Texas Immigration Lawyer Blog

U.S. Consulate in Juárez closed by bomb threat

 Austin American Statesman - a bomb threat on Thursday forced the closing of the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The consulate processes all immigrant visa applications for Mexico. It is unknown when the Consulate will reopen. Appointments for visa applications will be rescheduled through the call center.

Texas districts rank in top 3 on cases referred for immigration violation prosecutions

The Texas Tribune reports that "despite grousing from congressmen and state officials in Arizona and Texas ... that the Obama administration has abdicated its role in the protecting the nation's borders from illegal immigration, the Department of Homeland Security’s largest investigative units this year each recorded their highest number of cases referred for prosecution since the Bush administration."

"When broken down by judicial districts, two of the top three spots in the number of ICE and CBP cases referred for prosecution are in Texas. The Southern District of Texas ranked first and second in ICE and CBP referrals, respectively. The Western District of Texas ranked third in both categories. Arizona — whose implementation of an immigration crackdown, gutted Wednesday by a federal judge, came in response to alleged federal inaction — ranked first in CBP prosecutions and second in ICE prosecutions during those same months."

 

U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez Closed July 30, 2010

The U.S. Consulate General in Ciudad Juarez is closed on July 30, 2010 to review its security posture.  The facility will be closed until the security review is completed.

American citizens are advised avoid the area around the Consulate General until it reopens.

A Travel Warning was issued on July 15, 2010.  

USCIS Director Mayorkas proposes major policy changes

Mayorkas Draft Memo -

In a leaked DRAFT memo, USCIS Director Mayorkas proposes sweeping changes to immigration policy and operations through administrative changes rather than legislative reform.

"These changes would represent the most significant changes at USCIS (and before that at the INS) in decades.  Hopefully, Mayorkas will get real back up from the White House in order to get these reforms through since it now looks like CIR is not happening." Greg Siskind

Immigration decision watched in Waco

Waco Tribune Herald -  

Bill Teeter reports on reactions in Waco, Texas, to Judge Susan Bolton's decision to block portions of Arizona's controversial immigration law.

Arizona enjoined from enforcing SB1070 in part.

Arizona SB 1070 -

Judge Susan R. Bolton has enjoined the State of Arizona from enforcing parts of SB1070, including those sections that:

(1) require mandatory immigration verification upon arrest or during a lawful stop;

(2) make it a crime for an alien to fail to carry documentation of status;

(3) make it a crime for an alien to apply for work in Arizona without proper authorization; and

(4) require arrest for public offenses that make an alien removable.

Judge Bolton found that the federal government will most likely succeed on its claims that the Arizona law is preempted by federal immigration law.

AgJOBS - what is proposed?

 

AgJOBS Summary (from the Congressional Research Service)

Reportedly, some Immigration rights advocates are moving from Comprehensive Immigration Reform to "Plan B" that pushes for immediate enactment of the DREAM Act and AgJOBS. I've written a good deal about the DREAM Act, but haven't spent much time on AgJOBS. Here is a brief summary of the legislation as it is currently proposed.

The provisions of the Agricultural Job Opportunity, Benefits, and Security Act of 2009 (AgJOBS) provide for temporary resident status for workers who can prove performance of agricultural employment in the U.S. for 150 work days or 863 hours during the 24-month period ending December 31, 2008. Temporary status holders may apply for permanent residence after a designated time of continued agricultural employment after the enactment of the legislation. Spouses and minor children of workers who are present in the U.S. could also remain legally in the U.S.  

Also included in the legislation is a streamlining of the H-2A temporary agricultural worker's program .

Photo: Congresswoman Lofgren joins farm workers picking strawberries in the fields as part of the UFW's Take Our Job campaign

AgJobs, Dream Act - "Plan B"

Washington Post-

Some immigrant rights groups are shifting the strategy in their so-far unsuccessful push to overhaul immigration law: They're calling the new tactic the "down payment" approach.

"Plan B" centers on lobbying hard for the passage of two bills: AgJobs and the Dream Act. AgJobs is a compromise between farmworker unions and agriculture business groups, which was negotiated more than five years ago and is intended to provide legal farm labor and protect the rights of immigrant workers. The Dream Act would give some undocumented students the ability to apply for permanent residency. Both bills have had Republican support in the past   

Arizona ushering in the "José Crow" era

Garnet Coleman, Texas House of Representatives -

"[I]t is painful to see a state put discrimination back into place with a new twist on old laws — ushering us into the "José Crow" era."

"Masquerading as a fix to our broken immigration system, Arizona's law, which goes into effect Thursday, sacrifices the liberties we have worked so hard to gain and protect. Under Arizona's stringent anti-immigrant law, a person's ethnicity and culture makes him or her "reasonably suspicious," thereby eroding the constitutional rights of certain U.S. citizens and legal residents."

Illegal Valedictorian: Immigration status stunts former University High grad's dreams

 

Illegal Valedictorian -  

Waco Tribune Herald writer J.B. Smith tells the story of Gracie, valedictorian of her class in 2009 who is caught in the dysfunctional immigration system.