Dear Readers:
As if the world of immigration couldn’t get more chaotic, this past Friday night, as every reader no doubt knows, the US government shutdown over the failure of Congress to resolve the ongoing crisis created when President Trump announced the wind down of the DACA program. And then almost as quickly on Monday, the Democrats temporarily backed off by accepting a 17-day extension of government funding.
Democratic and Republican members of Congress were engaged in protracted negotiations over an immigration deal and by last week, it looked like a deal was reached. In a compromise hammered out by a group of six Senators from both parties, all of the issues required by the White House were seemingly covered – DACA, family immigration, the DV lottery and border security. But the White House made it clear they were not satisfied (capped by the infamous meeting where President Trump made world headlines for describing African countries with an expletive that doesn’t need repeating). I’ve summarized the “Gang of Six” bill in this issue.
As the deadline for the passage of a continuing resolution to continue funding the government neared, Democrats made it clear they would not support a continuing resolution without resolution of the DACA issue. A last-minute deal between Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and President Trump was scuttled after immigration hardliners convinced the President to renege.
On Monday, based on a promise to schedule a vote on immigration and receiving a six-year extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Democrats agreed to a two-week continuing resolution. Reviews were mixed regarding what this means for Dreamers, but we will not have to wait long to find out whether this was a good or bad move by either party.
Because there is still a good chance the shutdown will resume, I’m including in this issue an updated shutdown guide which includes information released in the last few days on how each agency planned on managing during a shutdown period. Hopefully, another shutdown will be avoided because an immigration deal was negotiated.
In firm news, we bid farewell to our attorney Spencer Glaser who is becoming an entrepreneur and moving out of the immigration field. I’m also going to be speaking at the American Immigration Lawyers Association chapter conferences in Atlanta and Las Vegas in the next few weeks.
Finally, as always, I invite those readers who wish to talk with one of our lawyers about your case, you are welcome to set up a telephone or in person consultation. You can do so, by completing the form at www.visalaw.com/consultation.
Regards,
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.