Miami Immigration Lawyers Blog

Reported in New York Times

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Friday granted temporary immigration status to Syrians in the United States, sparing them from having to return home, in a new sign that Washington believes security conditions in Syria are going from bad to worse.

Under the measure, Syrians already in the United States will be eligible for temporary protected status, which had previously been given to citizens of seven other countries who could not return home because of violent conflicts or natural disasters.

In a statement, Ms. Napolitano said Syrians "would face serious threats to their personal safety" if they were forced to go back.

Department of Homeland Security officials estimated that 2,500 to 3,000 Syrians in the United States would be eligible for the status. Most are in the United States legally, officials said. Based on the history of citizens of other countries designated for temporary protection, once the status is granted, officials are generally reluctant to cancel it.

Ms. Napolitano said Syrians would have to pass criminal and national security background checks to gain approval. "This is not a blanket waiver," a department official said.

Syria is one of the countries of the Middle East whose citizens receive heightened scrutiny when they travel to the United States.

The department will publish guidelines for Syrians early next week. Typically, the temporary status lasts for 18 months before it must be renewed.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported last week that about 30,000 people had fled the expanding civil warfare in Syria to neighboring Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.

Other countries whose citizens have received temporary protected status are El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and most recently Haiti, after they were devastated by earthquakes or hurricanes.

Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan are also designated for the status. The designation of Nicaraguans and Hondurans dates to 1999, but the status has been regularly renewed.

About Revilla Law Firm, P.A.
Antonio Revilla is a Former U.S. Immigration Prosecutor and Miami Immigration Lawyer. Mr. Revilla founded his immigration law practice, Revilla Law Firm, when he saw a dire need for aggressive immigration representation and deportation defense in order to keep families united.

If you wish to receive more information about any immigration issue, you can contact Revilla Law Firm at 305-858-2323 to speak with Antonio Revilla.

The Associated Press

MIAMI -- The valedictorian of a Miami high school who had been ordered to leave the country will be allowed to stay for two more years.

Attorney Nera Shefer's office received notification from the Department of Homeland Security Tuesday that Daniela Pelaez was given a deferred action for two years.

Pelaez came to the United States from Colombia with her family when she was 4. She has applied to several Ivy League universities and wants to become a surgeon.

A judge denied her request for relief from deportation last Monday. Students at North Miami High School rallied around her, holding a protest and an online petition that collected thousands of signatures.

Pelaez says she is excited by the action but that it is also bittersweet because it is a temporary solution.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/06/2679387/valedictorian-will-be-allowed.html#storylink=cpy

If you have any questions regarding Deferred Action, contact Miami immigration lawyer Antonio Revilla for more information (305) 858-2323.

About Revilla Law Firm, P.A.
Antonio Revilla is a Former U.S. Immigration Prosecutor and Miami Immigration Lawyer. Mr. Revilla founded his immigration law practice, Revilla Law Firm, when he saw a dire need for aggressive immigration representation and deportation defense in order to keep families united.

If you wish to receive more information about any immigration issue, you can contact Revilla Law Firm at 305-858-2323 to speak with Antonio Revilla.

Reported in Miami Herald 3/2/12

More than 2,600 students and teachers at North Miami Senior High took to the streets Friday morning to protest a decision by an immigration judge ordering their valedictorian, 18-year-old Daniela Pelaez of Colombia, to depart the country.

The demonstration, with placards and chanted slogans, was one of the biggest locally on the immigration issue since 2004 when President George W. Bush first proposed the legalization of millions of undocumented immigrants.

Although U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement already indicated that it has no plans to kick Daniela out of the country, students and teachers staged the protest to express solidarity with the bright student who wants to stay here and become a heart surgeon.

The demonstration also served as a stage for two prominent local officials, Superintendent of Miami-Dade Schools Alberto Carvalho and North Miami Mayor Andre Pierre, to voice sympathy for Daniela.

Both immigrants, Pierre and Carvalho, said it was time for politicians and policymakers in Washington to set aside differences so Congress can approve immigration reform, a step that would legalize millions of undocumented immigrants.

Carvalho, who emigrated from Portugal, was visibly moved during the post-demonstration news conference when he and Pierre, originally from Haiti, appeared before television cameras with Pelaez and her sister Dayana.

Carvalho, in particular, said he identified closely with Pelaez because of his past as an immigrant in the United States, sometimes without papers.

"I can hardly find words to express what I feel right now as an immigrant," said Carvalho. "As one having gone through what Daniela is going through today, I cannot say that every moment of my life in this country, that I produced papers. But you know what, I labored, I cleaned tables, I was a waiter, I did roofing, I did construction work and today I'm superintendant of schools. That is the power of education, a power and a right that shall not be denied to Daniela."

Adding that the North Miami Senior High student was "an inspiration" to him and the nation, Carvalho said he would do everything in his power to prevent her removal from the United States.

"Over my dead body will this child be deported," Carvalho said moments before embracing Daniela. "Where is the shame of our nation when we pick on somebody like her. This is a community that cares. We are not a community that turns our back on immigrants, on our young, on the invisible, the fragile. We wrap our arms around them. We protect them."

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/02/2671642/thousands-protest-ruling-to-deport.html#storylink=cpy

About Revilla Law Firm, P.A.
Antonio Revilla is a Former U.S. Immigration Prosecutor and Miami Immigration Lawyer. Mr. Revilla founded his immigration law practice, Revilla Law Firm, when he saw a dire need for aggressive immigration representation and deportation defense in order to keep families united.

If you wish to receive more information about any immigration issue, you can contact Revilla Law Firm at 305-858-2323 to speak with Antonio Revilla.