Thousands Of Dreamers Are Losing Their Work Permits

The federal government is struggling to renew work authorizations for thousands of undocumented immigrants temporarily protected from deportation by the Obama administration.

Thousands of undocumented immigrants who gained work permits as part of an Obama administration effort to shield young people from deportation are suddenly losing their ability to work legally as the federal government struggles to renew their authorizations on time.
Exactly 11,028 young immigrants have had their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status and work permits expire in spite of having applied on time, according to numbers released for the first time to BuzzFeed News by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that handles the permits. The number of lapsed cases represents roughly 5% of the total number of DACA renewals that USCIS has approved so far.

Yael Pineda, a 19-year-old undocumented student at UCLA, owes her job to DACA, the Obama administration’s 2012 program that gave her a work permit and protected her from deportation because she had arrived in the United States as a child. When her DACA status started nearing the end of its two-year term, Pineda applied to renew well within the window of time recommended by USCIS, according to documents she shared with BuzzFeed News.

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DHS FY2015 Mid-Year Border Security Update

DHS press release with a status update on border security efforts mid-way through FY2015. During the first six months of FY2015, the number of total apprehensions along the southwest border, was 28% lower than total apprehensions during the same period in FY2014.

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Think of Undocumented Immigrants as Parents, Not Problems

LOS ANGELES — SOMETHING happened while the immigration system in the United States got broken, something that should change the way we talk about fixing it. Years went by, and nature took its course. More than 11 million unauthorized immigrants settled into our communities; many formed families and had children. Now at least one of every 15 children living in the United States has an unauthorized parent, and nearly all of those children are native-born United States citizens.

Think of that statistic, one in 15, the next time you drive by a school or a playground. Think of those children living with the knowledge that the federal government can take their parents away. Common sense tells you that the threat of a parent’s deportation will exact a terrible price.

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How Much Do Undocumented Immigrants Pay in State and Local Taxes?

Undocumented immigrants—and their family members—are adding value to the U.S. economy; not only as taxpayers, but as workers, consumers, and entrepreneurs as well. If they had legal status, they would contribute even more

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Attorneys at David F. Vedder, P.A. Assist Survivor of Spousal Battery and Extreme Cruelty Obtain Permanent Residence.

On April 14, 2015, after two years of legal procedures, a Jamaican national immigrant woman who previously had been granted deferred action under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) finally obtained permanent residence in the United States.  

VAWA was enacted to provide immigration protection for abused spouses, children and parents of United State citizens or lawful permanent residents, allowing the victim (or survivor) to self-petition based on the abuse they have endured. VAWA self-petitioners may also concurrently or subsequently apply for lawful permanent status.

Attorneys David F. Vedder and Silvia Manzanero prepared a compelling VAWA self-petition for their client, demonstrating that she had suffered both battery and extreme cruelty by her U.S. citizen abusive spouse.

However, this was only the first step in the two-part process.  In this particular case, an old agency error jeopardized this immigrant woman’s chances of obtaining permanent residence.  At an adjustment of status interview, attorney Manzanero persuasively explained the factual and legal arguments to the U.S. Immigration and Citizenship Services officer, who rightly approved her client’s permanent residence application.

As a self-petitioner spouse of a U.S. citizen who has been battered or subjected to battery and extreme cruelty, Manzanero’s client will be able to apply for citizenship after three years as a permanent resident.

Attorneys Commitment to Pro Bono Legal Service at AILA’s 2015 Citizenship Day Event, in Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville, Florida:

For the second consecutive year, Attorneys Silvia Manzanero and Daniel Ross of David F. Vedder, P.A. volunteered at the Citizenship Day event at Florida Coastal College of Law in Jacksonville on April 18, 2015.  The event was sponsored by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), in conjunction with Florida Coastal School of Law and Jacksonville Area Legal Aid.
Over the course of the day, approximately 100 individuals completed the paperwork necessary to become United States citizens.  Attorneys Manzanero and Ross assisted several lawful permanent residents by reviewing their applications and assisting with fee waiver requests.  The duo also helped train other attorneys less familiar with the nuances of naturalization law.

We would like to express our gratitude to everyone at Florida Coastal School of Law and Jacksonville Area Legal Aid for once again hosting a stellar event and for providing a venue for attorneys to deliver pro bono legal services.

At David F. Vedder, P.A. we pride ourselves in serving the community.  We currently plan on hosting a Citizenship Day event in the Daytona Beach area in September of 2015.














David F. Vedder, P.A. attorneys Silvia Manzanero and Daniel Ross, with Florida Coastal
School of Law Adjunct Professor and Jacksonville Area Legal Aid staff attorney Kara Roberts.

Report: Private Prison Lobbyists Spend Millions To Keep Immigrants Locked Up

In 2010, the Department of Homeland Security adopted a bed quota that required Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain about 34,000 individuals on any given day. The quota certainly did not benefit immigrants -- but it did prove to be extraordinarily lucrative for the private prison companies that picked up the new business. 

A report released last week by Grassroots Leadership, a Texas non-profit, details how private prison companies have spent five years lobbying the government, not only to maintain the quota, but to enact conservative immigration reform that would continue to ensure a steady flow of inmates into its detention centers.

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