DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Archives - Page 10 of 14

19 02, 2014

When All Else Fails: Prosecutorial Discretion

By Richard Hanus|2014-02-19T09:13:17-06:00February 19th, 2014|Categories: DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|

Published: February 19, 2014 Individuals defending against deportation proceedings (now known as removal proceedings) sometimes have a defense available, and other times, they don’t. Sometimes the individual is documented, but is losing their status because of some crime or other act they committed. Other times the individual is undocumented, and an immigration enforcement agent just simply caught up with them. In either of the above scenarios, the Immigration Judge presiding over removal proceedings may be in a position to consider defenses, or avenues of relief, known as “cancellation of removal”, “asylum”, or some other defense. In such cases, factors such as […]

12 01, 2014

In the Immigration Realm: The Hard Truth About Criminal Expungements and Certain Criminal Case Dismissals

By Richard Hanus|2014-01-12T14:06:34-06:00January 12th, 2014|Categories: DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Family-Based Immigration Law, Immigration and Criminal Law / Detainees, Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings|Tags: certified court dispositions, criminal defense counsel, criminal plea bargain, dismissed, expunged criminal record, FBI analyses, nolle pros'd, stricken|

Published: January 12, 2014 For certain, there continues to be a significant disconnect between criminal defense attorney perceptions and the realities of immigration law. Don’t get me wrong – I am not writing this article to scold, judge or blame the criminal defense bar, since I am well aware that keeping up with current criminal laws and procedures is challenging enough. It’s just that I happen to bear witness to this disconnect at least a couple times a week in communications with criminal defense colleagues with whom I may share a client, and we engage in discussions ranging from the deportation […]

4 12, 2013

President’s Uncle Allowed to Remain in the U.S.

By Richard Hanus|2013-12-04T13:50:47-06:00December 4th, 2013|Categories: Asylum in the United States, DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Green Cards, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|Tags: appeal, avoid deportation, discretion, DUI, good moral character, political asylum|

Published: December 4, 2013 Earlier this week, Onyango Obama, the half brother of President Obama’s father, avoided deportation back to his native Kenya and was granted permanent resident status by an Immigration Judge in Boston. Onyango Obama first arrived in the U.S. in 1963 and eventually applied for political asylum here, but was later denied. His appeal was also denied although he never departed the U.S. or was ever arrested or detained by immigration authorities. Since the dismissal of his appeal in 1992, he essentially was living in the U.S. knowing that he could get picked up and deported at any […]

7 10, 2013

DHS/CIS Largely Unaffected by Government Shutdown; A Different Story for Related Agencies

By Richard Hanus|2013-10-07T08:29:51-05:00October 7th, 2013|Categories: Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S., DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, United States Embassies Abroad|Tags: federal government agencies, government shutdown|

Published: October 7, 2013 With no end in sight for the ongoing government shutdown, many wonder how federal government agencies performing immigration-related functions will be impacted for the foreseeable future. Below is a summary assessment: Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services (DHS/CIS): In general, business as usual. DHS/CIS primarily operates by way of “fee for service” funding, and thus is not affected by a lapse in annual appropriated funding. That is, most of DHS/CIS’ functions are funded by way of filing fees supplied by applicants and petitioners. So, green card and citizenship interviews and decision-making will continue without interruption. However, […]

14 06, 2013

Would We Really Want to Round Up and Deport 12 Million People?

By Richard Hanus|2013-06-14T13:55:21-05:00June 14th, 2013|Categories: Amnesty for Immigrants in the U.S., DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, immigration reform, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|Tags: 12 million undocumented foreign nationals, de facto amnesty, forced exodus, path to legalization, secure border, xenophobes|

Published: June 14, 2013 House to house searches. Bullhorn calls to assemble and gather for deportation processing. Mass detention facilities. As millions of families prepare to be torn apart, you will witness the tears and deafening wails of old and young, grandparents and parents, sons and daughters. No doubt, these scenes will be unavoidable components of the mass round-up and deportation of 12 million undocumented foreign nationals. For the folks who refuse to give an inch and forgive immigration law breakers, it’s a path to deportation, not a path to citizenship that is the right and only option. However, as our elected officials […]

9 03, 2013

Who Ends Up in Removal Proceedings?

By Richard Hanus|2013-03-09T09:35:21-06:00March 9th, 2013|Categories: Asylum in the United States, Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage, DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Immigration and Criminal Law / Detainees, Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|Tags: criminal arrest, criminal background, criminal sentence, denied application, denied asylum, renewal, traffic stop, Travel in the U.S.|

By: Richard Hanus, Esq. Published: March 9, 2013 With over 11 million+ undocumented individuals living in the U.S. and only a fraction of that population currently the subject of removal proceedings, a commonly asked question is: how does one become unlucky enough to end up under the radar of immigration authorities and placed in removal proceedings? Firstly, the vast majority of folks in the U.S. without immigration status generally evade detection, and that’s because, they generally steer clear of criminal activity. If you are in the U.S. living and working without immigration status (which, by the way, is not criminal behavior), and are otherwise abiding by our nation’s laws, there is […]

3 01, 2013

March 4, 2013: Stateside “Provisional” Waiver to Become Available For Certain Undocumented Applicants

By Richard Hanus|2013-01-03T14:33:41-06:00January 3rd, 2013|Categories: Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Family-Based Immigration Law, General, Green Cards, Immigrant Visas for Spouse / Fiancee / Child Visas, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|Tags: benefits, consular post, implement, obstacle, stateside, unlawfull presence|

Published: January 3, 2013 On March 30, 2012, US Department of Homeland Security/Citizenship and Immigration Services first announced its plan to implement a “stateside” I-601 Waiver program, an initiative for processing a “waiver of inadmissibility” for certain applicants for permanent residence who under current law, are ineligible to undergo final green card processing in the U.S. Under the current system such individuals must leave the US for an extended period for their final green card/ interview, and appear before a US consular officer in their home country. With the new stateside waiver program, however, instead of facing a 3 month or so wait to […]

1 10, 2012

“Long Term Same Sex” Relationship Now a Factor For Some Fighting Deportation

By Richard Hanus|2012-10-01T15:49:38-05:00October 1st, 2012|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings|Tags: administrative closure, long term same sex relationship, prosecutorial discretion, same sex|

Published: October 1, 2012 In the past week, Janet Napolitano, our top Department of Homeland Security official, announced that a removable foreign national’s “long term same sex” relationship in the U.S., like any other family relationship in the U.S., will be a relevant consideration in assessing whether that person should be a “priority” for immigration enforcement and appropriately the subject of removal proceedings (formerly deportation proceedings). This new factor will become a part of a formula that has emerged over the past year as part of a new Department of Homeland Security policy to determine against whom removal proceedings will be […]

16 08, 2012

Excitement and Confusion Reign as Obama’s Deferred Action Program is Implemented

By Richard Hanus|2012-08-16T15:51:19-05:00August 16th, 2012|Categories: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., General, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Uncategorized, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|Tags: DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, election, employment authorization document, green card, insignificant misdemeanor, Obama, permanent legislative mandate, removal proceedings, Romney, significant misdemeanor|

Published: August 16, 2012 Excitement and Confusion Reign as Obama’s Deferred Action Program is Implemented Is this complicated? Could I end up in removal proceedings if I apply? Will my family end up in removal proceedings? Will a filing under the new program disqualify me from a green card through my pending family based petition? How long will it take for me to get my work permit? These are but a few of the dozens of questions raised by clients in the weeks immediately following the unveiling of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Most recently, on August 14, […]

3 07, 2012

US Supreme Court Strikes Down Most of Arizona’s Controversial Immigration Law

By Richard Hanus|2012-07-03T10:24:36-05:00July 3rd, 2012|Categories: DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), DHS / Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Employment Authorization / Work Cards in the U.S., Immigration and Criminal Law / Detainees, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., Removal / Deportation Proceedings and Court Hearings, U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation, Undocumented Immigrants and Workers in the U.S.|Tags: DREAM Act, initiative, reasonable suspicion, show me your papers, sole jurisdiction|

Published: July 3, 2012 To address the various issues presented by the hundreds of thousands of undocumented individuals living in their state, including the security of their state’s border with Mexico and the drain on state coffers, the State of Arizona took the extraordinary step of enacting a state law criminalizing violations of U.S. immigration law. Specifically, the Arizona law was designed to empower state law enforcement agencies with the authority to arrest and criminally prosecute immigration law violators present in their state, with violators turned over to federal authorities for the initiation of removal proceedings after serving a state sentence. […]

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