ecently, the
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) renewed its enforcement of
section 265 of the Immigration and Nationality Act which requires
immigrants to report any change of address within 10 days. Penalties for
failing to report include jail time of up to 30 days and possible
deportation.
One can't help but suspect that this is part of a government effort
to justify deporting whomever they please because this reporting
requirement has gone un-enforced for so long that many immigrants are
unaware that it even exists. But all of a sudden it's being introduced
again in the wake of the Justice Department's highly controversial
detentions of individuals almost exclusively of Arab or Muslim
backgrounds and their decision to require special registration for
persons from "certain designated countries."
Unfortunately, the regulation does not require the INS to notify
people it applies to, so many new immigrants unfamiliar with this rule
could end up being penalized, as could legal permanent residents who are
abroad at the moment or on active duty with the military.
Furthermore,
immigrants may find themselves in trouble through no fault of their own
and without warning. According to an article in the July 27, 2002 San
Diego Union-Tribune, the INS has mishandled millions of
forms--including 200,000 unfiled change-of-address cards. This is
because the Service has a massive volume of paperwork but lacks an
adequate staff to process it.
Councilman Kendall Stewart, himself an immigrant from the West
Indies, believes that the new INS strict enforcement of this particular
law will be especially burdensome on the people in his district and
surrounding areas. "People in this area move very frequently," he said,
"because of the severe shortage of housing, the high cost of rent,
unemployment, and harassment by landlords who are quick to evict in
order to charge a new tenant higher rent."
And it was
clear that he has a grip on what his constituents feel as he added, "The
circumstances that cause many people to move are so traumatic that it is
difficult to remember anything other than finding an apartment or just
surviving. The stress of barely being able to pay bills and feed one's
family distracts one from other things."
For enforcement of this regulation to be really fair, Stewart
believes the INS would need to carry out the following changes: lengthen
the reporting time from 10 to 90 days; conduct intensive outreach to
inform everyone about this new development; lessen the penalty for not
reporting; waive penalties when extenuating circumstances had prevented
such reporting; and exempt Military personnel and others outside the
country on government business.
Councilwoman
Yvette Clarke, whose parents immigrated here from the Caribbean as well,
is also quite critical of how the INS is going about this new strict
enforcement. "They're placing immigrants who have been law abiding and
have pretty well adhered to all of the regulations at a really critical
disadvantage by all of a sudden, out of the blue, trying to enforce a
regulation that they as an agency have not been prepared to address,"
she stated.
And Clarke believes that the INS itself has fallen short, shown a
lack of coordination, and that this is an overreaction to what has
really been their own bureaucratic failure. "I really see this as a part
of an ongoing hysteria," she continued. "It's also an attempt by the INS
to shift the responsibility for accountability as to who's in the
country, the regulations around people's status, and people's
legalization onto good, productive citizens, rather than taking
responsibility themselves."
Both Council Members Stewart and Clarke are taking measures to make
sure their constituents know about this new development.
By Donna Lamb
