Law Commons^™

Borders Erected Around Unlimited Right To Detain, Susan Harris Rimmer

Susan Harris Rimmer

Fourteen years after the federal ALP introduced the current legal basis of detention, Immigration Minister Senator Chris Evans has outlined the new approach to detention agreed by the Rudd Labor Government. In essence it has committed itself to seven ''values'', the first being that mandatory detention remains an ''essential component of strong border control''. But the second value sets out the categories of those to whom mandatory detention will apply. They are: all arrivals for health, identity and security checks, and to them only for a short time; people who present an unacceptable risk to the community; and people who …

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 …

Global Migrations And Imagined Citizenship: Examples From Slavery, Chinese Exclusion, And When Questioning Birthright Citizenship, Ernesto A. Hernandez-Lopez

Ernesto A. Hernandez

This essay provides a brief introduction into an analysis of citizenship and migration by using a transnational and cultural studies lens. It argues that migration is a global phenomena and responding to this domestic law must imagine the contours of citizenship. This is done in a historical context examining the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade in 1807, Dred Scott in 1857 and Wong Kim Ark in 1898, respectively 200, 150 and 111 years ago. This analysis is also applied to current migration between the U.S. and Mexico, examining Mexico's dual-nationality legal regime and public calls to revisit birthright citizenship …

The Trafficking And Exploitation Victims Assistance Program: A Proposed Early Response Plan For Victims Of International Human Trafficking In The United States, Marisa S. Cianciarulo

Marisa S. Cianciarulo

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act, ground-breaking legislation designed to punish traffickers and protect victims, is not reaching its full potential as a powerful tool against international human trafficking. A principal component of the Act - the availability of special T visas for trafficking victims who cooperate with law enforcement officials against their traffickers - is failing to reach its intended beneficiaries. According to U.S. government statistics, less than one percent of individuals trafficked into the United States have received protection in the form of a T visa. This article identifies weaknesses in the T visa system and proposes reforms designed …

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 …

Liars And Terrorists And Judges, Oh My: Moral Panic And The Symbolic Politics Of Appellate Review In Asylum Cases, Eric M. Fink

Eric M Fink

As part of the REAL ID Act, Congress amended the Immigration and Nationality Act to restrict judicial review of adverse credibility determinations by immigration judges. The change came in the wake of controversy of judicial reversals of adverse credibility determinations that the reviewing courts saw as inappropriately speculative and lacking in evidentiary support. Critics, including some appellate judges, have in turn alleged that the appellate courts have been insufficiently deferential to the factual determinations of Immigration Judges (IJs) and the BIA.

This paper examines the argument offered in support of limiting judicial review in this area, and provides an empirical …

"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 …