Immigration Law

Little-Known US Citizenship Option

The word is out in Israel about a little-known provision of U.S. immigration law that allows some foreign-born children to obtain citizenship via their American grandparents. The provision offers an alternative to the usual rule that U.S. citizen parents of foreign-born children must have lived in this country for five…

Oct 16, 2007 10:26 PM CDT

9th Circuit Bars Deportation for Sex With Minor

A federal appeals court has ruled that an immigrant should not be deported for having sex with a minor. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a 2-1 decision (PDF) that the offense was not one of “moral turpitude,” the kind of crime that requires deportation,…

Oct 11, 2007 11:52 AM CDT

Judge Stops Planned SS# Match Program

In a blow to the Bush administration, a federal judge has granted a temporary injunction halting a planned program to crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants. It would have required employers to confirm with the government that workers’ social security numbers are valid, but is fraught with problems,…

Oct 10, 2007 10:00 PM CDT

US: Immigrant Goes, $49 K in Savings Stays

After nearly a decade of washing dishes in a Florida restaurant, Pedro Zapeta had saved $62,000. He reportedly lived a frugal life, bicycling everywhere and denying himself all luxuries once he paid for his rent and electricity. No one questions that his savings come from his own hard-earned wages. However,…

Oct 10, 2007 6:32 PM CDT

ACLU: Feds’ Drugging of Immigrants Torture?

In a motion filed yesterday in an asylum case, the American Civil Liberties Union calls for a halt to an admitted federal policy of forcibly injecting some immigrants with psychotropic medication and putting them aboard commercial airlines for deportation. It says the practice violates federal law and the Bill of…

Oct 10, 2007 4:10 PM CDT

1,300 Arrested in Gang Crackdown

Federal and local law enforcement agencies have reportedly arrested more than 1,300 suspected gang members in 23 cities throughout the country over the past three months, as part of a “summer surge” crackdown on illegal immigrants. Those taken into custody are either prosecuted in federal court or deported, CNN said.…

Oct 9, 2007 5:24 PM CDT

Towns Reconsider Anti-Immigrant Laws

Faced with lawsuits and failing businesses, some municipalities are rethinking laws designed to crack down on illegal immigrants. The town of Riverside, N.J., is among those that have reconsidered, the New York Times reports. Its law had punished landlords who rent to illegal immigrants or employers who hire them. But…

Sep 26, 2007 6:23 PM CDT

Feds Sue IL Over New Immigration Law

In an action that puts the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution at issue, the federal government is suing the state of Illinois over a new law that bans employer participation in a new voluntary federal program that verifies the identity of legal immigrants. Filed in federal court in Springfield,…

Sep 25, 2007 6:11 PM CDT

Suit: Feds’ Raids Violate Constitution

Warrantless searches allegedly are being conducted by armed U.S. immigration authorities on Latino-occupied homes in the New York City area where they have no good reason to believe immigrant fugitives are living. A federal class action lawsuit filed in Manhattan yesterday by 15 plaintiffs contends the feds are conducting such…

Sep 21, 2007 11:26 PM CDT

Curt Immigration Judge Booted from Case

An immigration judge who chastised an asylum seeker for crying during his hearing has been removed from the case. A federal appeals court ruled that Judge Noel A. Ferris’ decision to deny asylum to Jian Zhong Sun was not supported by the evidence, the New York Times reports. Sun testified…

Sep 20, 2007 3:35 PM CDT

Reprieve for Star Florida Student in Deportation Case

A special bill is being pursued in the U.S. Senate to help a star Miami area student facing deportation with his family as illegal immigrants. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) filed a bill Monday to help Juan Gomez, a popular high school football player and star student who is now attending…

Sep 19, 2007 3:46 PM CDT

Big-Firm Alumni Have Van, Will Practice

Three former big-firm attorneys in Atlanta have made a name for themselves in a way that would have been hard to predict years ago. Jamie Hernan, Christopher Taylor and Jerome Lee have not only left King & Spalding and formed their own firm but bought a van in which they…

Sep 11, 2007 11:47 PM CDT

Ruling Could Slow Social Security Claims

The Social Security Administration is warning that a judge’s immigration ruling could cause a backlog of work for agency employees at the same time of a significant increase in their workload. Last Friday U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney of San Francisco temporarily barred the agency from sending letters to employers…

Sep 7, 2007 6:14 PM CDT

Spouse’s Death Ends US Residency Quest

Jacqueline Coats’ husband died a hero, and was posthumously awarded a Coast Guard medal for his attempts to save two boys from drowning in the Pacific Ocean. He also died without filing an application for her to become a legal resident of the United States, although the paperwork was completed…

Aug 31, 2007 3:40 PM CDT

Deal Improves Immigrant Center

The federal government has agreed to improve conditions at a Texas center for immigrant families awaiting deportation. Children at the T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Taylor, Texas, will get improved education, nutrition, recreation and medical care under the agreement, the New York Times reports. A federal magistrate will inspect…

Aug 28, 2007 3:20 PM CDT