Maryland residents may be aware that U.S. immigration authorities are struggling to cope with a wave of asylum seekers who hope to escape persecution or danger in their home countries and begin new lives in the United States. Many of these people are gay or...
Your Immigration
Legal Advocates
Year: 2016
Changing face of immigration
Many Maryland residents mistakingly believe that the majority of immigrants, both legal and illegal, come from Mexico. The reality is that immigration from Mexico has dropped substantially since its peak in 2007. Instead, more immigrants are arriving from India and...
Convictions for marijuana and naturalization
While the use of marijuana is now viewed with much less stigma in Maryland and across the rest of the country, convictions for possessing it may still present problems for permanent residents who wish to apply for naturalization. A conviction may result in a person's...
Making naturalization easier in Maryland
A program called Citizenshipworks developed by the Immigration Advocates Network aims to make it easier for immigrants to become naturalized citizens. The program is similar to ones commonly used to help individuals complete their tax returns, and it is free to use....
Immigration detainees may have died due to negligence
Observers allege that conditions at U.S. immigration detention centers have led to the death of numerous detainees. One incident, which began with the June 2011 detention of a 54-year-old, resulted in the man waiting to be treated for 22 days and eventually dying from...
Spending bill proposes H2-B visa expansion
The U.S. House of Representatives is reviewing a spending bill that includes an extension of the H-2B visa program. Immigrants and companies in Maryland may benefit from low-skilled temporary workers being allowed to stay longer in the United States under the...
Minors may get citizenship through their naturalized parents
Immigrants in Maryland who have a parent that became a naturalized U.S. citizen may be able to automatically claim citizenship. A person who was a U.S. permanent resident and a minor at the time the parent was naturalized may have already achieved that status,...
Women at detention center denied legal counsel
Maryland immigrant rights activists likely reacted with dismay when they learned that several Central American women who were seeking asylum in the United States said they were denied their right to legal counsel when facing deportation. Legally, even if they receive...
Immigrant released from detention after having 7 seizures
Some immigrants who are targeted for deportation are held in detention centers. Federal officials frequently detain immigrants who are caught crossing the border illegally. As many Maryland residents know the beginning of January, the U.S. Immigration and Customs...
Increasing number of Hispanic immigrants applying for citizenship
Hundreds of thousands of today's Hispanic immigrants through the U.S., including in Maryland, have decided to apply for citizenship. The increasing number of immigrants interested in citizenship is causing the number of eligible voters who are Hispanic to reach record...