Recently in Immigration Law Category

Last week, a Louisiana appellate court struck down a state law making it illegal for non-citizens to drive without documents proving they’re legally in the United States. Louisiana’s Third Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that the statute improperly governs an area of law exclusively controlled by the federal government.

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down parts of a similar Arizona law last year. While that law made it a misdemeanor for immigrants to drive without documentation, the Louisiana law goes one step further making it a felony offense. The appellate court’s ruling conflicts with a recent First Circuit Court of Appeal decision upholding the “unlawful presence” law.

Rene Valeriano Diaz Sanchez has been removed from the U.S. three times. He thinks that he should get a break on his unlawful reentry sentence for the most recent infraction due to the extenuating circumstances surrounding his return.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals disagrees.

The distant past can come back to haunt a naturalization applicant.

To qualify for naturalization, an applicant must demonstrate that he is "a person of good moral character." In a matter of first impression, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that a district court can consider events that precede a naturalization application by more than one year in determining that an applicant could not demonstrate good moral character as a matter of law.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments about a Texas town's immigration policy in en banc rehearing on Wednesday.

Farmers Branch adopted Ordinance 2952 in January 2008, requiring housing renters to apply for a residential occupancy license from the city's Building Inspector. Under the ordinance, a non-citizen prospective occupant must provide an identification number establishing his or her lawful presence in the U.S. in order to get an occupancy license.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will once again consider an ordinance requiring an "occupancy license" for prospective renters in a Dallas suburb.

The New Orleans-based court agreed to en banc rehearing of Villas at Parkside Partners v. City of Farmers Branch this week.

If Cher could turn back time — if she could find a way — she’d take back those words that hurt you, and you’d stay.

If Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals litigant Juan Garcia could turn back time, he’d take back a guilty plea to cocaine delivery in an Iowa court.

So yeah, Cher and Juan Garcia run in different circles.

Green card marriages happen. The concept seems cliché when used in movies and television shows, yet there are people who turn to sham unions to get citizenship. But while marriage may be what brings two willing parties together today, it’s not a guaranteed path to citizenship or a green card.

If you have an immigration law practice, you’ve probably fielded hundreds of questions about green cards: Do I have to get hitched to get a green card? Does marrying a citizen guarantee citizenship?

Congress simplified derivative citizenship laws when the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 became effective. But if you represent a client who turned 18 before the CCA, you have to argue for citizenship under the old rules. It can be complicated, as Patrick Ayton learned this week when he lost his removal appeal in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

To understand why the Fifth Circuit found that Ayton didn't meet the requirements for derivative citizenship, you need a little background information on Ayton.

The City of Farmers Branch wants another day in court.

Perhaps further emboldened by the Supreme Court's reception in the Arizona S.B. 1070 arguments yesterday, the Dallas suburb is asking the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for an en banc rehearing on its "occupancy license" housing ordinance, reports NBC-DFW. The Fifth Circuit ruled in March that the ordinance was unconstitutional.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that a Texas city housing ordinance that requires citizenship or lawful immigration status as a precondition to renting housing is unconstitutional.

The New Orleans-based appellate court concluded that the Farmers Branch, Texas ordinance's sole purpose was not to regulate housing, but to exclude undocumented aliens -- specifically Latinos -- from the city, which is an impermissible regulation of immigration.