Sam Nelson
@immlaw.bsky.social
Author of "Immigration Law Explained" https://samsramblingss.substack.com/
Interesting opinion in MULAMA v. Blanche, 6th Circuit 2026. Claims recent changes in the immigration court system render it unconstitutionally biased against immigrants. Raises a due process claim asking for his petition to be heard in an Article III court. Court ducks the issue (not exhausted).
If she returns to Honduras, she’ll be able to stay with her mother. But their lives will be in danger. If she stays, she can probably become an American. But she’ll have to do it alone. It’s a choice no mother and child should have to make. samsramblingss.substack.com/p/the-mother...
The mother and child separation
Daughter wins SIJS and can remain. Mom loses asylum and is deported
samsramblingss.substack.com
Just happened across Fuentes v. USCIS, (4th Cir. July 24, 2026). Somebody took a shot challenging the ban on SIJS recipients sponsoring a parent. No luck. The statutory language ain't really ambiguous, and the policy, though discriminatory, passes the “rational basis” sniff test. Still … nice try.
Because of the travel ban, a Black DNA technician -- an essential witness for the prosecution -- may not be able to testify against an American serial rapist. samsramblingss.substack.com/p/the-worst-...
The worst of the worst
Travel ban prevents a key witness from testifying against an accused serial rapist
samsramblingss.substack.com
Each case involves a potentially strong asylum claim. Each was denied because the judges used minor, easily-explained inconsistencies to find the petitioners not credible. samsramblingss.substack.com/p/one-hand-w...
One hand washes the other
Appellate courts go beyond deference to rhetorically buttress IJ's adverse credibility findings
samsramblingss.substack.com
Great post from The Asylumist on third-country deportations. "The U.S. is ignoring our own human rights obligations and bribing or intimidating countries into accepting third-country nationals with little assurance that those people will be treated humanely." asylumist.com/2026/07/15/t...
The Escalating Threat of Third Country Deportations
The Trump Administration has dramatically increased the practice of deporting non-citizens to third countries. As of May 2026, more than 21,000 people have been removed to at least 24 different cou…
asylumist.com
His attention was drawn to a cooler, tantalizingly connected by wires and tubes to what appeared to be a truck-run generator. He may also have heard a steady “lub-dub, lub-dub” coming from inside. His curiosity piqued, he opened the cooler. samsramblingss.substack.com/p/the-beatin...
The beating of his hideous heart
A rippin' good yarn is spoiled by an adverse credibility determination
samsramblingss.substack.com
Excellent report from the fine folks at bklg on mega masters and in-absentia orders. “Absentia removal orders correspondingly skyrocketed to a record high, with June seeing 53,808 absentia removal orders, a huge 55% increase over May’s 34,725 (itself already a record)” bklg.org/blog/mega-ma...
In June, Mega Master Hearings Spread Nationwide and Absentia Removal Orders Shot to Unprecedented Levels - bklg blog
The immigration court continues to break records for those removed in absentia as June sees a 55% increase from May
bklg.org
Hao and Xiaoyu lied on their visa application. They were “falsus in uno”. That was enough for the judge to find them falsus in omnibus. What do you think? samsramblingss.substack.com/p/mainly-he-...
Mainly, he told the truth.
Apparent visa prevarication taints asylum testimony
samsramblingss.substack.com
Unfortunate relationships: if your father-in-law is a national figure, is his arrest a change in "personal circumstances" or "country conditions"? Featuring El Crook de Holywood. samsramblingss.substack.com/p/the-in-laws
The In-Laws
What happens when "personal circumstances" are also "country conditions"?
samsramblingss.substack.com
Tomorrow on Immigration Law Explained: "El Crook de Hollywood" helps demonstrate when "changed personal circumstances" become "changed country conditions".
Loved this. Most of my own writing is about the circuit courts; amazing to hear what a practitioner’s experience is actually like. jessicadm.substack.com/p/checks-and...
Checks and balances, maybe
View from the 27th floor
jessicadm.substack.com
Great post on "exceptional circumstances" and the asylum filing deadline, a topic near and dear to my heart. "The Bar to Be Heard is Higher Than the Bar to Win" marksjasond.substack.com/p/the-deadli...
The Deadline That Was Never Supposed to Catch Them
There is an obscure rule that decides whether a person can pursue asylum in the United States. I spent years applying it. A new plan would turn it into a wall.
marksjasond.substack.com
Terrible story but an amazing post from a practicing immigration lawyer. “In a world where judges and attorneys make the choice to put their jobs before their humanity, it is important to continue to work to fight against them.” jennifervega2024.substack.com/p/we-were-so...
We Were So Sure
There's no such thing as an easy case
jennifervega2024.substack.com
We don't get a lot of wins. Let's celebrate this one. Bonus feature: a dispatch to the land of Wackadoo. samsramblingss.substack.com/p/if-you-giv...
If you give a migrant a cookie
Evidence compels the conclusion that fear of future persecution is objectively reasonable.
samsramblingss.substack.com
Tomorrow on "immigration law explained": a big win on future persecution. Wackadoo. And free cookies.
Hot take from a correspondent: Under Chevron, courts decided that all the statutes were ambiguous so that they could defer to the agency's interpretation. Now that Chevron is gone, they decide that everything's unambiguous so that they don't have to bother with congressional intent.
Congress wanted this law to apply only to felonies. Since the text can be read in two ways, we should interpret it as Congress intended. samsramblingss.substack.com/p/how-many-m...
How many months in a year?
Fourth Circuit ignores congressional intent and holds that a twelve-month misdemeanor sentence is "one year or longer"
samsramblingss.substack.com
Great post from Beyond Borders -- eye-opening overview with useful practice tips. substack.com/home/post/p-...
AI and Immigration: USCIS and the Invisible Reviewer
This is the second in a five-part series examining the intersection of artificial intelligence and immigration policy.
substack.com
Any immigration lawyers out there who have heard of Guatemalan police altering the dates on reports? We've got a client with a timeline problem and the best explanation is that the police are backdating paperwork sloppily. DM me if you have any thoughts. Thanks.
Incompetence and Laziness in Immigration Court The #immigration judge was unprepared for the case, he did not know the law, and he ignored direct orders from a higher court. asylumist.com/2026/06/17/i...
Incompetence and Laziness in Immigration Court
I recently appeared in court before a newly-appointed Immigration Judge. Unlike some of the new hires, this IJ had prior government experience in the immigration arena. He also previously served as…
asylumist.com
Genesis lived in a small village controlled by a quasi-state criminal organization. It’s not a place where you just dial 911. A fourteen-year-old girl rode the bus two hours to report a sexual assault. The police didn't bother to call her back. samsramblingss.substack.com/p/the-judge-...
The judge and the fiend
"Substantial evidence" review makes appeal almost meaningless
samsramblingss.substack.com
Best epilogue ever: Ninth Circuit Judge Nelson (no relation) was just arrested for battery in a traffic dispute. reason.com/volokh/2026/...
Judge Ryan Nelson (9th Cir.) Charged with Battery for Allegedly Knocking off Man's Glasses in Parking Space Dispute
Idaho State Journal (Jimmy Hancock) reports (including video): U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Ryan Douglas Nelson faces two...
reason.com
In honor of the SpaceX IPO, $1,000 is now known as a "nanomusk".
Persecutors aren't motivated by the DSM-5. One imagines a bully releasing a classmate and saying “I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize that you had developmental coordination disorder! I only meant to beat up kids with stereotypic movement disorder.” samsramblingss.substack.com/p/we-dont-ne...
We don't need no stinkin' DSM-5
Ninth circuit leans on clinical delineations for particularity of disability-based PSGs
samsramblingss.substack.com
Great piece from @ximenabustillo.bsky.social about "mega masters" -- MCH with over 100 attendees. www.npr.org/2026/05/28/n...
How immigration courts are quietly speeding up deportations : The NPR Politics Podcast
After about two months on the job, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has shifted the agency’s immigration enforcement efforts toward tactics that generate fewer headlines but still result i...
npr.org
Often, immigration cases seem reasonable at first. It’s only when you look closely at the details that it becomes clear that the process was unjust. This case is the reverse. samsramblingss.substack.com/p/the-unhous...
The unhoused attorney
Fundamental unfairness doesn't violate due process unless there is evidence of prejudice
samsramblingss.substack.com
This week on Immigration Law Explained: You Can't Go Home Again -- a close look at when "internal relocation" is reasonable. samsramblingss.substack.com/p/you-cant-g...
You can't go home again
A close call on the reasonableness of internal relocation
samsramblingss.substack.com
Tomorrow on Immigration Law Explained: a close look at when internal relocation is "reasonable".
Some of them get it. Three cheers for Judge Vera: A broader point is worth mentioning. The Agency's decision had no patience for the cycle of domestic violence that haunts every page of this lengthy record. But our Circuit has been sensitive to this reality.