Now I understand why the average American doesn’t really care about pedestrians, the environment, children, the elderly, the poor, the sick, the immigrants, the foreigners with funny names, or anyone else. It’s like they don’t even register. When you are sitting up high in the cab of your pickup truck overlooking everything else, things like that are not even in your field of vision.

The pickup truck is a metaphor for America. When you are so big and powerful that everyone is intimidated by you, they’ll just get out of the way and let you do whatever you want to do.

Attorney Jath Shao goes on Philippine prime time TV to calm the nerves of the Filipinos and Filipino-Americans panicking about the vaunted mass deportation plans of the Trump administration.

Under American immigration law, US citizens have the right to sponsor their immediate relatives - including spouses, parents, children, sons, and daughters. US citizens can also sponsor K-1 fiance/fiancees as long as both parties meet certain conditions.

Immigrants don’t actually take jobs from Americans. Instead, we do the jobs that Americans either do not want to do or are not qualified to do. The system is not set up to help either American employers or immigrant workers. It’s set up to make sure that only qualified people immigrate and that businesses are financially capable of paying the prevailing wage for that particular profession in the area where they operate.

The difference between a refugee and asylee is that refugees typically apply from outside the US through the UN or other international agencies. After years of vetting and waiting, they may get sent here to the US. Asylum, on the other hand, is only available to people who are within the United States or at least at the American border. To successfully claim asylum and become an asylee, an asylum-seeker must prove that they meet the legal definition of “refugee” - that they have a well-founded fear of persecution because of being a member of a protected class. Asylum is a discretionary grant, and involves a totality of the circumstances. We would not recommend applying for asylum without the services of a reputable and licensed immigration attorney.

Many immigration lawyers are scared of practicing in immigration court, but we enjoy fighting the bullies and defending real people and their right to stay with their family and loved ones here in America. The Constitution guarantees “all persons,” not just citizens or green card holders, the right to due process under the law. We are here to help you understand and defend your rights.