In Florida and throughout the United States, many immigrant families arrive in this country under dire circumstances. A group of parents and children in another state, for instance, want to seek asylum here but have been unable to do so because they passed through another country where they could have sought asylum on their way to the United States. That ran afoul of a policy enacted under the current administration. U.S. immigration law and policy issues are often complex; this one, for instance, was overturned on appeal. However, the changes do not apply to those who entered the country while the policy was active.
As such, many parents and children have been in detention together, some for as long as 15 months or more. There was, during that time, a stay on deportation but that has since expired. This has placed the parents and their children at immediate risk for removal.
Two senators advocating on behalf of the immigrants wrote to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security asking that the government allow the parents to plead their cases for asylum. An 11-year-old child whose parent is in the group wrote a letter stating he fears he and his mother will be killed if they are forced to return to their country of origin. He said he knows life would be much safer if the U.S. government would allow him to go live with his relatives in New York.
The asylum process takes time. If a Florida resident has encountered challenges regarding U.S. immigration law, it is helpful to seek support from an experienced immigration law attorney. Such an attorney can help a client plead his or her case to try to avoid deportation.
