Yesterday in Diouf v. Napolitano the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit  issued an opinion confirming that an individual facing prolonged immigration detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(6) is entitled to release on bond unless the government establishes that he is a flight risk or a danger to the community. In other words, the burden [...]

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been stepping on immigration enforcement activities. Here’s a recent article from the Associated Press: Federal authorities say a six-day sweep of South Florida has netted 19 illegal immigrants with criminal records. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says the operation that ended Thursday also caught four fugitives with final orders of [...]

A Chinese national in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since Feb. 14 passed away on Feb. 23 at the Lock Haven Hospital in Lock Haven, Pa., of an apparent suicide. On Feb. 11, Qi Gen Guo, was encountered by ICE after his arrest by Pennsylvania State Police (PSP). On Feb. 14, [...]

Cancellation of Removal for non-Permanent Residents is a form of relief from deportation available to foreign nationals who meet the following four requirements: Have been physically present for a continuous period of at least ten years preceding the date deportation proceedings are commenced; Has had good moral character during that ten year period; Has had no convictions for any crime(s) that can render the [...]

The Orlando Sentinel reported today that the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (USICE) deported yesterday, 26 Haitians who have criminal convictions. This was the first group of Haitians that have been deported since the U.S. government placed a hold on deportations soon after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that ravaged that country last year. The Haitian-American community in Florida and the immigration advocates who [...]

The Orlando Sentinel reported that today, January 12 is the one (1) year anniversary that a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that killed over 230,000 people and left about 1,000,000 homeless in Haiti, the western hemisphere’s poorest country. In an effort to help Haitian nationals both in the U.S. and in Haiti, President Obama and his administration acted quickly and extended benefits such as Humanitarian Parole  and Temporary Protected Status (TPS). TPS [...]

The New York Times reported earlier this week that Governor Patterson issued pardons last week to 24 lawful permanent residents (green card holders) with prior criminal convictions, to avoid deportation to their native countries. The Governor’s term and by extension, the pardon panel will end on December 31, 2010.  The panel received over 1,100 applications for executive clemency this year and the pressure to render decisions on [...]

The Orlando Sentinel reported today that in Florida, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (USICE) officers under the leadership of Marc Moore who was appointed by the DHS earlier this year to head the USICE’s Office of Detention & Removal at the Miami Field Office, oversaw the deportations of over 15,000 foreign nationals, most of them were deported because of their criminal convictions. [...]

The New York Times reported today that New York State Governor David A. Paterson formed a special clemency panel consisting of a group of five (5) individuals from the governor’s office and state agencies earlier this year to expedite the granting of clemency, otherwise known as pardons to lawful permanent residents (green card holders) who are in deportation proceedings for criminal convictions that [...]

The Orlando Sentinel reported today that the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (USICE) deported about 392,000 foreign nationals in Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 which ran from October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2010. According to USICE officials, about 195,000 of the individuals deported were criminal aliens.  That was about a 70% increase from compared to FY 2008.  This record number of deportations was the result [...]