DACA

Working Without Authorization In Pandemic Times Vol. 2, No. 3

Minority groups continue being targeted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and migrant children and immigrants continue to be discriminated against at the border and throughout the country while top brass at DHS continue to flout the rule of law by occupying their jobs unlawfully. Both the DHS acting and second-in-command Homeland Security Secretaries, Chad Wolf and Ken Cuccinelli, are legally unable to continue working in their roles after a Government...

Immigration in Pandemic Times; Vol. 1, No. 12

The coronavirus has severely damaged American health, finances, and stability. Immigrants have been one of the hardest-hit groups – what will the government do, if anything, to help? USCIS fee increases go into effect on October 2, 2020. People hoping to file for green cards through family or employment will also have to pay for interim benefits such as work and travel authorization, which substantially increases expected fees. Other...

Immigration in Pandemic Times, Vol. 1, No. 11

The Trump Administration continues to pass legislation restricting immigrant rights as the pandemic continues – will lawsuits, rulings, and Supreme Court interventions be enough to stop them? A federal judge ruled on July 17, 2020 that the Trump administration must immediately begin to accept DACA applications, saying that DACA needs to be “restored to its ‘pre-September 5, 2017 status.’” Although the judge’s ruling will force the government to stop...

Immigration in Pandemic Times Vol. 1, No. 7

ICE continues to ignore COVID-19 regulations in detention facilities, while asylum seekers struggle to gain entry to the United States. However, we had a huge win this week when the Supreme Court held that the Trump administration’s decision to end DACA was arbitrary and capricious. You can read more about that here and sign up for upcoming virtual clinics here. ICE refuses to make compromises for the sake of...

New USCIS Memo Signals Drastic Change for Immigration Applicants

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued two recent memos that allow immigration officials more discretion to outright deny applications they deem frivolous or incomplete, and place more people in removal proceedings. The first memo, discussed here, authorizes USCIS to place individuals in removal proceedings for merely overstaying their visas if their application for immigration benefits is denied. The second memo, released last Friday, grants USCIS...

USCIS Issues New Memo Expanding Power to Initiate Removal Proceedings

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a new policy on June 28, 2018, expanding the reasons that they will issue an I-862 “Notice to Appear” (NTA) to individuals to initiate removal proceedings against them. The new memo is available here and lists every instance in which individuals will be placed into removal proceedings. It supersedes an Obama-era memo governing the issuance of an NTA by the same...

Federal Judge Restores DACA Program Pending A 90-Day Stay

A federal judge in Washington D.C. has ruled that the decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was unlawful and must be set aside. However, the judge stayed his order for 90 days, and gave the Department of Homeland Security the opportunity to better explain its reasoning for canceling the program, or accept new applicants. This is great news for those individuals who are eligible...

ALERT! – If You Are Undocumented and Uninsured, Do Not Pay the Tax Penalty

We have heard from several clients of Lal Legal that many undocumented immigrants, including DACA recipients, are erroneously paying the penalty for not having health insurance while filing their taxes for the past tax year. Please note that you are not required to pay the tax penalty for being uninsured if your immigration status makes you ineligible to purchase health insurance through the Affordable Healthcare Act (ACA) marketplaces. Ineligible immigration status...

DOJ Files Emergency Stay of the Decision In Texas v. U.S.

Today, the Department of Justice asked the federal district court in Texas for an emergency stay of the preliminary injunction that stops the Department of Homeland Security from implementing the deferred action policies announced by the President in November. The DOJ is seeking an emergency stay because it contends that the district court decision will cause irreparable harm to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and prevent it from maximizing its limited...

Key Summary: “Immigration Accountability Executive Action”

After months of grassroots actions and demands that the President take executive action on immigration due to his dismal deportation record, President Barack Obama asked Secretary Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Eric Holder to undertake a rigorous and inclusive review to inform recommendations on reforming our broken immigration system through executive action. On November 20, 2014, the President officially announced some reforms that he would be making to the...