One of the interesting things about observing immigration news is that you end up reading so many interesting stories and learning a lot about how the US does business. This is a roundup of interesting immigration stories from this week that gives a good idea of the breadth of topics immigration touches on: civil liberties, public health, law enforcement, marriage law, and, of course, the war on terror.
[. . .]
In a move that will come as no surprise to experienced immigration-watchers, the government is giving border patrol agents the ability to deport illegal aliens without reference to immigration courts. Theoretically, this measure should relieve the jail crowding that necessitates the "catch-and-release" program. In real life, there's a significant concern about the due process rights of aliens, including refugees and asylum applicants, who may get swept up and removed without recourse.
[. . .]
Also from the Department of "This Makes Sense Until You Think About It": if you're from Montserrat, you're about to lose your temporary protected status. Not because the volcano that has devastated Montserrat has stopped erupting--because it's not going to stop, which means the problem is no longer temporary. To compound the brilliance of this move, immigration authorities told Montserratians who don't want to go home to apply for British citizenship (Montserrat is a former British colony). They neglected to mention this to the British government first, though.
The court decision to annul the same-sex marriages in San Francisco may force one woman to go into exile to stay with her spouse. Her spouse's work visa will end next year, and she can't renew it. Since they're not married, she can't get a green card on the basis of her relationship to a US citizen. It's one more thing to keep in mind when you look at what marriage rights entail under US law.
[. . .]
And she's got a lot more here. Yeah, you can trust us. We're from the government.
No comments:
Post a Comment