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U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit – Refuses to Reinstate Travel Ban, Dealing Trump Another Legal Loss

From the New York Time — A three-judge federal appeals panel on Thursday unanimously refused to reinstate President Trump’s targeted travel ban, delivering the latest and most stinging judicial rebuke to his effort to make good on a campaign promise and tighten the standards for entry into the United States.
The ruling was the first from an appeals court on the travel ban, and it was focused on the narrow question of whether it should be blocked while courts consider its lawfulness. The decision is likely to be quickly appealed to the United States Supreme Court.
That court remains short-handed and could deadlock. A 4-to-4 tie in the Supreme Court would leave the appeals court’s ruling in place.
Trial judges around the country have blocked aspects of Mr. Trump’s executive order, which suspended travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries and limited the nation’s refugee program, but no other case has yet reached an appeals court.
The decision, from a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, reviewed a ruling issued last Friday by Judge James L. Robart, a federal judge in Seattle. Judge Robart blocked the key parts of Mr. Trump’s executive order, allowing immigrants and travelers who had been barred entry to come into the United States.
Judge Robart’s ruling inspired a harsh attack from Mr. Trump, who accused the judge of endangering national security. After the appeals court heard arguments on Tuesday, Mr. Trump issued a pre-emptive critique on Twitter.
“If the U.S. does not win this case as it so obviously should, we can never have the security and safety to which we are entitled,” he wrote. “Politics!”
The judges on the Ninth Circuit panel were Judge Michelle T. Friedland, appointed […]

Federal Lawsuits Blocking Travel Ban – UPDATE

From ABC News

President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week to suspend some immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries — Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran and Libya — for 90 days, halt the refugee program for 120 days and suspend the admission of Syrian refugees indefinitely.

Since he signed the order Friday, at least 13 lawsuits have been filed around the country, including one from Washington state. Attorneys general in Virginia, Massachusetts and New York announced on Monday their intentions to intervene in existing federal suits filed over the past weekend in their states.

Here are the lawsuits filed as of Tuesday that challenge the executive order, naming Trump, the Department of Homeland Security, the border patrol and others as defendants. The Trump administration has denied that the order targets Muslims and that it is a ban.
Attorney Representing 2 Iraqis Detained at JFK Says Trump’s Immigration Order Is Unconstitutional
Protests Surge Across the Country Against Trump’s Immigration Order
President Trump’s Executive Orders on Immigration Explained
Lawsuits Filed Tuesday
Chicago

Dr. Amer al-Homssi, 24, a medical resident at the University of Illinois at Chicago/Advocate Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, has been stuck in Dubai since trying to board a Chicago-bound flight on Sunday, according to his complaint. A Syrian citizen who has legal residency in the United Arab Emirates, he was taken by U.S. preclearance security officers to secondary screening at Abu Dhabi International Airport, where officers canceled his valid J-1 U.S. visa, citing the executive order. According to the complaint, the officers told al-Homssi there was nothing that could be done except to wait 90 days and then follow up with the U.S. Embassy. He risks losing his residency status in the UAE if he is not able to return […]

Take Action: Urge your Congressional Members to Rally at SCOTUS and Denounce Trump’s Muslim Ban

Congressional leaders will hold a rally on the steps of the Supreme Court on Monday, January 30, 2017, to call on President Trump to rescind his Executive Order (EO) banning immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries.

Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12) wrote a Dear Colleague letter to House Democrats stating, “President Trump’s unconstitutional executive order banning refugees and the citizens of Muslim nations betrays everything the Statue of Liberty and our nation stand for. … We are witnessing a historic injustice unfold, and we must keep the pressure on.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Pelosi will lead the rally, which is scheduled to start at 6 p.m on January 30, 2017.

AILA members are encouraged urge their Senators and Representatives, Democrat and Republican alike, to attend this rally on the steps of the Supreme Court and speak out against President Trump’s EO which scapegoats Muslims and will not make America safer.

DACA and ADVANCE PAROLE ARE USCIS PRIORITIES FOR CURRENT PROCESSING

DACA

AILA National is working with the Obama administration to see if any form of relief is possible for those currently with approved DACA. In other words, there is an effort to explore the possibility of some pathway to continued relief/deferred action under DACA prior to the new administration taking power. It is highly unlikely anything will happen in this area.
AILA National requested expedited processing for DACA renewals and pending initial DACA applications.

USCIS has not released an official announcement regarding this request and will not because of the current political climate. However, USCIS stated to AILA National liaisons that DACA renewals and pending initial applications are their highest processing priority right now (in that order of priority).
AILA National states that first time applications should not be submitted, but renewal applications (for those that qualify) are highly recommended.
It is unclear what the “window of opportunity,” for submitting renewals is. But submitting them by early December/mid-December, at the latest, is suggested

Know Your Rights

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS Everyone has certain basic rights, no matter who is president NOVEMBER 10, 2016 By now everyone knows that Donald Trump has been elected president of the United States and will begin to serve his term in January 2017. No matter who is president, everyone living in the U.S. has certain basic rights under the U.S. Constitution. Undocumented immigrants have these rights, too. It is important that we all assert and protect our basic rights. If you find you have to deal with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or other law enforcement officers at home, on the street, or anywhere else, remember that you have the rights described in this factsheet. The factsheet also provides suggestions for what you should do to assert your rights.  You have the right to remain silent. You may refuse to speak to immigration officers.  Don’t answer any questions. You may also say that you want to remain silent.  Don’t say anything about where you were born or how you entered the U.S.  Carry a know-your-rights card and show it if an immigration officer stops you.  The card explains that you will remain silent and that you wish to speak with an attorney.  Do not open your door.  To be allowed to enter your home, ICE must have a warrant signed by a judge. Do not open your door unless an ICE agent shows you a warrant. (They almost never have one.) If an ICE agent wants to show you a warrant, they can hold it against a window or slide it under the door. To be valid, the warrant must have your correct name and address on it. KNOW YOUR […]

USCIS Announces Final Rule Adjusting Immigration Benefit Application and Petition Fees

Release Date: October 24, 2016

WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced a final rule published in the Federal Registertoday adjusting the fees required for most immigration applications and petitions. The new fees will be effective Dec. 23.

USCIS is almost entirely funded by the fees paid by applicants and petitioners for immigration benefits. The law requires USCIS to conduct fee reviews every two years to determine the funding levels necessary to administer the nation’s immigration laws, process benefit requests and provide the infrastructure needed to support those activities.

Fees will increase for the first time in six years, by a weighted average of 21 percent for most applications and petitions. This increase is necessary to recover the full cost of services provided by USCIS. These include the costs associated with fraud detection and national security, customer service and case processing, and providing services without charge to refugee and asylum applicants and to other customers eligible for fee waivers or exemptions.

The final rule contains a table summarizing current and new fees. The new fees will also be listed on the Our Fees page on our website. Form G-1055 will not reflect the new fees until the effective date. Applications and petitions postmarked or filed on or after Dec. 23 must include the new fees or USCIS will not be able to accept them.

“This is our first fee increase since November 2010, and we sincerely appreciate the valuable public input we received as we prepared this final rule,” said USCIS Director León Rodríguez. “We are mindful of the effect fee increases have on many of the customers we serve. That’s why we decided against raising fees as recommended after the fiscal year 2012 and 2014 fee reviews. […]

VISA BULLETIN – OCTOBER 2016

A. STATUTORY NUMBERS

This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers duringOctober for: “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing Applications,” indicating when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to the National Visa Center.

Unless otherwise indicated on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website at www.uscis.gov/visabulletininfo, individuals seeking to file applications for adjustment of status with USCIS in the Department of Homeland Security must use the “Final Action Dates” charts below for determining when they can file such applications. When USCIS determines that there are more immigrant visas available for the fiscal year than there are known applicants for such visas, USCIS will state on its website that applicants may instead use the “Dates for Filing Visa Applications” charts in this Bulletin.

1. Procedures for determining dates. Consular officers are required to report to the Department of State documentarily qualified applicants for numerically limited visas; USCIS reports applicants for adjustment of status. Allocations in the charts below were made, to the extent possible, in chronological order of reported priority dates, for demand received by September 8th. If not all demand could be satisfied, the category or foreign state in which demand was excessive was deemed oversubscribed. The final action date for an oversubscribed category is the priority date of the first applicant who could not be reached within the numerical limits. If it becomes necessary during the monthly allocation process to retrogress a final action date, supplemental requests for numbers will be honored only if the priority date falls within the new final action date announced in this bulletin. If at any time an annual limit were reached, it would be necessary to immediately make the preference category “unavailable”, and no further requests for […]

Final DHS Rule on Expansion of Eligibility for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver

Tomorrow, DHS will publish in the Federal Register a final rule that will expand eligibility for provisional unlawful presence waivers to all individuals who are statutorily eligible for the unlawful presence waiver and who can establish extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (LPR) spouse or parent.

This final rule, consistent with the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), expands the class of individuals who may be eligible for a provisional waiver of certain grounds of inadmissibility based on the accrual of unlawful presence in the United States. The provisional unlawful presence waiver (“provisional waiver”) process allows certain individuals who are present in the United States to request from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) a provisional waiver of these grounds of inadmissibility before departing the United States for consular processing of their immigrant visas – rather than applying for a waiver abroad after their immigrant visa interviews using the Form I-601, Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility (“Form I-601 waiver process”). The provisional waiver process is designed to encourage unlawfully present individuals to leave the United States, attend their immigrant visa interviews, and return to the United States legally to reunite with their U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (LPR) family members.

OREGON 2016 SUPER LAWYERS

Congratulations to Nicole Nelson and Philip Smith for being selected as 2016 Oregon Super Lawyers!

U.S. plans new wave of immigrant deportation raids

U.S. immigration officials are planning a month-long series of raids in May and June to deport hundreds of Central American mothers and children found to have entered the country illegally, according to sources and an internal document seen by Reuters.

The operation would likely be the largest deportation sweep targeting immigrant families by the administration of President Barack Obama this year after a similar drive over two days in January that focused on Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina.

Those raids, which resulted in the detention of 121 people, mostly women and children, sparked an outcry from immigration advocates and criticism from some Democrats, including the party’s presidential election frontrunner Hillary Clinton.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has now told field offices nationwide to launch a 30-day “surge” of arrests focused on mothers and children who have already been told to leave the United States, the document seen by Reuters said. The operation would also cover minors who have entered the country without a guardian and since turned 18 years of age, the document said. Two sources confirmed the details of the plan.

The exact dates of the latest series of raids were not known and the details of the operation could change.

The operation in January marked a departure for ICE, part of the Department of Homeland Security, from one-off deportations to high-profile raids meant to deter migrants from coming to the United States.

An ICE spokeswoman said the agency does not “confirm or deny the existence of specific ongoing or future law enforcement actions.” The spokeswoman said immigrants who arrived illegally after Jan. 1, 2014 are priorities for removal.

Federal resources were strained in 2014 under a wave of illegal migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, especially women and children fleeing violence […]

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