Kobayashi Law Office

Toddlers in Court for their Lives Honduras has the world’s highest murder rate. El Salvador and Guatemala, together with Honduras, form the deadly Central American Northern Triangle. The three Northern Triangle countries land in the top five murder rates of the world. Gang and cartel violence, widespread corruption, drugs, and a conscious disregard for human life have caused tens of thousands of people to flee the Northern Triangle and make their way to the U.S. [ 422 more words. ] http://www.lisakobayashi.com/toddlers-in-court-for-their-l/

Professional Licensing and DACA: Will You Be Able to Get a Professional License to Practice Your Career? If you have a work permit under DACA, are you also eligible to get a professional license to work? Answer: It depends on the state. Over the last few years, the issue as to whether undocumented individuals may get a professional license or credentials in certain occupational fields, such as teaching, law, and healthcare, has been disputed in different states. [ 585 more words. ] http://www.lisakobayashi.com/professional-licensing-and-da/

Birthright citizenship, or jus soli, is a legal right to citizenship for all children born in a country’s territory, regardless of parentage. This right has been inherent to the American culture since the ratification of the 14th Amendment in the U.S. Constitution in 1868. Only about 30 countries in the world observe this common law principal, and the majority of these countries are within the Americas. [ 601 more words. ] http://www.lisakobayashi.com/immigration-reform-revocation/

A Week in Baby Jail - Dilley, Texas Volunteering at the Immigration Family Detention Center for Women and Children The South Texas Family Detention Center, or baby jail, still houses over one thousand refugee women and children in the aloof Dilley, Texas. Corporate profits, quotas, hate, and incompetency leave these women and children stuck in detention for months in subpar conditions. [ 1191 more words. ] http://www.lisakobayashi.com/a-week-in-baby-jail-dilley-tx/

Volunteering at the Immigration Family Detention Center for Women and Children The Story of Mariposa Part 2 I began to understand the importance of CARA’s presence in baby jail very quickly. CARA is a group of organizations and volunteers that are committed to ensuring that detained children and their mothers receive competent, pro bono representation, and developing aggressive, effective advocacy and litigation strategies to end the practice of family detention. [ 1219 more words. ] http://www.lisakobayashi.com/a-week-in-baby-jail-dilley-tx/

A Week in Baby Jail Dilley, TX Volunteering at the Immigration Family Detention Center for Women and Children The Story of Mariposa My name is Brian Pando. I am a law student, as well as a legal assistant here at Kobayashi Law. The week of July 19 25, 2015, I had the privilege of volunteering as part of the CARA Pro Bono Project at the South Texas Family Detention Center (STFDC) in Dilley, Texas. [ 769 more words. ] http://www.lisakobayashi.com/a-week-in-baby-jail-dilley-tx/

On June 15, 2015, Donald Trump announced his candidacy for President of the United States, and in the process, infuriated many with his statements on immigrants. In particular, Trump stated, They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.] A new report from the American Immigration Council, The Criminalization of Immigration in the United States, however, says otherwise. In a gist [ 353 more words. ] http://www.lisakobayashi.com/the-truth-behind-immigrants-a/

On June 20, 2015, the world celebrated World Refugee Day, an international observance dedicated to raising awareness about the situation of refugees around the world. The United Nations Refugee Agency has announced that almost 60 million people have been forcibly displaced from their home countries, with nearly 20 million being refugees, and over half are children. This is the largest number of refugees ever recorded, and war, conflict, and persecution makes for more and more people displaced from their homes. [ 278 more words. ] http://www.lisakobayashi.com/world-refugee-day-june-20th-2/

Expanded DACA & DAPA Blocked! On February 16, 2015, District Judge Andrew Hanen issued an injunction on the expanded DACA and new DAPA programs, effectively blocking the programs from being implemented in February and May, respectively, until a decision could be made on a lawsuit brought forward by Texas and 26 other states. Since then, we have been awaiting news as government appealed the injunction to the Federal Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. [ 195 more words. ] http://www.lisakobayashi.com/the-injunction-remains-the-wa/

On February 25, 2015 a settlement in the case of Lopez-Venegas v. Johnson was approved by a federal judge, ending the deceitful immigration practice of federal immigration officers pressuring, coercing, or misinforming non-citizens to sign documents to return to their country and waive their right to appear before an immigration judge. This is an abuse of the voluntary return process and violated fundamental Constitutional rights. [ 396 more words. ] http://www.lisakobayashi.com/aclu-class-action-settlement-/

Making Citizenship Possible On Saturday, May 16, 2015, The San Francisco Pathways to Citizenship Initiative held a Mega Naturalization Workshop, in which members of our law firm participated. The San Francisco Pathways to Citizenship Initiative (SF pathways) is a three-year public, private partnership between the City’s Office of Civic Engagement & Immigrant Affairs (OCEIA), six philanthropic organizations, and seven expert [ 225 more words. ] http://www.lisakobayashi.com/over-600-volunteers-at-the-me/