4/20: Immigrants working in the cannabis industry lack "moral character" for citizenship, according to DHS

Immigrants who use marijuana or who work in the cannabis industry may be denied citizenship, even if they do so in states where it is legal, said state citizenship and immigration services on Friday. -United.

The guidelines, published by coincidence or not, just before the national celebration of their 4/20 holiday by human rights defenders, confirm what advocates of immigration and marijuana have put on guard: a legal gray area that penalizes potential citizens because they have broken a federal law.

Although the use of marijuana for recreational purposes is legal in 10 states and decriminalized in 14 others, it remains classified as an illegal substance at the federal level.

"The directive … clarifies the fact that an applicant who participates in certain marijuana-related activities may not have a good moral character if he has proven to have violated federal law, even though this activity has been decriminalized under the applicable laws in force, "states the directive.

Earlier this month, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock (D) sent a letter to US Attorney General William P. Barr asking him to clarify and adjust the policy that threatened access permanent residents to citizenship if they had worked in the marijuana industry. Colorado was one of the first two states to legalize recreational marijuana use in 2012. The expansion of marijuana use beyond prescribed medical purposes has helped develop a thriving industry retail cannabis in that state.

In his letter, Hancock wrote:

This week, I met two legal immigrants – one from Lithuania and the other from El Salvador – who have been living here for more than two decades. They are graduates of our schools. They paid their taxes. They work to realize the American dream and conform to the processes in place to be part of our larger society, but have been denied naturalization solely because of their employment in the cannabis industry.

Denver understands the need for federal laws and regulations on citizenship and immigration, but we are seeing the heartbreaking effects these federal laws and regulations have on our residents. However, under current federal policy, legal and permanent residents such as the Denverians I have met with are denied naturalization and may lose their legal status because of their lawful employment in the United States. cannabis industry.

The war on drugs has disproportionately harmed communities of color, and this is just one more example, said Michael Collins, director of national affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance. But Collins believes that this crackdown in particular is more revealing of the Trump Administration's views on immigration than of the drug policy.

"Taking a step back, it has nothing to do with cannabis – it has to do with this administration never misses an opportunity to sue immigrant communities," Collins said. "They see cannabis as a mature opportunity to persecute these individuals."

"The Trump administration has been using drug enforcement from the start to tackle migrant populations," Collins said, citing President Trump's argument that a border wall would prevent drugs from entering the country and blame migrants for the epidemic of opioids.

USCIS spokeswoman Jessica Collins said in an email that the agency was "required to adjudicate cases according to federal law." People who commit substance abuse violations Federal control are facing potential consequences for immigration under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which applies to all foreign nationals, regardless of the country 's immigration status. state or jurisdiction in which they reside. "

Under the Obama administration, the federal government has eased federal laws against marijuana, allowing states to chart their own path on this issue. In January 2018, Jeff Sessions, while he was Attorney General, rescinded this policy, arguing that it was up to him to enforce federal laws.

Immigration law lawyers worry about the implications of the Trump Anti-Drug Policy for legal residents seeking citizenship. Kathy Brady, senior counsel for the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, told The Associated Press that she advises people to avoid working in the marijuana industry until the federal law be modified.

"Even if you've had a green card for 20 years, you'd better not work in any aspect of this industry and not use marijuana," Brady said.

In California, which began permitting the sale and production of marijuana for recreational purposes last year, the state issued a notice in February warning non-citizens that "they could be negatively impacted by immigration if they worked with marijuana.

The Trump administration has now confirmed that this is true.