Law Commons^™

The “Arizonification” Of Immigration Law: Implications Of Chamber Of Commerce V. Whiting For State And Local Immigration Laws, Marisa S. Cianciarulo

Marisa S. Cianciarulo

This article explores the validity of state and local immigration-related legislation through the lens of the recent Supreme Court decision in Chamber of Commerce of the United States v. Whiting. Whiting upheld the Legal Arizona Workers Act of 2007, a state law governing through licensing provisions the employment of unauthorized alien workers. The article examines the implications that this decision will have for state and local immigration-related laws, primarily the Hazleton, Pennsylvania Illegal Immigration Reform Act Ordinance of 2006 and the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act of Arizona of 2010, otherwise known as S.B. 1070. Both of …

Batterers As Agents Of The State: Challenging The Public/Private Distinction In Intimate Partner Violence-Based Asylum Claims, Marisa S. Cianciarulo

Marisa S. Cianciarulo

Intimate partner violence has been recognized by asylum-providing countries as a form of persecution. Nevertheless, it has often been difficult for battered women to establish their eligibility for asylum. Frustratingly, it is often the public/private distinction that is the culprit in the failure of survivors of intimate partner violence to prove their asylum claims. Adjudicators of asylum claims often view intimate partner violence as a private matter: a husband harming his wife on account of personal reasons. This scenario stands in stark contrast to the more traditional asylum claim: an agent of the state harming a citizen on account of …

U.S. Immigration Law: Where Antiquated Views On Gender And Sexual Orientation Go To Die, Marisa S. Cianciarulo

Marisa S. Cianciarulo

This Essay examines the paradoxical approaches to gender and sexual orientation bias within the U.S. immigration system. On the one hand, the immigration system has managed to convey benefits to same-sex partners despite federal law prohibiting the recognition of same-sex unions for immigration purposes. Immigration law also provides benefits for victims of crimes disproportionately committed against women, such as human trafficking and domestic violence, although the systems in place for adjudicating these benefits are flawed. On the other hand, immigration law favors antiquated notions of gender roles that disadvantage U.S. citizen men and their children, and has failed to recognize …

Pulling The Trigger: Separation Violence As A Basis For Refugee Protection For Battered Women, Marisa S. Cianciarulo

Marisa S. Cianciarulo

For over a decade, women seeking asylum from persecution inflicted by their abusive husbands and partners have found little protection in the United States. During that time, domestic violence-based asylum cases have languished in limbo, been denied, or occasionally been granted in unpublished opinions that have not provided a much-needed adjudicative standard. The main case setting forth the pre-Obama approach to domestic violence-based asylum is rife with misunderstanding of the nature of domestic violence and minimization of the role that society plays in the proliferation of domestic violence. Fortunately, however, a recent Obama-administration legal brief indicates that women fleeing countries …

Pulling The Trigger: Separation Violence As The Basis For Battered Women, Marisa Cianciarulo, Dr. Cladia David

Marisa S. Cianciarulo

Maria Elena fears for her life. For years she has lived under the rule of a despot intent on maintaining absolute control of his realm. As a member of a historically oppressed tribe with few political rights, Maria Elena is a prime target for the dictator’s calculated methods of maintaining control. He has randomly imprisoned, tortured, beaten, and threatened to kill Maria Elena over a period of several years. The torture is worse when Maria Elena takes any action that challenges the despot’s absolute authority.

In this scenario, the classic refugee described above would apply for refugee protection in the …

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 …

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 …

U Visas And The Law Enforcement Certification Requirement, Marisa Cianciarulo, Neda Sargordan

Marisa S. Cianciarulo

No abstract provided.

Marisa Cianciarulo On Matter Of A-T-, 24 I. & N. Dec. 296, Marisa Cianciarulo

Marisa S. Cianciarulo

No abstract provided.

Counterproductive And Counterintuitive Counterterrorism: The Post-September 11 Treatment Of Refugees And Asylum Seekers, Marisa Cianciarulo

Marisa S. Cianciarulo

This Article critiques U.S. counterterrorism measures that directly target refugees and asylum-seekers. The United States currently offers protection to individuals and families fleeing persecution through two programs: the overseas refugee resettlement program (available to refugees residing outside the United States) and the asylum system (available to those who apply for refugee protection on U.S. soil). Almost immediately after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the United States implemented a refugee resettlement moratorium that resulted in lengthy delays and the failure to resettle thousands of refugees previously cleared to enter the United States. Several years later, on May 11, 2005, Congress passed …

Modern-Day Slavery And Cultural Bias: Proposals For Reforming The U.S. Visa System For Victims Of International Human Trafficking, Marisa S. Cianciarulo

Marisa S. Cianciarulo

The international trafficking of human beings has emerged as one of the most lucrative and far-reaching industries in the world, second only to trafficking in drugs and tied with trafficking in arms. Many victims of international human trafficking, including teenagers and young children, are forced to work in the sex trade. Others work in areas such as agriculture, restaurants and sweatshops. In 2000, in an effort to combat trafficking and encourage trafficking victims to assist in the prosecution of traffickers, the United States enacted the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (VTVPA), which created a new visa, called the …

Terrorism And Asylum Seekers: Why The Real Id Act Is A False Promise, Marisa Cianciarulo

Marisa S. Cianciarulo

The Real ID Act, passed on May 11, 2005, is the first post-September 11 antiterrorism legislation specifically to target a group of vulnerable individuals to whom the United States has historically granted protection: asylum seekers. The passage of the Real ID Act led asylum advocates to wring their hands in despair and immigration restrictionists to clap their hands in glee. This Article argues that both sides of the debate may have been justified in their reactions, but not because of the immediate chilling impact on asylum that they seem to expect. With regard to requirements for establishing asylum eligibility, the …

The W Visa: A Legislative Proposal For Female And Child Refugees Trapped In A Post - 9/11 World, Marisa Cianciarulo

Marisa S. Cianciarulo

This article addresses an urgent humanitarian crisis affecting unaccompanied or abused refugee children and widowed, divorced, abandoned or abused female heads of refugee households. Such women and children suffer the consequences of the post-9/11 U.S. refugee resettlement backlog more severely than the general refugee population. They are far more at risk of life-threatening harm such as trafficking, sexual exploitation and rape. Moreover, they are far less likely to present a threat to U.S. national security than many people who are able to secure visas to the United States quickly and with fewer background checks. Despite their vulnerability and lack of …