Tag Archives: USCIS

Knewz: Immigration officials issue new warning to green card holders

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is reminding lawful permanent residents to carry proof of their immigration status at all times, warning that failure to do so could lead to legal consequences. “Always carry your alien registration documentation. Not having these when stopped by federal law enforcement can lead to a misdemeanor and fines,” CBP wrote on X.

The renewed warning comes as President Donald Trump directs his administration to remove millions of migrants without legal status, fulfilling a campaign pledge of mass deportations. The White House has stated that anyone living in the country unlawfully is considered a criminal. While the administration’s focus has been on those without legal status, reports show that immigrants with valid documentation, including green card holders and visa holders, have also been detained. Outlets have documented dozens of cases in which lawful permanent residents and applicants were caught up in Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.

As of January 1, 2024, there were an estimated 12.8 million lawful permanent residents living in the United States, according to the Office of Homeland Security Statistics. The requirement for non-citizens to carry registration documents is not new. It stems from Section 264(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which makes it a federal misdemeanor to fail to carry such documents. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), lawful permanent residents who fail to comply with this requirement risk losing their immigration status and could face removal from the country.

Green card holders have legal protections if detained. They have the right to remain silent and request legal representation. While carrying proof of status is mandatory, individuals are not required to answer questions without a lawyer present. Adding to the concerns of immigrants navigating the legal system, USCIS has introduced a new $1,050 fee for certain applications that were previously free when filed as part of a green card case being adjudicated by an immigration court. This applies to Form I-131, used for requesting travel documents such as advance parole, and Form I-765, the application for employment authorization. The agency’s change places a significant financial burden on those pursuing lawful permanent residency while involved in court proceedings.

CBP reinforced its message in another post on X, stating, “Every alien, eighteen years of age and over, shall at all times carry with him and have in his personal possession any certificate of alien registration or alien registration receipt card issued to him. Failing to do so can lead to a misdemeanor and fines if you are stopped by federal law enforcement. If you are a non-citizen, please follow the laws of the United States of America.”

Papers, please!

Immigration officials issue new warning to green card holders
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is reminding lawful permanent residents to carry proof of their immigration status at all times.

https://knewz.com/immigration-officials-issue-new-warning-green-card-holders

Newsweek: Green card applicants’ kids may lose legal status after Trump admin move

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Children of H-1B visa holders may now age out of their protected legal status while their parents apply for green cards, under a Trump administration policy change announced Friday.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it was reversing a Biden administration policy that prevented young adults from losing their legal status if a parent’s application was still pending when their children reached age 21.

Why It Matters

Around 200,000 children and young adults could be affected by the change, which comes amid a flurry of alterations at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) to bring policies in line with President Donald Trump’s directives to tighten immigration controls.

What To Know

The USCIS policy change affects those who fall under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), which the administration of former President Joe Biden had allowed in February 2023 to apply to some children as soon as their parents became eligible to apply for a green card.

That meant that even if they “aged out” during the wait for a green card, they would not lose legal status.

On Friday, the Trump administration rolled those extensions back, saying that CSPA protections would once again only apply when a visa becomes available via the Department of State. USCIS said this would create a more consistent approach for those applying for adjustment of status and immigrant visas.

With long wait times for adjustment of status applications, particularly for H-1B and other temporary visa holders, this could now mean that when a dependent child turns 21, they lose their legal status and may have to leave the U.S., even if they have lived in the country for most or all of their lives.

Doug Rand, a DHS official during the Biden administration, said that many of those children would be American to their core, but would now be forced to the back of the line for a green card.

What People Are Saying

USCIS, in a news release: “The Feb. 14, 2023, policy resulted in inconsistent treatment of aliens who applied for adjustment of status in the United States versus aliens outside the United States who applied for an immigrant visa with the Department of State.”

Doug Rand, former DHS official, in a statement shared with Newsweek: “Back in 2023, the team I was part of at USCIS made a sensible policy change to make this situation a little less awful for a few more young people. Basically, the government has a choice about whether certain people who “age out” of their immigration status can still hang on to their parents’ place in line for a green card some day.

“We chose yes. Today, the Trump administration is choosing no.”

What’s Next

The new guidance will apply to requests filed after August 15, with those already in process not affected.

Green card applicants’ kids may lose legal status after Trump admin move
The Department of Homeland Security said it was reversing a Biden-era extension of protections.

https://www.newsweek.com/h1b-green-card-applicants-children-protections-change-trump-administration-2111075

India Currents: Racial Profiling & Immigration Crackdowns Strike Fear in Immigrant Communities Across America

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Immigrant communities in the U.S. are experiencing a growing sense of fear as masked federal agents, with no visible IDs, have been detaining immigrants in Los Angeles in a sweeping escalation of federal immigration enforcement that has prompted legal challenges and mass protests across America. Local officials and advocates are calling the crackdown unconstitutional—and a test of the nation’s democratic values.

The developments were the focus of a June 27 American Community Media (ACom) briefing that brought together legal experts, political leaders, and community advocates to examine the state’s response and avenues for effective resistance.

“We’ve never seen anything like this,” said Jeannette Zanipatin, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA). “People are being arrested outside courthouses, at USCIS check-ins, and even during routine interviews— often without warrants, and sometimes without knowing who is arresting them.”

Zanipatin, an immigration attorney, noted that many of those detained have no criminal records. “This is racial profiling, plain and simple,” she said. “And it’s impacting all immigrant communities—Latino, Black, Asian, and more.”

California, long a stronghold of progressive immigration policy, has become the epicenter of federal enforcement. Former Los Angeles mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, who served from 2005 to 2013 and is now running for governor, condemned these tactics.

“This is not law enforcement. This is intimidation,” Villaraigosa said. “We’re seeing people in fatigues, flash-bang grenades, and masked agents dragging away gardeners, nannies, and even U.S. citizens.”

Racial Profiling & Immigration Crackdowns Strike Fear in Immigrant Communities Across America
California emerges as the epicenter of resistance to a sweeping escalation of federal immigration enforcement
Racial Profiling & Immigration Crackdowns Strike Fear in Immigrant Communities Across America

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Racial Profiling & Immigration Crackdowns Strike Fear in Immigrant Communities Across America
Immigration enforcement tactics Immigrant communities in the U.S. are experiencing a growing sense of fear as masked federal agents, with no visible IDs, have been detaining immigrants in Los Angeles […]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/racial-profiling-immigration-crackdowns-strike-fear-in-immigrant-communities-across-america/ar-AA1HALOH

Wall Street Journal: Trump Administration Must Seek to Return Another Wrongly Deported Man, Judge Rules

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A second ruling finds that the government wrongly sent a man to an El Salvador prison under wartime law despite legal protections

A federal judge in Maryland has ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of another man who was sent to an El Salvador prison as part of the government’s push to swiftly remove alleged members of a Venezuelan gang.

The man, identified only as Cristian in court documents, was born in Venezuela and came to the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor. He and others who came to the country as children reached a settlement agreement with the government in November that prohibited their removal while their asylum applications were pending. 

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/trump-administration-must-seek-to-return-another-wrongly-deported-man-judge-rules-ccdfed29

USA Today: Trump slashes homeland security civil rights jobs in ‘Black Friday’ cuts

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Former DHS immigration detention ombudsman: “I think we’ll see people die in custody as a result.”

Homeland Security is eliminating those employees whose job is to keep them operating honestly and legally:

In a move aimed at reducing “roadblocks” to its immigration crackdown, the Trump administration has fired most employees within the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and two separate DHS ombudsman offices, a senior DHS official confirmed late Friday.

The actions come amid other changes at DHS that critics say will curtail oversight of immigration efforts by President Donald Trump even as legal challenges intensify over their constitutionality.

A senior DHS official told USA TODAY that the RIF or “reduction in force” efforts were done “to eliminate redundant and counterproductive roles while reallocating resources to frontline enforcement, where they are most effective.”

…

Michelle Brané, who served in the Biden administration as the immigration detention ombudsman within DHS, called the cuts a “recipe for disaster.”

Brané said she believes roughly 200 people lost their jobs in what she called “Black Friday” cuts.

“They’re eliminating all the oversight bodies within the Department of Homeland Security at a time when they are being more aggressive than ever and making more mistakes than ever,” Brané said. “I think we’ll see people die in custody as a result.”

Trump slashes homeland security civil rights jobs in ‘Black Friday’ cuts
A senior Homeland Security official says the offices established to protect against abuse were cut because they are “roadblocks’ to enforcement.

Trump slashes homeland security civil rights jobs in ‘Black Friday’ cuts