New asylum rule is quickly challenged in two lawsuits

Updated: Two lawsuits filed Tuesday on behalf of immigrant aid organizations seek to block a new asylum rule that would prevent most immigrants at the southern border from applying for asylum.

Jul 17, 2019 11:00 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Unlicensed PD’s clients stick with plea deals; lawyer a no-show at sentencing

• Defendants whose plea bargains were handled by an unlicensed public defender in Madison County, Illinois, apparently aren’t interested in a do-over. All but one of the defendants whose cases involved jail time stuck with the same deal they received when the cases were handled by unlicensed law grad Kelcie…

Jul 15, 2019 4:45 PM CDT

New rule would make applying for US asylum impossible for most immigrants at the southern border

Updated: Most immigrants at the southern border won’t be eligible to apply for asylum under an interim final rule published Monday by the Trump administration. Under the new rule, immigrants at the southern border must apply for asylum in at least one country they enter while on their way to…

Jul 15, 2019 3:30 PM CDT

ABA joins other legal organizations in calling for independent immigration courts

A letter sent by the ABA and three other legal organizations Thursday urges Congress to establish an immigration court system outside the control of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Jul 11, 2019 2:57 PM CDT

ACLU sues state police, alleging they’re acting as immigration authorities

Pennsylvania State Police troopers have routinely violated the law by stopping and holding people based solely on their Latino appearance, terrifying drivers and passengers while usurping federal authority to investigate supposed immigration violations, the ACLU claims in a federal lawsuit filed recently.

Jul 9, 2019 1:29 PM CDT

Federal judge blocks policy ending bond hearings for asylum-seekers

Updated: A ruling by a federal judge has blocked the enforcement of a new policy that would require immigrants awaiting asylum determinations to be detained during their review. Judge Marsha Pechman of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington said in her opinion, filed Tuesday, that immigration…

Jul 3, 2019 11:21 AM CDT

Are you an attorney who wants to get involved at the border? The ABA offers ways to do it

Jul 3, 2019 10:14 AM CDT

Chemerinsky: A look back at the Supreme Court’s October 2018 term

There was much that was unusual about the U.S. Supreme Court’s October 2018 term, writes Erwin Chemerinsky, law dean at the University of California at Berkeley. What should be gleaned?

Jul 2, 2019 2:18 PM CDT

‘Criminal’ songwriter donates her royalties to pay immigrants’ legal fees

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Fiona Apple recently wrote in a Tumblr post that she would donate 2019 and 2020 earnings from TV and movie placements of her song “Criminal” to the While They Wait fund. “I could write a song about this and maybe I will but for now, I will use…

Jul 2, 2019 11:45 AM CDT

Federal judge orders intervention in Texas detention centers holding immigrant children

After lawyers’ reports on conditions at a Texas detention center prompted a national outcry in June, a federal judge has ordered an independent monitor to improve health and sanitation at facilities holding unaccompanied immigrant children. In her order Friday, District Judge Dolly M. Gee of the Central District of California…

Jul 1, 2019 4:24 PM CDT

A natural migration: Descendant of immigrants works to protect civil rights

Many migrant men, women and children are fleeing their homelands to seek safety from violence. My maternal and paternal family members migrated to the United States from Mexico in search of opportunity and with hopes of realizing a dream.

Jul 1, 2019 2:20 AM CDT

Videoconferencing’s promise of increased access to justice has a disconnect in immigration courts

Advocates for immigrants say misuse of videoconferencing could violate their due process rights, bit many state courts see it as a money-saver or a way to increase access to the courts. The most experienced state courts are already following at least some of the best practices outlined by a 2014 report from the Center for Legal & Court Technology at William & Mary Law School. Immigration courts appear to be faltering in a way that might affect the outcomes of the cases.

Jul 1, 2019 2:10 AM CDT

Supreme Court to review rescission of DACA program for immigrants brought to US as children

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to consider challenges to President Donald Trump’s decision to phase out a program that deferred deportation for immigrants brought to the country illegally as children.

Jun 28, 2019 11:51 AM CDT

Union for asylum officers files brief opposing remain-in-Mexico policy

President Donald Trump’s remain-in-Mexico policy for asylum-seekers puts migrants in danger and violates U.S. and international law, according to an amicus brief filed by the union for asylum officers.

Jun 28, 2019 10:02 AM CDT

Inhumane treatment of immigrant children violates ‘law, court settlements and common decency,’ ABA says

The ABA is "appalled by credible reports of hundreds of children being held in unsafe and unhealthy conditions in violation of federal and state law, court settlements and common decency," ABA President Bob Carlson said Tuesday.

Jun 26, 2019 6:30 AM CDT