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Senate Immigration Bill Introduced - Families Should Proceed Cautiously
Issued by the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, www.michiganimmigrant.org, revised 4/16/2013.
Para leer esta información en español, haga clic aquí.
On Tuesday, April 16, 2013, a group of senators called the “Gang of 8” introduced a bill about immigration reform. A bill is not a law. It’s just a proposal for a law. It is important to keep in mind that this is the beginning of the process and that there is no new law and nothing new to apply for at this time! There is no new legalization law or program yet. There might not ever be one. Even if this proposal is ultimately approved, the process of approval will take many weeks or months:
· The bill (proposal) must be reviewed by a committee of senators who will take a vote on whether or not it should move forward. If it does,
· The bill must receive a vote by the whole Senate to approve the bill.
· The bill or a bill like it will go to the House of Representatives, where it will go through the same process.
· Any differences between a bill approved by the Senate and a bill approved by the House will have to be resolved.
· At many points in this process, major changes can be made.
· The President must sign it.
We don’t know who might benefit from a new law. No one can know that right now, because no one knows exactly what a new law will say or if a new law will ever pass. The best things you can do to prepare for future changes in the law are to:
· make sure everyone in your family has a valid passport from your home country that is valid for more than one year.
· save all school, employment, tax, financial and medical records and keep copies in a safe place. U.S. citizen children should get U.S. passports.
Beware of anyone charging a high fee (several hundred or thousands of dollars) right now. It’s reasonable for attorneys to charge consultation fees, but we don’t recommend paying any fees to anyone who is promising future services that can only be provided if there is a future change in the law. Know that in the U.S. only licensed attorneys and certain nonprofit organization staff can give you advice about the immigration law. Notaries public are not the same as attorneys in the U.S.
How can I get real answers to my questions?
Contact one of the nonprofits authorized to provide assistance with immigration law listed in MIRC's Immigrant Service Provider Reference Guide at www.michiganimmigrant.org/resources or contact MIRC at (269) 492-7196 for information and referral services.
What's going on with legalization and driver's licenses in Michigan?
To read this information in Arabic, please click here.
Para leer esta información en español, haga clic aquí.
February 22, 2013
Recently, there has been a lot of conversation about possible changes in immigration and driver’s license laws. There also have been some actual changes that affect small groups of people. Unfortunately, some unclear reports in the media and some dishonest people have created confusion in our communities.
• There is no new legalization program. President Obama and members of Congress have been talking a lot about ideas for change, but there are no new laws.
• President Obama announced a temporary program in June 2012 called “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” or “DACA.” Some people call it the “DREAM Act” but that isn’t correct because the “DREAM Act” did not become law. DACA is just a temporary program. It provides temporary work authorization and temporary legal presence for people who came to the U.S. before their 16th birthdays and meet other requirements.
• The State of Michigan began accepting driver’s license applications on February 19, 2013, from people who have applied to Immigration for DACA and been approved. These people have valid “work permits.” The State of Michigan had previously said it would not give driver’s licenses to people with DACA. The rules about driver’s licenses in Michigan did not change for anyone else. Everyone in Michigan still has to prove that they are “legally present” to get a driver’s license here. The only change is that Michigan is now considering people with DACA to be “legally present” because they actually are.
• In January, there was a small change in the way that some people who are applying for status through their U.S. citizen family members can have their cases processed. This change starts on March 4, 2013, and it means that some people will have to spend less time outside of the U.S. waiting for a decision on a “hardship waiver” application. We urge everyone who is applying for family members to get high-quality legal advice about the process. Also, everyone should know that when adult U.S. citizens apply for their undocumented parents, those parents are usually not eligible to apply for these kinds of waivers based on hardship to their adult U.S. citizen children. Parents may have to spend 10 years outside of the U.S. if they leave the country for visa processing.
• The best thing you can do to prepare for future changes in the law is to make sure everyone in your family has a valid passport from your home country that is valid for more than one year. You should also save all school and employment records and keep copies in a safe place. U.S. citizen children should get U.S. passports. It’s reasonable for attorneys to charge consultation fees, but we don’t recommend paying any fees to anyone who is promising future services that can only be provided if there is a change in the law.
How can I get real answers to my questions?
Contact one of the nonprofits authorized to provide assistance with immigration law listed in our Immigrant Service Provider Reference Guide linked here or contact us at (269) 492-7196 for information and referral services.
The Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC) is a resource center for advocates seeking equal justice for Michigan's immigrants. MIRC works to build a thriving Michigan where immigrant communities are fully integrated and respected.
In order to realize this mission the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center:
- Builds capacity through education and training about immigration law and the complex relationship between immigration status and immigrants' rights in areas including access to public benefits, family law and child welfare, civil rights, and worker's rights.
- Answers questions and provides technical support to attorneys and advocates serving low-income immigrants.
- Recruits, trains, and mentors volunteer pro bono attorneys.
- Leads systematic advocacy to advance the rights of low-income immigrants and their families.
- Tracks and analyzes legislative and legal developments related to immigration law and immigrants' rights.
- Builds coalition among immigrant advocacy and other social justice and civil rights organizations statewide.
- Represents individual clients in priority areas including naturalization and citizenship matters and the rights of survivors of domestic violence, refugees, and unaccompanied minors.
- Promotes respect and understanding among immigrants and receiving communities through our Welcoming Michigan initiative.
- Represents clients in impact cases involving violations of civil rights by law enforcement or government entities, access to public benefits for immigrants and children of immigrants, the unauthorized practice of immigration law, and any other civil legal issue relating to immigration status.
The work of the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center is made possible by grants from the Michigan State Bar Foundation, the Arcus Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.