Denver, Colorado – Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley is sending lawmakers back to the drawing board to rework proposed revisions to the state’s immigration law – considered the toughest in the nation.

Bentley, a Republican, said he wants the legislature to remove a provision in Alabama’s immigration law that requires school officials to ask students about the legal status of their parents.

Bentley signed a proclamation calling for a special session of the Alabama legislature starting May 17. The special session is to cover measures dealing with the state budget, redistricting as well as immigration.

A press release issued by the governor’s office expressed concern about two key provisions of a bill that contained revisions to an existing immigration bill, HB 56, which was signed into law last year. Bentley appears to be concerned that the revised measure tramples on constitutional rights. immigration.

To read more about this topic, click on the following link: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2012/05/17/alabama-governor-sends-lawmakers-back-to-drawing-board-on-immigration-law/.

Sarpong Law Offices represents Immigration clients throughout the United States from Los Angeles California to Philadelphia Pensylvania. Our Immigration Lawyers and Attorneys counsel clients with regard to Green Card Applications, US Citizenship, Non-Immigrant Visas, Family and Employment Visas, and Immigration Court Representations.

Denver, Colorado – Pope Benedict XVI has praised the “great generosity” of American Catholics in welcoming new immigrants and backed the commitment of bishops in the United States to immigration reform.

Benedict on Friday held the last of a series of periodic meetings with American bishops over the past few months, saying the church must embrace “the rich patrimony of faith” from newly arrived Hispanic, Asian and African Catholics. immigration.

To read more about this topic, click on the following link: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/pope-praises-us-efforts-immigrants-16375504#.T7Zma-jY-xY.

Sarpong Law Offices represents Immigration clients throughout the United States from Los Angeles California to Philadelphia Pensylvania. Our Immigration Lawyers and Attorneys counsel clients with regard to Green Card Applications, US Citizenship, Non-Immigrant Visas, Family and Employment Visas, and Immigration Court Representations.

Denver, Colorado – With 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country, the need for comprehensive immigration reform is not going away.

In the meantime, however, there are untold casualties who are suffering in ways that few are discussing. Our nation’s refusal to make immigration reform a priority has created the perfect storm for a silent problem to fester: immigration scams. Each year, undocumented immigrants are targeted, conned, and exploited by ruthless scam artists who promise the American dream but deliver only despair and financial ruin.

It has become such a persistent and growing problem that the federal government has created a database with over 6 million immigration fraud complaints, and for the first time last year created a joint task force to fight the scourge of “notario fraud” through a collaboration between the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. But enforcement efforts at the state and federal level can reach only the tiniest tip of the iceberg.

The story of Maria Gutierrez Aragon illustrates the ugly reality of what is happening every day. Maria is an indigenous Mexican woman from Oaxaca who has been in the United States for over 20 years, working at a dry cleaner and washing dishes at a restaurant. After years of abuse by her husband, Maria said enough is enough and reported the violence to the authorities.

As a victim of domestic violence, Maria is eligible for immigration relief under the U visa program that is intended to protect victims of crime. Taking advantage of her vulnerable situation, a family friend approached her and offered to help her. This “friend” told her that he would act as her personal representative, and that he would work with an immigration law firm to file a visa application on her behalf.

None of it turned out to be true. There was no immigration case, and the man eventually took $80,000 from her over nearly a decade.

How could it go on so long? To make this deception credible, the alleged scam artist forged numerous letters and documents from various government agencies and law firms threatening her with deportation or arrest if she told anybody about what was happening. Maria worked 14-hour days and borrowed large sums from family members to meet his ever growing demands.

Adding to this scheme of extortion, the “friend” coordinated a lengthy series of intimidating phone calls from third parties – all of which threatened deportation or incarceration if she failed to comply with the demands.

Unlike the vast majority of victims, Maria’s story has a happy ending. Working with Public Counsel in Los Angeles, she now has an immigration case pending, and the Los Angeles District Attorney has filed criminal charges for grand theft against the alleged perpetrator. Maria talked about her ordeal to Univision.

Unfortunately, arrests like these are rare. That’s what the federal task force on notario fraud is meant to help change. Until that happens, here are some steps you can take to avoid becoming a victim:

Make sure to consult an attorney, not a notario: If you are undocumented and need legal advice regarding your situation, avoid any notario, immigration consultant, or other so-called “professional” who is not a licensed attorney in your state. Request receipts for payments, request copies of all documents filed on your behalf, and make sure you have a representation agreement in writing. If anything doesn’t feel right, get a second opinion.

There is free or low-cost legal help available for people who think they have been defrauded: The Board of Immigration Appeals has a website with referrals to local immigration attorneys or non-profits that can provide services for low or no cost.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association provides referrals to attorneys in different areas of immigration law.

The American Bar Association has another service that provides referrals in this area.

While America debates the need for immigration reform, rampant fraud committed against immigrants is a hidden shame that affects millions of people. Maria’s story shows there is something we can do to enforce our nation’s promise of fairness — not as citizens, legal permanent residents and undocumented people, but together.

The best and most direct way to eliminate the breeding ground for these immigration scams is to pass comprehensive immigration reform and put our brothers and sisters on the path to citizenship. It’s time for our nation to have the courage of Maria and say enough is enough. immigration.

To read more about this topic, click on the following link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hernan-vera/the-silent-casualties-of-_b_1511085.html.

Sarpong Law Offices represents Immigration clients throughout the United States from Los Angeles California to Philadelphia Pensylvania. Our Immigration Lawyers and Attorneys counsel clients with regard to Green Card Applications, US Citizenship, Non-Immigrant Visas, Family and Employment Visas, and Immigration Court Representations.

Denver, Colorado – Last November, Republicans finally took control of the Mississippi House of Representatives, the final victory of the party’s long Southern strategy. Not since Reconstruction had the GOP controlled every facet of political life in the state.

It wasn’t just any Republicans, either. Former Gov. Haley Barbour is considered a moderate now. Gov. Phil Bryant is a creature of the tea party. Though this is not a border state, every aspect of political life was aligned to follow in the footsteps of Arizona, Alabama, and Georgia with sweeping laws against illegal immigration.

But something surprising happened in the Magnolia State. While liberals were harboring futile hopes that the Supreme Court would invalidate Arizona’s anti-immigrant law, Mississippi conservatives quietly shelved theirs. It now appears that Arizona-like laws are more likely to suffer at the hands of politics rather than judges.

States often learn from the mistakes of their 49 siblings. Draconian immigration laws have been a disaster for Arizona and Alabama. Those states’ economies thrived off of undocumented immigrants; not anymore. And now the laws are reportedly being undercut by lack of enforcement rather than adverse court rulings.

Mississippi’s politics still tend to be divided along racial lines. The state is 37 percent African American, and its black community has long been organized around progressive causes. In the 1990s, the state’s growing casino industry became a lure for Hispanic immigrants. They joined forces with African Americans against rising Republican power. But that seemed only to drive more whites into the GOP.

While many of those voters were enraged over illegal immigration, many others were not. The state Senate faced strong opposition to its anti-illegal-immigrant bill from the state chamber of commerce, the farm lobby, and local governments.

Their reasons were all different and not very appealing. Clearly, cheap labor with no regulation animated some of the farm and business groups. Farmers couldn’t ignore accounts coming out of Georgia and Alabama of crops rotting in the fields. Cities and towns didn’t want the extra work hunting down undocumented workers. The chamber feared the state would suffer boycotts and a hurt reputation.

These groups changed the way immigration is discussed in a state that’s about as conservative as can be. Rhetoric about civil rights or racial profiling only goes so far here. Concerns about the business climate, agricultural interests, and government mandates gained traction. With all these “white” interests aligned to defeat the bill, even the most conservative politicians took note.

In Mississippi, the lieutenant governor gets to pick the heads of state Senate committees. Conservative Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves appointed a Democrat, Bob Armory, head of the Judiciary Committee and then sent the bill there. Armory never put it up for a vote. In defending the move that killed the bill, Reeves’ spokeswoman said the concerns “expressed by the Mississippi Economic Council, Farm Bureau, the Mississippi Poultry Association, and local cities, counties, police chiefs, and sheriffs” weighed heavily.

Missing from that list is anything related to immigrants or their rights. The opposition spoke the language that would win in a conservative state. The victory may be discomforting, but it is a victory nonetheless. immigration.

To read more about this topic, click on the following link: http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/151637405.html.

Sarpong Law Offices represents Immigration clients throughout the United States from Los Angeles California to Philadelphia Pensylvania. Our Immigration Lawyers and Attorneys counsel clients with regard to Green Card Applications, US Citizenship, Non-Immigrant Visas, Family and Employment Visas, and Immigration Court Representations.

New Mexico – New Mexico Gov. Susana Martínez, mentioned on occasion as a possible running mate for presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, is mincing no words in voicing her opinion of his immigration views.

In an interview with Newsweek, Martínez was unusually outspoken on immigration, in particular about Romney’s support of enforcement policies that would make undocumented immigrants so miserable that they will opt for self-deportation.

“‘Self-deport?’ What the heck does that mean?” she was quoted as saying in the story, which described her as snapping her answer. “I have no doubt Hispanics have been alienated during this campaign. But now there’s an opportunity for Gov. Romney to have a sincere conversation about what we can do and why.”

“Republicans want to be tough and say, ‘Illegals, you’re gone.’ But the answer is a lot more complex than that,” Martínez said in the story.

She said she favors comprehensive immigration reform, which generally means tightening enforcement programs like border security and more vigorously going after employers who hire undocumented workers, as well as allowing for a pathway to legalization for certain people who are here unlawfully. immigration.

To read more about this topic, click on the following link: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2012/05/15/new-mexico-gov-susana-martinez-assails-romney-immigration-views/.

Sarpong Law Offices represents Immigration clients throughout the United States from Los Angeles California to Philadelphia Pensylvania. Our Immigration Lawyers and Attorneys counsel clients with regard to Green Card Applications, US Citizenship, Non-Immigrant Visas, Family and Employment Visas, and Immigration Court Representations.

Phoenix – Most politicians would buckle and fall amid the heavy scrutiny that has been heaped upon the self-proclaimed toughest sheriff in America.

But despite a mountain of legal troubles, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio remains popular with voters and has more than $3.4 million in the bank for his November re-election campaign.

The Justice Department sued the five-term sheriff on Thursday on allegations that his officers racially profile Latinos — a move that has his critics saying that voters will finally be turned off and his supporters saying the development will only make him more beloved among voters who want a tough sheriff who doesn’t back down from anyone.

“He’s the new Wyatt Earp,” said Tom Morrissey, chairman of the Arizona Republican Party in a reference to the Arizona lawman made famous by the gun fight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone. “The guy’s legendary.

“What he stands for resonates across the country,” said Morrissey, also a retired chief U.S. Marshal. “Hundreds sometimes thousands of people cheer this man, give him standing ovations everywhere he speaks. That speaks volumes.”

He said Arpaio’s hardline stance on illegal immigration and his tough talk have driven his popularity. immigration.

To read more about this topic, click on the following link: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2012/05/12/arpaio-still-popular-amid-scrutiny/.

Sarpong Law Offices represents Immigration clients throughout the United States from Los Angeles California to Philadelphia Pensylvania. Our Immigration Lawyers and Attorneys counsel clients with regard to Green Card Applications, US Citizenship, Non-Immigrant Visas, Family and Employment Visas, and Immigration Court Representations.

Obama administration officials have announced that a contentious fingerprinting program to identify illegal immigrants will be extended across Massachusetts and New York next week, expanding federal enforcement efforts despite opposition from the governors and immigrant groups in those states.

In blunt emails sent Tuesday to officials and the police in the two states, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials advised that the program, Secure Communities, would be activated “in all remaining jurisdictions” this Tuesday.

In June, Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts declined to sign an agreement with the immigration agency to expand Secure Communities beyond a pilot program in the Boston area since 2006. Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York said he wanted to suspend the program, which had been initiated in a number of counties.

Opponents argued that it was an overly wide dragnet that was deporting many illegal immigrants with no criminal histories who were arrested for minor offenses. They said the program encouraged racial profiling by the police and eroded trust in law enforcement among immigrants.

Under Secure Communities, fingerprints of anyone booked by the local or state police are sent through the FBI to be checked in databases of the Department of Homeland Security which include immigration records. If there is a match, officials at the immigration agency decide whether to issue a detainer, asking the police to hold the person to be picked up by federal agents.

ICE officials said that they made changes to respond to state officials’ concerns and to focus the program on deporting serious criminals.

They said they revised the detainers to clarify that suspected illegal immigrants could be held for only 48 hours. They provided civil rights training for the police in places where the program was started, officials said. A recent change in arrest procedures would decrease detentions of illegal immigrants stopped for speeding or driving without a license, the officials said. immigration.

To read more about this topic, click on the following link:http://www.bendbulletin.com/article/20120512/NEWS0107/205120388/.

Sarpong Law Offices represents Immigration clients throughout the United States from Los Angeles California to Philadelphia Pensylvania. Our Immigration Lawyers and Attorneys counsel clients with regard to Green Card Applications, US Citizenship, Non-Immigrant Visas, Family and Employment Visas, and Immigration Court Representations.

DENVER, Colorado –

If you are charged with a felony, misdemeanor or DUI in Colorado, you should look for a reputable defense attorney who practices criminal and DUI defense. If you are facing an upcoming court appearance for a DUI or criminal case, you want a Denver criminal defense attorney with a stellar reputation in the courts and community to represent you. The best indicators of a DUI attorney’s experience and reputation are examples of past case results as well as referrals from past clients. Contact Sarpong Law Offices today for an experienced Denver DUI attorney or criminal defense lawyer to fight your pending case.

A Colorado DUI charge arising from an allegation of drinking and driving can result in incarceration and an extended driver’s license revocation, even for a first offense. In addition, someone facing a DUI charge is often accused of a number of other traffic offenses arising from the same incident. A skilled and knowledgeable Denver DUI defense attorney can also negotiate pending traffic offenses with the goal of minimizing potential driver’s license consequences.

If you are charged with a criminal offense in Colorado, you will have to proceed through trial or attain a favorable disposition prior to trial. Your criminal defense attorney must have confidence in the courtroom based on extensive trial experience. A criminal defense lawyer in Colorado who can demonstrate substantial successful past case result has the experience and confidence to deal with the prosecutor and judge in that court. Your criminal lawyer should also have the knowledge to strategically negotiate your case with the prosecutor prior to trial and to defend you in front of a jury at trial.

Finally, you should find a criminal attorney that you are comfortable with, both professionally and personally. In order to promote a successful defense, you must be able to trust your attorney’s experience and candor in obtaining a result in your best interest. The research you do on the front end when seeking an attorney will prove invaluable down the line when your case is next on the trial docket.

Sarpong Law Offices represents Immigration clients throughout the United States from Los Angeles California to Philadelphia Pensylvania. Our Immigration Lawyers and Attorneys counsel clients with regard to Green Card Applications, US Citizenship, Non-Immigrant Visas, Family and Employment Visas, and Immigration Court Representations.

Immigration Law Blamed for Reported Bullying of Hispanic Students in Alabama:

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – It was just another schoolyard basketball game until a group of Hispanic seventh-graders defeated a group of boys from Alabama.

The reaction was immediate, according to the Mexican mother of one of the winners, and rooted in the state’s new law on illegal immigration.

“They told them, `You shouldn’t be winning. You should go back to Mexico,”‘ said the woman, who spoke through a translator last week and didn’t want her name used. She and her son are in the country illegally.

Spanish-speaking parents say their children are facing more bullying and taunts at school since Alabama’s tough crackdown on illegal immigration took effect last month. Many blame the name-calling on fallout from the law, which has been widely covered in the news, discussed in some classrooms and debated around dinner tables.

Justice Department officials are monitoring for bullying incidents linked to the law.

“We’re hearing a number of reports about increases in bullying that we’re studying,” the head of the agency’s civil rights division, Thomas Perez, said during a stop in Birmingham. immigration.

To read more about this topic, click on the following link: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/22/immigration-law-blamed-for-reported-bullying-hispanic-students-in-alabama/.

Sarpong Law Offices represents Immigration clients throughout the United States from Los Angeles California to Philadelphia Pensylvania. Our Immigration Lawyers and Attorneys counsel clients with regard to Green Card Applications, US Citizenship, Non-Immigrant Visas, Family and Employment Visas, and Immigration Court Representations.

Hispanic voters: Stick with Obama or go with GOP?:

LAS VEGAS—A year before the 2012 presidential election, Hispanic voters are facing a choice. They can continue to support President Barack Obama despite being hurt disproportionately by the economic downturn or turn to Republicans at a time when many GOP presidential hopefuls have taken a hard line on immigration.

To read more about this topic, click on the following link: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2011/10/23/hispanic_voters_stick_with_obama_or_go_with_gop/.

Sarpong Law Offices represents Immigration clients throughout the United States from Los Angeles California to Philadelphia Pensylvania. Our Immigration Lawyers and Attorneys counsel clients with regard to Green Card Applications, US Citizenship, Non-Immigrant Visas, Family and Employment Visas, and Immigration Court Representations.