Deferred Action
The office is issuing an alert and also a newsletter regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). DACA is not a DREAM Act but an exercise of discretion under the executive power of not deporting those are eligible and also give the potential eligible applicants to apply for work authorization. The program is expected to affect around a million young men and women. USCIS has just published the form at the USCIS website:
USCIS will accept application for DACA effectively August 15, 2012. USCIS has established the following eligibility requirements:
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Posted on August 14, 2012 | Category: Newsletters
Acción Diferida
La oficina está emitiendo una alerta y también un boletín de noticias con respecto a la acción diferida para los recién llegados la infancia (DACA). DACA no es el DREAM Act, sino un ejercicio de facultades discrecionales en virtud del poder ejecutivo de no deportar a las personas con derecho y también dar a los posibles solicitantes elegibles para solicitar la autorización de trabajo. El programa se espera que afecte a alrededor de un millón de jóvenes. USCIS acaba de publicar el formulario en la página web de USCIS:
USCIS aceptará solicitudes para DACA efectivamente el 15 de agosto de 2012. USCIS ha establecido los siguientes requisitos de elegibilidad:
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Posted on August 14, 2012 | Category: Newsletters
DHS Outlines Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Process
The Department of Homeland Security today provided additional information on the deferred action for childhood arrivals process during a national media call in preparation for the August 15 implementation date.
On June 15, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced that certain young people who came to the United States as children and meet other key guidelines may be eligible, on a case-by-case basis, to receive deferred action. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is finalizing a process by which potentially eligible individuals may request consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals.
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Posted on August 14, 2012 | Category: Newsletters
U.S. Supreme Court’s Ruling in SB 1070
Within the past few weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court issued 2 monumental decisions. The first decision was the constitutionality of the Arizona’s SB 1070, and the second decision was the constitutionality of President Barrack Obama’s Affordable Health Care Act.
Because of its proximity to Mexico, Arizona was the first state to enact state legislation to deal with the issues of undocumented immigrants or foreign nationals. The legislation included provisions that deal with the heavy fines and loss of business licenses for employers in Arizona that hired undocumented foreign nationals; for fines and possible imprisonment for foreign nationals that are caught working without proper authorization from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) or those foreign nationals who did not carry immigration documents when stopped by law enforcement; it authorizes Arizona law enforcement officers to ask for immigration documents after lawful stops; authorizes detention of foreign nationals that law enforcement officers reasonable believe are subject to removal proceedings. In effect, SB 1070 is testing the boundary of the state power when it comes to the enforcement of immigration. After the passage of SB 1070 in April 2010, a fury of other states followed the similar legislation that Arizona had passed. These states were Utah, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Alabama, and a few other states, including Texas. They tried to pass such legislation but were not successful.
In a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down most of the provisions of the Arizona SB 1070. There was no mistake that the Court believes that immigration enforcement is a federal jurisdiction and it pre-empted the states from such power. The Court did uphold a provision that allows the Arizona law enforcement to ask for immigration documents after a lawful arrest. However, the Court upheld this provision with a caveat that this provision could be later challenged in federal court under the civil right law if the arrest led to racial profiling. This is a first ruling that the U.S. Supreme Court made with the fury of states that had passed their own immigration legislation. There are current challenges and lawsuits with regard to other states that have passed similar legislation. Eventually, some of these challenges or lawsuits will reach the U.S. Supreme Court. For example, Alabama’s HR 56 encompasses legislation that requires school officials to inquire about the immigration status of the students and their parents. Once again, the U.S. Supreme Court will be asked to address the state power when it comes to legislations pertaining to immigration.
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Posted on July 15, 2012 | Category: Newsletters
Dreaming of DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors)
For years I have pinned my hope that Congress would soon pass the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM Act) to help legalize a selective group of minors that have grown up in the United States to become lawful permanent residents. These youth have been in the United States most of their life. Our school systems help them with their education, and some have moved forward with college on their own without the assistance of grants, funding or student loans. After earning a degree (whether high school or college), these youths are facing a daunting task of procuring a job or profession without any proper legal documents / their once promising future and dreams come to an immediate halt without work authorization documents or legal status. I personally believe that these youths are our assets in which we have personally invested in them, but we have failed to capitalize on their talents and potential by not offering them a legal status in our society/ for these reasons, I had high hopes that the DREAM Act would soon be passed. After all, Congress, whether the Republican or Democratic Party, has bilaterally supported the DREAM Act. My hope for Congress to pass the DREAM Act dissipated over the years. The Senate has introduced the DREAM Act almost every year, but it did not go far in the legislation process. The DREAM Act was even incorporated into the comprehensive immigration reform legislation in 2005 and 2007, but the legislation failed. The passing of the DREAM Act would be a dream for these youths, especially given the current stagnate political environment on an election year.
Yesterday, the White House administration, bypassed Congress, and announced that the Department of Homeland Security would implement deferred action for those that are eligible under the DREAM Act this is a step closer to the dream. Although it is an exercise of prosecutorial discretion by an administrative agency, deferred action has at least temporary provided a lawful status for these youth to further pursue their future. More importantly, it now forces Congress to address the DREAM Act or at least provide political coverage for Congress to pass the DREAM Act. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has provided a list of frequently asked questions and answers about the recently announced deferred action program.
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Posted on June 16, 2012 | Category: Newsletters
