(SAVE) Act - Bill Requiring Proof of Citizenship to vote.

It is common knowledge that one must be a U.S. citizen to vote. Possible criminal charges, removal from the United States and the inability to become a naturalized citizen are on the list of probable repercussions of violating this mandate. In spite of this, it is extremely easy to register to vote in most states, additionally, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 did not require confirmation of citizenship status when registering. In Indiana, it’s a question, largely without any notice or explanation, upon applying for a drivers’ license. The argument has been, that you are attesting you are eligible to vote by saying yes to being registered, under a penalty of perjury. You can evaluate how this meshes with the new signing pads at local motor vehicle offices where you are not able to read what you’re signing. The fact is, most people, but especially those who cannot read English, or English is a second language will not ask for a written copy of what they are supposed to be signing.

Federally, a bill has been introduced aimed at authenticating citizenship before casting a federal ballot. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (Save) Act, would require proof of citizenship before casting a ballot as well as require states to check their voter rolls for registered non-citizens.. This bill passed the House but is unlikely to pass the Democrat controlled Senate. Pres. Biden has stated he will certainly veto, if it makes it to his desk. It is argued the burden of providing citizenship proof is unduly burdensome. It is interesting to note, many states and local governments have adopted rules that allow citizens without citizenship to participate in local elections, these include; Oakland; Takoma Park, Maryland; and Burlington, Vermont. As election season gets closer, we are likely to hear more on these types of topics.

Keeping Families Together

This week the Biden Administration’s wildly anticipated Keeping Families Together Program was launched. This program allows those who do not currently have parole and are present in the United States without an admission, to apply for parole in the United States with the thought that eventually they can apply for lawful permanent resident status. This program specifically is available to those persons who meet the description above (physically present without parole and no lawful admission) for 10 years as of June 17, 2024 and have a legally valid marriage to a U.S. Citizen on or before June 17, 2024. As you can imagine, there are some qualifications, including no disqualifying criminal history or otherwise be considered a threat to national security.

This relief is also available to step children of U.S. citizens if they are unmarried and under the age of 21 as of June 17, 2024 with the qualifying marriage occurring before the child turned 18. Additionally, the 10 years of physical presence does not apply to step-children but they do have to be free of disqualifying criminal convictions.

Many may not be aware, adjustment without the parole hoop, is already available to those who are in a bona fide marriage to a U.S. citizen and had a lawful entry or admission. Admission is a legal term of art and is defined in statute. Both processes will undergo full inadmissibility analysis if they decide to apply for Legal Permanent Resident status, which is usually undertaken with a concurrent filing in the latter case.

It is important to note, Parole in Place has been around for a while for other populations (think US citizen children who have enlisted in active duty; their parents may be eligible) and it is discretionary. This means the local USCIS office has full discretion to deny without even issuing an RFE (Request for Evidence) or NOID (Notice of Intent to Deny). The Application packet should consider providing evidence of favorable discretion such as community ties, volunteer work, length of presence in the U.S. or other positive factors.

Outside of the normal; form not being available until the last minute, the clunkiness of USCIS government online filing (and their insistence it be filed online) and the crashing of the system mid day on the first day, the program is up and running!