Deciphering Obama’s Views Toward Employer Compliance

Barack Obama has not yet been sworn in as President of the United States, but the past two months have revealed a great deal about his attitudes toward federal governance.  In fact, the histrionics emerging from the Republican camp during the final weeks before the election have made his pragmatic c...

Jose E. Latour Jan 10, 2009

So many immigrants, so little peace

I am looking at the taillights of 2008 and staring at the oncoming headlights of 2009 and as I read the dozens of daily articles on the Web, I am sad to see that we are more or less in the same place we were a year ago.  The world's migratory patterns are as old as man, and yet no intellig...

Jose E. Latour Dec 30, 2008

Illegal Immigrants Flow Home from U.S.

Today's Miami Herald front page story is about the economy and how illegal aliens are heading home.  It is Sunday and I don't have much to say today except this:Immigrant labor, legal or illegal, is like any other commodity and affected by supply and demand.  The unskilled worker...

Jose E. Latour Nov 30, 2008

Cheryl Little Gets Well-Deserved Award

Every since I started private practice in 1990, Cheryl Little has represented everything that is right with the immigration bar.  In 1996, she founded the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center and for the past 12 years her tireless work on behalf of refugees, immigrant children, and others who coul...

Jose E. Latour Nov 28, 2008

Modest Proposal #2: How to Help the Auto Industry AND Consumers

This one is simple, though the relevance to immigration is, uh, vague:-The government is giving the auto industry $25 billion dollars-There are about 200 million drivers in the U.S.-That breaks down to $125 per driver-Let's hypothesize that a driver buys a new car every 5 years and forget that ...

Jose E. Latour Nov 14, 2008

The Best of America

Tarun, who lives in India, is a good friend of an old fraternity brother of mine.  This is an excerpt of what he wrote this the other day.  I asked Tarun if I could share this with you and he said "sure".  Here you go...and thanks, Tarun. Jose"This is the America that the worldloves -...

Jose E. Latour Nov 13, 2008

On the Price of Intolerance [originally written in 1999]

[Dear Readers:  my business partner Jaime Kuklinski sent me a very painful powerpoint reminding us about the horrors of the Holocaust; having just visited the Holocaust Museum in D.C. several weeks ago, the topic is fresh on my mind during this time of great change in our country.  I am re...

Jose E. Latour Nov 13, 2008

There IS No Such Thing as a “Latino Voter”

If I read one more article analyzing the election results in terms of "Latino Voters"...I'm going to probably finish reading it anyway.  That's because as silly as this hyperinterpretation of what this election has meant to the country, it is still pretty cool to read about ...

Jose E. Latour Nov 12, 2008

How Free Trade Reform Can Solve the Problem of Illegal Immigration from Mexico: A Modest Proposal

I will begin by stating that as I pleased as I was withmyself for concocting this inspired if long-winded title, I now regret mydecision.  The title might be appropriatefor, say,  a white paper…but not for whatI have to say today.  But I can’t thinkof anything more terse or pithy....

Jose E. Latour Nov 12, 2008

The Way of the Peaceful Warrior

I am in Mexico,a little less news-connected than when I’m home, but I’ve read enough in thepast 24 hours to see that those very pundits who were dead wrong over how thiselection would pan out are back  at it.  The theme this time is “he’s not tested”, and Biden’s honest remarksthat th...

Jose E. Latour Nov 07, 2008