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The below was sent tonight (10:10 PM) to Ms. Pamela Wilson
Public Affairs Officer
Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Ms. Wilson,

I hope all is well with you. I have just returned from a week long tour of both sides of the southern border.

I am writing an article about the just-ended Georgia legislative session that involves the RIDE program and I have a question please. According to a state legislator, at least one senior state official has reportedly claimed that the RIDE program “is going away.”

Can you please offer an official statement that confirms or disputes that premise? Is the RIDE program being phased out and if so, is there a replacement program with similar goals?

I am writing for Insider Advantage Georgia and for my own news outlet, Immigration Politics Georgia. This information will also be part of a submission to National Review.

Thank you in advance,

D.A. King

The below was sent today.

Ms. Wilson, thank you for your time on the phone this morning. As discussed, here are some questions for an upcoming column/news report on the statewide news outlet, Insider Advantage Georgia.

A recent Bloomberg news report contains well-researched information that seems to indicate some Georgia employers with E-Verify MOUs are not using the system to verify work eligibility of some or all newly hired employees. This would be a violation of the terms of the E-Verify MOU which states: “The Employer must use E-Verify for all new employees. The Employer will not verify selectively and will not verify employees hired before the effective date of this MOU.”

Bloomberg: “Georgia, for instance, has 101,667 enrolled businesses, the most in the country. It also has the lowest percentage—23 percent—of enrollees that e-verified a hire in the past year”.

With the employment market booming, it is logical to assume that far more than 23% of E-Verify users in Georgia have hired new employees in the last year and that many E-Verify users in Georgia are in violation of their MOU. As you know, use of E-Verify is mandated by state law for public employers and contractors/vendors and for most private employers.

Questions

1) Does USCIS/DHS have in place any audit, or monitoring system to insure that E-Verify users are in compliance with the MOU which clearly states “the Employer must use E-Verify for all new employees. The Employer will not verify selectively and will not verify employees hired before the effective date of this MOU”, please?

2) Does USCIS/DHS have a system by which non-compliance with the MOU is sanctioned with revocation of the MOU for employers? From the E-Verify MOU: “Notwithstanding Article V, part A of this MOU, DHS may terminate this MOU, and thereby the Employer’s participation in E-Verify, with or without notice at any time if deemed necessary because of the requirements of law or policy, or upon a determination by SSA or DHS that there has been a breach of system integrity or security by the Employer, or a failure on the part of the Employer to comply with established E-Verify procedures and/or legal requirements.”

3) Has USCIS/DHS terminated any MOUs for non-complaince in the last year in Georgia? Any other state?

4) Does USCIS/DHS have in place a system by which public complaints of non-compliance in E-Verify MOUs are taken?

5) Please alert me to the database or resource that indicates the number of E-verify users who verified a new hire in the past?

I may have follow up questions. Thanks again for your interest.

Have a nice weekend!

D.A. King

USCIS Director, Francis Cissna – photo: Youtube

A Conversation with Francis Cissna USCIS Director on legal immigration challenges

By CIS on August 7, 2018

Washington, D.C. (August 7, 2018) – Francis Cissna, Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), was featured in an Immigration Newsmaker conversation hosted by the Center for Immigration Studies on Wednesday, August 15, at 9:30 a.m. at the National Press Club.

Cissna leads the agency which “administers the nation’s lawful immigration system, safeguarding its integrity and promise by efficiently and fairly adjudicating requests for immigration benefits while protecting Americans, securing the homeland, and honoring our values.” On an average day, the 19,000 workers at USCIS welcome nearly 2,000 new citizens at naturalization ceremonies, grant lawful permanent residence to approximately 2,100 people, issue approximately 7,000 new and replacement Green Cards, and verify the employment eligibility of more than 80,000 new hires through E-Verify.

You can watch the full, unedited conversation on Facebook here.

The conversation on Wednesday, moderated by Jessica Vaughan, the Center’s director of policy studies, covered such topics as vetting of applications, guest worker program reforms, processing of asylum and other special categories, work permits, fees, and E-Verify.

When: Wednesday, August 15, 2018, at 9:30 a.m.
Where: National Press Club, Murrow Room, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor, Washington, D.C.

The Immigration Newsmaker series provides an opportunity for government agency heads, members of Congress, and other policymakers to discuss their priorities and explore the challenges they face. The events, held at the National Press Club, are seated, on-the-record conversations between the guest and a member of the CIS staff.    –>Here

photo DHS

Pamela Wilson USCIS Oct 2017 February 7, 2017 at 10:36 AM
Official Quote on your query
To: D.A. King

USCIS Response:

The categories of individuals who are eligible to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) are listed in the Code of Federal Regulations at 8 CFR 274a.12(a)-(c), and in the Instructions for Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. Individuals in the following EAD categories are applicants for lawful status. Many individuals in these categories are applying for change or adjustment of their current lawful status, but some may not be in status:

(c)(8) Aliens with pending applications for asylum
(c)(9)/(c)(16)/(c)(20)/(c)(22)/(c)(24) Aliens applying for lawful permanent resident status
(c)(10) Aliens applying for cancellation of removal
(c)(19) Aliens applying for Temporary Protected Status
(c)(31) Self petitioners under the Violence Against Women Act

Individuals in the following categories do not have lawful status. They have either been granted temporary relief from removal, or cannot be removed due to the refusal of all countries designated to receive the alien, or because the removal of the alien is otherwise impracticable or contrary to the public interest:

(a)(10) Aliens granted withholding of deportation or removal
(a)(11) Aliens granted deferred enforced departure
(a)(13)/(14) Aliens granted a stay of removal under the Family Unity Program
(c)(14)/(33) Aliens in a period of deferred action
(c)(18) Aliens granted deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture, and aliens under a final order of removal who are on an order of supervision because they cannot be immediately removed

Finally, in some cases, abused spouses of certain nonimmigrants who are eligible for an EAD under (c)(27)-(c)(30) may not be in status.
__

Original question/media request

From: D.A. King [mailto:Dking1952@comcast.net]
Sent: Thursday, January 25, 2018 12:04 PM
To: Wilson, Pamela G
Subject: Media request for official quote/info from USCIS

Hi, Ms. Wilson,

I am grateful for the info on USCIS and am preparing a write-up for several Georgia newspapers and statewide web-based news outlets.

For early next week I am writing for submission to the Macon Telegraph, Insider Advantage Georgia and other outlets about various codes on the federal EAD document noting the bearer’s non-citizen status as an educational piece on public benefits in Georgia. It is aimed at and at the request of several state legislators. I would be grateful for quotes from your office to insure accuracy.

As you have confirmed, DACA status does not provide lawful status or lawful presence. DACA status is indicated by “C-33’ on the EAD. I am using this (pages 12-21 – 12-24 as a reference). My request for the piece is a quote from USCIS on which other EAD codes denote a status that does not qualify as lawful status or lawful presence. As an example, code C-18 is described as “deportable alien under order of supervision.” Please let me know if this category of alien has lawful status or lawful presence? Which other categories in addition to C-33 do not have lawful status/presence?

My deadline is Tuesday afternoon. I am always grateful for your kind assistance. Please contact me with any questions.

Thank you,
D.A. King

__ Follow up

From: “D.A. King” <Dking1952@comcast.net>

Subject: Thank you and – Request for status of EAD code C13 (missing from response?)

Date: February 14, 2018 at 10:09:21 PM EST

To: Pamela Wilson <Pamelg.wilson@usci>

 

Ms Wilson,

Thank you so much for your hard work, your response to my query and your kindness in asking about my bout with the flu (it is horrible). Yesterday was my first day back to work in almost three weeks.

 

I am collecting quotes for my write up from several state lawmakers and have shared the USCIS info you sent with the two legislators who have asked me to investigate and write an educational piece on this. 

 

—>Please correct me if I am overlooking it, but I do not see that your response includes info on aliens with the EAD code C-13 , (Deportation or exclusion proceedings pending, page 12-23 here). Can you please provide that information? Does C-13 denote lawful status?…

 

 

Thank you very much again. I look forward to meeting you.

 

D.A.King

 

Georgia drivers license issued to legal immigrants, legal guest workers, students with legal temporary visas, illegal aliens with deferred action on deportation (including but not limited to ‘DACA’) or delayed deportations
photo: DDS

–> UPDATE: EAD codes begin on page 12-21

UPDATE: 63% of Georgians polled oppose any drivers licenses to any illegal aliens. Here.

Associated Press headline, August 23, 2012: “Some illegal immigrants can get a Georgia drivers license.”

USCIS official spokesperson, October 16, 2017: “Current law does not grant any legal status for the class of individuals who are current recipients of DACA. Recipients of DACA are currently unlawfully present in the U.S. with their removal deferred.”

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr: “We have continuously and clearly taken the position in ongoing legal cases that DACA does not confer legal status.” July 17, 2017 (WABE News).

FACT SHEET: GEORGIA DRIVERS LICENSES/ID CARDS AND ILLEGAL ALIENS

Fact: Only illegal aliens have a need for a delay or deferral in deportation.

Fact: The federal immigration authorities’ practice of deferring deportation proceedings is decades old (long before Obama’s DACA decree), was begun as an informal enforcement priority tool and was never passed or approved by congress. Deferred action on deportation is a tradition, not a law and was intended to be used on a case-by-case, individual basis.

–> Fact: The REAL ID Act implemented after and because of the horror of 9/11 says that illegal aliens who have been granted deferred action on deportation or who have been ordered deported but then apply for permanent residence can use that temporary condition as “evidence of lawful status” for the purpose of obtaining a federally approved drivers license or state ID card only – it does not change the fact that according to USCIS – and the Georgia Attorney General – they are illegal aliens for any other purpose.

UPDATED 11 Feb 2021: In March, 2019 The 11th Circuit ruled that deferred action on deportation DACA recipients do not have lawful presence or legal status for Georgia BOR admission purposes (same policy the regulates instate tuition) – this does not effect these illegal alien’s eligibility for drivers licenses and ID because of the language in the REAL ID Act. Again we note: STATES ARE NOT REQUIRED UNDER REAL ID ACT TO ISSUE DRIVERS LICENSES TO ILLEGAL ALIENS). NOT ALL RECIPIENTS OF DEFERRED ACVTION ON DEPORTATION HAVE DACAND VISA VERSA….

There is no requirement that any state “shall” issue the illegals a drivers license, only that it may.

→REAL ID Act (here): “SEC. 202. MINIMUM DOCUMENT REQUIREMENTS AND ISSUANCE STANDARDS FOR FEDERAL RECOGNITION. (a) Minimum Standards for Federal Use- (B) EVIDENCE OF LAWFUL STATUS- A State shall require, before issuing a driver’s license or identification card to a person, valid documentary evidence that the person has…approved deferred action status; or has a pending application for adjustment of status to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States or conditional permanent resident status in the United States.”

Fact: States issue driver’s licenses under the constitutional authority of the Tenth Amendment. Each state can lawfully issue any type of drivers license/ID Cards it chooses. Again: The REAL ID Act sets minimum standards for federal acceptance of drivers licenses/ID Cards. Non REAL ID Act – approved ID cannot be used to enter federal buildings or to board airliners. * And it is much more difficult to use them to vote in Georgia elections.

Fact: According to DDS since 2012 Georgia DDS has issued, renewed or replaced more than 50,000 drivers licenses/ID Cards for illegal aliens (of all ages) who have already been ordered deported or have deferred action on deportation.

Fact: Other states, including Michigan , South Carolina and California issue multi-tiered drivers licenses and ID Cards. One (optional) tier being REAL ID Act approved – another tier not REAL ID Act approved.

Fact: The Georgia drivers licenses and ID Cards currently issued to illegal aliens who have applied to obtain legal permanent residence after being ordered deported and/or with deferred action on deportation are exactly like the driving and ID credentials we issue to legal immigrants, students on a temporary visa and guest workers such as KIA and Mercedes Benz executives here with a legal guest worker visa. They read “Limited Term.”

Fact: Georgia DDS issues different drivers licenses and ID Cards (vertically oriented) to applicants – including American citizens – who are under age twenty-one.

Georgia drivers license issued to drivers who are under age twenty-one

Fact: Most nations, including Mexico, do not issue any drivers licenses or ID cards to illegals.

Fact: Lacking a policy change from DDS officials, the Georgia General Assembly has complete authority to legislate the requirement that DDS change the driving and ID credentials issued to the illegal aliens with the above outlined status so that the document clearly shows they are not legal immigrants and the document is not REAL ID Act approved.

**UPDATE February 8: Yesterday, I received a reply from the official spokes person, Pamela Wilson, at USCIS asking which EAD codes represented aliens with lawful status. I am told this comes direct from the office of legal consul. I past it below.

“USCIS Response:

The categories of individuals who are eligible to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) are listed in the Code of Federal Regulations at 8 CFR 274a.12(a)-(c), and in the Instructions for Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization.  Individuals in the following EAD categories are applicants for lawful status.  Many individuals in these categories are applying for change or adjustment of their current lawful status, but some may not be in status:

(c)(8)  Aliens with pending applications for asylum

(c)(9)/(c)(16)/(c)(20)/(c)(22)/(c)(24) Aliens applying for lawful permanent resident status

(c)(10)  Aliens applying for cancellation of removal

(c)(19)  Aliens applying for Temporary Protected Status

(c)(31) Self petitioners under the Violence Against Women Act

Individuals in the following categories do not have lawful status.  They have either been granted temporary relief from removal, or cannot be removed due to the refusal of all countries designated to receive the alien, or because the removal of the alien is otherwise impracticable or contrary to the public interest:

(a)(10)  Aliens granted withholding of deportation or removal

(a)(11)  Aliens granted deferred enforced departure

(a)(13)/(14)  Aliens granted a stay of removal under the Family Unity Program

(c)(14)/(33)  Aliens in a period of deferred action

(c)(18)  Aliens granted deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture, and aliens under a final order of removal who are on an order of supervision because they cannot be immediately removed

Finally, in some cases, abused spouses of certain nonimmigrants who are eligible for an EAD under (c)(27)-(c)(30) may not be in status.”

##

Below sent to Ms. Pamela Wilson
Public Affairs Officer
Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

I received a call from Jane Cowley this morning.
Department of Homeland Security

photo: s3amazonaws.com

Hi, Ms. Wilson, I hope all is well with you.

I am still writing on the DACA/drivers license topic and have a few more questions, please.

As per your response to one of my prior inquiries, USCIS stated that “Current law does not grant any legal status for the class of individuals who are current recipients of DACA. Recipients of DACA are currently unlawfully present in the U.S. with their removal deferred.”

The language of laws in most, if not all states, including Georgia (OCGA 50-36-1), uses the term “lawful presence” as a qualifier for drivers licenses and other public benefits. Applicants with DACA status are verified as eligible by the SAVE system for a Georgia drivers license. I have learned from a Georgia DDS response to a state senator’s question that “the SAVE response code for a non-citizen who has been granted deferred action status is 188 “INITL RESP. 188 DACA – EMLOY AUTH.”

Georgia DDS is issuing drivers licenses to DACA recipients based on this response which doesn’t seem to directly address either the legal status or lawful presence of the applicant for a drivers license.

Questions:

1) On the SAVE website, we see that SAVE “verifies an applicant’s immigration or citizenship status within seconds.” The reply “employment authorized” seems like an E-Verify response to an employment eligibility query, not a SAVE immigration status response. Can you please verify that this is indeed the response an official agency will receive to a query on eligibility for a drivers license involving a DACA recipient?

2) Since DACA does not grant legal status or lawful presence, why/how is a DDS SAVE query on a DACA recipient for a Georgia drivers license apparently providing a positive response to DDS which then uses that response to issue a drivers license?

I realize this is confusing and I hope that I have made my questions clear. Please call me anytime if I can help clarify. Also, if I am confused or wrong please explain my error?

Se

Thank you, if you can provide answers to insure my accuracy.

D.A. King
Marietta, Ga.

__

Reply, recieved November 9, 2017 3:12 PM

1) On the SAVE website, we see that SAVE “verifies an applicant’s immigration or citizenship status within seconds.”  Is this also the case for an agency query on eligibility for a driver’s license involving a DACA recipient?

1. Yes. DHS issues DACA recipients documentation with information that can be used by SAVE registered agencies, including DMVs, to confirm that DHS has granted the individual DACA.

2) Since DACA does not grant legal status or lawful presence, why/how can a Department of Driver Service’s SAVE query on a DACA recipient for a Georgia driver’s license provide (*result in) a positive response, which then can be used to issue a driver’s license?

1. SAVE confirms and provides immigration record information to SAVE registered agencies.  SAVE does not make eligibility determinations for benefits.  Registered agencies use the information provided by SAVE to determine whether the applicant qualifies for the benefit based on the agency’s eligibility criteria found in their laws, regulations and policies.

Pamela Wilson
Spokesperson
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

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I recently sent a media request to USCIS concerning DACA and deferred action illegal aliens. Below is the reply.

Sent to USCIS Public Affairs Officer Pamela Wilson following Friday and Saturday phone conversations:

“Please provide an official answer. Does USCIS consider any deferred action on deportation recipient, including DACA beneficiaries, to have lawful status?

Separate question: Does USCIS consider any deferred action recipient, including DACA recipients, to have “lawful presence?”

D.A. King

__

Emailed reply from Ms. Wilson at USCIS today (emphasis mine):

“Hi Mr. King:

You may attribute the following me as “ Pamela Wilson, USCIS Spokesperson” or use “USCIS Officials” whichever you prefer, on the following official statements.”

“Current law does not grant any legal status for the class of individuals who are current recipients of DACA. Recipients of DACA are currently unlawfully present in the U.S. with their removal deferred.

Also, this link shows current DACA recipients in Georgia number 21,600. Data current as of June 30, 2017 shows that since inception, 24,234 individuals from Georgia have received an initial grant of DACA.”

Pamela Wilson
Public Affairs Officer
Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
Department of Homeland Security