Prosecutorial Discretion Archives – Benach Collopy, llp

A First Look at the Biden/Harris Immigration Bill

Posted by Ava Benach
January 20, 2021

Hours before he takes the oath of office, President-Elect Joe Biden released details of the immigration bill his administration will send to Congress. The fact sheet distributed by his office reveals a bold bill that provides a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented people in the US, with priority for Dreamers, TPS holders and immigrant farmworkers. The bill seeks to make more visas available and expand migration opportunities for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics graduates.

DACA is Back, Almost!

Posted by Ava Benach
April 25, 2018

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.

April 2018 Clients of Month Aldemar Segundo and Susan Matos

Posted by Ava Benach
April 2, 2018

We are thrilled with our April 2018 Clients of the Month, Aldemar Segundo and Susan Matos Segundo. Aldemar became a permanent resident in March 2018 and can live securely with his U.S. citizen wife, Susan, and their two children. Aldemar’s improbable journey is one of the most inspiring cases we have been a part of. When DACA was announced, Aldemar was like lots of other Central American immigrants without status in the U.S.

What is going on with DACA?

Posted by Ava Benach
July 13, 2017

The future of President Obama’s program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is the subject of intense speculation and even more significant anxiety. Worry over the fate of the program increased significantly this week after Secretary of Homeland Security General John Kelly told the Congressional Hispanic Caucus that it was not clear that DACA could survive a court challenge being threatened by ten states against the program.

Walls, DACA and Raids: What has happened in immigration since Trump’s inauguration?

Posted by Ava Benach
March 16, 2017

Back in November, we made some predictions about what might occur in a Trump presidency as it relates to immigration. Generally, we were very pessimistic and presumed that almost all areas of immigration would become more difficult and challenging for immigrants, families and communities. This has proven to be true, but not in all of the ways we anticipated. In some areas, such as refugees and admission policies, the administration has been as bad as expected.

Clients of the Month December 2016: Andres and Jazmine St. Claire

Posted by Ava Benach
January 6, 2017

Our December 2016 Client of the Month is another member of the “Dreamers out of Trump’s reach” club. Andres St. Claire and Jazmine St. Claire are clients of the month after Andres was granted residence seven years after marrying Jazmine Andres St. Claire is a Dreamer who got protection under DACA. But before that, he was in love with Jazmine St. Claire, with whom he shared an immigrant experience and a love of video games and dogs.

Clients of the Month July 2016- Jorge Martinez and Christopher Gallo

Posted by Ava Benach
July 1, 2016

We are thrilled to announce Jorge Martinez and Christopher Gallo as our July 2016 Clients of the Month. Jorge is a permanent resident who just returned from Honduras where he obtained his immigrant visa after being approved for an I-601A provisional waiver for hardship to his U.S. citizen husband, Chris. Jorge returned to Honduras after being gone for more than 20 years and was able to hug his mother again and reunite with his extended family.

What now for deferred action? After the Supreme Court decision on DAPA and expanded DACA in Texas v. US.

Posted by Ava Benach
June 27, 2016

“The judgement is affirmed by an equally divided court.” With one sentence, the Supreme Court refused to engage in the question of the President’s authority to extend deferred action to the parents of U.S. citizens (DAPA) and additional young people who entered the U.S. as children (expanded DACA). By affirming the judgement, the Court let the injunction against DAPA and expanded DACA stand, dashing the hopes of millions that there would be the ability to work legally in the U.S.

The DAPA and Expanded DACA Case Before the Supreme Court May Be Affected by Justice Scalia’s Passing

Posted by Ava Benach
February 15, 2016

The death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has created turmoil in Washington DC and on the Presidential campaign trail. Republicans are uniformly calling on the President to refrain from nominating anyone to fill the vacancy due to the upcoming Presidential election. Within hours of the news of the Justice’s death, Senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader and the man who controls the Senate’s agenda, stated that the “vacancy should not be filled until we have a new President.”

Muslim Immigrants to US Were Abused before Trump Started Name-Calling

Posted by Ava Benach
December 9, 2015

Let’s start here: Donald Trump is an abomination. From his slander of Mexicans as rapists to the violence he incites and tolerates at his rallies to his latest outrages of suggesting a database and a ban on admission of Muslims to the United States, there is no public figure more odious or contemptible than Donald Trump. And he is a danger. He incites people to violence, encourages hate and discrimination, and generally contributes to the dumbing down of our culture.