The Issue of Immigration July 24, 2008
Posted by Reginald Johnson in Uncategorized.add a comment
The federal government is filling criminal immigration violation charges at an alarming and unprecedented rate this year. To chart this information Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) revealed this in a special report.
In June the study was released and it affirms there were 9,350 immigration prosecutions in March. That represents a 50 percent surge from the month before. All of this information is based on official records obtained by TRAC.
A year ago the increase was 73 percent. The independent, nonpartisan group attributes the rise to intensified federal policies under the so-called “Operation Streamline” initiative which launched as a pilot project in Del Rio, Texas, in December 2005.
There were 8,104 immigration convictions in March, representing a 24.4 percent increase from February. The vast majority of cases referred for prosecution, 99 percent, were charged by U.S. attorneys. The median sentence was about a month, the report indicates.
The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement notes that immigration violations are normally civil offenses prosecuted by immigration judges,adding that under Operation Streamline, the federal government has criminalized these offenses, barring immigrants from future legalization.
“Undocumented workers are a voiceless group of people who live in fear and today they are much more exploitable,” stated LCLAA president Milton Rosado. “The administration’s current policies and the criminalization of this group of people only exacerbate this situation. Immigrants are not criminals.” The report states the vast majority of the cases were prosecuted in southwest border districts.
In the Western District of Texas, for instance, prosecutions increased from 626 in January to 3,555 in March. All but 142 were in U.S.-Mexico border districts. The main charges brought against immigrants in March were for illegal re-entry, bringing in or harboring certain immigrants, entry at improper time or place, visa and document fraud, and misuse and conspiracy to commit offense or defraud the United States.
Other charges included fraudulent statements or entries, false personification as a U.S. citizen, false statement in application and use of passport, and forgery. The largest increase in prosecution from a year ago (96.2 percent) was for conspiracy to commit offense or defraud the United States.
Document falsification and related activities has seen the largest surge over the past five years (74.4 percent). The LCLAA said it is “extremely concerned about the implications that higher incarceration rates of immigrants will have on the overall Latino community and its image in the eyes of the American public.”
The organization maintained that criminalizing immigrants will strengthen the myth that ties immigrants to crime even if research has claimed that they tend to commit less crime than other groups.
Rosado attributed the large flow of immigrants to harmful economic policies that have affected workers throughout the hemisphere “causing dislocation and displacement.“
“We need to address the root causes of migration and understand that this is a regional problem that requires a combination of domestic policy as well as comprehensive, humane and commonsense international solutions,” he added.
Minimum Wage Increase Tomorrow July 23, 2008
Posted by Reginald Johnson in Business, Culture, Family, Government, Jobs, Life, News, U.S. Congress, Uncategorized.add a comment
The U.S. Department of Labor reminds employers and employees that the federal minimum wage will increase to $6.55 on Thursday, July 24. With this change, employees who are covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) will be entitled to pay at no less than $6.55 per hour. This is an increase of 70 cents. It will only affect about 2 million workers a raise.
This increase is the second of three provided by the enactment of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. A third minimum wage increase to $7.25 an hour will become effective on July 24, 2009. Last year, on July 24, the minimum wage increased to $5.85 an hour.
With energy and food prices soaring higher, the increase will barely keep up with the cost of living for many low-wage earners. Smaller employers, in particular, may also pass on the costs of higher wages to consumers.
Earlier this month, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards joined the chorus of those who want to see an increase across the country, especially in North Carolina and New Jersey.
He was in Newark, New Jersey with members of the Raise the Wage Campaign calling for a hike in the current rate of $7.15 per hour. New Jersey currently has the nation’s 13th highest minimum wage. Edwards and the group want to see it raised to $8.25.
Minimum wage in California is $8.00 an hour and the minimum wage in New York is $7.15 an hour.
Democrat Edwards ran in the early presidential primaries this year and was John Kerry’s running mate in the 2004 presidential election.
This summer also marks the 70th anniversary of the FLSA, the federal law providing minimum wage, overtime and youth employment standards. This law established the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division, authorizing it to enforce the provisions of the law, and to educate the public on the law’s protections and requirements.
Every employer of employees subject to the FLSA’s minimum wage provisions must post, and keep posted in each of its establishments, a notice explaining the act. These notices must be posted in conspicuous places so as to permit employees to readily read them. Updated posters and other compliance assistance materials concerning the minimum wage increase are available free of charge from the Wage and Hour Division and may also be obtained from the agency’s Web site at http://www.wagehour.dol.gov.
Many states have minimum wage laws with provisions that differ from the federal law. When an employer is subject to both the federal and state wage laws, the employer must comply with the provisions of each law.
Employers and employees seeking more compliance information on the increased minimum wage may call the Wage and Hour Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).
The FLSA establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting employees in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments. Remember, covered nonexempt workers are entitled to a minimum wage will receive not less than $6.55 per hour effective tomorrow, July 24, 2008; and $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009.
Overtime pay at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay is required after 40 hours of work in a workweek.
- FLSA Minimum Wage: The federal minimum wage is $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008; and $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. Many states also have minimum wage laws. In cases where an employee is subject to both state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee is entitled to the higher minimum wage.
- FLSA Overtime: Covered nonexempt employees must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 per workweek (any fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours — seven consecutive 24-hour periods) at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay. There is no limit on the number of hours employees 16 years or older may work in any workweek. The FLSA does not require overtime pay for work on weekends, holidays, or regular days of rest, unless overtime is worked on such days.
- Hours Worked (PDF): Hours worked ordinarily include all the time during which an employee is required to be on the employer’s premises, on duty, or at a prescribed workplace.
- Recordkeeping (PDF): Employers must display an official poster outlining the requirements of the FLSA. Employers must also keep employee time and pay records.
- Youth Employment: These provisions are designed to protect the educational opportunities of minors and prohibit their employment in jobs and under conditions detrimental to their health or well-being.