Supreme Court
Arizona Faces Lawsuit over DACA Driver’s License Policy
Less than six months after it received a stinging rebuke from the Supreme Court, Arizona today was hit with another major lawsuit over its punitive immigration policies—this time challenging its practice of denying driver’s licenses to beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Filed in federal court in Phoenix, the class-action suit challenges an executive order issued by Gov. Jan Brewer making DACA recipients ineligible for all public benefits. Although the suit is limited to Arizona’s policy, the outcome could affect DACA recipients’ ability to obtain driver’s licenses in other states as well. Read More
Green Cards and Red Flags
Business Standard November 17, 2012 The US’s policy of limiting the number of immigrants is traumatic for visa seekers and bad news for its economy. Indira Kanan reviews a new book that proposes a solution. The United States welcomes immigrants. Immigrants love the United States. They start companies, lots… Read More
Immigrant Entrepreneurs Open for Business
Des Moines Register November 3, 2012 Betty Garcia embraces the term “immigrant entrepreneur” as a badge of pride. She says her family hasn’t had it as easy as native-born Americans in turning Tortilleria Sonora, whose name hints at both the product and her family’s origins, into a successful business. Read More
Who’s Hiring? An Inside Out View of High Unemployment
Yahoo! Finance November 2, 2012 The latest snapshot of the U.S. labor market, as seen in the October employment report, underscores the current jobs crisis in America. The unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9% from 7.8% in the prior month, and 171,000 payrolls were added to the workforce. While… Read More
Could DACA Have Happened Without Public Engagement at USCIS?
Approximately two months after the program opened, nearly 200,000 individuals have submitted requests for grants under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) imitative. It’s still too early to assess the overall success of the program or evaluate the grant rates, but it isn’t too early to take note of the important role that preparation played in making DACA a reality. Read More
Supreme Court to Consider Reach of Padilla v. Kentucky
In its landmark decision in Padilla v. Kentucky, the Supreme Court confirmed that criminal defense attorneys have a constitutional obligation to advise their clients if pleading guilty to a particular offense could lead to deportation. On Thursday,* the Justices will consider a follow-up question of critical importance for many immigrants placed in removal proceedings on account of bad legal advice: whether the ruling applies to cases that became final before the decision was issued. Read More
Supreme Court Case Highlights Cruel Intersection of Immigration and Drug Laws
Tomorrow morning, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a complicated immigration case involving how courts should determine whether a crime qualifies as an “aggravated felony.” Once the legal clutter is set aside, however, the case provides a clear example of how our nation’s immigration laws often fail to account for the most basic considerations of fairness and proportionality. If the Justices rule in the government’s favor, a lawful permanent resident with two U.S. citizen children could be deported from the country—and permanently barred from returning—for possessing less than $30 worth of marijuana. Read More
Author of Torture Memos Challenges Legality of DACA
As a high-ranking Justice Department attorney after 9/11, John Yoo authored an infamous legal memo arguing that the President, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, possessed irrevocable authority to order the torture of alleged “enemy combatants.” Although the memos were subsequently revoked, Yoo has remained an ardent defender of presidential power—except, it appears, when it comes to the exercise of prosecutorial discretion for undocumented immigrants. Read More
STEM Visas A Controversy Among Legislators
Your News Now September 25, 2012 WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the gap between available skilled labor and the rapidly growing science, technology, engineering and math industries, or STEM, jobs continues to widen, lawmakers are struggling to find a balance between meeting the needs of the burgeoning sectors and creating… Read More
Alabama Doubles Down, Appeals Ruling on HB 56
Late last month, after a panel of federal judges unanimously struck down major provisions of Alabama HB 56, a statement issued by Gov. Robert Bentley gave reason to hope the state would graciously concede defeat. Calling it time “to move past court battles,” Bentley said Alabama should turn its focus to the handful of provisions that the panel declined to enjoin. In legal papers filed on Monday, however, Alabama challenged the panel’s ruling and asked for a new hearing before all active judges on the federal appeals court. Although such requests are rarely granted, the filing suggests that Alabama, like Arizona, is prepared to defend its law all the way to the Supreme Court. Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
