For nearly the entire course of our nation’s history, immigrants have been a quintessential part of our national identity and an integral part of our national success. However despite these clear contributions, many immigrants in NY and throughout the country are still forced to live on the fringes of society, cut off from crucial benefits and making them easy targets for hucksters, abusive employers and others seeking to prey on those who have been denied the means of fighting back. As attorneys with more than 20 years of experience, we at Bretz & Coven, LLP have seen this firsthand. We are committed to advocating for the comprehensive immigration reforms necessary to welcome these valued members of our society with open arms.
Bretz & Coven is poised to help immigrants take advantage of proposed programs that could offer protection and inclusion to those who entered the country without inspection, but have since become valued members of their communities. Z visas and other amnesty-type programs would allow these people finally to come out of the shadows and become full participants in our society without risking deportation. While many such proposals have faced stiff resistance, the current administration’s deferred action program represents a fundamental shift toward a policy of inclusion and recognition of the undocumented immigrants among us.
Unfortunately, deferred action is flawed in that it does not offer a path to citizenship, but is instead a stopgap measure that provides temporary security to those who entered the country as children. It also does nothing to assist the many older undocumented immigrants who have lived quiet and laborious lives for years, all in constant fear of deportation. To truly welcome these valuable members of our society, expanded green card programs must be created that offer otherwise law-abiding non-citizens currently in the country the opportunity to adjust their statuses to that of legal permanent residents.
The present U.S. administration has certain goals for immigration reform that honor our values as a nation and support the contributions of immigrants to our economic development:
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Bretz & Coven stays involved in how these goals affect our clients and assists in helping secure amnesty to the extent the law allows. Mr. Kerry Bretz is a founding member of Immigrant’s List, a bipartisan PAC that works to help elect candidates who care about meaningful immigration reform. While this issue has arisen in Congress time and time again, it has consistently met with defeat and failure. Therefore, if you care about comprehensive immigration reform, write a letter to your representative or senator through Immigrant’s List or Justice for Immigrants.
As immigration attorneys in NY, our commitment at Bretz & Coven, LLP goes beyond individual cases. We are also vocal advocates for the systematic reforms we believe are necessary to promote justice and inclusion for our clients. Contact our experienced immigration lawyers in New York City today at 212-267-2555 or online for creative solutions to your complex immigration problems. For an office appointment in Metro Park, New Jersey, call 1 (732) 313-0075.