The “Important Opinions” that appear each week on the front page of Virginia Lawyers Weekly are those chosen by our editors as the most likely to impact law practice or a given subject area of law. Below is a listing, ...

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A Salvadoran immigrant, detained for the past 14 months while he challenges removal, deserves an individual bond hearing to determine whether flight risk or danger to society justifies his prolonged detention. Background Petitioner Jose Rodriguez Portillo first unlawfully entered the ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Criminal Immigration Judge Leonie Brinkema U.S. District Court - Eastern District

An immigrant was not rendered ineligible for cancellation of removal based solely on $100 in court costs that he paid after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor. Such costs, which are not discretionary and sometimes are imposed by the court clerk, ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Immigration Judge James A. Wynn Jr.

A Salvadoran immigrant, detained for the past 14 months while he challenges removal, deserves an individual bond hearing to determine whether flight risk or danger to society justifies his prolonged detention. Background Petitioner Jose Rodriguez Portillo first unlawfully entered the ...

Tagged with: Administrative Constitutional Criminal Due Process Immigration Judge Leonie Brinkema U.S. District Court - Eastern District

On June 20, the First Unitarian Universalist Church in Richmond opened their door to provide sanctuary to Abbie Arevalo-Herrera, an immigrant who came to America from Honduras to escape domestic violence in 2013. Arevalo-Herrera, a mother of three, is currently ...

Tagged with: Immigration

Because not all of the offenses encompassed under Maryland’s theft statute qualify as crimes involving moral turpitude, the Board of Immigration Appeals erred in concluding that the petitioner committed such crimes and was thus ineligible for cancellation of removal. Background ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Immigration Judge William B. Traxler Jr.

VIRGINIA BEACH — Attorneys representing immigrant clients in criminal matters in Virginia have obligations to defend them from deportation as well as the alleged crime, according to a panel of attorneys at this year’s Virginia State Bar annual meeting. Panelists ...

Tagged with: Criminal Immigration Judge Alfred W. Bates III

It was not arbitrary or capricious for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to reject special immigrant juvenile status for a Salvadoran girl on the basis of a state court order that lacked a factual basis for permanent custody with her ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Domestic Relations Immigration Per Curiam Opinion

An immigrant’s conviction for unlawful possession of marijuana with intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell constitutes a conviction of both an aggravated felony and a crime involving moral turpitude. Therefore, the court lacks jurisdiction to review the Board’s rulings on ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Administrative Immigration Judge Leonie Brinkema

In a defendant’s motion to dismiss his criminal indictment for illegal re-entry, he was entitled to some meaningful review of a deportation proceeding upon which his criminal prosecution was based. While he prevailed on his constitutional claim, he could not ...

Tagged with: Administrative Constitutional Criminal Due Process Immigration Judge M. Hannah Lauck U.S. District Court - Eastern District