“America is back, the trans-Atlantic alliance is back.” – So declared President Biden on February 23, 2021. Apparently, however, Antony J. Blinken, the newly installed U.S. Secretary of State (DOS), didn’t get the memo. On March 2, 2021, he “rescinded the previous national interest determination regarding categories of travelers eligible for exceptions under Presidential
Border Security
Pursuing a National Interest Exception to the Presidential Entry Bans on Economic Grounds ~ Not A Fool’s Errand
We’ve seen this movie before.
Scene 1: The President issues a proclamation in reliance on his authority to restrict the entry of certain noncitizens under Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) § 212(f) so long as he asserts that allowing them in would be “detrimental to the interests of the United States.”
Scene 2:…
Weed and Worry — The Immigration Consequences of Engaging in the Cannabis Trade
The legal cannabis business is spreading like weeds. As several states and foreign countries have enacted laws decriminalizing or legalizing marijuana for medicinal or recreational use, a fresh rush of reefer madness has overtaken the business world. Investments in the cannabis industry are now available as ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds), and marijuana startups are…
California Can Revive the Immigrant Worker Protection Act by Challenging the Authority of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ “FDNS” Enforcement Officers
The State of California won and lost bigly last July 4th. But what if the state’s biggest loss could be salvaged because the primary federal immigration enforcement agency performing worksite visits – the Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS) in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) – has never been lawfully authorized…
Immigration on a Clean Slate: Game-Changing Proposals on Visa Modernization
Terabytes of text have already been generated in the course of extolling or excoriating President Obama for his November 20 Executive Actions on Immigration. The prolific foaming of bloviating mouths has mostly been prompted by the promise of deferred action and work permits for undocumented immigrants under the DACA and DAPA programs. Surprisingly, however, his…
Bordering on the Absurd: Immigration Expertise Lacking at U.S. Border Agency
[Blogger’s note: Today’s post offers a shocking analysis of how the decision by Congress some ten years ago to combine the functions of U.S. Customs, Immigration and Agricultural inspectors into a single agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), has led to disastrous consequences for applicants seeking admission to the U.S. under our nation’s immigration…
If Immigration Law Were a Person It Would Sing: “Oh Lord, Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”
[Blogger’s Note: An earlier version of this post mistakenly suggested that the article discussed below offering the views of an immigration lawyer was written by that lawyer. It was not; rather it was written by a reporter who quoted the lawyer. This blogger regrets the error.]
The power of online and social media to whip…
You Say You Want a Devolution — in Immigration That Is
Will comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) die a slow and ignominious death in the House? Will the Republican Party, whose thought leaders on the far right chant “Kill the Bill,” face a near-term visit by the Grim Reaper?
Are conservatives abandoning conservatism over immigration, as David Brooks and this blogger maintain? Are lobbyists who…
Memo to GCs: If Ever There Is a Time for Immigration Portfolio Management, It’s Now.
Much has been written since April 17 when the bipartisan Gang of Eight senators introduced S. 744, a brobdingnagian immigration reform bill that overlays 844 pages of turgid text on top of the already gargantuan and complex Immigration and Nationality Act. The Migration Policy Institute, the National Immigration Law Center, and the American…
The Xenophobes Can’t Kill Immigration Reform – But What Should CIR Supporters Do Now?
The usual xenophobic suspects made the usual noises after the tragic events in Boston last week. Perhaps the most premature outcry came from electrified-border-fence proponent, Rep. Steve King, Republican from Iowa, who a day after the marathon explosions linked a report (ultimately untrue) that a Saudi national had planted the bombs with King’s mission…