The ongoing partial US government shutdown is causing a further strain on US immigration courts as well as creating potential hardships for US Border Patrol agents, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, and other front-line Department of Homeland Security who are considered “essential” workers and must continue to work without pay during the shutdown. Tony Reardon, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, says that the federal employees including CBP officers and agriculture inspectors stationed at border crossings and airports are “key to our nation’s security and economic success, and they do not deserve to be treated this way.” CBP agents are taking into custody more than 2,000 migrants per day on average and, with nowhere to detain them, the governments has been releasing hundreds onto the streets in El Paso, Texas, Yuma, Arizona, and other border cities.
Read moreBroken Immigration System
Bye, Alla!
We are sorry to say goodbye to Alla, a paralegal at DLG. She will be going on some adventures abroad and afterwards moving out of New York City. Alla brought a wonderful background and experience to the firm, and she will be missed. To say goodbye, we had some wine and cheese and watched the sunset together. (Maybe a few tears were shed.) We wish her all the best on her travels and hope she stops by for visits in the future where we can watch even more sunsets (you know, since we have such a good view!) Bye, Alla!
Partial Government Shutdown Does Not Effect Most USCIS Operations
USCIS announced that the current lapse in annual appropriated funding for the US government does not affect most USCIS operations and fee-funded activities. USCIS offices will remain open, and all individuals should attend previously scheduled interviews and appointments. Additionally, USCIS will continue to accept petitions and applications with only certain exceptions.
Read moreHappy Holidays from DLG!
For our final post of the year on our blog we thought we’d close out with our view from outside our office windows. That’s right, we get to stare at the Empire State Building and (sometimes) the moon every day! Don’t worry, we’ll be back in January with lots of fresh content. Please note our office will be closed for the holidays on December 24th, 25th, 26th, and 31st. We will also be closed on January 1st, 2019. We wish everyone a wonderful rest of 2018 and a Happy New Year!
CNN: “Ruth Bader Ginsburg speaks at naturalization ceremony on the anniversary of Bill of Rights signing.”
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg recently spoke at a naturalization ceremony in the rotunda of Washington D.C.’s National Archives where thirty-one men and women become new citizens. As she’s done before, Justice Ginsburg shared her own immigration story: "My own father arrived in this land at age 13 with no fortune and speaking no English,” she said. “My mother was born four months after her parents—with several children in tow—came by ship to Ellis Island. My father and my grandparents reached, as you do, for the American dream." She asked the attendees: “What is the difference between a bookkeeper in New York City's Garment District and a Supreme Court Justice? One generation.”
Read moreOnly Immigration Stories
Birthdays, Presents, and Parties!
This week was a whirlwind at the firm. We celebrated four December birthdays (happy birthday to Briana, Ashley, Gaby, and Adrianna!), exchanged gifts with our “Secret Holiday Friends,” and held our annual DLG Holiday Party at the Institute of Culinary Education where we made some delicious herb and cheese raviolis, New York strip steak with twice-fried frites and charred broccoli, and a lovely pumpkin tart with a ginger cookie crumb crust and caramel whipped cream. (Okay, we had a few drinks too.) It was a lot of activity but totally worth it. Now we just need a nap. And an eggnog.
ProPublica: “A Defendant Shows Up in Immigration Court by Himself. He’s 6.”
Wilder Hilario Maldonado Cabrera, a Salvadoran boy, was the youngest defendant on the juvenile docket in immigration court in San Antonio, Texas shortly before Thanksgiving this year. Wilder, six years old, was one of the last children affected by the administration’s zero-tolerance policy. He was separated from his father on June 6 after they crossed the US/Mexico border to seek asylum. Wilder’s father was detained separately, while Wilder’s mother remained in El Salvador.
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