President-elect Biden will announce an Executive Order to reinstate and reopen the DACA program, which could provide status to 300,000 new applicants, as well as secure the existing status for over 700,000 who currently have DACA, according to the Washington Post.
Trump has spent three years trying to take away that status but was blocked by the courts.
BIDEN v. TRUMP. Part 3: DACA and DAPA
By Christopher Kerosky
In 2012, the Obama-Biden administration created DACA, the program that gave 750,000 young immigrants a reprieve from deportation. In 2017, in his first year in office, Donald Trump announced the termination of DACA. Although the courts later forced the Trump Administration to continue DACA for those who already have it, the Administration has so far refused to accept new applications, essentially preventing another 300,000 young people from getting status.
Joe Biden has called for a path to citizenship for DACA-recipients through passage of the DREAM Act. https://joebiden.com/immigration/#.
As his website states, “as Vice President, Joe Biden championed the creation and expansion of the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) program”, which would have given temporary status to undocumented immigrants with children born here. That program was blocked by a lawsuit filed by Republican governors. Donald Trump eliminated DAPA program before it could be implemented and 5 million undocumented immigrants were left in the shadows.
By Christopher Kerosky
Perhaps the starkest difference between Trump and Obama/Biden has been with respect to asylum policy. Trump has implemented a broad-based set of restrictive laws and policies toward asylum applicants including: • blocking many individuals from eligibility for asylum by changing policies to exclude victims of
sexual abuse, domestic violence or gang violence abroad;• forcing asylum applicants to wait long periods in Customs & Border Protection camps at the U.S. border
or in Mexico; during the last six months, the Administration has simply closed the border to asylum applicants completely, citing the COVID crisis.• Using the Department of Justice to restructure the immigration law bench by appointing predominantly
former ICE officials as judges, and expediting deportation proceedings for asylum applicants. If he becomes President, Biden has promised to reverse much of this, including a promise to “support steps to make immigration courts
more independent.” https://joebiden.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/UNITY-TASK-FORCE-RECOMMENDATIONS.pdf
By Christopher KeroskyNext month there is a critical Presidential election for all Americans, but especially for immigrants. The positions of each candidate on immigration policy are significantly different as is clear from their past policies and their public statements this year.
Donald Trump’s website states the following: “To restore the rule of law and secure our border, President Trump is committed to constructing a border wall and ensuring the swift removal of unlawful entrants. To protect American workers, the President supports ending chain migration, eliminating the Visa Lottery, and moving the country to a merit-based entry system. These reforms will advance the safety and prosperity of all Americans while helping new citizens assimilate and flourish.” https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration/
True to his promises during the 2016 campaign, Trump has implemented a comprehensive agenda to reduce legal and undocumented immigration over the last four years. This has included fighting for funding for his “wall” (really, increased barriers) on the Mexican border; a policy barring immigration from many Muslim countries; and severe r
estrictions on asylum and refugee status. He has tried and largely succeeded in scaling back any forms of amnesty for undocumented immigrants such as DACA, DAPA and temporary protected status (TPS) for Central Americans. As an immigration lawyer practicing 30 years, during six administrations, I can tell you this administration has been the most restrictive and punitive toward immigrants during those three decades.
Based upon his statements and those of his campaign, Joe Biden would reverse much of that. His website says: “Joe Biden understands the pain felt by every family across the U.S. that has had a loved one removed from the country, including under the Obama-Biden Administration, and he believes we must do better to uphold our laws humanely and preserve the dignity of immigrant families, refugees, and asylum-seekers.” https://joebiden.com/immigration/#
LAS DIFERENCIAS ENTRE JOE BIDEN Y DONALD TRUMP EN LOS ASUNTOS
DE INMIGRACIÓN. Parte 1
Por Christopher Kerosky
https://www.facebook.com/periodico.alpunto
En este artículo, hago un breve resumen sobre la
posición de cada candidato sobre las políticas migratorias, como tal y cual lo
han hecho en sus declaraciones públicas y su plataforma de campaña. En muchas
de esta se ven las diferencias esenciales en la política de inmigración bajo
las administraciones de Obama-Biden y Trump.
En la página de internet de Donald Trump declara
lo siguiente: “Para restaurar el estado de derecho y asegurar nuestra frontera,
el presidente Trump está comprometido a construir un muro fronterizo y
garantizar la rápida expulsión de las personas que ingresan ilegalmente. Para
proteger a los trabajadores estadounidenses, el presidente apoya el fin de la
migración en cadena, la eliminación de la lotería de visas y el traslado del
país a un sistema de entrada basado en el mérito. Estas reformas promoverán la
seguridad y la prosperidad de todos los estadounidenses al mismo tiempo
ayudarán a los nuevos ciudadanos a asimilarse y prosperar ". https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration/
Fiel a sus promesas durante la campaña de 2016,
Trump ha implementado una agenda integral para reducir la inmigración legal e
indocumentada durante los últimos cuatro años. Esto ha incluido luchar por la
financiación de su "muro" (que, en realidad, son mayores barreras) en
la frontera con México; una política que prohíbe la inmigración de muchos
países musulmanes; y severas restricciones al asilo y la condición de
refugiado. Ha intentado y ha logrado en gran medida reducir cualquier forma de
amnistía para inmigrantes indocumentados como DACA, DAPA y estatus de
protección temporal (TPS) para centroamericanos. Como abogado de inmigración
con 30 años de experiencia, durante seis administraciones, puedo decirles que
esta administración ha sido la más restrictiva y que más ha castigado a los
inmigrantes.
Basado en sus declaraciones y las de su campaña,
Joe Biden revertiría gran parte de eso. Su página de internet dice: “Joe Biden
comprende el dolor que sienten todas las familias en los Estados Unidos a
quienes las que se ha retirado a un ser querido del país, incluso bajo la
Administración Obama-Biden, y cree que debemos hacer mejor para respetar
nuestras leyes de manera humana y preservar la dignidad de las familias
inmigrantes, refugiados y solicitantes de asilo”. https://joebiden.com/immigration/#
TPS May Be Ending, What Can You Do?
By Liliana Gallelli, Esq. and Christopher
Kerosky, Esq.
A Court
ruled this week that the Trump Administration’s cancellation of, Temporary
Protected Status (TPS) was valid. This
means that TPS may be ending for over 200,000 citizens of El Salvador living
here. This post outlines the options for
them to stay in the U.S. under existing laws.
These suggestions also apply equally to Hondurans, Nicaraguans and
others who are losing their TPS status here.
When does TPS really end for Salvadorans?
TPS for
El Salvadorians will expire in November 2021. For other immigrants with TPS, the ending date
is January 2021.
Will I have enough time to obtain another
legal status?
If you
start your process now, this is enough time to obtain a work permit or Legal Permanent
Resident Status (Green Card) for most people qualifying for other types of
status.
What are the possibilities for staying here?
1. Apply for Legal Permanent Residency (Green
Card Status) through spouse or adult child
If you
have an immediate family member (spouse or child over 21 years of age) who is
US Citizen, you may be able to apply for Legal Permanent Residency (Green Card
Status). Most people with TPS who live in California do not even need a
waiver (pardon) thanks to a new court ruling from last year. It is important to apply for this before TPS ends.
2. Apply for Legal Permanent Residency
(Green Card Status) through work
This
option may be available for certain individuals depending on when they arrived
in the US and if they have an employer willing to submit a petition on their behalf.
3. Parole in Place
If you
have a family member who is in the US Armed Forces or Reserves, or served in
the past, you may be eligible to apply for Parole in Place. Parole in Place gives you the right to apply
for a work permit and can also help you apply for Legal Permanent Residency
(Green Card) in the future.
4. U Visa
If you,
your spouse or your minor child have ever been the victim of a crime here in
the US and you reported it to the police, you may be able to apply for a U
Visa. With a U Visa, you can apply for a work permit and eventually Legal
Permanent Residency.
5. Asylum
If you
have a well-founded fear of persecution of returning to El Salvador, you may be
eligible for asylum. This option often
provides work permission within 6 months of filing. It also offers a path to permanent residence
if the application is approved.
Be Proactive.
Because any new
procedure will take time before you can obtain status or even a work permit,
it’s important to determine what options are possible given the facts of your
case. Each case is different and time is
of the essence.
Make sure to renew TPS
for the final renewal. TPS status can
help you obtain other legal status, particularly in California (and a handful
of other states), and it protects you temporarily from deportation. Maintaining your legal status is extremely
important in the Trump era, when the Department of Homeland Security currently
has a policy of exempting no one from deportation, if they are here without
status.
This was written by Christopher Kerosky
and Liliana Gallelli, both immigration attorneys licensed in California.
WARNING: The foregoing is an article
discussing legal issues. It is not intended to be a substitute for legal
advice. We recommend that you get competent legal advice specific to your case.
By Christopher Kerosky
New DACA policies by Trump Administration.
On August 24, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
provided guidance on how it will implement new policies regarding the Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
· USCIS
will reject all initial DACA requests from foreign nationals who have never
previously received DACA.
· USCIS
will limit grants of deferred action and employment authorization under DACA to
no more than one year, but will not cancel any currently valid two-year grants
of DACA or associated employment authorization documents (EADs).
· USCIS
will generally reject requests received more than 150 days before the current
grant of DACA expires.
· USCIS
will only grant advance parole for travel outside the United States to DACA
recipients for "urgent humanitarian reasons" or "significant public
benefit".
The determination whether to
grant advance parole to an alien is entirely within the discretion of USCIS and
must be made on a case-by-case basis.
Some examples of circumstances
that may warrant approval include, but are not limited to, situations such as:
1. Travel to support the national
security interests of the United States;
2. Travel to support U.S. federal
law enforcement interests;
3. Travel to obtain
life-sustaining medical treatment that is not otherwise available to the alien
in the United States; or
4. Travel needed to support the
immediate safety, wellbeing or care of an immediate relative, particularly
minor children of the alien.
CAUTION: DO NOT TRAVEL WITHOUT AN APPROVED ADVANCE PAROLE.
Applying for Adjustment
of Status following travel with Advance Parole.
Advance parole makes
some DACA recipients eligible for adjustment of status to the U.S. without a
pardon and without going through consular processing outside the US. For example, a DACA holder with a US citizen
spouse.
This means that if a
DACA recipient travels abroad and returns under a grant of advance parole, he
or she can apply for adjustment of status in the US. This is a much faster and simpler procedure
than the prior pardon procedure, which required the applicant to obtain a
pardon (which were often denied) and to go through a lengthy procedure at a
Consulate abroad, like Ciudad Juarez.
Now, DACA holders
with a US citizen spouse can apply for permanent residence in San Francisco and
generally obtain it in approximately one year.
There were many cases of DACA recipients successfully adjusting status
after traveling abroad on advance parole between 2013-2017 before Trump stopped
issuing Advance Parole to DACA holders.
Of course, anyone contemplating travel outside the US or
applying for permanent residence should get competent legal advice before doing
so.
****************************************************************
CHRISTOPHER A.
KEROSKY of the law firm of KEROSKY PURVES & BOGUE has practiced immigration
law for over 25 years. He graduated
from University of California, Berkeley Law School and was a former counsel for
the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington D.C.
Mr. Kerosky has
been recognized as one of the top lawyers in Northern California for over 10
years by “Super Lawyers”. See https://profiles.superlawyers.com/california-northern/san-francisco/lawyer/christopher-a-kerosky/358dc9f1-b1c2-46b5-80cc-6e9610b1cd43.html
WARNING: The foregoing is a
summary generally discussing legal issues. It is not intended to be a
substitute for legal advice. We recommend that you get competent legal advice
specific to your case before filing any application or petition.