Immigration Law Commons^™

Ai For Good: Expanding Legal Services For Immigrants, Huyen Pham, Bryan Garcia

Faculty Scholarship

In this Essay, we explore the possibilities for putting AI technology in the hands of clients themselves, considering the advantages and disadvantages. Thinking about the specific context of immigration law, we could envision apps that help individuals to prepare for interviews for affirmative asylum, visas, or naturalization; to educate them about their rights in ways that are more specific, timely, and convenient than current know-your-rights formats; or, in a more attorney-adjacent interaction, using an app to conduct the initial intake interview and organize that information, making the usual time-consuming intake process more efficient and effective. We are not envisioning apps …

The Solitary Confinement Crisis In Immigration Detention, Sabrineh Ardalan, Arevik Avedian, Philip L. Torrey

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Immigration Law, Bianca N. Dibella, Hannah L. Baskind

Mercer Law Review

In 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued only one published opinion, Green Rock LLC v. Internal Revenue Service, and a handful of unpublished opinions involving U.S. federal income tax issues. Green Rock presented an issue of first impression in the Eleventh Circuit: the validity of an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Notice that designated transactions as “listed transactions” without following the notice and comment rulemaking procedures prescribed by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). This Article surveys that opinion.

From Australian Influence To Rohingya Refugees: A Systematic Literature Review Of Asylum Seekers And Refugees In Indonesia, Bilal Dewansyah

The Indonesian Journal of Socio-Legal Studies

The fact that Indonesia hosts asylum seekers and refugees attracted not only policy debate and media attention but also academic research. However, no systematic review has been conducted to assess the scholarly literature on this topic. This article is intended to fill this gap by presenting a systematic literature review (SLR) on asylum seekers and refugees in Indonesia. As a result, I found five major themes in the reviewed literature: (1) the focus on the Indonesia – Australia relationship; (2) people smuggling; (3) refugees’ journey and living conditions in Indonesia; (4) Rohingya refugees; (5) legal protection and refugee status. However, …

Irreparable Harm: How The United States Fails To Remedy Unjust Deportations, Joe Colley

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

When the United States wrongfully deports individuals, the harm is often irreversible. This piece explores the systemic gaps that leave those unjustly deported without meaningful remedies or recourse.

Reviving Exclusion, Leo Yu

Texas A&M Law Review

Over a century ago, 15 states enacted alien land laws designed to deprive Japanese immigrants of property rights. It took half a century for these laws to be repealed. Today, alien land laws are experiencing a strong revival in America. Twelve states have enacted new versions targeting the Chinese community, with seventeen states preparing to follow suit. This Paper provides a comprehensive analysis of this revival, tracing its legal roots to early 20th-century Supreme Court cases that upheld the constitutionality of the old alien land laws. These cases, referred to as “zombie cases,” remain on the books despite being irreconcilable …

[2025 Honorable Mention] Ice: Trauma, And The War On Immigrant Families, Brittney M. Williams

Ethnic Studies Research Paper Award

This paper exposes how immigration enforcement under the Trump administration’s second term has crossed the line from policy to persecution. ICE is operating like a secret police force, using fear tactics and legal loopholes to tear families apart without cause or due process. The impact is not theoretical. It is real, measurable, and devastating. Children are being taken from schools. Parents are disappearing without explanation. Communities are being pushed into silence and survival mode. This paper focuses on the trauma being inflicted, especially on immigrant youth, and the way outdated laws like the Alien Enemies Act are being twisted to …

Judicial Deference And Presidential Power Under The Alien Enemies Act, Rebecca Ingber

Online Publications

On March 15, 2025, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation titled, “Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of The United States by Tren De Aragua.” In purporting to invoke the Alien Enemies Act, Trump resurrected a 1798 statute that grants the President extraordinary removal powers in times of “declared war” or “invasion or predatory incursion … against the territory of the United States by any foreign nation or government.” Specifically, this wartime power permits the President to apprehend and remove as “alien enemies” the non-U.S. citizen nationals of the foreign state, as long as they are fourteen …

[2025 Winner] Fear Is Knocking: No Abras La Puerta, Destiny Jimenez

Ethnic Studies Research Paper Award

This paper explores the impact of deportations and unauthorized immigration on the Mexican community. By focusing on the social, emotional, and economic challenges faced by Mexican immigrants due to their legal status, this paper examines how deportation policies disproportionately affect their lives. Drawing from my own family's experience, I reflect on my mother's journey as an immigrant and how her experiences shed light on the broader struggles of many in the community.

Immigrants’ Inhumanity To Immigrants: The Failings Of Modern Us Immigration Policies Through The Lens Of Mauritanian Asylum Seekers, Karuna Kayembe

Senior Theses

By analyzing firsthand accounts of Mauritanian migrants gathered at The Migrant Center of St. Francis Church of Assisi, this paper explores the systemic inequities of U.S. immigration law and enforcement, particularly its impact on African migrants. The research argues that these lived experiences expose the disconnect between official narratives of welcoming migrants and the harsh realities of the immigration system, making a case for a more humane and equitable framework. This will be accomplished by first setting the scene on Mauritania and the culture and history that backs up how the migrants act and why they chose America to emigrate. …

The Banality Of Crimmigration—Can Immigration Law Recover Itself?, Catherine Dauvergne

All Faculty Publications

This article argues that criminal law has overtaken immigration law to such an extent that the notion of “crimmigration” is no longer shocking. In Canada, where the population has long been supportive of immigration and where national politics have been remarkably consensual in matters of immigration, crimmigration now forms the basis of a new form of bipartisan consensus. By looking back on the Justin Trudeau Liberal government, we see that most of the Harper-era crimmigration measures were left in place, and the advance of crimmigration continued unabated. If we are to make any progress in recovering space for values other …

Reaching Communities And Serving People: Assessing Utah's Legal Needs, Pamela Beatse J.D, Scotti Hill J.D, Keenan Carroll J.D., Hannah Kiely M.A

Utah Conference on Community Engagement

"Utah Legal Services (ULS) conducted a comprehensive legal needs assessment in 2024 to gather the necessary data and information to better meet its mission of providing high-quality civil legal aid without cost to people who are unable to afford legal representation or are facing disadvantages. Using the combination of an online survey, a series of focus groups throughout the Wasatch front, individual or group interviews, and several community soundboards, ULS conducted a broad, statewide survey. We connected with representatives, organizations, advocates, case managers, and leaders in the community as well as with client-eligible Utahns and ULS staff. This process allowed …

Casa, Inc. V. Trump: Brief Of Amici Curiae Immigration Law Scholars Kristin Collins, Gerald Neuman, And Rachel Rosenbloom In Support Of Appellees, Kristin Collins

Appellate Briefs

USCA4 Appeal: 25-1153

Amici Kristin Collins, Gerald Neuman, and Rachel Rosenbloom are legal scholars with expertise in U.S. citizenship and immigration law. Amici have a professional interest in ensuring that the Court is properly informed with respect to the history and meaning of the birthright citizenship statute, 8 U.S.C. § 1401(a), and its importance to this case.

Patriot, Aysha Affaneh

Northwestern Law Journal des Refusés

No abstract provided.

Asegurar La Frontera: Expansion Of Governor Greg Abbott’S Powers Over Border Security, Marshall B. Lloyd

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

In Congress, A Welcome, But Flawed, Step To Stop Trump’S Transfers To Torture, Scott Roehm, Rebecca Ingber

Online Publications

Senate Democrats are demanding the Trump administration provide information on its transfers to torture in El Salvador, including actions it has taken in response to court orders. On May 1, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Alex Padilla (D-CA), introduced legislation outlining the questions they want answers to. Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX) is leading companion legislation in the House.

No Lawyer, No Jail: A Critical Case Study Of Pragmatism And The Flaws Of “Purposeful” Decision Making In Argersinger V. Hamlin, Alisa Smith, Sarah K. Stice

Seattle University Law Review

By releasing conference notes and internal communications, Supreme Court Justices provide insight into the otherwise private decisionmaking process, shedding light on how case outcomes and legal reasoning are framed and negotiated. The watershed case of Argersinger v. Hamlin (1972) extended the constitutional right to counsel to some, but not all, misdemeanor defendants. The case was argued twice, and the Court relied on empirical and authoritative sources to answer complex and practical questions about requiring counsel. This case study employs critical discourse analysis to uncover what influenced the Justices’ decisions and how they framed, shaped, and constructed social realities to foreground …

The Race To Erase: Destruction Of Government Documents Undermines Freedom-Of-Information Laws, Frank D. Lomonte

Seattle University Law Review

In August 2019, reporters with Chattanooga’s daily newspaper, the Times Free Press, filed what seemed to be a routine request for access to emails and other public records held by their local county government. The seemingly unremarkable request set the newspaper’s staff on a months-long journey of unpleasant surprises. The first was a demand to pay the county $717 in advance before being allowed to inspect the documents. The second was that—during prolonged haggling over the fee assessment— the county attorney’s office simply destroyed almost all of the disputed records. Third, and most glaringly, the journalists discovered that Tennessee law …

When You’Re Arrested For A Felony In Seattle, You’Ll Meet Me., Austin Field

Seattle University Law Review

In this Essay, Austin Field, a practicing public defender, uses a first-person perspective to describe what it is like to meet a criminal defendant for the first time. He explains the process from start to finish, detailing everything from the way he introduces himself to how bail works.

"I’ll ask you for your name. Most of the time, you tell me. I check your name against my list. On any given day I’m supposed to interview between five and fifteen people. I have a lot of questions for you. We only have about ten minutes."

The Public Square In A Private-Property Obsessed Country: What New York City’S Pops Regulations Get Right And Why Other Cities Should (Mostly) Copy Them, Carson Mcgregor

Seattle University Law Review

When New York City (NYC) was first becoming the metropolitan monolith it is today, it had a problem: the city streets were chock full of skyscrapers, and sunlight, air, and usable open space were at a premium. In response, the City promulgated its first Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS) regulations, which allowed developers to build skyward in exchange for providing public space on the street level. Unfortunately, in July of 2023, the New York Times (NYT) discovered that New Yorkers received only a fraction of what they were promised. Building owners received billions of dollars’ worth of added floor space, …

Modern Day Colonialism Through HawaiʻI’S Quiet Title And Partition Laws, Cheyann Fujii

Seattle University Law Review

This Note will attempt to highlight important aspects of Hawaiian history to provide readers with a clear picture on how Native Hawaiians are still impacted by colonialism, specifically when plaintiffs bring a quiet title or partition action against Native Hawaiian owners of kuleana lands. Before colonization, the concept of private land ownership did not exist in Hawai‘i, and Native Hawaiians adopted a feudal system by dividing land into geographical areas. Missionaries and businessmen brought Western ideas to Hawai‘i and influenced legislation such as the Great Māhele and the Kuleana Land Act of 1850, which solidified the concept of private property. …

Data Advantage And Merger Review: Can Entrenchment Theory Reform Antitrust Enforcement?, Shin-Ru Cheng

Seattle University Law Review

A merger involving giant digital companies is likely to dampen competition, as it allows those companies to combine and control data access, enabling them to entrench their dominant positions in relevant markets and extend those positions into related markets. While competition law in many jurisdictions aims to prohibit mergers that may substantially lessen competition or create a monopoly, arguably the review of digital mergers is failing because antitrust agencies lack an effective approach to identify data-generated anticompetitive harms. This Article demonstrates that entrenchment theory, recently reintroduced in the 2023 U.S. Merger Guidelines, would help reform the process of antitrust enforcement. …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Caution: Potholes In E-Scooter Data Collection, Dakota Rakestraw

Seattle University Law Review

Lime scooters keep ending up in major waterways in Washington state metro areas, a testament to the ubiquity of e-scooters in the metropolitan landscape. How they get there is unclear. Why they get there is even murkier. Perhaps the answer lies in the implications of modern geolocation data collection through e-scooters and gaps in current data collection regulation curbing individual liberties.

Since September 2020, electric scooters have run Seattle’s streets and have dramatically overtaken ridesharing bike trips. For example, from September 2020 to September 2021, there were about 1.4 million scooter and bike trips with September 2021 seeing 300,000 scooter …

Machinists Preemption In The New Administrative Law, Andrew J. Ziaja

Seattle University Law Review

This Article assesses Machinists preemption—a labor-specific form of implied field preemption—while freshly considering implications both for and of new developments in administrative law. The radical transformation of administrative law in the Supreme Court, particularly its newfound emphasis on clear-statement rules, provides opportunities to reconsider the Machinists rationale. Aligning with scholars who have called to question the doctrine’s “ossifying” influence on labor and employment policy, it argues that the modern-day version of Machinists preemption clashes with the Supreme Court’s newly constrained view of delegated power and its differing conceptions of the major questions doctrine.

On the other hand, Machinists preemption might …

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

Defining Deference: Impacts Of Abandoning Chevron On Emerging Technology Governance And Administrative Law, R. Aubrey Davis Iii

Seattle University Law Review

Emerging technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), often lead to unforeseen legal outcomes. Notable abuses in areas such as facial recognition, employment bias, and housing discrimination are well known. However, legislative responses to these issues either have been largely reactive or there has been no legislative response at all. In lieu of legislation, agencies have sought to fill the gap. For example, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently proposed a rule mandating voter notification for all AI-generated political phone calls citing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991 as authority. However, the TCPA was originally passed to curtail telemarketing, not …

Intellectual Property Or Modern Folklore? The Problem With Open Gaming Licenses In Tabletop Gaming, Rosie Midget

Seattle University Law Review

This Note addresses how courts and legislatures should address “Open Gaming Licenses” commonly attached to tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs), which game publishers use to promote a false image of accessibility—misleading consumers and building goodwill from the misunderstanding. Part I discusses what TTRPGs are, including the defining features of the hobby and culture surrounding it, as well as the unique interplay between publishers and players. Part II explores the question of which elements in a TTRPG system may be subject to copyright protection. Part III examines these elements in practice using Wizards of the Coast’s Dungeons and Dragons TTRPG as a …

Artificial Intelligence In Immigration Law: A Practical Solution For Business Owners, Andrew H. Stevenson

International Business Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the capabilities of artificial intelligence in immigration law, specifically through the development of a generative pre-trained transformer (GPT). This thesis aimed to create a GPT tailored to small businesses in the Northwest Arkansas region while offering industry-specific guidance in transportation, food, and manufacturing. The development and improvement of this GPT demonstrate the abilities of artificial intelligence in assisting small businesses navigate the legal field surrounding immigration law, providing immense cost and time savings.

Papering Justices, Michael L. Smith

BYU Law Review

Supreme Court reform is a lively topic of discussion and debate, with scholars, commentators, and politicians debating a variety of proposed Court reforms, such as term limits, additional Justices, and jurisdiction stripping. This Article adds a new idea to the mix: papering Justices. Several states permit each side to a dispute to file one motion to automatically disqualify the judge overseeing their case. These requests are to be granted automatically without any showing of facts, hearings, or further briefing. This is known as “papering” the judge. Drawing from these practices, I propose that each side to a dispute before the …