Senior Iranian aide irks Washington with US visit
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyid=2006-04-18T220316Z_01_N18391833_RTRUKOC_0_US-NUCLEAR-IRAN-USA.xml
Iran mullahs' agent U.S. citizen, "no more a myth"
http://www.iranian.ws/iran_news/publish/article_14971.shtml
As the United States tries to push other nations to impose
a travel ban on Iranian government officials over Tehran's
nuclear program, a senior Iranian official has created
embarrassment in Washington by slipping into the country
for a visit this month.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said on Tuesday
he had heard that Mohammad Nahavandian, a senior aide to
Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, was in Washington
but he had not met U.S. officials and his presence was
being looked into.
"It's a matter of interest for us and if I have any other
information to share on the matter today or in the days ahead,
I'll do so," McCormack told reporters.
Nahavandian's successful entry into the United States is
embarrassing for Washington, which is pushing hard for other
countries to impose travel restrictions on Iranian officials
in talks in Moscow this week.
The talks follow Iran's announcement last week that it
had enriched uranium for use in fueling power stations
for the first time in defiance of a March 29 U.N. Security
Council demand that it halt its enrichment program.
McCormack declined to say how Nahavandian got into the
United States, where strict restrictions are in place
on Iranian officials wanting to visit.
Nahavandian was in the United States legally, but not enter
with a visa. This could mean he holds legal permanent residency
in the United States or be traveling on the passport of a country
where visas were not needed, said McCormack.
"We have no record of issuing a visa to a person with this name,"
he said, noting that the United States does not have diplomatic ties
with Tehran and there are clear restrictions on travel by Iranian
officials.
For example, Iranian diplomats at the United Nations in New York
can travel only within a limited area.
The Financial Times quoted an Iranian advisor this month as saying
Nahavandian was in Washington to float the idea of direct talks
between the two countries.
But McCormack ruled out any possibility of U.S. officials meeting
Nahavandian and reiterated the United States would not hold direct
talks with Iran over its nuclear program.
"We have not issued an invitation to any such individual and at this
point have no plans to do so," he said.
While rejecting any talks over Tehran's nuclear program, the Bush
administration has given its ambassador in Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad,
permission to meet Iranian officials. However, those talks will be
limited to Iraq.
Leading Republican Sen. Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, has urged the Bush administration to
hold direct talks with Tehran, a suggestion U.S. officials have
rejected.
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Citizenship Requests Spike Among Immigrants
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,192222,00.html
WASHINGTON — Efforts by Congress and local governments
to crack down on illegal immigration — and the protests
that followed those efforts — have produced a surge of
interest in learning how to become a U.S. citizen.
Santana, a Dominican Republic native, arrived in
the United States in 1983 and a year later secured
a green card, signifying permanent legal residency.
She signed up for the 10 weeks of citizenship preparation
classes after the House last year passed a bill that
would deport illegal immigrants as felons and erect
700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border.
A legal permanent resident who has lived in the
country at least five years is eligible to take
required English, civics and history exams to
become an American. If the resident is married to
a U.S. citizen, the wait is three years.
The Dallas immigration services office of Catholic Charities
has been flooded with calls from people interested in citizenship,
said Vanna Slaughter, division director. The office's next course
begins April 29 and "the people have swarmed to fill that one,"
Slaughter said.
"When we ask them, they say: 'We want to vote. We want to
participate,"' Slaughter said.
More than two-thirds of legal residents queried in a poll in March
supported providing temporary work permits for illegal immigrants and a
way for them to apply for legal residency after learning English and
paying a fine, as was proposed in a Senate measure that faltered earlier
this month.
Nemecio Cotoc, 32, who fled a civil war in Guatemala
and eventually became a legal resident, said he will never
forget that he was once undocumented.
"We can't elect a Hispanic president, but if we can
become citizens we can defeat those who have a mind-set
against us," Cotoc said. "Really, what we want to do and
look for is to work and maintain a good life and grow
and pay our taxes on all we buy, like a house, food
and other things."
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Understanding Immigration:
http://www.postchronicle.com/commentary/article_21214928.shtml
Demographics
As of March 2004, there were around 34 million immigrants
living in the United States. Roughly 700,000 to 900,000
residents are granted legal status in any given year.
About half the immigrants entering this country are illegal.
Immigrants currently make up 12 percent of our population
and of this number, almost one third of these people are
of Mexican descent. About one sixth of the people emigrating
to the U.S. each year are under forty, highly educated,
European born; former Soviet Union, former Yugoslavia,
Romania, France.
Concerns
The United States admits more temporary workers, trainees
and their dependants (nearly 1.5 million) than new immigrants
(155,330) under the permanent employment-based categories.
These temporary workers may stay in this country anywhere
from three months to ten years. However, rules for the
program are cumbersome, and sanctions are rarely applied
against employers who hire unauthorized workers. The result
is that many employers opt out of using temporary workers.
In 2004, President Bush praised proposed a temporary
guest-worker program in which, "Immigrants willing to
work in jobs for which U.S. workers are scarce may be
granted a three-year work visa, which could be renewed
once for an additional three years. After those six years,
the workers would be required to return home."
Although President Bush is not offering blanket amnesty,
critics believe that, "a guest-worker program would reward
those who entered the U.S. illegally and encourage more
illegal immigration."
Because there is no potential for eventual permanent residency,
critics believe his proposal "provides too little incentive
for immigrants to participate in the guest-worker program."
Polls taken after 9/11 indicate that most people do not
believe we are doing enough to protect our borders from
illegal aliens. Because of a heightened fear of terrorist
attack, the American people agree there is a need for more
controlled immigration.
State and local government bear most of the financial burden
incurred by low skilled, low wage earning workers dependent
on government services such as education, criminal justice,
and emergency medical care. Immigrants traditionally have
had a tendency to settle in CA, NY, TX, FL, NJ, and IL.
Conclusion
The United States is a nation made up of immigrants.
Our country serves as a beacon to those seeking political,
religious, and economic freedoms.
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Emma Lazarus, 1883
We cannot close the U.S. borders, nor should we want to
isolate ourselves from the rest of the world. However,
there is a real problem of illegal immigration which
must be addressed in order to protect the physical
security of our country and ease the excessive financial
burden placed on the individual states.
For if the United States ceases to exist as we know it today,
who will welcome the huddled masses yearning to breathe free?
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