J. Famuyide Immigration Attorney

New Comprehensive Immigration

Reform Bill Introduced in Congress

I will like to congratulate all Americans for the successful inauguration of the new President held on January 20, 2009. It was indeed a historic moment to have the first African-American President of the United States of America installed hitch free. The untold part of history is that this president has fresh immigrant blood running through his veins. The success of the ceremony simply show case the U.S. to all and sundry as the leader of the free world where the son of an immigrant like any other human being created by God could be all that he wants to be. To welcome the new President Barack Obama to the coveted office of President, a new and improved Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill titled "Save America Comprehensive Immigration Act of 2009 was introduced in the House of Representatives in Washington, DC few days before the inauguration ceremony. The introduction of the new bill seems to follow the outcry of immigrants and various pressure groups that spoke loud and clear during the election by voting for Democrats, particularly the president. It was a surprise when I read in the New York Post of Saturday January 17, 2009 that the Post, a Conservative Newspaper, has now joined the U.S. Immigration News in advocating for the rights of immigrants in the United States. On January 1, 2009, USI News published an article placing a demand on President Obama's administration to make immigration issue a priority and on January 17, 2009; the New York Post reechoed the article almost to the point of repeating our article while calling on President Obama to act swiftly to actualize the promises made to immigrants to get their votes. Mr. President, we are waiting for action.I am happy to report that the newly proposed Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill has more "goodies" for the immigrants of the United States than any other one proposed in the past. Perhaps this bill mirrors the mindset of the members of the new Congress with Democrats as majority. The Save America Comprehensive Immigration Act of 2009 has many parts, but the most fascinating part is Title V - Legalization For Long-Term Residents. This section provides a pathway to adjustment of status to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence for one who has resided in the United States for a period not less than 5years from the date of the passage of the bill. Section 501 (a) of the Save America Comprehensive Immigration Act of 2009 provides that "The Secretary of Homeland Security may adjust the status of an alien to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if the alien-(1) was physically present in the United States for a continuous period of not less than 5 years immediately preceding the date on which this provision was enacted and has maintained continuous physical presence since then;(2) has at all times been a person of good moral character;(3) has never been convicted of a criminal offense in the United States;(4) in the case of an alien who is 18 years of age or older, but who is not over the age of 65, has successfully completed a course on reading, writing, and speaking words in ordinary usage in the English language, unless unable to do so on account of physical or developmental disability or mental impairment.(5) in the case of an alien 18 years of age or older, has accepted the values and cultural life of the United States; and(6) in the case of an alien 18 years of age or older, has performed at least 40 hours of community service."The requirements of the proposed bill leading to legalization are humane, fair and just. If the president can push this bill through to become law, the Democrats will have immigrants' votes in their pockets for a long time. The much-awaited "Dream Act" was tacitly incorporated into the legalization section of the new bill. Section 502 of the bill, though not expressly called the Dream Act covers those the Dream Act was meant to help, children who were brought to the United States illegally or kept in the United States illegally. Section 502 (a) of the Save America Comprehensive Immigration Act of 2009 provides that "The Secretary of Homeland Security may adjust the status of an alien to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if the alien is a child at the time of filing the application for such adjustment and establishes that the alien, at such time-(1) has been physically present and enrolled in school in the United States for a continuous period of not less than 5 years immediately preceding the date of such application, and during that period has been a person of good moral character;(2) has fully integrated into life in the United States;(3) has learned English or is satisfactorily pursuing a course of study to achieve an understanding of English;(4) is successfully pursuing an elementary school, middle school, high school, or college-level education; and(5) if older than 13 years of age, has performed at least 60 hours of community service."This Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill will grant over 12million aliens in the United States stability, save the U.S. billions of dollars now being spent on enforcement and generate billions of dollars to the United States through increased revenue from filing and taxes.President Barack Obama has only two years to accomplish anything that he might want to do for immigrants. The earlier he acts, the better for his administration. The President needs to use the current equity the people of the United States has given him through about 75% approval rating before Conservatives begin to whip up sentiments against immigrants like they did under the Bush administration. Let me give the Democrats a piece of advice, you cannot be guaranteed majority in Congress beyond the midterm election of 2010. If history will hold right, majority in Congress always shifts during midterm elections against the party of the President. Americans love checks and balances, right now everything is one sided in favor of Democrats, leadership scale might shift a little bit in favor of Republicans in Congress. During Clinton's administration, the Republicans came up with the "Contract with America" led by Newt Gingrich and they hijacked the Congress from Democrats. Something similar to that might happen again.All immigrants must act, by calling their Congressman or woman, to support the Save America Comprehensive Immigration Act of 2009. All you need to do is call your Congressman's number and leave a message saying, "Please support the Save America Comprehensive Immigration Act of 2009" Thank you. If you have any comments or question regarding this article, please feel free to contact, Attorney Joseph Famuyide @ 718-647-6767 or send email to jfamuyide@aol.com