Protestors gathered in thousands on Sunday in Washington, demanding that the Obama Administration bring about immigration reform. Over ten thousand activists are estimated to have been present at the rally which filled five blocks of the National Mall. ‘Justice and Dignity for All U.S. Immigrants’, ‘We just want to work’, and ‘Our journey as immigrants is a journey for human rights’ were some of the popular slogans of the day.

The reason the protestors are lobbying Obama is that he promised immigration reform in his Presidential Campaign; a promise that is yet to be delivered. The danger for Obama is that he could lose the Hispanic voter base which was helpful to him in winning the Presidential race. Hispanics form the largest immigrant group in the U.S. and it is widely known that the majority of the estimated 10.8 million illegal immigrants are Hispanics. The Hispanic group is not expected to side with the GOP, but they could abstain from voting; with the congressional elections looming in November, this could prove to be a deciding factor.

However, currently immigration reform is tied to healthcare. This is due to the way the healthcare bill is being handled at the moment by the Democrats. If they do use Reconciliation to get their way, the GOP will not make it easy for them to work out any sort of immigration reform. It appears that President Obama has a tough task ahead of him in choosing between his pet project and a key election promise.

The future for illegal immigrants in Idaho looks bleak as new legislation could see a drastic cut in employment rates. The legislation which could be in effect soon, pending changes, aims to bring harsh penalties on the use of false documentation.

The state intends to target the users of false documents, those who help illegal immigrants get false documentation and also those who employ illegal immigrants possessing false documents. The penalties are very harsh and it is this very fact that Idaho lawmakers are hoping will deter and eventually thin out the illegal immigrant population.

The legislation, which was put on the amendment calendar by the Senate State Affairs Committee, will create three new criminal offenses:

1. Use of false documents in securing employment – This offense can lead to a $5,000 fine and two years in jail.

2. Failing to ascertain legality of document – Employers that are paying those who possess false documents are also in danger and they face a hefty fine of $50,000 and also two years in jail.

3. Falsifying public records for employment – Under this offense, a person can be hit with a massive $250,000 fine and put in prison for up to 14 years.

Not everyone feels that the new legislation is necessary. Democrat Kate Kelly, the Senate Minority Leader, feels that this would only add to confusion as there are several provisions in place for dealing with these specific problems. The Latino community in Idaho also claims that the laws are “anti-Latino”. The lawmakers, however, insist that the legislation is not anti-Latino but instead is designed to combat those who take advantage of and prey on the Latino community.

When the E-Verify system was developed to combat illegal immigration, it was expected to make employers lives easier. Unfortunately it seems that the system has created additional complications.

The E-Verify system was designed so that employers could cross check the documents prospective employees present to them in order to verify if they were legally eligible to work. Not surprisingly illegal immigrants have found not one but many ways to circumvent the system and obtain jobs. According to a report released by Westat, at least 50 % of the people being cleared by E-Verify are illegal immigrants who are bypassing the system. Westat is under contract with the federal government and is a social science research firm which is based in Maryland.
According to the firm, illegal immigrants use documents which are fraudulent, fake, modified, borrowed, stolen or bought. They also seek out employers who are willing to overlook checking or will provide them with fraudulent documents. This state of affairs has prompted the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) to take steps to counter these methods.

E-Verify will soon be equipped with an expanded photo tool which will enable employers to get a visual verification on the applicant’s identity. Passport photos and visa photos will be added to this tool which will greatly enhance identification procedures. Driver’s license data and photos could also be added to the tool in the near future. The CIS is also implementing a few other procedures to make it impossible for anyone to circumvent the system. How these new measures are bypassed (and they most probably will be) should be interesting to watch.

The Obama Administration is switching gears on handling illegal immigrants and this week saw evidence of that in Texas. As many as 284 people were arrested but the significance of those arrests was that all of them had criminal convictions.

Currently, this is the criteria that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the largest investigative agency in the Department of Homeland Security, is focusing on. The operation, termed a “surge”, by the ICE was a collaboration of many security agencies lasting three days. Over half of those arrested had convictions for drug abuse and/or violent crimes.

However, this operation raised a very pertinent question. If they were convicted, why were they not deported? The question highlights a flaw in the system where only Federal and State prisoners are scrutinized on their immigration status; those in county and city jails are overlooked. While there are two federal databases that jailers can crosscheck as to the immigration status of prisoners, not many of them use it currently. The number is as low as 110 law enforcement agencies even though the program was launched almost 15 months ago. According to John Morton, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, this situation is set to change completely by 2013 where all law agencies will participate in this program.

Many people are not satisfied with the operation, including the Center for Immigration Studies. They claim that this operation gave out the message that only murderers and drug dealers were actually illegal immigrants and that only they will be dealt with according to the law.