Immigration Law Commons^™

The U.S. Drug Policy Hamster Wheel: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Seattle’S New Drug Ordinance, Hallie Conyers-Tucker

Seattle University Law Review

The author critically examines Seattle’s new drug ordinance using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to reveal how legislative language influences the policy's actual effect. Although the ordinance claims to prioritize diversion and community health, the use of permissive language such as “may” and “shall” grants broad discretionary power to law enforcement and undermines the stated intent. The author situates the ordinance within a broader historical context, highlighting how drug policy in the United States has consistently been shaped by racialized and stigmatizing narratives. Additionally, the author argues that meaningful reform requires reframing the discourse around substance use to support public health …

Something Concrete: How Labor Advocates Can Best Respond To The Ambiguity Of Glacier Northwest, Ateş Serifsoy

Seattle University Law Review

The Supreme Court’s much-anticipated decision in Glacier North-west, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local No. 174 (Glacier) marked a critical moment for workers’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the longstanding practice of Garmon preemption. Yet, initial fears of a significant rollback of workers’ rights, driven by sensational headlines, were met with an unexpectedly narrow Court opinion. This Comment examines Glacier’s implications for Gar-mon preemption and the right to strike. It offers the historical background of the doctrine of labor law preemption before Glacier; presents a detailed analysis of Glacier itself, including its …

A New Exclusionary Rule To Protect Bodily Integrity And Discourage Pretext Stops, Josephine Ross

Seattle University Law Review

The author proposes a novel state-level exclusionary rule to reduce racial profiling and protect bodily autonomy during police encounters. The current Fourth Amendment jurisprudence fails to deter pretextual stops and frisks because the exclusionary rule often turns on officer fault and "good faith," allowing racially motivated practices to go unchecked. As federal rollbacks on diversity and data collection hinder efforts to track racial bias, the author argues for a statutory evidentiary rule that automatically excludes drug evidence found during (1) traffic stops, (2) pat-downs for weapons, and (3) consent searches, regardless of an officer’s intent or the legality of the …

Navahine V. HawaiʻI Dept. Of Transportation: The Keiki Will Lead Us, Catherine Smith

Seattle University Law Review

The author analyzes the landmark case Navahine v. Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation, which culminated in the world’s first constitutional climate settlement. Catherine Smith, serving as an expert for the youth plaintiffs, situates the case within Hawaiʻi’s legal tradition of prioritizing children’s rights and intergenerational equity. She explores the evolution of children’s constitutional protections, contrasting Hawaiʻi’s progressive jurisprudence with the dominant adult-centric legal framework on the mainland. She critiques four recurring analytical missteps in U.S. courts that marginalize children’s interests and highlights Hawaiʻi’s public trust doctrine and cultural values, such as the Aloha Spirit, as models for addressing climate-related harms. …

Constitutional Futurism As Pedagogy, Jeremiah Chin

Seattle University Law Review

Constitutional Law has transformed from a course on history to a discussion of current events. Cases like Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo reveal that the study of constitutional law is not a static, or even linear, discussion of constitutional text and history. Law is a shifting, changing enterprise that reflects social constructions of power, authority, and identity. How do we teach, learn, and understand constitutional law that is so laden with history, riddled with theories of consistency and adherence to precedent, but ultimately subject …

Table Of Contents

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Can The Law Protect My Craft? How Gaps In Copyright Of Knitting Patterns Symbolize A Greater Struggle For Protecting Traditionally Feminine Forms Of Intellectual Property, Kysa Walzer

Seattle University Law Review

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the application of intel-lectual property rights within the context of copyright protection of knit-ting patterns. The article will discuss the underutilization of copyright pro-tection for knitters and crafters and its larger impact upon craft and indus-try traditionally comprised of women. Part I introduces knitting patterns and a short history of copyright protections. Part II discusses the specific areas within knitting patterns and the knitting community which give rise to legal grey areas for copyright protection. Part III discusses the larger implications of copyright and intellectual property in spaces where women traditionally make …

Refugee Law Lab Consultation Report On Bill C-2, Sean Rehaag, Petra Molnar, Simon Wallace

Commissioned Reports, Studies and Public Policy Documents

This Report documents consultations undertaken by the Refugee Law Lab (RLL) with refugee advocacy communities in response to proposed legislation, Bill C-2, the Strong Borders Act. The report: a) Provides an overview of Bill C-2, highlighting its impacts on immigration and refugee law b) Outlines critiques of Bill C-2 made by advocacy and human rights organizations c) Describes the RLL, its consultation objectives, and methodologies d) Presents key themes from the RLL's consultations e) Proposes an action plan for the RLL and recommendations for other university-based researchers.

What's The Matter With Lozada: How The Board Of Immigration Appeals Coerces Immigration Lawyers To Breach Legal Ethics, Kari E. Hong

Articles

In general, if an attorney makes a mistake, they can cure it by notifying the forum and filing the appropriate remedy. Immigration law, by contrast, stands alone by requiring the client (or a new attorney) to corroborate any mistake by filing a bar complaint against the first attorney. This requirement was established in a 1988 case, called Matter of Lozada. Much has been written on how the Lozada rule is unnecessary (a mistake does not need to be corroborated by a bar complaint and state bars are complaining about a deluge of unnecessary complaints for negligence) and harms the immigration …

Immigration Federalism In The Second Trump Administration, Stella Burch Elias

Articles

This Article explores the ongoing transformation of state and local engagement in immigration-related rulemaking in the United States during the Second Trump Administration. The Article examines the myriad ways in which federal executive actions and state responses to those actions, alongside independent state actions and the federal government’s responses to those actions, are upending longestablished immigration law doctrines and shifting the borders of American federalism. The Article discusses legal scholars’ previous understanding of immigration federalism, embodied in United States v. Arizona, and the prior distinctions between permissible “alienage” laws and impermissible “immigration” laws, which could not be introduced by state …

I'Ve Been Here Before: My Second Run Of "The First 100 Days", Vanessa Montoya

Articles

No abstract provided.

Executive Clemency And Immigration Federalism: Reconsidering Presidential Power Over Deportation, Linus Chan, Lauren Butler, Emma Wittmer

Articles

No abstract provided.

Federalism, Family Unity, And Keeping Families Together, Kristina M. Campbell

Articles

No abstract provided.

An Originalist Case For Birthright Citizenship Of Unlawful Immigrants' Children: Anti-Gypsy And Anti-Chinese Restrictions As Context, Jed Handelsman Shugerman

Faculty Scholarship

The Trump administration and other opponents of birthright citizenship for the children of “unlawful immigrants” make the following originalist claim about the Fourteenth Amendment: Even if the clause meant birthright citizenship, it applies today only to “lawful immigrants,” because the category of “unlawful immigrant” or “illegal immigrant” did not exist in the 1860s, when the clause was written and ratified. Opponents also argue that the Fourteenth Amendment’s citizenship clause originally implied a “loyalty” or “allegiance” requirement.

These assertions are historically inaccurate.

To the contrary, the concept of “unlawful immigrants” existed in the 1850s-60s, and Americans ratified birthright citizenship without indicating …

Caught In Citizenship Limbo: Lessons From The 2025 International Student Visa Crisis In The U.S, Jinke He

Critical Internationalization Studies Review

No abstract provided.

Dismissing Human Trafficking: Forced Arbitration Of Survivors’ Civil Suits, Annie Smith, Daniel Werner

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Questioning Us Immigration Law Compliance With Treaties For Trade And Investment, William Thomas Worster

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

This Article examines the extent to which US immigration law complies with the United States’ treaty obligations to admit qualifying foreign nationals as treaty traders (E-1) or treaty investors (E-2). These immigration categories are grounded in international agreements—specifically Friendship, Commerce and Navigation treaties (FCNs), Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)—that commit the United States to grant entry to certain foreign individuals and enterprises for the purposes of trade or investment. Although each treaty includes specifically tailored terms and conditions, US immigration regulations apply a single, harmonized set of regulations that often diverge from the treaty texts. This …

Visa To Stay: Immigration Reform For International Students In The United States: From Contractual Limits To Affiliation-Based Opportunities, Jeanette Subkhanberdina

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

International student mobility is a vehicle of globalization in today’s world, with a significant rise in students pursuing higher education abroad over the past two decades, reaching approximately 6.9 million globally. Regardless of personal motivations, the decision to study abroad rests in a careful evaluation of whether long-term rewards outweigh the short-term sacrifices these students make. For students looking to build a professional foundation and immerse themselves in the culture of the country in which they study, few long-term rewards are more appealing than having their student visas serve as a pathway to permanent residency. Determining who may be granted …

Funding Repression: How The Eu Migration Agreements With Libya And Tunisia Circumvent Non-Refoulement And Enable Human Rights Violations, Emma Soltis

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

In 2023, the European Union and Tunisia entered into a Memorandum of Understanding, which outlined cooperation between the parties on several issues, including migration and mobility. Consistent with the European Union’s broader externalization agenda, the Memorandum of Understanding primarily allocates monetary and technical support to Tunisia and its authorities for migration management. In particular, Tunisian authorities are enabled to patrol the coast and intercept migrants and refugees attempting to irregularly migrate from North Africa to Europe across the Mediterranean Sea. The European Union sponsored a similar Memorandum of Understanding between Italy and Libya in 2017. Critics have widely denounced the …

Law School News: Up For A Challenge 6-6-2025, Suzi Morales

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.