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Kansas Immigration Hardliner Fights Plan to Allow Undocumented Workers

Published on Thu, Feb 02, 2012

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, architect of some of the most controversial anti-illegal immigrant state laws, now is fighting a proposal in his own state that would allow undocumented immigrants to work in hard-to-fill jobs.

The proposal, by business groups, calls for undocumented immigrants to be able to remain in Kansas if they work in jobs in agriculture and other industries that are struggling through labor shortages.

Kobach, a former law professor who helped draft tough laws against illegal immigration in Alabama and Arizona, is denouncing the new Kansas proposal as "amnesty" for people who've come to the U.S. illegally. A spokeswoman said Gov. Sam Brownback, a fellow Republican, isn't supporting the measure.

But Brownback's agriculture secretary has acknowledged having several conversations with federal homeland security officials about potential labor shortages. The coalition pushing the new program includes agriculture groups with memberships that traditionally lean toward the GOP, as well as the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, another stalwart supporter of conservative Republicans.

Utah has a guest worker program, but it isn't set to start until January 2013, and its enactment was part of a legislative package that included initiatives in line with Kobach's thinking on immigration. States with large populations of undocumented immigrants -- including California, Florida and Texas -- don't have their own programs.

The Kansas proposal was described as "unprecedented" by Wendy Sefsaf, director of communications at the American Immigration Council.

State officials and supporters of the business groups' plan don't yet have hard numbers on how many jobs are in danger of going unfilled, but unemployment rates in the western half of the state were mostly less than 4 percent in December, well below the statewide figure of 5.9 percent.Read more...

Published in the Fox News Latino

2009 Winner, Olivia Chiu

"The American Punch”

By Olivia Chiu

Monterey Hills Elementary School

South Pasadena, California

America arrived at the Annual Society of the United Nations and walked in, seeing other countries dancing and chatting. Instead of discussing important topics, their meetings were always just fun and games. America sat down and drank a cup of punch. Then she chatted with Indonesia until Canada asked her to dance, because they were neighbors. While they were dancing, Canada asked, "Why are you so prosperous?" America thought a little and answered, "Between 1880 and 1920, many people immigrated to me, arriving in the millions. In all, there were 25 million people that came."

"There is no way that there were 25 million immigrants passed through your borders! It is impossible!" cried China, who had been listening. "Impossible!"

"I am like this punch I am drinking, made up of various ingredients. Immigrants from all over the world brought different foods, clothing, and religions. I am proud of the diversity. The exchange of ideas makes everybody more open-minded and accepting. If you walk down one of my busy streets nowadays, you will see many different shops: Chinese, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, all side by side and getting along.

Read more...

Quick Fact: More immigrants start businesses

In 2010, Immigrants were more than twice as likely to start businesses each month than were the native-born.

U.S. Supreme Court Ready to Tackle Controversial Arizona Immigration Law

Published on Tue, Apr 24, 2012

A clash over immigration law will go before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday (April 25), pitting the state of Arizona against U.S. President Barack Obama in a case with election-year political ramifications for him and Republican rival Mitt Romney.

In its second-biggest case this term, the court -- fresh from hearing the Obama healthcare overhaul case -- will consider whether a tough Arizona immigration crackdown strayed too far into the federal government's powers.

A pro-Arizona decision would be a legal and political setback for Obama, who has criticized the state's law and vowed to push for immigration legislation if re-elected on November 6. Read more...

Published in the International Business Times

Ambassadors

To enhance communication between AILA Chapters and the American Immigration Council, the Council created the Ambassador Program. Made up of AILA members from each Chapter, these Ambassadors help the Immigration Council share information, promote its events, distribute their research, and take the lead on community relation projects, among other tasksRead more...

Ten Way Immigrants Help Build and Strengthen Our Economy

Published on Thu, Jul 12, 2012

The White House Blog cited IPC statistics about the purchasing power of Latinos and Asians to highlight how immigrants help strengthen our economy.

Immigrants boost demand for local consumer goods. The Immigration Policy Center estimates that the purchasing power of Latinos and Asians, many of whom are immigrants, alone will reach $1.5 trillion and $775 billion, respectively, by 2015. Read more...

Published in the The White House Blog

Resources

Resources for Current J-1 Interns and Trainees

Is the American Immigration Council is currently sponsoring your J-1 Intern or Trainee program? Look here for information on what information you need to send us when you arrive, obtaining a Travel Validation signature, applying for a Social Security number and tax information, and replacement Evaluation forms.

Application Resources

Are you applying to one of the International Exchange Center’s J-1 programs? Click here for information on how to write a DS 7002 Training Plan and instructions on filling out our application.Read more...

IPC Director Mary Giovagnoli Quoted in Washington Post

Published on Wed, Mar 20, 2013

Mary Giovagnoli, the IPC's Director, was quoted in this article from the Washington Post:

“The immigration issue in a lot of ways I think is maturing in a way that simply takes time,” says Mary Giovagnoli, director of the Immigration Policy Center, who was a staffer for Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) during the 2006-07 debate. “There seems to be a much greater level of trust and cordiality. [The last time] the two sides were dragged kicking and screaming together.” A similar dynamic was at play with health-care reform—another major effort that had suffered from a spectacular defeat in Congress before finally passing. “Any major, major piece of social change is a long process,” Giovagnoli concludes.

Published in the Washington Post

Ana Sol Gutierrez

Ana Sol Gutiérrez was born Ana Emma Sol Perez in Santa Ana, El Salvador. She was five years old when she first came to the United States when her father, Jorge Sol Castellanos, was named a founding director of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. After living in El Salvador, she returned to Maryland to continue her education, graduating high school from Montgomery County Public Schools, and later received a BS in Chemistry from Pennsylvania State University. She also studied abroad at L’Universite de Geneve in Switzerland, where she met and married a Bolivian student, Fernando Gutiérrez. After returning to the U.S. and starting a family, she continued her studies, which led to a MS from American University in Scientific and Technical Information Systems and post-graduate studies in Engineering at the George Washington University.

With over thirty years in the public and private corporate sector, Ms. Sol Gutiérrez has experience working as a systems engineer, and experience with strategic planning, program management and computer engineering. As President and CEO of Sol Quality Systems, Inc., she started a small business providing management and engineering services. Recently, she retired as a senior executive with Computer Sciences Corporation, as Director of Strategic IT Consulting and Quality Management.

Ms. Sol Gutiérrez received a political appointment from President Clinton to the U.S. Department of Transportation, as the Deputy Administrator of the Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA). She directed the agency’s safety, regulatory, and research and development programs, with oversight of major national transportation safety programs including Hazardous Materials Transportation Safety, Pipeline Safety, and Emergency Response.Read more...