Significant numbers of detainees were released from ICE detention centers across the country today, apparently in anticipation of sequestration. They are being released into alternative to detention programs. Some will be required to wear GPS ankle bracelets and some will be asked to report periodically to ICE officials. The releases come on the heels of...Read More
In a very important U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case of Chaidez v. United States, the Court found that the decision in Padilla v. Kentucky was NOT retroactive. This decision is a blow to non-citizens who were not properly represented by counsel when they entered plea agreements that resulted in deportation. In the Padilla...Read More
With all the excitement about comprehensive immigration reform, there are some who may be adversely affected by a new immigration law. The Cuban population, for example, could see the law known as the Cuban Adjustment Act modified or eliminated. The Cuban Adjustment Act is a law specifically created for only Cubans who manage to make...Read More
The House, on February 7th, defeated a proposed amendment to the immigration laws that would have made a third DUI conviction and any domestic violence conviction an aggravated felony. These amendments were part of the proposed amendments to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). This is an important victory for non-citizens because an immigration aggravated...Read More
Finally the time is right for immigration reform to come about. We have been ready for this for very long, pleading with lawmakers to hear the cries of their constituents and forge a compromise on this issue, and although the wait has been lengthy, it appears that the time has finally arrived. Eight senators have...Read More
It would appear that a distinctive mark of a modern society is that their citizens tend to have considerably less children, especially as the rise in cost of living makes it ever more necessary for both spouses to work instead of the proverbial stay-at-home role that was generally allotted to women in a family. Those...Read More
The New Year is upon us, putting an end to a year with many developments made politically on the immigration front. The long awaited Supreme Court decision was rendered on the Arizona immigration law, SB 1070, with the Court striking down all but one of the controversial provisions, allowing the one that is conducive to...Read More
President Obama, after avoiding our plunge off the fiscal cliff, now can focus on the rest of his domestic agenda which was laid out during the recent Presidential campaign. One of the domestic agenda items is Comprehensive Immigration Reform. The President has already made it clear that he favors laws and regulations that focus on...Read More
The Secretary of Homeland Security just announced a new final rule that will promote family unity for visa applicants. According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the final rule applies to specific situations and will allow some relatives of United States citizens to apply for provisional unlawful presence waivers before leaving the country...Read More
The Federal Government announced that they are ending the program known as “287(g)”. This program, named after the regulation authoriziing it, allowed for local law enforcement to be deputized as federal agents in order to enforce the immigration laws of the nation. This was a controversial program as it resulted in the undocumented immigrants in...Read More
