultural and community events, promoting Latino young professionals, and founding a bilingual primary school, Mr. Gutierrez and his organization had provided low-cost legal services to Latino immigrants facing deportation [...]