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Congress Passes Spending Bill Limiting Appropriations For Refugee Children

, Posted in Immigration Law

Last month Congress included – as part of a continuing resolution to extend funding for the federal government – measures aimed at addressing the presence of children from the countries of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala where persistent violence persuaded parents there to send their kids on a dangerous and grueling trek through Central America and Mexico to the southern border of the United States.  But the solutions sought by the Obama administration to bolster the…

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Parishes In Louisiana Taking In Central American Minor Refugees

, Posted in Immigration Law

Many children who took the harrowing trip across Mexico to the southern border of the United States have now found a temporary place to reside in Louisiana. Five parishes – the equivalent of counties in other states – have agreed to provide shelter for many of these children. From January to July, the Federal Office of Refugee and Resettlement placed 173 children in East Baton Rouge Parish, 533 children in Jefferson Parish, 51 children in Lafayette…

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Legal Scope Of President’s Authority On Deportations And Work Permits

, Posted in Immigration Law

While a great deal of media attention focuses on the political considerations involved in the contemporary debate over comprehensive immigration reform, the legal questions over whether the President can act to address  these pressing issues unilaterally generally gets less discussion. However, a group of legal experts on these issues just released a letter contending the President has broad, expansive authority to provide some temporary relief for immigrants facing removal or deportation. The document issued by the American…

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DHS Extends Temporary Protected Status For Sudanese Citizens

, Posted in Immigration Law

The Secretary of Homeland Security may designate a foreign country for temporary protected status (TPS) due to conditions in the country that temporarily prevent the country's nationals from returning safely, or in certain circumstances, where the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately.  USCIS may grant TPS to eligible nationals of certain countries (or parts of countries), who are already in the United States. Eligible individuals without nationality who last resided in…

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Uncertainty Over Executive Action For Immigration Reform

, Posted in Immigration Law

Earlier this summer President Obama indicated that, if Congress fails to act on immigration reform as they had one year earlier, he would be forced to use his executive powers to provide some relief for immigrant families fearful of potential deportation and exasperated by the weight of constantly living “in the shadows.  At the time it was viewed as a final plea to the majority caucus in the House of Representatives to craft a bill which…

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Domestic Violence Recognized As Basis For Asylum For First Time

, Posted in Immigration Law

The Board of Immigration Appeals broke new ground last week as it recognized for the first time that the fear of domestic violence can serve as a basis for granting asylum to a foreign national seeking to stay in the United States.  The case of Aminta Cifuentes from Guatemala provided a compelling, yet tragic, basis for the Board of Immigration Appeals to find that a foreign national facing potential deportation could assert that her fear of…

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State Of New York Prepares For Slew Of Cases Of Minors Taken In At The Border

, Posted in Immigration Law

Under new procedures established by federal courts in the State of New York, unaccompanied minors and families with children who entered the United States in recent months during a surge of illegal migration from Central America will be moved to the front of the line to go before immigration judges for their removal hearings or deportation cases. Court administrators spent the last several weeks working with the Department of Justice to design a modified system to…

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Colorado Joins Other States In Allowing Driver’s Licenses To Immigrants

, Posted in Immigration Law

The State of Colorado has joined ten other states plus the District of Columbia which allow for undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. The measure is likely to permit as many as 150,000 individuals the opportunity to get a valid license in that state. The action flies in the face of those who argue that this practice will unfairly normalize the presence of those who qualify for such licenses. But advocates for the measure insist the…

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Lack Of Agreement In Congress Leaves Border Crisis Unaddressed

, Posted in Immigration Law

Since 2011 tens of thousands of children from Central American countries, particularly Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala have trudged across Mexico seeking to be taken in to custody by United States Border Agents when they reach this country’s southern border. The apprehension and placement of these children – some of them accompanied by their mothers or other adults – in various facilities across the country has sparked numerous calls to either have these youngsters sent back…

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USCIS Highlights Convictions In Marriage Fraud Cases

, Posted in Immigration Law

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is touting two convictions, it obtained against defendants for marriage fraud in federal court.  In one case, a Jamaican national named Erica Harrison came to the United States on a temporary work visa in 2007. According to prosecutors, she offered Robert Kenneth Cruz, an American citizen, the sum of $6,000 to marry her. They were married on August 15, 2011, and subsequently petitioned for Harrison to receive lawful permanent…

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