Trump administration

Biden Reverts Naturalization Test to 2008 Version

Mar01

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri In another reversal of Trump-era immigration policy, the Biden administration struck down the revised naturalization civic test implemented on December 1, 2020, replacing it with the older 2008 version of the test that had been in force up till that time.[1] This was done as part of President Biden’s February 2 Executive Order on “Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration System.”[2] The USCIS will go back to the 2008 test as of March 1, 2021, although there will also be an interim period during which both tests will be offered for

March 1, 2021

DHS Changes the H-1B Visa Cap Selection Process

Jan29

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri In one of the final acts of the Trump Administration’s hardline anti-immigration policies prior to his departure on January 20, 2021, the Trump-led Department of Homeland Security issued a final rule that upends the traditional selection system for the H-1B visa in favor of highly paid workers, at the expense of those who make less.[1] Every fiscal year, the numerical limit on the number of foreign workers authorized for H-1B visa status is capped at 65,000 initial visas, with an additional 20,000 H-1B visas for workers

January 29, 2021

Trump Extends April and June Visa Bans to March 31, 2021

Jan14

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri President Donald Trump issued a proclamation on December 31 of 2020, extending the bans on certain immigrant and non-immigrant visas that were previously banned as per his proclamations on April 22 and June 22 of 2020, respectively.[1] Although these orders were supposed to expire on December 31 of 2020 itself, the President invoked the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on jobs in late 2020 to justify protecting US workers by continuing both of the bans.[2]While the ban would primarily hurt applicants for the H-1B visa, it would

January 14, 2021

Trump Administration Intends to End In-Person Interpreters

Dec29

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri At one time, the famous words associated with the Statue of Liberty – “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” – truly exemplified the attitude of the US government toward immigration. However, under the Trump administration, these words would appear to describe the immigration policies of another country, as the Trump administration takes action on a regular basis to restrict the rights of immigrants. This point was evidenced again by the news that the Trump

December 29, 2020

DACA Program Reinstated by New York Federal Court Order

Dec29

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri In what counts as a severe blow to the Trump administration’s revamped immigration system in its final month, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York issued an order to reinstate the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program DACA to its pre-Trump administration status.[1] Before President Trump tried to end it in September of 2017, DACA served to permit young immigrants without legal status but had been brought over as children, to live and work legally in the U.S.[2] This was

December 29, 2020

Trump Administration's Makes changes to Public Charge Rule

Dec03

Written by Taher Kameli & Chathan Vemuri Over the past year, immigration activists have steadfastly opposed the Trump Administration’s changes to the Public Charge Rule, which denied green card applicants who would likely use various types of public assistance, such as Medicaid, food stamps, and housing vouchers.[1] Legal challenges have been especially persistent, with the first wave of lawsuits leading to a hold placed on the policy by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which was in turn reversed by the Supreme Court by a 5-4 vote in January 2020.[2] Concern was

December 3, 2020

BLOCK-PENTAGON-FUNDS-FOR-BORDER-WALl by Taher Kameli

Jan10

Written by: Taher Kameli While President Trump has announced many anti-immigration policies as President, probably his most well-known anti-immigration policy is to construct a wall at the United States southern border. Yet, despite President Trump’s frequent calls for a border wall, various Federal courts have opposed certain actions by the Trump administration designed to help build the border wall. As further evidence of the statement in the preceding sentence, 2 Federal courts have recently issued decisions to block the use of Pentagon funds for President Trump’s border wall. On December 10, in the case of

January 10, 2020

Anti-immigration Policies Enforced by Trump Administration

Jan04

Written by: Taher Kameli, Esq. In many cases, the only obstacle to the various efforts by the Trump administration to enforce anti-immigration policies has been the Federal judiciary. However, Federal courts certainly have not ruled in favor of immigrant rights in each case. As an example of a recent Federal court decision in favor of the Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies, the Ninth Circuit supports lifting injunctions against the Trump administration’s “public charge” rule. Announced in August and due to take effect on October 15, the Trump administration’s “public charge” rule would amend U.S. Department of

January 4, 2020

Zero Tolerance Policy & Lack of Technology to Track Families by Taher Kameli

Dec30

Written by: Taher Kameli, Esq. It is often said that the United States immigration system is broken. Unfortunately, there are many different examples, from different perspectives and in different contexts, that can support this statement. As one example of this statement, according to a new inspector general report, the United States lacked the technology to track separated families under the Trump administration’s “Zero Tolerance Policy”. In year 2018, the Trump administration, through the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), adopted its “Zero Tolerance Policy” – the prosecution of all adults illegally entering the United States. Because

December 30, 2019

Scott Warren Not Guilty of Harboring Unauthorized Migrants

Dec25

Written by: Taher Kameli, Esq. One may think that helping those in need is doing a good deed. However, apparently in the eyes of the Trump administration, when those in need are unauthorized migrants, helping them can constitute a Federal crime. Notwithstanding this apparent perspective of the Trump administration, on November 20, humanitarian aid volunteer Scott Warren was found not guilty of harboring unauthorized migrants in Arizona. Warren, a volunteer for the humanitarian aid group, “No More Deaths”, was arrested on January 17, 2018 by Border Patrol agents. The Border Patrol agents had been surveilling

December 25, 2019

Biden Reverts Naturalization Test to 2008 Version

Mar01

DHS Changes the H-1B Visa Cap Selection Process

Jan29

Trump Extends April and June Visa Bans to March 31, 2021

Jan14