Law Commons^™

Access to an independent judiciary with the power to hold the government accountable in its dealings with individuals is a founding principle of the United States. In contrast, imagine a system where there is no access to independent judgment; where, instead, the referee works for the opposing team. The House of Representatives took a step away from this founding principle by passing the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act (H.R. 4437) on December 16, 2005. A provision of the bill would erode access to independent judgment by severely restricting access to the federal courts for individuals in removal …

At First Glance, immigration law might appear as a narrow and secluded area of the law. While practicing and

studying immigration law does require focused expertise, immigration law, in fact, has strong connections to many other areas of law, and the field itself is diverse. The number of immigration cases in the federal courts has increased greatly over the last five years.This increase has led to court reform proposals that exemplify the nexus between immigration law and other legal issues.