Dear Readers:
Even though we are still nearly a year and a half away from the 2016 presidential election, the campaign is already getting heated. There are at least 15 Republicans running as well as five Democrats also running and all have opined on immigration to one extent or another. One candidate in particular, Donald Trump, has garnered the most headlines by trying to appeal the far right of the party on immigration. He’s made a number of incendiary remarks about Mexican immigrants that have drawn condemnations from most of the other candidates. Yet he’s ridden to the top of the polls in the GOP largely because of those remarks. Whether this is a momentary blip or a sign of an ugly campaign to come where candidates try to outflank Trump as the most anti-immigration candidate is hard to say.
But it does seem clear to me that if the Republicans do not reign in the anti-immigration wing of the party, they risk losing the White House again. The Latino vote will be larger in 2016 – probably an additional two million voters versus 2012. The Democratic presidential candidate will have the additional advantage of running with a stronger economy than 2012 and a general population that is moving to the left on social issues that have traditionally favored Democrats. And the President’s health care plan is not likely to be as important an issue in 2016 as it was in the last election. It’s hard to see how the Republicans can improve on 2012 without improving their standing with Latino voters and this campaign so far has delivered the worst possible news for Republican strategists trying to figure out how to turn things around. Unless the Democrats nominate someone unelectable, the Republican nominee will have a serious branding problem next year.
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There were a couple of important immigration news items over the last few weeks. First, the State Department Visa Bulletin for August includes nearly current priority dates for EB-3. There will be a rush to file applications this month and even though retrogression is possible, many people will get the advantages of adjusting status including receiving work documents for family members and gaining portability rights.
The White House issued a 50 page report on its visa modernization efforts. The report had a few surprises both for what was included and what was left out. Many (including me) thought the business immigration provisions were timid and disappointing. Hopefully, the report is not comprehensive and additional ideas not referenced are still being considered. My summary and my scorecard on the report are included in this issue.
The DAPA program is still tied up in court with the 5th Circuit holding a hearing on the Texas District Court injunction halting the executive action. The Republican-appointed judges that heard this case were the same as issued the negative decision a few months back so don’t expect good news at this stage for the White House. The legal fight will likely drag on with a Supreme Court appeal looking more likely and no resolution until next June. That will be smack in the middle of the presidential campaign’s final months, something that must be making Republican strategists cringe.
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In firm news, several Siskind Susser lawyers attended the annual meeting of the American Immigration Lawyers Association in Washington, DC. Lynn Susser and I spoke on three different panels and Ari Sauer and I also attended the Board of Governors meeting on which we both serve. I also presided over the annual meeting of the IMG Taskforce, the physician immigration bar organization, which held its annual meeting at the AILA event.
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As always, we invite prospective clients to contact us at 800-748-3819 or via our web site at www.visalaw.com. Our firm is a full-service immigration law firm assisting clients across the country.
Thanks,
Greg Siskind
Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk.