Immigration Law

Trump and GOP seem poised to usher in sweeping changes in immigration policy

Four years ago, Barack Obama had just won a comfortable re-election, buoyed, in part, by a resounding victory among Hispanic voters. Obama had trounced his opponent, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, 71 percent to 27 percent among Hispanics, leading some Republicans to worry that they were fighting a losing demographic…

Jan 23, 2017 3:00 PM CST

ACLU reveals seven-point plan to fight Trump policies, files information request

The American Civil Liberties Union announced on Inauguration Day that it plans to hire up to 100 full-time employees to implement a new seven-point plan to fight Trump administration policies. The new hires will be funded with money from a Constitution Defense Fund that has amassed nearly 400,000 donations since…

Jan 23, 2017 8:00 AM CST

Federal judge withdraws order requiring ethics training for Justice Department lawyers

A federal judge who ordered ethics training for as many as 3,000 Justice Department lawyers for alleged misrepresentations has withdrawn the sanction after finding the misstatements were inadvertent. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen changed his mind in a decision on Thursday that also found the federal government does not have…

Jan 20, 2017 3:08 PM CST

California legislative leaders hire former AG Holder for legal advice in Trump legal battles

Leaders in California’s legislature have hired former Attorney General Eric Holder to represent them as outside counsel in any future legal disputes with the Trump administration. The Democratic legislative leaders of California said they hired Holder and his law firm to advise them “in our efforts to resist any attempts…

Jan 4, 2017 3:46 PM CST

International human rights tribunal discusses low asylum grant rates in US immigration court

The Organization of American States heard complaints this month about widely varying rates of granting asylum at different U.S. immigration courts. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, part of OAS, held a hearing Dec. 9 (PDF) entitled “Human Rights Situation of Asylum Seekers in the United States,” focused on the…

Dec 20, 2016 5:00 PM CST

Supreme Court to consider case of immigrant who got bad advice from lawyer

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to consider the case of a legal immigrant who was wrongly told by his lawyer that his guilty plea to a drug offense would not result in his deportation. The issue in the case is whether the immigrant, Jae Lee, can vacate his…

Dec 16, 2016 7:30 AM CST

ABA amicus brief urges rehearing in lawsuit seeking court-appointed lawyers for unaccompanied minors

Unaccompanied minor immigrants are so vulnerable—and the immigration court process so complicated—that they cannot have a fair trial without court-appointed attorneys, the American Bar Association argued Thursday. That argument came in an ABA amicus brief (PDF) in J.E.F.M. v. Lynch, a class-action lawsuit alleging that child immigrants have such a…

Dec 15, 2016 5:45 PM CST

Chemerinsky: Decision in SCOTUS immigration case could hinge on government’s admission of error

What is the effect of the solicitor general telling the Supreme Court that in a prior related case, the government provided false, crucial information? That is an underlying question in Jennings v. Rodriguez, which will be heard by the court on Wednesday. The issue in Jennings is whether due process…

Nov 29, 2016 3:00 PM CST

Can universities create ‘sanctuary campuses’ to protect immigrant students?

In light of president-elect Donald Trump’s campaign promise to increase deportations, some college students and faculty members are calling on their schools to declare themselves “sanctuary campuses” that would limit their cooperation with federal immigration enforcement authorities. Whether the policies would be meaningful—or jeopardize a school’s federal funding—is unclear, immigration…

Nov 15, 2016 2:00 PM CST

Trump says gay marriage is settled law, but he still wants ‘pro-life’ justices

Donald Trump told 60 Minutes on Sunday that he will quickly nominate a Supreme Court justice, and his court nominees will be “pro-life” and “very pro-Second Amendment.” But he told Lesley Stahl in the interview that the issue of marriage equality is “irrelevant because it was already settled. It’s law.…

Nov 14, 2016 10:05 AM CST

Court dockets will shrink as Donald Trump rescinds Obama administration actions

Lawsuits stemming from executive actions and legal interpretations by the Obama administration are likely to be removed from the U.S. Supreme Court docket and lower federal courts as a result of a shift in policies when Donald Trump takes office. Likely changes will affect cases involving immigration, the Affordable Care…

Nov 14, 2016 8:00 AM CST

Trump’s win could put ‘legal industry on steroids,’ consultant says

The legal industry stands to benefit when Donald Trump takes office. That's the conclusion of legal consultant Peter Zeughauser.

Nov 9, 2016 1:15 PM CST

Embattled Sheriff Joe Arpaio loses re-election bid

Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio lost his bid for re-election on Tuesday as he faced a criminal contempt of court charge. Arpaio lost a bid for a seventh term, “effectively ending the career of perhaps the most divisive law enforcement figure in the country,” the New York Times reports.…

Nov 9, 2016 10:27 AM CST

ABA Supreme Court brief urges bright-line deadline for bond hearings in immigration detention cases

People being held in immigration detention should get a bond hearing within a set time period to determine whether they pose a danger or a flight risk, the ABA says in an amicus brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. The brief (PDF) says the due process clause requires a…

Oct 25, 2016 3:58 PM CDT

John Lennon’s lawyer explains how musician’s deportation case changed immigration law (podcast)

When immigration attorney Leon Wildes got a call from an old law school classmate in January 1972 about representing a musician and his wife who were facing deportation, their names didn't ring a bell. Even after meeting with them privately at their New York City apartment, Wildes wasn't entirely clear about who his potential clients were. He told his wife that he'd met with a Jack Lemon and Yoko Moto. "Wait a minute, Leon," his wife Ruth said to him. "Do you mean John Lennon and Yoko Ono?"

Oct 19, 2016 8:30 AM CDT