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Dream Act of 2017 crime bars

With much fanfare, Senators Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) and Linsey Graham (R-South Carolina) introduced a revamped version of the Dream Act yesterday. White House officials have already said that the president is unlikely to support it. But with a president who shifts positions constantly, it’s worth taking seriously the prospect that the Dream Act of 2017, S. 1615, moves forward. As with the earlier version of the Dream Act that came a handful of votes away from landing on President Obama’s desk and with DACA, the Dream Act of 2017 would exclude people who have encountered the criminal [...]

Posted by César on July 21, 2017 on 12:59 pm 1 Comment
Filed Under: cancellation of removal, Congress, controlled substance offense, crime involving moral turpitude, DREAM Act, illegal entry, illegal reentry, proposed legislation, term of imprisonment, waiver

10 Cir: Clarifies choice of law and 212(h) eligibility

Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued a published decision addressing two vital issues. First, the court clarified which circuit’s law is to apply in removal hearings where the immigration judge is located in a different federal circuit as the migrant. Second, the court adopted an expansive interpretation of an important type of waiver from removal. Medina-Rosales v. Holder, No. 14-9541, slip op. (10th Cir. Feb. 24, 2015). Judge Kelly wrote the panel’s decision. This case involved an individual who appears to have entered the United States clandestinely, then at [...]

Posted by César on March 3, 2015 on 4:00 am Leave a Comment
Filed Under: 212(h), aggravated felony, choice of law, waiver

2 Cir: Broadens 212(h) eligibility; further isolates BIA & 8th Circuit

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that anyone who did not enter the country as a lawful permanent resident is eligible for a waiver of inadmissibility under INA § 212(h). Husic v. Holder, No. 14-607, slip op. (2d Cir. Jan. 8, 2015) (Katzmann, Winter, and Marrero). Chief Judge Katzmann wrote the panel’s decision. This case involves a 65-year-old migrant who entered the United States in 1994 on a B-2 nonimmigrant visa. About four years later he became an LPR by adjusting his status. In 2012, he pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the second [...]

Posted by César on February 17, 2015 on 4:00 am Leave a Comment
Filed Under: 212(h), 2d Circuit Court of Appeals, aggravated felony, Uncategorized, waiver

7 Cir: Posner tells BIA to follow precedent; person who leaves & returns is seeking admission

In an opinion that has become characteristic of his stance toward the Board of Immigration Appeals, Judge Posner, writing for a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, told the Board that it can’t just ignore its own precedent: a noncitizen with a criminal history who leaves the country and seeks to return must be treated as a person seeking admission. Margulis v. Holder, No. 12-3611, slip op. (7th Cir. Aug. 5, 2013) (Posner, Manion, and Rovner, J.). Mr. Margulis was successfully represented by Valparaiso University Law School’s Immigration Clinic, run by Professor Geoffrey [...]

Posted by César on August 27, 2013 on 9:00 am Leave a Comment
Filed Under: 212(h), 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, adjustment of status, admission, waiver

Tx Ct Crim App: Right to counsel properly waived despite not being told about deportation possibility

The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, the state’s highest criminal court, held that a person who waived his right to an attorney in a misdemeanor drug possession prosecution did not do so impermissibly despite not having been told that he might be deportable upon conviction. State v. Guerrero, No. PD-1258-12, slip op. (Tex. Crim. App. June 5, 2013) (Cochran, Keller, Price, Womack, Johnson, Keasler, Hervey, and Alcala, JJ.). Judge Cochran wrote the court’s opinion. This case presents like the picture of interior immigration enforcement in the age of crImmigration law. The defendant entered [...]

Posted by César on July 16, 2013 on 9:00 am 14 Comments
Filed Under: § 212(c), cancellation of removal, conviction, habeas, local immigration policing, Padilla v. Kentucky, post-conviction relief, state court, stop-time rule, Texas state court, waiver

4 Cir: Adjustment isn’t admission for 212(h) waiver; waiver applicant vindicated

By Guest Blogger Toni Maschler This week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed a decision “pretermitting” (denying due to ineligibility) the application for relief from inadmissibility under INA § 212(h) due to an aggravated felony conviction. Mendoza Leiba v. Holder, slip op. No. 11-1845 (4th Cir. Nov. 9, 2012). Mr. Mendoza’s petition for review was granted, reversing the earlier decisions of the Immigration Court and Board of Immigration Appeals. Mr. Mendoza, a Salvadoran married to a U.S. citizen and the father of five U.S. citizen children, had been placed in removal [...]

Posted by César on November 15, 2012 on 9:00 am 23 Comments
Filed Under: 212(h), 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, adjustment of status, admission, aggravated felony, guest blogger, waiver

1st person account: Why Padilla matters

Immigration law’s human impact is undeniable. Growing up in South Texas, there was no more poignant feature of law than stories of friends or family members running from la migra. These days, I spend my days immersed in immigration law, but from a wholly different perspective. The United States citizen lawyer-turned-law professor simply can’t feel the immense impact of immigration law in the same way as the millions of people whose lives are uprooted by immigration law’s infinite inanity. That’s why the message pasted below struck a cord with me when I received it in my inbox a few weeks [...]

Posted by César on May 29, 2012 on 9:00 am 4 Comments
Filed Under: commentaries, controlled substance offense, Immigration Court, Padilla v. Kentucky, post-conviction relief, right to counsel, state court, waiver

BIA: Cuban adjustment of status constitutes admission for § 237 removal purposes

The BIA held that an individual whose status was adjusted from parolee to lawful permanent resident pursuant to the Cuban Refugee Adjustment Act of 1966 was dmitted for purposes of removal under INA § 237(a). Matter of Espinosa Guillot, 25 I&N Dec. 653 (BIA 2011) (Grant, Malphrus, and Mullane, Board members). Board member Grant wrote the panel’s decision. This case involves a Cuban citizen who was paroled into the United States and adjusted his status under the CRAA (often referred to as the Cuban Adjustment Act or CAA). Guillot subsequently was convicted of trafficking in cannabis and [...]

Posted by César on February 16, 2012 on 9:00 am 9 Comments
Filed Under: 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, 212(h), 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, adjustment of status, admission, waiver

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César’s talks

January 15: Guest lecturing at the University of Denver in a course about immigration in the 20th century United States (closed)

January 28: Speaking to the Tulane Law School faculty in New Orleans (closed)

February 1: In Los Angeles to participate in Southwestern Law School's "Immigration in the Trump Era" symposium

February 6: At the University of Denver, I'll moderate a noon panel about race scholarship in higher education. Later that day, I'll speak to undergrads enrolled in Professor Lisa Martinez's "Deportation Nation" course (closed).

February 8: In Houston, I'll speak at the South Texas College of Law about ethical issues in representing detained migrants

February 15: At the University of Denver, I'll participate in the inaugural Civil Rights Summit

February 25: I'll be in New York City speaking to the Cardozo Law School faculty

February 28: At California State University, Fullerton, I'll discuss detention and family separation

March 14: I'll deliver the 19th Annual Buck Colbert Franklin Memorial Civil Rights Lecture at the University of Tulsa

All events are open to the public unless marked "closed"

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