The Syrian Migrant Crisis

The horrific images of the drowned Syrian boy, three-year-old Aylan Kurdi, as well as images of refugees stranded in the Budapest train station and other tragic news reports including the seventy-one migrants who suffocated to death in a refrigerated truck in Austria, all have led to renewed calls for more action to be taken on behalf of approximately four million displaced Syrians.

“The migrant crisis in Europe is essentially self-inflicted,” Lina Khatib, a research associate at the University of London and former head of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, said in the New York Times. “Had European countries sought serious solutions to political conflicts like the one in Syria, and dedicated enough time and resources to humanitarian assistance abroad, Europe would not be in this position today.”

Europe, Iceland, St. Louis, and the Pope Offer Help

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Germany is investing six billion euros ($6.7 billion) to cope with the migrant crisis, France has committed to receiving 24,000 migrants, and Britain has announced a plan to accommodate 20,000 Syrian migrants.

In addition to these actions by major European nations, one of the first countries to offer increased help came from Iceland, whose population is just over 300,000. After the government pledged to assist just fifty Syrians, author and professor Bryndis Bjorgvinsdottir asked Icelanders on Facebook to speak out if they wanted the government to do more. More than 12,000 people responded to her Facebook group, “Syria is calling,” to sign an open letter to their welfare minister, Eygló Harðar. “I think people have had enough of seeing news stories from the Mediterranean and refugee camps of dying people and they want something done now,” she said to Iceland’s RÚV television. Icelanders offered to house refugees and provide clothes, assist in job training, and give language lessons.

Demonstrating how strongly the plight of Syrian migrants have affected people all over, another grass roots offer to help has come from St. Louis. Greg Johnson, a Presbyterian pastor, said that St. Louis should welcome at least 60,000 migrants, citing the city’s “track record of welcoming Muslims into our city and trusting them with our communities.” Johnson pointed out that when St. Louis previously accepted 60,000 Bosnian refugees, the city hugely benefited. “Entire neighborhoods saw revitalization, new businesses were started, and the city’s decades-long decline in population slowed. Our region is better for their having joined us.”

Pope Francis has also called on every European parish, religious community, monastery, and sanctuary to take in one refugee family.

What Is the US Doing?

Despite a prescient call by senators earlier this year urging President Obama to allow at least 65,000 displaced Syrians to resettle in the US—a move which was derided by some at the time—there is only likely to be a slight increase in the quota of Syrian migrants, unless changes are made.

Senator Amy Klobuchar, who signed the letter urging Mr. Obama to accept more Syrian refugees, said in the New York Times: “We knew of the mounting problem for the humanitarian issues, the moral issues.” And in BuzzFeed she said: “Europe should clearly take the lead because they are close in proximity, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take part, and doesn’t mean some countries in the Mideast like Saudi Arabia shouldn’t take some refugees as well.”

Eric P. Schwartz, a former assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration, and now dean of the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, said presidential action is needed for any changes to come about. “The folks who lead our humanitarian work in the government are the best in the world, but you need the president of the United States and the secretary of state, but the president in particular, to speak out about our responsibilities here and to define the challenge,” he said in the New York Times. Increasing the number of Syrians granted asylum to 50,000 on an emergency basis would also send “an extremely powerful signal to Europe and to the world.”

UPDATE: 9/11/2015. President Obama announced plans yesterday for the United States to take in at least 10,000 displaced Syrians over the next fiscal year. This comes after mounting criticism that the US is not doing enough to assist the approximately four million displaced Syrians. Responding to this announcement in Buzzfeed, Paul O’Brien, Oxfam’s vice president for police and campaigns, said: "The White House’s pledge is a start but it just scratches the surface...The U.S. can and must do more to help ensure that thousands of Syrians fleeing violence have the safety and security they need."
 

The American Bazaar: "F1 visa students may be allowed to work in the US for 6 years after February 12, 2016"

A District of Columbia judge recently ruled that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must vacate a 2008 rule that granted F-1 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students Optional Practical Training (OPT) extensions for seventeen months beyond the normal twelve months of OPT. Meanwhile, in an unrelated move, as part of President Obama’s executive actions the DHS has proposed regulations that would potentially allow STEM students to stay in the US for a total of six years.

The ruling on the seventeen-month STEM extensions by US District Court Judge Ellen Huvelle was partially in favor of the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, who had pursed a case against F-1 STEM students to reduce their STEM extension to twelve months from seventeen, arguing that the STEM OPT extensions generated unfair competition by creating a cheaper category of workers. Judge Huvelle ruled that the DHS must vacate the rule since it did not provide the necessary public notice and comment.

Since invalidating the rule effective immediately would create a "major labor disruption” for technology-related industries as well as "substantial hardship" for thousands of international students, Judge Huvelle imposed a six-month stay until February 12, 2016, a move that should allow DHS to correct and implement the necessary public notice and comment.

In the end, this ruling may not have much impact because of the White House and DHS’s plans to expand and extend the OPT program for students in STEM fields. While the White House or DHS have not released further information about their plans, a letter from earlier this summer from Senator Charles Grassley, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, expressing concerns about the DHS plans, arguably reveals the proposed STEM changes.

Based on their briefing with Grassley, the DHS may be proposing regulations that would lengthen the OPT STEM extension period from seventeen to twenty-four months and allow students to take advantage of the STEM extension at two different times in their academic careers instead of only once, potentially “for a total of up to six years of postgraduation employment in student status[.]” STEM students could potentially be eligible for three years of OPT after undergraduate studies in a STEM field and three additional years after postgraduate studies in a STEM field.

Grassley, in his June letter to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, said that the proposed change to OPT STEM would permit “foreign graduates of non-STEM U.S. degree programs to receive the 24-month extension of the OPT period, even if the STEM degree upon which the extension is based is an earlier degree and not for the program from which the student is currently graduating (e.g. student has a bachelor’s in chemistry and is graduating from an M.B.A. program).”

"The proposed new regulations, while still being internally discussed, are irresponsible and dangerous considering the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report issued in March 2014 finding that the program was full of inefficiencies, susceptible to fraud, and that the department was not adequately overseeing it,” Grassley writes.

A spokesperson for Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement division said in a statement in Inside Higher Ed that it could not elaborate on its OPT plans. “ICE is in the midst of drafting proposed rules for notice and public comment regarding foreign students with degrees in STEM fields from U.S. universities. Due to rule-making requirements, we cannot discuss the content of that proposed rule at this time,” the statement said.

Extending the OPT period for STEM students would be a welcome move within the international student community, the technology and science industry which employs many STEM workers, and among immigration practitioners, as the extended time would allow more opportunity to file H-1B petitions when the cap has been reached. At this point, however, we can only wait and see what if any changes will be enacted.

UPDATE DECEMBER 3, 2015: The US government has received nearly 35,000 comments on its plan to extend the OPT for STEM students from twenty-nine months to thirty-six months. The comments period closed last month. As was true with the initial ones, the majority of comments received support extending the program, which is not surprising given that as of September this year over 34,000 students were in the United States on a STEM OPT extension, many of whom would be forced to leave if the US government doesn't continue to bring the program into compliance with the law.
 

Washington Post: "Cuba and U.S. quietly restore full diplomatic ties after 5 decades"

Yesterday marked the official restoration of diplomatic ties, after they were severed fifty-four years ago, between Cold War-foes Cuba and the United States. The historic Cuban Embassy in Washington D.C. (which is quite beautiful) held a small ceremony led by Cuba’s foreign minister Bruno Rodríguez to commemorate the event a few hours after the US State Department added Cuba’s flag to the line of flags for other US diplomatic partners.

The restoration of full diplomatic relations comes after two years of intense, and at times, secret negotiations that involved spies, Pope Francis, and yes, artificial insemination. In a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Rodríguez, Secretary of State John Kerry called it an "historic day; a day for removing barriers." Mr. Rodríguez, in his meetings with Mr. Kerry yesterday, "emphasized that the totally lifting of the blockade, the return of the illegally occupied territory of Guantanamo, as well as the full respect for the Cuban sovereignty and the compensation to our people for human and economic damages are crucial to be able to move towards the normalization of relations."

While some have criticized President Obama's actions regarding Cuba including Marco Rubio who said he would rollback all actions taken by the Obama administration if he were elected president, many others celebrated the restoration of diplomatic ties, the lifting of some travel restrictions and limits on remittances to Cuba, and the removal of Cuba from Washington’s list of state sponsors of terrorism earlier this year. Nonetheless there remain many issues for the two countries to resolve.

The issues, as Mr. Rodríguez stated, include disputes over Guantánamo Bay, the US naval facility used to detain terror suspects, and the ending of the trade embargo, which devastated the Cuban economy. While President Obama supports the lifting of the embargo and closing of the detention center in Guantánamo, both of these require action by the Republican-controlled Congress. As the Senate is expected to oppose the confirmation of any US ambassador to Cuba, President Obama will likely delay the nomination.

Although the US Embassy in Havana is open now, Secretary John Kerry will travel in August to the island and hold an official ceremony. As in Washington D.C. yesterday, there will presumably be a few shouts of “Viva Cuba” and “Viva Fidel.”

June Is Immigrant Heritage Month

Welcome.us, a non-profit organization dedicated to celebrating immigrant diversity in the United States, is celebrating June as Immigrant Heritage Month "to encourage every American to tell the story of how they first felt welcomed to the American experience." To that end, the organization is bringing together people and organizations including politicians and celebrities to tell "the stories of individuals that, together, comprise a uniquely American narrative."

With ordinary people from all over the US as well as celebrities, Welcome.us and their YouTube channel feature Americans sharing their immigrant heritage, including Dominican-American actress and Devious Maids' star Dania Ramirez in "An American Alien,” which profiles her Dominican family in New York City and asks the question, "Did you achieve your American dream?" In "Z for Zendaya," Disney superstar Zendaya Coleman discusses her German and African background. Welcome.us also invites people to share on social media photos of their family heirlooms, recipes, traditions, or family photos that celebrate and honor their immigrant heritage.

In his most recent weekly address, President Obama discussed Immigrant Heritage Month:

I think of growing up in Hawaii, a place enriched by people of different backgrounds – native Hawaiian, Filipino, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese and just about everything else.  Growing up in that vibrant mix helped shape who I am today.  And while my father was not an immigrant himself, my own life journey as an African-American – and the heritage shared by Michelle and our daughters, some of whose ancestors came here in chains – has made our family who we are.

President Obama used the address to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform and also encouraged viewers to share their own immigration stories at The New Americans Project, part of the White House Task Force on New Americans, a government-wide effort he established last year that is tasked with "better integrating immigrants and refugees into American communities in three key areas: civically, economically, and linguistically."

Many cities and venues around the country are celebrating the month with related events, including in Pittsburgh where the mayor hosted a naturalization ceremony at the City Council Chambers, in San Fransisco with an exhibit of international artists titled "The Art of Immigration," and in Boston with a Moth storytelling event titled "Roots." We've shared some of our immigration stories. What's yours?

DHS Extends Eligibility for Employment Authorization to Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses

US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) Director León Rodríguez announced today that as part of President Obama's executive actions back in November 2014, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is extending employment eligibility to H-4 visa holders of H-1B spouses who are seeking employment-based permanent resident status. Applications will start being accepted on May 26, 2015.

This action is "one of several initiatives underway to modernize, improve and clarify visa programs to grow the U.S. economy and create jobs." Director Rodríguez said that granting employment to these spouses will not only provide "more economic stability and better quality of life" to the families but also that it will help "U.S. businesses keep their highly skilled workers by increasing the chances these workers will choose to stay in this country during the transition from temporary workers to permanent residents."

To qualify, individuals must be H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants who: 

• Are the principal beneficiaries of an approved Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker; or 

• Have been granted H-1B status under sections 106(a) and (b) of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000 as amended by the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act. The Act permits H-1B nonimmigrants seeking lawful permanent residence to work and remain in the United States beyond the six-year limit on their H-1B status.

Eligible applicants must submit a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization along with supporting evidence and the required $380 fee to USCIS, beginning on May 26, 2015. H-4 applicants can begin work in the US upon approval of the application and receipt of the work card. 

As many as 179,600 individuals this year could be eligible for employment authorization under this new eligibility rule, USCIS estimates, and DHS expects that "this change will reduce the economic burdens and personal stresses H-1B nonimmigrants and their families may experience during the transition from nonimmigrant to lawful permanent resident status, and facilitate their integration into American society."

This announcement comes amid court challenges to President Obama's expansion of DACA as well as the possible impending shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (the mother agency of USCIS).

USCIS Will Not Begin Accepting Applications for Expanded DACA Today

US District Judge Andrew Hanen in Texas ruled late Monday night to temporarily block President Barack Obama's executive action on the expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program as well as the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program. Consequently contrary to their original plans US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) will not be accepting applications today for the expanded DACA program, and going forward until further notice for expanded DACA and DAPA. The judge ruled that Obama's executive action failed to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act, which "calls for the White House to afford a longer notification and comment period before taking action." The Department of Justice is planning to appeal this decision, and US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh C. Johnson issued a statement:

I strongly disagree with Judge Hanen’s decision to temporarily enjoin implementation of Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The Department of Justice will appeal that temporary injunction; in the meantime, we recognize we must comply with it...The Department of Justice, legal scholars, immigration experts and even other courts have said that our actions are well within our legal authority. Our actions will also benefit the economy and promote law enforcement. We fully expect to ultimately prevail in the courts, and we will be prepared to implement DAPA and expanded DACA once we do.

Secretary Johnson goes on to note that the court ruling does not affect the existing DACA program and that individuals may continue to apply for the initial or renewal DACA under the original guidelines established in 2012. We will continue to provide updates as we receive them.

USCIS to Begin Accepting Requests for Expanded DACA on February 18

Last November President Obama announced he was taking executive actions on immigration reform, after the House of Representatives failed to act on the immigration reform bill passed by the Senate in 2013. One of the president's initiatives involve expanding eligibility for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to applicants of any age who entered the US before the age of sixteen and who have lived in the US continuously since January 1, 2010, as well as extending the period of DACA and work authorization from two to three years.

US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has just announced it will begin accepting applications for this expanded DACA program on February 18, 2015, only weeks away, even as the Republican-controlled Congress heads toward a showdown with Obama over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, the mother agency of USCIS.

Who is eligible for the expanded DACA program?
Individuals of any age with no lawful immigration status who entered the US before the age of sixteen and who have lived in the US continuously since at least January 1, 2010. Applicants must also meet schooling requirements as well as not being convicted of certain crimes or posing a national security threat.

How is this different than before?
The first DACA program announced in 2012 requires that applicants have continuously resided in the US since June 15, 2007, and that they were under thirty-one years of age on June 15, 2012. Additionally the initial DACA was granted only for a period of two years.

How to file?
USCIS lists all the requirements including what documentation is required along with the necessary forms, fees, and where to send the application.

Is an attorney needed to file the case?
Matt Bray has an excellent post regarding this question.

When can the DACA case be filed under the new requirements?
On and after February 18, 2015! 

What authorization is received with DACA?
If the application is approved, individuals will not be placed into removal proceedings or removed from the US for three years unless their DACA is terminated. In addition, they will be granted employment authorization. Travel authorization (advance parole) may also be granted in certain cases.

USCIS cautions those applying for DACA to be especially wary of immigration scams. They've published a list of helpful tips for before and after filing to avoid scams and ensure that their case has been properly received and is processing correctly. Applicants for DACA cases (and in general for immigration matters) should be especially wary of anyone calling them about their immigration case and claiming to be from USCIS or the government.

Although DACA is limited in that it only defers removal and does not provide permanent lawful status, this DACA expansion is good news for many undocumented immigrants including one of America's most well-known and visible undocumented immigrants: Pulitzer Prize-winning Filipino journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, who summarized DACA: “'This is not amnesty…It’s only temporary. It doesn’t provide a Green Card. It doesn’t provide citizenship. It doesn’t provide healthcare. It doesn’t provide anything really, except free from deportation, a work permit, people can drive, people can travel hopefully, and again just not to live in fear[.]”

UPDATE: US District Judge Andrew Hanen in Texas ruled late Monday, February 16, 2015 to temporarily block President Barack Obama's executive action on the expanded DACA program as well as the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program. Consequently contrary to their original plans discussed in this post USCIS will not be accepting applications February 18 for the expanded DACA program, and going forward until further notice for expanded DACA and DAPA. We will provide more updates as we receive them.

United States to Resume Diplomatic Relations with Cuba After More than Fifty Years

The United States will restore diplomatic relations with Cuba, President Obama announced last week, ending he said "an outdated approach that for decades has failed to advance our interests, and instead we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries." The announcement was the result of secret eighteen-month negotiations between the two governments aided by Pope Francis that involved a prisoner swap as well as the release of imprisoned Cuban political dissidents and, separately on humanitarian grounds, American contractor Alan Gross. 

The next steps will involve re-establishing the US Embassy in Havana in the coming months and high-level diplomatic talks between the two governments under the leadership of Secretary of State John Kerry, who said that the move to restore relations (severed in January 1961) is the "best way to help bring freedom and opportunity to the Cuban people, and to promote America's national security interests in the Americas, including greater regional stability and economic opportunities for American businesses."

While the US trade embargo will need congressional action to be fully lifted, President Obama's actions will facilitate the expansion of travel to Cuba by US nationals under the general travel licenses (which, incidentally, is how Jay-Z and Beyoncé traveled to Cuba), ease travel for Americans for business purposes, facilitate authorized financial transactions between the US and Cuba as well as the use of American debit and credit cards in Cuba, and expand commercial sales and exports to and from the US.

Cuban President Raúl Castro praised the move but "told his nation that the change did not mean the end of communist rule in Cuba."

The Onion: "5 Million Illegal Immigrants To Realize Dreams Of Having Deportation Deferred"

"'After escaping the drug cartel violence of my village and fleeing to America, it was the thought of a life suspended in complete limbo that kept me going as I traveled through the grueling desert terrain for three days. To be tacitly allowed to live and work in this country that I love, all the while knowing that this protection could disappear in two years, or even two months—it’s made it all worth it.'"

- The Onion

SNL Explains Obama's Executive Action on Immigration Reform

For a recent cold open, Saturday Night Live explained in song how executive action works. Featuring a bill (Kenan Thompson), an executive order (Bobby Moynihan), and President Obama (Jay Pharaoh), in this clip (in lieu of our regular "Monday Quote") we learn from President Obama of the supposedly "even easier way to get things done around here."

A bill (Kenan Thompson) and an executive order (Bobby Moynihan) explain how government really works with a little help from President Obama (Jay Pharaoh).