On the second day of his new job, SNL alumni and Minnesota Senator Al Franken voted against Senator DeMint's amendment to Homeland Security's 2010 Appropriation Bill requiring double-layer fencing along 700 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Franken has not commented on his vote, but MinnPost.com reports Franken's spokeswoman as saying, “On the border fence vote, none of the relevant effective law enforcement agencies were indicating this was something they needed or wanted."

Are you wondering what to expect from the new Senator when it comes to immigration? Read Senator Franken's views on important immigration issues.

Photo: Jeffrey Thompson/Getty Images

A new Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) independent task force has released its report on U.S. immigration policy. The group not only recommends the Obama administration and Congress move forward with comprehensive immigration reform, but warns "continued failure to devise and implement a sound and sustainable immigration policy threatens to weaken America’s economy, to jeopardize its diplomacy, and to imperil its national security."

The Task Force recommends that a new effort to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill be a first-tier priority for the Obama administration and Congress, and that such an effort be restarted without delay. The Task Force is encouraged by the early signs from the administration that immigration reform is high on the agenda and that efforts will begin promptly to move ahead with legislation. but reforming immigration laws is not enough. At the same time, the United States needs to invest in making the immigration system operate more effectively.

This bipartisan task force, launched last June, is co-chaired by former Florida governor Jeb Bush and former White House chief of staff Thomas "Mack" McLarty. In a CFR interview, Jeb Bush explained why the U.S. needs immigration reform:

The fact is that our immigration policy has been a huge benefit to our country [in the past] and to get it right gives us a competitive edge economically, and it also helps our country to continue to be dynamic, ever-changing in a positive way. In the long run, this is really important for our country to get right and that should be where the focus is.

A CFR news release outlines the recommendations made by the task force for legislation and administrative reforms that would be part of an immigration policy that better serves America’s national interests:

• Comprehensive immigration reform: A new effort to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill should be a first-tier priority for the Obama administration and Congress, and should be started without delay.


• Attracting skilled immigrants: The United States must tackle head-on the growing competition for skilled immigrants from other countries, and make the goal of attracting such immigrants a central component of its immigration policy. The report urges an end to the hard caps on employment-based immigrant visas and skilled work visas in favor of a more flexible system, the elimination of strict nationality quotas, and new opportunities for foreign students earning advanced degrees to remain in the United States after they graduate.


• National security: The Task Force calls for minimizing visa restrictions that impede scientific collaboration, noting that America’s long-term security depends on maintaining its place as a world leader in science and technology. The administration should also permit a broader effort by the U.S. military to recruit recent immigrants who are not yet citizens or green card holders, so as to bolster U.S. military capabilities.


• Employer enforcement: The Task Force supports a mandatory system for verifying those who are authorized to work in the United States, including a workable and reliable biometric verification system with secure documents. Tougher penalties should be levied against those who refuse to comply. It calls employer enforcement "the single most effective and humane enforcement tool available to discourage illegal migration."


• Simplifying, streamlining, and investing in the immigration system: Congress and the Obama administration should establish a high-level independent commission to make recommendations for simplifying the administration and improving the transparency of U.S. immigration laws. The government must redouble its efforts to reduce backlogs and other unnecessary delays by investing in the personnel and technology necessary for handling visa and immigration applications efficiently.


• Improving America’s image abroad: The administration and Congress should launch a comprehensive review of the current security-related restrictions on travel to the United States, with an eye toward lifting restrictions that do not significantly reduce the risk of terrorists or criminals entering the country.


• Border enforcement: The report favors the full implementation of the Secure Border Initiative to gain greater operational control of the country’s borders. It also calls for the expansion of “smart border” initiatives that use information technologies and targeting tools to help distinguish individuals who may pose a security risk to the United States while facilitating easier entry by the vast majority of legitimate visitors and immigrants.


• State and local enforcement: State and local police forces can and should be used to augment federal immigration enforcement capabilities, as long as this does not interfere with their core mission of maintaining safety and security in the communities they serve.


• Earned legalization: The Task Force favors a policy of earned legalization, not amnesty, for many of the illegal immigrants currently living in the United States. The DREAM Act, reintroduced in the 111th Congress, provides the right model by requiring that young people without status who wish to remain in the United States must attend college or perform military service and demonstrate good moral character in order to earn their eligibility for permanent residence.

The report concludes:

How America handles its immigration policy is vital to its standing in the world, and the failure to make significant improvements will have repercussions for years to come. Immigration has long been a secret to America’s success, and no issue will be more important for its success in the future. The administration and Congress have an opportunity to put the country’s immigration policy on a path to that future. This Task Force urges them to seize it.

The full report is available in PDF from the Council on Foreign Relations.

The Senate voted 54-44 today in favor of requiring physical fencing along 700 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. Senator Jim DeMint's amendment to Homeland Security's 2010 Appropriation Bill states that ineffective fencing to restrain pedestrians such as vehicle barriers and virtual fencing cannot be used to meet the 700 miles of fencing required by law. Instead, reinforced double-layer fencing must be installed by December 31, 2010.

DeMint's office released the following statement:

“The American people were promised a secure border fence three years ago and it’s time to make it happen,” said Senator DeMint. “Our southern border has become a battleground for illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and human trafficking, and it’s vulnerable to terrorists. Unfortunately, our government has dragged its feet for years and tried to use untested and unsecure ‘virtual’ fencing instead of actual, physical fencing. Our first priority must be national security, and we can only achieve that goal with secure borders. I’m pleased with the strong bipartisan vote in favor of a finishing a real border fence next year. I will work to ensure no one cuts or weakens this important provision in conference.”

The press release goes on to explain that a previous bill set a deadline for 370 miles of the fence to be completed by December 31, 2008. Homeland Security has only constructed 34.3 miles of double-layer fencing, leaving more than 660 miles of required double-layer fencing remaining to be built.

We've been expecting some movement on the border fence. At the recent immigration reform meeting with members of Congress, President Obama made it clear that securing the borders will be an important first step in immigration reform:

"The American people still don't have enough confidence that Congress and any administration is going to get serious about border security, and so they're concerned that any immigration reform simply will be a short-term legalization of undocumented workers with no long-term solution with respect to future flows of illegal immigration."

Back in June, CBP Acting Commissioner Jayson Ahern testified on plans for border security before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Ahern explained why a balanced combination of technology, personnel and tactical infrastructure (something Janet Napolitano refers to as "the three-legged stool") is required to gain effective operational control of the border. Regarding the fence, he stated:

"Fence alone does not and cannot provide effective control of the border. It does, however, deter and delay illicit cross-border incursions...Although some refer to technology as a “virtual fence,” technology does not have the persistent impedance capability of a real fence. It does, however, provide timely and accurate information that physical infrastructure could not."

Is Senator DeMint undermining Homeland Security's authority and expertise by telling the department where and what fencing should be used? Senator George Voinovich thought so. He said that the decision should be left up to the secretary of Homeland Security.

The amendment requires Janet Napolitano to submit a progress report to Congress by the end of September, as well as her plans for completing the fence by the deadline.

Photo: David McNew/Getty Images

Ngoc Zhuy Thi Mai from Vietnam and Mariana Ajyony from Romania say the Pledge of Allegiance July 3, 2009 at the Magic Kingdom in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. They were among 1,000 immigrants from more than 100 countries to become new U.S. citizens during a morning ceremony jointly hosted by Disney Parks and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The citizenship ceremony was part of an Independence Day weekend celebration in the Vacation Kingdom which also saw the re-launch of a revised and refreshed "Hall of Presidents" show.

Get a glimpse of the "magical" event by watching the YouTube video, "1,000 Immigrants Celebrate U.S. Citizenship in Independence Day Weekend Ceremony Disney World."

More than 6,000 people in approximately 50 special ceremonies held across the United States and overseas will become American citizens this holiday weekend. Five of these ceremonies are for members of the U.S. Armed Forces.

To our new citizens, congratulations! And to everyone, happy Independence Day!

Photo: Diana Zalucky/Photographer, Courtesy of Walt Disney News

It's Independence Day weekend, which means Americans are out celebrating their nation with backyard BBQs, city-wide festivities and of course, fireworks. But how many natural-born American citizens would pass the naturalization test that's required of all naturalization applicants?

Becoming an American citizen with all the freedoms and opportunities this nation has to offer is the dream of many immigrants. Those who are fortunate enough to be in a position to pursue naturalization must show their allegiance to the United States by promising to fulfill all the responsibilities of citizenship.

Before naturalization applicants can take the Oath of Allegiance, they are tested on the concepts of American democracy and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, which USCIS says "will help encourage citizenship applicants to learn and identify with the basic values we all share as Americans."

Would you pass the test? Find out by answering 10 civics questions from the new naturalization test.

Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

The next step to repeal the HIV travel and immigration ban is underway. The proposed rule to remove HIV from the definition of communicable disease has been published. The proposed regulation states:

"While HIV infection is a serious health condition, it does not represent a communicable disease that is a significant threat for introduction, transmission, and spread to the U.S. population through casual contact. As a result of these proposed regulatory changes, aliens would no longer be inadmissible into the United States based solely on the grounds they are infected with HIV and they would no longer undergo HIV testing as part of the routine medical examination."

The complete notice is published in the Federal Register and is available for public comment on or before August 17, 2009.

The HIV travel and immigration ban prevents HIV-positive individuals from entering the U.S. (special waivers are available but difficult to obtain) or from becoming permanent residents. Last summer, the Senate voted in favor of repealing the 20-year policy. Before the ban can be lifted, HIV must be removed from the HHS definition of communicable diseases. This has been a long, slow process.

To implement the ban, there are a series of steps that must be followed. All federal regulations must go through a Notice and Comment period where the proposed regulations are made available for public comment. After this 45-day comment period, HHS reviews the comments and then the new regulation can be published. At that point, the repeal will take effect.

If you would like to do more to support the end of the HIV Ban, please consider signing the petition from Immigration Equality.

Photo: Getty Images

DV-2010 green card lottery applicants have begun checking the status of their entries through the E-DV website. There may have been a server overload this morning, judging by the comments, but everything seems to be back up and running. Traffic will be high over the next couple of days, so don't worry if you receive a server error or cannot check your status. Leave it for an hour or two then try again.

Although the site is up and running, there has been some confusion about the results. Following is some information to help you understand the results from the online status check.

There are three things you must provide to check your status online:

• Entrant's confirmation code: This is available from the confirmation page that you received when you entered the lottery during the October 2, 2008 to December 1, 2008 entry period.
• Last name/Family name: Some people have mistaken this as first name/last name. Only your last name is required. Some people refer to this as their "family name." Your last name/family name should be entered exactly as you provided in your application.
• Year of birth

The system will check the database and return one of two messages, indicating that you either have or have not been selected as a lottery winner for DV-2010.

If you are NOT a winner, you will receive the following message:

Based on the information provided, the Entry HAS NOT BEEN SELECTED for further processing for the 2010 Electronic Diversity Visa program.

Please verify that you have entered all information correctly. You may re-check the Entry status by clicking on the Return to Entrant Status Check Main Page link below.

If this is the message you receive, it means that your entry has not been selected and you are not a DV-2010 green card lottery winner. You can try again in the DV-2011 lottery, which will open in the fall.

If you ARE a winner, you will receive the following message:

Based on the information and confirmation number provided, you should have received a letter by mail from the United States Department of State’s Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) notifying you that your Diversity Visa entry was selected in the DV-2010 lottery.

If you have not received a letter instructing you how to proceed by August 1, 2009, please contact KCC by email at kccdv@state.gov.

Please remember that you do not have to pay until you apply for a visa at a U.S. consulate or embassy. The U.S. government will not ask you to send money by mail or by courier service.

Important: Be sure to enter your information (confirmation number, name and year of birth) correctly. The system cannot verify if you have provided the correct information, it can only give you a result based on the information you enter.

A couple of people are concerned because they have already received their notification letter in the mail, but received the "you have not been selected" message when they checked their status online. There are two possible reasons for this:

1. The information entered for the online status check was not correct. Always check carefully to ensure that the information provided for the online check is entered exactly the same as provided on the original entry.


2. It is possible (but highly unlikely) that the letter was a fake, sent by some unscrupulous business for fraudulent purposes.

In this situation, if you are certain that the information you provided for the online status check is correct, contact the Kentucky Consular Center to verify your status.

Good luck, everyone! If you did not win this year, you'll have another opportunity to enter in the fall.

DV-2010 green card lottery status check is now available online at the E-DV website.

From now until June 30, 2010, DV-2010 green card lottery applicants can check the status of their entry through the E-DV website. You will need the confirmation page that you received when you entered the lottery during the last entry period (October 2, 2008 to December 1, 2008). You will be asked to provide your entrant's confirmation number, last name/family name, and year of birth in order to check the entrant status online.

To find out whether or not your DV-2010 green card lottery entry was selected, go to the E-DV website at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov/ESC/.

The long-awaited immigration reform meeting between President Obama and members of Congress took place on Thursday. There were few details about the meeting leading up to the event, but on Thursday morning the White House released information about the meeting's purpose and a list of attendees:

The meeting is intended to launch a policy conversation by having an honest discussion about the issues and identifying areas of agreement and areas where we still have work to do, with the hope of beginning the debate in earnest later this year.

President Obama said the meeting was "very productive" and listed border security, employers using undocumented workers, and recognition and legalization of undocumented workers as key issues. Read more...

While President Obama and Congressional leaders come together today to talk about comprehensive immigration reform, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi discusses her commitment to bringing that debate to the floor.

From a transcript of Speaker Pelosi's weekly press conference held this morning:

Q: Madam Speaker, what do you think the chances are this year for comprehensive immigration reform? How do you see the road map from here?

Speaker Pelosi: Well, you know there is a meeting at the White House today on immigration, and I am very pleased that the White House is focusing on that. We had been ready for a long time, and we've had our principles established of securing our border, enforcing our laws, unifying families, and having a path to legalization for people who are in this country. The plan has always been for the Senate to go first, and Senator Reid has made positive statements about the prospect for that. So I am encouraged by that, but we are ready any time.

Q: Some, like Republican Lincoln Diaz Balart, said that he believes they can get a compromise in the House to get the votes into passage, but he says the issue is, will you commit on bringing the immigration reform to the floor for a debate, would you set a date?

Speaker Pelosi: Well, I said that the Senate will go first, and that's what we have done. We are ready to have this debate. We are interested in what will happen at the White House today. We think that this is important that the President has called this meeting. It is one in another series. He had the health summit, the economic summit, the auto summit, now we're having immigration. I don't know if we'll call this a summit, but a meeting at the White House. I don't know if he called all the others a summit either. But we are ready to go. I hope that Congressman Diaz Balart -- I don't know if you were talking about Lincoln or Mario?

Q: Lincoln.

Speaker Pelosi: Lincoln will encourage many Republicans to join him in his enthusiasm for immigration.

Q: How committed are you to allowing reform to be debated on the floor?

Speaker Pelosi: Oh, absolutely. This to me is who we are as a country. Immigration has been a constant reinvigoration of America. Every person who comes here with their aspirations for a better future for their family, that commitment of making the future better for the next generation is a very American idea. So all of them who come with their enthusiasm for the future make America more American. I'm very excited.

Source: PR Newswire
Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images