It's so rare that we get to hear real immigration stories, we thought it might be interesting to share some of those here. In them you will find situations that can happen to anyone, and the ways in which these immigrants handled their circumstances.
If you need assistance with an immigration matter in RI, a naturalization certificate or the citizenship process, please do not hesitate to contact our office for a consultation.
Faces of immigration in R.I.
January 16, 2011
By Karen Lee Ziner
José Marcano traveled from Venezuela in 1989 to run the Boston Marathon. Leading up to the race from Hopkinton, Mass., to Boston, Marcano made friends and contacts.
Inspired by what he learned, Marcano said, “I saw a better opportunity here in America.”
In 1991, Marcano left law school in Caracas. He quit his internship at the Supreme Court in Venezuela. Then 28, Marcano banked on his hopes and abilities.
Five years later, Marcano was an established painting and construction contractor in Rhode Island, adding to the surge in Hispanic-owned businesses and Latino economic power in Rhode Island. In fact, Hispanic-owned businesses in Rhode Island increased nearly 69 percent between 2002 and 2007, Census data show.
Marcano started at the bottom, but proved an avid learner.
Among his first jobs was at a machine shop, taking parts off a conveyer belt and packing them into boxes.
Among his first friends was a Dominican woman, Josefina Rosario, known as “Doña Fefa,” or mother of the community.
Rosario rented a room to Marcano in her South Side triple-decker, where so many immigrants — many of them Dominican — had come before him. When new immigrants arrived, Rosario would board them while her children bunked on the floor. She fed them, cared for them, helped them navigate their new world. (Rosario now lives in Warwick.)
“I lived at Fefa’s house for three months. We shared food. She gave me the history of how people came to America,” Marcano said, including the dozens of Dominicans she sponsored to the U.S. Rosario also passed on the wisdom she gained as the owner of Fefa’s Market, formerly on Broad Street across from Roger Williams Park.
“She was one of the top people who inspired me to go into business,” Marcano said.
He also met other Venezuelans, many of whom settled in Central Falls, and with whom he maintains ties.
While running on Blackstone Boulevard in Providence one day, Marcano met a contractor, who hired him to paint houses in upscale neighborhoods in exchange for training.
“I learned all the particulars” of quality painting, he said, from prep work to products. He learned about Rhode Island business regulations, licenses, permits and insurance.
Meanwhile, Marcano learned English, and later earned a certificate in international business from what was then Bryant College.
He built his company, JM Painting & Plastering in Cranston, from a one-man shop to nearly two dozen employees at its peak. The tanked economy and a financial loss suffered when a developer failed to pay him forced him to lay off some workers. JM was awarded “Hispanic Business of the Year” by the Rhode Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in 2007.
He and his girlfriend, Ingrid Lima, have recently taken over The Water’s Edge Café on Broad Street in Pawtuxet Village, a cheerful pastry and coffee shop with raspberry-colored walls.
Last June, Marcano became a U.S. citizen.
“I cried,” Marcano said, “because my dream came true in this country.” Inside
• A look at how some of Rhode Island’s largest ethnic groups got here.
•Maps showing where some of the groups live.
•We also ask some prominent Rhode Islanders whether they prefer the term “Hispanic” or “Latino.” A10, 11
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have questions about this posting or are interested in Divorce, Immigration, or Estate Law in RI or MA contact Massachusetts and Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer Rui P. Alves at 401-942-3100 or CONTACT him via email.
Showing posts with label immigration law in RI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label immigration law in RI. Show all posts
Monday, January 17, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Immigration Legislation Enforcement Proposed by House Representative
Amidst the conversations and debates around Governor-elect Chafee, the immigration issue was touched upon along with a proposed food and clothing tax, among other items.
Woonsocket Representative Brien and Senator Cote are submitting a bill again this year that will use the federal government's E-Verify database in an effort to enforce immigration status checks by private employers.
Although the bill has passed in the House, the Senate is only promising a hearing on it this year, nothing more.
And hosting the Arizona-like immigration reform proposal, Cranston Representative Palumbo wants to give the police every power to detain individuals, stopped lawfully, who does not have immigration paperwork and is suspected of being in the country illegally.
Governor-elect Chafee has promised that there will be a rescinding of a former Governor's order on illegal immigration, even though Palumbo will push to have some of the language remain intact; in particular that the State departments, agencies and vendors use E-Verify and help enforce federal immigration laws.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have questions about this posting or are interested in Divorce, Immigration, or Estate Law in RI or MA contact Massachusetts and Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer Rui P. Alves at 401-942-3100 or CONTACT him via email.
Woonsocket Representative Brien and Senator Cote are submitting a bill again this year that will use the federal government's E-Verify database in an effort to enforce immigration status checks by private employers.
Although the bill has passed in the House, the Senate is only promising a hearing on it this year, nothing more.
And hosting the Arizona-like immigration reform proposal, Cranston Representative Palumbo wants to give the police every power to detain individuals, stopped lawfully, who does not have immigration paperwork and is suspected of being in the country illegally.
Governor-elect Chafee has promised that there will be a rescinding of a former Governor's order on illegal immigration, even though Palumbo will push to have some of the language remain intact; in particular that the State departments, agencies and vendors use E-Verify and help enforce federal immigration laws.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have questions about this posting or are interested in Divorce, Immigration, or Estate Law in RI or MA contact Massachusetts and Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer Rui P. Alves at 401-942-3100 or CONTACT him via email.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
RI Judges Sworn in by Governor
RI Family Court Lawyer Alves found the following article regarding the current appointment of several judges in RI by Governor Carcieri interesting and posts it in its entirety below.
Rhode Island judges being sworn in at fast clip
Dec 14, 2010
Katie Mulvaney
PROVIDENCE, R.I.-- By the year's end, Rhode Island's newest judges will be ready to take the bench after a series of open- and closed-door swearing-in ceremonies.
At several incoming judges' requests, Governor Carcieri has held private swearing-in ceremonies in his office, according to his spokeswoman Amy Kempe. Others have opted for public ceremonies in the State Room at the State House.
Colleen M. Hastings was the first. The governor swore in Hastings the very day the state Senate approved her nomination as a District Court judge. Hastings requested the hasty ceremony so her son could witness the event before being deployed, Kempe said.
Carcieri chose Hastings, a Family Court magistrate since 2008, to replace Judge Michael A. Higgins, who retired this year. Once an assistant city solicitor in Newport, Hastings served as assistant legal counsel to then-Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Paiva Weed from 2006 to 2008.
The governor swore in District Court Magistrate Christine S. Jabour as a District Court judge in a private ceremony in his office Dec. 8, Kempe said. Jabour replaces Stephen E. Erickson, who retired in June after 20 years on the bench.
Jabour, of Barrington, has worked as a District Court magistrate since 2003. She is a sister of Sen. Paul V. Jabour, D-Providence, and is married to former Judicial Nominating Commission Chairman Girard R. Visconti.
Walter R. Stone was sworn in privately the same day to replace O. Rogeriee Thompson on the Superior Court bench. A former prosecutor who once ran for state attorney general, Stone, of Providence, has practiced law for 35 years and was a partner at Adler, Pollock & Sheehan.
Two days later, the governor swore in Haiganush R. Bedrosian as chief of the state's Family Court. Bedrosian, who is the first woman to lead the court, has been served on Family Court since 1980.
A public ceremony with 700 guests will take place for Bedrosian at 3 p.m., Friday, at Warwick City Hall, Kempe said.
Stephen M. Isherwood's swearing in as District Court judge took place at 3 p.m. Tuesday in a public ceremony in the State Room. Isherwood fills the seat left open when Jeanne E. LaFazia became chief judge of the District Court. Isherwood has been a Probate Court judge in Warwick since 2005. He has worked at a Cranston law firm since 1994.
Narragansett lawyer Brian Van Couyghen will be sworn in Dec. 21 in a private ceremony to fill the Superior Court seat once held by Supreme Court Judge Gilbert V. Indeglia. Van Couyghen has served as legislative counsel to the state House of Representatives and the state Senate since 2001. He has been a trial lawyer since 1984.
Van Couyghen is Carcieri's wife Suzanne's brother's wife's first cousin, Kempe said.
And finally, Sarah Taft-Carter will be sworn in as a Superior Court judge at a public event in the State Room at 3:30 p.m. that same day, Kempe said. Taft-Carter will take the seat held by Alice B. Gibney before Gibney became presiding justice of the Superior Court. She is daughter of a former Cranston mayor, James L. Taft Jr., and is a partner with Taft & McSally LLP in Cranston.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have questions about this posting or are interested in Divorce, Immigration, or Estate Law in RI or MA contact Massachusetts and Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer Rui P. Alves at 401-942-3100 or CONTACT him via email.
Rhode Island judges being sworn in at fast clip
Dec 14, 2010
Katie Mulvaney
PROVIDENCE, R.I.-- By the year's end, Rhode Island's newest judges will be ready to take the bench after a series of open- and closed-door swearing-in ceremonies.
At several incoming judges' requests, Governor Carcieri has held private swearing-in ceremonies in his office, according to his spokeswoman Amy Kempe. Others have opted for public ceremonies in the State Room at the State House.
Colleen M. Hastings was the first. The governor swore in Hastings the very day the state Senate approved her nomination as a District Court judge. Hastings requested the hasty ceremony so her son could witness the event before being deployed, Kempe said.
Carcieri chose Hastings, a Family Court magistrate since 2008, to replace Judge Michael A. Higgins, who retired this year. Once an assistant city solicitor in Newport, Hastings served as assistant legal counsel to then-Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Paiva Weed from 2006 to 2008.
The governor swore in District Court Magistrate Christine S. Jabour as a District Court judge in a private ceremony in his office Dec. 8, Kempe said. Jabour replaces Stephen E. Erickson, who retired in June after 20 years on the bench.
Jabour, of Barrington, has worked as a District Court magistrate since 2003. She is a sister of Sen. Paul V. Jabour, D-Providence, and is married to former Judicial Nominating Commission Chairman Girard R. Visconti.
Walter R. Stone was sworn in privately the same day to replace O. Rogeriee Thompson on the Superior Court bench. A former prosecutor who once ran for state attorney general, Stone, of Providence, has practiced law for 35 years and was a partner at Adler, Pollock & Sheehan.
Two days later, the governor swore in Haiganush R. Bedrosian as chief of the state's Family Court. Bedrosian, who is the first woman to lead the court, has been served on Family Court since 1980.
A public ceremony with 700 guests will take place for Bedrosian at 3 p.m., Friday, at Warwick City Hall, Kempe said.
Stephen M. Isherwood's swearing in as District Court judge took place at 3 p.m. Tuesday in a public ceremony in the State Room. Isherwood fills the seat left open when Jeanne E. LaFazia became chief judge of the District Court. Isherwood has been a Probate Court judge in Warwick since 2005. He has worked at a Cranston law firm since 1994.
Narragansett lawyer Brian Van Couyghen will be sworn in Dec. 21 in a private ceremony to fill the Superior Court seat once held by Supreme Court Judge Gilbert V. Indeglia. Van Couyghen has served as legislative counsel to the state House of Representatives and the state Senate since 2001. He has been a trial lawyer since 1984.
Van Couyghen is Carcieri's wife Suzanne's brother's wife's first cousin, Kempe said.
And finally, Sarah Taft-Carter will be sworn in as a Superior Court judge at a public event in the State Room at 3:30 p.m. that same day, Kempe said. Taft-Carter will take the seat held by Alice B. Gibney before Gibney became presiding justice of the Superior Court. She is daughter of a former Cranston mayor, James L. Taft Jr., and is a partner with Taft & McSally LLP in Cranston.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have questions about this posting or are interested in Divorce, Immigration, or Estate Law in RI or MA contact Massachusetts and Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer Rui P. Alves at 401-942-3100 or CONTACT him via email.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
RI Immigration Laws to Follow Arizona Lead
RI Immigration Attorney Rui Alves reports the following article concerning a proposed change to the RI Immigration laws that would mimic the current Arizona Immigration laws. The AZ laws have been ruled against by a Federal Court after a lawsuit was filed by the Presidential administration. The full article concerning these landmark and precedent setting decisions in Immigration law follows below.
Nearly Half of United States Considering Arizona-Style Immigration Legislation
August 19, 2010
By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer
(CNSNews.com) – Twenty-two states are now in the process of drafting or seeking to pass legislation similar to Arizona’s law against illegal immigration. This is occurring despite the fact that the Obama administration has filed a lawsuit against the Arizona law and a federal judge has ruled against portions of that law – a ruling that is now being appealed.
Next month, two Rhode Island state lawmakers, a Democrat and a Republican, will travel to Arizona to speak with Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, local sheriffs, and other officials about how to better craft their own bipartisan immigration bill for Rhode Island, which already has been enforcing some federal immigration laws.
Meanwhile, 11 Republican state lawmakers from Colorado traveled to Arizona this week to meet with officials there on how to craft legislation for the Mile High state.
In addition, Alabama House Republicans announced this week that they would seek to “push an illegal immigration bill similar to the recently approved Arizona law.” This law would “create a new criminal trespass statute that allows local law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants for simply setting foot in Alabama,” said Alabama’s House Minority Leader Mike Hubbard.
In Florida, proposed legislation against illegal immigration has been retooled to address some concerns raised by a federal judge who blocked the bill, though it would still allow Florida state police to enforce immigration law.
In all, there are 22 states considering copycat legislation from the Arizona law against illegal immigration, according to the Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee (ALIPAC), a group that advocates for stricter immigration enforcement.
The law prohibits racial profiling and gives state residents the right to sue local agencies for not complying with the state law.
In the lawsuit challenging the Arizona law, the Obama administration said the United States should not have a “patchwork” of 50 different immigration laws. In late July, U.S. District Judge Susna Bolton ruled against most of the major elements of the Arizona law, halting their implementation. That ruling is now in the appeals process.
“We do not expand on federal law,” Florida state Rep. William Snyder, sponsor of the bill in his state, told CNSNews.com. “We do not change penalties. The goal is not to create a new immigration framework at the state level.”
Snyder, the chairman of the Florida House Criminal Justice Committee, said his staff attorneys have taken the decision by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton into consideration in re-crafting their bill for the next state legislative session.
Snyder said the office of state Attorney General Bill McCollum has reviewed the legislation, as has committee attorneys, and they believe it will withstand a potential legal challenge from the Obama administration.
McCollum, a GOP candidate for governor, supports the legislation. However, Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican-turned-Independent candidate for U.S. Senate, opposes the proposal.
In Rhode Island, a bill that was introduced late in the session last year, and thus never reached a vote, is expected to be reintroduced in the 2011 session. Its two lead co-sponsors hope to have a bipartisan bill that will withstand a legal challenge after they meet with Arizona officials.
“It exactly mirrors the Arizona law,” Rhode Island state Rep. Peter Palumbo, a Democrat, told CNSNews.com. “We will tweak the bill.”
Palumbo will be going to Arizona with Rhode Island state Rep. Joseph Trillo, a Republican.
Their legislation would essentially codify an existing executive order signed in 2008 by Gov. Donald Carcieri, a Republican, mandating immigration checks on all new state workers and ordering state police to assist federal immigration officials.
This is Carcieri’s final year in office, so Palumbo said it is important to put the force of law behind what has already been Rhode Island policy. State troopers report illegal immigrants they encounter for speeding and other offenses to the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Because of the executive order, corruption was discovered in the Department of Motor Vehicles, with drivers licenses being sold to illegal aliens, Palumbo said.
In New Jersey, state Rep. Allison Little McHose, a Republican, introduced a series of proposals that focused primarily on requiring employers to verify the legality of workers, and preventing state benefits from going to illegal aliens.
“New Jersey continues to be a sanctuary state for illegals because they know they can come to the state and receive many free benefits, like medical care,” McHose said in a statement. “The benefits may be free for those receiving them, but not the rest of the public because these costs are borne by the taxpayers.”
Other states with proposals that mirror the Arizona law are Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.
“We are very pleased to announce 22 states are now following Arizona’s lead to pass versions of a law that has the support of 60 percent to 81 percent of Americans according to polls,” said ALIPAC President William Gheen in a statement. “State and federal candidates are rushing to display their support for Arizona’s law and immigration enforcement. We will not stop until all American states are protected from this invasion as mandated by the Constitution of the United States.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have questions about this posting or are interested in Divorce, Immigration, or Estate Law in RI or MA contact Massachusetts and Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer Rui P. Alves at 401-942-3100 or CONTACT him via email.
Nearly Half of United States Considering Arizona-Style Immigration Legislation
August 19, 2010
By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer
(CNSNews.com) – Twenty-two states are now in the process of drafting or seeking to pass legislation similar to Arizona’s law against illegal immigration. This is occurring despite the fact that the Obama administration has filed a lawsuit against the Arizona law and a federal judge has ruled against portions of that law – a ruling that is now being appealed.
Next month, two Rhode Island state lawmakers, a Democrat and a Republican, will travel to Arizona to speak with Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, local sheriffs, and other officials about how to better craft their own bipartisan immigration bill for Rhode Island, which already has been enforcing some federal immigration laws.
Meanwhile, 11 Republican state lawmakers from Colorado traveled to Arizona this week to meet with officials there on how to craft legislation for the Mile High state.
In addition, Alabama House Republicans announced this week that they would seek to “push an illegal immigration bill similar to the recently approved Arizona law.” This law would “create a new criminal trespass statute that allows local law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants for simply setting foot in Alabama,” said Alabama’s House Minority Leader Mike Hubbard.
In Florida, proposed legislation against illegal immigration has been retooled to address some concerns raised by a federal judge who blocked the bill, though it would still allow Florida state police to enforce immigration law.
In all, there are 22 states considering copycat legislation from the Arizona law against illegal immigration, according to the Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee (ALIPAC), a group that advocates for stricter immigration enforcement.
The law prohibits racial profiling and gives state residents the right to sue local agencies for not complying with the state law.
In the lawsuit challenging the Arizona law, the Obama administration said the United States should not have a “patchwork” of 50 different immigration laws. In late July, U.S. District Judge Susna Bolton ruled against most of the major elements of the Arizona law, halting their implementation. That ruling is now in the appeals process.
“We do not expand on federal law,” Florida state Rep. William Snyder, sponsor of the bill in his state, told CNSNews.com. “We do not change penalties. The goal is not to create a new immigration framework at the state level.”
Snyder, the chairman of the Florida House Criminal Justice Committee, said his staff attorneys have taken the decision by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton into consideration in re-crafting their bill for the next state legislative session.
Snyder said the office of state Attorney General Bill McCollum has reviewed the legislation, as has committee attorneys, and they believe it will withstand a potential legal challenge from the Obama administration.
McCollum, a GOP candidate for governor, supports the legislation. However, Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican-turned-Independent candidate for U.S. Senate, opposes the proposal.
In Rhode Island, a bill that was introduced late in the session last year, and thus never reached a vote, is expected to be reintroduced in the 2011 session. Its two lead co-sponsors hope to have a bipartisan bill that will withstand a legal challenge after they meet with Arizona officials.
“It exactly mirrors the Arizona law,” Rhode Island state Rep. Peter Palumbo, a Democrat, told CNSNews.com. “We will tweak the bill.”
Palumbo will be going to Arizona with Rhode Island state Rep. Joseph Trillo, a Republican.
Their legislation would essentially codify an existing executive order signed in 2008 by Gov. Donald Carcieri, a Republican, mandating immigration checks on all new state workers and ordering state police to assist federal immigration officials.
This is Carcieri’s final year in office, so Palumbo said it is important to put the force of law behind what has already been Rhode Island policy. State troopers report illegal immigrants they encounter for speeding and other offenses to the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Because of the executive order, corruption was discovered in the Department of Motor Vehicles, with drivers licenses being sold to illegal aliens, Palumbo said.
In New Jersey, state Rep. Allison Little McHose, a Republican, introduced a series of proposals that focused primarily on requiring employers to verify the legality of workers, and preventing state benefits from going to illegal aliens.
“New Jersey continues to be a sanctuary state for illegals because they know they can come to the state and receive many free benefits, like medical care,” McHose said in a statement. “The benefits may be free for those receiving them, but not the rest of the public because these costs are borne by the taxpayers.”
Other states with proposals that mirror the Arizona law are Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.
“We are very pleased to announce 22 states are now following Arizona’s lead to pass versions of a law that has the support of 60 percent to 81 percent of Americans according to polls,” said ALIPAC President William Gheen in a statement. “State and federal candidates are rushing to display their support for Arizona’s law and immigration enforcement. We will not stop until all American states are protected from this invasion as mandated by the Constitution of the United States.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have questions about this posting or are interested in Divorce, Immigration, or Estate Law in RI or MA contact Massachusetts and Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer Rui P. Alves at 401-942-3100 or CONTACT him via email.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)