Hassan Ahmad Profile picture
Jan 25, 2018 18 tweets 4 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
"Why don't they just come legally?"

A HYPOTHETICAL CASE STUDY

35 year old Dreamer, #DACA expiring Mar 2018. Came to US with parents at age 4. No criminal record. Never left US.
Goes to see an immigration lawyer his family's been working with for years.

Privileged, because most cannot afford counsel. Though they're "lawbreakers," the government doesn't provide them lawyers.

Let's figure out how to help our Dreamer!
"Leave and come back legally."

Leaving will trigger a 10 year bar to reentry. A waiver (forgiveness) exists, but our Dreamer doesn't qualify. He has no kids or spouse who are US citizens or green card holders. An uncle is, but that doesn't help.
"Afraid to go back? File for asylum!"

General fear of return is insufficient to win asylum. It must be on very particular grounds. Despite being federal, asylum law doesn't operate the same in all states. Failure to win asylum results in being placed in removal proceedings.
And that's if Dreamer had no prior contact with ICE.

"Just wait for the law to change."

Probably the best advice so far; "best" being relative. In the meantime, can't go to school, work legally, or drive. The #DreamAct has failed for 17 years and counting.
"Get married!"

And set down deeper roots into a country refusing to let him stay?

Even if he did, he still needs to win a waiver and return home to reenter. That waiver wasn't allowed to be filed inside the US until 2013.

And still need to show hardship to USC spouse.
"Don't you have TPS?"

Only some Dreamers do; depends on their country. But this is being taken away by the administration, determined to leave #dedocumented as many immigrants as possible.
"Go talk to immigration."

Or, serve yourself up to ICE. Not a good idea. They're not there to help. You're on your own, buddy. No lawyer neither.
"Ever been a crime victim? Maybe you can get a U Visa."

No, thank God. So no visa for me?

Nope.

Wait...I remember one time my work permit and valid SSN were stolen. I spent months fixing it. Does that count?

No. Not a qualifying crime. Sorry.
"Get your employer to sponsor you."

Can't do it with more than 6 months of unlawful presence. Can't leave and come back because of 10 year bar. Employer has to test labor market first and give job to qualified US workers first.
"I'm from El Salvador. I've saved up $120k. Can't I invest and create a business that'll hire US workers?"

No. El Salvador isn't on the treaty investor country list.

"I'm from Honduras. Can I?"

No. Honduras is on the list but unlawful presence prevents you from getting a visa.
"What about the 10 years law?"

Hah. No such thing. Pleas don't listen to rumors on the street. Or what you read on the Internet. There is no law that prevents you from deportation if you've been here for more than 10 years.

It's never existed.
"What if I serve in the military?"

There was a program called MAVNI that allowed getting citizenship for certain noncitizens with certain skills. But It expired in 2016. The current administration has failed to renew it. So you can't serve.
"Can't I change status to a student visa?"

No. Unlawful presence requires you to leave. And once you do, you trigger the 10 year bar to reentry. You can't switch to ANY other status, actually. All for the same reason.
"Good news! I found out my grandpa became a US citizen and filed for all of us back in May 2001! I'm good now, right?"

No. Unlawful presence makes it impossible even though you have an approved petition. If it was filed before 4.30.01 you might have been ok. But May is too late.
"Ok my brother was born here. He can file for me, right?"

Yeah, but it won't lead to a green card. You still have to leave And when you do, you trigger the 10 year bar. You can't get a green card inside the US. Besides, sibling petitions take 13+ years to become current.
I could go on and on. Immigration lawyers reading this will identify with a lot.

Remember: This isn't your granddaddy's immigration system. It is usually impossible to comply with. It is full of legal pitfalls. One mistake and boom! You're in immigration court fighting to stay.
So before you judge 800K Dreamers, or the rest of the undocumented population, ask yourself: "Were they given a fair chance to fix their status?"

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More from @HMAesq

Oct 4, 2018
@FAIRImmigration, founded by Dr. John Tanton, is a mouthpiece of white nationalist rhetoric. But it's more than that: it injects its foul ideology into actual policy.

One (latest) example: Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. Read what a federal judge found:

#SaveTPS
On p29 of the decision, the Court gives yet another example of Acting Secy Elaine Duke, who is supposed to make a dispassionate assessment of conditions on the ground in determining TPS eligibility, said "this conclusion [to end TPS] is the result of an America first view..."
Curious, because America was founded on ideals of welcoming the forcibly displaced. I'm not sure what "American first" has to do with terminating TPS.

If the White House is influencing the decision, we have a problem, because the White House has made A LOT of racist statements.
Read 13 tweets
Sep 28, 2018
Feeling drained after the #KavanaughHearings? I've been thinking about why. Objectively, there are far worse injustices going on even as Kavanaugh spoke.

Sure, there's the out of sight out of mind factor. Most injustice goes unreported; yesterday's hearing was not that.
But there was something distinctive about the hearing. It was a rare exposure of several different vectors of underreported injustice, concentrated into one episode.
We hear stories of sexual assault all the time. Or oppression. Abuser protection. Entitlement. Privilege. Character assassination. Lip service to the oppressed. Trauma. Legalized discrimination.

Rarely do we get to see it all in one day, before hundreds of millions of people
Read 10 tweets
Sep 25, 2018
This administration continues to target aspiring American communities, one by one. DACA revocation, TPS de-designation, changing asylum laws, the Muslim Ban...

What about Indians?... qz.com/india/1400398/…
Once again, the administration regurgitates rhetoric spewed by nativists, and with H-4 work permit revocation, they get an added "bonus" - getting to undo something Obama put in place. Yes, this is what they base their policies on.
But I also wanted to say something about the new public charge rule that greatly expands ineligibility grounds for green cards, which will also play into this attack on the Indian-American community.

This is an attempt to backdoor the RAISE Act into law.
Read 6 tweets
Sep 24, 2018
Well this is curious. Apparently @FAIRImmigration believes I am a paid operative of "state-owned propaganda outlet" @ajplus to meddle in 2018 midterm elections.

Why? For this video I did calling FAIR out as driven by white nationalism:

I'm paid? News to my wallet; I thought I was just doing a public service.

Here's FAIR's press release:

prnewswire.com/news-releases/…
They accuse me of "spreading malicious disinformation in what is a clear attempt to influence the upcoming midterm election." I'm flattered they think so highly of me.

Entirely different, of course, from FAIR's statements influencing lawmakers here:

fairus.org/press-releases…
Read 11 tweets
Sep 24, 2018
There already is a wall, folks.

More effective than any physical barrier on the southern border. Keeps people out before they can even begin their journey.

You can't fly over it or tunnel underneath it. You can't sneak around it, either. And it's much, much harder to tear down.
It's the combined bureaucracy of several different agencies that keeps people out. Physical barriers are a small slice of the pie of exclusion.

But with due process, there is sometimes a way through. Perfectly legal, not unlike carving out a nice little door for yourself.
Today, a green card for our North African client was approved after a 4 year delay. He had been apart from his US citizen wife since 2013, and even though they followed the law to the T, repeatedly told they just needed "one more thing," the visa remained stuck.
Read 6 tweets
Sep 22, 2018
It's Saturday, but there's no day off of this administration's oppression of aspiring Americans... especially the poor.

Most immigrants have always had to prove they're not a public charge: it's been the law for over 100 years.
But the administration now wants to greatly expand what a public charge is...meaning the types of public funds an aspiring American can lawfully use.

And also be able to deny green cards based on an officer's belief of an immigrant's likelihood at becoming a public charge.
I gave this example in a piece I wrote for @qz:
Read 11 tweets

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