For several weeks now, we have been hearing on repeat about the government shutdown and the people that it is affecting throughout the United States. I will not be discussing the politics of why this shutdown has occurred, who is to blame, or the agreement that should be reached to resolve this impasse. Instead, I will just outline the proposal that the President offered in order to end the shutdown and reopen the government as they relate to Immigration Lawyer In Albuquerque.
The first elements of the proposal are simple; the continuing resolution would provide $800 million in humanitarian aid to the border for various forms of assistance. It would provide $805 million for increased drug detection at the ports of entry, which is where a good portion of the illicit narcotics are smuggled. It would provide for 2,750 additional border agents and law enforcement personnel. It would fund 75 additional Immigration Judges to resolve the backlog of immigration court cases. Lastly, as part of the first elements, it would provide a three-year extension for Temporary Protected Status for those immigrants that current have the status and are eligible to extend it.
The more debated issues surrounding this shutdown and the source of the stalemate are the future of DACA and the border wall. Let’s take the border wall or barrier first. The plan would provide $5.7 billion in total funding in order to build 230 miles of new steel barriers in strategic locations and fund the above-mentioned strategic protections. The barrier is the main sticking point; one side of the political aisle believes that a border barrier is imperative while the other side believes that it is “immoral”. I believe that the word imperative is a very strong word and that many other immigration reforms, without a border barrier, could be just as effective to achieve the desired goal, border security. However, I also believe that “immoral” is a completely erroneous word for a barrier. Many things in this world are immoral but a barrier is not one of them. As the saying goes: “Good fences make good neighbors.”
Lastly, the proposal would provide a three-year extension to the current DACA program. DACA or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is the Obama era executive order that allowed for young people brought here as children to obtain a temporary reprieve from removal through deferred action and to obtain a work visa while the action is deferred. DACA has been under a great deal of scrutiny with copious amounts of uncertainty looming in the minds and heart of those who currently have the status and their families. This concession would allow for more certainty for these young people and their families while provide time for a true immigration reform to be negotiated.
My opinion is that the shutdown of the government and immigration should not be tied together. I understand the logical reasoning behind having leverage and this seems to be good leverage for both sides of the aisle. However, what the politicians seem to forget is that their political leverage is people not pawns on a board. Border wall funding is one thing but throwing DACA into the mix makes this more than a battle of wills – it makes it a battle over people.
About the Author:
Michael Hendricks is a highly recognized practitioner of Immigration Attorney Albuquerque. He has been serving clients in the area of immigration for almost 7 years. As an attorney of Immigration Law for almost 5 years. Michael grew up in a foreign country as a legal non-immigrant and as such understands the plight of the immigrant in the United States. Michael is the proprietor of Hendricks Law which was founded with a desire to help those clients that feel disenfranchised from the legal system because of their immigrant status in the United States. Michael has a passion to help the immigrant population in a way that is lawful, fair and just. He has worked on well over 1000 cases in his years of practice and has a very high win rate for his cases. Michael will fight for you too!
