Miller Mayer immigration attorney Steve Yale-Loehr was quoted recently by various media outlets:
On family reunification:
- Univision: Qué pasa si el gobierno de Trump no cumple con la reunificación de familias ordenada por una corte federal
- Agence France-Presse (numerous newspapers, including): EUA no caminho para reunir pais e filhos imigrantes ‘elegíveis’
- Pacific Standard: What Happens if the Government Misses the Deadline for Family Reunification?
Mr. Yale-Loehr noted that if the government misses the deadline, the federal judge has little means to enforce the order. “You can’t throw the government in jail. It’s hard to do too much as a court, other than keep the hearings public…and try to urge the government to reunify the families as soon as possible.”
On ICE tactics:
Mr. Yale-Loehr said, “”ICE feels more liberated in arresting people than under the prior administration.” He noted that courthouse arrests make immigrants afraid to report crimes. “It makes immigrants fearful about reporting crimes to the police, showing up for cases that they are supposed to be involved with or testify in or attend because they have a relative in the case. It’s the same kind of concern that police officers have about ICE enforcement priorities generally.”
Mr. Yale-Loehr said, “I question whether this takes away resources that really should go after criminal gangs and other serious criminal aliens. The administration is trying to instill fear among undocumented immigrants.”
Mr. Yale-Loehr said that asylum-seekers “need to be better prepared than ever before, and they need to make sure their testimony is consistent. …People can still win asylum if they have well-prepared cases. In my experience, most people who apply for asylum do so out of desperation, not because they’re trying to game the system. We have an international commitment to make sure people are not sent back to the place [where] they would be persecuted. It’s not just something nice to do, it’s our obligation to protect those people.”