Immigration Law

Recent Posts

Practice Advisory: Matter of Chairez-Castrejon
Posted on 22 Aug 2014 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"On July 24, the Board of Immigration Appeals (“Board” or “BIA”) issued a decision in which it applied last year’s Supreme Court’s decisions in Moncrieffe v. Holder and Descamps v. United States to modify and/or... Read More

CA9 on Evidence, CIMT: Vargas Cervantes v. Holder (upholding Rotimi)
Posted on 19 Nov 2014 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"We hold that although the BIA correctly determined that Vargas’s conviction under California Penal Code § 422 was for a CIMT and that Vargas is ineligible for an extreme hardship waiver, the BIA erred in concluding that Vargas’s... Read More

Bar Exam Passed, Immigrant Still Can’t Practice Law
Posted on 4 Dec 2013 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"Cesar Vargas seemed to have checked all the right boxes in his quest to become a lawyer in New York State. He made honors at both college and law school in New York City, his home since coming to the United States from Mexico at age 5. He interned... Read More

Language Wars: Univision vs. New York Times
Posted on 9 Oct 2012 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"Jose Antonio Vargas may have reenergized the debate over whether to use the term “illegal immigrant,” but Univision’s taking it to a whole new level. The nation's top-rated Spanish-language broadcast network took The New York... Read More

Iowa Probation Blocks Immigrant's Historic Law License
Posted on 20 Jun 2015 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"Cesar Adrian Vargas made history this month when a New York court paved the way for him to become the first undocumented immigrant to practice law in the state. But the Mexican-born activist's arrest at a Des Moines political event earlier... Read More

Federal Judge Rules Border Patrol Unlawfully Arrested Anacortes (Wa.) Man
Posted on 1 Apr 2015 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"A federal district court judge has ruled that the U.S. Border Patrol unlawfully arrested an Anacortes resident in 2011. U.S. District Court Judge James L. Robart declared that the Border Patrol did not have a lawful basis to arrest Gustavo Vargas... Read More

My Family's Papers
Posted on 13 Feb 2013 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"Exactly how these “mixed-status” families will be included in any type of immigration reform is still up for debate. Nevertheless, they are a byproduct of our broken and byzantine immigration system. Consider my story: My grandparents... Read More

Tags: papers , vargas

Jose Antonio 'Define American' Vargas Detained at Texas Airport
Posted on 15 Jul 2014 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, an undocumented immigrant and prominent immigration activist, was detained at an airport in McAllen, Texas, on Tuesday as he was passing through a security checkpoint, rights groups said. ... Read More

Mexican immigrant with NYC law degree is in limbo
Posted on 8 Mar 2012 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"A Mexican immigrant who passed the New York bar exam last year cannot work as a lawyer because he was brought to the U.S. illegally as a child, and his situation could soon become part of a national debate. Cesar Vargas was 5 years old when... Read More

Why I Turned Myself In to DHS - Jose Antonio Vargas
Posted on 9 Sep 2014 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"I could easily have been deported this summer. But I'm just one of 11 million." - Jose Antonio Vargas, Sept. 8, 2014 . Read More

Ruben Navarrette: My Conversation with Jose Antonio Vargas
Posted on 6 May 2012 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"It may be an occupational hazard, but Vargas never stops asking questions. "People focus so much on the fact that I don't have my papers, and they never ask 'the why' and 'the how.' Why is this happening? How is this... Read More