Musings on Immigration

In 2008, nine individuals sued more than thirty federal and local law enforcement officials (personally), pursuant to Bivens v. Six Unkown Agents Federal Bureau of Narcotics , 403 U.S. 388 (1971) challenging a pattern and practice in New Jersey by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) of conducting dragnet, warrantless, nonconsensual raids on immigrants’ homes, which resulted in egregious violations of Plaintiffs’ clearly established Fourth Amendment rights.  All of the plaintiffs lived in New Jersey, and most were citizens or lawful residents of the United States, when armed agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) entered their homes without judicial warrants, or voluntary consent from any household member, in violation of Plaintiffs’ clearly-established constitutional rights.  During the course of eight separate raids on Plaintiffs’ homes, SWAT-style teams of ICE agents struck in the pre-dawn hours, entered the homes by deception or physical force, s...

by Hiba Ghalib , Associate Attorney This past weekend was a busy one for both gay rights activists and immigrant advocacy groups.  After the Supreme Court announced last Friday that it had agreed to hear two cases that challenge laws challenging same-sex marriage, over 50 groups supporting gay rights and immigration reform joined together to write a letter to the White House requesting President Obama hold off on deciding any immigration cases involving same sex couples until the Supreme Court issues its decision on gay marriage. In 1996, Congress enacted the Defense of Marriage Act, most often dubbed DOMA, denying same-sex couples federal benefits, including immigration benefits.  (It was signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton).  This prohibited U.S. Citizens from sponsoring their foreign national spouse for permanent residency if their spouses were of the same sex. To date, the administration continues to enforce DOMA and uses it ...

by Rebecca Rojas , Associate Attorney Today, the Detroit News reported that Michigan has joined the two states — Nebraska and Arizona — that have banned the issuance of driver's licenses to undocumented young people who qualify for Obama’s deferred action program (also known as the DACA program).  By way of background, the DACA program gives immigrant youth who were brought here as children and who have grown up in the United States, a two-year employment authorization card.  This card permits the holder to work anywhere in the United States. The apparent rational behind Michigan’s decision to deny driver’s license to these young people is that they are “unlawfully present” in the United States.  The article notes Michigan’s Secretary of State “ apparently reached this decision, notwithstanding federal authority stating that although a DACA designation may not confer legal status on that individual, the person is nonetheless, 'legally present’ within...

The title of this article may sound absurd.  In fact, I would not be surprised if this were an article in the satirical fake news Onion, a satirical entity that makes up fake news for the sake of giving you a good laugh.  Yet, sometimes fact is stranger than fiction, and this article in the Charlotte Observer last week is no joke. A Mexican woman was arrested for driving with her high beams.  She has been in the United States since 1991.  She does not have a criminal record.  She was placed into removal proceedings during her arrest. To add insult to injury, her proceedings were scheduled the week after her baby was due.  No consideration was given that babies are not always born on the day they are due, but in fact sometimes later.  Her baby was born on Thursday, the day before the scheduled date.  Immigration and Customs Enforcement finally had her proceedings terminated.  She was given Prosecutorial Discretion, where Immigrations and ...

Republican Senators Kyl, Hutchinson and McCain have introduced a terrible version of the DREAM Act called the "Achieve Act".   http://tinyurl.com/bumbsmy This bill is a counterfeit form of the immigration relief that kids really need.  The bill gives a "W" visa, good for two years, to work and study, to kids but does NOT lead to permanent legal status.  The qualifications are as follows: Must have entered the U.S. prior to age 14; Must be under the age of 29 on day of enactment, or under the age of 32 if individual has a college degree; Must have 5 years continuous presence on day of enactment; Must possess a High school diploma or GED on day of enactment; Must have Good moral character, no felonies, not more than one misdemeanor with a jail term of 30 days with certain exceptions, no crimes of “moral turpitude” and no final order of removal (no exceptions for driving without a license); and A $525 fee! This bill will NOT pass.  And, we can demand rea...

Now that Republicans have come to the immigration reform table, we have to ask ourselves, what will immigration reform look like five years after it was last addressed.  One thing is certain, the leverage has changed, and there are new players are at the table. Not the least of which are " Dreamers ."  What would pass for immigration reform in 2007 under a weakened President Bush will NOT be enough to satisfy all of the constituencies demanding immigration reform in 2013. What We Almost Had In 2007 There has been some talk of reviving the bill written in 2007 under President Bush.  This would be a monumentally bad idea and would be terrible for the future of immigration to America.   Let's take a look at what was on the table from a handful of Republicans, some anti-immigrant, (Graham, Kyl, Sessions, DeMint, Vitter, and some McCain), and more pro-immigrant Democrats (Feinstein, Martinez, Specter, and Salazar).  The  Comprehensive Immigration Refor...

          Employment Eligibility Verification or E-Verify is an internet-based US government controlled system to help employers verify the employment eligibility of new hires.   The E-Verification program works in conjunction with the current I-9 forms that must be completed for every new hire.   YOUR OBLIGATIONS UNDER GEORGIA LAW             Congress is considering legislation that would mandate E-Verification participation nationwide and may expand the program to an employer’s current employees (E-Verification prohibits the use of the program on current employees).   We will know more about this movement after the Presidential election.   The Georgia Legislature, in a fit of anti-immigration vitriol, jumped on the E-Verify bandwagon in 2011.  Though many larger employers in Georgia have already been subject to the new law (those with MORE than 100 employees) smaller, private employers in ...

by Danielle Conley , Partner It is safe to say that although October has been quite a busy month in Immigration Court, it has been well worth it!   Just today, I won my sixth of six merit hearings on behalf of six different individuals and their families who now have the privilege of remaining together in the United States!      It all started on October 2, 2012, when the Atlanta Immigration Court correctly found that a mother and son who were both in removal proceedings were each in their own right entitled to green cards in the United States as a result of the impact that their loss would have had on the mother’s two teenage daughters.   Her eldest son became the man of the family after they were devastated by the deportation of their father in 2008, and the judge simply could not bear the thought of the emotional impact on the two girls if they then lost their mother and brother after everything they have already been through.   ...