Category: Immigration

Inducing Illegal Actions and Freedom of Speech

by · Dec 12, 2022 8:52 am

The U.S. Supreme Court has taken up the case of United States v. Hansen, No 22-179, for full briefing and argument. Here is the Question Presented, as phrased by the Solicitor General:

Whether the federal criminal prohibition against encouraging or inducing unlawful immigration for commercial advantage or private financial gain, in violation of 8 U.S.C. 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv) and (B)(i), is facially unconstitutional on First Amendment overbreadth grounds.

The answer would seem to be a clear “no,” but the Ninth Circuit held to the contrary. Continue reading . . .

Detention of Illegally Re-Entering Aliens

by · Jun 29, 2021 8:42 am

The U.S. Supreme Court issued three decisions today as it wraps up its October 2020 term. The one marginally crime-related case is Johnson v. Guzman Chavez, No. 19-987. The case involves the detention pending deportation of aliens previously deported who illegally re-enter the United States. Such re-entry is a crime, a more serious one than first-time illegal entry. The holding is that such aliens are subject to the more stringent of two statutes on detention pending deportation, rather than the more lenient one with more leeway for release on bond or conditional parole. Continue reading . . .

ICE Targets Sanctuary Cities to Arrest Criminal Aliens

by · Oct 7, 2020 12:05 pm

As part of an ongoing effort to catch and deport criminal aliens,  Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have recently arrested 128 illegal aliens in California.   Adam Shaw of Fox News reports that the operation, conducted last week, targeted San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego to identify and arrest the illegal aliens, of whom 122 had criminal records for crimes including murder, sexual assault, child molestation, weapons offenses and domestic violence.  This latest operation followed similar sweeps in cities across the country in recent weeks which resulted in the arrest of over 2,000 aliens from 20 countries.  85% of those arrested had felony convictions or outstanding warrants.

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Circuit Courts Divided on Trump’s Sanctuary City Grants

by · Jul 20, 2020 3:43 pm

Last Monday, the Ninth Circuit scaled back a nationwide order that blocks the Trump administration from cutting off grants to sanctuary jurisdictions after finding that the mandate should only apply in California.

Nicholas Iovino of Courthouse News reports that the new verdict comes after a 2017 lawsuit brought by San Francisco. The city sued the Justice Department after the Trump Administration announced plans to make jurisdictions ineligible for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, unless they gave immigration agents unrestricted access to local jails, and provided 48 hours’ notice before releasing undocumented immigrants from jail. California joined the lawsuit as a plaintiff, and later passed it’s own separate set of “Sanctuary State” laws in October 2017.

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USCA9 Issues Split Decision in Sanctuary City Grant Case

by · Jul 13, 2020 10:49 am

Not surprisingly given its prior narrow interpretations, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today affirmed the decision of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on the sanctuary city grant issue. That is, the federal government cannot deny federal law-enforcement grants for a state’s refusal to inform immigration authorities when they release a deportable alien from prison and related matters. However, the court vacated the nationwide aspect of the injunction, limiting it to California.

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Supreme Court Upholds Expedited Removal of Alien Apprehended at Border

by · Jun 25, 2020 11:27 am

The U.S. Supreme Court today upheld the 1996 Act of Congress that sharply limited judicial review for aliens whose claims of asylum are not found credible by immigration authorities. The opinion of the Court, joined by five Justices, upheld the statute entirely. The Court rejected the claim that the statute violated the Suspension Clause. That clause protects the right to seek habeas corpus relief for its original purpose, release from illegal custody. It provides no constitutional right for a person seeking to remain in this country when the government intends to release him to his own country.

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CA Supremes Refuse to Block Transfers to ICE

by · May 18, 2020 11:59 am

By a 6-1 vote last Wednesday, the California Supreme Court denied a request to block the transfer of criminal aliens from prisons and county jails to ICE detention facilities.  Maura Dolan of the Los Angeles Times reports that the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice and the American Immigration Lawyers Association had sued Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Xavier Becerra for refusing to halt the transfer of aliens to the centers, which they called “virulent incubators of the virus” although they had argued that the state had a “clear and mandatory duty” to do so.   The court held that the plaintiffs needed to file their petition to block the transfers in county courts, and that it may review the lower court orders “if circumstances warrant.”

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