Many immigrant advocates in Florida and elsewhere say the U.S. government can and should do a better job of processing immigration cases. It can be quite challenging to obtain an adjustment of status. However, some say it does not have to so difficult, and the reason it is has more to do with a backlog in the courts than anything else.
Woman seeking adjustment of status arrested, husband deployed
Many Florida immigrants are married to U.S. citizens. Those who are currently worried about legal issues that have surfaced after seeking adjustment of status may want to follow a case in another state involving several members of the same family. A young woman, her parents and a cousin were all recently taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
Detention centers overcrowded in adjustment of status cases
When an immigrant arrives at a U.S. border to seek asylum, he or she is typically detained until the case can be fully processed. Such detentions are usually meant to be temporary, and many asylum seekers are later released while they await full adjudication of their cases. However, before an adjustment of status is granted, many Florida immigrants encounter serious challenges, often including severe adverse health risks, when they are placed in detention facilities that are already overcrowded.
Mental depression: A risk for those seeking adjustment of status
Many Florida immigrants made long, arduous journeys to the United States before settling here. Some people pass through ports of entry with all their paperwork in order, while others seek an immediate adjustment of status by requesting asylum at a U.S. border. Those who do are typically placed in detention until immigration officials process their cases.
Adjustment of status: Attorney general issues orders re asylum
Many immigrants in Florida did not arrive in the United States with all their paperwork in order. Like tens of thousands of other immigrants, some entered the U.S. between ports and immediately sought an adjustment of status through asylum when immigration patrol officers apprehended them. In the past, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would release asylum-seekers from detention while their cases were being processed.
Teenager facing US immigration law and criminal law problems
Adults in Florida are not the only ones who encounter legal status problems as immigrants. Minors in this state and others can also run into U.S. immigration law problems sometimes. In fact, a 16-year-old in another state is not only facing issues regarding a scheduled deportation but is now facing criminal charges in connection with a car accident as well.
Men seeking adjustment of status are exercising right to protest
In Florida and elsewhere in the United States, there have been multiple stories in the recent past that told of inhumane conditions in various immigration detention centers throughout the country. Several men who are currently detained in another state are seeking an adjustment of status. They have also launched a hunger strike to protest the conditions and alleged substandard care they have experienced since being placed in detention.
Man who sought adjustment of status was willing to work for food
There are many privately-run immigration detention centers in Florida and throughout the United States. Many immigrants say they have suffered personal rights violations after seeking an adjustment of status and then being placed in detention facilities. A 25-year-old man says the amount of food officials were providing during his detention left him suffering perpetual hunger pangs.
Nurse preparing for doctorate worried about adjustment of status
During the George W. Bush administration, El Salvador immigrants in Florida and beyond were granted temporary protective status (TPS). The protection was given to help hundreds of thousands of people who had become displaced due to catastrophic circumstances in their country of origin. Some time before adjustment of status options were offered to these people, a 4-year-old girl forded the Rio Grande river on her mother's shoulders, as they escaped violence and danger in El Salvador.
Adjustment of status goals: Becoming a US citizen
When an immigrant arrives in Florida, it may with plans and dreams to start a business, get married and raise a family in the United States or to file an application to become a U.S.citizen. The latter is the ultimate adjustment of status goal in many immigrants' lives. It can be a stressful process, and it helps to know where to seek support when needed.
