Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the end of a five-day sweep across New Jersey, netting the arrest of immigrants in 16 counties.  The operation targeted a broad range of individuals, including lawful permanent residents and other immigrants with criminal convictions as well as individuals present in the United States who have reentered after deportation or have pending criminal charges. » Read More

Today, Raymond G. Lahoud, a Member of law firm Norris McLaughlin, P.A.,  and Chair of its Immigration Law Group, presented “Immigration in the United States,” for the SAGE learning program at the Penn State Lehigh Valley Campus. » Read More

Raymond G. Lahoud, a Member of law firm Norris McLaughlin, P.A., and Chair of its Immigration Practice Group, presented “The (Hidden) Lucrative Intersections of Immigration Law and the Real Estate Industry” at the Triple Play REALTOR® Convention & Trade Expo today at the Atlantic City Convention Center. » Read More

New Jersey’s state legislators have finally introduced legislation that will allow the state to remain compliant with the federal REAL ID standards while also issuing driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants residing in New Jersey.

The proposed legislation creates two separate license types: (1) a Real ID compliant driver’s license that passes minimum requirements for use with the federal government; and (2) a “standard driver’s license” to be issued to New Jersey residents who satisfy all other requirements for a driver’s license but are unable to establish lawful residence in the United States.  » Read More

On Friday, the Norris McLaughlin Immigration Blog reported that New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced that New Jersey would become a “sanctuary state” in implementing the “Immigrant Trust Directive.”  In response, NBC Philadelphia reported that Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) has threatened to increase immigration raids throughout New Jersey. » Read More

Yesterday, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced a directive limiting the assistance state, county, and local law enforcement agencies can give to federal immigration officials.  According to the Attorney General’s Office, the “Immigrant Trust Directive,” which applies “to all state, county and local law enforcement agencies, including police, prosecutors, county detectives, sheriff’s officers, and correction officers,” states they cannot:

• Stop, question, arrest, search, or detain any individual based solely on actual or suspected immigration status
• Ask the immigration status of any individual, unless doing so is necessary to the ongoing investigation of a serious offense and relevant to the offense under investigation
• Participate in civil immigration enforcement operations conducted by Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE)
• Provide ICE with access to state or local law enforcement resources, including equipment, office space, databases, or property, unless those resources are readily available to the public
• Allow ICE to interview an individual arrested on a criminal charge unless that person is advised of his or her right to a lawyer

The directive does not prohibit county and state correctional facilities from entering into contracts with ICE to hold immigrant detainees (often indefinitely) in New Jersey prisons—a practice that generates tens of millions in revenue annually. » Read More

The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs has announced enforcement actions against 28 businesses across the state for unlawfully providing immigration services “that they [were] not legally permitted to provide.”  The state served Notices of Violations to each business demanding hundreds of thousands of dollars in civil penalties, after a multi-month investigation prompted by “tips, consumer complaints, and investigative information” found that the businesses were holding themselves out to unsuspecting immigrants as immigration attorneys. » Read More

It was an honor to be interviewed by Anthony Ewing for Edible Jersey magazine.

New Jersey’s food industry – restaurants, farmers, wholesalers, distributors – have long held a close relationship with New Jersey’s immigrant communities, as both employers and employees.  » Read More

Raymond G. Lahoud, a Member of Norris McLaughlin, P.A., and Chair of its Immigration Law Practice, was quoted by New Jersey Business Magazine regarding Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents coming to knock at Human Resources’ door, seeking to conduct random Form I-9 audits.  » Read More

On Friday, I was honored to join a group of today’s business leaders and innovators at WeWork, who are shaping tomorrow, for a discussion on immigration. In a room nineteen floors above the rumbling of New York’s traffic with sushi in hand, two concerns quickly became central to our discussion: (1) the growing barrier of US businesses—small, mid, and large—to access to the global workforce; and (2) the foreign entrepreneur’s inability to enter –or even attempt to enter—as a start-up in or expansion to the US market. » Read More