On March 19, 2019, the United States Senate confirmed Kevin McAleenan as the new Commissioner of the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) by a vote of 77-19. McAleenan had been serving as Acting Commissioner of the CBP since President Donald Trump took office on January 20, 2017. President Trump nominated McAleenan to become the permanent Commissioner of the CBP on March 30, 2017.
On March 18, 2018, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that later in March 2018 E-Verify will transfer all of its case data to a new interface. Accordingly, prior to the transfer “all open cases much reach a final case result and be closed.” In this post, we discuss what the move means and include resources with relevant E-Verify guidance.
On February 1, 2018, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reminded employers enrolled in E-Verify that they may apply to post the trademarked E-Verify logo on their website and printed materials.
On March 15, 2018, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated the design of its website homepage. The USCIS made the changes to the USCIS website homepage based on user-feedback, search queries, and by talking to applicants in person and at two USCIS field offices.
Beginning on September 29, 2017, the U.S. Embassy in Havana began operating under ordered departure status. Under this policy, non-essential staff at the U.S. Embassy in Havana was removed, leaving only critical personnel necessary to continue the essential functions of the Embassy. On March 4, 2018, the U.S. Embassy in Havana reached the maximum allowable days in ordered departure status, thus requiring the DOS to make a decision on how to proceed. Going forward, the U.S. Embassy in Havana will “continue to operate with the minimum personnel necessary to perform core diplomatic and consular functions, similar to the level of emergency staffing maintained during ordered departure.”
On February 22, 2018, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a press release titled “USCIS Efforts Lead to Sentencing in Florida Marriage Fraud Ring.”. The post details how the USCIS assisted in an investigation into a marriage fraud ring operating out of Brevard County, Florida, that led to three convictions in Federal court. In this post, we will examine the details of the investigation and criminal proceedings.
On March 13, 2018, President Donald Trump removed Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State. In an announcement on Twitter, President Trump stated that he will nominate Mike Pompeo, who has been serving as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), as the 70th U.S. Secretary of State. In explaining his decision, President Trump stated that he and former Secretary Tillerson “disagreed on things, like the Iran deal.”
On February 27, 2018, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) issued Amicus Invitation No. 18-02-27, titled “Conviction for Possession of a Controlled Substance in Florida.” The Amicus Invitation invites members of the public to file amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs in response to three issues presented by the Board. The deadline for responding is March 29, 2018. In this post, we will briefly examine the questions.
On September 5, 2017, then-acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke published a memorandum providing for the draw-down of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Under the memorandum, DACA was to end on March 5, 2018, while allowing for those who had DACA benefits at that time to maintain DACA until their benefits expired. However, the March 5 deadline has been rendered effectively meaningless for the time being due to two separate District Court preliminary injunctions against the DACA rescission. We will examine the current state of DACA while providing links to our more comprehensive article on the issue.
On February 23, 2018, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) announced the opening of the Louisville Immigration Court. The Louisville Immigration Court will open in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 2, 2018.
