Articles Posted in Citizenship

A great program on KPBS this morning covered the case of Ruben Flores-Villar. Flores-Villar, 35, was born in Tijuana, Mexico, but grew up in the San Diego area, in the care of his father and grandmother.

When he sought U.S. citizenship in 2006 — to fend off criminal charges of being in the country illegally — U.S. immigration authorities turned him down. For people born before 1986, their U.S. citizen fathers had to have lived in the U.S. for 10 years, at least five of them after the age of 14. Flores-Villar’s father could not meet the second part of that requirement because he was only 16 when his son was born. American mothers need only have lived in the U.S. continuously for a year before the birth of a child.

Later this year, the Supreme Court will enter a curious corner of U.S. immigration law that applies only to children born outside the U.S. to one parent who is an American and one who is not. The law makes it easier for children whose mother is a citizen to become citizens themselves. Even after reform legislation in 1986, children of American fathers face higher hurdles claiming citizenship for themselves.

After health care, Immigration is going to be the next big thing. On Tuesday, December 15, Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL) will introduce new legislation, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR ASAP), to the U.S. House of Representatives. Gutierrez will be joined by members of many different faiths and backgrounds, including the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Black Caucus, Asian Pacific American Caucus and Progressive Caucus.

“We have waited patiently for a workable solution to our immigration crisis to be taken up by this Congress and our President,” said Rep. Gutierrez. “The time for waiting is over. This bill will be presented before Congress recesses for the holidays so that there is no excuse for inaction in the New Year. It is the product of months of collaboration with civil rights advocates, labor organizations, and members of Congress. It is an answer to too many years of pain —mothers separated from their children, workers exploited and undermined security at the border— all caused at the hands of a broken immigration system. This bill says ‘enough,’ and presents a solution to our broken system that we as a nation of immigrants can be proud of.”

We will follow the Bill’s progress and update our readers.

Immigration activists say they are hopeful that Gov. Deval L. Patrick will support proposals in an advisory report calling for more English classes for the state’s immigrants and in-state tuition for undocumented college students. Patrick released the report containing 131 recommendations, which he called a “values” statement, at a luncheon for immigrant advocates.

Since July 2008, resident immigrants and activists have crowded meetings around the state pressing for those programs and others, including allowing immigrants to get state drivers licenses.

Read more…

Today is Veterans day, and I wanted to send warm wards of support to our Veterans and the active duty men and women fighting for our country day and night.

On October 20, 2009 the U.S. Senate voted to pass the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill Conference Report that contained a provision to end the widow penalty. The House of Representatives previously voted to pass the bill. The bill became Public Law Number 111-83 upon President Obama’s signature of October 28, 2009.

In the past the government has argued that the spouse’s death before the two-year mark ends the marriage, canceling the foreigner’s right to be considered for residency and opening the door to deportation.

The new provision does not directly address the government’s definition of marriage, but it allows foreigners married to Americans for less than two years to submit their own petition for residency within two years of the spouse’s death, as long as they have not remarried and can prove a good-faith marriage.

On October 13, hundreds of people from across the nation will be gathering in Washington and across America to tell Congress that immigration reform can’t wait. We encourage our readers to take action as best as you can. If we want for a major reform to pass this time, this has to be an effort taken by all of us nationwide.

October 13 is the day! Thousands of supporters will descend on our nation’s capital on Tuesday to lobby Congress in person for progressive immigration reform. But they can’t do it alone! If you can’t make it to Washington to meet with your Representative personally, you can still make a difference with a simple fax or phone call.

Read more

Since the last fee hike in 2007, it was only a question of time until discussion about more Immigration fee increase will be a hot topic. U.S. immigration officials are considering another possible round of fee increases and budget cuts next year, prompting concern among immigrant rights groups.

The agency is facing a $118-million revenue shortfall this year in part because applications for citizenship and skilled worker visas are below projections, according to officials. Citizenship applications plunged to 58,000 last year from 254,000 the previous year in the Southern California district. Most experts blame the decline on a fee increase of 69% to $675 in 2007.

Immigrant advocates said, that any additional fee increase would severely hamper legal immigrants from pursuing citizenship. “Right now the high cost of citizenship is putting the dream of naturalization out of reach of low- and moderate-income legal permanent residents, and any future increase will just make the situation worse,” said Rosalind Gold of the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund in Los Angeles.

We now know that Immigration, especially illegal immigration is a big part of the American Health care debate. President Obama’s prime-time address to Congress and the nation on health care prompted a Republican congressman to shout “you lie!” when the president covered Health coverage for illegal Immigrants.

The President said that his proposal would not cover illegal immigrants, a remark that prompted Republican Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina to shout “You lie!”

The president is correct: The House bill contains a section (Sec. 246) titled “NO FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS,” which states: “Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.”