Law Commons^™

Catholic Social Teaching, The Right To Immigrate And The Right To Regulate Borders: A Proposed Solution For Comprehensive Immigration Reform Based Upon Catholic Social Principles, Chad G. Marzen, William Woodyard

Chad G. Marzen

In the past decade, policymakers from various perspectives have discussed and debated proposals to reform America’s immigration system. This article discusses not only the history of the Catholic legal and intellectual tradition’s contribution to social teaching on the issue of immigration, but emphasizes the development of two strands of Catholic thought: the right to immigrate, and the right to regulate borders. Applying the Catholic legal and intellectual tradition, this article provides a proposal for immigration reform that incorporates key tenets of Catholic social thought.

Political Refugees, Captives, Slaves And Other Migrants In International Law Of Ancient Near East (2nd Millenium Bc), Víctor M. Sánchez

Víctor M. Sánchez

International treaties in the 2nd millennium BC in the Ancient Near East (ANE) demonstrate the importance placed on regulating migratory movements at the time. The economic and political basis of such regulation helps outline a critical analysis in comparison to current international law regarding the same forms of migratory movements. The loss of social value of human beings arising from demographic changes explains the enormous difference between past and present regulatory models. Only the recovery of human value in its economic sense will permit changes to the current regulation of migratory movements. The variety of extradition clauses in the treaties …

Deported To Die? Applying The Categorical Approach To The "Particularly Serious Crime" Bar, Fatma E. Marouf

Fatma E Marouf

A noncitizen who has been convicted of a “particularly serious crime” can be deported to a country where there is a greater than fifty percent chance of persecution or death. Yet the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) has not provided a clear test for determining what is a “particularly serious crime.” The current test, which combines an examining of the elements of the crime with a fact-specific inquiry, has led to arbitrary and unpredictable decisions about what types of offense are “particularly serious.” This Article argues that the categorical approach for analyzing convictions should be applied to the particularly serious …

The Impact Of Interior Immigration Enforcement On Mixed-Citizenship Families, Michael J. Sullivan, Roger Enriquez Sr.

Roger Enriquez Sr.

In this article, we trace the expansion of interior immigration enforcement measures since the 1990s, focusing on the period after the creation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2003. We consider the rationale for escalation of enforcement and its expansion to include local and state law enforcement agencies during this period. We will examine who benefits economically and politically, detailing the role of local jails, private corrections corporations, and the communities that are financially dependent on the prisons industry. Throughout, we consider how the expansion of immigration enforcement has affected U.S. citizen children and spouses of unauthorized …

Refugee Law In Context: Natural Law, Legal Positivism And The Convention, Isaac Kfir

Isaac Kfir

The contemporary international refugee system was product of a desire to provide protection and assistance to those who have a well-founded fear of persecution, a somewhat sophistic term in the twenty-first century, which may explain why the system has become cumbersome, incoherent and divisive. One explanation for the tension within the refugee regime is that states—mainly western states—seek to reduce refugee applications while adhering and upholding their international obligations. Another explanation is that it is tensions between two legal traditions—natural law and legal positivism—that are shape the international refugee law that have led to the crisis, preventing a clear legal …

The Ciudades Modelo Project: Testing The Legality Of Paul Romer’S Charter Cities Concept By Analyzing The Constitutionality Of The Honduran Zones For Employment And Economic Development, Michael R. Miller

Michael R Miller

Over the last several years, the Honduran government has been aggressively advancing a "model cities" project that it argues will provide options for its citizens to escape the extreme violence in their country without migrating to the U.S. The model cities, which are formally called "Zones for Employment and Economic Development" ("ZEDEs"), are purported to be autonomously governed areas that will attract foreign investment and compete for residents by establishing safer communities and better managed institutions governed by the rule of law.

The ZEDEs trace their origin to a concept formulated by development economist Paul Romer, who proposed the idea …

Legitimate Persecution: The Effect Of Asylum’S Nexus Clause, Nicholas Bolzman

Nicholas Bolzman

The United States adopted its first comprehensive asylum law in 1980, after various ad hoc attempts to craft an immigration scheme for those fleeing persecution had limited success. While the 1980 law does correct for many prior problems, it still retains some arbitrary limitations. Specifically, the requirement that applicants show persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion creates significant hurdles for those whose persecution is not disputed, but whose persecutors’ motives are based on something else. Examples are persecution based on gender, FGM, sexual orientation, recruitment as child soldiers, and those …

A Criminal’S Path To The American Dream: Extradition As A Drug Enforcement Policy Tool, Laura A. Gavilan

Laura A Gavilan

This article explores a little-known avenue of immigration to the United States: the path that criminals from other nations embark on when they are extradited to the United States and, through cooperation agreements with law enforcement, are able to obtain immigration benefits and legal status. To illustrate this phenomenon, this article outlines the case of the United States’ war on drugs, which has led to the extradition of hundreds of Colombian drug traffickers and paramilitary leaders to the United States during the past two decades. While many of these extradited individuals have been deported back to Colombia after fulfilling their …

A Criminal’S Path To The American Dream: Extradition As A Drug Enforcement Policy Tool, Laura A. Gavilan

Laura A Gavilan

This article explores a little-known avenue of immigration to the United States: the path that criminals from other nations embark on when they are extradited to the United States and, through cooperation agreements with law enforcement, are able to obtain immigration benefits and legal status. To illustrate this phenomenon, this article outlines the case of the United States’ war on drugs, which has led to the extradition of hundreds of Colombian drug traffickers and paramilitary leaders to the United States during the past two decades. While many of these extradited individuals have been deported back to Colombia after fulfilling their …

Increase Quota, Invite Opportunities, Improve Economy: An Examination Of The Educational And Employment Crisis Of Undocumented Immigrants And Individuals From Abroad, Brittany Fink

Brittany Fink

No abstract provided.

Increase Quota, Invite Opportunities, Improve Economy: An Examination Of The Educational And Employment Crisis Of Undocumented Immigrants And Individuals From Abroad, Brittany Fink

Brittany Fink

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Human Rights Through European Integration: How Recent Litigation Before The European Court Of Human Rights And The Court Of Justice Of The European Union Has Advanced European Aslyum Law, Clara Presler

Clara Presler

Recent case law from the two European courts charged with protecting human rights -- the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice for the European Union -- reveals mutual influence that has enhanced protection of asylum seekers. The two courts’ willingness to engage in the other’s legal reasoning has resulted in rapid development in the areas of eligibility for asylum protection, detention of asylum seekers, and the Dublin II Regulation. This interplay has occurred despite the fact that the courts are not formally bound to each other, and each employs different procedures, mandates, and substantive law. In …

The Supreme Court Of Canada's Decision In Ezokola And The Harmonisation Of Article 1f(A) Of The Convention On The Status Of Refugees With International Criminal Law, Alan W. Freckelton

Alan W Freckelton

Canadian appellate courts have historically taken a very wide view of when there are “serious reasons to believe” that a person has committed the kinds of offences envisaged by Article 1F(a) of the Convention. In particular, they have taken the view that, in some cases at least, mere membership of a particular group is sufficient to exclude a person from protection under the Convention. However, in Ezokola v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) the Supreme Court has attempted to reconcile the requirements for responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity at international criminal law, and the requirements for exclusion under …

Right To Asylum Under International Human Rights Law And Edward Snowden Case, Dr Nafees Ahmad

Dr Nafees Ahmad

No abstract provided.

Increase Quota, Invite Opportunities, Improve Economy: An Examination Of The Educational And Employment Crisis Of Undocumented Immigrants And Individuals From Abroad, Brittany Fink

Brittany Fink

No abstract provided.

Foreign Investment-Induced Migration In Colombia: Rethinking The Legal Schemes Of Protection And Accountability, Marco A. Velásquez-Ruiz

Marco A. Velásquez-Ruiz

This paper intends to explore the relation between foreign investment and forced Migration in the context of Colombian armed conflict. Through the illustration of recent cases, it shows the various forms in which the operation of multinational corporations has generated adverse effects to the vulnerable communities located at their area of influence, thus generating processes of involuntary human mobility. In that way, it is established that there is a symbiotic relation between conflict and development, affecting the structure and scope of the norms for both the protection of forced migrants and accountability for human rights violations. This is so because …

The Case For Mexican Asylum Seekers Fleeing Cartel Violence, Perry B. Nava

Perry B Nava

The number of Mexican immigrants filing for asylum in the United States is on the rise as cartel violence affects more people each year. The perceived increase in cartel-related, violent crime is displacing people similar to how a war forces displaced refugees out of a country; but the United States is not accepting a great majority of the applications for asylum. This paper explores the more broadly applicable law that protects persecuted people; some of the issues that have simultaneously contributed to increased migration to the United States and aggressive expansion by the drug cartels; the result of the application …

Social Protection Afforded To Irregular Migrant Workers: Thoughts On International Norms, The Southern African Development Community, Botswana And South Africa, Bruno Ps Van Eck, Felicia Snyman

Bruno PS Van Eck

The majority of migrant workers target those countries in southern Africa that have stronger economies. Irregular migrants are in a particularly vulnerable position, and this article discusses the protection that this category of persons may expect to experience in the southern African region. The authors recommend that the broad notion of “social protection”, rather than the narrower concept “social security” should be emphasized. International, continental and regional instruments providing protection to irregular migrants are traversed and the constitutional and legislative frameworks in relation to social protection in Botswana and South Africa are compared. The article concludes that there are significant …

U.S. Asylum Law As A Path To Religious Persecution, Jack C. Dolance Ii

Jack C Dolance II

U.S. asylum law protects against persecution “on account of . . . religion.” But must the law protect a non-believer seeking religious asylum in the United States? Many may instinctively answer “no,” for a non-believer is by most definitions not “religious.” Such a response misses the mark however — at least in the context of U.S. asylum law, which is subject to the First Amendment. The protection of religious liberty enshrined in the First Amendment embodies freedom from persecution on account of one’s “religion” — in whatever form that religion may take. In the asylum context, then, “religion” must be …

Reclassifying "Terrorists" As Victims: Integrating Terrorism Analysis Into The Particular Social Group Framework Of Asylum, Emily Naser-Hall

Emily Naser-Hall

After the September 11th terrorist attacks at the hands of al-Qaeda operatives who slipped through the cracks of the US immigration system, immigration and asylum law became increasingly focused on ensuring that potential terrorists are not allowed into the United States. The USA PATRIOT Act and its subsequent legislation created what has become an unyielding bar to admission for any individual who is a member of a terrorist organization or who has committed terrorist activities. While the terrorism bar developed in response to real or perceived threats to US national security and has recently regained public light with the trial …

Commercial Marriage Trafficking--Uncovering A Growing New Form Of Transnational Human Trafficking, And Shaping International Law To Respond, Douglas Maclean

Douglas MacLean

Drawing from my work at the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking, this article exposes the phenomenon of commercial marriage trafficking, a rapidly growing but critically overlooked form of human exploitation, and the conceptual gap in international law that has led to inaction by the international community.I address this gap by 1) creating a definition of commercial marriage trafficking consistent with the Palermo Protocol, the most widely accepted international agreement on fighting human trafficking, and 2) promoting immediate state action by repurposing existing international legal provisions on marriage to enable effective initial domestic responses to this crime while revisions …

The Debate, David M. Smolin, Elizabeth Bartholet

David M. Smolin

This chapter is taken from a forthcoming book on Intercountry Adoption, edited by Judith L. Gibbons and Karen Smith Robati and forthcoming in June of 2012. The chapter constitutes a debate between Professor Elizabeth Bartholet and Professor David Smolin. Each independently was given three questions to answer, and then one opportunity to respond to the other's answers to those three questions, all with strict space limitations. The debate illustrates some of the starkly different perspectives regarding the law, policies, and facts relevant to intercountry adoption.

The Real Authors Of The Congo Crimes. Nkunda Has Been Arrested But Who Will Arrest Kagame?, C. Peter Erlinder

C. Peter Erlinder

No abstract provided.

Inherent Powers, Ignoble History Make New Idea Anything But Innocuous, C. Peter Erlinder

C. Peter Erlinder

No abstract provided.

Will President Obama Finally Bury King Leopold’S Ghost? Common Dreams, C. Peter Erlinder

C. Peter Erlinder

No abstract provided.

Applying The Rule Of Law To All Heads Of State, C. Peter Erlinder

C. Peter Erlinder

No abstract provided.

U.S./U.K. Allies Grab Congo Riches And Millions Die: 2001-03 Un Expert Reports, C. Peter Erlinder

C. Peter Erlinder

No abstract provided.

The Precedent Was Set In The Balkans: If You Look At U.S. And U.N. Actions Honestly, It Becomes Harder To Fault Russia For The Current Situation, C. Peter Erlinder

C. Peter Erlinder

No abstract provided.

Who Killed Benazir Bhutto? Why Not Ask Charlie Wilson... Or George Bush?, C. Peter Erlinder

C. Peter Erlinder

No abstract provided.

Nato Action Unwisely Undercuts U.N., C. Peter Erlinder

C. Peter Erlinder

No abstract provided.