On September 14, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a decision of a federal judge that had preserved Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) for citizens of El Salvador, Haiti, Sudan, and Nicaragua. The Circuit Court ruled that the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) had acted within the limits of its authority to end TPS. » Read More

The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) announced the extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan through January 4, 2021. » Read More

In August, the Department of Homeland Security issued the final version of its revised “Public Charge” regulation. This rule is scheduled to go into effect in October, although legal challenges are expected.

If implemented, the rule could have devastating effects on individuals with disabilities and seniors who are immigrants, as well as those who rely on caregivers who are immigrants. » Read More

Without the influx of lawful immigrants into the Lehigh Valley, the area would have experienced a net loss in its population.  In a Morning Call report analyzing recently-released Census Bureau statistics, Reporter Eugene Tauber noted that the Lehigh Valley has seen a 0.58% increase in its population since 2017, with 842,913 residents.   » Read More

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

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

Today, Canada became the second country in the world to legalize recreational marijuana use with the enactment of Canadian House Government Bill C-45. Pretty nice, right? Yes, it is. But citizens of Canada who travel to the United States under employment-based non-immigrant visas, visitor visas, and those seeking lawful permanent residency must be on notice: just because you can legally possess and distribute marijuana in Canada does not excuse you from the archaic and complex Immigration & Nationality Act (the “INA”). » Read More

In the first-ever comprehensive review of how each of the 100 largest U.S. cities for how each city welcomes immigrants, Newark, New Jersey, ranked first in its ability to integrate immigrant communities into the “fabric of American life.”

The study, released by the bipartisan research and advocacy thinktank, New American Economy, found Newark to be a city that is “starting to rebound after years of job and population loss that resulted in economic instability.”  » Read More