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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]