Entries by Cyrus Mehta & Kaitlyn Box*

Reappraisal of the Encouragement Provision as Interpreted in United States v. Hansen under Trump’s Immigration Policies  

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In June 2023, the Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Helaman Hansen, a case that posed the question whether the federal criminal prohibition on encouraging or inducing unlawful immigration for commercial advantage or private financial gain in violation of INA §274(a)(1)(A)(iv) and INA §274(a)(1)(B)(i) is unconstitutionally overbroad. As discussed in our first […]

Neighborhood Snooping: USCIS’s New Roadblock to Citizenship

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USCIS seems to be obsessed about heightening the good moral character standard for citizenship for the purpose of delay. On August 19, 2025 USCIS announced that it would evaluate good moral character in the naturalization context to encompass a “holistic assessment of an alien’s behavior, adherence to societal norms, and positive contributions that affirmatively demonstrate […]

CSPA Disharmony is More Beautiful Than Monotony Notwithstanding a Discrepancy between USCIS and DOS Policy in Protecting the Age of the Child

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By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* In early 2023, USCIS reversed its longstanding policy of recognizing only the Final Action Dates (FAD) in the State Department Visa bulletin as protecting a child’s age under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), and agreed to use the Dates for Filing (DFF) to protect the age of […]

Notwithstanding Trump’s Threats, Can the Government Really Take Away a Person’s Citizenship?

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In recent weeks, the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts have increasingly turned towards U.S. citizens. Indeed President Trump has been insinuating that his administration would look into taking away the citizenship of a number of high profile people. A June 11, 2025 memorandum entitled Civil Division Enforcement Priorities and authored by Assistant Attorney General Brett […]

One Big Ugly Bill on Immigration

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On July 4, 2025, Congress passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”. Among its many other provisions, the megabill imposes a number of immigration-related changes. Pursuant to the Act, asylum applications, which historically have been able to be filed at no cost, will now be subject to a $100 filing fee. An additional $100 annual […]

The Inherently Moral Executive Actions on Immigration Cannot Die Under Trump

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By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* The Trump administration is doing its best to kill executive actions that benefit vulnerable noncitizens. In a June 6, 2025 Policy Alert, the administration announced that it would rescind automatic consideration of deferred action for noncitizens classed as Special Immigrant Juveniles (SIJ) who are unable to able for […]

In the Walmart Case, the Government Cannot Have Its Cake and Eat it too

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In a previous blog, excerpted here, we analyzed Walmart, Inc. v. Jean King, which involved a challenged by Walmart to the administrative proceedings against it for violations of immigration-related recordkeeping requirements on the ground that the proceedings were “being conducted by an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) who is unconstitutionally shielded from the President’s supervision. ALJs […]

The Great Betrayal: Supreme Court’s Ratification Of Trump’s Termination of CHNV Parole

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On March 25, 2025, DHS terminated parole programs that had allowed an estimated 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans to enter the United States legally in 2022 and 2023. The federal register notice stated that “Paroled aliens, including those paroled under the CHNV parole programs, may apply for any immigration benefit or status for which […]

Fighting Back Trump’s Attacks on Foreign Students

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In recent weeks, the Trump administration has launched a concerted assault on international students and their ability to remain in the U.S.  In the latest volleys against Harvard University, the Trump administration ordered the revocation of Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification, which will ban the university from enrolling international students and force […]