Jean Danhong Chen has spent much of her career dividing her time between her immigration law offices in New York and California. The lawyer has seen many challenges during her years working in this sector across the U.S., but she believes this is one of the most challenging periods of her time as an attorney. The question on the minds of millions of immigrants, tourists, and students is what will the U.S. Government do to change its immigration policy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When we think of the immigration sector in California, we think about the Latin immigrants moving north across the Mexican border. However, a new problem is emerging for those concerned about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the wider economy of California, which is how will the Chinese immigrant sector be treated as the virus continues to spread. The closure of the borders of the U.S. has harmed many financial areas, including the cruise ship industry and the airlines that have left many Chinese nationals stranded in the U.S., according to Salem News.
Jean Danhong Chen has been looking at the way the quarantine and travel restrictions have been enforced around the world and finds some of the decisions troubling. For example, the decision by the world’s two largest cruise lines to introduce a blanket ban for Chinese nationals is something the immigration lawyer finds troubling. The loss of travel rights is a tough pill to swallow for many Chinese nationals who travel to the U.S. for travel, work, and study purposes.
The academic sector is another part of the immigration arena that has become a battleground as the problems caused by COVID-19 continue in the U.S. and beyond. The epicenter of the outbreak was in the Chinese Province of Wuhan and this has led to major restrictions being placed on all travel from the nation and China and across much of the world. Jean Danhong Chen is determined to fight for the rights of all those who are looking to arrive in the U.S. to improve their lives in the future. The issuance of student visas has become a hot topic in the U.S. with the switch to online-only classes causing major problems for students and academic institutions alike.
The immigration services are currently embroiled in a court battle led by the Attorney general of California that is pushing the for a change in a policy similar to that completed in the spring. ICE has refused to change its policies regarding strict rules not allowing international students to complete online-only studies despite most academic institutions making this switch due to the arrival of the virus on U.S. shores. The immigration lawyer has shown great concern that the rights of these students from all around the world were not being given to them.
These are just two of the problems COVID-19 has caused for the majority of individuals who are struggling to complete their immigration cases on time and in a legal way. The Global Dispatch explained the majority of immigration service offices have closed and caused major concern for the majority of those who have been awaiting the resolution of their cases with USCIS. Jean Danhong Chen believes there is a lot of concern that could be removed if the immigration service would make clear exactly where each case stands.
The shifting policies of the Trump administration have affected the ability of immigration lawyers, including Chen to make the correct choices for their clients. One of the main problems that have been seen across the U.S. is that of the number of people crossing the border between points of entry. The success of the policy of the border agency is a difficult one to perceive with many of those who are undocumented being returned directly to Mexico and parts of Latin America. The Mexican Government is playing its part by accepting its citizens who are making their way across the border illegally and those from Honduras, El Salvador, and other nearby nations.
Immigration lawyers are having difficulties because of a change of policy that came with many of those who were stranded in Mexico trying to make their way to California for safety and medical assistance. The Mexican healthcare system has been overwhelmed by the number of COVID-19 cases and did not act speedily over the closure of the Mexican nation. The immigration sector in the U.S. was expecting an influx of new cases but these new cases are being immediately returned to Mexico from California leaving lawyers trying to determine the legality of these policies. California has seen a major surge in cases with millions of people deciding to simply shelter in place and not try to return to any nation outside the U.S. borders. There are many reasons why different communities are struggling with the rise of COVID-19 but the immigration policies of the U.S. Government have been some of the most fluid of the pandemic.