| Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Friends:
We hope that your fall season has gotten off to a good start!
This edition of our Immigration Action Update includes a blog post from Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House Cecilia Muñoz as well as recent announcements made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Additionally, we include a blog post on the Catholic Charities USA Community Leaders Briefing at the White House.
Government and Stakeholders – Working Together to Find Solutions
As part of its increased effort to provide a forum for government and non-government stakeholders to collaborate on sometimes challenging issues, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (Ombudsman’s Office) hosted its First Annual Conference on October 20th. White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Cecilia Munoz shared remarks with an auditorium full of immigration professionals as they prepared to spend their day identifying ways to continue improving citizenship and immigration services provided in our nation. To learn more, click here.
USDA Announces Grant Competition for Agricultural Career and Employment Program to Enhance Training and Services to Agriculture Labor Force
The Department of Agriculture (USDA), in conjunction with its Office of Advocacy and Outreach, is pleased to announce a grant competition for the Agricultural Career and Employment Program (ACE). The purpose of the ACE grants program is to improve the supply, stability, safety, and training of the agriculture labor force. The grants program authorized by section 14204 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) is designed to address the needs of both agricultural employers and farmworkers with respect to the supply of skilled labor in American agriculture and the stability of employment in that sector. To read more, click here. This is part of a greater initiative by the Office of Advocacy and Outreach to identify the challenges faced by farmworkers and coordinate the community’s needs with USDA resources. Learn more about this initiative here.
FY 2011: ICE announces year-end removal numbers, highlights focus on key priorities including threats to public safety and national security
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton announced the agency’s fiscal year 2011 year-end removal numbers, highlighting trends that underscore the administration’s focus on removing individuals from the country that fall into priority areas for enforcement. These priorities include the identification and removal of those that have broken criminal laws, threats to national security, recent border crossers, repeat violators of immigration law, and immigration court fugitives. “Smart and effective immigration enforcement relies on setting priorities for removal and executing on those priorities,” said Director John Morton. Read more about this announcement and our efforts to prioritize the removal of criminal aliens here.
Know Your Rights: The rights and responsibilities of employees – E-Verify
The USCIS Office of Public Engagement (OPE) invites you to participate in a Spanish-language event (Enlace) regarding the E-Verify employee rights initiative, “Know your Rights: Employee Rights and Responsibilities – E-Verify.” The event will be broadcast live from our Washington, D.C. offices. To learn more, click here.
DHS Announces 18-Month Extension of Temporary Protected Status for Sudan and Designation for South Sudan
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano extended the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Sudan for 18 months. She also designated the new Republic of South Sudan for TPS for 18 months. Both the extension and the new designation are effective Nov. 3, 2011, and will continue through May 2, 2013. To read more about this, click here.
Realizing the Job-Creating Potential of Current Immigration Law
USCIS announced its new “Entrepreneurs in Residence” initiative last week. This innovative program will utilize industry expertise to strengthen USCIS policies and practices surrounding immigrant investors, entrepreneurs and workers with specialized skills, knowledge, or abilities. “Entrepreneurs in Residence” builds upon a series of previous efforts announced in August by Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas to promote startup enterprises and spur job creation. Read more about this great new initiative here.
A Conversation with Catholic Charities USA on Immigration Policy
Each week, the White House opens its doors to 150 community leaders from across the country to take part in day long briefing as part of the Community Leaders Briefing Series. Recently we hosted Catholic Charities USA to discuss President Obama’s continued commitment to comprehensive immigration reform as well as our progress strengthening immigration policy. In return, Catholic Charities leaders communicated to us the current efforts in their own communities to help immigrant communities integrate into our society more successfully. Read more about it our wonderful conversation here.
Have a great week,
Julie Rodriguez
Associate Director
White House | Office of Public Engagement
The White House • 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW • Washington, DC 20500 • 202-456-1111 |
