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In an earlier post, Prosecutorial Discretion: "Backdoor Amnesty"? 9 Myths Debunked, I discussed the latest announcement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), that it will work with the Immigration Courts to cull from its docket "low priority" cases. The August 18, 2011 announcement by Homeland Secretary, Janet Napolitano, makes reference to two June 17, 2011 memos from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) discussing the criteria ICE should be using to determine if and when it … [Read more...]
September 2, 2011 by ·
On August 18, 2011, Secretary Janet Napolitano, announced that her office, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), will work with the Immigration Courts in the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR), to review over 300,000 pending court cases to determine which ones are "low priority" and can be closed or terminated. This will enable DHS and EOIR to focus scarce resources on dangerous criminals and terrorists. Locally, DHS has already been reviewing the detention status of … [Read more...]
July 18, 2011 by ·
A new report out by Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University details asylum denial rates by individual judges across the country from 2006-2010 and compares them across national trends. The national denial rate is 53.2%. TRAC states that denial rates can vary among judges because of nationality of the applicant, whether the person is represented, and the individual personal perspectives brought to the court by the judges. TRAC statistics are for judges … [Read more...]
July 6, 2011 by ·
Following up to my July 4th post, On Becoming a U.S. Citizen, lo and behold, to my surprise, my husband bought me "Citizen U.S.A.: A 50 State Road Trip" by Alexandra Pelosi, the book accompanying the HBO documentary produced by Ms. Pelosi and mentioned in my earlier post. The book is an excerpt of interviews in which Ms. Pelosi asked new Americans around the country: What are you bringing to this country? What do Americans take for granted? What did you discover when you came to … [Read more...]
July 4, 2011 by ·
I am sipping an early morning Starbucks bold Italian brew on this gorgeous Seattle Fourth of July and reflecting on what it means to be a U.S. citizen. Today, across the country, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will be holding large-group naturalization ceremonies in stadiums, concert halls and other big venues to coincide with our country's independence day. The ceremonies will be solemn on the one hand, and full of pomp and circumstance on the other, as those taking the oath of … [Read more...]
April 23, 2011 by ·
In a year when the State Budget was paramount, the Washington State legislature took up several immigration related bills, some with no fiscal impact, and others with a major fiscal impact. As the Washington State Legislative term winds down, but goes into special session to finalize the budget, this post focuses on several bills during the term. Immigration advocates supported some bills and opposed others. So far, we have been successful with each, although the session is not yet over. … [Read more...]
April 15, 2011 by ·
On February 23, 2011, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter to Speaker of the House, John A. Boehner, indicating the Administration's decision not to further defend Section 3 of the Defense Against Marriage Act (DOMA) in two pending cases, Windsor v. United States, No. 1:10-cv-8435 (S.D.N.Y.) and Pedersen v. OPM, No. 3:10-cv-1750 (D. Conn.) Although the general rule in immigration law is that the U.S. must honor the laws of the place where marriages (deaths, births and divorces) take … [Read more...]
April 12, 2011 by ·
So sorry to my readers for not posting lately. As Chair of the Washington Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILAWA), I have been very busy the last few weeks writing letters, testifying and attending meetings before the Washington State legislature on several immigration related bills since our fair state decided to get into the immigration business this year. I was also in Washington, D.C. where together with AILA colleagues, we visited the members of the Washington … [Read more...]
March 21, 2011 by ·
Earthquakes, tsunamis, radiation, mass protests and civil unrest, and now the U.S. bombing yet another country, this time Libya. How can Americans traveling abroad protect themselves? The U.S. State Department has three programs every American should be aware of before going abroad, if you don't mind having your personal information in a government database: STEP, ACS and Task Force Alert. I mentioned STEP and Task Force Alert briefly in my prior post, State Department Information on Japan … [Read more...]
March 20, 2011 by ·
The U.S. State Department, which issues visas abroad, issues U.S. passports and looks after the safety of U.S. citizens overseas, has a lot of useful information following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan as well as the nuclear radiation situation that is evolving. Here are some useful sites and contact information: U.S. Citizens in Japan Contact Information for the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo: For calls from within the U.S. 1-888-407-4747 For calls from outside the U.S. 1-202-501-4444 For … [Read more...]
