Blog: Think Immigration
We believe that immigration law is an integral part of America’s past, present and future. We also know that immigration law is complicated. Here you’ll find experts writing in an accessible way about immigration issues, from big, broad ideas down to specific cases. Our members bring knowledge they’ve gleaned from the daily practice of immigration law to this space and offer their expertise to readers.
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The Sorry State of Our Detention System
Saluja Thangaraja was tortured, beaten and held captive in Sri Lanka, her homeland. She was lucky and managed to escape before she was killed. When she arrived in the United States - the land of freedom she was seeking turned out to be the exact opposite: she was imprisoned in a federal detention ce
H-4 Work Authorization: A (First) Step in the Right Direction?
On May 6, 2014 DHS announced proposals to “attract and retain highly skilled immigrants.“ Along with my other business immigration colleagues, I was thrilled when the news broke. While it isn't comprehensive information reform, it is a step in the right direction. Let's look at the issue of
What’s Happening to Florida?
Last week, the Florida legislature passed two bills that are heading to Governor Rick Scott, who has stated that he will sign them. One grants in-state tuition to undocumented “Dreamers.“ Another will allow Jose Godinez-Samperio, a DACA recipient and law school graduate, the ability to be a li
LGBT Rights and Attitudes in Ukraine: the Immigration Perspective
As immigration lawyers, we know that global conflict affects immigration law and policy. I wanted to take a closer look at what is going on in and around Ukraine as it affects LGBT individuals since persecution and fear may drive people out of that region and toward asylum in the U.S. Amidst the tur
Face-to-Face Meetings Make a Difference with the Media
Talking on the phone is great. E-mail can be incredibly convenient. But nothing beats a face-to-face meeting. That's the motto Leslie Holman and I were living by as we went from one meeting to another at a pretty rapid fire pace this past Monday and Tuesday during the press tour that AILA National
The Revised Credible Fear Lesson Plan: Enough is Enough!
This is not just a blog post, but a call to action. Over the past six months, we have seen dog-and-pony hearings by Congress and a series of administrative changes to our asylum system that have deviated from the United States' longstanding obligations under domestic and international law to the de
The Agents of [Operation] S.H.I.E.L.D.
The Federal Protective Service has a heavy responsibility. Their mission is to keep federal properties safe and secure for employees, officials and visitors, alike. One such property is the newly renovated Byron G. Rodgers Federal Building in downtown Denver. Among other tenants in this otherwise
Governor O’Malley Moves Baltimore City Away from Secure Communities
At a time when Federal stalemate and local hostility prevents us from giving practical help to the 11 million souls in our midst without a country, I am proud to live and practice law in a state led by a governor who practices what his faith preaches. Governor Martin O'Malley took a strong stand on
Could Religion Be the Common Ground for Immigration Reform?
The Catholic Church is no stranger to the headlines. As a Catholic I am often disappointed by its focus in the media and its presentation and stance on many issues. However, since the selection and inauguration of Pope Francis, much of the conversation in and around the Catholic Church has changed.
America’s April Fools’ Lottery Is No Laughing Matter
Today thousands of U.S. employers large and small are buying lottery tickets hoping they will win the right to employ a highly skilled, well-educated professional. This is not an April Fools' joke. Unfortunately, this is the system under which the nation that sees itself as the world's leading econo
Shifting Pressure, Shifting Strategies – Whose Move Will Be Checkmate?
Chess is a two-player strategy game. Each player begins with 16 pieces: A king, a queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns. Pieces are used to attack and capture, with the objective to ‘checkmate' the opponent's king by inescapably trapping him. Strategy, however, is the key to ea
Top Ten Similarities Between March Madness and the U.S. Immigration System
As a native Hoosier and Indiana University graduate, I have always loved March Madness - the idea that any team could find a place and then potentially win or, at the very least, upset, the tournament is exciting and inspiring. Additionally, I love lists. Competition and the fast pace of both the
Another Kind of March Madness
For many immigration practitioners, no matter how devout a college basketball fan they may be, another type of March Madness overtakes their lives to the exclusion of all else: H-1B season. We're in the midst of it right now and it's going to be a brutal year; experts in the field expect the 85,00
The Long-Awaited and Vitally Important PREA Rule is Imminent
We heard today that the long-awaited and vitally important Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) final regulations will likely be issued next week by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The importance of these regulations cannot be overstated. The PREA Commission found that immigrant detainees a
No, It’s Not Over
Last week I came to Washington and met with House leaders about immigration reform. I heard a lot of pessimism and I certainly understand where it's coming from. After the high of the Senate bill passage, during AILA's Annual Conference of course, we've descended into the lows of inaction. There w
Advance Parole Rules Need Review
On Friday, I received a difficult phone call many immigration lawyers face on occasion. While it is fortunately a rare occasion, demographics and statistics assure us that these calls will continue. My client's derivative adjustment application has been pending since 2007, she is working based upo
GOP’s Principles on Immigration Reform: A Welcome Sign, So Let’s Steer Forward
House GOP leaders on Thursday released their standards for immigration reform. With these principles, they renewed their position that reform of our broken system can only be attained “through a step-by-step, common-sense approach that starts with securing our country's borders, enforcing our laws,
Justin Bieber’s Immigration Story: An Opportunity to Engage
How should we respond to the Justin Bieber story; as an organization, as leaders of that organization, and as individual members? The first reaction would probably be to not respond at all. It's irrelevant, it's beneath us, it's a fluff piece with no relevance to us as either attorneys or as an or
A Matter of Perspective
Is it a half loaf? Is it a permanent underclass? Or is there a way forward buried under all the rhetoric? Last year the Senate accomplished what most thought an insurmountable task - drafting and passing a comprehensive immigration reform bill that tackles restructuring our dysfunctional system. T
Representative Goodlatte and Immigration Reform
In an interview with Telemundo's Jose Diaz Balart that will air this weekend, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) discussed prospects for immigration reform. What he reportedly said made me cautiously hopeful. But it also showed me that we all have some work to do to get to smar
Hitting the Pause Button
With prospects for immigration reform continually waxing and waning almost weekly, it is time to take decisive action to ease the pain of millions waiting for our leaders to pass immigration reform. While Congress continues to debate internally whether and how it will take up this important issue,
This Time Next Year
It's holiday season again. For me, no matter what mood I'm in, I find it hard not to smile a bit more this time of year—at Santa collecting donations, or a child's face lighting up at the taste of a candy cane, or even at the often sappy holiday music that I'm unable to resist […]
Place the Agricultural Worker Provisions of SB 744 at the Head of the Table of Immigration Reform
This past summer the city of Fresno, California erected a monument to commemorate a tragic event: the deaths of twenty nine migrant farmworkers and three border patrol agents in the crash of a US government deportation plane in 1948. This event was etched into the American cultural landscape by Woo
The Intolerable Delay for Relative Petitions
I recently met with a prospective client. The facts were not unusual: she was 35 years old, a U.S. citizen who is, and has been, living abroad, and she met somebody she wishes to marry. With this decision comes a host of other major life decisions: how to introduce her fiancé to her family, when [
Hungry for Reform
As I write this, I am enjoying a mug of hot chocolate. It is the first thing I have consumed other than water in over 24 hours. And it is - hands down - the best mug of hot chocolate I've ever had. I was so hungry. I can't remember the last time I was […]