On August 7, 2019 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) stopped accepting and adjudicating requests for non-military “deferred action,” a form of temporary relief from deportation for vulnerable immigrants often facing life-threatening circumstances. This is a cruel change in policy that will undoubtedly lead to untimely deaths. I’d like to tell you about three families […]
End of Deferred Action Read More »
Later this week, I’ll talk about some positive things that happened for our clients, but I wanted to share some updates to US immigration policy that came out this month and have the potential to, at worst destroy lives, and at best to cause major inconvenience. End of Deferred Action for Certain Humanitarian Cases Over
A Difficult August: Deferred Action and Public Charge Updates Read More »
According to reports, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be making new changes to the Naturalization Civics Exam that immigrants must take to become U.S. citizens. The test was first issued in 1986 and later revised in 2008. In a tweet sent out on July 19th, USCIS wrote: “We’re improving the current naturalization test
USCIS Plans to Redesign the Naturalization Civics Exam Read More »
On July 30th, The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a case in federal court regarding the more than 900 children who have been separated from their families at the U.S. border since June 2018. The filing asks the court to block the Trump Administration’s practice of separating immigrant children from their parents. Last year,
ACLU Claims Trump Administration Separated Over 900 Children from Their Families Read More »
I don’t know about you, but my anxiety levels have been increasing daily. It seems like there is no good news regarding immigration and immigrants. Every day, we’re faced with a new policy change, a new horror at the border, new delays…it’s easy to get caught up in the negative. We should absolutely pay attention
On July 2nd, a federal judge in Seattle ruled that asylum seekers have the right to a bond hearing in immigration court instead of being detained until their cases are finished. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman said: “The court finds that plaintiffs have established a constitutionally-protected interest in their liberty, a right to due
Judge Says Trump Administration Can’t Detain Asylum-Seekers Indefinitely Read More »
A new report from The Office of Inspector General revealed that several detention centers for migrant families and children in Texas are severely overcrowded with detainees who are being forced to live in squalid conditions. According to the report, minor children are not being given hot meals for days at a time and detainees are begging guards
Overcrowding at Border Patrol Facilities Read More »
Another day, another slap in the face to immigrants. There are so many recent negative changes to talk about, but today I want to focus on the end of Military Parole in Place. This change is particularly painful as the granddaughter and sister of veterans and as someone who respects our service members and the
The End of Parole in Place Read More »
Late last month, we received a denial of a Humanitarian Deferred Action request and it’s left me questioning the humanity of USCIS. Yes, I know I question their decisions and their motivations a lot, but even though things have gotten more difficult, we were still getting approvals on good, solid cases. I also know that
No Heart for a Child with Heart Disease? Read More »
In May, President Trump announced a new immigration policy that will prioritize employment and skills-based immigration over family-based immigration. Under the administration’s new plan, high-skilled immigrants like scientists and engineers will now have priority over visa applicants who have been sponsored by family living the U.S. The White House says the latest immigration plan will utilize a “points-based
Trump Announces New Immigration Priorities Read More »
