New Americans in the Granite State | Immigration Policy Center

New Americans in the Granite State Immigration Policy Center


From the Immigration Policy Center (IPC)

Washington D.C. -The Immigration Policy Center has compiled research which shows that immigrants, Latinos, and Asians are an important part of New Hampshire and Vermont's economies, labor force, and tax base. Immigrants and their children are a growing economic and political force as consumers, taxpayers, and entrepreneurs. With the nation working towards economic recovery, Latinos, Asians and immigrants will continue to play a key role in shaping the economic and political future of the Granite and Green Mountain States.

Highlights from New Hampshire include:

Immigrants made up 5.1% of Granite Staters (or 67,735 people) in 2007.

The purchasing power of Latinos totaled $902.4 million and Asian buying power totaled nearly $963.2 million in New Hampshire in 2009.


If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from New Hampshire, the state could lose $893.2 million in economic activity and $396.7 million in gross state product.

click the title to see more from IPC

Lawyers Back Creating New Immigration Courts - NYTimes.com

Lawyers Back Creating New Immigration Courts - NYTimes.com

By JULIA PRESTON


Published: February 8, 2010

Responding to pleas from immigration judges and lawyers who say the nation’s immigration courts are faltering under a crushing caseload, the American Bar Association called Monday for Congress to scrap the current system and create a new, independent court for immigration cases.



RAD ~ This is probably a good idea...whatever they decide please locate a judge in NH! It makes no sense for the people of ME, NH, VT to fight Boston traffic to go to court (or even worse have to go all the way to Hartford, CT as some Vermonters do)! 

Construction Update Bedford USCIS

Here is the latest photograph of the progress on the new USCIS building in Bedford, NH. I like this one especially because the building is shrouded and opaque much like the service itself.

USCIS Bedford - New Hampshire Immigration office construction update

So the new immigration office is progressing nicely...I will ask them when they hope to move in next week. It's too bad they aren't going to be within walking distance to our North Commercial Street office anymore - but a nice new building with sufficient parking is always good. I wonder if they would have room for an immigration judge in there somewhere?

Update on USCIS moving to Bedford NH

Here is the latest photo of the building...well would'ya believe of the foundation? Progress is being made though - the land is cleared the foundation appears to be in.  The entrance is apparently not going to be on Palomino (the vantage point of the photo) but rather on Ridgewood at the far side of the frame. You saw it first, here on WiggiBlawg!

New Office Location in Portsmouth, NH

I am happy to announce that our new Portsmouth Office of Wiggin & Nourie, PA at One Harbour Place is up and running.  Our open house was a big hit and we took many people on the grand tour of our new spaces.

Attorney Movafaghi and I (Attorney Randall Drew) will continue to work from our main offices at the Jefferson Mill in Manchester, NH.  However, we are certainly interested in meeting with our Seacoast, Maine, and North Shore clients in Portsmouth for your convenience.  The new offices afford us that opportunity.

If you would like to schedule to meet on one of the days we will be in Portsmouth, please call the main office number (603) 669-2211 and ask for Jennifer Mathis to book your appointment.  For directions please click the following link:  http://www.wiggin-nourie.com//about/portsmouth_office.html  We look forward to seeing you there!

Newark North

It's a little after ten a.m. here in Boston at the Asylum Office. My appointment was scheduled for 9:30 so I am using the "extra" time to make a blog post from my Blackberry.

For any who don't know, there isn't a fully staffed asylum office in Boston. Rather, the officers travel up from New Jersey to the JFK federal building (sixth floor) on a fairly regular basis. Today they apparently did not bring enough personnel because they are running behind. The waiting room was fairly emptywhen I arrived at nine but is now filling up and still we wait. So counting the two and a half hour trip through Boston commuter traffic we are approaching four hours spent in pursuit of a one hour interview.

Hopefully it will be worth the wait for my client.

ed.~We finally got in at about 11:00 am and out at about 12:15

Cultural Festivals in Manchester this Month

It is Agricultural Fair season again here in New Hampshire. But after you've ridden the Ferris wheel, eaten the fried dough and watched the tractor pulling competition -- you might want to check out something a little different.

Saturday August 15 will be the 10th Annual Latino Festival and Parade in Manchester.

http://www.latinosunidosnh.org/files/English/LatinoFestival.html


On the following Saturday August 22 it's time for the 9th Annual African/Caribbean Celebration.

http://ujimacollective.mysite.com/

both events will be held at Veterans Park in Downtown Manchester starting around 11:00 am.

Courting Disaster?

Andrew Becker and Hugo Cabrera have done a real nice job with an article on TruthDig about all of the Homeland Security money being spent on Immigration Enforcement Police (ICE/Border Patrol), Prosecutors (DHS) and detention facilities -- and yet the Immigration Courts handled by the Department of Justice are way behind on their caseload and are not growing at anything like the same pace. It looks like trouble for both "due process" and increased enforcement; a real bottleneck in the making. They have called the article "America's approach to immigration is ICE backwards". Click on the title above to go there, or you can reach it through Bender's where I found it:

http://www.bibdaily.com/

Do you know where the immigration court is for New Hampshire? How about for Maine? The Green Mountain State? That's right...the answers are Boston, Boston, and Boston. I have been lobbying to get an immigration judge up here in New Hampshire for about two years now with little success. It really makes no sense to have all of Northern New England fight the Boston traffic to go to court. For some of my clients it can be over 7 hours each way; for most of them there is an extra hour spent in traffic that they could avoid if the court were not located right in government center.

There are two immigration judges from New Hampshire on the bench in Boston and at least one DHS trial attorney who commutes from NH to work everyday -- why not set up a small operation in New Hampshire to handle the cases from Northern New England? There is enough work and there are already an ICE office and a USCIS office in Manchester.

Even as the Immigration Court expands at the JFK federal Building, the other immigration agencies are moving out of downtown. ICE has moved most of it's operation to Burlington, MA, and USCIS is opening a new office in Lawrence, MA that will handle a very significant percentage of Boston's workload. I could use some help with my one man show of trying to get the court to be a little more accomidating to immigrants who have sucessfully managed to cross the border (the border between Massachusetts and New Hampshire that is).

If you would like some additional Obama dollars coming into Northern New England, if you would like to take a small bite out of Boston commuter traffic and correspondingly help the environment, or if you would just like to make the lives of your fellow Northern New Englanders a little easier -- contact your Senators or Representatives. Send an email to Attorney General Eric Holder, Jr. or even to President Obama. Tell them that, as part of the expansion plan for immigration enforcement, Northern New England needs its own immigration court.