Immigration is one of the most controversial topics of the decade. Citizens and pundits from across the political spectrum argue for major and disparate changes to American immigration law. Yet few know what American immigration law actually is and how it functions. Everyday Law for Immigrants is an ideal guide for U.S. citizens who want a better understanding of our immigration laws as well as for migrants who make the United States their home. Romero deftly and comprehensively explains the basic challenges immigrants and foreign nationals face not only within formal immigration policy but also within American domestic law generally, including rules promulgated by federal, state, and local entities that affect noncitizens. A concise and accessible primer for interested citizens, noncitizens, and their advocates, this book provides a bird's-eye view of U.S. immigration history, practice, and procedure, and constructively addresses the many legal issues in areas such as education, housing, and employment that affect foreigners who reside here. It includes easy-to-understand examples and an extensive appendix of print and Internet resources for further help.
Biography
Victor C. Romero
"This book succeeds in clarifying the convoluted structure of U. S. immigration law. Additionally, it provides a concise, easy-to-read overview of the basics of U. S. immigration procedure. Recommended.”
—CHOICE
“This book has the rare combination of being both brief and well-stocked with good information on the subject of immigration law. The writing is accessible for non-lawyers, very nicely focused, and the book answers the most important questions about current immigration law.”
—Ronald Schmidt, Sr., Professor of Political Science at California State University, Long Beach, and author of Language Policy and Identity Politics in the United States
“A highly respected immigration law scholar has managed to take a hopelessly convoluted set of laws and policies and explain them in plain English without being simplistic or one sided. Romero’s book will be invaluable for anyone who is personally caught up in the U.S. immigration process and for anyone else who just wants a basic understanding of this volatile subject.”
—Stephen H. Legomsky, Washington University School of Law
"Described by leading scholars as intricate, 'hopelessly convoluted,''byzantine,' or even a 'hideous creature,' immigration law is a conundrum of a sort-very difficult to teach to law students, let alone explain to the ordinary migrant new to the American legal system. ...In his book, Everyday Law for Immigrants, Professor Victor Romero breaks this 'hideous creature' down into its most basic cells with astounding efficiency and care to provide the ordinary person with the essentials of how immigration status is acquired, maintained, and lost. The book is quite remarkable. It not only presents complex materials in plain and understandable language, but also employs a creative analogy between immigration law and contracts to help the reader gain a better understanding of immigration law. Throughout the book, Professor Romero masterfully demonstrates, for the benefit of those who make and interpret the law, the needlessness of immigration law's complexity. As such, it is an extraordinary success in simplifying complex materials in the tradition of the Everyday Law series-as attested to by the editors of the series, Professors Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic-and in guiding the efforts of lawmakers and the judiciary to simplify the puzzle that is immigration law."
-Seattle University Law Review
