Texas Immigration Lawyer Blog

Cornyn backs review of 'birthright citizenship'

Dallas Morning News  - Todd Gillman reports that "Texas Sen. John Cornyn is the latest senior Republican to call for a review of “birthright citizenship,” amid complaints that illegal immigrants have abused that post-Civil War constitutional provision.

“We need to have hearings. We need to consult constitutional scholars and study what the implications are,” Cornyn said Wednesday, noting that about 540,000 people were caught illegally entering the United States last year through Mexico.

 

The issue of whether citizenship should be restricted based on the status of a baby's parents has become the latest skirmish in the fight over illegal immigration and border security. Democrats have denounced the GOP push to review birthright citizenship as a shameful attack on innocent children, an effort to cherry pick from the Constitution, and an election-season tactic to infuriate conservative voters."

Bring back the wrongly deported

 The National Law Journal -  Rachel E. Rosenbloom: "Now that the [U.S. Supreme] Court has held that minor drug-possession convictions are no basis for mandatory deportation, DOJ should permit reopening of cases."

How far will Padilla extend - how about DWI cases?

Waco Criminal Lawyer Walter Reaves, Jr. on Padilla -

"In the end, instead of criticizing Padilla we need to embrace it. Not only is it a guarantee that clients will be aware of all the consequences before they enter a plea, but also may provide a vehicle for challenging convictions that were not knowingly entered into. In my mind, that can be nothing but a good thing."

Unjust (and Illegal) Deportations

 
 Bring Back -

 Immigration has continued to deport legal permanent residents for minor criminal offenses by calling them "aggravated felonies" for years. (In the 1990's it was DWI's, more recently minor drug offenses). A legal permanent resident convicted of an "aggravated felony" is not eligible for relief such as cancellation of removal and they are held in "mandatory detention" while their cases are pending.

Last month, the Supreme Court held that once again Immigration has been deporting permanent residents who should not have been deported. Jose Angel Carachuri-Rosendo was a lawful permanent resident when he was convicted for possession of a small amount of marijuana, which is a Class B misdemeanor amounting to 20 days jail time under state law. The following year, he was arrested and convicted for possessing a single anti-anxiety pill without a prescription, a 10-day sentence that was classified as a Class A misdemeanor in Texas. Immigration initiated deportation proceedings against Jose, charging that the state misdemeanor could have been prosecuted as an aggravated felony in a federal court. The Supreme Court held that the crime was not an aggravated felony and that Mr. Carachuri-Rosendo was eligible to apply for cancellation of removal.

The problem? There is no way back for the unjustly and illegally deported as Immigration takes the position that cases cannot be reopened once the person has been deported from the country.