Welcome to the Garfinkel Immigration news roundup, where every month we will summarize and provide links to the latest stories impacting U.S. immigration.
Below is the June 2023 edition of the Garfinkel Immigration news roundup:
Immigration solutions for healthcare workers: Physician National Interest Waivers
Many physicians are eligible to bypass the PERM Labor Certification step of the green card process by filing a Physician National Interest Waiver, which was the topic of Garfinkel Immigration Law Firm’s latest webinar.
The event was hosted by Partners Meredith W. Barnette as well as Colleen F. Molner on Wednesday, June 7 and was entitled “Settling in the U.S.:” Healthcare Worker Green Cards, Part 1 — Physician National Interest Waivers.
The Partners’ presentation was intended for physicians, managers and employers in the healthcare industry and touched on:
The five ways to qualify for a green card, which include through an offer of permanent employment, family sponsorship, asylum, investment or the diversity lottery.
The employment-based green card priority categories: Most healthcare industry workers are eligible for permanent residency under the EB-1 (priority workers), EB-2 (advanced degree professionals and foreign nationals of exceptional ability) or EB-3 (professionals, skilled and unskilled workers) category.
Physician National Interest Waivers allow doctors in the EB-2 preference category to bypass the PERM labor certification step, which is often the longest and most costly part of the green card process. The physician must agree to work full-time in a health shortage area (HPSA/MUA) or VA for 5 years and the state of employment must determine the position is in the public interest.
ICE director announces retirement
Tae Johnson, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), announced his retirement earlier this month, according to a report from Axios.
Johnson had been in the role since President Joe Biden was sworn into office in January 2021.
“Under Johnson, ICE continued to be in the middle of political debates over whether the U.S. government was being too lenient on undocumented migrants — or too harsh on them,” the Axios report read.
The story continued: “ICE now faces a shortfall for the fiscal year in the hundreds of millions, as resources increasingly have been diverted to help its sister border agency, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), according to sources familiar with the situation.”
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas praised Johnson in a statement released in early June.
“I am grateful to Tae Johnson for his service to ICE, the Department, and the nation,” Mayorkas said in the statement. “He has been instrumental in advancing many of DHS’s critical missions, including the enforcement of our country’s immigration laws and our work to dismantle terrorist and criminal organizations. He helped transform the organizational culture of ICE by focusing its resources on public safety and national security.”
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz also retired in June, according to Axios.
Immigrant ‘Dreamers’ share their worries as DACA remains in legal limbo on 11th anniversary
This story from ABC News details the status of DACA after the program reached its 11th anniversary earlier this month.
“As the White House touts how DACA has helped support young immigrants who they say have become valuable members of society, some of those same DACA recipients are speaking out as their fate remains in limbo, given the years of legal challenges and controversy around the program,” the story read.
The story added: “U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, who previously ruled that DACA is unlawful, is expected to once again rule on the legality of the program after the Biden administration took steps to codify it into administrative law in order to better protect it from lawsuits.”
Both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris urged Congress to protect DACA recipients, known as “Dreamers.”
“The DACA program has made it possible for hundreds of thousands of Dreamers to live, work and thrive in America. For the benefit of America,” Harris said in a video released in mid-June. “President Biden and I again declare: We will not rest until Congress provides all Dreamers permanent protections, including a pathway to citizenship.”
Read the full ABC News story here.
U.S. extends temporary legal status for over 300,000 immigrants
The United States has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 300,000 foreign nationals from El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the decision in mid-June.
“Through the extension of Temporary Protected Status, we are able to offer continued safety and protection to current beneficiaries who are nationals of El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua who are already present in the United States and cannot return because of the impacts of environmental disasters,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. “We will continue to offer support to them through this temporary form of humanitarian relief.”
The Trump administration had previously announced they were repealing TPS for those recipients. However, that move was blocked by the federal courts.
The announcement from DHS allows for existing recipients of TPS from the applicable countries to re-register for the program for at least 18 more months. However, the announcement did not expand the eligibility criteria.
“Despite calls from Democratic lawmakers and migrant advocates, the administration is not moving to expand — or redesignate — the TPS programs for El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua,” a story from CBS News noted. “Such a move would have opened the program to new applicants, making more recent arrivals from these countries eligible for TPS.”