Cavanaugh Law Office » Boston immigration

Deportation repreve for Harvard student

Millie — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 23:32:45 +0000

Eric Balderas, age 19, was recently arrested by ICE (US Immigration & Customs Enforcement) for being in the US illegally. While the arrest of another undocumented immigrant may not be unusually newsworthy, the fact that Balderas is currently a sophomore at Harvard University makes it so. Balderas, a Mexican citizen, was facing deportation before US Senator Richard Durbin of IL, intervened on his behalf.

Balderas was taken into custody on June 7 in San Antonio, as he was boarding a plane back to school in Boston after visiting his mother.

Balderas’s story is another tough one concerning very young children who are either smuggled into the US or are kept here after their authorized period of stay runs out. After years of being raised in the US, sometimes even being told that they were born here and are US citizens, they are often shocked when forced to return home to a place that they don’t remember or understand. In Balderas’s case, he was brought to the US from Mexico when he was just four. His parents kept him here and he eventually graduated from a San Antonio area high school as valedictorian.

According to ICE, Balderas has been granted deferred action, which federal immigration officials have the discretion to use to delay execution of deportation. It is unclear how long the deferment will last for. Under deferred action, a foreign national is permitted to stay in the US, get a work permit and, like in Balderas’s case, stay in school. Deferred action is also renewable.

ICE has a history of granting deferred action where college students are facing deportation.

In 2001, Senator Durbin cosponsored the Dream Act, a law that would enable young immigrants like Balderas to apply for a green card. The legislation is still pending.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/06/19/harvard_student_wont_face_deportation/

Massachusetts immigration on the rise…for now

Millie — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:33:23 +0000

Although the number of immigrant residents has been falling across the nation, the Census Bureau reports that Massachusetts immigration is on the rise. Other states, such as California, Florida and Rhode Island have seen no where near MA’s 2.5% increase in the immigrant population. It is estimated that 14% of the population in Massachusetts is made up of immigrants; researchers suggest that they are more likely to be here legally and are more educated than immigrants in other states. Only about 20% of Massachusetts’ immigrant pool are here illegally, compared to the national average of 33%. However, if the economy does not improve next year, it’s possible that some of these immigrants will return home due to unemployment.

Framingham, MA has a large immigrant group, roughly 25% of the town’s population. A large number of these individuals are from Brazil.

Source: Boston.com

Irish immigration to America on the rise again

Millie — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 23:20:17 +0000

Immigration to America from Ireland, and specifically Irish immigration to Boston, has seen a steady increase over the past year due to the downturn in the Irish economy. Some Irish immigrants who flocked back to Dublin during the recent economic boom there are now regretting their decision to leave the US. Those who had become US citizens prior to moving back to Ireland, or who were able to maintain permanent resident status while there, are able to return to America with relative ease. However, immigration for those Irish who failed to maintain LPR status, or who never gained legal status to begin with, face obstacles imposed by US immigration authorities.

Many green card holders or US citizens from Ireland entered the US on one of 40,000 visas given to Irish immigrants under a 1990 Irish immigration program. Since 9/11, immigration laws and immigration enforcement for all nationalities has gotten stricter, resulting in fewer Irish immigrants to Boston than during previous periods of economic downturn in Ireland. Boston immigration attorneys and lawyers have seen an increase in the number of young Irish immigrants.

Boston cop indicted for marriage green card immigration fraud

Millie — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:49:36 +0000

A Boston area man who was formerly a Brockton police officer was indicted in federal court for green card marriage fraud and entering into a marriage to evade immigration laws. The former cop, a US citizen, had married a German citizen so that she could her green card. The wife has been indicted, as well as the woman who set the arrangement up. If found guilty, this green card marriage fraud can be punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The wife will likely be deported back to Germany after serving her sentence.

US immigration to intensify deportation of criminal aliens

Millie — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:01:12 +0000

The Secure Communities program was started in 2008 by the Bush Administration and enables local law enforcement to check the fingerprints of a person in custody against the immigration fingerprint database maintained by DHS in order to identify those who are in the United States illegally. The program is currently used in 48 localities across America including Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Boston and Phoenix, and will expand to be nationwide by 2012. Local authorities incarcerate nearly twice as many illegal immigrants as state and federal authorities but, prior to the launch of the program, had no way to easily determine an individual’s immigration status.

While there is bi-partisan agreement that something needs to be done about illegal immigration in the United States, there is no general consensus as to what should be part of comprehensive immigration reform (CIR). However, both sides agree that criminal aliens threaten the security of the US and should be identified for rapid deportation. The Obama administration is picking up where Bush left off in an effort to expand the program and obtain more funding. It is estimated that, once fully operational, the Secure Communities program will help identify 1.4 criminal aliens for deportation per year, a ten-fold increase over the number currently deported (approx 100,000).

It is anticipated that the program will create a swell of deportations, necessitating an increase in the number of immigration judges (IJ), prosecutors, and detention personnel.

Source: MSNBC