Musings on Immigration

November 2014, after a stinging defeat at the polls, and with little left to lose in his political legacy, Obama announced a series of DHS policy memos that, when implemented, would rearrange his deportation priorities (after becoming the Deportation President with more than 2.5 million people deported), and create formalized system of Deferred Action to help long term resident undocumented people (the backbone of much of our service sector) to obtain work permits (DAPA).  Obama apparently preferred to do this policy changes by memo, arguing that they were not "substantive" changes to regulation, and thus did not need to go through the formal Administrative Procedures Act (APA) rulemaking processing (which takes about 6 months, or less, done properly). State Attorney Generals, led by Texas promptly brought suit, under a series of novel theories, arguing that this was no mere policy change, but rather a substantive fix with massive benefits and enormous costs to the states...

Why is there no decision from the Fifth Circuit Court of appeals on the Obama administration's appeal of the District Court order temporarily stopping DAPA (Deferred Action for Parental Accountability)?  This is the question on the minds of millions of undocumented parents of US Citizens.  President Obama announced DAPA on November 20, 2015, with much fanfare and gave a sense to the immigrant communities around the US that he would finally attempt to fulfill his empty campaign promises on Immigration Reform. I have blogged previously about how Obama could solve the problem raised by the District Court Judge by simply creating and implementing regulations, something he could have EASILY done in February when the District Court stopped the DAPA memo from moving forward, but which until today, six months later, he has not done (and it would have been in effect now)!  Don't expect Obama to help the immigrant community by moving forward in the regulatory path any time soon,...

El discurso del Papa Francisco ante el Congreso fue un evento muy esperado, pero es uno que es poco probable de lograr que los miembros del Congreso a tomar medidas con respecto a la reforma migratoria, o con cualquier otra medida de carácter temporal, como Acción Diferida de Obama para los padres ("DAPA"). Durante la primera visita del Papa a los EE.UU. tuvo la oportunidad única de hacer frente a las dos cámaras del Congreso. El Papa habló de la gran cantidad de personas procedentes de América Latina, llamando a la unidad y la aceptación. También habló de la importancia de tratar a los que vienen a los EE.UU. con generosidad, que nos recuerda que se trata de personas en busca de una vida mejor y la importancia de vivir la Regla de Oro: "Trata a los demás como te gustaría que te tratara a ti ". De hecho, fue una provocación-discurso y en ocasiones muy emotivo. Sus palabras están en desacuerdo con el actual clima político, donde los inmigrantes, especialmen...

Pope Francis’s speech to Congress was a highly anticipated event, but it is one that is unlikely to push members of Congress to take action with respect to Immigration Reform—or with any other temporary measure, like Obama’s Deferred Action for Parents (“DAPA”). During the Pope’s first visit to the U.S. he had the unique opportunity of addressing both chambers of Congress. The Pope spoke of the large number of people coming from Latin America, calling for unity and acceptance. He also spoke of the importance of treating those who are coming to the U.S. with generosity, reminding us that these are people in search of a better life and the importance of living by the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Indeed, it was a very moving—and at times provocative—speech. His words stand at odds with the current political climate, where immigrants, particularly undocumented ones, remain a much controverted political topic. The Pope was only trying to calm an...

With Donald Trump's wild rantings of the superior negotiating skills of the Mexican government, and his idea that all undocumented immigrants are criminals (neither of which has any basis in fact, but hey, its a presidential campaign, facts are not relevant), there has been a lot of attention paid to the Obama Administration's DACA and DAPA programs.  The DACA program has been an unqualified success for those 50% or so of eligible people who have signed up for it , has created opportunity for those individuals, and has even filled government coffers at the local, state and federal level.  The DAPA program is only hold  because 26 GOP controlled states decided they did not want undocumented parents of U.S. citizens to have work permits and to be safe from deportation for two years (not including, of course, the millions who do not qualify for the program). From a politically conservative point of view, it is an untenable position for at least three reasons. The defi...

We found out this week that the "new" panel that will hear the actual DAPA appeal in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is actually the old panel.  Judges Smith and Elrod were the majority decision in motions panel which declined to lift the stay put in place by Judge Hanen from the Federal District Court in Texas.  Using polemics better suited for a political rally, Judge Hanen put a stop to DAPA and expanded DACA just as they were about to go into effect.  Judges Smith and Elrod, although less "dynamic" in their political tilt, made it clear that they were swayed by Judge Hanen and not by the rather lackluster lawyering of the Department of Justice, and refused to lift the stay. Most advocates for reasonable immigration reform (and quite of few active Republicans) were deflated when news broke on the makeup of the panel.  There had been much hope created when the panel earlier in June had asked for briefings from both sides on whether or not the appeals panel to h...

Its a sad day for immigrants who simply want a chance. DAPA falls,  Obama fails, and politics live. http://www.nytimes.com/…/fifth-circuit-court-of-appeals-rul… A federal appeals court on Tuesday denied the Obama administration’s request to lift a hold on the president’s executive actions on immigration, which would have granted protection from deportation as well as work permits to millions of immigrants in the country illegally. Two of three judges on a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans, left in place an injunction by a federal district judge in Brownsville, Tex. The ruling comes in a lawsuit by 26 states against actions President Obama took in November. Many of the initiatives were scheduled to take effect this month. The appeals court found that Texas and the other states did have sufficient legal grounds to bring the lawsuit and that the administration had not shown it would be harmed if the injunction remained in the place...

There is that old story of a person stopping in a small town to ask directions outside an old general store.  An old man on the porch of that store, when asked how to get to the destination, says "you can't get there from here."   It seems that the District Court in Texas is having the same problem understanding the DHS's policy memos on DAPA and expanded DACA, as the old man on the porch had with understanding the road system. Immigration law is complicated.  So complicated that at least one federal court judge has said:  The statutory scheme defining and delimiting the rights of aliens is exceedingly complex. Courts and commentators have stated that the Immigration and Nationality Act resembles ‘King Mino’s labyrinth in ancient Crete,’ and is ‘second only to the Internal Revenue Code in complexity.'” Chan v. Reno, 1997 U.S. Dist. Lexis 3016, *5 (S.D.N.Y. 1997).   The District Court Judge in the DAPA case was never an immigration lawyer prior to becomin...

1.     No estoy casado con mi pareja, pero tuvimos hijos en conjunto.   Puedo aplicar? Si. No tiene que estar casado para calificar a DAPA. El único caso en que puede haber inconveniente es si el nombre del padre no aparece en el certificado de nacimiento porque los padres no estaban casados. En este caso lo que simplemente debe hacer es corregir el certificado de nacimiento en el condado donde el niño nació y reflejar el nombre del padre en el certificado. Si la madre no estuviese de acuerdo, un test de DNA sería necesario.  2.     No tengo hijos propios pero mi esposa tiene hijos que hemos criado en conjunto. Yo califico? Si. Siempre y cuando estuviesen casados antes que los niños cumplieran 18 anos. Inmigración los considera sus hijos para el caso de las aplicaciones de inmigración. Si actualmente usted no está legalmente casado, no se pueden considerar a estos niños como propios.      3.     Yo fui ...

El 20 de Noviembre del 2014, el Presidente Obama anunció que estarían brindando acción diferida a ciertos padres de ciudadanos de Estados Unidos o residentes permanentes. se llama DAPA por el USCIS.  La DAPA tiene los mismos beneficios que se les brindó a los llegados en la infancia (DACA- Acción Diferida) que ha sido expandida a otro grupo mayor de personas. CALIFICO YO? Usted debe de tener un hijo (a) ciudadano o residente permanente legal en esta fecha. Hijos      nacidos después del 20 de Noviembre del 2014, no serán elegibles.  Usted tiene que haber vivido continuamente en los Estados Unidos desde el 1º de Enero del 2010. Usted debe de estar físicamente en los Estados Unidos el 20 de Noviembre del 2014 y la fecha que usted aplique para DAPA.  No debe de tener un estatus legal en el 20 de Noviembre del 2014.  No debe de ser una prioridad para ICE por problemas criminales. Esto significa que no puede tener una condena por delito mayor, o un ...