On May 28, 2016, I discussed United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Bronxville Division, Judge Andrew S. Hanen May 19, 2016 Order.  This Order required the Department of Justice to turn over the identical and personal information of about 50,000 individuals who had received three year work permits under the Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program after the United States v. Texas injunction was filed.  The May 19 Order would likely have resulted in these 50,000 individuals losing their work permits, which would then result in them having to take a dangerous job under the table to ensure that they were still able to provide for their family.

Judge Hanen Halts Order

Judge Hanen announced that he would be halting the May 19 Order to give the Department of Justice time to explain their side of events and also to explain why they did not misrepresent the facts to Judge Hanen prior to this Order.  The Order will be halted until an August 22nd hearing, which will give both sides time to research and defend their side of the case.

Why Did Judge Hanen Halt The Order?

Some people may wonder why Judge Hanen bothered to halt the Order, seeing as how he caught many people off guard and probably would have been able to get away with it before anyone was able to challenge it.  The truth is, Judge Hanen probably realized that he was not giving the law the appropriate amount of time to work through this problem.  By enacting the Order so quickly, Judge Hanen was making a massive impact in the lives of 50,000 people without giving anyone the chance to protect them.  This is probably the reason that he decided to give these individuals a chance to defend themselves.

What Does This Mean For You?

The May 19 Order will still have its day in court, and there is a chance that it could still stand.  In the event that the Order stands, anyone who received one of these permits is at risk.  If you are one of the individuals who received one of these permits, we urge you to reach out to us as soon as possible so that we can begin developing a strategy to protect you from the result of this order and any like it.  There are many ways in which we be able to help you, from the protection that some of our programs offer to helping you achieve legal status.

We offer a free questionnaire that we urge you look through if you are not currently a resident of the United States, located in the offers section on the left hand side of the screen.  This questionnaire will examine your immigration options, and help you determine if you qualify for legal status in the United States. If it turns out that you do qualify for legal status, we urge you to contact us and allow us to help you on this path. If you do not qualify for legal status however, we may still be able to help you through our Safe and Secure programs.

What Is The SAFE Program?

The SAFE Program is our general application program that anyone can use.  This program helps ensure you are safe from trouble with U.S. law enforcement officers, and also helps make sure that you know your rights. Through the SAFE Program, you receive a printed identification (ID) card that you can present to law enforcement if you are ever pulled over and accused of committing a crime.  If you present this ID to law enforcement, you make it clear to them that you do not plan on answering any questions without your lawyer present. This helps avoid law enforcement officers intimidating a confession out of you, and ensures that you are treated fairly.

What Is The SECURE Program?

The SECURE program applies specifically to cases in which immigration officials detain you.  The identity card you receive through the SAFE program won’t keep you from being arrested if you already have an order of arrest or an order of deportation.  However, the SECURE program will greatly improve your chances of getting out of detention quickly, efficiently, and cost effectively.

When immigration officials first detain you, your family usually has to run around frantically looking for a lawyer. Once they find an attorney, the lawyer will need to make multiple trips to visit you in detention so that you can fill out and sign paperwork. What our SECURE program does is make sure that all of these things are taken care of before any potential arrest. When you first sign up for the program, we also have the time to do a thorough background check and attempt to fix any issues that can get you into trouble with law enforcement.

What You Get With The SECURE Program:

  • A thorough immigration analysis laying out your options;
  • The Safe identity program for two years;
  • A free consultation every year for two years to see if your options have changed and to make sure we have the most up to date information for you;
  • Preparation for Deferred Action that way once it is implemented you will be ready to file quickly to achieve legal status;
  • Criminal background analysis to see if you have outstanding issues that can result in your detention;
  • Immigration Background analyses to determine if you have any impediment to achieving legal status and maximizing your ability to get out of immigration detention; and,
  • Signed documentation to get you of detention either via an Immigration Judge or through immigration in case you already have an order of deportation.

Seek Legal Help

While it is refreshing to see Judge Hanen delay this Order, we have yet to see any indication of a change in his mind regarding the Order.  If you have a DACA work permit, we urge you to do everything that you can to ensure that you are protected by contacting us here at Andres Mejer Law to get set on the path towards legal protection.