Mexico

Dual-Degrees Fill Need for Lawyers Versed in Multiple Legal Systems

From his office at Butzel Long’s Detroit headquarters, lawyer Richard Rassel can watch the massive 18-wheel trucks driving across the Ambassador Bridge from Michigan into Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Most of those trucks started their long journey north to Canada from Mexico, crossing through three countries with three distinct legal systems,…

Jul 11, 2008 7:07 PM CDT

The Forgotten

Iraqis who helped American soldiers are being slaughtered. A small band of U.S. lawyers is fighting to save their lives.

Jul 1, 2008 1:15 PM CDT

What Should a Judge Do When Child Custody and Immigration Rules Clash?

If Carlos Alvarado is deported to Mexico, he loses the ability to see his 10-year-old son on a regular basis. Plus, in all likelihood, he won’t be able to pay his court-ordered $276 monthly child support to the boy’s mother, a legal permanent resident from Belize. But immigration courts generally…

Jun 30, 2008 5:06 PM CDT

Another Top Cop is Murdered in Mexico

In a murder that apparently may relate to the assassination last month of another top Mexican police official at his Mexico City home, a senior police official and a bodyguard were gunned down as they ate lunch yesterday in Mexico City. Three other bodyguards and several civilians were wounded in…

Jun 27, 2008 5:38 PM CDT

Mexico Asks World Court to Halt Five U.S. Executions

Mexico asked the World Court today to issue a stay to halt the executions of five of its citizens in the United States. Mexico contends the five prisoners were not allowed to consult with consular officials in violation of their rights under an international treaty, the Vienna Convention. The United…

Jun 19, 2008 1:53 PM CDT

Illegal Aliens on I.C.E.

Tougher immigration enforcement tactics spur challenges

Jun 1, 2008 1:10 PM CDT

Are Criminals Winning the Mexican Drug War?

The number of people who have died in an ongoing effort by the Mexican government to crack down on the country’s drug dealers now substantially exceeds the number of U.S. soldiers who have died in the Iraq war, and it isn’t yet clear that Mexican authorities are winning. There were…

May 22, 2008 4:51 PM CDT

Top Mexican Police Official Murdered at Home in Latest Drug-Related Killing

Edgar Millan Gomez, the national coordinator for Mexico’s anti-drug trafficking enforcement efforts, was assassinated inside his home early this morning. He was the No. 3 man in Mexico’s Public Safety Secretariat, which oversees law enforcement, reports the Los Angeles Times. Drug-related violence against law enforcement officials and others has escalated…

May 8, 2008 9:30 PM CDT

Kidnappings for Ransom in Mexico—and the US—Are Up Significantly

Kidnappings for ransom are reportedly way up in Mexico, and even spilling into nearby U.S. areas, as gangs try to avoid greatly increased anti-drug trafficking enforcement there and obtain more income from alternative criminal ventures. “Corporate security experts estimate that drug gangs are now responsible for 30 to 50 kidnappings…

Apr 22, 2008 9:09 PM CDT

6 Slain at Mexican Law Firm, 7th Victim Dies Later

Updated: In what may be a drug-related killing, six people, including at least three lawyers, were reportedly murdered yesterday at a law firm in Guadalajara, Mexico. Two women were seriously injured, and one of them died later. The five men and one woman slain at the law office were found…

Mar 14, 2008 7:06 PM CDT

Mainstream Musicians Murdered in Mexican Drug Violence

A wave of violence in Mexico involving warring drug gangs has now apparently targeted several well-known musicians with no known ties to the organized-crime groups, sparking increased concern that no one is safe from the rampant brutality. Two musicians were killed within the past week, one of whom, Sergio Gomez,…

Dec 5, 2007 8:42 PM CST

Mexico: Our Soldiers Raped & Tortured

A human rights commission run by the Mexican government has reportedly accused some of the country’s own soldiers of rape and torture and recommended that the Mexican army be removed from ongoing national efforts to control drug-trafficking there. An Associated Press article details four cases of alleged abuse that National…

Sep 21, 2007 10:51 PM CDT

Mexico, US Lawyers Trade Offices

In a new program at O’Melveny & Myers, an associate from the mega-firm has traded places for three months with a counterpart from a 22-lawyer Mexico City firm with an impressive client list. Although the imported lawyer won’t practice law in Los Angeles, he is learning about American culture and…

Aug 21, 2007 9:18 PM CDT

Immigrant Crackdown, But More Temps

Updated: An effort to get Congress to pass an immigration bill promoted by the White House failed this year. So the executive branch is trying again. An enhanced program of government enforcement against employers who hire illegal immigrants was announced by the Bush administration today. Employers who ignore immigration laws…

Aug 10, 2007 4:15 PM CDT

Mexico City Jails OK Gay Conjugal Visits

Accepting the recommendation of a human rights commission, Mexico City has begun to allow conjugal visits between gay inmates. Such visits are commonly allowed for opposite-sex couples, even when they are not married, and a 2003 Mexico law bans discrimination on the basis of sexual preference, reports the British Broadcasting…

Jul 30, 2007 7:10 PM CDT