Discussion Points for Punto Legal –November 06, 2019

Discussion Points for Punto Legal – November 06, 2019

 

1. New Spanish-speaking criminal defense lawyer.

We have a new Spanish-speaking criminal defense abodgado. His name is Brian Roche. Brian is fluent in Spanish. He has seen a lot of criminal cases as a public defender in Denver. And he served as prosecutor in Eagle County. Working as a prosecutor actually makes you a better defense lawyer. Now you can hire a lawyer who is ready to defend you and explain everything to you in Spanish.

2. A War Story . . .

I came across this story this week. Eloisa is a 48-year-old Mexican woman who lives in the State of Chihuahua. She gave birth to a U.S. citizen son in the U.S. He is over 21. In 2017, her son applied to fix her papers. Since she is in Mexico, she went to the U.S. Consulate in CDJ to fix her papers. Eloisa had an immigration history. Her records showed she tried to enter the U.S. with her sister’s visa in 1999. She was turned back but entered illegally the next day. In 2005 she went back to Mexico with her husband. She has brothers and sisters who are U.S. residents or citizens. Her mother is a 72-year-old U.S. citizen. When she went to her interview, she learned she had a bar to entry for fraud. Her family hired a notario to request a fraud wavier. In the meantime, her husband was killed by a gang in Mexico. Then her waiver was denied. To get the waiver, she needed to show that her U.S.-citizen mother would suffer an extreme hardship if Eloisa could not be with her mother in the U.S. Instead, the notario used her son as the qualifying relative for the waiver. The law saws the qualifying relative for the waiver has to be a U.S. parent or spouse, not a child. The immigration service had no choice but to deny the waiver. There is a difference between immigration lawyers and notarios: immigration attorneys know the law.

3. El Salvador TPS.

Last week there was news about a TPS extension for Salvadorans. Now it is official. Salvadoran TPS has been extended until January 4, 2021. If you currently have TPS, you do not have to re-register. Your work authorization has been extended until January 4. 2021. If you live in Colorado and have a U.S.-citizen child over 21 or a spouse who can immigrate you, you should travel with permission to El Salvador so that you can fix your papers in the U.S.

4. Health Insurance Proclamation.

On October 4, President Trump issued a proclamation that, beginning November 3, 2019, would restrict immigration to the United States by people who are uninsured and cannot pay the costs of their health care. This restriction, which would operate independently of the “public charge” rule, represents the latest move by the Trump administration to limit immigration by people who cannot pass a wealth test. Last Saturday, a federal court temporarily blocked the start of the proclamation.

Tune into our radio show
Punto Legal

Wednesdays, 5-6 pm

94.5 FM / Garfield & Mesa Counties

102.5 FM / Eagle County

107.1 / Summit County

Serving Western Colorado