- Criminal Defense5. Those seeking to arrest and detain individuals for suspected undocumented status, including law enforcement officers and others, are clearly unqualified to make a determination about unlawful status. According to legal scholars, immigration law is one of the complicated areas of U.S. law, with many thousands of pages of statutes, regulations, agency written policies and procedures stemming from each of the three major government agencies (USCIS, CBP and ICE) tasked with interpreting, applying and enforcing immigration law. Enforcing immigration law requires a thorough knowledge not only of immigration law, but also understanding how immigration law intersects with and is impacted by numerous other areas of law, such as criminal law, constitutional law and administrative agency law. Further, enforcing immigration laws require an understanding of relevant interpretations of immigration laws and regulations, issued by U.S. District Courts, U.S. Circuit Courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. What this means is that making a decision to determine whether a person should be arrested, detained and given over to ICE for detention and possible removal, is a very complicated one. Consequently, giving authority to a person who has a mere suspicion or scant knowledge of a person’s status, or acts without a legal understanding of a person's status, is profoundly reckless.
- Traffic Violations1. Certain large municipalities and smaller jurisdictions could face injunctions for failure to support enforcement of federal immigration laws. Some jurisdictions have policies, written or otherwise, that do not authorize the arrest of undocumented individuals which law enforcement officers encounter on a daily basis, including those cited for minor traffic violations such as speeding or failure to stop at a stop sign. Under current policy under some jurisdictions, as long as a person has an ID issued by a government entity, even a foreign entity, the person stopped will be given a ticket and allowed to proceed. The person stopped is not asked to produce documentation to verify legal status, and the police officer is not authorized to contact ICE, or told to act as a defacto ICE officer and arrest the person for not having authorization to remain in the U.S. Under SB-1 these jurisdictions would likely be sued for not promoting the ”enforcement of federal immigration law.” Already overburdened courts and jails would be forced to spend time and resources enforcing immigration laws.
- Theft
- MisdemeanorsDuffy practiced criminal defense for nearly three years as a Louisville Metro Public Defender. He litigated over 2000 misdemeanors and felonies including several homicides. He achieved multiple acquittals through jury verdict and received the Walker Award for excellence in a felony jury trial where the client faced up to life in prison if convicted. He regularly consulted with clients about the immigration consequences of criminal convictions. He speaks English and Spanish.
- Drug CrimesIf passed, SB-1 will potentially set into motion additional anti-immigrant sentiment and actions in our state population that will negatively impact the immigrant community in the numerous ways discussed below. Additionally, SB-1 will further set back efforts to build support for pro-immigration legislation and policies in our communities. SB-1 has the potential to create a very hostile, anti-immigrant environment that could have repercussions for all immigrants and their families for years to come. Specifically, SB-1 will likely lead to the arrest and deportation of thousands of additional immigrants. Practically, it could actively turn thousands of KY residents against immigrants, making as many as possible defacto ICE agents who report any suspected “illegals” to the local, county and state police, and other public employees charged with “supporting the enforcement of our federal immigration laws.” And because SB-1 specifically authorizes legal action against local, county and state officials who do not “use their best efforts....to support the enforcement of federal immigration law", they will be pressured to act on reports of all “illegals” in their respective jurisdictions. Reactionary politicians will most assuredly jump on board to "out-do the other" in efforts to rid our communities of “illegals” whom they will claim traffic in drugs and engage in cartel violence. Reactionary politicians are already using the recent Courier Journal article on the drug trafficking and related cartel violence of “El Mencho” and his associates as reason we all must be afraid and rid our communities of the scourge of “illegals” that threatens our safety and decency. Little concern is given to the fact that the recent arrivals into the U.S are in most cases women and children who are actual victims or potential victims of the most vicious, shocking and inhumane cartel violence in their own communities.
- Identity TheftKentuckians who have experienced tax-related identity theft should follow guidance provided on the IRS website, which includes filing a complaint at identitytheft.gov and placing fraud alerts on credit records.
- Extortion7. Under SB-1 many undocumented individuals who are authorized to remain in the U.S. could mistakenly face arrest, detention, and possible removal. Many people are lawfully present in the U.S. even though they have entered without inspection. For example, individuals in immigration court proceedings, who previously entered without inspection, are allowed to remain in the U.S. while their proceedings continue, and longer, if appeal is filed with the BIA or US Circuit Court of Appeals. Others who are out of status but have filed an application for extension of current visa status, or filed for asylum, TPS, or any other status for which they were eligible and remain waiting for adjudication, are very likely lawfully present in the U.S. ICE of the USCIS may have granted qualified undocumented individuals a “humanitarian” stay of removal for reasons based on family hardship, or likely persecution, if returned to their home country. Some undocumented individuals are considered “stateless" and unable to return to any country to live. In other cases individuals are lawfully present under a rule or policy issued by the Attorney General or a surrogate. Some of the above individuals may have proof in their possession of their lawful authorization to remain in the U.S. Others may not. In some cases the proof of authorization to remain may appear confusing or unclear. But an agency employee or police officer is very likely without knowledge of the intricacies of immigration law to make a proper decision regarding a person’s authorization to remain in the US. Without that knowledge the suspected unauthorized individual will likely suffer unlawful arrest, detention and, in the worst case, improper removal from the U.S. Those removed will lose their jobs, contact with friends, family and children in the U.S. Many will face living in a country for which they have been absent from for many years, or have no discernible memory of ever living there. In the worst case they could suffer removal to a country where they fear for their safety and even their lives. Academic scholars have reported that people living in the U.S. for many years when returning home face immediate targeting by gangs and cartels who assume they have money for extortion. Or they have useful skills gangs and cartels could use in their illegal activity. They are forced to join or face death.
- Citizenship and Naturalization
- Family ImmigrationA member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and various immigrant rights advocacy groups, Ms. Mendoza-Newton has been interviewed about immigration issues by multiple Kentucky media outlets. She has fiercely advocated for immigrant and refugee rights for many years, most notably in the defeat of SB6, the Kentucky bill that would have been the equivalent of Arizona’s infamous anti-immigrant law. Her practice focuses primarily on U visas (for crime victims), family-based immigration, naturalization, asylum, and defending immigrants in the Immigration Court. Ms. Mendoza-Newton particularly enjoys helping abused, victimized, or oppressed people to take back power over their own lives, and deeply values the privilege of watching them flower into strength and independence as their cases move forward.
- Employment ImmigrationRon Russell began practicing immigration law in 1989. Licensed to practice before the Supreme Court of Kentucky, the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Mr. Russell successfully represented clients throughout the United States and world in all areas of family-based and employment-based immigration, as well as in asylum applications and removal proceedings.
- Work VisasTed taught for many years at Hanover College in Indiana, where he also served as Director of International Programs, before beginning his immigration law practice in 2010. Ted represents clients in a wide range of immigration matters, including university students, faculty, and staff; employment visas for technical specialists; investor visas; family-based immigration; immigrant visas; naturalization; removal defense in Immigration Court; and visas for crime victims. Ted has represented clients before USCIS, the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), the Immigration Court (EOIR), the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), the US Department of State, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and in Kentucky state courts. He speaks English, French, and Spanish.
- Investor Visas
- Removal Defense
- Power of Attorney“power of attorney” (carta poder) para darle a la persona custodia temporal para tomar decisiones escolares o por el bien estar de sus hijos en caso de que usted no pueda cuidarlos.