Deferred Action for DREAMers

Catching Up On My Blogging

August 7, 2013 by Matthew

I’ve been enjoying the summer a little too much and I’ve fallen behind on my blogging. Here’s some of the things I should have been blogging about:

1. The Immigration bill – An immigration bill passed in the Senate, but appears to be going no where in the House of Representatives. House Republicans want to take a piece meal approach to immigration reform by passing several smaller immigration laws, rather than a single comprehensive immigration bill. House Republicans are also against a pathway to citizenship. It’s not clear at this point if there will be any immigration reform. For everyone who got excited about the Senate immigration bill, I am reminded of the School House Rock cartoon, I’m Just a Bill. Ultimately, the Senate immigration bill was just a bill. I have been getting calls from people asking about whether they would be covered by the “new” immigration law. I tell them that we don’t have a new immigration law – it’s just a bill and until we have an actual law, I cannot comment on whether anyone would benefit from it.

2. DOMA has been overturned! On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court decided Windsor v. United States, which struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”). Windsor was not an immigration case. However, since DOMA was struck down, it can no longer be used to prevent same sex spouses from filing immigrant petitions. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service has announced that it is now accepting petitions filed on behalf of same sex spouses.

3. On June 29, 2013, I spoke at the AILA National Conference. I spoke on a panel entitled, “”Becoming an Effective Litigator: Making the Most of Your Client’s Day in Court.”

4. I’ve had some success stories the last two weeks. I had a client obtain adjustment of status. I had a client approved for naturalization. I had another client get her application for deferred action for childhood arrivals (“DACA”) approved.

President Obama’s Re-election Means DACA Will Survive 4 More Years

November 8, 2012 by Matthew

Good News for those who have applied for deferred action for childhood arrivals (“DACA”) and those who were waiting to apply until after the election. President Obama’s re-election means that the program will be safe for the remainder of his four year term. In the past, I had blogged that those who are eligible under DACA should wait to apply until after the election because Mitt Romney had presented a very anti-immigration position during the Republican primaries. Hopefully, the DREAM Act and Comprehensive Immigration Reform will be passed and DACA will be rendered obsolete.

Mitt Romney’s Changing Position on Immigration

October 2, 2012 by Matthew

Back during the Republican primaries, Mitt Romney was against the DREAM Act and was promoting self deportation. Yesterday, Mitt Romney was interviewed by the Denver Post and announced that if he is elected, he will honor deferred actions requests granted under President Obama’s policy for DREAMers. However, today Romney’s campaign clarified his statement. If elected, he will discontinue the program and not extend the deferred action grants after they expire in two years. He also claims that he will have his own policy in place that will provide a permanent solution. Unfortunately, he has yet to provide any details regarding his permanent solution.

On the plus side, DREAMers can now file for deferred action knowing that if they are granted relief, they will have employment authorization for two years. Since June, I’ve been saying that DREAMers should wait until after the election to file for deferred action. With Mitt Romney’s latest statements, there is no longer a reason to delay filing.