Immigration Law Commons^™

P*Law 2024, Center For Public Service Law

2023–2024 Flyers

This document outlines the full schedule for P*LAW Week 2024 at Cardozo School of Law, hosted by the Center for Public Service Law. Held from January 29 to February 1, the week featured panels, workshops, and student-led presentations on critical public interest topics, including immigration, incarceration, housing justice, student debt, reproductive rights, and exoneration. With contributions from legal professionals, alumni, faculty, and students, the events provided education, mentorship, and career development opportunities for those pursuing paths in public interest law.

Death At The Door Of Relief: The Criminalization Of Humanitarian Work And Asylum, William Fox

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note argues that the criminalization of humanitarian aid to migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border violates international human rights law and exacerbates a growing refugee crisis. It contends that the U.S. government's "prevention through deterrence" policy funnels migrants into dangerous conditions, leading to increased deaths and human rights violations. The analysis calls for structural reforms, including expanded humanitarian parole, temporary protected status, and refugee resettlement programs, to align U.S. policy with its international obligations and mitigate the crisis.

Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic Protects Woman From Deportation, Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic

Cardozo News 2023

Cardozo’s Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic has protected a woman from deportation to Haiti, where she faced torture.

Cardozo Alumna Susan Cohen ’85 Pledges $250,000 To Support Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic, Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic

Cardozo News 2023

Cardozo School of Law alumna Susan Cohen ’85 has pledged $250,000 to establish the Susan J. Cohen Immigration Justice Clinic Case Fund for the Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic, the school has announced.

Movie Night: "Angeliki" Courtesy Of Fly Theater, Cardozo For Immigrants' Rights And Equality (Fire)

2023–2024 Flyers

No abstract provided.

Fire Side Chat With An Immigration Law Solo Practitioner, Cardozo For Immigrants' Rights And Equality (Fire)

2023–2024 Flyers

No abstract provided.

A Rights-Based Approach To Determining Venue For Immigration Removal Hearings, Maleah Bradley

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Writing On The Wall: A Proposal For Reform Of The Office Of Legal Counsel In The Wake Of The Trump Administration's Border Wall, Sean Dalton

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note argues that the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has become a tool for unchecked executive power, particularly evident in the Trump administration's use of legal justifications for controversial actions like the border wall. The author proposes that Congress has the constitutional authority to reform the OLC to ensure accountability and transparency, addressing the imbalance in separation of powers.

The Public Administration Of Justice, Nicholas R. Bednar

Cardozo Law Review

Adjudicatory agencies decide who receives social-welfare benefits, which inventions deserve patents, and which noncitizens get to remain in the United States. Scholars have argued that agency adjudication lacks sufficient structural and procedural protections to ensure unbiased decision-making. Yet these critiques miss a -key problem with agency adjudication: the lack of adjudicatory capacity. This Article argues that low-capacity agencies cannot satisfy the Due Process Clause's demand for accurate decision-making. To produce accurate decisions, adjudicatory agencies need sufficient levels of capacity: (1) material resources, (2) expert adjudicators, and (3) support staff When agencies lack these resources, their adjudicators rely on various coping …

Inventing Deportation Arrests, Lindsay Nash

Articles

At the dawn of the federal deportation system, the nation’s top immigration official proclaimed the power to authorize deportation arrests “an extraordinary one” to vest in administrative officers. He reassured the nation that this immense power—then wielded by a cabinet secretary, the only executive officer empowered to authorize these arrests—was exercised with “great care and deliberation.” A century later, this extraordinary power is legally trivial and systemically exercised by low-level enforcement officers alone. Consequently, thousands of these officers—the police and jailors of the immigration system— now have the power to solely determine whether deportation arrests are justified and, therefore, whether …

The Forgotten Jurisprudence Of Parole And State Constitutional Doctrines Of Vagueness, Kristen Bell

Cardozo Law Review

The majority of carceral sentences in the United States include the possibility of discretionary release on parole. Most such sentences, however, are unconstitutionally vague. Their unconstitutionality has gone unnoticed because contemporary scholarship and litigation about vague laws have focused on the U.S. Constitution in lieu of state constitutions. This Article unearths historic state court decisions holding that sentences that end through the discretionary judgment of a parole board are “void for uncertainty.” Although state void for uncertainty doctrines share some similarity with the federal vagueness doctrine, they are far more demanding as applied to criminal punishment. By urging revival of …

How Private Enforcement Exacerbates Climate Change, Anna A. Mance

Cardozo Law Review

Private enforcement-the practice of allowing private actors to directly enforce statutes or regulations-has been a fixture of environmental law for the last fifty years. In the absence of comprehensive climate legislation, climate change has been brought under the fold of the environmental regime and its emphasis on private enforcement. Yet climate change presents a distinct global challenge from those harms that the 1970s environmental regime was designed to address. This Article investigates how private enforcement is limiting our ability to respond to the crisis of climate change. The central claim is that private enforcers are using the mantle of environmental …

The Due Process Owed To Noncitizens: Standardizing The Burden In Sec. 1226(A) Bond Hearings With The Help Of Hernandez-Lara And Velasco Lopez, Sharon Shaji

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Supreme Court In Crisis, David M. Hunt Library

2023 Event Invitations

The speakers will discuss recent decisions affecting abortion and gun rights, the public’s trust and confidence in the high court and cases the Court will decide before the summer involving LGBTQ rights, affirmative action, election law and immigration policy.

Speakers:

• Tom Gerety, former President of Amherst and Trinity Colleges, former Executive Director of the Brennan Center for Justice
• Adam Liptak, New York Times Supreme Court Correspondent
• David Rudenstine, Sheldon H. Solow Professor of Law at Cardozo and former Dean

Contextualizing Corruption: Foreign Financing Bans And Campaign Finance Law, Lori A. Ringhand

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Colorblind Nationalism And The Limits Of Citizenship, Ming Hsu Chen

Cardozo Law Review

Policymakers and lawyers posit formal citizenship as the key to inclusion. Rather than presume that formal citizenship will necessarily promote equality, this Article examines the relationship between citizenship, racial equality, and nationalism. It asks: What role does formal citizenship play in excluding noncitizens and Asian, Latinx, and Muslim citizens racialized as foreigners? What effects does it have on the meaning of being American as a non-White citizen? The Article argues that commitments to colorblind equality and democratic self-governance of the nation stand in contradiction to aspirations to protect all persons within the nation. Consequently, individual rights designed to remedy racial …

Remotely Relevant: Addressing Employment-Based Immigration Worksite Location Requirements In The Remote Workspace, Rachel Refkin

Cardozo Law Review de•novo

The worksite location requirements for the PERM process for immigrant visas and LCAs for specialty occupation nonimmigrant visas have lost their relevance during the revolution of the white-collar remote workspace within the United States under current DOL guidelines. Although on its face foreign nationals working outside the office appears to be a novel legal issue, remote work within the United States has been an insurmountable hurdle in the immigration space since telework gained popularity in the late twentieth century. It is possible to apply for both kinds of visas for telework, but adherence to the Farmer Memo appears to be …

Zoned In: How Residence Restrictions Lead To The Indefinite And Unconstitutional Detention Of New Yorkers Convicted Of Sex Crimes, Rebecca Tunis

Cardozo Law Review de•novo

Despite the New York Court of Appeals majority holding in People ex rel. Johnson, New York’s policy of detaining individuals beyond their maximum sentence because they are unable to procure SARA-compliant housing is plainly unconstitutional. The policy violates sex offenders’ fundamental right to be released from prison after serving their sentence. Further, the policy fails to meet even the most relaxed form of judicial review because the state has not shown that it benefits public safety. Indeed, there is virtually no evidence proving that this policy serves to protect the public at all, and a growing body of research shows …

Scotus On Immigration: A Review Of Recent Decisions & What's To Come

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The symposium discusses recent Supreme Court decisions on immigration, focusing on cases that address issues such as mandatory detention, limits on judicial review, and the expansion of executive discretion. These rulings have significant implications for immigration law and practice, particularly in areas of detention, due process, and the ability of federal courts to review immigration-related decisions.

Taming Immigration Trauma, Raquel E. Aldana

Cardozo Law Review

This Article documents the United States’ century-long efforts to humanize our borders. In the end, law has been insufficient to tame immigration law’s enforcement. How the United States enforces borders, however, can and should be more humane. Two important principles should guide this process. First, the United States should recognize that borders’ impacts are as severe as other forms of punishment, especially when the means to enforce the immigration power have become indistinguishable from criminal enforcement. Second, human trauma should guide immigration policy toward meaningful inclusion. After significant reckoning over the travesty of shutting our borders, the United States has …

Scotus On Immigration: A Review Of Recent Decisions & What's To Come, Cardozo Journal Of Equal Rights And Social Justice

2022 Event Invitations

Please join the Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights and Social Justice for a panel discussion with seven immigration attorneys. The discussion will cover recent SCOTUS decisions impacting immigration, the impacts of these decisions and important cases on the docket for this upcoming session.

Moderator: Mauricio Noroña, Visiting Clinical Assistant Professor of Law in the Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic, Cardozo Law

Panelists:

• Peter Markowitz, Associate Dean of Equity in Curriculum and Teaching and Professor of Law, Founding Faculty Member and Co-Director of the Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic, Cardozo Law

• Lindsay Nash, Associate Professor of Law, Co-Director of …

Scotus On Immigration: A Review Of Recent Decisions & What's To Come, Cardozo Journal Of Equal Rights And Social Justice

2022–2023 Flyers

Click here to view the event invitation.

The Various Problems And Instabilities With The Implementation Of The Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Statute, Calli Schmitt

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note examines the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) statute, highlighting its purpose to protect vulnerable immigrant children who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned. However, the implementation of SIJS faces significant challenges, including inconsistent state court interpretations, political interference, and visa backlogs, which undermine its humanitarian goals. The note proposes reforms to address these issues and ensure that SIJS beneficiaries receive the protections and pathways to permanent residency intended by Congress.

Takings Property And Appropriative Water Rights, Luis Inaraja Vera

Cardozo Law Review

The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that “private property [shall not] be taken for public use, without just compensation.”1 While courts and academics have put considerable amounts of effort into discussing the meaning of “taken” or “public use,” they have given far less attention to the phrase “private property.” Notable scholars have provided a set of definitions and frameworks to determine when a particular right qualifies as takings property. However, courts and commentators have yet to define the types of rights that are entitled to constitutional protection with sufficient precision to avoid an …

Acts Of Justice: Restoring Justice For Immigrants Through State Pardons, Sadie M. Casamenti

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

P*Law 2022, Center For Public Service Law

2021–2022 Flyers

This document outlines the full schedule for P*LAW Week 2022 at Cardozo School of Law, presented by the Center for Public Service Law. Held virtually from January 24 to January 27, the week featured panels, workshops, and discussions on key issues in public interest law, including immigration policy, educational equity, criminal justice reform, reproductive rights, data privacy, military law, labor rights, and overdose prevention. Events brought together legal professionals, advocates, scholars, and Cardozo students to explore law’s role in advancing social justice and supporting vulnerable communities.

Lets Talk Internships, Cardozo Latin American Law Student Association

2021–2022 Flyers

No abstract provided.

Title Vii Prohibits Employment Discrimination... Except When It Doesn't: Eliminating The Small Firm Exemption, Hayley Bronner

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

The note argues that the small firm exemption in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which excludes employers with fewer than fifteen employees from coverage, undermines the law's purpose of eradicating employment discrimination. The exemption, initially a political compromise, lacks an evidence-based foundation and disproportionately affects vulnerable groups such as women and minorities. The analysis suggests that eliminating this exemption is essential to achieve universal protection and align Title VII with broader state and international laws, proposing measures like damage caps to mitigate potential burdens on small businesses.

Rethinking Prosecutorial Discretion In Immigration Enforcement, Nicole Hallett

Cardozo Law Review

Prosecutorial discretion in immigration enforcement stands at a crossroads. It was the centerpiece of Obama’s immigration policy after efforts to pass comprehensive immigration reform failed. Under the Trump administration, it was declared all but dead, replaced by an ethos of maximum enforcement. Biden has promised a return to the status quo ante, but the record of using prosecutorial discretion to accomplish humanitarian goals in immigration enforcement under Obama was, at best, mixed. Moreover, it is unclear whether Biden can depend on the availability of programs such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Obama’s signature prosecutorial discretion program. Although the …

Legalizing Undocumented Work, Jennifer J. Lee

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.