Ryan Driscoll

Immigration Attorney, Estate Planning Attorney, and aspiring Constitutional Attorney with a focus on Article V and the First Amendment.

[Cernovich @Cernovich]

Look at what is happening in Spain and then try telling me that you regret voting for President DONALD J TRUMP.

[Ryan Driscoll @ryandriscoll]

@NYCMayor @grok what flags are behind him in this video?

[ThePersistence @ScottPresler]

BREAKING

WE WERE RIGHT!

Governor Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) just confirmed that illegal aliens ARE registered AND voting in New Jersey.

The thing that never happens is happening.

If it weren’t for the Department of Homeland Security sharing that 250,000 non-citizens are registered to vote in CA, NJ, NV, & PA,

they would have never admitted that illegal aliens are voting.

It feels so good to be vindicated.

Pass the SAVE America Act!

[Ryan Driscoll @ryandriscoll]

@SlipperyRockCig The cigar of Winston Churchill? Sounds good to me.

[Ryan Driscoll @ryandriscoll]

@libsoftiktok He most likely had a legal right to work in the United States through an employment authorization card issued by the USCIS. All asylum application are entitled to file for a work authorization after 150 days of the asylum application pending.

[Restore Ireland @RestoreIrelandX]

Protect Ireland!

[Tara LaRosa @TaraLaRosa]

Greatest new song to come out of the World Cup! ⚽️❤️🇺🇸 Welcome To The Land Of The Free!🇺🇸❤️⚽️

[Ryan Driscoll @ryandriscoll]

A fine cigar rewards patience and care—just like a well-crafted estate plan. At Sojourner Law, we believe legacy planning should happen in thoughtful conversation, and if possible, with a premium hand-rolled cigar.

What’s your go-to cigar while planning for the future?
#EstatePlanning #Legacy #SojournerLaw

[Restore Ireland @RestoreIrelandX]

Friday Update

This weekend, we will be releasing the final pillar of Protect Ireland.

That will tie together with the previous pillars of Family, Culture, and People.

After this, we will be pivoting to trying new things, but building on our foundation.

We felt it was important to first lay out our foundation, so we have a solid base to work from.

If you have any suggestions on what we should do next, please don't hesitate to say. It's only through working together that we can restore Ireland to the Irish.

Restore Ireland 🇮🇪

[Ryan Driscoll @ryandriscoll]

https://t.co/jjmmwOxlD8

[Ryan Driscoll @ryandriscoll]

Why a Financial Power of Attorney Is Essential in a Pennsylvania Estate Plan (Even If You Have a Will)

In my previous post, I discussed the foundational role of a will based estate plan in your Pennsylvania Estate Plan.  One of the documents I mentioned was a Financial Power of Attorney.  Today, I am going to expand upon why a POA is so critical to a complete estate plan.

A Financial Power of Attorney is a legal document in which you (the principal) appoint another person (your agent or attorney-in-fact) to make financial and property decisions on your behalf. This can include tasks like paying bills, managing bank accounts, filing taxes, buying/selling property, or handling investments.
In Pennsylvania, these documents are governed by Chapter 56 of Title 20 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. They are presumed to be durable, meaning the agent's authority continues even if you become incapacitated due to illness, injury, or cognitive decline.

A financial POA is important because it can help to avoid Orphans Court litigation for guardianship, it handles incapacity, it complements your Will (as the Will only takes effect at death), and it can provide peace of mind to you and your loved ones.

A financial POA is effective as soon as the document is executed.  I generally recommend an immediate durable POA for most clients, with clear instructions limiting the agent's powers if desired. If a situation arises where a “springing” POA is necessary, a consultation is necessary to understand how to structure that clause of the POA so the document accomplishes your goal.

Before creating a POA, choose your agent wisely.  It should be someone who is trustworthy, financially responsible, and organized.  You should decide ahead of time, or consult with your attorney, the scope of authority you want to provide your agent.  The POA must be signed by you in the presence of a notary, and two adult witnesses (who are not the agent).  The agent must also sign an acknowledgment of their financial duties.

If you're ready to strengthen your estate plan beyond a basic will, schedule a consultation with me.

Important Disclaimer: This is general information for educational purposes and not legal advice. Estate planning is highly personal—laws can change, and your situation is unique. Consult a qualified Pennsylvania attorney to draft documents tailored to your needs.

[Ryan Driscoll @ryandriscoll]

https://t.co/7ckRI9ayNi

[Ryan Driscoll @ryandriscoll]

Pennsylvania Estate Planning is for everyone!

Estate planning isn’t only for the wealthy or elderly—it’s for every adult who wants to protect their loved ones and have their wishes honored. The most common starting point is a will-based estate plan. These core documents cover both death and incapacity.

Here are the key pieces:

Last Will and Testament: This names your executor, directs how your assets should be distributed, appoints guardians for minor children, and can create simple trusts. Without a will, Pennsylvania’s intestacy laws decide everything—which may not match your values or family needs.

Financial Power of Attorney (Durable POA): Appoints someone you trust to handle your finances and legal matters if you become incapacitated. “Durable” means it remains effective even if you lose capacity, helping your family avoid costly court guardianship proceedings.

Healthcare Power of Attorney (Medical POA): Names an agent to make medical decisions on your behalf when you can’t. It works hand-in-hand with your living will.

Living Will (Advance Healthcare Directive): Spells out your wishes for end-of-life care—such as life-sustaining treatment, artificial nutrition, or comfort measures in terminal conditions or persistent vegetative states. Pennsylvania has straightforward forms for this.

HIPAA Authorization: Allows your designated agents and loved ones to access your medical records and speak with doctors. Without it, even your healthcare POA holder can face privacy roadblocks.

These five documents create a solid initial foundation. They’re relatively simple and affordable to put in place now, preventing major headaches later. At Sojourner Law, we customize these to reflect your faith, family values, and stewardship goals.

If you don’t have these documents in place yet, reach out—we’d be happy to help you get started.

[Gerry Callahan @GerryCallahan]

Things that triggered the left this week:

- a clean reflecting pool
- a name on a building
- a murderer getting convicted of murder
- a sporting event at the White House
- a successful IPO
- welders and janitors becoming millionaires

[Ryan Driscoll @ryandriscoll]

If you have read history, you know he is 100% correct.

[Neo @Realneo101]

Muslims went crazy after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this:

"Radical Islam doesn’t want just a small caliphate in Iraq or Syria. They see the United States as the greatest evil on Earth and seek to dominate the entire West. Radical Islam is revolutionary, it wants endless expansion, terrorism, assassinations, and total control. They hate America, Europe, Israel, and every Muslim nation that partners with us. Orlando, Pensacola, and domestic attacks prove it.

Radical Islam is a clear and imminent threat to the world."

I agree with every single word he said.

[tetsuo @tetsuoai]

History's first trillionaire is a guy who catches rockets out of the sky with chopsticks and beams internet to every dead zone on the planet.

Same guy ships cars that drive themselves, humanoid robots for the factory floor, brain chips that let paralyzed people move a cursor with pure thought, and an AI running on a supercomputer his team stood up in months instead of years.

And the people crashing out about his net worth are doing it on the app he owns. The same app governments spent years trying to censor.

You cannot legislate a rocket into orbit.

[Ryan Driscoll @ryandriscoll]

The state of New Jersey should be legally held accountable if someone ends up getting hurt from these violent communist protesters. Everyone of them should be arrested and charged with as many crimes as possible in order to deter this behavior. Yet NJ does nothing.

[Andy Ngo @MrAndyNgo]

Newark, N.J. (June 6) — For another night, far-left rioters surround and attack vehicles leaving Delaney Hall. They scream and shout threats when the drivers don't cower to their terrorism and violence.

[Ryan Driscoll @ryandriscoll]

What is a bond hearing and cancellation of removal in the immigration court?

A bond hearing is a special hearing where an immigration judge will determine whether someone is allowed to be released from detention in order to finish the immigration court process, or if bond is not granted, the noncitizen must remain in detention for the duration of their court proceedings.  The judge makes this decision based on whether the statute gives the judge jurisdiction, and whether the judge believes the noncitizen will be a flight risk - not showing up voluntarily to court proceedings - or a danger to his community - think past crimes or arrests.  The Board of Immigration Appeals relevant case is called, Matter of Guerrea, because it lays out the factors an immigration judge is to use when deciding flight risk and danger.

Having a bond hearing in today’s legal landscape is by no means guaranteed, especially if you entered the United States without inspection, admission, or parole, or turned yourself in at the border, was released into the interior via parole, and later detained.  The people in this category - and there are vast numbers of people who are in it - are not eligible for a bond hearing because of a 2025 BIA decision, Matter of Yajure Hurtado.  Another group of people are ineligible for a bond hearing from a case called, Matter of Q Li.  Those individuals under Q Li were inspected at the border, paroled into the country, then later re-detained.  In each case, the government argues the statute governing these situations makes all of them applicants for admission, and therefore subject to mandatory detention.

The immigration bar has not accepted the government’s interpretation of who qualifies to have a bond hearing because thousands of habeas corpus petitions have been filed in district court across the country arguing that those denied a bond hearing are being held contrary to the constitution and other laws.  Many thousands of noncitizens have been given a bond hearing before an immigration judge because the district court judge (federal district court) said the INA says a bond hearing is warranted, despite BIA precedent.

However, that is not the end of the story.  I have fought vigorously for a habeas petition to be approved, so that I get the right to have a bond hearing, but then ultimately have the bond denied before the immigration judge.  The last time this happened - which was last week - I put together a very sympathetic bond packet for my clients - he owned his own company, had multiple US citizen children, lived with his wife of many years, they were both the biological parents of the children, he was never arrested, and had clergy and family members write glowing letters about how he is a hard working, honest and peaceful person, and had lived in the US for nearly 20 years.  The judge, however, could not get past the fact that my client crossed into the United States without inspection or admission - i.e., through the desert in secret - and is only now doing anything regarding his immigration status because ICE found him.  In other words, he absconded the law for almost twenty years, never had a right to work, no social security number, no driver’s license, and sometimes paid his taxes.  Although he had some positive equities, the judge felt the latter was too much and denied bond.

This situation is extremely common.  Legally, people like this usually - there are exceptions - only qualify to apply for cancellation of removal.  This benefit allows you to apply - not necessarily be approved - if you have resided in the US for 10 years before the government issued their charging document (aka, NTA), have been a person of good moral character and have not been convicted of certain crimes, and have a qualifying relative who will experience, “exceptional and extremely unusual hardship.”  That is a term of art from a case called, Matter of Monreal.  Basically, the term means that everyone who has a father, spouse, or son deported will experience some general level of hardship, but here, for cancellation, the qualifying relative (not the person  being deported), must demonstrate hardship at a very high level that is beyond normal.  Think about serious medical issues, unique family situations where all of your family is here and are either citizens or green card holders, or some unique situation back in your home country.

For most people, proving that level of hardship for your spouse, children, or parents is not possible.  There will be some level of hardship - learning disability for children or spouse, some type of ongoing medical care, elderly parents in the United States, etc - but that, generally, is not enough hardship for the cancellation application to be approved.  So, the family must decide if they want to continue fighting, or ask the judge for a grant of voluntary departure in order to one day return to the US legally.

So, what happens to many people, even with the representation of an attorney, is that after living in the United States for ten to twenty years, oftentimes without any issues with law enforcement and US citizen children or spouses, they have to sell all of their belongings and return to their home country.

I tell you this story because I believe that this process is evidence of a country that still values the rule of law, and due process.  The law is merciful because it gives people in this situation a chance to prove why their time in the United States without authorization should be forgiven.  The very fact that this process exists shows that our country desires to help people overcome legally sticky situations, but because the rule of law prevails, not everyone is guaranteed the right to be forgiven.  In fact, if the cost of forgiveness was easy - meaning, if most people who applied for cancellation won - then it would cheapen the immigration laws that govern who enters and who does not.

I am glad to represent families who qualify to apply for cancellation, but I am also honest with them that it is very difficult to win.  Oftentimes, people want to at least try to win because the cost of doing nothing would be harder to live with than simply giving up.

[Ryan Driscoll @ryandriscoll]

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[Ryan Driscoll @ryandriscoll]

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