Bush in Miami

The little old Cuban ladies and men rolled out the red carpet for President George W. Bush at a public housing facility earlier this week, as Bush started his re-election stomping in one of the most important states (as far as political campaigning) in the nation. Seeking support for his Medicare Prescription Drug legislation among Cuban American voters, the Republican was definitely on home turf, generating such excitement that some of the folks didn't even sleep the night before due to their excitement. Last Monday's Miami Herald reported "adoration" as common among the 400 folks who made it to the Community Center, where Bush spoke alongside Josefina Carbonell, Bush's Assistant Secretary for Aging at the Department of Health and Human Services, and Tommy G. Thompson, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary. Earning a few chuckles as he called Florida Governor Jeb his "grande hermanito" ("big little brother"), the President urged Congress to work out the differences remaining in the Medicare Reform Bill so that he could sign off on it as soon as possible.

All in all, it was a "Bush Fan Club" event, a respite from the climate of resistance and criticism to which he has been subjected in recent times. Except for a cranky lady who just wanted to eat lunch that referred to him as "an assassin," the day was pretty uneventful.

The America's Challenge Report

Most of you probably will not recognize the name of the Migration Policy Institute (MPI). MPI is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think tank in Washington, D.C. dedicated to the study of the movement of people worldwide. Unlike a lot of so-called immigration "think tanks," MPI is a real think tank, which seeks to understand the movement of people on a global basis. MPI has a respected history of study and research, and the results of their work are considered to be legitimate barometers of issues associated with the global movement of human beings. Although the organization is only two years old, MPI originated in the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, as the International Migration Policy Program.

I received an e-mail recently from a long-time friend and colleague, Stephen Yale-Loehr. Again, I am not sure how many of you recognize his name, but Stephen is considered by those of us who have been in this business for a long time to be one of the true Yodas of immigration law - a widely- respected thinker, writer, and analyst not only on policy but on real-world, pragmatic input which has been formative through the years in resolving the problems facing immigrants entering this nation. Stephen coauthored a report called "The America's Challenge Report," analyzing the U.S. government's immigration actions which have taken place since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The official release of the report took place at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. and, unfortunately, the presentation occurred one day after I left the city.

Before reading the synopsis and going on the website, I had asked Stephen whether this was "another academic piece" or something different. He replied:

"'The America's Challenge Report' offers many practical recommendations. If Congress and the Administration implement those recommendations, we can improve immigration policy and make the United States safer at the same time."

Indeed! What makes this piece particularly interesting is that it offers specific and practical alternatives to the fumbling and bumbling we have seen this Administration undertake so far. I have not read the entire report, but I am ordering it because it appears to be yet another masterpiece of careful thinking on this fascinating subject of immigration. The recommendations provided in the report address the fundamental issue: harsh measures against immigrants have failed to make us safer since September 11. Stephen and his coauthor offer an alternative framework for "immigration enforcement and domestic security" which defends the nation's interests while protecting the core values which define America, or, as I alluded to earlier, "depending on independence."

I encourage you to go to http://www.migrationpolicy.org to see the press release, table of contents, summary, and the National Public Radio (NPR) interview associated with the report. Written with former INS Commissioner Doris Meissner and a number of other leading experts, I believe that this report will do more to clarify the path needed to ensure that in our zeal to make this nation safe, we protect those very freedoms the terrorists are seeking to destroy. Quite frankly, the Clockwork Orange technique of duct-taping Ashcroft to a chair and propping his eyes open with toothpicks might not be too extreme... that's how bad that ol' boy needs to read this.

Another Consul Bites the Dust

Talk about timing. As I am answering some inquiries from potential clients in the Czech Republic, I came across an Immigration Lawyers Online article concerning Mr. Alexander J. Meerovich, a former State Department Officer who was recently sentenced to two years imprisonment on visa fraud.

In addition to two years in jail, Mr. Meerovich will also serve a two-year term of supervised release following the prison sentence and have to pay a $5,000 fine. On February 6, 2003, the defendant pleaded guilty to one count of visa fraud. He had served as a Deputy Consul General in Prague from August, 1999 to July, 2002. Among his duties: interviewing applicants for U.S. visas, reviewing the applications, and approving non-immigrant visas. In January of 2000, he met with a Ukranian man who offered to pay him bribes in exchange for fraudulently securing U.S. visas for Ukranians, Slovaks, Czechs, and persons from other nations. Beginning in April, 2000 and continuing until May, 2001, Meerovich was paid a bribe for each application he fraudulently obtained for the broker. In exchange for that, the applicant was steered around the normal visa process.

By May of 2001, his supervisor had caught on to something, and Meerovich got scolded for approving visas for six individuals who had been previously refused under suspected fraud. Going back to the visa broker, Meerovich and the individual refined the fraud scheme to circumvent future problems in discovery. For the next year and a half (January, 2001 - May, 2002), the visa applications came not in the name of the actual individuals but from false identities involving stolen or fraudulently obtained Czech passports. The new scam led to Meerovich getting about five applications a month at $500 a pop. Between April, 2000 and May, 2002, according to the plea documents, Meerovich arranged for the fraudulent processing of at least 85 visa applications.

I always "tsk tsk tsk" everybody when I hear these stories, but today I'll tell you something different. It becomes increasingly difficult to tell clients from countries where corruption is rampant that this type of stuff doesn't work with U.S. officers. Clearly, on some occasions, it does. However, these situations are exceedingly rare. When someone hears of a story like this, they make the mistaken assumption that this type of activity is common, and may even solicit bribes. It is that type of action that will really render a finding of fraud and terminate a person's eligibility for U.S. visas. One "bad apple" wound up being caught in the Czech Republic, and in the days that preceded his final incarceration, our corrupt consul was busy helping authorities locate and prosecute those he had "assisted." Think about it.

Commissioner Ziglar to ACLU

You guys might remember the name "Carl Baldwin." Professor Baldwin is one of the most distinguished immigration practitioners in the nation and one of the handful of attorneys (including Ira Kurzban and Sheryl Little) who have been instrumental in defending the rights of Haitian immigrants in this nation. Carl, who is really into asylum law and a true student of the Bill of Rights, wrote me last week to tell me about Immigration Commissioner James W. Ziglar's remarks to the membership meeting of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

I know what many of you are doing: shrieking madly and running in circles. It is correct that the motto of the ACLU is "Defending the Bill of Rights" and that the 2003 Inaugural Membership Conference was "Stand Up for Freedom - Because Freedom Can't Protect Itself." It is also true that Mr. Ziglar serves directly under the instruction of Mr. Freedom Lover himself, John Ashcroft. All that being said, Carl called my attention to this because there was some very interesting stuff in the presentation. You can see the entire text of his remarks by going to http://www.aclu.org and searching "Ziglar," but here are some tidbits for you to chew on:

• "...we come together at a time in American history when the need is greater for organizations such as the ACLU - and people who are passionate about civil liberties - to unite in defending those liberties. We must remind and educate the American people that our very existence as a free society depends on an ever- vigilant, uncompromising defense of civil liberties..."

• "...You probably are wondering why someone who has been a lifelong Conservative would appear at your convention, and I do probably consider myself a Conservative in the Barry Goldwater mold. Barry Goldwater understood that freedom - in his own words - 'Depends on effective restraints against accumulation of power in a single authority.'"

• "[Quoting Justice Brandeis]: 'The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning, but without understanding.'"

All in all, there's a lot more. He filled his speech with quotes and excellent citations referring to others, but I was left with a sensation, by the end of this speech, that I still didn't understand that there is a real appreciation for the danger that the treatment the foreigners in the United States are getting is only inches away from affecting the rest of us here on a full-time basis. He states that he "believe[s] that the American people have slowly begun to more fully appreciate the freedoms they enjoy," but fails to note that much of that is due to the fact that we are systematically having many of these freedoms restricted by this Administration! Overall, I didn't disagree with much of what Commissioner Ziglar said, but it also didn't do anything to reassure me that there will be a healthy attitude and reworking of the treatment given to immigrants on "watch lists."

U.S. Black Leaders Sock it to Mugabe

Right around the time that Leah and Danny were returning from a visit to that part of the world and from actually setting foot in Zimbabwe, a letter from leaders in the African American community directed to that nation's President Mugabe was making its rounds:

"We have strong historical ties to the liberation movements in Zimbabwe... as well as opposition to U.S. government policies that supported minority [white] rule... at the same time, our progressive ties have grown with institutions of civil society... we stand in solidarity with those feeling the pain and suffering caused by the abuse of their rights [and] the increasingly intolerant, repressive, and violent policies of your government over the past three years, [and] the devastating consequences of those policies."

As reported in my favorite New York newspaper The Village Voice (if only for Michael Musto's insane gossip column), African American leaders have launched a persuasive initiative in an attempt to trigger change in one of Africa's most violent regimes.

The move is a significant step in that many of the victims of Mugabe's abuse in Zimbabwe have been the white people who historically perpetuated the racism which brought about much of the trouble in post-colonial Africa. The credibility of organizations such as the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, etc. is seriously enhanced by virtue of the fact that they are taking a leadership position crossing "color lines." They are advocating for democracy and human rights for all.

In 2003, Amnesty International reported that Mugabe is deliberately denying food aid to the Movement for Democratic Change, literally starving his opponents. With that type of strategy, it is clear that Mugabe continues to rely on a strategy of violence and that democracy is not likely to come soon to this troubled but beautiful land.

Canadian Musician Visa Issues

The 95th convention of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) convened for three days in Las Vegas in June. The Canadian and U.S. organization represents over 110,000 professional musicians who perform every type of music in all genres in places ranging from symphony halls to hotel lounges, and including professional recording musicians who make CDs, motion picture soundtracks, and television film scores. The convention brought the group together to discuss a number of important issues, but for our immediate purposes, the "hot topic" had to do with Canadian musicians entering the United States.

As many of our readers know, O visas and P visas are the artistic mechanisms available for performing artists in the United States. The Canadians greatly facilitate the entry of U.S. artists, but, predictably, we haven't exactly done the same thing for them. The AFM is calling for increased efficiency, i.e. expedited processing of work visas for Canadian musicians who are coming to perform in the United States. Similarly, in another bilateral issue which will have immigration implications, the AFM is calling for U.S. and Canadian film producers to score movies under mutually agreed union conditions both in the United States and Canada. While the digital technology making e-transmission of soundtracks is making the movement of personnel across borders less and less critical, increased cooperation between the U.S. and Canada would allow both nations' music industries to compete on a global basis within the English- language music market.

For a long time, I have asked why no musical exemption has been created under the visa rules of NAFTA, but the answer has not been forthcoming... I expect it is political, meaning "gate keeper" in nature. Besides, with all of those Canadians legalizing that wicked British Columbian pot, can you imagine what the border would look like if we let them all steam roll down here with TNs?...(;