Mississippi Businesses Join ICE's IMAGE Program

Three Mississippi businesses signed agreements Monday, April 9, with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to become members of the IMAGE program, short for "ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers." VT Halter Marine, United States Marine, INC., and DCD Construction, INC., joined IMAGE, which provides businesses an opportunity to partner with the agency to develop a more secure and stable workforce.

The three companies are part of only a handful of companies in the state that have undergone the rigorous IMAGE certification process. As part of this process, they have completed extensive training and rigorous evaluation of their hiring processes.

At the signing ceremony on Monday, April 9, Raymond R. Parmer, Jr., special agent in charge of ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New Orleans said, "ICE recognizes that the highest level of employment integrity can only be achieved through close coordination with industry partners. VT Halter Marine, United States Marine, INC. and DCD Construction, INC. will join IMAGE business participants around the country who are committed to protecting the integrity of their workforce by helping ensure that their employees are who they represent themselves to be."

The companies echoed similar sentiments by saying their acceptance into the IMAGE program not only solidified their positions as responsible corporate citizens, it reaffirmed their pride in the diversity of their compliant workforce. The contributions of their workforce strengthen the economy and embody the American ideal of hard work. Undocumented workers create vulnerabilities in the marketplace by presenting false documents to gain employment, completing applications for fraudulent benefits and stealing identities of legal workers. The IMAGE program provides employers with screening tools to prevent unauthorized workers from being hired.

The IMAGE program was initiated in 2006 with partners from around the United States and a wide range of industries, including: employment services, aviation, transportation, construction, high technology, shipping and manufacturing. By signing the IMAGE contract for full membership, businesses establish a formal partnership with law enforcement to follow the best hiring practices recommended by the program, train their staff to uphold the high standards required by the program and use the tools offered by the federal government to screen employees and ensure they are lawfully authorized to work.

IMAGE members work with ICE to meet the standards set by the program. In addition, they partner with ICE officials to assess their business practices and improve the way they hire, process 1-9 forms, maintain employment records and otherwise comply with U.S. laws regarding employment. The E- Verify program is administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Through this program, employers can verify that newly hired employees are eligible to work in the United States. This Internet-based program is available in all 50 states and is free to employers. E-verify provides an automated link to the Social Security Administration database and Department of Homeland Security immigration records.

Mississippi-area employers interested in the IMAGE program may contact the local IMAGE coordinator at 1-866-DHS-2ICE.

Pennsylvania Businessmen Sentenced for Employing Illegal Aliens and Tax Fraud

Two Pennsylvania business executives have been sentenced for the unlawful employment of illegal aliens and tax evasion. The sentence is the result of an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).

John Cimino, 55, of Doylestown, Pa., vice president of LTCI Ltd., was sentenced Thursday, April 5, in U.S. District Court to six months home confinement, twelve weekends in a residential reentry center and three years of supervised release. He was sentenced for tax evasion and conspiracy to conceal, harbor and shield illegal aliens from detection for commercial advantage and private financial gain.

Anthony Cimino, 57, of West New Hope, Pa., president of LTCI, was sentenced to six months home confinement and three years of supervised release. He was also sentenced for conspiracy to conceal, harbor and shield illegal aliens from detection for commercial advantage and private financial gain.

"Homeland Security Investigations is committed to holding businesses accountable when they knowingly hire an illegal workforce," said Nick DiNicola, assistant special agent in charge of HSI Albany, N.Y. "Employers who willfully violate our nation's hiring laws gain an unfair economic advantage over their law abiding competitors. Our goal is to protect job opportunities for the nation's legal workers and level the playing field for those businesses that play by the rules."

In April 2008, HSI special agents discovered that LTCI, a Philadelphia-based construction company specializing in the refurbishment of movie theaters, was employing undocumented illegal aliens at their worksite located at the Shoppingtown Mall movie theaters in DeWitt, N.Y. The investigation revealed that LTCI had hired and employed eight illegal aliens at this site.

An additional investigation conducted by IRS-CI revealed that during 2007 and 2008, Cimino, who was in charge of the company's payroll, evaded federal tax owed on the Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return (Form 941) by paying his employees – both legal and illegal – a majority of their overtime wages "off the books."

In addition to home confinement and supervised release, U.S. District Court Judge David N. Hurd imposed a fine of $20,000 on each defendant. The Ciminos forfeited $223,000 to the U.S. government as proceeds from the unlawful employment of the illegal aliens. Additionally, the Ciminos paid $622,492 for under-reported payroll taxes owed, which included $225,000 in penalties.

HSI has a vital responsibility to enforce the law and engage in effective worksite enforcement to reduce the demand for illegal employment and protect employment opportunities for the nation's lawful workforce. HSI employs an effective, comprehensive worksite enforcement strategy that addresses both employers who knowingly hire illegal workers as well as the workers themselves.

HSI focuses its resources in the worksite enforcement program on the criminal prosecution of employers who knowingly hire illegal workers, in order to target the root cause of illegal immigration. Furthermore, HSI uses all available civil and administrative tools, including civil fines and debarment, to penalize and deter illegal employment.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carla Freedman, Northern District of New York.

Secure Communities: Leadership and Contact Information

Credentials for Gregory J. Archambeault, Assistant Director for Secure Communities and Enforcement

Gregory J. Archambeault

Assistant Director for Secure Communities and Enforcement

Gregory J. Archambeault is the assistant director (AD) for the Secure Communities and Enforcement Division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Washington, DC. He is responsible for several major ICE initiatives, including the National Fugitive Operations Program, Criminal Alien Program, the 287(g) Program and the Secure Communities Program.

Mr. Archambeault has more than 23 years of law enforcement experience. In 1987, he began his law enforcement career in San Diego, first working as a co-op student with the former U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service (INS); and in 1988, becoming a special agent. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Mr. Archambeault served in the INS attaché offices in Athens, Greece, and New Delhi, India, where he served as a liaison to law enforcement agencies and conducted training. He also managed immigration related enforcement activities in cooperation with foreign government officials.

Prior to joining the headquarters (HQ) ICE Office of Detention & Removal Operations (DRO), Mr. Archambeault was a member of the ICE Office of Investigations (OI), where he served as a senior special agent, supervisory special agent and as resident agent in charge. During his time at OI he was responsible for the management oversight of many complex criminal investigations related to violations of immigration and customs laws. Investigations ranged from alien smuggling and worksite enforcement to child exploitation and arms and strategy technology cases.

Mr. Archambeault joined HQ ICE DRO (currently, the Office Enforcement and Removal Operations) as the unit chief for the National Fugitive Operations Program in 2008. He was then appointed to the Senior Executive Service as the deputy assistant director for the Criminal Alien Division, where he was responsible for strategic planning, policy development and the deployment of resources to effectively identify, arrest and remove criminal aliens found at-large in the United States and incarcerated in federal, state and local jails and prisons.

Mr. Archambeault received a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice Administration from San Diego State University.

How to Contact Secure Communities

To contact the Secure Communities program office, please call (202) 732-3900. For media inquiries about Secure Communities, contact ICE's Office of Public Affairs at (202) 732-4242.

To report allegations of racial profiling, due process violations, or other possible violations of civil rights or civil liberties related to Secure Communities, all complaints should be filed with the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties complaint intake website.

ICE Works Hard to Provide Health Care to Detainees

Providing quality health care to detainees in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) custody is an important and challenging task — one that Assistant Director for ICE Health Service Corps (IHSC) Dr. Jon Krohmer takes very seriously.

The ICE Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) ensures the safe and humane conditions of confinement for aliens detained in ICE custody. This includes the provision of reliable, consistent and appropriate health services. IHSC, which falls under ERO, is comprised of more than 900 Public Health Service-commissioned officers, federal civil servants and contract support staff. Their mission is straightforward: to serve as the medical authority for ICE on a wide range of medical issues, including the agency's comprehensive detainee health care program.

IHSC provides direct care to approximately 15,000 detainees housed at 21 IHSC-designated facilities throughout the nation. In addition, IHSC oversees the medical care provided to an additional 17,000 detainees at non-IHSC staffed detention facilities across the country. Whenever necessary, it authorizes and pays for off-site specialty and emergency care, consultations and case management.

"A detainee's health care begins the moment they walk through the facility's doors," said Dr. Krohmer. "Within the first 12 hours of their admission, all detainees undergo a preliminary health screening, which includes an evaluation of the individual's medical, dental and mental health status and within the next 14 days, a more detailed physical examination takes place."

Because so many of these detainees are either new arrivals in the country or haven't had access to health care in the past, Dr. Krohmer said it is not unusual for serious health problems to be diagnosed at these screenings.

"We're finding out about health issues that even they didn't even know about and in most cases are able to begin treatment," he said.

This continuity of care not only lasts during the individual's period of detention, but also throughout their removal to their country of origin. Before any detainee boards a plane to be removed from the United States, they must first undergo an evaluation to make sure they are fit to fly.

In order to continually upgrade the quality of medical services they deliver, IHSC not only actively complies with the Performance Based National Detention Standards, but is also instrumental in the standard's continuous upgrades and improvements. Dr. Krohmer said that over the last few years, IHSC has become much more involved in their development and revisions.

"My staff and I are aware that detainee health care is an ever-evolving issue and that just like in the general population, health care priorities are constantly changing," said Dr. Krohmer. "We are working to develop a more systematic approach to our health care system within the detention facilities."

For instance, ICE recently streamlined the treatment authorization request. This application — used to formally request a specialized medical procedure that falls outside the scope of what IHSC can provide — is now typically reviewed and approved within 24 hours.

Krohmer added that plans are underway to forge a more uniform health care system among the IHSC facilities, enabling them to work together more cohesively.

Secure Communities: Briefing Materials for State and Local Law Enforcement

Concerns about the civil rights and civil liberties of individuals in communities where there is significant immigration enforcement activity are not unique to the Secure Communities initiative. The Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are creating a series of training /awareness briefings designed primarily for use by front line state and local law enforcement agency personnel during daily muster/roll call briefings. The videos and other tools will address eight categories of civil rights and civil liberties issues and topics of importance.

Project Goals:

·                             To provide actionable information to state and local law enforcement about the civil rights and civil liberties issues that may arise when ICE begins using a federal information sharing capability through Secure Communities in their jurisdictions.

·                             To increase the transparency of the Department's active commitment to     protecting the civil rights and civil liberties of all persons affected by DHS activities and programs.

The training/briefing materials are offered as a series of short videos, discussion guides with references to web-based resources for additional information (when available), and job aids.

Materials Currently Available on the ICE Website:

These training /briefing materials include a series of modules; each module contains a short viewable video and related materials such as fact sheets, discussion guides, web-based resources, and job aids. Although the modules will cover all of the topics noted below and are designed to be presented as a series, law enforcement agencies may also present the materials in a variety of combinations to suit the needs of individual jurisdictions.

The materials are designed for two distinct audiences: front line officers and law enforcement leadership (noted as the “Commander's packets”).

Current Materials

Commander's Packet

·                             DHS Plan to Provide Training to State and Local Law Enforcement in the Secure Communities Program  

·                             Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Complaint Form (In English and Spanish. Forms are also available in seven other languages).

·                             Secure Communities Complaints Protocol

·                             ICE Detainer Form

·                             Prosecutorial Discretion Memo: Certain Victims, Witnesses, and Plaintiffs

·                             Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion Consistent with the Civil Immigration Enforcement Priorities of the Agency for the Apprehension, Detention, and Removal of Aliens

Topics Under Development for Future Law Enforcement Briefings

·                             Working with Non-English Speakers

·                             Special Immigration Law Protections for Crime Victims

·                             Responsibility under the Violence Against Women Act

·                             When to Notify Foreign Consuls

·                             ICE Detainers (ICE request to local jails to hold certain aliens up to 48 hours)

·                             Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Complaints

·                             Avoiding Racial and Ethnic Profiling

USCIS Announces Changes to Form I-797C

On April 2, 2012, USCIS will issue Form I-797C, Notice of Action, with a new look and feel. The USCIS will print the Form I-797C on plain bond paper. This change is estimated to save the agency about $1.1 million per year.

This form change will help reduce public perception that the Form I-797C demonstrates evidence of an immigration benefit or status. The top of the new Form I-797C will clearly display: “THIS NOTICE DOES NOT GRANT ANY IMMIGRATION STATUS OR BENEFIT.”

Please note, the Form I-797C, Notice of Action is used ONLY for certain types of communication between individuals and the agency including notifications of:

               Receipt (notifies the customer that their payment and application/petition has been received by USCIS)

               Rejection (notifies the customer that their application/petition has been rejected due to incorrect information or payment)

               Transfer (notifies the customer that their case was relocated to another USCIS office for processing)

               Re-Open (notifies the customer that USCIS has approved a motion to re-open their completed case and it is being processed)

               Appointment (notifies the customer that they have an appointment with USCIS to obtain fingerprint or biometric capture, to attend an interview, or that their appointment has been rescheduled)

Form I-797C appointment notices will also contain disability accommodation information on the back of the form. Previously this information was included as a separate flyer that was sent along with the notice. Printing this information on the back of the form will save additional resources by consolidating the notice and disability information into one form.

Form I-797C Notice of Actions issued before April 2, 2012, will remain valid. This change to Form I-797C is part of our ongoing efforts to improve customer service while enhancing agency operations.

USCIS Announces Changes to Select Waivers of Inadmissibility

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted on March 30 a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register that would reduce the time U.S. citizens are separated from their spouses, children, and parents (i.e. immediate relatives) who must obtain an immigrant visa abroad to become lawful permanent residents of the United States. This rule would allow certain immediate relatives of U.S. citizens to apply for a provisional waiver of the unlawful presence ground of inadmissibility while still in the United States if they can demonstrate that being separated from their U.S. citizen spouse or parent would cause that U.S. citizen relative extreme hardship. The proposed rule will not alter how USCIS determines eligibility for a waiver of inadmissibility or how an individual establishes extreme hardship.

“The law is designed to avoid extreme hardship to U.S. citizens, which is precisely what this proposed rule will more effectively achieve,” said USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas. “The current process can subject U.S. citizens to months of separation from family members who are waiting for their cases to be processed overseas. The proposed change will have tremendous impact on families by significantly reducing the time of separation.”

USCIS also proposes creating a new form for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens who choose to apply for a provisional unlawful presence waiver. Once in effect, this form would be used for individuals filing an application for a provisional unlawful presence application before he or she departs the United States to complete the immigrant visa process at a U.S. Embassy or consulate abroad. The streamlined process would only apply to immediate relatives who are otherwise eligible for an immigrant visa based on an approved immediate relative petition.

The proposed process outlined above is not in effect and is not available until USCIS publishes a final rule with an effective date in the Federal Register. USCIS will consider all public comments on the proposed rule announced today before publishing the final rule in the coming months. Individuals at this time should not to submit an application for a provisional unlawful presence waiver, or allow anyone to submit one on their behalf because it will be rejected.

USCIS encourages the public to submit formal input on the proposed rule through www.regulations.gov during a comment period that runs from April 2, 2012 until June 1, 2012.

A detailed Web page addressing the proposed rule is currently posted to www.uscis.gov/provisionalwaiver. Additional details on the proposed process changes will be available soon at www.regulations.gov.