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SUPREME COURT ALLOWS IMMIGRANTS MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO AVOID DEPORTATION FOR LOW-LEVEL OFFENSES

, Posted in Immigration Law

Yesterday, the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) invalidated a section of federal law that requires the mandatory deportation of immigrants who have been convicted of some "crimes of violence." The decision, which was produced by a 5-4 majority, holds that the current law is flawed, unconstitutionally vague, and has raised questions about variability in interpretations regarding deportable offenses. In particular, the ruling, written by Justice Kagan, said that ambiguity surrounding the crimes of violence provision created confusion in…

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DEPORTED ARMY VETERAN BECOMES US CITIZEN AFTER PARDON

, Posted in Immigration Law

A decorated former U.S. Army paratrooper serving the United States from 1995 to 2001 and whose work on behalf of deported veterans drew widespread attention to his cause became a U.S. citizen Friday, after having been deported to Mexico eight years ago. Hector Barajas, who was deported in 2010, due to a 2002 conviction, was granted a pardon by California Governor Jerry Brown due to his honorable military service, his advocacy work, and his remorseful behavior.…

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TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES A NEW QUOTA SYSTEM FOR IMMIGRATION JUDGES

, Posted in Immigration Law

Instead of hiring new Immigration Judges to tackle the profound immigration backlog of approximately 685,000 cases pending or expanding the court, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Trump administration will now be pressuring current Immigration Judges to process cases faster by establishing a quota system tied to their annual performance reviews. In particular, starting in October, Immigration Judges will be expected to clear at least 700 cases a year to receive a “satisfactory performance rating, a standard…

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TV HOST JOHN OLIVER SHINES SPOTLIGHT ON IMMIGRATION COURTS

, Posted in Immigration Law

TV Personality, Political Comedian, and Late Night Show Host John Oliver shines a luminous spotlight on the condition of Immigration Courts in a recent segment on his wildly popular show Last Week Tonight (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fB0GBwJ2QA&sns=em) . While a comedic lens was employed to skewer the Immigration Court System in the United States, Oliver does successfully highlight some sobering points about why the immigration system is so dysfunctional. In particular, he presents four major flaws in the current…

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BILLIONAIRE KOCH BROTHERS TRY TO INFLUENCE TRUMP ON IMMIGRATION

, Posted in Immigration Law

Charles and David Koch, oil magnates, owners of the second largest privately owned business in the United States, and mega-donor influential supporters of the Republican party, have been vocally weighing in on immigration issues. As unlikely as it appears and contrary to what their otherwise conservative political affiliations would suggest, the Koch brothers have been adamant in their support for mass immigration and DACA in addition to announcing last month their opposition to Trump’s effort to…

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Trump Terminates TPS For 200,000 El Salvadorans

, Posted in Immigration Law

A profound sense of demoralization and dread has gripped El Salvadorans, their families, their employers, and their communities across the United States today.  In President Trump's latest reversal of immigration policies that seek to terminate humanitarian programming, in concert with his new Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, they officially announced that an estimated 200,000 individuals with protected status from El Salvador for more than a decade must now leave the United States. This decision arrives weeks…

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Governor-elect Phil Murphy’s Vision For 2018 Immigration In New Jersey

, Posted in Immigration Law

The political landscape for immigrants in 2017 under Trump was bleak, with widespread anticipatory anxiety regarding the fate of DREAMers, TPS recipients, individuals from Muslim backgrounds, beneficiaries of chain migration, and the undocumented currently residing in some 300 "sanctuary cities" around the United States. No doubt the apprehension has been exacerbated by statistics that include the fact that there was a 37% increase in the number of arrests of illegal immigrants in the United States last…

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Public Support For Immigration Increasing Paradoxically

, Posted in Immigration Law

The Trump administration's hard-line on immigration, from Muslim bans to the termination of the DACA program, may actually be having a paradoxical effect when it comes to public opinion.  Indeed, polls are showing increasing support for giving unauthorized immigrants a path to citizenship rather than deporting them and for allowing undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children to remain in the country and avail themselves of certain benefits.  Indeed, several recent polls from the…

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Some New Jersey Immigration Cases Being Heard In Puerto Rico

, Posted in Immigration Law

Despite the fact that many regions within Puerto Rico remain without power post-hurricane, the devastated island still continues to run a live video stream between an immigration court in Guaynabo, and the Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey due to a significant backlog in the U.S. Immigration system.  Indeed, for many immigration detainees, they will "meet" their adjudicating Judge who will decide their fate via video hookup on a television monitor. When interviewed about the situation,…

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Trump Ends TPS For Nicaraguans

, Posted in Immigration Law

The Trump Administration formally announced its plan to put an end to the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program that has allowed certain Nicaraguans to live and work in the United States.  TPS status is granted to eligible nationals of certain countries who are already in the United States due to conditions in their home country that temporarily prevent them from returning safely, or in certain circumstances, where the country is unable to handle the return of…

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