Musings on Immigration

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recently filed a lawsuit against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other law enforcement agencies to challenge the practice of shackling immigrants before being led into a courtroom.  See “ACLU Sues ICE for Shackling Immigrants in Court”, http://www.newamericamedia.org , May 14, 2012.  The lawsuit was filed on the basis that there would be an unfair perception of detained immigrants as violent criminals if they are handcuffed.   Further, the lawsuit claims that being handcuffed deprives a detainee’s rights to fair representation and equal rights while in court in that communication with their attorneys will be more difficult, and they would also deprived of the right to take any notes during their proceedings. One of the most obvious issues with this unfair practice is that it is well-established that only violent criminals are subject to being handcuffed, so of course, there is an automatic percept...

Many people in the immigration field are familiar with the “policy” memorandum issued in January 2010, known as the “Neufeld Memo” on H-1Bs. The law firm of Greenburg Traurig recently sued USCIS over this outrageously inappropriate and legally irresponsible change in policy. In response, the USCIS has just filed a response arguing that a Preliminary Injunction against the Neufeld Memo should not be granted. You are going to love the reason why: Moreover, the guidance memorandum at issue in this case is not subject to the notice and comment rulemaking requirements of the APA. USCIS’s memorandum merely sets forth a general and flexible framework to guide agency adjudicators in the exercise of their discretion . The memorandum simply refines the contours of an already existing legal norm set forth in the agency’s regulation. Under these circumstances, the memorandum falls well within the contours of a policy statement or interpretive guidance, as defined by the D.C. Circuit, and is a...