Law Commons^™

Climate Change, Natural Disasters And Non-Refoulement: What Scope For Resisting Expulsion Under Articles 3 & 8 Echr?, Matthew Scott

Matthew Scott

This presentation sets out in brief the concepts of environmentally-related harm and climate change-related harm, and considers the extent to which individuals fearing such harm can resist expulsion by relying on Articles 3 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Recognising the limited scope of protection, the presentation summarises some potential arguments for extending the scope of protection by incorporating consideration of the role of anthropogenic climate change in the harm feared.

Umd Law Students Travel To Haiti On Fact-Finding Trip, Irene Scharf, Justin Steele

Irene Scharf

During spring break Professor Irene Scharf, director of the Immigration Law Clinic at the UMass School of Law in Dartmouth accompanied a group of UMass law students to the Dominican Republic to engage in fact-finding about the conditions of Haitians in the country. This piece was written by Scharf and Justin Steele, executive articles editor of the UMass Law Review.

The Exclusionary Rule In Immigration Proceedings: Where It Was, Where It Is, Where It May Be Going, Irene Scharf

Irene Scharf

The case alerted me to the continuing issue concerning the treatment of alleged violations of Fourth Amendment rights in immigration court, with this article the result of research conducted relating thereto. Beyond reviewing the relevant views of the federal courts of appeals; the administrative tribunal that handles appeals of immigration court cases, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA); and even local immigration courts; I consider whether the jurisprudence has remained static since the Supreme Court's watershed opinion on the issue about twenty-five years ago. I also offer suggestions as to how to effectively, fairly, and efficiently resolve the issues raised …

Border Searches In The Age Of Terrorism, Robert M. Bloom

Robert Bloom

This article will first explore the history of border searches. It will look to the reorganization of the border enforcement apparatus resulting from 9/11 as well as the intersection of the Fourth Amendment and border searches generally. Then, it will analyze the Supreme Court's last statement on border searches in the Flores-Montano27 decision, including what impact this decision has had on the lower courts. Finally, the article will focus on Fourth Amendment cases involving terrorism concerns after 9/11, as a means of drawing some conclusions about the effect the emerging emphasis on terrorism and national security concerns will likely have …

Taking Responsibility For Climate Change-Related Displacement: Article 8 Of The European Convention On Human Rights And The Proportionality Of Expelling ‘Climate Refugees’, Matthew Scott

Matthew Scott

Climate change is already contributing to the displacement of millions of people worldwide by increasing the frequency and intensity of adverse weather events. Faced with a ‘protection gap’ in the international legal framework, proposals for responding to the phenomenon overwhelmingly rely on the State to act, with limited discussion of the potential to develop the scope of protection through litigation. Recognising the potential for litigation to address immediate protection needs whilst also developing the scope of protection more broadly, this discussion paper advances an interpretation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights that would require a ‘fair …

Reverse-Commandeering, Margaret Hu

Margaret Hu

Although the anti-commandeering doctrine was developed by the Supreme Court to protect state sovereignty from federal overreach, nothing prohibits flipping the doctrine in the opposite direction to protect federal sovereignty from state overreach. Federalism preserves a balance of power between two sovereigns. Thus, the reversibility of the anti-commandeering doctrine appears inherent in the reasoning offered by the Court for the doctrine’s creation and application. In this Article, I contend that reversing the anti-commandeering doctrine is appropriate in the context of contemporary immigration federalism laws. Specifically, I explore how an unconstitutional incursion into federal sovereignty can be seen in state immigration …

Report On The Free Movement Of Workers In Cyprus In 2012-2013, National Expert Report For The European Network On Free Movement Of Workers Within The European Union, Nicos Trimikliniotis

Nicos Trimikliniotis

The current economic crisis, particularly with the financial/banking crisis in March 2013, has produced a serious deterioration of the terms of the public debate: xenophobic and racist discourses are regular in the immigration and employment debates, directed against migrants, including Union citizens. As unemployment rises, anti-immigrant sentiments are being hyped by the media and certain politicians. As the economy has contracted . Moreover, public sector austerity measures to reduce the public debt and deficit have further deepened the slump. Also the crisis has brought more precarity, insecurity, use and abuse of undeclared work, particularly affecting EU workers. Since taking office …

The Crisis Of A Legal Framework: Protection Of Victims Of Human Trafficking In The Bulgarian Legislation, Vladislava Stoyanova

Vladislava Stoyanova

The Council of Europe Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings reported that in Bulgaria no adult victim of human trafficking received any assistance and that no adult victim was granted a reflection period. A close examination of the Bulgarian legislative framework could explain this unpromising picture. In this article, I develop three arguments in relation to the Bulgarian legislation on protection of trafficked persons. First, in some respects, Bulgaria has failed to fulfil its international obligations. Second, the national legal framework regulating the conditions under which trafficked person are assisted and protected is surrounded by legal …

The Legitimacy Of Crimmigration Law, Juliet P. Stumpf

Juliet P Stumpf

Crimmigration law—the intersection of immigration and criminal law—with its emphasis on immigration enforcement, has been hailed as the lynchpin for successful political compromise on immigration reform. Yet crimmigration law’s unprecedented approach to interior immigration and criminal law enforcement threatens to undermine public belief in the fairness of immigration law. This Article uses pioneering social science research to explore people’s perceptions of the legitimacy of crimmigration law. According to Tom Tyler and other compliance scholars, perceptions about procedural justice—whether people perceive authorities as acting fairly—are often more important than a favorable outcome such as winning the case or avoiding arrest. Legal …

Specific Intent And The Purposeful Narrowing Of Victim Protection Under The Convention Against Torture, Mary Holper

Mary Holper

Article 3 of the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment (“CAT”) prevents removal of a person to a country where there is a substantial likelihood of torture. The U.S. ratified the CAT in 1994, yet modified the treaty’s definition of “torture” by inserting an understanding that “torture” includes only pain or suffering that is “specifically intended.” Specific intent, an antiquated criminal law term, has several different meanings in criminal law jurisprudence. In Matter of J-E-, the Board of Immigration Appeals in 2002 chose the most narrow definition of specific intent, “purposeful,” and …

The New Moral Turpitude Test: Failing Chevron Step Zero, Mary Holper

Mary Holper

In the waning days of the Bush administration, Attorney General Michael Mukasey decided In re Silva-Trevino, in which he reversed over a century of immigration law precedent by creating a new moral turpitude test. He abandoned the well-entrenched "categorical approach," the mechanism by which immigration judges decide whether a noncitizen is removable for a criminal conviction, and allowed judges to engage in a factual inquiry of whether an offense involves moral turpitude. The Attorney General made such a broad, sweeping change through a process that allowed no input from affected parties, including the individual whose case became the new precedent. …

Deportation For A Sin: Why Moral Turpitude Is Void For Vagueness, Mary Holper

Mary Holper

A major problem facing noncitizen criminal defendants today is the vagueness of the term “crime involving moral turpitude” (CIMT) in deportation law. The Supreme Court in the 1951 case Jordan v. DeGeorge decided that a statute authorizing deportation for a CIMT was not void for vagueness because courts had long held the noncitizen’s offense, fraud, to be a CIMT, so he was on notice of his likely deportation. I argue that when noncitizens are charged with an offense that case law has not clearly delineated as a CIMT, the term is vague, since the definition used by the agency and …

Habeas Corpus Reform In El Salvador, Mary Holper

Mary Holper

In this paper I compare the habeas corpus systems of El Salvador, the United States and Argentina. My purpose is to develop a general understanding of the procedure for bringing the writ in each country and analyze the substantive law governing the rights of habeas corpus petitioners in each country. I evaluate the systems against the backdrop of each country’s political and legal history with respect to the writ of habeas corpus. The ultimate aim of this paper is to reform the habeas corpus law of El Salvador by analyzing the Salvadoran system as compared to the Argentine and U.S. …

Will Padilla Reach Across The Border?, Rachel E. Rosenbloom

Rachel E. Rosenbloom

In Padilla v. Kentucky, the Supreme Court recognized a noncitizen criminal defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to receive accurate advice regarding the immigration consequences of a guilty plea. This Article argues that although Padilla represents a major step forward, its reach will be uneven. Looking at what Padilla will mean for those who have been deported on the basis of constitutionally defective guilty pleas, the author identifies two factors that may limit the decision’s impact. First, restrictions on state and federal postconviction relief, combined with the logistical and evidentiary complexities inherent in litigating a claim from abroad, will present significant obstacles …

The Role Of Prosecutorial Discretion In Immigration Law, Shoba S. Wadhia

Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia

The concept of "prosecutorial discretion" appears in the immigration statute, agency memoranda and court decisions about select immigration enforcement decisions. Prosecutorial discretion extends to decisions about which offenses or populations to target; whom to stop, interrogate, and arrest; whether to detain or release a noncitizen; whether to initiate removal proceedings; and whether to execute a removal order; among other decisions. Similar to the criminal context, prosecutorial discretion in the immigration context is an important tool for achieving cost-effective law enforcement and relief for individuals who present desirable qualities or humanitarian circumstances. Yet there is a dearth of literature on the …

"Alien" Litigation As Polity-Participation: The Positive Power Of A "Voteless Class Of Litigants", Daniel Kanstroom

Daniel Kanstroom

No abstract provided.

Are You A Terrorist Or An American?:An Analysis Of Immigration Lawpost 9/11: Introduction, Mark A. Drumbl

Mark A. Drumbl

No abstract provided.

From Plyler To Arizona: Have The Courts Forgotten About Corfield V. Coryell?, John Eastman

John C. Eastman

The U.S. Constitution assigns plenary authority to determination naturalization policy to the Congress. Yet increasingly the Courts have undermined Congress's policy judgments with invented constitutional rights. This article explores how the Courts have enhanced the three principal magnets to illegal immigration and thereby undermined congressional policy: employment; education and other social services; and citizenship itself.

My Great Foia Adventure And Discoveries Of Deferred Action Cases At Ice, Shoba S. Wadhia

Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia

This Article describes my adventures in FOIA litigation and analyzes deferred action data collected informally by 24 ICE field offices between October 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012. This Article also offers recommendations for the agency on data collection, recordkeeping, and transparency in deferred action cases. Deferred action is a form of prosecutorial discretion that can be granted at any stage of the immigration enforcement process and historically has been applied both to people who meet group characteristics and on an individual basis in compelling humanitarian circumstances. The theory behind deferred action and prosecutorial discretion more generally is to enable …

Foia Response Deferred Action Policy At Uscis, Shoba S. Wadhia

Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia

I filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request with USCIS seeking internal documents and guidance pertaining to deferred action since June 17, 2011. In July 2013, USCIS responded with 34 identifiable pages that were responsive to my request. Of note, the response includes: • A few pages about DA screening for VAWA self-petitioners • Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Handling Deferred Action Requests At USCIS Field Offices (p. 14-20) • Templates for a DA Approval and DA Denial • Blank Form G-312 Deferred Action Summary

Response, The Obama Administration, In Defense Of Daca, Deferred Action, And The Dream Act, Shoba S. Wadhia

Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia

This essay responds to “The Obama Administration, the DREAM Act and the Take Care Clause” by Robert J. Delahunty and John C. Yoo. Though I credit Yoo and Delahunty for considering the relationship between the DACA program and the President’s duties under the “Take Care” clause, they miss the mark in at least three ways: 1) Contrary to ignoring immigration enforcement, the Obama Administration has executed the immigration laws faithfully and forcefully; 2) Far from being a new policy that undercuts statutory law, prosecutorial discretion actions like DACA have been pursued by other presidents, and part of the immigration system …

Standard Operating Procedure: Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (Daca), Shoba S. Wadhia

Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia