Protest at Las Vegas office over work card rule

The protesters waved American flags and carried signs protesting the move.

The cards must be renewed each year. INS officials for most of this decade have renewed the cards of those who had standing as plaintiffs in several federal lawsuits that stemmed from amnesty programs.

But following a decision last month by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, federal officials concluded many of the plaintiffs no longer are entitled to employment authorization cards. The government also decided they could no longer rely upon their status as plaintiffs for protection from deportation.

Marchers said the local INS office has recently began confiscating the cards of those who sought renewal.

INS spokesman Bill Strassberger said the agency did not intend to move against those whose employment cards expire at the end of the month. For instance, he said no need exists for affected parents to stop sending their children to school.

"INS is not going to be out there in buses and vans just rounding up people helter-skelter," he said.

archive