Happy 4th of July!!

04 Jul Happy 4th of July!!

Posted at 19:02h in Uncategorized by

Happy 4th of July!!

Lately, what’s been happening in the United States clearly shows we are losing site of our ideals. Last February, the US Department of Homeland Security  changed its mission statement to eliminate a passage that describes the US as “a nation of immigrants.” As an immigration lawyer who has been working in this field since 1996, it’s disheartening and completely goes against what I hold dear in my country. The US has welcomed the tired and poor over generations and we are truly a melting pot that has lead the world in innovation and set a moral standard. The recent US Supreme Court decision upholding the Trump’s Travel Ban of everyone from majority Muslim countries goes against our every ideal of allowing those who will do us no harm to enter the country and lead the life they want to lead.

I believe dark days like this will turn into brighter days. Just as when the US Supreme Court in 1944 upheld the interment of Japanese people in the US during World War II in the Koramatsu v US case. Eventually, the US rescinded the internment of Japanese Americans and in 1980 President Jimmy Carter started an investigation to determine whether the internment of Japanese-Americans was justified and he appointed the Commission on Wartime Relocation as indicated in this Politico article the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians to investigate the camps. As indicated in the article,”The commission’s report, titled Personal Justice Denied, found scant evidence of Japanese disloyalty. It concluded that the incarceration had been driven by racism and recommended that the survivors receive reparations.” I believe in time the US government will be correct the wrongs that are occurring with the Travel Ban and with the separation of small children from their parents at the border for those who are likely asylum seekers. Eventually, President Reagan signed a bill to repay those Japanese-Americans who were wrongly held at a cost of $1.6 billion in reparations. What cost will be to the US people as a result of the Travel Ban and the lives of those children being separated from their parents?

For those of you who would like to help the families that are being separated, here is some information which I obtained from the American Immigration Lawyers Association at www.aila.org:

Learn How You Can Support the Fight Against Family Detention and Family Separation

There has been an outpouring of support for the immigration community over the past few days. To provide clarity on how you can support the work that the American Immigration Council and the Immigration Justice Campaign does, here are three options ranging from general support to more specific support on the issue of family detention and family separation.

To volunteer:

The Immigration Justice Campaign, AILA and the American Immigration Council’s initiative to increase pro bono representation for detained immigrants, is actively working on family separation cases, and helping families detained at the South Texas Family Residential Center (STFRC) in Dilley, Texas pass their credible fear interviews. In addition, we are working with the following partners to represent separated families and other detained immigrants around the country:

  • American Friends Service Committee, AFSC (Elizabeth, NJ)
  • Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, RMAIN (Aurora, CO)
  • Southern Poverty Law Center’s Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative, SIFI (Georgia and Louisiana)
  • Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, NWIRP (Tacoma, Washington)

Opportunities to volunteer include:

  • Merits cases
  • Bond cases (remotely or in-person)
  • A week on-the-ground with the Dilley Pro Bono Project or the Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative
  • Legal writing, research, and interpretation opportunities

Find out more at www.immigrationjustice.us!

To donate:

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