Texas Immigration Lawyer Blog

Groups Call for Deportation Suspension for Immigrants Affected by Overhaul

New York Times by Julie Preston

Labor, Latino and immigrant advocate groups called on President Obama on Monday to suspend deportations of illegal immigrants who could be eligible for a pathway to citizenship under a bipartisan bill to overhaul the immigration system that is under consideration in the Senate.

Among the organizations demanding that the White House halt most removals were the A.F.L.-C.I.O., the country’s largest federation of labor unions; the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, or Maldef, a Latino civil rights group; the National Day Laborer Organizing Network; and United We Dream, a national group representing young illegal immigrants. They said Mr. Obama should act immediately, even before Congress votes on the bill.

They based their demand on an enthusiastically upbeat analysis of the bill’s prospects for passage.

 

Local attorney, Susan I. Nelson, discusses current immigration issues

Here is a copy of the Q&A  article that ran in Tiempo this week: 

Tiempo: Tell us about your experience with clients and immigration issues.

Nelson:  My first encounter with immigration law was when my husband and I adopted our daughter from Russia. Although we are both lawyers, we needed help to navigate the complex immigration process. After our experience with the adoption, I started receiving calls from other attorneys and individuals who knew of my experience. I began practicing immigration law beyond pro bono cases in 2003, and it is now where I spend the majority of my time. 

I like immigration law because it allows me to help people keep their families together. Many lawyers help pick up the pieces when families fall apart, but I work to help families who want to be together stay together. I am often frustrated by the current state of the law when I see deserving people whose families are being torn apart without remedy or recourse.

Tiempo:  What is the difference between the Texas DREAM Act and the one that is being discussed in Washington?

Nelson: The Texas DREAM Act was signed into law by Governor Rick Perry in 2001 and provides that all students, regardless of immigration status, may qualify for in-state tuition at Texas colleges or universities provided they have lived in Texas the three years leading up to high school graduation and resided in Texas the year prior to their enrollment in higher education.

The Texas Dream Act has succeeded by providing access to higher education for students who otherwise are unable to afford the increasing cost of attending college and by providing needed money to Texas colleges and universities. In the present legislature a bill has been filed that would repeal the Texas DREAM Act. Governor Perry hinted that he would veto such an attempt to repeal in-state tuition for undocumented students, but I hope that this bill will never reach his desk.

The federal DREAM Act (The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act) was first introduced in Congress in 2001 with bipartisan support but never became the law. If enacted, it would provide a path to permanent residence for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children, who graduated from high school or obtained a G.E.D. in the U.S. and who have good moral character if they complete two (2) years of college or in the military.

Tiempo:  What can be expected with the political climate on immigration now that President Obama has been re-elected?

Nelson:  In recent years, attempts to fix our nation’s broken immigration laws have been hijacked by the anti-immigrant, anti-“amnesty” movement. I am hopeful there will be a change in the dynamics and an opportunity for Congress to make changes in our laws that will place the 12 million undocumented immigrants who are in the U.S. on a path to earning legal permanent residence.

Tiempo:  Could you explain in a few words the Deferred Action decision from last year?

Nelson: In June of 2012, the Obama administration announced that it would accept requests for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). This initiative is designed to temporarily suspend the deportation of young people residing unlawfully in the U.S who were brought to the United States as children, are attending or have graduated from U.S. schools and who have good moral character. Young people who are approved for DACA receive an Employment Authorization for 2 years that can be renewed as long as the DACA program continues, but it does not provide a path to permanent residence for these young people.

Tiempo:   What cases have you dealt with recently regarding Deferred Action?

Nelson:  I represent a number of clients with DACA cases. In addition, I provide direction to the Baylor Law School Immigration Clinic. We assisted 120 young people to complete applications in the Fall, and plan to have another DACA Clinic this Spring. Most DACA applicants receive approvals in about 3 months.

Tiempo: What is the current status of applications for immigrants who have been victims of a crime in McLennan County?

Nelson:  In 2000, Congress created the U-Visa for victims of certain crimes in order to encourage undocumented victims to report crimes and cooperate with law enforcement agencies.

In order to apply for the U-Visa, a crime victim must first obtain a certification from a law enforcement agency, prosecutor or judge stating that they were the victim of a qualifying crime and that they cooperated with law enforcement.

There has been a problem in McLennan County in recent years. The Waco Police Department does not sign the required certifications but refers all requests to the District Attorney’s office.

District Attorney Abel Reyna has declined to sign all of the requests for certification that I submitted on behalf of crime victims, including one for a minor sexual abuse victim whose abuser is serving 35 years in prison because she and her mother came forward.

Fortunately, judges can also sign the certifications. Judge Ralph Strother recently signed the certification so that this brave young girl can apply for a U-Visa.

However, our judges cannot shoulder the entire burden. There is a need for the DA’s office and police departments to also sign the certifications, and I hope that they will reconsider their policies.

Tiempo:  What can the community do to support the DREAM Act Alliance locally?

Nelson: The Waco DREAM Act Alliance is a grassroots advocacy organization dedicated to promoting the DREAM act and immigrant rights. They meet regularly and support local DREAMers and their families. You can find them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/groups/WacoDREAM/ or on-line at www.wacodream.org.

You can also express your support for the DREAM Act and comprehensive immigration reform by contacting your congressional representatives and Senators. You can find your representative’s contact information at http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/. Your Senators’ contact information can  be found at http://www.senate.gov/.

The Waco DREAM Act Alliance and national organization United We Dream are working to stop the deportations of family members of DACA eligible young people and U.S. Citizens. If you know of someone in deportation proceedings who fits into this category, they should complete a Case Questionnaire at http://unitedwedream.org/end/ and contact the Waco DREAM Act Alliance. 

Tiempo:  What is the new rule that effects the way that spouses of U.S. Citizens obtain their permanent residence?

Nelson: The Obama Administration is attempting to lift the burden of our broken immigration laws by making rules that change the process but not the law.

Under current law, many immigrants who enter the country without inspection cannot apply for permanent residence (a “green card”) in the U.S., and instead must finish the immigration process abroad.  Unfortunately, for most people, just leaving the country—even to pick up a visa sponsored by a family member—automatically makes the intending immigrant subject to a penalty for their “unlawful presence,” potentially separating them from their family for up to ten years.

For some, but not all, the penalty can be waived. To be successful, applicants must show that denying the case would be an extreme hardship to their qualifying relative(s); the impact on the immigrant doesn’t count.  Hardship factors can include family separation, economic hardship, medical issues, country conditions abroad, and any other difficulty or harm faced by the qualifying relative(s), if the waiver isn’t granted.

Under the old rule (which will continue to be the process for spouses of permanent residents), the applicant can not apply for the waiver until after they leave the U.S. and have their consular interview. They are required to wait in their home country while the waiver application is decided. 

Immigrants can be stranded outside the U.S. for months or even years while waiting for a decision on whether they can return to their family. Many families endure the emotional strain, financial hardship and dangerous conditions of this waiver process. Others simply are unwilling to take the risk.

The new rule allows spouses of U.S. Citizens to apply for a provisional waiver of unlawful presence before they leave the U.S. for their consular interview. If they receive the provisional waiver, they will leave the U.S. to apply for their immigrant visa knowing in advance that their case will probably be approved, and they could be back with their families—as a legal resident—in a matter of weeks.

The new rule takes effect on March 4, 2013.

Susan I. Nelson is a Waco attorney and practices with her husband, Alan Nelson, in The Nelson Law Firm, P.C. She represents individuals and businesses in immigration cases and writes the Texas Immigration Lawyer Blog (www.centeximmigration.com) in which she provides news and opinions on immigration law and policy.  Susan came to Waco in 1976 to attend Baylor University, and has been here since that time. She has practiced law in Waco since she graduated from Baylor Law School in 1990.

With Limited Legal Options, Some in Deportation Proceedings Turn to Social Media

KWBU by Rebecca Fogel

Great story about Raul Ortiz and the social media efforts to prevent his deportation. 

Raul Ortiz hearing reset for June

Thank you for supporting Raul Ortiz and his son Luis. At their hearing in Immigration Court last week, Judge Zuniga reset both cases until June. We are still waiting on an approval of Luis' Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) case. Raul, who is in deportation proceedings because he picked Luis up at the ICE office in Waco, must receive prosecutorial discretion or leave the U.S. We have asked that the Immigration Judge Administratively Close his case without the agreement of the Department of Homeland Security, and if DHS does not agree to prosecutorial discretion before the June hearing, we will go forward with that motion. 

More than 1,000 signatures were gathered in the END petition United We Dream campaign. You can sign now if you have not already. We will continue to work with United We Dream to advocate for Mr. Ortiz and his family. 

Stop the Separation of the Ortiz Family

Please sign the END Petition for Raul Ortiz-Garcia who will be deported on January 9, 2013, unless ICE exercised prosecutorial discretion. 

Mitt Romney: I Will Not Deport Undocumented Immigrants Granted Deferred Action by Obama

Univision by Jordan Fabian

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney says that if he is elected, he will not deport those granted protected status under President Obama's deferred action program.

Romney's words are significant because thus far has been vague about how he would handle young undocumented immigrants granted a temporary reprieve from deportation under the Obama administration program. The candidate said he would not revoke "visas" granted to immigrants who receive deferred action.

"The people who have received the special visa that the president has put in place, which is a two-year visa, should expect that the visa would continue to be valid. I'm not going to take something that they've purchased," Romney said in an interview with the Denver Post. "Before those visas have expired we will have the full immigration reform plan that I've proposed."

 

Prosecutions of immigrants in Austin down

Austin American Statesman by Steven Kreytak

In the 10 full months since Robert Pitman took over as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, the number of immigrants prosecuted for illegal re-entry of a deported alien in Austin has dropped 46 percent compared with the same time frame a year earlier, according to an American-Statesman analysis of federal court data.

The decrease in the number of immigrants charged with the felony crime began two years ago but has accelerated under Pitman, who was sworn in Oct. 3 as the top federal prosecutor in the district that includes Austin.

Pitman said the drop in illegal re-entry prosecutions followed the loss of funding for an assistant U.S. attorney who had been designated to work solely on immigration cases. He noted that those identified as being in the country illegally but not prosecuted for illegal re-entry are still being deported and are among the record numbers of undocumented immigrants in Austin and other areas of Central and South Texas who have been deported this year.

An Obama administration policy encourages law enforcement officers to focus on immigrants who pose a threat to national security or public safety.

“We have been concentrating in the Austin division on identifying individuals who have serious criminal histories and prioritizing them for prosecution,” Pitman said in an interview.

 

Texan Benita Veliz DNC's First Undocumented Speaker

Texas Tribune by Emily Ramshaw

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Benita Veliz, a 27-year-old San Antonio woman whose parents brought her into the country on a short-term tourist visa nearly two decades years ago, became the first undocumented person to address the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night.

Veliz, who graduated from high school at age 16 as valedictorian and double-majored at St. Mary’s University on a full academic scholarship, was nearly deported to Mexico after being pulled over in 2009 for a traffic infraction.

The case was eventually dropped in 2011. But Veliz, who identifies herself as an American and has hardly any connection to Mexico, has become the poster child for a generation of young immigrants rooting for the DREAM Act, proposed legislation that would provide them a path to citizenship.  

“I know I have something to contribute to my economy and my country. I feel just as American as any of my friends or neighbors,” Veliz said in her Wednesday night address. “But I’ve had to live almost my entire life knowing I could be deported just because of the way I came here.”

Perry: "Deferred Action" Doesn't Change Texas State Policies

Texas Tribune by Julian Aguilar

Gov. Rick Perry advised state agencies on Monday that despite the Obama administration’s “deferred action” policy allowing illegal immigrants a two-year reprieve from deportation and a renewable work permit, Texas' policies on persons in the country illegally remain unchanged.

Perry's rebuke of the president's plan, which he called a "slap in the face to the rule of law," comes a week after it took effect.

“To avoid any confusion on the impact of the Obama administration's actions, I am writing to ensure that all Texas agencies understand that Secretary Napolitano's guidelines confer absolutely no legal status whatsoever to any alien who qualifies for the federal "deferred action" designation,” Perry wrote Attorney General Greg Abbott in a letter dated August 16 and sent to state agencies Monday. “In fact, the secretary specifically closed her directive by explaining that [t]his memorandum confers no substantive right, immigration status or pathway to citizenship."

Last week, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer issued an executive order denying benefits and driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants who apply for deferred action. In Texas, applicants for new driver’s licenses or state IDs must prove legal residency, and some applicants for renewals are also required to show legal status or citizenship. That won’t change under the new federal policy, Perry spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said.

In his letter, Perry wrote, “These guidelines do not change our obligations under federal and Texas law to determine a person’s eligibility for state and local public benefit. Federal law prohibits conferring such benefits to most unlawfully present aliens, absent a state law to the contrary.”

NOTE: Currently Texas issues driver's licenses to individuals on Deferred Action status who have Employment Authorization cards. 

Deferred Action granted for Daniel Perez!

 Waco Tribune-Herald by Cindy V. Culp

A Central Texas teen whose deportation battle rallied local immigration advocates learned Friday he can stay in the United States.

Daniel Perez, who graduated from high school in nearby Coolidge in May, might be the first person in the area to benefit from an executive order President Barack Obama signed in June.

The order creates a way for certain teens and young adults in the country illegally to receive permission to stay here.

Waco immigration attorney Susan Nelson, who represents Perez, said she has not heard of any other local residents who have received relief from the program yet.

Most eligible immigrants couldn't submit an application to the "deferred action" program until Wednesday, when it was officially launched.

But because Perez was already in deportation proceedings, Nelson was able to make a plea on his behalf shortly after Obama signed the order.

"I was really excited when I opened the letter from ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and saw it was something positive," Nelson said Friday. "I've been running around kind of goofy all afternoon."

Perez, 19, was not available for comment Friday afternoon. But he previously told the Tribune-Herald he dreaded the idea of being sent to Mexico. He has lived in the United States since he was 5 years old and has not been to Mexico since then, he said.

Perez planned to attend Navarro College to study automotive mechanics. But his life dropped into limbo in July 2010 when he was arrested with a group of friends who got into a fight. Although he was a bystander and charges were never filed against him, the incident put him on ICE's radar.

This spring, the Waco DREAM Alliance began advocacy work to help Perez and a Waco high school student in a similar situation. The group, which formed in 2010 to advocate for a law that would have created a path to citizenship for certain young immigrants, held a petition drive for the boys and were poised to initiate other efforts to try to stop their deportation.

Changing strategy

But the strategy changed when Obama signed the executive order. Nelson quickly submitted applications for both Perez and the other teen, 19-year old Luis Ortiz, who also graduated from high school in May.

Ortiz came to the attention of authorities after being arrested for drag racing, a Class B misdemeanor. Under the program rules, young immigrants may still qualify even if they have a few misdemeanor convictions.

"I'm hoping we'll hear back on his (application) soon," Nelson said.

Those accepted into the new program get permission to live and work here for a two-year period, with the possibility of ongoing renewal. Perez must still apply for a work permit, Nelson said, but she expects that process to go smoothly because he has been granted the right to live here.

To qualify, immigrants must be younger than age 31 and have been brought to the United States as a child. They must also be in school or have graduated from high school, obtained a GED or been honorably discharged from the U.S. military. They must be generally free of criminal convictions.

The Immigration Policy Center estimates 1.4 million immigrants nation-wide meet that criteria. That includes 4,110 people in U.S. Congressional District 17, which includes McLennan County. 

 Daniel's dad is still in removal proceedings because he picked Daniel up at the ICE office (Daniel was 17 at the time). Please sign the petition asking DHS to dismiss Daniel's dad's case.