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9 Cir: Arizona’s no bail law is unconstitutional

After years of litigation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit announced yesterday that Arizona’s no bail law for unauthorized migrants violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Lopez-Valenzuela v. Arpaio, No. 11-16487, slip op. (9th Cir. Oct. 15, 2014) (en banc). This case involved a facial challenge to Arizona’s Proposition 100, a slate of amendments to the state constitution that, among other things, prohibit state judges from setting bail of any amount for people charged with a slew of state felonies if the judge had probable cause to believe that the [...]

Posted by César on October 16, 2014 on 4:00 am 2 Comments
Filed Under: 14th Amendment, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, bond, Due Process Clause

9 Cir: Clarifies difference between divisible & indivisible statutes

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit jumped into the minutia of crimmigration law with a recent decision on a critically important topic: how to distinguish between divisible and indivisible statutes. Rendon v. Holder, No. 10-72239, slip op. (9th Cir. Aug. 22, 2014). Judge Reinhardt issued the court’s opinion. This case involved an LPR who was convicted of second-degree burglary in California. The BIA found that his conviction, pursuant to Cal. Penal Code § 459, constituted an attempted theft offense type of aggravated felony under INA § 101(a)(43)(U). In relevant part, the [...]

Posted by César on September 4, 2014 on 4:00 am Leave a Comment
Filed Under: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, aggravated felony, burglary, categorical approach

BIA: Nevada attempted possession of stolen vehicle isn’t theft type of aggravated felony

The Board of Immigration Appeals held that Nevada’s attempted possession of a stolen vehicle does not fit within the theft category of aggravated felony. Matter of Sierra, 26 I&N Dec. 288 (BIA 2014) (Pauley, Guendelsberger, and Greer, Board members). Board member Pauley wrote the panel’s decision. This case involved an LPR convicted of attempted possession of a stolen vehicle in violation of Nevada Revised Statutes 193.330 and 205.273. At the time, the statute criminalized possession of a stolen vehicle by a person who “knows or has reason to believe” that the vehicle was stolen. Nev. [...]

Posted by César on May 20, 2014 on 9:00 am Leave a Comment
Filed Under: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, aggravated felony, Board of Immigration Appeals, theft offense

9 Cir: Conspiracy aggravated felony requires overt act; rejects BIA position

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held the generic definition of “conspiracy” used in the aggravated felony definition requires an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy, but Nevada’s conspiracy offense does not. This discrepancy between the federal generic definition and the state statute means a conviction under the Nevada conspiracy statute is not a conspiracy type of aggravated felony. United States v. García-Santana, No. 12-10471, slip op. (9th Cir. Feb. 20, 2014) (Alarcón, Berzon, and Zouhary, JJ.). Judge Berzon wrote the panel’s opinion. This case involved a woman [...]

Posted by César on February 25, 2014 on 9:00 am 5 Comments
Filed Under: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, aggravated felony, Board of Immigration Appeals, conspiracy, Due Process Clause, illegal reentry

9 Cir: Operation Streamline proceeding violates Rule 11; vacates conviction

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a criminal conviction obtained through Operation Streamline violated Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and vacated the noncitizen defendant’s conviction. United States v. Arqueta-Ramos, No. 10-10618, slip op. (9th Cir. September 20, 2013) (Fernandez, Paez, and Berzon, JJ.). Judge Paez wrote the panel’s opinion. This case involved a woman who pleaded guilty to illegally entering the United States, a misdemeanor violation of INA § 275(a). The Arizona federal district court, where this occurred, accepted Arqueta-Ramos’ [...]

Posted by César on September 24, 2013 on 9:00 am 1 Comment
Filed Under: 5th Amendment, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Due Process Clause, illegal entry, Operation Streamline

9 Cir: Cal. marijuana possession is categorically controlled substances offense

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a conviction for possessing marijuana under California law is categorically a controlled substances offense (CSO) for immigration law purposes. Macias-Carreon v. Holder, No. 10-70380, slip op. (9th Cir. May 30, 2013) (Noonan, Wardlaw, and Murguía, J.). Judge Murguía wrote the panel’s decision. This case involved an individual who entered without inspection and was later convicted of violating California Health and Safety Code § 11359, which prohibits “possess[ing] for sale any marijuana.” DHS charged Macias-Carreon as removable for [...]

Posted by César on August 13, 2013 on 9:00 am 2 Comments
Filed Under: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, controlled substance offense

9 Cir: Rejects Silva-Treviño; deepens circuit split

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit expressly rejected Matter of Silva-Treviño, 24 I&N Dec. 687 (A.G. 2008), in which Attorney General Mukasey revamped the method by which immigration courts determine whether a particular conviction involves moral turpitude. Olivas-Motta v. Holder, No. 10-72459, slip op. (9th Cir. May 17, 2013) (Fletcher, Hug, and Kleinfeld, JJ.). Judge Fletcher wrote the panel’s opinion; Judge Kleinfeld concurred. This case involved an LPR who arrived in the United States at the age of 10 days. Eventually he was convicted of marijuana possession in 2003 and [...]

Posted by César on July 11, 2013 on 9:00 am 21 Comments
Filed Under: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, crime involving moral turpitude, multiple CIMTs, Silva-Trevino

SCOTUS: Can’t use modified categorical approach if statute isn’t divisible

In its final crImmigration case of the 2012-13 Term, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified that courts can not use the modified categorical approach of statutory interpretation when a statute of conviction is not divisible. Descamps v. United States, No. 11-9540, slip op. (U.S. June 20, 2013) (Kagan, Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor, JJ.; Kennedy, concurring; Thomas, concurring in the judgment; Alito, dissenting). Instead, courts must rely on the categorical approach alone which allows consideration of the crime’s elements. The modified categorical approach, in contrast, [...]

Posted by César on July 9, 2013 on 9:00 am 8 Comments
Filed Under: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, ACCA, burglary, conviction, record of conviction, U.S. Supreme Court

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César’s Recent Media

April 18: Quoted talking about ICE's efforts to conceal contents of training manuals used by its largest division, Homeland Security Investigations Read article here]

April 12: Discussed legal limits on deploying troops inside United States and the memory of Esequiel Hernández, Jr., teen shot by Marines in 1997 [Read article here (in Spanish)]

April 12: Quoted in article about brewing Fourth Amendment battle that develops when ICE arrests people inside homes [Read article here]

April 3: Quoted in Univision Noticias article about Trump's plans to deploy National Guard to border [Read article here (in Spanish)]

April 1: Quoted in article about Coloradans affected by Trump administration's decision to end TPS protections for citizens of some countries [Read article here]

March 29: Quoted in article about Fourth Amendment and ICE attempts to enter homes [Read article here]

March 16: Quoted discussing shifts between Obama and Trump administration immigration policing practices [Listen here]

March 8: Quoted discussing Justice Department lawsuit against California over its migrant-friendly policies [Read article here | Lea en español]

February 5: Quoted in article about Indiana death in drunk driving incident allegedly caused by unauthorized migrant [Read article here]

January 31: I'm quoted in San Francisco Chronicle about ICE's policy of arresting people in and near courthouses [Read article here]

January 18: I talked to CityLab about symbolic value of ICE raids on 7-11 stores [Read article here]

January 8: I'm quoted in Governing talking about ICE head's threats to imprison elected officials who support policies limiting cooperation with ICE [Read article here]

January 5: I'm quoted in article about San Antonio Police Department decision to prosecute alleged migrant smuggler under state law rather than hand over to ICE for federal prosecution [Read article here]

January 3: Quoted in article about ICE chief's threats to imprison elected officials who support migrant-friendly policies [Read article here]

2018

December 30: I'm quoted in The Atlantic discussing the special impact crimmigration policies have on black migrants [Read article here]

December 28: My crimmigration.com article about immigration prison population trends since 1990s makes Prison Policy Institute's "favorite criminal justice research of 2017" [Read PPI's list here]

December 22: Quoted in ThinkProgress article about legally dubious immigration detainer practices [Read article here]

December 20: Interviewed in Philadelphia NPR affiliate WHYY story about ICE arrests in area courthouses [Listen to story here]

December 12: My three-part white paper series on immigration detention published by Latino Community Foundation of Colorado [Read articles on adults, children and families, and vulnerable populations]

Learn more about César's media appearances here

Recent Posts

  • Legal limits on military deployment along US border
  • ICE transitioned from Obama to Trump with record high daily detention population
  • ICE detention population closed Obama era at record daily high
  • Immigration budget bill summary
  • Supreme Court to hear another immigration imprisonment case
  • Jennings v. Rodriguez highlights need for detention time limits

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