General Immigration

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Youthful fans of Saturday Night Live may be forgiven for assuming, however mistakenly, that SNL invented satirical television comedy. The patent for this invention probably ought to go instead to other earlier contenders, Jack Paar, Sid Caesar, Imogene Coco or Steve Allen.  While I love these past and present paragons of humor, I’ll never…

business_woman_frustrated_and_stressed_pulling_her_hair.jpgIt’s been a momentous, startling and exasperating two weeks.  The Supreme Court ended the term with three blockbuster decisions, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) held a less-noticed public engagement that knocked the socks off one important segment of the stakeholder community.  

…

Julius Caesar.jpgRender unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s … 

Jesus of Nazareth, Matthew 22:21

I send greetings to all those observing Public Service Recognition Week 2012. Each day, our country benefits from the efforts of dedicated Federal, state, and local government employees who do their jobs with pride and passion. So many of these men…

From the first prehistoric evenings sitting around campfires, humans have been telling stories. Heroic myths, fairy-tale fables, oral histories — all have been seared into heart and memory through the power of narrative. Civil and criminal trials are merely stylized forms of storytelling.  Journalism’s hook, theatre’s Sturm und Drang, reality television’s sour and sweet confections —…

Light at the end of the tunnel.jpgThe Occupy Wall Street movement began with a poster, a word cloud, a QR Code and three lines of text:

#OCCUPYWALLSTREET

September 17th. Bring tent.

www.occupywallst.org. 

Steve Jobs launched his massively successful “Think Different” rebranding campaign for Apple in 1997 with a TV commercial and this script:

Here’s to the Crazy Ones.

cheese wedges.jpg[Bloggers Note:  Today’s offering is a Guest Post by Nici Kersey, who recounts memories as a child and their lasting impact, even on her practice of immigration law.  For a similar recollection of government handouts from my childhood, click here.]

Government Cheese

by Nici Kersey

My first memory of “the government” involves government cheese.  My…

Today, the 10th anniversary of the terrorist savagery of September 11, 2001, the nation pauses to remember the fallen and reflect on how our country has changed in the decade past.  PBS and The New Yorker offer worthy contemplations on the changes since 9/11 and today, and two immigration lawyers, Cyrus Mehta and Jonathan Montag…

Tendrils.jpgDespite persistent immigration deadlock in a Congress whose job approval has plummeted to its nadir, fresh tendrils of hope are sprouting: 

  • We hear from reported remarks of Senator Richard Durbin that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will soon announce administrative action to give much-needed relief to individuals who would benefit from the DREAM Act, a bill

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idea light bulb.jpgWriting for The Hill, pundit Kathy Kemper just published a thoughtful piece on “Debt and immigration.”  In it she contrasts American policy-makers’ obsession with the financial Sword of Damocles, set to behead us on August 2, with Norway’s all-consuming focus on the aftermath of a xenophobic madman’s gutless acts of murder and mayhem. 

Americans, it seems, can…

Man looking over wall.jpgAre we a trustworthy nation?  The world waits to see if the American government becomes a deadbeat on August 2, when the debt ceiling is hit.  Will the country break faith with its creditors?  Will it stiff Social Security recipients, the ill and disabled, fallen warriors and others whose lives or fortunes depend on Uncle Sam’s unflagging…