Immigration Law Commons^™

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 …

A Sanctuary World: Understanding The Past, Present, And Future Of Sanctuary Movements, Annaleigh Cummings

Undergraduate Theses

In the late 1970s through the 1980s, sanctuary movements emerged in the United States to support and provide sanctuary for immigrants and asylum seekers without a legal status of U.S. citizenship. This movement has its roots in the ancient church tradition of offering sanctuary to people accused of crimes. Religious leaders offered protection against the government in the name of their beliefs. It is a cycle that has often been repeated throughout history from the medieval European era to abolitionists helping runaway enslaved people in the United States to the contemporary movements existing today. This project explores and analyzes three …

Witnessing Anew: Human Rights Advocacy For Migrants At The U.S. Southern Border In Covid-19 Times, Ellen Maccarone

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

In this paper I provide a case study of transnational migrant advocacy done by the Kino Border Initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly before the pandemic I spent a week with KBI for an immersion experience part of which focused on the ideas of human rights advocacy and witnessing. “Witness” in this context has both a spiritual/moral dimension and an experiential one that can form a foundation for advocacy. Using accounts of migrants to inform and humanize changed when interpersonal witnessing became impossible during the pandemic. This increased the levels of human rights abuses experienced by migrants and limited the …

Migration And Mortality: Social Death, Dispossession, And Survival In The Americas, Miranda Cady Hallett, Joseph Nevins, Jamie Longazel, Amelia Frank-Vitale, Alicia Yvonne Estrada, Abby C. Wheatley

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

This panel presents research from the new edited volume Migration and Mortality (edited by Longazel and Hallett, Temple University Press, 2021). Death threatens migrants physically during perilous border crossings between Central and North America, but many also experience legal, social, and economic mortality. Rooted in histories of colonialism and conquest, exclusionary policies and practices deliberately take aim at racialized, dispossessed people in transit. Once in the new land, migrants endure a web of systems across every facet of their world—work, home, healthcare, culture, justice—that strips them of their personhood, denies them resources, and creates additional obstacles that deprive them of …

Redefining The Safe Third Country Exception Of The Immigration And Nationality Act In The Wake Of Trump, Daniel E. Rabbani

Brooklyn Law Review

The U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act lays out when an asylum seeker has the right to apply for asylum in the United States. This right is not available, however, when an asylum seeker passes through a designated Safe Third Country. A Safe Third Country is an internationally used concept that, pursuant to an international agreement, requires refugees to seek asylum in the first safe country that they step foot in. As the Safe Third Country exception on the Immigration and Nationality Act stands now, there are no guidelines on how to evaluate whether a country is in fact safe. This …

Without A Voice, Without A Forum: Finding Iirira Section 1252(G) Unconstitutional, Amanda Simms

Brooklyn Law Review

The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) abrogates sovereign immunity in certain circumstances to allow private individuals, regardless of citizenship, to sue the United States for specific torts committed by government officials. Yet when two lawful permanent residents—located in different parts of the country—separately tried to sue the government for wrongful removal, one court dismissed the suit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction while the other court did not. These decisions, though reaching opposite conclusions, both relied on federal immigration statute 8 U.S.C. § 1252(g) in order to determine whether judicial review of immigrants’ removal orders is precluded. This note argues …

Immigration Law—Creating Consistency In Domestic Violence Asylum Cases, Zoya Miller

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Pocketbook Next Time: From Civil Rights To Market Power In The Latinx Community, Rachel F. Moran

Faculty Scholarship

The United States is undergoing a demographic transformation. Nearly one in five Americans already is Latinx, and the United States Census Bureau projects that by 2060, nearly one in three will be. Latinx will substantially outnumber every other historically underrepresented racial and ethnic minority group, and non-Hispanic whites no longer will be a majority. Those changes have unsettled traditional approaches to full inclusion.

Civil rights activists have suffered numerous setbacks, and the burgeoning Latinx population is searching for other paths to belonging. Some leaders have turned to growing Latinx market power to demand recognition and equal opportunity. These efforts rely …

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 …

Collateral Damage: How Expanding Public Charge Policy Influences Adult Esl Enrollment, Allison M. Eckert

Master's Theses

This study used statistical analysis of enrollment records for ESL programs at community colleges throughout California from 2015-2019 to determine whether adult immigrants’ participation in public ESL programs was reduced under President Donald Trump. Immigrant families’ lesser use of public education services and means-tested federal benefits has been widely documented in the wake of Trump’s expansion of the public charge rule, which counted immigrants’ use of a wider array of public benefits against their case for residency in the United States than had any previous iteration of the rule. Failing the public charge test can block an immigrant’s entry into …

Garland V. Gonzalez: Brief For Amici Curiae Law Professors In Support Of Respondents, Leah Litman

Appellate Briefs

Amici are a group of philosophically diverse law school professors who offer a unique perspective about federal courts’ equitable powers and principles of statutory interpretation. Together, amici share an interest in ensuring that federal law be construed in accordance with its text and longstanding background principles regarding review of executive action.<\p>

From our Nation’s Founding, federal courts have exercised broad equitable authority to issue injunctions prohibiting executive officials from acting beyond their lawfully conferred authority. This bedrock power to restrain ultra vires acts by the executive branch is a foundational tenet of the American legal system. This Court has long …

Promoting Privacy, Fairness And The Open Court Principle In Immigration And Refugee Proceedings, Jon Khan, Sean Rehaag

All Papers

Court decisions and court documents are becoming easier to access online than ever before. This access provides many possible benefits, including increased fairness. But court decisions and documents often contain intensely personal information. Public exposure of that private information may even lead to significant harm. The Federal Court of Canada has demonstrated leadership among Canadian courts in attempting to proactively grapple with these issues, including by consulting stakeholders about increased electronic access to court records.

We—researchers connected with the Refugee Law Lab based out of York University’s Centre for Refugee Studies and Osgoode Hall Law School—write this paper to participate …

“Under The Guise Of Public Health:” The Biden Administration And Title 42, Casey Plach

SLU Law Journal Online

In March 2020, the Trump Administration set forth a policy, now known as Title 42, which closed U.S. borders and allows government officials to immediately expel migrants—including asylum seekers—citing public health concerns in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Still in effect today, Title 42 has faced criticism from legal experts and health experts alike, who claim the policy directly conflicts with asylum laws and has little basis in public health. In this article, Casey Plach explores this criticism and critiques the Biden Administration’s continued use of Title 42.

Title 42, Asylum, And Politicising Public Health, Michael Ulrich, Sondra S. Crosby

Faculty Scholarship

President Biden has continued the controversial immigration policy of the Trump era known as Title 42, which has caused harm and suffering to scores of asylum seekers under the guise of public health.1 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ordered the policy in March 2020 with the stated purpose of limiting the spread of the coronavirus into the U.S.; though, CDC and public health officials have admitted this policy has no scientific basis and there is no evidence it has protected the public.2,3 Instead, the impetus behind the policy appears to be a desire to keep out or …

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

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Lets Talk Internships, Cardozo Latin American Law Student Association

2021–2022 Flyers

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Forensic Medical Evaluations On Immigration Relief Grant Rates And Correlates Of Outcomes In The United States., Holly G. Atkinson, Katarzyna Wyka, Kathryn Hampton, Christian Seno, Elizabeth Yim, Deborah Ottenheimer, Nermeen Arastu

Publications and Research

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of forensic medical evaluations on grant rates for applicants seeking immigration relief in the United States (U.S.) and to identify significant correlates of grant success. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 2584 cases initiated by Physicians for Human Rights between 2008-2018 that included forensic medical evaluations, and found that 81.6% of applicants for various forms of immigration relief were granted relief, as compared to the national asylum grant rate of 42.4%. Among the study’s cohort, the majority (73.7%) of positive outcomes were grants of asylum. A multivariable regression analysis revealed …

Justice For Venezuela: The Human Rights Violations That Are Isolating An Entire Country, Andrea Matos

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

Abstract forthcoming.

A Reasonable Possibility Of Refoulement: The Inadequacies Of Procedures To Protect Vulnerable Noncitizens From Return To Persecution, Torture, Or Death, Lexie Marilyn Ford

Texas A&M Law Review

Due primarily to increases in individuals fleeing violence and turmoil in Central America, over 40% of noncitizens arriving in the United States are put on a fast-track removal process and subsequently claim fear of returning to their home countries. A decade ago, the number was only 5%. This influx of asylum-seekers at the border has led to tension between those who wish to protect them and those who view such migrants as “invaders.” In 2019 and 2020, the Trump Administration proffered sweeping regulatory changes with the aim to substantively and procedurally restrict noncitizens’ access to protection from persecution and torture …

Do Courts Have Jurisdiction To Consider Questions Of Fact To Determine Whether A Noncitizen Is Entitled To Eligibility For Discretionary Relief From Removal?, David L. Hudson Jr.

Law Faculty Scholarship

This article previews Patel v. Garland, a United States Supreme Court case addressing the scope of federal court jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2)(B)(i), as amended by the REAL ID Act. The central question is whether federal courts retain jurisdiction to review nondiscretionary factual determinations underlying eligibility for discretionary relief from removal, or whether the statute’s bar on reviewing “any judgment” precludes judicial review of such threshold findings. The case arises from the denial of adjustment of status to Pankajkumar Patel, deemed inadmissible for allegedly falsely representing himself as a U.S. citizen on a driver’s license application. Both petitioner …

Trafficking And The Shallow State, Julie A. Dahlstrom

Faculty Scholarship

More than two decades ago, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) established new, robust protections for immigrant victims of trafficking. In particular, Congress created the T visa, a special form of immigration status, to protect immigrant victims from deportation. Despite lofty ambitions, the annual cap of 5,000 T visas has never been reached, with fewer than 1,200 approved each year. In recent years, denial rates also have climbed. For example, in fiscal year 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services denied 42.79% of the T visa applications that the agency adjudicated, compared with just 28.12% in fiscal year 2015. These developments …

Judicial Deference Of The Board Of Immigration Appeals’ Regulatory Interpretations In Light Of Kisor V. Wilkie, Melissa Fullmer

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming.

An Immigration Innovation: A Comparative Analysis Of The American Diversity Visa Lottery Program And The Canadian Points-Based System, Jennifer Hopkins

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

United States immigration policy has historically been a strategy for national growth. Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1990 to stimulate further growth by increasing immigration opportunities. This substantial immigration reform created the Diversity Visa (“DV”) lottery program, which administers 50,000 lawful permanent residence visas annually. These visas are drawn randomly from a pool of applicants from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.

Donald J. Trump pushed for major immigration reform beginning on his first day in office, including the repeal of the DV program and the development of a points-based system modeling the current …

Nazi Germany's Race Laws, The United States, And American Indians, Robert J. Miller

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

Most Americans would be shocked to learn that in the 1920s and 1930s Adolf Hitler and Nazi scholars, lawyers, and officials were studying United States law while developing Germany’s policies and laws concerning Jews and the conquest of Eastern Europe. Most Americans would also be surprised that, as the leaders of the Third Reich were turning racist ideas into official German policies, Nazis were carefully studying United States federal Indian law and state laws that discriminated against Indian nations and American Indians.

A Human Rights Crisis Under Our Roof, Aglae Eufracio

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

Abstract forthcoming.

Predictors Of Refugees’ Ability To Pass The United States Citizenship Exam, Molly Grover, Fern Hauck, Sarah Blackstone, Emily Cloyd

Virginia Journal of Public Health

Background: Passing the United States citizenship exam can be challenging for refugee populations for several reasons, including affordability of English classes, time restraints, medical stressors, and limited formal education. The purpose of this study was to examine factors that may influence a refugees’ ability to pass the citizenship exam, including English proficiency, education, employment, and completion of English as a Second Language (ESL) classes.

Methods: Refugee patients at the International Family Medicine Clinic (IFMC) in Central Virginia participated in a survey that assessed their levels of English proficiency and whether or not they had passed the citizenship exam. The survey …

The Truth About The Southern Border And The History Of Anti-Black U.S. Immigration Polic, Keriann Stout, Miriam Lacroix

Social Justice Week

A presentation about the human rights violations taking place at the southern border against Haitian immigrants and how this situation fits into a long history of anti-Black immigration policies in the United States.

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 …

Removing Roadblocks: Alternatives To Lawful Status And Social Security Number Requirements For Pennsylvania Driver’S Licenses, Miranda Sasinovic

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

As part of their traditional state police powers, states determine the eligibility requirements for their driver’s licenses. Standard eligibility requirements include proof of age, residency, identity, and knowledge. In the 1990s, some states amended their vehicle codes to require proof of lawful status, effectively barring undocumented immigrants from obtaining driver’s licenses.

In response to inconsistent issuance and verification standards, Congress passed the REAL ID Act of 2005. The Act prohibits federal agencies from accepting state driver’s licenses for official purposes unless states comply with minimum issuance and verification standards. These standards include requirements to verify Social Security numbers and lawful …

Immigration Detention As An Obstacle To Decarceration, Pedro Gerson

Faculty Scholarship

Criminal legal reform and measures to reduce carceral populations have received increasing media and public policy attention nationwide. These efforts have mainly ignored a parallel development: the consistent rise in the use of immigration detention over the last decade. This Article bridges that gap by arguing that ongoing efforts to decarcerate states and localities may be foiled by immigration detention. This argument relies on three different descriptive claims. First, much scholarly work has shown the extent to which vested interests have hampered criminal legal reform; these same interests could look to immigration detention as an alternative protection. Second, the extent …