Weekly Round-Up: NJ Driver’s Licenses; Asylum Cases; COVID Restrictions : Immigration Law Blog

New Jersey Sees Dramatic Enhance in Driver’s Licenses after Allowing Undocumented People to Apply

The state of New Jersey has seen a greater than 60% improve in new driver’s licenses issued since Could 1, as the brand new state legislation took impact legislation that permitted residents to acquire licenses no matter immigration standing. The Motor Automobile Fee (MVC) doesn’t preserve data of immigration standing and thus couldn’t affirm the reason for the rise. Nonetheless, an increase of 100,000 whole licenses issued over the previous three months, from the everyday 60,000 over the identical interval in earlier years, is probably going fueled in vital half by the brand new legislation.

Though extra driver’s licenses have been issued, backlogs have additionally elevated, with some individuals now ready a number of weeks for appointments to obtain their licenses. Immigrant rights activists have expressed frustration over the delay, with the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice stating that the “MVC had almost 3 years of discover and greater than sufficient time to have interaction advocates and the neighborhood to organize.” The MVC has indicated that it plans so as to add personnel to its services to make extra appointments out there and improve consciousness of on-line assets in order that many individuals can keep away from pointless in-person journeys.

President Biden Goals to Expedite Asylum Processing

This week, the White Home introduced a broad new set of initiatives devoted to streamlining the adjudication of asylum functions in the USA whereas additionally growing the usage of expedited removing of detained noncitizens whereas getting into the USA with out documentation.

The Biden administration said that it had established a separate docket within the immigration courtroom system to deal with asylum functions to assist handle the in depth backlog of circumstances all through the USA. President Biden has additionally requested funding in subsequent yr’s funds for a further 100 immigration judges and new assist employees and requested for $15 million in funding to assist professional bono authorized providers for immigrants going through removing proceedings. In the meantime, President Biden has referred to as to develop the expedited removing course of, permitting immigration officers to order a noncitizen’s removing from the USA even earlier than that particular person has seen a choose, coming throughout the bigger said aim of strengthening border safety.

The Norris McLaughlin Immigration Regulation Weblog, “Immigration Issues,” will proceed to cowl this story as Congress considers funding these new initiatives.

COVID-19 Border Restrictions to Stay in Place

The White Home has delayed implementing a plan for a partial rescission of a coverage instituted by the Trump administration following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic that permitted border officers to summarily expel immigrants on the U.S./Mexico border in an try to stem the unfold of the coronavirus. President Biden cited the brand new risks of the Delta variant as the rationale for the delay.

President Biden is going through strain on each side of his occasion on this problem. Many Democrats have urged Biden to ease this coverage, arguing that it prevents a correct evaluate of whether or not immigrants have a authentic declare to stay in the USA. California Democrat Judy Chu instructed Reuters information that “they’re simply indiscriminately rejecting individuals and sending them again.” Nonetheless, different Democrats, akin to Henry Cuellar of Texas, have said that the main focus should be on the security of border communities and stopping undocumented entry into the nation.

The White Home didn’t instantly clarify when it will revisit the coverage.

In case you have any questions on this weblog publish or some other immigration issues, please be at liberty to contact me at wcmenard@norris-law.com or 484-544-0022.