Merrick Garland: Here or There?
President Barack Obama nominated Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Merrick Garland to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by Justice Antonin Scalia’s passing. If (and given Congressional Republicans’ statements, it’s a big if) Judge Garland is confirmed, it would have far reaching consequences for the Supreme Court and the country. But just what those consequences will be are the subject of much speculation. As it pertains to the issue of immigration, which rarely arises in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, one might gleam insights about his likely positions by examining
A Three-Year Old Immigration Lawyer?
Anyone who has ever interacted with a three-year old child is aware that they are dealing with a child, legally and morally unaccountable as a result of their young and underdeveloped brain. Nearly everyone that is, because senior Immigration Judge Jack H. Weil of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the Department of Justice agency which overseas the Immigration Courts, apparently disagrees. The longtime immigration judge, who trains other immigration judges, asserted during a deposition in federal court that three and four-year old children can learn immigration law well enough to represent themselves in court. The judge was testifying in a case
America’s Undocumented Immigrants: Giving Without Taking
A recent report by the Institute of Taxation & Economic Policy found that undocumented immigrants contribute an estimated $12 billion to the American economy annually. This contradicts the commonly accepted rhetoric, particularly articulated during presidential election season, that undocumented immigrants are a drain on the country’s economy by taking jobs and benefits without contributing back. According to the report there were approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States in 2013, 8 million of which were either employed or looking for work according to the Pew Research Center. The money that undocumented immigrants contribute back to state and local economies