Law Commons^™

John Mccain's Citizenship: A Tentative Defense, Stephen E. Sachs

Stephen E. Sachs

Sen. John McCain was born a U.S. citizen and is eligible to be president. The most serious challenge to his status, recently posed by Prof. Gabriel Chin, contends that the statute granting citizenship to Americans born abroad did not include the Panama Canal Zone, where McCain was born in 1936. When Congress amended the law in 1937, he concludes, it was too late for McCain to be "natural born." Even assuming, however, that McCain's citizenship depended on this statute - and ignoring his claim to citizenship at common law - Chin's argument may be based on a misreading. When the …

Immigration Law: Nowhere To Turn—Illegal Aliens Cannot Use The Freedom Of Information Act As A Discovery Tool To Fight Unfair Removal Hearings, Larry R. Fleurantin

Larry R. Fleurantin

This Article challenges the authority of the Attorney General and the DHS Secretary to withhold information from an alien after a FOIA request under Exemption (b)(5), to use that same withheld information to impeach the alien’s testimony during an individual hearing on the merits, and to use that as grounds for the Immigration Court to deny an applicant’s request for asylum. This Article takes the position that the USCIS needs to change its unfair practice to avoid the harsh and pervasive injustice that aliens facein removal proceedings.

Immigration Policy And Low Wage Workers: The Influence Of American Unionism, Vernon Briggs

Vernon M Briggs Jr

Public testimony by Prof. Briggs given at the Hearing before the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, October 30, 2003.

Introduction: Immigration Law In Pennsylvania: Policy And Practice, Jill E. Family

Jill E. Family

The first panel fulfilled goal one: to host a thoughtful, Pennsylvania-focused analysis of state and local efforts to legislate in the area of immigration law. The second panel fulfilled goal two: to provide a forum for Pennsylvania immigration attorneys to share their experiences amongst themselves and with the public. The panels together fulfilled goals three and four: to help bridge the gap between policy and practice and to increase the involvement of the Institute in this important debate.

The Thirteenth Amendment And Access To Education For Children Of Undocumented Workers: A New Look At Plyler V. Doe, Maria Ontiveros, Joshua Drexler

Maria L. Ontiveros

This paper examines the extent to which the Thirteenth Amendment can be used to guarantee access to public education for the children of undocumented workers. It offers a reimagined version of Plyer, written using the Thirteenth Amendment, instead of the Fourteenth Amendment. After offering a brief summary of Thirteenth Amendment jurisprudence, it offers a variety of theoretical frameworks for analyzing the denial of education under the U.S. Constitution. It argues that the Thirteenth Amendment can provide a powerful tool for litigation, moral persuasion, organizing and legislation in the area.

Can't Live With 'Em, Can't Deport 'Em: Why Immigration Reform Efforts Have Failed, Marisa Cianciarulo

Marisa S. Cianciarulo

Abstract: The United States has a passionate love/hate relationship with undocumented immigrants. The refrain “We are a nation of immigrants” competes with the exhortation “We are being invaded.” Many Americans fault undocumented immigrants for breaking U.S. laws, not waiting their turn in line for lawful immigration and diluting already scarce public resources. Other Americans applaud the strong work ethic that many undocumented immigrants exhibit and the economic strength they bring to the country. In the post-September 11 years, the debate has reached a boiling point.

The conflicting emotions of the immigration debate aside, the United States’ need for immigration is …

Toward A True Elements Test: Taylor And The Categorical Analysis Of Crimes In Immigration Law, Rebecca Sharpless

Rebecca Sharpless

When determining the legal effect of a conviction under immigration law, adjudicators claim to apply a uniform, federal standard that prohibits fact finding regarding the underlying circumstances that gave rise to the conviction. This categorical analysis of crimes is firmly rooted in all levels of administrative and federal court case law. Yet fundamental confusion exists concerning what it means to apply a categorical approach to evaluating when a criminal conviction is of a type that triggers deportation. This article demonstrates that a source of this confusion is a misunderstanding of the nature of a conviction and the difference between a …

Threats To The Future Of The Immigration Class Action, Jill E. Family

Jill E. Family

What Is Choice? Examining Sex Trafficking Legislation Through The Lenses Of Rape Law And Prostitution, Marisa S. Cianciarulo

Marisa S. Cianciarulo

Sex trafficking has proven particularly immune to attempts to eradicate it. One reason may be that some types of demand will always be illegal and thus always vulnerable to trafficking, such as violent sex or sex with minors. Another reason, however, and the one that is the subject of this article, is the lack of cohesive policy on one of the main issues surrounding trafficking: consent. As discussed below, conflicting perspectives on the nature of consent have impeded the development of effective anti-trafficking efforts. One of the main debates plaguing efforts to eliminate sex trafficking involves the definition of the …

"In All Things Love" Immigration, Policy-Making And The Development Of Preferential Options For The Poor, Michele R. Pistone, John J. Hoeffner

Michele R. Pistone

The invitation to write for this symposium stated that the preferential option for the poor “asks us to define what law and public policy would look like if consideration for the poor was at the heart of our conception of the common good.” Inquiries of this kind are useful and necessary—to a point. They also can become counter-productive. The issue of immigration, which we discuss here to illustrate our larger point about the general appropriateness of claiming that a specific policy prescription is demanded by the preferential option for the poor, presents the complications of the matter in particularly stark …