Background IDP engages in strategic litigation before both federal and New York State courts to ensure full and fair proceedings for noncitizen defendants facing criminal charges. Since its inception, IDP has worked to establish all immigrants’ constitutional rights before the criminal courts, including the right to effective assistance of counsel and the right to appeal convictions. IDP continues to build … Read more »
Background The United States has long offered protected status to those fleeing persecution abroad in the form of Asylum and Withholding of Removal. Under its obligations under the U.N. Refugee Convention to which the U.S. is a party, only the most serious criminal convictions that present actual danger to the community in the United States can bar a person from … Read more »
Background IDP supports litigants in cases addressing whether certain offenses are categorically deemed “crimes involving moral turpitude” under immigration law, advocating for the strict application of the categorical approach. Practice Advisories Practice Advisory: Litigating CIMT Theft Removal Charges and Adjudicative Retroactivity in the Second Circuit After Obeya v. Sessions (April 18, 2018, by IDP) Addendum: Exploring Applications of the Anti-Retroactivity Holding of Obeya … Read more »
Background IDP is engaged in litigation before the federal courts and BIA challenging government efforts to bar noncitizens from establishing eligibility for relief from removal or eligibility for lawful status solely because a “record of conviction” is merely ambiguous as to whether the conviction is for a disqualifying offense under immigration law. Under the government’s view, noncitizens could be barred … Read more »
Background IDP participates in litigation efforts to limit retroactive application of new laws and policies that restrict the rights of immigrants. For example, IDP has worked to prevent retroactive application of certain provisions of the 1996 laws, such as the repeal of former 212(c) relief and restrictions on re-entry for lawful permanent residents. Practice Advisories Matter of Abdelghany: Implications for … Read more »
Background IDP engages in strategic litigation before the immigration agencies and the federal courts in support of the conviction “finality rule,” which is the longstanding rule that a criminal conviction may not trigger certain immigration consequences unless all direct appeals of right have been exhausted or waived. Practice Advisories Amicus Briefs
Background The harsh penalties for drug use and sale have torn families and communities apart without providing the safety those communities deserve. IDP is working to end the double punishment of people with drug convictions and reverse the harms of the drug war for immigrant communities. In 1996, Congress enacted legislation hugely expanding the numbers of immigrants subject to mandatory … Read more »
Background IDP engages in litigation to defend the application of the “categorical approach” to safeguard fairness in immigration adjudications. Under the immigration laws, a noncitizen generally is not subject to negative immigration consequences, including removal, based on a criminal conviction unless that conviction fits categorically within one of the INA’s criminal removal grounds. The categorical approach requires adjudicators to determine whether … Read more »
For Immediate Release November 19, 2020 BREAKING: Judge Stops Trump Administration Efforts to Bar More from Asylum Just One Day Before They Were Slated to Go Into Effect, Federal Judge Enjoins Broad Rules That Would Have Vastly Expanded Categorical Bars to Asylum New York/Washington/San Francisco – On Thursday, a federal judge in the Northern District of California issued a nationwide … Read more »
October 2023 Update “Surge Operations” FOIA Litigation IDP et al. v. ICE et al., No. 1:20-cv-10625-RA (S.D.N.Y.)IDP et al. v. CBP et al., No. 1:22-cv-09920-RA (S.D.N.Y.)Requestors Immigrant Defense Project and Center for Constitutional Rights are represented by Andrew Wachtenheim, Ian Head, Ghita Schwarz, Mizue Aizeki, and Zee Scout.Court filings, administrative FOIA requests, relevant decisionsLegend:U.S. Department of Homeland Security = DHSU.S. … Read more »
For Immediate Release November 2, 2020 Immigration Groups File Lawsuit Challenging Trump Administration Efforts to Bar More from Asylum Groups Say Broad Rules Could Bar Asylum Seekers Convicted of Low Level Offenses and Even People Who Are Not Convicted of a Crime New York/Washington/San Francisco – Four immigrant rights organizations—Pangea Legal Services, Dolores Street Community Services, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, … Read more »
You probably know that people of color, which include immigrants, are disproportionately targeted in marijuana arrests by the police. You might not know that non-citizens get punished beyond the already harsh consequences of a marijuana conviction. Overnight, the lives they’ve built in the U.S. over decades can be destroyed. They can be torn from their families and exiled to a … Read more »
Car Stops – Resource & Know Your Rights Handout IDP has developed a two-page resource explaining what to do if you are the driver or the passenger of a car that is stopped by ICE. Includes a two-page pullout sheet that explains your rights and what to say if ICE stops you in a car. Available here in English. Disponible … Read more »
For Immediate Release October 20, 2020 Immigrant Advocates FOIA for Info on Clearview AI Contract with ICE for Facial Recognition Technology Mijente, Immigrant Defense Project, Just Futures Law, and ACLU NorCal say the public should know how ICE is monitoring their social media accounts NEW YORK — A group of immigrant advocates and attorneys have filed a Freedom of Information … Read more »
Description: In 2010 the Supreme Court decided Padilla v. Kentucky, holding the 6th Amendment requires criminal defense counsel to advise non-citizen clients about the immigration consequences that could arise from the decision to plead guilty or go to trial. Since Padilla was decided, it has become more necessary than ever for defense attorneys to advise immigrant clients about not only … Read more »
For Immediate Release July 22, 2020 For more information contact: Rachel Cohen, [email protected], Immigrant Defense Project Immigrant Defense Project Celebrates the Passage of the Protect Our Courts Act New York State Legislature Passes Momentous Legislation: ICE Cannot Use Courts to Trap Immigrant New Yorkers NEW YORK—The Immigrant Defense Project (IDP) applauded the passage of the Protect Our Courts Act (S425/A2176), which … Read more »
For Immediate Release June 10, 2020 For more information contact: Rachel Cohen, [email protected], Immigrant Defense Project Federal Judge Rules ICE Cannot Make Courthouse Arrests in New York New York Attorney General Leticia James and Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez Win Summary Judgment: ICE Cannot Use Courts to Trap Immigrant New Yorkers NEW YORK—The Immigrant Defense Project (IDP) applauded the federal … Read more »
In response to the threat of COVID-19, IDP has created several new resources for lawyers, immigrants, advocates, and community members. These resources, including template motions for redetermination and a handout on how to protect your community during COVID-19, are available below, along with a compilation of non-IDP resources that we’ve come across in the last several weeks and thought were … Read more »
By Labe Richman A decade ago, when Justice Stevens issued his seminal decision in Padilla v. Kentucky, the obvious was finally acknowledged by the Supreme Court – that non-citizen defendants had the right to know the immigration consequences of their pleas of guilty. Many members of the community may not have understood the unfair and tragic situation that existed before. … Read more »
By Norman Reimer In reflecting on Padilla v. Kentucky at ten years, it is clear that in one important sense it transformed defense practice. The fact that the Supreme Court has not to date fully confronted the constitutional implications of the myriad collateral consequences that flow from a criminal conviction beyond immigration consequences means that Padilla remains somewhat of an … Read more »