Immigration Law Commons^™

[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 This paper focuses on the trauma being inflicted, especially on immigrant youth, and the way outdated laws like the Alien Enemies Act are being twisted to …

Changemakers : Jeremey Love And Samantha Armstrong : Juris Doctorate : Defending Dreams In Challenging Times, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

An Argument For A Right To Education For Undocumented Youth In Light Of Daca’S Uncertain Future, Minnie Blackman

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

Undocumented youth are facing increasingly difficult circumstances in which to integrate into U.S. society both socially and economically. A primary reason for this phenomenon is the current antagonistic sentiments surrounding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. These sentiments have created a lack of trust in this program, with fewer undocumented youth applying for DACA status, which would allow many of them to apply to public colleges and universities at in-state tuition rates. Previous research has implied that state laws have the potential to create a property interest in education, and, as such, it must be protected from arbitrary …

“Help Is Here”: How A Daca Pathway To Citizenship Will Help Save The Social Security Fund, Jissel Esparza

Arkansas Law Review

Two federal programs hold their beneficiaries in limbo: DACA and Social Security. This Comment demonstrates that creating a citizenship pathway for the DACA population will not only give these deserving individuals the ability and security to remain in the United States but will also provide relief to Social Security’s impending insolvency through the influx of taxes that these then citizens will contribute as a result of increased opportunities. At the same time, this Comment does not attempt to portray its argument as a “silver bullet.” Rather, this approach is one tool that can be utilized by legislative efforts to remedy …

Borderline Ambiguity: Major Questions And Immigration Law, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Rise And Fall Of Daca: An Audio Series, Dulce Garcia

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The history of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, commonly known as DACA, is a tumultuous one. In 2012, when President Obama created DACA through an executive order it gave relief to hundreds of thousands of people who were brought to the United States as children without their knowledge, giving them a range of benefits like never before including a work permit, a social security number, protection from deportation, and others. Yet, these last ten years the program has stood on shaky grounds with constant court battles canceling, reinstating or partially rolling the program. This audio series will give a deep …

Daca's Tax Benefits Highlight The Need For Broader Immigration Reform, Jacqueline Lainez Flanagan

Journal Articles

America’s aging population and declining birth rates are negatively affecting the nation’s Social Security and Medicare safety nets, reducing tax revenue, and weakening the broader economy.1 Meanwhile, immigration is increasing workforce participation by expanding the number of young adults in the United States.2 Despite political setbacks, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program exemplifies the economic and tax benefits of immigration, providing data and the impetus for a better way forward. Although not all DACA-eligible youth have registered for it, it is estimated that in 2017 alone, more than $2.2 billion in federal taxes were paid by DACA-eligible youth …

Changemakers: 'You Have To Adapt To Survive', Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Heirs Of An Administration: Unlawful Executive Actions, Jerome Perez

Catholic University Law Review

The Supreme Court of the United States in DHS v. Regents on June 18, 2020, decided to stall the Trump administration from rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy that the Obama administration created contrary to the Administrative Procedures Act (APA)––even though in 2016 the Supreme Court affirmed a preliminary injunction on the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) policy, which mirrors DACA. This blunder offhandedly sacrifices the Supreme Court’s reputation as nonpartisan by enlisting itself as the future arbiter of administrative issues with self-evident resolutions and deciding contrary to those resolutions to endorse a political agenda. …

The Role Of Prosecutorial Discretion In The Constitutionality Of Daca, Olivia Dixon

SLU Law Journal Online

DACA has been a controversial immigration program for almost a decade, as it winds its way through the United States's court system. In this article, Olivia Dixon argues that federal judge Andrew Hanen's most recent holding, that DACA is unconstitutional, is wrong, specifically looking at the role prosecutorial discretion plays in the program's constitutionality.

Requiring The Executive To Turn Square Corners: The Supreme Court Increases Agency Accountability In Department Of Homeland Security V. Regents Of The University Of California, Claudia J. Bernstein

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Administrative agencies frequently promulgate rules that have dramatic effects on peoples’ lives. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) is one such example. DACA grants certain unlawful immigrants a temporary reprieve from deportation, as well as ancillary benefits such as work permits. In 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) sought to rescind DACA on the basis that the program violates the Immigration and Nationality Act.

This Comment analyzes the recent Supreme Court decision about DACA’s recission in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of University of California. In rejecting DHS’s attempt to rescind DACA, the Court strengthened agency accountability …

Undocuamerica Monologues, Motus Theater, Alejandro Fuentes Mena, Armando Peniche, Christian Solano-Córdova, Kirsten Wilson

University of Colorado Law Review

The following work contains three monologues from Motus Theater's UndocuAmerica Project, which aims to interrupt dehumanizing portrayals of immigrants by encouraging thoughtful engagement on the challenges faced by undocumented communities and the assets immigrants bring to our country. The monologues were created in a collaboration between leaders with DACA status and Motus Theater Artistic Director Kirsten Wilson during a seventeen-week autobiographical- monologue workshop. All three pieces were presented in a virtual performance on April 8, 2021, as an introduction to the 29th Annual Rothgerber Conference.

When Interpretive Communities Clash On Immigration Law: The Courts’ Mediating Role In Noncitizens’ Rights And Remedies, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Rise Of The 'Immigrant-As-Injury' Theory Of State Standing, Jennifer Lee Koh

American University Law Review

Despite the Biden Administration’s efforts to hold itself out as a humane alternative to the excesses of immigration enforcement during the Trump presidency, federal courts have prevented a number of immigration policy changes from going forward during the first half of the Biden era. States serve as the primary plaintiffs in these lawsuits, which have impacted cornerstone immigration policies such as the termination of exclusionary border policies, the restoration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and the application of enforcement priorities. During the 2022-23 term, the Supreme Court will hear certain states’ challenge to immigration enforcement priorities in United …

On The Cusp Film, Rommel H. Ojeda, Rommel H. Ojeda

Capstones

On the Cusp film follows the story of Dreamer Erika Apupalo, who immigrated to the United States at the age of 9. Her story is one that represents the determination that Dreamers or DACA-recipients have to achieve the American Dream (freedom), while dealing with the physical limitations of being out of status, and having to deal with the uncertainty of what could happen if she went back to her country. Taking place in 2006 in Tigualo, Ecuador, Erika takes us through her journey of migrating to the United State. “I remember the immigration officer asking me questions”, says Erika, who …

Doers Not Dreamers: Supporting Un-Daca-Mented Students After College, Fatima Perez Murguia

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Thinking about life after college can be exciting. However, for some, it can be a scary and uncertain time. The focus issue addressed in this Capstone Project is on how to support undocumented college students better to prepare them for life after graduation. This is an important issue for undocumented college students because they are working hard to earn their degrees but cannot get a job in the fields they are prepared for. An evidence-based argument is made that investment should be made in the future of undocumented students, as they are well prepared and qualified to take on jobs …

Law School News: 'You Have To Adapt To Survive' 11-11-2021, Michael M. Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Department Of Homeland Security V. Regents Of The University Of California And Its Implications, Brian Wolfman

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Trump Administration's effort to get rid of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, failed before the Supreme Court in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California, 140 S. Ct. 1891, 1896 (2020). In this essay -- based on a presentation given to an American Bar Association section in September 2020 -- I review DACA, the Supreme Court's decision, and its potential legal implications.

The failure of the Trump Administration to eliminate DACA may have had significant political consequences, and it surely had immediate and momentous consequences for many of DACA’s hundreds of thousands …

An Inferentially Robust Look At Two Competing Explanations For The Surge In Unauthorized Migration From Central America, Nick Santos

Dissertations

The last 8 years have seen a dramatic increase in the flow of Central American apprehensions by the U.S. Border Patrol. Explanations for this surge in apprehensions have been split between two leading hypotheses. Most academic scholars, immigrant advocates, progressive media outlets, and human rights organizations identify poverty and violence (the Poverty and Violence Hypothesis) in Central America as the primary triggers responsible. In contrast, while most government officials, conservative think tanks, and the agencies that work in the immigration and border enforcement realm admit poverty and violence may underlie some decisions to migrate, they instead blame lax U.S. immigration …

Preventing A Permanent Underclass: Why In-State Tuition For Daca Students Just Makes Sense, Christian Bowcutt, Eliza Allen

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

In the landmark 1982 Supreme Court Case "Plyler v. Doe", the right to a free education was guaranteed to undocumented students. One of the reasons for this was to "prevent a permanent underclass". Today, we have a similar opportunity to lift our fellow peers by passing legislation to guarantee in-state tuition to DACA recipients. DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) is a program that grants temporary citizenship to qualifying children and youth who are brought to the United States with their parent(s) or guardian(s). Currently, the majority of states have not guaranteed this right to DACA students. With tuition rates …

Rwu Law News: The Newsletter Of Roger Williams University School Of Law 04-2021, Michael M. Bowden, Barry Bridges, Political Roundtable

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Law School News: Professor Gonzalez Is 2020 Rhode Island Lawyer Of The Year 01/11/21, Barry Bridges, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Work And Employment For Daca Recipients, Geoffrey Heeren

Articles

No abstract provided.

An Appellate Solution To Nationwide Injunctions, Sam Heavenrich

Indiana Law Journal

District courts have issued an unprecedented number of nationwide injunctions during the Obama and Trump administrations, provoking criticism from the Supreme Court. This Article proposes a change to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that addresses the Justices’ concerns without taking the drastic step of eliminating nationwide injunctions entirely. Specifically, this Article recommends amending Rule 65 to allow only the appellate courts to issue injunctive relief that extends beyond the plaintiffs in cases challenging a federal law or policy. In addition to the proposed Rule change, this Article offers a categorization framework for existing proposals addressing nationwide injunctions, classifying them …

Principals And Principles In Immigration Law, Jessica Bulman-Pozen

Faculty Scholarship

Adam Cox and Cristina Rodríguez have written a brilliant book — one of big arguments, grand scale, and historical sweep, yet also institutional detail, political acuity, and legal nuance; a book that has as much to teach us about Biden’s nascent administration as about the tenure of his immediate and more distant predecessors. As I add my voice to the chorus of praise, I want to suggest two extensions of the project.

Judicial Power—Immigration-Style, Jayanth K. Krishnan

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Throughout this current global pandemic, but of course, even before, former President Trump advocated enacting restrictive immigration measures. Under his tenure, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) assumed enhanced judicial authority and issued decisions that often adversely affected noncitizens. However, in June 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down one of the DHS's most well-known initiatives, which sought to end the 'DACA' program. The Court held that the agency could not do so arbitrarily and had to comply with the requirements set forth in the Administrative Procedure Act.

Yet, there have been other areas where the DHS, particularly through its …

The Iccpr, Non-Self-Execution, And Daca Recipients' Right To Remain In The United States, Timothy E. Lynch

Faculty Works

The United States is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Article 12.4 states, “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country.” Citizens clearly enjoy the rights of Article 12.4, but this Article demonstrates that this right reaches beyond the citizenry. Using customary methods of treaty interpretation, including reference to the ICCPR’s preparatory works and the jurisprudence of the Human Rights Committee, I demonstrate that Article 12.4 also forbids states from deporting long-term resident non-citizens – both documented and undocumented – except under the rarest circumstances. As a result, …

The Supreme Court Rules That Trump’S Daca Rescission Doesn’T Pass Muster, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Law School News: Distinguished Service Professor: Deborah Gonzalez 05-20-2020, Michael M. Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

The Substantial Impact Approach: Reviewing Policy Statements In Light Of Apa Finality, Emily Parsons

Washington Law Review

Federal agencies engage in a wide range of non-binding action, issuing guidance documents such as policy statements and interpretive rules. Although these guidance documents may have a substantial impact on industries or members of the public, courts often refuse to review their substance. The Administrative Procedure Act requires agency action to be “final” before courts can review it. The D.C. Circuit and the Ninth Circuit have taken conflicting and often messy approaches in determining whether interpretive rules and policy statements are final and thus reviewable. This Comment proposes a new approach: the substantial impact approach. Under this approach—repurposed from a …