IN THIS ISSUE

About The Firm:

Bretz & Coven, LLP is a full-service immigration law firm in New York City. Our attorneys serve immigrants who seek the privileges and benefits of U.S. visitation and lawful permanent residence.

We know the road to citizenship is not always a smooth one. That is why we provide you with an immigration lawyer in New York City to meet all the needs you may have along the way. Whether it involves services for yourself or a family member, someone in the U.S. or outside the country, you can count on us to seek the best possible outcome for you.

Individuals, families, and corporations regularly turn to us for help. Our attorneys are admitted to all state circuit and district courts, the state Supreme Court, federal and appellate courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Our firm is a full-service immigration law firm in New York City that is AV^® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell^®, the highest peer-review rating a law firm can receive for legal knowledge and ethical practices. Bretz & Coven works with clients and takes on cases that other attorneys cannot handle. Our firm concentrates on deportation defense and immigration laws, and we speak over twenty languages.

At Bretz & Coven, LLP, many of our staff members and New York City immigration lawyers have gone through the federal immigration process before working with our firm. We know what you are going through, and we want to help. We explain what is happening with your case in clear, understandable language, how we plan to handle it, and we keep you up-to-date on any changes as soon as we are able to do so.

USEFUL LINKS:

American Immigration Lawyers Association
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
U.S. State Department Visa Bulletins

FIRM NEWS

Bretz & Coven Attorneys Interviewed by The New York Times
The New York Times recently interviewed Kerry Bretz, Managing Partner of Bretz & Coven, LLP, and Firm Associates Meredith Kalman and Tiffany Javier for the article "Once Routine, Immigration Check-Ins Are Now High Stakes."

Mr. Bretz stated that, under President Trump, the stakes of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) meetings have changed. Previously, Mr. Bretz told his clients, "Don’t worry about it. You’re going to walk in, you’re going to walk out, you’re going to renew your work authorization and get on with your life.” But now, he said it’s his ethical duty to warn clients before a check-in to get their affairs in order “because you might not come out,” said Mr. Bretz.

Ms. Kalman stated that, as she was leaving a check-in last month in Manhattan, an ICE officer gave her this warning: “It’s a whole new world, Counselor.” Ms. Javier's recent experiences with an ICE officer deporting her client, a 44-year-old man from Kenya, who had arrived in 1993 on a visa but had overstayed, has led her to believe that now, prosecutorial discretion was "out the window." Ms. Javier said some immigration officers "feel emboldened where they can pretty much do what they want."

To read the full New York Times article, click here.

InsideNOVA Interviews Firm Partner Kerry Bretz
Kerry Bretz, Managing Partner of Bretz & Coven, LLP, spoke to InsideNOVA for its article "ICE data shows split in the fate of Prince William's undocumented jail detainees." Mr. Bretz discussed how the discrepancy between how many undocumented immigrants are reported for removal in Prince William County in Virginia, versus how many are actually deported, is dependent upon how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) follows its immigration enforcement priorities to determine who's actually removed from the country.

To read the article, click here.

Eileen Bretz Speaks to Long Island Pulse Magazine
Eileen Bretz, Partner of Bretz & Coven, LLP, was recently interviewed by Long Island Pulse Magazine for the article "A Nation of Checks and Balances." In the article, Ms. Bretz discussed President Donald Trump's immigration policies and how they affect green card holders and visa holders.

To read the article, click here.

LEGAL NEWS

Two New York Counties Lead the List of Not Cooperating with ICE Detainers
In accordance with Executive Order 13867, Enhancing Public Safety of the Interior of the United States, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released their first "Weekly Declined Detainer Outcome Report." The report identifies the jurisdictions with the highest volume of declined detainers nationwide. The weekly reports are seen as the first line of attack on so-called "sanctuary cities" by identifying the jurisdictions who have declined to detain immigrants who could be subject to deportation.

New Deportation Guidelines' Effect on Immigration Courts
In keeping with the terminology used on the campaign trail, President Trump's new immigration enforcement guidelines will make America's immigration courts busy again. The immigration enforcement guidelines issued under President Trump are a vast change from the deportation policies under the Obama administration. While the new guidelines call for the hiring of thousands of more enforcement agents, the effect the guidelines will have on the courts has not yet been addressed.

Fear Among Immigrant Communities Mounts as ICE Launches Raids
The timing of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids less than a month after President Donald Trump vowed to crack down on non-citizens living in the U.S. illegally has spurred fear among immigrant communities. The ICE raids took place nationwide from February 4 to February 10 and resulted in the arrests of nearly 700 undocumented immigrants. During the ICE raids, immigration officials arrested 41 undocumented immigrants in the New York City area, including residents from the northern part of Staten Island, Bushwick and Elmhurst.