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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.
The National Bureau of Economic Research has released a comprehensive study that concludes, “We find no evidence of positive spillover effects to U.S.-born workers and U.S.-born workers who work in immigrant-heavy sectors are harmed.” In the areas most affected by ICE’s paramilitary operations, joblessness actually increased for native-born workers.
Nicaraguan asylum applicant Freddy Antonio Tellez Lopez had resided in the U.S., abiding by our laws, for 5 years. This didn’t dissuade ICE from arresting him at his asylum interview in Miami, Florida. Nor did it dissuade ICE from detaining him for over six months, during which time a guard attempted to sexually assault him. In Trump’s America, an immigrant is no less likely to face arrest and detention if they do things “the right way.”
To address a roughly 3.5 million-case backlog in deportation cases while firing adjudicators perceived as “soft” on noncitizen respondents, the Republican administration flooded social media with help-wanted ads. These seek, specifically, “deportation judges“: “immigration judge,” the position’s true title, isn’t used. Nativists have heeded the call, including one especially unqualified rightwing conspiracist and MAGA diehard who’ll begin hearing cases in April 2026.
For decades, Dallas-area nonprofit agencies like Catholic Charities, Human Rights Initiative, RAICES, Mosaic Family Services, and the International Rescue Committee have relied upon a Department of Justice (DOJ) “accreditation” program to employ non-attorneys to counsel and represent immigrants and their families. When carefully trained and properly supervised, a DOJ-accredited representative can help noncitizens every bit as well as an attorney, and for the a fraction of the cost. This week, DOJ abruptly reassigned every attorney working in its accreditation program, leaving virtually unstaffed an office that, according to CBS, “accredits more than 2,600 non-attorneys across more than 900 recognized programs.” Each advocate’s accreditation must be renewed every two years, so this program’s virtual erasure will soon be felt nationwide.
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.
