With all the news on immigration - DACA, raids, funding, - it's important to have an attorney that cannot only take your case, but can explain it to you as well.

At the Law Offices of Michael Mehr, educating our clients is a key component of our practice.

Our very own Michael Mehr - founder and managing attorney of the office - was quoted recently in an article by the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

Read more to find out! http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/events/20180202/attorneys-explain-immigration-options-to-salvadorans-at-tps-forum-in-live-oak

Las noticias indican que las redadas de ICE vienen este mes.

Por favor, infórmese. Le presento numeros de telefono de abogados que estan listos para responder a estas redadas. Mira en que condado estan antes de llamar.

Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership (ACILEP)

Region covered: Alameda County

510-241-4011

http://centrolegal.org/acilep/

San Francisco Rapid Response Network

Region covered: San Francisco City

415-200-1548

http://sfilen.org/

Santa Clara County Rapid Response

Network

Region Covered: Santa Clara County

408-290-1144

https://www.pactsj.org/santa-clara-county-rapid-response-network/

Monterey County Rapid Response Network

Region covered: Monterey County

831-643-5225

http...

Normally, blog posts have some light humor - or catchy phrasing - to get you hooked. This is not one of those blog posts.

To EVERYONE in Bay Area cities: ICE is coming.

If you or a loved one is detained, please consult the following resources (by county) of a network of immigration lawyers' Rapid Response. Call these numbers ASAP and you can be connected to immigration attorneys in your area:

Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership (ACILEP)

Region covered: Alameda County

510-241-4011

http://centrolegal.org/acilep/

San Francisco Rapid Response Network

Region covered: San Francisco City

415-200-1548

http://sfilen.org/

Santa Clara County Rapid Response

Network

Region Covered: Santa Cla...

For those of you who missed last week's news, DACA is back! The 9th Circuit (covering California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, and other western states) issued an order directing the federal government to restore DACA. Many immigration attorneys - including us! - decided to hold off on submitting any applications until immigration issued a statement.

Well, now they have.

Here are the 3 Most Important Points about DACA:

One, DACA is back under its original terms, which means anyone whose last DACA expired September 5, 2016 or later should submit a renewal application NOW.

Two, first-time applicants cannot request DACA now for the first time. But anyone who had DACA which expired September 4, 201...

The Ninth Circuit again leads the nation in resisting the policies of an Administration which has repeatedly broken its promises to the people in this country.

To find out more about the decision, read here.

As experienced attorneys, we have seen before how quickly cases can move through the court system. Remember DAPA -the protection for foreign-born parents of U.S. citizens? It never saw the light of day before being axed by the Supreme Court within months.

We advise everyone to act quickly and submit your DACA renewal applications immediately. Remember, although the courts may change DACA quickly, for now, it is the law.

Contact our office, we have several appointments left this week. Book yo...

Groundhog Day is about a month away, and yet, every day I wake up and feel like I'm dreaming - with every bit of news about the leaders of this country throwing away our values and the rule of law.

Thomas Homan, the head of ICE, speaking to Fox News, said he wants all politicians in sanctuary cities to be arrested and charged with crimes.

Let's outline what this whole sanctuary policy means - states like California enforce state law (so do cities). The federal government enforces federal law. That's why, for example, when you get caught speeding on the highway - you get pulled over by local police, not the FBI. Respecting the difference between state and federal law is a *key* feature of our e...

A new year always brings new opportunities - new goals, new perspectives, new ideas.

Unfortunately, many in this Administration and its supporters keep clinging to an old idea - why haven't all immigrants applied for their papers yet? Many of these same people think it's a matter of just walking into a government office and asking for an appointment. (It's not, and even if true, when was the last time you went to the DMV and spent a short amount of time?)

At our firm, we counsel clients not just about what their options are, but also the way the law works generally. Education is a core component of our practice. And it's vital - most Americans have little to no idea how immigration actually wo...

Our administration appears hellbent on making sure some version of the travel ban is in place. Unfortunately, with the Supreme Court's ruling on Monday, that time is now here.

Here's what the ban does: it allows the Department of Homeland Security to deny permanent and temporary visas - and thus entries - to the U.S. for individuals from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen, as well as North Korea, and a small set of Venezuelan government officials. It would not affect green card holders, or people who had visas at the time of the Executive Order (September 24, 2017).

There is a waiver available, however, which Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) will consider on a case-by-case basis. If t...

The results are in!

In 2017, 43% of companies on the Fortune 500 were founded by immigrants or their children - a total of 216 out of 500 companies. Within just the top 25, it's over 50%.

Read more to find out about the research behind the numbers:

https://qz.com/1151689/216-companies-on-the-fortune-500-were-founded-by-immigrants-or-their-children/

In another unsurprising move by our beleaguered Attorney General, a memo was released earlier this week outlining future goals for the Immigration Court system known as EOIR:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1015996/download

First, notice how this Administration - rather than using its resources to compile data and create a bottom-up solution to the problem of backlogged courts - issues a top-down directive in the form of a memo, again treating this country and its policies like a corporation.

But the real problem is the text of the memo. There are 2 glaring problems.

(1) The memorandum calls for a quota system to be used by judges, which the memo refers to as "performance measure...