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The new meaning of minority in Oregon

Published on Sat, May 26, 2012

Numbers from the IPC State Fact Sheets were used in an editorial written by the Oregonian Editors about the importance of immigrants in their state: Read more...

Published in the The Oregonian

Carlos Alvarez

Carlos Alvarez is the President and CEO of The Gambrinus Company. Gambrinus is the importer of Moosehead Lager from Canada and Grupo Modelo brewers of Corona beer. Gambrinus owns a number of breweries including BridgePort in Portland, Oregon, Spoetzl in Shiner, Texas, the Trumer Brauerei in Berkeley, California and the Pete’s Wicked brand family.

In 1986 Mr. Alvarez left Mexico, moved to the United States and founded the Gambrinus Company.

In 1989 he acquired the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas when the brewery was in difficult conditions and was in danger of disappearing. Today, its highly successful Shiner portfolio of beers places the brewery as one of the top specialty brewers in the U.S.

In 1995, Alvarez expanded further into craft brewing and acquired BridgePort Brewing Company, Oregon’s oldest craft brewery of Portland. Its flagship, BridgePort India Pale Ale, has been its growth engine, having been awarded top honors at numerous international competitions. Through a unique entrepreneurial partnership with Josef Sigl of Trumer Brauerei in Salzburg Austria, brewers of Trumer Pils, Alvarez started Trumer Brauerei in Berkeley, California in late 2004. Combining the heritage and tradition of Austria with the American passion for craft brewing, Trumer Pils is now expanding its sales in the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

The Gambrinus Company, named for the mythical Flemish king who is renowned for his love of beer, has earned a reputation as a brand builder. Today it is the largest independent beer company in the United States and consistently has been the fastest growing in that category.Read more...

A Complex Challenge and No Easy Answers

Published on Sun, Apr 25, 2010

Ours is a nation of immigrants. That’s what we’re told from our earliest years in grade school. The vast majority of Americans are descended from those who came (voluntarily or not) from other continents.

But the topic remains controversial. And immigration both legal and not is changing the American landscape. Demographers tell us that by 2050, the proportion of Hispanics in the U.S. will more than double to 29 percent, making them the largest segment after whites at 47 percent.

Published in the The Southern Pine Pilot

Stewart J. Lawrence

Stewart J. Lawrence is a veteran news journalist and public policy analyst who writes frequently on immigration and Latino affairs. In recent years, his commentaries have appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, Politico, the Guardian, and The World and I. He is also founder and managing director of Puentes & Associates, Inc., a bilingual survey research and communications firm.

 

2013 Creative Writing Contest for Fifth Graders

The American Immigration Council's Community Education Center is proud to announce the 16th Annual "Celebrate America"  Creative Writing Contest. 

Past winners have used the theme “Why I am Glad America is a Nation of Immigrants” to discuss their personal immigration experiences, learn about and share family histories or write about the broader questions of the challenges facing immigrants in a new land. Fifth grade students enter their work in local contests which are sponsored by chapters of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). Each chapter forwards the local winning entry to the National Competition where entries are reviewed by a distinguished panel including U.S. senators, award-winning authors and noted journalists. Winning entries are to be printed in the Congressional Record. The winner and two guests receive an all expenses paid trip to The Council’s Annual Benefit Dinner where he/she is honored and reads his/her winningentry aloud. This year’s Annual Benefit will take place June 28, 2013 in San Francisco, California. The winner also receives a travel stipend, engravedplaque, his/her winning entry printed in the Congressional Record and a flagflown over the Capitol in his/her honor. Local and national judges are looking for student writing that is original, thoughtful and speaks to the Council’s mission to educate the public about the benefits of immigration to our society.

The deadline for local submissions varies so check with a local coordinator (local deadlines are usually in February or March).  The national deadline where local contest winner's submissions are judged will be April 12, 2013.Read more...

Lawsuit Filed Against DHS and USCIS Seeks Transparency Promised by Obama Administration

AILA Seeks Disclosure of Records under FOIA

Released on Tue, Jul 20, 2010

The American Immigration Council's Legal Action Center filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on behalf of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) seeking the public release of records concerning agency policies and procedures for the "H-1B" visa program - a program which allows U.S. businesses to temporarily employ highly-skilled foreign workers.

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AIC Applauds Ruling Allowing Immigration Judges to Consider Evidence of Hardship

Released on Mon, Sep 17, 2012

American Immigration Council Applauds Ruling
Allowing Immigration Judges to Consider Evidence of Hardship

Washington, D.C.—Last Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a unanimous ruling that will allow immigration judges to exercise discretion in cases involving lawful permanent residents (LPRs) whose removal would cause extreme hardship to family members in the United States. The ruling marks the fourth opinion from a federal appellate court to reject a contrary decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals. The American Immigration Council’s Legal Action Center, which filed an amicus brief in the case and participated in the oral argument, applauds today’s ruling and calls on the Board to overturn its decision in Matter of Koljenovic, 25 I&N Dec. 219 (2010).

The case involved a 1996 amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act that prevents immigration judges from considering evidence of hardship in certain cases involving immigrants who were “admitted” to the United States as LPRs. For many LPRs facing removal, the ability to obtain such a hardship waivers is the only means to avoid separation from U.S. family members. In its amicus brief, the Council argued that the Board ignored the plain language of the statute and improperly conflated applicants who entered the country as LPRs with those who gained LPR status post-entry.

The beneficiary of today’s decision, Zaman Hanif, has resided in the United States for more than 25 years. The Department of Homeland Security initiated removal proceedings against him in 2009 based on a criminal conviction that resulted in four months’ incarceration. Hanif sought a waiver of inadmissibility on account of the hardship his removal would create for his immediate family members, including his wife, two elderly parents, and U.S. citizen children.Read more...

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The American Immigration Council Addresses Problems with Draft Immigration Detainer Policy

Released on Tue, Oct 05, 2010

Washington D.C. - The American Immigration Council has joined a number of organizations in formally commenting on a proposed detainer policy issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Detainers are requests from ICE to local law enforcement agencies (LEAs) to hold people - whom they suspect may be in the country illegally or who may be deportable for other reasons - so they can be transferred into ICE's custody. There has been much criticism about how ICE uses detainers, and the use of detainers has expanded over time with enforcement programs like 287(g), Secure Communities, and the Criminal Alien Program. To address the criticisms, ICE developed new draft guidelines on the issuance of detainers.
 
The Immigration Council acknowledges ICE's attempt to ameliorate its detainer policies and is grateful for the opportunity to comment.  However, the comments identify several major problems with the proposed guidance, including:

  • The proposed guidelines do not reflect ICE's stated enforcement priorities.  In July, ICE issued a memo on its enforcement priorities, focusing on immigrants with serious criminal histories.  ICE's proposed detainer guidelines contradict those priorities.  Although ICE claims to target convicted criminals who pose a threat to public safety, the proposed guidance would allow ICE to issue detainers against people arrested for minor offenses and suspects charged with crimes but not convicted.

Read more...

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Asylum Clock

Attorneys and asylum applicants across the country regularly experience problems with the “asylum clock” — a clock which measures the 150 days after an applicant files an asylum application before the applicant can apply for an employment authorization document (EAD). These problems include a lack of clear guidance about how immigration agencies should interpret and implement the law governing the clock, the lack of a formal review process when an EAD is denied, and a general lack of transparency in USCIS’ administration of the clock. As a result of these problems and increasing court backlogs, asylum applicants often wait much longer than the legally permitted timeframe to receive a work permit and are thus unable to support themselves and their families while their applications are pending.

The LAC has long advised attorneys about methods for addressing asylum clock problems and advocated for systemic change in the current asylum clock process. These efforts included the issuance, in 2010, of a comprehensive report on the asylum clock, Up Against the Clock:  Fixing the Broken Employment Authorization Asylum Clock, with Penn State Law School’s Center for Immigrants’ Rights. The report recommends solutions to asylum clock problems intended to ensure that asylum applicants become eligible for employment authorization without unnecessary delays and closer to the timeframe outlined in the INA.

On December 15, 2011, after advocacy efforts proved unsuccessful, the LAC and litigation partners filed A.B.T. et al v. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a class action lawsuit against USCIS and EOIR challenging asylum clock policies and practices.

CASES | ADVOCACY | RESOURCESRead more...

IPC Statement on DHS No-Match Supplemental Final Rule

Released on Thu, Oct 23, 2008

This week the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a final administrative rule that sets new procedures for employers who receive no-match letters from the Social Security Administration (SSA). Employers who do not follow the new rule will risk penalties for hiring unauthorized workers. The Immigration Policy Center has produced a comprehensive analysis of the SSA no-match letter program and the new DHS rule.

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