Morris Immigration Law, PLLC

11/19/2021

Although everyone hoped for much more, the immigration provisions in the house spending bill are improvements. The most consequential provision would allow many undocumented folks the ability to gain "admission" into the United States. This would provide many people with a pathway to citizenship and would give others a status much more permanent than DACA.

The reconciliation bill would create the largest mass-legalization program for undocumented immigrants in U.S. history, but it falls well short of a path to U.S. citizenship.

07/20/2021

I encourage everyone to read through this visual explainer which details the history of immigration detention in the United States. There are some really interesting photographs and facts.

The massive U.S. apparatus for holding immigrants has a long American tradition.

07/15/2021

It is hard to overstate just how dangerous it is for Afghans to work with the United States in Afghanistan. Over the past several years countless Afghans have been killed due to their association with the United States government. We owe the Afghans who have worked alongside the United States government the opportunity to seek refuge here in the United States. If we do not, thousands will be slaughtered by the Taliban. I am hopeful that this plan to bring Afghans to the United States will not leave anyone behind.

The Biden administration will launch a new effort to help evacuate Afghan nationals who aided the U.S. military during their operations in the country. NBC's...

04/08/2021

It is infuriating whenever I hear about immigration lawyers that take advantage of their own clients. Please do not go to someone who makes promises without knowing your situation. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Flashy ads promise easy visas and green cards. There's a reason they seem too good to be true.

04/01/2021

It’s encouraging to see that there is some momentum in Congress to provide humanitarian assistance at the border. There are simply not enough funds right now to provide anything resembling humane living conditions for the children being held in detention.

Key House lawmakers introduced bipartisan legislation Thursday that would address repeated funding and resource shortfalls that occur during large upswings in the number of migrants arriving at the US-Mexico border.

03/29/2021

It looks like Biden is learning from past failures. The Biden administration will propose funding non-governmental organizations rather than governments directly. This would be a huge policy change and make it much more likely the aid will go into the right hands.

The vice president will step up outreach to officials and civil society to tackle the border issue.

03/26/2021

No matter how you feel about immigration or the humanitarian crisis at the border, you have to empathize with the families mentioned in this article. I know it really hit home for me when I read that the six families were dropped off at a park in a small town only an hour away from where I live. The article notes that the town where they were dropped is 30 miles away from the nearest town and that there is nothing but desert in between. The mayor is quoted in the article as saying “come July and August, we’re going to start finding bodies.”
It’s easy to find someone to blame for the situation. Customs and Border Protection is an easy target. They could have provided the families transportation to a shelter instead of dropping them in the middle of a park. The town could also be blamed. Gila Bend and it’s leadership could have found shelter for them in their own community instead of transporting them to Phoenix. However, attributing blame is not going to help these families or fix our broken immigration system. Instead of passing blame around, Americans need to come together and have some compassion for these folks and try to understand the terrible situation that most of these families are going through. Until then, immigrant families like the one in the article will continue to struggle and our immigration laws will not be fixed.

https://apnews.com/article/arizona-immigration-phoenix-e900051cb6c60826b1013f0ab2b5c385 #:~:text=Gila%20Bend%20Mayor%20Chris%20Riggs,making%20their%20home%20in%20America.

PHOENIX (AP) — A small town in Arizona has declared a state of emergency over migrant families being dropped there as a growing number of border communities grapple with how to get the new...

03/24/2021

Asking for "more help" is only going to make the journey more dangerous for these folks and will do little to curb the inflow. Why hasn't the current administration proposed more humanitarian solutions? They are using the same strategy as Trump.

Mexico is taking high-profile actions to show cooperation, but it’s not clear they’re having much effect.

03/17/2021

Like most people in the field, I have been closely monitoring the situation at the southern border and have noticed many common misconceptions. Perhaps the most common misconception is that this is “unlawful migration.” The problem with this characterization is that this migration is not unlawful. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) specifically allows immigrants without any status in the United States to present themselves at the border and request asylum. INA Section 209(a) provides:

Any alien who is physically present in the United States or who arrives in the United States (whether or not at a designated port of arrival and including an alien who is brought to the United States after having been interdicted in international or United States waters), irrespective of such alien's status, may apply for asylum in accordance with this section or, where applicable, section 1225(b) of this title.

The people that we are seeing at the southern border are clearly there to seek protection in the United States due to conditions in their home countries. Not every person that is fleeing from unfortunate circumstances in their home country meets the definition of an asylee, but this does not mean that their request for asylum is unlawful. Therefore, I would encourage anyone who believes that the situation at the border is “unlawful migration” to carefully read the law and reevaluate their characterization of the issue.

03/17/2021

Morris Immigration Law, PLLC is now open and taking clients. Visit us at morrisimmigrationlaw.com to learn more about our firm.