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On this page the attorney summarizes and links to online articles that either (a) he wrote or (b) illustrate his standing as a legal authority. He also posts to this page legal information that may help immigrants and their advocates.
In sworn testimony, ICE agents have acknowledged receiving “daily arrest quotas they sought to meet during operations.” Officers’ eagerness to meet that quota results in virtually indiscriminate arrests. Whereas previous administrations have prioritized the removal of noncitizens with criminal records, only a small fraction of immigrants now in ICE custody have had contact with law enforcement since their arrival – typically, many years ago.
Democratic Senators Alex Padilla, Dick Durbin have called out ICE for apprehending 261 registrants under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program between January 1 and November 19, 2025, and for deporting 86 of these. The senators demand that ICE honor the promise of protection made under the DACA program.
DHS’ record belies their conciliatory words in a letter to Judge Michael E. Farbiarz acknowledging “six missed deadlines to respond to court orders, 12 missed deadlines to provide bond hearings to ICE detainees, 17 out-of-state transfers after judges had issued no-transfer orders, three instances of imposing release conditions in violation of court prohibitions and 10 instances of failing to produce evidence demanded by courts.”
Now that noncitizens apprehended anywhere in the U.S. may be subject to expedited removal, every one of them who is not a lawful permanent resident (that is, who lacks a “green card”) should carry with them at all times proof that they’ve lived in the U.S. for two years or longer. If two years have not elapsed since your arrival, DHS may expel you summarily from the U.S. You may first speak to an immigration judge only if (a) you’ve suffered or may suffer persecution in your country, and (b) an asylum officer determines – in a “credible fear” interview – that there is a “significant possibility” you may qualify for asylum.
Legal service providers, advocacy groups, and community-based organizations have posted online many excellent teaching tools to prepare for a new era of “Papers, please.” Among the most reliable and helpful are guides posted by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC).
The Department of Homeland Security announced today that immigration officials will, in effect, fast-track the removal of any undocumented immigrant found within the U.S. who cannot prove they have resided in the U.S. for two years or longer. The “expedited removal” process sidesteps the immigration courts altogether. Only if the immigrant asserts a fear of persecution in their home country – and the immigration official acknowledges this – will an asylum officer interview the immigrant to determine whether she or he may speak with a judge.
