"The Houston nonprofit executive was shifting weight in line at an Humble DPS office earlier this month, waiting to renew his driver's license, when he noticed a couple of people in front of him come away looking confused or exasperated. When he got to the front, he understood why. The woman behind the counter ran his name, Jose Villarreal, in her computer. Then, he says, she promptly asked him to prove his citizenship. Villarreal was taken aback. He was born and raised in South Texas, in a little town called Orange Grove, and moved to Houston in 1976. At 61, he'd never been asked by DPS to prove he was here legally." Lisa Falkenberg, Nov. 19, 2008.
NILC, Nov. 14, 2008.
This is the third article in a three-part series on the post-election debate on immigration reform. Tom Barry, Nov. 20, 2008.
"It’s not enough that DHS is building hundreds of miles of walls along the U.S.-Mexico border, creating physical and emotional barriers between us and our neighbor, ally, and trading partner. But now there is a plan to build a wall around a portion of the wall." Michele Waslin, Nov. 20, 2008.
"In a statement, ten prominent conservatives urged the Bush administration to comply with federal District Court Judge Ricardo Urbina’s order to release 17 Guantanamo detainees, known as the Uighurs, and chastised the Bush administration for “compromis[ing] our principles and undermin[ing] our standing in the world” by thwarting their release. On November 24, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will to hear oral arguments concerning the Uighurs’ release. Authors of this statement agree that “this is not a partisan issue. Conservatives and liberals, Republicans and Democrats, advocates of a strong president, a strong Congress, and a strong federal judiciary all believe that the system of checks and balances created by our country’s founders is required to preserve Americans’ freedoms and liberties and our country’s security." The Constitution Project, Nov. 20, 2008.
"Chinese students are enrolling in U.S. universities in record numbers, encouraged by aggressive recruiting combined with China's booming economy and growing middle class." AP, Nov. 17, 2008.
"John Malkovich is so touched by the plight of migrant children who cross illegally into the United States that he plans to make a documentary about it." AP, Nov. 20, 2008.
"The city of Los Angeles would pay nearly $13 million to immigration protesters and bystanders injured by Los Angeles police officers during a melee at MacArthur Park last year, according to sources familiar with a tentative settlement reached by both sides." Los Angeles Times, Nov. 20, 2008.
"Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D), whose handling of immigration issues brought her accolades from fellow governors, is President-elect Barack Obama's choice to serve as secretary of homeland security, Democratic sources said yesterday." Washington Post, Nov. 20, 2008.
"For too long border security has been a
sound bite and an excuse for those opposing immigration reform. Today’s report is a clear sign to the country that border enforcement is a difficult issue that deserves a solution based on security,
responsibility and human rights, not fear mongering and posturing,” noted Ali Noorani, the organization’s Executive Director."
"It saves time and millions of taxpayer dollars, and it has just arrived in South Florida." South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Nov. 19, 2008.
"[W]e hold that when the DHS opposes a motion to reopen for adjustment of status, the BIA may consider the objection, but may not deny the motion based solely on the fact of the DHS’s objection." Ahmed v. Mukasey, Nov. 19, 2008. [Bob Jobe rocks again!]
THOMAS, Circuit Judge, with whom PREGERSON, Circuit Judge, joins, dissenting: "Distilled to its essence, this case involves the irrationality of affording privileges to lawful permanent residents who step across the border for a day, but denying the same privileges to those who do not. The majority not only blesses this
unequal treatment, but goes much further, overruling more than 60 years of precedent, approving an unconstitutional statutory scheme not even the Board of Immigration Appeals endorses, and implicitly declaring unconstitutional a federal regulation." Abebe v. Mukasey, Nov. 20, 2008.
"A recent poll by Zogby International of Catholics in the United States showed overwhelming support for reform of American immigration laws, with Catholics supporting a path to citizenship for the estimated 12 million undocumented persons in the country." Spero News, Nov. 19, 2008.
ANALYSIS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY’S NATIONAL ID PROGRAM. EPIC, May 2008.
"In 2004, Heathcliffe Bradley was planning to return to his native New Zealand after eight years in the United States when he met Cheryl Losee, a New Jersey native, and his plans flew out the window. He stayed, they married, and then he turned his attention to a lingering problem: Mr. Bradley was an illegal immigrant." New York Times, Nov. 20, 2008.
"Wanda Romberger, manager of court interpreting services at the National Center for State Courts, says that almost every state is being confronted with a lack of certified interpreters — who have to pass difficult exams — especially in languages other than Spanish." USA Today, Nov. 18, 2008.
By Dinah Wiley, NILC, Nov. 20, 2008.
Ten Prominent Conservatives Say
Indefinite Detention Violates the Constitution. Nov. 20, 2008.
"The Office of the Attorney General’s report provides both an overview of human
trafficking in the State of Texas and the government’s response to this horrendous
crime." Nov. 2008.
"We, the undersigned members of the Constitution Project’s Liberty and Security
Committee, are issuing this report to urge policymakers to adopt critical reforms in the ways we use immigration law as a counterterrorism tool." The Constitution Project, Nov. 17, 2008.
"Crossing Over is a multi-character canvas about immigrants of different nationalities struggling to achieve legal status in Los Angeles."
"[C]lient had a prior expedited removal and affirmatively applied for asylum. The asylum office knew about the prior order up front and referred the case to ICE, who chose to issue a Notice to Appear instead of a reinstatement of removal order. The client applied for asylum before the immigration judge and after testimony on the asylum case, ICE moved to terminate for reinstatement of removal. The IJ denied the motion and granted asylum, and the government appealed the denial of the motion to terminate. Amazingly, the Board dismissed the appeal, stating that ICE CHOSE to issue the NTA and knew about the prior order up front." Matter of X-, Nov. 13, 2008. [Hats off to Chris Parry, pro bono.]
"Foreigners who marry Americans are entitled to become permanent residents of the U.S., but in a stricter post-9/11 world, hundreds of widows are being asked to leave the country because their husbands died - even some whose children were born in the U.S."
"Private prison corporations are a good place to put money – if you are interested in making good money from companies that imprison people for profit. As the two leading private prison firms like to tell investors, it’s a booming business these days not because crime rates are rising but because of the new opportunities in immigrant detention." Tom Barry, Nov. 19, 2008.
"Professor Martin will serve on the agency review team for the Department of Homeland Security. "I am honored and excited to be involved in this transition work," says Martin. "Immigration will be a significant issue for the new administration to consider, and I welcome the opportunity to contribute toward making the immigration pieces of homeland security work as effectively as possible."" DePauw University, Nov. 18, 2008.
"In fiscal year 2008, the U.S. Department of State issued a record high of 710,631 F, J, and M student and exchange visitor visas. This represented a 9.1 percent increase in F, J, and M student and exchange visas issued in fiscal year 2008 than in fiscal year 2007; and a more than 26 percent increase over fiscal year 2001.
This is the third fiscal year in a row the State Department has broken records in this area." DOS, Nov. 18, 2008.
Matter of SILVA-TREVINO, 24 I&N Dec. 687 (A.G. 2008): (1) To determine whether a conviction is for a crime involving moral turpitude, immigration judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals should: (1) look to the statute of conviction under the categorical inquiry and determine whether there is a “realistic probability” that the State or Federal criminal statute pursuant to which the alien was convicted would be applied to reach conduct that does not involve moral turpitude; (2) if the categorical inquiry does not resolve the question, engage in a modified categorical
inquiry and examine the record of conviction, including documents such as the indictment, the judgment of conviction, jury instructions, a signed guilty plea, and the plea transcript; and (3) if the record of conviction is inconclusive, consider any additional
evidence deemed necessary or appropriate to resolve accurately the moral turpitude
question. (2) It is proper to make a categorical finding that a defendant’s conduct involves moral turpitude when that conduct results in conviction on the charge of intentional sexual contact with a person the defendant knew or should have known was a child. (3) To qualify as a crime involving moral turpitude for purposes of the Immigration and
Nationality Act, a crime must involve both reprehensible conduct and some degree of
scienter, whether specific intent, deliberateness, willfulness, or recklessness.
"When Nashville immigration lawyer Linda Rose holds a seminar for business owners, there are usually questions about worksite immigration raids. But at a seminar this month, much of Rose's audience wanted to talk about immigration enforcement that comes in the mail, not through the door: the no-match letter." Tennessean, Nov. 17, 2008.
"T. Alexander Aleinikoff has been Dean of the Georgetown University Law Center and Executive Vice President of Georgetown University since July 2004. He has been a member of the Georgetown faculty since 1997. Dean Aleinikoff served as General Counsel and Executive Associate Commissioner for Programs at the Immigration and Naturalization Service for several years during the Clinton Administration. From 1997 to 2004 he was a Senior Associate at the Migration Policy Institute, where he now serves on the Board of Trustees. He has written widely on immigration, refugee and citizenship law and constitutional law. Dean Aleinikoff is a graduate of Swarthmore College and Yale Law School. -- Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuéllar is Professor and Deane F. Johnson Faculty Scholar at Stanford Law School. His work focuses on how organizations manage complex regulatory, migration, international security, and criminal justice problems. During the Clinton Administration he served at Treasury as Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary for Enforcement, where he worked on countering domestic and international financial crime, improving border coordination, and enhancing anti-corruption measures. He has served on the boards of numerous organizations, including Asylum Access and the Stanford Center for International Security and Cooperation. He has testified before Congress on immigration policy and separation of powers, and was appointed to the Silicon Valley Blue Ribbon Task Force on Aviation Security. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute."
"[W]e find no reversible error in holding that the respondent is eligible for special rule cancellation ofremoval because he was battered and subjected to extreme cruelty by his ex-wife." Matter of J-P-, Nov. 13, 2008, unpublished. [Hats off to Eric Schultz.]
USCIS, Nov. 19, 2008.
"Hundreds of former workers at a New Bedford company that was raided by immigration agents last year will share $613,000 in unpaid wages and overtime pay through a settlement agreement announced yesterday. Lawyers for the workers called it “partial justice.”" Providence Journal, Nov. 19, 2008.
"The U.S.-based German Marshall Fund teamed up with European counterparts to take a transatlantic look at how immigration is playing at this time of transition, from an incoming new president in the United States to significant immigration policy changes in several European nations." San Antonio Express-News, Nov. 18, 2008.
"The Texas Legislature can be a lot more fun (or at least, a little less frustrating) if you step back every once in a while to enjoy the process purely for its entertainment value. I spent some time this morning going through additional pre-filed bills in the House and Senate as we approach the 81st Texas Legislature, and discovered that the state rep from my hometown - Leo Berman, R-Tyler - filed an hysterically funny piece of legislation in HB 254, "relating to restricting illegal immigrants to certain geographic regions."
The thrust of HB 254 made me laugh out loud: It defines the terms "illegal immigrant" and "sanctuary city" and then declares that "All illegal immigrants residing in this state shall reside in a sanctuary city." That should be simple to enforce, huh? If writing a law could dictate where immigrants live, would we even have this problem?" Scott Henson, Nov. 18, 2008.
"Cities with concentrated immigration populations are some of the safest, according to a study I cited in a previous column by Harvard University sociology professor Robert J. Sampson. He found that first-generation immigrants were 45 percent less likely to commit violence than third-generation Americans. In a 2007 letter to President Bush, Congress and governors, signed by nearly 170 mostly sociology professors and criminologists from across the country, University of California at Irvine professor Rubén G. Rumbaut writes: "The problem of violent crime in the United States is not caused by immigrants, regardless of their legal status." In that paper, and one presented in August to the Police Foundation National Conference, Rumbaut explains that a historic rise in immigration since the 1990s has coincided with a significant decrease in violent and property crime. The truth, with all its nuances, is out there for those who want to see it." Lisa Falkenberg, Nov. 17, 2008.
"In arguments rich in biblical allusion, church and social activists Monday took aim at the nation's immigration policies — laws they contended split families, criminalize undocumented workers and undercut America's reverential self-image as a land of opportunity." Houston Chronicle, Nov. 17, 2008.
"This final rule requires private aircraft pilots or their designees arriving in the United States from a foreign port or location destined for a U.S. port or
location, or departing the United States
to a foreign port or location, to transmit
electronically to CBP passenger manifest
information for each individual traveling onboard the aircraft." Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 223 / Tuesday, November 18, 2008.
"County Attorney Jose Rodriguez, County Commissioner Veronica Escobar and City Rep. Susie Byrd flew to Washington Monday as part of a delegation of El Pasoans to lobby for immigration reform and the role of border communities in developing policy." Newspaper Tree, Nov. 18, 2008.
"The nation needs immigration reform if it wants agriculture to survive, O’Brien said. “But we have to recognize it’s a very fractious issue that will take more time and energy to reach a consensus than some other things. It probably means immigration reform will come later rather than sooner.”
He said later could be several years." Wenatchee World, Nov. 18, 2008.
"No matter where you fall on the immigrant worker issue, most people would agree that all workers — no matter where they’re from — shouldn’t be abused or cheated and should be paid the promised wage for their labor." Blog of Rights, Nov. 18, 2008.
"Make no mistake; immigrants have been the lifeblood of the U.S. labor force in recent times." Raymond J. Keating, chief economist for the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, Nov. 18, 2008.
"The current climate of undeterred online, immigrant-bashing is about to be faced with a force to contend with. The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) is pleased to announce the launching of its new blog, Immigration Impact (www.ImmigrationImpact.com). Immigration Impact was developed to help reshape the immigration debate in a way that will bring us closer to comprehensive immigration reform. The blog will provide thoughtful and rapid-response commentaries and insights on the latest news and events so that you can be up-to-date with what's going on with the immigration debate."
"Adoption.state.gov provides a central resource for adopting parents, adoption agencies, and others involved in the intercountry adoption process." DOS, Nov. 17, 2008.
"We conclude that Khunaverdiants established by clear and convincing evidence that he filed his asylum application within one year of arriving in the United States. Because the BIA erred in ruling that Khunaverdiants’ asylum application was time barred, we grant the petition for review." Khunaverdiants v. Mukasey, Nov. 18, 2008.
Friday, January 30, 2009, Penn State University, Dickinson School of Law, Center for Immigrants’ Rights.
"Advocates for a crackdown on illegal immigrants, apparently undaunted by their failures in the last Legislature, have filed a slew of bills for the upcoming session that are even stronger in tone and approach." Dallas Morning News, Nov. 17, 2008.
"How innocent Muslims got caught in George Bush's dragnet, and how Yale students exposed it as a sham." Fairfield Weekly, Nov. 20, 2008.
"Effective January 12, 2009, Visa Waiver Program (VWP) travelers will be required to obtain a travel authorization via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) prior to boarding a carrier to travel by air or sea to the U.S. under the VWP. ESTA is now accessible online at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov for citizens and eligible nationals of VWP countries."
"The U.S. Department of Education today launched U.S.A. Learns, a free Web site to help immigrants learn English. The Web site, which is located at www.USALearns.org, provides approximately 11 million adults who have low levels of English proficiency with easily accessible and free English language training."
Department of State Publication 9514
CA/VO: November 6, 2008
Office of the President-Elect, official govt. website. Click on the "Submit your ideas" button; make your voice heard.
"You are invited to attend a Border Wall Summit in El Paso, Texas on December 2-3, 2008. The summit will bring together diverse organizations and individuals from along the border and across the country in order to collaborate on border wall opposition strategy."
EOIR Fact Sheet, Updated Oct. 27, 2008.
"Peter Roberts had a problem. A Canadian citizen and a member of the Campbell River Band of Canadian Indians, Roberts regularly crossed the United States-Canada border to visit his property in Point Roberts, Washington. He had a “green card,” and had been crossing the border since he was a young boy with his family to visit relatives on the Lummi Indian Reservation. In 2007, however, immigration officials confiscated his green card and required him to appear in an immigration court. The issue: whether he had enough Indian “blood” to cross the border as a Canadian Indian entitled to free passage into the United States. Roberts has fair skin and curly hair inherited from his Ukrainian mother, but the facial features of his Indian father. Roberts asserted his physical appearance caused immigration officials to question his right to free passage. Both American and Canadian press reports emphasized the curious racial aspect of Roberts's situation. How could it be that a person had to prove his racial ancestry in 2008?" Paul Spruhan, North Dakota Law Review, Forthcoming.
Juan P. Osuna and Jean C. King, Oct. 2008.
...on October 27, 2008. Location: 1717 Avenue H, Suite 100 Omaha, NE 68110
Hours of Operation: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Telephone: (402) 348-0310
The Center for Gender and Refugee Studies (CGRS) seeks applicants for a full-time Senior Staff Attorney / Associate Director.
"This public notice provides information on how to apply for the DV–2010 Program." Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 190 / Tuesday, September 30, 2008.
"Georgetown University's Center for Applied Legal Studies will offer one lawyer a two-year teaching fellowship (July 2009 - June 2011). The fellowship provides a unique opportunity to learn how to teach law in a clinical setting."
"The Houston nonprofit executive was shifting weight in line at an Humble DPS office earlier this month, waiting to renew his driver's license, when he noticed a couple of people in front of him come away looking confused or exasperated. When he got to the front, he understood why. The woman behind the counter ran his name, Jose Villarreal, in her computer. Then, he says, she promptly asked him to prove his citizenship. Villarreal was taken aback. He was born and raised in South Texas, in a little town called Orange Grove, and moved to Houston in 1976. At 61, he'd never been asked by DPS to prove he was here legally." Lisa Falkenberg, Nov. 19, 2008.
NILC, Nov. 14, 2008.
This is the third article in a three-part series on the post-election debate on immigration reform. Tom Barry, Nov. 20, 2008.
"It’s not enough that DHS is building hundreds of miles of walls along the U.S.-Mexico border, creating physical and emotional barriers between us and our neighbor, ally, and trading partner. But now there is a plan to build a wall around a portion of the wall." Michele Waslin, Nov. 20, 2008.
"In a statement, ten prominent conservatives urged the Bush administration to comply with federal District Court Judge Ricardo Urbina’s order to release 17 Guantanamo detainees, known as the Uighurs, and chastised the Bush administration for “compromis[ing] our principles and undermin[ing] our standing in the world” by thwarting their release. On November 24, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will to hear oral arguments concerning the Uighurs’ release. Authors of this statement agree that “this is not a partisan issue. Conservatives and liberals, Republicans and Democrats, advocates of a strong president, a strong Congress, and a strong federal judiciary all believe that the system of checks and balances created by our country’s founders is required to preserve Americans’ freedoms and liberties and our country’s security." The Constitution Project, Nov. 20, 2008.
"Chinese students are enrolling in U.S. universities in record numbers, encouraged by aggressive recruiting combined with China's booming economy and growing middle class." AP, Nov. 17, 2008.
"John Malkovich is so touched by the plight of migrant children who cross illegally into the United States that he plans to make a documentary about it." AP, Nov. 20, 2008.
"The city of Los Angeles would pay nearly $13 million to immigration protesters and bystanders injured by Los Angeles police officers during a melee at MacArthur Park last year, according to sources familiar with a tentative settlement reached by both sides." Los Angeles Times, Nov. 20, 2008.
"Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D), whose handling of immigration issues brought her accolades from fellow governors, is President-elect Barack Obama's choice to serve as secretary of homeland security, Democratic sources said yesterday." Washington Post, Nov. 20, 2008.
"For too long border security has been a
sound bite and an excuse for those opposing immigration reform. Today’s report is a clear sign to the country that border enforcement is a difficult issue that deserves a solution based on security,
responsibility and human rights, not fear mongering and posturing,” noted Ali Noorani, the organization’s Executive Director."
"It saves time and millions of taxpayer dollars, and it has just arrived in South Florida." South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Nov. 19, 2008.
"[W]e hold that when the DHS opposes a motion to reopen for adjustment of status, the BIA may consider the objection, but may not deny the motion based solely on the fact of the DHS’s objection." Ahmed v. Mukasey, Nov. 19, 2008. [Bob Jobe rocks again!]
THOMAS, Circuit Judge, with whom PREGERSON, Circuit Judge, joins, dissenting: "Distilled to its essence, this case involves the irrationality of affording privileges to lawful permanent residents who step across the border for a day, but denying the same privileges to those who do not. The majority not only blesses this
unequal treatment, but goes much further, overruling more than 60 years of precedent, approving an unconstitutional statutory scheme not even the Board of Immigration Appeals endorses, and implicitly declaring unconstitutional a federal regulation." Abebe v. Mukasey, Nov. 20, 2008.
"A recent poll by Zogby International of Catholics in the United States showed overwhelming support for reform of American immigration laws, with Catholics supporting a path to citizenship for the estimated 12 million undocumented persons in the country." Spero News, Nov. 19, 2008.
ANALYSIS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY’S NATIONAL ID PROGRAM. EPIC, May 2008.
"In 2004, Heathcliffe Bradley was planning to return to his native New Zealand after eight years in the United States when he met Cheryl Losee, a New Jersey native, and his plans flew out the window. He stayed, they married, and then he turned his attention to a lingering problem: Mr. Bradley was an illegal immigrant." New York Times, Nov. 20, 2008.
"Wanda Romberger, manager of court interpreting services at the National Center for State Courts, says that almost every state is being confronted with a lack of certified interpreters — who have to pass difficult exams — especially in languages other than Spanish." USA Today, Nov. 18, 2008.
By Dinah Wiley, NILC, Nov. 20, 2008.
Ten Prominent Conservatives Say
Indefinite Detention Violates the Constitution. Nov. 20, 2008.
"The Office of the Attorney General’s report provides both an overview of human
trafficking in the State of Texas and the government’s response to this horrendous
crime." Nov. 2008.
"We, the undersigned members of the Constitution Project’s Liberty and Security
Committee, are issuing this report to urge policymakers to adopt critical reforms in the ways we use immigration law as a counterterrorism tool." The Constitution Project, Nov. 17, 2008.
"Crossing Over is a multi-character canvas about immigrants of different nationalities struggling to achieve legal status in Los Angeles."
"[C]lient had a prior expedited removal and affirmatively applied for asylum. The asylum office knew about the prior order up front and referred the case to ICE, who chose to issue a Notice to Appear instead of a reinstatement of removal order. The client applied for asylum before the immigration judge and after testimony on the asylum case, ICE moved to terminate for reinstatement of removal. The IJ denied the motion and granted asylum, and the government appealed the denial of the motion to terminate. Amazingly, the Board dismissed the appeal, stating that ICE CHOSE to issue the NTA and knew about the prior order up front." Matter of X-, Nov. 13, 2008. [Hats off to Chris Parry, pro bono.]
"Foreigners who marry Americans are entitled to become permanent residents of the U.S., but in a stricter post-9/11 world, hundreds of widows are being asked to leave the country because their husbands died - even some whose children were born in the U.S."
"Private prison corporations are a good place to put money – if you are interested in making good money from companies that imprison people for profit. As the two leading private prison firms like to tell investors, it’s a booming business these days not because crime rates are rising but because of the new opportunities in immigrant detention." Tom Barry, Nov. 19, 2008.
"Professor Martin will serve on the agency review team for the Department of Homeland Security. "I am honored and excited to be involved in this transition work," says Martin. "Immigration will be a significant issue for the new administration to consider, and I welcome the opportunity to contribute toward making the immigration pieces of homeland security work as effectively as possible."" DePauw University, Nov. 18, 2008.
"In fiscal year 2008, the U.S. Department of State issued a record high of 710,631 F, J, and M student and exchange visitor visas. This represented a 9.1 percent increase in F, J, and M student and exchange visas issued in fiscal year 2008 than in fiscal year 2007; and a more than 26 percent increase over fiscal year 2001.
This is the third fiscal year in a row the State Department has broken records in this area." DOS, Nov. 18, 2008.
Matter of SILVA-TREVINO, 24 I&N Dec. 687 (A.G. 2008): (1) To determine whether a conviction is for a crime involving moral turpitude, immigration judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals should: (1) look to the statute of conviction under the categorical inquiry and determine whether there is a “realistic probability” that the State or Federal criminal statute pursuant to which the alien was convicted would be applied to reach conduct that does not involve moral turpitude; (2) if the categorical inquiry does not resolve the question, engage in a modified categorical
inquiry and examine the record of conviction, including documents such as the indictment, the judgment of conviction, jury instructions, a signed guilty plea, and the plea transcript; and (3) if the record of conviction is inconclusive, consider any additional
evidence deemed necessary or appropriate to resolve accurately the moral turpitude
question. (2) It is proper to make a categorical finding that a defendant’s conduct involves moral turpitude when that conduct results in conviction on the charge of intentional sexual contact with a person the defendant knew or should have known was a child. (3) To qualify as a crime involving moral turpitude for purposes of the Immigration and
Nationality Act, a crime must involve both reprehensible conduct and some degree of
scienter, whether specific intent, deliberateness, willfulness, or recklessness.
"When Nashville immigration lawyer Linda Rose holds a seminar for business owners, there are usually questions about worksite immigration raids. But at a seminar this month, much of Rose's audience wanted to talk about immigration enforcement that comes in the mail, not through the door: the no-match letter." Tennessean, Nov. 17, 2008.
"T. Alexander Aleinikoff has been Dean of the Georgetown University Law Center and Executive Vice President of Georgetown University since July 2004. He has been a member of the Georgetown faculty since 1997. Dean Aleinikoff served as General Counsel and Executive Associate Commissioner for Programs at the Immigration and Naturalization Service for several years during the Clinton Administration. From 1997 to 2004 he was a Senior Associate at the Migration Policy Institute, where he now serves on the Board of Trustees. He has written widely on immigration, refugee and citizenship law and constitutional law. Dean Aleinikoff is a graduate of Swarthmore College and Yale Law School. -- Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuéllar is Professor and Deane F. Johnson Faculty Scholar at Stanford Law School. His work focuses on how organizations manage complex regulatory, migration, international security, and criminal justice problems. During the Clinton Administration he served at Treasury as Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary for Enforcement, where he worked on countering domestic and international financial crime, improving border coordination, and enhancing anti-corruption measures. He has served on the boards of numerous organizations, including Asylum Access and the Stanford Center for International Security and Cooperation. He has testified before Congress on immigration policy and separation of powers, and was appointed to the Silicon Valley Blue Ribbon Task Force on Aviation Security. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute."
"[W]e find no reversible error in holding that the respondent is eligible for special rule cancellation ofremoval because he was battered and subjected to extreme cruelty by his ex-wife." Matter of J-P-, Nov. 13, 2008, unpublished. [Hats off to Eric Schultz.]
USCIS, Nov. 19, 2008.
"Hundreds of former workers at a New Bedford company that was raided by immigration agents last year will share $613,000 in unpaid wages and overtime pay through a settlement agreement announced yesterday. Lawyers for the workers called it “partial justice.”" Providence Journal, Nov. 19, 2008.
"The U.S.-based German Marshall Fund teamed up with European counterparts to take a transatlantic look at how immigration is playing at this time of transition, from an incoming new president in the United States to significant immigration policy changes in several European nations." San Antonio Express-News, Nov. 18, 2008.
"The Texas Legislature can be a lot more fun (or at least, a little less frustrating) if you step back every once in a while to enjoy the process purely for its entertainment value. I spent some time this morning going through additional pre-filed bills in the House and Senate as we approach the 81st Texas Legislature, and discovered that the state rep from my hometown - Leo Berman, R-Tyler - filed an hysterically funny piece of legislation in HB 254, "relating to restricting illegal immigrants to certain geographic regions."
The thrust of HB 254 made me laugh out loud: It defines the terms "illegal immigrant" and "sanctuary city" and then declares that "All illegal immigrants residing in this state shall reside in a sanctuary city." That should be simple to enforce, huh? If writing a law could dictate where immigrants live, would we even have this problem?" Scott Henson, Nov. 18, 2008.
"Cities with concentrated immigration populations are some of the safest, according to a study I cited in a previous column by Harvard University sociology professor Robert J. Sampson. He found that first-generation immigrants were 45 percent less likely to commit violence than third-generation Americans. In a 2007 letter to President Bush, Congress and governors, signed by nearly 170 mostly sociology professors and criminologists from across the country, University of California at Irvine professor Rubén G. Rumbaut writes: "The problem of violent crime in the United States is not caused by immigrants, regardless of their legal status." In that paper, and one presented in August to the Police Foundation National Conference, Rumbaut explains that a historic rise in immigration since the 1990s has coincided with a significant decrease in violent and property crime. The truth, with all its nuances, is out there for those who want to see it." Lisa Falkenberg, Nov. 17, 2008.
"In arguments rich in biblical allusion, church and social activists Monday took aim at the nation's immigration policies — laws they contended split families, criminalize undocumented workers and undercut America's reverential self-image as a land of opportunity." Houston Chronicle, Nov. 17, 2008.
"This final rule requires private aircraft pilots or their designees arriving in the United States from a foreign port or location destined for a U.S. port or
location, or departing the United States
to a foreign port or location, to transmit
electronically to CBP passenger manifest
information for each individual traveling onboard the aircraft." Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 223 / Tuesday, November 18, 2008.
"County Attorney Jose Rodriguez, County Commissioner Veronica Escobar and City Rep. Susie Byrd flew to Washington Monday as part of a delegation of El Pasoans to lobby for immigration reform and the role of border communities in developing policy." Newspaper Tree, Nov. 18, 2008.
"The nation needs immigration reform if it wants agriculture to survive, O’Brien said. “But we have to recognize it’s a very fractious issue that will take more time and energy to reach a consensus than some other things. It probably means immigration reform will come later rather than sooner.”
He said later could be several years." Wenatchee World, Nov. 18, 2008.
"No matter where you fall on the immigrant worker issue, most people would agree that all workers — no matter where they’re from — shouldn’t be abused or cheated and should be paid the promised wage for their labor." Blog of Rights, Nov. 18, 2008.
"Make no mistake; immigrants have been the lifeblood of the U.S. labor force in recent times." Raymond J. Keating, chief economist for the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, Nov. 18, 2008.
"The current climate of undeterred online, immigrant-bashing is about to be faced with a force to contend with. The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) is pleased to announce the launching of its new blog, Immigration Impact (www.ImmigrationImpact.com). Immigration Impact was developed to help reshape the immigration debate in a way that will bring us closer to comprehensive immigration reform. The blog will provide thoughtful and rapid-response commentaries and insights on the latest news and events so that you can be up-to-date with what's going on with the immigration debate."
"Adoption.state.gov provides a central resource for adopting parents, adoption agencies, and others involved in the intercountry adoption process." DOS, Nov. 17, 2008.
"We conclude that Khunaverdiants established by clear and convincing evidence that he filed his asylum application within one year of arriving in the United States. Because the BIA erred in ruling that Khunaverdiants’ asylum application was time barred, we grant the petition for review." Khunaverdiants v. Mukasey, Nov. 18, 2008.
Friday, January 30, 2009, Penn State University, Dickinson School of Law, Center for Immigrants’ Rights.
"Advocates for a crackdown on illegal immigrants, apparently undaunted by their failures in the last Legislature, have filed a slew of bills for the upcoming session that are even stronger in tone and approach." Dallas Morning News, Nov. 17, 2008.
"How innocent Muslims got caught in George Bush's dragnet, and how Yale students exposed it as a sham." Fairfield Weekly, Nov. 20, 2008.
"Effective January 12, 2009, Visa Waiver Program (VWP) travelers will be required to obtain a travel authorization via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) prior to boarding a carrier to travel by air or sea to the U.S. under the VWP. ESTA is now accessible online at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov for citizens and eligible nationals of VWP countries."
"The U.S. Department of Education today launched U.S.A. Learns, a free Web site to help immigrants learn English. The Web site, which is located at www.USALearns.org, provides approximately 11 million adults who have low levels of English proficiency with easily accessible and free English language training."
Department of State Publication 9514
CA/VO: November 6, 2008
Office of the President-Elect, official govt. website. Click on the "Submit your ideas" button; make your voice heard.
"You are invited to attend a Border Wall Summit in El Paso, Texas on December 2-3, 2008. The summit will bring together diverse organizations and individuals from along the border and across the country in order to collaborate on border wall opposition strategy."
EOIR Fact Sheet, Updated Oct. 27, 2008.
"Peter Roberts had a problem. A Canadian citizen and a member of the Campbell River Band of Canadian Indians, Roberts regularly crossed the United States-Canada border to visit his property in Point Roberts, Washington. He had a “green card,” and had been crossing the border since he was a young boy with his family to visit relatives on the Lummi Indian Reservation. In 2007, however, immigration officials confiscated his green card and required him to appear in an immigration court. The issue: whether he had enough Indian “blood” to cross the border as a Canadian Indian entitled to free passage into the United States. Roberts has fair skin and curly hair inherited from his Ukrainian mother, but the facial features of his Indian father. Roberts asserted his physical appearance caused immigration officials to question his right to free passage. Both American and Canadian press reports emphasized the curious racial aspect of Roberts's situation. How could it be that a person had to prove his racial ancestry in 2008?" Paul Spruhan, North Dakota Law Review, Forthcoming.
Juan P. Osuna and Jean C. King, Oct. 2008.
...on October 27, 2008. Location: 1717 Avenue H, Suite 100 Omaha, NE 68110
Hours of Operation: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Telephone: (402) 348-0310
The Center for Gender and Refugee Studies (CGRS) seeks applicants for a full-time Senior Staff Attorney / Associate Director.
"This public notice provides information on how to apply for the DV–2010 Program." Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 190 / Tuesday, September 30, 2008.
"Georgetown University's Center for Applied Legal Studies will offer one lawyer a two-year teaching fellowship (July 2009 - June 2011). The fellowship provides a unique opportunity to learn how to teach law in a clinical setting."
