When Pankajkumar Patel applied for a Georgia driver's license, the simplest of supposed mistakes carried catastrophic consequences. In his application, he claims to have accidentally checked the “citizen” box when that did not reflect his status. In reality, he was a...
What help is offered to children in deportation proceedings?
While the United States prides itself on the fact that everyone has the right to an attorney when accused of a crime, it's surprising for many people in Florida to learn that this right does not apply to undocumented or unauthorized migrants across the country. The...
Did ICE pursue deportation quotas in FY 2012?
Public debate over immigration issues in recent months has moved somewhat away from discussion over deportation and removal proceedings. Florida immigration lawyers know that immigration officials continue to pursue removals under U.S. immigration law. News has broken...
US Supreme Court limits immigration ruling in criminal plea deals
Immigration issues can arise in many areas of the law. Essentially, United States law is, at times, more like a web than solely a linear process. This blog previously reported a story on a federal appellate court ruling in a criminal case that cited the Immigration...
Report: spending on immigration enforcement tops all federal law enforcement
In late December, this blog reported that federal immigration officials had audited more than 3,000 companies for I-9 compliance in enforcing business immigration laws. Those I-9 compliance audits were part of a policy change in recent years in how the government...
Immigrants displaced by hurricane avoid assistance programs
Many residents of Florida are acutely aware of the difficulties a hurricane can have on day to day in the aftermath of the storm. Reports of the Superstorm Sandy made national headlines as the hurricane swept up the East Coast. Now immigrants who live in states struck...
Class action lawsuit challenges mandatory detention in immigration cases
A 53-year-old man is sitting in a jail cell, where he has been detained for eight months. Prior to his incarceration, he worked hard as a union carpenter. He has two daughters. He has little hope for bail. He sits, he waits. He is a legal U.S. resident, the parent of...
Federal appeals court tells parties to look at deportation cases for discretion
A federal court of appeals apparently is fed up with the backlog of immigration cases that has been hitting its docket. The appellate court says that it is imposing a halt on deportation appeals to give prosecutors and other parties time to look over the cases in the...
How many US veterans are deported?
United States Immigration and Customs enforcement does not keep track of how many veterans who have served in the U.S. military are deported. However, one former service member says the number rises into the thousands. He is a military veteran who was deported to...
DHS extends Temporary Protected Status for Haitian earthquake refugees
The Department of Homeland Security is reportedly extending Temporary Protected Status for roughly 60,000 Haitians who were displaced by the January 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti, according to a report in the Miami Herald. Federal officials are expected to...
