First Draft of Immigration Reform Bill

On Wednesday this week, a bipartisan group of Senators filed an 844 page immigration bill on the Senate floor, setting the stage for months of public debate over the proposal.  The bill, called the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013, is complicated and full of mechanisms meant to tackle border security, the allocation of visas, methods of employment verification and the much-debated citizenship path.

The first part of the bill focuses on border security with the stated goal of achieving and maintaining effective control in high-risk sectors along the Southern border.  The bill would appropriate significant funding for border security, including revamping surveillance systems and detection capabilities, hiring additional border patrol agents, using unmanned aerial systems to patrol the border, and erecting additional fencing.

The second part of the bill addresses legalization and legal immigration.  The bill would allow undocumented immigrants to adjust their status to the legal status of Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI).  An individual would be eligible if they resided in the U.S. prior to December 31, 2011 and maintained continuous presence since then.  RPIs would have to pay a $500 penalty fee (except for DREAM Act eligible students) and assessed taxes, in addition to the application fee.  Applicants would be ineligible if convicted of a felony, three or more misdemeanors or an offense under foreign law; if they had unlawfully voted; or if they are inadmissible for other criminal, national security, public health or morality grounds. 

Spouses and children of people in RPI status could derive status from the principal applicant, but would have to be living in the U.S. at the time of application.  Individuals currently in removal proceedings and with removal orders would be allowed to apply.  Interestingly, it also allows individuals outside of the U.S. who were previously here before December 31, 2011 and were deported for non-criminal reasons to reapply to re-enter the U.S. as an RPI if they were the spouse, parent or childe of a U.S. Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident.

The proposed application period to apply for RPI status would be 1 year with the possibility of an additional 1-year extension.  RPIs would be allowed to work for any employer and travel freely outside of the U.S.  RPI status would last for a 6-year term and would be renewable so long as the immigrant did not commit any act that would render him/her deportable.  The RPI would have to pay another $500 fine in order to renew. 

After 10 years, RPIs would be able to adjust to Lawful Permanent Resident Status as long as they had maintained continuous physical presence, paid all taxes owed during the period they were RPIs, worked regularly in the U.S., demonstrated requisite knowledge of Civics and English, and paid a $1,000 penalty.  People in DREAM Act Status and the Agricultural Program would be able to get their green cards in 5 years.  DREAM Act children would be eligible for citizenship immediately after they got their green cards.

The bill addresses a number of other areas of immigration reform.  It purports to eliminate the backlog for family and employment-based immigrants.  It also establishes a merit based visa after 5 years of enactment.  The bill is far too dense to discuss it in full in this posting.  It is certainly a good starting point, but also something that needs to be discussed further, nurtured and improved upon. 

Senators May File Immigration Bill Today

Today the "Gang of 8" lawmakers may release their draft bill. Even Sen. Marco Rubio is said to support this negotiated compromise to immigration reform.

The bill is rumored to address topics previously reported in the media, including a ten-year waiting period for undocumented immigrants; a multi-million dollar increase in border security funding; and special provisions for "DREAMers," or children who do not have legal status but have been raised and educated as Americans. The bill may also include special provisions for agricultural and other workers. Businesses are pushing for increased visa eligibility for engineers and tech workers, which would help immigrant entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, the bill could also end the "diversity visa" program and reduce the availability of visas for family members of U.S. citizens.

However, even when the Senate bill is released, this first draft could look significantly different from the final version. A poll by the Washington Post shows popular support for a "path to citizenship," but that issue is still contentious within Congress.

Most Americans In Favor of Immigration Reform

Most Americans support immigration reform, according to a new study by the Public Religion Research Institute. The study found that only seven percent of Americans believe that the immigration system is generally working, and even more conservative groups showed surprising support for immigration reform. A majority of Republicans, Democrats, and independents all reported that they would support an earned path to citizenship for people who are currently undocumented but want to stay in the United States.

The survey showed that most Americans care about the same values in changes to immigration laws, including keeping families together, national security, and promoting personal dignity.  Nearly two-thirds of Americans supported the core provisions of the DREAM Act: that undocumented immigrants should be able to gain legal permanent resident status if they join the U.S. military or go to college. Vice President Joe Biden, in a recent speech, also encouraged policies that would allow undocumented people a legal path to citizenship, and spoke in favor of granting green cards to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) graduates.

Younger Americans, especially those between the ages of 18 and 29, agreed with positive statements about immigration more often than older people did. Significantly, nearly 7 in 10 people under age 30 said that immigrants strengthen American culture. Younger Americans were also more likely to say that immigrants who have a gay or lesbian spouse currently living in the U.S. with legal status should be given priority in immigration.

Read more about the survey at the New York Times.

The Potential for Post-Election Immigration Reform

An editorial published today by Bloomberg  highlighted that support for immigration reform is inevitable now that President Obama has been re-elected. The editorial stated that Latinos, known to be a socially conservative demographic, comprised 10 percent of the total vote, giving "Obama almost three votes for every one earned by Romney." 

President Obama campaigned on immigration reform that would address the nearly 11 million illegal immigrants in the US. Republican Speaker John Boehner has stated that he is "confident that the president, myself, other can find the common ground to take care of this issue once and for all." 

The editorial further noted that: "Standard & Poor’s has found that cities with high immigration levels show improvements in credit ratings, tax bases and per-capita incomes. High-skills immigrants, meanwhile, not only increase productivity but also generate jobs."

For representation on immigration issues, please contact Glickman Turley LLP at 617-399-7770.

Glickman Turley's experienced attorneys represent individuals on a wide range of immigration matters, as well as other legal issues. Please contact our attorneys if you wish to discuss representation on immigration matters, real estate purchase and sales, condominium associations, criminal defense, non-profit law, civil litigation, business litigation, business law, trademark law, probate matters including wills, powers of attorney, health care proxy, same-sex co-parent adoptions, guardianships, animal law, or LGBT legal matters.

Obama's Promise in Off-the-Record Conversation

The President Obama spoke with The Des Moines Register this week and stated off-the-record that "The second thing I'm confident we'll get done next year is immigration reform...And since this is off the record, I will just be very blunt. Should I win a second term, a big reason I will win a second term is because the Republican nominee and the Republican Party have so alienated the fastest-growing demographic group in the country, the Latino community. And this is a relatively new phenomenon."

Governor Mitt Romney has criticized President Obama for making a similar promise back in 2008 - a promise that he could not keep. Governor Romney has stated that should he win the election, he would not support the Dream Act - a bill President Obama tried to pass in December 2010 - and he has not outlined a plan as to how he would address the issue of "more than 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States."

The White House gave The Des Moines Register permission to publish the off-the-record statement, which was part of a conversation President Obama had in order to gain the newspaper's endorsement. 

To read the story in The New York Times, click here. 

For representation, please contact Glickman Turley LLP at 617-399-7770.

Glickman Turley's experienced attorneys represent individuals on a wide range of immigration matters, as well as other legal issues. Please contact our attorneys if you wish to discuss representation on immigration matters, real estate purchase and sales, condominium associations, criminal defense, non-profit law, civil litigation, business litigation, business law, trademark law, probate matters including wills, powers of attorney, health care proxy, same-sex co-parent adoptions, guardianships, animal law, or LGBT legal matters.    

Breaking News (UPDATE) - DHS: Deferred Action Will be Offered to DREAMers

The White House will announce today that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will stop deporting and start granting work permits to younger illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children and have led otherwise law-abiding lives. The new policy will impact approximately 800,000 undocumented immigrants, according to The Huffington Post. The policy change partially implements one of the objectives of the DREAM Act, "a long-sought but never enacted plan to establish a path toward citizenship for young people who came to the United States without documents but who have attended college or served in the military."

American Immigration Lawyers Association released the following preliminary information in a news alert this morning. Eligible applicants must:

- Be 15-30 years old, and have entered before age 16

- Have been present in the U.S. for 5 years as of June 15, 2012

- Have maintained continuous residence

- Have not been convicted of one serious crime or multiple minor crimes

- Be currently enrolled in high school, graduated or have a GED, or have enlisted in the military

- The deferred action offer will be available to those in proceedings as well as to those who apply affirmatively.

UPDATE: Here is the link to DHS's official memo. 

Glickman Turley's experienced attorneys represent individuals on a wide range of immigration matters, as well as other legal issues. Please contact our attorneys if you wish to discuss representation on immigration matters, real estate purchase and sales, condominium associations, criminal defense, non-profit law, civil litigation, business litigation, business law, trademark law, probate matters including wills, powers of attorney, health care proxy, same-sex co-parent adoptions, guardianships, animal law, or LGBT legal matters.  

United We Dream Network Campaign Raises Awareness

The New York Times reported that the United We Dream Network has launched a campaign to increase pressure on President Obama to act on preventing young illegal immigrants from being deported. The Dream Act, a proposal in Congress, would allow young illegal immigrants to obtain legal status in order to defer deportation and to attend college. Currently, many young illegal immigrants graduating high school are not able to enroll in college partly because they cannot apply for financial aid. Those who do graduate from college are then prevented from finding a job since they cannot legally work in the US.

The article stated that "The current proposal of the Dream Act would give legal status to foreign-born high school graduates who came to the United States illegally as children, if they complete two years of college or military service." President Obama has voiced his support for the Dream Act. However in 2010, the Act passed the House but did not pass through Senate due to opposition from the Republicans. For more on this story, click here.

Glickman Turley's experienced attorneys represent individuals on a wide range of immigration matters, as well as other legal issues. Please contact our attorneys if you wish to discuss representation on immigration matters, real estate purchase and sales, condominium associations, criminal defense, non-profit law, civil litigation, business litigation, business law, trademark law, probate matters including wills, powers of attorney, health care proxy, same-sex co-parent adoptions, guardianships, animal law, or LGBT legal matters.  

Prosecutorial Discretion for Deportations Handled Unevenly

The New York Times reported that the Department of Homeland Security is applying new policies encouraging consideration of prosecutorial discretion unevenly throughout the United States. In various cases, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has granted relief to immigrants facing deportation even without advocacy. Many of these cases involve immigrants who would have qualified for relief under the DREAM Act pending before Congress. In other circumstances, ICE has resisted granting prosecutorial discretion in the face of guidelines encouraging leniency.

Obama Agrees to Stop Deportation of Many Young Immigrants

The Obama administration announced Thursday that it would suspend deportation proceedings against many illegal immigrants who pose no threat to national security or public safety, according to a recent New York Times article.

The purpose of this policy is to allow the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency to devote its resources to deporting high-priority immigrants, such as those with criminal records.

This relief will allow many immigrant children to remain in the United States, especially if they have lived in the U.S. for many years and have gone to school or want to go to school in the U.S.

Glickman Turley attorneys represent immigrants in all immigrantion matters. We represent immigrants in deportation and removal proceedings on applications for cancellation of removal, asylum, withholding of removal, protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, adjustment of status, voluntary departure and other matters.

Please contact us if you would like to discuss your immigration status. We will continue to follow this excellent delevelopment for young immigrants and hope for more progress in reforming the immigration system.

Governor Patrick Supports In-State Tuition for All Massachusetts Residents

We are pleased that Governor Patrick recently showed his public support for allowing Massachusetts residents—regardless of their immigration status—to access Massachusetts state colleges and universities at in-state tuition prices.

At a July 20, 2011 State House hearing, Governor Patrick reminded constituents and lawmakers that the immigrants who would benefit from in-state tuition are “real people - individuals, students, and families - whose ambitions are caught up in the only community in most cases that they know.’’

See the full Boston Globe article on Boston.com. Contact Glickman Turley LLP if you would like to discuss your immigration status or other legal issues.