SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Federal authorities would limit the use of shackles on immigrants who appear before immigration judges under a proposed settlement of a class-action lawsuit.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agreed to avoid shackling immigrants at the San Francisco immigration court in many hearings. Immigrants will still be shackled at a type of brief, procedural hearing in which several detainees are addressed at the same time.

A federal judge in San Francisco was scheduled to consider Thursday whether to approve the settlement in the lawsuit filed in 2011 by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and others.

ACLU attorney Julia Harumi Mass said the agreement applies only to the San Francisco court, which serves more than 2,000 immigrants a year who are in ICE custody at three county jails in Northern California.

The lawsuit says detainees at the San Francisco court wear metal restraints on their wrists, ankles and waists and that most are bused from jails several hours away, spending hours in shackles before, during and after their hearings.

Under the proposed settlement, detainees will not be restrained at bond or merits hearings unless they pose a safety threat or risk of escape. Except in limited circumstances, they will remain shackled at master calendar hearings, which are held for larger numbers of immigrants for brief, procedural issues like scheduling.

Immigration courts are staffed by judges working for the U.S. Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review, not the judiciary. The judges decide whether immigrants can remain in the country.

ICE houses more than 30,000 immigrants in detention facilities nationwide, many of which have immigration courts inside. In Northern California, detained immigrants are bused from leased jails in Contra Costa, Sacramento, Yuba counties to a federal building in downtown San Francisco.

“Putting them in shackles is so contrary to fundamental American values of justice and fairness,” said Mass of the ACLU, which sued federal agencies, along with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and the law firm Wilson, Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

ICE declined to comment on the proposed settlement, saying it does not discuss pending litigation.

ICE released a statement that said it was “committed to preserving the dignity and welfare of all those in our custody. The agency is also obligated to ensure the safety of the public and employees visiting or working in federal buildings that house court proceedings.”

• Immigration Issues
• Politics & Government
• San Francisco

By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Immigration reform advocates, who saw their hopes dashed in 2013 for major legislation, are encouraged by stirrings in the Republican-led House of Representatives for taking up the issue.

The Senate last June passed a sweeping immigration bill that would give millions of undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship but the legislation has languished in the House.

Over the past few weeks, however, there have been signs that leaders may soon offer a framework for reform.

House Speaker John Boehner informed his rank-and-file on January 8 that leading House Republicans were preparing to lay out “principles” for immigration legislation, according to Republicans who attended the closed-door meeting.

One Republican leadership aide said a framework for reform could be unveiled as early as next week.

“We’re seeing a shift underway,” said Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, a group that has been pushing for reform. “It’s now becoming clearer that the House Republican leadership…are determined to move forward to floor action.”

But 2013 began on a similarly upbeat note after President Barack Obama cruised to re-election the previous November with the support of more than 70 percent of Hispanic voters who have been clamoring for immigration reforms.

By mid-year the Senate passed a comprehensive, bipartisan, bill setting a tough, 13-year course for undocumented residents to gain legal status and eventually citizenship.

That same June day, Boehner drove a stake through the Senate’s bill, saying his chamber would not consider it and instead would “do our own bill” – one that never materialized on the House floor in 2013.

The senior Republican aide, who asked not to be identified, said the principles to be unveiled could discuss the need for better U.S. border controls and beefing up interior security so that companies cannot easily hire undocumented workers.

Improved procedures for hiring foreign high-tech specialists, as well as unskilled laborers to harvest crops and work on construction projects, also could be put into the mix, the aide said.

Perhaps the most challenging principle to be addressed is what do about the 11 million already in the United States, many brought here as children.

The aide said the principles will be guided by two procedural requirements: the House will not pass a comprehensive immigration bill, as the Senate did, and instead will do them “step by step.” And, at no point will the House be drawn into a negotiation with the Senate on the bill it passed last year.

Instead, the aide said, the Senate would have to scrap its bill and debate the individual House bills.

That could make it difficult to ultimately pass legislation. Democrats have warned against settling for half-steps in the fight for immigration reform.

DETAILS MATTER

“Principles are one thing and legislation is another. Once the principles are released, there will be lots of details that will have to be fleshed out,” said Democratic Representative Zoe Lofgren, a former immigration lawyer from California who has worked on reform efforts for decades.

Still, Lofgren said in a telephone interview with Reuters, that “it would be premature and a mistake to assume what details” Republicans might include in any bills they advance this year, adding that she is eager to work with them.

Angela Kelley, vice president of immigration policy at the liberal Center for American Progress, said, “Based on what we’ve heard, the fact that the undocumented are going to be mentioned in terms of legalizing, instead of just deporting, is a sea change.”

But some veteran Republican aides in Congress note that with the November congressional elections heating up, there could be little time, and incentive, for enacting legislation this year.

Republicans hope to gain strength in both the House and Senate as a result of those elections and waiting until 2015 to actually enact immigration reforms might be more advantageous, they noted.

In the meantime, immigration reform groups and Democrats in Congress will be awaiting details of legislation, not simply Republicans’ principles.

“Talk is cheap, so show us a bill,” said Lorella Praeli, policy director at United We Dream, an immigrant youth-led organization.

(Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Caren Bohan and Andrew Hay)

• Politics & Government
• Legislative Branch
• Immigration reform

DALLAS & HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–

Fragomen Worldwide, the world’s leading corporate immigration firm, is
expanding its presence in Texas and significantly enhancing its global
energy industry practice with the addition of four highly regarded
immigration attorneys. These new partners will be located in Fragomen’s
office in Dallas and the firm’s new office in Houston.

Former Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP (BAL) Partners Steve
Ladik, Kristi
Taylor and Paige
Taylor and their teams have joined Fragomen in both Dallas and
Houston, while Kelly D. Cobb, previously a partner with
FosterQuan LLP, will be based in Fragomen’s new Houston office. More
than 30 new attorneys, paralegals and support staff are following the
partners to Fragomen’s expanded Texas presence.

“We are thrilled to be welcoming some of the nation’s finest immigration
lawyers to our team,” said Austin
T. Fragomen, Chairman of the firm’s Executive Committee. “Texas is a
unique economic powerhouse and a major center of the global energy
industry. Adding this new presence and talent will be a significant
benefit to our clients in Texas and worldwide.”

Fragomen’s four new partners are all prominent in the field of
immigration law:

Steve Ladik, formerly Managing Partner of BAL’s Dallas office, is
a past president of both the American Immigration Lawyers Association
(AILA) and the American Immigration Lawyers Foundation. He has been
listed in the Best Lawyers in America for more than 14 years.
Ladik was also named “Dallas Best Lawyers Immigration Lawyer of the
Year” for 2012.

Paige L. Taylor focuses on representing clients in the
engineering and technology industries, including electronics and
telecommunications. She has served on numerous committees for AILA and
is the author of the annual Texas Tech Review Fifth Circuit Survey on
Immigration Law. She is recognized nationally for her knowledge of
PERM and is Chair of the State Bar Committee on Immigration and
Nationality Law.

Kelly D. Cobb advises U.S. and international clients on
immigration issues related to corporate restructuring including mergers
and acquisitions, joint ventures and start-ups. She has more than 15
years of experience counseling clients in the energy sector,
particularly focusing on assisting international corporations in vessel
exemptions, specialist work authorizations and crew member exemptions on
the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.

Kristi Taylor advises and defends employer sanctions cases, helps
develop strategies to address workforce reductions, and has extensive
experience in due diligence and management of the immigration process
before and after mergers and acquisitions. She also advises clients on
public access files and I-9 program improvement and compliance.

“We are enthusiastic about joining Fragomen, which is consistently
recognized by independent observers as the world leader in immigration
law,” said Ladik. “Our clients’ business immigration needs are becoming
increasingly challenging in today’s rapidly evolving and highly mobile
international environment. Effectively serving them requires the kind of
in-depth knowledge, resources, sophisticated information technology, and
the extensive footprint providing global capabilities that only Fragomen
offers.”

Cobb noted the growing complexity of immigration law, both here and
abroad. “It became clear to me that truly serving the wide range of
client needs requires extraordinary resources and capabilities, and no
other firm in the immigration field can match Fragomen in that respect,”
said Cobb.

Daryl
Buffenstein, a partner who joined Fragomen in its Atlanta office in
2012, noted the move’s clear rationale. “I have previously worked with
Steve, Paige and Kristi, who are outstanding attorneys with a
sophisticated practice. They recognize that businesses are increasingly
requiring a more multi-faceted and global platform, and appreciate how
Fragomen’s superior resources and collegial environment will enable them
to better serve their clients. Our clients have benefited enormously
from my move to Fragomen. I’m confident our new partners’ clients will
have a similar experience.”

About Fragomen Worldwide

Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP and Fragomen Global LLP
(collectively known as “Fragomen” and “Fragomen Worldwide”) is
recognized as the world’s leading global corporate immigration services
provider. The firm employs more than 400 immigration attorneys,
solicitors and equivalents and 2,200 professionals and support staff
located in more than 40 offices in 18 countries. For 60 years, Fragomen
has represented a broad range of companies, organizations and emerging
businesses, working in partnership with clients to facilitate the hiring
and transfer of employees worldwide. For detailed information about
Fragomen’s practice, please visit www.fragomen.com.

• Company Legal & Law Matters
• Business
• immigration law
• Texas