Many experienced immigration attorneys and those who have been fighting for comprehensive immigration reform looked to 2013 as the year that reform actually passed. Â Unfortunately, due to Republican obstructionists, a bipartisan bill that angered and pleased both sides rather equally never made it out of the House of Representatives. Â Some thought 2013 would be it, but it was not meant to be.
It is hard to predict what will happen to our nation's 11 million undocumented persons who remain in the shadows. Â We do know that President Obama and ICE will continue to deport people at breakneck speed. Â While the Obama gang pointed to lower deportation numbers for 2013, he still has deported more people than any of his predecessors. Â And the fiction that the vast majority of those being deported are "criminals" continues to be perpetuated.
In St. Louis, we continue to fight the good fight on behalf of our clients. Â It has been our privilege and our honor to represent hard working immigrants who are searching to build a better life for themselves in America. Â We assisted with a record number of spouse visa and green card petitions. Â We expanded the number of employment based visas that we handled this year. Â We filed suit against USCIS several times for clients whose cases were unfairly delayed. Â We had a great 2013.
We look forward to helping more and more immigrants and employers work their way through the confusing immigration service in 2014 and are grateful for this wonderful opportunity that we have been given.
