Page 6 - NC Triangle Vol 7 No 1

They are obstructing lawful immigration through agency memos and Attorney General decisions, for example, which makes the entire process more di cult to navigate and more and more restrictive. They are squeezing immigration not only at the borders but within our borders as well.”
GARDNER LAW ON
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S
IMMIGRATION POLICIES
BY BOB FRIEDMAN
D
migration attorneys Gigi Gardner and Nam Douglass with Gardner Law, PLLC talked with Attorney at Law Magazine NC Triangle Executive Publisher Bob Friedman in January about how Trump’s immigration policy is cur- rently being implemented at the agency level. Gardner and Douglass are contributing edi- tors on immigration for the magazine.
AALM: Is President Trump’s tone of strict immigration policy directly impacting your clients?
GARDNER: Yes. One hundred percent, all day, every day. ey are obstructing lawful immigration through agency memos and At- torney General decisions, for example, which makes the entire process more di cult to nav- igate and more and more restrictive. ey are squeezing immigration not only at the bor- ders but within our borders as well.
It’s a ecting all of our clients. We want at- torneys in any eld of practice to know they need to be vigilant with their immigrant cli- ents and be aware of their immigration status. ey may need to meet with an immigration attorney to see how other legal issues are go- ing to a ect their status.
DOUGLASS: e lines between the vari- ous agencies overseeing immigration have
NAM DOUGLASS | PHOTO BY: HEADSHOTS AND CORPORATE.
espite the ongoing stalemate in Con- gress over the border wall, DACA and
other immigration legislation, im-
been blurred and now enforcement has been ramped up within every agency. ey are in- tent on pushing people into the immigration court system, which o en leads to their de- portation, whereas historically agencies such as USCIS did not focus on enforcement, only granting a rmative relief.
Everything is also taking a lot longer. When clients come to see us, we now have to go fur- ther into researching their backgrounds and immigration histories. When they le a peti- tion, say for naturalization, the government is looking back at every document that person ever led looking for some way to say ‘no’ or maybe nd that he or she shouldn’t have even become a resident in the rst place. O en, we have to le Freedom of Information Act re- quests to get access to these documents which adds at least 6 months to the process before their case can even be led.
AALM: So, it’s more than just trying to keep illegal immigrants out of the country.
GARDNER:Absolutely. ey’ve altered the system to make it more di cult for anyone to comply with the law and stay in the U.S., even if they have lawful status. For instance, one group particularly hard hit is international students.
AALM: A lot of your clients are high tech/ bio/pharma companies in the Triangle with top people who came to the U.S. as students.
ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · NORTH CAROLINA TRIANGLE. 7 NO. 1 6