Final big case with little splash – this time about mandatory detention

Sunday, August 4th, 2013

I have been writing about recent Ninth Circuit cases that to me seem very significant, but have been overlooked by the pundit class. The last one is a mandatory detention case, Rodriguez v. Robbins, decided on April 16, 2013. In the case, based on 9th Circuit precedent and the doctrine of constitutional avoidance, the Ninth Circuit affirmed a preliminary injunction in favor of aliens being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in excess of six months. The injunction holds that…

Immigration justice: Justice without judges.

Sunday, October 3rd, 2010

I get these calls every week. A family member of an alien or the alien himself or herself calls and tells me that the alien is in Mexico. He or she was encountered by ICE or CBPand signed papers to allow his or her return to Mexico without seeing an immigration judge. I ask, “Why did he sign?” The answer is invariably that the officers explained that if the alien did not sign and go back to Mexico he or…