Immigration Law

SCOTUS opens new term with criminal law cases addressing insanity defense and unanimous juries

The U.S. Supreme Court has several blockbuster cases in its new term—on gay and transgender rights, federal immigration enforcement and gun regulation. But before it gets to any of those, the court on the first day of the term will take up two criminal law cases raising significant questions, even though only a handful of states are affected by each.

Oct 3, 2019 5:03 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: MGM to pay up to $800M in Vegas shooting; 141 partner promotions announced

MGM agrees to pay up to $800M settlement in Vegas mass shooting MGM Resorts International has agreed to pay up to $800 million to settle claims of alleged negligence in the October 2017 mass shooting by a guest at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas. Fifty-eight people attending a…

Oct 3, 2019 4:28 PM CDT

Chemerinsky: Weighty matters load the Supreme Court’s next term

The U.S. Supreme Court justices return from their summer recess Monday to a calendar filled with potential blockbuster cases. Typically, about half the docket is set before the justices’ recess at the end of June, with the remaining cases taken between the beginning of October and the middle of January. But just based on what already is on the docket, this term could be filled with cases of great significance.

Oct 3, 2019 6:00 AM CDT

Judges rule against US in 3 immigration cases, including its bid to indefinitely detain children

Federal judges ruled against the Trump administration Friday in three cases challenging its plans to quickly deport some immigrants and detain others, including immigrant children.

Sep 30, 2019 10:46 AM CDT

DHS decision to expand expedited removal is ‘a direct affront to due process,’ ABA president says

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s recent decision to expand expedited removal to include individuals found anywhere in the country within two years of their entry is “a direct affront to due process,” ABA President Judy Perry Martinez wrote in a letter Monday.

Sep 26, 2019 10:34 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: French chef sues over Michelin rating; suits challenge ICE courthouse arrests

French chef sues over Michelin rating French chef Marc Veyrat has sued the Michelin Guide for lowering the rating of his La Maison des Bois restaurant from three stars to two. Veyrat says the guidebook’s inspector wrongly concluded his cheese souffle contained cheddar cheese because saffron had changed its color…

Sep 25, 2019 5:00 PM CDT

Judge says landlord should pay $17K for threatening to call ICE on tenant; decision could be a first

An administrative law judge in New York City ruled earlier this month that a landlord should pay a $5,000 fine and $12,000 in damages for threatening to call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on a tenant who was in the country illegally.

Sep 23, 2019 1:01 PM CDT

New asylum cases swamp border courts

Early this year, the Trump administration began forcing thousands of migrants seeking asylum to return to Mexico, to wait there for immigration court hearings that would decide whether they could settle in the United States. New government figures show the policy is rapidly flooding some courts assigned to handle the…

Sep 20, 2019 1:00 PM CDT

Former immigration judge is disciplined for criticizing GOP policy at deportation hearing

A retired immigration judge has been fined $1,000 and barred from federal service for 30 months for criticizing Republican immigration policy while on the bench.

Sep 18, 2019 10:50 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Judge threatens to toss prison officials in hot cells; $37M award in baby powder suit

Texas corrections chief testifies after judge threatens to lock up officials in hot prisons Texas Department of Criminal Justice Executive Director Bryan Collier acknowledged in court Tuesday that the agency had failed to record prison temperatures in seven of eight prisons covered by a settlement in a suit over stifling…

Sep 12, 2019 4:57 PM CDT

Supreme Court says US can implement rule that bans most asylum applications at southern border

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday evening allowed a Trump administration rule to take effect that effectively bans asylum applications by most immigrants at the southern border.

Sep 12, 2019 9:58 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: New win for flag burner in SCOTUS case; Johnson & Johnson seeks mistrial for stricken closing

News Roundup

Sep 11, 2019 4:00 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: A$AP Rocky’s Swedish lawyer is shot; nationwide injunction restored in asylum case

Judge restores nationwide injunction blocking asylum ban A federal judge in San Francisco has restored a nationwide injunction blocking new rules that effectively barred immigrants at the southern border from applying for asylum unless they were from Mexico. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at San Francisco had narrowed…

Sep 9, 2019 4:35 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Judge says ICE can’t issue ‘blanket’ parole denials; French judge gives rooster room to crow

ICE cannot issue ‘blanket’ parole denials to immigrants seeking asylum Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled Thursday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s New Orleans field office must make individual parole decisions rather than issue blanket denials for immigrants seeking asylum. The judge…

Sep 6, 2019 5:07 PM CDT

‘Negative impacts of the travel ban have been felt around our nation,’ ABA president says

On Wednesday, ABA President Judy Perry Martinez urged leaders of the judiciary committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate to ensure that the waiver provision of Presidential Proclamation 9645, known as the “travel ban,” is implemented.

Sep 5, 2019 10:37 AM CDT