OC Immigration Attorney

An honor student and leader of the UCLA marching band, plans to join the U.S. Air Force after he graduates in the spring—if Congress lets him. The student is one among the potential beneficiaries of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors bill—commonly known as the Dream Act—that would give some illegal immigrants an opportunity to become U.S. citizens.

The bill would grant six years of legal residency to high-school graduates who have lived in the U.S. continuously for five years and arrived by the age of 15. They would become eligible for citizenship if they attend college or serve in the military for two years during the legal residency period.

To supporters, the Dream Act would encourage young people to join the military and attend college, two laudable goals. However, to opponents, the bill is tantamount to an amnesty program for children whose parents broke U.S. immigration laws. Additionally, opponents believe passage of the Dream Act would entice more people to enter the U.S. illegally.
The first version of the Dream Act was introduced in August 2001 with bipartisan support. But it has languished amid efforts to pass a comprehensive immigration overhaul. The legislation was last introduced in October 2007.

Backers of the bill are expected to mount an aggressive campaign in coming days. But any attempt to pass immigration legislation could prove difficult ahead of the elections.
Pentagon officials support the Dream Act. In its strategic plan for fiscal years 2010-2012, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness cited the Dream Act as a “smart” way to attract quality recruits to the all-volunteer force.

About 825,000 youngsters in the country illegally would likely qualify for legal status under the bill, according to a recent analysis by the independent Migration Policy Institute, a Washington think tank.

Three out of four potential Dream Act beneficiaries reside in 10 states, led by California, Texas, Florida, New York and Arizona. The University of California’s 11 undergraduate campuses enroll 181,700 students. Among them are 340 to 630 illegal immigrants.

Without the Dream Act, illegal university students would have no legal job prospects after they graduate.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a moderate Republican, urged his party Sunday to support immigration generally because illegal immigrants do essential work in the U.S. In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” he said a path to legal status should be offered to illegal immigrants because they “are doing things we need done in this country.”

According to Powell, illegal immigrants are all over his house whenever he calls for repairs. However, Powell did not say whether he’s hired illegal immigrants directly or they showed up with contractors. In lamenting the party’s rightward drift Sunday, he said Republicans must not become anti-immigration and spoke in support of legislation that would give certain children of illegal immigrants a way to become citizens if they pursue a college education or military service – The Dream Act.

Powell also said “fringe” elements on the right are taking a low road when they label Obama a foreign-born Muslim and peddle other false theories about non-American influences on the president’s character. Obama was born in the U.S. and is Christian. “Let’s attack him on policy, not nonsense,” he said.

According to U.S. documentary “The Fence”, Washington’s plan to build a fence on the border with Mexico has cost $3 billion and has not deterred illegal immigrants or drug traffickers from entering the country.

The documentary argues that illegal immigrants and smugglers can easily climb over, dig under and even drive over the wall, which is only a few feet high in parts, has no razor wire, and abruptly ends in the desert.

The director and narrator, Rory Kennedy – who is a daughter of the late U.S. Senator Robert Kennedy-, spent weeks traveling along the border from California to Texas as the fence was being built in 2009. It is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Moreover, up to 500 people die every year crossing the U.S.-Mexican border, according to U.S. immigration experts and the Mexican government, a sharp jump from a decade ago. Tougher border security and the fence’s construction have forced migrants to take more dangerous, remote routes into the United States.

Some 650 miles of the 670-mile wall called for under the Secure Fence Act and signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush in October 2006 have been built. It contains 120,000 tones of metal and materials, ranging from railroad ties to concrete and chain link fencing.

But it remains a magnet for Republicans keen to show their get-tough credentials in the run-up to the November U.S. elections. Arizona Republican John McCain, facing his toughest re-election battle in years for the Senate, demanded that the government in May to “complete the danged fence.”

U.S. Border Patrol agents say the wall and virtual fencing cut the number of people caught trying to cross into the United States by a quarter in the fiscal year 2009.

Immigration experts counter that the deep U.S. recession in 2008-2009 and the resulting lack of jobs in the world’s biggest economy was a bigger factor behind the drop.

But critics also are questioning the wisdom of spending billions on the fence during hard economic times.

Future U.S. administrations are likely to spend $6.5 billion on maintenance of the fence over the next 20 years, the United States Government Accountability Office says, although researchers at the U.S. Congress say it could be more.

The documentary airs on U.S. cable television.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio now wants to commission a posse whose only job will be to enforce illegal immigration and human smuggling laws.
Arpaio says the posse will be devoted solely to illegal immigration. He claimed he wanted a little specialized unit.

Details are sparse but, like the sheriff’s other posses, this one will be made up of armed volunteers who will patrol rural areas looking for border crossers and human smugglers. According to Arpaio, he wants to concentrate more in the desert before they get to Phoenix. In response, Latino activist Salvador Reza says volunteer posse members who do not have full police training will likely make mistakes.

While others are likening Arpaio’s latest posse to a vigilante patrol group much like the one lead by neo-Nazis that made headlines earlier this summer, Arpaio says his men are trained.

According to MCSO documents, posse members are required to get at least 16 hours of training in addition to firearms training.

The sheriff says that they do give posse training on law enforcement and they do have authority to make arrest when they are operating under supervision. Additionally, the sheriff says the new posse will be mobilized within three weeks outfitted with appropriate hardware and gear, but it is still not clear what exactly that will entail.

They may have caused plenty of controversy, but the raids carried out by immigration agents at local bus stations in July are once again back in the spotlight, and still fresh on the minds of many. Recently, immigration officials held a town hall meeting to discuss those raids with the community, after hearing plenty of concerns expressed.

In late July, immigration agents raided two Las Vegas bus companies. As a result of those raids, Border Patrol agents along with federal officials will once again return to the valley. However this time, for a town hall meeting with the community to talk about the raids.

Progress NOW has expressed dissent with how the raids played out.

“We want to know what the results were from their raids. Did they find any human smugglers? Did they find any drugs that they were looking for or are they down here just bullying people,” said Flores with Progress NOW Nevada.

Those and other issues were expected to be topics discussed at the event. Officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection declined to comment for this story.

As the Obama administration seeks to create a more humane system of detention for illegal immigrants, most continue to be held in rural jails without ready access to legal representation.

According to a survey of immigration detention facilities nationwide, more than half did not offer detainees information about their rights. Furthermore, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detains about 400,000 immigrants annually at a cost of $1.7 billion this fiscal year.

Executive director of the National Immigrant Justice Center claimed that while access to legal counsel is a foundation of the U.S. Justice System, their survey found that the government continues to detain thousands of men and women in remote facilities where access to counsel is limited or nonexistent.

Federal officials said they were making progress in helping provide legal help for detained immigrants. Additionally, ICE spokesman stated that they are working with their stakeholders, including the U.S. Department of Justice and nongovernmental organizations, to expand and support legal pro bono representation for those in custody.

The issue of lawyers for immigrant detainees is not new. Last year, the Constitution Project, a bipartisan legal group that promotes the right to legal counsel, argued in a report that the government should consider public funding for legal aid to detained immigrants.

Illegal immigrants ordered held are placed in a patchwork of about 350 mostly private facilities, many of them in less populated parts of the country. Detainees often find themselves transferred to facilities far from their homes, families, friends, and access to legal representation. Some California detainees are transferred to Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, which makes it very difficult for their families to coordinate and organize a meaningful defense to deportation.

A 2005 Migration Policy Institute study found that 41% of detainees applying to become lawful permanent residents who had legal counsel won their cases, compared with 21% of those without representation. In asylum cases, 18% of detainees with lawyers were granted asylum, compared with 3% for those without.

Granting immigrants better access to counsel could even save taxpayer money because detainees often would be released sooner, saving the $122-a-day cost of detention.

If you or a loved one is currently in immigration court or being held in detention, contact The Nunez Firm to schedule a free consultation.

Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that he would attach the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act to the Department of Defense authorization bill expected to come before the Senate as early as next week. The vote will be an important test of whether Congress can transcend partisan politics and work together on crafting solutions to the broken immigration system that both Democrats and Republicans acknowledge is in desperate need of reform. That the proposal will be considered as an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill is appropriate, given the Department of Defense’s support for DREAM Act as a way to improve military readiness.

First introduced in 2001, the DREAM Act would address the plight of young immigrants who have been raised in the U.S. and managed to succeed despite the challenges of being brought to the U.S. without proper documentation. The proposal would offer a path to legal status to those who have come to the United States through no decision of their own, graduated from high-school, have stayed out of trouble and plan to attend college or serve in the U.S. military for at least two years.

Each year, approximately 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school, many at the top of their classes, but cannot go to college, join the military, work, or otherwise pursue their dreams. They belong to the 1.5 generation – any (first generation) immigrants brought to the United States at a young age who were largely raised in this country and therefore share much in common with second generation Americans. These students are culturally American, growing up here and often having little attachment to their country of birth. They tend to be bicultural and fluent in English.

Research has shown that providing a legal status for young people who have a proven record of success in the United States would be a boon to the economy and the U.S. workforce.  University presidents and educational associations, as well as military recruiters, business and religious leaders have added their voice to those calling for passage of the bill. Foreign-born students represent a significant and growing percentage of the current student population. Unfortunately, immigration status and the associated barriers to higher education contribute to a higher-than-average high dropout rate, which costs taxpayers and the economy billions of dollars each year.

The DREAM Act would eliminate these barriers for many students, and the DREAM Act’s high school graduation requirement would provide a powerful incentive for students who might otherwise drop out to stay in school and graduate. This will help boost the number of high skilled American-raised workers.  As they take their place in the workplace as hard working, taxpaying Americans, they will contribute a lifetime of revenues at the local, state and federal level.

Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy, Bill Carr, supports the DREAM Act and stated that the law would be “good for readiness” and would help to recruit “cream of the crop” students. The DREAM Act is part of the Department of Defense’s 2010-2012 Strategic Plan to assist the military in it’s recruiting efforts.

The Nunez Firm strongly encourages everyone to contact their congressperson and push for him/her to support The Dream Act. You can find your local congressperson here.

You can also go to this website to voice your support for The Dream Act.

We received the good news that our I-485 adjustment of status application was approved for a Huntington Beach client, who is originally from Canada. He has been married to his wife for 8 years, and they have a 7 year old daughter together. He entered the United States in 2001 legally, but without a visa (because Canadians are not required to have a visa). After he arrived in the United States, he never left.

He has worked as a contractor since that time. Finally, his driver’s license was set to expire, and he could not renew it unless he obtained his lawful permanent residence, which is why he finally came to me to finalize the green card process.

At the interview, everything went smooth, with a small setback, that we suspected might occur. Unfortunately, his wife lost her job after we filed the paperwork, but before the interview; therefore, we were asked to locate a joint sponsor and file the I-864 before the officer could approve the case. Once we filed the I-864, we received an approval on the I-485 within a few weeks.

The couple is extremely happy that his status is secure, and they can continue living in Orange County indefinitely. If you are married to a US citizen and are considering the adjustment of status process, contact The Nunez Firm to schedule a free consultation. Managing attorney Jay Nunez has helped countless married couple with the adjustment of status process, and he will personally discuss your case with you in a confidential manner.

The Department of Homeland Security is reviewing thousands of pending immigration cases and moving to dismiss those filed against suspected illegal immigrants who have no serious criminal records.

According to Richard Rocha, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman, the review is part of the agency’s broader, nationwide strategy to prioritize the deportations of illegal immigrants who pose a threat to national security and public safety. Rocha declined to provide further details.

Critics assailed the plan as another sign that the Obama administration is trying to create a kind of backdoor “amnesty” program. An immigration attorney who was briefed on the effort by Homeland Security’s deputy chief counsel in Houston, said DHS confirmed that it’s reviewing cases nationwide, though not yet to the pace of the local office. However, they are following general guidelines that allow for the dismissal of cases for defendants who have been in the country for two or more years and have no felony convictions. In some instances, defendants can have one misdemeanor conviction, but it cannot involve a DWI, family violence or sexual crime.

Opponents of illegal immigration were critical of the dismissals. However, immigrants who have had their cases terminated are frequently left in limbo, and are not granted any form of legal status. These illegal immigrants still have no work permits and Social Security Numbers. ICE is not going to proceed with their removal from the United States. However, they are still here illegally.

In a June 30 memo, ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton outlined the agency’s priorities, saying it had the capacity to remove about 400,000 illegal immigrants annually. The memo outlines priorities for the detention and removal system, putting criminals and threats to national security at the top of the list. Recently, ICE officials provided a copy of a new policy memo from Morton dated Aug. 20 that instructs government attorneys to review the court cases of people with pending applications to adjust status based on their relation to a U.S. citizen. Morton estimates in the memo that the effort could affect up to 17,000 cases.