ATTORNEY HAMILTON WINS ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR GUATEMALAN ALIEN ACCUSED OF A "FALSE CLAIM OF CITIZENSHIP"

Chow & Hamilton today received notice that its motion to reconsider the denial of an adjustment of status for a Guatemalan national accused of having made a "false claim of citizenship" at the time of her attempted entry into the US in 2001, has been granted, and the alien adjusted to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status. The alien had originally sought entry and was "paroled" into the United States in 2001 as a minor.

In March of 2007, Hamilton took the case over from a previous attorney, after the Board of Immigration Appeals had denied the alien's appeal of a deportation order by an immigration Judge (IJ) in Los Angeles, California. Mr. Hamilton petitioned the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for review of the BIA decision sustaining deportation and subsequently sought reopening of the case with the lower BIA. The BIA upon the request of Hamilton's motion, reopened and remanded the case to the IJ for further proceedings in July of 2007.

Attorney Hamilton then sought to adjust the alien's status with the IJ, who in January 2008, granted a termination of Removal (court) proceedings to allow USCIS to adjudicate the adjustment of status (since IJs generally rule that they do not have jurisdiction over the adjustment of status of aliens "paroled" into the U.S.).

During the process of the alien's adjustment matter the USCIS adjudicating officer accused the alien of having made a false claim of US Citizenship upon attempting to enter the United States. This charge is a serious and devastating one, since, if true, it serves as a barrier to adjustment of status and is not waivable. Further, many officer's view the false claim statute as one of strict liability, meaning that once the false claim is made by word or deed, the negative consequences of that claim attach, regardless of the age of the alien. There are only very limited and narrow defenses to a false claim allegation. In spite of Mr. Hamilton's efforts to explain to the officer the legal reasons why this particular alien should be adjusted in spite of the officer's perception of the false claim, the adjustment was denied.

Hamilton filed a motion to reconsider USCIS's denial of the adjustment application in June 2009, and simultaneously fought off efforts by ICE to recalendar the case with the IJ for renewed removal proceedings. Mr. Hamilton articulated in his memorandum of law why in spite of the government's perception that minors are not exempted from the negative consequences of a false claim of citizenship, this particular minor could not be subjected to those consequences.

The fruit of those efforts are now manifest in the grant of the motion to reconsider and the alien's adjustment of status, allowing said alien for the first time in nine years, to truly embrace the concept of belonging to a specific country.

By: Maria Rangel

ATTORNEY HAMILTON SECURES ASYLUM FOR A KENYAN IN ANOTHER SAN DIEGO COURT CASE

On June 7, 2010, Attorney Hamilton tried yet another Kenyan asylum claim before the San Diego Immigration Court. The case was a complex one, involving a theory of "firm resettlement" in Europe as a ground for denial, posed by the Government, since the alien had resided in a certain European country for many years before coming to the United States. [Aliens, by law, are not entitled to asylum in the United States, if they have been "firmly resettled" in another country]. Mr. Hamilton was further required to overcome the government's initial arguments with regard to the alien's ineligibility due to the alien's failure to apply for asylum within one year of entry. The Immigration Judge, finding that the alien was not firmly resettled and had in fact satisfied a legalistic exception to the one year filing requirement, granted the asylum claim. Chow & Hamilton is grateful for the protection the Court has extended this client. The majority of Mr. Hamilton's immigration litigation matters continue to be conducted in the Los Angeles Immigration Court.

By: Chow & Hamilton

CHOW & HAMILTON FILE CIVIL SUIT IN HEMET DEPT. OF JUSTICE SHOOTING CASE

On June 9, 2010, Attorney, Peter C. Chow, filed suit in Riverside Superior Court in Abel, et al v. State of California. The law-suit seeks unspecified damages from the State of California and the Department of justice for injuries arising out of an incident in which agents of the California Department of Justice are alleged to have entered certain private property in Hemet California, and without provocation or cause, shot at and severely injured Mr. Abel. The shooting is further alleged to have caused further serious injury and damage to other Plaintiffs who were either in the company of Mr. Abel, or on the subject premises at the time of the incident. Mr. Chow has stated that, "we have now initiated a process by which all of the details of this troubling event may be fully discovered and understood, and the injured parties made whole."


By: Maria Rangel