Ware Immigration Blog

Undocumented immigrants who are living in Louisiana have to deal with a myriad of fears everyday. However, not all of these immigrants are individuals who crossed the border without the proper documentation. In the United States, individuals overstaying their visas far outpaces other forms of undocumented immigration. People in this situation might feel invisible and without any options for making the United States their legal home, but some may have more options than they realize.

Immigrants who enter the country on visas usually have the best of intentions. Many of these individuals come on visas for work or as students, while others arrive with tourist visas. These visas generally come with an expiration date, but there are not really any systems in place that make sure immigrants leave once their time is up.

Many of the lawful permanent residents living in Louisiana hope to one day become naturalized citizens. These individuals probably already understand that they will have to go through an interview for the application process, but some people might not be as prepared as they think. Permanent residents living in another state say they were questioned about their line of work, which, despite being legal in their state, might not be considered okay under U.S. immigration law.

A man who has been a permanent resident of the United States for more than two years recently spoke out about how he was denied citizenship. Medical marijuana is legal in the state he lives in, and he works at a dispensary. His position at the dispensary was brought up during his citizenship interview in the fall of 2018. Since, even for medicinal uses, marijuana is not legal under federal law, he was denied citizenship.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program provides important protections for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children. However, these protections only extend so far, which can be concerning for some immigrants living in Louisiana. These concerns might be amplified by the recent situation involving a flight attendant who was accused of violating U.S. immigration law.

The 28-year-old flight attendant was enrolled in the DACA program while working for Mesa Airlines. In Feb. 2019, the woman was scheduled to work on a flight to Mexico. She spoke with her employer about her concerns regarding flying to another country under her current immigration status. Her employer assured her the flight would not be an issue, and so she worked accordingly.

Seeking asylum in the United States may be the only option for those who fear returning to their home country. Unfortunately, U.S. immigration law does not always make it easy for asylum-seekers to demonstrate credible fears. A recent ruling by a federal court could make it easier for those who hope to make Louisiana their home but were initially denied asylum to seek an appeal.

In 1996, Congress passed a law that severely limited asylum-seekers access to the American court system. This made it difficult -- if not impossible -- for people to challenge the decisions made by immigration judges and asylum officers. A recent ruling from a U.S. Court of Appeals states that the limitations of the 1996 law are actually unconstitutional. This means that it will be much more difficult for the government to enforce quick deportations for those who fail their initial asylum screenings at the border.