Why As An Immigration Law Firm We Doubt Immigration Reform Proposals
As an immigration law firm, we support comprehensive immigration reform. However, the current immigration reform proposals being discussed do not address some of the key issues that must be resolved to truly reform immigration in the United States. The legislative proposals being discussed are heavy on ideology and light on facts, avoiding important aspects of the system, such as the appeals court, that must be changed. They don’t address the underlying system issues and appear to be trying to fix it rather than implement a full patch.
Why Our Immigration Law Firm Is Hesitant About This Immigration Reform
Number of government agencies involved
We say that ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’, and this might be an appropriate saying for today’s immigration system as well. There are simply too many government agencies involved with immigration, which makes the system very complicated and confusing.
Just under the umbrella of the US Department of Homeland Security, there are three agencies with different directives: US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS); Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Add to that the US Department of State (responsible for overseeing US embassies and consulates), the US Department of Justice (which governs the Executive Office for Immigration Review), and the Department US Labor Law (ensuring that US immigration laws do not compromise labor standards). While unavoidable, a multi-agency effort leads to our second concern that doesn’t appear to be addressed by current legislation: lack of accountability.
Lack of responsibility
As an immigration law firm, we work with all involved US government agencies and see that lack of accountability is a significant problem in the system. A good example is the US Embassy, whose decisions by consular officers are not subject to appeal or judicial review. Another example is the fact that an appeal of an immigration judge’s decision can literally take years. With so many agencies involved, it’s easy to point fingers when something goes wrong and hard to take responsibility for cracks in the system.
Issues related to the processing and sharing of information
Simply put, the way cases flow through the immigration system must be fixed. There must be consistency in awards and predictability in award decisions at all levels. Endless delays should not be tolerated and appeals should not take years. The government agencies involved need to work together and share information. These suggestions could be the starting points for what would be a top-down review. Only when changes are made to address these key areas of concern will true and comprehensive immigration reform take place.