Immigration Law

ABA president will visit Texas-Mexico border to assess how America’s lawyers can help

Updated: ABA President Hilarie Bass will visit the Rio Grande Valley of Texas on June 25-26 in response to widespread concern about the federal policy of separating families at the U.S.-Mexican border.

Jun 21, 2018 2:15 PM CDT

Are prosecutions of immigrants continuing? DOJ says yes, official says trips to courthouse will end

Updated: The Washington Post has corrected its story after sending out a news alert Thursday reporting that President Donald Trump's administration will suspend prosecution of immigrants who illegally enter the United States with their children.

Jun 21, 2018 12:24 PM CDT

How Lawyer Moms of America quickly gained 10,000 members to oppose family separations

A new group called Lawyer Moms of America, formed to oppose separation of immigrant families, has quickly grown to 10,000 members, thanks to social media.

The group is planning a Day of Action on June 29, even though President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to end family separations.

Jun 21, 2018 11:30 AM CDT

ABA asylum project attorney describes representing separated families at the border

Attorneys representing asylum-seekers from Central America frequently have worked with traumatized clients. But since the federal government began separating families after arresting parents for illegal entry, Kimi Jackson of the ABA’s South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project says the trauma has gotten far worse.

Jun 20, 2018 3:06 PM CDT

Trump signs an executive order to end family separations; ABA applauds ‘first step’

Updated: President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to end the separations of immigrant families at the border.

Jun 20, 2018 11:19 AM CDT

Immigrants illegally entering the country experience ‘rapid-fire justice’ in federal courts

Seventy-four immigrants who entered the country illegally pleaded guilty in groups of seven on a recent Monday in a federal courtroom In Tucson, Arizona, where the New York Times observed their cases. Most of the immigrants experiencing “rapid-fire justice” were sentenced to time served in jail—usually just a few days—and…

Jun 19, 2018 1:43 PM CDT

Want to stop separation of immigrant families? ABA plans grassroots effort, while new group forms

ABA President Hilarie Bass says Congress should pass legislation to stop separation of immigrant families, and she is directing like-minded individuals to an ABA Grassroots Action website that helps them make their voices heard.

Jun 19, 2018 1:24 PM CDT

Is it true? Denying family separation policy is ‘Orwellian stuff,’ newspaper’s fact check says

There is no policy of separating children from their parents at the border, according to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

While there are no written regulations that establish a policy of family separations, Nielsen’s claim is “Orwellian stuff,” according to the Washington Post.

Jun 19, 2018 12:31 PM CDT

Separating families violates civil rights, won’t work and is inhumane, ABA president says

A letter written by ABA President Hilarie Bass reiterates the association's strong opposition to the Justice Department’s month-old practice of separating families at the border.

Jun 12, 2018 12:52 PM CDT

Sessions bars most asylum claims for immigrants fleeing domestic and gang violence

Immigrants are generally not eligible for asylum as a result of domestic violence and gang violence in their home countries, Attorney General Jeff Sessions ruled on Monday.

Jun 11, 2018 4:03 PM CDT

Does law requiring immigration cooperation run afoul of sports betting decision? Judge thinks so

A federal law requiring local governments to cooperate in immigration enforcement violates the anti-commandeering doctrine cited in the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision on sports betting, a federal judge says in a decision that requires the Justice Department to release grant money to the city of Philadelphia.

Jun 7, 2018 5:12 PM CDT

Separating asylum-seeking immigrant families violates due process rights, federal judge says

Separating asylum-seeking mothers from their children is brutal, offensive and a violation of the due process clause, according to a federal judge in San Diego.

Jun 7, 2018 3:32 PM CDT

Deloitte UK forms alliance with immigration law firm and buys its business outside the US

Deloitte’s British arm is forming an alliance with a U.S. immigration law firm and buying its operations and assets outside the United States. The deal between Deloitte UK and Berry Appleman & Leiden is evidence of a push by the Big Four accounting firms into legal services, Law.com reports. The…

Jun 6, 2018 9:18 AM CDT

UN human rights office calls on Trump administration to stop separating immigrant families

The office of the United Nations high commissioner for human rights has called on the United States to immediately stop its practice of separating families at the border, calling it “a serious violation of the rights of the child.”

Jun 5, 2018 3:58 PM CDT

Supreme Court vacates decision in oft-relisted teen abortion case; ACLU lawyers not sanctioned

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday vacated a federal appeals court decision that allowed a 17-year-old immigrant to get an abortion while being held in a shelter for immigrants who are in the country illegally. The court accepted the case and vacated the decision, saying the issue was moot because…

Jun 4, 2018 12:26 PM CDT