A Matter of Perspective
Is it a half loaf? Is it a permanent underclass? Or is there a way forward buried under all the rhetoric? Last year the Senate accomplished what most thought an insurmountable task – drafting and passing a comprehensive immigration reform bill that tackles...
Representative Goodlatte and Immigration Reform
In an interview with Telemundo’s Jose Diaz Balart that will air this weekend, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) discussed prospects for immigration reform. What he reportedly said made me cautiously hopeful. But it also showed me that we all...
Hitting the Pause Button
With prospects for immigration reform continually waxing and waning almost weekly, it is time to take decisive action to ease the pain of millions waiting for our leaders to pass immigration reform. While Congress continues to debate internally whether and how it...
This Time Next Year
It’s holiday season again. For me, no matter what mood I’m in, I find it hard not to smile a bit more this time of year—at Santa collecting donations, or a child’s face lighting up at the taste of a candy cane, or even at the often sappy holiday music that I’m unable...
Place the Agricultural Worker Provisions of SB 744 at the Head of the Table of Immigration Reform
This past summer the city of Fresno, California erected a monument to commemorate a tragic event: the deaths of twenty nine migrant farmworkers and three border patrol agents in the crash of a US government deportation plane in 1948. This event was etched into the...
Hungry for Reform
As I write this, I am enjoying a mug of hot chocolate. It is the first thing I have consumed other than water in over 24 hours. And it is – hands down – the best mug of hot chocolate I’ve ever had. I was so hungry. I can’t remember the last time I was hungry and...
Remembering Nelson Mandela and Working Toward a Better World
Nelson Mandela will undoubtedly be remembered for many things — bringing an end to the policy of racial hatred, violence and oppression called apartheid, becoming the first black president of South Africa, relinquishing the presidency when he could have easily won...
Military Mixed Messages
A couple of weeks ago we heard from USCIS that adjudicators would be encouraged to use “Parole in Place” for many close relatives of active duty, reservists, and veterans in our nation’s armed services. It seemed like a no-brainer to many since these brave men and...
Shining a Light
Chanukah began last week. A friend of mine shared his Chanukah wish with me: “Wishing the entire House of Israel Chag Hanukah Samach! May the lights of Chanukah shine thru the darkness of the world and make the world a better place.” Indeed! Chanukah, also known as...
Believing and Being an Immigration Lawyer
Belief is a powerful, motivating force. A force that can literally compel action, both for good or evil. For me, knowledge of and belief in a power greater than myself motivates virtually all that I do. I believe that we have a responsibility as human beings to be...
