Law Commons^™

A Particularly Serious Exception To The Categorical Approach, Fatma E. Marouf

Fatma 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 has not provided a clear test for determining what is a “particularly serious crime.” The current test, which combines an examination of the elements with a fact-specific inquiry, has led to arbitrary and unpredictable decisions about what types of offenses are “particularly serious.” This Article argues that the categorical approach for analyzing convictions should be applied to the particularly serious crime determination to promote …

On Elián And Aliens: A Political Solution To The Plenary Power Problem, Victor Romero

Victor C. Romero

The poignant story of a little boy fished out of the sea after losing his mother to the elements captured the country's imagination and ignited a political firestorm. The Elián González saga drew conflicting opinions from nearly every branch of American local, state, and federal governments.

This article takes no specific position on Elián's situation. Rather, this artivle values the González story for putting a human face on often faceless legal issues. More specifically, Elián's saga raises the following important question: When should the right of the human being to be treated as an individual trump the right of government …

Refuge From Climate Change-Related Harm: Evaluating The Scope Of International Protection Within The Common European Asylum System, Matthew Scott

Matthew Scott

Extreme weather events have the potential to cause serious harm and can contribute to displacement. Such events are expected to increase in frequency and/or intensity as a consequence of climate change. It is therefore of concern that there is widely considered to be a protection gap when affected individuals cross an international border. However, apart from a handful of cases in Australia and New Zealand, the contours of this perceived gap have not been fully explored in practice. In its judgment in Teitiota v Chief Executive of the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, the High Court of New Zealand …

Observations From The Pilot Study On The Practice And Perspectives Of Lawyers In The United Kingdom And Sweden Regarding Protection From Environmentally Related Harm In An Era Of Climate Change, Matthew Scott

Matthew Scott

A total of nine semi-structured interviews were carried out between November 2013 and April 2014 with senior lawyers specialising in asylum and immigration law in the United Kingdom and Sweden enquiring into their perspectives and practice around the issue of environmentally related cross border displacement. The pilot study suggests that lawyers in Sweden and the United Kingdom are not routinely involved in seeking international protection for individuals who may be at risk of being exposed to environmentally related harm if returned to their countries of origin or habitual residence, although some 'pathways to protection' were identified. I suggest that lawyers …

Refuge From Climate Change-Related Harm: Evaluating The Scope Of International Protection Following New Zealand’S Teitiota Judgment, Matthew Scott

Matthew Scott

Extreme weather events have the potential to cause serious harm and can contribute to displacement. Such events are expected to increase in frequency and/or intensity as a consequence of climate change. It is therefore of concern that there is widely considered to be a protection gap when affected individuals cross an international border. However, apart from a handful of cases in Australia and New Zealand, the contours of this perceived gap have seldom been tested in practice. Most recently, the High Court of New Zealand in Teitiota v Chief Executive of the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment described a …

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

Dr Nafees Ahmad

No abstract provided.

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 …

Migration And Disaster-Induced Displacement: European Policy, Practice, And Perspective, Michael D. Cooper

Michael D. Cooper, Esq.

Over the last decade, a series of devastating natural disasters have killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions, and decimated the built environment across wide regions, shocking the public imagination and garnering unprecedented financial support for humanitarian relief efforts. Some suggest that disaster migration must be supported by the international community, first as an adaption strategy in response to climate-change, and second, as a matter of international protection. This study surveys the current state of law as it relates to persons displaced by natural disaster, with a specific focus on the 27 member states of the European Union plus …

The Boston Principles: An Introduction, Hope Lewis, Rachel E. Rosenbloom

Hope Lewis

This commentary introduces the Draft Boston Principles on the Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights of Noncitizens. The Draft Boston Principles are the outcome of "Beyond National Security: Immigrant Communities and Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights," an institute held at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts (United States of America) on October 14-15, 2010. Convened by the Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy (PHRGE) with the sponsorship of the Ford Foundation and the Human Rights Interest Group of the American Society of International Law, the institute brought together leading immigrants' rights attorneys, human rights advocates, and scholars …

The Boston Principles: An Introduction, Hope Lewis, Rachel E. Rosenbloom

Rachel E. Rosenbloom

This commentary introduces the Draft Boston Principles on the Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights of Noncitizens. The Draft Boston Principles are the outcome of "Beyond National Security: Immigrant Communities and Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights," an institute held at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts (United States of America) on October 14-15, 2010. Convened by the Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy (PHRGE) with the sponsorship of the Ford Foundation and the Human Rights Interest Group of the American Society of International Law, the institute brought together leading immigrants' rights attorneys, human rights advocates, and scholars …

Gang And Cartel Violence: A Reason To Grant Political Asylum From Mexico And Central America, Jillian Blake

Jillian Blake

This Essay argues that the United States should view the migrants fleeing violence in Mexico and Central America as refugees. This Essay will describe the nature of the threat from gangs and cartels, present the major arguments for granting gang-based asylum under international refugee law, and describe how the U.S. courts and government have interpreted those arguments. The final section of this Essay will offer an interpretation of refugee law that both bridges the gap between traditional interpretations of the Refugee Convention and also addresses a pressing need to adapt its original meaning to present-day conflicts in Latin America. This …

Welcoming Women: Recent Changes In U.S. Asylum Law, Jillian Blake

Jillian Blake

No abstract provided.