Obama Admin. plans change in immigration rule
By ALICIA A. CALDWELL, Associated Press – 29 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration plans a rule change to help reduce the time illegal immigrant spouses and children are separated from citizen relatives while they try to win legal status in the United States, a senior administration official said Thursday.
Currently, illegal immigrants must leave the country before they can ask the government to waive a three- to 10-year ban on legally coming back to the U.S. The length of the ban depends on how long they have lived in the U.S. without permission.
The official said the new rule would let children and spouses of citizens ask the government to decide on the waiver request before the illegal immigrant heads to his or her home country to apply for a visa. The illegal immigrants still must go home to finish the visa process to come back to the U.S., but getting the waiver ahead of time could reduce the time an illegal immigrant is out of the country.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the proposed policy change had not been made public.
The waiver shift is the latest move by President Barack Obama to make changes to immigration policy without congressional action. Congressional Republicans repeatedly have criticized the administration for policy changes they describe as providing "backdoor amnesty" to illegal immigrants.
Immigrants who do not have criminal records and who have only violated immigration laws can win a waiver if they can prove that their absence would cause an "extreme hardship" for their citizen spouse or parent. The government received about 23,000 hardship applications in 2011 and more than 70 percent were approved, the official said.
Applications for the waiver can take as long as six months to be acted upon, the official said. The new rule is expected to reduce that processing time to just days or weeks, the official added.
"This would streamline the process (and) reduce the time of separation between family members," the official said.
The proposal will be published in the Federal Register on Friday. The official said the administration hopes to change the rule later this year.
Immigration has become a difficult issue for Obama ahead of the November election. As a presidential candidate, he pledged to change what many consider to be a broken immigration system.
To that end, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced plans last year to review some 300,000 pending deportation cases in an effort to target criminal illegal immigrants, repeat immigration law violators and those who pose a national security or public safety threat. Napolitano said the DHS would delay indefinitely the cases of many illegal immigrants who have no criminal record and those who have been arrested for only minor traffic violations or other misdemeanors.
A pilot program to review about 12,000 cases pending in immigration court in Baltimore and Denver was launched in November and ends next week. The review is expected to expand to other jurisdictions later this year.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton also issued a memo in June outlining how immigration authorities could use discretion in deciding which illegal immigrants to arrest and put into deportation proceedings. Morton wrote in the memo that discretion could be used in a variety of cases, including for people with no criminal record and young people brought to the country illegally as children.
Congressional Republicans have decried the policy changes, arguing that the Obama administration is circumventing Congress to essentially provide amnesty to countless illegal immigrants.
Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, has been among the most vocal critics and has accused Obama repeatedly of not enforcing immigration law.
Several attempts at an immigration law overhaul have failed in recent years, including the so-called DREAM Act, which would have allowed for some young illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to earn legal status if they went to college or joined the military.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...e04a9fefc169dd
Emperor Obama decides to change immigration law
rightwingnews.com
Written By : William Teach
Jan. 06, 2012
Obviously, anything so tiresome as dealing with the elected representatives of the American people is just too much for Mr. Hope And Change
Quote:
(
Fox News Latino) A senior member of the Obama administration said Thursday that the administration plans to change a rule to reduce the time the spouses and children of undocumented immigrants are separated from citizen relatives while they try to win legal status in the United States
Currently, undocumented immigrants must leave the country before they can ask the government to waive a three- to 10-year ban on legally coming back to the U.S. The length of the ban depends on how long they have lived in the U.S. without permission.
The official said the new rule would let children and spouses of citizens ask the government to decide on the waiver request before the undocumented immigrant heads to his or her home country to apply for a visa. The undocumented immigrants still must go home to finish the visa process to come back to the U.S., but getting the waiver ahead of time could reduce the time an undocumented immigrant is out of the country.
The waiver shift is the latest move by President Barack Obama to make changes to immigration policy without congressional action. Congressional Republicans repeatedly have criticized the administration for policy changes they describe as providing “backdoor amnesty” to undocumented immigrants.
It’s not so much Obama showing a clear lack of respect for the People’s House, ie, Congress, as it is 1) Obama attempting to create political issues with which to fight the GOP, and 2), and more importantly, the fact that Obama has never been a real leader, has no skills as a leader, and becomes petulant and therefore unwilling to do the hard work necessary to reach across the aisle and make accommodations with the opposition Party, who represent specific parts of the United States as laid out by the Constitution. Every other president has had to do this, and has worked, or at least attempted to work, with the opposition party. That’s too difficult for Emperor Obama. Funny how he keeps calling himself a “Constitutional Professor”: who’s constitution, Venezuela’s? Iran’s?
That said, if the GOP plays their cards right (sometimes a big “if”), they can use Obama’s unilateral extension of unchecked power grabs against him during the General Election, and perhaps tie it in to the Congressional Democrats. Perhaps some videos of Democrats complaining about Bush unilaterally taking on new powers juxtaposed with Obama actually doing just that.
http://rightwingnews.com/immigration...hout-congress/
Obama to ease green-card rule?
politico.com
By TIM MAK
1/6/12 6:43 AM EST
http://images.politico.com/global/20...ard_605_ap.jpg
The move could boost Obama’s standing with Hispanic voters. | AP Photo
The Obama administration will propose a new rule Friday that will allow certain illegal immigrants to remain in the United States while applying for legal residency, according to reports.
Currently, those living illegally in the U.S. are required to leave the country in order to apply for a green card, even if they are married to or are children of American citizens, and they are often barred from returning for up to 10 years, the New York Times and the L.A. Times reported.
The Obama administration’s proposal, which would not require congressional approval, would allow certain illegal immigrants to file for a hardship waiver and stay in the country with their families while their requests are being adjudicated.
The move could boost Obama’s standing with Hispanic voters, the L.A. Times notes.
Since in office, President Obama has also instructed immigration authorities to prioritize the deportation of criminal illegal immigrants over those of undocumented immigrations who pose no threat to national security and public safety.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories...#ixzz1ihMmrVph
Obama rule would let undocumented stay in U.S. during application
dc50tv.com
By Peter Nicholas
1:12 a.m. EST, January 6, 2012
http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2...0-05221329.jpg
Rigo Barboza, an undocumented student, protests President Obama's immigration policies outside the Fig & Olive restaurant in West Hollywood in September.
Reporting from Washington—
The Obama administration will announce Friday a proposed new regulation that would allow certain undocumented immigrants to remain in America while applying for legal status -- a step aimed at keeping families intact and one that may also shore up the president's support with Latino voters.
As it stands, people living in the U.S. illegally who leave the country to apply for a green card face years of separation from family members.
Depending on how long they've lived in America, once they leave they are barred from returning for up to 10 years.
They can claim that their absence would pose a hardship for their spouse or parent and ask the Department of Homeland Security to waive the re-entry restrictions.
But to do that, they must first travel to a consular office abroad and begin a process that can take months or even years, experts say.
Most waiver applications are filed in Ciudad Juarez on the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the Immigration Policy Center. A State Department travel advisory issued last year said the murder rate in Ciudad Juarez was the highest in Mexico. It urged people to "defer non-essential travel" to that city.
Under the proposed rule, which would not require action by Congress, people would be allowed to file requests for hardship waivers in the United States, according to a person familiar with the administration's plans. They wouldn't need to go abroad, and thus could stay with their families while their requests were adjudicated.
The proposal comes at a moment when President Obama is making greater use of executive power to overcome congressional resistance to his policy goals.
Obama has called for an overhaul of the immigration system that would provide a path to legal status for the 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. But even when the House and Senate were both in Democratic hands, he could not muster the votes needed to pass that plan. The prospects are even weaker now that the House is under Republican control.
So Obama is attempting unilateral steps meant to bring about what he sees as an immigration system that is fairer and less destructive to families.
The proposal is likely to win plaudits from a crucial constituency in the 2012 election: Latinos.
Obama won two-thirds of the Latino vote in 2008, and he needs this fast-growing constituency energized and excited about his reelection.
http://www.dc50tv.com/news/nationwor...,7678138.story
Obama administration unveils immigration policy tweak
Easing of rules would allow those in U.S. illegally to complete most of green card application stateside, instead of in native countries
chicagotribune.com
By Antonio Olivo,
Chicago Tribune reporter
January 7, 2012
Ana and Emeterio Nava found a sense of relief Friday in news that the Obama administration is preparing to make it possible for undocumented immigrants to apply for permanent residency without leaving the U.S.
The Back of the Yards couple has been preparing for a long separation after Ana, a U.S. citizen, began the process about six months ago of sponsoring her husband for an immigration green card under a federal "extreme hardship" appeal.
Under the current federal rules, Emeterio would have to return to his native Mexico to formally apply. The proposed change, which is expected to affect several hundred thousand people when it is finalized later this year, would allow the Navas to complete most of their application while he remains in Chicago.
If it appears he'll be approved, Emeterio would still have to make a brief trip to Mexico to complete the process, according to the proposed change announced Friday by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
"Leaving the country is my greatest fear," said Emeterio, 30, who was brought into the U.S. illegally when he was 13. "Where we live, there's been a lot of vandalism, with people robbing a lot of houses. I wouldn't be able to sleep comfortably knowing my family is there alone."
Immigrant advocates in Chicago applauded the bureaucratic change, the latest in a string of recent administrative fixes overturning elements of federal immigration policy that have forced otherwise law-abiding families to be separated.
"This is very good news," said Joshua Hoyt, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. "We've been fighting for many years to win this (change)."
Even under the proposed rule change, a burden will still be on applicants to prove that they would suffer from "extreme hardship" if their loved one is forced to leave the U.S.
The Navas are hoping to qualify, arguing that Emeterio needs to stay by his wife, who has been suffering from cancerous tumors. The couple has three children, including a 2-month-old baby.
"He needs to be here, with the children," said Ana, 28, who is expecting to undergo a second operation soon. "He needs to be with me."
aolivo@tribune.com
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...tory?track=rss
Obama's immigration proposal gives hope to some in limbo
Some illegal immigrants with U.S. citizen spouses or parents would be allowed to apply for hardship waivers from the U.S. But Republicans accuse the president of proposing a 'backdoor amnesty.'
latimes.com
By Anna Gorman, Los Angeles Times
January 9, 2012
http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2012-01/67245032.jpg
At an evangelical church in Norcross, Ga., the audience heard from children affected by the crackdown on illegal immigration. Organizers continue to pressure President Obama to prioritize comprehensive immigration reform.
Like many other spouses of undocumented immigrants, Gina Pope constantly worries that her husband suddenly could be deported and that she would be left to raise their two children by herself.
Pope, a U.S. citizen, wants to apply for him to get a green card but knows that would mean his traveling to his native Peru, with the risk of not returning for months or years.
Now, after more than a decade of waiting for the immigration rules to change, Pope is cautiously optimistic that her husband, who owns a residential construction business and has a temporary work permit, may finally be able to become a legal resident.
"It does give me a little bit of hope," said Pope, who lives in South Carolina and gave her maiden name. "We need him to be here."
President Obama proposed a new rule last week that would allow certain illegal immigrants with U.S. citizen spouses or parents to stay here while they apply for hardship waivers, the first step for many before they can submit applications for legal residency. Without waivers, illegal immigrants can be barred from reentering the U.S. for up to 10 years.
Under the current rule, those who seek waivers have to go to their native countries and wait for the applications to be processed by U.S. officials, which could take months or years.
"The immigration bar and the immigrant community is very happy about this," said Pope's Los Angeles-based attorney, Carl Shusterman. He said he has had to advise many illegal immigrants married to U.S. citizens not to apply for green cards because of the 10-year bar and the separation they would face while seeking waivers.
But Shusterman added that the proposed rule — even though it could affect tens of thousands of immigrants — is limited. It doesn't change the fact that to get waiver, families must prove that deportation would cause extreme hardship to the U.S. relative. And if they succeed in getting waivers, the immigrants still would have to return to their native countries to apply for green cards.
It's uncertain how long it would take an individual to get a green card. But some attorneys say that with a hardship waiver, the waiting period could just be a few weeks.
The proposal angered Republicans, who accused Obama of bypassing Congress and passing a "back-door amnesty" through this and other recent changes.
Soon after she got married, Pope said, an attorney told her and her new husband not to apply for a green card and to wait for immigration reform. "That didn't happen," she said. Now, Pope, 32, said she is tired of living in fear and hopes that Obama's proposal will help.
Victoria Jensen, a U.S. citizen who lives in East Los Angeles, said she had hoped to marry her boyfriend of six years and petition for him to become a legal resident. But after an attorney told them that he would have to return to El Salvador to apply for the waiver and could get stuck there for 10 years, they decided to postpone a wedding and continue living together in East L.A.
"He's scared because of the way El Salvador is right now," said Jensen, a hospital interpreter.
Denise Martinez and Leider Gonzalez, both 22, live together in East. L.A. and said they were encouraged by Obama's proposal. Martinez, a community college student, was born in the U.S. and Gonzalez, her boyfriend, came here illegally four years ago.
"We want to get married … but we don't want to be apart," Martinez said.
The process to get green cards is a "bureaucratic nightmare" for couples, said Angelica Salas, who runs the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles. The proposed rule will make at least one step easier, she said.
"It is going to help a lot of families who are going to be able to remain together, whose lives are not disrupted by having to leave the country for unknown periods of time," she said.
anna.gorman@latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...tional+News%29
