Tag: illegal immigrants

DHS Memos Bring Huge Changes to the U.S. Immigration System

Department of Homeland Security Secretary, John Kelly, releases two memorandums this week implementing President’s Trump’s executive orders on border security (memo-1) and interior enforcement (memo-2). Besides the border wall President Trump promised to build, we will likely to see massive enforcement effort in the upcoming months and scaled up detention and expedited removal.

Below are some of points I summarized:

  1. DHS seeks to deport anyone who “poses a risk to public safety or national security.” However, DHS did not define these two terms clearly. Theoretically speaking, DHS could label someone being “a risk to public safety” even if (s)he is not charged or convicted for a crime.
  2. DHS will focus on undocumented immigrants who have been (1) convicted or even charged with a criminal offense, including minor traffic infractions, (2) abused any program related to receipt of public benefits, i.e. received any government assistance, or (3) “have engaged in fraud or willful misrepresentation in connection with any official matter before a governmental agency”, including using fake Social Security numbers to work or lie on I-9 forms.
  3. DHS memos expanded the period of expedited removal from 2 weeks to 2 years after people enter the country, and eliminated the requirement that the immigrants be caught within 100 miles of the border. People in expedited removal will not go through the removal proceedings, which involve a hearing before an immigration judge. It is extremely important to keep records of two (2) year presence so you are not put in expedited removal.
  4. The use of parole authority to allow immigrants, who are not in possession of visas or not eligible for visas, to come to the U.S. will be extremely restricted.
  5. DHS seeks to return aliens, including unaccompanied children, who entered from a foreign land contiguous to the U.S. to where they arrived, meaning if they entered from Mexico, DHS will return them to Mexico, regardless of their nationality.
  6. DHS will hire an additional 10,000 ICE agents and officers to carry out enforcement priorities. We will likely to see more deportation and detention nationwide.
  7. DHS wants expand to continue and increase state and local law enforcement involvement in border areas, so they can aid in immigration enforcement.

The Law Office of Maya King will keep you informed about the newest changes in the complicated U.S. immigration system. If you or your family needs any advice or help, please call us at (913) 717-7112 for a free consultation.

 

Proposed Law Allows Certain Undocumented Immigrants to Enlist in the Military

While Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) is in the limbo and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) DREAMers are facing an uncertain future, this week, U.S. Representative Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) re-introduced the Encourage New Legalized Immigrants to Start Training Act (ENLIST Act). The ENLIST Act applies only to undocumented immigrants who were under the age of 15 when they were brought to the U.S. by their parents prior to 2012. They have to speak English, have a high school degree, as well as passing other strict military requirements. However, it does not guarantee applicants would be accepted into the military.

Denham’s bill was introduced in 2014, and again in 2015, but never passed. The ENLIST Act is not to incentivize more illegal immigrants to come to the United States because it only applies to people who are already in the U.S.

本周，美国代表Jeff Denham（R-Turlock）重新介绍了“鼓励新的合法移民开始培训法”（ENLIST法案）。 ENLIST法案仅适用于2012年之前由父母带到美国的15岁以下的无证移民。他们必须说英语，具有高中学历以及通过其他严格的军事要求。 然而，它不保证申请人将被接纳进军队。

Denham的法案于2014年推出，2015年再次推出，但从未通过。 Denham说，ENLIST法案不会激励更多的非法移民来到美国，因为它只适用于已经在美国的人。