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Immigration
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April 15, 2024
Bond Co. Asks For Life-Saving Pause On $811M Fine
Immigration bonding company Libre by Nexus Inc. has begged a Virginia federal court for more time to pay an $811 million judgment for predatory bonding practices, saying it would collapse if forced to pay before it can execute its transfer to a new owner.
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April 15, 2024
Feds Tells Justices US Citizen Lacks Interest In Spouse's Visa
The U.S. State Department told the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday that U.S. citizens don't have a constitutional right to know why consular officers deny their spouses' visas, saying that any requirement to provide an explanation would raise national security concerns.
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April 15, 2024
Justices Revive 7 Immigration Appeals After Hardship Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday granted certiorari in seven cases and remanded all of them in light of its recent ruling that circuit courts have the authority to review hardship determinations in immigration appeals.
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April 15, 2024
Justices Won't Hear Challenge To Wash. Voting Rights Law
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to consider whether Washington's voting rights law made race the predominant factor in redistricting, in a case involving a rural county with a slim majority of Latino voters.
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April 12, 2024
GEO Seeks Wash. ICE Detention Law's Permanent End
Private prison operator GEO Group Inc. told a Washington federal court judge that the fact the court found parts of a law aimed at improving private prison standards unconstitutional meant the court should permanently bar the law's enforcement.
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April 12, 2024
Berry Appleman Faces Disability Bias Suit By Ex-Tech Lead
Global immigration law firm Berry Appleman & Leiden is facing a disability discrimination suit filed Friday in Texas federal court by its former software tech lead, who says the firm set him up to fail when he sought reasonable accommodations for a coding project due to side effects from his medication.
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April 12, 2024
House To Retry Spy Bill After Warrant Measure Fails By 1 Vote
The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday voted to reauthorize government surveillance of foreigners without warrants, only to have a Florida Republican call for a reconsideration vote for Monday to require warrants for spying on Americans' communications caught up in the surveillance.
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April 12, 2024
Split 6th Circ. Orders BIA To Rethink Iraqi Man's Asylum Bid
A divided panel of the Sixth Circuit has published an opinion ruling that the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals did not properly consider new evidence in an Iraqi man's asylum petition under the Convention Against Torture, with one judge dissenting to say the board did not abuse its discretion.
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April 12, 2024
SEC Says Developer Pulled EB-5 Funds From Nursing Homes
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused a Las Vegas developer of using $10 million raised by overseas investors hoping to immigrate to the U.S. to pay down a loan for a project unconnected to their immigration applications.
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April 12, 2024
Feds Say Texas' Razor Wire Blocks Immigration Enforcement
The Biden administration urged a Texas federal court to toss the Lone Star State's lawsuit to maintain barbed wire fencing along the border with Mexico, saying the barrier prevents border agents from arresting individuals crossing unlawfully and providing emergency aid to migrants in distress.
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April 11, 2024
Iowa Makes Illegal U.S. Reentry A State Crime
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed into law a bill that will let state police arrest individuals suspected of having entered the country illegally, raising the prospect of another legal battle over the federal government's jurisdiction over immigration affairs.
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April 11, 2024
Black Workers, Fish Farm Settle Claims Of Migrant Hiring Bias
Black farmers and a Mississippi-based fish farm have agreed to settle claims that the farm pushed out the U.S. citizen farmers in favor of Mexican migrant workers, they announced to a Mississippi federal court on Thursday.
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April 11, 2024
Ga. Judge Tosses Immigrant Voting Rights Suit Mid-Trial
As attorneys for the Georgia Secretary of State's office prepared to mount their defense Thursday against a lawsuit challenging the legality of how the state adds newly naturalized citizens to its voter rolls, an Atlanta federal judge instead announced she was dismissing the case mid-trial.
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April 11, 2024
Texas Staffing Co. Settles Noncitizen Bias Claims
A Texas staffing company settled the federal government's claims that it discriminated against a man by requiring he show his green card to prove he can work in the U.S., the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday.
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April 11, 2024
Feds Agree To Settle Damages Over 2018 Migrant Separations
The Biden administration is on track to settle two lawsuits from families that alleged serious harm from a Trump-era policy that resulted in children and parents being separated at the southern border, according to Arizona federal court filings.
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April 10, 2024
Dems Introduce Bill To Codify Policy Barring Judge Shopping
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., along with 37 other Democratic and two independent senators, introduced legislation on Wednesday to codify the new Judicial Conference of the United States policy against judge shopping after pushback from Republicans and a Texas court.
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April 10, 2024
Deported Man Can't Undo Fraud Conviction After Feds' Error
A deported Nigerian national who confessed to fraud on promises that prosecutors would submit a letter to immigration authorities supporting his deportation defense couldn't convince the Eighth Circuit to toss his guilty plea after prosecutors mistakenly disavowed the letter.
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April 10, 2024
Cleaning Co. To Pay $400K In H-2B Workers' Exploitation Suit
Mexican guest workers and a cleaning company that recruited them to work at a Colorado luxury hotel asked a federal judge on Wednesday to grant initial approval of a $400,000 settlement on claims that the company committed myriad wage and visa law violations and threatened to deport workers who complained.
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April 10, 2024
House Rejects Renewal Of Contentious FISA Authority
The House of Representatives on Wednesday effectively rejected a bill to renew a contentious foreign surveillance authority, after 19 Republican lawmakers refused to back the legislation following criticism from former President Donald Trump.
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April 10, 2024
Activists Can't Show LexisNexis Violated Ill. Consumer Law
Activists were unable to convince an Illinois federal court that LexisNexis Risk Solutions Inc. had violated an Illinois consumer protection law by collecting and selling personal information to immigration and other law enforcement agencies, with the court saying the data was not private.
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April 09, 2024
Contractor Says Feds Are Blocking Border Wall Settlement Payout
A construction contractor wants to intervene in litigation over the Biden administration's diversion of border wall funds, saying the federal government has invoked a recent injunction in the case to stymie the company's attempt to recoup lost construction costs.
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April 09, 2024
5th Circ. Seeks More Info Before Ruling On Texas Arrest Law
The Fifth Circuit wants to look into instances in which Congress statutorily allowed the federal government to seek injunctive relief against states before deciding on a district court injunction blocking a controversial Texas law allowing state officers to arrest unauthorized immigrants.
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April 09, 2024
Ex-Haitian Mayor Can't Nix Mass. Jury's $15.5M Torture Verdict
A Boston federal judge has refused to toss a $15.5 million civil verdict finding a former Haitian mayor responsible for torture and extrajudicial violence against rival political party members.
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April 09, 2024
Lack Of Evidence Kills Pupuseria's Bid For H-2B Line Cooks
A U.S. Department of Labor appeals board affirmed the rejection of a California pupuseria's request to hire two line cooks under the H-2B temporary foreign worker program, finding that a certifying officer correctly determined that the business failed to show it had a seasonal need for the employees.
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April 09, 2024
Challengers To H-2A Wage Rule Denied Extra Discovery
A federal judge has refused to let agricultural businesses gather more information on the decision-making behind new H-2A agricultural worker minimum wages, rejecting claims that more discovery was warranted in light of a September order allowing the wages to take hold.
Expert Analysis
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Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid
As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.
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Potential Outcomes After E Visa Processing Update
A recent update to the Foreign Affairs Manual’s E visa provisions may help ease consular backlogs, but a policy change that will require some applicants and their family members to process renewals overseas at different times creates new administrative burdens for practitioners, say Anna Morzy and Elizabeth Przybysz at Greenberg Traurig.
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Immigration Program Pitfalls Exacerbate Physician Shortages
Eliminating shortcomings from U.S. immigration regulations and policies could help mitigate the national shortage of physicians by encouraging foreign physicians to work in medically underserved areas, but progress has been halted by partisan gridlock, say Alison Hitz and Dana Schwarz at Clark Hill.
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Perspectives
Mallory Gives Plaintiffs A Better Shot At Justice
Critics of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern claim it opens the door to litigation tourism, but the ruling simply gives plaintiffs more options — enabling them to seek justice against major corporations in the best possible court, say Rayna Kessler and Ethan Seidenberg at Robins Kaplan.
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Courts Can Overturn Deficient State Regulations, Too
While suits challenging federal regulations have become commonplace, such cases against state agencies are virtually nonexistent, but many states have provisions that allow litigants to bring suit for regulations with inadequate cost-benefit analyses, says Reeve Bull at the Virginia Office of Regulatory Management.
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Tales From The Trenches Of Remote Depositions
As practitioners continue to conduct depositions remotely in the post-pandemic world, these virtual environments are rife with opportunities for improper behavior such as witness coaching, scripted testimony and a general lack of civility — but there are methods to prevent and combat these behaviors, say Jennifer Gibbs and Bennett Moss at Zelle.
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New Fla. Immigration Law May Have Crippling Effects
Florida's new immigration law, which went into effect on July 1, will be especially burdensome in industries where retaining adequate staff is already an issue, so employers must assess their staff and thoroughly examine their employee records to check that all documentation is valid to avoid crippling fines and loss of licenses, says Trent Cotney at Adams and Reese.
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A Blueprint For Addressing The Immigration Court Backlog
Since 2009, far more persons have been placed in removal proceedings than U.S. immigration courts could accommodate, but the government can reduce the 1.9 million-case backlog with steps that include reforming the court and the broader immigration system in a way that still prioritizes both due process and immigration enforcement, says Donald Kerwin at the Center for Migration Studies.
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How Multiagency Sanctions Enforcement Alters Compliance
Recent indictments and guidance emphasizing scrutiny of third-party intermediaries make clear the government's increasingly interagency approach to sanctions enforcement and its view that financial institutions are the first line of defense against evasion efforts, particularly in connection with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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Level Up Lawyers' Business Development With Gamification
With employee engagement at a 10-year low in the U.S., there are several gamification techniques marketing and business development teams at law firms can use to make generating new clients and matters more appealing to lawyers, says Heather McCullough at Society 54.
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Mallory Ruling Leaves Personal Jurisdiction Deeply Unsettled
In Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway, a closely divided U.S. Supreme Court recently rolled back key aspects of its 2017 opinion in Daimler AG v. Bauman that limited personal jurisdiction, leaving as many questions for businesses as it answers, say John Cerreta and James Rotondo at Day Pitney.
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H-1B Registration System Is Broken But Not Beyond Repair
Recent U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services statistics confirm that the H-1B registration system, the primary path to U.S. employment for high-skilled foreign nationals, is in dire straits, but ongoing transparency, a willingness to seek input from stakeholders and thoughtful regulatory reforms could ensure its continued viability, say attorneys at Berry Appleman.
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A Midyear Look At Expected Changes In Business Immigration
While legislative immigration reform remains a nonstarter this year, U.S. businesses and their advisers should keep an eye on agency-level regulatory efforts that are underway, which may bring significant changes to filing fees, employment verification, visa renewal processing and more, says Rami Fakhoury at Fakhoury Global.
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5 Ways Firms Can Rethink Office Design In A Hybrid World
As workplaces across the country adapt to flexible work, law firms must prioritize individuality, amenities and technology in office design, says Kristin Cerutti at Nelson Worldwide.
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Opinion
Bar Score Is Best Hiring Metric Post-Affirmative Action
After the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling striking down affirmative action admissions policies, law firms looking to foster diversity in hiring should view an applicant's Multistate Bar Examination score as the best metric of legal ability — over law school name or GPA, says attorney Alice Griffin.