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Immigration
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July 22, 2024
DHS Adds Environmental Economics To List Of STEM Fields
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Monday that foreign students on F-1 visas who earn degrees in environmental and natural resource economics can now seek up to three years of employment in the U.S. after graduation.
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July 22, 2024
Texas Wants Place In Fight Over Biden's Asylum Law
The state of Texas is seeking to intervene in a D.C. federal court lawsuit challenging a new federal policy that restricts asylum at the southern border, saying that it does not trust the Biden administration to defend the executive authority used to issue the rule.
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July 22, 2024
NYC Says Migrant Busing Has Stopped Amid Border Curbs
New York City retreated from its pending motion in state court to block eight charter bus companies from contracting with Texas to transport migrants to the city, saying the busing has already stopped after the Biden administration implemented new border policies.
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July 19, 2024
Prison Biz Urges 9th Circ. To Keep Inspection Law Blocked
Private prison operator GEO Group Inc. has urged the Ninth Circuit to keep a Washington law allowing for the surprise inspection of its immigration detention center blocked, arguing the law was specifically enacted to shut down its facility.
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July 19, 2024
Judge Presses Govt. On Immigrants' Vetting Delays
A Washington federal judge on Friday pushed the government to defend a special national-security immigration vetting program, suggesting that delays in processing applications have left many people seeking citizenship and green cards in "no man's land."
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July 19, 2024
Atlanta Strikes Deal To End Ex-Worker's Retaliation Suit
The city of Atlanta has reached a deal with its former immigrant affairs director to resolve her lawsuit alleging she was fired after blowing the whistle on failures in the city's immigrant outreach services, according to a filing in Georgia federal court.
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July 19, 2024
Feds Deny That Advocate Suit Forced Immigration Change
The Biden administration rebuked immigration advocates' request for $3.7 million for challenging Trump-era orders ending immigration protections for people from conflict zones, arguing they couldn't claim they won the case just because the new administration undid its predecessor's policy.
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July 19, 2024
1st Circ. Says Refugee's Evidence Of Persecution Was Ignored
A refugee facing removal for firearm offenses has another chance at staying in the U.S., as the First Circuit found an immigration judge failed to consider whether his family was persecuted while escaping Liberia during a genocide.
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July 18, 2024
'Dreamer' Sues California Credit Union Alleging Loan Bias
University Credit Union violated both federal and California antidiscrimination laws by withdrawing a woman's auto loan because she was a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program recipient, the woman alleged in a proposed class action filed Thursday in California federal court.
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July 18, 2024
Split 9th Circ. Panel Backs Restoring DHS Bond Rule
A Ninth Circuit panel upheld a Department of Homeland Security rule barring some immigration surety firms from posting bonds for detained border-crossers Thursday, saying the rule's 2021 ratification by current Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas cured any defects with its original introduction in 2020.
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July 18, 2024
Shelter Ignored Workers' Sex Abuse Of Migrant Kids, Feds Say
The nation's largest housing provider for unaccompanied migrant children for years turned a blind eye to its employees raping, sexually abusing and harassing children in its care, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday in announcing its lawsuit filed in Texas federal court.
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July 18, 2024
DOJ, Treasury Target Mexico-Based Human Smuggling Group
A Sierra Leone national and his wife are facing criminal charges and sanctions for their roles in an alleged human smuggling organization that brought thousands of migrants into the United States, federal prosecutors have announced.
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July 18, 2024
4th Circ. Deems Paying For Sex 'Immoral' In Deportation Case
The Fourth Circuit denied a Salvadorian man's petition to stop his removal from the U.S. in a precedential ruling that soliciting prostitution is a "crime of moral turpitude" that disqualifies him from getting his deportation canceled even if the public stigma surrounding sex work is reducing.
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July 18, 2024
Las Vegas Developer Says SEC's EB-5 Fraud Suit Falls Short
A Las Vegas developer urged a Nevada federal judge to toss securities regulators' allegations she misappropriated $10 million raised by overseas investors hoping to come to the U.S. to pay down a loan for a project unconnected to their applications, arguing Wednesday the regulators fail to allege a wrongful state of mind.
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July 18, 2024
Au Pair Co. Can't Arbitrate Wage Claims, 1st Circ. Told
A group of former au pairs who say they were underpaid for their work has urged the First Circuit to affirm that Cultural Care can't force them into arbitration in Switzerland, calling the agency's position a delay tactic with no merit.
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July 17, 2024
Immigrant Bond Cos. Appeal Injunction After $811M Loss
Immigrant bond companies subject to an $811 million judgment for abusive bonding practices told the Fourth Circuit that a lower court's injunction against them is vague and far broader than federal law allows.
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July 18, 2024
CORRECTED: Green Card Process For Mixed-Status Families Opens Aug. 19
The Biden administration said Wednesday that unauthorized spouses and children of U.S. citizens can start applying on Aug. 19 for a new program that will allow them to get green cards without having to leave the country, in addition to other announcements aimed at increasing access to counsel in immigration courts and boosting noncitizens' ability to work. Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the start date of the parole-in-place program for unauthorized spouses and children of U.S. citizens. The error has been corrected.
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July 17, 2024
Workers Claim Trucking, Visa Cos. Ran Labor Scam
Two African immigrants have accused a trucking company and an immigration services firm of running a yearslong enterprise to force workers from abroad to perform dangerous and unsafe work.
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July 17, 2024
ICE Doesn't Have To Reveal Sources, 2nd Circ. Says
An Ecuadorian man couldn't convince the Second Circuit to toss out a removal order based on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer's failure to explicitly explain how the agency learned he wasn't a U.S. citizen.
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July 17, 2024
Death Threats Not Enough For 2nd Circ. To OK Asylum
The Second Circuit on Wednesday rejected an asylum application from a Nepali man who claimed to be fleeing political persecution from Maoist partisans, unconvinced that the threats against his life were serious enough.
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July 17, 2024
Judge Says Atty Shouldn't Be Deported For Crash Scheme
A Michigan federal judge on Wednesday urged federal officials not to deport a Canadian attorney sentenced for his involvement in an illegal crash victim solicitation scheme, saying that outside of the scheme, the attorney has a "hell of a lot" to offer the community.
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July 16, 2024
EB-5 Investors Seek Sanctions Over 'Flight Risk' Defendant Info
Two dozen Chinese investors who alleged that $13.2 million worth of their investments in a Hawaii resort went missing has urged an Illinois federal judge to sanction developers for not giving them important case information, including contact information for one defendant who they said is an "obvious flight risk."
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July 16, 2024
Feds Contest Texas DA's Immunity In Migrant Arrest Law Fight
Nonprofits challenging Texas' migrant arrest law have urged the Fifth Circuit to reject Texas District Attorney Bill Hicks' claim of immunity, saying his argument that the Fifth Circuit's ruling in a separate case over changes to the state's election code is meritless.
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July 16, 2024
Separated Families Worry Trial Delay Would Weaken Memories
Families seeking redress for alleged psychological harms suffered under the Trump administration's zero-tolerance border policy are urging a California federal court not to grant the government's request to delay their trial, saying natural memory lapses would undermine their case.
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July 16, 2024
Texas Says Maritime Expert Shouldn't Testify In Barrier Fight
Texas moved to exclude a maritime expert witness for the U.S. government in its case challenging the state's barrier installed on the Rio Grande aimed at countering increasing migration, arguing on Tuesday the proposed witness, who plans to testify the barrier obstructs navigability, isn't an expert on buoys, booms or floats.
Expert Analysis
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Murdaugh Trials Offer Law Firms Fraud Prevention Reminders
As the fraud case against Alex Murdaugh continues to play out, the evidence and narrative presented at his murder trial earlier this year may provide lessons for law firms on implementing robust internal controls that can detect and prevent similar kinds of fraud, say Travis Casner and Helga Zauner at Weaver and Tidwell.
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Foreign Labor Certification Website Still Structurally Limited
Though the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Foreign Labor Certification has shown encouraging responsiveness in correcting at least one major issue with its online portal, several sources of frustration — including employers' limited access to filed applications — still require fixing, says Michael Morton at Fakhoury Global.
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Firm Tips For Helping New Lawyers Succeed Post-Pandemic
Ten steps can help firms significantly enhance the experience of attorneys who started their careers in the coronavirus pandemic era, including facilitating opportunities for cross-firm connection, which can ultimately help build momentum for business development, says Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners.
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Perspectives
Immigration Board Must Mend Choice Of Law Post-Garcia
The Board of Immigration Appeals must revisit the choice of law standard recently established in Matter of Garcia, which fails to establish predictability, upsets the settled expectations of parties' remanded cases and unfairly tips the scale in the government's favor, says Monica Mananzan at the Capital Area Immigrants' Rights Coalition.
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Fla. Foreign Real Estate Law Brings Broad Investment Risks
Last month, Florida became the latest state to enact legislation prohibiting Chinese investors from acquiring certain interests in real property, introducing significant legal uncertainty and consequences for real estate stakeholders and the private equity industry, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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Roundup
Inside Immigration Court
In this Expert Analysis series, immigration judges discuss best practices for attorneys who appear before them and important developments in immigration court practice.
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Opinion
Federal Law Should Recognize And Protect Stateless People
The government should protect the 200,000-plus people living in the U.S. with no recognized claim to citizenship under any country's laws by defining statelessness, providing benefits like green card eligibility and a path to citizenship, and issuing guidelines for federal officers evaluating statelessness cases, say Samantha Sitterley at United Stateless and Charles Johnson at Akin Gump.
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Tackling Judge-Shopping Concerns While Honoring Localism
As the debate continues over judge-shopping and case assignments in federal court, policymakers should look to a hybrid model that preserves the benefits of localism for those cases that warrant it, while preventing the appearance of judge-shopping for cases of a more national or widespread character, says Joshua Sohn at the U.S. Department of Justice.
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Series
Inside Immigration Court: The Pros, Cons Of Remote Hearings
Technology introduced during the pandemic has improved the quality and efficiency of virtual immigration court hearings, but concerns still linger over the court system's ability to provide full and complete simultaneous interpretation in these hearings, as well as its effect on due process, says Immigration Judge Mimi Tsankov.
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Perspectives
How Attorneys Can Help Combat Anti-Asian Hate
Amid an exponential increase in violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, unique obstacles stand in the way of accountability and justice — but lawyers can effect powerful change by raising awareness, offering legal representation, advocating for victims’ rights and more, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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Opinion
Congress Needs To Enact A Federal Anti-SLAPP Statute
Although many states have passed statutes meant to prevent individuals or entities from filing strategic lawsuits against public participation, other states have not, so it's time for Congress to enact a federal statute to ensure that free speech and petitioning rights are uniformly protected nationwide in federal court, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Some Client Speculations On AI And The Law Firm Biz Model
Generative artificial intelligence technologies will put pressure on the business of law as it is structured currently, but clients may end up with more price certainty for legal services, and lawyers may spend more time being lawyers, says Jonathan Cole at Melody Capital.
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New Foreign Labor Certification Form Brings Complications
Ambiguities in a question on the Office of Foreign Labor Certification's new application for permanent employment certification could serve as a trap for attorneys and sponsoring employers, as it's unclear how it will be interpreted by both the OFLC and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, says Michael Morton at Fakhoury Global.
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Ensuring I-9 Compliance As Remote Flexibility Sunsets
Employers that took advantage of remote document inspection in their I-9 employment eligibility verification processes under COVID-19 accommodations must physically reinspect such documents and make other adjustments to bring their records into compliance before Aug. 30, say attorneys at Duane Morris.
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A Lawyer's Guide To Approaching Digital Assets In Discovery
The booming growth of cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens has made digital assets relevant in many legal disputes but also poses several challenges for discovery, so lawyers must garner an understanding of the technology behind these assets, the way they function, and how they're held, says Brett Sager at Ehrenstein Sager.