As the United States gets closer to approving and instituting major migration reform in America, millions of undocumented immigrants and their families wait in the shadows for news of a path to citizenship that will help to keep their families together.
The Current System
Under current regulations, immigration law and family law are often pitted against one another. This usually happens when a non-U.S. citizen parent who has the legal right to exercise parental control over a U.S. born child is recommended for deportation / removal from the country by migration officials, or when the person recommended for deportation / removal is a non-U.S. citizen spouse of a citizen.
Examples of how much this affects the family unit are abound, with some undocumented parents reporting that their status has left them living in fear of losing the businesses that they started to support their families and in even of taking their children to the hospital for fear of having their immigration status revealed.
In the past, the U.S. government has unflinchingly deported adults who have been in the country since they were children – brought to the country illegally by their parents – and even children who would otherwise qualify to remain in the country under the DREAM Act.
Path to Citizenship Awaiting Approval
If Congress is able to compromise long enough to agree on an migration reform bill, then things are likely going to get much better for many individuals currently living in the United States without the necessary documentation. Provisions to the proposed immigration reform bill being drafted by Congress are expected to grant migration judges the authority to stop deportation proceedings if the removal of the undocumented person in question would result in a hardship to a U.S. citizen, whether the citizen be the parent, child, or spouse of the undocumented person.
The bill is also expected to grant authority to the Secretary of Homeland Security to allow some of the individuals who have already been deported before the bill could pass to apply for provisional immigrant status and rejoin their loved ones in the United States.
When Family Unity is Threatened
Because of the sensitive nature of family law and the fact that migration law is so complex and case specific, it is always in the best interests of immigrants living in the United States to seek the advice of experienced immigration legal counsel when an immigration issue appears as if it will threaten the unity of a family.
The attorney will be able to review the immigration issue at hand and determine whether or not it is something that could risk breaking the family apart. If so, then the attorney can immediately get started with representing the immigrant to ensure as fair and just an immigration proceeding as possible. Through each step of the immigration process, the attorney will advise the immigrant on his or her rights and best legal options in the matter.
In order to make sure they get the most up to date and accurate information regarding migration laws in general, immigrants in the United States are encouraged to seek the advice of experienced immigration attorneys, and not to rely on what they hear on the news or read online. Depending on inaccurate information can have very negative effects on an immigrant’s status in the United States.
