Musings on Immigration

As   reported  extensively over the last two weeks, and in a way that was grossly misunderstood by the average person,  the Obama administration plans to issue a regulation that would address a long-standing problem in immigration law—a Catch 22 created by requiring the spouses and children of U.S. citizens who entered the country unlawfully to depart the U.S. before completing the processing of their application for lawful permanent residence. The trouble is that once they leave the country, they are subject to a   three or ten year bar   for unlawful presence and need a waiver to get   back   into the US earlier than the 3 or 10 year bar would allow.  The new proposal would allow them to submit the waiver application to the USCIS in the United States and receive a decision before departing the U.S., thus reducing the time, anxiety, and sometime danger inherent in waiting abroad for a decision. This Catch-22 is one of the most notorious pro...

Newt Gingrich introduced a unique concept into the Republican primary debate—an attempt at a quasi-rational approach to fixing our broken immigration system.  While Newt has received mostly derisive comments from the Right, focused almost exclusively on calling his idea an “amnesty” plan, the reality of his plan is very different.  It is NOT an amnesty plan.  But more importantly for those who understand the urgent need, Newt’s plan will NOT fix our broken immigration system.  Start with the obvious, there must be willing participants in Congress to work with any president to solve a problem of this magnitude.  As Newt himself has pointed out, both President Bush and President Obama have tried a “comprehensive” approach to immigration reform, and failed miserably.  In today’s Congress, with a large contingent of elected representatives who view any law that in any way assists an immigrant as “amnesty,” Newt’s plan is dead on arrival.  A recent “p...

Recently the Alabama Attorney General called on the Alabama State Legislature to repeal parts of Alabama's horrid anti-immigration law ( HB 56), because of the "unintended" consequences of the bill (frankly, what happened was not unintended). Because of the similarity between the two laws, Georgia's Speaker of the House, David Ralston was asked whether Georgia Legislature would repeal part or all of HB 87, Georgia own anti-immigration law. HB 87 has caused almost a half a billion dollars in damage to the Georgia economy (along with untold suffering in Georgia's immigrant communities) without any noted or reported positive effect. Speaker Ralston plainly stated that the Georgia Legislature would NOT do anything to repeal HB 87 . While it understandable why a politician would not admit that a pet bill he shepherded and pushed through the state legislature was simply bad law, it is also clear that Speaker Ralston is facing a challenge on his RIGHT in th...

If you are in the United States without proper immigration papers, it is important that you prepare for the possibility, particularly in today's environment, that you will be arrested by ICE and deported from the United States. You SHOULD MAKE A PLAN NOW for what you would like to have happen to your children and your property in case you are arrested or deported. You do this by completing a "Power of Attorney" form. In doing so you are designating someone to be your agent and giving them power of attorney over everything you own. This can be a scary thing. You must pick someone you trust, particularly because their powers become effective the moment you sign the power of attorney form. That means that they can go into your bank accounts and sell whatever property you have here in the United States. (You can offset this by keeping the documents locked in your house and tell your agent where the forms are once you are arrested. You can also give it to your attorney for...

Section 20, of Georgia's HB 87, created the "Immigration Enforcement Review Board" (IERB) The creation of the IERB was a surprise addition to HB 87 in its last substitution in the House, and never had a public hearing. There is no legislative history about the IERB's purpose, although it is now clear from Rep. Matt Ramsey's statements to the press that it was the Association of City and County Governments (ACCG) that pushed for the IERB, in lieu of the even crazier idea of letting private citizens sue state officials. The PURPOSE of the IERB The primary purpose of the IERB, which is now filled by seven white men with virtually no experience in immigration law and is attached to the Department of Audits and Accounting, is to: (1) Conduct a review or investigation of any complaint properly filed with the Board; (2) take such remedial action deemed appropriate in response to complaints filed with the Board, including holding hearings and considering evidence; (3) ma...

From my friends at www.stopnotariofraud.org. THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION’S IMMIGRATION ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT AN AMNESTY. IT DOES NOT GRANT LEGAL STATUS OR WORK PERMITS. IT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN SIGN-UP FOR! THERE IS NO “SAFE” WAY TO TURN YOURSELF IN TO IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES. CONSULT AN IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY ABOUT YOUR IMMIGRATION CASE OR STATUS. STOP NOTARIO FRAUD Don’t become a victim of dishonest immigration consultants often known as “notarios.” Immigration consultants, notary publics, and notarios cannot represent you in the immigration process. These people—especially notarios—prey on immigrants, often from the same ethnic community as the notarios themselves. NOTARIOS WILL TAKE YOUR MONEY AND YOUR DREAMS! Many noncitizens find out that they will never get their green card or other immigration benefits because an unqualified immigration consultant or notario unlawfully working as an immigration lawyer destroyed their dreams. PROTECT YOUR FAMILY’S DREAMS To avoid fraud, use...

According to the Huffington Post, the Obama administration said it will allow many illegal immigrants facing deportation the chance to stay in this country and apply for a work permit, while focusing on removing from the U.S. convicted criminals and those who might be a national security or public safety threat. That will mean a case-by-case review of approximately 300,000 illegal immigrants facing possible deportation in federal immigration courts, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in announcing the policy change. Advocates for an immigration overhaul have said that the administration, by placing all illegal immigrants in the same category for deportation, has failed to live up to its promise to only deport the "worst of the worst," as President Barack Obama has said. "From a law enforcement and public safety perspective, DHS enforcement resources must continue to be focused on our highest priorities," Napolitano wrote a group of senators supporting...