A Silent Crisis: Children Experiencing Trauma in Family Detention

During my week as a volunteer attorney in San Antonio, I visited with a mother and child at the Karnes family detention center who had been transferred from the Artesia detention center when it closed.   The mother and her young son had already been detained for seven months, and I was helping to prepare them for their merits hearing.  Their case was compelling and harrowing, like many of the mothers and children detained in these family detention centers.  The mother had suffered horrendous sexual, physical, and emotional abuse as a child, suffered domestic violence as an adult, and then finally fled for her life and the life of her child when the gangs threatened to kill her and her son.  Sadly, it’s a story shared by many of the women detained in Dilley and Karnes, and those who were detained in Artesia.  Sadder still, it’s a story that this woman has had to repeat over and over again while locked up in detention – to the Border Patrol officers when she was crossed into the United States; to the asylum office during her interview; to a multitude of volunteer advocates trying to help her with her case; to the various immigration judges who have presided over her case as jurisdiction changed from Immigration Courts in Virginia, Denver, and now San Antonio.

Read more

Business group ranks U.S. near last in welcoming skilled immigrants

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States ranks near the bottom among major economies in terms of policies to allow hiring highly skilled immigrant workers, according to a study by a business lobbying group that supports relaxing immigration controls.

Read more here

Immigration Agency Issues Long-Awaited Guidance on L-1B Visa Petitions

This week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) took another crucial step toward administrative reform of our immigration laws. The agency issued for public comment long-awaited policy guidance on its adjudication of L-1B “specialized knowledge” visa petitions.

Permanent Residency Obtained for Canadian-born Indian:

David F. Vedder, P.A. recently secured a green card on behalf of a Canadian-born member of an Indian tribe.  Upon consulting our office to develop a strategy for obtaining permanent residence in the United States, our attorneys discovered that our client’s Indian heritage made her immediately eligible for a green card based on the Jay Treaty, signed in 1794, and still in force today.  The treaty allows for free passage rights between the United States and Canada for individuals meeting the following qualifications: (1) possess 50% American Indian blood, (2) were born in Canada, and (3) have proof of ancestry via official documentation from a tribe recognized by the federal government of the United States or Canada.

We recommend individuals meeting the above qualifications that desire to reside in the United States contact our office so we may assist in obtaining a green card by requesting a creation of record of lawful permanent residence at a local USCIS field office.  The attorneys at David F. Vedder, P.A., are well versed in this area of law and have the ability to assist both qualified individuals already in the United States and those contemplating a move from Canada.  

Electronic (paperless) I-94 Issues

Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Tampa Field Office (TFO), issues this Public

Information Notice (PIN) to announce that the Area Port of Orlando will begin accepting

requests, via email, to review issues with electronic I-94s that cannot be found or may contain

erroneous information such as an incorrect “admitted until” date, incorrect biographical

information and/or incorrect classes of admission.  

Travelers that arrived at a location listed below or are currently located in a location listed

below may send a request regarding an issue with a previously issued I-94 to ORLANDOI-

94TEAM@cbp.dhs.gov.

The request should include:

1. A statement setting forth the issue and requesting that the issue be resolved;

2. A copy of the Passport biographical page;

3. A copy of the United States Visa, if applicable;

4. A copy of the most recent admission stamp in the passport;

5. A copy of the boarding pass or the  flight information;

6. The person’s address and telephone number in the United States; and

7. The Form DHS 590, Authorization to Release Information to Another Person, if

applicable. (The form can be obtained at https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/tsa/dhs-form-

590.pdf)

Locations within the Orlando Area Port:

Orlando International Airport

Orlando-Sanford International Airport

Leesburg User Fee Airport

Orlando Executive Airport

Port Canaveral

Melbourne Airport

Daytona Beach International Airport

Residents or visitors to Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Volusia counties.

Questions regarding this PIN should be sent to ORLANDOI-94TEAM@cbp.dhs.gov

David Vedder, P.A. Case Update

Mr. Vedder represented a prominent physician whose application for naturalization was erroneously denied.  Mr. Vedder filed suit in Federal District Court, Middle District of Florida seeking judicial review of the denial.  Shortly thereafter USCIS/Orlando reversed its decision and naturalized our client.

USA Today: Feds Deny More Visas for Specialized Foreign Workers

USA Today writes about a report released today by the National Foundation for American Policy, which found that approximately 35 percent of the L-1B petitions filed by American companies to bring foreign employees with specialized knowledge in their fields to the U.S. were denied in FY2014. AILA Director of Liaison Betsy Lawrence states that AILA has been asking USCIS to provide clearer guidance on the adjudication of L-1Bs but has received no response, stating "It's incredibly frustrating… there's no predictability in the process whatsoever."

Read full story from USA Today

New York Times: A Life Without Papers

A New York Times op-ed by Texas Organizing Project member Ehiracenia Vasquez describes the impact that DAPA would have on her life. She writes, "I want to drive the short distance to the grocery store without worrying that the police car in the lane of traffic behind me is going to pull me over and demand documents I don't have. I want to be able to look for a good job so that I can help provide for my family. I want to take my kids to school in the morning without worrying whether that day will be the last one I have with them." This initiative has been put on hold, as a court case involving expanded DACA and DAPA makes its way through the legal system.

Read full story here

JUST IN: House funds Department of Homeland Security without immigration measures

The grudge match between Republicans and Democrats over the president's immigration policies and funding the Department of Homeland Security ended-- with a win for Democrats.
 House Republicans approved $39.7 billion in funding for DHS without any measures to block President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration, which could allow as many as 5 million undocumented immigrants to remain in the country and work for three years.

The vote was 257 to 167, with most Republicans voting against the bill.

Read the whole story here