A “Wish List” on Immigration

The Lady Immigration Lawyers of Minnesota celebrated the season with our own rendition of “All I Want for Christmas is You” this year (available on YouTube) – here were some of our top wishes:

• We’re excited for the return of prosecutorial discretion!
• We’re really excited for the repeal of the Muslim and other COVID bans.
• How about a return to caring about the safety and wellbeing of unaccompanied minors seeking refuge in America?
• And while we’re at it, we’d really like a USCIS customer service line that works and processing times that are reasonable.
• We’re looking forward to President-Elect Biden ending the green card wealth test (Public Charge Rule). Please save us from the indignity of the cumbersome, intrusive Form I-944.
• A return of fee waivers so applicants don’t have to decide between rent and their green card fees.
• Under the Biden administration, we will no longer see kids in cages. It’s a low bar, and we know that President-elect Biden will clear it.
• Once we free children from cages, we must reunite the 500+ children who remain separated from their parents at the border.
• We need to end MPP (Remain in Mexico) and process asylum applicants in an orderly, humane manner.

• We also are wishing for a holiday gift in the form of an increased U visa annual limit so that victims of crimes don’t have to wait for years for their green cards.
• We look forward to the Board of Immigration Appeals and a compassionate Attorney General taking steps to reverse decisions like Matter of A-B- and Matter of Castro Tum to return to due process and a reasonable standard for asylum adjudications for qualified applicants.
• It would be great to see an unbiased immigration court in the new year.
• And maybe, just maybe, we could pass the Dream Act and Comprehensive Immigration Reform!
• Just not having Trump as president will be huge and welcome holiday gift!

These are our wishes, sincerely,

1. Alyssa Nguyen
2. Ana Pottratz Acosta
3. Sandra Feist
4. Nysha Operana
5. Julie Carlson
6. Kim Hunter
7. Meg Hennessy
8. Mirella Ceja Orozco
9. Brooke Mengel
10. Sue Swanson
11. Rachel Engebretson
12. Lucy Egberg

by Sandra Feist