ImmigrationProf Blog

The New, New Colossus: An Annotated Version of ‘The New Colossus’ by Emma Lazarus by Nora Phillips and Salimah Khoja

Need a distraction from all the immigration breaking news? Check out The New, New Colossus: An Annotated Version of ‘The New Colossus’ by Emma Lazarus by Nora Phillips and Salimah Khoja.  "The purpose of this annotation is to raise awareness of the extreme restrictions in U.S. immigration law via a poetic outlet. It explores the juxtaposition of the promises of America with the reality under U.S. immigration laws. It delineates the various categories of “undesirables” that the United States aims to exclude and remove. Finally, it aims to begin to demystify U.S. immigration laws to show the extreme restrictions placed on immigrants."

KJ

Laken Riley Act to Be First Piece of Legislation Signed by President Trump in His Second Term?

Last night, the Senate passed the Laken Riley Act, which would mandate federal detention for immigrants residing in the U.S. illegally if they are accused of crimes. The bill is expected to be Trump's first piece of legislation signed into law this term.

As UPI reports, the vote was 64-35 and "Democrats who voted for the measure include Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Mark Kelly of Arizona, Jon Ossoff of Georgia and Gary Peters of Michigan."

KJ

CPB One app Shut Down

On Day 1, President Trump has shut down the CPB One app.  The app allowed migrants to schedule appointments at ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border.  It is no longer operational, according to a notice from Customs and Border Protection (CPB).

"Effective January 20, 2025, the functionalities of CBP One that previously allowed undocumented aliens to submit advance information and schedule appointments at eight southwest border ports of entry is no longer available, and existing appointments have been cancelled," a notice on the website updated on Monday reads.

Under the Biden administration, asylum seekers relied on the CBP One app developed by the CPB in order for them to make  claims. The app a key part of the Biden administration's border management strategy to restore order and expand a pathway to legal entry.

KJ

President Trump's Inauguration Day Immigration Executive Orders

Over the day yesterday, Kit Johnson filled us in on the immigration highlights of the inauguration and the revocation of various Biden immigration-related executive orders.

As expected, President Trump signed many, many executive orders and took many executive actions, including pardoning persons convicted in connection with the January 6 uprising in Washington, D.C.  The entire set of executive orders are posted here.

1.  GUARANTEEING THE STATES PROTECTION AGAINST INVASION.  This order begins with quotations a case known well to immigration law professors:

"An essential feature of any sovereign nation is the existence of territorial boundaries and the inherent authority to decide who and what may cross those boundaries.  The Supreme Court of the United States has described this power as a `fundamental act of sovereignty,' which `stems not alone from legislative power but is inherent in the executive power to control the foreign affairs of the nation.'  U.S. ex rel. Knauff v. Shaughnessy, 338 U.S. 537, 542 (1950).  The Supreme Court has recognized the inherent right and duty of the Executive Branch to defend our national sovereignty, stating that `[w]hen Congress prescribes a procedure concerning the admissibility of aliens, it is not dealing alone with a legislative power.  It is implementing an inherent executive power.'  Id."

2.  Designating Cartels And Other Organizations As Foreign Terrorist Organizations And Specially Designated Global Terrorists

3.  Protecting The United States From Foreign Terrorists And Other National Security And Public Safety Threats

4.  Protecting The American People Against Invasion

5.  Securing Our Borders

6.  Protecting The Meaning And Value Of American Citizenship

The ACLU, Asian Law Caucus, and other civil rights groups have filed suit challenging the Executive Order's elimination of birthright citizenship.  Click here for a press release. Click here for commentary on birthright citizenship.

7.  Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program

"This order suspends the [United States Refugee Admissions Program] until such time as the further entry into the United States of refugees aligns with the interests of the United States."

8.  Clarifying The Military’s Role In Protecting The Territorial Integrity Of The United States

Click here for various legal issues raised by involving the military in immigration enforcement.

9.  Declaring A National Emergency At The Southern Border Of The United States

 

For a summary of President Trump's immigration executive orders by Brett Samuels and Rebeccas Bietsch for The Hill, click here.  Under the orders, the Remain in Mexico policy put in place in President Trump's first term will return and asylum seekers who come to the border will be required to wait in Mexico while their claims are decided.

Besides the executive orders, President Trump on Day 1 removed four Executive Office of Immigration Review from their positions on Monday. "The four officials included Mary Cheng, the acting director of the Executive Office of Immigration Review. The three others fired were Sheila McNulty, the chief immigration judge; Lauren Alder Reid, the head of policy for the agency; and Jill Anderson, the general counsel in the Executive Office of Immigration Review."  The immigration court system is undergoing an overhaul.

The Trump administration also shut down the CBPOne app, which allowed asylum seekers to schedule appointments at ports of entry.  

Expect regular commentary on the various immigration executive orders.

KJ

Revocation of Executive Orders: Immigration Highlights

Today, President Trump announced the Initial Rescission of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions. It looks like the following rescinded Executive Orders relate to immigration: 

• Executive Order 13993 of January 20, 2021 (Revision of Civil Immigration Enforcement Policies and Priorities).
• Executive Order 14006 of January 26, 2021 (Reforming Our Incarceration System To Eliminate the Use of Privately Operated Criminal Detention Facilities).
• Executive Order 14010 of February 2, 2021 (Creating a Comprehensive Regional Framework To Address the Causes of Migration, To Manage Migration Throughout North and Central America, and To Provide Safe and Orderly Processing of Asylum Seekers at the United States Border).
• Executive Order 14011 of February 2, 2021 (Establishment of Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families).
• Executive Order 14012 of February 2, 2021 (Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans).
• Executive Order 14013 of February 4, 2021 (Rebuilding and Enhancing Programs To Resettle Refugees and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration).
• Executive Order 14135 of January 3, 2025 (Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Homeland Security).
• Executive Order 14136 of January 3, 2025 (Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Justice).

-KitJ

New White House Website: Immigration Highlights

At whitehouse.gov the Main Menu currently has three options: News, Administration, and Issues. I clicked on Issues, which took me to The Trump-Vance Administration Priorities. The first priority is titled Make America Safe Again. Here are the literal bullet points:

• President Trump will take bold action to secure our border and protect American communities.
• This includes ending Biden’s catch-and-release policies, reinstating Remain in Mexico, building the wall, ending asylum for illegal border crossers, cracking down on criminal sanctuaries, and enhancing vetting and screening of aliens.
• President Trump’s deportation operation will address the record border crossings of criminal aliens under the prior administration. The President is suspending refugee resettlement, after communities were forced to house large and unsustainable populations of migrants, straining community safety and resources.
• The Armed Forces, including the National Guard, will engage in border security, which is national security, and will be deployed to the border to assist existing law enforcement personnel.
• President Trump will begin the process of designating cartels, including the dangerous Tren de Aragua, as foreign terrorist organizations and use the Alien Enemies Act to remove them.
• The Department of Justice will seek the death penalty as the appropriate punishment for heinous crimes against humanity, including those who kill law enforcement officers and illegal migrants who maim and murder Americans.

-KitJ

Trump's Second Inaugural Address: Immigration Highlights

The New York Times has an transcript of Trump's second inaugural address. Here are the immigration bits:

...We have a government that has given unlimited funding to the defense of foreign borders but refuses to defend American borders, or, more importantly, its own people. ...

Today I will sign a series of historic executive orders. With these actions we will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense. It’s all about common sense.

First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will immediately be halted and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came. We will reinstate my Remain in Mexico policy. I will end the practice of catch and release. And I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.

Under the orders I signed today, we will also be designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. And by invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, I will direct our government to use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gang criminal networks, bringing devastating crime to U.S. soil, including our cities and inner cities.

As commander in chief I have no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions, and that is exactly what I am going to do. We will do it at a level that nobody has ever seen before....

-KitJ

Issue Brief: Immigration-Related Campus Concerns

The American Council on Education has prepared an issue brief "offering information and insights to help campuses navigate what may be a rapidly shifting landscape. It draws lessons from the early days of the first Trump administration, when executive actions on immigration came swiftly and sometimes unexpectedly, causing confusion and uncertainty for those directly affected."

KJ

PRESS RELEASE: Immigrant Rights Leader Ravi Ragbir Receives A Presidential Pardon

 

On inauguration day, it is important to remember that presidents matter.  I was remined of that fact this morning upon receipt of this press release from a group supporting Ravi Ragbir, an immigrant activist who faced removal. 

As described by the Associated Press, "Immigrant rights activist Ravi Ragbir, who was convicted of a nonviolent offence in 2001 and was sentenced to two years in prison and was facing deportation to Trinidad and Tobago." Ragbir's removal case had been percolating in the courts for years.  Here is the release:

"Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025

. . . .

Immigrant Rights Leader Ravi Ragbir Receives A Presidential Pardon 

On Sunday, January 19, President Joseph Biden granted Ravi Ragbir a presidential pardon. A prominent immigrant rights leader who has been organizing faith communities to support immigrants for nearly two decades, Mr. Ragbir has been fighting his deportation since 2006. The presidential pardon will allow Mr. Ragbir to remain home in the United States with his U.S. citizen wife, daughter, and the broader faith and immigrant rights communities he has served.

This news comes at a moment when the immigrant rights movement is bracing for the incoming administration’s threat of mass deportations. Mr. Ragbir’s pardon serves as an example of how the nation can and should protect immigrant community members, keeping families and communities together, rather than tearing them apart.

“I am so grateful to President Biden for this pardon, which has lifted a burden that I have carried for so many years. The uncertainty and instability of not knowing what tomorrow would bring has kept me, my family, and awake for many nights, and we can now breathe. This would not have happened without the support from our legal team, and from the community that has stood with me throughout this journey.” said Mr. Ragbir.

Mr. Ragbir’s family celebrated news of his pardon. His wife, Amy Gottlieb, is also an immigrant rights advocate and serves as U.S. Migration Director of American Friends Service Committee. “This news has brought us so much joy, after living in perpetual limbo. We can now move forward with our lives without fear of detention, surveillance or deportation, and continue our work to support others facing this same circumstance,” said Ms. Gottlieb. 

Faith leaders, many of whom led the efforts to urge President Biden to pardon Mr. Ragbir, praised President Biden’s decision. . . . 

Mr. Ragbir’s pardon application has been pending since 2016, and has garnered widespread community support. New York community, labor, and faith based organizations celebrated the news of Mr. Ragbir’s pardon as a victory for human dignity, fairness, and the movement to protect immigrant rights. 
. . . .
Many elected officials have long championed Mr. Ragbir’s pardon in light of his service to immigrant and faith communities. 

“With a stroke of a pen, President Biden has brought relief to Ravi Ragbir, a prominent New York immigrant rights advocate who has helped thousands. I was proud to work for years with Ravi and many supporting organizations in New York as he navigated the legal and immigration systems looking for well-earned relief. With this pardon, Ravi is now free to remain in his home in Brooklyn, and continue to help others and to enrich our city,” said Senator Chuck Schumer. “My thoughts today are with Ravi, his wife Amy, and the many New Yorkers who have worked tirelessly for this moment.”

“I am overjoyed that President Biden has granted Ravi’s clemency request. No one should be targeted for deportation based on our constitutionally protected right to free speech, and I am grateful to the President for making clear that activism and fighting for justice are not grounds for immigration enforcement in our country. I am glad that Ravi and his family will no longer live with the constant threat of his removal based on a nonviolent, decades-old conviction. I look forward to seeing Ravi’s continued contributions to our shared community,” said Senator Cory Booker.

“I am elated that after nearly 20 years of fighting, Ravi Ragbir has received a pardon from President Biden that enables him to remain with his loved ones in his home–New York City,” Congressman Dan Goldman said. "As the former Executive Director of New Sanctuary Coalition, Ravi has helped thousands of immigrants forge a new life in our country, many of whom live right here in my district. With this pardon, Ravi can continue fighting for immigrant communities in NY-10 and throughout the country free from the anxiety that he could be torn from his family at any moment. It is an honor to have helped secure this pardon, and as we face the coming four years, I will continue to fight on behalf of Ravi and immigrants across our city and our country."

Democratic Leader Congressman Hakeem Jeffries said, “Ravi Ragbir is a nationally recognized immigration reform advocate who believes that all people should live with dignity and respect. For the past sixteen years, he has worked closely with faith leaders, civic groups, labor organizations and elected officials in support of a humane immigration system. The pardon granted by President Biden recognizes Ravi’s contributions to our country in the two decades since his conviction and will permit him to continue his partnership with the faith-based community.”

“For years, I’ve fought for Ravi Ragbir as he faced constant threats simply for fighting for immigrant rights and speaking truth to power. His dedication to our community and his tireless advocacy have been a source of inspiration for so many. Today, President Biden’s decision gives Ravi the freedom to continue his vital work without fear moving forward. This is a victory not just for Ravi, but for everyone who believes in justice and equality,” said Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez.

Congresswoman Yvette Clarke stated, “Thank you to President Biden for his moral and just decision to issue Ravi Ragbir his long-deserved, long-awaited pardon. At a time when immigrants across America are fearing for their futures in this country, it brings me great relief to know one of their most devoted champions will be permitted to continue his critical work that has, for years, bettered their lives and furthered their equitable treatment under the law. Despite suffering more than two decades of inhumane instability and uncertainty at the hands of our nation’s broken immigration system, Ravi never wavered in his fight to ensure every immigrant in America is treated with the fairness, dignity, and respect they deserve. Truly, his career has been defined in his unyielding advocacy and efforts on behalf of the rights of all immigrants across America. I was proud to serve as a longtime leader in the national movement to secure his pardon, just as I am proud today to say we have succeeded in that essential mission. As Mr. Ragbir begins his next chapter, free from persecution and free to continue the critical work that has improved the lives of countless individuals and families in this country, I look forward to witnessing the new heights he can achieve unburdened by this hardship that has too long loomed above his head. I thank him for his service to our nation’s most vulnerable communities, and I pledge to always stand at his side and the side of our immigrant neighbors when injustice threatens their American Dream.”

"I am proud to have stood in support and solidarity with Ravi Ragbir and his family during this difficult time and am appreciative to President Biden for his pardon," said Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13). 

“We are thrilled to learn that President Biden has pardoned Ravi Ragbir, an immigrants rights leader with deep roots in New York. This outcome is what Ravi, his family, and our community have been fighting to see for years,” said Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14). “Ravi embodies what it truly means to be an American. He stands up for what is right and prioritizes the needs of vulnerable communities even when it does not benefit him. And in turn, his story has been fraught with the consequences of our country’s policy of recklessly tethering immigration enforcement to our criminal justice system.  In the coming years, Ravi’s voice will be needed more than ever as we collectively pursue a more just immigration system.”
. . . 

Mr. Ragbir’s legal team underscored the significance of this victory. “For seventeen years, I have represented Ravi Ragbir as he tirelessly fought for other immigrants and their families. With this pardon, President Biden recognizes Ravi’s selfless service and gives hope to an entire movement of which Ravi is so deeply a part.” said Alina Das, Co-Director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic at New York University School of Law.

Jessica Rofé, Director of the Constitutional Rights Clinic at Rutgers Law School, stated, “It is a profound privilege to represent Ravi—an incredible force in the immigrant rights movement—to know and walk with Amy, and to be part of the movement to keep Ravi home. I am so grateful to President Biden for granting this pardon, and so grateful to all the people who supported Ravi’s pardon application, for their struggle, for their commitment, and for their dedication.” 

“We are beyond grateful for the opportunity to have worked alongside Ravi, Amy, the legal team, faith leaders, and everyone who supported this process. It was truly a privilege to represent such a wonderful advocate and human being, and to become a part of this community. Neither of us expected that we’d find a new family through this work, and we are so incredibly elated to have done so,” said Mariel Gonzalez-Medellin and Djibril Branche, student representatives for Ravi Ragbir through the Immigrant Rights Clinic at the New York University School of Law. 

The grant of the pardon comes at the end of a long and complex struggle through the immigration and criminal legal systems. Mr. Ragbir has lived in the United States for more than thirty years and received lawful permanent resident status in 1994. In 2000, he was convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with the prosecution of another individual who had submitted fraudulent loan applications to the company where Mr. Ragbir worked as a low level salesman. At his 2001 sentencing, federal judge William Bassler commented that Mr. Ragbir was a casualty of the other man’s fraud. Judge Bassler sentenced Mr. Ragbir to the minimum sentence, which Mr. Ragbir served from 2004-2006 following his appeals. Judge Bassler wrote in support of Mr. Ragbir’s pardon.

In 2006, instead of releasing Mr. Ragbir at the end of his criminal sentence, federal officials transferred Mr. Ragbir to county jails, where he was subjected to two additional years of immigration detention. Federal immigration law prohibited the immigration judge in Mr. Ragbir’s case from considering his family and community ties before ordering his deportation, based solely on his fraud conviction. 
. . . .
After Mr. Ragbir appealed his deportation order, federal immigration released Mr. Ragbir from detention on an order of supervision in 2008, concluding he was neither a flight risk or danger to the community. Mr. Ragbir emerged from his experience in immigration detention to become a community advocate and organizer for immigrant families and faith communities. He organized with Families for Freedom and then served as the Executive Director of the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City. He currently serves as Ecumenical Canon for Immigration Ministry for the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island.

In 2018, Mr. Ragbir’s advocacy made national headlines when federal immigration officials under the Trump Administration decided to abruptly revoke Mr. Ragbir’s authorization to live in the U.S. and attempted to deport him along with another immigrant rights leader affiliated with the sanctuary movement in New York City, Jean Montrevil. A federal judge ordered Mr. Ragbir’s release, finding that he had “lived the life of a redeemed man” and that ICE’s actions were “unnecessarily cruel” and were the kind of actions one would expect from “regimes we revile as unjust.” In 2019, a federal appellate court held that Mr. Ragbir had raised strong claims that ICE’s decision to target Mr. Ragbir amounted to unconstitutional First Amendment retaliation for his immigrant rights advocacy. ICE later settled the case by granting Mr. Ragbir three years of deferred action in 2021, which it extended until March 13, 2025. 

With the incoming Trump Administration poised to launch mass deportations, President Biden’s pardon of Mr. Ragbir provides hope to all those who seek to protect immigrant communities. 

. . . . 

For more information: IStandWithRavi.org

KJ

Martin Luther King Jr.’s Legacy Trumps Hate

Photo courtesy of UC Davis School of Law

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Today, Donald Trump will be inaugurated for his second term as President of the United States.  It also is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and we celebrate his legacy.  Human Rights Watch reminds us of the importance of respect for human rights and dignity for all, just as Dr. King would have.

Immigration is on peoples' minds this King Day with a series of immigration executive orders expected by the end of the day.  In the past, immigration  professor Ming Chen has blogged about Dr. King's legacy for a diverse America in the 21st century.  Jennifer Chacon has written about how Dr. King has much to teach us about immigration.

A few years ago, Obery M. Hendricks for Huffington Post wrote the following about Dr. King and immigration in words that resonated with me:

"We cannot know for sure what specific policies King would propose or support, but there are several things that we can venture with assurance: that King would condemn the demonization of undocumented immigrants, the name-calling and general characterization of them as rapists and criminals and terrorists; he would condemn the objectification of undocumented immigrants as `illegals,' a term that fails to reflect their humanity and human worth; and he would reject the narrow, legalistic nationalism of the type Clarence Jones attempts to pin on him. But first and foremost, we know that he would have the same measure of concern for the welfare and security of undocumented immigrants that he held for all people of every rank, religion, race and nationality: that they and their children should have adequate food, shelter, clothing, healthcare, education and suitable life-chances.

In other words, Martin Luther King would support any orderly and well administered immigration policy that honors and respects the integrity, wellbeing, and right to liberty, justice, equality and the pursuit of happiness for all people within our borders; and that in humane fashion considers the need for the safety of asylum for those who flee to our borders from danger, death and destruction. As for immigration policies that do not in substance honor the human personality in all these ways, one can be assured that the Martin Luther King, Jr., who said `I choose to give my life for those who have been left out' would stand against them with all of his being."

KJ

Jose Antonio Vargas Announces Change To His Immigration Status: O Visa by way of (d)(3) waiver

Jose Antonio Vargas, America's most famous noncitizen, has obtained an O Visa! (If you don't remember him, Vargas is the Pulitzer-prize winning journalist behind the film Documented, author of Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen, and founder of Define American.)

A change to guidance for inadmissibility waivers under INA 212(d)(3) made this possible. Vargas was able to get two bars to his visa eligibility forgiven: (1) lying about his citizenship in order to obtain work at the age of 19; and (2) the 10-year bar to admissibility he triggered by leaving the U.S. for the first time in more than 30 years in order to obtain his visa from a Mexican consulate.

He now has three years of authorized status in the United States.

-KitJ

What Will Immigration Enforcement Look Like in the Second Trump Administration?

 

Everyone seems to be asking.  What can we expect in Trump 2.0 on immigration?  Immigration was central to Trump’s campaign. He blamed migrants, asylum seekers and other immigrants for many problems. He promised a “mass deportation.” NPR outlines how President Trump might get started.

KJ

MALDEF Statement on Fifth Circuit DACA Ruling

As reported here, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decided the latest Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) case.  The ruling has generated criticism. 

Here is the statement of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF):

MALDEF STATEMENT ON APPEALS COURT RULING ON DACA

(NEW ORLEANS) – A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a district judge’s ruling that parts of the Biden Administration’s 2022 DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) rule is unlawful. However, the three-judge panel allowed the DACA rule to go into effect nationwide except for Texas. The decision also left in place the lower court’s decision allowing current DACA recipients, even in Texas, to renew DACA while the case is on appeal.   In its decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the DACA rule was inconsistent with the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, but limited the effect of its ruling in several important ways: The Fifth Circuit decision upheld the part of DACA that allows federal officials to classify DACA recipients as low priorities for removal and to not remove them. The Fifth Circuit decided that forbearance from removal can be preserved as DACA while “benefits” provisions are removed. The Fifth Circuit decided that the relief in this case is limited to Texas.  This means that the ruling that strikes down parts of DACA will apply only to people in Texas. In 2021, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen ruled the Obama Administration’s 2012 DACA memorandum unlawful because it violates the federal Administrative Procedures Act.  After President Joe Biden took office, the administration created a rule formalizing DACA. However, in September 2023, Hanen once again held that DACA is unlawful. Despite the court rulings, none of the decisions put an end to DACA for those who have already received that status. MALDEF and co-counsel, Ropes & Gray LLP, along with the U.S. Department of Justice and the State of New Jersey appealed that ruling to the Fifth Circuit. On October 10, attorneys presented oral argument before the three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit. The case, Texas v. United States, is a 2018 Texas-led challenge to the legality of the program that offers certain immigrants protection from deportation and the ability to work and go to school. MALDEF intervened in the case on behalf of a group of DACA recipients who argued they would not be adequately defended by the first Trump administration. Please attribute the following statement to MALDEF President and General Counsel Thomas A. Saenz: “The Fifth Circuit panel has belatedly recognized that the decision on DACA’s legality should be applied only in Texas under current Supreme Court doctrine; this tardy decision has deprived hundreds of thousands of young immigrants of the right to receive DACA, to the detriment of our economy and our progress as a nation.  This injustice, of several years in duration, should be taken into account as new immigration policy is developed. “The panel’s decision to sever forbearance from work authorization, while welcome, provides little or no protection to the employers, businesses, and neighborhoods that have come to rely on the incredible contributions of DACA recipients to preserving and promoting economic and social progress. “Moreover, the panel’s overreliance on the Fifth Circuit’s previous flawed analysis of standing and of the legality of DACA in its entirety make this decision itself ill-informed and non-conforming with respect to current federal law.  Thus, we will be carefully considering, with our clients, the best options for preserving the work authorization (and forbearance) of all DACA recipients and DACA-eligible immigrants. “Finally, this decision presents squarely the question to be answered by Congress and the new administration:  Will you finally accede to the expressed desires of bipartisan supermajorities of voters nationwide to preserve and protect the national asset that is made up of our DACA recipients and other DACA-eligible immigrants?” Please attribute the following statement to MALDEF Vice President of Litigation Nina Perales: “The ruling restores DACA in 49 states, providing temporary relief for thousands of young people who study, work, and contribute to our nation. And all current DACA recipients remain protected, and able to renew their DACA grants, until this case concludes its journey through the courts.” Read the decision HERE and read a timeline of the case HERE.

 

 

KJ

Trump 2.0 Immigration Policies: The Return of the Immigration Policy Tracking Project

Lucas Guttentag  and underlying source documents will be summarized and posted in a searchable 2.0 database (Immigration Policy Tracking Project (IPTP)). The Tracker will update the status of the immigration policies in the first Trump term.   

IPTP is a collaborative project Guttentag started in 2017 to track Trump 1.0 policies with Stanford and Yale law students and key experts who review every entry before posting. 

Feedback to help keep entries complete and accurate is welcome. Each policy entry can link to external commentary and to significant litigation developments. Information or suggestions can be sent to [email protected].

KJ

The Conversation: Texas is already policing the Mexican border − and will play an outsize role in any Trump plan to crack down on immigration

Professor Dan DeBree

In the Conversation (Texas is already policing the Mexican border − and will play an outsize role in any Trump plan to crack down on immigration), The Conversation’s senior politics editor, Naomi Schalit, spoke with Texas A&M professor Dan DeBree, a former Homeland Security official and Air Force veteran, about the other moves Texas has made that likely put it in a position to be a key player in carrying out immigration enforcement actions by the Trump administration.  DeBree states that "Texas is the epicenter of the struggle between federal and state entities" on immigration enforcement.  Click the link above for the full interview.

KJ

Immigrants in California

The Public Policy Institute of California has released a fact sheet on "Immigrants in California."

The fact sheet wass authored by Marisol Cuellar Mejia, Cesar Alesi Perez, and Hans Johnson.  California is home to nearly a quarter of the nation’s immigrants; foreign-born residents come from dozens of countries, and the vast majority are documented.  It offers these big picture facts:

"California has more immigrants than any other state.

• California is home to 10.6 million immigrants—22% of the foreign-born population nationwide.
• In 2023, the most current year of data, 27% of California’s population was foreign born, the highest share of any state and more than double the share in the rest of the country (12%).
• Almost half (45%) of California children have at least one immigrant parent.
• A third (34%) of prime-working-age adults—those 25 to 54—are foreign born; half (52%) of all foreign-born Californians are in this age group."

KJ

 

From the Bookshelves: Hiroshi Motomura, Borders and Belonging: Toward a Fair Immigration Policy

Professor Hiroshi Motomura's book Borders and Belonging: Toward a Fair Immigration Policy (Oxford University Press 2025) is out.  The publisher describes the book as follows:

"A uniquely broad and fair-minded guide to making immigration policy ethical. Immigration is now a polarizing issue across most advanced democracies. But too much that is written about immigration fails to appreciate the complex responses to the phenomenon. Too many observers assume imaginary consensus, avoid basic questions, or disregard the larger context for human migration. In Borders and Belonging, Hiroshi Motomura offers a complex and fair-minded account of immigration, its root causes, and the varying responses to it. Taking stock of the issue's complexity, while giving credence to the opinions of immigration critics, he tackles a series of important questions that, when answered, will move us closer to a more realistic and sustainable immigration policy. Motomura begins by affirming a basic concept—national borders—and asks when they might be ethical borders, fostering fairness but also responding realistically to migration patterns and to the political forces that migration generates. In a nation with ethical borders, who should be let in or kept out? How should people forced to migrate be treated? Should newcomers be admitted temporarily or permanently? How should those with lawful immigration status be treated? What is the best role for enforcement in immigration policy? To what extent does the arrival of newcomers hurt long-time residents? What are the "root causes" of immigration and how can we address them? Realistic about the desire of most citizens for national borders, this book is an indispensable guide for moving toward ethical borders and better immigration policy."

Last August, we posted the introduction to the book (with permission, of course).

KJ

Practice Advisory: Stays of Removal

The National Immigration Project and the American Immigration Council have issued  a new practice advisory on Stays of Removal. 

 

A stay of removal prevents the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from deporting a noncitizen from the United States while they continue to challenge their removal order or pursue an immigration benefit or humanitarian protection. This practice advisory discusses the law, procedure, and practical tips for seeking a stay of removal from DHS, immigration judges, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and the U.S. courts of appeals.

 

This practice advisory updates a 2021 CLINIC advisory.

 

KJ

DACA on Life Support After Fifth Circuit Ruling

Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit released a decision finding part of President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy unlawful.  Judge Jerry E. Smith authored the opinion, which was joined by Judges Edith Brown Clement and Stephen A. Higginson.  Here is the ruling.   Download DACA 5th Circuit Decision 2025

Courthouse News offered a summary of the decision.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released the following:

"Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a major victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which affirmed a district court’s ruling that the Biden Administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) policy is unlawful. 

The Fifth Circuit concluded that Texas succeeded on the merits and remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings.  

“This is a win for Texas. I am pleased the Fifth Circuit found that the Biden Administration’s DACA policy was unlawful,” said Attorney General Paxton. “I look forward to working with President-elect Donald Trump to ensure that the rule of law is restored, and the illegal immigration crisis is finally stopped. Biden’s policies unleashed historic levels of lawlessness upon this country, and it is time to start fixing the mess the outgoing administration made.” 

To read the decision, click here."

César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández offered his quick take on the Fifth Circuit DACA ruling.  He writes:

"Since only Texas has standing to sue the federal government over DACA, the court blocked DACA’s continuation only in Texas. Though the court doesn’t explain exactly what that means, presumably the federal government can’t renew DACA for people residing in Texas. For now, though, even that is on hold because the court issued a stay of its decision pending further intervention by the Supreme Court or the full Fifth Circuit."

Expect much analysis and criticism to follow.  Stay tuned.

KJ

 

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Immigration Article of the Day: The Limits of Immigrant Resilience

Huyen Pham

The Limits of Immigrant Resilience by Huyen Pham, Natalie Cook, Ernesto Amaral, Raymond Robertson, and Suojin Wang, Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 509-46, 2024

Abstract

Economists have identified important adaptations that immigrant workers have made to weather economic crises. During times of economic contraction, immigrant workers have moved across industries or geographical locations, downshifted to part-time work, and accepted lower wages to stay employed. Evidence from the Great Recession (2007–2009) shows the benefits of that economic resilience: immigrant workers were more likely than native-born workers to remain continuously employed, to have shorter periods of unemployment when they lost their jobs, and to regain jobs more quickly in the recovery period. Of course, these adaptations had significant personal costs for immigrant workers and their families, but in times of increased job competition, their resilience enabled them to keep jobs and crucial sources of income and had important, positive spillover effects for native-born workers.

Our research, however, shows important limits to that immigrant resilience. In our analysis of Current Population Survey (“CPS”) data during COVID-19, immigrant workers had worse employment outcomes than native-born workers. Looking at the restaurant industry as a case study, we found that immigrant workers were more likely to lose their jobs, keep only low-paying jobs within restaurants, or drop out of the labor market entirely, as compared to native-born workers. The sharply contrasting experiences of immigrant workers during these two crises can be explained by the nearly simultaneous and complete shutdowns that states imposed across the country during the pandemic. These shutdowns undercut any mobility and flexibility advantages that immigrant workers might otherwise have had and threatened immigrants’ already precarious economic positions. As we look to the real possibility of future pandemics, these limits on immigrant resilience counsel for increasing immigrant access to aid programs at both the federal and state levels to benefit both immigrant workers and the larger economy that relies heavily on immigrant productivity.

KJ