Melissa Lujan and Alison Roso At Immigration Law Seminar
The Immigration Law Section of the Oklahoma Bar Association held a continuing legal education seminar at the Café de Brasil in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, April 19th, 2018. Melissa Lujan, who is the Section’s chair, addressed the attendees and told of how the young people who entered the U.S. as children without legal authorization who have been issued work permits in accordance with an Executive Order issued by former President Barrack Obama, commonly referred to as “DACA”, will be honored by the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union at that entity’s next meeting. She also detailed how the number of members of the section has increased in recent months, and welcomed the new members who were present. Lujan, who is a board member of the ACLU, also detailed how that one section member who was present, Veronica Laizure, is also a candidate for membership on that entity’s board. A panel discussion was held that included Ryan Patterson, who spoke on the subject of DACA, and he told that despite the effort’s of the President Trump to end that program, renewals of previously issued DACA authorizations are still being approved. Those young people, who are often referred to as “dreamers” are found throughout the state of Oklahoma and several different organizations are currently conducting outreach programs to assist them in filing their renewal applications. He addressed the status of the several different suits filed against Trump’s efforts, and spoke of the one pending in the 9th federal circuit court that issued an injunction that allowed those renewals to take place. He said that it is anticipated that the US Supreme Court will hear the case in the fall of this year. Patterson further said that certain young people have submitted new DACA applications, but none of them have been approved as of this date.
Section member Rex Friend told of how some American citizens who could possibly be facing prosecution for their efforts to assist undocumented aliens in to the U.S. as part of what is known as “ the new underground railroad” may assert as a defense that they were operating in accordance with their religious obligation, and the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Hobby Lobby case, which arose in Oklahoma, may provide them with a basis for their defense. Another attendee reported that the Mayflower Congregational Church of Oklahoma City has recently voted to became a sanctuary for aliens facing removal.
Paola Alvarez de Bennett was also part of the panel, and she told of how a meeting she attended in Dallas with the chief immigration court judge, who told her that an increase of the number of judges is planned and it is hoped that an immigration court may soon be opened in Oklahoma, and that United States Senator James Lankford is supportive of such an effort. Currently attorneys in Oklahoma who represent parties in immigration court are required to appear with their clients in Dallas for that purpose.
Panelist Natalia Riveros- Jacobsen spoke on the subject of a very recent decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that found a particular piece of statutory language that mandates removal of a party to be too vague and unconstitional as a result, and said that that ruling will be of assistance to many individuals who are currently involved in removal proceedings.
After the meeting concluded, most of the attendees remained at the Café de Brasil and availed themselves of the flavorful Brazilian food that was offered to them on a buffet and spoke to one another about their recent experiences, and some of them told of anguished scenes in which family members embraced relatives who were ordered removed. Section member Kelli Stump told of how she is a candidate for the governing board of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and that she will be in attendance when that organization meets in June in San Francisco California, and that she intends to bring an Oklahoma perspective to it in the event she is elected.
Against the Grain 