http://www.paschal-law.com/news/index.php http://www.paschal-law.com/news/index.php?entry=entry090410-153341
Click here for the Paschal-Law Blog!]]> http://www.paschal-law.com/news/index.php?entry=entry090303-173256 Minnesota Lawyer Magazine on March 1, 2009 about the latest trends in immigration law.

What's hot & what's not: Immigration law

By Michelle Lore Associate Editor

The downturn in the economy is having a dramatic effect on the practice of immigration law, an area that’s complicated even in good financial times.

Immigration lawyers are busy advising their corporate clients on everything from conducting layoffs of foreign workers to complying with new rules relating to the verification of the legal status of employees. And while the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has ramped up its efforts to locate people working here illegally, the immigration courts have cut back on staff and are having trouble keeping up with the cases.

“Our local immigration courts are extremely stretched,” said Minneapolis immigration attorney Paschal Nwokocha, chair of the Minnesota/Dakotas chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. “The court system is not equipped to handle the inflow of immigrants.”

Nwokocha talked with Minnesota Lawyer last week about some of the important issues the immigration law bar is handling, as well as a few that appear to be settled, at least for now.

WHAT'S HOT

Status of Liberian immigrants

The legal status of thousands of Liberians living in the Twin Cities area is up on the air right now.

They are members of a group who fled their country’s civil war in 1989 and are currently enrolled in the Deferred Enforced Departure program, which allows them to remain and work in the United States. Unless they are granted an extension, they will be vulnerable to deportation when the DED expires on March 31.

“The question is now what happens,” said Nwokocha. “Are we going to renew their status, are we going to get them some sort of permanent stay or do we want them out of this country?”

Efforts are underway at both a national and state level to get the DED renewed. The ultimate decision belongs to President Barack Obama.

“If you look at a place like Brooklyn Park, if the decision is made not to extend it, the economy is so down that a lot of people are going to leave and the impact on the community is going to be unimaginable,” said Nwokocha.

Federal mandamus actions

Immigration lawyers are increasingly taking their problems with local immigration offices to federal court.

According to Nwokocha, more and more practitioners are filing mandamus actions to get relief for their clients when the immigration office fails to act. Things like issuing or renewing a work permit or granting or denying a citizenship application are taking an exorbitantly long time, he said. “It takes going to a federal court [and] filing a petition for the [immigration] service to issue a decision.”

Nwokocha said that the process works, but it’s likely the federal courts are going to become overwhelmed. “I know it’s a matter of time and they are going to have a backlog,” he said.

Employment issues

With all of the layoffs occurring around the country, immigration attorneys are busy advising their business clients on things like properly letting go of foreign workers who are here based on a sponsorship from the company — such as an H-1B visa or an L-1 visa.

Attorneys are also counseling employers on compliance with E-Verify, which allows electronic verification of the employment eligibility of newly hired employees. Employers seeking a federal contract must comply with E-Verify, ensuring that all employees are here legally and authorized to work.

“I can imagine with the stimulus package and a lot of money coming down, there will be companies and businesses that want to get a federal contract that will have to comply with E-Verify,” said Nwokocha.

Similarly, immigration lawyers are busy advising employers on the revised I-9 Form that goes into effect next month.

All employers are responsible for completion and retention of the form for new hires — citizens and noncitizens. Employers must verify the employment eligibility and identity documents presented by the employee and record the document information on the Form I-9.

According to Nwokocha, the new form contains specific requirements relating to the authorization documents workers must produce. Immigration lawyers, he said, are advising businesses on the new requirements, particularly with respect to foreign nationals — what documents to ask for and what documents not ask for in order to avoid exposure to potential discrimination lawsuits.

WHAT'S NOT

New worker petitions

While layoff and employee verification issues are hot, anything relating to filing petitions for new workers is not.

Usually, the end of March and early April is a busy time of the year for immigration attorneys because it’s when they file for H-1B visas. But it won’t be this year, said Nwokocha. Companies just aren’t hiring right now and can’t justify bringing in workers from overseas when there are so many unemployed Americans around.

Similarly, efforts to move foreign workers from H-1B status to permanent residency status are virtually at a halt because of the requirement that employers first test the labor market for U.S. workers.

“Because of the economy, if you test the market you may end up with people more qualified for a position. … So that option is not as readily available,” said Nwokocha.

Comprehensive reform

In recent years, it looked as if comprehensive immigration reform was on its way. But the downturn in the economy has all but ended those talks.

Nwokocha said that while President Obama and both houses of Congress appear to be receptive to immigrants and the idea of immigration reform, it may be a while before it gets serious attention.

“The stars are all lined up — except the economy is not on our side,” he said. “I don’t think anybody is going to talk about it until the economy changes.”

Immigration

An area that can be considered “hot” or “not hot,” depending on how it’s looked at, deals with the right to effective counsel in removal proceedings.

During the final days of the Bush administration, outgoing Attorney General Michael Mukasey ruled in Matter of Enrique Salas Compean that because immigrants who are the subject of removal proceedings have no constitutional right to counsel at the government’s expense — they only have the privilege to retain private counsel if they so choose — then they cannot assert a constitutional right to effective assistance either. The ruling reversed years of precedent.

“In that sense, it’s been settled,” said Nwokocha. “But there are forces that are fighting this that are not giving up. … The new attorney general [Eric Holder] has agreed to review it and look at it again.”

Published with permission from Minnesota Lawyer. ]]> http://www.paschal-law.com/news/index.php?entry=entry090303-172312
Click here for the William Mitchell Law Review Article]]> http://www.paschal-law.com/news/index.php?entry=entry090107-155606
Go to: The Paschal-Law Blog

Ask questions, leave your comments, and get professional opinions and answers all free from the experts!]]> http://www.paschal-law.com/news/index.php?entry=entry090107-154920 The New R-1 & I-360 Requirements

Religious Workers Update here]]> http://www.paschal-law.com/news/index.php?entry=entry090107-153842 U.S. Permanent Residency/Greencard for Investors

EB-5 Details here]]> http://www.paschal-law.com/news/index.php?entry=entry090107-150945



Get it here!]]> http://www.paschal-law.com/news/index.php?entry=entry080908-172559 Barbara L. Jones

Minnesota CLE recently found itself having to backpedal after it invited representatives of what has been called an anti-immigrant hate group to address the Criminal Justice Institute.

After concerns were raised by immigration lawyers, Minnesota CLE took steps to ensure that comments by attorney Julie Kirchner of Federation for American Immigration Reform would be presented in context with other opinions, according to a letter from Frank V. Harris, Minnesota CLE executive director, to attorney Paschal Nwokocha, head of the Minnesota chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

The organization is controversial. FAIR's representatives have been repeatedly called on by Congress, as well as the national media, to discuss the state of immigration policy in the United States.; yet many immigrant advocacy groups are concerned by what they see as fear-mongering on the part of FAIR and its representatives. It has been criticized by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center, which has the organization on its list of hate groups.

"We are concerned that FAIR is not fair," Nwokocha said. "FAIR is an extremist organization [that] advocates for a very restrictive immigration policy. We think that this is not the best organization to educate judges and lawyers. "

Nwokocha acknowledged that Minnesota CLE should present differing opinions but was concerned that FAIR's agenda was not adequately disclosed. He attributed that to a lack of understanding about the organization. He said that when FAIR's participation came to the attention of immigration lawyers, they expressed their feelings "quite vocally" to Minnesota CLE.

In a letter to Nwokocha, Harris said that Minnesota CLE had not been aware of the concerns raised by the immigration bar. "We understood that the topic of illegal immigration was a controversial one with strongly differing views held by various members of the criminal justice community. We never, however, in the planning of a program, intend to provide a forum for advocates of intolerance, hatred or bigotry. "

Harris said in the letter that Kirchner was recommended by one of Minnesota CLE's "longtime program planners," Rich Stanek, the Hennepin County Sheriff.

Harris told Minnesota Lawyer that it is not unusual to receive complaints about programming and speakers at any CLE, including the Criminal Justice Institute. "We bring together diverse points of view. The faculty doesn't even agree," he said. "I think that's fine, particularly with this course. We want to bring together different perspectives. "

Harris explained that the schedule for the institute had to be adjusted to accommodate a speech by Chief Justice Eric Magnuson and that accordingly, two sessions on illegal immigration were combined into one panel discussion where everyone had a chance to express his or her views. In addition to Kirchner, the panel was composed of Claude Arnold, special agent in charge of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Investigations in Bloomington; John Keller, executive director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota; Charles Samuelson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota; and Stanek, who served as moderator.

Stanek's role still didn't sit well with Nwokocha. "Why did we still have Stanek as moderator?" he said.

Stanek was a police officer with the Minneapolis Police Department and formerly Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner. He resigned that post in 2004 after he admitted in a deposition over a police brutality case that he had used racial epithets.

Other than Stanek's participation, Nwokocha is satisfied with the results of the experience. He said he was thankful for the opportunity to express his views to Minnesota CLE and believes them when they said they will be more careful about vetting in the future. He also is happy to let FAIR know it is not a mainstream organization.

Both Nwokocha and Harris said there were no complaints about the panel after it was concluded.

September 2, 2008


Link to Article]]> http://www.paschal-law.com/news/index.php?entry=entry080703-175456 Paschal Nwokocha Elected AILA Chair

African News Journal article about Paschal's election as President of AILA Dakotas Chapter. First African to be named AILA chair in the organization's history.]]>