Baton Rouge Legal Blog

As an immigrant, you come to America or want to come to America with the hope of having success. You want a better life for yourself and for your family.

While there is always talk among Americans of how immigrants might negatively affect the country, the reality is that most people understand that immigrants positively impact business communities and the U.S. economy. They are an essential part of the national economy and contribute to economic growth.

Fear can often spur individuals into taking drastic actions. For many people in other countries who are facing potential persecution, their fear can cause them to decide that seeking asylum in the United States may be their best option. Of course, arriving safely in Louisiana or other parts of the country is not always easy, and it is likely that individuals will be held in immigration detention.

Commonly, Immigration and Customs Enforcement would detain asylum seekers and later release them when the individuals had travel plans arranged. However, the presidential administration claims that these "catch-and-release" practices are no longer applicable and that "catch-and-detain" is more appropriate. Of course, numerous people cross the southern border of the United States in hopes of seeking asylum, and due to a lack of detention space, those individuals are quickly being released.

Louisiana immigrants who have been living, working and raising families in the United States for more than 10 years are not guaranteed to avoid legal status problems, even though more than a decade has past since their arrivals. A man in another state, who is a husband and father of three, can attest to this fact. He has been living in the U.S. since 1992 and was recently taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

The man's  three children are U.S. citizens. For the past year, he has been living in the church where he sought sanctuary around Christmas time last year, after the U.S. government informed him that he was being ordered to leave the country. A request was made for immigration officials to place a stay on his deportation process while he tries to work out his legal status problems.

Individuals who have immigration cases pending or currently underway often feel a great deal of anticipation. As their hearing dates approach, they may feel a mixture of emotions as they may hope for the best, fear the worst and simply feel relieved that their cases are moving forward. Unfortunately, many individuals working on U.S. immigration law cases in Louisiana and elsewhere may face setbacks.

Though any number of issues could derail an immigration case, the current government shutdown is wreaking havoc on the immigration system. Immigration courts already have a substantial backlog of cases, and the shutdown appears to only be making the situation worse because immigration judges have been furloughed during this time. As a result, current cases cannot move forward, and due to the substantial backlog, hearings that were already scheduled may not be rescheduled for some time.