Colorado Supreme Court nixes anti-smuggling crime

In a long due decision, a divided Colorado Supreme Court held the state’s human smuggling crime unconstitutional. The court’s decision in Fuentes-Espinoza v. People, No. 13SC128 (Colo. October 10, 2017), returns public attention to 2006 when the state legislature enacted a host of anti-migrant legislation. In Fuentes-Espinoza, the court concluded that the state legislator overstepped its authority that year when it criminalized conduct already regulated by federal immigration law. The U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause commands that state law must give way anytime it affects the same [...]

Padilla should apply to all migrants

Of all the protections guaranteed by the United States Constitution, the right to counsel is arguably the most important. As the Supreme Court famously declared in Gideon v. Wainright, a criminal defendant simply cannot be “assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him.” Subsequent holdings also established that the right to counsel does not merely afford criminal defendants the euphemistic “warm body with a law degree.” Instead, the Sixth Amendment guarantees defendants the right to “the effective assistance” of counsel as well—both during trial and in pre-trial plea [...]

Immigration prison population since 1990s

Immigration imprisonment is a common feature of the United States legal system’s regulation of migration. On the civil side, ICE’s routine confinement of people suspected of violating immigration law is well-known. Often overlooked, however, are ICE’s partners on the criminal end of the immigration imprisonment spectrum. Though most immigration law violations are civil infractions that result, at most, in removal from the United States, some features of federal immigration law are undeniably criminal offenses. Indeed, in recent years, prosecutions for immigration offense now constitute the [...]

Immigration offenders lead list of criminal removals in 2015 & 2016

ICE successfully used its massive enforcement resources to target migrants with criminal histories in President Obama’s last two fiscal years in office. Most of those, however, had been convicted of nothing more serious than an immigration crime. Government data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request casts doubt on the Obama administration’s frequent claim that it targeted dangerous individuals. Of the 235,413 people removed by ICE in fiscal year 2015, fifty-nine percent (139,368) had been convicted of a crime. Leading the list of types of crime were immigration [...]

With DACA’s demise, renewed focus on Dream Act of 2017

After this week’s announcement by Attorney General Jeff Sessions that the Trump administration has decided to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, congressional attention quickly turned to possible legislative responses. A growing bipartisan list of members of Congress have indicated their support for the Dream Act of 2017, the latest version of the well-known proposal to provide a legalization route for young people who came to the United States without authorization. Introduced by Senators Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) and Linsey Graham (R-South Carolina) in July, [...]

Texas anti-migrant law largely halted or curtailed

As attention remains focused on Hurricane Harvey’s devastating impact on the Texas Gulf Coast, the state’s controversial immigration law was to go into effect on Friday. Late Wednesday, a San Antonio federal court put that schedule on hold for most of the law. Its “show-me-your-papers” provision, however, can go into limited effect. Senate Bill 4 marks the pinnacle of state Republican elected officials to tie state and local governments to ICE’s immigration enforcement practices. The law authorizes police to ask about immigration status. It requires compliance with immigration detainers [...]

Private prison attempt to claim homeowner tax credit rebuffed

In an astonishing display of hubris, private prison corporation GEO Group has been trying to benefit from a Texas sales tax exemption available only to homeowners. In a decision issued this month, a state appellate court halted GEO’s efforts, concluding that a prison is not a home even to the people locked inside. Geo Group, Inc. v. Hegar, No. 03-15-00726-CV, slip op. (Tex. Ct. App. Aug. 10, 2017). Under Texas law, gas and electricity sold for “residential use” is not subject to the state’s sales tax. GEO claimed that facilities it owns or operates fit this description, thus it should not [...]

On Trump pardoning Arpaio

Today, President Trump pardoned the infamous former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona Joe Arpaio, recently convicted of criminal contempt of court for flagrantly disobeying a court order to stop racial-profiling Latinos. The presidential pardon of a man who actively sought the spotlight with his notorious, degrading exercises of law enforcement authority sends a clear message that Trump is interested in rallying his base above all else. Presidents unquestionably have broad powers to pardon people convicted of federal crimes. Many have abused that power to protect friends. Trump’s cronyism [...]