Memorandum to the Next President

To: The Next President of the United States

From: H. Thomas Wells Jr., ABA President, and Thomas M. Susman, Director, ABA Governmental Affairs Office

Re: Your First 30 Days in Office

Date: November 2008

Nov 2, 2008 1:35 AM CST

AG Asks Whether Potential Deportees Have Right to Effective Lawyers

Attorney General Michael Mukasey has asked lawyers in three immigration cases to submit briefs on whether aliens have a right to effective assistance of counsel and if so, how they can enforce the right. The move comes as the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed immigrant Maria…

Oct 30, 2008 12:13 PM CDT

After Major ICE Raid, Iowa Hits Kosher Meat Plant With $10M in Labor Fines

A kosher meatpacking plant in Iowa has been hit with not quite $10 million in fines by the state labor commission for alleged violation of wage laws after a May raid on the plant by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in which about 390 people were arrested. At…

Oct 29, 2008 6:58 PM CDT

Lawyers Turn Poetic in Immigration Group’s Haiku Contest

Kurzban’s Immigration Law Sourcebook is something of a weighty book—literally—according to the winners of a haiku contest. Nonprofit groups designated by the winners will get a copy of the book, thanks to the contest sponsor, the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Two of the winning entries dealt with the weight of…

Oct 15, 2008 3:16 PM CDT

Second-Largest US Immigration Law Firm Created through Merger

The nation’s second-largest immigration law firm will be created in a merger on Jan. 1. The new 65-lawyer firm, Foster Quan, is the result of a merger between two Houston law firms, Tindall & Foster and Quan, Burdette & Perez, according to a press release. The new firm will be…

Oct 14, 2008 3:26 PM CDT

Kidnappings for Ransom, Both Real and Fake, Are Increasing

In a spillover of the criminal violence that is an increasing problem in Mexico, kidnappings for ransom—both real and “virtual”—are on the rise in Arizona. Often targeting immigrant families, those who pretend to be holding a beloved relative captive when in fact they are not apparently are purchasing names of…

Sep 24, 2008 6:30 PM CDT

Mukasey Gives Genital Mutilation Victim New Chance for Asylum

In a decision hailed by human rights groups, Attorney General Michael Mukasey has vacated a decision denying asylum to a woman who feared she would be forced to undergo another genital mutilation if she were forced to return to Mali. Mukasey’s action sends the case of Alima Traore back to…

Sep 23, 2008 11:55 AM CDT

Feds to Fragomen Firm: Oops, Never Mind About That Audit

Officials at the U.S. Department of Labor reportedly have called off their audit of a prominent immigration law firm they suspected earlier of improperly advising clients about labor certification applications. The applications are used to get “green cards” allowing foreign workers to become American residents, when a “minimally qualified” U.S.…

Sep 18, 2008 4:45 PM CDT

Immigration Lawyer Gets 1 Year for Falsifying Documents

A Connecticut lawyer was sentenced yesterday to a year and a day in federal prison for falsifying documents to help a client along the path toward legal residency. Jose del Castillo, 49, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of federal document fraud, reports the Hartford Courant. In addition…

Sep 11, 2008 4:52 PM CDT

Big Minority-Owned Firm Acquires Another Small One

One of the largest minority-owned law firms in the country is acquiring a smaller one, in the latest step in its ongoing growth plan. Adorno & Yoss, which is headquartered in Miami, will acquire Houston-based Monty Partners before the end of the year, reports the National Law Journal, in an…

Sep 10, 2008 6:32 PM CDT

Owner, Managers of Iowa Meat Plant Face 9,311 Child Labor Charges

More than 9,000 misdemeanor child labor charges were filed today (PDF) by the Iowa attorney general’s office against the owner and managers of a kosher meatpacking plant in Postville that was the site of a huge immigration raid earlier this year. The 9,311 violations involve 32 workers at Agriprocessors who…

Sep 9, 2008 7:15 PM CDT

LA Airport Increases Security After Elevator Mechanic’s Smuggling Arrest

After news that a 20-year elevator mechanic at Los Angeles International Airport allegedly smuggled more than a dozen illegal immigrants into the U.S., the airport is tightening its security measures. Authorities say Roberto Amaya Canchola, 53, “smuggled in at least 15 illegal immigrants, including two with criminal records who had…

Sep 5, 2008 4:22 PM CDT

Bianca Jagger Battles Eviction, Says NYC Apt. is Her Primary Residence

The chance to keep living in a rent-stabilized New York City apartment that costs a mere $4,614 per month has motivated Bianca Jagger to pursue a case that could help define what constitutes a legal residence. The ex-wife of Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger was in the state’s highest…

Sep 4, 2008 5:54 PM CDT

Immigration Lawyers are Hard to Find

It’s not easy for an immigrant who needs a lawyer to find one. Although several programs seek to provide legal help, the best answer would be a public defender system equivalent to what is in place for criminal defendants, immigrant advocates say. But that doesn’t appear likely to happen in…

Sep 2, 2008 5:01 PM CDT

Hundreds Held in Another Big ICE Raid

In another signpost of stepped-up immigration enforcement, federal agents raided a Mississippi factory yesterday, detaining at least 350 workers who allegedly are in the country illegally. “The raid follows a similar large-scale immigration operation at a meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, in May when nearly 400 workers were detained,” reports…

Aug 26, 2008 5:34 PM CDT