Special Report: Immigration
October 2007 Immigration Update:
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released a new Employment Eligibility Verification Form, or I-9 form, that removes some forms of identification that were previously used to verify citizenship. All employers are required to use an I-9 form when hiring new employees. The USCIS says the new form is intended to reduce the number of documents required to confirm identity and work eligibility.
July 2007 Immigration Update:
After comprehensive immigration reform legislation failed on Capitol Hill, the Department of Homeland Security has announced measures to enforce laws and regulations against hiring illegal immigrants. One of these regulations involves sending a “No-Match” letter to employers if there are many cases of inaccurate personal identification information among their employees. The employer will be subject to appropriate penalties if it fails to take the necessary actions to correct the discrepancy within 90 days of receiving the letter. DHS also indicated that it will reduce the number of kinds of documents employers can accept to verify worker identification and eligibility.
Though some employers are unaware that they hire illegal immigrants, many employers intentionally employ illegal workers. For this reason, DHS has pledged to increase civil fines by 25 percent and to expand the number of criminal investigations for employers that knowingly hire illegal immigrants. DHS also announced plans to expand E-Verify, the federal electronic employment verification system, by expanding the data sources it can check. All federal contractors will be required to use E-Verify, and the federal government will encourage states to increase their use of the system. The administration hopes to slow illegal immigration by taking these steps. For more information on the Department of Homeland Security's policies, click here.
June 2007 Immigration Update:
Hopes for immigration reform in the 110th Congress were dashed on June 28 as the Senate failed to invoke cloture on the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S.1639). Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV.) brought the bill back to the Senate floor after Republicans agreed to limit the number of amendments offered in order to ensure a timely vote on the bill. Despite the best efforts of a bipartisan coalition supported by the Bush administration, the proposed bill was too controversial for many Senators, and compromise proved impossible. Many Republicans felt the legislation did not focus enough on enforcement, while Democrats were unsatisfied with its proposed guest worker program. Further broad efforts for comprehensive immigration reform will most likely be postponed until after the 2008 elections, though Reid indicated that some components of the defeated bill could return to the floor as separate bills later this year.
The issue of immigration continues to be of high priority to legislators and presidential hopefuls. In an April 30th commencement address at Miami Dade College, President Bush described how “Maintaining the promise of America requires that we remain an open and welcoming society” and that “America's ability to assimilate new immigrants has set us apart from other nations.” President Bush noted that “our current immigration system needs reform,” and that policymakers in Washington are working on immigration reform. HR 1645, a comprehensive immigration reform package, was introduced in March and has yet to be scheduled for debate. To read the entirety of President Bush’s address on immigration, click here.
Immigration reform was also touched on in the first debates amongst Republican and Democratic presidential hopefuls. The candidates presented varying views on border security, guest worker programs, and amnesty. In the Republican debate, Senator John McCain, a leader on immigration reform in the Senate, said that “The status quo is not acceptable. We have to secure our borders. But we also need a temporary worker program, and we have to dispose of the issue of 12 million people who are in this country illegally. This issue is an important and compelling one, and it begins with national security. But we also need to address it comprehensively." For more on the first Republican debate, click here. During the Democrats' debate, Senator Hillary Clinton said she was in favor of "tightening our border security, sanctioning employers who employ undocumented
immigrants, helping our communities deal with the costs that come from illegal immigration, getting the 12 million or so immigrants out of the shadows." For more on the Democrats' first debate, click here.
The 110th Congress is about to begin debate on immigration reform. Its predecessor, the 109th Congress, was not able to find a solution to this controversial issue. The Senate leaders on immigration reform are Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and John McCain (R-AZ). Senator Kennedy has opted to back legislation produced by the Senate Judiciary Committee of the 109th Congress rather than write new legislation. Senator McCain finds troublesome the labor provisions included in that bill, and no compromise has been reached at this time. On Monday March 12, 2007, while speaking in Guatemala, President Bush said that he hopes an immigration bill will be completed by Fall 2007.
On March 22, 2007, Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) introduced H.R. 1645, a comprehensive immigration reform package. Known as the Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy Act of 2007, or
STRIVE Act of 2007, the bill would give illegal immigrants the opportunity to eventually gain proper documentation. The legislation currently has 39 co-sponsors, and has been referred to the Committee on the Judiciary as well as the Committee on Homeland Security.
Stay tuned for future updates on this, and other immigration legislation.
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Special Report: Presidential $1 Coin
On Thursday February 14th, the first presidential dollar coin of 2008 will be released, featuring President James Monroe. President Monroe marks the fifth president to be featured on a dollar coin. The next dollar coin, featuring President Adams, will be publicly released on May 15.
On Thursday November 15th, the James Madison Presidential $1 Coin will be released to the public. President Madison was the fourth President of the United States, and fourth president featured on a dollar coin.
On Thursday August 16, the US Mint release the third in its series of Presidential $1 coins, featuring President Jefferson. The Jefferson coin follows the Adams coin which was released in May, and the Washington coin which was released in February. The next coin in the series will debut in November, and will feature John Adams. To learn more about the Jefferson coin, click here.
On May 17th, the US Mint released the second in its series of coins commemorating US Presidents. Millions of coins featuring John Adams were released to banks and financial institutions nationwide. Almost half a billion George Washington and John Adams $1 coins have been ordered by the Federal Reserve for circulation.
The US Mint will release the second coin in the Presidential $1 Coin series on May 17, 2007. The second coin will feature President John Adams. As each new coin is released, Depository Institutions can order unmixed quantities of the coin for two weeks prior to the public release date. Depository Institutions can continue to order unmixed supplies for the four weeks following the release date of the coin in order to meet customer demand. Bags of $1 coins must contain $2000 for them to be deposited. For more information on the John Adams Dollar Coin, click here.
On Thursday February 15, 2007, the US Mint released to the public the first in its Presidential $1 Coin series, depicting George Washington. The Mint plans to release four new coins per year through 2016, each with a portrait of US Presidents in the order in which they served. Currently, Gerald Ford is the last president on the release date schedule. Coins will not be released depicting presidents who are still living. The coins will be the same size, weight, and metal composition of the Sacagawea $1 coin. In anticipation of the release of the first coin of the series, representatives from the Mint have been touring the country distributing educational and promotional materials related to the coin. On Monday February 5th, 2007, ICA member David DuGoff of College Park, MD was on hand at the Mint to view the coins, and the bags they will be packaged in.
For more information on the coin, to see a picture of the coin, or to order educational material on the coin, click here.
For information on how your business can order coins from your bank, click here.
Curious about the production chain of the Presidential Dollar Coin? ICA member Dave DuGoff explains the steps that each Presidential Dollar Coin takes, from production to your local bank:
1. The US Mint produces circulating coins in Philadelphia and Denver.
2. The US Mint sells them to the US Treasury, at face value, no returns.
3. The Treasury distributes coins to its Federal Reserve Banks around the country.
4. Each Federal Reserve Bank has a Coin Room.
5. The Coin Room supplies huge bags, really heavy, like move with a fork-lift heavy to:
6. The armored car carriers, who have their own counting houses where they roll the coins into familiar colorful rolls.
7. The armored car carriers takes orders from the local banks that they serve and supply each branch from their inventory. They also collect the excess bills and coins from each branch and take it back to their counting houses.
Look for future coverage of the $1 Presidential Coin in future reports.
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