Immigration Law

Chatbot now available for refugee asylum advice

Joshua Browder, the Stanford University student who designed a chatbot that created an automated process to appeal parking tickets has updated the technology to offer free legal advice to refugees seeking asylum. The chatbot is now available for refugees seeking asylum in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom,…

Mar 7, 2017 3:45 PM CST

How will Trump’s new travel ban order hold up in court?

Updated: President Donald Trump's revised executive order for a travel ban both narrowed and focused its approach enough that some legal experts say it will better withstand court challenges, though opponents are not convinced they won’t prevail, Reuters reports.

Mar 7, 2017 1:01 PM CST

As funding for immigration enforcement increases, so will court backlog

Immigration courts had a shortage of judges and various “bureaucratic breakdowns” before Donald Trump became president, and the administration’s enforcement increase likely will make things worse if adequate resources are not allotted, the Associated Press reports. “It would be a shame if the mistakes of the past continue to be…

Mar 6, 2017 3:30 PM CST

Revised travel order bans visa applications from 6 Muslim-majority countries; Iraq excluded

Updated: President Donald Trump has signed a revised executive order that bans for 90 days the issuance of new visas for citizens of six Muslim-majority nations, the Associated Press reports.

Mar 6, 2017 10:05 AM CST

Next big immigration legal battle will likely be over fast-track deportations

Stand by for constitutional challenges to the Trump administration’s plan for expanding expedited removal of immigrants in the country illegally. The challenges will likely become the next major legal battle over immigration, the Los Angeles Times reports. The expansion could affect far more people than those impacted by President Trump’s…

Mar 6, 2017 8:00 AM CST

Did judge help immigrant escape ICE agents waiting outside courtroom? Federal prosecutor complains

A federal prosecutor’s complaint has led to an internal investigation into whether an Oregon judge helped an immigrant avoid arrest by immigration agents waiting outside the courtroom. U.S. Attorney Billy Williams told court officials that a DUI defendant entered the courtroom of Judge Monica Herranz of Portland on Jan. 27,…

Mar 3, 2017 9:44 AM CST

ICE arrests immigrant after she speaks at press conference

Immigration agents arrested an immigrant who had not yet renewed her status as a “dreamer” shortly after she spoke at a press conference about her fears of deportation. Daniela Vargas, 22, was arrested in Mississippi on Wednesday, report the Clarion-Ledger, the Huffington Post and the Washington Post. Her lawyer, Abby…

Mar 2, 2017 11:06 AM CST

9th Circuit denies US request to stay travel ban appeal

A federal appeals court on Monday refused to halt an appeal that considers a temporary travel ban imposed by President Donald Trump. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the government’s motion to halt the appeal and extended the briefing schedule by a week, report Reuters and…

Feb 27, 2017 2:26 PM CST

ACLU hires digital experts from Bernie Sanders campaign to launch grassroots mobilization website

The American Civil Liberties Union has launched a new website to mobilize grassroots resistance to policies that it views as a threat to civil rights and civil liberties. The website is called PeoplePower.org, the ACLU announced in a press release and a blog post on Feb. 24. Fast Company has…

Feb 27, 2017 11:42 AM CST

5th Circuit tosses challenge to Texas law banning the harboring of immigrants here illegally

Citing a lack of standing by the plaintiffs, a federal appeals court on Thursday dismissed a challenge to a Texas law that makes it a felony to harbor or conceal immigrants who are in the country illegally, The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals dismissed the challenge and…

Feb 24, 2017 11:58 AM CST

Deportation priorities will expand to include those convicted of even minor crimes

The federal government will expand an Obama administration policy that prioritized deportations by focusing on those who commit serious crimes, according to guidance memos released on Tuesday by the Department of Homeland Security. Now, according to an immigration-enforcement memo (PDF), priorities have been expanded to remove those who commit any…

Feb 21, 2017 11:52 AM CST

Trump immigration policies draw rapid legal-tech response

In December, as Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration approached, a friend and former boss gave New York resident Leslie Martinez an intriguing offer.

Feb 17, 2017 11:00 AM CST

Trump will revise travel ban; government brief says lawful permanent residents not affected

Updated: President Donald J. Trump plans to issue a revised executive order to replace his temporary travel ban, according to a Department of Justice brief filed on Thursday with the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The supplemental brief (PDF) says a 9th Circuit panel that upheld a…

Feb 16, 2017 2:25 PM CST

Woman in courthouse to obtain protective order is arrested by ICE agents

The county attorney in El Paso, Texas, is criticizing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for its arrest of a woman who was at the courthouse to obtain a protective order.

Feb 16, 2017 9:18 AM CST

ICE detention of immigrant protected by deferred-deportation program violates due process, suit says

A law-abiding immigrant protected by former President Obama’s deferred deportation program should be released from immigration custody, according to a petition for habeas corpus. Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Daniel Ramirez Medina, 23, on Friday, even though he has not committed a crime and is authorized to…

Feb 15, 2017 11:31 AM CST