IMMIGRATION REFORM

Question: What Does 'Back of the Line' Mean? 
Answer: the phrase is used to mean that people who have entered the country illegally should not be given special privileges. They should go to the back of the “immigration line” and wait until their turn comes to apply for permanent residence.

There is no physical line of waiting immigrants, and really no virtual line in the process either. In reality, there are multiple routes to legal entrance to the country, depending on the individual situation of the immigrant, refugee or migrants. People waiting for family visas go through one process and those coming to fill jobs have another process. Refugees seeking asylum have their own path to permanent residence. The path to citizenship is long.

Although there is no actual line, the idea of a “line” has become important to the debate on comprehensive reform and what to do about the 11 million illegal immigrants living in the country.

Both supporters and opponents of legalization believe that none of the 11 million should be permitted to receive legal status before those immigrants who have been waiting in the system for many months or years. The illegal population should “go to the back of the line”. In other words, they should wait until the immigration system processes everyone else.

President Obama said that the Senate bill of 2013 would provide a pathway to earned citizenship for the 11 million individuals who are in this country illegally, a pathway that includes passing a background check, learning English, paying taxes and a penalty, and then going to the “back of the line” behind everyone who’s playing by the rules and trying to come here legally.

If the President uses his Executive Action in September, this will be focused on the 11 million illegal immigrants and on the young children who entered the US illegally from Central America.

Immigration Reform only for Californians: Last year, California moved forward with its own immigration reforms after months of frustration over the failure of Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill.

Gov. Brown said, “While Washington does nothing about immigration, California is leading the way.” The immigration laws the governor signed included:

· A law that allows unauthorized immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses.
• A law that says only certain persons are allowed to charge a fee for providing services to DACA applicants: This includes immigration consultants, attorneys, notaries public, and non-profit agencies.
• A bill that allows applicants, who are not lawfully present in the United States, to be admitted as an attorney at law.
• Authorization for community college districts to exempt special part-time, illegal students from paying non-resident tuition.

Many immigrant advocates welcomed the new California immigration laws. But advocates also said that we need Congress and the Obama administration to take the lead in this area because it is a federal responsibility, not just a state responsibility. They say, “We can’t have 50 different sets of immigration laws. We really need the federal government to act.”

California has between 3 million and 4 million unauthorized immigrants living in the state, probably the largest population in the country. Latinos and Hispanics make up about 40% of the state’s population and are becoming a mighty force at the polls, meaning that politics controls immigration law.

Federal Detainments Strain Local Governments: The University of Washington released a study in March 2013 that shows local communities are paying a lot to cover the cost of keeping illegal aliens in custody by CIS, CPB and ICE.

Most of the immigrants in the custody of ICE had no record of serious or violent crimes. The study concludes that local taxpayers are paying a lot to incarcerate people who have no criminal records.

When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) orders a hold on someone, it usually adds 30 days to the jail time.

The university study found that four out of five people put on a federal hold had never been convicted of a crime against a person, and about four out of five had never been found guilty of a felony.

Besides the high costs that burden local taxpayers during this difficult economic period, the local officials say they often are wasting jail space on minor offenders when its needed for criminals with violent records. Most people that ICE places in custody have not been convicted of a serious crime.

===================================================================================================================
Q.1. Why is it that only certain persons are allowed to charge a fee for providing services to DACA applicants?
A.1. The government knows that there are many unscrupulous and unqualified people who try to take advantage of immigrants. Therefore, California law requires immigration practitioners to have a bond in order to protect the immigrants. Those who are bonded by the State include immigration consultants, attorneys and notaries public.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q.2. If the President uses his Executive Action for some immigration reform, will this be of help to people outside the US waiting to enter legally?
A.2. Mr. Obama’s Executive Action will be focused on the 11 million illegal immigrants and on the young children who entered the US illegally from Central America. There will not be any benefits to the people in the Vietnamese community or any other immigrant group who have been waiting to enter the US legally.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q.3 How could DACA help the children from Central America who are now in the US illegally?
A.3. Mr. Obama could expand DACA to include all of the children below 16 years old. This would be a humanitarian use of Executive Action because according to US law, all of these children are eligible to remain in the US while applying for asylum, and that may take a couple of years of processing. DACA would give them legal status until their cases are decided.


ROBERT MULLINS INTERNATIONAL www.rmiodp.com www.facebook.com/rmiodp
Immigration Support Services - Tham Van Di Tru 

9070 Bolsa Ave., Westminster CA 92683 (714) 890-9933
779 Story Road, Ste. 70, San Jose, CA 95122 (408) 294-3888
6930 65th St. Ste. #105, Sacramento CA 95823 (916) 393-3388
Rang Mi - 47 Phung Khac Khoan, Q1, HCMC (848) 3914-7638