UPDATE: THIS POLICY HAS BEEN RESCINDED BY THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION AND IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT AS OF 2022 On January 30, 2020, USCIS announced that it will begin implementing the new public charge rule on February 24, 2020, in all states in the United States except for in Illinois, where an injunction is still […]
Category Archives: Immigration policy
Trump Administration Rescinds DACA Protection
On September 5, 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that President Trump is decided to rescind the Obama-era DACA policy, which protected approximately 800,000 undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as minors. In rescinding the DACA program, Trump kicked the ball to the U.S. Congress, giving it 6 months to act on […]
Immigration Executive Order Issued by President Trump on Border Security and Immigration Enforcement
EXECUTIVE ORDER – – – – – – – BORDER SECURITY AND IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT IMPROVEMENTS By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) (INA), the Secure Fence Act of 2006 (Public Law […]
Expansion of Provisional Waiver (I-601A)
Effective AUGUST 29, 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will expand the reach of the provisional waiver initially implemented in 2013. On January 3, 2013, DHS promulgated a final rule, Provisional Unlawful Presence Waivers of Inadmissibility for Certain Immediate Relatives, in the Federal Register. See 78 FR 536 (Jan. 3, 2013) (“2013 Rule”). To […]
Supreme Court Issues a Disappointing Decision on President Obama’s DAPA and Expanded DACA Programs
On Thursday, June 23, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in U.S. v. Texas. By a vote of 4-4, the Court was deadlocked, meaning the Fifth’s Circuit’s decision issuing a nationwide injunction on President Obama’s DAPA and expanded DACA programs remain in effect. This means 4 million people who expected to benefit […]
Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in President Obama’s Executive Order Challenge
On Monday, April 18, 2016, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the highly anticipated case of US v. Texas, where President Obama’s Executive Order announcing expanded DACA and the new DAPA programs are at question. You can read the transcript of the oral arguments to see how the case was presented to […]
DAPA and Expanded DACA are Dead (for now) – Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Rejects President Obama’s Immigration Plan
In a 135-page decision issued on November 9, 2015, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has (unsurprisingly) ruled against President Obama’s immigration plan, which he announced on November 20, 2014, hoping to benefit over 11 million undocumented people in the United States. Obama announced the DAPA and expanded DACA programs on November 20, 2014 through […]
Designation of Nepal for Temporary Protected Status
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) has designated Nepal for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for a period of 18 months, effective June 24, 2015 through December 24, 2016. Under section 244(b)(1)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the Secretary is authorized to designate a foreign […]
Expanded DACA Applications To Be Accepted Beginning February 18, 2015
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was initially announced on June 15, 2012 via a memorandum from then-Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. On November 20, 2014, current-Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson issued a memorandum expanding guidelines for DACA in several key ways. Expanded DACA program will go into effect beginning in February 18, […]
Challenges to DACA and DAPA Programs
On January 15, 2015, a federal district court in Texas will hear oral argument in Texas, et al. v. United States, the 25-state lawsuit challenging the immigration initiatives announced by President Obama last year on November 20, 2014. The lawsuit alleges that states will be burdened by the expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood […]