Immigration

  • December 16, 2024

    ICE Contractor Claims Immunity From Family Separation Suit

    Transportation services provider MVM Inc. is arguing a father and son suing it for its role in a Trump administration policy that separated them and thousands of other immigrant families can't show it acted unlawfully or outside the bounds of a valid federal contract, dooming their litigation.

  • December 16, 2024

    Trump Makes Another Pick For Homeland Security Team

    President-elect Donald Trump said he will nominate IBM executive Troy Edgar to serve as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, after previously nominating South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to lead the department.

  • December 13, 2024

    ND Judge Speeds Up Review Of DACA Health Coverage Block

    A North Dakota federal judge agreed Friday to expedite the federal government's request to halt an order blocking the enforcement of a regulation that extends health coverage to immigrants brought to the U.S. as children without authorization.

  • December 13, 2024

    Immigration Board Won't Halt Removal In $4M Criminal Case

    The Board of Immigration Appeals on Friday rejected a Dominican man's attempt to halt his removal from the country after he was convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering, saying the nearly $4 million laundered renders the conviction an aggravated felony.

  • December 13, 2024

    DOL Board Says Agency Can Revoke Prior H-2B Registrations

    The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals has affirmed a U.S. Department of Labor officer's decision to deny a Texas fabrication company's request to temporarily hire dozens of foreign metalworkers and to revoke its previously approved registration number for the H-2B visa program.

  • December 13, 2024

    Wash. School District Settles Civil Rights Probe By DOJ

    The U.S. Department of Justice said this week that it reached an agreement to end an investigation into severe and widespread harassment of Black, Latino and LGBTQ+ students in an eastern Washington school district.

  • December 13, 2024

    White House Reviewing 2nd Half Of H-1B Modernization Rule

    With just over a month to go before the inauguration, the White House is reviewing the second half of a regulation to overhaul the H-1B temporary visa program for specialty occupations, the last step before the rule can be finalized.

  • December 12, 2024

    DHS Must Do More For Acquisition Staff Troubles, GAO Says

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is not doing all it can to address the workload and hiring challenges its acquisition workforce is facing, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report released on Thursday.

  • December 12, 2024

    Judge Says Pay Owed After Texas Co. Benched H-1B Worker

    A Department of Labor judge said a Houston engineering company owes a former H-1B worker nearly $57,000 in wages since it "benched" the worker without pay for months after a third-party contract collapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • December 12, 2024

    Immigrant Rights Groups Slam DHS 'Manifestation' Standard

    Immigrant rights organizations challenging the Biden administration's directive curtailing asylum at the southern border told a D.C. federal judge that the administration's latest brief confirms the updated rule goes far beyond what Congress authorized.

  • December 12, 2024

    Prison Co. Says Jurors Shouldn't See ICE Facility In TVPA Suit

    Private prison operator Geo Group urged a Colorado federal judge to deny immigrant detainees' request to show jurors the inside of its detention facility in a trafficking case, including the size of housing units, arguing Wednesday the facility's size will not be relevant when determining whether detainees performed forced labor.

  • December 12, 2024

    DHS Unveils New Evidence Requirements For Entrepreneurs

    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Thursday updated and expanded the types of evidence foreign entrepreneurs can submit to get temporary admission to the U.S. under a program designed to encourage U.S. startups and spur economic growth.

  • December 11, 2024

    4th Circ. Unsure Judges' Free Speech Suit Belongs In Court

    A Fourth Circuit panel appeared skeptical Wednesday that courts could hear a challenge from the immigration judges' union to a policy it contends restrains their free speech rights, suggesting that recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent would doom the appeal.

  • December 11, 2024

    Dem Senators Urge Biden To Extend Immigrant Protections

    Several Democratic senators on Wednesday urged President Joe Biden to use his final days in office to bolster temporary protected status protections for several countries and expedite the renewal process for Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals recipients.

  • December 11, 2024

    DHS Confirms 4th Chinese Nationals Removal Flight This Year

    More Chinese migrants were deported from the U.S. via chartered flight Monday as part of the federal government's policy imposing harsher penalties for those who enter the country illegally, marking the fourth large-scale removal flight to China in the last six months, the Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday.

  • December 11, 2024

    Border Protection Says It's Swamped With FOIA Requests

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection told a judge it is working to hand over records Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton requested months ago, but said a spike in document requests has made it "almost impossible" to meet Freedom of Information Act deadlines.

  • December 11, 2024

    Cross-Border Criminal Antitrust Trial Will Stay In Houston

    A case against a group of defendants accused of using violence to monopolize the cross-border sale of used cars from the U.S. into Central America must stay in Houston, a federal judge ruled this week.

  • December 10, 2024

    BNP Paribas Seeks High Court Appeal In Sudan Refugee Case

    BNP Paribas has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify the standard for permitting immediate appeals of class certifications, arguing the Second Circuit was wrong to deny it such review in a class action accusing the bank of enabling human rights abuses in Sudan.

  • December 10, 2024

    Use Of 1798 Law For Mass Removals Could Be Tough Sell

    If President-elect Donald Trump follows through with his promise to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport millions of unauthorized immigrants, he may have an uphill battle convincing federal courts that the law can be used to quell an immigrant "invasion."

  • December 10, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Says IT Cos. Can't Duck $4K H-1B Petition Fees

    The Federal Circuit on Tuesday rejected software companies' attempt to secure a refund on H-1B visa petition fees for U.S.-based noncitizens, saying the fee is applicable regardless of whether the workers are already in the country or not. 

  • December 10, 2024

    AFL-CIO Backs DOL In Effort To Keep H-2A Labor Rule Alive

    The AFL-CIO on Tuesday backed the U.S. Department of Labor's efforts to toss a suit in North Carolina federal court challenging the department's final rule protecting union-related activities for agricultural workers on seasonal H-2A visas, saying that it doesn't violate federal labor law.

  • December 10, 2024

    8th Circ. Remands Sexual Misconduct Removal Case

    The Eighth Circuit sent a Minnesota man's removal case back to immigration court for further review after finding that the third-degree sexual misconduct statute that he pled guilty to doesn't fall within the federal definition of rape that would allow him to be removed.

  • December 10, 2024

    DHS Makes Automatic Work Permit Extensions Permanent

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday it's permanently increasing the automatic extension period for expiring work authorization to 540 days, giving a boost to eligible immigrant workers who may otherwise confront a lapse in their permission to work.

  • December 10, 2024

    High Court Bars Judicial Review Of Revoked Visa Petitions

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday held that revocations of previously approved visa petitions cannot be appealed in federal courts because they are discretionary agency decisions that are not subject to judicial review.

  • December 09, 2024

    Feds Cite 9th Circ. In Bid To End Texas' Migrant Transit Law

    The Biden administration and immigrant advocacy groups told a Texas federal court that a recent Ninth Circuit decision backed their bid to strike down a Texas executive order allowing state officers to pull over drivers suspected of transporting unauthorized migrants.

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Expert Analysis

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

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    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Recent Settlement Shows 'China Initiative' Has Life After Death

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    Though the U.S. Department of Justice shuttered its controversial China Initiative two years ago, its recent False Claims Act settlement with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation demonstrates that prosecutors are more than willing to civilly pursue research institutions whose employees were previously targeted, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • Series

    Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.

  • Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity

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    The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • Biden Policy Gives Employers New Ways To Help Dreamers

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    A new Biden administration immigration policy makes the process more predictable for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients to seek employment visas, and, given uncertainties surrounding DACA’s future, employers should immediately determine which of their employees may be eligible, says Jennifer Kim at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Opinion

    H-2 Visas Offer Humane, Economic Solution To Border Crisis

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    Congress should leverage the H-2 agricultural and temporary worker visa programs to match qualified migrants with employers facing shortages of workers — a nonpolitical solution to a highly divisive humanitarian issue, say Ashley Dees and Jeffrey Joseph at BAL.

  • Opinion

    Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism

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    As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.

  • Series

    Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.

  • A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates

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    Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.

  • Opinion

    States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions

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    Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.

  • Series

    Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.

  • Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice

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    The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

  • How High Court Approached Time Limit On Reg Challenges

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve Board effectively gives new entities their own personal statute of limitations to challenge rules and regulations, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh's concurrence may portend the court's view that those entities do not need to be directly regulated, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

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