Month: October 2012

UPDATES ON DEFERRED ACTION FOR CHILDHOOD ARRIVALS (DACA)

As of September 13, 2012, the USCIS had received 82,361 DACA applications and has thus far approved 29.  Not 29,000 or even 2900 but 29.  Biometrics have been scheduled in 63,717 cases and 1,660 were “ready for review”.

In related news, according to an article on foxnews.com:  “If elected president, Mitt Romney would not continue the new program that grants work permits and suspends deportation for two years for undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as minors, his campaign says, according to the Boston Globe.”

Romney further stated that if elected, he would not revoke the work permits for those who received them but would not grant new ones.  The article goes on to say:  “‘The people who have received the special visa that the president has put in place, which is a two-year visa, should expect that the visa would continue to be valid. I’m not going to take something that they’ve purchased,’’ Romney told The Denver Post in an interview published Tuesday. ‘’Before those visas have expired we will have the full immigration reform plan that I’ve proposed.’”

It is unlikely that before the “visas have expired” that the country “will have the full immigration reform plan” that Romney has proposed.  First of all, DACA approvals are not visas rather a reprieve from deportation with an authorization to work in the U.S. for two years.  Second, it is highly unlikely that Romney’s proposed immigration reform plan would pass both Houses of Congress and become law prior to the expiration of the Employment Authorization Documents.

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IMMIGRATION ISSUE MISSING FROM FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

The topic of immigration was conspicuously absent from Wednesday nite’s debate.  Considering that President Obama seemed to be off of his game for that debate, his campaign should be content to save the issue for one of the two upcoming debates.  Governor Romney has drastically changed his position on the issue from the primaries to the general election and his flip-flopping should be challenged.

A debate is an adversarial process.  Getting along and being respectful is an ideal goal when all parties involved agree to do so.  However as with mediation, which is a form of alternative dispute resolution, it is next to impossible to be a gentleman or a lady and have a fruitful discussion with a fighter or a bully.  In a competitive environment, where there is either a declared or perceived winner and conversely a loser such as a debate, the aggressor will usually be victorious over the passive party.  The strategy of “taking the high road” may not be the best one in such situations as the goal is not to reach the truth or an agreement as much as it is to win the debate.

Please visit our firm’s websites at www.immigrantconnect.com and www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and “like” us on Facebook!

LAPD ORDERED TO STOP TURNING OVER SOME ARRESTED UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS TO ICE

According to an article on latimes.com:  “Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck stepped into the national immigration debate Thursday, announcing that hundreds of illegal immigrants arrested by his officers each year in low-level crimes would no longer be turned over to federal authorities for deportation.”

This is a step in the right direction.  Generalized fear of police by a large population is endangers the community.  It discourages reporting of serious crimes or other suspicious activities by these individuals.  The concept of “community policing” has proven to be effective and engagement by those served by a particular department is key to making us all safer.

Please visit our firm’s websites at www.immigrantconnect.com and www.americaninvestorvisa.com and check out our page and “like” us on Facebook!