Ava Benach is an immigration lawyer in D.C. who was called by a prominent restaurant group to represent one of their workers, she tells DCist. She says she is not allowed to name the restaurant group or the man who was arrested, who worked for 15 years as a chef at a D.C. restaurant owned by the group. “Assuming my client’s information is correct, and I don’t have any reason to doubt this … ICE officers were just sort of roaming the hall of a potentially target-rich environment,” she says.
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.
Last week, we discussed what might happen early on in a Trump presidency. It was not our goal to sound alarmist, but early indications are that Trump is not backing down on his awful immigration ideas. His elevation of restrictionist Kris Kobach, the architect of so many terrible anti-immigrant laws and initiatives, demonstrates that Trump intends to keep his campaign promises on immigration. Based upon our assessment of what is likely to come, here are some practical tips that you can follow to prepare for the Trump administration, which takes office on January 20, 2017.
The shock over the results of Tuesday’s election of Donald Trump has not yet worn off. After two days of triage in hearing from scared clients and friends, we are now forced to confront what will lie ahead for immigration policy in a new administration. Before we go ahead though, it is important to point out a couple of things. First, our take here is speculative- Donald Trump has never voted for anything as a legislator or taken action as a government official.
For September 2015, we are proud to present Aura Carrera of Heber City, Utah as our client of the month. Her green card arrived last month and she is heading home to Guatemala for the first time in over twenty years, a resident returning to visit family after nearly a quarter century.
Aura’s case was a fight from the beginning. When she came to Ava Benach, Aura had a removal order from an immigration judge in Salt Lake City, Utah and a determination for the U.S.
Much of the world rejoiced yesterday upon seeing the photos of Caitlyn Jenner’s exquisite transformation on the cover of the June issue of Vanity Fair. Much of the commentary I saw focused not so much on her physical appearance, but how she looked at peace and contented to be herself. As an immigration lawyer who has represented many trans asylum seekers, I know and have seen that look.
In December, the U.S. Senate confirmed Sarah Saldaña to be the first Hispanic woman to lead Immigration & Customs Enforcement. It was an exciting moment in immigration politics. Political paralysis had doomed immigration reform by Congress. The Morton era at ICE had produced record levels of deportation. Young undocumented immigrants forced the President to acknowledge them and enact DACA, which proved wildly successful. In response to the failure of Congress to enact reform, the President announced his executive actions to shield many millions from the threat of removal.
Ava Benach is an immigration lawyer in D.C. who was called by a prominent restaurant group to represent one of their workers, she tells DCist. She says she is not allowed to name the restaurant group or the man who was arrested, who worked for 15 years as a chef at a D.C. restaurant owned by the group. “Assuming my client’s information is correct, and I don’t have any reason to doubt this … ICE officers were just sort of roaming the hall of a potentially target-rich environment,” she says. 
