Citizenship Classes are a great way to augment ESL Ministries

ISAAC's ministry is not limited to helping churches and non-profit organizations establish recognized immigration service organizations. We also help churches develop English as a Second Language (ESL) classes and citizenship classes.  If your church is already hosting ESL classes, please consider supplementing those classes with citizenship and civics classes. Last year, citizenship applications increased nearly 350 percent, causing processing delays of approximately 14-16 months. 

Now, the first batches of applications are being processed and prospective citizens will have to pass a newly revamped U.S. citizenship exam to become citizens. See here.

For those churches already engaged in ESL ministries, there are many links available to help you augment your classes with citizenship education. Here are a few.

For more information on starting a citizenship class, write to richard.munoz@bgct.org.

ISAAC Online Immigration Training- Limited Slots Still Available

If you are a member of or are affiliated with a Baptist General Convention of Texas church, association, entity or ministry, ISAAC may be able to help you obtain online immigration training. Download an application package at www.isaacproject.org.

If you are not affiliated with a BGCT church but would still like to participate in online training, please contact me at richard.munoz@bgct.org.

ISAAC EDUCATION:
Facts about Immigration:  Separating the wheat from chaff (Luke 3:17)

Issue 2:  "The Anchor Baby"

There is a common misconception that a child born in the United States to illegal immigrants  will provide a unique avenue of legalization for the child's family. Some pundits have coined the phrase "anchor baby" or "jackpot baby" in reference to the child.  While a major goal of current immigration law is family reunification, a child born in the United States to illegal alien parents does not confer automatic legalization or even a right to remain in the country to the parents. The baby's parents must maintain legal status in the United States in order to remain in the country. If they do not, they are subject to deportation. 

To better understand the different relationships, we will first examine the status of a child born in the United States. Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Thus, a child born in the United States, regardless of parentage, is a United States Citizen and is granted all the corresponding rights and privileges. This is also codified in the United States Code. 8 U.S.C. §1401. The automatic citizenship, however, is only for the child born in the United States. 

The U.S. citizenship of the child does not confer special immigrant status on their undocumented parents. Indeed, these parents continue to be detained and removed from the country.  Many times, they must either take their minor citizen children with them or abandon them to relatives legally residing in the United States.  An illegal alien parent has very limited options to avoid deportation. For example, she may apply for cancellation of Removal under 240A(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act if she:
(A) has been physically present in the United States for a continuous period of not less than 10 years immediately preceding the date of such application;

(B) has been a person of good moral character during such period;

(C) has not been convicted of an offense under section 212(a)(2), 237(a)(2) , or 237(a)(3), subject to paragraph (5) 2a/ 5/ ; and

(D) establishes that removal would result in exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to the alien's spouse, parent, or child, who is a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence.

This is an extremely high burden for the parent to meet. 

The case of In re Martha ANDAZOLA-Rivas, 23 I&N Dec. 319 (BIA 2002), is instructive.  Ms. Andazola-Rivas was an undocumented single mother from Mexico.  Her two children were United States citizens ages 11 and 6.  The mother was employed, spoke English, owned a home, had medical insurance, and a 401k.  Her U.S. citizen children did not have any formal education in Spanish but did well in school.  She argued that if she was removed from the United States, that her children would have to follow her to Mexico.  The mother had no relatives in Mexico and an asthmatic condition that would have prevented her from doing labor intensive jobs in Mexico.  Immigration officials also conceded that she would have faced continuous discrimination in Mexico because she was a single mother.  The immigration trial judge ruled that the children would face "complete upheaval in their lives and hardship that could conceivably ruin their lives." 

Despite these facts, the Board of Immigration Appeals held:
While almost every case will present some particular hardship, the fact pattern presented here is, in fact, a common one, and the hardships the respondent has outlined are simply not substantially different from those that would normally be expected upon removal to a less developed country.

Ms. Andazola-Rivas' citizen children did not "anchor" her to the United States and most certainly were not a "jackpot" of immigration benefits. It is unknown if she found a guardian for her children in the United States or took them with her. Unfortunately for the children involved, this is an all too common occurrence. See here.

Under immigration law, children can petition for their parents to legally immigrate to the United States, but, they must be at least 21 years old before they are eligible to do so, see here.  When the children do this, they are no longer "babies" but are adults.  Thus, the term "anchor baby" and "jackpot baby" are misnomers.

National News

President signs executive order requiring government contractors to verify employee status.

Federal judge blocks parts of Oklahoma immigration law.

South Carolina passes new immigration law.

Tension between Arizona churches and sheriff's department.

Federal judge blocks Farmer's Branch rental ban.

United States Immigration Laws (Part 5) - 1986-1995

Between 1986 and 1995, there were many rule, policy and technical changes to immigration policy. One of the biggest changes was the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA).

IRCA of 1986

This major piece of legislation instituted a statutory scheme whereby employers faced sanctions if they knowingly hired illegal immigrants. It also established a verification system which required all new employees to present adequate documents that proved both identity and authorization to work in the United States. Currently, employers must complete Form I-9 for all new employees. A copy of the form is found here.

To avoid discrimination and "U.S. citizen only" hiring from employers, the bill also prohibited national origin or citizenship discrimination against anyone legally authorized to work in the United States.

The bill also directed the Attorney General to adjust to temporary resident status those aliens who: (1) applied within 18 months; (2) established that they entered the United States before January 1, 1982, and had resided in the United States continuously in an unlawful status (including Cuban/Haitian entrants) since that date; and (3) were otherwise admissible.  This was the so-called "amnesty" provision.  Approximately 2.7 million illegal immigrants were allowed to adjust status under this provision. Read about it here.

Additionally, the IRCA also provided for expedited removal of certain aliens who committed crimes in the United States.

The Nursing Relief Act of 1989

In the 1980s, hospitals were having trouble attracting and keeping qualified nurses.  As a result, Congress passed the Nursing Relief Act of 1989 and established the new H-1A visa category.  Under this program, a foreign registered nurse (RN) could work in the United States.  Some 13,000 alien nurses entered the country under this program.  The law had sunset provision in 1995 and was not renewed.

Next time:  Immigration Laws 1996-Present Day

CLINIC
For more information click here.

Baptist Immigration Service, Inc.
Immigration Skills Training
August 4-5, 2008
South Fork, Hotel
1600 N Central Expy
Plano, TX 75074

Call 972-562-4561 for more information.

Mennonite Central Committee
For more information click here.

40-hour Basic Immigration Training                         
September 9-13, 2008
Akron, Ohio

Never stop praying, especially for others"  Ephesians 6:18a (CEV). 

We get many calls from individuals that need prayer regarding their immigration situation.  Please pray for these people and that the Lord's will be done.

·    Bryan, New Mexico. Bryan is appealing an immigration court decision that denied his spouse and      child entry into the United States.
·    Virgilio, Texas. Virgilio is a pastor in the appeal process to re-enter the United States.
·    William, Texas. William is in immigration detention.
·    Luis, Texas. Luis is a pastor in Texas. His wife and daughter are seeking to come to the United      States.
·    Ericka, Texas. Seeking to establish citizenship.
·    Jose, Texas. Appealing denial decision on R - 1 visa.
·    Charles, Texas. Appealing an immigration decision that denied his spouse and child entry into the      United States.

If you or anyone you know would like to be added to this prayer list, or if you have immigration news that you would like to share, please contact richard.munoz@bgct.org.

That's it for this month.  Feel free to forward this newsletter to others or ask them to sign up at www.isaacproject.org. Also, if you have immigration news you would like to share, please contact ISAAC Director Richard Muñoz at richard.munoz@bgct.org.

ISAAC is a collaborative ministry between the BGCT and Buckner Children and Family Services, Inc.