Immig Blog/Notes (www.sarponglaw.com)

The Law Office of James S. Sarpong, LLC is a Denver, Colorado based US Immigration Law Firm that provides immigration law services to clients throughout the United States (U.S.) and the world, including Colorado, Aurora, Colorado Springs, Denver, District of Columbia, Washington (D.C.), Maryland (MD), Montgomery County, Virginia (VA), Arlington, Chesapeake, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, and Virginia Beach.

By James Ewinger

October 29, 2009, 8:45AM

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/10/hispanic_residents_complain_of.html

John Kuntz, The Plain DealerVeronica Dahlberg, director of HOLA, wipes away a tear as she describes the detention of Elena Becerra and her 12-year-old son, Jonathan Solis. Dahlberg said the family was taken from their beds at 4 a.m. last year for a background check.ASHTABULA, Ohio – Dozens of Hispanic residents complained Wednesday that they are harassed by local police acting on behalf of federal immigration authorities.

Law enforcement agencies in Lake and Ashtabula counties deny singling out Hispanics, and say they are treating Latinos like everyone else.

Veronica Dahlberg, executive director of the Organization of Hispanic Women in Lake and Ashtabula, or HOLA, said the increased roundups have created such fear in the Latino community that people will not call police even when they are crime victims.

About 50 Hispanic residents from Lake, Ashtabula and Geauga counties appeared at a HOLA news conference to complain about unwarranted traffic stops, houses raided in the middle of the night, and about families being split up by deportations.

Roberto Arrieta, 18, of Ashtabula, said he was stopped last Saturday by Ashtabula police, and complained that they checked the identification only of the three Latinos in the car, not that of his non-Hispanic girlfriend.

Arrieta said he was told that he was stopped because his high-beam headlights were on, but he denied that.

Ashtabula police did not respond to inquires for this story, but Ashtabula County Sheriff Billy Johnson said his deputies stop people only if they believe a law has been broken.
Johnson said his department gets state funds for special programs, including running drunken-driving checkpoints. He said even if they pull over a bus with 100 people on it, they check the IDs of everyone aboard.

David Leopold, a Cleveland lawyer specializing in immigration issues, said the Ohio attorney general’s office issued an opinion in 2007 that he thinks applies to all local law enforcement, stating that undocumented immigrants could be held, arrested or detained only if they were suspected of having committed a crime.

John Kuntz, The Plain DealerAbout 50 Hispanic residents air grievances at an HOLA news conference in Ashtabula about police harassment and stepped-up deportations splitting up families.The opinion was directed at county sheriffs. It said they could enforce federal immigration laws only through an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security extending some federal authority to them.

Khaalid Walls, a Homeland Security spokesman in Detroit, said the department has such an agreement with the Butler County sheriff, but not with any other Ohio agency.

The Ohio attorney general’s opinion said local authorities can hold illegal immigrants — if federal authorities issue a detainer — or if the immigrants have committed a crime.

Lake County Sheriff Dan Dunlap said his deputies do not make so-called pretextual traffic stops, in which they have no real reason to pull someone over.

Dunlap said targeting immigrants would be futile “because if they do get deported, they’re back here in six weeks.”

Dahlberg said that the Latinos, undocumented or not, are wage earners whose taxes help subsidize the police who are not protecting them.

Terry Gilbert, a Cleveland lawyer with an extensive background in civil rights issues and criminal law, said, “These people are powerless. They get ensnared in the legal system and deported, even if there’s a legal basis to challenge the deportation because they don’t have the knowledge or resources.”

Leopold complained that while the number of Homeland Security personnel dealing with immigration issues has increased markedly since the terrorist attacks of 2001, they nab few terrorists.

Andrew Scharnweber, patrol agent in charge of the Customs and Border Patrol office in Erie, Pa., said that since 2001, his station has grown from six agents to 50.

Scharnweber said they apprehended about 500 undocumented immigrants last year, and another 500 this year. But he said he didn’t know how many Ohio residents were among those. About 40 percent of those apprehended are Mexican, while 5 percent are from countries with ties to terrorism, he said.

October 28, 2009

http://www.lawofficer.com/news-and-articles/announcements/2009/10/law_enforcement_engagement_initiative.html

Leading police executives from states as diverse as California, Iowa and Texas joined a growing chorus of law enforcement officials calling for comprehensive immigration reform. The law enforcement leaders, who discussed the issue during a telephonic press conference, described how the broken immigration system damages public trust and harms public safety. They stressed the importance of getting input from state and local law enforcement as Congress prepares to take up immigration reform in early 2010.

 The speakers called for reform legislation that would strengthen border security, restore the rule of law, and legalize undocumented workers in order to build relationships of trust between all residents and the police and enhance public safety.

 One of the participants in the press call, Chief of Police Rick Braziel of Sacramento, CA, stated, “Our city is one of the most diverse and integrated cities in America. We celebrate our cultural heritage and differences and strive to be inclusive. We can’t afford to have a group of residents be afraid of reporting crime because they believe we may report them for deportation. To allow that fear to exist in the minds of victims or witnesses endangers them and the rest of the community and lets criminals off the hook. Without comprehensive immigration reform, we place our communities and our nation at risk.  It is time for Congress to take action on immigration reform to increase public safety and encourage full civic participation from all members of our community.”

 ”We can’t have an officer on every corner so that we may feel safe, but we can expect every citizen to be our eyes and ears. When members of the community are afraid of the police, it is counterproductive to our mission of public safety and national security. Not calling the police because of a fear of deportation allows further victimization and harms public safety. Washington needs to address our failed immigration policies and needs to enact a comprehensive immigration reform immediately,” added Arturo Venegas, the retired Chief of Police from Sacramento and now the Project Director of the Law Enforcement Engagement Initiative (LEEI).

 Sheriff Bill McCarthy of Polk County, Iowa said, “In my county we have immigrants working hard and contributing to the economy. They are part of the fabric of our communities. As we’ve seen following the government’s raid in Postville, the lack of comprehensive immigration reform is hurting local economies, breaking up families, and compromising community trust. We need to be sure that every person living here knows that they can talk to the police and report crimes. Law enforcement needs to stay focused on its mission of preventing and investigating crimes, not checking immigration status. Comprehensive immigration reform is overdue and needed from a law enforcement perspective.”

 Deputy Chief Kim Lemaux of Arlington, Texas spoke about her police department’s participation in a year-long study conducted by the Police Foundation. “Here in Arlington, we came to the conclusion that the issue of immigration needs to remain the responsibility of federal law enforcement agencies. Local police agencies are already tasked with enforcing state, local and traffic laws and we need all of our resources directed at those responsibilities.” The Police Foundation’s study culminated in a report, released in April, which highlighted the fact that civil immigration enforcement diverts local police departments from core priorities and harms their ability to work with members of the immigrant community to identify and solve crimes. Deputy Chief Lemaux added, “The Arlington Police Department operates under a community-policing strategy, working to keep all of our residents vested in the safety of their community. If a group of residents fear the police, then they will not turn to officers for help, making them more viable victims. It is imperative that we are able to reach residents in every community in order for local law enforcement to focus on its core mission, fighting crime. As Congress considers the future of immigration and possible reform in the upcoming session, it is important that the needs and abilities of local law enforcement be a part of the discussion. “

By MIRIAM JORDAN

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125677268735914549.html?mod=rss_Today’s_Most_Popular

A coveted visa program that feeds skilled workers to top-tier U.S. technology companies and universities is on track to leave thousands of spots unfilled for the first time since 2003, a sign of how the weak economy has eroded employment even among highly trained professionals.

 The program, known as H-1B, has been a mainstay of Silicon Valley and Wall Street, where many companies have come to depend on securing visas for computer programmers from India or engineers from China. Last year, even as the recession began to bite, employers snapped up the 65,000 visas available in just one day. This year, however, as of Sept. 25 — nearly six months after the U.S. government began accepting applications — only 46,700 petitions had been filed.

 In addition to the weak economy, companies have curbed applications in the face of anti-immigrant sentiment in Washington and rising costs associated with hiring foreign-born workers.

 Usually, all visas are allocated within a month or two from April, when applications for the following fiscal year are first accepted. But this year, six months later, “you can still walk in with an application and you’re still highly likely to get approved,” said R. Srikrishna, senior vice president for business operations in North America for HCL Technologies Ltd., an Indian outsourcing company.

 The sagging economy, which has pushed U.S. unemployment to 9.8%, has crimped expansion in the technology sector, traditionally the biggest user of the H-1B program. Julie Pearl, a corporate immigration lawyer in San Francisco, said that at least a third of her clients have cut their hiring of H-1B visa holders in half from a year ago.

 ”Most companies just aren’t hiring as many people in general,” Ms. Pearl said.

 For Indian outsourcing companies, historically the largest recipients of H-1B visas, the economy as well as political pressures have prompted a cutback in applications. The recession has trimmed technology budgets at their U.S. clients; at the same time, Washington has scrutinized hiring from abroad more closely amid high unemployment at home.

 Instead of bringing over Indian engineers, HCL has been hiring American employees who otherwise might have been let go by clients switching the work to HCL, Mr. Srikrishna said. Last year, HCL hired more than 1,000 employees from clients and received just 87 H-1B visas, he said.

 Political pressures have come to bear among other applicants as well. Companies that receive federal bailout funds must prove they have tried to recruit American workers at prevailing wages and that foreigners aren’t replacing U.S. citizens. That regulation caused Bank of America Corp., among others, to rescind job offers to dozens of foreigners.

 In addition, would-be immigrants from India and China are finding new career opportunities at home as those economies grow relatively quickly while the U.S. economy sags and its political climate appears less welcoming.

 Vivek Wadhwa, a visiting scholar at the University of California at Berkeley who has studied H-1B visas, said that trend has been compounded by what he sees as rising anti-immigrant sentiment in the U.S. “The best and the brightest who would normally come here are saying, ‘Why do we need to go to a country where we are not welcome, where our quality of life would be less, and we would be at the bottom of the social ladder?’” Mr. Wadhwa said.

 The cost and bureaucracy of applying for H-1B visas is another deterrent. Lawyers’ fees, filing fees and other expenses can easily reach $5,000 per applicant.

 And immigration lawyers say some would-be employers are put off by a crackdown on fraud. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which administers the H-1B program, has been dispatching inspectors on surprise company visits to verify that H-1B employees are performing the jobs on the terms specified. The fraud-detection unit in coming months is expected to inspect up to 20,000 companies with H-1Bs and other temporary worker visas.

 ”It’s an invasive procedure that is both stressful for the employer and the foreign national employee,” said Milwaukee lawyer Jerome Grzeca, whose employment-visa business is down 40% since last year.

 The numbers represent a sharp turnaround for a program that many companies had complained was too stingy with its visas. Year after year, U.S. businesses braced for “visa roulette,” as applications to bring in highly skilled foreign workers far outstripped demand, forcing the government to hold a lottery to award them.

 High-tech companies, such as Microsoft Corp., have been lobbying Congress for years to raise the cap. At the same time, some U.S. legislators have been calling for restrictions on the program, which they say displaces American workers.

 Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, wrote a letter this month to the new director of citizenship and immigration services, urging tighter controls on H-1B visas. In April, Mr. Grassley and Illinois Democrat Sen. Richard Durbin introduced legislation to require companies to pass more stringent labor-market tests that would ensure they make a bigger effort to hire U.S. workers.

 Companies that use H-1B visas argue the market, rather than Congress, should dictate the number of visas issued. The fact that the 65,000-visa cap hasn’t been reached this year shows that the market will temper demand when necessary, said Jenifer Verdery, director of work-force policy at IntelCorp., who represents a coalition of companies that use the visas.

 ”Contrary to the claims of H-1B critics, if importing cheap labor were the goal of H-1B visa employers, these visas would have been gone on the first day applications were accepted last spring,” Ms. Verdery said. “In slow economic times, such as today, the demand decreases and the market takes over, which is as it should be.”

 In 2008, 44% of approved H-1B visa petitions were for foreigners working as systems analysts or programmers. The second-largest category consisted of professionals working in universities. Indians account for about half of all H-1B visa holders.

 While the number of visa holders is small compared with the U.S. work force, their contribution is huge, employers say. For example, last year 35% of Microsoft’s patent applications in the U.S. came from new inventions by visa and green-card holders, according to company general counsel Brad Smith.

 Google Inc. also says that the H-1B program allowed it to tap top talent that was crucial to its development. India native Krishna Bharat, for example, joined the firm in 1999 through the H-1B program, and went on to earn several patents while at Google. He was credited by the company as being the key developer of its Google News service. Today, he holds the title of distinguished research scientist.

 -Niraj Sheth, Geoffrey A. Fowler, S. Mitra Kalita and Pui-Wing Tam contributed to this article.

By Sandra Dibble

October 29, 2009

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/oct/29/path-citizenship-needed-gop-candida/

With the San Ysidro border fence as her backdrop, Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman spoke out on immigration policy issues yesterday, saying it is “simply not practical” to deport the estimated 12.5 million illegal immigrants living and working in the United States.

 The candidate, 53, said the solution is to find a mechanism that allows them to live here legally. “Can we get a fair program where people stand at the back of the line, they pay a fine, they do some things that would ultimately allow a path to legalization?” she asked.

 Whitman also urged tougher measures against those who hire undocumented workers, and said that as governor “I would be an advocate ..???. for the people of California to make sure we really do secure this border.”

 The former chief executive of online auction company eBay made her remarks after a two-hour ride-along with two U.S. Border Patrol agents.

 Though immigration is a federal issue, the governor “has to weigh in much more heavily on getting the federal government to fulfill its responsibility of paying for border control, of helping to pay for illegal immigrants that are in our prisons,” Whitman said.

 Since declaring her candidacy in February, Whitman has spoken on immigration issues several times. She has said that had she lived in California in 1994, she would have voted against Proposition 187, a measure intended to deny education, health care and other services to illegal immigrants. Voters passed it, but its major provisions were overturned in court.

 Others seeking the Republican nomination are Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and former Rep. Tom Campbell. The Democratic candidates are Attorney General Jerry Brown and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.

 Yesterday, Whitman reiterated her opposition to “sanctuary cities,” which pass local resolutions to protect illegal immigrants in their jurisdictions.

 During her tour of the border, Whitman said agents told her they had enough people in the sector but wanted more technology, such as infrared cameras, to do their job.

 The border tour “increased my sense of urgency, and wanting to make sure that the federal government takes responsibility for the resources to get the job done,” Whitman said. 

File A071 610 438 – Los Angeles, California

Decided October 28, 2009

U.S. Department of Justice

Executive Office for Immigration Review

Board of Immigration Appeals

(1) With a narrow exception not applicable to this case, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate an arriving alien’s application for adjustment of status under 8 C.F.R. § 245.2(a)(1) (2009) and agrees that it retains jurisdiction to adjudicate the application even where an unexecuted administratively final order of removal remains outstanding.

 (2) The Board of Immigration Appeals generally lacks authority to reopen the proceedings of aliens under final orders of exclusion, deportation, or removal who seek to pursue relief over which the Board and the Immigration Judges have no jurisdiction, especially where reopening is sought simply as a mechanism to stay the final order while the collateral matter is resolved by the agency or court having jurisdiction to do so.

 (3) With regard to untimely or number-barred motions to reopen, the Board will not

generally exercise its discretion to reopen proceedings sua sponte for an arriving alien

to pursue adjustment of status before the USCIS.

The outgoing chief of police urges the department to keep focusing on community outreach.

By William J. Bratton
October 27, 2009    latimes.com

On March 12, Juan Garcia, a 53-year-old homeless man, was brutally murdered in an alley off 9th and Alvarado streets in the Westlake District, just west of downtown Los Angeles. At first, the police were stumped; there were no known witnesses and few clues. Then a 43-year-old undocumented immigrant who witnessed the crime came forward and told the homicide detectives from the Rampart station what he saw. Because of his help, a suspect was identified and arrested a few days later while hiding on skid row. Because the witness was not afraid to contact the police, an accused murderer was taken off the streets, and we are all a little bit safer. Stories like this are repeated daily in Los Angeles.

Keeping America’s neighborhoods safe requires our police forces to have the trust and help of everyone in our communities. My nearly 40 years in law enforcement, and my experience as police commissioner in Boston and New York City and as chief in Los Angeles, have taught me this.

Yet every day our effectiveness is diminished because immigrants living and working in our communities are afraid to have any contact with the police. A person reporting a crime should never fear being deported, but such fears are real and palpable for many of our immigrant neighbors.

This fear is not unfounded. Earlier this month, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that 11 more locations across the United States have agreed to participate in a controversial law enforcement program known as 287(g). The program gives local law enforcement agencies the powers of federal immigration agents by entering into agreements with Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Although many local agencies have declined to participate in 287(g), 67 state and local law enforcement agencies are working with ICE, acting as immigration agents.

Some in Los Angeles have asked why the LAPD doesn’t participate. My officers can’t prevent or solve crimes if victims or witnesses are unwilling to talk to us because of the fear of being deported. That basic fact led to the implementation almost 30 years ago of the LAPD’s policy on immigrants, which has come to be known as Special Order 40. The order prohibits LAPD officers from initiating contact with someone solely to determine whether they are in the country legally. The philosophy that underlies that policy is simple: Criminals are the biggest benefactors when immigrants fear the police. We can’t solve crimes that aren’t reported because the victims are afraid to come forward to the police.

The idea of engaging all members of the public in reporting crime and identifying criminals not only helps us with short- and medium-term goals of reducing crime; it helps improve relations with community members. We all have an interest in helping our young people develop into healthy, educated and law-abiding adults. Breeding fear and distrust of authority among some of our children could increase rates of crime, violence and disorder as those children grow up to become fearful and distrustful adolescents and adults. That is why the Los Angeles Police Department has not participated in 287(g) and the federal government is not pressuring the department to do so.

Americans want a solution to our immigration dilemma, as do law enforcement officials across this nation. But the solution isn’t turning every local police department into an arm of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Police Foundation published a report in April titled “The Role of Local Police: Striking a Balance Between Immigration Enforcement and Civil Liberties.” The report confirms that when local police enforce immigration laws, it undermines their core public safety mission, diverts scarce resources, increases their exposure to liability and litigation, and exacerbates fear in communities that are already distrustful of police.

The report concluded that to optimize public safety, the federal government must enact comprehensive immigration reform. As police chief of one of the most diverse cities in the United States, and possibly the world, I agree. As I leave my position as leader of the LAPD, I will encourage my successor to adopt the same rigid attitude toward keeping Special Order 40 and keeping the mission of the men and women of the department focused on community cooperation instead of community alienation.

Working with victims and witnesses of crimes closes cases faster and protects all of our families by getting criminals off the street. We must pass immigration reform and bring our neighbors out of the shadows so they get the police service they need and deserve. When officers can speak freely with victims and witnesses, it goes a long way toward making every American neighborhood much safer.

William J. Bratton is chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. The Police Foundation’s report is available online at http://www.policefoundation.

org/strikingabalance/.

By Paul Tennant
ptennant@eagletribune.com

October 27, 2009 12:49 am

http://www.eagletribune.com/punews/local_story_300004915.html

HAVERHILL — A prominent city businessman said he will challenge the federal government’s refusal to grant his Brazilian husband asylum in the United States.

“We’re going to federal court with a DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) challenge,” Tim Coco said last night.

Coco’s husband, Genesio “Junior” Oliveira, has said he feared being returned to Brazil because he was raped there as a teenager.

Coco, who owns and operates the COCO+CO. advertising firm in Haverhill, said Attorney General Eric Holder did not act on a Friday deadline in Oliveira’s case, effectively denying the 30-year-old man’s request for asylum on humanitarian grounds.

“We needed the attorney general to make a decision on whether Junior could come home,” said Coco, 48. “He didn’t take this request seriously.”

The Justice Department did not immediately return messages.

Coco submitted the following statement to the media:

“Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. betrays the civil rights movement from which he has benefited.

“His office passed up a Friday deadline to retract a July 27, 2009 letter to Senator John F. Kerry. The letter, kept under wraps while both sides continued to negotiate, sets back decades of legal precedent by preposterously ruling ‘forced’ sex is not rape.

“Senator Kerry alerted Holder last March that forced sex is, in fact, the definition of rape. At that time, Senator Kerry correctly asserted that the claim is ‘outrageous’ and asked Holder to intervene in the adverse asylum ruling against my spouse, Genesio ”Junior” Oliveira Jr., made by an illegally appointed immigration judge. All these months later, the attorney general’s woefully delayed and inadequate response overlooks the facts that Junior’s testimony has already been ruled ‘credible’ and his fear of Brazil ‘genuine.’”

In 2002, Oliveira had sought asylum in the United States because he said he was raped as a teenager in Brazil. But an immigration judge denied his request and Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich said in a letter that Oliveira repeatedly remarked at his hearing that he “was never physically harmed” by anyone in Brazil. Coco said Oliveira was referring to street beatings.

Oliveira returned to Brazil in 2007 after losing an appeal. Before he left, he and Coco married in Massachusetts in 2005 and bought a house together.

Immigrants also can apply for residency if they marry U.S. citizens. But the federal government does not recognize gay marriages under the Defense of Marriage Act, and Oliveira’s request to remain in the United States based on his relationship with Coco was denied this year.

In March, Kerry asked Holder to grant Oliveira asylum on humanitarian grounds. Kerry spokeswoman Brigid O’Rourke said yesterday the senator will continue to work toward a solution that would reunite the couple for good.

“The fact is that if Tim and Junior were a heterosexual married couple, they would never have suffered through more than two years of separation,” O’Rourke said.

Coco said he thought there was “no way” the Obama administration would deny Oliveira’s asylum request after Kerry made his plea to Holder.

“We are profoundly sad,” said Coco. “This is more than any married person should have to face.”

Coco said he has spent about $250,000 on legal bills and hasn’t seen Oliveira since January, though the two video chat online every night.

Oliveira was denied a visa to return to Massachusetts last year for the funeral of Coco’s mother. Oliveira now lives with his mother, helping her run a boarding house for students. Coco said the couple plans to launch a legal challenge against the federal Defense of Marriage Act as a violation of immigration laws.

“This is our last shot, if nothing else works,” said Coco. “But we think we can pull this off with the right legal counsel.”

O’Rourke said Kerry supports the couple’s legal challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act, which limits how state, local and federal bodies can recognize partnerships and determine benefits. He also called for a law to extend benefits to domestic partners.

This month, President Barack Obama called on Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.

Material from the Associated Press was also used in this report.
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc 

Monday, Oct 26, 2009 – 12:40:48 pm CDT

 FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case stemming from Fremont’s proposed illegal-immigration ordinance.

The city is appealing an April ruling from a Dodge County district judge. It concluded the city must hold an election on a proposal to ban renting to and hiring illegal immigrations in the city.

City leaders argue the proposal is unconstitutional and could expose the city to costly legal challenges. But Judge John Samson said the matter was out of his hands until voters approved the measure.

Fremont city leaders had asked to bypass the state Court of Appeals and have the high court take the case.

City Attorney Dean Skokan said Monday that a hearing date hasn’t been set.

By Suzanne Gamboa

October 27, 2009

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hzfpubpxar7efzAGfYx8i1Lvc7NwD9BJ9RSO1

Workplace immigration raids during the Bush administration interfered with ongoing labor investigations and allowed employers to exploit workers who complained about conditions on the job, labor groups said in a report released Tuesday.

 The stepped-up immigration enforcement came at the expense of rigorous enforcement of labor protections that are guaranteed to all workers regardless of immigration status, the groups said.

 The single-minded focus on immigration enforcement without regard to violations of workplace laws has enabled employers with rampant labor and employment violations to profit by employing workers who are terrified to complain,” said the authors of the report by the AFL-CIO, National Employment Law Project and American Rights at Work Education Fund.

 The groups called on the Obama administration to balance immigration and labor law enforcement.

 They recommend a return to the type of agreement forged in 1998 between the Labor Department and the now-defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service. It established rules for cooperation but prohibited immigration enforcement from trumping labor law enforcement to ensure immigrant employees would not fear complaining about problem employers.

 ”You can do both. You can enforce immigration laws and you can protect the workers who are being victimized by unscrupulous employers,” said Julie Martinez Ortega, American Rights at Work research director.

 Martinez acknowledged that the Obama administration has ended high-profile raids. Homeland Security Department spokesman Matt Chandler said work site enforcement policy distributed to Immigration and Customs Enforcement in April emphasizes targeting immigrants who have committed crimes and focuses on employers who knowingly hire people who cannot legally work in the country to “target the root cause of illegal immigration.”

 Among the disruptive enforcement actions highlighted by the labor groups:

  Agriprocessors slaughterhouse in Postville, Iowa, in 2008, where at least three state and federal labor agencies were investigating when ICE raided the plant.

  Pilgrim’s Pride plants in five states in 2008, where a union recruiting campaign was ongoing and a law firm was developing a wage-and-hour lawsuit against the company when ICE raided.

 Arrests and detention of several day laborers in Port Arthur, Texas, in 2008. They had complained to their employer for failing to pay their promised $13 an hour wage for demolition work after Hurricane Ike hit the Texas coast. The workers were evicted from the refinery where they were housed and the employer tipped off local police and ICE.

 Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, said the Bush administration work site raids helped further worker protections.

 The 2008 raid at the Agriprocessors plant came after repeated reports of violations that never resulted in action against the employer. The raid “burst open all the problems that were there,” said Krikorian, whose center supports tougher immigration reform.

 He said the report is “background music” for labor’s ultimate objective of winning legalization for illegal immigrant workers.