OC Immigration Attorney

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.

My client from Newport Beach was just approved for naturalization after our successful interview this morning at the Santa Ana USCIS office. She has been a lawful permanent resident for three years. Generally, aliens seeking naturalization must have their green cards for five years before they are eligible for naturalization. There are several exceptions to this rule. For example, if an alien has been married to a United States citizen for over three years and has had lawful permanent residence for over three years, s/he can naturalize.

In this case, my client has been married for four years, and she has been a lawful permanent resident for over three years. The interview went smoothly. The USCIS officer asked to see documents proving that her marriage was entered into in good faith. We provided joint tax returns, life insurance documents, joint bank account information and evidence of joint investment in real estate. The officer was quickly convinced of the validity of the marriage and the case was approved after a thirty minute interview.

My client is very excited. She intends to petition for her children to obtain immigrant visas so they can come to the United States from Europe.

If you are considering naturalization, contact The Nunez Firm to schedule a free consultation. Managing attorney Jay Nunez will personally meet with you in a confidential setting and help you determine if naturalization is the right option for you.

In case after case where immigrant students were identified by federal agents as being in the country illegally, the students were released from detention and their deportations were suspended or canceled. Officials have even declined to deport students who openly declared their illegal status in public protests.

The students who have been allowed to remain are among more than 700,000 illegal immigrants who would be eligible for legal status under a bill before Congress specifically for high school graduates who came to the United States before they were 16. Department of Homeland Security officials said they had made no formal change of policy to permit those students to stay. But they said they had other, more pressing deportation priorities.

The issue of illegal immigrant students has become pressing because young immigrants have staged increasingly frequent and defiant protests to demand passage this year of the piece of the overhaul that would benefit them.

Lawmakers who support that legislation have asked the administration to halt student deportations until Congress takes it up. But most Republicans are opposed to any action that would weaken enforcement against illegal immigration.

An internal Homeland Security memorandum, released last month by Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, set off a furor among his fellow Republicans because it showed immigration officials weighing steps they could take without Congressional approval to give legal status to some illegal immigrants, including suspending deportations of students.

The moratorium had been requested by Richard J. Durbin of Illinois and Senator Richard G. Lugar, Republican of Indiana, the leading sponsors of the student legislation, called the Dream Act.

But a White House official said that the administration had decided against the moratorium, preferring to push for the student bill, which could grant legal status to more than 700,000 young immigrants here illegally.

“Legislation does far more for Dream Act students than deferring deportations would, in that it puts them on a path to citizenship,” said the official, who requested anonymity to discuss an internal policy debate.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched its On-Line Detainee Locator System.  The system allows attorneys, family members, and other individuals to locate noncitizens who are in ICE custody.  ICE has stated that the system includes all facilities where it detains immigrants.  The system does not include individuals held in state or local custody under an ICE detainer, as they are not physically in ICE custody.  The system is updated within 8 hours of an apprehension or transfer within ICE custody.

The locator can be found here

BOGOTA, Colombia — The U.S. State Department has reversed its decision to deny a visa to a leading Colombian journalist whose reporting has been highly critical of the country’s U.S.-allied president.

Morris and his family picked up their visas at the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday and now can travel to Harvard for a yearlong Nieman Foundation fellowship for mid-career journalists.

According to a U.S. consular officer in Bogota, Morris was ruled permanently ineligible for a visa under the “terrorist activities” clause of the USA Patriot Act.

In addition, Morris said he was not given an explanation for the denial or the reversal. However he expressed deep gratitude for the support he has gotten from fellow journalists at home and abroad, lawmakers in the U.S. Congress and organizations including Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists, The InterAmerican Press Association and the American Civil Liberties Union, who decried the visa denial as an attack on free speech.

U.S. Embassy spokeswoman stated they could not discuss the issue due to privacy rules.

Morris, who produces the TV news show, has reported on ties between illegal far-right militias and allies of Uribe, Washington’s closest ally in Latin America.

The 41-year-old Morris, one of 12 foreign journalists admitted to the Nieman program for the 2010-2011 academic year, is among the most controversial chroniclers of Colombia’s long-running conflict.

On various occasions, Uribe has accused him of collaborating with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which killed Uribe’s father in a 1983 botched kidnapping.

Morris acknowledges having contacts with the FARC, because it is part of his work, however he denied aiding, abetting or advising the rebels in any way.

In addition to making public letters they’d written to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton protesting the visa denial, the U.S. rights groups that supported Morris privately lobbied State Department officials.

Colombian President-elect Juan Manuel Santos, who takes office on Aug. 7, was a Nieman fellow in 1988.

With Arizona’s new immigration law going into effect, there is fear that a little known problem will get worse: Americans getting deported.

According to a Northeastern School of Law researcher, there are many cases in which U.S. citizens have been deported. In addition, with Arizona’s new immigration law it just might get worse.

Capitol police arrested Antonia Rivera, a UC Irvine graduate, of Santa Ana, and 11 other young people for disorderly conduct as they sat in a circle in the middle of the Hart Senate Office Building. Nine more activists were arrested later Tuesday for unlawful entry at the offices of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

The actions were intended to convince lawmakers to support the DREAM Act. The bill would give a chance at legal status to people brought illegally to the United States at a young age and who were educated here.

However, opponents say passing such a measure would reward illegal behavior and that people who crossed the border illegally or who overstayed their visas should not be allowed to remain.

DREAM Act supporters planned a vigil outside the jail Tuesday night to show support for the arrested activists.

A spokesman for Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who authored the DREAM Act, said the sit-in “crossed the line from passionate advocacy to inappropriate behavior.”
The sit-in came as hundreds of other activists from around the country – including a half dozen from Orange County – marched around the Capitol chanting “DREAM Act now” and “Education, not deportation.” The group also staged a “mock graduation” nearby to highlight the fact that many illegal immigrants have university degrees but are unable to work in their field.

But the most dramatic protest of the day came on the floor of the Hart building, as Rivera and the others, all dressed in graduation cap and gowns, sat silently in a circle surrounding banners which read “Undocumented and Unafraid” and “DREAM Act Now.”

Moments later, about 10 police officers arrived and told Rivera and the others that they were violating the law, warning the activists to leave or they would be arrested. Since the activists didn’t’ budge, they were handcuffed and taken to jail.

DREAM Act supporters have acknowledged it is highly unlikely that the plan will be considered before the November elections. Other activists who traveled from Orange County for the protest said they were proud of the arrested students and they would continue fighting.

If you want Congress to pass The DREAM Act, which would allow undocumented aliens that were raised in the United States through no choice of their own and have not committed any crimes, write the following letter to your congressperson. You can find out who your congressperson is at this website.

Representative ———-
(Address)

Dear Representative ———:

As your constituent, I write to ask you to co-sponsor the DREAM (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) Act.

The DREAM Act is a bipartisan proposal, which would create a pathway to citizenship for thousands of young students who were brought to the United States years ago as children.  These children have grown up in our communities and include honor roll students, star athletes, talented artists, homecoming queens, and aspiring teachers, doctors, and U.S. soldiers.

Even though they were brought to the U.S. years ago as children, they face unique barriers to higher education, are unable to work legally in the U.S., and often live in constant fear of detection by immigration authorities.  Our immigration law currently has no mechanism to consider the special equities and circumstances of such students. The DREAM Act would eliminate this flaw.

I have family members and friends that are in this position, and they deserve to have legal status in the United States so that they can attend college or join the military.

I urge you to cosponsor the DREAM Act by contacting Senators Richard Durbin or Richard Lugar in the Senate or Representatives Howard Berman or Lincoln Diaz-Balart in the House of Representatives.

Thank you,

The government has issued all 10,000 visas available this year for immigrant crime victims who help authorities investigate and prosecute perpetrators. This marks the first time the government has hit the statutory “U” visa limit since the program became active.

The visas were created as part of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. They are given to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human smuggling and other crimes in exchange for cooperation with law enforcement.

Ali Mayorkas, director of Citizenship and Immigration Services, said that an increased focus on U visa processing, as well as increased outreach and resources to crime victims groups and law enforcement, have contributed to increased applications.

Another 10,000 visas will be available in October, when the 2011 fiscal year begins. Until then, the federal government can grant interim legal status to non-citizens whose applications are approved for the visas so they can work.

Most visas are given to people not allowed to be in the country, but some are given to people with some sort of permission to be in the U.S.

The milestone highlights challenges law enforcement officers face in investigating and prosecuting crimes involving mostly illegal immigrants. Many are too afraid of deportation to report crimes. Critics of a new Arizona immigration law fear the law may affect immigrants’ willingness to assist law enforcement.

The use of all 10,000 visas indicates the visa’s efficacy to law enforcement, said Gail Pendleton, co-director for ASISTA, a group that advises the Justice Department’s Office of Violence Against Women.

The next step is for Congress to eliminate the 10,000 limit.

We just received the great news that the N-336 for one of my clients was approved today. She was denied naturalization a few months ago when USCIS denied her N-400 application for naturalization. The decision stated that she did not provide enough evidence of her bona fide marriage to a US citizen. She has lived in Laguna with her husband for the last 4 years.

After receiving the denial, she contacted The Nunez Firm to see if I could help her. We began collecting all types of evidence to prove her valid marriage to her husband. After a few weeks of collecting documents we filed the N-336 form.

We attended the interview at USCIS in Santa Ana and handed over a huge stack of evidence to prove the couple’s relationship. Our strategy was to overwhelm the officer with documents and evidence proving bona fide marriage. The stack was at least two inches thick. Clearly, the officer was convinced, because we received the decision for approval just one week later.

If your N-400 was denied by USCIS, contact The Nunez Firm to discuss whether you should pursue an N-336 rehearing. In some cases, there is nothing that can be done to change the USCIS officer’s mind; however, in other cases it is possible to have the case approved after a rehearing with a different officer. Managing attorney Jay Nunez will discuss your case with you personally during a free and confidential consultation.

A bullet lodged in Guillermo Hernandez’s skull, from a gun fired by one of the robbers who came into a store. Hernandez, who came to the United States illegally from Mexico when he was 9, endured surgery and months of recovery.

But out of this traumatic experience emerged an opportunity for Hernandez, now 28. Hernandez qualified for a U visa: a relatively new program that rewards foreigners who are victims or witnesses of certain crimes and who help in the investigation and prosecution of those crimes, allowing victims/witnesses to remain in the U.S. legally.

According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the U visa helps victims cooperate with law enforcement without fear of deportation so that criminals can be brought to justice.

However, police and immigration advocates say the U visa program remains relatively unknown in the United States, and they worry that Arizona’s highly publicized new immigration law will work against the effort to bring victims and potential witnesses out of hiding.

Arizona’s law, which takes effect July 29, requires police officers to check the residency status of anyone they stop and suspect to be in the country illegally.

Sgt. Fabian Pacheco of the Tucson, Ariz., Police Department said the U visa has been part of his department’s efforts to build trust with the Latino community and has led to breaks in homicide cases. Additionally, he fears that the public is more aware of Arizona’s new immigration law than it is of the U visa.

Congress created the U visa in October 2000 when it passed the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act. Drafting the regulations delayed implementation for another seven years.

Law enforcement agencies support a victim’s application by certifying that the foreigner has suffered substantial physical and mental abuse and “has been, is being, or is likely to be helpful” to a case. Then it’s up to U.S. immigration authority to approve the visa, which grants temporary legal status for four years.

After three years, a U visa holder can apply for permanent residency.

In December 2008, the federal government started issuing the visas en masse. Since then, more than 10,000 U visas for primary applicants have been approved. Another 7,300 have gone to family members. Nearly 12,400 more applications are pending.

Attorneys and law enforcement officials say the majority of U visa cases involve victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Illegal immigrants who fear deportation often are unwilling to seek help from authorities, making them easy prey for their abusers.

According to Nilda Vamores, executive director of a Sacramento Shelter that caters to battered Asian and Pacific Islander women and children, the U visa program and Violence Against Women Act, has helped about a dozen women in the past five years to gain legal residency. Women qualify for VAWA status if their abusive spouse is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

Agencies differ in how they handle U visa applications. Lawyers say the regulations do not require that an investigation be completed for an applicant to be eligible, but some agencies are less willing to sign the forms if the perpetrator is never caught or no charges are filed.

Hernandez was alerted to the U visa program by a family member a few months after being shot.

His suspected assailants and two accomplices were arrested. Two made plea deals, one was convicted and another awaits a retrial. The District Attorney’s Office noted on Hernandez’s U visa application that “his testimony is necessary to prove what happened and to prove the identity of the suspects.”

His visa was approved last October.  Now Hernandez feels like he is somebody in the U.S.

If you have been the victim of a crime and want to learn more about the U visa program, contact The Nunez Firm to schedule a free consultation. Managing attorney Jay Nunez will discuss your situation with you and help you determine if the U visa is the right program for you.