Immigration Law Commons^™

U.S. Asylum Law Out Of Sync With International Obligations: Real Id Act, Victor P. White

San Diego International Law Journal

Focusing on defensive asylum applications, this Comment examines whether certain provisions of REAL ID violate due process and international obligations to asylum seekers. Part I situates REAL ID within the historical context of nearly a decade of restrictive U.S. immigration law and over two decades of Executive Orders aimed at deterring a mass exodus of asylum seekers from reaching U.S. shores. Part II provides an overview of the U.S. asylum system and argues that the system produces inconsistent and sometimes arbitrary results, indicating that segments of the system do not satisfy international obligations. Part III outlines three provisions of REAL …

Towards Balancing A New Immigration And Nationality Act: Enhanced Immigration Enforcement And Fair, Humane And Cost-Effective Treatment Of Aliens, Christopher Nugent

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.

Immigration: Mind Over Matter, Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.

The Executive's Scapegoat, The Court's Blind Eye? Immigrants' Rights After September 11, Hollis V. Pfitsch

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Failure To Advise Non-Citizens Of Immigration Consequences Of Criminal Convictions: Should This Be Grounds To Withdraw A Guilty Plea?, John J. Francis

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In this Article, Professor Francis argues that non-citizen criminal defendants should be afforded greater latitude in withdrawing guilty pleas, when those pleas are made without awareness of potential immigration consequences. Moreover, the Article highlights the roles both judges and attorneys should play in ensuring that non-citizens do not enter into such uninformed pleas.

Noting that courts have characterized deportation as a collateral consequence of a criminal conviction, the article argues that deportation, following the passage of the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1996, is unique in its severity and certainty. Many of the same due process considerations which underpin the …

Decoupling 'Terrorist' From 'Immigrant': An Enhanced Role For The Federal Courts Post 9/11, Victor C. Romero

Faculty Scholarship

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Attorney General John Ashcroft has utilized the broad immigration power ceded to him by Congress to ferret out terrorists among noncitizens detained for minor immigration violations. Such a strategy provides the government two options: deport those who are not terrorists, and then prosecute others who are. While certainly efficient, using immigration courts and their less formal due process protections afforded noncitizens should trigger greater oversight and vigilance by the federal courts for at least four reasons: First, while the legitimate goal of immigration law enforcement is deportation, Ashcroft's true objective in targeting …

Taas And Gi Forum V. Texas Education Agency: A Critical Analysis And Proposal For Redressing Problems With The Standardized Testing In Texas., Blakely Latham Fernandez

St. Mary's Law Journal

Texas’s use of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) test as an accountability program has had numerous negative and far-reaching effects on minorities. Today, students in Texas public schools first take the TAAS test in the third grade. Students continue to take a form of the TAAS test each year, with the exit-level assessment initially given in the eleventh grade. Students must pass all four sections–Mathematics, English, Science, and Social Studies–in order to graduate and receive their high school diploma. Although devised to effectively motivate students, schools, and teachers with the goal of enhancing educational standards, the TAAS test …

The Presumption Of Innocence: Patching The Tattered Cloak After Maryland V. Craig., Ralph H. Kohlmann

St. Mary's Law Journal

Over one hundred years ago, the United States Supreme Court recognized the importance of the presumption of innocence in a criminal justice system which is based on due process. The Court declared the presumption of innocence is “the undoubted law, axiomatic, and elementary, and its enforcements lies at the foundation … of our criminal law.” The Court’s changing view of the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause is the most recent contribution to the reduction in the practical value of the presumption of innocence. In Maryland v. Craig, the Court decided that while face-to-face confrontation forms the core of values furthered in …

The Supreme Court Takes A Weapon From The Drug War Arsenal: New Defenses To Civil Drug Forfeiture., Scott Alexander Nelson

St. Mary's Law Journal

This Comment discusses the history and development of forfeiture law—emphasizing the misnomer of “guilty property”—and addresses the lack of constitutional safeguards in the civil forfeiture statutes. It outlines prospective constitutional defenses announced by the United States Supreme Court, emphasizing the Fifth Amendment guarantee of due process, the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause, and the “innocent owner” defense. The federal statute authorizing civil forfeiture, 21 U.S.C. § 881 (Forfeiture Statute), was initially enacted as part of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. The Comprehensive Forfeiture Act of 1984 amended the statute to impose forfeiture on real property …

Transracial Adoption In Texas: Should The Best Interests Standard Be Color-Blind., Jo Beth Eubanks

St. Mary's Law Journal

Legislative amendments must go further than limiting race from being a primary factor in adoptions; amendments must eliminate race as an acceptable factor. Diverging opinions of “race matching” in foster care and adoption exist. Administrative policies regulating adoption hold that same-race placement, between the adoptive parent and child, is a primary consideration when awarding custody in Texas. Basing child placement on the race or ethnicity of the parties involved raises serious constitutional concerns. The best interest standard is the predominant method in determining child placement, for both custody and adoption proceedings. The premise of the best interest standard is prioritization …

A New Twist For Texas Lemon Owners., Ayala Alexopoulos

St. Mary's Law Journal

Twenty-five percent of the consumers with car warranty problems are dissatisfied with the complaint-handling process in the automobile industry and the result of their grievances. In response to the frustrations of defective car owners, Texas, along with many other states, passed a “lemon law” providing more definitive relief for consumer. Lemon laws provide a clearly defined cause of action against the manufacturer and provide the consumer with a low-cost, readily available mechanism for resolving their disputes. Most states’ lemon laws require the consumer to resort to arbitration provisions before initiating a court action if a manufacturer sets up a dispute …

A Synopsis Of The Federal Juvenile Delinquency Act., William S. Sessions, Faye M. Bracey

St. Mary's Law Journal

The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (Act) was passed by the United States Congress on September 7, 1974. The Act amended the Federal Juvenile Delinquency Act (FJDA) which had been virtually unchanged since its enactment in 1938. The Act sets up a procedural framework for the treatment of minors who are within the jurisdictional reach of a federal court due to the commission of an act which contradicts a federal criminal statute. With a thorough understanding of the original FJDA and its amendments, benefits, required procedures, and a juvenile’s constitutional rights, counsel for a juvenile offender in …

Asylum Adjudication: Some Due Process Implications Of Proposed Immigration Legislation, John A. Scanlan

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Right Of Undocumented Aliens Against Their Employers, Floyd G. Cottrell

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Undocumented aliens who seek to enforce their rights against their employer in state court will often face deportation. An undocumented alien is vulnerable to discriminatory treatment in the workplace, and abusive employment practices, which may often incentivize employers to hire undocumented aliens. This Note exams the legal issues surrounding the employment of undocumented aliens. In particular, the validity of state regulation is examined in light of the rights guaranteed to undocumented aliens under the fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution, granting due process. The author argues that state welfare benefits should not be denied to undocumented aliens, nor should …

Power Of Governor-General To Expel Resident Aliens From Insular Territory Of The United States, Horace Lafayette Wilgus

Articles

In the case of Forbes et al. v. Chuoco Tiaco, decided by the Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands July 30, 1910, 8 Off. Gaz., p. 1778, some of the most interesting, important, and fundamental questions were presented and determined for the time being, but not settled, it is reasonably safe to say until passed upon by the Supreme Court of the United States. The questions involved were whether the Governor General of the Philippine Islands has the power to expel resident Chinese aliens without a hearing or an opportunity to be heard, and whether the Governor, if he exceeded …