Dear Readers:
Immigration continues to make major headlines in the US despite the fact that polls continue to show that it is not a major priority for US voters. Polls actually show the public remains very pro-immigration and the President’s policies generally only appeal to a narrow group of voters that is his core base.
Despite this disconnect, the attack on legal immigration and on illegally present immigrants continues. Last month, the President announced the wind down of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program begun by President Obama in 2012. An estimated 800,000 individuals are beneficiaries of DACA and the public backlash to the announcement was loud and instantaneous. That may explain why President Trump met a few days later with Democratic minority leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer and announced support for legislation to offer a path to citizenship for those individuals. So there is some reason for optimism regarding that population and we cover those bills with several “Siskind Summaries” in this issue.
We also saw the introduction of the third iteration of the travel ban (3.0). This ban is meant to be indefinite and it calls for the end of visa issuance for two of the countries – Syria and Iran. Sudan has been removed and Chad, North Korea and Venezuela have all been added. The ACLU announced this week they are challenging the White House in court. The Supreme Court was set to hear oral arguments on travel ban 2.0 this month, but has announced it is postponing and will wait until the new ban makes its way to them (which seems inevitable).
And we also saw the announcement of the ends of two more Temporary Protected Status programs. Individuals from Sudan and South Sudan will lose their TPS status next year according to an announcement from DHS. TPS designees number about 400,000 in total and the White House clearly has little interest in the fate of this population.
In firm news, a number of us have been quoted in the media and you can find those article as well as many other useful posts on our firm’s Facebook page. Just go to Facebook and search for Siskind Susser and you will find us.
I’m also leaving to attend the International Bar Association’s annual meeting in Sydney where I will be speaking on student visas. This month I’ll also be a panelist on an ABA webinar on Twitter which you can sign up for at https://shop.americanbar.org/ebus/ABAEventsCalendar/EventDetails.aspx?productId=288580158.
I’m also happy to announce the publication of my latest book with co-author Bruce Buchanan entitled the I-9 and E-Verify Handbook which is available for purchase on Amazon at http://a.co/eta3QJ4. More information on that book soon.
As always, please feel free to contact our firm. You can schedule an appointment with one of our lawyers by going to 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.