Today’s Big Immigration News is Really A Small Change

(EL PASO, Texas) —Washington announced that it would be introducing a new process for certain  as they file for family unity waivers in the U.S.

And the headlines today painted the story of a huge shift in federal immigration policy.

But today’s rule change is actually minor and too limited in scope. The fact is, it’s just not enough in the face of a badly broken immigration system.

The government is changing a rule that has long been criticized for separating families and creating barriers to legal immigration — the 3- and 10-year bar rules. Going forward, some spouses and children of U.S. citizens who are in the green card application can wait out the long, bureaucratic process in the U.S., rather than traveling back to their home countries.

The system currently requires U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to wade through a potentially dangerous bureaucratic nightmare to obtain lawful permanent resident status for their spouse or child.

First, applicants must file a visa petition and wait for an initial interview appointment. This requires the spouse or child of the sponsoring U.S. citizen to travel to a U.S. consulate in their home country to be interviewed.

The departure triggers a 3-or-10 year “bar” to re-entry to the U.S. for those applicants who are undocumented and who have been living in the U.S. for more than 6 months.

Families can apply to waive this bar, but their spouse or child must continue to wait in their home country. A decision on the waiver application can take up to a year. Meanwhile, families are separated and spouses and children are forced to wait in potentially dangerous situations until a waiver decision is made.

Imagine sending your loved one alone to a country ripped by violence, poverty or war as you wait for the government to act.

“This is definitely a big change for families who are facing the process, and it could save lives” said Adriana Cadena, statewide coordinator for the Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance. “But it doesn’t solve the problem or do anything for the millions of immigrant families living in the shadows.”

The new rules will likely save lives and resources and will keep a limited number of families together. But the rule change is small, limited and it is just not enough.

First of all, the change does not apply to the families of legal permanent residents, a large segment of the immigrant population. According to DHS, more than 1 million LPR’s were approved in 2010 alone.

True immigration reform that is compassionate and rational is the only way to deal with the immigration problem in the U.S.

Today’s announcement marks and important change. But the only true solution is an overhaul that removes such irrational barriers to legal immigration and deals humanely and sensibly with the millions of undocumented immigrants currently working in the U.S.

Why Don’t They Just Come Legally? Facts About Immigration And The 3- and 10-Year Bars

UPDATE: Want to print the infographic? By popular demand, you can download a PDF of the above graphic on on legal immigration by clicking here.

We have all heard it before: “Why don’t immigrants just come the legal way?” “Immigrants come to the U.S. and never even try to become citizens.” “Illegal is illegal.”

We have also heard time and time again that the immigration system is broken. But what does that really mean?

In a nutshell, it means the barriers to authorized immigration are so great, that it is nearly impossible to “do it the legal way.”

One of the reasons so many undocumented immigrants live for years in the U.S. without status are the 3- and 10-year bars, which prevent immigrants from being in the U.S. during their green card application process if they had previously been in the country without authorization.

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The following article is re-posted in full from the Immigration Policy Center, a leading source of research and facts about U.S. immigration. You can also download it as a printable document by clicking here.

So Close and Yet So Far: How the Three- and Ten-Year Bars Keep Families Apart

Most Americans take it for granted that marriage to a U.S. citizen and other family relationships entitle an immigrant to a green card, but there are barriers that often prevent or delay these family members from becoming lawful permanent residents, even if they are already in the United States.  Among these barriers are the “three- and ten-year bars,” provisions of the law which prohibit applicants from returning to the United States if they were previously in the U.S. illegally. Thousands of people who qualify for green cards based on their relationships to U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident relatives leave the U.S. to obtain their green card are caught in a Catch-22—under current law they must leave the country to apply for their green card abroad, but as soon as they leave, they are immediately barred from re-entering the U.S. for three or ten years.

The Secretary of Homeland Security may waive the bar to admission if extreme hardship to a spouse or parent can be established.  But there are no waivers available for others, even if it would mean hardship for U.S. citizen children.  Unfortunately, current policies and interpretations of these provisions have made it difficult—and sometimes impossible—for many deserving applicants to obtain a waiver, especially if they initially entered the country illegally.  Under current DHS policy, applicants must apply for the waiver from abroad, sometimes waiting months or years in another country before they learn whether the waiver has been granted and whether they will be permitted to return to their loved ones in the United States.

In other words, immigrants who have a chance to legalize their status are not able to do so because of a combination of overly punitive immigration laws and the rigid interpretations of those laws currently followed by DHS and Department of State. Immigrants have to choose between leaving the country and taking the risk they might not be able to return, or remaining in the country illegally.  Where waivers are available, many of the immigrants most likely to be able to show extreme hardship are afraid to leave the country precisely because of that hardship.  For example, a wife with a disabled husband must choose between departing the United States to get right with the law or taking care of her U.S. citizen husband.

Many have argued that the process need not be so complicated or unforgiving and that changes in existing policy could allow for the consideration of waivers before the applicant departs the United States.  In order to understand how this issue affects the immigration debate, this IPC Fact Check provides background on the three- and ten-year bar issue.

What Are the Three- and Ten-Year Bars?

Sections 212(a)(9)(i) and 212 (a)(9)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) impose re-entry bars on immigrants who are present in the U.S. illegally for a period of time, leave the U.S., and want to re-enter lawfully.  An immigrant who enters the United States without inspection (illegally), or who overstays a period of admission by more than 180 days, but less than one year, and who then departs the U. S. voluntarily, is barred from being re-admitted or re-entering the United States for three years.  If an immigrant is in the country illegally for more than one year, a ten year bar to admission applies.

Who Must Leave the U.S. for a Green Card and Why?

U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents may petition for green cards for certain family members.  Sometimes the immigrant family members are outside of the U.S. when the petition is filed and when the visa becomes available, and sometimes those family members are already residing within the U.S. while they wait for their petition to be adjudicated and their visa to become available.  Those in the U.S. may be here legally on a visa, or they may have come on a visa but that visa expired, or they may have entered the U.S. without proper documentation.

If the applicant for a family-based green card is the spouse, parent, or child under age 21 of a U.S. citizen (immediate relatives) AND if the applicant entered the U.S. with a valid visa (such as a visitor or student visa), that applicant may, in most cases, get their green cards in the U.S. through a process called “adjustment of status.”

However, all other people applying through the family-based system must go abroad and apply for their visa at a U.S. consulate in a procedure known as “consular processing.”    The adult children and siblings of U.S. citizens, as well as the spouses and children of legal permanent residents, must leave the country to get their green cards, whether they initially entered on a legal visa or not.

Are Waivers of the Three- and Ten-year Bars Available?

A waiver of the three- or ten-year bar is available only where extreme hardship to an applicant’s citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent can be established.  Hardship to the immigrant himself is not a factor, and hardship to the immigrant’s children is not a factor (even if the children are U.S. citizens).

The current system for processing and adjudicating these waiver requests requires immigrants to leave the U.S. and receive a formal determination of inadmissibility by a U.S. consular officer before a waiver application can even be submitted. Then the immigrants must apply for waivers of the three- or ten-year bar from outside the United States. In Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, one of the busiest consulates handling green card applications and waivers, there is currently a two to three month wait between submitting an application to the State Department and receiving a waiver interview with a USCIS representative.  Approximately half of those applications can be decided immediately while the rest are sent to the United States for further review; the waiting time for that review can vary significantly, but averages at least another twelve months.  Of course, not all waivers are granted, and those immigrants may not reunite with their family members for years. An appeal of a denied waiver can take up to 28 months or longer before the Administrative Appeals Offices adjudicates the appeal. This means longer periods of separation for family members.

What is wrong with the waiver process?

The current process is filled with inefficiencies and uncertainties.  It prevents a portion of the unauthorized population from getting legal status.  It breaks up families—often for a prolonged period of time.  It also exposes thousands of people to violence and danger because most waivers are filed in Ciudad Juarez (approximately 75% of the 22,000 I-601 waivers filed in 2009 were processed through Ciudad Juarez), a consulate located along the U.S.-Mexico border.  The city is wracked by drug violence, and the Department of State has issued travel advisories urging citizens to avoid Ciudad Juarez.

Other critical weaknesses in the system include:

• Requiring adjudication of the I-601 waiver only AFTER departure from the United States.  The three- and ten-year bars to admissibility take effect only after an individual has left the United States.  But USCIS officers may not consider waiver applications while an individual is in the U.S.—even if available evidence clearly establishes that departure from the United States will, in fact, make a waiver application necessary.

• Processing delays even in the best of circumstances.  Approximately 49% of waivers are adjudicated and granted within seven days at Ciudad Juarez.  The rest have to remain in Mexico for up to 12 months or until the waiver is approved.  Overseas processing is enormously complicated and bureaucratic.  An applicant must first meet with a consular officer from the Department of State (DOS), be told that a waiver is required, wait for the case to be referred, obtain and wait for the appointment with USCIS, wait for the adjudication, and then get a new appointment with DOS if the adjudication is granted.  Current wait times for the initial appointment with USCIS are 2 to 3 months, meaning that even under the best of circumstances, an applicant will have to be outside the U.S. for at least 3 months.

• Uneven application of the extreme hardship standard.   Extreme hardship in the waiver context is determined by an analysis of the totality of the circumstances affecting the U.S. citizen or permanent resident relative who filed the petition.  Over the years, case law has led to a series of generally considered factors, including family ties, age, health, financial impact and country conditions.  Because the standard is subjective, it is open to a wide range of interpretations, making it difficult for applicants to know what materials or arguments should be submitted. This can extend the process significantly if you don’t “get it right” the first time the waiver is submitted.

• Inefficiency and high costs.  Posting additional U.S. officers overseas to adjudicate cases and shuttling applications for waivers between agencies costs the government money and time.   The State Department currently charges USCIS $131 simply to receive and transfer each application for a waiver to USCIS.

What can be done?

• Repeal three- and ten-year bars.  Congress can repeal the portions of the INA that created the bars in 1996, and this would eliminate the catch-22 inherent in obtaining a green card.

• Allow applicants who entered as minors to adjust status within the U.S.  Immigrants who entered the U.S. as minors were often brought by their parents, due to no fault of their own.  They may never have visited the country of their birth, have no support networks there, and may not even speak the language.  These applicants should not be forced to return to a country they do not know and face the possibility of separation from their family members.

• Adjudicate hardship waivers in the U.S.  It is possible to create a process that would minimize the length of time an immigrant would have to spend outside the U.S. and minimize the risk of being barred from re-entry.  Hardship waivers could be processed in the U.S.  Once the I-130 petition for a green card has been approved, the applicant could submit a hardship waiver application for pre-adjudication.  USCIS could review, request additional evidence, and issue a recommended approval that would be transmitted to DOS for final adjudication.  That way, when the immigrant leaves the U.S. to go to the consulate, he would already know whether the hardship waiver has been conditionally approved.

• Expand guidance on the extreme hardship standard.   USCIS is already engaged in a review of the extreme hardship standard based on complaints that it is not consistently applied.  The agency should share the results of that review and solicit public feedback and comment and should then establish clear guidelines for making extreme hardship decisions.  Centralizing all waiver adjudications within the U.S. could have the added benefit of ensuring greater quality control and a more consistent standard, especially if waiver adjudications were consolidated into a special unit within USCIS.

Conclusion

Critics of the three- and ten-year bar find the penalties themselves unnecessarily harsh, but the existence of a waiver for spouses and children means that many families can be re-united.  The real issue involves the ease with which waivers can be processed.  While there may be disputes about how far the agency can go to address the impractical and harsh consequences of the three-and-ten-year bar, numerous legal experts believe that the agency has the authority to determine waiver requests while the applicant is still within the United States.  Taking this action promotes both family unity and government efficiency.

Revisiting current interpretations of laws like the three- and ten-year bars will not change the need for comprehensive immigration reform, but it will allow more people who are already eligible to obtain a green card the chance to do so without undermining existing laws.

BREAKING: Feds Say Sheriff Joe Violated Latinos’ Civil Rights

Today, the U.S. Department of Justice released the results of a three-year investigation into Maricopa Sheriff Joe Arpaio‘s department, saying the department has a deeply rooted culture of bias and discrimination and routinely violates Latinos civil rights.

Read the statement from the U.S. Department of Justice here.

 

Latino Bishops Release Strongly Worded Letter To Immigrants

Reuters reports, “The nation’s 33 Hispanic Roman Catholic Bishops released on Monday a strongly worded “letter to immigrants” suggesting illegal immigrants deserve thanks from Americans, and calling for “denunciation of the forces which oppress them.”

The bishops have come out in support of comprehensive immigration reform and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants before, as they do again in the letter, but it uses stronger language and goes further in offering support to undocumented immigrants.”

See the full text and downloadable version of the letter below.

Dear immigrant sisters and brothers,

May the peace and grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you!

We the undersigned Hispanic/Latino Bishops of the United States wish to let those of you who lack proper authorization to live and work in our country know that you are not alone, or forgotten. We recognize that every human being, authorized or not, is an image of God and therefore possesses infinite value and dignity. We open our arms and hearts to you, and we receive you as members of our Catholic family. As pastors, we direct these words to you from the depths of our heart.

In a very special way we want to thank you for the Christian values you manifest to us with your lives-your sacrifice for the well-being of your families, your determination and perseverance, your joy of life, your profound faith and fidelity despite your insecurity and many difficulties. You contribute much to the welfare of our nation in the economic, cultural and spiritual arenas.

The economic crisis has had an impact on the entire U.S. community. Regretfully, some in reaction to this environment of uncertainty show disdain for immigrants and even blame them for the crisis. We will not find a solution to our problems by sowing hatred. We will find the solution by sowing a sense of solidarity among all workers and co-workers — immigrants and citizens — who live together in the United States.

In your suffering faces we see the true face of Jesus Christ. We are well aware of the great sacrifice you make for your families’ well-being. Many of you perform the most difficult jobs and receive miserable salaries and no health insurance or social security. Despite your contributions to the well-being of our country, instead of receiving our thanks, you are often treated as criminals because you have violated current immigration laws.

We are also very aware of the pain suffered by those families who have experienced the deportation of one of their members. We are conscious of the frustration of youth and young adults who have grown up in this country and whose dreams are shattered because they lack 1 legal immigration status. We also know of the anxiety of those whose application process for permanent residency is close to completion and of the anguish of those who live daily under the threat of deportation. This situation cries out to God for a worthy and humane solution.

We acknowledge that, at times, actions taken in regard to immigrants have made you feel ignored or abandoned, especially when no objection is raised to the false impressions that are promoted within our society. Through the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops we have testified before the U.S. Congress for change in our immigration laws and for legislation that respects family unity and provides an orderly and reasonable process for unauthorized persons to attain citizenship. The new law should include a program for worker visas that respects the immigrants’ human rights, provides for their basic needs and ensures that they enter our country and work in a safe and orderly manner. We will also continue to advocate on behalf of global economic justice, so that our brothers and sisters can find employment opportunities in their countries of origin that offer a living wage, and allow them to live with dignity.

Immigrants are a revitalizing force for our country. The lack of a just, humane and effective reform of immigration laws negatively affects the common good of the entire United States.

It pains and saddens us that many of our Catholic brothers and sisters have not supported our petitions for changes in the immigration law that will protect your basic rights while you contribute your hard work to our country. We promise to keep working to bring about this change. We know how difficult the journey is to reach the border and to enter the United States. That is why we are committed to do all that we can to bring about a change in the immigration law, so that you can enter and remain here legally and not feel compelled to undertake a dangerous journey in order to support and provide for your families. As pastors concerned for your welfare, we ask you to consider seriously whether it is advisable to undertake the journey here until after just and humane changes occur in our immigration laws.

Nevertheless, we are not going to wait until the law changes to welcome you who are already here into our churches, for as St. Paul tells us, “You are no longer aliens or foreign visitors ; you are fellow-citizens with the holy people of God and part of God’s household” (Eph 2: 19).

As members of the Body of Christ which is the Church, we offer you spiritual nourishment. Feel welcome to Holy Mass, the Eucharist, which nourishes us with the word and the body and blood of Jesus. We offer you catechetical programs for your children and those religious education programs that our diocesan resources allow us to put at your disposal.

We who are citizens and permanent residents of this country cannot forget that almost all of us, we or our ancestors, have come from other lands and together with immigrants from various nations and cultures, have formed a new nation. Now we ought to open our hearts and arms to the recently arrived, just as Jesus asks us to do when he says, “I was hungry and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me to drink; I was an alien and you took me into your house” (Mt 25:35). These words of the Lord Jesus can be applied to the new immigrants among us. They 2 were hungry in their land of origin; they were thirsty as they traveled through the deserts, and they find themselves among us as aliens. (See Daniel G. Groody, CSC, “Crossing the Line,” in The Way, Vol. 43 , No. 2, April 2004, p. 58-69). Their presence challenges us to be more courageous in denouncing the injustices they suffer. In imitation of Jesus and the great prophets we ought to denounce the forces that oppress them and announce the good news of the Kingdom with our works of charity. Let us pray and struggle to make it possible for these brothers and sisters of ours to have the same opportunities from which we have benefitted.

We see Jesus the pilgrim in you migrants. The Word of God migrated from heaven to earth in order to become man and save humanity. Jesus emigrated with Mary and Joseph to Egypt, as a refugee. He migrated from Galilee to Jerusalem for the sacrifice of the cross, and finally he emigrated from death to life in the resurrection and ascension to heaven. Today, he continues to journey and accompany all migrants on pilgrimage throughout the world in search of food, work, dignity, security and opportunities for the welfare of their families.

You reveal to us the supreme reality of life: we are all migrants. Your migration gives a strong and clear message that we are migrants on the way to eternal life. Jesus accompanies all Christians on our journey toward the house of our Father, God’s Kingdom in heaven. (See Pope Johm Paul II, Tertia Millennia Adveniente, No. 50.)

We urge you not to despair. Keep faith in Jesus the migrant who continues to walk beside you. Have faith in Our Lady of Guadalupe who constantly repeats to us the words she spoke to St. Juan Diego, “Am I, who am your mother, not here?” She never abandons us, nor does St. Joseph who protects us as he did the Holy Family during their emigration to Egypt.

As pastors we want to continue to do advocacy for all immigrants. With St. Paul we say to you: “Do not be mastered by evil; but master evil with good.” (Rm 12:21).

May Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, accompany you and bless you always.

Sincerely in Christ our Savior, The Hispanic/Latino Bishops of the United States

San Antonio Archdiocese-Letter of the Hispanic-Latino Bishops to Immigrants

Texas Latino Leader Leaves Republican Party

Peter Malof, Public News Service – TX

 

KATY, Texas – The Texas director of the nation’s largest Latino Republican organization abandoned his party this week.

Lauro Garza remains a staunch conservative, but says he’s fed up with what he calls a hostile “Tea Party nativism” toward which the GOP has been tilting in recent years – at the expense of immigrants and Latinos.

“The party has left us behind. Our credibility among Latinos is strained because we identify with the Republican Party. Saying it’s strained is putting it mildly.”

Garza remains state leader of Somos Republicans, and says the future direction of the organization still is being worked out. While he does not excuse illegal immigration or advocate open borders with Mexico, he says politicians are guilty of exploiting ungrounded fears when they suggest comprehensive immigration reform must wait until the border is safe and sealed. On the contrary, Garza insists, reform is essential for taking the load off the border.

Garza has criticized his now-former party in recent months. He took Gov. Rick Perry to task for moving away from a relatively immigration-friendly agenda. But Garza says this week’s reaction to comments from a leading GOP presidential candidate was the last straw. Herman Cain had suggested building a lethal electric border fence. Although he later insisted he was joking, Cain continued to stand by his general concept.

“The comment was met with cheers, not with laughter. Further, it’s reprehensible that the Republican Party and the other candidates have let him get away with it, and for the news media to let him get away with this stupid explanation that it was a joke. It’s not a joke.”

Garza believes Latinos tend toward conservatism, and thus should naturally be drawn to the GOP. However, he says the party is driving them away in search of short-term political gain. While Republicans are openly hostile, he says, Democrats are apathetic and weak when it comes to immigration issues.

Cristina Parker, media director for the non-partisan Border Network for Human Rights, agrees, saying few leaders are talking honestly about what needs to happen.

“Immigration reform is absolutely needed in this country, and, unfortunately, we’re at a stalemate – with the Republicans catering to nativism, and the Democrats are no better. No one’s willing to step up and get the hard work done.”

Latino Republicans Critical of Perry on Immigration Issues

KATY, Texas – Gov. Rick Perry is getting squeezed from all sides when it comes to his record on immigration issues.

On Monday, while Perry listened to the concerns of New York Latino leaders, Tea Party activists converged in Austin, demanding that the governor push harder for tough immigration enforcement.

Historically, Perry has not been a hard-liner on immigration issues; for example, he has never embraced a long border fence. However, his positions evolved as he decided to seek the Republican presidential nomination, says Lauro Garza, the Texas director of Somos Republicans, the nation’s largest organization for conservative Hispanics.

“We were really hanging our hopes on Rick Perry, even though we knew he was a very leaky vessel.”

Garza praises Perry’s small-government, pro-life conservatism, and says the governor won over many Latinos with his support of immigration reform and college opportunities for children of undocumented immigrants. But when Perry deemed so-called “Sanctuary Cities” legislation – which many considered anti-immigrant – to be a legislative “emergency,” Garza felt betrayed. He fears today’s GOP leaders have adopted a shortsighted strategy that caters to Tea Party “nativists” at the expense of the nation’s fastest-growing demographic.

“They have lost virtually all the Latino voters that George W. Bush earned. I would struggle to find a room of Latino Republicans who would support these sorts of policies.”

Garza says Perry’s recent courtship of Joe Arpaio was a slap in the face. Arpaio is the Arizona sheriff who became a well-known advocate for that state’s controversial immigration enforcement law, which critics call racial profiling. As recently as last year, Perry said the Arizona strategy was “not the right direction for Texas.”

Perry has shifted tone on multiple immigration issues. He recently described proposals for a federal “Dream Act” as “nothing more than amnesty,” even though he’s on record as supporting similar citizenship paths in Texas. He also has backed-off his past calls for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) by saying it shouldn’t happen until the borders are sealed. Garza says that’s an impossible position.

“It’s simply rhetoric. We need CIR so we can secure the border. If you don’t take the load off the border, you’ll never secure the border.”

Garza believes Perry does understand and respect the concerns of Mexican Americans, but he says Latino voters can’t afford to simply trust that a President Perry wouldn’t turn his back on them.

Peter Malof, Public News Service – TX

In Case You Missed It: A Round-Up Of The Weekend’s Immigration News

We hope all of our East Coast allies are safe and dry! But in case you missed it during the wall-to-wall coverage of Hurricane Irene, here are some of the top immigration stories from over the weekend.

S-Comm Under Fire At Hearings Coast to Coast:
Bay Area forum condemns Secure Communities immigration program

“Joined by a handful of Bay Area elected leaders, the largely Spanish-speaking crowd called on Gov. Jerry Brown and Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris to take a stance against the program.”

Pair facing deportation confront DHS official, ask for end to fingerprint sharing program

“After Bolanos and Lorenzo confronted Rapp, who did not respond, about 200 people walked out of the meeting, chanting ‘end it, don’t amend it.’”

The Latest On Alabama’s Shameful Immigration Law:

Law enforcement agencies not prepared to enforce new immigration law

“Alabama law enforcement agencies aren’t ready to enforce certain provisions of the new immigration law that go into effect Thursday.”

New Alabama Immigration Law Could Devastate Agriculture

“The laws’ supporters said unemployed U.S. citizens would be only too happy to step in and do the work the migrants left behind. That didn’t happen in Arizona, or Georgia, and it isn’t happening in Alabama.”

OPINION: Alabama’s immigration travesty

“You’d think that Alabama, crucible of the civil rights movement, would be wary of enacting legislation whose effect is to marginalize, ostracize and demonize people based on their ethnic or racial origin.”

Immigration and the presidential race:

Santorum: ‘We know unfortunately the history of governors in Texas on’ immigration

“We know unfortunately the history of governors in Texas on the issue of immigration,” the former Pennsylvania senator said, adding, “I understand being governor of Texas is a tough thing. But you’ve got to stand up and defend — being a senator from Pennsylvania is a tough thing. But you’ve got to stand up and defend your record.”

Immigration and the Texas Miracle

“A more open immigration policy for the United States would mean an influx of both low-skilled and high-skilled labor. All those new residents would create new jobs, just like the Texas transplants have in the Lone Star state.”