Federal Courts/Jurisdiction
Judge Orders Border Patrol to Immediately Provide Short Term Detainees with Basic Necessities
A federal judge ordered the Border Patrol to immediately cease its practice of refusing to provide basic amenities to people detained in Border Patrol holding cells in Tucson, Arizona. The judge cited evidence that shows that detainees are kept in freezing holding cells—often called “hieleras” or “iceboxes” —for days… Read More
Supreme Court Hears Immigration Case Asserting Discrimination Against Unmarried American Fathers
Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Lynch v. Morales-Santana, a case that will decide whether the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) unlawfully favors mothers over fathers of children born out-of-wedlock when granting citizenship to their children born abroad. In determining whether a U.S. citizen parent may transfer… Read More
Immigration Groups File Briefs Calling For End to Detention Without Bond
Although the U.S. Constitution provides citizens and noncitizens the right to seek bail after an arrest, immigration detention is different. Certain noncitizens who are arrested by immigration authorities may be detained for months on end, while awaiting hearings that will determine whether they can remain in the United States. Many… Read More
Federal Court Strikes Down Immigration Detainers
In a decision late last week, the federal district court in the Northern District of Illinois invalidated the practice of issuing immigration detainers by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The court found that detainers violate federal law because they exceed the government’s warrantless arrest authority and made it… Read More
Groups Settle Lawsuit Challenging Failure of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to Timely Respond to FOIA Requests
In accordance with a settlement reached by the parties, a federal district court dismissed a class action lawsuit which challenged U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) nationwide practice of failing to timely respond to requests for case information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Read More
Supreme Court Won’t Rehear Executive Action on Immigration — What’s Next?
This week, the United States Supreme Court declined to rehear arguments in United States v Texas, the case challenging expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA). This means that the Fifth Circuit’s decision upholding the district court’s… Read More
Developments with Respect to the One-Year Deadline for Filing Asylum Applications
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP), Dobrin & Han, PC, American Immigration Council, and the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild commend the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) for reversing course and now allowing asylum applicants to file their applications by mail or in person at an immigration court window. Read More
Legal Challenges to Arizona’s SB 1070 End–For Now
After six years of challenges, including a trip to the Supreme Court, the legal battle over Arizona’s SB 1070 has come to an end—for now. The law faced a wave of opposition soon after going into effect in April 2010. In May 2010 civil and immigrant rights groups including the… Read More
Government Admits Providing False Information to Supreme Court
Last week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a letter to the Supreme Court alerting the Justices that it had provided the Court with incorrect information regarding how long certain noncitizens were held in detention. DOJ initially had provided this false information to the Supreme Court in 2002 for… Read More
New Lawsuit Challenges Preliminary Injunction in United States v. Texas
In February 2015, a court in Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction in the case challenging the expansion of President’s Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative and the launch of Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA). The injunction effectively halted implementation of… Read More
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