Campaign Finance Reform Passed in House
On Wednesday, February 12, the House passed the Shays-Meehan Campaign Reform Act (HR 2356). The bill has been highly controversial and is intended to reform the election finance system. Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chair Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) and Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-TX) were specifically concerned along with Congressmen Christopher Shays (R-CT) and Marty Meehan (D-MA) with a campaign finance amendment to prevent Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) from making campaign contributions. The CHC was alarmed because the provision would have had a particularly negative impact on Hispanic LPRs who pay taxes, many of whom have served in the Armed Forces, and are the process of becoming U.S. citizens. More than 20 percent of Congressional Medal of Honor recipients were legal immigrants, many who later became citizens. By preventing them from donating to campaigns, they would have been ultimately prevented from participating in the political process, despite fulfilling important civic obligations and their many contributions to the United States. The amendment was defeated by a 160 to 268 vote. For information on the language of HR 2356, please go to: http://clerkweb.house.gov/cgi-bin/lgwww_bill.pl?202356.

Hispanic Dropout Numbers Remain Alarming
The National Center for Education Statistics released its report "Dropout Rates in the United States: 2000." Results demonstrate that although high school dropout rates reached their lowest point since data were first collected in 1972, dropout rates for Hispanics remained high at 27.8 percent. Furthermore, in 2000, 44.2 percent of Hispanic young adults born outside of the United States were high school dropouts. Hispanic young adults born within the United States were much less likely to be dropouts. However, when looking at just those young adults born within the United States, Hispanic youths were still more likely to be dropouts than other young adults. The report can be accessed at: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/droppub_2001/.

Immigration Talks Revived by White House
President George W. Bush will be traveling to Mexico on March 22. The upcoming visit has assisted the bilateral talks between the two governments, reviving discussion of establishing a temporary worker program and a possible normalization of the status of some of the estimated 3.5 million Mexicans living in the United States without papers. The White House has made Rep. Christopher B. Cannon (R-UT) their point man in Congress. He is placing pressure on Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO), chair of the Congressional Caucus on Immigration Reform and leading opponent of amnesty to Mexican workers. President Bush has iterated a commitment to finding ways to ensure that undocumented workers have the ability to earn green-card status. James W. Ziglar, commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) is engaged in the high-level immigration talks with Mexico, along with ranking members of the State Department. Ziglar is searching for a mechanism to move a substantial portion of the current flow of undocumented workers from Mexico into legal channels. He outlined that a temporary-worker program in combination with cooperative law-enforcement arrangements with Mexico is a possibility. Despite efforts to move the agenda ahead, roadblocks remain on both sides of the aisle. Many Congressmen are wary of tackling immigration issues during an election year. And, there is talk that immigration issues will not move forward in Congress unless the INS is restructured to improve efficiency.

INS Applications and Petition Fees Increase
The INS announced that on February 19, 2002, increased fees would take effect for the majority of INS applications. Applications and petitions mailed, postmarked or filed in person on or after February 19, 2002 must include the new fees, otherwise the INS will reject them and return them without processing. Failure to file the correct fee will delay filing and processing of the application. For information on the fees: www.ins.gov/graphics/formsfee/feechart.htm.