Obama considers relief for undocumented residents with children

President Obama announced that he has instructed the Department of Homeland Security to review deportation policy to see if it can be made more humane.  One possibility would be to suspend deportation of undocumented residents who have children whom were brought to the United States when they were very young. Senator Robert Menendez called on President Obama to "halt needless deportations that are splitting apart our families and communities."  Other advocates urged the President to slow the record number of deportations and halt the need to place children whose parents have been deported in foster care.

For more information, read http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/14/us/obama-orders-review-of-deportations.html

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.

Federal Tax Crimes Considered Aggravated Felonies For Aliens

The United States Supreme Court held in Kawashima v. Holder that aliens who commit certain federal tax crimes are at risk of deportation because such crimes fall under "fraud or deceit" under 8 U.S.C. sec. 1101(a)(43)(M)(i) and are considered "aggravated felonies as defined in the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. sec. 1101 et seq, when the loss to the Government exceeds $1,000."

Justice Ginsburg dissented on the grounds that the Court's holding was too broad and "sweeps a wide variety of federal, state, and local tax offenses - including misdemeanors - into the 'aggravated felony' category." Justice Ginburg also noted that the decision would have a negative impact from a policy standpoint since it "may discourage aliens from pleading guilty to tax offenses less grave than tax evasion, thereby complicating and delaying enforcement of the internal revenue laws." Justice Ginburg's dissent was joined by Justice Breyer and Justice Kagan.

The Court rendered its decision in the case of Kawashima v. Holder on February 21, 2012.


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