Immigration Law Commons^™

Congressional Devolution Of Immigration Policymaking: A Separation Of Powers Critique, Roger C. Hartley

Scholarly Articles

For roughly a decade, federal legislation has devolved to the states some of Congress's authority to adopt immigration policies that discriminate against permanent resident aliens. Equal protection challenges to discriminatory state policies so authorized by Congress raise the knotty issue of the appropriate scope of judicial review. Courts remain divided. The source of the difficulty is that the equal protection "congruence principle" is not applicable to alienage discrimination. Unlike equal protection cases throughout most of constitutional law, the judiciary deploys different standards of judicial review in alienage discrimination cases depending on whether the discrimination arises under federal or state law. …

Solving The "Initiatory Construction" Puzzle (And Improving Direct Democracy) By Appropriate Refocusing On Sponsor Intent, Glenn C. Smith

University of Colorado Law Review

The U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security has consistently attempted to make the process of becoming a lawful permanent resident of the United States difficult, at best. A 1997 Department of Justice regulation made this process impossible for a certain class of immigrants known as parolees, despite the fact that the Immigration and Nationality Act explicitly allowed these parolees the opportunity to become lawful permanent residents. The Department later withdrew this regulation because of the controversy it created in the federal circuit courts of appeal. However, new proposed regulations threaten to harm the position of immigrants in …

Beyond Agency Authority: Administrative Elimination Of Statutory Eligibility For Lawful Permanent Residence, Chelsy L. Knight

University of Colorado Law Review

The U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security has consistently attempted to make the process of becoming a lawful permanent resident of the United States difficult, at best. A 1997 Department of Justice regulation made this process impossible for a certain class of immigrants known as parolees, despite the fact that the Immigration and Nationality Act explicitly allowed these parolees the opportunity to become lawful permanent residents. The Department later withdrew this regulation because of the controversy it created in the federal circuit courts of appeal. However, new proposed regulations threaten to harm the position of immigrants in …

Book Review, Erin Murphy

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Videoconferencing In Immigration Proceedings, Aaron Haas

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “When there is mention of a legal trial, a certain picture naturally comes to mind. One sees a judge in his black robe sitting on a raised bench. Lawyers are stationed at tables on either side of the courtroom, prepared to present their arguments to the court. A jury box may sit off to the side, holding a cross-section of citizens culled from the population to perform their ancient duty. The courtroom is made of fine wood and polished marble, and it is adorned with the accouterments of justice—American flags, seals, paintings of honored jurists—which let an observer know …

J. Eric Dibbern On Forbidden Families: Family Unification And Child Registration In East Jerusalem By Yael Stein. Hamoked: Center For The Defense Of The Individual, 2004. 41pp., J. Eric Dibbern

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Forbidden Families: Family Unification and Child Registration in East Jerusalem by Yael Stein. HaMoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual, 2004. 41pp.

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 …

An Unwarranted Disparity: Granting Fast-Track Departures In Non-Fast-Track Districts, Evan W. Bolla

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

National Security And Immigration Policy: Reclaiming Terms, Measuring Success, And Setting Priorities, Margaret D. Stock

ExpressO

This paper offers a three-pronged framework for evaluating immigration-related security measures and tactics. First, does the measure or strategy relate to a legitimate security goal? Second, what does the measure propose to accomplish, will it be successful in achieving that end, and how can its success (or failure) be assessed? Third, is the measure worth the cost both in resources and opportunities foregone? The paper goes on to evaluate the US Government's recent implementation of the US-VISIT program against this framework.

The Coalescence Of United States Immigration Law And International Criminal Law: An Exploration Of Elias Zacarias In The Context Of Female Genital Mutilation, George S. Yacoubian

ExpressO

In INS v. Elias Zacarias, the Supreme Court (SC) affirmed that nongovernmental actors (e.g., guerilla groups) can commit “persecution” as defined by § 101(a)(42) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Human rights violations by any international actor, governmental or otherwise, can thus, according to Elias Zacarias, trigger asylum protection in the United States (US). In contrast, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), to which the US is a party, requires the victimizer to be a “public official or other person acting in an official capacity.”

The CAT thus imposes a state …

A Complete Property Right Amendment, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

The trend of the eminent domain reform and "Kelo plus" initiatives is toward a comprehensive Constitutional property right incorporating the elements of level of review, nature of government action, and extent of compensation. This article contains a draft amendment which reflects these concerns.

"Deport All The Students": Lessons Learned In An X-Treme Clinic, Stacy Caplow

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Habeas Corpus, Judicial Review, And Limits On Secrecy In Detentions At Guantanamo, Jonathan Hafetz

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The article examines the role of secrecy in post-9/11 counterterrorism detentions, particularly at Guantanamo Bay, and the legal challenges posed by the Detainee Treatment Act (DTA) and Military Commissions Act (MCA). These acts sought to limit habeas corpus jurisdiction, potentially restoring a system of unaccountable detentions. The analysis highlights how habeas corpus serves as a critical check on executive power, ensuring judicial review of detentions and transfers, and protecting against unlawful confinement. The Supreme Court's rulings in Rasul v. Bush and Hamdan v. Rumsfeld are central to this discussion, as they affirmed habeas protections and invalidated certain detention practices.

Panel Report: Beyond Article Iii Courts: Military Tribunals, Status Review Tribunals, And Immigration Courts, Robert M. Chesney

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The article explores the tension between national security interests and procedural fairness in the use of secret evidence across non-Article III contexts, including military tribunals, Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRTs), and immigration courts. It examines the challenges of balancing government secrecy with individual rights, emphasizing the need for procedural safeguards to navigate this complex issue.

Delegating Democracy - The Siphoning Of Immigration Power From Congress To The States And Administrative Agencies, And The Need For A New Approach.", Oleg S. Kobelev

ExpressO

The paper's central thesis is that a doctrine of non-delegation in conjunction with the plenary power of Congress in the area of immigration law makes it possible for Congress to escape its democratic responsibilities to the voters by allowing it to shove difficult or unpopular decisions to the administrative agencies with little oversight or accountability to the public. This paper proposes a new constitutional approach to the delegation theory in the context of immigration - a theory of explicit delegation.

The Immigrant City, Rick Su

ExpressO

Jurists, policymakers, and legal scholars often do not consider the issue of immigration from a local perspective. As such, the intersection between immigration and local government law has largely been neglected in the legal academic literature. Instead of subscribing to the conventional belief that immigration and local governments are doctrinally distinct, this article uncovers their latent intersection, explore how competing but often unexamined concerns about local governments in legal doctrine conceal the mutual impact that immigration and local government laws have upon one another, and use this analysis to explore how legal rules can be changed to enhance the positive …

Assessing The Collateral International Consequences Of The U.S.' Removal Policy, Tara Pinkham

Buffalo Human Rights Law Review

No abstract provided.

Limiting The Application Of Jus Soli: The Resulting Status Of Undocumented Children In The United States, Brooke Kirkland

Buffalo Human Rights Law Review

No abstract provided.

Are You A Terrorist Or An American?:An Analysis Of Immigration Lawpost 9/11: Introduction, Mark A. Drumbl

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

A Practitioner's Observations On U.S. Immigration Policy Changes In Response To 9/11 And The War On Terror, Mary E. Pivec

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Crimmigration Crisis: Immigrants, Crime, & Sovereign Power, Juliet P. Stumpf

ExpressO

This article provides a fresh theoretical perspective on the most important development in immigration law today: the convergence of immigration and criminal law. Although the connection between immigration and criminal law, or “crimmigration law,” is now the subject of national debate, scholarship in this area is in a fledgling state. This article begins to fill that void. It proposes a unifying theory – membership theory – for why these two areas of law recently have become so connected, and why that convergence is troubling. Membership theory restricts individual rights and privileges to those who are members of a social contract …

A Reflection On The Chinese Green Card System, Jia Xu

Cornell Law School J.D. Student Research Papers

The issuance of Regulations on Examination and Approval of Permanent Residence of Aliens in China marks the establishment of the green card system in China. It aims to attract world talents as well as foreign investment. It is a very important step concerning China’s open-up policy, but we still have a long way to improve the newly-established system.

Canons, The Plenary Power Doctrine And Immigration Law, Brian G. Slocum

ExpressO

There is a fundamental dichotomy in immigration law. On one hand, courts have consistently maintained that Congress has “plenary power” over immigration and reject most constitutional challenges on that basis. On the other hand, courts frequently use canons of statutory construction in an aggressive fashion to help interpret immigration statutes in favor of aliens. Immigration scholars have almost exclusively focused on the plenary power doctrine. They have either ignored the important role that canons have played in immigration law or have viewed canons as serving only a temporary and marginally legitimate role as substitutes for the lack of constitutional rights …

'Tis A Gift To Be Simple: A Model Reform Of The Federal Sentencing Guidelines, Frank O. Bowman Iii

Faculty Publications

This essay introducing the June 2006 edition of the Federal Sentencing Reporter (Vol. 18, No. 5) describes two important contributions to the movement for real reform of the federal sentencing system. First, Professor Bowman summarizes the recommendations of the Constitution Project Sentencing Initiative (CPSI) report on federal sentencing. The CPSI report, reproduced in this Issue, cautions against any over-hasty legislative response to the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Booker, suggests some near-term improvements to the existing federal sentencing system, and then sets out a framework for a reformed and markedly simplified federal sentencing regime. Second, Professor Bowman describes …

Detention Of Non-Citizens: The Supreme Court's Muddling Of An Already Complex Issue, Blake Sharpton

Mercer Law Review

Emma Lazarus's poem was engraved on a plaque and affixed to the base of the Statue of Liberty in 1903. Ms. Lazarus's words may have reflected the sentiment of the country in 1903, but the United States no longer throws its doors open to any and every person hoping for a better life. Rather, potential immigrants are faced with a labyrinth of legal hurdles in order to gain entry into the United States.

Under current U.S. immigration law, every person in the world is either a United States "national" or an "alien." With few exceptions, the term national today basically …

Bond Repudiation, Tax Codes, The Appropriations Process And Restitution Post-Eminent Domain Reform, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

This brief comment suggests where the anti-eminent domain movement might be heading next.

Rules Are Made To Be Broken: How The Process Of Expedited Removal Fails Asylum Seekers, Michele R. Pistone, John J. Hoeffner Esq.

Working Paper Series

Immigration inspectors are authorized to deport persons who arrive at U.S. ports without valid travel documents. This process, which usually occurs within 48 hours and does not allow for judicial review, is called expedited removal. This article begins by summarizing the findings of the few studies allowed access to the process. The authors extrapolate from the studies to demonstrate that thousands of genuine asylum seekers have erroneously been deported via expedited removal. The greatest cause of erroneous deportation is a failure by the agency responsible for the process, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), to follow its own rules. The heart …

American Refugees And Asylum Seekers In Canada, Todd W. Zabel

ExpressO

American Soldier, Jeremy Hinzman, deserted his Iraq bound unit in 2003 and fled to Canada where he now seeks asylum with his wife and young son. The legal implications of his case are explored against the background of the American and Canadian political landscapes. The Canadian Court’s ultimate denial of his application evidences sweeping changes in Canada’s approach to International Law.

The Regulation Of Intercountry Adoption, Mary E. Hansen, Daniel Pollack

ExpressO

As of January 2006, the United States was the only major receiver of children through intercountry adoption that had not implemented the 1993 Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. The U.S. signed the Hague Convention in 1994, but did not pass implementing legislation until 2000. Regulations pursuant to the legislation were proposed in 2003, but final regulations did not go into effect until March 2006. The slow pace was partly the result of Congressional wrangling over designation of a regulator and partly the result of a prolonged conversation between the designated regulator and the adoption community over specific regulations.

Finalization of …

The War On Terror, Local Police, And Immigration Enforcement: A Curious Tale Of Police Power In Post-9/11 America, David A. Harris

ExpressO

In post-9/11 America, no goal ranks higher for law enforcement than preventing the next terrorist attack. This is as true for local police departments as it is for the FBI, and police in cities. At the same time, many advocates of tightening U.S. immigration enforcement have recast their efforts as national security and anti-terrorism campaigns. Thus, these advocates and their many allies in the current administration and in Congress have called for local police to become involved in enforcing immigration law. Officials in both the executive and legislative branches of the federal government have taken a number of actions designed …