ICE “COVID” Checks & other Immigration News for November 27, 2020
ICE “COVID” Checks
ICE has been conducting “COVID’ checks, that is, pretending to do a “COVID” check at a person’s home. I am not aware of any agency conducting COVID checks. The ICE agent is really at a residence to take someone into custody. An agent is only permitted into your home with a warrant. ICE has been taking legal permanent residents who have committed significant crimes into custody. This happened to one of my clients last week, and he was taken into immigration custody. If this happens to you, or someone you know, contact my office immediately.
Biden Selects Cuban Immigrant to Lead the U. S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
President-elect Joe Biden has nominated Cuba-born lawyer Alejandro Mayorkas to be Secretary of Homeland Security. Mayorkas will be the first Latino and first immigrant to head the Department of Homeland Security if confirmed by the Senate. The highest-ranking Cuban American in the Obama administration, Mayorkas was deputy secretary of DHS under then-Secretary Jeh Johnson, and before that was the director of Citizenship and Immigration Services, a part of DHS that oversees granting citizenship and other immigration benefits.
The Mayorkas nomination for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is congruous with Biden's commitment of a new direction on humanitarian immigration issues such as asylum and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
This is a positive change for all immigrants. A change that we have been waiting for!
Department of State (DOS) Releases December Visa Bulletin
The Department of State's (DOS') Visa Office (VO) has released the visa numbers for the month of December 2020. It has been three months now that the dates for the family-based preferences have not changed.
Click here for more information on how my office can help you with family immigration matters.
District Court Temporarily Blocks New Criminal Bars to Asylum
A federal district court on November 19, 2020, entered a temporary restraining order (TRO) against a final rule that would have established new crime-related disqualifications from asylum. The TRO in Pangea Legal Services v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2020 WL 6802474 (N.D. Cal. 2020), applies nationwide and remains in place while the court considers issuing a preliminary injunction. The joint final rule from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Executive Office for Immigration Review was published October 21 and scheduled to take effect November 20.
This newsletter is a general information regarding recent changes in immigration law. Every matter is different. If you believe a recent change applies to you, please contact my office. If you know someone who it applies to, please refer them to my office. Thank you.
