California Immigration Attorney Blog

Amid the public outcry and the political rhetoric surrounding the issue of immigration, our Glendale immigration lawyers enjoyed seeing the report in the Glendale News Press about the thousands of immigrants who are becoming U.S. citizens.

A total of 3,340 Southern California residents packed the Los Angeles convention center earlier this month, where they took the oath and became U.S. citizens. A U.S. District Court judge administered the oath to the thousands in the crowd who hailed from more than 100 countries, including Mexico, Iraq, Armenia and Korea.

More than 100,000 candidates became naturalized citizens last year in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services District 23, which includes Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

While our Los Angeles immigration attorneys enjoy hearing such success stories, the article made no mention of the enormous backlog of visa cases or the other impossible roadblocks that are too often in the way of the path to citizenship. Millions of hardworking immigrant families want nothing more than to enjoy similar celebration.

But until the federal government delivers on long-promised immigration reform, such ceremonies will be little more than window dressing covering the real issues.

Continue reading "Naturalized citizens celebrate in California; hardworking immigrants wait" »

The Los Angeles immigration lawyers and staff at HOWARD | NASSIRI wish each of you a safe and joyous Fourth of July holiday.

And we offer our congratulations to the 3,800 people who will become naturalized U.S. citizens this Fourth of July weekend. The Associated Press reports that 150 of those were sworn in as U.S. citizens at a ceremony on Ellis Island.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reports those at Ellis Island took the Oath of Allegiance on Friday, overlooking the Statue of Liberty, in the very place that has come to symbolize the founding of our country as a nation of immigrants.

Each year, 680,000 people become naturalized U.S. citizens. Those eligible must be at least 18 years old, legal permanent residents of the U.S., have lived here continually for the last five years and pass a written test.

But the process leaves millions of immigrants out of luck when it comes to gaining legal status. Many of them have lived in this country for years, or even decades, and are hardworking, law abiding residents.

Until politics can be set aside and comprehensive immigration reform can be passed, these ceremonies on the Fourth of July offer little more than symbolism.

Ellis Island was the busiest immigration station in the United States from 1892 to 1954. Over 100 million Americans -- one third of the population -- can trace their roots to a relative who arrive in the United States via Ellis Island. In its peak year, 1907, more than a million immigrants arrived at the island to begin their lives in the New World.

Nearly 12,000 arrived on a single day.

Continue reading "Los Angeles immigration attorneys wish you a wonderful Fourth of July weekend " »

Federal prosecutors have charged a man and a woman with bilking immigrants of more than $100,000 through a bogus California legal services company in Pico Rivera.

Our Los Angeles immigration attorneys and San Bernardino immigration lawyers applaud the crackdown on these companies, which prey on the needs of immigrants. As we reported last week on our California Immigration Attorney Blog, the city of Los Angeles has launched an educational effort as part of a program aimed at warning of companies engaging in the unauthorized practice of law.

Our immigrant friends face many challenges; being ripped off when seeking qualified legal advice should not be one of them.

Courthouse News Service reports that the pair claimed to be immigration officers and immigration attorneys and took money in exchange for submitting fraudulent federal applications. They now face a 16-count indictment and up to 127 years in prison.

The couple could also face millions of dollars in fines and prosecutors are seeking $120,000 in restitution for the victims. The 58-year-old man and 47-year-old woman face charges of mail fraud and identity theft. The woman was arraigned in federal court in Albuquerque and will be brought to San Diego to face the charges, according to the San Diego Union Tribune.

The arrests come after a year long investigation by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security.

The defendants formed a company called California Legal Services in 2001 and operated out of Pico Rivera in Los Angeles County. They charged fees to immigrants seeking legal status. The immigrants thought they were being legally represented.

The government reports that at least 11 victims were scammed out of more than $120,000. There may be additional victims and anyone with information is asked to call (619) 550-5229.

Continue reading "Los Angeles immigration attorneys warn immigrants of dishonest legal services companies" »

Immigrants interested in learning English and becoming citizens can now obtain information at libraries and recreation centers throughout Los Angeles, the Times reported.

Our Los Angeles immigration attorneys applaud the move as a small step forward in providing immigrant families with the information, skills and other resources they need to be productive members of our society. HOWARD | NASSIRI also offers confidential appointments to immigrants throughout the Los Angeles area, including El Monte, Glendale, Long Beach and Palmdale.

The program is the first of its kind in the nation. The goal announced by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is to promote citizenship and strengthen outreach, education and civil participation. While these are worthwhile goals, we also believe true immigration reform will only come with action by the federal government to enact compassionate reform for hardworking immigrant families.

The resources are being provided in conjunction with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Los Angeles plans to reach out to immigrants through information sessions to increase awareness of the naturalization process and citizenship rights and responsibilities.

The program will also seek to educate the parents of public school students. Authorities hope the effort will cut down on notoarios, or unscrupulous legal services that prey on immigrants. Authorities also plan a new program aimed at addressing the unauthorized practice of law and other fraud targeting the immigrant population.

Los Angeles was chosen for the citizenship outreach effort because if its diversity -- immigrants from 140 countries live within the city and more than 200 languages are spoken. The mayor hopes the city's status as the program's pilot site will encourage more immigrants to become voters. He also said that integration is the key to the city's economy and workforce.

Continue reading "Los Angeles immigration lawyers applaud city's immigrant integration and education effort" »

Mexican officials and a California lawmaker are at odds over whether the Mexican government can establish an office on Catalina Island to issue ID cards to illegal immigrants, the San Francisco Examiner reported.

The debate over immigration has reignited nationwide in the wake of Arizona's tough new immigration law. Our Santa Ana immigration lawyers and Costa Mesa immigration attorneys continue to meet with immigrant families, those applying for work or student visas in the Los Angeles area, and others who are concerned about the impact the current debate will have on California immigration reform and immigrant rights nationwide.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., claims the Mexican government is abusing its authority to replace expired passports by issuing documentation to illegal immigrants. A spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in Washington denies the allegation.

"One of the aspects of our consulate is to provide (ID) cards in the same way the U.S. provides passports and other official documents to their citizens," said embassy spokesman Ricardo Alday.

On Thursday, the Mexican government moved their satellite consular office from the Catalina Island Country Club to St. Catherine's Catholic Church, claiming protection under the Vienna Convention. The club resisted having the cards distributed there after a media report. Rep. Rohrabacher then went as far as to attack the Catholic Church.

"If the Catholic Church insists on preventing immigration law from being enforced, then they should step up and pay the bill," she said.

Many banks and other U.S. institutions accept the cards -- called matricular cards -- as an official form of identification despite the contention from U.S. law enforcement that the card is unreliable. They contend legal immigrants have better forms of identification, while the cards are used almost exclusively by illegal immigrants seeking to obtain services in the United States.

Testimony before Congress by the Federal Bureau of Investigation claimed the Mexican government has no centralized database for the cards, making them rife for forgery and duplication. The Mexican government contends it is continually improving upon the security of the cards.

"You know that it is impossible to have 100 percent bulletproof documents just like your U.S. Social Security cards can be forged in the U.S. and abroad," Alday said.

Continue reading "California questions ID cards being issued to immigrants by Mexican government" »

Immigrants seeking legal status in California wait nearly two years for an immigration hearing -- more than 40 percent longer than the national average, the Fresno Bee reported.

Our Los Angeles immigration lawyers are well aware of the long delays. Most California immigration cases are heard in Los Angeles, where the wait is even longer: An average of 713 days according to the Transaction Access Records Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

In San Francisco, the average wait is 411 days.

Nationally, the average wait time and overall case loads are at record highs -- 30 percent above where they were just 18 months ago.

Our Los Angeles immigration attorneys are frequently able to work on behalf of clients trying to get before the court. Seeking to end a long delay can include making a record of inquiries, writing a letter to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, contacting USCIS personnel on your behalf, filing a hearing petition, and even seeking a mandamus action to compel the court to act on your application.

While endless delay can be maddening, it is equally important that an experienced immigration attorney assist in ensuring that your application is legally completed and includes all of the necessary documentation.

Continue reading "Backlog of California immigration cases worst in the nation " »

A case brought by the Obama Administration before California's 9th Circuit Court, seeking to deport a middle-class Nevada couple, has infuriated California immigrant rights advocates, who are pushing the administration to live up to its promise to legalize hard-working, law-abiding citizens.

One judge criticized the government's case as "horrific," while another labeled it the "most senseless result possible" and a third called it "an extraordinarily bad use of government resources," according to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times.

While President Obama promised to "target enforcement efforts at criminals and bad-actor employees," critics contend the government is toughening immigration enforcement against hardworking people who pose no threat to the United States.

The Department of Homeland Security said it would indefinitely suspend action against the couple, Ulises Martinez-Silver and Saturnina Martinez, a carpenter and clerk, respectively. The couple were brought to the United States from Mexico as children, and now have American children of their own, ages 12 and 8. Neither has a criminal record.

Immigrant rights activists and California immigration attorneys say the case is illustrative of the fact that deportation levels continue to climb as the government pursues cases against students, nannies, janitors and other law-abiding immigrants.

A review by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University shows that the proportion of criminal immigrants in detention has increased from 27 percent in 2009 to 43 percent in 2010. However, the report found only a small number of serious criminals were included in that figure, while most were arrested for minor offenses, including traffic violations and disorderly conduct.

A memo from the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement reveals that the agency's goal is to deport 400,000 people this year, up from 349,000 in 2008 and 197,000 in 2005.

Continue reading "California court cites case of immigrant couple as abuse of government authority " »

The proposed immigration reform measures being pushed by senators Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., are recycled and inadequate measures that fall short of the comprehensive, compassionate reform promised by the Obama Administration, according to an op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Our Los Angeles immigration attorneys are following Washington's reform agenda closely and expect the issue to increase in profile now that the nation's lawmakers have turned their attention from health care reform.

The opinion piece by David Bacon, author of "Illegal People - How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants," outlined what he said are a number of problems with the current proposal:

-It ignores trade agreements, including NAFTA and CAFTA, which increase the profits of U.S. corporations at the expense of continued poverty in Mexico and Central America.

-Workers without proper papers will be fired and may be imprisoned under the new proposals, and immigration raids are expected to increase.

-The proposed guest-worker program lacks rights and leverage to allow for better conditions.

-The legalization plan would impose barriers for the 12 million U.S. immigrants seeking legal status.

Bacon calls for putting aside old ideas and forging a new measure that would:

-Stop trade agreements that contribute to poverty and forced migration.

-Provide immigrants a quick and easy path to legal status and citizenship.

-End visa backlogs.

-Protect worker rights.

-Increase peace and civil rights in border communities.

-Close immigration prisons, end detention and stop raids.

-Allow for green cards that are not tied to employment.

-End guest-worker programs.

Bacon compares the current immigrant rights debate to the civil rights uprisings in the 1960s, saying without activism we might still be waiting for a Voting Rights Act.

Continue reading "Current proposals for immigration reform not enough to provide rights to Southern California immigrants" »

A federal immigrations officer who was caught on videotape demanding sex in exchange for a green card has pleaded guilty in Supreme Court in Queens, according to the New York Times.

Wednesday's plea is stark reminder of the discrimination, harassment, intimidation and other challenges faced by our immigrant population. Our Los Angeles immigration attorneys aggressively fight for immigrant rights throughout Southern California and urge anyone who has been subject to abuse to contact us for a confidential appointment to discuss your rights.

In this case, the officer is expected to receive a prison sentence of between 18 months and 4 years. The 48-year-old man coerced oral sex from the 22-year-old wife of an American citizen. The incident occurred in December 2007, after the officer hinted he could deny her a marriage-based green card and have her relatives deported.

He summoned her to a private meeting in a parked car on Queens Boulevard, where he demanded sex; she hid a digital camera in her pocket and made an audio recording of the meeting. He then forced her to perform oral sex before allowing her to leave his vehicle.

Authorities say the officer handled 8,000 green card applications during his three years with the office of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. While the agency claimed two years ago that it was inspecting the agent's former cases, a spokesperson said this week the review would only begin now that he was convicted.

He pleaded guilty to receiving a bribe, receiving a reward for official misconduct, sexual misconduct, coercion and official misconduct. Sentencing is scheduled for July 22.

The victim has yet to receive her status as a permanent resident.

Continue reading "Immigration officer pleads guilty to coercing sex from immigration applicant" »

A study conducted recently by professors at UCLA and USC found allowing illegal immigrants to remain in the United States would have a huge economic benefit, while deporting them has cost federal, state and local governments billions of dollars in lost tax revenue.

Yet, as the Mercury News reports, the debate has actually heated up since those reports were published. And, as our Los Angeles immigration lawyers reported recently on our California Immigration Attorney blog, promises from President Obama to tackle the issue this year will likely propel immigration back into the national spotlight now that lawmakers are turning their attention away from the contentious fight over healthcare reform.

The professors and others insist that legalizing undocumented workers would increase wages, provide more tax revenue to the government, up the consumption of consumer goods upon which the economy relies, and help create more jobs.

Detractors continue to argue that undocumented workers take jobs from legal citizens.

Inherent in the debate is how much illegal immigration costs state and local government and how much undocumented workers actually contribute to the economy through consumption of goods, gas and property taxes, rent, utilities and other expenditures that we must all pay as part of our daily lives.

Anti-immigration parties argue illegal immigrants cost California about $7 billion a year for services such as public education and emergency medical care. Immigration advocates contend illegal workers often use fake Social Security cards to obtain jobs and pay an unknown amount of taxes each year, which they will never collect in the form of retirement income. Ironically, that means illegal immigrants are actually subsidizing the Social Security system to an unknown extent.

The UCLA/USC study found that legalizing the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants employed in the U.S. would have contributed more than $1.5 trillion to the economy over the last decade.

That amounts to about $12,500 per year, per immigrant. Legalizing the estimated 3 million illegals in California could immediately increase state and local taxes by about $350 million a year.

Whereas, deporting 360,000 Mexican immigrants, as the U.S. did last year, actually cost the U.S. economy an estimated $4.5 billion.

Continue reading "Deporting 360,000 illegal immigrants cost the U.S. economy $4.5 billion in 2009, study finds" »

Major Latino groups are releasing voting scorecards, which contend that nearly half of California members in the House of Representatives who have large foreign-born constituencies have not consistently supported pro-immigration positions, the L.A. Times reported.

As we reported on our California Immigration Attorney blog, the immigration debate is increasingly becoming an issue in the California governor's race even as California's immigrant population has become more of a force in local, state and national politics.

Nationwide, the organizations that are part of the National Latino Congreso, found that 41 percent of House members and 25.9 percent of senators with significant immigrant constituents did not consistently take a pro-immigration stance on key bills the group followed between 2007 and 2009.

The bills included those that would have granted legal status to students, expanded immigration enforcement to social service programs, denied automatic citizenship to children of illegal immigrants and granted immigration benefits to gay partners.

While stopping short of recommending the defeat of members at the polls, the group said the report was meant to alert the public to representative's voting records and allow a chance for change before the upcoming election in November.

"Either they change their behavior or the constituents will change their representatives," Antonio Gonzales of the William C. Velasquez Institute, told the Times. "That's the nature of democracy."

Here is the full California Immigration Report.

Continue reading "Immigrant rights advocates continue to pressure California politicians" »

With the passage of Health Care reform, many Washington watchers believe the attention of lawmakers is now poised to turn to immigration reform.

Our Los Angeles immigration attorneys are concerned about the legal rights of immigrants in California as the debate over reform grows louder. Too often, those with money and power find success in Washington; and too few with money and power seem to be concerned about protecting the rights of hardworking immigrant families.

Tens of thousands of immigrants and activists rallied in Washington, D.C. over the weekend, calling for legislation to give legal status to millions of immigrants and pressuring President Obama to fight for their rights now that health care reform is behind him, according to an article in the New York Times.

The demonstrators filled five blocks of the Washington Mall -- the same venue used to fight for the rights of women, African-Americans, and gay citizens, during more than two decades of struggle for all of America's inhabitants.

Chanting Obama's campaign slogan, "Yes We Can," in both English and Spanish, supporters of immigrant rights tried to compete for the attention of the media and Washington lawmakers.

The rally marked the first major return to activism for immigration activists since widespread marches and rallies in 2006. After an immigration overhaul was defeated in Congress in 2007, immigrant advocates were forced to lay low as the pace of enforcement raids increased.

Supporters are calling on the President to take action on a promise to move an immigration bill through Congress early this year. Obama addressed the crowd through a videotaped message, promising to work on the issue but avoiding a specific time frame.

"I have always pledged to be your partner as we work to fix our broken immigration system, and that's a commitment that I reaffirm today," Obama said. "You know as well as I do that this won't be easy, and it won't happen overnight."

Rep. Nydia M. Velazquez, D-NY, chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, was quoted in the Times as she reminded the crowd and Washington politicians of the power of the Hispanic vote.

"Every day without reform is a day when 12 million hard-working immigrants must live in the shadow of fear," she said."Don't forget that in the last presidential election 10 million Hispanics came out to vote."

Continue reading "Southern California braces for new focus on immigration reform in Washington" »

Despite the growing rhetoric among California politicians, immigration reform was cited as a top concern by fewer than half of California voters who responded to a recent poll, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Jobs and the economy were of primary concern to voters. And our Anaheim immigration attorneys understand good jobs and financial security are of primary importance to immigrant families in Southern California as well.

The state budget deficit, education and health care were also of major concern to the majority of California voters. Taxes, illegal immigration and water were listed as top concerns by less than half of respondents to the poll, which sampled 503 registered voters and was conducted Marcy 9 to 15.

A similar poll in 2006 found just 39 percent were worried about jobs and the economy, compared to 60 percent today. Four years ago, the poll didn't even ask about the state budget deficit because there wasn't one. Forty-five percent of respondents listed education as a top priority four years ago, compared to 60 percent now.

However, responses largely fell along party lines; Republicans are overwhelmingly more worried about illegal immigration and taxes, while Democrats were much more concerned about health care and education.

The poll found only 37 percent of voters felt immigration was a critical issue, or about 1 in 3 respondents. However, only 27 percent of Democrats and 30 percent of nonpartisan voters felt immigration was a top concern, compared to 58 percent or Republicans.

Continue reading "Few California voters list immigration as a critical issue" »

Steve Poizner, a Republican candidate for California governor, continues to make opposition to immigration a centerpiece of his campaign, funding a new ad campaign this week that promises to end taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal immigrants and blames liberals for "doing too much for too many," according to the San Jose Mercury News.

Our Riverside immigration lawyers and Los Angeles immigration attorneys expect to hear much more about immigration from the media and state and federal lawmakers in the coming months, as the California governor's race heats up and Washington lawmakers turn their attention away from the healthcare debate.

While Poizner may be appealing to Republican primary voters (a recent poll indicated nearly 60 percent of Republicans feel immigration is a critical issue, compared to less than 30 percent of Democrats and Independents), he risks alienating Hispanics, who make up a third of the state's population and are an increasing force at the polls.

Poizner, who trails Republican opponent Meg Whitman by a wide margin in the polls, proposes ending state funding for non-emergency medical care for illegal immigrants and blocking illegal immigrants from receiving in-state tuition at state universities.

While estimates vary, it's believed that millions of illegal immigrants live in California. Most are hardworking and productive residents seeking a better life for their families. Many seek citizenship throughout legal channels and would welcome immigration reform that would allow them to become citizens.

Poizner's arguments echo 1994's debate over Proposition 187, which denied publicly funded social services to illegal immigrants but was found unconstitutional by the federal courts.

Continue reading "California Governor's race fuels immigration debate" »

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide if mothers and fathers may be treated differently in determining whether a child can claim American citizenship, the New York Times reported.

As Los Angeles immigration attorneys, we are monitoring this case closely; few claims to U.S. citizenship have been as strong as being the child of a U.S. citizen. But, as debate over immigration continues to grow, so do the efforts being made by immigration foes to erect obstacles to citizenship.

This case involves Ruben Flores-Villar, who was born in Tijuana, Mexico but was raised by his father and mother in San Diego. His mother is Mexican and his parents were not married.

In attempting to avoid deportation, Mr. Flores-Villar claimed American citzenship. However, the 9th District Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected that claim under a law that outlined different requirements for mothers and fathers whose children were born abroad and out of wedlock to a partner who was not a U.S. citizen.

The law permitted fathers to transmit citizenship only if the father had lived in the United States for 10 years before the child's birth and for at least five years after the age of 14. Mothers are only required to have lived in the United States for a year before a child's birth.

Mr. Flores-Villar's father was only 16 when his son was born -- making it impossible to fulfill the 5-year residency requirement past the age of 14. He argues that the different treatment for men and women violated equal-protection principals.

In 2001, the Supreme Court upheld a law that posed different requirements in a similar situation; a divided court ruled that American fathers of children born out of wedlock abroad had to obtain a court order establishing paternity or swear under oath to obtain citizenship for a child. Mothers were not subjected to the same requirement.

Changes to the U.S. immigration law in 1986 reduced the residency time of fathers to 5 years, only two of which must be after age 14. However, Flores-Villar was subjected to the law as it stood at his birth and has been fighting for his legal rights since being threatened with deportation in 2006.

Continue reading "California immigration officials monitor pending Supreme Court decision regarding U.S. birth fathers" »