DV-2016 Online Registration Starts on Wednesday, October 1, 2014
The Department of State recently announced the opening of the registration period for the 2016 Diversity Visa (DV) lottery. As in past years, the DV lottery will allow a maximum of 50,000 “diversity immigrants” to obtain permanent residence in the United States if they are from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Entries for the DV-2016 lottery must be submitted electronically between noon Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on Wednesday, October 1, 2014 and noon Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Monday, November 3, 2014. Applicants may access the electronic Diversity Visa entry form (E-DV) at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov during…
Immigration agents in Maryland using motor vehicle data to locate illegal immigrants
A recent raid at a Catonsville apartment complex has raised concerns that federal immigration agents are using Maryland motor vehicle data to locate illegal immigrants, potentially undermining a state initiative to ensure that drivers are ready for the road regardless of their citizenship status. Residents of the Melvin Park Apartments said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents pulled over several vehicles within a few blocks of the complex last month and asked for the registered owners by name. Relatives of those detained said they had not provided addresses to any government entity other than the Motor Vehicle Administration. Maryland is one of 10…
Kenyan detained in US: How long is too long to detain immigrants?
Sylvester Owino’s parents raised him as a Christian in Kenya, but he readily admits to straying as a young adult. After emigrating to the United States on a student visa in 1998, Owino had a series of alcohol-related run-ins with the law, including domestic battery and two DUI convictions. One night in 2003, a drunken Owino gambled away his money, prompting him to wander into a nearby shop at closing and demand cash. No one was injured in the $21 heist, and police apprehended him within minutes. They found no weapon, but Owino’s victim said he had a knife, and a judge later sentenced…
Obama Delays Immigration Action, Yielding to Democratic Concerns
WASHINGTON — President Obama has delayed action to reshape the nation’s immigration system without congressional approval until after the November elections, bowing to the concerns of Senate Democrats on the ballots, White House officials said on Saturday. The decision is a striking reversal of Mr. Obama’s vow to take action on immigration soon after summer’s end. The president made that promise on June 30, standing in the Rose Garden, where he angrily denounced Republican obstruction and said he would use the power of his office to protect immigrant families from the threat of deportation. “Because of the Republicans’ extreme politicization…
Ruling could let some deported immigrants return to U.S.
A federal judge this week tentatively approved the class-action portion of a lawsuit that claimed coercive and deceptive tactics by immigration officers, a ruling that opens the door for a limited number of unauthorized immigrants who were sent back to Mexico to return to the United States and fight for legal status. Applications for relief won’t be accepted until next summer, pending final approval. The ruling made Thursday by U.S. District Judge John Kronstadt in Los Angeles is one part of a settlement announced Wednesday between the U.S. government and nine Mexican immigrants over the “voluntary return” process. The suit…
Obama mulls option to grant legal status to Illegal immigrants with children born in US
By ANTONY KARANJA in DALLAS, TEXAS The White House has signaled that US President Obama will be expanding immigration rights by executive action by the end of summer. An official said Friday that Obama is mulling an option to grant temporary legal status to illegal immigrants who are parents of US born children allowing them to work and live legally in the country. This option is expected to affect about 5 million illegal immigrants. Another option being mulled by the White House is to allow temporary legal status for the parents of young people already granted deportation deferrals by the…
5 things Obama can and can’t do on immigration
Washington (CNN) — President Barack Obama is vowing to act on his own due to House inaction on immigration reform that proponents say could help address a wave of undocumented kids crossing the border from Mexico. But there are limits to the power of his pen. Yes, the President can send National Guard troops to the border as some House Republicans insisted at recent congressional hearing on immigration. No, the administration can’t put immigrant kids “on a bus like we normally do and send them back down to Guatemala,” as Alabama Republican Rep. Mike Rogers suggested. The children have arrived in droves after fleeing…
Obama to take executive action on immigration
(CNN) President Barack Obama said Monday he was starting “a new effort to fix as much of our immigration system as I can on my own, without Congress,” adding that he directed his team to recommend steps he can take this summer and that he would then act on those steps “without delay.” President Barack Obama plans to take executive action on immigration reform after House Speaker John Boehner told him last week the House won’t vote on a comprehensive bill this year, a White House official said. Obama will make a statement on immigration at the White House later…
