Why Can't We Enforce the Immigration Laws?

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This country is a nation of laws. We value justice. We want the government to follow the law just as the people must. As President Obama observed recently, this country is also a nation of immigrants. So, it does rankle to know that some 12 million people are here "illegally." Is that what we want? I think this bothers everyone, but in different ways.





We all know that these millions of law-breaking people are working, and that most have social security and other taxes withhold from income. Most of these people (approximately 277,000 in Washington State) are trying to live quietly, and are trying to comply with the laws they encounter.





We know too that some laws and some situations are, or eventually become unjust, wrong, unusable. When that happens, what are we supposed to do? The answer - We are supposed to do what is right. Some laws should be resisted or challenged. Do we know enough to decide that? Who am I, and who are you to decide when something is right and wrong? It makes most of us uncomfortable to challenge what is written in black and white. Do we know enough to decide this for ourselves? For someone else?





Entering the United States without a proper visa is a civil law violation. As a lawyer, I don't condone or recommend law breaking. But, once done, what is to argue about? It is a fact that we have a very large undocumented population. What we can work on collectively would be problem of a broken immigration system. That is the issue to focus on, not what happened in the past. The fact that someone entered illegally does not by itself require us to devote law enforcement resources to reverse the situation. We know another thing too -- that it's simply not possible to remove all who entered improperly. We have to prioritize law enforcement to protect people from danger, and help communities be secure.





How would be best to solve this problem if we can't simply enforce the laws we have now? Wouldn't it be better to change the system that creates the incentive? It's not just the job here that draws people to our country. People enter illegally for another more important reason -- because it is just not possible for most immigrant workers to enter legally. If a business wants a worker, and cannot find one, in order to hire an immigrant worker, that business has to go through as many as 8 to 10 years of legal process to get that worker. I challenge anyone to disprove this. No business, and no worker can wait that long. At the same time, businesses quite frequently find themselves as unintentional employers of undocumented people months or years after a person is hired. These laws must change.








Our courts and our law enforcement deal with immigrants on a daily basis. We had better train our law enforcement well so that they make a good decision about what laws to enforce, and when. In Washington State, the association of Sheriffs recently called on our senators to enact comprehensive immigration reform. Yakima County Sheriff Irwin stated -

"The lack of a coherent national immigration policy has created chaos in our communities and made the job of law enforcement much harder....Ultimately, we believe strongly that enacting comprehensive federal immigration reform will allow state and local police to focus on job number one: protecting all members of our communities from crime."

Many Laws, Little Justice

Tomorrow morning I will accompany a family of 5 to a meeting with ICE deportation and removal officers in Seattle. This could be the final opportunity for the family to request not justice, but mercy from our government.









Originally from the Philippines, the Santos* family came to the states nearly 23 years ago to join other family members here. Grandparents had served with U.S. military and diplomatic officers through the 1980s, and had made petitions to bring family members to the U.S. The family was hopeful. Unfortunately, many years passed while they awaited their place in the quota line. Desperate, the Santos obtained their own temporary visas to enter the U.S. They would wait here for the permanent visa to be available. While waiting, the petitioning parent died -- ten years after filing. The temporary permissions expired. Legal options evaporated. The government denied their cases, as did the immigration judges and appeals courts. The facts are somewhat sympathetic, (long time in the U.S., valued community members with dozens or hundreds of relatives, long time tax-payers, lack of criminal involvement) but the government was not willing to agree that they should be able to stay in the United States. The reason --These people "jumped the line," and came to the U.S. without waiting their turn. Which might never have come.







What will happen now? ICE unquestionably has the law on its side -- it has all the right to arrest and detain all 4 adults, (3 of whom suffer from serious health and psychological conditions) and to place the 13 year old minor U.S. citizen, born here, in some sort of government custody.







I don't know what will happen tomorrow for the Santos'. Their plight illustrates why our immigration laws need to be changed. Families who have the legal right to bring relatives, and who have helped our country should not have to face cruel separation of decades before reuniting, only to have the chance taken away. Families who become successful parts of our communities should not have to depend on the ... kindness of a deportation officer ...

There are many laws that apply, but little chance for justice for this family or those like them.
It is quite possible that ICE will show some compassion and allow the family to stay longer while awaiting a new law, or to complete a course of treatment. We will hope for that.







President Obama is leading the beginning of an important discussion about immigrants in our country. Recently he said. "We can't tolerate a system where people come into the U.S. in violation of our law." We must have a way to regularize or "clarify" the status of people who come into our country in this way. We can -- indeed we must do this.











*names changed.

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AILA Elects New Officers - Lisa Seifert is Chapter Chair

Washington Immigration Lawyers Chapter Elects New Board Members


The Washington Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has elected its Executive Board for the 2009-2010 term. The new members of this year’s Executive Board are:

Chapter Chair - Lisa Ellen Seifert

Vice Chair - Bonnie Stern Wasser

Membership - Cynthia Irvine

Secretary - Scott Railton

Treasurer - Vicky Dobrin

Program Chair - Lisa Ellis

Immediate Past Chair - Steve Miller


The American Immigration Lawyers Association is the national association of immigration lawyers established to promote justice, advocate for fair and reasonable immigration law and policy, advance the quality of immigration and nationality law and practice, and enhance the professional development of its members. The Washington Chapter, consisting of over 300 members, actively pursues these goals locally by creating legal educational programs for members, advocating for a better immigration system, and by providing pro bono legal services to persons in need of immigration advice. For more information on this organization, please visit our state website at http://www.ailawa.org/, and the national organization at: http://www.aila.org/

Do we Deport U.S. Citizens? Yes We Do.

Despite Citizenship Claims, Woman Shipped to Honduras.

The Daily Comet posted the article in this link - http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20090614/ARTICLES/906141011/1212?Title=Despite-citizenship-claims-woman-shipped-to-Honduras


It's strange and sad to think this could ever happen. It is another example of where our government should take extra care, and it simply does not. The same article quotes Jorge Baron, Executive Director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project in Seattle, who cites the sad fact that 90% of immigrants in detention facilities have no lawyer to assist them, and must face the government's claims alone.

The woman in the story was deported to Honduras, a country which may be lovely, but which she had never been to, ever, in her life. She was born in the United States.

Image via Wikipedia

Here is my quote of the week -- Rachel Rosenbloom, from the Boston based Center for Human Rights and International Justice said, "There is something deeply wrong with a system that deports someone on the basis of a statement made under coercion without the presence of an attorney with no verification that it is true."

NO KIDDING.

What is our Immigration Policy?

Immigrants – people from other countries - make up nearly 10% of the population, and 15% of all workers in Washington. This state in particular has been built and developed by immigrants and their families. Washington is not unique – most other states have similar populations. One would logically assume that our country supports policies that encourage immigrants to come to the United States. However this has not been true for many years, and at this point, it appears that we have no discernible immigration policy.

On the one hand -- millions of immigrants have come illegally, without documents, and have entered the workforce and become part of our communities. As a result, in every community there are families living in the shadows, afraid that the next contact with the police, school or hospital will bring ICE deportation officers to their door. On the other hand, our relative visa policies force other families to endure decades of separation while waiting for a loved one to be able to come to the United States. Additionally, businesses are stymied due to their inability to find enough qualified workers, and are justifiably afraid of government enforcement should they accidentally hire a worker who is unauthorized.

How did this happen? At this time it is estimated that over 12 million undocumented immigrants reside in the U.S. This is a huge number of people who have no options to become legal, and who cannot simply leave the U.S. without great disruption to families and work relationships established over many years. The undocumented or illegal population is just one part of a complex problem. The legal immigration system in place simply cannot handle the demands placed on it by legitimate businesses seeking employees, and by innocent families seeking to reunite with loved ones. Our visa system includes limits set in the 1950s with restrictions added in the 1990s which cannot meet the needs of the economy today.

Our communities of families as well as businesses deserve a better immigration system. What's more important – the country's security depends on the ability to know who is in the U.S., and who should be allowed in or kept outside of the country. There are many factors for all of us to consider.

This summer and fall, President Obama and members of Congress will begin work to reform our immigration laws. Earlier this month one effort, called Reform Immigration for America, or RIFA, launched its campaign. There will be intense lobbying and media campaigns promoting and attacking various plans and proposals. What should you do?

Get Informed. Get Active. We can help.

Here are some websites to review to inform your thinking.

http://www.reformimmigrationforamerica.org/
http://www.aila.org/
http://www.aic.org/
http://www.weareoneamerica.org/