Va. Colleges May Bar Illegal Immigrants

Washington Post ^ | 2-26-04 | Jerry Markon

[The Hound Passer]

A federal judge in Alexandria ruled yesterday that Virginia's colleges and universities may deny admission to illegal immigrants -- a ruling that experts said was the first of its kind in the nation.

The decision by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III came in a lawsuit filed against seven Virginia schools accused of violating the rights of the immigrants by refusing them entry.

"It is clear that denying illegal aliens admission to public colleges and universities simply removes another public incentive for illegal immigration," Ellis wrote. He stopped short of dismissing the case, however, ruling that it could proceed to trial because the plaintiffs have a right to try to prove whether the schools are using federal standards to identify applicants who are in the country illegally.

[The Hound Passer]

If you are like me, you are sick of ILLEGAL immigrants getting all sorts of gov't benefits like welfare and free or discount education, etc, etc. (I can't stress the ILLEGAL part enough, as I am pro LEGAL immigration). Well, this is only a pre-trial ruling, so its got a long way to go, but its heartning to see there are some judges that don't attempt to pervert the law for their own personal political agenda.

[chachacha]

(I can't stress the ILLEGAL part enough,

You would think in a country founded on laws this would be a no brainer.

[Glenn]

This is what legal entry in the US looks like:

Spelling mistake sidelines soprano

Miscue adds extra months to 6-month visa approval process

Thursday, February 26, 2004 By Marylynne Pitz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Alexandrina Pendatchanska has a long, difficult name.

It's easy to imagine its getting misspelled. What's less easy to imagine is how a misspelling could cost the Bulgarian soprano the chance to perform the role of Cleopatra in the Pittsburgh Opera's production of Handel's "Julius Caesar" this weekend.

Alexandrina Pendatchanska

Spelling and clerical errors made by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in processing Pendatchanska's visa application made it impossible for her to get here on time for the production.

When the singer discovered the errors, it was too late for her to resubmit her application and wait the six months needed for the immigration agency to process it.

"They said, 'OK, it goes back to the bottom of the pile now for 120 days,' " said Mark Weinstein, executive director of Pittsburgh Opera. "It's outrageous, and especially since it's their mistake.''

The opera lined up Korean soprano Sujung Kim to take her place.

The snafu illustrates a post-9/11 dilemma for arts groups that want to arrange appearances by foreign performers.

Artists cannot apply for a visa more than six months before the date of their first performance in the United States. But due to a mounting backlog of more than 6 million visa applications, as well as other types of petitions, processing such requests takes six months or longer.

"When they apply six months before the actual performance, they don't have their visa processed in time for the performance. It's sort of a Catch-22 for the artist,'' said U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart, whose office has intervened on behalf of arts groups.

Christopher Bentley, a spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, was unapologetic about the situation.

Bentley said protecting U.S. borders has become the No. 1 priority. Months after 9/11, the federal government required "each and every immigration application to go through multiple national security checks,'' he said.

"We slowed the process down. We run them through national security databases to ensure that that individual is entitled to the service. We make no apologies for that. We need to safeguard the homeland.

"Have we seen processing times increase? Have we seen a backlog as a result of that? Yes. National security is paramount. We will do nothing to jeopardize that in the name of speed,'' he said.

When Pendatchanska's visa was issued, her name was misspelled. There was another problem -- the dates for which it was valid were listed as Feb. 1, 2004, to June 27, 2003, Weinstein said.

The immigration service suggested that Pendatchanska's agent, who applied for the visa, pay a $1,000 premium to expedite the reprocessing of her application. The money was sent, but by that time rehearsals were already under way and the Pittsburgh Opera had to find a replacement.

Earlier this year, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra engaged in a similar paper chase while arranging the appearance of Birgit Remmert, a mezzo-soprano from Switzerland who sang the fourth and fifth movements of Mahler's "Resurrection'' here in January and later for Pope John Paul II in Rome.

In that case, the PSO paid the $1,000 premium to expedite her application and also sought Hart's help in moving up the date of Remmert's interview at a Swiss consulate so she could obtain her visa and fly to Pittsburgh.

The application process is such an obstacle that the National Endowment for the Arts provided a $40,000 grant to help establish a Web site, www.artistsfromabroad.org, that provides performers with information about immigration and tax requirements.

The Pittsburgh Opera decided to switch sopranos on the morning of Feb. 6. Weinstein, who was in Washington, D.C., spent the rest of that Friday urging congressional leaders to change the way visas for performers are processed.

With rehearsals already under way, Weinstein and his artistic director, Christopher Hahn, were relieved that Kim could juggle her schedule to perform here.

"She happens to hold a green card and she was available,'' Weinstein said, adding that all five American sopranos who can sing the role were unavailable because they were working.

Hart, R-Bradford Woods, is especially sympathetic about such snafus because she serves on the board of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. Her staff often intervenes on behalf of arts groups.

Last October, Hart and 15 other members of Congress wrote a letter suggesting reform to Eduardo Aguirre, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Four months later, she has not received a response.

The delays often rob artists of work and fees. Arts groups already struggling with tight finances can ill afford the $1,000 preferred processing fee.

"The cost can be prohibitive to a small arts organization or a small dance company or a college organization that's not going to have all that money available. That makes it pretty tough," Hart said.

Mark Scorca, president and chief executive officer of Opera America, a service organization that provides information, technical assistance and funding to 125 opera companies, said allowing performers to file a year in advance would improve the situation.

One cause of the backlog, Scorca said, is that many immigration services staff members who processed visa applications now work in the preferred processing program.

"That is a managerial choice made at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as to where they are going to devote their highest and best attention. We are not like a big corporation that can blindly pay $1,000 for an expedited petition review."

---

(Cultural arts writer Marylynne Pitz can be reached at mpitz@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1648.)

[The Hound Passer]

I know, right. And the left is most aware of this ubsurdity, which is why they call them "undocumented" to make it sound like the illegals merely left their passport at home.

[craig_eddy]

I used to work with many Indian and Chinese programmers who were going through the PROPER immigration channels. There was constant worry about green cards, applications, the company's immigration lawyers, etc.

I often wondered how THEY felt about such issues, and how they managed to have the courage and fortitude to stick out the process when it is so apparent that the left is more than willing to pander to ILLEGAL ALIENS.

[el_texicano]

Now, this is LONG overdue and about D$MN time!!!!!

If they are here illegally, they should be reported like the criminal they are and arrested/deported. It's only when our deportation procedures put some teeth into the process, that it's gonna stop. And then send Vincente Fox the stinkin bill.

[familyofman]

Instead of just denying them admittance to school - we should ship them home. Or, we could put them in jail, just like other criminals.

[TruthShallSetYouFree]

Va. Colleges May Bar Illegal Immigrants

People without tickets may be barred from Springsteen Concert!

Twelve-year olds may be barred from drinking beer in taverns!

People with no money may be barred from eating at McDonald's!

[The Hound Passer]

<> Looks good to me: (excerpt from your posted article) Christopher Bentley, a spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, was unapologetic about the situation. Bentley said protecting U.S. borders has become the No. 1 priority. Months after 9/11, the federal government required "each and every immigration application to go through multiple national security checks,'' he said. "We slowed the process down. We run them through national security databases to ensure that that individual is entitled to the service. We make no apologies for that. We need to safeguard the homeland. "Have we seen processing times increase? Have we seen a backlog as a result of that? Yes. National security is paramount. We will do nothing to jeopardize that in the name of speed,'' he said.

[Glenn]

One cause of the backlog, Scorca said, is that many immigration services staff members who processed visa applications now work in the preferred processing program.

Does that look good to you as well? Looks like government extortion to me. Pay the $1,000 and we'll see to it you get preferred treatment. Don't pay it and you languish in an understaffed section of the department.

I don't disagree that thorough checking is a good thing. But a little common sense is in order as well. They screw up and this woman is affected. They should make good.

[afz400]

Virginia Governor Warner is about to raise my taxes an average of $1,000 per year - a lot of the money would go to provide grants to illegal immigrants to attend Virginia colleges as well as allow illegals in their 20s to attend public high school - what kind of crap is that?

[Gefreiter]

Believe it. My wife is from Poland, and we were very meticulous about doing everything right and proper throughout the process- she was also a student here, and was careful about following the letter of the law according to her student status. We spent alot of time, $$, effort, and vacation days from work for appointments at the INS center in Boston.

But now that the process is over, we are only now learning that we needn't have bothered. And extortion isn't the half of it. We dealt with about 30 people over the years at that office, from general security people to desk lackeys/gatekeepers. All but one...one!!... was actually polite, helpful, and concerned about how the case was progressing.

Most of the rest were either just dumb, or been in the job so long they're jaded and completely unconcerned about people. If you hate people so much (as clearly demonstrated by word and deed), why spend your whole work day, and indeed career, dealing with people?

Here's a little tip for INS: if there are people in your office, they're there because they're trying to do it right. At least pretend you give a s--t, because they could just as easily do it illegally.

[azhenfud]

Pinging ya'll.

If the government doesn't soon get a grip on the Illegalien problem, it could escalate into a Civil War between legal citizens tired of footing the bills for services felons are getting and Illegaliens demanding "rights". I say we honor their only "right"; pack them up and ship them to the border they came in over, or the nearest one if the former can't be determined.

I also say we need to stiffen the penalties for hiring or aiding Illegaliens - to the point of financially bankrupting those felons who disregard our Immigration Code.

Taxpayers are already burdened to the tune of some $40 billion Illegalien costs annually and to have our kids displaced from college slots by criminals is lunacy.

[Xenalyte]

Christopher Bentley, a spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, was unapologetic about the situation.

Bentley said protecting U.S. borders has become the No. 1 priority. Months after 9/11, the federal government required "each and every immigration application to go through multiple national security checks," he said.

Boy, am I glad this guy is on the case. I live in fear that renegade opera performers will fly planes into my building.

[The Hound Passer]

"Does that look good to you as well?"

No, of course not. But bureaucratic bungling is a whole separate issue from the one I posted about, namely illegal immigrants getting gov't benefits. Intenional, or not, you are twisting the issue. Two wrongs do not make a right, as the cliche goes. Personally, I'd rather an innocent person be hampered by a typo, than to have a terrorist get in because of that same carelessness.

[The Hound Passer]

"Boy, am I glad this guy is on the case. I live in fear that renegade opera performers will fly planes into my building"

Your sarcasm aside, if it ever happend (pray it doesn't) you'd be screaming why was the INS was so lax. You can't have it both ways.

[null and void]

Worth repeating:

Here's a little tip for INS: if there are people in your office, they're there because they're trying to do it right. At least pretend you give a s--t, because they could just as easily do it illegally.

[Lady Eileen]

bump

[null and void]

Here in Kaleeeeeeforneeeeuh illegal aliens get the cheapest in state tuition.

This especially galls my roommate, whose son was born in Kaleeeeeeforneeeeeuh, and lived all but the last two years in this fine state. He needs to reestablish residence, or pay the much higher out of state tuition.

Grrrrrrr!

[JimRed]

It's easy to imagine its getting misspelled. What's less easy to imagine is how a misspelling could cost the Bulgarian soprano the chance to perform the role of Cleopatra in the Pittsburgh Opera's production of Handel's "Julius Caesar" this weekend.

The opera lined up Korean soprano Sujung Kim to take her place.

Another job Americans can't or won't do?

...all five American sopranos who can sing the role were unavailable because they were working.

OOPS! Never mind!

;^)