Claudia Patricia Gomez Gonzalez and Roxsana Hernandez were killed by U.S. immigration authorities last month

Claudia Patricia Gomez Gonzalez and Roxsana Hernandez were killed by U.S. immigration authorities last month On May 4, 1970, U.S. National Guardsmen shot and killed four people protesting the Vietnam War.  The massacre, known as the Kent State shootings, topped a tumultuous decade that spurred a lot of violence against those making then-controversial claims to civil rights.  In the aftermath of the shooting, many Americans blamed the protesting students and cited violations of law allegedly committed by the protestors.  What was not in dispute was that four young people lost their lives that day at the hand of troops acting under the flag of the United States.

DACA is Back, Almost!

DACA is Back, Almost! DACA lives!  Maybe?  Yesterday, U.S. District Judge John Bates ruled that the Department of Justice’s termination of the DACA program rested on a lack of legal reasoning and was unlawful.  Judge Bates was the third federal judge to rule that the administration’s termination of DACA was unlawful.  However, Judge Bates went even further than the other courts and Judge ordered not only that the DACA program must stay in place, but that the government must accept NEW applications.

Client of the Month December 2017- Angie Salguero

Client of the Month December 2017- Angie Salguero This month, we are pleased to honor Angie Salguero as our Client of the Month. Angie, a transgender woman from El Salvador, won her case for asylum last month in front of the immigration judge in Baltimore, MD. Angie’s story of violence and persecution from a very young age included physical abuse by the police and gangs, the loss of family, a dangerous trip to the United States, and stay in immigration detention. 

DACA: Some Venting and Some Solutions

DACA: Some Venting and Some Solutions Of all the stupid, dirty, slimy, no-good, treasonous, villainous, putrid, double-crossing treachery, low life, vengeful, mean-spirited, spiteful, nasty, pin-headed, pathetic, weak, ugly, traitorous, short-sighted, weak-kneed, unbecoming, dumb, awful, smelly, vile, cruel, vicious, unjustifiable, illogical, unfriendly, basic, ungrateful, pig-nosed, trashy, small-minded, ham-handed, mercenary, ruinous, bad, fallacious, godawful, crummy, abominable, bad trip, lame, poor, slipshod, cruddy, wicked, corrupt, mean, discouraging, unpleasant, sulfurous, harsh, rotten, scandalous and just plain uncool things that Donald Trump has done, his elimination of DACA, after promising to treat the Dreamers with “great heart,” has to be the worst, the lowest, the meanest, the weakest and the dumbest thing his administration has done. 

We’re Moving! But we are Making Two Stops!

We're Moving!  But we are Making Two Stops! Boxes are full and stacked.  Art is off the walls.  Copies of the Immigration & Nationality Act from 2012 have been donated (although it is not like Congress has made many changes to the Act).  Several hours of discussions with telephone providers, IT specialists, movers, and real estate professionals have all led up to this moment: we are moving out of 1333 H Street, NW as of August 30, 2017

Client of the Month May 2017- Meher D’Mello

Client of the Month May 2017- Meher D'Mello I have been waiting to write this one for decades.  Meher is one of my favorite people and on May 18, 2017, she will take the oath of United States citizenship in her hometown of New York, NY.  It was a 16 year journey that Meher and I began in our twenties.  We have moved across jobs, law firms, cities, and countries together.  Meher and I both overcame challenges to find enduring peace at this point in our lives. 

April 2017 Clients of the Month- Angela and Omar Totti Ramirez

April 2017 Clients of the Month- Angela and Omar Totti Ramirez Angela and Omar Totti Ramirez are our clients of the month for April 2017.  Omar, a Bolivian citizen, recently received his residence based upon his marriage to Angela, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Bolivia. We thought we had seen it all before we handled this case.  It started off as a simple marriage-based application for residence, the type we have done thousands of times.  Angela had been married before. 

Clients of the Month February 2017- Karla and Anthony Duran

Clients of the Month February 2017- Karla and Anthony Duran During these difficult times for our country, when the Trump Administration has suspended the refugee resettlement program and attempted to paint all refugees as terrorists and security threats, Benach Collopy has continued the fight for human rights, including the right to seek asylum and protection from persecution. We are pleased to introduce our Clients of the Month for February 2017, Karla Duran and her six-year-old son Anthony. 

Client of the Month: January 2017 Danieca Bugarin

Client of the Month: January 2017 Danieca Bugarin Our January 2017 Client of the Month is part of our ongoing series of: “Dreamers that Trump can’t touch!”  Danieca Bugarin landed in San Francisco, CA on December 30, 2016, presented her immigrant visa, and was admitted to the U.S. as a permanent resident.  Her admission to the U.S. as a permanent resident looked so improbable for the past two years because Danieca was snake-bit when it came to immigration. 

I-601A Provisional Waiver Expansion Announced

The proposed expansion of the I-601A provisional waiver of inadmissibility due to unlawful presence has finally become a reality.  The President announced the expansion of the waiver as part of his November 2014 suite of executive actions designed to ameliorate the harsh results of strict enforcement of U.S. immigration laws. Of course, the heart of those reforms was deferred action for the parents of U.S. citizens, which remains delayed by an injunction imposed by a Texas judge which the Supreme Court punted on.