The Day After Trump, For Immigrants

by W. John Yahya Vandenberg

November 9, 2016

Trump’s election is likely going to change a lot of things, especially for immigrants, and most certainly for undocumented immigrants. So let’s walk through what happens now and the following days.

First, not much will change until Trump actually is sworn in in January. So there is some time to figure out who should be concerned, and why.

Second, there are some immigrants who have less time than others to take steps to work on their status. I’m especially thinking about DACA recipients. DACA’s – you guys rock. You are working, you are studying, you are making your communities better places. If you are near or close to 180 days til expiration, NOW is the time to file to extend your DACA. If there is more than 6 months, I think it would be worthwhile to file to extend no later than the end of December. This is about getting as much time as possible.

For persons eligible for DACA who didn’t yet make an initial application, you have a choice to make.  If you apply now for the first time, you are giving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) your address and contact information.  If they want to detain you, they could.  At the same time, if you are granted DACA – well, a Social Security Card is a very handy thing to have, even if it’s only for two years.  So any new DACA’s should carefully consider the potential risks and benefits.

Third, there are some immigrants who don’t have much to worry about. If you have status in the United States – I’m thinking immigrants with work visas, or greencards, or you are petitioning for a relative who is overseas – you should be OK.

Finally, there are some immigrants who have a reason to worry. I’m thinking about immigrants who are undocumented. There is a good chance that after Inauguration Day on January 20, 2017, we’ll go back to the days when ICE could arrest anyone who is undocumented, detain them if they want to, and seek to deport them. It is also quite likely that those persons whose cases are Administratively Closed will see their cases reopened.

To those immigrants without status, our lawyers have been here before, and we know what to do: fight for you in the courts. After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, we saw this: immigrants targeted for detention and removal proceedings. Those who fought often won. Those who gave up, lost, and were either deported or left.

To those immigrants without status, we want you to know that America has been here before. Tonight I am reminded of my law school, the Villanova University School of Law. It is located in Villanova, Pennsylvania, which is a suburb of Philadelphia.

Not many people know that Villanova University is in Villanova because in 1844, “Nativists,” persons who hated immigrants, burned down the St. Augustine Church in South Philadelphia. The Nativists did so because of a rumor that Catholics – then mainly Irish and Italian immigrants – were going to take the Bible out of Philadelphia public schools. The Augustinian Fathers literally were burned out of Philadelphia.

 

Lithograph of the old St. Augustine Church burning in 1844.

But you should also know that times change for the better. The Augustinian fathers founded Villanova University from that terrible incident, and the University served, and still serves, the children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those Irish & Italian Catholics who lost their church. The Augustinian fathers sued the city of Philadelphia, and they won compensation for the loss of their church. And they rebuilt St. Augustine’s, which still stands today at 243 N. Lawrence Street in Philadelphia.

The children of those Italian and Irish immigrants got jobs that counted. They served as police, as members of the military, and members of the media. They organized themselves politically and they learned how to make their votes count. Now is the time to work, not to falter or become disheartened.

The sun will rise at 6:40am this morning. I’ll be in the office all day. If you’re worried, know that we’re here for you, and we’ll fight for your rights.  We might even sue.

“So, is there going to be a new law this year?”

Yea, I get this question a lot.  And one reason I came to the Annual Conference in Boston was to meet with the AILA Washington DC Headquarters staff.

I met with them yesterday.  Word on Comprehensive Immigration Reform?  NOT looking good.  Ugh.  We can argue the significance of the highly unusual loss of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va), and whether it’s because he was “soft” on immigration or just out of touch.  But according to the AILA national folks – it’s unlikely that it’ll happen this year.

Also, this morning Alejandro Mayorkas, Deputy Secretary, Department of Homeland Security, gave the keynote address at the conference.  In the past, USCIS has had good news for us: last year it was the groundbreaking Windsor decision that allowed same-sex couples the same rights to permanent residence as heterosexual couples, and the year before they announced Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).  This year – nada, zip, zero, zilch!  No good news about reform, or fixes.

So… at this point in time, if you’re wondering if there will be a new law this year?  Probably not 😦

Annual conference Highlights and Notes – Wednesday, Day 1

By W. John Vandenberg

Hello, Readers!  This week, Hogan and Vandenberg is at the American Immigration Lawyers Association (“AILA”) Annual Conference in Boston.  We’ll be blogging about the updates we learn while here.

Day 1 was Wednesday.  Since I’m on the AILA Philadelphia Executive Committee, we receive leadership training that includes legislative updates.

So, here’s the bad news.  Not a lot of optimism about Comprehensive Immigration Reform (“CIR”) (see my subsequent post).  Indeed, the number of recent posts from AILA regarding immigration reform have become fewer and farther between.  Not a good sign.  While in soccer and politics, anything is possible (what happened with Spain?!?!?!), it seems we’re not going to have big news for 2014.

But here’s something that may help YOU to change that.  You can become even more active, and AILA will give you the tools.  Even though you have to be an immigration attorney in good standing to join AILA, anyone can access their Congressional advocacy page.  It has a ton of useful information, including Immigration Politics.  It also has very useful information about each Representative and Senator, including their voting history on immigration bills and even personal history about her or him, which you can use for research and to find out ways you can get to know them better, such as reaching out to alumni or members of the same denomination.  Want to keep up on votes?  Want to learn more about bills that have made it out of committee?  Go here and put in your zip code — then you’ll learn more!

Wednesday was also a good day because I got a chance to give a presentation on Temporary Protected Status, which of course got into adjustment based on Matter of Arrabally.  Different USCIS District Offices are adjudicating these in different manners.  But regardless, it is clear that DACA and TPS recipients are benefitting greatly from advance parole as a way to visit their families and loved ones.  And, upon return, seek Adjustment of Status.

Looking forward, there is a lot of speculation that President Obama could go ahead and make some immigration reform if Congress won’t address it.  One way he could fix it and give relief to millions of families would be to issue Parole in Place (“PIP”) to undocumented immigrants.  This would allow thousands more to gain status through Adjustment, and would give them enough legal status to prevent deportation.  Unfortunately, so far, no word on whether this potential fix will become a reality.

Stay tuned for more updates!

John

 

 

Good news for a Friday

Change, my friends, is a good thing.  Nice to see that Americans favor citizenship for undocumented immigrants.   http://bit.ly/XEHb0V . Here’s is a soundtrack for the event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbO2_077ixs . Have a happy and blessed Friday!