The Accidental History of the U.S. Immigration Courts

The Accidental History of the U.S. Immigration Courts
Author: Alison Peck
Publisher: University of California Press
Total Pages: 239
Release: 2021-05-25
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0520381173

How the immigration courts became part of the nation’s law enforcement agency—and how to reshape them. During the Trump administration, the immigration courts were decried as more politicized enforcement weapon than impartial tribunal. Yet few people are aware of a fundamental flaw in the system that has long pre-dated that administration: The immigration courts are not really “courts” at all but an office of the Department of Justice—the nation’s law enforcement agency. This original and surprising diagnosis shows how paranoia sparked by World War II and the War on Terror drove the structure of the immigration courts. Focusing on previously unstudied decisions in the Roosevelt and Bush administrations, the narrative laid out in this book divulges both the human tragedy of our current immigration court system and the human crises that led to its creation. Moving the reader from understanding to action, Alison Peck offers a lens through which to evaluate contemporary bills and proposals to reform our immigration court system. Peck provides an accessible legal analysis of recent events to make the case for independent immigration courts, proposing that the courts be moved into an independent, Article I court system. As long as the immigration courts remain under the authority of the attorney general, the administration of immigration justice will remain a game of political football—with people’s very lives on the line.

Immigration Outside the Law

Immigration Outside the Law
Author: Hiroshi Motomura
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2014-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 0199768439

"A 1975 state-wide law in Texas made it legal for school districts to bar students from public schools if they were in the country illegally, thus making it extremely difficult or even possible for scores of children to receive an education. The resulting landmark Supreme Court case, Plyler v. Doe (1982), established the constitutional right of children to attend public elementary and secondary schools regardless of legal status and changed how the nation approached the conversation about immigration outside the law. Today, as the United States takes steps towards immigration policy reform, Americans are subjected to polarized debates on what the country should do with its "illegal" or "undocumented" population. In Immigration Outside the Law, acclaimed immigration law expert Hiroshi Motomura takes a neutral, legally-accurate approach in his attention and responses to the questions surrounding those whom he calls "unauthorized migrants." In a reasoned and careful discussion, he seeks to explain why unlawful immigration is such a contentious debate in the United States and to offer suggestions for what should be done about it. He looks at ways in which unauthorized immigrants are becoming part of American society and why it is critical to pave the way for this integration. In the final section of the book, Motomura focuses on practical and politically viable solutions to the problem in three public policy areas: international economic development, domestic economic policy, and educational policy. Amidst the extreme opinions voiced daily in the media, Motomura explains the complicated topic of immigration outside the law in an understandable and refreshingly objective way for students and scholars studying immigration law, policy-makers looking for informed opinions, and any American developing an opinion on this contentious issue"--

Mental Health Evaluations in Immigration Court

Mental Health Evaluations in Immigration Court
Author: Virginia Barber-Rioja
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2022-08-16
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1479802603

PROSE Award- Psychology Finalist A timely and important contribution to the study of immigration court from a psychological perspective Every day, large numbers of immigrants undertake dangerous migration journeys only to face deportation or “removal” proceedings once they arrive in the U.S. Others who have been in the country for many years may face these proceedings as well, and either group may seek to gain lawful status by means of an application to USCIS, the benefits arm of the immigration system. Mental Health Evaluations in Immigration Court examines the growing role of mental health professionals in the immigration system as they conduct forensic mental health assessments that are used as psychological evidence for applications for deportation relief, write affidavits for the court about the course of treatment they have provided to immigrants, help prepare people emotionally to be deported, and provide support for immigrants in detention centers. Many immigrants appear in immigration court—often without an attorney if they cannot afford one—as part of deportation proceedings. Mental health professionals can be deeply involved in these proceedings, from helping to buttress an immigrant’s plea for asylum to helping an immigration judge make decisions about hardship, competency or risks for violence. There are a whole host of psycho-legal and forensic issues that arise in immigration court and in other immigration applications that have not yet been fully addressed in the field. This book provides an overview of relevant issues likely to be addressed by mental health and legal professionals. Mental Health Evaluations in Immigration Court corrects a serious deficiency in the study of immigration law and mental health, offering suggestions for future scholarship and acting as a vital resource for mental health professionals, immigration lawyers, and judges.

The President and Immigration Law

The President and Immigration Law
Author: Adam B. Cox
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2020-08-04
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0190694386

Who controls American immigration policy? The biggest immigration controversies of the last decade have all involved policies produced by the President policies such as President Obama's decision to protect Dreamers from deportation and President Trump's proclamation banning immigrants from several majority-Muslim nations. While critics of these policies have been separated by a vast ideological chasm, their broadsides have embodied the same widely shared belief: that Congress, not the President, ought to dictate who may come to the United States and who will be forced to leave. This belief is a myth. In The President and Immigration Law, Adam B. Cox and Cristina M. Rodríguez chronicle the untold story of how, over the course of two centuries, the President became our immigration policymaker-in-chief. Diving deep into the history of American immigration policy from founding-era disputes over deporting sympathizers with France to contemporary debates about asylum-seekers at the Southern border they show how migration crises, real or imagined, have empowered presidents. Far more importantly, they also uncover how the Executive's ordinary power to decide when to enforce the law, and against whom, has become an extraordinarily powerful vehicle for making immigration policy. This pathbreaking account helps us understand how the United States ?has come to run an enormous shadow immigration system-one in which nearly half of all noncitizens in the country are living in violation of the law. It also provides a blueprint for reform, one that accepts rather than laments the role the President plays in shaping the national community, while also outlining strategies to curb the abuse of law enforcement authority in immigration and beyond.

The Deportation Machine

The Deportation Machine
Author: Adam Goodman
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2020-05-26
Genre: History
ISBN: 0691201994

The unknown history of deportation and of the fear that shapes immigrants' lives Constant headlines about deportations, detention camps, and border walls drive urgent debates about immigration and what it means to be an American in the twenty-first century. The Deportation Machine traces the long and troubling history of the US government's systematic efforts to terrorize and expel immigrants over the past 140 years. This provocative, eye-opening book provides needed historical perspective on one of the most pressing social and political issues of our time. In a sweeping and engaging narrative, Adam Goodman examines how federal, state, and local officials have targeted various groups for expulsion, from Chinese and Europeans at the turn of the twentieth century to Central Americans and Muslims today. He reveals how authorities have singled out Mexicans, nine out of ten of all deportees, and removed most of them not by orders of immigration judges but through coercive administrative procedures and calculated fear campaigns. Goodman uncovers the machine's three primary mechanisms—formal deportations, "voluntary" departures, and self-deportations—and examines how public officials have used them to purge immigrants from the country and exert control over those who remain. Exposing the pervasive roots of anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States, The Deportation Machine introduces the politicians, bureaucrats, businesspeople, and ordinary citizens who have pushed for and profited from expulsion. This revelatory book chronicles the devastating human costs of deportation and the innovative strategies people have adopted to fight against the machine and redefine belonging in ways that transcend citizenship.

Immigration Law and Social Justice

Immigration Law and Social Justice
Author: Bill Ong Hing
Publisher: Aspen Publishing
Total Pages: 1557
Release: 2021-09-14
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1543826709

The purchase of this ebook edition does not entitle you to receive access to the Connected eBook on CasebookConnect. You will need to purchase a new print book to get access to the full experience including: lifetime access to the online ebook with highlight, annotation, and search capabilities, plus an outline tool and other helpful resources. This innovative casebook approaches immigration law and policy from a public interest perspective with a special emphasis on issues of social justice. Along with cases and statutory material, Immigration Law and Social Justice employs a variety of materials from appellate cases, client examples, article excerpts, and hypotheticals. These materials not only provide the basic framework for immigration law, but also engage students with the greater social, political, and economic context necessary to understand the movement of immigrants to the United States, as well as the human impact of immigration law enforcement and administration. Through examples, notes and questions that raise the social, racial, and political questions of admission and enforcement, as well as discussion of public interest lawyers’ strategies, this casebook advances students’ understanding of the creative approaches used in the field. Ultimately, this book encourages students to think broadly about relevant social, economic, and political forces. New to the Second Edition: Supreme Court decisions on expedited removal and DACA Analysis of the Trump administration approaches to relief from removal, judicial review, and the rights of noncitizens Major Supreme Court decisions, including Trump v. Hawaii (Muslim ban) and Dimaya v. Sessions (2018) (aggravated felonies) Administrative decisions such as Matter of A-C-M- (material support bar), Matter of A-B- (domestic violence and particular social group) Developments in how immigration courts define convictions Additional/updated material on: History of U.S. immigration laws Race-conscious lawyering; racial justice and immigrant rights New ICE enforcement guidance under the Biden administration; U.S. v. California (upholding California’s sanctuary policies) Citizenship for orphans; renunciation of citizenship Public charge grounds and Title 42 COVID exclusions; I-601A waiver; firearms offenses; crimes involving moral turpitude Restrictions on bond hearings imposed by the Trump administration; monitoring of children’s detention centers under Flores settlement; Zepeda Rivas v. Jennings (requirements on ICE detention facilities in light of COVID-19) Border wall and related litigation; Operation Streamline; worksite enforcement; state and local cooperation Pereira v. Sessions and Niz-Chavez v. Garland (defective Notice to Appear and eligibility for cancellation of removal); cancellation of removal Examination of right to counsel for minors and for non-detained respondents with mental challenges; ineffective assistance of counsel; restrictions imposed by Trump administration on immigration court continuances; problems with distance videoconference hearings New refugee numbers under the Biden administration; past persecution; membership in particular social groups Professors and student will benefit from: Deep background on the social context of immigration law and its enforcement in the context of a sophisticated examination of the technicalities of relevant statutory and administrative law Materials encouraging students to learn relevant law with an eye toward potential advocacy, including litigation strategies, and which challenge students to evaluate critically the mutually constitutive work of race and immigration law Contextual background to understand immigration and immigration enforcement Unique focus on immigration and social justice, as well as public interest immigration lawyering Focus on issues of contemporary relevance, highlighting some of the most contentious areas of immigration law and policy Materials designed to facilitate student understanding of the letter of immigration law, and to encourage students to think creatively about possible reform Integrated critical materials exploring the role of race, class, religion, gender, and disability in immigration law and policy Problems designed to encourage active learning and application of law

Forensic Psychological Assessment in Immigration Court

Forensic Psychological Assessment in Immigration Court
Author: Barton Evans, III
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 407
Release: 2018-04-09
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 131721921X

Forensic Psychological Assessment in Immigration Court is an essential specialized guide for psychologists and clinicians who work with immigrants. Immigration evaluations differ in many ways from other types of forensic assessments because of the psycholegal issues that extend beyond the individual, including family dynamics, social context, and cross-cultural concerns. Immigrants are often victims of trauma and require specialized expertise to elicit the information needed for assessment. Having spent much of their professional careers as practicing forensic psychologists, authors Evans and Hass have compiled a comprehensive text that draws on forensic psychology, psychological assessment, traumatology, family processes, and national and international political forces to present an approach for the effective and ethical practice of forensic psychological assessment in Immigration Court.