Immigration Law Commons^™

Forced Back Into The Lion's Mouth: Per Se Reporting Requirements In U.S. Asylum Law, Amelia S. Mcgowan

Marquette Law Review

This Article makes a significant contribution to scholarship on asylum

law by identifying and calling for the abolition of a deadly (but unexplored)

development in asylum law: per se reporting requirements. In jurisdictions

where they apply, per se reporting requirements automatically bar protection

to asylum seekers solely because they did not report their non-state persecutors

(such as cartels or domestic abusers) to the authorities before fleeing, even

where reporting would have been futile or dangerous. These requirements

similarly provide no exception where law enforcement openly support an

applicant’s persecutor.

This Article demonstrates that even though per se reporting requirements

have …

On Account Of Youth: Winning Asylum For Children, Linda Kelly

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Empathy For The Vulnerable? The Fourth Circuit's Internal Struggle To Grapple With The Trump Administration's Immigration Policies: Part Ii, Anne Marie Lofaso, Isabella Anderson, Anna Filatova, Blake Humphrey, Mckenna Meadows, Brice Phillips

West Virginia Law Review Online

Part I of this article described and analyzed Portillo-Flores v. Barr, a case in which the Fourth Circuit, over Judge Stephanie Thacker’s dissent, upheld the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) denial of asylum to a Salvadorian asylum seeker who, as a child, was beaten nearly to death by MS-13 because his sister fled the country to avoid becoming a gang leader’s girlfriend. It contends not only that Portillo-Flores is inconsistent with general immigration standards, but also that the Fourth Circuit committed two main legal errors. First, the Fourth Circuit erred in requiring that Portillo-Flores should have reported the persecution …

“We Are Asking Why You Treat Us This Way. Is It Because We Are Negroes?” A Reparations-Based Approach To Remedying The Trump Administration’S Cancellation Of Tps Protections For Haitians, Sarah E. Baranik De Alarcón, David H. Secor, Norma Fuentes-Mayorga

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

This Article places the Trump Administration’s decision to cancel TPS for Haitians within the longer history of U.S. racism and exclusion against Haiti and Haitians, observes the legal challenges against this decision and their limitations, and imagines a future that repairs the harms caused by past and current racist policies. First, this Article briefly outlines the history of exclusionary, race-based immigration laws in the United States, and specifically how this legal framework, coupled with existing anti-Black ideologies in the United States, directly impacted Haitians and Haitian immigrants arriving in the United States. Next, the Article provides an overview of the …

Sexual Violence And Future Harm: Lessons From Asylum Law, Shawn E. Fields

Utah Law Review

Sexual violence victims face unique and enduring safety risks following an assault. The legal system’s gradual shift from solely punishing offenders for past acts to protecting survivors from future harm reflects a recognition of this fact. But so-called “sexual assault protection order” statutes impose onerous “future harm” requirements – including proof by clear and convincing evidence that another sexual assault is imminent – that belies the realities of ongoing injury for victims and creates barriers to protection similar to the criminal justice approach to rape.

This Article suggests a different approach, one justified by a novel analogy to the refugee …

Final Cut: The West’S Opportunity To Accommodate Asylee Victims Of Female Genital Mutilation, Patricia N. Jjemba

University of Massachusetts Law Review

In an era where immigration and asylum is at the forefront of many western nationals’ minds, so too should be the reasons behind an individual’s intent to seek refuge in a new country. Statistics have shown that one of the pragmatic reasons women and girls, particularly from Middle Eastern and African nations, seek refuge through western asylum programs is to escape or recover from Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). While the practice has been a longstanding tradition in various communities around the world, modern western governments and international entities have moved to abolish the tradition completely, given its alarming implications against …

Through A Glass, Clearly; Reflections On Team Lawyering, Clinically Taught, Raymond H. Brescia

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Enduring Legacies Of The Haitian Refugee Litigation, Harold Hongju Koh

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Hcc’S Lasting Impact; Remarks From Senator Chris Coons, Chris Coons

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Left Behind: The Dying Principle Of Family Reunification Under Immigration Law, Anita Ortiz Maddali

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

A key underpinning of modern U.S. immigration law is family reunification, but in practice it can privilege certain families and certain members within families. Drawing on legislative history, this Article examines the origins and objectives of the principle of family reunification in immigration law and relies on legal scholarship and sociological and anthropological research to reveal how contemporary immigration law and policy has diluted the principle for many families—particularly those who do not fit the dominant nuclear family model, those classified as unskilled, and families from oversubscribed countries—and members within families. It explores the ways in which women and children, …

Access To Justice For Asylum Seekers: Developing An Effective Model Of Holistic Asylum Representation, Sabrineh Ardalan

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Abducted, beaten, and tortured by government forces that accused him of supporting an opposition group, Matthew fled to the United States with the help of his church pastor.1 The pastor lent Matthew money and helped him obtain a passport and a visa. The pastor also put Matthew in touch with an acquaintance in Boston, who gave him a place to stay for a short time and encouraged him to apply for asylum. The acquaintance sat down with Matthew and helped him fill out the asylum application form. He told Matthew to be as specific and detailed as possible since that …

Immigrant Victims, Immigrant Accusers, Michael Kagan

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The U visa program provides immigration status to noncitizen victims of crime, ensuring unauthorized immigrants do not become easy prey because they are too afraid to seek help from the police. But under the federal government’s structuring of the U visa program, a victim must also become an accuser to receive immigration benefits. Thus, the U visa implicates the rights of third parties: accused defendants. These defendants are often immigrants themselves who may be deported when U visa recipients level their accusations. Recent state court decisions have created complications in the program by permitting defendants to cross-examine accusers about their …

Crisis On The Immigration Bench: An Ethical Perspective, Michele Benedetto

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

The troubled status of the immigration court system has garnered much attention from scholars, appellate judges, and even the United States Attorney General. This article suggests a new lens through which to examine the acknowledged crisis in immigration courts: judicial ethics. Because the term judicial ethics encompasses a broad array of principles, the article narrows its focus to bias and incompetence on the part of immigration judges in the courtroom. Immigration judges operate as a unique judiciary under the Executive Branch of government. An examination of the modern immigration court system, including inadequate disciplinary procedures for immigration judges, reveals that …

Modern-Day Slavery And Cultural Bias: Proposals For Reforming The U.S. Visa System For Victims Of International Human Trafficking, Marisa Silenzi Cianciarulo

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

United States Haitian Policy: A History Of Discrimination, Cheryl Little

NYLS Journal of Human Rights

No abstract provided.

Political Asylum In The Ninth Circuit And The Case Of Elias-Zacarias, Bruce J. Einhorn

San Diego Law Review

During the height of the Central American civil wars of the 1980s, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals established liberal precedent for granting asylum under the Immigration and Nationality Act to deportable aliens who had been threatened for resisting government or guerrilla service in their native countries because of their political opinions (including neutrality), whether expressed, implied, or imputed to them by those who meant them harm. However, in INS v. Elias-Zacarias, the Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit and stated that an asylum applicant's political opinion may not be imputed to him by the actions of his alleged persecutors. …