The Department of Homeland Security has set up a complaint hotline for illegal immigrants who can call up the hotline to lodge a complaint in the event of their believing that their rights under the President’s amnesty policy have been violated.
A memo was recently issued announcing the customer hotline, with the US Customs authorities urging illegal immigrants to “come out” and open up about their experiences, especially if they felt that they were being treated differently from what was enlisted in the DHS prerogatives.
It was announced that there would be 3 complaint hotlines, one for CBP, which oversaw the Border Patrol, one for US Immigration procedures and the last one for USCIS, or the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, which handles millions of amnesty applications that pertain to immigrants trying to make their way into the United States.
The amnesty policy by President Obama works like this – it grants temporary legal status to up to 4 million illegal entrants and prevents the country’s relevant authorities from arresting anybody who states that he or she has been hiding for years in the United States but does not meet all the criteria for full amnesty.
This Thursday a substantial issue that threatened to roller-coast into a roadblock was cleared successfully, with the Senate quickly passing funding to the Department of Homeland Security.
A respected Republican Senator, one of the main opponents of President Obama’s executive actions on Immigration stated that he was not preparing to hold up the DHS funding plan even if he was not in agreement with its precepts and opposed the President’s plan.
He said that it was appropriate to move forward with the bill, and the ideas in the bill seemed to have taken shape. The senator stated that even though he was not happy with the bill he was not interested in delaying it just for the sake of delay.
The senator told reporters that the Congress should not fund, what he called an “explosive constitutional violation” like President Obama’s actions. He further stated that he would vote against a clean funding bill and would urge his colleagues to do the same.
A federal judge on Monday was asked by the U S government to make a temporary lift on President Obama’s action to shield hundreds and thousands of immigrants from getting deported back to their country of origin. The stay by the Justice Department was filed in a court in the state of Texas.
It was only last week that the federal judge who belonged to Texas issued a preliminary injunction, forcibly halting the action by President Obama. The President is seeking to keep away from deportation around 5 million people who are in the United States illegally. Most states in the country have argued that the executive action is unconstitutional and would also increase administrative expenses in healthcare, education and law enforcement.
The Texan federal judge is being asked to put his ruling on hold while the decision is being appealed by the U S government. If the stay gets granted the immigration action introduced by President Obama would be allowed to go forward while the lawsuit proceedings get underway in the courts.
You may recall that the executive action was announced by Obama in the month of November, who had then stated that the lack of Congress action had forced him to make sweeping changes on his own.
You went through a lot of stringent procedures to acquire your green card and you should take all protective steps to ensure it stays with you!
A resident card holder holds many privileges but at the same time, he has many responsibilities too.
Remember, a resident card is not a right that you are entitled to – you could even stand to lose your card if you do not follow the rules. If you wish to become a U S Citizen you must learn to retain your card so that you can continue to reside in the U S and even work there. All green card holders, whether they have received the card under refugee, employment, family, asylum or lottery-based status enjoy the same status.
TEMPORARY STATUS
When you enter the United States with the help of an immigration visa, the officials will stamp your passport with a temporary stamp. The local USCIS office too will give you the same stamp once it approves the I-485 form. The validity of the stamp is for 1 year; the stamp stays valid till the card is sent to you through mail. If needed, officials may renew the temporary stamp.
It is always advisable to stay put at one place till the card is received by you in mail.
CARRY YOUR GREEN CARD WITH YOU AT ALL TIMES
You could be found guilty by USCIS of what is called a ‘misdemeanor’ if you do not carry your card with you at all times. The laws of USCIS stipulate that you carry the card on your person.
NOTIFICATION OF CHANGE OF ADDRESS
If you are shifting house USCIS should be informed of your change in address within 10 days of doing so.
