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CAUTION!
This
site is no longer actively maintained.
It remains on-line as a historical exhibit about immigration, and as
a record of creative research and service by University
of Tennessee
law students. The issues dealt with here are still fascinating and timely,
but viewers should use caution. Any specific legal information contained on
this site should not be relied upon, because it may have changed in the
intervening years. For
additional information about this site and the decision to leave it on the
web, visit the home page: http://web.utk.edu/~tnlatina/
~Immigration Law~
For web links and
contacts on this issue, see our general links & contacts pages.
A full description of the ins and outs of immigration law is far beyond
the capacity of this web page and its creators. There are knowledgeable
attorneys in Tennessee and
elsewhere who can provide assistance to individuals who need advice and
representation about their immigration status, and we list some of them
elsewhere on this web page. There are also advocacy organizations and
immigration policy groups with extensive knowledge of immigration law and
its consequences. The INS itself has a web page loaded with information.
Here we will attempt to do no more than provide a broad overview.
U.S.
federal immigration law creates a complex (and frequently changing) list of
ways that immigrants to the U.S.
can establish citizenship, permanent residency status or provisional work
authorization. Current immigration policy imposes numerical limits and long
waiting lists for most categories of people admitted for immigration, and
it is built primarily around three main grounds for admission:
reunification for the families of U.S.
citizens and some permanent residents, the changing labor force needs of
the U.S.
economy, and the granting of political asylum for individuals from selected
countries. There is also a "diversity" category, run on a lottery
basis, that was created to increase the proportion
of immigrants from "under-represented" (mainly European)
countries.
Though not uncommon, it would be wrong for people to assume that any
Latino/a immigrant of limited means and without
extraordinary skills or assets must be in this country illegally. Past and
present routes to legal status are not entirely closed. (Some immigrants
qualified for amnesty during the limited window of opportunity created in
the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Some are married to or
otherwise related to a U.S.
citizen or permanent resident who can petition to adjust their status. Some
may qualify as refugees or asylees, or may get
the benefit of special country-linked programs enacted periodically by
Congress in response to political developments, natural disasters, etc.) In
fact, determining whether a given individual has a valid route to adjusting
his immigration status is a matter that often requires considerable
expertise and detailed information.
On the other hand, for many low-skill and low-wage Latino immigrants in
Tennessee, especially those who entered the country without authorization,
the reality is that they have virtually no near-term chance of achieving
legal status, of "getting their papers in order," even if they
could afford to pay a skilled immigration attorney to help them. They thus
remain vulnerable to removal by the Immigration and Naturalization Service
and without many rights and benefits that are taken for granted by most
citizens. Complicating the matter further, many Latino families contain
within them a mixture of different immigration statuses. A single extended
family may include permanent residents, U.S.-born and naturalized citizens,
and asylum seekers, together with others who have no documentation at all.
Whatever the status of these newcomers, they are incontrovertibly here,
contributing to the economy and taking part in the life of our communities.
More Tennesseeans need to become familiar with
the patchwork of vulnerabilities and rights that characterizes this diverse
community. For instance, anyone who wants to provide services to
immigrants, to represent them in legal matters, to recruit them into local
institutions and activities -- including everything from the PTA to a labor
union, or a worshiping congregation -- should learn more about the complex
and sometimes contradictory set of legal rules under which they live and
work beside us.
Some major pieces of federal immigration law include the following:
[Immigration Act of 1965]
Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA)
Immigration Act of 1990 (IMMACT)
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act (1996)
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA)
(1996)
[Restoration of some benefits for immigrants]
The world of immigrants’ rights covers much more ground than pure
"immigration law." This web page attempts to highlight a few of
the most important intersections between immigration law and other sorts of
rights and obligations. Innumerable situations may call for an immigrant or
her advocate to consider the uneven impact of immigration status on other
fields of law and life, for instance:
Obtaining a driver’s license
Deciding whether to report a safety violation at work
Paying taxes
Collecting tax credits or refunds
Deciding whether to accept a plea bargain
Making bail
Assessing one’s options as a battered wife
Getting married
Getting divorced
Deciding whether to join a union
Enrolling a child in school
Speaking freely about one’s political beliefs
Finding health care
Obtaining public benefits such as food stamps, welfare, etc.
Renting an apartment
Opening a bank account
Sending money to a family member back home
Voting
Claiming the protection of the U.S.
or Tennessee constitution
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