Judges at the Seattle Immigration Court--the only court in WA State for non-detained hearings--are requiring that immigrants, witnesses, translators and attorneys appear IN PERSON for the upcoming hearings starting in October. No other court in the country is demanding this. /1 The Seattle Immigration Court also no longer has standing orders for covid-19, because the judges there cannot currently agree on a uniform rule for the court. So, there currently aren't any standing orders or guidance in place. That won't stop hearings from moving forward. /2

Major parts of the @USCIS guidance published on its website today:

- USCIS will reject & return fees of all initial DACA requests from applicants who have never previously received DACA. /1

uscis.gov/sites/default/… - USCIS will accept renewal requests from applicants who had been granted DACA at any time in the past, but limit the renewal to one-year instead of two-years. /2

Years ago I was in court waiting to be called up for a quick, routine hearing. The immigration judge asked through the Court’s Spanish interpreter if I was waiting for my lawyer. I politely told him I was a lawyer. But this captures my instant thought at the time /1

https://twitter.com/soniaxelena/status/1290494186018361344

At another hearing, a now-retired judge had just seen in the news that I had #DACA. He was flabbergasted by it. At the end of the hearing (he granted my client a green card) he said (in jest and in truth) he’d try to quickly conclude b4 DHS counsel decides to deport me instead /2

Seattle PD has confronted peaceful demonstration in Capitol Hill. People already pepper sprayed earlier today.
#SeattleProtest #CapitolHill Cars are blocking this armed police vehicle from entering the protest area. Unclear if Seattle PD or from another jurisdiction. #Seattleprotest #CapitolHill

#WeNeedImmigrationReformFor :
People that pick the food we eat

People that work to live, and not live to work

Parents that leave entire lives behind for their child's future

People that were brought to the U.S. as children #WeNeedImmigrationReformFor :
People escaping gang violence

People escaping gender violence

People leaving starvation and poverty

People that clean our cars

People that bag our groceries

People that provide sanitation and janitorial services

People that cook our food

My #DACA prediction:
The Administration won't end DACA altogether. Rather, the Admin will amend the 2012 DACA memo & limit it to the truncated version we have now. As in, keep renewals, no new applications, no new advance parole. /1 DHS will then announce an increase of enforcement of “law already on the books” against those without DACA. DHS won’t say it’s against Dreamers outright, rather it’ll say that it’ll enforce “the law” against everyone, but clearly referring to Dreamers without DACA. /2

If you’re an employer and want to support DACA employees, here are 10 examples of how you can do so:

1. Provide mental health days. This is a stressful time and a lot of us are very fatigued. And if you could offer it as a paid day, all the better. 2. Invest in them by helping cover the $495.00 USCIS renewal fee.

THREAD: I'm getting a lot of messages from DACA recipients of whether USCIS reusing biometrics applies to DACA, since DACA work permits are not subject to USCIS' "automatic extension." Here is how I make sense of USCIS' announcement:

https://twitter.com/LCortesRomero/status/1244697198610112516

USCIS indicates that it'll reuse biometrics for those filing "employment extension request." There are some work permits (not DACA) that are automatically extended pending the renewal. But you don't "request an extension." Applications for "extension request" doesn't make sense.

I surprised my mom by reuniting her with her parents after 3 decades of them not seeing each other. Her parents live in MX, and my mom cannot visit bc of her imm status. When I went to law school, I vowed to figure out a way to reunite them, & was able to help them get visas. My aunts—my mom’s sisters—come into the video at the very end. I had invited them to come over, too, because it had been many years since they saw their parents. So, they were also surprised.