Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #IMMIGRATIONLAW
Most recents (17)
I am heartbroken to hear about the passing over the weekend of my good friend, mentor, and colleague in the field @UNLCollegeofLaw Professor Anna Shavers (@LawProfShavers): news.unl.edu/newsrooms/toda…
A quick 🧵 with some reflections on her life and its impact on mine:
A quick 🧵 with some reflections on her life and its impact on mine:
I first got to know Anna well when I joined the governing council of the @ABAAdLaw Section in 2015, and she had just completed her one-year term as Section Chair. I had met Anna before that, and her passion for #adlaw and #immigrationlaw was infectious.
Not to mention her smile and laugh. I sometimes wondered whether that was just her extroverted, public presence, but as I got to know her better, I realized that passion and joy were part of the core of who she was -- she sought to uplift and inspire.
1/ #EastBoston #immigrationlaw office Cameron Micheroni & Silvia is hiring! We're looking for a bilingual (Eng/Esp) paralegal to help stop deportations, support asylum seekers, & keep families together.
See below for a pizza-loving dog!
(See further below for actual details)
See below for a pizza-loving dog!
(See further below for actual details)
2/ I started CMS 12 yrs ago as a low bono endeavor with a "for people" vs. a "for profit" model, & we've continued that even as we've grown to 3 attorneys and a full staff. We all share a strong sense of mission and responsibility to do right by our clients *and* one another.
3/ We don't "employ" people so much as invest in them; we're fully committed to your happiness, & success both during & well beyond your time here. We've seen too many small firms grind good ppl w/good intentions down just to squeeze $$ out of them, & we're not here for that.
like so many #immigrationlaw rulings before it, today's #SCOTUS decision on the "stop-time" rule in deportation proceedings (1) can't be described to someone not already familiar in fewer than 3 paragraphs, (2) will make you lol if you think about it too much, (3) will save lives
All you really need to know about this extremely-specifically-important ruling is that it gives possibly tens of thousands of families a chance to stay together in the US who wouldn't have had that chance before. That's it. That's why it matters.
So that's the good news! The bad is that the same bad law still requires applicants to show that qualifying family members (but not themselves) will suffer "exceptional & extremely unusual hardship" upon deportation--eg, substantially beyond what other close families would suffer 
This is a a cruel, arbitrary, & entirely intentional move to cut off the last possible route to permanent status for many #TPS recipients before Trump finally ends their status in January, and it will hurt #EastBoston & #Chelsea more than nearly anywhere else in the U.S.
This seemingly small/technical redefinition of a vital #immigrationlaw concept is actually a fairly extreme act of administrative violence (more on which below) & yet another indicator of the creeping fash which has infiltrated DHS at all levels
FYI, immigration "parole" is simply permission to lawfully enter the U.S. (It has nothing to do with the more commonly-used criminal law term, or anything to do w/a crime at all.) It's a fairly simple concept, but has been redefined here explicitly to disadvantage TPS recipients
we are now
as of today
133 DAYS
from the beginning
of the
[say it with me now]
👉👉👉 POST-TRUMP ERA 👈👈👈
post TRUMP
POST
Trump
that is "post"
as in AFTER
as of today
133 DAYS
from the beginning
of the
[say it with me now]
👉👉👉 POST-TRUMP ERA 👈👈👈
post TRUMP
POST
Trump
that is "post"
as in AFTER
So yes: a lot of bad stuff is happening this week, especially in #immigrationpolicy.
Just here to remind you that this rollercoaster is about to come to a full & complete stop, & that there is no irreversible damage he can really do in his last few months.
Next: the real work!
Just here to remind you that this rollercoaster is about to come to a full & complete stop, & that there is no irreversible damage he can really do in his last few months.
Next: the real work!
It's mid-November. All of the votes are finally in and accounted for, and Trump has just been trounced in an absolutely historic landslide.
Will he act out? Sure. Will he try to do as much damage as possible? Probably.
Will anyone take him seriously? No.
Will he act out? Sure. Will he try to do as much damage as possible? Probably.
Will anyone take him seriously? No.
#OTD in 1882 President Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act into law. The law ostensibly barred “Chinese Laborers,” but the way the law was worded meant that almost all Chinese immigrants were barred from entering the United States.
It wasn't until 1965, a time in very recent memory, that China received a quota on par with the rest of the world. This discrepancy is highlighted in the April 1882 political cartoon from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, seen here.
Chinese immigrants are again a target for vilification during fears of Covid-19. Let us not be guided by fear again. #AAPIHM #immigrationlaw #standwithimmigrants #tenementmuseum #thisdayinhistory
As my law office waits to see if we'll clear this round of #PPP funding to receive the extremely modest loan we'll need to keep staff on payroll/benefits as our revenue continues to stall, I just can't stop thinking about this wanton pigfucker.
We couldn't even *apply* for relief last round bc @SantanderBankUS couldn't pull together a simple application process in 2 weeks before big GOP donors like Bennett started *paying himself & his dad dividends* from your tax $$ which could have saved 100 companies like ours
The three law partners in my office all agreed to stop receiving paychecks 2 months ago so that we could do our best to use our reserve funds & limited revenue to keep staff who does so much for us employed & insured. There was no discussion about this whatsoever. It was assumed.
In late 2017 the NYT reported that
-#UFOs are real
-we have pieces of at least one of them in a warehouse
-these pieces have caused "physical effects" to some people in their vicinity
-the Pentagon believes that "science fiction is now science fact"
-we can't compete w/alien tech
-#UFOs are real
-we have pieces of at least one of them in a warehouse
-these pieces have caused "physical effects" to some people in their vicinity
-the Pentagon believes that "science fiction is now science fact"
-we can't compete w/alien tech
per the same story, the only reason we haven't really studied any of this is because the American military didn't want to look like it had gone full Fox Mulder
tbh I still haven't fully recovered from our nation's paper of record reporting that #UFOs are real 28 months ago, but if you're seeing it in the news today it's because the Pentagon has confirmed that the footage leaked to the NYT back then was legit. The truth is out there.
PROTIP: when an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court warns the reader 11 pages into a 17-page decision that your arguments are "not easy to unpack," you can stop reading and call your client to share the bad news
(yes, even when it is *this* associate justice of the United States Supreme Court)
That said, most #immigrationlaw arguments worth making aren't "easy to unpack," and *that's* why we get paid the big--uh, moving on
(for those reading this born after 1990, this joke is in reference to a popular record album from the late 1900s celebrating the averred joys of unethical non-monogamy, which I have reappropriated to celebrate a temporary end to a truly horrific immigration policy, ok thanks)
(also, in the original recording "down" indicated a willingness to participate in potentially harmful behavior, where in the context of this headline the Ninth Circuit has strongly indicated its opposition to--you know okay maybe I've sufficiently explained this joke now)
An overwrought piano cover of "My Foolish Heart" is blasting here on the #Boston #immigrationcourt ICE detainee docket while the judge waits on an Arabic interpreter via phone and while it's no Bill Evans it is oddly soothing to this former quasi-pro jazz pianist rn
The #immigrationcourt ICE detainee docket is a sort of hellish cyberspace unmoored from space or time, like a casino or a McDonald's. I imagine they're the same everywhere. If you told me this endless but not unpleasant piano ballad had been going for an hour, I might believe you
As in at least 50% of my appearances here, I'm not being paid & don't expect to be. I barely made my mortgage payment this month. I threw my back out this weekend & have to do 2 full asylum hearings & teach 4 decades of immigration policy tomorrow. Piano jazz is a lovely reprieve
1/ I just won my first case under the Trump admin's new rule barring anyone who entered after 7/16/19 from #asylum--but leaving them eligible for other limited forms of protection.
It's a strange feeling of having won & lost at the same time. Happy, but not celebratory.
It's a strange feeling of having won & lost at the same time. Happy, but not celebratory.
2/ My client is from a country in crisis, which he fled after being kidnapped & tortured by govt-affiliated forces for his anti-regime activity.
This would usually be a fairly clear-cut case of political asylum. But not under this administration.
This would usually be a fairly clear-cut case of political asylum. But not under this administration.
3/ The new Trump rule makes anyone who didn't seek asylum in another country first ineligible for #asylum--but (as required by intl law) still allows them "withholding of removal," a far more tenuous status which, unlike asylum, does not put recipients on a path to citizenship.
#Immigrationlaw fun du jour:
A shoplifting conviction for stealing a candy bar is categorically a "crime involving moral turpitude" which can justify denial of residency or deportation.
Under some state statutes, grand theft auto--stealing a whole-ass car--is not.
A shoplifting conviction for stealing a candy bar is categorically a "crime involving moral turpitude" which can justify denial of residency or deportation.
Under some state statutes, grand theft auto--stealing a whole-ass car--is not.
To be clear, GTA is always an "aggravated felony," a category of offense under federal immigration law which mandates detention, deportation, & denial of citizenship. But some non-citizens in some circumstances can still have a chance to gain residency even with such a conviction
The best Congress can do is try to create broad categories of offenses that state convictions could fall under for immigration purposes. It's up to us and ICE to argue over how these convictions should be interpreted w/in these definitions.
In honor of the #LaborDay2019 , here are some immigrants and/or POC* laboring mightily in #immigrationlaw, policy, & media you should know about.
Be sure to give them a follow if you don't already!
*I'll try not to make this too New England-centric, but probably will anyway
Be sure to give them a follow if you don't already!
*I'll try not to make this too New England-centric, but probably will anyway
Let's start with a hometown hero:
Antonio Massa Viana (@MassaVianaLaw) was the 1st undocumented immigrant admitted to practice as a lawyer in #Massachusetts. He demonstrates total dedication to his local Brazilian community and beyond every day.
#mapoli
bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/07/…
Antonio Massa Viana (@MassaVianaLaw) was the 1st undocumented immigrant admitted to practice as a lawyer in #Massachusetts. He demonstrates total dedication to his local Brazilian community and beyond every day.
#mapoli
bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/07/…
Hassan Ahmad (@HMAesq) is an incredible advocate in his own right. But he's also doing vital work exposing John Tanton, the man whose white supremacist beliefs became the foundation for modern American nativism. (Also associate Humza Kazmi @Allandaros)
SO YOU WANT TO BE AN IMMIGRATION LAWYER
I mean, let’s start here: Probably you don't, actually.
But if you’re still reading: You want advice on how to get into (and survive) #immigrationlaw, and I’m here for that.
Here’s all of it.
I mean, let’s start here: Probably you don't, actually.
But if you’re still reading: You want advice on how to get into (and survive) #immigrationlaw, and I’m here for that.
Here’s all of it.
(1) MAJOR IN ENGLISH. Do not even *consider* another degree.
Writing is my first & best skill as a lawyer. From one-line emails to Supreme Court briefs, it's a craft--and one you owe it to yourself and your future clients to master. This is not optional.
Writing is my first & best skill as a lawyer. From one-line emails to Supreme Court briefs, it's a craft--and one you owe it to yourself and your future clients to master. This is not optional.
(2) WRITE TO BE READ. Write persuasively. Write with intention. Don't overwrite, don't underwrite. Just write until it's good. Write until it's yours.
It is theoretically possible to be a great lawyer and a mediocre writer, but you shouldn't settle for that. Do the work now.
It is theoretically possible to be a great lawyer and a mediocre writer, but you shouldn't settle for that. Do the work now.
"I can't go back," my client told me as soon as he sat down at the table in ICE detention.
"They will kill me."
I believed him.
The judge agreed that they probably would kill him, just before he denied his asylum claim.
He was deported.
They did.
I just found out today.
"They will kill me."
I believed him.
The judge agreed that they probably would kill him, just before he denied his asylum claim.
He was deported.
They did.
I just found out today.
I've been doing Central American asylum cases since 2006. I live in an immigrant neighborhood, and have personally met hundreds of asylum seekers. These stories, the fear, the danger--all real.
Real enough to send these people to our borders even knowing how they'll be treated.
Real enough to send these people to our borders even knowing how they'll be treated.
Imm. Judge Dana Marks calls asylum "death penalty defense in traffic court." That's too true. I've always thought of this as death penalty work. It keeps me going.
I'm certain that other cases I couldn't win for my clients have ended this way.
I just never knew for sure.
I'm certain that other cases I couldn't win for my clients have ended this way.
I just never knew for sure.
Here's what we all should be looking at, who's profiting from these detention facilities? Did you know @ICEgov owned detention centers hold lowest number of illegal aliens? Time to #FollowTheMoney must be Dems and GOP otherwise we'd have #immigrationLAW
americanprogress.org/issues/immigra…
americanprogress.org/issues/immigra…
Something stinks.
CCA and Geo Group Inc. think about it, WHY haven't we been able to solve this problem for years? If elected officials are profiting while making America look bad we've got a problem. #FollowTheMoney
