Immigration

#DACApolypse: What Dreamers Can Do After The Demise Of DACA

September 6, 2017 Civil Rights, General Commentary, Immigration

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the end of #DACA on September 5. DACA was never more than a band-aid. It's time to start talking about a cure. I preface this by saying don't let up advocacy and working with allies on the ground, and in the halls of Congress. Ultimately we need our leaders to act. But as a lawyer,

Why America Needs “Dreamers”

September 6, 2017 Immigration

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is an administrative program designed to protect immigrant youth that came to America when they were under the age of 16. These immigrants are called "Dreamers". This program was started in June of 2012 by the Obama administration. In addition to the age requirement, you must also be currently studying or a graduate of

FROM THE FRONTLINE

September 5, 2017 Civil Rights, General Commentary, Immigration

Today, participants in the 118-mile-long March to Confront White Supremacy made a previously unscheduled stop at the Loudon County office of Representative Barbara Comstock to demand that Rep. Comstock publicly oppose the end of DACA, the deferred action program for immigrants who came to the United States, and to Section 287(g), which deputizes local law enforcement agencies to enforce federal

Trump Set to Kill Dreams

September 5, 2017 Civil Rights, General Commentary, Immigration

Diego watched his teenage brother murdered with a machete in Honduras when he was 12-years-old. Their father belonged to the wrong political faction in the Central American nation and his son died at the hands of a police sponsored 'death squad' that roamed Honduras in the early 2000s. Diego hid with his mother's family in a small village after the

DACA and The American Dream

September 4, 2017 Civil Rights, General Commentary, Immigration

800,000. Eight hundred thousand fellow humans and young adults, living the American dream just as you and I. Eight hundred thousand immigrants who came here illegally as children, but not through their own action. Who were brought over America's borders by their parents at a young age. They did not deliberately defy our laws. They did not try to pull

Our Next Step, Our Choice, Our Time to Take A Side

August 24, 2017 General Commentary, Immigration

I watched a bride and groom exchanging vows in view of the sun setting on their life apart. The groomsmen entering the reception to a song by The Weeknd. The bridesmaids dancing in to a Bollywood classic. And the bride and groom slowly slipping into their new life to a traditional processional. I danced on a dance floor filled with

Why You Need To Know Dr. John Tanton, Grandfather Of The Anti-Immigrant Movement

August 15, 2017 Immigration

Have you ever stopped to wonder where the Trump administration is getting its ideas on ramped up deportations, banning Muslims, and vilifying refugees? Trump didn't come up with them on his own. There is a purposeful and intentional anti-immigrant movement that has been working to spread these ideas for a long time. Now they have a sympathetic ear in the

Us vs Them: How To Stay Friends While Trump is On Top

August 15, 2017 Civil Rights, Elections, General Commentary, Immigration

I'm a left-leaning immigrant who has recently graduated from UC Berkeley. And, to the surprise of many, I now live harmoniously with a Trump supporter. I know; everyone makes that face when I tell them. But it's actually not as heart wrenching as you may imagine. For either of us. In fact, there's been some really eye opening and faith-in-humanity-restoring

Tired of politics? You may want to check your privilege

August 11, 2017 Elections, General Commentary, Immigration

Let's go back to November 9th, 2016. Liberal or conservative, I think we can all agree that it was a pretty crazy day and most of us were feeling very passionate. Some were ecstatic, some were devastated but there was also an overwhelming amount of people that either "didn't care" or expressed how they wished everyone would stop posting about

The Need For Immigration Lawyers is Now Playing Out in Tragic Ways During the Trump Administration

August 3, 2017 Immigration, international

Immigration lawyers generally fly under the radar. But despite many who are heroes in the truest sense, how many of us know the names of any of them? You don’t see them on television dramas or the silver screen. Maybe its because there aren’t that many - there are 15,000 members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association versus 1.3 million

The Conversations I Can’t Believe I’m Having with My Son Thanks to Donald Trump

August 2, 2017 Immigration, international

Dad, I know Trump is bad but I was talking with my friends and when the illegal people come to the wall, we really should shoot them because that means they’re terrorists. Perhaps the most insidious thing about Donald Trump’s presidency is the sheer pervasiveness of the hate, ignorance, and mean-spiritedness that is choking our country. And if you think