US imm. law is a tangled mess of statutes, case law, and admin. practices going back 200 years. If you look at each individual section, it might seem reasonable, but mixed together, problems become insane, and very quickly. /2 - ThreadSky

szreich.bsky.social • 27 days ago

US imm. law is a tangled mess of statutes, case law, and admin. practices going back 200 years. If you look at each individual section, it might seem reasonable, but mixed together, problems become insane, and very quickly.

/2

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szreich.bsky.social•27 days ago

E.g., Congress sets a yearly limit on U Visas (visas for victims of serious crimes who assist policy/prosecutors). When that limit is reached, the applicant is given a 'bona fide determination' letter that saying that, but for the congressional quota, the visa would be approved.

/3

szreich.bsky.social•27 days ago

And so they go on a waiting list for when a new visa is available. Meanwhile, USCIS provides those people with work authorizations during the wait.

Seems reasonable, right?

/4

szreich.bsky.social•27 days ago

Except those people still don't have legal status until a visa becomes available. Worse still, Trump's ICE is right now arresting such U Visa applicants and seeking to deport them. ICE and USCIS are both part of Dept. of Homeland Security.

/5

szreich.bsky.social•27 days ago

So you have the exact same department both issuing these people work authorizations which entitles them to legally work anywhere in the US, and deport them.

/6

jacksonpierce.bsky.social•27 days ago

What does any of that have to do with deporting people who skipped that process entirely?

50% of people here without permission are visa overstays.

They knew the terms of the visa, they broke them.

palecur.bsky.social•27 days ago

freedom of movement is an essential human right. the only reasonable visa reform is its utter elimination and completely open borders.

szreich.bsky.social•27 days ago

What you're imagining is the case isn't really what is happening.

What is happening is that ICE is trying to meet arrest quotas, and they get the same credit for arresting someone they ask to come into their office as someone absconding, so they're going after the people trying to cooperate.

szreich.bsky.social•27 days ago

In immigration court, if those applicants don't have another defense available where they can stall for time until their U Visa arrives, you're looking at people who are likely to be deported, and then given a U Visa next year.

/7

szreich.bsky.social•27 days ago

And maybe you don't care, thinking that sitting outside the US for 1 year doesn't sound that harsh. But if they've been deported, they're not eligible (without a waiver that takes ~5 yrs to process) to return to the US for 10 years, even if they have an approved U Visa.

/8

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