New year, new promises, new challenges

First and foremost, I would like to take this opportunity to convey my sincerest hope to each and every one of my readers for a meaningful new year ahead. I also want to thank you, my readers, for your reactions and questions that you send. I always endeavor to answer your emails as best and promptly as I could.

Of course, my special thanks to the leadership, management, and editorial staff of The FREEMAN for the continued support to this weekly column. Without their vision, we could not have gone this far for quite a number of years now. Next year, we will be introducing more formats aside from our tips, featured readers’ Q&A, USCIS updates actual case situations and opinions. There will be features of successful immigrants in the US, interviews, and other interesting immigration stories.

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2020 poses a lot of promises and challenges as far as immigration law is concerned. For one, the new year ushers in a new election cycle for the US presidential election and Congress. We all know that Trump is running for reelection and there seems to be no clear frontrunner yet for the Democrats. Trump is running on a variety of victories even after being stained as the third president to be impeached. Against a backdrop of a robust economy, low unemployment, high job numbers, the elimination of ISIS, and a string of other successful federal policies, Trump’s eventual opponent will have his hands full to find other areas to take him down.

If and when Trump gets reelected, he will surely continue to impose and implement immigration policies that are viewed to be restrictive and anti-immigrant. Encouraged by the court’s favorable decision on his ban of certain nationalities, approved funding of the border wall and rising nativist sentiments of his political base, Trump has no incentive to minimize his “America First” policy.

On the flip side, there are also positive results produced by Trump’s policies. Rising wages, high-paying jobs, low unemployment, low criminality, and more business opportunities for immigrants have been felt across immigrant communities. His favorable ratings in these groups have risen and most approve of his administration’s fight against heinous gangs and violent groups victimizing Hispanic communities.

Also, when he gets re-elected, he bears no pressure of giving in to the anti-immigrant faction of his base. It is the hope of many that Trump would be more inclined to work with Congress in passing more sensible immigration laws acceptable to both parties. Hopefully, Democrats would also have to find ways to work with him and with the Republicans to finally pass this long-awaited reform policies. That would be one of Trump’s signature presidential achievements on immigration overhaul.