Federal Courts/Jurisdiction
Felony Reentry Immigration Law Is Unconstitutional Due to Racist Origins, Judge Rules
A federal judge ruled for the first time in U.S. history that a provision of U.S. immigration law which makes it a felony for someone to reenter the United States after having been deported is unconstitutional because of its racist origins. Since 1929, U.S. immigration law has made it… Read More
Federal Judge Blocks ICE Enforcement Guidelines and Attempts to Upend Prosecutorial Discretion
A Texas judge blocked the Biden administration’s immigration enforcement priorities. The decision was issued in a case challenging ICE’s enforcement activities outside the scope laid out in the Feb. 18 enforcement memo. Read More
Advocates Submit Brief to Stop the Revival of Migrant Protection Protocols
The Council and partner immigration groups and former immigration judges filed an amicus brief to stop the reinstatement of the Migrant Protection Protocols. Read More
Council and Partners Submit Amicus Brief to Stop the Reinstatement of the Migrant Protection Protocols
This brief highlights the court's many factual errors about MPP in its decision to reinstate the program. Read More
Council Calls on Biden Administration to Block the Return of MPP
The Council led more than 100 other organizations in a letter urging the Biden administration to do everything in its power to prevent the return of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), which was reinstated by a federal judge in Texas on August 13, up to and including an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court. Read More
Congress Must Ensure a Permanent Solution for Dreamers
U.S. Judge Andrew Hanen of the Southern District of Texas ordered the Biden administration to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Read More
Council Files Amicus Brief on the Legality of Prolonged Mandatory Detention
The amicus brief in Ayom v. Garland urges the eighth circuit to affirm that mandatory detention has constitutional limits, and reject the endorsement of prolonged mandatory detention for people in removal proceedings. Read More
Supreme Court Rejects Two Ninth Circuit Decisions That Protected Immigrants
In two unanimous decisions, the Supreme Court has rejected rules that provided protections for immigrants. The rejected rules came from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, a court with a reputation as a liberal stronghold. It is the largest of all the federal courts of appeals. In… Read More
The Supreme Court Makes It Harder for Immigrants to Fight Deportation
The U.S. Supreme Court published a new decision on March 4 that will make it harder—if not impossible—for many longtime immigrants to fight deportation. The case, Pereida v. Wilkson, abandons decades of Supreme Court precedent on the immigration consequences of criminal convictions. Undocumented immigrants and other noncitizens who are… Read More
Mandamus and APA Delay Cases: Avoiding Dismissal and Proving the Case
This Practice Advisory provides basic information about filing an immigration-related delay action in federal district court under both the Mandamus Act and the APA. It discusses the required elements of a successful mandamus and APA actions as well as jurisdictional concerns that may arise. Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.