Immigration attorneys may be a good starting point for illegal immigrants – News-Press Now
On the campaign trail and during his first month in office, President Donald Trump has made it clear he will crack down on illegal immigration.
Last Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security released documents explaining that it will no longer exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement.
The crackdown is causing an increase in concerns for local immigrants, according to a St. Joseph attorney, Lance Davis.
Davis said since Trump took office, the amount of calls he gets about immigration has nearly doubled. But many of those callers believe in common misconceptions.
Theres a lot of fear, with the Trump administration coming in, that we are gonna do these sort of Gestapo round-ups like in World War II and that is not the case, Davis said.
Instead, he said contact between illegal immigrants and police is usually initiated through a person being arrested for violating another crime.
As part of their booking process, they (police) try to ascertain where the person is from, their birthplace. And if they have documentation that can verify that then theres no problem, Davis said.
He explained that if police cannot verify a persons legal status; thats when their consulate or ICE would get involved.
He said the number of immigration-related calls are increasing all over the state.
There are not many attorneys that do this kind of work and of course the obvious problem is a language barrier that you run into, he said.
Those who are worried about getting deported, may be hesitant to seek help, fearing that could lead to their exposure, but Davis said he recommends reaching out to an attorney.
Were a confidential relationship so going to see an attorney is a great thing to do to start with, said Davis.
Davis said the best thing undocumented immigrants can do is abide by the laws while working towards becoming legal citizens.
If you can show you are a law abiding citizen and you are attempting to live the American life, by the rules, that cant hurt. And those are the things the immigration authorities are always asking us, said Davis.
See the original post here:
Immigration attorneys may be a good starting point for illegal immigrants - News-Press Now