Practice Advisories & Brief Bank
Public immigration practice advisories, sample briefs, template motions, amicus briefs, and government guidance, organized in one searchable index and linked to the original host.
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| Resource | Source | Topics | Date | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Obiaga and Berrocal v. AshcroftObiaga and Berrocal v. Ashcroft, U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit (2005). Amicus brief discussing any credible evidence rules and extreme cruelty in VAWA Cancellation of Removal cases. (National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild). Why it matters: Useful as an amicus or advocacy example on Removal Defense; confirm the cited authority and procedural posture before adapting it. |
NIWAP Library 9th Circuit Direct PDF available |
Removal defense
BIA appeals
VAWA / U / T
BIA
Court of appeals
|
Oct 24, 2023 | |
Rosalina Lopez-UmanzorRosalina Lopez-Umanzor, Board of Immigration Appeals (2004) and the U.C. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit (2004). Amicus briefs discussing violations of a victim’s due process rights when an immigration judge denies the victim the opportunity to present expert testimony on domestic violence in a cancellation of removal case and presenting social science data that influences how judges should make credibility determinations in VAWA cancellation of removal cases (Kirkpatrick and Lockhart, Pro Why it matters: Useful as an amicus or advocacy example on Removal Defense; confirm the cited authority and procedural posture before adapting it. |
NIWAP Library 9th Circuit Direct PDF available |
Removal defense
VAWA / U / T
Immigration court
BIA
Court of appeals
|
Oct 24, 2023 | |
Yessica Alvarado Euceda vs. Loretta LynchYessica Alvarado Euceda vs. Loretta Lynch. NIWAP Inc. served as the lead amicus in an appeal of a denial of gender based asylum to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of a Honduran battered immigrant who unsuccessfully attempted to end her relationship with her abusive boyfriend who was the father of her two children. The immigration judge and a single Board of Immigration Appeals judge denied gender based asylum to a battered mother who fled Honduras when she could find no protection f Why it matters: Useful as an amicus or advocacy example on Asylum; confirm the cited authority and procedural posture before adapting it. |
NIWAP Library 5th Circuit Direct PDF available |
Asylum
Immigration court
BIA
Court of appeals
|
Oct 24, 2023 | |
European Connections & Tours, Inc. v. Gonzales ,European Connections & Tours, Inc. v. Gonzales, (2006) Developed amicus brief and assisted the U.S. Attorney General in a motion to dismiss a 1st Amendment challenge to the collection of data on male clients for prospective brides and 5th Amendment Equal Protection challenge to regulation of for-profit or majority for-profit but not cultural or religious International Marriage Brokers. (Crowell and Moring, Pro Bono). Why it matters: Useful as an amicus or advocacy example on Family; confirm the cited authority and procedural posture before adapting it. |
NIWAP Library National Direct PDF available |
Family-based practice
Cross-forum
|
Oct 20, 2023 | |
Nguyen v. INS, 2000Nguyen v. INS, 2000 U.S. App. LEXIS 6860 (5th Cir. June 16, 2000) Filed an brief in support of a Petition of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court (2000) in an equal protection clause challenge to a federal immigration law that treats foreign born out-of-wedlock children of citizen mothers differently from similarly situated children of citizen fathers for purposes of obtaining citizenship. (Legal Momentum) Why it matters: Useful as an amicus or advocacy example on Evidence / Procedure; confirm the cited authority and procedural posture before adapting it. |
NIWAP Library National Direct PDF available |
Evidence and procedure
Cross-forum
|
Oct 20, 2023 | |
Geidy Mavely Soto Alvarado And Mauricio Antonio Garcia Soto v. Merrick GarlandGeidy Mavely Soto Alvarado And Mauricio Antonio Garcia Soto v. Merrick Garland (June 13 2023) US District Court of Rhode Island. NIWAP, represented by Crowell and Moring, led an amicus brief that was joined by Harvard Law School professors and clinics, the ACLU, the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and all of the major women shelters in Rhode Island. This brief argued that USCIS had misinterpreted VAWA 2000 amendments that were designed to allow VAWA self petitioners to divorce, Why it matters: Useful as an amicus or advocacy example on Removal Defense; confirm the cited authority and procedural posture before adapting it. |
NIWAP Library National Direct PDF available |
Removal defense
VAWA / U / T
USCIS
Federal district court
|
Oct 11, 2023 | |
Maria Esterlina Perez Vigil v. U.S.Maria Esterlina Perez Vigil v. U.S. (February 29 2016) 5 th Circuit Court of Appeals. NIWAP, and various Immigration Law Professors from Texas, filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of Maria Esterlina Perez Vigil a victim of domestic violence, who had denied her request for asylum because she was able to move out the residence that she shared with the abuser. The brief discussed the dynamics of abusive relationships and explained that physical separation from an abuser rarely means that an abus Why it matters: Useful as an amicus or advocacy example on Asylum; confirm the cited authority and procedural posture before adapting it. |
NIWAP Library National Direct PDF available |
Asylum
BIA
Court of appeals
|
Oct 11, 2023 | |
Romain v NapolitanoRomain v Napolitano (March 16 2012), U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York. NIWAP, represented by Morgan, Lewis and Bockius, served as lead amicus in the first VAWA Confidentiality appeal of denial of a criminal court discovery order. This was a case in which a domestic violence perpetrator who was being prosecuted for domestic violence sought discovery under Brady and W.M.V.Crio of the VAWA confidentiality protected VAWA self-petition immigration case filed by his battered immigrant Why it matters: Useful as an amicus or advocacy example on VAWA / U / T; confirm the cited authority and procedural posture before adapting it. |
NIWAP Library National Direct PDF available |
VAWA / U / T
BIA
Federal district court
|
Oct 6, 2023 | |
Agriprocessors Postville, IowaAmicus brief filed for the reversal of the decision by the Court of Appeals from the Eighth Circuit in the case of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s workplace raid at the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa. ICE demonstrated the practical effects of failing to require knowledge of the defining element of 18 US.C. § 1028A—whether the identification at issue is “of another person.” In Postville, the crime of aggravated identity theft, which carries a two-year mandator Why it matters: Useful as an amicus or advocacy example on Employment; confirm the cited authority and procedural posture before adapting it. |
NIWAP Library 8th Circuit Direct PDF available |
Employment
BIA
Court of appeals
|
Oct 2, 2023 | |
Esteban CabezasEsteban Cabezas is an appeal to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Administrative Appeals Office (2010) of a denial of a VAWA self-petition by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Vermont Service Center. This case raises important issues about the any credible evidence standard to be applied in VAWA self-petitioning cases and on immigration related abuse and the role this abuse plays as part of a pattern of extreme cruelty. (Andrew Taylor, Pro Bono) Why it matters: Useful as an amicus or advocacy example on Removal Defense; confirm the cited authority and procedural posture before adapting it. |
NIWAP Library National Direct PDF available |
Removal defense
VAWA / U / T
BIA
|
Oct 2, 2023 | |
Francisco Ramirez, Jacqueline Reyes-Mendoza, And Their Minor Child B.R., v Hon. Daylene A. Marsh and David Paulino Padilla-SuazoFrancisco Ramirez, Jacqueline Reyes-Mendoza, And Their Minor Child B.R., v Hon. Daylene A. Marsh and David Paulino Padilla-Suazo Emergency petition for writ of superintending control to the New Mexico Supreme Court in a sexual assault case in which a state court judges ordered U visa applicant victims to turn over in criminal court discovery information contained in the victim’s VAWA confidentiality protected case in violation of federal law. NIWAP is being represented in this appeal by Skadden, Why it matters: Useful as an amicus or advocacy example on VAWA / U / T; confirm the cited authority and procedural posture before adapting it. |
NIWAP Library National Direct PDF available |
VAWA / U / T
Children and SIJS
BIA
|
Oct 2, 2023 | |
Hawke v. Department of Homeland SecurityHawke v. Department of Homeland Security, the United States District Court for the District of Northern California (September 29, 2008). Filed an amicus brief discussing the history and purpose of VAWA Confidentiality created in 1996 (expanded in 2000 and 2005) as Section 384 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (“IIRIRA”). In this case of first impression, the Court clarified that VAWA confidentiality provisions protect victims filing for VAWA immigration r Why it matters: Useful as an amicus or advocacy example on VAWA / U / T; confirm the cited authority and procedural posture before adapting it. |
NIWAP Library National Direct PDF available |
VAWA / U / T
Federal district court
|
Oct 2, 2023 |