Pakistani immigrant indicted for sham marriage

Here is the story. Popular movies such as “Green Card” or the just released “The Proposal” starring Sandra Bullock make light of marriages to obtain immigration benefits. Despite the Hollywood tales of duping immigration, be warned that the reality of using a sham marriage to obtain an immigration benefit can carry dire consequences including criminal […]

Supreme Court allows immigration court more leeway in deporting persons convicted of fraud

The Supreme Court will let immigration court judges look to the facts of a particular case in determing the amount of loss in fraud cases. In immigration law, a person can be deported for a so-called aggravated felony (an immigration term of art) if the amount lost in a fraud case exceeds $10,000. The story […]

Pregnant American woman and husband escape Mexico by swimming across the Rio Grande

Embedded video from CNN Video Two Americans (the wife pregnant) tell their unlikely story of crossing into the United States by swimming the Rio Grande at night.

Secretary Napolitano announces two year suspension of deportations in widow penalty cases

Here is the story in the Wall Street Journal. Congratulations to Oregon immigration attorney Brent Renison who has taken on the task to bring down the awful widow penalty. As Brent says in this story, it is a Band-Aid. However, it’s a Band-Aid that is much needed for those who are victims of this injustice. […]

Minutemen protest wise police policy in Utah and shout at Hispanic workers

Cheers to Salt Lake City, UT, for not cross training local police officers in immigration enforcement. Twenty so-called Minutemen showed up on Monday in Salt Lake City to protest the decision. They ended up shouting at Hispanic construction workers to “go home.” On November 1, 2007, when I spoke at the State Capitol, before a […]

Another ‘Pilgrim’ video from the Mexican border area in Texas

My report on the American Immigration Lawyers Association National Conference

Regina Germain (second from left), Legal Director of the Rocky Mountain Survivors Center and author of AILA’s Asylum Primer, Fifth Edition, discusses asylum law with Steven Langer (left) and other immigration attorneys at the 2009 AILA National Conference. Here is my report on the American Immigration Lawyers Association National Conference in Las Vegas last week. […]

Flagstaff, AZ, city manager thoughtfully declines giving ICE free office space

I cannot ever remember reading the thoughts of a government official where he addresses the real problems of local goverment involvement in ICE operations. I think it should be required reading for every state and local government official in the United States. We need to quit addressing immigration enforcement in terms of the “hot button” […]

Texas rancher’s You Tube video shows plight of some unlawful immigrants

You can find the backstory on this at the Immigration Prof Blog.

Cuba and USA to reopen talks on immigration

Here is the report from the Washington Post. When I think of Cuba, I always think about when I was in law school in the early 1990s and my early career as an attorney. I represented many Cuban citizens who came to the USA as part of the Mariel Boatlift. The boatlift was in 1980 […]