Immigrants living in US illegally can’t be lawyers, top Florida court says

Immigrants living in the U.S. illegally cannot practice law in Florida, the state’s top court ruled in a unanimous Thursday opinion. FlascBlog provided an early alert about the 11-page advisory opinion (PDF) by the Florida Supreme Court to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners. Authored by Chief Justice Ricky Polston,…

Mar 6, 2014 8:45 PM CST

Plan to create a national license-plate tracking database is canceled by feds, at least for now

After news broke this week that a contractor was being sought by a Department of Homeland Security agency to create a computerized national database of information gathered by license-plate reading equipment throughout the country, DHS has canceled the plan. It said top officials at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency…

Feb 20, 2014 4:05 PM CST

Where were you yesterday? Uncle Sam may soon know: Feds plan national license-plate tracking system

Update: The Department of Homeland Security ordered that this plan be canceled. The Department of Homeland Security is focusing on immigration law violators as it seeks a contractor to create a national database of license-plate tracking information. But there’s no reason why information about where license plates were photographed couldn’t…

Feb 19, 2014 5:56 PM CST

Seven-minute decisions must be made in this immigration court

The docket is so crowded in an Arlington, Va., immigration court that the judge had only seven minutes per case, on average, to make his decisions one recent morning. A Washington Post reporter sat in the courtroom of Judge Lawrence Burman as he decided 26 matters before lunchtime. His is…

Feb 3, 2014 2:02 PM CST

Undocumented immigrants can practice in Calif. under new law, top state court says

Giving its seal of approval to a new state statute that allows undocumented immigrants to practice law in California if they were brought to the state as children, the state’s top court on Thursday granted permission for the California State Bar to admit Sergio C. Garcia. “In light of the…

Jan 2, 2014 9:15 PM CST

Judge blasts DHS for reuniting smuggled children with parents living in U.S. illegally

A federal judge in Brownsville, Texas, has rebuked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for its handling of children caught being smuggled into the country, saying in a written order that by reuniting them with parents already here illegally the agency aids in “completing the mission of criminal conspiracy,” the…

Dec 20, 2013 6:25 PM CST

Immigrants face numerous hurdles as they struggle to navigate the legal process

Dec 1, 2013 11:00 AM CST

DOMA’s demise brings new challenges

Dec 1, 2013 9:10 AM CST

A court decides who is white under the law

Nov 1, 2013 10:05 AM CDT

ACLU asks ICE to stop making ‘abusive arrests’ at courthouse

Immigration agents avoid looking for suspects at “sensitive locations” including hospitals, schools and places of worship. But courthouses aren’t on the list of such sites, and they should be, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California says in a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It asks…

Oct 28, 2013 9:55 PM CDT

Community activist with law degree hid bomb-plot conviction to get US citizenship, indictment says

A suburban Chicago resident, who earned a law degree and is a valued member of a community organization that promotes Arab-American civil rights, was convicted in a terrorist attack decades ago and lied on an immigration application to become a citizen of the U.S., federal officials contend. Rasmieh Yousef Odeh,…

Oct 25, 2013 3:30 PM CDT

Undocumented immigrants may get a law license in Calif., but noncitizens still can’t serve on juries

California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill that allows immigrants who are not U.S. citizens to get a law license in the state. California is the first state in the nation to allow undocumented immigrants to get law licenses, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Brown signed the bill…

Oct 8, 2013 11:52 AM CDT

Lawyer wins genius grant, plans to promote message about immigration benefits

A lawyer who is one of 24 winners of this year’s “genius grants” by the MacArthur Foundation plans to use the money to get out her message about the benefits of immigration. Anchorage lawyer Margaret Stock, 51, will get $625,000 over five years, report the Anchorage Daily News and the…

Sep 25, 2013 11:48 AM CDT

5th Circuit: Feds applied law that didn’t exist when deporting US citizen and others for decades

For nearly 35 years, federal immigration authorities have been applying a U.S. law that cites the Mexican Constitution when determining whether to deport individuals who assert American citizenship. But the cited constitutional provision doesn’t exist, as far as the claimed language concerning out-of-wedlock births was concerned, the Associated Press reports.…

Sep 24, 2013 10:56 PM CDT

California lawmakers pass bill allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain law licenses

The California Legislature has acted quickly to pass a bill that allows people who are in the country illegally to obtain law licenses. Lawmakers approved the bill on Thursday evening, though it was introduced just last week, the Los Angeles Times reports. The measure now goes to the governor. Assemblywoman…

Sep 13, 2013 2:53 PM CDT