Immigration Law

Recent Posts

CA7 (Posner) on Mexico, CAT, Zetas - Rodriguez-Molinero v. Lynch
Posted on 17 Dec 2015 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Rodriguez-Molinero v. Lynch, Dec. 17, 2015 - "If the Mexican government could be expected to protect the petitioner from the Zetas should he be returned to Mexico, the risk that he would be tortured or killed might be too slight to entitle him to... Read More

Posner, Easterbrook Skewer Indiana at Oral Argument: Exodus Refugee International v. Pence
Posted on 16 Sep 2016 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Esther Yu Hsi Lee, ThinkProgress, Sept. 15, 2016 - "In a tense exchange with attorneys defending Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s order to prevent Syrian refugees from resettling in his state, two federal judges sharply criticized the legal rationale... Read More

Posner Dings the BIA Again: CA7 on Withholding, Nicaragua - Gutierrez-Rostran v. Lynch
Posted on 15 Jan 2016 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Gutierrez-Rostran v. Lynch, Jan. 13, 2016 - "The treatment by the immigration court and the Board of the cousin’s murder was too cursory to justify denial of Gutierrez-Rostran’s application for withholding of removal. ... Neither the... Read More

Judge Posner on Social Group, Immutability: Salgado Gutierrez v. Lynch (Concurring)
Posted on 26 Aug 2016 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Salgado Gutierrez v. Lynch, Aug. 24, 2016 - "I write separately only to address a proposition in the immigration court’s opinion (and echoed I regret to say in opinions of this court) that seems to me palpably false, though not determinative... Read More

Let's Close Out 2016 With a Posner Dissent: Chavarria-Reyes v. Lynch
Posted on 31 Dec 2016 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"The removal proceeding was thus cursory, indeed farcical. See Kerciku v. INS, 314 F.3d 913, 917–18 (7th Cir. 2003). Chavarria‐Reyes was given no opportunity to explain his employment history in the United States (he claims to have worked as... Read More

Tags: posner , dissent

Dear Judge Posner: We Are Not Weak
Posted on 6 Mar 2015 by Daniel M. Kowalski

March 6, 2015 Hon. Richard A. Posner Room 2788F Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse 219 S. Dearborn Street Chicago, IL 60604 Re: Bouras v. Holder , No. 14-2179 (Mar. 4, 2015) Dear Judge Posner: You owe over thirteen thousand... Read More

Tags: weak , posner , defense , bouras

CA7 (Posner) on Asylum, China, Forced Sterilization: Chen v. Holder
Posted on 9 May 2013 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"We complained in Zheng v. Holder, 666 F.3d 1064, 1068 (7th Cir. 2012), about the Board’s insouciant attitude toward evidence of forced sterilization in Fujian, an attitude illustrated by the Board’s opinion in this case. ... The Justice... Read More

CA7 (Posner) on Burden of Proof: Lopez-Esparza v. Holder
Posted on 23 Oct 2014 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"Our ground for setting aside that ruling is not that the administrative law judge erred in finding that Lopez‐Esparza had failed to carry his burden of proof, but that the judge applied the wrong standard—the standard, of his invention, that... Read More

CA7 (Posner) on Two Sudans: Arej v. Sessions
Posted on 29 Mar 2017 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Arej v. Sessions, Mar. 28, 2017 - "The population of the Republic of the Sudan is almost entirely Muslim, whereas most of the population of the Republic of South Sudan practices Christianity or African traditional religion. The religious difference... Read More

CA7 (Posner) on Padilla, Crimmigration: DeBartolo v. USA
Posted on 29 Jun 2015 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"Renato DeBartolo, 48 years old, immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of one, but unlike most of his family never got around to applying for U.S. citizenship. He is married to an American citizen, however, and his seven or ten... Read More

Posner Stays Removal in MTR, Cancellation Case: Sanchez v. Sessions (CA7)
Posted on 25 May 2017 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Sanchez v. Sessions, May 24, 2017 - "Given the irreparable harm that Sanchez’s removal could inflict on his minor U.S.‐citizen children, we have decided to stay the order of removal until we rule on his petition for review of the decision of... Read More

CA7 (Posner) on CAT, Honduras, HIV Status: Velasquez-Banegas v. Lynch
Posted on 21 Jan 2017 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Velasquez-Banegas v. Lynch - "Suppose a person if removed to his country of origin would be sure to be persecuted unless, by living in a cave, he avoided all contact with other persons. The next step would be to rule that no one can have a real fear... Read More

CA7 (Posner) on Mexico, CAT, La Linea - Mendoza-Sanchez v. Lynch
Posted on 24 Dec 2015 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Mendoza-Sanchez v. Lynch, Dec. 23 2015 - "We explained in Rodriguez-Molinero that if the Mexican government could be expected to protect the petitioner from the drug cartel that wanted to kill him, if he were returned to Mexico, the risk that he... Read More

Posner Dissents in CA7 Jamaican CAT Case: Fuller v. Lynch
Posted on 18 Aug 2016 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"The majority opinion upholds the denial of relief to Ray Fuller, a Jamaican citizen who seeks relief against removal to Jamaica. His ground for relief is that in Jamaica he would face a likelihood of persecution and torture because he is bisexual... Read More

CA7 (Posner) on Asylum, China, Changed Conditions, Chenery: Liu v. Holder
Posted on 7 Jun 2013 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"The Justice Department insists that the only change was in the petitioner’s personal conditions. That is wrong. It ignores the change in country conditions. In arguing that reopening was barred because the only change was in personal conditions... Read More