Immigration Law Commons^™

Us-Mexico Relations: Addressing Challenges At The Border, The Brookings Institution

Brookings Mountain West Special Events

Mexico’s president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum will begin her six-year term in October as the U.S. presidential campaign enters its final stretch. How the next U.S. administration and Congress manage relations with new leadership in Mexico will affect border security, immigration policies, trade and energy relations, and counter-narcotics and anti-crime cooperation. What tools can policymakers in both countries use to advance positive outcomes? What are the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for the United States and Mexico?

The Brookings Foreign Policy program in partnership with Brookings Mountain West at UNLV hosted a discussion on the state of U.S.-Mexico relations. Panelists analyzed …

Explaining The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Stalemate In Congress, Maryam T. Stevenson

Catholic University Law Review

Historically, congressional policy goals on immigration have vacillated from open to restrictive as various micro and macro level factors have changed both inside and outside the Beltway. While Congress has been subjected to some immigration lobbies over time, it has largely been isolated from a general public opinion on immigration policy until fairly recently. Specifically, while Congress was successful at passing a variety of immigration policies through 1990 without much regard to public opinion, it has since failed even amid bipartisan congressional and presidential support. This article will offer a number of theories in order to explain why Congress has …

Seeking Sanctuary: An Analysis Of U Visa Policies In Omaha, Nebraska And Their Impact On Immigrant Communities, Emma Ehmke

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Since 2000, immigrants have been eligible for U visa status if they are a victim of a particular crime and assist law enforcement in criminal investigations. However, challenges arise for numerous reasons with the I-918 Supplement B form, which must be signed by an agency certifier within law enforcement or an attorney’s office. This study examines the policies of six law enforcement agencies and attorney’s offices in the Omaha Metro Area through semi-structured interviews to understand their approach to U visas and the characteristics of successful applications. The study aims to uncover variations in agency procedures and understandings and the …

Rwu Law Alumni Newsletter April 2024, Roger Williams University School Of Law

RWU Law

No abstract provided.

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 …

Having Decency Towards Immigrants Requires The Abolition Of For-Profit Detention Centers, Ariadna Quinares Navarrete

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Opting Out Of The Exception: Washington’S Opportunity To Provide Due Process For Detained Immigrants, Ryan Saunders

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

An Upward Trend In Jailhouse Cooperation With Ice: A Report On Detainers Issued By Ice And 287(G) Agreements In Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, And Tennessee From 2016 To 2020., Eric Franklin Amarante, Project South

Scholarly Works

This report analyzes information received in response to Freedom of Information Act requests to ICE about 287(g) agreements and detainer requests issued between fiscal year 2016 to 2020 in those states. This report concludes with specific recommendations for local, state, and federal governments to end LLE-ICE collaboration and repeal anti-immigrant policies.

Filling The Gap: The Case For Driver's Licenses As A Lifeline To Opportunity For Undocumented Immigrants Where The Federal Government Fails To Act On Comprehensive Immigration Reform, David Peraza

FIU Law Review

The federal government has repeatedly failed at passing comprehensive immigration reform, which would provide basic benefits to the undocumented population in the U.S, including driver’s licenses. Various states have made attempts to provide undocumented immigrants with driver’s licenses. This work address the benefits and drawbacks of these policies and ultimately posits that holdout states should enact policies to provide driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants in the face of the federal government’s inaction.

Immigration Detention Abolition And The Violence Of Digital Cages, Sarah Sherman-Stokes

University of Colorado Law Review

The United States has a long history of pernicious immigration enforcement and surveillance. Today, in addition to more than 34,000 people held in immigration detention, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shackles and surveils an astounding 376,000 people under its “Alternatives to Detention” (“ATD”) program. The number of people subjected to this surveillance has grown dramatically in the last two decades, from just about 1,700 in 2005. ICE’s rapidly expanding Alternatives to Detention program is a “digital cage,” consisting of GPS-outfitted ankle shackles and invasive phone and location tracking. Government officials and some immigrant advocates have characterized these digital cages as …

Lexisnexis’S Contract With Ice As Unjust Enrichment, Lizzie Bird

University of Colorado Law Review

For $22.1 million, LexisNexis is currently helping Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) surveil, detain, and deport noncitizens. Like other data brokers, LexisNexis’s role in the collection and sale of personal information has largely been ignored by regulators, judges, and the public. A recent lawsuit against LexisNexis in Illinois includes, among other claims, a claim of unjust enrichment. This often misunderstood and unpopular claim has a complex history which presents both a barrier to relief and an opportunity for advocates to push courts to clarify the doctrine. This Note examines the history of the theory of unjust enrichment, surveys its recent …

History Of Federal International Education Policy (1900-2024): A Four-Dimensional View In Action, Winda Wastu Melati

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This dissertation examines the history of the evolution of United States international education policy from 1900 to 2024, employing document analysis methodology to explore key themes that have shaped its trajectory. The study utilizes Cooper et al.'s (2004) Four-Dimensional View of Policy theory (normative, structural, constituentive, and technical) to analyze the complex interplay between diplomatic objectives, economic considerations, national security concerns, immigration, internationalization of higher education, and international students in the United States. The research traces major policy shifts from early initiatives like the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program to post-9/11 security measures and recent administrative changes by examining primary sources …

Immigration Detention Abolition And The Violence Of Digital Cages, Sarah R. Sherman-Stokes

Faculty Scholarship

The United States has a long history of devastating immigration enforcement and surveillance. Today, in addition to more than 34,000 people held in immigration detention, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) surveils an astounding 296,000 people under its “Alternatives to Detention” program. The number of people subjected to this surveillance has grown dramatically in the last two decades, from just 1,339 in 2005. ICE’s rapidly expanding Alternatives to Detention program is marked by “digital cages,” consisting of GPS-outfitted ankle shackles and invasive phone and location tracking. Government officials and some immigrant advocates have categorized these digital cages as a humane “reform”; …

Adopting Nationality, Irina D. Manta, Cassandra Burke Robertson

Washington Law Review

Contrary to popular belief, when a child is adopted from abroad by an American citizen and brought to the United States, that child does not always become an American citizen. Many adoptees have not discovered until years later (sometimes far into adulthood) that they are not actually citizens, and some likely still do not know. To address this problem, the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA) was enacted to automate citizenship for certain international adoptees, but it does not cover everyone. Tens of thousands of adoptees still live under the assumption that they are American citizens when, in fact, they …

Impacted Communities Leading Authentic Legal Mobilization: A Refugee-Led Access-To-Justice Story, Douglas Smith

Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development

(Excerpt)

I have a modest proposal to begin addressing the civil access-to-justice problem in the United States: eliminate the barriers for refugees to provide legal representation. In discussions of access to civil justice, immigration and immigrant rights compel our attention—images of children as young as three facing deportation without representation and non-citizens detained because of civil immigration infractions come to mind. But we hear less about the access-to-justice challenges of immigrants fighting for their rights to safe housing, public benefits, education for their children, or often-contingent or under-the-table jobs. The cries of immigrant communities about informal and formal threats from …

A Better Way: Uncoupling The Right To Counsel With The Threat Of Deportation For Unaccompanied Immigrant Children And Beyond, Laura Barrera

Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development

(Excerpt)

The stakes could not be higher in immigration court—families are separated; people are banished from their communities with little hope of ever legally returning; judges relegate individuals to seemingly arbitrary and indefinite detention in remote locations. Each of these hardships—and more—flow from the threat of deportation. As the Supreme Court noted in 1922, deportation “may result . . . in . . . all that makes life worth living.”

As has been the unfortunate norm in civil proceedings, many individuals face these trials without an attorney by their side because while the law states that respondents in immigration court …

Modalities Of Social Change Lawyering, Christine N. Cimini, Doug Smith

Articles

The last decade has seen the rise of new kinds of grassroots social movements. Movements including Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, Sunrise, and #MeToo pushed back against long-standing political, economic, and social crises, including income inequality, racial inequality, police violence, climate change, and the widespread culture of sexual abuse and harassment. As these social change efforts evolve, a growing body of scholarship has begun to theorize the role of lawyers within these new social movements and to identify lawyering characteristics that contribute to sustaining social movements over time. This Article surveys this body of literature and proposes a typology …

Changemakers: 'You Have To Adapt To Survive', Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Changemakers: From The Classroom To The Courtroom: Miguel Garcia, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

¿Por Qué No Vale La Pena Salvarnos? Experiencias De Mujeres Inmigrantes Latinoamericanas Con Políticas De Inmigración Post-9/11 Y Solicitantes De Asilo En Los Estados Unidos, Kaye Romans

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Esta tesis aborda la Crimmigration—la convergencia de las políticas criminales y la ley de inmigración—en un mundo post-9/11 en lo que se refiere a las mujeres inmigrantes latinoamericanas que buscan asilo en los Estados Unidos. Utilizando la jurisprudencia, la legislación y la erudición legal, sitúo estas políticas en el contexto más amplio de la ley de inmigración tanto a nivel nacional como internacional, centrándome en la legislación y políticas claves posteriores al 9/11 tales como la Operation Streamline, la Operation Liberty Shield y el Title 42, así como la jurisprudencia clave posterior al 9/11 que trata con las mujeres latinoamericanas …

Why Are We Not Worth Saving? Latin American Immigrant Women's Experiences With Post-9/11 Crimmigration Policies And Asylum-Seeking In The United States, Kaye Romans

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis discusses Crimmigration—the convergence of criminal policies and immigration law—in a post-9/11 world as it relates to Latin American Immigrant women seeking asylum in the United States. Utilizing case law, legislation, and legal scholarship, I situate these policies in the broader context of immigration law both nationally and internationally, focusing on key post-9/11 legislation and policies such as Operation Streamline, Operation Liberty Shield, and Title 42, as well as key post-9/11 case law dealing with Latin American women seeking asylum in the United States. With these foundational understandings, I provide possible solutions that would lessen the harms presented to …

J.E.F.M. V. Lynch: The Jurisdictional Exclusion Of Legal Representation For Immigrant Children, Kourtney Speer

Golden Gate University Law Review

The border crisis created a perfect storm in immigration courts, as children wind their way from border crossings to immigration proceedings. The storm has battered immigration courtrooms crowded with young defendants but lacking lawyers and judges to handle the sheer volume of cases.

Local Human Rights Governance To Advance Migrants' Rights, Camilo Mantilla

Refugee Law & Migration Studies Brief

No abstract provided.

Transformative Immigration Lawyering, Jayesh Rathod

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Movement actors have long sought expansive reforms in U.S. immigration law, but two deep-seated tendencies are obstructing those efforts: incrementalism and path dependence. This Essay recommends that law clinics counter these forces by setting ambitious goals for structural change and by equipping students with knowledge and skills needed for transformative lawyering.

Law School News: From Classroom To Courtroom 11-10-2022, Michelle Choate

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

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

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Franco I Loved: Reconciling The Two Halves Of The Nation’S Only Government-Funded Public Defender Program For Immigrants, Amelia Wilson

Washington Law Review Online

Detained noncitizens experiencing serious intellectual and mental health disabilities are among the most vulnerable immigrant populations in the United States. The Executive Office for Immigration Review’s (EOIR) creation of the National Qualified Representative Program (NQRP) following a class action lawsuit was an important step in finally bringing meaningful protections to this population. The EOIR pledged to ensure government-paid counsel for those facing removal who had been adjudicated “incompetent” by an immigration judge, as well as other protections for those who had been identified as having a “serious mental disorder” but who had not yet been found incompetent. The NQRP is …

The Suspension Clause After Department Of Homeland Security V. Thuraissigiam, Jonathan Hafetz

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

In June 2020, in Department of Homeland Security v. Thuraissigiam, the Supreme Court of the United States rejected a constitutional challenge to Congress’s decision to eliminate habeas corpus jurisdiction over legal challenges to expedited removal orders by noncitizens in federal detention.

In Thuraissigiam, U.S. border patrol stopped the petitioner, Vijayakumar Thuraissigiam, a Sri Lankan national of Tamil ethnicity, shortly after he crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without inspection or an entry document. The petitioner asserted that he was fleeing persecution in his home country and sought asylum in the United States. The asylum officer concluded that Thuraissigiam had …

Issues Of Right To Legal Counsel In Immigrant Removal Proceedings: Due Process Framework And Applicability, Cambria A. Judd Babbitt

Honors Projects

Immigration removal proceedings suffer from a lack of procedural due process protections for non-citizens facing deportation charges. This research examines constitutional due process framework, what it entails, and how it is to be fairly applied to non-citizens in the United States. Special attention is paid to ways the immigration court system is subject to unjust and biased procedures that make it difficult for immigrants to succeed in their removal cases. The main focus of this study is on the importance of direct legal representation in removal proceedings to support non-citizens and keep courts accountable for upholding the due process of …

Embracing Crimmigration To Curtail Immigration Detention, Pedro Gerson

Faculty Scholarship

Immigration advocates have long objected to both the constitutionality and conditions of immigration detention. However, legal challenges to the practice have been largely unsuccessful due to immigration law’s “exceptionality.” Placing recent litigation carried out against immigration detention during the COVID-19 pandemic within the context of the judiciary’s approach to immigration, this Article argues that litigation is an extremely limited strategic avenue to curtail the use of immigration detention. I then argue that anti-immigration detention advocates should attempt to incorporate their agenda into criminal legal reform and decarceration efforts. This is important for both movements. Normatively, immigration detention raises comparable issues: …