Imagine living in the United States for 48 years thinking you’re a U.S. citizen . . . and then the carpet is pulled from you.
Imagine serving in the U.S. Navy for seven years believing you’re a U.S. citizen . . . only to find out two decades later, after receiving an honorable discharge, you were not born in the United States.
Imagine being a Customs and Border Patrol officer for 18 years, preventing undocumented immigrants from entering the United States . . . who suddenly learns that he is like them, an immigrant without legal documents.
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I am strongly pro-immigrant. I want immigrants, especially from poorer countries, to have the same opportunities as those of us from richer nations.
But I’m torn on the issue of professional visas.
My discomfort arises from the dog-eat-dog attitude displayed by some immigration lawyers.
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Perhaps if immigrant advocates switch tracks, we may still be able to achieve immigration reform in this millennium.
Instead of pushing for a holistic approach to immigration reform, we might ask ourselves, in a sliding scale of political possibilities, “For whom could immigration reform be passed?”
Sure, this is the back way into the house of immigration reform.
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This article was originally published during a period of intense immigration reform debates and reflects the political landscape at that time. As immigration law and policy continues to evolve across election cycles and presidential administrations, it is preserved here as part of the historical record of those discussions.
Our country, government leaders tell us, is in the throes of an economic recovery.
Not too long ago, according to leading monetary and labor indicators, we experienced a long, drawn-out depression. The politicians called it a recession. After being spoon fed the same rhetoric month after month, the public followed suit.
The depression was transformed into a recession.
Likewise, the American public has lived through a lengthy period of immigration darkness.
Elected officials, chanting now is the time, have started working on a series of immigration measures. Over and over again, like a chorus line, they claim their efforts are focused on comprehensive immigration reform. Most of the public, including many immigrant rights advocates, have followed suit.
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This article was originally published during a period of intense immigration reform debates and reflects the political landscape at that time. As immigration law and policy continues to evolve across election cycles and presidential administrations, it is preserved here as part of the historical record of those discussions.
The immigration judge was not in a good mood.
Before my client’s removal hearing began, the judge scolded the government attorney.
As a deportation defense lawyer, it was clear the Immigration and Customs Enforcement war on immigrants was causing administrative problems for the immigration court.
“I am putting you on notice,” noted the judge, “that I am closing my courtroom down at 11:30 sharp.” Read More
This article was originally published during a period of intense immigration reform debates and reflects the political landscape at that time. As immigration law and policy continues to evolve across election cycles and presidential administrations, it is preserved here as part of the historical record of those discussions.
Once upon a time, I believed government was the solution.
Whatever the problem, be it poverty, health care, the environment, or immigration reform, it seemed elected officials held the key to change in their hands.
Of course, this was long before I became an immigrant advocate and defense lawyer.
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This article was originally published during a period of intense immigration reform debates and reflects the political landscape at that time. As immigration law and policy continues to evolve across election cycles and presidential administrations, it is preserved here as part of the historical record of those discussions.
As an immigration attorney, I know the barriers immigrants face to obtain a fair trial in immigration court.
They’re huge.
However, they’re small compared to the obstacles they face to get a fair trial in the arena of public opinion.
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