Last week, Governor Jerry Brown signed a new California law giving certain immigrants the right to withdraw a former plea of guilty or nolo contendere (no contest) for possession of a controlled substance. To do so, defendants must prove that they successfully...
On October 2, 2015, the United States Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") announced that it is currently creating a new parole program that will help certain family members of Filipino and Filipino-American World War II veterans who are now United States citizens...
UPDATE- On September 25, 2015, the government moved the previously-announced application filing dates for several preference categories, reducing the number of people who can take advantage of this new system in October. While employment-based preference categories...
Much has been made of Donald Trump's statement that all non-citizens in the United States illegally "must go", an apparent call for mass deportations. It is hardly surprising, but I object to the proposal of mass deportations for many reasons. The humane, economic,...
Last month, the Ninth Circuit held in Toor v. Lynch that a noncitizen can still move to reopen or reconsider his or her removal proceedings after departing the United States voluntarily while the proceedings are still pending.Previous to this decision, whether a...
El mes pasado, el Noveno Circuito sostuvo en Toor v. Lynch que alguien que no es ciudadano todavía puede hacer algo para reabrir o reconsiderar su proceso de deportación después de haber salido de los Estados Unidos voluntariamente mientras que los procedimientos...
The Department of Homeland Security has designated Nepal for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to assist citizens of Nepal affected by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake on April 25, 2015. The designation will last 18 months, with potential for extension.The registration...
This week's Supreme Court decision Mellouli v. Lynch has received a lot of media attention, likely because the premise- possession of sock as a deportable drug offense- sounds ridiculous at first. Because the Supreme Court overturned Mr. Mellouli's removal order, many...
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently disappointed those hoping DAPA and expanded DACA would be available soon. Not only does this mean people who would benefit from the programs will have to wait even longer, but further delays could jeopardize...
While DAPA and expanded DACA are still delayed pending the lawsuit in the Fifth Circuit, there have been other developments in immigration law this month that are worth noting.Board of Immigration Appeals Resolves Circuit Split on 212(h) WaiversLast year, the Ninth...