Feds cite ISIS in effort to get stiff sentence for civil rights worker with law degree

Federal prosecutors are seeking a stiff sentence for a Palestinian law graduate in her late sixties who left out information about a 1970 bombing-related conviction in Israel when she applied to immigrate to the U.S. in 1994. Rasmieh Odeh is nearly 70 years old and has won accolades for her…

Feb 27, 2015 12:30 PM CST

Obama’s executive action on immigration blocked for now by federal judge

A federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked executive action by President Obama that would defer deportation for about 4.7 million immigrants living illegally in the United States. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen issued an injunction on Monday in Brownsville, saying the law mandates deportation of the immigrants covered by…

Feb 17, 2015 8:24 AM CST

School lawyers can provide free legal help for some minors facing deportation, board decides

Unaccompanied minors facing possible deportation can get free legal help from staff lawyers with the Los Angeles Unified School District as a result of a school board vote Tuesday. About 10 lawyers have expressed interest in providing pro bono help, report the Los Angeles Times and CBS Los Angeles. The…

Feb 12, 2015 9:21 AM CST

ABA urges adequate legal representation for unaccompanied immigrant minors

Mary Ryan, co-chair of the ABA’s Working Group on Unaccompanied Minor Immigrants, spoke passionately to the House of Delegates Monday about the plight of the youngest who find themselves in removal proceedings. Ryan was advocating the passage of Resolution 113, supporting appointed counsel for unaccompanied children and special training for…

Feb 9, 2015 5:00 PM CST

Two ABA Midyear programs take a close look at immigration law and politics

On Friday, a federal district court in Brownsville, Texas heard Texas et al. v. United States (PDF), the challenge by 26 states to President Obama’s most recent executive action on immigration. On Saturday, 350 miles to the northeast in Houston, the ABA’s Midyear Meeting held two panels discussing similar controversial…

Feb 7, 2015 7:40 PM CST

Immigration and access to justice will be hot topics as ABA Midyear Meeting opens in Houston

Midyear meetings of the ABA tend to focus on the administrative business of the association and many of its entities, but when this year’s meeting opens on Wednesday in Houston, there also will be some notable substantive topics on the agenda. Immigration, access to justice for persons of modest means…

Feb 4, 2015 9:10 AM CST

Amid criticism of Eric Holder, attorney general nominee promises to ‘be Loretta Lynch’

Senate Republicans heaped criticism on U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder but were mostly cordial on Wednesday as they questioned the woman nominated to replace him. The nominee, Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch, repeatedly promised to discuss controversial issues and repeated the phrase “legal framework” as she fielded skeptical questions, the…

Jan 29, 2015 11:19 AM CST

Does ‘martyr mentality’ of nonprofit lawyers keep salaries low?

Lauren Burke graduated from New York University law school, was named a Skadden fellow and made Forbes’ list of “30 Under 30” in 2013. But her salary at the nonprofit group she co-founded qualified her for public housing in New York City (available to those who make less than $47,000…

Jan 14, 2015 2:49 PM CST

ABA immigration initiatives bring hope to those who come here to begin anew

Jan 1, 2015 4:00 AM CST

Jan. 2, 1920: Palmer raids target immigrants

Jan 1, 2015 12:30 AM CST

Obama’s immigration order is unconstitutional, judge rules; parties didn’t raise the issue

A federal judge in Pittsburgh has struck down President Obama’s executive order on immigration, even though a prosecutor and defense lawyer had argued the executive action didn’t apply to the criminal case before the judge. U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab said the executive action halting deportations for millions of immigrants…

Dec 17, 2014 7:44 AM CST

Lawyer is accused of leaving court during recess, telling client she couldn’t deal with the matter

Updated: An ethics complaint accuses a Texas lawyer of telling an immigration client during a hearing recess that she couldn’t deal with the matter and then leaving the courthouse. Irving, Texas, attorney Sherin Thawer is accused in an original petition filed in Texas district court on Dec. 2, the Texas…

Dec 11, 2014 7:32 AM CST

Justice Department is expanding limits on profiling

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is announcing new standards today to expand limits on racial profiling. The current ban on consideration of race and ethnicity by federal law enforcement agents will be expanded to ban consideration of gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity, report the Washington Post,…

Dec 8, 2014 10:51 AM CST

Texas AG leads 17-state lawsuit against Obama administration over executive order on immigration

The attorney general of Texas has filed a federal lawsuit against the Obama administration on behalf of a 17-state coalition, challenging the president’s authority to issue a recent executive order easing immigration restrictions for millions of undocumented Americans. “The president is abdicating his responsibility to faithfully enforce laws that were…

Dec 3, 2014 4:05 PM CST

Lawyers and judges face hurdles in struggle to cope with influx of young immigrants

Artesia, New Mexico, sits in the state's southeast corner, about a three-hour drive from El Paso, Texas, and nearly four hours from Albuquerque. Its 11,301 residents' major employers are the oil industry, the local public school system and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. From a complex that used to…

Dec 1, 2014 4:30 AM CST