Texas Immigration Lawyer Blog

Waco Police Chief says SB 4 won't put Waco PD in immigration enforcement role

Waco Tribune Herald by J.B. Smith

 Waco Police Chief Ryan Holt says Texas’ new sanctuary cities law gives officers leeway to ask about immigration status, but he expects it will be rare and must be done with documentation justifying it.

 

 

DACA Update: What the Trump Administration end of DACA means

9/5/17 - The Trump Administration has announced that it will phase out and eventually end DACA. 

This means that as of September 5, 2017:

INITIAL APPLICATIONS: 

• USCIS will continue to process all pending initial applications accepted as of 09/05/2017.
• USCIS will reject all other new initial applications.

RENEWAL APPLICATIONS: 

• USCIS will continue to process all pending renewal applications that have been filed. 
• USCIS will continue to accept and process renewal applications until October 5, 2017 from applicants whose DACA expires between 09/05/2017 and 03/05/2018. 
• DACA recipients whose DACA has already expired are no longer eligible to renew.
• USCIS will reject all applications received after October 5, 2017. 

CURRENT DACA HOLDERS:

• DACA holders whose grant of DACA expires after 03/05/2018 will continue to hold DACA until it expires. 
• DACA holders maintain their protection from deportation and work permit until their current expiration date.

TRAVEL ON DACA ADVANCE PAROLE:

• Previously approved grants of Advance Parole remain valid and individuals may exit and return to the U.S. within the dates provided in the travel document.
• If you are outside the U.S. on a grant of Advance Parole, you should return as soon as possible. USCIS states that those currently outside the U.S. will be able to return as long as they do so before their grant of Advance Parole expires. 
• I do not recommend that any person with DACA Advance Parole leave the country even within the dates allowed on the travel document as U.S. Customs and Border Protection may deny you re-entry to the U.S. 

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS:

• The SS# issued to you by the Social Security Administration is a valid SS# for life, even once your work permit and DACA grant expire. 

Texas Sanctuary Cities law blocked temporarily

U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia halted major portions of a controversial Texas "sanctuary cities" law scheduled to go into effect on September 1, 2017.  Judge Garcia granted a preliminary injunction of Senate Bill 4, that seeks to outlaw “sanctuary cities.” those that don’t enforce federal immigration laws. 

SB 4 allows local law enforcement officers to question the immigration status of people they detain or arrest and seeks to punish local government department heads and elected officials who don’t cooperate with federal immigration "detainers" — requests by agents to turn over immigrants subject to possible deportation. Punishment could come in the form of jail time and penalties that exceed $25,000.

Judge Garcia halted the part of the bill that required jail officials to honor all detainers, and another that prohibits “a pattern or practice that 'materially limits' the enforcement of immigration laws.” The detainer provision, he said, would violate the Fourth Amendment

Judge Garcia did let stand one of the most controversial portions of the law — allowing police officers to question the immigration status of people they detain. Because the inquiry into status isn’t a prolonged detention, he said, it wasn’t enjoined. But he explained that officers who make the inquiry are limited in what they can do with the information. “If during a lawful detention or arrest an officer obtains information that a detained or arrested individual is undocumented he may not arrest the individual on this basis,” he said, adding that the officer is not required to ask the question. But he said if the officer feels like they should, they can only share the information. “In sum, SB 4 gives local officers discretion to inquire and share information, but it does not provide them with discretion to act upon the information that they may obtain,” he wrote in a footnote to his 94-page ruling.

The bill was scheduled to go into effect Sept. 1, but opponents of the legislation, including the cities of Houston, Austin, San Antonio and El Cenizo, as well as Maverick and El Paso counties and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, argued the bill violates several provisions of the Constitution. Judge Garcia's decision means the bill is on hold until that issue is decided or until the preliminary injunction is appealed. 

The State of Texas plans to appeal the injunction to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. 

 

 

USCIS substitutes "Assimilation" for "Integration" in Naturalization grant

USCIS Grant Opportunities

USCIS offers grants to non-profit organizations to prepare legal permanent residents for Naturalization. Yesterday, the name was changed from "Citizenship and Integration" to "Citizenship and Assimilation" grants. 

These are competitive grant opportunities for organizations that prepare lawful permanent residents for naturalization and promote civic assimilation through increased knowledge of English, U.S. history and civics.

This is an ominous and Orwellian change to a program meant to encourage citizenship in permanent residents. 

 

Bipartisan 2017 DREAM Act introduced in U.S. Senate

Photo by LongIslandWins

From Immigration Impact:

The bipartisan Dream Act of 2017 was just introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) in the U.S. Senate. The bill provides legal status, as well as a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrant youth who entered the United States before the age of 18.

The Dream Act, if passed into law, will allow young immigrants who have called the United States home for most of their lives to begin to realize their full potential and know the sense of security that comes with living with documentation.

The Dream Act was first introduced in 2001 and has enjoyed broad bipartisan support, but has yet to pass into law.

The renewed urgency to pass this legislation comes as media speculates that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative, which 800,000 Dreamers are currently protected from deportation by, could come to an end in the coming weeks or months. The threat came after a group of 10 states led by Texas asked the Trump administration to end the DACA initiative and threatened to file a lawsuit challenging it. Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly also recently met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and said he is supportive of DACA but that it may not survive a legal challenge.

The Dream Act of 2017 lays out a three-step path to citizenship, first providing Conditional Permanent Resident (CPR) status to undocumented youth who:

• entered the United States under the age of 18,
• entered four years prior to enactment and have since been continuously present,
• have not been convicted of a crime where the term of imprisonment was more than a year, or convicted of 3 or more offenses were the aggregate sentence was 90 days or more (with an exception for offenses which are essential to a person’s immigration status), and
• have been admitted to an institution of higher education, have graduated high school or obtained a GED, is currently enrolled in secondary school or a program assisting students to obtain a diploma or GED.
• Anyone with status under DACA is immediately granted CPR status for up to eight years, which includes work authorization.

After maintaining CPR status, individuals become eligible for Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status—a green card holder. In order to receive LPR status an individual must either:

• complete at least two years of higher education or
• two years of military service with an honorable discharge, or
• demonstrate employment over a total period of three years.

Additionally, LPR applicants with disabilities, who are full-time caregivers for a minor child, or an applicant whose deportation would cause extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen spouse, parents, or child can receive a “hardship waiver” which exempts them from the higher education, military service, or work requirements.

The Dreamers, for whom this bill is named, have lived in America since they were children and built their lives here. They are American in every way except for their immigration status. It is past time that this nation comes together and does right by them.

 

Know Your Rights in Texas: Preparing for SB 4

From Immigration Impact

After debate rocked the Texas State Capitol, Governor Greg Abbott signed the controversial Senate Bill 4 (SB4) in May, which purports to ban sanctuary city policies and gives local police the authority to inquire about the immigration status of anyone they detain. Though the law won’t go into effect until September, it’s crucial to know your rights now in relation to SB4.

SB4 allows police officers to question an individual’s immigration status during any and all detentions—even for something as simple as a traffic violation. The law also pushes local law enforcement to comply with federal requests to detain individuals and threatens them with fines, firing, and jail time if they don’t comply.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the cities of Austin, Dallas, El Cenzizo, and San Antonio are currently challenging the constitutionality of SB4, hoping to stop the legislation before it goes into effect. In addition, the American Immigration Lawyers Association recently pulled their major conference from the state, calling the law “unjust, unfair, and unreasonable.”

There is no doubt about the law’s anti-immigrant intent. It clearly encourages racial profiling, jeopardizes community safety, and puts law enforcement officials at risk of violating the constitution.

If SB4 goes into effect, it’s important the community understand their rights. To that end, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center provides these know your rights tips:

• You have the right to remain silent. You do not have to tell anyone your immigration status or place of birth.
• You have the right to not be stopped or detained without reasonable suspicion of a crime. If you fear that an officer has violated this right, try to record the incident and speak with an attorney.
• You have the right to not be discriminated against on the basis of your ethnicity, race, or national origin. This is guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution.
• You should contact an attorney for help if a school or school official asks about your immigration status, or the status of a parent or family member.
• Don’t sign anything you don’t understand, especially without an attorney present.
• Contact an attorney if you are held past your scheduled release time.

This anti-immigrant legislation hides behind the guise of public safety. Communities are safest when local governments determine how to deploy their law enforcement resources. SB4 goes in the opposite direction and will do nothing to build trust between immigrant communities and Texas law enforcement. Photo

Texas House committee advances "Sanctuary Cities Lite" bill

Texas Tribune by Julian Aguilar

The Texas House advanced their "Sanctuary Cities Lite" bill out of committee yesterday. Although less harsh than the Senate bill, it criminalizes heads of law enforcement agencies who do not cooperate with federal authorities, allows law enforcement to question arrestees about their immigration status, and includes college campuses in the enforcement requirements. 

Cops shouldn’t be in the immigration-enforcement business:

“It still creates a chilling effect for immigrants to work with local law enforcement, and it still perverts the mission of local law enforcement,” said state Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas. “You can be arrested for anything, virtually. It doesn’t require due process, it simply requires probable cause.”

A costly special session is likely this summer if a bill fails to pass as Governor Abbott has identified the legislation as a priority.

 

The Sanctuary Movement in the U.S.

Interesting podcasts about the Sanctuary movement to protect Central Americans seeking asylum in the U.S. in the 1980's from 99% Invisible. (2 episodes) 

Sanctuary, Part 1: Church

In the 1980s, Rev. John Fife and his congregation at Southside Presbyterian Church began to help Central American migrants fleeing persecution from US backed dictatorships. Their efforts would mark the beginning of a new — and controversial — social movement based on the ancient religious concept of “sanctuary,” the idea that churches have a duty to shelter people fleeing persecution. There’s been a lot of talk about “sanctuary” in the news recently and the modern movement in the U.S can trace its roots back to Fife.

Sanctuary, Part 2: State

In the 1980s, the United States experienced a refugee crisis. Thousands of Central Americans were fleeing civil wars in El Salvador and Guatemala, traveling north through Mexico, and crossing the border into the U.S. [Note: Just tuning in? Listen to the previous episode.]
In response to this mass migration, a network of churches across the country declared themselves “sanctuaries,” offering shelter to Central Americans who were threatened with deportation and in some cases helping to smuggle people across the border. Leaders and members of these sanctuary churches believed they had a religious imperative to help people fleeing persecution.
The government, however, wasn’t swayed by the religious motivations of participating churches. In 1984, the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service), a predecessor to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), launched a full-scale investigation into the sanctuary movement.

 

Waco Immigration Information Session

Immigration Information Session

Come hear Susan and other attorneys speak about:

• Current removal priorities and activities
• Your rights if you have an encounter with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 
• DACA going forward
• Family Safety planning

March 7, 2017, 7PM

El Calvario Presbyterian Church -- 2222 Dutton, Waco, Texas

Speakers:

Susan I. Nelson, The Nelson Law Firm, P.C. and Baylor Law Immigration Clinic

Anali Gatlin, American Gateways

Michelle Tuegel, Hunt & Tuegel, PLLC

Kent McKeever, Greater Waco Legal Services (formerly Mission Waco Legal Services)

ICE Enforcement Activity in Waco, Texas

I am hearing from family members of immigrants picked up by ICE at meetings with their probation officers in Waco. If you are undocumented, don't miss your meeting with probation, but be ready with documents to show your connections to the U.S. and phone numbers to call family members. 

Here are links to Family Safety Plans prepared by the Immigrant Services Network of Austin:

Formulario de Planificacion de Seguridad de Familia (Espanol)

Family Safety Plan (English)