Recent Changes in the United States Immigration Laws
"With silent lips. 'Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me" Does this look familiar? It's the last half of the poem by Emma Lazarus written in 1883; the inscription on plaque at the Statue of Liberty. America was built on immigration, early settlers came from all over the world to the new land, and immigrants since the original settlers were mostly welcomed with open arms as it aided the growth in American economics, society, culture, and infrastructure.
However times have changed drastically since Lazarus's poem was granted immortality on one of America's biggest icons. Immigration laws have been passed many times, affecting many different types of people, racism and segregation plagued the country for most of the 20th century, no longer were immigrants greeted with open arms. Over 100 years later, immigration laws are still affecting everyday life for many people. There are two great examples of these laws passed in the past 4 years, Georgia's Security and Immigration Compliance Act and Arizona's SB 1070.
Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act prohibits the hiring of immigrants who have not verified their citizenship, it also prohibits business claiming paid wages to undocumented employees as allowable business expenses for state income tax. This act also targets any immigrants who cannot prove their citizenship who have been charged with and jailed for a felony or DUI. These immigrants will be reported to the Department of Homeland Security and may face deportation.
The recently passed Arizona SB 1070 was not a step forward in welcoming immigrants to America. Under this bill authorities have the right to stop anyone who looks like they are immigrants in the country, whether they are driving, walking, a pre-teen, or an 80 year old who has been here for 50 years. During this stop the authorities are instructed to ask for the proper documents verifying that the person is a legal immigrant (a valid U.S. license will suffice). If they cannot provide these papers on site the authorities are legally allowed to detain them until it is proven that they are legal immigrants, if they cannot they will be deported. This bill also prohibits teachers with heavy foreign accents from teaching English classes in Arizona schools. This is a bill that has been under attack from many different outlets, yet many states included the aforementioned Georgia are looking to adopt this bill, or at least versions of this bill.
Any person who was not born in the United State should be researching for an immigration law firm in their area. This is because an immigration lawyer may be needed to help these immigrants gain the proper documents so that they will be prepared for when a police officer asks them for these documents. One should note that though an immigration attorney may be costly, you can't put a price on freedom, and may offer free consultation to figure out whether or not you are at risk of being deported and will help you be sure that you can stay in the country.
Since United States immigration laws are a complicated area for most people, only an experienced Atlanta immigration lawyer can assist you through all aspects of immigration law. Visit our website if you need to hire an immigration law firm in Atlanta.
Copyright © 2011 LexisNexis. All rights reserved.