6 things Joe Biden will likely do on immigration

When he enters the White House, Joe Biden will likely seek to reverse much of President Donald Trump's immigration legacy and push ahead with his own agenda.

While some measures could be quickly rescinded, the multitude of Trump administration changes could take months or years to undo.

Here is what to expect from Biden in six key immigration policy areas:

1. IMMIGRATION REFORM AND 'DREAMERS'

Biden plans to send an immigration bill to Congress on his first day in office in January that includes a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally, a campaign official told Reuters.

The bill would also address the status of so-called “Dreamers” living in the United States illegally after entering as children. Under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program started by former President Barack Obama, roughly 644,000 Dreamers are granted deportation relief and work permits.

Trump sought to end DACA, but the US Supreme Court ruled in June that his administration did not follow proper legal procedures.

Biden's immigration reform bill will include a path to citizenship for more than 400,000 people covered by the Temporary Protected Status program. Trump moved to phase out most enrollment in the program, but was slowed by legal challenges.

2. TRUMP'S TRAVEL BANS

On Day One of his presidency, Biden intends to rescind Trump’s travel bans on travelers from 13 countries, most of them either majority-Muslim or African nations.

Shortly after taking office in 2017, Trump issued an executive order that banned travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations from entering the United States. The administration reworked the order several times amid legal challenges and the Supreme Court upheld a version of it in 2018. The countries subject to entry restrictions have changed over the years.

The bans could be easily undone, as they were issued by executive order and presidential proclamation, according to policy experts, but lawsuits from conservatives could delay the process.

3. TRUMP'S PANDEMIC RESTRICTIONS

Trump implemented a series of sweeping restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic that kept some legal immigrants and travelers from entering the United States.

The measures include travel bans that block the entry of many people coming from Brazil, China, Europe and Iran in order to prevent the spread of the virus. Trump also barred entry of certain immigrants seeking permanent residence and temporary foreign workers, including certain skilled workers with H-1B visas, saying he needed to protect American jobs.

A federal judge in October blocked Trump's temporary foreign worker ban from being applied to hundreds of thousands of businesses, a ruling the Trump administration has appealed.

While Biden has criticized some of these restrictions, he has not said if he would immediately reverse them. He has not commented on emergency border rules implemented in March that allow U.S. authorities to rapidly expel border crossers, including unaccompanied children and asylum seekers.

A Biden campaign official told Reuters the Democrat would look to public health officials for guidance on pandemic-related border closures.

4. SKILLED FOREIGN WORKERS

The Trump administration finalized a pair of regulations in October that likely will curb U.S. companies’ use of skilled foreign workers, especially in the tech industry.

The regulations significantly increase the minimum wages companies must pay to workers enrolled in the program. The rules also narrow the definition of “specialty occupations” eligible for the visas.

Biden has not said whether he would roll back the measures if elected, but his campaign website said he would work with Congress to reform the H-1B visa program to ensure the visas are "aligned with the labor market and not used to undermine wages."

After that, Biden would support expanding the number of high-skilled visas, the website says.

5. REFUGEES

Biden has said he would raise the annual ceiling for refugee admissions to 125,000 but has not said how quickly that would happen.

Trump has sharply curbed refugee admissions and his administration announced in September that it would allow no more than 15,000 refugees in the 2021 fiscal year, a figure Biden will likely increase.

Refugee advocates caution it may take years to rebuild the pipeline of vetted refugees ready to travel to the United States, as well as the capacity of resettlement groups to receive them.

Biden said in late October that he would “immediately” grant humanitarian protections to Venezuelans living in the United States, which would allow them to remain in the country and obtain work permits. He cited economic hardship in that country under the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

6. THE US-MEXICO BORDER

Biden’s immigration plan would end the diversion of Pentagon funds to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border and instead invest in screening infrastructure at ports of entry.

He said in August that he would not tear down border walls built under Trump but would halt construction.

Biden has vowed to end Trump's restrictive asylum policies, beginning with a program known as "remain in Mexico." Under the program, formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, non-Mexican migrants are forced to wait in Mexico for their U.S. immigration court dates.

During an Oct. 22 presidential debate, Biden criticized the program, saying it left migrants "sitting in squalor" on the other side of the Rio Grande River, which separates the United States and Mexico.

Biden has said he will prioritize the reunification of any migrant children separated from their families under Trump administration policies.

As of Oct. 20, lawyers and non-profit organizations seeking to reunite families separated at the US-Mexico border by the Trump administration were not able to locate the parents of 545 children.

-reuters-

Trump administration ends protection for migrant medical care

BOSTON – The Trump administration has eliminated a protection that lets immigrants remain in the country and avoid deportation while they or their relatives receive life-saving medical treatments or endure other hardships, immigration officials said in letters issued to families this month.

Critics denounced the decision as a cruel change that could force desperate migrants to accept lesser treatment in their poverty-stricken homelands.

Mariela Sanchez, a native of Honduras who recently applied for the special exemption, said a denial would amount to a death sentence for her 16-year-old son, Jonathan, who suffers from cystic fibrosis. They are among many families who settled in Boston to seek care at some of the nation’s top hospitals.

Sanchez, who arrived in the U.S. with her family in 2016, said she lost a daughter to the same disease years ago after doctors in her home country failed to diagnose it.

The disease, which is hereditary, affects the lungs and digestive system and has no cure.

“He would be dead,” if the family had remained in Honduras, she said of her son. “I have panic attacks over this every day.”

In Boston alone, the decision could affect about 20 families with children fighting cancer, HIV, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, epilepsy and other serious conditions, said Anthony Marino, head of immigration legal services at the Irish International Immigrant Center, which represents the families.


Advocates say similar letters from Citizenship and Immigration Services have been issued to immigrants in California, North Carolina and elsewhere.

“Can anyone imagine the government ordering you to disconnect your child from life-saving care — to pull them from a hospital bed — knowing that it will cost them their lives?” Marino said.

“This is a new low,” Democratic Sen. Ed Markey said. “Donald Trump is literally deporting kids with cancer.”

A Citizenship and Immigration Services spokeswoman said the policy change was effective Aug. 7.


It affects all pending requests, including from those seeking a renewal of the two-year authorization and those applying for the first time. The only exception is for military members and their families.

The special status is similar to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that then-President Barack Obama created in 2012 to shield immigrants brought to the country as children from deportation — another policy the administration has been trying to dismantle.

The agency estimates it receives about 1,000 deferred action requests per year that are related neither to the military nor to DACA. Most of them cite medical or financial hardships, the agency said.

Going forward, applicants will be able to seek deportation deferrals from a different agency, Immigration Customs and Enforcement, according to the spokeswoman.

Letters sent to Boston-area families last week and reviewed by The Associated Press, however, do not mention that option. They simply order applicants to leave the country within 33 days or face deportation, which can hurt future visa or immigration requests.

The elimination of the special status for medical care is one of several aggressive steps the Trump administration has taken in recent weeks to crack down on immigrants.

The administration also wants to deny green cards to many immigrants who use Medicaid, food stamps, housing vouchers or other public assistance, and to end a long-running agreement limiting how long migrant children can be kept in detention. President Donald Trump floated the idea of ending the right to citizenship for babies born to foreigners on American soil, and the administration wants to effectively ban asylum along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Without the discretionary deferrals, immigrant families facing serious health issues have few other options for relief, medical experts in Boston argued Monday.

The deferrals, they added, do not provide families a pathway to citizenship, though they can qualify for government-funded health benefits and receive legal permission to work while their children receive medical treatment.

“They’re not coming for a free ride. They’re coming to save their children,” said Joe Chabot, a director at the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. “It’s bewildering.” /gsg

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

US may soon demand visitors to surrender social media passwords

Personal passwords are considered sacred and should pretty much remain as private as can be, especially in this age of digital technology.

This is why a recent statement by United States Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly has given rise to an online outcry, after propositions that foreign visitors will be asked to hand over their social media passwords to officials when visiting the country.

With security as tight as ever due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest immigration ban, the extreme measure is believed to target and vet refugees and visa applicants from seven Muslim-majority countries—particularly from from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Yemen.

“We want to get on their social media, with passwords: What do you do, what do you say?” Kelly told the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila). “If they don’t want to cooperate then you don’t come in.”

The domestic chief, as per NBC News, argued that obtaining these passwords from potential visitors or immigrants is a vital process to further understand the nature and personality of each individual and assess if they could possibly be threats to the country.

The Trump-appointee stressed that this process should absolutely be passed, especially for applicants coming from failed states where infrastructure and record-keeping is degraded by conflict.

“When someone says, ‘I’m from this town and this was my occupation,’ [officials] essentially have to take the word of the individual,” he said. “I frankly don’t think that’s enough, certainly President Trump doesn’t think that’s enough. So we’ve got to maybe add some additional layers.”

Moreover, Kelly stressed that the U.S. government “don’t have a lot to work with” given the current procedures, and is pretty much reliant on an applicant’s personal documentation, which could be fabricated.

Still, the U.S. government official assures that his proposed schemes are just “the things that we’re thinking about” and that none of the suggestions have been confirmed yet.

It is also supposedly unlikely to change anything for the bulk of visitors to the United States who come from countries excluded from the seven listed in Trump’s controversial executive order.

Aside from demanding people to give out their passwords, Kelly is also reportedly trying to obtain U.S. visitors’ financial records.

“We can follow the money, so to speak. How are you living, who’s sending you money?” he said. “It applies under certain circumstances, to individuals who may be involved in on the payroll of terrorist organizations.” Khristian Ibarrola

source: technology.inquirer.net

A DUI conviction can get you deported from the US

LOS ANGELES — Summer is here, and it’s time for barbecues and bonfires by the beach. Before partaking in summer fun, however, know where you stand: If you are a non-U.S. citizen, read this article carefully.

What Uncle Sam giveth, Uncle Sam can just as easily take away. Whatever you do, try not to get deported.

A DUI can result in revocation of your non-immigrant visa.  If you remember nothing else from this article, remember this: a DUI can result in the revocation of your non-immigrant visa.

Word to the wise: If you have even had just one drink, stay put. Ask a friend to drive you back home. Take a cab. Take Uber or Lyft. There are no more excuses for drinking and driving.

Note that a DUI can mean either: under the influence of alcohol; or under the influence of a controlled substance. If you find yourself in a situation where you are about to be convicted of a DUI and you are forced to sign a plea agreement, consult with a criminal attorney AND an immigration attorney before signing anything.

It is important that you are fully apprised of the full impact of a DUI conviction on your immigration situation.

A DUI is included in the Priority 2 of the Enforcement Priorities Memorandum.  On November 20, 2014, Department of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson issued new guidance on the Department’s civil immigration enforcement priorities. The Enforcement Memo, which went into effect in January 2015 specifies the categories of noncitizens at greatest risk of deportation, provides guidance on the exercise of prosecutorial discretion by immigration officers.

Priority Two of the Enforcement Memo focuses on “misdemeanants and new immigration violators.” These individuals include – persons convicted a significant misdemeanor. A significant misdemeanor is defined as an offense of domestic violence, unlawful possession or use of a firearm, driving under the influence, or any misdemeanor for which the person was sentence to serve 90 days or more in jail, excluding suspended sentences.

Other ways to get deported: It’s Fourth of July long weekend and Shawn went out with his friends for a barbecue by the lake. They drank, ate hot dogs and burgers and had an amazing time. The following morning, he woke up in a holding cell. He finds out that he is being charged with “trespassing” and being “under the influence of a controlled substance.” Shawn has no recollection of what happened, but when he was prompted to “plead guilty” by the public defender, he did so “because it was just a misdemeanor anyway.”

Shawn is a lawful permanent resident. He had just been served with a Notice to Appear by the Department of Homeland Security, and would like to know why he is being deported.

The Notice to Appear.  The Notice to Appear (NTA) is the charging document issued by an authorized agent of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to noncitizens that the government believes are inadmissible or removable.  The NTA is issued to place a non-citizen in a full removal proceeding before an immigration judge, who will determine whether the noncitizen is to be removed or allowed to remain in the United States.

A criminal conviction’s negative impact on immigration status.  The Record of Conviction (ROC) details an individual’s criminal history – his/her arrest, what s/he plead to, and the final judgment/sentence. The relief(s) available to an individual facing removal/deportation proceedings will depend largely on that individual’s record of conviction.

If you are a non-citizen, know that you are not on an equal footing as those who are U.S. citizens. Even if you have been a green card holder for 20 years, you can still be deported by a single DUI conviction. Do not plead guilty unless you have a firm grasp of the possible immigration consequences.

An individual should act quickly and, before pleading to anything in criminal court, consult both with a criminal attorney and with an experienced criminal immigration attorney who handles deportation defense, to mitigate the negative consequences of a criminal conviction to his/her immigration status.

It is important to be informed and to know your options.  An experienced immigration firm or attorney will be able to help you understand what immigration terms mean and what options might be available to you under the evolving immigration laws.

* * *

Atty. Lilli Berbano Baculi is an associate attorney with Chua Tinsay & Vega, A Professional Legal Corporation (CTV) – a full service law firm with offices in San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento and Philippines. The information presented in this article is for general information only and is not, nor intended to be, formal legal advice nor the formation of an attorney-client relationship. Call or e-mail CTV for an in-person or phone consultation to discuss your particular situation and/or how their services may be retained at (619) 955-6277; (415) 495-8088; (916) 449-3923; lbaculi@ctvattys.com. For general information visit www.chuatinsayvega.com.

source: globalnation.inquirer.net

Chris Brown free to leave PH after securing clearance

American singer Chris Brown may now leave the Philippines after securing an emigration clearance certificate (ECC) on Friday afternoon from the Bureau of Immigration.

Bureau spokesperson Elaine Tan said Brown personally appeared before the immigration office in Makati City to apply for an ECC at 4 p.m. She said his application was granted.

“ECC issued by BI Makati office around 4:30 p.m. today after verifying that Chris Brown has no other derogatory record apart from the [immigration lookout bulletin],” said Tan, adding “departure formalities” would be implemented by immigration officers at the airport.

According to Immigration Commissioner Sigfried Mison, Brown has no derogatory record despite the complaint filed by Maligaya Development Corp.

“Since the complaint is still pending, walang nag-a-appear na derogatory record sa amin. Pero alam naman namin na merong pending complaint although wala sa court so it is really not a pending obligation,” Mison said.

The $1-million estafa complaint, he said, was still with the prosecutors’ office, “so based on our lookout bulletin, directive ni ma’am (Justice Secretary Leila de Lima), it is not a basis to deny departure.”

He also said there was no agreement for Brown to return to the country in case he needed to appear in court.

“It is really a matter between the lawyers of Mr. Brown at yung kanyang promoter and the [National Prosecution Service],” Mison said.

However, if the case would be filed in court, De Lima said the government had recourse to go after Brown like extradition and the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.

Brown has been barred from leaving the country after being put on the watch list of the immigration bureau.

The singer staged a concert on Tuesday night at SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Brown is expected to leave the country via his private jet anytime today. His next destination is Macau.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net