Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program is an Obama Administration initiative implemented to extend rights and benefits to the growing number of undocumented youths and young adults living in the United States. The program allows youths and young adults meeting certain requirements to temporarily defer deportation and receive both eligibility for renewable two-year work […]
In Aldana-Ramos v. Holder, just issued on June 27, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that family alone can constitute a particular social group, and thus an asylee who has been persecuted on account of his or her family membership can qualify for asylum. In Aldana-Ramos v. Holder, the […]
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently released its Annual Flow Report analyzing naturalization patterns for the preceding year. This report uses administrative records consisting of information from naturalization applications in the preceding year, drawing conclusions as to present and future trends of immigration. In 2013, the United States naturalized a total of 779,929 persons, […]
In her May 19, 2014 article in Politico titled “States Take on Immigration,” Seung Min Kim explains that states are increasingly taking immigration into their own hands. However, where states used to pass laws focusing on immigration law enforcement such as Arizona’s anti-immigration laws partially struck down in 2010, now they are focusing on expanding […]
The American Immigration Council recently issued a special entitled, “Mexican and Central American Asylum and Credible Fear Claims: Background and Context.” This timely report discusses the current rhetoric surrounding the credible fear process and the state of the U.S. asylum system. Specifically, the report examines the legitimacy of credible fear claims based on situations of […]
Presidents’ Day, initially called Washington’s Birthday, became a federal holiday in 1880. It was celebrated on President Washington’s birthday – February 22 – and was the first holiday dedicated to a US citizen. This holiday was signed into law in 1968. By the mid 1980s, many state governments changed this holiday Presidents’ Day so that […]
ICE’s ‘Secure Communities’ program is NOT voluntary. A voluntary program to run all criminal suspects’ fingerprints through an immigration database was only voluntary until cities refused to participate, thousands of recently released documents show. The Obama administration then tightened the rules so that U.S. cities had no choice but to have the fingerprints checked. The […]
Although Valentine’s Day has passed, our love for chocolate has not. Here we explore the effect of chocolate on us and why many like myself are chocoholics. Being born in the country that is famous for its creation of Godiva, Leonidas, and Neuhaus, we know good chocolate
The poverty guidelines for the year 2011 are significantly higher than those of 2010. Poverty guidelines are established by the Department of Health and Human Services and affect those who are sponsoring an immigrant. In most cases, when someone is applying for a green card, they will need a sponsor. This sponsor will be financially […]
“The Internal Revenue Service has revised “Supplemental Form W-4 Instructions for Nonresident Aliens.” The IRS has modified the instructions on the W-4 for nonresidents to reflect restrictions on their filing status, the limited number of exemptions allowed, and the standard deduction. Nonresident aliens must follow special instructions when completing Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, […]
