US IMMIGRATION
New Visa Opportunities and Hope for the Undocumented Irish in the USA Immigration law and policy have always been politically contested in the United States, but we have never seen more attacks on immigration than we’ve witnessed over the past four years.
By Fiona McEntee, Managing Attorney of McEntee Law Group, a full-service immigration law firm based in Chicago with a satellite office in Dublin. Fiona is also the Chair of the Media & Advocacy Committee for AILA, the national bar association of immigration lawyers with over 15,000 members. 08
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Under the Trump administration’s tenure, the USCIS - the agency tasked with handling citizenship and visa applications - removed reference to the U.S. being a "nation of immigrants" from its mission statement and instead replaced it with language about "protecting Americans.” For many, for me, this crystallizes how the Trump administration has relentlessly changed the government's approach to immigration.
agenda on immigration, amongst other things. The Biden/Harris immigration platform has confirmed its plan to reverse many restrictions on immigration put in place during the Trump administration; provide a roadmap to citizenship for undocumented immigrants; fully restore DACA; ensure a fair process for asylum seekers; keep immigrant families together; and, modernize the business/employment immigration system.
It’s also worth noting that no areas of immigration – business, family, student, humanitarian – have escaped the wrath of this administration. Even before all the pandemic-related bans (#banzilla), we had seen drastic reduction in approvals, and a dramatic increase in scrutiny and denials, across the board.
I am also hopeful that they will take into consideration many of the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s comprehensive recommendations on swift immigration reform. AILA is the national bar association of immigration lawyers with over 15,000 members and I currently serve as the Chair of the Media and Advocacy Committee for the organization. Our policy recommendations were developed in consultation with AILA’s national policy committees and our network of volunteer lawyers.
But thankfully, a new day is here! I was honored to participate in some events for the Biden campaign and I’m delighted to officially congratulate President Biden and Vice President Harris. I’m really looking forward to seeing their administration advance their stated
AILA’s key recommendations for the Biden/Harris administration include: n Issue a presidential proclamation that sets a new vision for America as a welcoming nation and renounces anti-immigrant policies.
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