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Organizations Request Investigation of Georgia Immigration Detention Centers

On November 21, 2017,  a group of 70 immigrant rights, human rights, and civil rights organizations in sending a letter to the Georgia congressional delegation requesting an investigation of the conditions at the Stewart and Irwin County immigration detention centers in Georgia. The letter raises concerns related to due process issues, inhumane treatment and living conditions, and involuntary labor, and asks Georgia’s senators and members of Congress to investigate the conditions at Stewart and Irwin detention centers and take appropriate measures.

Ruling on Bail and ICE

Tenth Circuit in United States v. Ailon-Ailon. The court held that a federal district court judge could not deny bail to the defendant, who was facing prosecution for illegal reentry and who was also the subject of an ICE detainer, solely due to the risk that ICE would remove him before his criminal trial, finding that in the context of the Bail Reform Act, the risk that a defendant will flee does not include the risk that ICE will involuntarily remove the defendant

Court Grants CAT Relief to Woman Who Would Be Subject to an “Honor Killing” or “Protective Custody” in Jordan

The Sixth Circuit granted the petition for review of the BIA’s denial of relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), holding that given the likelihood that the petitioner would be subject to involuntary imprisonment at the hands of the Jordanian authorities, resulting in mental pain and suffering, the BIA erred in concluding that the petitioner failed to establish that it was more likely than not that she would be tortured upon removal to Jordan.

Not-Guilty Verdict Found in Case Pushed by Trump in Immigration Debate

Politico reports on the not-guilty verdict issued by a jury yesterday in the trial of Mexican national Jose Ines Garcia Zarate for the murder of Kate Steinle in San Francisco in 2015. In response to the verdict, both Attorney General Jeffrey Sessionsand ICE Deputy Director Tom Homan issued statements accusing officials in so-called “sanctuary cities” of endangering their constituents.

not-guilty verdict

Don’t have a sponsor? Try the Extraordinary Alien Petition

Question: I have lots of years of experience and lots of publications and awards. However, I don’t have an employer to sponsor me. Is there any other option?

Answer:  There might be. EB1-A or EB1-EA is a subgroup of first preference employment-based immigration (EB-1). This immigration preference category is for foreign nationals of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. According to federal immigration law, such persons are not required to have a prospective employer (unlike EB1-B and EB1-C, and other preference categories), but they must be entering to continue to work in their chosen field, and they must substantially benefit prospectively in the U.S. In addition, the petitioner has to show that the foreign person sustained national or international acclaim with recognized achievements. This is the requirement that is most difficult to prove.

Question: What is needed to prove this particular petition?

Answer: While it is not easy, there are a specified list of items upon which we can try to put the supporting evidence.

Receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence in the field of endeavor. Membership in an association that requires outstanding achievement as a condition of membership in the field for which the classification is sought. Published material about the foreign person or his or her work in professional, trade journals, or major media publications. (These items must include title, date, author, and must be translated into English)
The foreign person’s participation, on a panel or individually, as a judge of the work of others in the same or a related field. Evidence of original contributions, usually through publication, of major significance in the foreign national’s fields of science, scholastic, artistic, or athletic

Court Upholds BIA’s Determination That Petitioner Entered into Fraudulent Marriage to Procure Adjustment of Status

The Eighth Circuit denied the petition for review, holding that the BIA’s determination that the petitioner attempted to procure an adjustment of status by willfully misrepresenting that his marriage to a U.S. citizen was bona fide was supported by substantial evidence that the marriage was a sham. The court found that the unrefuted testimony and documentary evidence submitted by DHS was sufficient to prove that the marriage was fraudulent under INA §212(a)(6)(C)(i), and therefore that the petitioner was removable pursuant to INA §237(a)(1)(A).

What is the U.S. coming to: 10-Year-Old Immigrant Is Detained After Agents Stop Her on Way to Surgery

The New York Times reports that a 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy has been detained by federal immigration authorities in Texas after she passed through a Border Patrol checkpoint on her way to a hospital to undergo emergency gall bladder surgery. The girl, Rosamaria Hernandez, who was brought to the United States without documentation to live in Laredo, Texas, when she was three months old, was being transferred from a medical center in Laredo to a hospital in Corpus Christi around 2:00 am on Tuesday when Border Patrol agents stopped the ambulance she was riding in. The agents allowed her to continue to hospital but followed the ambulance the rest of the way there, then waited outside her room until she was released from the hospital.

Court Says It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review Denial of Bosnian Petitioner’s §237(a)(1)(H) Waiver Application

The Seventh Circuit dismissed in part and denied in part the petition for review, holding that it lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA’s discretionary decision to deny the Bosnian Serb petitioner’s application for a waiver of removal under INA §237(a)(1)(H). Accordingly, the court upheld the BIA’s determination that the petitioner, who had failed to disclose his participation as a combatant in the Bosnian conflict during the 1990s when he applied for refugee status, was removable based on fraud.

Demand Transparency from Federal Agencies for “Extreme Vetting” Policies

Touting national security concerns, President Trump has been swiftly implementing burdensome, ineffective, and unnecessary policies through executive actions and memoranda, including implementing several travel bans on Muslim-majority countries and refugees, and now requiring USCIS to conduct in-person interviews with people who have already been thoroughly vetted. Federal agencies like DHS and DOS are not being transparent about how these immigration policies are being developed and administered, leaving individuals and businesses in the dark about how they will be impacted.

DOL Announces Enhancement of iCERT System to Streamline Processing in H-2A and H-2B Programs

along with: In an effort to help mitigate delays associated with connecting State Workforce Agency (SWA) documentation to the employer’s pending H-2A or H-2B application and provide employers with better customer service, DOL’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) announced an update to its iCERT System to allow authorized SWA staff to electronically upload supporting documentation and other information directly to the employer’s pending application for immediate review by the assigned Chicago National Processing Center (CNPC) analyst. Initially, OFLC will be implementing this update in 33 states, with the goal of nationwide implementation by September 30, 2018.

In an effort to help mitigate delays associated with connecting State Workforce Agency (SWA) documentation to the employer’s pending H-2A or H-2B application and provide employers with better customer service, DOL’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) announced an update to its iCERT System to allow authorized SWA staff to electronically upload supporting documentation and other information directly to the employer’s pending application for immediate review by the assigned Chicago National Processing Center (CNPC) analyst. Initially, OFLC will be implementing this update in 33 states, with the goal of nationwide implementation by September 30, 2018.