Executive Action

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Announcement

 

DACA Rescission Table

 

On September 5, 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced an end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) and initiated a phase-out of the program over the next six months.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in a memorandum, stated that it would provide a limited window in which it will process certain requests for DACA and associated applications meeting certain requirements.

The Department of Homeland Security and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS),

• Will process–on an individual, case-by-case basis–properly filed pending DACA initial requests and associated applications for Employment Authorization Documents that have been accepted by the Department as of September 5th;

• Will reject all DACA initial requests and associated applications for Employment Authorization Documents filed after September 5th;

• Will accept and process–on an individual, case by case basis–properly filed pending DACA renewal requests and associated applications for Employment Authorization Documents from current DACA holders that have been accepted by the Department as of September 5th, and from current DACA holders whose benefits will expire between September 5, 2017 and March 5, 2018 that have been accepted by USCIS as of October 5, 2017;

• Will reject all DACA renewal requests and associated applications for Employment Authorization Documents filed outside of the parameters specified above;

• Will not terminate the grants of previously issued deferred action or revoke Employment Authorization Documents solely based on the directives in this memorandum for the remaining duration of their validity periods;

• Will not approve any new Form I-131 applications for advance parole under standards associated with the DACA program, although it will generally honor the stated validity period for   previously approved applications for advance parole;

• Will administratively close all pending Form I-131 applications for advance parole filed under standards associated with the DACA program, and will refund all associated fees; and

• Will continue to exercise its discretionary authority to terminate or deny deferred action at any time when immigration officials determine termination or denial of deferred action is appropriate.

EIIC is currently in the process of contacting each of our DACA clients. If you have a question, please call either of our offices and ask to speak to a member of our immigration staff. We will continue to update our web page, facebook and Twitter accounts with any new announcements on the subject. DACA renewals will be a priority for our legal staff until October 5th.
Free DACA Renewal Assistance Provided by the Western Queens Immigrant Coalition

The Western Queens Immigrant Coalition will provide free DACA renewal assistance on Saturday, September 30th from 10 am-2 pm at the Jacob A Riis Neighborhood Settlement, 10-25 41st Avenue, Long Island City.

Emerald Isle Immigration Center’s Official Statement on the Elimination of DACA

The Emerald Isle Immigration Center is deeply disappointed and morally disturbed at the Administration’s decision to eliminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

On every level, the DACA program has been an additive and positive opportunity. The young people granted temporary status have been able to continue their education, set up businesses, and further establish and grow their families.

Communities where the “DREAMERs” live, work and study are made stronger and richer by the contribution of these long-established young people.

We call on Congress to enact positive comprehensive immigration reform that allows dynamic, rooted, educated immigrants like the 800,000 DACA registrants to be allowed to permanently integrate into our society and become legally and permanently part of our national mosaic.

We encourage all affected DACA registrants to NOT panic or make rash or hasty life-decisions, especially in this uncertain time with incomplete information.

Emerald Isle will continue to help advise DACA registrants and other undocumented and documented people about their immigration rights.

For assistance, please call (718) 478-5502 to arrange a confidential conference with our trained staff.

Community Information Sessions

The Emerald Isle Immigration Center, in partnership with the Aisling Irish Community Center, the New York Consulate and the New York Irish Center hosted two major community information sessions in New York earlier this year. The first took place at St Barnabas Parish on Thursday, March 9th, 2017 and the second was held at the NY Irish Center on Tuesday, March 14, 2017. This second session was broadcast / made available on Facebook Live.

The purpose of the community immigration session was to ensure that accurate information was made available to those who were interested in the immigration related updates after the Executive Orders on Immigration and their impact and anyone who might be seeking information about knowing your rights.

The following video segments were captured at the first session from St. Barnabas and we are extremely grateful to Father Brendan Fitzgerald. We encourage you to please check back with us frequently as we will be adding additional segments in the upcoming weeks.

Executive Action Overview

Know Your Rights Information and What to do if ICE come to your Home

What if you are taken into custody

Travel concerns

What happens when/if you get arrested

DACA – (current information for DACA recipients)

We are grateful to Derek Woods Executive Director/Founder at Riverdale Theater for his assistance in helping us tape and edit these sessions – Thanks also to our participating attorneys, Martin Galvin Criminal Attorney and AOH Division 5 President, Lisa Johnston Esq. (Johnston and Associates) and Immigration Attorney and Director of Legal Services for EIIC John Stahl Esq.