Medford immigration lawyers on rescission of DACA

Medford, Ore. — The rescission of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, will impact individuals here in the Rogue Valley. Already, local immigration attorneys are hearing from folks concerned about what it will mean for them. Attorneys say it’s important that people know the facts, and what they can do to help.

“Let’s not panic,” immigration attorney John Almaguer says, “let’s get informed, and let’s call our congressmen.”

Attorneys at Idiart Law Group in Medford have been fielding dozens of phone calls. John Almaguer is one of them. The immigration attorney has been working with families in the Rogue Valley for decades, and he knows many of them will be impacted by Tuesday’s announcement.

“Anything filed after today received by immigration after today will be rejected,” Almaguer explains.

That includes one of Almaguer’s clients who despite having their paperwork ready to go, won’t be the eligible filing age of 15, until later this week.

However, current DACA recipients are still protected, and those whose permits expire between September 5, 2017 and March 5th, 2018 are eligible to renew, but need to be accepted by October 5th, 2017.

“So if you file an application to renew, your DACA you will be covered for that 2 year grant of time,” Almaguer says.

But what does that mean for kids who aren’t yet eligible to file, or current recipients whose permit expires after
March 5th of next year?

“The onus is being thrown to congress to create a law,” Almaguer explains, “so not an executive action that can come and go with the whims of president’s but something that’s going to be permanent.”

And while any person in the US without authorization is deportable, Almaguer says DACA recipients should not panic.

“There’s still the sense that the top priority is going to be people that have criminal issues, or that have immigration issues, serious immigration issues,” Almaguer says of deportation concerns.

Almaguer is encouraging dreamers to get in touch with their attorneys and their legislators about concerns.

Another attorney NBC5 News spoke with Tuesday said while he doesn’t agree with the decision, he understands why the Trump administration took action. Had 9 attorneys general been successful in taking legal action on DACA’s legality, the court may have eliminated it.

If you’d like to learn more about the changes and what it means click HERE. If you’d like to learn about the bills currently introduced in congress that deal with this issue click HERE.