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Immigration Law

Immigration Law Answers Blog

News, Information, Opinions, and Online Resources for People with Immigration Questions.
By Robert Kraft

Post Frequency: 2.9/day

Last Entry: March 07, 2011 at 17:08:57

Homeland Security Pick Napolitano Expected To Reassert Federal Authority On Immigration

Posted on December 03, 2008
That was a headline in the Dallas Morning News, and let's hope it comes true. This country desperately needs the federal government to step up to the plate and take responsibility for passing and enforcing immigration laws. As is, we have a hodgepodge of states and municipalities trying to pass conflicting laws regulating immigrant behavior...

Will The Last Person To Leave Please Turn Out The Lights?

Posted on December 03, 2008
The Acting Director for USCIS has resigned, close on the heels of the resignation of the head of ICE. The Administrative Appeals Office is also without a leader. Who's running the show up in Washington these days? Anyone want to apply for a job that will probably end on January 20, 2009? Here is the official statement from Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertof: For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary Contact: 202-282-8010 Today is Jock Scharfen’s last day as Acting Director for the U...

Editorial - A Cool Head On Immigration

Posted on December 02, 2008
The New York Times has a good editorial about the selection of Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as President-elect Barack Obama’s choice for homeland security secretary. The Times is in favor of Napolitano, and so am I. I think she's a good, moderate voice in the immigration debate...

Texas Landowners Find Appraisers Scarce In Border-Fence Cases

Posted on December 02, 2008
The Dallas Morning News reports that Rio Grande Valley property owners are having trouble finding property appraisers – key witnesses in hearings that will determine how much the government pays for the land it uses to build the border fence. This is going to be a major problem in the battle between the property owners and the U...

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Mexicans In U.S. Return Home For Holidays With Less

Posted on December 01, 2008
The Associated Press reports that nearly 1 million Mexican migrants living in the U.S. are expected to head home for the holidays, but relatively few are returning loaded down with gifts and cash this year. This could have a profound effect on the upcoming immigration debate, but of course this situation will reverse when the U...

Editorial: Immigration Reform Faces New Obstacles

Posted on December 01, 2008
Today's Dallas Morning News has a good editorial about obstacles to be faced in enacting immigration reform legislation with a new administration and new Congress. Bottom line - it won't be easy, but it must be done. Here is the editorial: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid perked up some ears last week when he told Gannett News that Congress will follow up on the post-election agreement between President-elect Barack Obama and Sen...

British Government Begins Issuing ID Card To Foreign Nationals

Posted on November 26, 2008
The Associated Press reports that the British government is issuing ID card to foreign nationals. The program will start with roughly 50,000 foreign students and spouses of permanent residents. This is a little frightening for those of us who don't entirely trust what governments might do with the information on national ID cards...

Temporary Protected Status Re-Registration Period Extended For Honduran And Nicaraguan Nationals

Posted on November 24, 2008
News from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center: November 21, 2008 - WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced an extension to the re-registration period for nationals of Nicaragua and Honduras who have been granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and are now eligible to re-register and maintain their status an additional 18 months...

Texas Border Sheriffs Launch Border Camera Program

Posted on November 21, 2008
For better or worse, the The Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition has launched a new network of Internet cameras aimed at the Mexican border in the latest effort to bolster local border security efforts with live video steaming. Here are excerpts from a Dallas Morning News article: Much like during the monthlong test run of border cameras, users watching the cameras will be able to anonymously e-mail law enforcement to report suspicious activity...

Anti-Immigrant Bills Already Filed In Texas Legislature

Posted on November 20, 2008
The CapitolAnnex Web site has a good summary of the immigration bills pre-filed in the Texas Legislature, for consideration when the Legislature meets in January. Fortunately for Texans, our Legislature meets only every other year. Unfortunately, 2009 is one of those years...

Napolitano Chosen As Secretary Of Homeland Security

Posted on November 20, 2008
The Washington Post reports that Janet Napolitano will be appointed as Secretary of Homeland Security: Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D), whose handling of immigration issues brought her accolades from fellow governors, is President-elect Barack Obama's choice to serve as secretary of homeland security, Democratic sources said late Wednesday...

Dallas Morning News Speaks Out On DISD Social Security Blunders

Posted on November 19, 2008
A few days ago I wrote about the absurd policy of the Dallas Independent School District to issue fake Social Security numbers (temporarily) to new employees. Now the Dallas Morning News has weighed in with an editorial on the subject: OK, let's see if we understand this...

Intercountry Adoption Web Site

Posted on November 19, 2008
Recently, the U.S. Department of State launched a new Web site designed exclusively for intercountry adoption. The Web site, www.adoption.state.gov, provides information regarding the international adoption process, eligibility and requirements to adopt, the specific countries from which Americans can adopt children, the protections provided by the Hague Adoption Convention, and information about selecting an accredited adoption agency...

Editorial: Releasing Criminal Immigrants

Posted on November 18, 2008
An editorial in today's Dallas Morning News decries the decision by Harris County to release illegal immigrants who have been charged with felonies. This editorial is hard to argue with. Regardless of your position on immigration reform, surely no one believes our country is better off because we're releasing serious criminals because of paperwork delays...

Will Large Latino Voter Turnout Affect Future Immigration Policies?

Posted on November 17, 2008
Morning Edition, on National Public Radio, had a very interesting story this morning about the potential effect of Latino voter turnout on future immigration policies. Please read the article, but the gist is the suggestion that the large Latino support for the Democrats might force Democrats to act on immigration reform or risk losing this support...

New Employment Immigration Regulation Eased After Firms Complain

Posted on November 17, 2008
The Washington Post reports that the Department of Homeland Security will significantly scale back its planned crackdown this winter on federal contractors that hire illegal immigrants. Here are excerpts from the article: Under a rule published yesterday, the agency said only contractors that do more than $100,000 in federal work will be required to use an electronic government system to check the work documents of new hires...

Texas Department Of Public Safety Drops Plans For Driver's License Checkpoints

Posted on November 16, 2008
The Dallas Morning News reports that the Texas Department of Public Safety has decided to drop plans to create driver's license checkpoints on Texas highways in the face of strong lawmaker opposition and suspicions that the proposal targeted illegal immigrants...

Dallas School District Issued Fake Social Security Numbers To Employees

Posted on November 14, 2008
The Dallas Morning News today reports an incredible story about how the Dallas Independent School District issued fake Social Security numbers as a "temporary measure" in order to get immigrant teachers and employees on the payroll. The plan was to use the fake number until the immigrant could get a real number...

Dallas County Jail Will Now Check Prisoners' Immigration Status

Posted on November 13, 2008
The Dallas Morning News reports that the Dallas County jail has become one of the first in the nation to use a new federal database to identify illegal immigrants during the book-in process. Here are excerpts from the article: Normally, when prisoners are booked into jails, their fingerprints are run through a national database to check their criminal history...

Even Legal Immigrants Receive Inadequate Medical Care in U.S.

Posted on November 10, 2008
The New York Times recently ran a very long, but important, article about medical care received in the United States by immigrants. The gist of the story is that the medical care is inadequate, regardless of the immigrant's legal status. This is shocking - many legal immigrants in the U...

Dallas Immigration Officials Say Illegal Immigrant Arrests Up 21% In 2008

Posted on November 06, 2008
The Dallas Morning News reports today that arrests of illegal immigrants in North Texas increased 21 percent in the last fiscal year. Here are excerpts from the article: More than 16,300 people were repatriated to their native countries, compared with 13,500 the previous fiscal year, which ended Sept...

Days After Leak About Obama's Aunt, Immigration Chief Julie Myers Announces Resignation

Posted on November 06, 2008
That is the headline of a blog post at ThinkProgress.org. I don't know that there is any connection, but this resignation seems quite sudden, and it does give rise to speculation. Here is the press release from the Department of Homeland Security.

Bush Administration Wants To Renew Crackdown On Employers Of Illegal Immigrants

Posted on October 24, 2008
Yesterday, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced that the Bush administration will renew its efforts to crack down on U.S. companies that hire illegal immigrants. This effort is currently stalled by a federal judge's ban. The administration wants to begin mailing notices to almost 150,000 employers, forcing the employers to match their employees against a federal database of Social Security numbers...

Supreme Court To Hear Immigrant's Appeal In Identity Theft Case

Posted on October 21, 2008
Today's Washington Post reports on an ID theft case that the U.S. Supreme Court is going to consider. The question is whether prosecutors in immigration cases have to prove that defendants in aggravated identity-theft cases knew they were victimizing real people...

Immigration Attorney Makes Presentation To Students

Posted on October 16, 2008
On October 8, 2008, Kraft & Associates immigration attorney Eugenia Ponce made a presentation to teenage students of the Irma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School. This is a magnet school of the Dallas Independent School District, and is located on Robert B...

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Posted on October 12, 2008
I'm not sure how anyone could disagree with the statements in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but even if you do, you'll still appreciate the beautiful video representation of the words in this declaration. Enjoy.

Texas Changes Drivers License Format For Non-Citizens

Posted on October 11, 2008
Texas has now enacted a very controversial law requiring foreign nationals to get a different type of drivers license than that used for U.S. citizens. The license will have a vertical, rather than horizontal, orientation, so it will be instantly recognizable by anyone who sees it — including potential landlords or employers...

Lewisville Decides Not To Pursue Official-English Resolution

Posted on October 07, 2008
The Lewisville city council has decided not to invoke an "English-only" policy. This is good news, in my opinion. I just see no up-side to such policies, and I think the city council came to the same conclusion. The vote was 4-1 against pursuing such a resolution...

Lewisville Debates English As City's Official Language

Posted on October 06, 2008
Why do cities continue to waste time and money trying to make English the "official" language? The latest in our area to do so is the Dallas northern suburb of Lewisville, which is debating the issue this evening in a city council meeting. The council will also be debating which city documents to translate into English...

New Naturalization Test Almost Here

Posted on September 23, 2008
Upon satisfying certain requirements, lawful permanent residents of the United States may file applications for naturalization allowing them to become U.S. citizens. One of the requirements is that the applicant have knowledge of the English language, and knowledge of U...

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