Immigration Attorney Darius Amiri on New ICE Public Advocate

Posted by the Immigration Attorneys at Alcock & Associates

ICE public advocate a plus

Earlier this month, Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that Andrew Lorenzon Strait will serve as its public advocate- the first such appointment in the history of ICE. The move is one in a series of steps taken by ICE purportedly to address our nation’s troubled immigration system. Lorenzon Strait has said that the creation of his position is meant to serve as “a point of contact for individuals, including those in immigration proceedings, NGOs, and other community and advocacy groups, who have concerns, questions, recommendations or important issues they would like to raise.”

Many, including some immigration lawyers, are skeptical that this may be a PR move in an election year, one which looks great in the press but carries little weight in application. Some are critical of President Obama for promising to overhaul our nation’s troubled immigration system while campaigning for President in 2008, but then doing little to fulfill such promises.

As an immigration attorney practicing in Phoenix, Arizona, one of the nation’s most active areas regarding immigration, as well as a media focal point since the enactment of the controversial SB-1070, Darius Amiri can attest to the Obama Administration’s committment to immigration reform. “When the Morton memo outlined how Prosecutorial Discretion was going to work ,” says Alcock & Associates attorney Amiri, ” we were skeptical. But then we actually started seeing cases closed and individuals permitted to remain in the United States where they may have been deported in previous years under different Administrations.”

And attorney Amiri can speak to the effectiveness of the newly appointed public advocate as well. “One of our attorneys was actually able to reach [Lorenzon-Strait] on his cell phone in Washington. And believe it or not, he was quite responsive!” Amiri goes on to detail how the immigration attorneys at Alcock & Associates worked with Lorenzon-Strait’s office to help execute a last minute stay of removal which permitted a client undergoing extraordinary circumstances to avoid a pending deportation.

So while this may be PR in an election year where immigration promises to be a focal point, at least this current administration has shown a willingness to address immigration overhaul and reform, which is more than can be said about past administrations!

For more information about immigration proceedings in Arizona, contact the immigration lawyers at Alcock & Associates. Call 602-989-5000 for a free consultation today, or visit us at 74.212.223.107/~alcocklaw.