Monthly Archives: March 2015

31
March 2015

DMV Seeks Comment on Potential AB 60 Regulation Updates

 

SACRAMENTO - As part of an ongoing effort to successfully implement Assembly Bill 60, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) today announced it is seeking public comment on several potential changes to future application processes, which could include adding foreign documents to the list to prove identity, and clarifying that residency documents must match the address listed on the license application.
“During the past sixty days, the DMV has issued more than 165,000 new driver licenses under AB 60 and we are constantly improving this process,” said DMV Director Jean Shiomoto. “These proposed regulatory changes are designed to further advance the application process.”

Until these proposed changes become finalized by the Office of Administrative Law—which is expected to occur in June 2015—the current application process stays the same, and all driver license applicants will continue to apply under the existing requirements.

DMV currently processes AB 60 applicants according to emergency regulations that went into effect on January 1, 2015. Under state law, the Department must complete the rule making process, and provide the opportunity for public comment on the proposed changes. Some of the key proposed improvements include:

  • Accepting California residency documents that are issued by any government within the U.S., not just the federal government;
    • Adding consular cards from Colombia and Ecuador, identification cards from Ecuador, and passports from Tonga, Sri Lanka, and Republic of Korea to the list of acceptable foreign documents for proving identity;
    • Clarifying that the California residency documents must match the address listed on the driver license application.

The DMV also proposes to eliminate the option of presenting birth certificates in conjunction with various other documents to prove identity without going to secondary review. This change is proposed to reduce need for document translation, simplify the application process and reduce delays. Applicants will continue to be able to use foreign birth certificates to prove identity during the secondary review process.

The 15-day public comment period on these proposed changes begins on Thursday, March 19, 2015, and ends Friday, April 3, 2015, at 5:00 p.m. Comments can be sent to DMV Legal Affairs Division, P.O. Box 932382, Mail Station: C128, Sacramento, CA 94232 or by e-mail to LADRegulations@dmv.ca.gov. The DMV will then submit the proposed AB 60 regulations to the Office of Administrative Law. The DMV anticipates approval by late June 2015.

For more information on AB 60, including sample interactive tests, webcasts, and information about public comment, visit: https://apps.dmv.ca.gov/ab60/index.html.

31
March 2015

On Cesar Chavez Day: Immigrants’ Rights Groups Announce Plans to Provide Pro Bono Legal Services to Children and Their Mothers Detained in Texas

Washington D.C.–Immigrants’ rights and immigrant legal services groups are announcing the launch of a family detention project to provide legal services to children and their mothers detained in Karnes City and Dilley, Texas, and to advocate for the end of family detention.

 

 

The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, the American Immigration Council, the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, collectively known as CARA, have joined forces in response to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) significant expansion of its family detention capacity. The opening of the “South Texas Family Residential Center” in Dilley, Texas — with an initial capacity of 480 beds and the potential to hold 2,400 individuals — and the detention of families at the “Karnes Residential Center” in Karnes City — with a current capacity of 532 beds and plans to double the number — reflect the Obama Administration’s continuing commitment to the flawed deterrence policy it began in June 2014 with the opening of a temporary family detention center in Artesia, New Mexico.

 

 

The detention of children and their mothers is not only inhumane, but incompatible with a fair legal process. The project will build on CARA’s collective experiences providing legal services, running a pro bono project for families detained in Artesia and Karnes, training lawyers and BIA accredited representatives, and leading advocacy and litigation efforts to challenge unlawful asylum, detention, and deportation policies.

 

 

CARA is committed to ensuring that detained children and their mothers receive competent, pro bono representation, and developing aggressive, effective advocacy and litigation strategies to end the practice of family detention.

 

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30
March 2015

Central American Humanitarian Crisis

In the summer of 2014, the steadily increasing levels of violence and insecurity in the Northern Triangle of Central America (Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador) reached peak levels and erupted into a regional humanitarian crisis. Record numbers of unaccompanied children and families were fleeing - not only to the United States. Mexico, Panama, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Belize all experienced a 712 percent increase in asylum applications from nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras between 2008 and 2013.

Though President Obama initially called for a humanitarian response, soon thereafter he called it a border security problem demanding a deterrence strategy. Now, many longstanding legal protections for children and asylum seekers are under siege.

As AILA President Leslie Holman comments, “Our country’s reaction to this crisis is going to echo through the lives of these children and their families for generations, and actions to throw them out will be a stain on our history long after this Administration is gone.”

(Thank you to AILA National for the information above)

If you are someone you know needs help, please contact us.

 

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30
March 2015

USCIS Message: Be Careful of Immigration Scams During Tax Season

This time of year, when you file your income tax returns before the April 15 federal deadline, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) urges you to be careful if a tax preparer offers to also help you prepare and file your immigration forms. Individuals and businesses that prepare tax returns may not be authorized to assist you with immigration services.

 

The only people authorized to give you legal advice on immigration are licensed attorneys and representatives accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals. Attorneys and accredited representatives are the only ones authorized to:

 

  • Explain which immigration options may be available to you;
  • Advise you about which forms to submit; and
  • Communicate with USCIS about your case.

 

Visit uscis.gov/avoidscams or uscis.gov/eviteestafas to learn how to recognize and avoid immigration scams and find authorized legal services.

 

If you believe you have been the victim of a scam involving a tax preparer, please report this scam to the Federal Trade Commission at ftccomplaintassistant.gov.

27
March 2015

EOIR Releases Memo on Unaccompanied Children and Family Docketing Practices

A March 24, 2015, EOIR memo updates docketing practices for cases involving unaccompanied children, adults with children who are detained, and adults with children who are released on an alternative to detention. This memo supersedes the September 10, 2014, Docketing Practices memo.

USCIS released Revised Guidance for the Referral of Cases and Issuance of Notices to Appear (NTAs) in Cases Involving Inadmissible and Removable Aliens, PM-602-0050, 11/17/2011. EOIR is currently studying the efficiencies.

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26
March 2015

Call on Your Senator to Vote Against Anti-Immigration Amendments to the Budget Resolution-Pass Legislation for Immigration

America needs a better immigration system. Urge your Senator to pass legislation, like the 2013 Senate bill S.744 that improves the system to meet the needs of American families, businesses, and communities. By contrast, enforcement-only amendments that throw more resources at the border or insist upon harsher penalties for illegal immigrants but do nothing to address the fundamental problems with the immigration system are not real solutions. Urge your Senator to move beyond the partisanship and enact lasting improvements to the legal immigration system, border security and interior enforcement, and due process and humanitarian protections as well as a plan to legalize the undocumented. In the absence of legislative reform, last year President Obama introduced reforms to the system that rest firmly within the legal authority of the executive branch and should be implemented immediately. Urge them to oppose enforcement-only amendments that present no solution on immigration or require unnecessary and excessive spending on the border security.

 

26
March 2015

U Visa-What Dreams May Come? Working in Harmony with Law Enforcement for Immigration Benefits and Strenghening Community Policing

Existing federal law provides a Form I-918, Petition for U
Nonimmigrant Status (Form I-918) to request temporary immigration
benefits for a person who is a victim of certain qualifying criminal
activity. Existing federal law also provides a form for certifying
that a person submitting a Form I-918 is a victim of certain
qualifying criminal activity and is, has been, or is likely to be
helpful in the investigation or prosecution of that criminal activity
(Form I-918 Supplement B).
   Existing state law establishes certain rights of victims and
witnesses of crimes, including, among others, to be notified and to
appear at all sentencing proceedings, upon request, to be notified
and to appear at parole eligibility hearings, and, for certain
offenses, to be notified when a convicted defendant had been ordered
placed on probation.
   This bill would require, upon request, that a certifying official
from a certifying entity certify, as specified, "victim helpfulness"
on the Form I-918 Supplement B, when the requester was a victim of a
qualifying criminal activity and has been helpful, is being helpful,
or is likely to be helpful to the detection, investigation, or
prosecution of that qualifying criminal activity. The bill would
define "certifying entity," "certifying official," and the qualifying
criminal activity for those purposes. A "certifying entity" would
include, among others, local law enforcement agencies and child
protective services agencies. The bill would establish for purposes
of determining helpfulness, a rebuttable presumption that a victim is
helpful, has been helpful, or is likely to be helpful to the
detection, investigation, or prosecution of that qualifying criminal
activity, if the victim has not refused or failed to provide
information and assistance reasonably requested by law enforcement.
Thank you to our representatives, Senator De León and Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Atkins for the introduction of the bill.
Thank you also to the tireless efforts of U Visa advocates to work towards improving law enforcement and community participation.
25
March 2015

Update on the Texas v. US litigation

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Below is an update on the Texas v. US litigation (immigration reform) from the National Immigration Law Center:

 

Some of you may be wondering about the latest legal happenings in Texas v. United States. Here’s a brief rundown:

 

There are three legal issues to watch, and each has its own trajectory. They are:

 

Emergency Stay

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has asked the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to allow President Obama’s DAPA and DACA expansion initiatives to take effect while the court considers the formal appeal of the injunction. There is a high legal bar for granting an emergency stay, but if it is granted, the government could continue to prepare for DACA expansion and DAPA implementation, and, if ready, begin to accept applications.

- Key dates:

o Texas and other suing states will file a response to DOJ’s request by March 23

o The Department of Justice has asked for the courts to decide whether they will grant the stay by March 27

o We don’t know when the court will issue a decision, but it is unlikely to occur before March 23

 

Appeal of Preliminary Injunction

The Department of Justice has also appealed the district court decision to block implementation of DAPA and Expanded DACA. They have requested that the Court of Appeals expedite this appeal process. If the court sides with the Department of Justice on its appeal, the DAPA and Expanded DACA initiatives would be allowed to take effect.

- Key dates:

o The Department of Justice will file its brief on March 30

o Texas and the states will file an opposing brief 33 days after March 30

o The earliest the 5th circuit will hear oral argument on this case would be in June, and a decision on the appeal could come days, weeks, or months after the oral argument.

Remember that both the Stay Request and the Appeal have to do only with the preliminary injunction, or the district court’s decision to block these initiatives while Texas v. United States winds its way through the courts. The case itself remains at the federal district level. Today, there is a hearing at the federal district court to determine whether the states should now be permitted early “discovery” – that is, an early opportunity to seek information from the government to help inform their case.

Hearing regarding claim of misconduct and request for Discovery

As we know, the immigration executive action allowed people who seek DACA (including both the original DACA program and Expanded DACA) or DAPA to apply for three year work permits. Before the injunction was issued by the federal court, more than 100,000 people who applied under the original DACA program (which is not challenged in this lawsuit) received three year work authorization cards. Today’s hearing is to determine whether the federal government somehow misled the court by issuing these work permits (note that the federal government stopped issuing three year work permits after the Feb. 16 injunction issued). This is something the states have alleged.

 

Here are a couple things the court could order the government to provide to plaintiffs (though discovery):

- Permit plaintiffs to conduct depositions, or on the record questioning, of high and low level officials

- Require the government to respond to written questions and request for documents from the states

 

Thanks to Shui-Ming of the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) for a great summary of the litigation

25
March 2015

Inspection and Entry at a Port of Entry: When is there an Admission?

For individuals who entered without inspection, subsequently were granted Temporary Protected Status, and now seeks to adjust his or her status. The basis for this argument—and for the court decisions which have adopted it—is that a grant of TPS satisfies the requirement in the adjustment statute that the applicant has been “admitted” to the U.S.

 

We can also assist with “admission” in three frequently encountered situations: when an individual is “waved through” a port of entry with no questions asked; when an individual gains entry through a misrepresentation; and when an individual gains entry by making a false claim to U.S. citizenship.

 

 

With respect to each, we review whether an admission has occurred; what the noncitizen’s status is upon entry; what possible immigration consequences there are to such an entry; and what impact this type of entry may have on a DACA application.

 

(courtesy of )

 

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