LA Times: U.S. to Allow Some Immigrant Deportees to Return Under Settlement

The Los Angeles Times reports on a settlement agreement in an ACLU lawsuit alleging that federal agents use intimidation, threats, and misinformation to persuade undocumented immigrants to agree to voluntary departure. In the settlement, federal officials did not admit any wrongdoing but agreed not to use threats and intimidation against immigrants facing possible deportation, and will allow some—perhaps thousands—with ties to Southern California to return.
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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

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 cardholders access financial services.

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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

Politico: White House Meets with Big Business on Immigration

Politico reports that President Obama was initially expected to focus only on slowing deportations and altering federal enforcement policies. However, senior White House officials have begun to talk to leaders from companies such as Cisco, Intel, and Accenture, to consider a range of fixes relating to business immigration. The outreach to big business is an effort to broaden the political support for Obama's decision to act alone.

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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

Successful E-2 Visa Renewal at Embassy London

Attorneys David F. Vedder and Daniel C. Ross recently obtained reissuance of an E-2 treaty investor visa at Embassy London on behalf of longtime clients, Mark and Claire Venables.  Mr. Venables is a British citizen, and the President and CEO of Daytona Employment in Daytona Beach, Florida.  Claire is a Vice President and Office Manager at Daytona Employment. 

The clients have held an E-2 visas since 2002 based on their substantial investment into the company.  The attorneys at David F. Vedder, P.A., have successfully obtained multiple visa extensions on Mr. Venable’s behalf so that he may continue to enter the United States and direct his company.  Daytona Employment provides a wide array of professional staffing services to the greater Daytona area and can be contacted at www.daytonaemployment.com.

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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

Politico: Immigration Rights Groups Pressure Democrats to Stick with Obama

Politico reports that last week, a coalition of 30 immigrant rights organizations urged Senate Democratic leaders not to back away from demands that President Obama act on immigration before the midterm elections. The letter was sent in response to growing concern among the groups that the Senate leadership will pressure the Administration to hold off on taking some of the boldest action until after November.

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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

Firm Update:US Citizenship granted

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently approved David F. Vedder, P.A. client, Nicolas Albarran’s, application for adjustment of status under Act § 245(i). David F. Vedder was counsel of record in the proceedings. Mr. Albarran entered the United States without inspection, which ordinarily bars one from adjusting status to permanent resident in the United States. Because his father filed a visa petition for him in 1993, he was able to benefit under former Act § 245(i). Congress allowed Act § 245(i) to sunset, but generously grandfathered all those who had a visa petition or labor certification filed on their behalf before April 30, 2001.

Congratulations to Mr. Albarran!
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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

BuzzFeed: What It Actually Means for Obama to "Go Big" On Deportation Relief

Buzzfeed reports that activists have begun a concerted social media campaign using the #GoBigObama hashtag, encouraging President Obama to make substantive changes to the current immigration system. Advocates are encouraging Obama to expand deferred action for the parents and spouses of U.S. citizens, as well as for the parents of DREAMers. They are also encouraging an expansion of parole in place and the extreme hardship waiver

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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

Two Ways President Obama Could Act On Immigration

Sometime before the end of summer, President Obama is expected to take executive action to address the nation's broken immigration system.

The president's decision has in some ways been years in the making. It is built on his own action two years ago to defer deportation for so-called Dreamers — young people brought to the country illegally as children. And it is built on congressional failure to pass a sweeping immigration overhaul, a DREAM act or even an emergency funding measure to deal with all the unaccompanied children arriving at the border.

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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

LA Times: White House Pursuing Plan to Expand Immigrant Rights

The Los Angeles Times reports that as President Obama deals with the crisis of immigrant children arriving at the southwest border, White House officials are laying the groundwork for a large-scale expansion of immigrant rights that would come by executive action by the end of the summer. Officials signaled strongly that President Obama's move could shield large numbers of undocumented immigrants from deportation.

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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

Immigration Court in Orlando, Florida Continues to Recognize Syrian Christians' Fear of Persecution

On July 28, 2014, the Immigration Court in Orlando, Florida, granted asylum relief to another Syrian national represented by Silvia Manzanero, Esq,  after finding that he had a well-founded fear of persecution on account of his Christian faith.

Manzanero’s client had fled Syria after he was kidnapped by a group of armed individuals, who, after several verbal death threats, dragged him out of his placed of employment, blindfolded him, tied his hands behind his back, and drove him to an unknown location where he was kept by the captors for four days, tied to a chair, and given virtually no food or water.  The captors continuously made derogatory comments about the Respondent’s Christian religion and clearly indicated that his religion was the reason for his kidnapping.  .  Although the Respondent reported his ordeal to the local police, he received no protection nor was the kidnapping investigated. 

Upon acknowledging that acts of persecution of the Syrian Christian minority were thoroughly documented in the case, the Immigration Court found in favor of Manzanero’s client.   

This decision came after the Immigration Court in Orlando granted asylum relief to another of David F. Vedder, P.A.’s clients, also a Syrian national of Christian faith represented by attorney Manzanero, on July 22, 2014.   

These grants of relief are not surprising.  The armed conflict that began with the pro-democracy demonstrations in March 2011 has thus far claimed the lives of over 160,000 Syrians.[1] Of the country’s pre-war population of about 22 million people, over 2 million have sought refuge outside the country, while more than 6.5 million Syrians have been internally displaced.[2] 

Syrian Christians, in particular, have become the target of both extreme factions of the opposition and the Syrian government forces.  In areas controlled by the opposition, kidnappings of Syrian Christians are on the rise.  Similarly, Syrian Christians are being forced to join the rebel groups, flee their homes, or face death.[3]  Likewise, The Syrian government has engaged in attacks against Christians and other minorities in what has been interpreted as an attempt to “bolster sectarianism”.[4]

Attorneys at David F. Vedder, P.A. appreciate the fact that Immigration Courts are recognizing that Syrian Christians have a reasonable fear of persecution and encourage anyone with a meritorious claim to seek the protections guaranteed to them under U.S. immigration laws.

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[1] Anne Barnard, “Syria Death Toll Reported to Rise By 10,000 in Less Than 2 Months” The New York Times, May 20, 2014.  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/20/world/middleeast/syria.html?_r=0  (last accessed, 07/30/2014).

[2] “2014 UNHCR country operations profile - Syrian Arab Republic” http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e486a76.html last accessed, (07/30/2014).

[3] Daniel Brode et al., “Syria’s Threatened Christians”, New York Times, June 28, 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/29/opinion/syrias-threatened-christians.html  (last accessed 07/30/2014); Jamal Halaby,” Syrian Rebels Seek Control of Christian Village”, Associated Press, http://bigstory.ap.org/article/syria-al-qaida-rebels-control-christian-village (last accessed 07/30/2014); “Syria Crisis: ISIS Imposes Rules on Christians in Raqqa”, BBC,  http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26366197  (last accessed 07/30/2014); Washington Post, 145.  “Islamic State Declaration Could Lead to Schism” Associated Press, June 30, 2014. http://bigstory.ap.org/article/al-qaida-splinter-declares-new-islamic-caliphate (last accessed 07/30/2014.)

[4] Jen Psaki, Spokesperson, U.S. Department of State, “Christians Under Threat in Syria, March 3, 2014, http://m.state.gov/md222802.htm. (last accessed 07/30/2014.), International Religious Freedom Report for 2012, U.S. Department of State, Human Rights and Labor, www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt/.

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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

White House pursuing plan to expand immigrant rights

Even as President Obama grapples with the crisis of immigrant children arriving at the Southwest border, White House officials are laying the groundwork for a large-scale expansion of immigrant rights that would come by executive action within weeks.

Officials signaled strongly Friday that Obama's move would shield from deportation large numbers of immigrants living in the country illegally, as advocacy groups have demanded.

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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

U.S. Adjusts Court Flow to Meet Rise in Migrants

As part of the administration’s efforts to deter the current surge of illegal Central American migrants, the nation’s immigration courts will make a major shift in priorities to place unaccompanied minors and families with children first in line to go before immigration judges, Justice Department officials said.

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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

Obama readies executive action on immigration

The Washington Post reports that President Obama is preparing to announce new measures that would potentially allow millions of undocumented immigrants to remain in the U.S. without fear of deportation. Ideas under consideration could include temporary relief for law-abiding undocumented immigrants who are closely related to U.S. citizens or those who have lived in the country a certain number of years—a population that advocates say could reach as high as 5 million. 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

U.S. Adjusts Court Flow to Meet Rise in Migrants

As part of the administration’s efforts to deter the current surge of illegal Central American migrants, the nation’s immigration courts will make a major shift in priorities to place unaccompanied minors and families with children first in line to go before immigration judges, Justice Department officials said Tuesday.

Under the new procedures, those migrants could have their cases resolved and be deported within months, instead of the two or three years those cases often take in the overburdened courts.

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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