On August 15, 2012, the Board of Immigration Appeals rendered a precedent decision called, Matter of C-B-, 25 I. & N. Dec. 888 (BIA 2012). This is an important decision for aliens in removal proceedings. This decision recognizes that aliens facing deportation have a statutory right under the Immigration and Nationality Act to have an immigration attorney. This does not mean that you have the right to a free immigration lawyer. It just means that if you want to hire an immigration attorney, you have the right to do so. Because of the statutory right of aliens to have an immigration lawyer in removal proceedings, the Board held that, “[i]n order to meaningfully effectuate the statutory and regulatory privilege of legal representation where it has not been expressly waived, the Immigration Judge must grant a reasonable and realistic period of time to provide a fair opportunity for a respondent to seek, speak with, and retain counsel.” This means that if you go to immigration court without an immigration lawyer and tell the immigration judge that you want to get an immigration lawyer, the immigration judge must give you time to find an immigration attorney. Finding an immigration lawyer to represent you in your deportation proceedings is a very important decision. The immigration judge should give you a reasonable amount of time to find the immigration attorney that you feel is right for you.
U.S. C.I.S. FAQ’s on Deferred Action for DREAMers are Misleading
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (“U.S. C.I.S.”) has issued a detailed page on its website with Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). The answer to the question: “Will the information I share in my request for consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals be used for immigration enforcement purposes?” indicates that the information will not be used for enforcement purposes unless the individual meets the “criteria” for being placed in removal proceedings. Interestingly, the answer to this question contains the following disclaimer at the end:
This policy, which may be modified, superseded, or rescinded at any time without notice, is not intended to, does not, and may not be relied upon to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by any party in any administrative, civil, or criminal matter.
Another FAQ asks, “If USCIS does not exercise deferred action in my case, will I be placed in removal proceedings?” The answer to this FAQ is “If your case does not involve a criminal offense, fraud, or a threat to national security or public safety, your case will not be referred to ICE for purposes of removal proceedings except where DHS determines there are exceptional circumstances.” However, this FAQ does not have a disclaimer. I consider the lack of a disclaimer for this question to be extremely misleading. Both FAQs should have the same disclaimer or the disclaimer should appear at the beginning and clearly indicate that it applies to the entire program.
The Obama Administration has an ethical and moral obligation to make the public aware that his policy can not only be rescinded if he is not re-elected, but that the individuals who apply under this program could be placed in removal proceedings, if Mitt Romney were to be elected and decided that DREAMers should be deported. Mr. Romney’s website is critical of President Obama for “selective” enforcement of the immigration laws and indicates that: (1) he will discourage illegal immigration; (2) enforce the law; and (3) oppose amnesty for illegal immigration. Unless Mr. Romney indicates that he will not deport DREAMers, no one should apply for deferred action under the President’s policy until after the election. What’s the harm in waiting until November?
DREAMers should not be pawns in President Obama’s political game of chess in getting re-elected. He is putting people who are vulnerable and desperate at risk.
Don’t Believe the Lies About the Obama Administration: He is Enforcing the Law
I just read an article where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) union representatives were complaining that the immigration laws are not being enforced. Yesterday, I read an article where Republicans were complaining that the immigration laws are not being enforced. If you read the news, you would think that no one is being deported. This is far from the truth.
The sad reality is that more people have been deported under President Obama than any other president. More non-citizens are being held in immigration detention centers than ever before. More is being done to protect the border than ever before.
President Obama does not want the immigration laws not to be enforced. He wants to prioritize enforcement. We have an estimated 12-14 million undocumented aliens in the United States. Additionally, there is an unknown number of residents that have been convicted of crimes that they can be deported for. The ICE is only capable of deporting about 400,000 people per year. President Obama wants to focus on deporting the bad people (i.e., criminals and dangers to national security).
Hunting down criminal aliens and individuals who are a danger to national security, should be the goal of the ICE union representatives. However, based upon the statements being made, they would prefer to go after high school valedictorians that are undocumented. The reality is that it takes more man power and hours to go after the dangerous people. It’s relatively easy to catch undocumented aliens. A factory raid can result in hundreds of people being placed in removal proceedings. Ultimately, it’s about statistics. Prioritizing criminal aliens and dangers to national security will result in less people being caught and deported because ICE cannot round these individuals up as efficiently as they can the undocumented aliens. Government bureaucracies are judged by their statistics.
Having practiced immigration law since 1997, I’m not so sure that President Obama’s change in priority is actually bad for morale at ICE. The people who work at ICE are normal people like you and me. The only difference is that they have a very difficult job. It’s not easy to have a job where you separate families and detain people with no criminal history as if they were criminals. On many occasions, I have observed ICE officers that did not appear comfortable with the things that they had to do because of their job. I would think that many ICE officers would like President Obama’s policy of prioritizing enforcement of immigration laws because it makes them less likely to have to detain and deport sympathetic people.
As for the Republicans, they’re just lying because they don’t want President Obama to be re-elected.
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