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...

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...

In July of 2014, as a response to the so-called “surge” of foreign nationals arriving at the southern border, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a directive instructing all U.S. Immigration Courts to prioritize the following removal cases: 1) recently arrived unaccompanied children 2) recently arrived families with children released on an Alternative to Detention program; 3) detained families with children; 4) other detained foreign nationals in removal proceedings. For...

The Colorado Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association ("AILA") and the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network ("RMIAN") announced that they will present Managing Partner David Kolko with the Pro Bono Service Award at the 10th Annual Immigrant Liberty Awards on June 12, 2015. Mr. Kolko will be honored for his efforts in coordinating pro bono efforts to respond to the on-going humanitarian and refugee crisis along our southern border. Throughout 2014...

On December 15, 2014, in a completely unprecedented move, the Colorado Bar Association’s (CBA) Executive Committee met and unanimously voted to provide matching funds of up to $50,000 in order to fund the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) Children’s Program (http://www.rmian.org/childrens-program/) and to provide legal services to Unaccompanied Children in Immigration Removal Proceedings. CBA President Charles F. Garcia highlights the CBA’s action in his article, “Children on the Run,” published...

The U.S. Immigration Court in Denver, Colorado currently has three active Immigration Judges and a docket of over 8000 cases.  The Denver Immigration Court and the foreign nationals living within its jurisdiction are fortunate to have distinguished, highly competent, and thoughtful immigration judges. Unfortunately, the majority of foreign nationals on the Denver Immigration Court docket are unlikely to have their hearings in front of these judges any time soon.  As we...

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...