Carl Schusterman's website reports the following as "Top Story" as of July 23, 2002:
INS may clamp down on addresses
Ashcroft proposes enforcing law requiring noncitizens to report when they move.
July 23, 2002
By DENA BUNIS
The Orange County Register
WASHINGTON -- Federal officials would begin enforcing with criminal penalties a 50-year-old law that says noncitizens living in the United States must tell immigration officials when they change their address, under a proposed regulation Attorney General John Ashcroft announced Monday.
"This rule is a further step in the department's ongoing efforts to improve its ability to track noncitizens within the United States," a Justice Department statement said.
Ashcroft announced this regulation as part of a continuing campaign to show that the Bush administration is paying increased attention to border security after Sept. 11. But the practical reason was a problem immigration officials had last year in deporting someone who was able to successfully claim he never got the government's notice about his deportation hearing because they didn't have his current address.
Because the Immigration and Naturalization Service did not have explicit regulations governing this law, they lost the case.
Immigration lawyers say they believe Ashcroft is resurrecting this law as one more club to have over immigrants he wants to detain.
"This is only being done to hold people in custody he wants to hold," said Carl Schusterman, a Los Angeles-area immigration lawyer. "And that definitely rubs me the wrong way." Schusterman said he'll tell his clients to file the change of address forms by registered mail so they have proof they sent it.
The INS doesn't know how many people have not complied with this regulation. But if this proposal is made final, all INS forms will include an admonition that noncitizens must report a change of address within 10 days. As many as 11 million people could be subject to the requirement, according to the INS.
Failure to do so would mean a fine of up to $200, up to 30 days in jail and possible deportation. The public will have 30 days to comment on this proposal.
"Of course we need to know who is in the United States. But let's be smart and not talk about throwing people in jail for the equivalent of having an overdue library book," said Angela Kelley, deputy director of the National Immigration Forum, an advocacy group.
Kelley said that while it makes sense to have current addresses, raising this issue now will reinforce the immigrant community's concerns about being under siege.
Even those who support this move are skeptical about the INS' follow-through. The agency is known for backlogs in processing all of its forms -- from citizenship to green card applications.
"I think it's as tremendous idea but do I have faith in our own federal government to enforce this? No," said Barbara Coe of Huntington Beach, head of Californians for Immigration Reform, a group that espouses strict immigration enforcement.
Angleo Paparelli, an Irvine immigration lawyer, said he has heard many stories about people filing the change of address form but the information never making it on to their file.
Paparelli said this is a reasonable idea if the INS will only enforce going forward and not just to look for past violations, "If not, I can see it being a vehicle for selective enforcement."
Justice Department spokesman Mark Carallo said that's not the intent. "This is not retroactive," he said.
INS may clamp down on addresses
Ashcroft proposes enforcing law requiring noncitizens to report when they move.
July 23, 2002
By DENA BUNIS
The Orange County Register
WASHINGTON -- Federal officials would begin enforcing with criminal penalties a 50-year-old law that says noncitizens living in the United States must tell immigration officials when they change their address, under a proposed regulation Attorney General John Ashcroft announced Monday.
"This rule is a further step in the department's ongoing efforts to improve its ability to track noncitizens within the United States," a Justice Department statement said.
Ashcroft announced this regulation as part of a continuing campaign to show that the Bush administration is paying increased attention to border security after Sept. 11. But the practical reason was a problem immigration officials had last year in deporting someone who was able to successfully claim he never got the government's notice about his deportation hearing because they didn't have his current address.
Because the Immigration and Naturalization Service did not have explicit regulations governing this law, they lost the case.
Immigration lawyers say they believe Ashcroft is resurrecting this law as one more club to have over immigrants he wants to detain.
"This is only being done to hold people in custody he wants to hold," said Carl Schusterman, a Los Angeles-area immigration lawyer. "And that definitely rubs me the wrong way." Schusterman said he'll tell his clients to file the change of address forms by registered mail so they have proof they sent it.
The INS doesn't know how many people have not complied with this regulation. But if this proposal is made final, all INS forms will include an admonition that noncitizens must report a change of address within 10 days. As many as 11 million people could be subject to the requirement, according to the INS.
Failure to do so would mean a fine of up to $200, up to 30 days in jail and possible deportation. The public will have 30 days to comment on this proposal.
"Of course we need to know who is in the United States. But let's be smart and not talk about throwing people in jail for the equivalent of having an overdue library book," said Angela Kelley, deputy director of the National Immigration Forum, an advocacy group.
Kelley said that while it makes sense to have current addresses, raising this issue now will reinforce the immigrant community's concerns about being under siege.
Even those who support this move are skeptical about the INS' follow-through. The agency is known for backlogs in processing all of its forms -- from citizenship to green card applications.
"I think it's as tremendous idea but do I have faith in our own federal government to enforce this? No," said Barbara Coe of Huntington Beach, head of Californians for Immigration Reform, a group that espouses strict immigration enforcement.
Angleo Paparelli, an Irvine immigration lawyer, said he has heard many stories about people filing the change of address form but the information never making it on to their file.
Paparelli said this is a reasonable idea if the INS will only enforce going forward and not just to look for past violations, "If not, I can see it being a vehicle for selective enforcement."
Justice Department spokesman Mark Carallo said that's not the intent. "This is not retroactive," he said.
Last edited by a moderator: