Law Commons^™

Migrant Children And Legislation: Integrating Knowledge About Trauma Into Policy, Yolennys E. Albornoz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study seeks to integrate some knowledge about trauma into migration policies in the U.S. regarding children. Migration is not a novel concept; it is a dynamic phenomenon that experiences continuous changes and constantly increases in numbers. Globally, the United States has been the primary destination for foreign migrants for a long time, and most of them are Latinos who cross the U.S. and Mexico border. Here, I explore how children face trauma in their home country, which forces them to migrate. Also, while they migrate and after they have migrated, exposing the three stages of trauma for migrant children. …

Allowed To Stay: An Exploration Of Dhs New Guidelines To Dismiss Certain Immigration Cases, Jazmin E. De La Cruz Sanchez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

A new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) guideline issued with the intent of reducing case backlogs has led to the dismissal of many immigrants’ legal proceedings. Having their case dismissed has allowed those immigrants to stay within the United States essentially with no legal status. I argue in this paper that these changes have left many in a state that’s been termed liminal legality. Building on previous research that employs this concept, I specifically argue that being in this position affects one’s employment, income, prospects for upward mobility, and future legal standing. Although this new guideline was created to …

The Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act And Criminalized Immigrant Survivors, Assia Serrano, Nathan Yaffe

City University of New York Law Review

This piece explores how New York’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (“DVSJA”), a law meant to grant freedom to criminalized survivors, plays out in practice for criminalized immigrant survivors. New York enacted the DVSJA to address the unjust, but common, harsh punishment of survivors for conduct that an abuser compels, coerces, or otherwise causes. When the court grants a survivor DVSJA relief, the material benefit is shortening that survivor’s sentence of incarceration.

However, for criminalized immigrant survivors, the DVSJA’s promise of freedom may amount to little more than a mirage because DVSJA relief does not expunge, vacate, or alter underlying …

Understanding The Global Refugee Crisis [Paralegal Studies], Andrea R. Irias

Open Educational Resources

This assignment was designed to meet the criteria of the Global Learning competency and Written ability rubrics. Although it was created for the Paralegal Program, it was not made to fit one specific course as we are unsure where it fits best in the program. As we continue to experiment with placement, we have piloted this assignment in two different courses (BTP203 and BTP205) with similar results. It was designed for students to complete outside of the classroom as homework with minimal in-class instruction as the content of the assignment did not truly fit in the courses that held it …

Operation Lone Star: The Spectacle Of Immigration Federalism, Danielle Puretz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Texas Governor Greg Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021 to respond to the “crisis” at the United States/Mexico border. While in the US immigration is usually thought of as a federal responsibility, different states have worked to expand their capacity to welcome or exclude immigrants. Operation Lone Star is an example of how one state is working to restrict immigration to the US and build notoriety for its republican governor. Drawing on press releases, executive orders, news articles, opinion pieces, and other sources I highlight the performative politics within this initiative. Operation Lone Star is an example of …

The T Visa Process And The Identification Of Victims Of Human Trafficking, Mandalena Prelashi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) is a contemporary effort to combat human trafficking. In 2000, the Congress enacted the T Nonimmigrant Status (or T visa) in the effort to protect victims of trafficking and to enhance law enforcement’s ability to investigate and prevent these crimes in the U.S. This thesis explores from a legal and social point of view the obstacles, hurdles, and challenges that victims of human trafficking face, when applying for a T visa. I find that (1) victims assess their exploitation as wrong and immoral but not amounting to human trafficking, thus they are …

On The Cusp Film, Rommel H. Ojeda, Rommel H. Ojeda

Capstones

On the Cusp film follows the story of Dreamer Erika Apupalo, who immigrated to the United States at the age of 9. Her story is one that represents the determination that Dreamers or DACA-recipients have to achieve the American Dream (freedom), while dealing with the physical limitations of being out of status, and having to deal with the uncertainty of what could happen if she went back to her country. Taking place in 2006 in Tigualo, Ecuador, Erika takes us through her journey of migrating to the United State. “I remember the immigration officer asking me questions”, says Erika, who …

Impact Of Forensic Medical Evaluations On Immigration Relief Grant Rates And Correlates Of Outcomes In The United States., Holly G. Atkinson, Katarzyna Wyka, Kathryn Hampton, Christian Seno, Elizabeth Yim, Deborah Ottenheimer, Nermeen Arastu

Publications and Research

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of forensic medical evaluations on grant rates for applicants seeking immigration relief in the United States (U.S.) and to identify significant correlates of grant success. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 2584 cases initiated by Physicians for Human Rights between 2008-2018 that included forensic medical evaluations, and found that 81.6% of applicants for various forms of immigration relief were granted relief, as compared to the national asylum grant rate of 42.4%. Among the study’s cohort, the majority (73.7%) of positive outcomes were grants of asylum. A multivariable regression analysis revealed …

Immigration Lawmaking, 1950–1986: Cold War Politics And Double-Edged Reforms, Benjamin Becker

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The dissertation is a study of immigration lawmaking in the Cold War period. It explores how the gap emerged between the law and the social reality of immigration, and how lawmakers politically and institutionally “resolved” these contradictions under the competing pressures of foreign policy, shifting Congressional alignments, an unstable economy and the reigning political idiom of non-discrimination.

The constant efforts to reformulate immigration policy from 1952 to 1990 were produced by the struggle between competing economic and political blocs in a context largely insulated from public opinion, where Cold War foreign policy demands set the boundaries of acceptable discourse and …

Intangible Cultural Heritage: A Benefit To Climate-Displaced And Host Communities, Gül Aktürk, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Climate change is borderless, and its impacts are not shared equally by all communities. It causes an imbalance between people by creating a more desirable living environment for some societies while erasing settlements and shelters of some others. Due to floods, sea level rise, destructive storms, drought, and slow-onset factors such as salinization of water and soil, people lose their lands, homes, and natural resources. Catastrophic events force people to move voluntarily or involuntarily. The relocation of communities is a debatable climate adaptation measure which requires utmost care with human rights, ethics, and psychological well-being of individuals upon the issues …

One Salvadoran Mother Was Determined To Bring Her Son To The U.S. Legally— It Took 24 Years, Maggie Veatch

Capstones

Desperate for a better life, Daysi Perla fled violence in El Salvador to provide a better life for her ten-year-old son. She immediately received temporary legal status. But by the time the paperwork for her son was processed, he was 34 years old with a 5-year-old child of his own. This is a story of a broken immigration system, and shows why Salvadorans are now risking their children's lives by bringing them to the U.S.

Link: http://maggieveatch.com/Capstone/

Ny State Marijuana Law Clears The Records Of Thousands, But Will It Help Immigrants?, Jaime Longoria, Harsha Nahata

Capstones

In July 2019, Governor Cuomo signed legislation that would clear criminal records for over 200,000 people with marijuana related convictions and reduce punishment for possession. But, there’s one group of New Yorkers who are left out — and that’s immigrants. With over 4 million immigrants in New York State, the lives of those with prior marijuana convictions are still in limbo. Harsha Nahata and Jaime Longoria spoke with immigrants and advocates to find out why. The full story can be found here: https://jaimelongoria.github.io/nys-marijuana-law/

The Disconnect Between Family Law And Immigration Law In The Usa That Results In Undocumented Immigrants Losing Parental Rights, Mercedes Aznar, Sara Schechter

Publications and Research

Due to increasing violence in Latin American countries, the flow of immigrants seeking asylum in the United States has risen. In our research we look into possible legal consequences of the practice of separating immigrant families. Through the analysis of scholarly articles and legal documents we found that oftentimes, undocumented immigrants lose parental rights while being detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), due to lack of coordination between Family Law and Immigration Law. Findings in this study reinforce the urgency to find solutions to this problem.

A Credible Fear: The Politics Of Gang Violence In The Northern Triangle, Jane E. Dowd

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis will create an argument for how the victims of gang violence from the Northern Triangle nations of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras qualify for asylum in the United States based on a well-founded fear of persecution. An analysis of the legal framework of the asylum system in the United States, profiles of the two largest gangs in the Northern Triangle the Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18, a profile of the asylum seekers arriving at the United States border, the criminal activity that the gangs engage in, and the way that this activity is political in nature will form …

Cultural Heritage Preservation In The Context Of Climate Change Adaptation Or Relocation: Barbuda As A Case Study, Martha B. Lerski

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This case study introduces an arts camp methodology of engaging communities in identifying their key cultural heritage features, thus serving as a meta study. It presents original research based on field studies on the climate-vulnerable Caribbean island of Barbuda during 2017 and 2018. Its Valued Cultural Elements survey, enabling precise identification of key tangible and intangible art forms and biocultural practices, may serve as a basis for further studies. Such approaches may facilitate future research or planning as climate-vulnerable communities harness Local or Indigenous Knowledge for purposes of biocultural heritage preservation, or towards adaptation or relocation. I report on findings …

Amenazado En Venezuela, En Espera En Ee.Uu., Hernan Goicochea, Juan Garcia

Capstones

Venezolano activista luchó para combatir el sida en su país, huyo de las amenazas del gobierno venezolano, y está buscando asilo político en los Estado Unidos.

https://theinformantes.home.blog/2018/12/13/amenazado-en-venezuela-en-espera-en-ee-uu/

Published Link: https://www.telemundo.com/noticias/noticias-telemundo/inmigracion/la-historia-de-jesus-en-estados-unidos-dos-secuestros-le-hicieron-huir-de-venezuela-los-tmna3870280

Public Charge Proposal Spawns “Chilling Effect” Within Immigrant Hiv Community, Say Service Providers, Karina Hernandez

Capstones

New regulations from the Trump administration are leaving immigrants living with HIV in New York City reluctant to continue or seek treatment, according to service providers.

Highly Skilled Immigration In The United States In An Age Of Globalization: An Institutional And Agency Approach, Marcela F. González

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

My dissertation proposes an institutional and agency approach in order to answer a new question to a new set of conditions, processes, and architecture of the new immigration trend for highly skilled immigration in the United States that emerged in the 1990s. The complexification of visa policies for highly skilled immigrants since the 1990s forces many immigrants to follow a multi-step legal pathway to acquire legal permanent residency: first, immigrants have a variety of temporary legal statuses or no legal status, and in a subsequent stage they achieve legal permanent residency. The central question that organizes the dissertation has two …

Due Process And The Right To Legal Counsel For Unaccompanied Minors, Marielos G. Ramos

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Unaccompanied minors arriving to the United States fleeing violence and seeking protection are apprehended, detained in facilities, and placed in removal proceedings in accordance with U.S. immigration laws. Like adults, these children have to appear in immigration court to fight deportation and must apply for any form of legal relief for which they may be eligible. However, removal proceedings work as a civil and not a criminal process, and immigration laws have established that while noncitizens have the right to an attorney, they are not entitled to legal counsel at the government’s expense. This thesis examines how the denial of …

Involuntary Sterilization Among Hiv-Positive Garifuna Women From Honduras Seeking Asylum In The United States: Two Case Reports, Holly G. Atkinson, Deborah Ottenheimer

Publications and Research

Voluntary sterilization is one of the most widely used forms of contraception by women worldwide; however, involuntary sterilization is considered a violation of multiple human rights and grounds for asylum in the United States. Women have been disproportionately affected by this practice. We report two cases of involuntary sterilization in HIV-positive Garifuna women from Honduras who sought asylum in America and were medically evaluated at the request of their attorneys. Key lessons can be drawn from these cases with regard to the importance of medical evaluations in establishing persecution. These include the need for a detailed account of the events …

Protecting The Rights Of Daca Recipients As Persons Residing Under Color Of Law In New York, Janet M. Calvo

City University of New York Law Review

While the future immigration status of those who enrolled in DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, is uncertain, they should remain eligible for both professional licensing and Medicaid in New York as they continue to be PRUCOL, permanently residing under color of law, whether or not DACA is ultimately rescinded. Almost 800,000 non-citizens who came to the United States as children have been afforded DACA. As of 2017, there were over 40,000 approved DACA recipients (DACAs) in New York. The USCIS reported that as of September 4, 2017 there were 32,900 active DACAs in New York. A future immigration status …

Professional Licensing And Teacher Certification For Non-Citizens: Federalism, Equal Protection And A State’S Socioeconomic Interests, Janet M. Calvo

Publications and Research

Some states have recently addressed the integration of their non-citizen populations and their socioeconomic needs by expanding the eligibility of professional licensing to noncitizens. Changes made in 2016 in the two states with the largest immigrant populations, California and New York, were extensive and comprehensive. California removed immigration status requirements for licensing through legislation that covered all occupations regulated by the California Department of Consumer Affairs. The New York Board of Regents and Commissioner of Education expanded the categories of non-citizens eligible for professional licensing and teaching certification through administrative regulations, including all non-citizens permanently residing in the state under …

The Racialization And Exploitation Of Foreign Workers By The Law, Seiko Ishikawa

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Intense demand for cheap labor in the United States has resulted in a widespread effect of employing high skilled immigrants in STEM fields. Examining how companies use high-skilled visa categories to create a flexible cheaper immigrant workforce, this paper demonstrates that skilled immigrants from Asia are being exploited through neutral skills-based criteria that are de facto racially biased. The purpose of this paper is to raise awareness of how, from the perspective of law and society, skills-based immigration works primarily to benefit the technological industry rather than skilled immigrants.

Individual Levels Of Bias And Immigration Policies In The United States: A Test And Extension Of The Dual Processing Model Of Bias, Lorraine Phillips

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The present study was a test and extension of the Dual Process Model of bias on attitudes toward immigrants and immigration policy in the United States. The Dual Process Model predicts that people who score higher on either the Social Dominance Orientation scale or the Right Wing Authoritarian scale will hold more negative attitudes toward immigrants, particularly if immigrants are viewed as a threat. A sample of 315 participants from across the United States was recruited using Amazon’s M Turk site. This study used a combination of attitudinal measures, policy scales, and experimental vignettes. The study found that the Dual …

As’Lem: An Ethical Diagnosis Of The Contemporary, Miriam Ticktin

Publications and Research

In recent scholarly literature, refugees have proliferated: they are the “political figures par excellence” and “border concepts”; they are understood through their infrastructures, both camps and laws; and they are approached as suffering subjects. But Fassin, Wilhelm-Solomon, and Segatti have a different approach: they understand asylum—or as’lem, the term used by asylum seekers in South Africa—as a form of life.

The Fear Factor: Exploring The Impact Of The Vulnerability To Deportation On Immigrants' Lives, Shirley P. Leyro

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This qualitative study explores the impact that the fear of deportation has on the lives of noncitizen immigrants. More broadly, it explores the role that immigration enforcement, specifically deportation, plays in disrupting the process of integration, and the possible implications of this interruption for immigrants and their communities. The study aims to answer: (1) how vulnerability to deportation specifically impacts an immigrant’s life, and (2) how the vulnerability to deportation, and the fear associated with it, impacts an immigrant’s degree of integration. Data were gathered through a combination of six open-ended focus group interviews of 10 persons each, and 33 …

Local Immigration Enforcement Entrepreneurship In The Punishment Marketplace, Daniel L. Stageman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The contemporary neoliberal economic order plays a significant role in American social organization and policy-making. Most importantly, neoliberal ideology drives the creation and imposition of markets in public goods and services and the valorization of free market ideology in cultural life. The neoliberal ‘project of inequality’ is in turn delimited and upheld by an authoritarian system of punishment built around mass incarceration, surveillance, and an unprecedented level of social control directed at the lowest strata of American society – a group that includes both the urban underclass, and unauthorized immigrants.

This study lays out the theory of the punishment marketplace …

Structural Due Process In Immigration Detention, Anthony R. Enriquez

City University of New York Law Review

No abstract provided.

Jailing The Immigrant Poor: Hernandez V. Sessions, Michael K.T. Tan, Michael Kaufman

City University of New York Law Review

No abstract provided.

Vanishing Protection: Access To Asylum At The Border, B. Shaw Drake, Elizabeth Gibson

City University of New York Law Review

No abstract provided.