On January 30, 2017, the State of Washington filed suit in Federal District Court for the Western District of Washington, (State of Washington v. Trump) challenging the legality and constitutionality of President Trump’s Executive Order, “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.” The Executive Order bars the entry of refugees from any country in the world for a period of 120 days, bars Syrian refugees from...

Over the last two years, Managing Partner David Kolko has lead the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)’s Taskforce on Family Detention. He has twice traveled to the so-called “family detention center” in Dilley, Texas to provide pro bono legal representation to detained women and children who are seeking asylum protection in the United States. In this excellent piece in Mother Jones, "Here's the Biggest Immigration Issue that Trump Isn't Talking About,"...

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has recently stepped up its immigration enforcement efforts. Starting this week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has begun conducting “immigration raids” across the country targeting individuals and families who have entered the United States within the last two years and who have an order of removal from the U.S. Immigration Court. Many non-citizens in United States can be caught up in these caught up in...

There is a lot of discussion on the Internet lately about refugees, and particular states’ ability to welcome or refuse refugees. Our Thanksgiving tradition in America is a reminder of America’s first refugees arriving to the shores, seeking refuge from religious persecution. America’s modern day refugee laws are centered on the 1980 Refugee Act, which is our codification of the 1967 Protocol and the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. The Act, along...

In a decision issued this past Friday, a federal judge in the District Court for the Central District of California found that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was in violation of a court settlement agreement due to its practice of detaining families who were apprehended as part of the “surge” of asylum-seekers crossing the Southern border since last summer. The Judge also strongly admonished DHS for the “deplorable” conditions in...

Last month, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson made a major announcement regarding the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policy of detaining women and children asylum-seekers from Central America in family detention centers in remote parts of Texas and New Mexico. Secretary Johnson announced that detained families who have passed the initial step in the asylum process – showing that they have a credible or reasonable fear of persecution in their home...

Senior Associate Attorney Jennifer Casey was recently published in an opinion piece featured on Fox News Latino. Jennifer recently spent a week volunteering as a pro bono attorney in Artesia, New Mexico, assisting women and children fleeing violence and persecution in Central America. Her opinion piece recapped her observations as a volunteer, and reflected on how the administration of justice has varied since the Artesia facility opened earlier this summer. Significantly,...

This past Sunday, the Denver Post ran an article discussing a local effort to mobilize assistance to help out in the present refugee crisis at our border. Managing Attorney, David Kolko, was featured in the report.   The article, available here, discusses how local attorneys and non-governmental organizations are coordinating efforts to provide assistance to children who end up in Colorado. Mr. Kolko, as the current Chair of the Colorado Chapter...