Friday, February 25, 2011

Departments Working Together to Ensure Timely Adjudication of Petitions for Immediate Relatives in Removal

The United States Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) and Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE); both divisions of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have issued memoranda indicating a commitment to work together in the adjudication of Immediate Relative petitions for individuals in removal proceedings. USCIS has agreed to adjudicate petitions for individuals who are detained in 30 days, and 45 days for nondetained foreign nationals.

This move represents recognition between the departments that adjudication and completion of cases is an efficient, timely manner requires the participation of both divisions and that communication between the two is paramount to case completion. Since the Legacy Immigration & Naturalization Service was dissolved and the Department of Homeland Security formed there are now three different agencies that have authority over foreign nationals coming into the United States as well as their presence here. While this has served to decrease adjudication times in some instances, it has become more difficult in some instances for individuals in removal proceedings to complete their cases, causing considerable delays. USCIS has jurisdiction over all immigrant petitions, and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) cannot adjudicate an adjustment of status application until the petition has been approved. Generally ICE will have the file because they are the enforcement division and therefore communication between ICE and USCIS is key in ensuring adjudication on these petitions.

Monday, February 14, 2011

USCIS to Issue one Document to be Valid for Both Employment Authorization and Travel Permission

The Untied States Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) announced today in an “Interim Memo for Comment” that it will eventually begin issuing one document to cover both employment authorization and travel permission, rather than an employment authorization card and a paper advance parole document. The comment period closes on February 28, 2011 and the memo is in effect “until further notice”.

The new card will be the current I-766 (Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and will have look like the current employment authorization card, but will have an endorsement indicating that reentry into the United States after international travel is also authorized.

This change in documentary procedures in no way changes the analysis of whether an individual is eligible for advance parole, and is remains extremely important to analyze whether an applicant for adjustment of status can, in fact, travel outside of the United States and be eligible to reenter given their personal immigration history. Hopefully, USCIS will continue to be as careful in adjudicating these applications and not inappropriately grant advance parole to someone who is ineligible.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

New Mexico Mandates Local Police to Inquire About Immigration Status Upon Arrest


The Santa Fe New Mexican reports today that Governor Susana Martinez has directed state police on Monday to start asking about the immigration status of people arrested for crimes. This follows a nation-wide movement toward using local law enforcement officials as lead enforcers of federal immigration law. At first glance, one might think that these laws make perfect sense. After all, what better time to figure out a person's immigration status than after she has been arrested for a crime?

The problem with mandatory directives like the one imposed by Governor Martinez is that it will cause a chilling effect between the local immigrant communities and the police. For instance, if a woman knows that her boyfriend does not have immigration status and they get into a volatile argument, might she be less likely to call the police when that argument starts to cross a line into abuse? Similarly, in some jurisdictions the police have mandatory arrest policies for domestic violence calls. If there has been a fight, many times both parties are arrested and the actual facts are sorted out later after the situation has been calmed. This possibility of a dual arrest could further dissuade domestic violence victims from contacting police. Our law enforcement officers rely on their relationship with the communities they serve in and we should think long and hard before enacting any policy which discourages victims and witnesses from reporting crime to police. As the country marches further and further toward using local law enforcement as the dragnet to round up and deport immigrants, such efforts in the name of the rule of law could actually come at the expense of the effectiveness of our local law enforcement.

To read the story about Governor Martinez ordering New Mexico Police Officers to inquire about immigration status on arrest, click here.