HAITI QUAKE SHAKES UP IMMIGRATION Politicians Calling for Illegals’ Right to Stay in U.S. (Alka Bahal is in EST)
Last February, the newly installed Obama administration inherited and proceeded to fulfill a Bush administration order to deport some 30,000 undocumented Haitians under the guidance of the Homeland Security Department. But when Haiti stopped issuing travel documents to carry out the transfer, it left some 600 illegals stranded in detention centers here in America.
Now, in the aftermath of Haiti’s crippling earthquake, several Florida politicians are saying the continued fight to finish the job of forced repatriation is putting these detainees at risk, because of the devastation in their country. And so they’re calling for the White House to grant temporary protected status (TPS) that would essentially set these remaining illegals free to live and work in the U.S.
Is this the right move? What kind of impact might it have on the issue of immigration reform baring down on us in the coming year? Will it push the debate into the public spotlight even faster? And are there other, perhaps, lower-profile arguments that pro amnesty legislators and lawyers might now pitch for other groups of illegals to get the same “easy-street” deal?
Call Special Guests today to hear a new and unique legal angle on our most pressing immigration issues from astute immigration attorney, Alka Bahal.
From the lowdown on what exactly TPS is, the justification—or lack thereof—for applying it to this case, and an authoritative look at how granting citizen status to thousands and millions of illegals might affect our society and our business world, you won’t find a more intriguing and informative voice. Schedule an interview with Ms. Bahal right now.
THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE MAY BE USEFUL FOR SHOW PREP:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/01/haiti-earthquake-devastation-could-speed-immigration-debate.html
ABOUT ALKA BAHAL:
Alka Bahal is a partner and co-chair of Fox Rothschild’s Corporate Immigration Practice Group and is resident in the firm’s Roseland, New Jersey, office. Bahal has a national practice involving corporate immigration and employee compliance. She has extensive experience in IRCA, specifically I-9 issues pertaining to training and internal private audits, as well as experience in helping clients prepare for and survive DOL investigations and audits, and RAIDs and other surprise scenarios that may arise. Bahal’s broad client base ranges from Fortune 500 clients to small, privately held corporations and health care and nonprofit organizations.
Bahal is well versed in, and can discuss the following immigration-related topics:
-IRCA: I-9s (training/internal private audits/etc.) DOL investigations (preparing/surviving audit/etc.) RAIDs/other surprise scenarios
-Social Security mismatch issues (history of legislation/currently in a state of flux - employers don't know what to do)
-Topics related to business visas (Bs, Es, Fs, Hs, Js, Ls, Os, Ps and Qs)
-B business visas (short term entry)
-E Treaty Trader/Investor Visas
-F Student Visas
-H-1 Specialty Occupation Visas
-H-2B temporary worker
-H-3 Training Visas
-J-1 Exchange Visitor Visas
-L-1 intracompany transferee
-O-1 and O-2 aliens of extraordinary ability or achievement
-P-1, P-2, and P-3 athletes and entertainers
-Q-1 international cultural exchange aliens
-TN NAFTA professionals
-Topics related to permanent residence via employment (PERM Labor Certification, I-140s, Adjustment of Status)
-Experience with a large number of real world cases, timelines, typical requirements, typical challenges for ees and ers, actual complexities involved, specific requirements and their interplay in the real world, etc. (it’s usually more, not less, expensive to employ a foreign national)
-Impact of economy on ability to succeed in labor certification (where one must prove no qualified U.S. Workers)
-H-1B site visits (new/hot topic)
-E-Verify (for federal contractors and others)
-General Immigration Strategy/issues/impact on companies (large and small, multinational – domestic) in terms of hiring, available workers, etc.
Throughout the course of her legal career, Bahal has filed more than 7,000 petitions relating to the employment of non-immigrants and the acquisition of permanent residence and has advised on matters related to PERM Labor Certification, I-140s and Adjustment Status. She has experience with real world cases, timelines, typical requirements and typical challenges for both employees and employers, actual complexities involved and specific requirements and their interplay in the real world. In instances where one must prove no qualified U.S. workers, Bahal has extensive knowledge into the impact of the economy on the ability to succeed in labor certification.
Bahal is also knowledgeable in the current topics of H-1B site visits and E-Verify for federal contractors and others. She also has experience in general immigration strategy and issues and their impact on large and small multinational and domestic companies in connection to the hiring and availability of workers, among other concerns. She is permitted to represent immigration clients in every U.S. jurisdiction and all Consulates worldwide.
Bahal is the chair of the Immigration Law Committee of the Essex County Bar Association and is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyer’s Association. A frequent lecturer, Bahal speaks and hosts seminars on immigration compliance and strategic planning and is the author of several articles on IRCA, I-9 matters and visa-related topics.