Immigration Reform Update: Alaska Republican Senate Candidate Defends Comparing Immigrants to Hispanic Gang Members

The immigration crisis has become an issue for U.S. states thousands of miles away from the southern border. In Alaska, three Republicans vying for the state's GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate debated immigration.
Former Alaska Attorney General Dan Sullivan and Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell commented on their refusal to sign a pledge set forth by fellow candidate Joe Miller, who has garnered support from the tea party. The pledge by Miller would reaffirm opposition to any efforts to grant amnesty to undocumented immigrants if any of the three GOP candidates were elected to the U.S. Senate. Read more: http://www.latinpost.com/articles/19014/20140811/immigration-reform-update-alaska-republican-party-candidates-debate-amnesty.htm

 Contact Darren Heyman, immigration attorney Las Vegas, for more information.  

A Better Immigration Compromise

One of the more striking aspects of the immigration reform debate is the simple, important fact about public opinion that it has largely ignored. President Obama and his allies often emphasize that though the Senate immigration bill has been backed by a large majority in the Senate and a broad array of constituencies, from organized labor to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to various immigrant advocacy organizations, recalcitrant House Republicans stand in the way of comprehensive immigration reform. But this opposition makes more sense when we consider that voters consistently oppose a substantial increase in immigration and the Senate immigration bill will, according to the Congressional Budget Office, substantially increase immigration. Read more: http://www.nationalreview.com/agenda/385196/better-immigration-compromise-reihan-salam
Contact Darren Heyman, immigration attorney Las Vegas, for more information.  

Feds: Applicant for U.S. citizenship failed to disclose ties to terrorist group

Philly.com:

A convenience store clerk was charged today in federal court with immigration fraud for failing to disclose his ties to a terrorist group on an application for U.S. citizenship.
Hayatullah Dawari, 62, is an Afghan citizen who has lived in Northeast Philadelphia since 2008.
Dawari allegedly has a connection to Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin (HIG), an anti-Western insurgent group active in Afghanistan and Pakistan, said federal prosecutors. HIG, which is closely associated with al-Qaeda and the Taliban, took credit for a 2008 assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai and has advocated for the establishment of a fundamentalist Islamic state, according to published reports. Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/Feds_Applicant_for_US_citizenship_failed_to_disclose_ties_to_terrorist_group.html

 Contact Darren Heyman, immigration attorney Las Vegas, for more information.  

Many Americans Renounce Citizenship, Hitting New Record

Forbes:

It may seem like a drop in the bucket, especially when droves want to immigrate to America. Still, the newly published names of individuals who renounced their U.S. citizenship or terminated long-term U.S. residency is up, with 576 for the quarter and 1,577 so far this year. The growing trend is a sad one as Record Numbers of Americans Are Renouncing Their U.S. Citizenship.
For all the immigrant arrivals, the trickle the other direction is becoming more pronounced. The tally was 2,999 for all of 2013, a 221% increase over the 932 who left in 2012. The Treasury Department is required to publish a quarterly list, a kind of public outing putting Americans on notice of who relinquished their rights. Consular expatriations, where people don’t file exit tax forms with the IRS, are apparently not counted. Read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2014/08/07/many-americans-renounce-citizenship-hitting-new-record/

 Contact Darren Heyman, immigration attorney Las Vegas, for more information.  

UPDATE | Translator who helped U.S. forces in Afghanistan issued visa

Fox 59: ZIONSVILLE, Ind. (Aug. 5, 2014)—Over the last two years, FOX59 has followed Hayat Nooristani, a translator who helped American forces overseas.  Along that road, there have been many heart-breaking moments, where there was promise and then a door slammed shut.But today, FOX59 received word from the U.S. State Department that the special immigrant visa, approved long ago, has now been issued from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. That means Hayat may soon be on a plane headed for the United States.
Hayat was born and raised in the mountains of Afghanistan.  Fluent in six languages, the now 29-year-old man landed a job as a translator with the United States Army, finding himself fighting the Taliban alongside American soldiers. When his time was up, he qualified for a chance to come to America.  However, the State Department kept the process dragging on, and Hayat was on the run from the terrorists he helped fight. Read more: http://fox59.com/2014/08/05/translator-who-helped-u-s-forces-in-afghanistan-is-one-step-closer-to-becoming-an-american/

100-year-old fulfills lifelong dream, becomes U.S. citizen on birthday

The Baltimore Sun: 

Since she was 7 years old, Donatila Leticia Munoz Orantes has wanted to become a U.S. citizen. On Wednesday, her 100th birthday, her wish came true.

Munoz Orantes, a native Nicaraguan who lives with her daughter in Germantown, came to the United States from El Salvador in the 1980s and never left. Read more: http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2014-07-30/news/bs-md-100-year-old-naturalizes-20140730_1_u-s-citizenship-immigration-services-naturalization-ceremony

Young immigrants must risk deportation for chance to gain legal status

LA Times: Since  November, Oscar has been living with his grandmother in Fort Worth, attending public high school and dreaming of becoming a police officer.He is one of thousands of young migrants from Central America who crossed the border illegally and hope to win permission to stay in the United States. He was told to report to immigration court on July 24. Read more: http://www.latimes.com/nation/immigration/la-na-immigration-law-20140803-story.html#page=1