International Migrants Day

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“On International Migrants Day, let us reaffirm our commitment to shape diverse and open societies that provide opportunities and lives of dignity for all migrants.”

 

Ban-Ki Moon and the United Nations celebrated International Migrants Day, December 18, this past Thursday. This is the fifteenth celebration of International Migrants Day, and it is in recognition of the increasing number and importance of immigrants and non-immigrants to countries and communities around the world. The United States has prided itself on having thriving immigrant communities, but the rest of the world has been experiencing its own migrant experiences. Western European countries post World War II have been built on the strength of migrant communities, Brazil and Argentina are renown for their immigrant communities, and Canada is a rich mosaic of migrants.

In the United States, 13% of all Americans are immigrants today and that does not include the millions of nonimmigrants who are currently residing in the country as F-1 visa students, H-1B workers, and B1/B2 visitors. Migration can sometimes involve difficult and arduous journeys and International Migrants Day tries to draw attention to the peril of those migrations. It also rallies support against racism and intolerance encourages better public perception of migrants and migration. The State Department lamented the hardship many migrants have faced in trying to escape to better lives.

 

 

 

 

International Human Rights Day

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International Human Rights Day

On December 10 of every year since 1950, the United Nations has commemorated International Human Rights Day. The theme this year is Human Rights 365 – a reminder that every day is Human Rights Day. Of course, commemorating a day once a year is a starkly different action from pursuing the goal of fewer human rights violations every day, but the day should serve as a poignant reminder that human rights violations occur every day throughout the world.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (celebrating its 66th birthday) has three articles concerning immigration and migration. Article 13 announces the right of freedom of movement and residence with an individual’s country. The second clause of Article 13 declares that, “Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.”

Many forced migrations are the result of human rights violations. Asylum as a process (in which the recipient is green card eligible after a year) in the immigration system that is designed to accommodate some individuals who have been victims of human rights violations. The United States has a ceiling of 70,000 asylum acceptances this year. Article 14 recognizes that persecution causes people to seek safety, declaring everyone has the right to seek asylum (unless they themselves are persecutors).

Article 15 asserts that everyone has the right to a nationality and that “no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.”

Thirty articles comprise the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They are not all immigration-related, but many are connected to immigration and its consequences (standard of living, education). On this day, it is important to recognize the important of human rights in our modern world and that immigration is a basic, fundamental human right worthy of protection.

 

Happy Thanksgiving – Wood Immigration Law

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Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Happy Thanksgiving !!

Thanksgiving is a quintessential American holiday, combining copious amounts of food, football, and family members into a one day celebration of gratitude and togetherness. Cutting across religious, racial, and cultural divisions, the holiday has been celebrated since the famed 1621 Plymouth feast between Native Americans and passengers of the Mayflower who had arrived in an unknown land. The feast celebrated a successful harvest and collaboration between the Natives and immigrant Europeans. The day was celebrated on all different days until President Franklin Roosevelt decreed that the fourth Thursday of November was Thanksgiving in 1939.

 

The Macy’s Parade and bottomless buffets of football and food boost the holiday’s fun qualities, but there is a deeper significance buttressing the holiday’s purpose and meaning. The story of Thanksgiving, even if slightly apocryphal, has multiple dimensions of resonance for us today, even a full four centuries later. Colonial America was rife with conflicts between the newly arriving Europeans and established Native Americans, who had created civilizations of their own for hundreds of years. Thanksgiving symbolizes harmonious interchange between the Native Americans and immigrant Europeans. As elementary schoolchildren are taught every year, the immigrant Europeans

 

had come from England via Holland, escaping religious persecution and an oppressive government. Their story resembles a modern day asylum, as they were fleeing extreme stress and strife to a country where they would be safe (and religion is a protected ground for asylum). The overall history of European immigration, settling, and expansion throughout the continent boded poorly for Native Americans, who were overwhelmed by settlement, wars, and diseases. However, the day of feasting that we now celebrate as Thanksgiving represents the promise of a bright, harmonious future between the various groups that make up the United States of America – whether they are generations of Americans whose grandparents entered through Ellis Island or newly minted Americans who are recent immigrants, lawful permanent residents, and citizens.

 

The Law Offices of Andrew Wood wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving.

TPS for Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone

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Department of Homeland Security Announces Temporary Protected Status for Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.

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Lost in the immigration news avalanche of last week, in which President Obama announced executive action for deferred action, business immigration reforms, and enforcement priorities, was the granting of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to nationals of three countries. On November 20, the Department of Homeland Security granted TPS to nationals of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, in response to the ebola crisis that is ravaging those nations.

 

Temporary Protected Status means that nationals of those countries (and stateless people who last habitually resided there) will not be removed from the United States and will have work authorization, effective November 21, 2014. The grant lasts for 18 months (May 2016). Not all nationals are automatically eligible. Nationals must pass a criminal background check and cannot be national security threats. There is a 180 day registration period. An applicant must show that he or she has been continuously residing in the United States since November 20, 2014 and has been continuously physically present in the United States since November 21, 2014. The date requirements are strict. Nationals cannot start arriving from those countries and request TPS. It is a very limited grant of status – it is nothing like asylum status or a green card – but it is often a necessary protection for individuals fleeing civil war, disease, natural disasters, and awful country conditions,

 

Other countries currently with Temporary Protected Status include El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, and Syria.

 

If you have any questions about your eligibility for Temporary Protected Status or would like assistance, please contact immigration attorney Andrew Wood.

Immigration Reform!

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President Barack Obama Announces Executive Action on Immigration Reform

Barack Obama Announces Immigration Reform: Relief for Immigrants

Speaking (full speech) from the White House Thursday night, President Obama announced to the nation his plan to issue an executive order, taking a multi-faceted approach to the bevy of immigration issues facing the nation.

  • Additional resources for law enforcement personnel at border to apprehend better and return quicker.
  • Easier and faster for high skilled graduates to stay and contribute to businesses.
  • Responsibly deal with the millions of undocumented immigrants here already. Deportations of criminals up are 80%, so he will keep focus on criminals and gang members, not children and families. Prioritization is key.

As reported last week, Obama’s order will protect up to 4.5 million people from deportation. This is a minimal measure compared to the proposals and nearly passed laws (DREAM Act) that Congress has considered over the past eight years. Every president since Eisenhower in 1956 has granted relief to immigrants through executive action. The executive order does not change actual laws, but it re-directs executive agencies to shift their priorities. Here are some of the highlights:

  • Deferred Action for Parents (DAP): Following Deferred Action for Children (DACA), DAP will allow for parents of lawful permanent residents and US citizens continuously present since January 1, 2010 to apply for three years of deportation protection, following the successful completion of a background check and payment of back taxes.
  • Enforcement priorities: Suspected terrorists, convicted felons, convicted gang members, people apprehended at the border, people who have convicted of multiple or serious misdemeanors, and those who have failed to leave after a removal order from 1/1/2014 onward.
  • DACA is expanded to eliminate the age cap and include continuous residence since January 1, 2010. It will also be three years of protection.
  • The provisional waiver will be expanded to include children and spouses of lawful permanent residents.
  • Optional Practical Training (OPT) will be elongated for STEM graduates (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics). H4 visa holders will be able to receive work authorization. Entrepreneurs, investors, and researchers will be eligible for national interest waivers.

Congress has debated and postured over immigration reform intensely during the past two years. President Obama challenged the legislative body to pass comprehensive immigration reform. In the interim, these tweaks to the immigration system should repair some broken components and provide relief for millions of deserving immigrants.

The Law Offices of Andrew Wood is pleasantly encouraged by the president’s plan and his focus on immigration reform. Immigration attorneys, advocates, and DREAMers in Pittsburgh and the around the country have been pushing for action for years. Perhaps this is the opportunity for real improvement.