Thursday, July 31, 2014

Welcome Arina Belkin!

We welcome Arina Belkin at David F. Vedder, P.A.  Arina joined our firm in March 2014 as a Legal Assistant, bringing over 10 years of administrative and managerial experience.  She is fluent in Russian having immigrated to the United States in 1994. Arina has an Associate of Paralegal Studies from Daytona State College, 2009.


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Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, immigration attorneys at David F. Vedder, P.A. have substantial experience and proven ability to handle matters at all levels of complexity. To request an initial consultation or more information on our firm's range of services, call 386-274-0044, or email info@TheImmigrationFirm.us

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Grant of Asylum Immigration Relief for Christian Syrian

On July 22, 2014, a Syrian national who had fled his home country seeking protection from persecution was granted asylum immigration relief by the Immigration Court in Orlando, Florida.
Under current U.S. immigration laws, an individual seeking asylum must demonstrate that he or she has suffered past-persecution or has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
Attorney Silvia Manzanero from David F. Vedder, P.A., represented the Syrian national before the Immigration Court, presented a compelling and thoroughly documented case, and successfully demonstrated that her client had a well-founded fear of being persecuted on account of his Christian religious faith.  

As an asylum grantee, Manzanero’s client will be able to apply for lawful permanent residence in one year.


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Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, immigration attorneys at David F. Vedder, P.A. have substantial experience and proven ability to handle matters at all levels of complexity. To request an initial consultation or more information on our firm's range of services, call 386-274-0044, or email info@TheImmigrationFirm.us

Friday, July 25, 2014

Get the Facts: Five Ways Immigrants Drive the Essential Economy

The essential economy—which encompasses the food services and hospitality industries, construction, agriculture, elder care, and manufacturing—is fundamental to the U.S. economy and society as a whole.[1] Immigrants’ participation in these sectors creates new jobs for native-born workers, contributes to the growth of construction and agriculture, and provides essential care to the United States’ aging population. This fact sheet—the tenth in our series on immigrants and the economy—details five reasons why immigrants are vital to the success of the essential economy.

Read more here


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Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, immigration attorneys at David F. Vedder, P.A. have substantial experience and proven ability to handle matters at all levels of complexity. To request an initial consultation or more information on our firm's range of services, call 386-274-0044, or email info@TheImmigrationFirm.us

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Immigrants Offset Population Decline and Aging Workforce in Midwest Metros

It’s clear that an increasing number of places large and small across America recognize the value immigrants have brought and continue to bring to the United States. After all, metropolitan areas, as the drivers of the nation’s economy, are where the majority of immigrants live, and local communities are where the important work of integrating newcomers takes place. It is indeed promising that more local leaders are interested in creating a welcoming, friendly, and receptive environment for newcomers.

See more

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Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, immigration attorneys at David F. Vedder, P.A. have substantial experience and proven ability to handle matters at all levels of complexity. To request an initial consultation or more information on our firm's range of services, call 386-274-0044, or email info@TheImmigrationFirm.us

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

The Facts About the Humanitarian Challenge at the Border

What is our obligation as a country to the unaccompanied child migrants at our border? This seemingly straightforward question is frequently lost among the political debate surrounding the humanitarian challenge at our southern border. In a recent Senate homeland security committee hearing, several senators focused only on how to deter the child migrants.

Read more

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Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, immigration attorneys at David F. Vedder, P.A. have substantial experience and proven ability to handle matters at all levels of complexity. To request an initial consultation or more information on our firm's range of services, call 386-274-0044, or email info@TheImmigrationFirm.us

Monday, July 21, 2014

Removal Without Recourse: The Growth of Summary Deportations from the United States

The deportation process has been transformed drastically over the last two decades. Today, two-thirds of individuals deported are subject to what are known as “summary removal procedures,” which deprive them of both the right to appear before a judge and the right to apply for status in the United States. In 1996, as part of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), Congress established streamlined deportation procedures that allow the government to deport (or “remove”) certain noncitizens from the United States without a hearing before an immigration judge.

Read more
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Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, immigration attorneys at David F. Vedder, P.A. have substantial experience and proven ability to handle matters at all levels of complexity. To request an initial consultation or more information on our firm's range of services, call 386-274-0044, or email info@TheImmigrationFirm.us

Friday, July 18, 2014

Analysis of Senate Hearing on the President's Emergency Supplemental Request

In this AILA Quicktake video, AILA Advocacy Director Greg Chen provides analysis on last week's Senate Appropriations Committee hearing concerning unaccompanied children. AILA recommends, among other things, that more funds be allocated for addressing the root causes of the crisis, for hiring more immigration judges and asylum officers, and for managing EOIR's legal orientation programs.


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Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, immigration attorneys at David F. Vedder, P.A. have substantial experience and proven ability to handle matters at all levels of complexity. To request an initial consultation or more information on our firm's range of services, call 386-274-0044, or email info@TheImmigrationFirm.us

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Bloomberg Businessweek: New York Is Offering Undocumented Immigrants IDs

Bloomberg Businessweek reports that a bill signed last week by Mayor Bill de Blasio will make New York City the country’s largest city to offer a municipal ID card to all residents—including undocumented immigrants. The cards will make carriers eligible to use city services, like lending libraries, and the city is negotiating with banks to help card holders access financial services. Read this story and more in AILA's daily immigration news clips.
Read full article

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Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, immigration attorneys at David F. Vedder, P.A. have substantial experience and proven ability to handle matters at all levels of complexity. To request an initial consultation or more information on our firm's range of services, call 386-274-0044, or email info@TheImmigrationFirm.us

Monday, July 14, 2014

Break the Immigration Impasse

American citizens are paying 535 people to take care of the legislative needs of the country. We are getting shortchanged. Here’s an example: On June 10, an incumbent congressman in Virginia lost a primary election in which his opponent garnered only 36,105 votes. Immediately, many Washington legislators threw up their hands and declared that this one event would produce paralysis in the United States Congress for at least five months. In particular, they are telling us that immigration reform — long overdue — is now hopeless.

Read full story from NY Times
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Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, immigration attorneys at David F. Vedder, P.A. have substantial experience and proven ability to handle matters at all levels of complexity. To request an initial consultation or more information on our firm's range of services, call 386-274-0044, or email info@TheImmigrationFirm.us

Friday, July 11, 2014

USCIS Releases New Processing Time Reports

USCIS released processing time reports dated July 8, 2014, with processing dates as of May 31, 2014.

See more here
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Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, immigration attorneys at David F. Vedder, P.A. have substantial experience and proven ability to handle matters at all levels of complexity. To request an initial consultation or more information on our firm's range of services, call 386-274-0044, or email info@TheImmigrationFirm.us

Thursday, July 10, 2014

NY Times: U.S. Adjusts Court Flow to Meet Rise in Migrants

The New York Times reports that, as part of the administration's efforts to deter the recent surge of unaccompanied minors at the border, immigration courts will make a major shift in priorities. Unaccompanied minors and families with children will now be placed first in line to go before immigration judges, and officials told The New York Times that as a result, at least half of about 375,000 cases already languishing in court backlogs will be delayed significantly longer. Read this story and more in AILA's daily immigration news clips. Find additional information on the Central American humanitarian crisis on AILA's resource page.
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Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, immigration attorneys at David F. Vedder, P.A. have substantial experience and proven ability to handle matters at all levels of complexity. To request an initial consultation or more information on our firm's range of services, call 386-274-0044, or email info@TheImmigrationFirm.us

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Legal Times: Obama Requests More Immigration Judges

Obama Requests More Immigration Judges

Todd Ruger, Legal Times
July 8, 2014

The U.S. Department of Justice would get $64 million and about 40 additional immigration judges under President Obama's new plan to address the increased number of immigrants illegally crossing the Southwest border.

The White House plan asks Congress for $45.4 million to hire judge and support staff teams to reduce the processing time of immigration cases, as well as expand courtroom capacity with additional video conferencing and other equipment, White House officials announced Tuesday.

The request also includes $1.1 million for more immigration litigation attorneys, and $15 million for legal representation of children in immigration proceedings, the White House said. Another $2.5 million would expand legal orientation programs that provide assistance to adults and custodians of children in the immigration court system.

Overall, Obama wants to spend $3.7 billion on an "aggressive deterrence and enforcement strategy" to address the high rates of apprehensions and processing of children and individuals from Central America crossing the border in the Rio Grande valley.

"This surge of resources means that cases are processed fairly and as quickly as possible, ensuring the protection of asylum seekers and refugees while enabling the prompt removal of individuals who do not qualify for asylum or other forms of relief from removal," the White House said in a written statement.

Obama on Tuesday will send the supplemental appropriation request to Congress for fiscal year 2014, which ends Sept. 30. The fate of the request on Capitol Hill is unclear, particularly with budget constraints that have loomed over lawmakers for years.

White House officials, on a conference call with reporters, said they hope the request "will be treated as the urgent humanitarian issue that it is" and met with bipartisan support.

Obama has already requested Congress spend $17 million in fiscal year 2015 for 35 new immigration teams and 15 Board of Immigration Appeals attorneys in the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review.

The immigration court's caseload is increasing to unsustainable levels, the Justice Department said. Between fiscal years 2009 and 2013, the matters pending adjudication grew by 56 percent, from 229,000 cases to 358,000.

Combined, the 40 judicial teams in Tuesday's emergency request and the 35 judge teams from the fiscal year 2015 budget request would provide sufficient resources to process an additional 55,000 to 75,000 cases annually, the White House said.

Still, that number falls far short of the number of judges that would have been added under the leading immigration reform bill that passed in the Senate in June 2013. That bill, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act, calls for nearly doubling the number of immigration court judges, with 225 hires over the next three years.

However, the reform bill never got a vote in the House, and Obama and House Republicans have all but abandoned it during this election year.

Contact Todd Ruger at truger@alm.com. On Twitter: @ToddRuger.
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Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, immigration attorneys at David F. Vedder, P.A. have substantial experience and proven ability to handle matters at all levels of complexity. To request an initial consultation or more information on our firm's range of services, call 386-274-0044, or email info@TheImmigrationFirm.us

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

More Municipalities Deny Federal Requests, Won't Detain Immigrants

AILA First Vice President William Stock is quoted in this NPR piece on how an increasing number of municipalities are refusing to honor federal immigration detainers.

Read this story and more in AILA's daily immigration news clips.
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Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, immigration attorneys at David F. Vedder, P.A. have substantial experience and proven ability to handle matters at all levels of complexity. To request an initial consultation or more information on our firm's range of services, call 386-274-0044, or email info@TheImmigrationFirm.us

Monday, July 7, 2014

Impunity and the Border Patrol

The New York Times Editorial Board reports on an American Immigration Council report, "No Action Taken: Lack of CBP Accountability in Responding to Complaints of Abuse," which found that no disciplinary action has been taken for a vast majority of abuse complaints filed against border agents.

Read this story

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Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, immigration attorneys at David F. Vedder, P.A. have substantial experience and proven ability to handle matters at all levels of complexity. To request an initial consultation or more information on our firm's range of services, call 386-274-0044, or email info@TheImmigrationFirm.us

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

DHS head says controversial program should stay

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson told lawmakers Thursday that a controversial immigration enforcement program should continue, but be revamped to run more effectively.
After signaling recently that the program, called Secure Communities, should get a “fresh look,” Johnson said Thursday that the administration is not seeking to dump the initiative altogether. The program calls on law enforcement to hand over fingerprints of people booked into local jails to federal immigration authorities.

Read more from Politico  
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Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, immigration attorneys at David F. Vedder, P.A. have substantial experience and proven ability to handle matters at all levels of complexity. To request an initial consultation or more information on our firm's range of services, call 386-274-0044, or email info@TheImmigrationFirm.us