Amerihope Alliance Legal Services

The report‘s anecdotal accounts, 127 case examples from AILA members covering incidents in 24 states and the District of Columbia, are consistent with DHS’s own data showing deportation of tens of thousands of individuals who have been picked up for minor infractions and who pose no threat to our communities.

The report questions whether federal immigration agents should respond to individual roadside calls by local law enforcement unless there are indications that the person poses a risk to public safety Immigration enforcement must be targeted, and by responding to referrals from local law enforcement in a largely indiscriminate manner, DHS is being diverted from its own stated priorities. In addition, the report raises concerns about the erosion of community trust, hindrances to community policing, and racial profiling.

Ten of the 127 case examples are from Florida. For example, in one of the Florida cases, Mr. B was driving to the pharmacy to pick up asthma medicine for his children when he was pulled over by the police. Two of his children, ages ten and 12, were in the car. The police officer gave no reason for the stop and ticketed Mr. B for driving without a license. The officer then called ICE from the roadside, and ICE agents came to pick up Mr. B. Mr. B asked to be allowed to stay at the car until his brother-in-law arrived to pick up the children, but ICE agents immediately took him into custody. The two children had to wait in the police car at the roadside for 35 minutes until the brother-in-law arrived. Mr. B has no criminal history apart from one prior conviction for driving without a license. He remains in immigration detention although he has three U.S. citizen children, ages three, ten, and 12; and his wife is unable to drive due to a major operation several years ago.

Unfortunately, tragedies like this happen all the time. We need immigration reform and we need it now.

Are you a business owner with employees that are potentially in the US illegally?  You might be interested in the news that just came out of Boston:

Following an investigation and audit of Form I-9 documents by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), 14 New England employers have been fined this fiscal year for various violations that enabled companies to hire illegal aliens. The inspection of the employers’ documents are part of ICE’s worksite enforcement strategy, launched in 2009 to reduce the demand for illegal employment and protect employment opportunities for the nation’s lawful workforce, by focusing its resources on the auditing and investigation of employers suspected of cultivating illegal workplaces by hiring workers who are later determined to be employed illegally.

Hiring an immigration lawyer to oversee the immigration status of your company’s workers can significantly lessen the risk of your employees getting deported and the bad publicity that goes along with it. We at Amerihope Alliance can assist you in screening employees for any immigration problems they might encounter while employed.  We can also assist the employee in maintaining their legal status in the U.S.  Business owners do not have to feel uncertain about the paper work surrounding their employees’ immigration status. right the first time than to risk making mistakes that could cost valuable time, efforts, and most importantly, legal status.

From the president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA):

I am thrilled to announce the launch of AILA DREAM Defenders (AD2), a dynamic new collaboration between AILA, the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, the National Immigration Law Center, DREAM Activist, United We Dream, the National Immigrant Youth Alliance, and Educators for Fair Consideration.

The goal of AD2 is to provide expert immigration pro bono legal assistance and advocacy support to DREAMers – young adults who would qualify for relief under the DREAM Act if it were to become law and who are unable to pay for an attorney. Over the past decade since the DREAM Act was introduced, AILA members and immigrant youth advocates have fought to obtain access to legal status and higher education for DREAMers. Time and again, Congress has failed to pass this important piece of legislation that would ultimately strengthen the economy, the military and the fabric of the United States. As a result, immigration attorneys who represent DREAMers have been forced to pursue creative legal strategies to push DHS, DOJ and the White House to do the right thing for these “undocumented Americans.”

AD2 is a way for AILA members to support this movement and to provide much needed pro bono legal services to high achieving immigrant youth who seek to fulfill their potential in the country they call home.  It is also a unique opportunity for us to combine our advocacy and pro bono efforts into one incredible initiative.

I am proud to announce that our firm is one of the first to volunteer.

Have you or someone you know recently received an email claiming you’ve won the Green Card lottery and asking you to send or wire money?

The Department of State, Office of Visa Services, advises the public of a notable increase in fraudulent emails and letters sent to Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) program (Visa Lottery) applicants. The scammers behind these fraudulent emails and letters are posing as the U.S. government in an attempt to extract payment from DV applicants. While the DV lottery is a genuine U.S. government program, it is important to know enough about the DV lottery to protect yourself from fraud.

You should know that:

1. Winners are notified by the US Government by surface mail only, NOT email.
2. You MUST complete the application form to win.
3. Registration is FREE.

NEVER transfer money to anyone who emails you claiming that you have won the Diversity Visa (DV) lottery or been selected for a Green Card.

The people sending these emails are thieves. They often use fake email addresses and images to make the email look like an official government message. One easy way to tell the email is fake is that the email address does not end with a “.gov”.

One particularly common fraud email comes from an address ending in @diplomats.com or @usa.com and asks potential victims to wire $819 per applicant/family member via Western Union to an individual (the name varies) at the following address in the United Kingdom: 24 Grosvenor Square, London W1A 1AE. If you receive this email, do NOT respond. Report it immediately to the Internet Crime Complaint Center and the Federal Trade Commission online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).

For more information on this type of fraud and how to avoid and report it, please see the Department of State’s fraud warning and the Federal Trade Commission’s consumer alert on the matter.

For more information about the Diversity Visa Program, see http://www.dvlottery.state.gov/ and review the Department of State’s website.