By Martha Vera, Honorary Consul of Spain in the US
Thousands have been detained and deported since the beginning of 2025, but did you know that a deportee cannot return to the United States (U.S.) for a period of 5 – 10 years depending on the reason for deportation. It is of utmost importance to become a legal citizen.
The History
Immigration reform has undergone many changes since the first Naturalization Act of 1790 which excluded non-white people from becoming citizens.
Fast forward to 1986, when Congress enacted the Immigration Reform and Control Act which granted residency to millions of unauthorized immigrants mostly from Latin America who met certain criteria. It also punished employers who hired illegal immigrants without work permits. The Acts of 1996,2002, and 2006 were concerned with terrorism and illegal entry. Border control increased, eligibility for admission into the U.S. was tightened as was security at the border.
In 2012, changes to immigration policy changed with President Obama’s executive order allowing young adults who had been brought to the country illegally to apply for deportation relief and a work permit. By 2014, the program became known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA and set up a new program with similar benefits to unauthorized-immigrant parents of U.S.-born children, called the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA. However, multiple states filed lawsuits against the federal government and a temporary injunction in February 2015 blocked DAPA from going into effect while the lawsuits proceeded. The Border Wall was approved during this presidency. In 2017 President Donald Trump rescinded the DAPA order and planned to phase out DACA.
Plans for a Border wall began with Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman.
President Clinton began Operation Hold the Line in Texas. In 2006, the Secure Fence Act was approved. Congressman Silvestre Reyes promoted the Border Wall’s construction. Obama voted for it. It was ultimately approved with its construction being partially built by the Obama Administration, The Trump Administration, the Biden Administration and now in President Trump’s second term its construction continues.
President Obama’s deportation numbers were higher than President Trumps’ numbers at 5.3 million deportations over two terms. President Trump saw 974,000 in his first term. Numbers are not yet available for 2025.
Illegal Immigrants Are Welcome As Long As They Become Legal
Let’s look at the bright side, immigrants are welcome if they go through the appropriate processes of becoming legal residents and ultimately, citizens of the United States. The problem has been that not many people know how to access the process and what it is about.
U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act looks at these circumstances to allow residency, or green card, in the United States and allows up to 675,000 permanent visas with no limit to admission of US citizen’s spouses, parents, and children under 21 years of age for:
- Reunification of families
- Admitting immigrants with skills or education that are valuable to the U.S. economy
- Humanitarian protections
- Promoting diversity
In fact, the President meets with Congress each year to set the number of refugees to be admitted into the U.S. through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. Asylum and Temporary Protected Status have no numerical caps but do have other restrictions.
Once a person is granted an immigration visa or other protection such as asylum or refugee status, he/she can apply to become a legal permanent resident with a work visa. After 5 years of living in the U.S., he/she is eligible for U.S. citizenship.
Becoming A Legal Immigrant (Resident)
To become a legal immigrant, the person must have a sponsor, which might be an American spouse, parent or sibling. The sponsor may also be an employer, sponsoring the immigrant with a temporary or permanent work visa.
Becoming a legal resident requires that the sponsor have documentation filed with the United States Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS). Usually, the documents that need to be filed are the I-130/I-130A, the I-485, I-765, I-864, and biometrics (fingerprints), depending on the case.
You may hire an attorney or preparer, but buyer, beware. There have been instances of Attorney and Judge Malpractice or Misconduct with the attorneys taking the immigrant’s money and not filing paperwork, leading to deportation. Read their contract carefully. If this has happened to you, try to get your money back. According to Enjuris, examples of misconduct include dishonesty, serious neglect of your legal matter, mishandling of finances, over-billing, refusing to hand over your case file, conflict of interest, and criminal conduct. Such practices may be reported to the State Bar of the State the attorney practices in.
Important Information:
- Read attorney reviews and make wise decisions based on them.
- An attorney will charge you anywhere from $6,000 to $20,000.
- Paperwork must be submitted in a timely manner as processing times may take months.
- Ask your attorney for copies of the paperwork they have submitted on your behalf with a date stamp affirming the date the paperwork was submitted/registered.
- Do not leave the country if your attorney has filed your paperwork. Just because you have submitted paperwork does not mean you are automatically allowed to return to the United States once you leave its borders.
- Do not take a job if you do not have a Work Visa or Permit. Getting caught at a job site will get you detained, and the employer may be charged.
If you are detained:
- Call your country’s Consulate. They need to know why you were detained. It is usually due to the detainee overstaying his/her visa or expired U.S. residency card (green card). Residency cards need to be renewed periodically with USCIS. Follow your country’s laws to reinstate your visa before it expires to avoid being detained and considered a criminal.
- Once detained, you are considered a criminal, will be deported, and will not be allowed to return for up to 10 years, depending on the reason for deportation.
- If you are detained and your paperwork was submitted to USCIS and is “In Process”, you will be detained and deported. You will need to have an attorney file a pardon once USCIS has processed your paperwork, to allow you to be reunited with your family. This may take up to 3 years.
Illegal immigrants that have committed heinous crimes or are considered criminals in this or their own country will not be allowed back into the U.S.
The moral to this article is to make sure you are following the law and doing the right things to become legal. Your paperwork must be truthful, and you must follow the United States laws.
For any questions regarding this article, you may call USCIS at (800) 375-5283, visit their website at https://egov.uscis.gov/office-locator/#/ or email consulspain@gmail.com.