Thread: Obama Admin. plans change in immigration rule

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

It's simple, to get the Hispanic vote you have to be willing to let them break the law, by pass the law, and otherwise let them in without having to wait like other people who emigrate from their countries.

The Hispanic population feel it is their right to come in to the country regardless of what the law says; and the democrats have no problem giving the Hispanic people what they want.

The Republicans can't go there, at least not the republicans with any principles.

It's always been this way, democrats have no principles - they corrupt the system and manage to get rewarded for their efforts. The time will come when the folks coming in will supplant them, but by that time they will have also supplanted the rest of us. Social equality and justice will demand it.

The nation will become a mirror image of the places the immigrants came from. No day will pass when you don't have to pay a bribe to get things done or to keep things from being done to you.

There are a lot of people that embrace that way of living, but for most Americans it will be culture shock the likes of which will kill any joy or happiness you ever thought of having

We must vote Obama out in 11/2012. And we must vote all the demos out. They support illegal aliens. They do not work for US citizens. Let's vote Obama and the demos out in 2012.

Originally Posted by immigration2009

We must vote Obama out in 11/2012. And we must vote all the demos out. They support illegal aliens. They do not work for US citizens. Let's vote Obama and the demos out in 2012.

It's not just the democrats that are a problem:

Corporate Funded RINO Republicans Pushing for Open Borders
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-231748.html

REPUBLICANS TO PUSH AMNESTY (Just like Obama)
Mar 25, 2010
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-192736.html

added to the homepage with the following note...

http://www.alipac.us/content/14-Obam...mmigration-Law

ALIPAC NOTE: It is illegal and unconstitutional for Obama to create any form of amnesty or change immigration laws without the consent of the governed and Congress.

The Dictator and Thief doesn't give a damn about the Laws of the United (once we were) States.
And what RINO POTUS has undermined the will of the American People, Congress Immigration Laws, or created pseudo amnesties?
This is about the President, right?

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


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