Immigration Law

New rule would override Flores settlement, allow detention of immigrant families for more than 20 days

Updated: A new rule unveiled by the Trump administration on Wednesday would override the so-called Flores settlement that caps the detention of immigrant children at 20 days before their release or transfer to a licensed facility. The rule, set to be published in the Federal Register this week, eliminates the…

Aug 21, 2019 11:40 AM CDT

9th Circuit rules for noncitizen drug trafficker who claimed violation of his statutory right to a lawyer

Noncitizens subject to expedited removal have a statutory right to a lawyer, at their own expense, in proceedings before immigration judges to determine whether they have a reasonable fear of persecution in their home country, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Aug 21, 2019 11:02 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Former judge pleads guilty to murder; parents sue over Sharpie haircut punishment

Former judge pleads guilty to murder of his ex-wife Former Ohio judge Lance Mason pleaded guilty Tuesday to fatally stabbing his ex-wife, Aisha Fraser, in November. Mason had resigned his judgeship in 2015 after a previous guilty plea for assaulting the same woman. A University of Michigan law grad, Mason…

Aug 20, 2019 4:06 PM CDT

9th Circuit refuses to disturb order requiring US to give immigrant children soap and toothpaste

A federal appeals court left intact Thursday an order requiring the government to supply soap and toothpaste to detained immigrant children, even though the items are not specifically mentioned in a 1997 settlement agreement.

Aug 16, 2019 9:44 AM CDT

Sweeping reforms with ‘nonpartisan, core values’ recommended for immigration system by the ABA House

A slate of six immigration-related resolutions was passed by the ABA House of Delegates during their annual meeting session, all of which received broad support.

Aug 13, 2019 2:10 PM CDT

‘We must not be an insular profession,’ says incoming ABA President Judy Perry Martinez

In her first speech after the gavel-passing ceremony, incoming ABA President Judy Perry Martinez shared a story with the ABA House of Delegates about speaking on behalf of the New Orleans Bar Association at a naturalization ceremony.

Aug 12, 2019 9:15 PM CDT

More poor immigrants will be deemed likely ‘public charges’ and denied green cards under new rule

A new rule set to take effect in two months will make it more difficult for immigrants to get a green card or permanent legal residence if they receive or are likely to receive government assistance. The final rule, posted on the Federal Register website Monday, redefines the meaning of…

Aug 12, 2019 2:33 PM CDT

Justice Department takes step to decertify union for immigration judges

The U.S. Department of Justice took a step Friday to decertify the union for immigration judges by filing a petition with the Federal Labor Relations Authority. The petition asks the authority to determine whether the union should have its certification revoked because its members are management employees who aren’t allowed…

Aug 12, 2019 10:31 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: First Step Act frees crack cocaine offender; judge vacates port-of-entry asylum rule

• A San Antonio man sentenced to life in prison for dealing crack cocaine has been freed under the First Step Act, the criminal justice reform measure that reduces the sentencing disparity for crack and powder cocaine offenses. Alta Lee Kemper, 62, had served 27 years in prison. (My San…

Aug 5, 2019 4:00 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Bail reform ‘as big as Brown v. Board of Education;’ how some rich kids get college aid

• Commissioners in Harris County, Texas, have agreed to reform a cash bail system that had kept many indigent misdemeanor defendants in jail pending trial. A federal appeals court had ruled last year that the bail system was unconstitutional because it mostly relied on set amounts. As a result of…

Jul 31, 2019 4:33 PM CDT

US uses loophole to split up immigrant families after judge’s order to halt separations, ACLU says

The U.S. government has taken more than 900 immigrant children from their families since a federal judge ordered a halt to family separations more than a year ago, according to a court filing by the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU is asking U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw to clarify…

Jul 31, 2019 11:41 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: AG Barr restricts asylum in family-ties cases; prosecutors allege ‘perversion of justice’

• U.S. Attorney General William Barr has issued a decision that will make it tougher for immigrants to seek asylum based on persecution of immediate family members. Barr reversed a ruling by the Board of Immigration Appeals that allowed an immigrant to seek asylum because his father was targeted by…

Jul 29, 2019 4:30 PM CDT

Trump announces deal allowing ouster of asylum-seekers to Guatemala

President Donald Trump announced Friday that he had reached an agreement with Guatemala to allow asylum-seekers who passed through the country to be returned there to seek asylum. Asylum-seekers can’t ask the United State for asylum if they passed through Guatemala unless they applied there first, report the New York…

Jul 29, 2019 10:29 AM CDT

Supreme Court lifts injunction that had blocked military funding for border wall

U.S. Supreme Court

Jul 29, 2019 9:54 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: US to resume federal executions; immigration lawyer accused of paying bribes for roster lists

• The U.S. Department of Justice plans to resume executions after a 16-year hiatus. Attorney General William Barr adopted a new lethal-injection protocol that replaces a three-drug cocktail with a single drug—pentobarbital. Executions have been scheduled for five death-row inmates. (The Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, U.S. Department of…

Jul 25, 2019 4:53 PM CDT