Immigration Law

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The Wall that COVID-19 Built: Barriers to Immigrant Justice during the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Forum Editor: Why did you decide to get involved with the Immigrant Justice Clinic?

Sam Chang: I decided to apply for the Immigrant Justice Clinic (IJC) because my ultimate goal is to use my law degree to advocate for policies that will benefit marginalized communities. I am passionate about issues at the intersection of reproductive justice and immigrant justice and hope to work on these issues during my career. Immigrants, in particular, have difficulties accessing necessary resources due to their status (or lack thereof). The narrative surrounding immigrants, especially Latinx immigrants, not only affects how individuals treat them but how existing systems treat them as well. My interest in serving immigrants derives from this disparate treatment. I also believe that direct client experience is necessary in order to develop effective policy because policy should always be grounded in the experiences of the people it will affect . . .

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From the Border to the Courtroom: Litigation as a Response to the Disastrous Mishandling of COVID-19 in Immigrant Detention Centers

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By Aly Madan

In February of 2020, I went to Dilley, a small town in Texas, to help women and children detained at the border. The trip was made possible through Northeastern University School of Law’s clinics. I, alongside a handful of my peers and our professor, went to volunteer with Proyecto Dilley, an Immigration Justice Campaign project that serves individuals seeking asylum. Their staff and volunteers work out of a cramped room in the “South Texas Family Residential Center,” which is a fancy name for what is, in actuality, a jail. Proyecto Dilley helps those seeking asylum prepare for one of the first steps of the asylum process: the credible fear interview. The organization also helps in the resulting court hearing and provides “know your rights” trainings about the asylum process to those who are detained . . .

Take Notice! Deficient Notices to Appear No Longer Trigger the Stop-Time Rule in Removal Proceedings

By Sarah E. Kelly

In Pereira v. Sessions, decided on June 21, 2018, the Supreme Court declined to apply Chevron deference in holding that a Notice to Appear (NTA), which fails to specify the time and place of a noncitizen’s removal proceeding, does not trigger the stop-time rule under section 1229(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) . . .

Abandoning Our Allies: Refugee Policies Leave Iraqi Employees of U.S. Armed Forces at Risk

By Colleen Maney

Aymen lives with his wife, 4-year-old daughter, and newborn baby in Iraq. He has a growing family to care for, but lives like a prisoner in his own home. As an Iraqi citizen, he worked for the U.S. Army from 2007 to 2011. Aymen recalls that, at the time, he was worried about the safety of his family. “But I believed that the U.S. government would protect us,” he explains. “Sadly, I am yet to experience that.” . . .

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Jeff Sessions Further Burdens Domestic Violence Asylum Seekers in Matter of A-B-

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By Stefanie Gonzalez

Attorney General Jeff Sessions expressly overruled a critical precedential decision regarding domestic violence asylum claims in his June 11, 2018 decision, Matter of A-B-. The loss of a favorable precedential decision will certainly present challenges, but the Matter of A-B- decision does not categorically deny all domestic or gang violence related asylum claims . . .

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The International Entrepreneur (IE) Rule: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

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By Angelika Romero and Timothy Sheble-Hall

Last month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it will be removing a controversial rule in business immigration law: the International Entrepreneur (IE) Rule. See DHS Proposes to Remove the International Entrepreneur Rule, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (last updated May 25, 2018). The IE Rule was promulgated by the DHS under the Obama Administration to “encourage international entrepreneurs to create and develop start-up entities with high growth potential in the United States.” International Entrepreneur Rule, 82 Fed. Reg. 5238 (Jan. 17, 2017) . . .

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Salvadoran Nationals are Faced with the Reality that TPS was in Fact Temporary

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By Karina I. Guzman

On Monday, January 8, 2018, the Trump Administration announced that it would not renew Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) for Salvadoran and other nationals. As a result, “more than 200,000” noncitizens from El Salvador will be forced to leave the United States. Tal Kopan, Trump Admin Ends Protections for 200,000 Salvadorans, CNN (Jan. 8, 2018). These noncitizens have until September 9, 2019, to get their affairs in order and leave the United States, a home many have known for seventeen years. Id. Although the program is titled “temporary,” TPS for Salvadoran nationals has been anything but. Salvadorans have been allowed to build a life in the United States since 2001, when an earthquake devastated their country. Miriam Jordan, Trump Administration Says That Nearly 200,000 Salvadorans Must Leave, N.Y. Times (Jan. 8, 2018). So why end TPS now? . . .

Every Noncitizen is a Priority in Donald Trump’s America

By Karina I. Guzman
On January 25, 2017, President Donald Trump signed an executive order effectively changing immigration practices. The executive order has been spoken about extensively but the change in priority enforcements has been left out of that conversation. However, operating under these new priority enforcements, immigration officials picked up five noncitizens at the Lawrence, Massachusetts Immigration Office on March 31, 2017. This action by immigration officials shocked the community and immigration attorneys alike. The change in priority enforcements has forced immigration attorneys to change the advice they are giving to their clients . . .