Dear Readers:
The news on immigration comes so rapidly that it’s easy to lose track of all that is changing around us.
Consider the following developments just in the ten days prior to my writing this Openers.
- The US Supreme Court handed down the 8-1 Pereira v. Sessions decision that could affect thousands of removal cases pending in immigration courts around the country by requiring ICE to reissue Notices to Appear (thus meaning many more people are eligible for removal relief).
- The Trump Administration has shocked the country and the world by separating 1000s of children from Central America from their asylum-seeking parents seeking entry at the US-Mexico border. Yesterday, a judge in California enjoined this practice.
- The US Supreme Court upheld a travel ban that most Americans believe arose from animus against Muslims.
- The US House of Representatives voted down two Republican-sponsored bills that were panned by pro-immigration groups.
And just today, Justice Kennedy announced his retirement. His replacement by a young conservative judge could have an impact on the US for decades to come.
And there are major changes still coming. Expect new rules to be issued soon that seek to take work authorization away from H-4 spouses and F-1 students as well as a rule that will change public charge determinations to mean that many more government benefits will trigger inadmissibility to the US (such as getting childhood vaccines).
It’s a lot to digest and, frankly, exhausting. I tell people that I’ve got Trump fatigue as an immigration lawyer not just because of the substance of the changes but the pace as well.
But I’m a believer that there will be a time when we have a Congress that is pro-immigration and making regular improvements with a President happy to sign the bills. We’ll have a well-functioning bureaucracy and court system. And we’ll have immigration as a boring topic that hardly ever makes the news because the country is overwhelmingly pro-immigration and has a government that reflects that view (we have just the former right now). I can dream, right.
Regards,
Greg Siskind
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