Dana and the Cupcakes

While we have quite a few January birthdays, we haven't yet had a Friday Photo featuring our superbly talented and energetic office manager, Dana, and so on the occasion of her birthday this week, we thought it would be appropriate to honor her. She was, of course, super excited about these cupcakes and had a hard time deciding which she wanted. It's okay, Dana, you can have more than one! 

ABC News: “US Agents Round up Central Americans Slated for Deportation”

Immigration agents over the weekend began conducting raids targeting the removal of Central American families as well as unaccompanied children who crossed over the US southern border without documentation over the past two years. The raids, seen as an effort to deter future undocumented immigrants from crossing the border, are targeting individuals who have entered the US since May 2014, have been issued final orders of removal by an immigration court, have exhausted appropriate legal remedies, and have no outstanding appeal or claim for asylum or other humanitarian relief, according to a statement by Jeh Johnson, the head of the Department of Homeland Security.

In the statement, Johnson said that the 121 people rounded up this past weekend during raids in Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina were transferred to family detention centers mainly in Texas to await removal. Johnson said the raids “should come as no surprise” and noted that he has said “publicly for months that individuals who constitute enforcement priorities, including families and unaccompanied children, will be removed.”

Although these latest actions affect only a small part of the more than 100,000 Central American family members, mostly mothers with children, who crossed into the US since 2014, the raids have been strongly condemned by many. Greg Chen, director of advocacy for the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), told the AP the group was "shocked and outraged" to hear of the raids targeting "women and children who are extremely vulnerable and by and large have fled from horrendous violence in their home countries."

The immigration surge in the past two years has been linked to a rise in gang-related violence in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras as well as extreme poverty in the region, while some immigrants crossed the border to reunite with family members in the US or to claim asylum.

One family caught up in the immigration raids was Maria Hernandez and her two sons, who fled gang violence in El Salvador in 2014. They were asleep early Saturday morning in her parents' Dallas home when immigration agents banged on the door. "They entered all the rooms and woke up my kids, saying they had a deportation order," Hernandez told VICE News in Spanish. "We were very surprised—I was almost naked when they entered. We were all crying."

The agents took Hernandez and her six- and nine-year-old sons into custody and drove them first to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office and then to a detention center in South Texas, from where they will be deported to El Salvador. "They told us that in two days they'll send us to our country," Hernandez said Monday in a phone interview with Vice News from the South Texas Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. "It's the worst thing that could happen. We all have threats on our lives."

A Guardian investigation last year into the consequences of Obama’s deportation policies revealed many US deportees have been murdered shortly after returning to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, with a study saying as many as eighty-three returning deportees have been killed since 2014.

Guatemala's Vice Minister Oscar Padilla said that starting Monday “consulates would be interviewing and reviewing the cases of citizens on deportation lists to ensure that each has an order signed by a judge.” The foreign ministry also advised Guatemalans in the US that they “need not open their doors to immigration agents unless the officers have a warrant signed by a judge, and that they carry with them at all times phone numbers of family members, a lawyer and the nearest consulate.”

Immigration activist groups have also begun alerting undocumented immigrants of the impending raids and informing them of their rights through videos, social media, and email and phone blasts. Advocates are noting that immigrants have the right to deny ICE officials entry; immigration agents must have an order signed by a judge to enter a house. “To be on the safe side, just don’t answer the door,” Bryan Johnson, a New York-based immigration lawyer, told the LA Times. “The problem is if you open the door, then it’s he said, she said. But if you never open the door, there’s proof—they have to break it down.”

Happy New Year!

Lights on London's Regent Street, famous for its holiday decorations.

It's been another exciting year for us at the Daryanani Law Group. From a new partner climbing a volcano to the H-1B cap; from key additions on our staff and weddings to a visit from Roger, (not to mention our name change), it was eventful, to say the least. We look forward to 2016, whatever it may bring. From all of us here at DLG, we wish you and your family a Happy New Year!

Hello and Goodbye

In lieu of our regular Thursday post, we thought our readers might enjoy this "affectionate" parody video of Adele’s “Hello" from the British Consulate General in New York City. (We wish more embassies and consulates would release parody videos.) They came quite close to the original, though no one emotes like Adele. It's going to be okay, Adele! Really, everything's going to be fine.

US Increasingly Denying Entry to Muslims and Individuals of Certain Countries

In recent weeks, Muslims and individuals from certain countries are reportedly being refused entry to the US, leading some to think that innocent individuals are being caught up in increased US security measures.

Muslim Family Headed to Disneyland Denied Entry

In one case, a British Muslim family was barred earlier this month from flying from Gatwick Airport in the United Kingdom to the US for a vacation at Disneyland. Mohammed Zahid Mahmood said he and his family—which included two brothers and nine children—were not allowed to travel to the US for vacation, despite previously having obtained clearance. He told the BBC that his children were "traumatised, really upset" about the cancelled trip. "They think they've done something wrong," he said. "I want an explanation, and what's going to happen next. I would still like to go to America, I would like my kids to fulfil their dreams."

Stella Creasy, a member of the opposition Labour Party, said that her inquires to US officials on why her constituents—Mahmood and his family—were not allowed to board the flight to the US were not answered, and consequently she wrote to Prime Minister David Cameron to look into the matter, citing a "growing fear" among British Muslims that “aspects of Trump's plans are coming into practice even though they have been widely condemned.”

Because of other instances of US airlines either preventing Muslims or “Middle Eastern-looking” individuals from flying as well as alleged mistreatment, some think that presidential candidate Donald Trump’s proposed temporary ban on Muslims visiting the US and other anti-Muslim sentiment and discrimination in the US has led to increased and overly-aggressive scrutiny of Muslim and Middle-Eastern travelers to the US.

While Cameron’s office said they are investigating the matter, a top Muslim group in the UK said the incident appears to be related to the travelers’ religion and is very concerning to British Muslims. A US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesman told ABC News that the "religion, faith or spiritual beliefs of an international traveler are not determining factors" for admittance to the US and that people can be denied entry for numerous reasons including health-related issues, prior criminal convictions, security concerns, or other grounds. The Muslim Council of Britain says the last-minute denial of boarding without explanation is unfair for Muslims. "There is a perception that such decisions are being made due to the faith or political activism of individuals," the council stated. 

Mahmood, whose family reportedly spent £9,000 on tickets for the Disneyland flights, told the Guardian that they received no explanation for why they were not allowed to board their flight, but he believed it was “because of the attacks on America—they think every Muslim poses a threat.” According to news reports, the US Embassy in London has not issued any comments or clarifications as to why Mahmood and his family were not permitted to travel to the US to visit Disneyland or regarding any increased travel security restrictions.

British Imam Ajmal Masroor Denied Entry

Ajmal Masroor, a British imam and broadcaster, reports he was also prevented from traveling to the US for business, despite having traveled to the US multiple times already this year. While Masroor was originally denied an ESTA, or Electronic System for Travel Authorization, after US Embassy staff contacted him to apply, he had been granted a business and tourism B1/B2 visa, which he said he used to travel to the US.

“In my mind, the refusal and revoking of my visa was calculated. For me it’s very callous,” he told the Guardian. In response, the US Embassy in London said: “The embassy is aware of this matter. We are in contact with the individual and therefore have no further public comment at this time.” Masroor believes US officials are singling out Muslims. "This is absolutely discrimination. It is not acceptable and playing into the hands of the terrorists," he said. Masroor also said he had heard of twenty similar cases of fellow Muslims being denied entry to the US, and David Cameron has been informed of additional cases as well.

In addition, Indian students have been denied entry to the US. In two separate cases, twenty Indian students with valid student visas for colleges in California were denied entry in Chicago and returned to India, and nineteen students were barred from boarding an Air India plane headed to San Francisco for the same schools.

It’s not only travelers to the US being excluded entrance, but Australia has also faced criticism for denying entry to certain individuals, including Zahra Ramadani, a Syrian-born British national whose visa was issued and revoked without explanation right before she was scheduled to fly to Sydney, and a Pakistani family who were trying to visit their terminally ill son who was unable to travel out of Australia.

Those who are planning a visit to the US should be aware of the proper ESTA and visa procedures and requirements, and also their rights if denied entry.

Merry Christmas from DLG!

I stumbled across some lost reindeer today. I can only surmise that after their official duties were completed they had a little too much to drink and ended up in this backyard. May your holiday be as adventurous and festive as that of our little cross-eyed reindeer friend.