Skip to main content

The Best (and Worst) of 2009

Image
By Becca

Let’s face it – 2009 has not been a big year for immigration…but that may not be such a bad thing. Immigration advocates have bemoaned the Obama Administration’s lack of action on the issue, but, in the spirit of the holidays, I believe we have a lot to be thankful for as we look back on this past year…

  • Obama’s Inauguration – THE GOOD: Obama has succeeded in driving record numbers of naturalized citizens to the polls with his calls for change and a renewed belief in the American Dream. That’s a positive start. THE BAD: He has not delivered on his promise to address immigration reform just yet.
  • Committee Formation – THE GOOD: A committee has been formed to begin discussing a reform package. THE BAD: It has been pushed to the back burner for the moment, given the state of the economy and healthcare in the U.S.
  • Janet Napolitano – THE GOOD: Janet was an exceptional choice who has more or less met the high expectations the Administration, and the general public, set for her. THE BAD: Pretty much anyone would have been better at being the DHS Secretary than Michael Chertoff.
  • Worksite Raids – THE GOOD: Or lack thereof, should I say? Sure, we’ve seen some action, but nothing compared to the atrocities we saw in Postville or New Bedford a few years back. The few raids that did occur were not only conducted in a much more humane manner, but actually went after bad-apple employers as well. THE BAD: The E-Verify issue continues to crop up and seems to be growing in popularity since the Administration tends to waffle on how they want to handle the enforcement aspect of the immigration issue.
  • Relief for Widows – THE GOOD: In one of my personal favorite highlights of the year, widowed spouses of U.S. Citizens are now eligible to have their petitions reinstated at the discretion of USCIS. THE BAD: At the very least, they can request deferred action.
  • Mass Trials – THE GOOD: For immigrants detained at the border, en masse trials are no longer a viable option and have been overruled. Unlike previously when immigrants caught at the border were rounded up, read their rights as a group and asked to enter group guilty pleas, each person now shall be awarded an individual hearing before the judge. THE BAD: It will probably be much less efficient and a lot more expensive.
  • Lou Leaves – THE GOOD: Lou Dobbs and his nightly rants will no longer corrupt innocent minds across the nation, and Boston-Boy John King and his Magic Map will fill the 7PM primetime spot on CNN. THE BAD: Lou’s considering a Senate run for the state of New Jersey. (I don’t like New Jersey either, but come on!)

Either way, again, 2009 has not been a big year for immigration. We can only hope for good things in the year to come.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

If You Are An Immigrant (even a US Citizen), Here Are 9 Things You Should Know

By
Are you a Naturalized U.S. Citizen, Lawful Permanent Resident, Visa Holder, or an Undocumented Immigrant? We recommend you take the following steps to protect yourself in our current version of America. The last couple of weeks have reminded immigrants, even naturalized U.S. citizens, that they were not born in the United States. Our office has received countless phone calls, emails, and social media messages from people worrying about what their family’s future in the United States holds. Most people want to know what they can do now to protect themselves from what promises to be a wave of anti-immigration activity by the federal government. Trump's Executive Order on Interior Enforcement has some provisions that should make most Americans shiver.  We recommend the following actions for each of the following groups: Naturalized U.S. citizens. In particular if you have a foreign accent, and you are traveling within 100 miles of any US Border (including the oceans...
231 comments
Read more

Seven Reasons Why the Georgia Legislature Should Repeal HB-87

By
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...
1 comment
Read more

Why is USCIS Taking So Long to Renew DACA Work Permits?

By
If the calls to our office are any indicator, there are thousands of DACA recipients whose work permit applications were filed at least three months prior to expiration, who are still waiting for their renewed work permits.  Without renewed permits, these individuals lose the right to work legally, the right to drive, and may once again accrue unlawful presence. The DHS published a notice in October 2014 advising DACA recipients that they could file their request for extension up to 150 days (5 months) prior to expiration.  As with all things government, very few of the DACA recipients, who tend not to frequent government websites, knew about the memo and many did not file so far before expiration perhaps thinking that extending a work permit was a like extending a drivers license, its is done in a few minutes.  As an experienced immigration lawyer will tell you, the USCIS does nothing quickly, and certainly does not worry that a person may lose their job or their drive...
16 comments
Read more