Immigration Law Commons^™

Coordinating Injunctions, Bert I. Huang

Faculty Scholarship

Consider this scenario: Two judges with parallel cases are each ready to issue an injunction. But their injunctions may clash, ordering incompatible actions by the defendant. Each judge has written an opinion justifying her own intended relief, but the need to avoid conflicting injunctions presses her to make a further choice – “Should I issue the injunction or should I stay it for now?” Each must make this decision in anticipation of what the other will do.

This Article analyzes such a judicial coordination problem, drawing on recent examples including the DACA cases and the “sanctuary cities” cases. It then …

How Much Procedure Is Needed For Agencies To Change “Novel” Regulatory Policies?, Ming Hsu Chen

Publications

The use of guidance documents in administrative law has long been controversial and considered to be one of the most challenging aspects of administrative law. When an agency uses a guidance document to change or make policy, it need not provide notice to the public or allow comment on the new rule; this makes changes easier and faster and less subject to judicial review. Under the Obama Administration, guidance documents were used to implement policy shifts in many areas of administrative law, including civil rights issues such as transgender inclusion and campus sexual harassment and immigration law issues such as …

Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Jorge Baron, Maria Kolby-Wolfe, Kristen Smith Dayley, Twila Bird, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

The Northwest Immigrant Rights Program has been around for 35 years, started in 1984 specifically to help Central American refugees during the mid-1980s, when they were fleeing civil wars. A pro-bono group of attorneys performing "direct legal representation", helping low income community members who are navigating different aspects of the immigration system. NWIRP also engages in "systemic advocacy" which attempts to change systems and policies revolving around asylum and immigration rights.

Immigration Policy: A Look At Its History And Its Future, Melisa Fumbarg

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

This comment will examine immigration in the United States, specifically by addressing questions involving the constitutionality of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and removal procedures. Part II will look at the historical background of immigration policy in the United States, including past amnesties and the latest reform, DACA. Part III will analyze DACA and why it was rescinded. Part IV will discuss one the most detrimental consequences of DACA being rescinded—deportation, and the constitutional limits of removal procedures. Part V will deploy some future predictions on immigration and the next steps Congress should take to ensure that there is …

Child Migrants And America’S Evolving Immigration Mission, Shani M. King

UF Law Faculty Publications

This Article explores the many challenges—legal and otherwise—that child migrants face as they attempt to navigate the complex web of courts, laws, and shifting political landscapes to become naturalized United States citizens, while putting these challenges in the context of an immigration system that has long been shaped by politics of exclusion and xenophobia that have shaped immigration law and policy in the United States for over one-hundred years. Such an investigation comes at a time when the issue of immigration in the United States is increasingly complex and contested. As the Trump administration mulls over new prototypes for a …

The Role Of Deference In Adjudicating The Military Transgender Policy, Daca And The Census, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

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 …

Restoring The Statutory Safety-Valve For Immigrant Crime Victims: Premium Processing For Interim U Visa Benefits, Jason A. Cade, Mary Honeychurch

Scholarly Works

This essay focuses on the U visa, a critical government program that has thus far failed to live up to its significant potential. Congress enacted the U visa to aid undocumented victims of serious crime and incentivize them to assist law enforcement without fear of deportation. The reality, however, is that noncitizens eligible for U status still languish in limbo for many years while remaining vulnerable to deportation and workplace exploitation. This is in large part due to the fact that the agency has never devoted sufficient resources to processing these cases. As a result, the potential benefits of the …

Barack Obama's Emancipation Proclamation: An Essay In Memory Of Judge Richard D. Cudahy, Jack M. Beermann

Faculty Scholarship

In a case involving whether illegal immigrants were protected under federal labor law, Judge Richard Cudahy, observed that illegal immigrants are often at the mercy of unscrupulous employers and that immigrations laws provide employers “with a powerful tool for unfair and oppressive treatment of migrant labor.” There are millions of people in the United States who are vulnerable to exploitation in the workplace due to their illegal immigration status. In 2012 and 2014, the Obama administration announced programs designed to provide limited security to some of the millions of illegal immigrants present in the United States. These programs are, in …

My Grandfather Was An Illegal Immigrant: Guest Opinion, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner

Faculty Publications

In this opinion piece originally published in the Oregonian, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner reflects on his grandfather's immigration status in light of the Trump administration's decision to end temporary protection for 200,000 Salvadoran immigrants who came to the United States without documentation.

Navigating Graduate School: Resource Guide For Undocumented Students, Sheila Cook, Iva Gaylord

Immigration Law & Policy Practicum Projects

This guide will detail the legal and practical concerns of undocumented students who are contemplating or currently pursuing a graduate school education. Each section is divided into important milestones that occur during the graduate school process. Topics addressed include the application process, accessing financial aid, transportation, employment, taxes and resources for support. The focus of this guide is to provide insight and recommendations to the undocumented population in relation to graduate school and life after graduation. Extensive guides and resources currently exist for undocumented students who have received DACA protection, equivalent resources and guides are scarce for undocumented graduate students …

Dreamcatcher: How California Can Protect Its Daca Recipients’ Work Authorization, Eddie Corona, Kyle Heitmann

Immigration Law & Policy Practicum Projects

This memorandum details the legal means by which the State of California may enact work authorization for DACA recipients in the event the program is rescinded. Using similar, previous state-level initiatives as inspiration, this memo examines the parameters constraining possible legislative action. Because work authorization is federally regulated, these constraints include preemption and supremacy clause limitations on state and local lawmaking. This means that, if DACA is rescinded, California could pass a law allowing former recipients to continue working. However, because of the Supremacy Clause, California would need permission from the federal government to implement the bill. After explaining the …

Dreamers Deferred: The Broken Promise Of Immigration Reform In The Obama Years, Kristina M. Campbell

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Evading Constitutional Challenge: Dapa's Implications For Future Exercises Of Executive Enforcement Discretion, Lucy Chauvin

Indiana Law Journal

I. UNITED STATES V. TEXAS: DEFINING THE BOUNDARIES OF ENFORCEMENT DISCRETION

A. DAPA AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGE

B. SCHOLARLY DEBATE: APPLICATION OF YOUNGSTOWN FRAMEWORK TO DAPA

II. TAKE CARE: CONFLICTING INTERPRETATIONS OF THE DUTY TO FAITHFULLY EXECUTE THE LAW

III. ENFORCEMENT DISCRETION: INTERACTION BETWEEN CONGRESS AND THE EXECUTIVE

A. HECKLER V. CHANEY: EARLY RECOGNITION OF EXECUTIVE ENFORCEMENT DISCRETION

B. ENFORCEMENT DISCRETION’S SPECIFIC APPLICATION TO IMMIGRATION LAW

C. THE MEANING OF “DEFERRED ACTION”

IV. THE HISTORICALLY LIMITED ROLE OF THE JUDICIARY

A. PRESUMPTIVE UNREVIEWABILITY

B. ADDITIONAL PROCEDURAL HURDLES

V. MOVING FORWARD: LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

A. FRAMING …

Immigration Enforcement And The Future Of Discretion, Shoba Wadhia

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Bold Executive Action And False Equivalence, Stephen H. Legomsky

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Separate But (Un)Equal: Why Institutionalized Anti-Racism Is The Answer To The Never-Ending Cycle Of Plessy V. Ferguson, Maureen Johnson

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Meet Daca's Demise With Determination, Not Despair, Donald Roth

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"This is a moment in which vital immigration reform is actually realistically possible, but the magnitude of that task requires bipartisanship like we haven’t seen in some time."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­the recent rescinding of DACA from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

http://inallthings.org/feature/meet-dacas-demise-with-determination-not-despair/

Immigrants Benefit The Community And Economy, Jenny Minier

Center for Equality and Social Justice Position Papers

Immigration has historically been a defining characteristic of the United States, and it remains one of the country’s most significant economic advantages. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was implemented by President Obama to grant temporary legal status to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children, as long as they are enrolled in school or working. Given President Trump’s recent comments about ending the DACA program, Congress must work on a policy solution that will allow the nearly 800,000 “Dreamers” currently enrolled in DACA to remain legally in the U.S. There are both moral and economic reasons …

The Crushing Of A Dream: Daca, Dapa And The Politics Of Immigration Law Under President Obama, Robert H. Wood

Barry Law Review

No abstract provided.

Theorizing The Immigrant Child: The Case Of Married Minors, Medha D. Makhlouf

Faculty Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Judging Immigration Equity: Deportation And Proportionality In The Supreme Court, Jason A. Cade

Scholarly Works

Though it has not directly said so, the United States Supreme Court cares about proportionality in the deportation system. Or at least it thinks someone in the system should be considering the justifiability of removal decisions. As this Article demonstrates, the Court’s jurisprudence across a range of substantive and procedural challenges over the last fifteen years increases or preserves structural opportunities for equitable balancing at multiple levels in the deportation process. Notably, the Court has endorsed decision makers’ consideration of the normative justifiability of deportation even where noncitizens have a criminal history or lack a formal path to lawful status. …

Alienage Classifications And The Denial Of Health Care To Dreamers, Fatma E. Marouf

Faculty Scholarship

In the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), passed in 2010, Congress provided that only “lawfully present” individuals could obtain insurance through the Marketplaces established under the Act. Congress left it to the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) to define who is “lawfully present.” Initially, HHS included all individuals with deferred action status, which is an authorized period of stay but not a legal status. After President Obama announced a new policy of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) in June 2012, however, HHS amended its regulation specifically to exclude DACA recipients from the definition of “lawfully present.” The revised …

The Aftermath Of United States V. Texas, Shoba S. Wadhia

Faculty Scholarship

On June 23, 2016, the Supreme Court issued a 4-4 ruling in the immigration case of United States v. Texas, blocking two “deferred action” programs announced by President Obama on November 20, 2014: extended Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA Plus) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Legal Residents (DAPA). The 4-4 ruling by the justices creates a non-precedential non-decision, upholding an injunction placed by a panel of federal judges in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. While the future of these programs remains uncertain in the long term, the immediate effects are pronounced, as millions of …

Presidential Legitimacy Through The Anti-Discrimination Lens, Catherine Y. Kim

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The Obama administration’s deferred action programs granting temporary relief from deportation to undocumented immigrants have focused attention to questions regarding the legitimacy of presidential lawmaking. Immigration, though, is not the only context in which the president has exercised policymaking authority. This essay examines parallel instances of executive lawmaking in the anti-discrimination area. Presidential policies relating to workplace discrimination, environmental justice, and affirmative action share some of the key features troubling critics of deferred action yet have been spared from serious constitutional challenge. These examples underscore the unique challenges to assessing the validity of actions targeting traditionally disenfranchised groups—be they noncitizens, …

Remarks On Executive Action And Immigration Reform, Shoba S. Wadhia

Faculty Scholarship

This essay places the President's executive actions on immigration last November into a larger context by providing a brief history of prosecutorial discretion in immigration cases. This essay also describes how law students at Penn State Law School used the President's announcement of executive actions as a platform for local change in the State College community.

The President And Deportation: Daca, Dapa, And The Sources And Limits Of Executive Authority - Response To Hiroshi Motomura, Shoba S. Wadhia

Faculty Scholarship

This Essay is a response to Washburn University School of Law's Foulston Siefkin Lecture, 2015 titled "The President and Deportation: DACA, DAPA, and the Sources and Limits of Executive Authority," delivered by Professor Hiroshi Motomura in March of 2015. Part II of this Essay provides a summary of Professor Motomura's remarks from this author's vantage point. Part III of this Essay analyzes and supports Professor Motomura's conclusion that deferred action is "different" from prosecutorial discretion and elaborates on how deferred action goes one step "further" than prosecutorial discretion.

Binding The Enforcers: The Administrative Law Struggle Behind Pres. Obama’S Immigration Actions, Michael Kagan

Scholarly Works

President Obama’s ambitious use of executive discretion in immigration – especially the DACA and DAPA programs – should be understood in context of a struggle within the executive branch between the President and frontline enforcement officers in the Department of Homeland Security who have actively resisted his policy agenda. The so far successful litigation by 26 states to partially halt these programs has focused on this struggle within the executive branch, rather than on the stalemate between the President and Congress over legislative immigration reform. In preliminary rulings, the federal district court and the Court of Appeals have interpreted ambiguous …

Binding The Enforcers: The Administrative Law Struggle Behind President Obama's Immigration Actions, Michael Kagan

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Beyond Legality: The Legitimacy Of Executive Action In Immigration Law, Ming H. Chen

Publications

Recent uses of executive action in immigration law have triggered accusations that the President is acting imperially, like a king, or as a lawbreaker. President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) programs, which provide protection from deportation and a work permit during a temporary period of lawful presence, serve as the lightning rod for these accusations. But even as legislative and litigation challenges to DACA proceed, many states appear to accept and comply with it, including nearly all of the states that have joined the Texas v United States lawsuit that challenges …