Category: Illegal immigration crisis
Trump ramps up vetting of foreign workers to combat Biden’s lax policies
The Trump administration is taking measures to reduce the flood of inadequately vetted foreign labor entering the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security introduced an interim final rule, effective Thursday, that ends the automatic extension of employment authorization for many foreign nationals.
‘All aliens must remember that working in the United States is a privilege, not a right.’
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stated that the move aims to prioritize “the proper screening and vetting of aliens before extending the validity of their employment authorizations.”
Foreign nationals who file for employment authorization renewals on or after Thursday will not receive an automatic extension.
USCIS contended that the change will allow for “more frequent vetting” and enable it “to deter fraud and detect aliens with potentially harmful intent” for potential removal.
The final rule notes that it aligns with President Donald Trump’s executive orders “Protecting the American People Against Invasion” and “Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.“
Photographer: Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“Ending the practice of providing automatic extension of employment authorization documents enhances benefit integrity in adjudications of work authorization requests and will better protect public safety and national security by ensuring that aliens are properly vetted and determined to continue to be eligible, and when applicable, merit a favorable exercise of discretion, for employment authorization before such authorization is provided to the alien,” the interim final rule reads.
The new regulation does not apply to those with Temporary Protected Status, as those authorizations are governed separately.
RELATED: Supreme Court rejects case that would reconsider H-1B-related visas
Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
“USCIS is placing a renewed emphasis on robust alien screening and vetting, eliminating policies the former administration implemented that prioritized aliens’ convenience ahead of Americans’ safety and security,” USCIS Director Joseph Edlow stated.
“It’s a commonsense measure to ensure appropriate vetting and screening has been completed before an alien’s employment authorization or documentation is extended,” Edlow continued. “All aliens must remember that working in the United States is a privilege, not a right.”
Center for Immigration Studies stated that the new regulation may allow the administration “to more quickly enforce immigration laws, particularly with regard to those who entered the United States illegally but were given work permits.”
The interim final rule repeals a Biden administration regulation, issued in December, that increased the automatic extension period for some applicants from 180 days to 540 days from the expiration date, CIS reported.
“The Biden administration facilitated an invasion of our southern border and abused its parole, asylum, and work authorization authorities. President Trump has a mandate from the American people to stop the invasion and bring common sense back to America’s legal immigration system. Since taking office, President Trump and Secretary Noem have rescinded parole for almost half a million illegal aliens, implemented a new parole fee, and ended decades-long Temporary Protected Status. Now, we are focusing on those who have no right to work here,” a USCIS spokesperson told Blaze News.
“Biden’s automatic extension of Employment Authorization Document (EAD) for aliens posed a security risk that allowed bad actors to continue to work in this country,” the spokesperson continued. “The Trump administration’s interim final rule will ensure that aliens will be properly vetted and screened before USCIS extends their work authorization.”
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Beloved basketball coach, wife identified as victims of fatal crash allegedly caused by illegal alien truck driver
Authorities have identified two of the three victims in a fatal crash in California last week involving an illegal alien truck driver.
‘If California had complied with the Secretary’s emergency rule, … he would have never been able to get behind his big rig.’
Clarence Nelson, a 76-year-old Pomona high school basketball coach, and his wife, Lisa Nelson, 69, were killed after a semitruck plowed into several vehicles on the I-10 freeway in Ontario on Tuesday, Fox News Digital reported. Four others were injured.
“This week, our community was deeply saddened by the tragic incident in the City of Ontario,” state Senator Susan Rubio (D) said. “It’s heartbreaking to learn that two of the lives lost were from my district — Pomona High School basketball coach Clarence Nelson and his wife, Lisa.”
“As a teacher, I know how a loss like this ripples through an entire school community,” she stated. “My heart goes out to their families, the Pomona Unified School District, and everyone mourning this tremendous loss.”
The driver of the truck, Jashanpreet Singh, is a 21-year-old Indian national in the United States illegally. He was suspected of speeding while being under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash.
The California Highway Patrol arrested Singh, and he is facing charges of driving under the influence of drugs and causing bodily injury and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
Singh pleaded not guilty on Friday. His next court appearance is scheduled for November 4. Singh requires an interpreter for his upcoming hearing, ABC News reported, citing court filings.
RELATED: The shocking details behind another fatal illegal alien truck crash
Photographer: David Peinado/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed an arrest detainer against Singh. According to ICE, he crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in 2022 and was released into the country by the Biden administration.
The Department of Transportation accused California of violating federal law by issuing Singh a commercial driver’s license.
In September, DOT Secretary Sean Duffy announced the results of a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration audit that found “systemic non-compliance” among driver’s licensing agencies in several states, including California. Duffy ordered a pause of California’s issuance of non-domiciled CDLs, requiring the state to identify all unexpired licenses that fail to comply with regulations.
In mid-October, the DOT stated it was withholding roughly $40 million in federal funds from the state over its failure to comply with English language proficiency standards for commercial drivers.
“If California had complied with the Secretary’s emergency rule and prevented the upgrade of this individual’s driving privileges earlier this month, he would have never been able to get behind his big rig,” the DOT stated about the deadly crash involving Singh.
The department claimed that California initially issued Singh a non-domiciled CDL in June. However, it noted that because Singh was 20 years old at the time, his license included a “K restriction” that limited his driving to intrastate operations.
On October 15, when Singh turned 21, California removed the K restriction without applying the stricter standards DOT announced in its September final rule.
Photographer: David Peinado/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“If California had complied with the Secretary’s emergency rule and prevented the upgrade of Singh’s driving privileges, Singh would have been required to return to the DMV (on or after October 15) to have the ‘K’ restriction removed and upgrade his CDL,” the DOT stated. “At that time, Singh would have been subject to the emergency rule and found ineligible to retain the non-domiciled CDL due to Singh’s status as an asylum seeker.”
The California DMV told Blaze News that the federal government approved Singh’s employment authorization, which it claimed was valid through August 2030. The DMV stated that it verified Singh’s documents using the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system, also known as SAVE. It also acknowledged that on September 26, the DOT issued an interim final rule that changed eligibility requirements.
“MISINFORMATION ALERT: The state does not determine commercial driver’s license eligibility,” the California State Transportation Agency wrote in a post on social media. “The FEDERAL government approves and renews all FEDERAL employment authorization documents that allows individuals to work and obtain commercial driver’s licenses.”
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