Tag: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

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Biden Administration keeps the fight on for DACA

Biden Admin Keeps Fight on for DACA
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In a recent development, the Biden administration has asked a federal judge in Texas to limit the scope of any ruling that could terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration policy. 

The administration argues that any ruling should only apply to Texas, since only that state has shown that it is harmed financially by DACA. 

The administration also asks the judge to pause any order to terminate DACA while the government appeals any ruling against the program.

The outcome of this case is uncertain, but it could have a major impact on the lives of nearly 600,000 Dreamers. 

We’re all waiting for this because a ruling against DACA would be a major setback for Dreamers and their families. 

It would force Dreamers to live in fear of deportation and would make it much more difficult for them to pursue their dreams.

If you are a Dreamer or know a Dreamer, please stay informed about this case and let your elected officials know that you support DACA. The future of Dreamers hangs in the balance.

Here are some additional details about the case:

  • The case is being brought by a coalition of Republican-led states led by Texas.
  • The coalition argues that DACA is unlawful because it was created by executive action and not by Congress.
  • The Biden administration argues that DACA is lawful and that it is in the best interests of the United States to continue the program.
  • The judge has not yet issued a ruling in the case as of May 2023

What you can do:

  • Stay informed about the case.
  • Contact your elected officials and let them know that you support DACA.
  • Donate to organizations that are working to protect Dreamers.
  • Volunteer your time to help Dreamers.

Dreamers are our neighbors, our friends, and our family members. They are an important part of our communities. 

If you or anyone you know need further help, contact a trusted immigration lawyer today.

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The new DACA regulation and what it means for Dreamers

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In August, the Biden administration released the new regulation concerning the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA.

What does this mean for Dreamers?

The good news: Before the regulation, DACA’s only basis was executive action. With the regulation, it is further formalized with guidelines, making it also stronger to legal scrutiny.

Some of the notable clarifications that the guideline gives is that immigration offenses such as juvenile delinquency, felonies, and misdemeanors, do not make someone automatically barred from the program.

It also clarifies that Dreamers can only be barred from working if their DACA status has been terminated and not when their deportation trial starts.

Currently there are over 600,000 immigrants who are enrolled in the DACA program.

The bad news: The regulation does not go far enough to give a pathway for Dreamers for citizenship. It also only deals with DACA renewals and does not provide for new DACA applications, which has been on hold for years.

The new rules are set to take effect on October 31, 2022.

To recall, DACA is currently under deliberation in a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, where advocates believe the program will be ruled as illegal.

With the codifying of DACA, the Biden administration can further argue for its legality. Even if the administration loses in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, it can continue arguing before the Supreme Court, where it will most likely appeal to if it loses in the lower court.

Still, the best way United States leaders can continue DACA is through legislation: A law needs to be passed and signed by the president that will give a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and to also allow more applications to come in.

For more information on DACA, consult with your trusted lawyer.

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The court ruling that could end DACA

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The Biden administration released a final version of a rule to strengthen the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to protect Dreamers, but the program is still endangered as a court reviews whether to strike the program down.

The legality of DACA is currently being reviewed by a three-judge panel from the Fifth Circuit Court. They heard arguments in July 2022, but are currently deliberating on its ruling.

Many believe the court will take down the program, which means the loss of opportunity for tens of thousands of aspiring Dreamers – the loss of work, education, and the chance to stay in the United States.

According to advocates, around 22,000 jobs will be lost per month with the termination of DACA. 

To protect Dreamers, Congress needs to pass legislation to create a way for them to get citizenship. 

If the DACA does get terminated through the Fifth Circuit Court’s ruling, however, it does not mean that it is the end for Dreamers.

The government can still appeal to the Supreme Court, where the legal battle can continue for longer, meanwhile leaving Dreamers longer in limbo about their status. 

Unsure about how this will affect you? Consult your trusted lawyer.

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10 years since DACA: Is there hope for Dreamers?

10 years since DACA…Is there hope for Dreamers?
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It has been 10 years since President Barack Obama enacted DACA or the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals through an executive order.

The policy survived a Republican Administration and has been defended by the Supreme Court.

But in July 2021, a Texas court ruled the policy to be illegal. It is now under appeal while the government has been instructed to stop granting initial requests for DACA.

DACA was originally intended to only be a “stopgap measure”, but 10 years on, DACA is still not backed by any law that would allow its recipients – the Dreamers – for a path to citizenship, leaving hundreds of thousands of immigrants in limbo.

Without DACA, immigrant children who entered the United States who are now adults find it almost impossible to find work and education opportunities. They also face the threat of deportation.

President Biden should fully reinstate the DACA program and make it fairer and more accessible by modifying criteria based on age, residency, education, and past criminal activity.

What happened to legislation?

Different variations of a DREAM act have been introduced at the House and the Senate, but none have ever reached the President’s table.

Based on a 2020 Pew Research Center survey, 74% of U.S. adults say they favor a pathway to citizenship for young people brought to the U.S. illegally as children. The vast majority, 91%, of Democrats or those who are Democratic-leaning, support permanent residency for Dreamers, while 54% of Republicans or those who are Republican-leaning say the same.

But translating public support to legislation has been tricky.

President Biden himself pushed for the US Citizenship Act, which promised a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants and their families. However, it remains stuck in Congress, and analysts say it only has a slim chance of passage unless Biden offers a compromise.

President Biden’s deadline could well be the 2024 midterm elections, which has so far been predicted to deliver an upset to his party, further trimming down the chances for his immigration policy.

What now for DREAMERS?

For young immigrant Filipino Dreamers, there is always hope that this DACA program would become legislation and would provide a pathway to citizenship. So in the meantime, for those who were able to apply prior to the District Court injunction, you can continue to renew your employment authorization documents and work legally. For students, continue to pursue your studies to completion as the government will always prioritize highly skilled or professional workers for immigrant resident visas. There are States that do not ask about legal status for students to attend post secondary education, so it is advisable to pursue their studies if they can and explore opportunities when the right time comes.

Unfortunately, those who are no longer allowed to apply for DACA because of its limited eligibility, let us continue to lobby and advocate for the passage of legislation that will either extend the coverage of DACA to benefit more DREAMERS or a legislation that will make DACA a legislation with opportunity to become U.S. citizens.

Each case is different, however. For tailored legal advice, always seek professional help from a legal counsel.

To push for legislation, call your respective lawmakers and urge them to support a Dream Act that will provide resident permanent status and citizenship to all undocumented young immigrants.

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2021 Year In Review: Top 10 U.S. Immigration Issues Affecting Filipino Immigrants and Families

2021 Year in Review - Top 10 US Immigration Issues Affecting Filipino Immigrants and Families.
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Two years since the start of the pandemic, reality has already set in not just in our personal lives but also in the immigration front. With the surge in the different variants of covid, we are nowhere close to returning to normal.

To recap this year’s top immigration issues, we are summarizing a few of the key changes that happened this year.

1. Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program (FWVP) Is Alive

On top of my list is the FWVP program that will benefit certain family members of Filipino World War II veterans who were naturalized as U.S. citizens under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1990. 

After a proposal to terminate the FWVP program under the past Trump Administration, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reversed its proposed termination. On September 29, 2021, USCIS published on its website that it will continue the FWVP program. Current parolees who benefited from the program may continue to apply for extensions. Also, it announced that USCIS is accepting new FWVP applications.

Although it is continuing the FWVP program, USCIS mentioned the unpredictability of the processing time adjudicating the FWVP parole at the U.S. Embassy in view of the COVID-19 pandemic closures.

2. Vaccine Mandate for Travelers

On November 8, 2021, the Biden administration implemented a policy for international air travelers flying into the U.S. from most countries. It now requires all non-U.S. citizens and nonimmigrant travelers to have been fully vaccinated prior to boarding a plane to come to the United States.

According to CDC, you are considered fully vaccinated:

  • 2 weeks (14 days) after your dose of an accepted single-dose COVID-19 vaccine;
  • 2 weeks (14 days) after your second dose of an accepted 2-dose series COVID-19 vaccine;
  • 2 weeks (14 days) after you received the full series of an “active” (not placebo) COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S.-based AstraZeneca or Novavax COVID-19 vaccine trials; or
  • 2 weeks (14 days) after you received 2 doses of any “mix-and-match” combination of accepted COVID-19 vaccines administered at least 17 days apart.

There are exceptions to this rule. First, travelers who are under the age of 18 are exempted from this requirement. Instead, minors aged 2 to 17 must test negative prior to departure. Second, persons who have a pertinent medical condition are exempted. Third, people from countries with less than a 10% total vaccination rate due to lack of availability of vaccines are also exempted. CDC’s website is providing and constantly updating the list of such countries with limited vaccine availability. However, they must agree to be vaccinated within 60 days of arrival in order to enter the U.S.

These new vaccine rules do not apply to U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or U.S. lawful permanent residents.

Unvaccinated travelers — whether U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or the small number of exempt unvaccinated foreign nationals — will now need to test within one day of departure.

3. COVID-19 Hate Crime Act Passed Into Law

In response to the rising cases of Anti-Asian rhetoric and hate crimes impacting our community, President Biden signed into law on May 20, 2021 the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act (Pub L.117-13). This new legislation addresses hate crimes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

It includes critical provisions to expand language access and allow for culturally competent and linguistically accessible public education campaigns to reach communities targeted by hate with information regarding reporting and support services. It improves data collection and law enforcement policies on identifying, investigating, and reporting hate crimes, provides grants for state-run hotlines for reporting and connection to support services, and creates opportunities to restore communities and address the root causes of hate crimes through alternative sentencing for offenders. Investing in better quality data and reporting infrastructure are vital in addressing racial equity for the long-term.

4. DACA Update

The past Trump administration attempted to end the DACA program but the U.S. Supreme court  overruled the effort in 2020. In July 2021, a Texas federal judge barred the USCIS from processing new requests for DACA protections. As a result of the ruling, no new DACA applications are being adjudicated by the USCIS.

The Biden administration nonetheless moved to codify the program in a regulation to give it a stronger foundation against legal attacks.

Those who had prior DACA protections may continue to avail of deportation relief and work permits. Efforts to pass a legislation that will afford a pathway to citizenship to hundreds of thousands of unauthorized immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children did not materialize this year.

5. Trump’s Public Charge Rule Rescinded

Public charge rule determines if immigrants should be denied green cards or prevented from entering the United States because they may become financial burdens on the government.

In 2019, former President Trump released a “wealth test” public charge rule with very restrictive requirements and extensive documentation. This Trump’s rule is no longer in effect since March 2021 when a court order vacated the Trump’s Public Charge final rule. Instead, USCIS is using inadmissibility rules based on public charge using USCIS 1999 guidance in applications for admission and adjustment of status.

On August 23, 2021, DHS published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and is seeking public input on how to craft the new public charge ground of inadmissibility.

6. Foreign Worker’s Spouse Work Permits

In November 2021, spouses of certain foreign workers in the U.S. won a victory when a settlement was reached by their lawyers and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services over its policies for issuing employment authorizations.

Pursuant to the settlement, USCIS agreed to change its policies regarding work permits for those who are eligible for H-4 and L-2 visas based on their partners’ status as H-1B specialty workers or executives transferred to the U.S. The H-4 visas are for spouses of H-1B visa holders, and the L-2 visas are for spouses of executives holding L-1 visas.

Those who hold L-2 visas will be allowed to work in the U.S. by default, and those with H-4 visas will be eligible for an automatic extension of their current work permits for up to six months if they satisfy certain criteria, according to the settlement agreement.

7. No More Mass Worksite Raids

The Biden administration announced on October 12, 2021, that it would no longer conduct “mass worksite enforcement operations” which means raiding workplaces to arrest undocumented workers. This announcement puts an end to the Trump-era policy.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that such shift is to focus more on “employers who exploit the vulnerability of undocumented workers” than migrant workers. He added that undocumented workers have been victimized by human trafficking, child exploitation, substandard wages, and impose unsafe working conditions only because of their lack of immigration status. Secretary Mayorkas also shared that by prioritizing workplace enforcement against “unscrupulous employers”, “the American labor market, the conditions of the American worksite, and the dignity of the individual” can be protected most effectively.

As a result of this shift in workplace enforcement, it is expected that undocumented worker would speak out against unjust treatment and exploitation without fear of arrest and deportation, as previous worksite enforcement operations have led to the arrests of hundreds of workers at once.

8. Waiver of Interview at the U.S. Embassy Manila for Certain Non-immigrants

Repeat travelers to the United States may, under some circumstances, renew their visas without appearing at the U.S. Embassy for an interview.  To avail of the Interview Waiver , an applicant must have a B1/B2, F, M or J nonimmigrant visa that expired within 48 months from date of renewal and must meet certain qualifications. If eligible an applicant for renewal may be able to drop his/her visa application at a 2GO courier office location.

9. Backlog of Immigrant & Non-immigrant Visa Interviews at the U.S Embassies

COVID-19 resulted in a severe backlog of immigrant cases waiting for interviews. An immigrant visa applicant who is declared “documentarily qualified” by the National Visa Center may have to wait longer for a scheduled interview because of the backlog of cases.

Worldwide, there were 461,125 applicants pending interviews in the month of November 2021. Of this number, only 28,964 were scheduled for interviews by the U.S. Embassies worldwide. The rest remains pending.

The U.S. Embassy in Manila schedules interviews following a 4-tier guideline as follows:

  • Tier One: Immediate relative intercountry adoption visas, age-out cases (cases where the applicant will soon no longer qualify due to their age), and certain Special Immigrant Visas (SQ and SI for Afghan and Iraqi nationals working with the U.S. government)
  • Tier Two: Immediate relative visas; fiancé(e) visas; and returning resident visas
  • Tier Three: Family preference immigrant visas and SE Special Immigrant Visas for certain employees of the U.S. government abroad
  • Tier Four: All other immigrant visas, including employment preference and Diversity Visas

Nonimmigrant Visa (NIV): 

The US Embassy continues to prioritize travelers with urgent (i.e. matter of life and death) travel needs, foreign diplomats, and certain mission-critical categories of travelers, such as students and exchange visitors (F-1, M-1, and J-1) and temporary employment visas (H-1B, H-2B, and L nonimmigrants). Visa appointments and processing for B1/B2 (Business/Tourist) have resumed at significantly reduced levels.

10. Philippines EB3 Preference Category Priority Date Remains Current

For more than a year now, and as may be observed from the latest December 2021 visa bulletin issued by the Department of State, visa applicants under the employment-based third preference (often referred to as EB3) category visa remains current.

 When a priority date for a visa petition is current, it means that the visas are available.

There are a significant number of Filipino professionals who are beneficiaries of existing EB3 petitions. But we also know that there are many more Filipino nurses and physical therapists who are already pre-certified and can immediately take advantage of this visa availability. Schedule A occupations are those jobs for which there are not a sufficient number of U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available to fill the number of available jobs that exist in the United States, and the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers similarly employed will not be affected by the employment of foreign workers in Schedule A occupations.

Other health care workers such as licensed vocational nurses (LVNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), certified nurse assistants (CNAs), as well as nurses’ aides and caregivers do not qualify for Schedule A precertification. However, they may still qualify and benefit under this concurrent filing if they have approved Labor Certifications or PERMs.

Our Renewed Hope for 2022

In his first year of office, President Biden made modest changes to US immigration policy but we have also been waiting to see legislation that provides a pathway to citizenship for the millions of unauthorized immigrants.

While President Biden unveiled his immigration reform, the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 which included an 8-year path to citizenship for millions of unauthorized immigrants, no significant movement has been made in Congress. This bill has yet to be voted on by the House and the Senate. While the Democrats attempted to include immigration provisions in the Build Back Better Act, this bill was never passed by the Senate. To make matters worse, Senate parliamentarians opposed the inclusion of the immigration measures on a spending bill.

While Democrats are in control of both the House and the Senate, it is so hard to to pass any bills due to a very divided Congress with very partisan issues dividing both. The Senate requires 60 votes to pass a bill and with the 50-50 split between Democrats and Republicans, passing any legislation is no easy task. Nevertheless, the new year brings new hope and new beginnings. Happy New Year to all!

(Atty. Lourdes Santos Tancinco, Esq. is an immigration attorney with the Tancinco Law P.C., a San Francisco CA based law firm. She may be reached at 1 888 930 0808, law@tancinco.com , facebook.com/tancincolaw, or through her website www.tancinco.com.)

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Latest Court Ruling Affects First Time DACA Applicants

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On July 16, 2021, a federal court Judge Andrew Hanen ordered the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to stop the processing and approval of new DACA applications. What is the impact of this decision on DACA recipients and those with pending DACA applications?

Jose turned 18 years old in January 2021.  When Jose was 5 years old, he was brought to the United States by his Aunt and his immigration status was never legalized. He practically grew up in the United States and completed his high school education and dreams, one day, of becoming a physician.

When President Biden was elected, Jose filed for protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. This is the first time that he applied for DACA.  The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services acknowledged receiving his application but no action has been taken so far.  On Friday, July 16, 2021, Jose learned that the Federal Court Judge ruled against new DACA applicants. What are the chances that he will be granted employment authorization and protection under DACA?

The DACA Program

In 2012 President Obama created a policy called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), calling for deferred action for certain undocumented young people who came to the U.S. as children. Applications under the program began on August 15, 2012. More than 800,000 DACA eligible individuals filed for protection and employment authorization under this DACA program.

Legal Challenges

DACA has always been the subject of legal challenges where certain States question the legality of the DACA program. When former President Trump took office, he immediately issued an order rescinding DACA. Several lawsuits were filed questioning the rescission of the DACA program.

On June 18, 2020, in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of University of California,the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Trump administration’s termination of the DACA program and ruled that the termination of DACA was “arbitrary and capricious” under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). While it ruled against its termination, the Court did not rule on whether or not DACA itself is lawful, but merely held that the Trump administration did not follow the law when it tried to terminate the program. In Casa de Maryland v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security,  a federal judge in the U.S. District Court of Maryland ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reinstate the DACA program to its 2017, pre-termination status and to start accepting new applications.

On July 16, 2021, Judge Andrew Hanen, a federal judge in the State of Texas, issued a ruling declaring DACA as unlawful since, according to his decision, the Department of Homeland Security has no authority to create DACA and to prevent immigration officials from enforcing the removal provisions of the law.

Impact of the Decision: First Time DACA Applicants Adversely Affected

Jose’s application as illustrated above will be put on hold as a result of the recent decision.

Those who have received prior DACA protections and employment authorizations are not affected by the decision. Unfortunately, first time DACA applications will be placed on hold by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services which means that no new DACA applications will be approved at this time. The federal Court decision blocked USCIS from approving any new DACA cases. Hence, all individuals who have submitted DACA initial applications (those that never had DACA and are applying for the first time) and have not received an approval from USCIS will have their application held. This applies to all initial cases that were not approved prior to July 16, 2021.

What about individuals who already had prior DACA for the first time and are renewing? If an applicant was recently granted DACA for the first time, his/her DACA will remain valid and may be renewed.

Future of DACA

President Biden vowed to appeal the federal court decision. But while this is on appeal, the new DACA applicant’s fate will be put on hold. The more permanent solution is for Congress to pass the American Dream and Promise Act which bill is waiting to be passed.

President Obama emphasized the importance of passing legislation to protect our DREAMers.  On his Twitter posting, he said that “For more than nine years, DREAMers have watched courts and politicians debate whether they’ll be allowed to stay in the only country many of them have ever known, it’s long past time for Congress to act and give them the protection and certainty they deserve.”

Let us continue to strongly support our DREAMers, by calling and urging our representatives in Congress to pass the American Dream and Promise Act. Undeniably, our young DREAMers deserve better.

(Atty. Lourdes Santos Tancinco, Esq. is an immigration attorney with the Tancinco Law Offices, a San Francisco CA based law firm. She may be reached at 1 888 930 0808, law@tancinco.com , facebook.com/tancincolaw, or through her website www.tancinco.com)

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7 Immigration Policy Changes Important to Filipinos

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On his first day in office, President Joe Biden will introduce hundreds of pages of immigration executive orders that will cover most of the policies he pledged to change. With several provisions that are proposed, the more than 4 million Filipinos residing in the United States and their relatives still waiting to migrate are looking forward to major change in policies. Below are 7 immigration related agenda that may have the most impact for Filipinos.

1. The DACA Program

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients are immigrants who arrived in the United States at a very young age. After several attempts to pass legislation to confer legal status to this category of immigrants and the failure of Congress to pass law, former President Obama issued an Executive Order giving these young immigrants protection from deportation and issuing them employment authorization. When President Trump came into office in 2017, one of his first executive actions was to rescind the DACA program. More than 800,000 DACA recipients were affected by Trump’s rescission of the program. Court litigation ensued and the Supreme Court affirmed the legality of the DACA program. While the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services started implementing the DACA protections to initial applicants, it did so only a few months ago leaving thousands of DACA recipients still in limbo about their status.

During this pandemic crisis, more than 200,000 DACA recipients are considered essential workers. Thus, in the Biden proposal, green cards or permanent immigrant visas will be granted to DACA recipients with a pathway to U.S. citizenship in three (3) years.

2. FWVP Program

More than 200,000 Filipinos were conscripted to join the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II (WWII)when the Philippines was still a territory of the United States. Under the War Powers Act, those who fought under the American flag may be entitled to apply for U.S. citizenship. All 66 allied countries nationals who fought side by side with the Americans during WWII were able to obtain U.S. citizenship but not the Filipino Veterans. A 1946 Rescission Act was enacted declassifying their services during WWII as not considered services for purposes of the veteran benefits. Hundreds of thousands of veterans lost their opportunities to apply for U.S. citizenship until 1990, when the Immigration and Nationality Act was enacted allowing belatedly the then 70 and 80 year old veterans to apply for U.S. citizenship.

As soon as they became U.S. citizens, they started filing petitions for their children. As the system in place takes more than 20 years to be current due to the severe backlog, most of the veterans who came in 1990s have already passed away. In the last 5 years, approximately 8,000 veterans are still alive but they have been slowly reducing in numbers. The Obama Administration proposed a Parole program specifically for the families of the veterans to enter the United States and be reunited with their veteran parents who are now of advanced age and sickly. This parole program is the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program. This Program only has a 5 year validity until 2021. Last December 2020, the Trump administration issued a notice to rescind the FWVP after 60 days of comment period. President Biden should consider supporting legislation that will give immediate green card status to families of the veterans; or, if not, extend the FWVP program.

3. Family Reunification

Family unity is very important to immigrants, and this applies most specially to Filipino immigrants. Petitioning immediate relatives by U.S. citizens is faster than petitioning adult children and siblings. For those being Petitioned from the Philippines the waiting period for visas to become available for adult married children and siblings of U.S. citizens takes approximately 20 years. And for those who are unmarried adult children, the waiting period is approximately 10 years.

With the pandemic crisis, even those whose visas are available who waited more than 20 years are not being processed at the U.S. Embassy because of the Trump Presidential Orders banning certain immigrants from entering the United States. Visa applications of parents and fiances of U.S. citizens are also put on hold at the U.S. Embassy. President Biden should reform the immigration system by adding more visas to the Family based category to reduce the backlog and make it faster for U.S. citizens or green card holders to petition their family members. Trump’s Presidential Proclamations 10014 and 10052 banning the entry of immigrants and processing of their visas at the U.S. Embassy must be revisited and rescinded.

4. Pathway to Citizenship for Undocumented Immigrants

About 2% of the 11 million undocumented immigrants are unauthorized Filipino immigrants. These are mostly those who fell into the cracks because of the broken immigration system leaving them no option to legalize their status. These unauthorized immigrants are with their family members in the U.S., are hardworking and regularly pay taxes. It is just an opportune time to provide them a pathway to U.S. citizenship.

The Biden administration is introducing the immigration reform bill that will allow unauthorized immigrants an 8 years pathway to citizenship by granting them green cards after 5 five years and allowing them to obtain U.S. citizenship in 3 years. This proposal is the centerfold of the immigration bill introduced by Biden and needs to be passed by Congress to become effective.

5. Public Charge Rule

One of the salient feature of the Trump legacy on immigration is not just curbing illegal immigration but also legal immigration. Deeply disguised as promoting national interest, the public charge rule also known as the wealth test prohibits the grant of immigrant visa if the petitioner or the beneficiary does not have enough financial resources to show that the beneficiary will not rely on public assistance for their subsistence. Restrictive rules were issued making it difficult for US citizens with meager income to be reunited with their families. There is also the 2019 Trump “uninsured ban” rule where those coming to the United States must be able to show proof within 30 days of arrival that they have health care insurance coverage. All these restrictive rules have become barriers to lawful immigration and it is cloaked in a way that benefits the U.S. when in fact it is based on the Trump administration’s assumption that immigrants are a drain to the nation’s resources. This has to change. Most of Filipino immigrant families are educated and bring their skills and knowledge to flourish and succeed in this country. President Biden should rescind the restrictive changes made by the Trump administration related to the public charge rule.

6. Healthcare Workers

During this global pandemic, the Filipino immigrants who are admired most as heroes are our health care workers. We have many Filipino caregivers, physical therapists, medical practitioners and nurses. These essential workers have proven their worth especially during this time of crisis. Current immigration law makes it difficult for most healthcare workers to obtain their immigrant visas. Even when the priority dates for employment-based third preference became current for Philippine nationals, it is usually still subject to long delays of months or years for the healthcare professionals to migrate to the United States. The increasing need for the essential healthcare workers had never been critical and President Biden should consider re-establishing a temporary visa category for nurses like before such as the H1C and H1A visas. This category will make it faster for healthcare workers to enter the United States.

7. Other Employment Based Visas

Philippines was included again in the list of those countries eligible to participate in a temporary working visa program or the H2B. Realizing how it will be in the best interest of the U.S. to make sure that the Filipinos are added to the workforce in the construction of military bases in Guam. This is a positive development. But also, there are Filipinos who are holders of H1B, J and L visas that have been affected by the Presidential Proclamation banning them from entering except those covered by litigation. President Biden should rescind this proclamation and reverse the H1B regulatory changes that Trump released prior to his departure from the White House.

All 7 immigration issues are just a few of the immigration priorities of the Biden Administration. As we maintain our faith in the new administration, we also hope that the Democratic led Congress will find it a priority to pass the Biden’s immigration reform bill for all these provisions to have a meaningful impact on our Filipino immigrants and their families.

(Atty. Lourdes Santos Tancinco, Esq. is a San Francisco based immigration attorney and an immigrant rights advocate. She may be reached at 1 888 930 0808, law@tancinco.com, or facebook.com/tancincolaw, or through her firm’s website at www.tancinco.com)

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What Changes in Immigration Policies are Expected under a new Biden Administration?

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As President Joe Biden takes his oath of office on January 20, 2020, the immigrant community is looking forward to a new vision of the United States as a more welcoming country. After 4 years of cruel and inhumane immigration policies specifically relating to asylum restrictions, interior enforcement and separation of children at the border, a more compassionate administration is taking over. President Biden plans to rescind asylum restrictive policies, reform the parole programs and improve the immigration system, among others.

Below are some of the main focal points of the proposed immigration changes.

Pathway to Citizenship for the 11 Million Unauthorized Immigrants

On his first day of office, President Biden will roll out a comprehensive immigration bill that will provide a pathway to U.S. citizenship for long time residents and those who have been present in the United States without legal status. The bill will cover those immigrants who have been in the United States as of January 1, 2021. The proposed legislation will have an eight (8) year pathway where qualifying immigrants will have temporary status for five(5) years and then they will be granted green cards after meeting certain qualifications which is payment of taxes and background checks among others. After being granted green cards, these immigrants will be able to apply for citizenship three (3) years thereafter.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and those in temporary protected status (TPS) program have a faster route to citizenship. They can apply for a green card immediately. DACA recipients are the children who arrived in the U.S. at a young age and have had no lawful status. With the DACA program, they are protected from being deported. TPS, on the other hand, refers to those immigrants from strife torn countries many of whom are from El Salvador.

100 Days Moratorium on Deportation

President Biden promised a moratorium on deportation during his first 100 days in office. Unlike the prior Trump administration where there was intense interior enforcement that caused fear in the immigration community, a moratorium on deportation will mean a more compassionate approach to dealing with unauthorized immigrants and most especially for those who have strong family ties in the United States and who do not have criminal case histories.

Reversing Trump’s Proclamations

President Biden pledged to move quickly to reverse several Trump proclamations. A memorandum is expected to be issued on his first day that will delay for 60 days the implementation of last minute regulations promulgated in the last days of the Trump presidency.

Three Presidential Proclamations must be reversed immediately. First, the two Presidential Proclamations (10014 and 10052) signed in April 2020 and June 2020 suspended entry of certain immigrants and non-immigrants to the United States following the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak. With certain exceptions, the latter Proclamation 10052 curtails the ability of H1B visa, H2B visa and L1 visa and certain categories of the J visa from entering the United States. These two proclamations while they were issued during the pandemic to avoid risk to the U.S. labor market are more a restriction on the entry of lawful immigrants especially for parents and adult children of U.S. citizens. Trump extended these two proclamations to be effective until March 31, 2021.

Aside from these Presidential Proclamations, there is also the October 2019 Proclamation referred to as the Uninsured Ban. This proclamation bars entry of immigrants without “approved” health insurance. Obviously, this was meant to curb legal immigration by making it harder for low income immigrants from reuniting with their immediate family members in the US.

The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the legality of these bans. President Biden must act to immediately reverse this Proclamation. However, despite a firm intent to invalidate Trump’s proclamations, it may not be a smooth process for the Biden administration given prior Court rulings. Reversing proclamations require the government to address the scope of authority and rationale behind the policies.

Bill Must Be Passed in Congress

The Biden Administration has a considerable number of priorities in his first 100 days. With the number of COVID-19 related casualties rising each day, President Biden will surely prioritize the Covid-19 issue and take clear measures to deal with the pandemic crisis. While the proposals and plans to change immigration policies are positive developments contrary to the prior anti-immigration agenda, it may not be easy to implement them without legislation passed in Congress. The hope is that the Democratic controlled Congress led by Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Schumer must take active roles in prioritizing the passage of the Biden immigration reform bill.

(Atty. Lourdes Santos Tancinco, Esq. is a San Francisco-based immigration attorney and an immigrant rights advocate. She may be reached at 1 888 930 0808, law@tancinco.com, facebook.com/tancincolaw, or through her firm’s website.)

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DHS Memorandum Policy on DACA contrary to Supreme Court ruling

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On June 18, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court handed a decision invalidating the September 2017 Trump’s administration’s rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). After one month from the decision, on July 28, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a Memorandum affecting more than 640,000 DACA recipients. The Memorandum states that it will begin to wind down legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. While it conducts a review of the program it will reject all initial DACA applications and will limit the protection for those renewing their DACA applications to one year, rather than two years.

1. What Does This New Policy Mean To The DACA Recipients?

Two categories of DACA recipients are affected: first, the current DACA recipients or those who are already receiving the DACA protections from June 2012 to the present; and second: new DACA applicants: those who became eligible beginning September 2017 were it not for Trump’s rescission.

For the first category, current DACA recipients: They will be limited to one year protection and one year employment authorization card instead of the usual 2 years. Furthermore, they will not be allowed to apply for advance parole.

For the second category, new DACA applicants who have been eligible for DACA are now prevented from applying for DACA protections because of the Trump administration’s recent policy memorandum. These are the thousands of young immigrants who have been waiting to qualify and apply for DACA protections.

2. What are the Administration’s reasons for limiting the applicability of DACA?

The reasons are stated in the DHS memorandum released: (1) Congress should have sole authority to resolve whether DACA should continue and (2) concerns about enforcement policy that enforcing the law against those in unlawful status will not be consistently exercised if it favors a group like the DACA population. These are all flimsy excuses that run contrary to vast majority of the Americans who support protection for these young immigrants. And more importantly, these reasons do not justify issuance of this policy that runs contrary to a judicial decision of the Supreme Court and that of the District court of Maryland requiring the USCIS to accept new DACA applications.

3. What steps should present and future DACA recipients take in view of this new policy?

In view of this policy, DACA recipients should be aware of the limitations of their protections which is only one year now, and that they should not allow their DACA protections and employment cards to expire. If their employment cards are expiring the DACA recipients should renew early. And for new DACA applicants, they should hold off to the filing of new applications until this policy is reversed or rescinded. For our readers, please contact your legislators to urge them to pass the The American Dream and Promise Act, a bill if enacted would result in a permanent fix to this issue of our Dreamers by creating a pathway to U.S. citizenship.