Last week, the Attorney General overruled the Board’s decisions in Matter of Lozada, and Matter of Assaad. The decision held that there is no Fifth Amendment right to counsel in immigration proceedings. Matter of Compean-Bangaly-J-E-C, 24 I&N, Dec. 710 (A.G. 2009). When immigrants face possible deportation, they don’t have the…
When the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act was passed by Congress in 1996, among its main goals was expelling and stiffening penalties against aliens who overstay visa allowances and improving security against illegal immigration on the borders and internally. While the law achieved some its objectives, it also…
U.S. Border Patrol announced that they discovered an incomplete tunnel that originates in Tijuana, Mexico and stretches about 10 feet into San Diego. Several Taxi Drivers that cross in the area reported suspicious activity in that area. Border Patrol spokesman Julius Alatorre says an agency contractor discovered the tunnel when…
ILW.com recently published an interesting article by a former USCIS officer stationed at the London US Embassy, working on I-601 waivers. The question we all ask is whether officers exercise discretion when adjudicating 601 waivers, or are they following the law with respect to the extreme hardship standard. Officer Heller…
It seems that the prediction of more and more enforcement before the elections is true. Federal agents swept through a chicken processing plant today, detaining more than 300 suspected illegal immigrants, sending panicked workers running and screaming through the hallways. Worried relatives collected outside, fearful their loved ones would be…
Due to limited resources the government is using private contractors to secure and run immigration jails. The abuse and terrible conditions in these jails is beyond unreasonable. Many detainees from California are being sent to Arizona and Washington state jails for lack of detention space. Federal authorities are taking a…
Recently, USCIS, released a memo on inadmissibility due to HIV infection in light of the President’s signing of H.R. 5501. On July 30, 2008, the President signed into law the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008, Public…
What is the latest scandal from Washington? Applicants seeking asylum in the United States have been wrongfully rejected by judges whom the administration chose using a conservative political test, according to an analysis of Justice Department data. According to the New York Times, the investigation suggests that the effects of…
We have recently taken on a deportation case that touched the hearts of all of us at the office. This Italian national that entered on a visa waiver, married a US citizen and fathered a child. Now he is detained by ICE, subject to expedited removal. Is he eligible for…
Felony cultivation of marijuana in violation of Cal. Health & Safety Code §11358 is categorically an aggravated felony drug trafficking crime under INA §101(a)(43)(B). In August 1999, Petitioner, a lawful permanent resident, was convicted of felony cultivation of marijuana under Cal. Health & Safety Code §11358. Petitioner was charged with…