URGENT NOTICE CONCERNING

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996

by Bernard P. Wolfsdorf
© 1996


Contents:

• Bars for Visa Overstays
• Summary Exclusion Provisions for Refugees
• Arbitrary Time Limits on Applications for Asylum
• New Income Requirements
• Court Oversight Stripping Provisions
• Elimination of Discretionary Relief from Deportation for Minor Criminal Sentences
• Conclusion

On September 30, 1996, President Clinton signed one of the most radical pieces of immigration legislation to ever pass both houses of Congress. The law is mean-spirited and short-sighted. It targets the most vulnerable in our society, without taking any thoughtful steps toward more effective enforcement of U.S. immigration law. The most extreme measures are:

Bars for Visa Overstays

• Anyone unlawfully present for 180 days, starting from April 1, 1997, will be subject to a 3-year bar from entry to the U.S.
• Anyone unlawfully present for a total of 12 months, starting from April 1, 1997, will be subject to a 10-year bar. These new 10-year and 3-year bars begin to run starting April 1, 1997.
• There are only limited exceptions including an extreme hardship waiver for spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

RESULT: Persons who have no lawful immigration status had until September 27, 1997 to obtain legal status. If they do not, they must depart the U.S. or be barred from becoming legal.

Summary Exclusion Provisions for Refugees

Any refugee who cannot pass a "credible fear" screening upon arrival in the U.S. will be immediately returned.

Arbitrary Time Limits on Applications for Asylum

Asylum requests must be submitted within one year of arrival unless there have been changed country conditions or "extraordinary circumstances".

Income Requirements

These requirements will penalize and separate working families who cannot meet an arbitrary income level of 125% of the poverty level in order to petition for their closest family members to immigrate to join them in the U.S. Poor families will be torn apart and spouses and children forced to live in separate countries.

Court Oversight Stripping Provisions

The power of the courts to hold the Immigration Service accountable has been eliminated. The only meaningful check on the Immigration Service, an agency with a history of abuse, has been removed.

Elimination of Long-Standing Discretionary Relief from Deportation for Minor Criminal Sentences

Permanent residents who have resided in the U.S. for seven years will have no relief if the government tries to deport them because of relatively minor criminal offenses. American family members will be forced to uproot or be separated. The message is "you get no second chance, you get deported" even for minor sentences. Those permanent residents who have convictions for moral turpitude crimes for which they could have received one year of imprisonment, will also be removed. It does not matter that the actual sentence is no imprisonment and a small fine. In addition, there is no relief for permanent residents who have convictions for aggravated felonies - which include such economic crimes as tax evasion where the amount owed to the U.S. government was $10,000 or such immigration crimes as encouraging one's own sibling to enter the United States in violation of the law.

Conclusion

If you are eligible to become a U.S. citizen, file now. If not, a minor brush with the law may permanently bar you from becoming a citizen and may result in arrest, imprisonment and deportation.

PLEASE CONTACT US
IF YOU THINK ANY OF THESE PROVISIONS APPLY TO YOU.

* * *

We invite you to contact Bernard Wolfsdorf, Michele Buchanan, Stephen Dewar, Michael Greenbaum, Avi Friedman, Rita Kushner, Tien-Li Loke Walsh, Clarice Liao, Frieda Wong or Naveen Rahman at (310) 573-4242.

Bernard P. Wolfsdorf is a State Bar of California Certified Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law. He currently serves on the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Liaison Committee to the U.S. Department of State. Michele A. Buchanan held the 1996-1997 Chair of the Southern California Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. 

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