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Kitchen Table Topics - Immigration

Kitchen Table Talk Home > Immigration

Democrats Abroad wants to know what issues matter to you as a Democrat living abroad. Your input can help shape DA’s 2020 Platform. Run a Kitchen Table Talk - information here - and make your voice heard! Topics on Immigration included below (scroll for the full list).  Add your own through the Kitchen Table Talk New Topic form. 

USCIS Office Closures

Are you impacted by the closure of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offices abroad?

BACKGROUND

  • USCIS officers are responsible for adjudicating a wide variety of petitions and applications filed internationally, providing information services, and issuing travel documents to people in a wide variety of circumstances; 

  • The closure of these offices will materially slow the processing of matters such as family visa applications, foreign adoptions and citizenship petitions from U.S. citizens living abroad and members of the military stationed abroad;

  • The closure of immigration offices abroad will also discourage and thwart immigration applicants by adding considerable time to what are already lengthy wait times for application processing, eliminating processing in foreign languages and removing services that handle emergency applications;

  • The work of the USCIS officers is expected to be taken over by State Department officials in U.S. embassies and consulates, though their consent to take over these duties has not yet been obtained, thus causing enormous concern amongst Americans abroad and the immigration law practitioners who prepare and submit their filings.

REFERENCES

Muslim Ban

Do you support ending religious and national origin discrimination in immigration policy, and the termination of the 'Muslim Ban'?

BACKGROUND

  • On January 27, 2017, President Trump issued Executive Order 13769 effectively banning immigration from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
  • On March 6, 2017, President Trump issued Executive Order 13780 effectively banning most immigration from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syrian and Yemen.
  • On September 24, 2017, President Trump issued Presidential Proclamation 9645 effectively banning most immigration from Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria and Yemen and certain immigration from Venezuela.
  • On June 26, 2018, the Supreme Court vacated injunctions of Presidential Proclamation 9645 and remanded the case.
  • Executive Order 13769, Executive Order 13780, Proclamation 9645, and other actions by President Trump have separated families, ended promising futures and careers, and prevented many desperate men, women and children from seeking refuge and pursuing the American Dream in the United States.

REFERENCES

  • H.R.2214 - NO BAN Act: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/2214 Department of State Report: Implementation of Presidential Proclamation 9645: https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Van_Hollen_Proclamation_9645.pdf
  • Muslim Travel Ban: Less Immigration and Few Waivers: https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2019/03/11/muslim-travel-ban-less-immigration-and-few-waivers/#530a5f2027f0 
  • More than 31,000 people blocked from entering US by Trump travel ban: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/09/24/politics/travel-ban-31000/index.html