Immigration Rule Change Could Keep OR Families Together

Immigration Rule Change Could Keep OR Families Together

Chris Thomas, Public News Service - OR
January 9, 2012

SALEM, Ore. - It's a relatively small change but, for Oregon's immigrant community, it represents a big step to keep families together as their immigration issues are resolved. A new immigration regulation will allow some people to remain in the United States who typically have had to return to their home countries to apply for a visa or to get what is called a "family unity waiver." Either decision can take months.

Portland attorney Stephen Manning of the Immigrant Law Group says it affects at least 200 families his firm is working with right now. He describes one of them:

"Nice family, good family, good people. He needs to get his immigrant visa to get right with the law and, under the old system, he's probably going to be outside the country for at least 18 months. With two kids in elementary school, it's just not a good deal."

The new rule will apply only to spouses and children of people who are already American citizens. Francisco Lopez, executive director of the immigrants' rights group Causa, hopes it will be expanded to include others in similar situations.

"Not just U.S. citizens that are petitioning for family members, but also green card holders, people with permanent resident status. But also, we want to make sure that this is a good beginning to continue the conversation about a legalization program."

Lopez notes the rule change means that people applying for visas and family unity waivers can stay home while they wait for their U.S. Consulate hearings to be scheduled, and then leave the country for a few days instead of months. The rule change will minimize the time family members are separated, but not prevent it, adds Manning.

"The process is still the same. It's just a change in the timing, so it's where you're going to have to spend the time. So, it's not an amnesty. People should not be tricked into thinking it's amnesty, you know; if you're made promises that sound too good to be true, they're probably too good to be true."

Manning says the current system has meant a lot of expense and stress, particularly for parents when one has to leave for an extended time period. He points out that the Department of Homeland Security rule change is not in effect yet and could take up to a year to become final.

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Immigration Waiver Process Change Will Keep Some Families Together

January 6, 2012

Immigration Waiver Process Change Will Keep Some Families Together

OR Immigrant Rights Organization Applauds New Regulation for Stateside Processing of Family Unity Waivers and Calls on Administration to Extend Process to Legal Permanent Residents

Salem, Ore.--Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a new regulation that will direct certain visa applicants to file their applications for family unity waivers within the U.S., to be adjudicated by a specially trained and designated team of professionals.

Currently, U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents face unnecessary and dangerous bureaucratic hurdles in obtaining lawful permanent resident status for their spouse or child. Those applying for a Visa would either need to return to their country of origin or apply for a waiver to be able to remain in the U.S. while completing the Visa process. Getting a waiver can take weeks, months or even over a year to be completed. Meanwhile, families are separated and spouses and children are forced to wait in potentially dangerous situations until a waiver decision is made.

The new procedures announced today will only apply to U.S. citizen spouses and children, who will still have to meet the burden of showing that a lengthy bar from the U.S. would cause their U.S. citizen spouse or parent “extreme hardship”. This welcome development will allow husbands, wives and children of U.S. citizens to remain united with their family members while awaiting a decision on their waiver.

“We applaud today’s announcement by DHS”, said Francisco Lopez, Executive Director of Causa, Oregon’s Immigrant Rights Organization. “This is a much needed change in the current flawed policy – making it one that favors keeping families together. For far too long, families were going through this process separated from one another, and often being placed in dangerous situations. Today’s announcement is another welcome step forward in moving toward a fair and humane immigration process. We look forward to the Obama Administration and Congress continuing to improve our immigration system for immigrants and families.”

The new regulation does not apply to lawful permanent residents, many whose spouses and children face the same obstacles and dangers when required to wait abroad for their waiver adjudications. Causa joins with leaders and organizations around the nation in calling on the Obama Administration to extend the process to legal permanent residents.

Francisco Lopez, Causa's Executive Director will be available for interviews today. He can be reached at 503-269-5694 or at francisco@causaoregon.org

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Causa, Oregon's Immigrant Rights Organization, is the largest Hispanic civil and human rights and grassroots advocacy organization in the Pacific Northwest. We work to defend and advance immigrant rights through coordination with local, state, and national coalitions and allies. For more information, visit http://www.causaoregon.org/

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New Report Reveals Families Shattered by Immigration Enforcement

November 2, 2011

Groundbreaking National Report by the Applied Research Center Releases First Data on the Intersection Of Immigration Enforcement And Child Welfare Systems

New York, NY--A new report from the Applied Research Center (ARC) conservatively estimates that there are more than 5,000 children currently living in foster care whose parents have been either detained or deported. To date, there has been no national data available on the numbers of children impacted by the intersection of immigration enforcement and child welfare systems. http://arc.org/shatteredfamilies/

"Shattered Families" offers groundbreaking national research on the perilous intersection of immigration enforcement and the child welfare system. Historic levels of detention and deportation, combined with a clear lack of child welfare policies are resulting in the separation of thousands of families across the United States. These families face formidable barriers to reunification, and in many cases will be permanently separated. ARC projected that at least 15,000 more children will face these threats to reunification in the next five years, if the same rate holds true for new cases.

“Immigration enforcement greatly increases the chances that families will never see each other again,” said ARC President Rinku Sen. “Detaining and deporting parents shatter families and endanger the children left behind. It’s unacceptable, un-American, and a clear sign that we need to revisit our immigration policies.”

In fiscal year 2011, the United States deported a record-breaking 397,000 people and detained nearly that many. According to never before released federal data acquired by ARC through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, a growing number of deportees are parents. In the first six months of 2011, the federal government removed more than 46,000 mothers and fathers of U.S.-citizen children.

For the first time, ARC’s “Shattered Families” provides evidence on the scale and scope of this growing national problem. These impacts are not confined to border jurisdictions or states. In fact, ARC identified at least 22 states across the country where children in foster care are separated from their parents because of immigration enforcement. http://arc.org/shatteredfamilies/

“Our research found time and again that families are being left out of decision-making when it comes to the care and custody of their children,” said Seth Freed Wessler, author and principal investigator of “Shattered Families.” “As a result, children of detained and deported parents are likely to remain in foster care when they could be with their own family.”

“Shattered Families” analyzes these problems, identifies key barriers, and presents policy recommendations for Department of Homeland Security, various levels of legislature, state child welfare departments, and juvenile dependency courts on how we can better protect families from separation and reunify families in a timely way.

About ARC - The Applied Research Center (ARC) is a 30-year-old racial justice think tank that uses media, research and activism to promote solutions. ARC’s mission is to popularize racial justice and prepare people to achieve it. ARC also serves as the publisher of Colorlines.com. For more information on ARC’s work, please visit www.arc.org.  

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DHS Acknowledges that U.S. Immigration Policy Needs to Spark Economy and Attract Entrepreneurs

Originally posted at Immigration Impact,  a project of the American Immigration Council.

DHS Acknowledges that U.S. Immigration Policy Needs to Spark Economy and Attract Entrepreneurs

By PAUL ZULKIE, PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN IMMIGRATION COUNCIL

Yesterday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas announced a series of policy initiatives designed to “fuel the nation’s economy and stimulate investment” by attracting foreign entrepreneurs who can invest in fields of high unemployment, create jobs, and form startup companies. It is encouraging that USCIS recognizes that immigrant entrepreneurs and innovators are a key to continued growth and to maintaining America’s competitive edge into the 21st century. It’s important that the agency keep this recognition in mind as it adjudicates visa petitions and applications.

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Jill Garvey: Anti-Immigrant Leaders Testify for House Subcommittee

Originally posted at Imagine 2050. Imagine 2050 is project which includes activists, immigrants, artists and students who are invested in a future nation that embraces multiculturalism and tolerance.

Anti-Immigrant Leaders Testify for House Subcommittee
March 10, 2011 by Jill Garvey

Today, the House Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement will conduct a hearing entitled, “New Jobs in Recession and Recovery: Who Are Getting Them and Who Are Not.”

The majority GOP witnesses are Steven Camarota of Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) and Greg Serbon of Indiana Federation for Immigration Reform and Enforcement (IFIRE). Both are anti-immigrant leaders tied to FAIR and white nationalist John Tanton.

It is troubling that Reps. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Elton Gallegly (R-CA) and Steve King (R-IA) – dubbed the “rabid anti-immigration trio of powerful GOP congressmen” by the NY Daily News – are continuing to call witnesses from the same small pool of controversial anti-immigrant groups.  It sends a strong signal that they are not interested in expert opinions on the issue, but rather opinions that support their extreme efforts to dehumanize immigrants.

Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) was founded by white nationalist John Tanton as a project directly under the control of FAIR. The Washington, D.C.-based think tank portrays itself as a mainstream organization that studies the impact of immigration in the United States. An oral history by John Tanton describes how CIS came to be: “… (W)e were running our publication and research efforts out of FAIR. It seemed that…outsiders might see these publications as just serving the interests of the organization, rather than fairly assessing the issues. So it was decided that we should set up an independent and more academic effort that would be removed from the daily fray…”

With a network populated by individuals with ties to political extremists, including white nationalists, CIS was created to establish credibility for FAIR. Tanton himself described the objective of CIS as an attempt “(t)o expand our fund-raising machine…We need to get CIS fully-funded and entrenched as a major Washington think-tank, one that can venture into issues which FAIR is not yet ready to raise.”

Steven Camarota is the director of research at CIS. In 2009, an article written by Camarota appeared in two issues of the anti-Semitic newspaper American Free Press. Camarota and CIS denied giving the newspaper permission to run his article.

Also in 2009, a CIS report was reprinted in the Journal of Social, Political and Economic Studies. The journal is run by longtime anti-Semite Roger Pearson.

But these aren’t just isolated incidents. CIS circulates articles published on the website VDARE.com on a weekly basis to its subscribers. VDARE is named after Virginia Dare, allegedly the first white child born in the U.S. VDARE was founded and is currently run by white nationalist Peter Brimelow. CIS’ most recent circulation was a VDARE.com article written on March 3, 2011.

In December of 2009, in response to controversy over a Salvation Army policy that barred the children of undocumented immigrants from receiving charitable Christmas gifts, Camarota told a Tennessee newspaper, “Charities have the right to set requirements, even if it means children of illegal immigrants go without toys.”

The author of a 2008 Time magazine article featuring Camarota stated, “Steven Camarota, research director for the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors tighter immigration controls, warns that even if immigrants are less likely to commit crimes, their children and grandchildren may be more likely to end up on the wrong side of the law.”

Camarota is with like-minded company at CIS. His boss, Mark Krikorian, the Executive Director of CIS stated the following after the devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010: “My guess is that Haiti’s so screwed up because it wasn’t colonized long enough.”

The second witness in question is Greg Serbon, State Director of Indiana Federation for Immigration Reform and Enforcement (IFIRE). He co-founded the group with Cheree Calabro, who indicated in an article on the FAIR’s website that FAIR staffers helped her and Serbon create the group in 2004. And IFIRE is listed on FAIR’s website as a state contact group.

FAIR was founded by white nationalist John Tanton in 1979. FAIR solicited and received over $1.2 million from the Pioneer Fund, a foundation that has a history of promoting the genetic superiority of white, European-Americans. The Pioneer Fund uses its financial largesse to fund groups who promote “race-betterment” – a controversial theory that claims there is a biologically-caused IQ difference between white and non-white people. FAIR is listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

According to FAIR’s 2007 990 Form, it donated $1,000 to IFIRE for “public education” purposes that year.

In 2009, IFIRE promoted a report written by Edwin Rubenstein that was published in the white nationalist quarterly journal The Social Contract. The journal is published by John Tanton. In 2009, Serbon emailed an article published on VDARE.com to IFIRE members.

Serbon and IFIRE continue to collaborate with FAIR in Indiana. As recently as February 2011, FAIR staff testified for an Indiana state senate committee along with Greg Serbon and Cheree Calabro in support of SB 590.

Reps. Gallegly, Smith and King are already well aware of the Tanton Network’s anti-immigrant stance. Steve King is a prominent member of the legislative arm of the network, State Legislators for Legal Immigration (SLLI), which works closely with FAIR.

In fact, the Center for Immigration Studies was blasted before it ever arrived for the party. At the subcommittee’s last hearing on March 1, Rep. Maxine Waters stated,

“As we discuss and debate these issues regarding immigration policy, I think it is important for the Committee and the public to be aware of any biases that may impact the witnesses’ testimony. Since the majority often calls a representative from the Center for Immigration Studies to testify, I am concerned that this organization’s ‘research’ may be more politically motivated than out of genuine concern for the unemployment rate among American minorities.”

Let’s hope that today some members of the subcommittee continue to expose these witnesses for what they are: anti-immigrant and without credibility.

http://imagine2050.newcomm.org/2011/03/10/anti-immigrant-leaders-testify-for-house-subcommittee/

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Earth Day Will Not be Rooted in Immigrant Bashing

Earth Day Will Not be Rooted in Immigrant Bashing
April 22, 2010
By Rebecca Poswolsky
http://www.imagine2050.net/

This Earth Day we must counter attempts to infiltrate our festivities. Anti-immigrant groups like California Population Stabilization (CAPS) and NumbersUSA are attempting to focus on overpopulation by specifically bashing immigrants and blaming them for environmental degradation. As environmentalists and activists, it is our responsibility on this day to define the significance and direction of our movement. We must address anti-immigrant bigots interested in a punitive immigration policy and decline their intentions to put forth openly racist agendas.

CAPS participated in Earth Day events in Santa Barbara this past Saturday and in San Diego last Sunday. It tabled and promoted its stance on the correlation between immigration and U.S. population levels. While CAPS considers itself an environmental group, it is important to understand where CAPS’s interests really lie. CAPS argues that immigrants are responsible for the “destruction of forests, national parks, and natural habitats….over-consumption of precious natural resources; deadly sewage on our beaches; continually expanding urban sprawl; and more.”

Rick Oltman, the media director for CAPS is also a member of the Council of Conservative Citizens, formerly known as the White Citizens Council. The Council of Conservative Citizens’ statement of principles says:

Continue article at http://imagine2050.newcomm.org/2010/04/22/earth-day-will-not-be-rooted-in-immigrant-bashing/

Rebecca Poswolsky is a contributor to Imagine 2050. Contributors to the the blog include activists, immigrants, artists and students who are invested in a future nation that embraces multiculturalism and tolerance.

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Obama Administration Addresses Detention Crisis with Change in Policy

The Department of Homeland Security announced today that it will change the way it conducts oversight and accountability in America’s immigration detention facilities. Specifically, it will make changes to policies regarding an immigrant detention facility in Texas.

In a press release, the National Immigration Forum, the leading immigrant advocacy organization in the country, expressed they were pleased that the administration will take important steps to address immigration detention conditions that are currently a "national embarrassment".

Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, said that the “the single most important thing we can do with regard to immigrant detention is to reduce the need for its use for millions of non-criminals, families, and workers in the first place.”

Noorani added that the we need a functioning legal immigration system -- one that brings millions of immigrants living here illegally into legal status, rather than attempting to enforce our way out of our current situation.

He finished by saying that the Forum “is supportive of the changes announced to the detention system and hope this signals more oversight and accountability throughout DHS and our immigration enforcement system”.

According to the New York Times, among the changes DHS will make is to stop sending families to the notorious T. Don Hutto Residential Center, a former state prison near Austin, Texas. The facility was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) after news coverage showed young children behind razor wire.

An ACLU lawsuit settled in 2007 brought to light how children under 10 years old were confined for up to a year in “family cells with open toilets, with only one hour of schooling a day”. Children said they were threatened by guards with separation from their parents--many asylum-seekers from around the world. Only after judicial enforcement of the settlement were children granted such “liberties" as "wearing pajamas at night and taking crayons into family cells" said the New York Times.

Although immigration reform advocates see the Administration’s action on the Detention Crisis as a step in the right direction, passage of humane and just immigration reform legislation will offer the only workable solution to our nation’s dysfunctional and unjust immigration system.

For more on the Administration’s immigration detention policy, read the full story at the New York Times by linking here. To read the full release from the National Immigration Forum, please link here

Additional Resources

The Math of Immigration Detention http://www.immigrationforum.org/images/uploads/MathofImmigrationDetention.pdf

Summaries of Recent Reports on Immigration Detention 2007 – 2009
http://www.immigrationforum.org/images/uploads/DetentionReportsSummaries2007-2009.pdf

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League of Woman Voters Takes Position on Immigration

Last week the League of Women Voters of the United States issued a statement in supportive of citizenship for unauthorized immigrants and in opposition to deportations.

“After a lengthy and comprehensive study of this complex issue by our grassroots members,” said national League president Mary G. Wilson, “the League’s position calls for a path to citizenship for current unauthorized immigrants.”

“As part of overall immigration reform, the League supports a system for unauthorized immigrants already in the country to earn legal status, including citizenship, by paying taxes, learning English, studying civics and meeting other relevant criteria,” Wilson stated. “We oppose deportations of current unauthorized immigrants who have no history of serious criminal activity,” she said.

In addition, the LWVUS came out in support of increased enforcement personnel at borders, more effective tracking of individuals who enter the U.S., and significant fines and penalties for employers who hire unauthorized workers.

Finally, they said they would "champion due process for all persons, including the right to a fair hearing, right to counsel, right of appeal and right to humane treatment".

A copy of their full report can be found below, or here.

LWVUS Immigration Position

The League of Women Voters believes that immigration policies should promote reunification of immediate families; meet the economic, business and employment needs of the United States; and be responsive to those facing political persecution or humanitarian crises. Provision should also be made for qualified persons to enter the U.S. on student visas. All persons should receive fair treatment under the law.

The League supports federal immigration law that provides an efficient, expeditious system (with minimal or no backlogs) for legal entry of immigrants into the U.S.

To complement these goals the League supports federal policies to improve economies, education, job opportunities, and living conditions in nations with large emigrating populations.

In transition to a reformed system, the League supports provisions for unauthorized immigrants already in the country to earn legal status.

The League supports federal payments to impacted communities to address the financial costs borne by states and local governments with large immigrant populations.

Criteria for Legal Admission to the U.S.

The League supports the following criteria for legal admission of persons into the United States:

* Family reunification of spouses or minor children with authorized immigrants or citizens;
* Flight from persecution or response to humanitarian crises in home countries;
* Economic, business and employment needs in the U.S.;
* Education and training needs of the U.S.;
* Educational program opportunities; and
* Lack of a history of serious criminal activity.

Administration and Enforcement

The League supports due process for all persons, including the right to a fair hearing, right to counsel, right of appeal and right to humane treatment.

The League supports:

* Improved technology to facilitate employer verification of employee status;
* Verification documents, such as status cards and work permits, with secure identifiers;
* Significant fines and penalties for employers who hire unauthorized workers;
* Improved technology for sharing information among federal agencies;
* More effective tracking of individuals who enter the United States; and
* Increased personnel at borders.

The League also supports programs allowing foreign workers to enter and leave the U.S. to meet seasonal or sporadic labor needs.

Unauthorized Immigrants Already in the U.S.

In achieving overall policy goals, the League supports a system for unauthorized immigrants already in the country to earn legal status, including citizenship, by paying taxes, learning English, studying civics and meeting other relevant criteria. While policy reforms, including a path to legal status, remain unachieved, the League does not support deporting unauthorized immigrants who have no history of criminal activity.

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McCain says Anti-immigrant Rhetoric Hurting Election Prospects

Senator John McCain has been talking about concerns that the Republican Party's hard-line stance against immigrants is going to hurt election prospects. On Monday, in an interview with National Public Radio, McCain said that there have already been two high profile GOP candidates that lost due to their anti-immigrant stances.

During the interview on Morning Edition, McCain added that “I know that there have been some races, like here in Pennsylvania, where Senator Santorum emphasized that issue [immigration] and lost by a large number.”

“We just had a loss of Denny Hastert's seat out in Illinois." McCain said. "The Republican candidate out there, I am told, had very strong anti-immigrant rhetoric also, so I would hope that many of our Republican candidates would understand the political practicalities of this issue.”

With Republicans trying to force a vote on anti-immigrant legislation like the SAVE Act, it is not surprising why McCain and others have concerns that the Republican Party is damaging relations with immigrant communities especially Latinos. The reason for this? An article from McClatchy Newspaper explains

“The recent immigration-related efforts in Congress likely will only reinforce the perception held by Latinos that most Republicans aren't in their corner. Furthermore, when Republican candidates for lower offices than the presidency stress hard-line immigration stands this fall-- that also likely will add to the alienation of Latino voters from the GOP.”

Why does this matter? The article goes to say that because Latinos are a crucial voting block, any candidate for office that espouses anti-immigrant sentiment will likely suffer in a close race. And that, we have already seen this play out in the 2006 elections.

“In 2006, after Republicans became associated with a tough position on illegal immigration, Latinos voted for Democrats over Republicans by 69 percent to 30 percent. Democrats swept the mid-term elections.”

What about the Election ‘08?

"Energized Latinos could count for as many as 11 million voters in 2008, as voter registration drives gear up around the country."

This is definitely a substantial voting block that could have a real impact on this upcoming election. And though Senator McCain knows this, does the rest in his party want to believe it?

Read the full article here

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Microsoft Chairman Urges Change in Immigration System

According to a news report from AFP, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates is urging congress to change the current state of the U.S. immigration system to help prevent outsourcing and making it possible for US firms to attract and retain high-skilled immigrants.

During a hearing with the House of Representatives Science and Technology Committee, Gates said, “Congress's failure to pass high-skilled immigration reform has exacerbated an already grave situation." And that, “As a result, many US firms, including Microsoft, have been forced to locate staff in countries that welcome skilled foreign workers to do work that could otherwise have been done in the United States, if it were not for our counterproductive immigration policies."

Gates called on lawmakers to increase the number of H-1B visas available to companies. This, he said, in turn would increase employment of US nationals adding that for every H-1B hire that is made, an average of four additional employees to support them in various capacities is hired.

The Microsoft Chairman finished by saying, “If we don't reverse these trends, our competitive advantage will continue to erode. Our ability to create new high-paying jobs will suffer."

The full article can be read here

source: Tight US immigration forces outsourcing: Bill Gates

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Simulator Tackles Complexities of Being an Immigrant

Organization seeks to create awareness of unfair U.S. immigration policies with new simulator

Yesterday, Breakthrough, an international human rights organization launched “ICED -- I Can End Deportation” an education tool to be used by students to help them understand the difficult challenges immigrants face under unfair immigration policies. The program was created in partnership with various community-based organizations, high school teachers and students from high schools and after-school programs across New York City.

Under current immigration laws in the United States, many immigrants are often denied due process and basic human rights, which even judges are prevented from affecting. In addition, harsh punishments may also be levied for minor offenses including indefinite detention. Responding to this fact, Breakthrough says, “when we let the government deny due process and human rights for some people, we put all of our freedoms at risk.

Users of ICED will come to realize it isn’t only undocumented immigrants that suffer under the U.S.’s immigration policy. One character users can choose to inhabit—a Japanese student on a visa-- demonstrates the challenges even documented immigrants face navigating the U.S..

Although “ICED” has been billed to the media as a “video game”, Breakthrough makes it clear that the situation many immigrants find themselves in on a daily basis is anything but a game.

“ICED -- I Can End Deportation” can be downloaded from Breakthrough’s Website by linking to www.icedgame.com

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