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The History Of Prosecutorial Discretion In Immigration Law, Shoba S. Wadhia
The History Of Prosecutorial Discretion In Immigration Law, Shoba S. Wadhia
Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia
This Article describes the historical role of prosecutorial discretion in immigration law and connects this history to select executive actions announced by President Obama on November 20, 2014.
Immigration Remarks For The 10th Annual Wiley A. Branton Symposium, Shoba S. Wadhia
Immigration Remarks For The 10th Annual Wiley A. Branton Symposium, Shoba S. Wadhia
Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia
No abstract provided.
The Role Of Prosecutorial Discretion In Immigration Law, Shoba S. Wadhia
The Role Of Prosecutorial Discretion In Immigration Law, Shoba S. Wadhia
Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia
The concept of "prosecutorial discretion" appears in the immigration statute, agency memoranda and court decisions about select immigration enforcement decisions. Prosecutorial discretion extends to decisions about which offenses or populations to target; whom to stop, interrogate, and arrest; whether to detain or release a noncitizen; whether to initiate removal proceedings; and whether to execute a removal order; among other decisions. Similar to the criminal context, prosecutorial discretion in the immigration context is an important tool for achieving cost-effective law enforcement and relief for individuals who present desirable qualities or humanitarian circumstances. Yet there is a dearth of literature on the …
The Immigration Prosecutor And The Judge: Examining The Role Of The Judiciary In Prosecutorial Discretion Decisions, Shoba S. Wadhia
The Immigration Prosecutor And The Judge: Examining The Role Of The Judiciary In Prosecutorial Discretion Decisions, Shoba S. Wadhia
Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia
Legal scholars and judges have long examined the role of judicial review in immigration matters, and also criticized the impacts of the “plenary power” doctrine and statutory deletions of judicial review for certain immigration cases. Absent from this scholarship is a serious examination of the judiciary’s role in immigration decisions involving prosecutorial discretion. I attribute this absence to both a silent concession that prosecutorial discretion decisions are automatically barred from judicial review because of the plain language of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA); the judicial review “exceptions” in the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), and the cases that analyze these …
My Great Foia Adventure And Discoveries Of Deferred Action Cases At Ice, Shoba S. Wadhia
My Great Foia Adventure And Discoveries Of Deferred Action Cases At Ice, Shoba S. Wadhia
Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia
This Article describes my adventures in FOIA litigation and analyzes deferred action data collected informally by 24 ICE field offices between October 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012. This Article also offers recommendations for the agency on data collection, recordkeeping, and transparency in deferred action cases. Deferred action is a form of prosecutorial discretion that can be granted at any stage of the immigration enforcement process and historically has been applied both to people who meet group characteristics and on an individual basis in compelling humanitarian circumstances. The theory behind deferred action and prosecutorial discretion more generally is to enable …
Response, The Obama Administration, In Defense Of Daca, Deferred Action, And The Dream Act, Shoba S. Wadhia
Response, The Obama Administration, In Defense Of Daca, Deferred Action, And The Dream Act, Shoba S. Wadhia
Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia
This essay responds to “The Obama Administration, the DREAM Act and the Take Care Clause” by Robert J. Delahunty and John C. Yoo. Though I credit Yoo and Delahunty for considering the relationship between the DACA program and the President’s duties under the “Take Care” clause, they miss the mark in at least three ways: 1) Contrary to ignoring immigration enforcement, the Obama Administration has executed the immigration laws faithfully and forcefully; 2) Far from being a new policy that undercuts statutory law, prosecutorial discretion actions like DACA have been pursued by other presidents, and part of the immigration system …
Sharing Secrets Examining Deferred Action And Transparancy In Immigration Law, Shoba S. Wadhia
Sharing Secrets Examining Deferred Action And Transparancy In Immigration Law, Shoba S. Wadhia
Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia
This Article is about deferred action and transparency in related immigration cases falling under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). While scholars from other genres have written extensively on the topic of prosecutorial discretion, the subject is largely absent from immigration scholarship, with the exception of early research conducted by Leon Wildes in the late 1970s and early 2000s, and a law review article I published in 2010 outlining the origins of prosecutorial discretion in immigration law and related lessons that can be drawn from administrative law and criminal law. That article ends with specific recommendations for …
The Morton Memo And Prosecutorial Discretion An Overview, Shoba S. Wadhia
The Morton Memo And Prosecutorial Discretion An Overview, Shoba S. Wadhia
Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia
On June 17, 2011, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton issued two significant memoranda on the use of prosecutorial discretion in immigration matters. Prosecutorial discretion refers to the agency’s authority to not enforce immigration laws against certain individuals and groups. The primary memo (the Morton Memo on Prosecutorial Discretion) calls on ICE attorneys and employees to refrain from pursuing noncitizens with close family, educational, military, or other ties in the U.S. and instead spend the agency’s limited resources on persons who pose a serious threat to public safety or national security. Morton’s second memo focuses on exercising discretion …
Reading The Morton Memo Federal Priorities And Prosecutorial Discretion, Shoba Wadhia
Reading The Morton Memo Federal Priorities And Prosecutorial Discretion, Shoba Wadhia
Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia
On June 30, 2010, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), John Morton, issued a memo to the agency that reflected the Obama administration’s oft repeated intent to focus removal efforts on serious offenders. Morton noted: In light of the large number of administrative violations the agency is charged with addressing and the limited enforcement resources the agency has available, ICE must prioritize the use of its enforcement personnel, detention space, and removal resources to ensure that the removals the agency does conduct promote the agency's highest enforcement priorities, namely national security, public safety, and border security. …