Friday, September 28, 2012
As the election approaches, local students hope the DREAM Act will pass.
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Friday, September 28, 2012
By Erin Durkin, Capital News Service Veronica Martinez-Vargas, a 19-year-old illegal immigrant from Salisbury, couldn't believe it when she turned in her application for the Deferred Action program enacted in June by the Obama administration. "It was overwhelming," she said. The program either stops or prevents deportation proceedings for undocumented youths for two years and allows them to obtain a work permit. To apply, immigrants had to be under age 31 as of June 15, 2012, but at least age 15. They also must prove they entered the country before their 16th birthday and lived in the U.S. since June 15, 2007. Just 29 applications have been approved nationally, of more than 82,000 who applied since the program opened in August. It's …
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
During a rally in Rockville, the Acuña family thanked the community for raising awareness about their detainment by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
After spending nearly a week in a maximum-security detention center in fear of being deported, the Germantown family that sparked a social media firestorm got the chance to speak for themselves. “We couldn't even see the sunlight,” said Jorge Steven Acuña, who goes by Steve. “It was as if we were a threat to our own community. Instead, our own community's out here working for us." Acuña, 19, and his parents, Blanca and Jorge Acuña, addressed a crowd of supporters at Rockville Town Square on Wednesday, not even having spent a full day free from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. The Acuñas were released from an Eastern Shore detention center Tuesday night. They had been at the facility since March 7. On Wednesday, the …
The Acuña is family expected to attend rally in Rockville Town Square at 3:30 p.m. today, Wednesday, March 14.
(Updated 1:36 p.m.) Jorge Steven Acuña-Mendez will be allowed to remain in the United States with his parents, Blanca Susana Mendez-Pinto and Jorge Acuña, and finish his studies at Montgomery College under a one-year "stay of a removal," a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman told Patch on Wednesday. The Germantown family was released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody on Tuesday, a decision made by an ICE field office in Baltimore, according to ICE spokeswoman Nicole Navas. The Acuñas were being held at a federal detention center on the Eastern Shore, spurring an outpouring of support from politicians and local government leaders. The family is expected to attend a rally 3:30 p.m. today in Rockville …
Friday, February 17, 2012
Immigration officials set to deploy "Secure Communities" in Montgomery County and Baltimore City on Feb. 22.
After more than two years of public outcry, political wrangling and postponement, a controversial jail-based deportation program will take effect next week in Montgomery County and Baltimore City, the final two Maryland jurisdictions not already taking part. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement notified Montgomery County officials earlier this week of the Feb. 22 launch for the “Secure Communities” program, which aims to more quickly and accurately identify the deportable immigrants among everyone arrested and fingerprinted in Montgomery County jails. With a simultaneous launch in Baltimore City, all of Maryland will have joined in since the program arrived in Prince George's County at the end of 2009. Under Secure Communities, the …
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Reforms of jail-based deportation program include protection for victims and witness, guidelines for prioritizing the most dangerous criminals.
Federal immigration authorities are refining their controversial Secure Communities deportation program to create better training, oversight and to protect against the deportation of victims and witnesses. The safeguards come in response to heated criticism from immigrant advocates across the country who say that Secure Communities too often strays from its goal of deporting the most dangerous criminals. Some law enforcement officials worry about the damage that the program does to their relationship with immigrants. Secure Communities taps local and state jails into federal databases, cross-checking arrestees’ fingerprints to better identify removable immigrants. Since its inception in 2009, it has spread to more than 1,400 municipal and …
Monday, February 21, 2011
Is the Dream Act a further erosion of American identity or a stopgap until the federal government acts on immigration?
Brandon Rippeon, a Republican candidate for Maryland's 6th congressional district, argues liberals in Annapolis believe U.S. citizens and illegal immigrants deserve the same rights. Saqib Ali, a former Democratic member of the House of Delegates, says the federal government needs to act on immigration. Rippeon's Point: The Maryland Dream Act proposed by legislative members of the “New American Caucus” represents the latest attempt of pro-illegal alien policy-makers to erode and undermine our American identity. State Sen. Rich Madaleno claims the Dream Act is aimed at creating "equity" among U.S. citizens and illegal aliens. That’s correct; the progressive liberals in Annapolis believe American citizens and illegals are entitled to the same…
Friday, January 7, 2011
A Gaithersburg woman was sentenced to five years in jail, and five years probation for practicing medicine without a license and trying to sell fake immigration paperwork.
Characterized as both a “saint” and a “fraud” for her role in duping dozens of clients into buying fake immigration documents, a 57-year-old Gaithersburg woman was sentenced today to serve five years in county jail. Erlinda Marin, of the 18000 block of Cactus Court, was sentenced to for her role in the felony theft scheme, as well as one count of practicing medicine without a license. Marin was arrested in April after conspiring with Germantown resident Robert “Fred” Mejia to sell fraudulent immigration paperwork to more than 70 people she treated at a clinic she ran out of her home. She faced a maximum of 10 years. Judge Joseph Dugan sentenced her to 10 years, suspending five years, with the stipulated that she serve five years …
Liz Garcia
11:25 pm on Monday, January 7, 2013
You don't understand how hard it is to become legal in this country even if you do it the right way. That is why you have a bunch of immigrants breaking the law rather than paying thousands of dollars to go back to the same place you started. I'm adopted by an American citizen, yet I still don't have a social security but according to law my father is an American. Makes no sense to me, now I have… more ›