Immigration Law Commons^™

Immigration Litigation In The Time Of Trump, Shoba Wadhia

Faculty Scholarship

A number of immigration policies have been announced, implemented, or challenged in courts during the first half of Donald J. Trump's presidency. This Essay provides an update on ongoing litigation on a handful of these policies and was inspired by keynote remarks delivered at the Emerging Immigration Scholars Conference at Brigham Young University in June 2019. The topics covered by this Essay include: litigation affecting those covered by the travel or "Muslim Ban," asylum policy changes, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ("DACA"), unlawful presence rules, and the border wall. This Essay also discusses lessons and common themes emerging from the …

The Asylum Makeover: Chevron Deference, The Self-Referral And Review Authority, Jessica Senat

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Asylum Ban Litigation: Supreme Court Declines To Stay Injunction, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Litigation Over The Asylum Ban Continues: District Court Grants Preliminary Injunction, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Amenazado En Venezuela, En Espera En Ee.Uu., Hernan Goicochea, Juan Garcia

Capstones

Venezolano activista luchó para combatir el sida en su país, huyo de las amenazas del gobierno venezolano, y está buscando asilo político en los Estado Unidos.

https://theinformantes.home.blog/2018/12/13/amenazado-en-venezuela-en-espera-en-ee-uu/

Published Link: https://www.telemundo.com/noticias/noticias-telemundo/inmigracion/la-historia-de-jesus-en-estados-unidos-dos-secuestros-le-hicieron-huir-de-venezuela-los-tmna3870280

The Ninth Circuit’S Asylum Ban Ruling Is A Message To Trump, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Temporary Restraining Order Against Trump’S Asylum Ban: Statutory Structure And Agency Discretion, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Administrative Chaos: Responding To Child Refugees—U.S. Immigration Process In Crisis, Lenni B. Benson

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Life Absolutely Bare? A Reflection On Resistance By Irregular Refugees Against Fingerprinting As State Biopolitical Control In The European Union, Ziang Zhou

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

In a legally transitory category, irregular refugees- experience a double precariousness. They risk their lives to travel across treacherous seas to Europe for a better life. However, upon the long-awaited embarkation on the European land, they are exposed once again to the precariousness of the asylum application. They are “powerless”, “with no rights” and “to be sacrificed” as Giorgio Agamben and Hannah Arendt suggested in their respective understanding of a “bare life”, la nuda vita. In light of the administrative difficulties in managing asylum application, the European Union introduced the “Dublin Agreement”, which stipulates mandatory biometric data collection for …

Syrian Refugees In Europe: Migration Dynamics And Political Challenges, Leila Hudson

New England Journal of Public Policy

After 2011 the Syrian conflict caused growing numbers of residents to flee to escape escalating regime brutality and deteriorating economic conditions. In addition to a population of up to eight million internally displaced residents, at least four million Syrians fled to neighboring Arab states and Turkey. Conditions in those countries ranged from desperate to uncomfortable, and between 2014 and 2016 up to a million refugees continued on to seek asylum in Europe. In addition to the trauma of displacement the refugees experienced, the migration left traces on the host and transit countries in the form of economic and infrastructural challenges, …

The Consideration Of Male Victims Of Sexual Violence As A Subset Of The Particular Social Group “Homosexual” In Adjudicating Asylum Claims, Christiana Desrosiers

Pace International Law Review

This Article analyzes the difficulties African male victims of sexual violence experience when seeking asylum in homophobic host countries and the lack of attention they receive from international and national governments and organizations. It concludes by recommending that male victims of sexual violence be able to seek asylum in host countries due to lack of medical care that they receive in their countries on account of imputed homosexual status.

Distant Voices Then And Now: The Impact Of Isolation On The Courtroom Narratives Of Slave Ship Captives And Asylum Seekers, Tara Patel

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

Part I compares the nineteenth century cases of the Antelope and the Amistad to identify why they resulted in different outcomes despite having similar fact patterns. The Antelope concerned the fate of approximately 280 African captives discovered on a slave trade ship upon its interception by a U.S. revenue cutter. Since the slave trade in the United States was illegal at the time, the captives were transported to Savannah for trial through which their status—free or slave—would be determined. After a lengthy trial and appeals process in which Spain and Portugal laid claim to the captives, the Supreme Court determined …

Sky Is The Limit: Protecting Unaccompanied Minors By Not Subjecting Them To Numerical Limitations, Deborah S. Gonzalez Esq.

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming

Involuntary Sterilization Among Hiv-Positive Garifuna Women From Honduras Seeking Asylum In The United States: Two Case Reports, Holly G. Atkinson, Deborah Ottenheimer

Publications and Research

Voluntary sterilization is one of the most widely used forms of contraception by women worldwide; however, involuntary sterilization is considered a violation of multiple human rights and grounds for asylum in the United States. Women have been disproportionately affected by this practice. We report two cases of involuntary sterilization in HIV-positive Garifuna women from Honduras who sought asylum in America and were medically evaluated at the request of their attorneys. Key lessons can be drawn from these cases with regard to the importance of medical evaluations in establishing persecution. These include the need for a detailed account of the events …

Cazun V. Sessions: Brief Of International And Immigration Law Scholars As Amici Curiae In Support Of Petitioner, James C. Hathaway

Appellate Briefs

In accordance with Supreme Court Rule 37, Amici respectfully submit this brief in support of the Petitioner. The eight amici curiae are distinguished scholars of international law, refugee rights, and the immigration laws of the United States. The names and biographical information of the amici, all of whom are participating in their individual capacities and not as representatives of the institutions with which they are affiliated, are appended to this brief as Appendix A.

Amici have a strong interest in the questions presented by the petition. Amici, some of the world's leading scholars on these topics, are interested in the …

Learning In "Baby Jail": Lessons From Law Student Engagement In Family Detention Centers, Lindsay M. Harris

Journal Articles

Between 2014 and 2017, more than 40 law schools and likely well over 1000 law students engaged in learning within immigration family detention centers. The Trump Administration’s “zero tolerance” policy and implementation of wide-scale family separation in 2018 led to increased involvement by professors and students in the constantly shifting landscape of immigration detention. As the detention of immigrant families becomes increasingly entrenched, this article hits the pause button and assesses the benefits and challenges of the various approaches to, and proposes some principles for, law student engagement in this crisis lawyering in immigration detention centers, for families, and beyond.

Jeanusnat, Jeanusnat, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Jeanusnat’s father, who was chief of a Nigerian community, was murdered by an enemy community. The murderer intended to kill Jeanusnat and his mother as well, but they fled to neighboring Niger. There, Jeanusnat parted ways with his mother, who stayed at the church with a family, and Jeanusnat crossed into Libya in the back of a truck. But once in Libya, danger persisted. He was confronted by some robbers who stabbed him with a knife and beat him, leaving injuries on his legs and shoulder. In Tripoli, a man offered him temporary refuge, where Jeanusnat stayed until he decided …

Special Feature: Eighth Colloquium On Challenges In International Refugee Law, James C. Hathaway

Michigan Journal of International Law

It is our hope that, as in the case of earlier Michigan Guidelines on the International Protection of Refugees, these unanimously agreed standards will inspire a thoughtful and principled debate among scholars, officials, and judicial and other refugee law decision-makers committed to the legally accurate and contextually sound application of international refugee law norms.

Refugees And The Right To Freedom Of Movement: From Flight To Return, Marjoleine Zieck

Michigan Journal of International Law

This background study focuses on the right to freedom of movement of refugees. It reviews the law pertaining to this freedom from the perspective of the spatial journey of refugees. This focus on the law means that extralegal considerations will not be taken into consideration. The analysis will not proceed from any perceived need for limits that should be accepted as “a product of realism about the strains that migration, especially high-volume migration or sudden influxes, can bring to a society.”

Sky Is The Limit: Protecting Unaccompanied Minors By Not Subjecting Them To Numerical Limitations, Deborah Gonzalez

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Administrative Chaos: Responding To Child Refugees - U.S. Immigration Process In Crisis, Lenni Benson

Articles & Chapters

The Immigration court is the wrong forum to consider the protection needs of migrant children. Worse still, our multiple agencies that adjudicate parts of children’s cases combined with the rapidly shifting policies are causing administrative chaos for the children and the system.

Lin V. United States Department Of Justice: The Circuits Split On The Issue Of Whether Marital Status Is Dispositive Of Asylum Eligibility In The United States For Individuals Who Suffer Persecution Under China's Coercive Family Planning Practices, Sara E. Stewart

Maine Law Review

In Lin v. United States Department of Justice, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit remanded three consolidated appeals to the Board of lmmigration Appeals (BIA) for reconsideration. Petitioners Shi Liang Lin, Xian Zou, and Zhen Hua Dong applied for asylum based on persecution they and their unmarried girlfriends suffered under the coercive family planning practices employed by the People's Republic of China. Retaining jurisdiction over the petitions after re-disposition by the BIA, the Second Circuit demanded that the BIA clarify two issues regarding its interpretation of United States' immigration laws. First, the Second Circuit insisted on …

Examining The Board Of Immigration Appeals' Social Visibility Requirement For Victims Of Gang Violence Seeking Asylum, Elyse B. Wilkinson

Maine Law Review

Since the late 1990s, Latin America has been plagued by gang violence. The increasingly organized and progressively larger gangs are known as the Mara Salvatrucha 13 (MS-13) and the 18th Street Gang (collectively referred to as the “Mara” in this Comment). These gangs are ubiquitous within certain Latin American countries and pose a serious threat to the economic and social stability of the region. The targets of the Mara are mostly youth between the ages of fifteen and eighteen (but as young as eight), women, and those who decry the gang's violence. Resistance to the Mara has resulted in death …

Perez-Guzman V. Sessions: Brief Of Scholars Of Immigration And International Law As Amici Curiae In Support Of Petitioner, James C. Hathaway

Appellate Briefs

The seven amici curiae are distinguished scholars of international law, refugee rights, and the immigration laws of the United States. The names and biographical information of the amici, who are participating in their individual capacities and not as representatives of the institutions with which they are affiliated, are appended to this brief.

Over two centuries ago, this Court laid down the fundamental principle of statutory interpretation that "an act of Congress ought never to be construed to violate the law of nations if any other possible construction remains." Murray v. Schooner Charming Betsy, & U.S. (2 Cranch) 64, 118 …

The Path Of Most Resistance: Resisting Gang Recruitment As A Political Opinion In Central America’S Join-Or-Die Gang Culture, Ericka Welsh

Pepperdine Law Review

In recent years, increasing numbers of asylum-seekers from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador crossed into the United States, fleeing gang violence that has driven homicide rates to record levels. These countries, known collectively as the “Northern Triangle,” now make up one of the most violent regions in the world. Transcending petty crime, gangs control entire communities in the Northern Triangle where they operate as de facto governments beyond law enforcement’s control. Gangs practice forced recruitment in these communities, creating a join-or-die gang culture where resisting recruitment is tantamount to opposition. Opposition, in turn, is met with brutal retaliation. The young …

A Particularly Serious Exception To The Categorical Approach, Fatma E. Marouf

Faculty Scholarship

A noncitizen who has been convicted of a “particularly serious crime” can be deported to a country where there is a greater than fifty percent chance of persecution or death. Yet, the Board of Immigration Appeals has not provided a clear test for determining what is a “particularly serious crime.” The current test, which combines an examination of the elements with a fact-specific inquiry, has led to arbitrary and unpredictable decisions about what types of offenses are “particularly serious.” This Article argues that the categorical approach for analyzing convictions should be applied to the particularly serious crime determination to promote …

Forever Barred: Reinstated Removal Orders And The Right To Seek Asylum, Hillary Gaston Walsh, J.D.

Catholic University Law Review

Amid the largest refugee crisis in history, noncitizens fleeing persecution are routinely barred from applying for asylum in the United States solely because they have a reinstated order of removal. This bar to asylum access is mandated by federal regulation, and it applies indiscriminately—regardless of whether the asylum seeker was persecuted after her initial removal order was entered or whether her initial removal was based on one of the numerous, well-documented errors border patrol officers make when issuing removal orders.

This Article is the first academic piece to examine this regulation's statutory basis, including its legislative history and its troubling …

Judge Posner's Road Map For Convention Against Torture Claims When Central American Governments Cannot Protect Citizens Against Gang Violence, Steven H. Schulman

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming.

Immigrating While Trans: The Disproportionate Impact Of The Prostitution Ground Of Inadmissibility And Other Provisions Of The Immigration And Nationality Act On Transgender Women, Luis Medina

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming.

Truth Or Dare: A Framework For Analyzing Credibility In Children Seeking Asylum, Karen Elizabeth Smeda

Cornell International Law Journal

U.S. border agents detained at least 52,000 unaccompanied minors from only four Central American countries-Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras-in 2014, while 95,000 unaccompanied children sought asylum in Europe in 2015.Given the ongoing turmoil in various parts of the world, these numbers will likely rise. Children are narrowly escaping their native countries. With little help available from legal counsel and little time to gather supporting evidence, more children are relying on the gamble of a positive credibility assessment in an asylum application. The stakes are high-either a new life in the United States, or probable fatality at home if deported.The …