Immigration & Asylum Research
Kincaid C. Brown
American & Electronic Resources Librarian
University of Michigan Law Library
What We Are Covering
- US Immigration Regulatory Structure
- US Legal Sources
- Sources for Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK
- International immigration law sources
Department of Homeland Security
DHS has primary oversight over the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.
- Citizenship & Immigration Services (CIS): processes petitions, applications, and asylum/refugee cases
- Citizenship & Immigration Services Ombudsman: resolves problems between individuals or employers and the CIS
- Customs & Border Protection: inspections, border patrol, and customs service
- Immigration & Customs Enforcement: investigations, detention, removal, intelligence, and administration of Student & Exchange Visitor Information System
Other Federal Government Oversight
- Attorney General: through Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) oversees adjudication of DHS immigration related actions, immigration judges, Office of the Chief Administrative Office, Board of Immigration Appeals, and Administrative Appeals Office
- A.G. immigration decisions published in I & N Dec., see below
- Department of State: management of visa application process (including issuance and adjudication) and leads consular offices (DHS establishes and reviews visa policy and provide advice to consular corps
Admistrative Caselaw: Immigration Law Judges
Under general supervision of EOIR handle exclusion, deportation and removal cases. Appeals made to Board of Immigration Appeals.
Administrative Caselaw: BIA
- Board of Immigration Appeals: appellate jurisdiction includes review of immigration law judges decisions, decisions on adjustment of status, and decisions on imposition of fines and penalties
- Prior to Sept. 2002 BIA could make de novo determination of fact and law but now immigration law judge determinations receive a "clearly erroneous" review standard
- A small percentage of cases are chosen to serve as precedent decisions in future cases (these are the BIA decisions published in I & N Dec.) and 10-20 additional decisions per year that are "index decisions" (non-precedent but determined to have value as a guide to specific legal areas or fact patterns)
- BIA decisions are appealed to Federal courts
Administrative Caselaw: BIA Cont.
- Administrative Decisions Under Immigration & Nationality Laws (I & N Dec.), 1940-; in print (Catalog record); electronic: DOJ or HeinOnline Federal Agency Library (may require authentication)
- Lexis: IMMIG; BIA (Library; File) - precedent decisions
- Lexis: IMMIG; BIAAAU - index decisions
- Westlaw: FIM-BIA precedent and index decisions
Administrative Caselaw: OCAHO
Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer hears cases regarding sanctions on employer for unlawful employment of aliens, unfair immigration-related employment practices, and civil document fraud. Decisions reviewed by U.S. courts of appeals.
- Precedent decisions:
- Administrative decisions under employer sanctions, unfair immigration-related employment practices and civil penalty document fraud laws, 1988-; in print (Catalog record); electronic: DOJ
- Lexis: IMMIG; OCAHO
- Westlaw: FIM-OCAHO
Administrative Caselaw: BALCA
Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals reviews denials of applications for labor certification. Employer can appeal to Federal courts. This tribunal is within the Department of Labor.
- Decisions:
- DOL: precedent and en banc decisions
- Lexis: IMMIG; BALCA
- Westlaw: FIM-BALCA
Other Administrative Caselaw Sources
- INS/DHS General Counsel Opinions provide guidance to immigration officers
- Lexis (IMMIG; IMMGCO , 1991-); Westlaw (FIM-GCO or FIM-ADMIN, 1991-)
- Administrative Appeals Office (previously Administrative Appeals Unit (AAU)) hears appeals for DHS district directors and regional service centers
- CIS, 2000-
- Lexis: (Bender's Immigration Bulletin) IMMIG; IMMBUL, 1997-; IMMIG; IMMAGN (federal immigration agency decision omni-database); IMMIG: BIAAAU (non-precedent BIA and AAU decisions; Westlaw: FIM-AAU
Selected Immigration Regulation Sections
- DHS immigration, asylum, and naturalization regs.: 8 C.F.R. ch. I
- DHS EOIR regs.: 8 C.F.R. ch. V
- DOJ unfair immigration-related employment practices regs.: 28 C.F.R. pt. 44
- DOJ administrative hearings regs.: 28 C.F.R. pt. 68
Note: Other sections include 20 C.F.R. pts. 655-656 (Dept. of Labor certifications); 22 C.F.R. pts. 40-42 (State Dept. visas); 42 C.F.R. pt. 34 (Public Health, alien medical examinations)
Finding Federal Regulations
- HeinOnline: Code of Federal Regulation 1938-2008 (1990-2000 not yet complete) and Federal Register volume 1 (1936) forward (approx. 4 month lag)
- GPO Access: Code of Federal Regulations 1996 to present; Federal Register 1994 to present.
- Lexis: IMMIG; CFR (CFR); IMMIG; FEDREG (Fed. Reg.)
- Westlaw: FIM-CFR (CFR); FIM-FR (Fed. Reg.)
Cases: Federal Courts
- US Supreme Court Web Site: Bound vols. 1991(v.502) forward; slip opinions of most recent cases
- Lexis
- Westlaw: PDF view option for West-published reports (see next slide), e.g. Supreme Court Reporter, Federal Reporter, Federal Supplement, etc.
- Note: Westlaw still in process of adding PDFs. There is also a time-lag between when the print version is published and the PDF posted
- HeinOnline: from vol. 1(1754) forward; most recent as slip opinions
Cases: Federal Courts
Federal Court Filings
- PACER: for fee service; the Law Library also is participating in the free access Depository Pacer Pilot Project, but the program has been suspended for security reasons
- Bloomberg Law: includes access to PACER; law students can get a password and training from Bloomberg rep
Note: Bloomberg rep, Lisa Blanck, will next be here Oct. 24-31. Contact her at lblanck@bloomberg.net to make an appointment.
Federal Immigration Statutes
Generally in Title 8 of the United States Code although there are statutes codified in other Titles that have bearing on immigration.
- Lexis: IMMIG; USCS
- Westlaw: FIM-USCA
Federal Statutes in General
- HeinOnline: Statutes at Large, 1789 forward (approx. 3 year lag)
- GPO Access: Statutes at Large 108th Congress (2003-2004) forward; slip laws 104th Congress (1995-1996) forward; GPO Access: searchable US Code
- Lexis (IMMIG; CASES) & Westlaw (FIM-CS)
Australia Legislation
- Australian nationality and citizenship act of 1948; amended by Act 71 of 1993, Citizenship regulations of 1960, and Stautory Rules 98 of 1996
- Australian passports act 5 of 2005
- Migration act of 1958 (amended many times, see Foreign Law Guide, below, for a comprehensive list of amendments
- Geneva convention on refugees and 1967 protocol
Major Australia Sources
- Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII): caselaw, statutes, and administrative decisions (incl. Immigration Review Tribunal, Migration Review Tribunal, and Refugee Review Tribunal)
- ComLaw: bills, acts, legislative instruments, statutory rules
- International Immigration and Nationality Laws (print): policies and procedures (Catalog record)
- Lexis: Australia Commonwealth, State and Territory Case Law (AUST; AUSMAX) - reported and unreported decisions
- Westlaw: Australia Cases (AU-ALLCASES)
Note: The Library also holds Australia law sources in print.
Canada Legislation
- Citizenship act of 1976 (Chapter C-29 of Revised Statutes of Canada
- Immigration and refugee protection act (Statutes of Canada (part III of Canada Gazette 49/50 Elizabeth II. Chapter 27.)
- Geneva convention on refugees and 1967 protocol
Note: Because Canada has both federal and provincial legal systems, Canada has some similarities with the United States in terms of specific areas of law being federal or provincial matters. Canada is primarily a common law jurisdiction although Quebec is a civil law province.
Major Canada Sources
- Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII): statutes, regulations, cases, administrative decisions (including Immigration and Refugee Board)
- Canada Gazette, 1998-
- Lexis: Reported and Unreported Canadian Cases Combined (CANADA; CANCAS); Canada Federal Legislation (CANADA; CANLEG) - statutes and regulations
- Westlaw: Canada All Cases (CAN-ALLCASES); Canadian Immigration Case Law (CANIMM-CS); Immigration Law Reporter (IMMLR-RPTS); All Canadian Statutes (CANST-ALL); Candian Federal Regulations (CANFED-REG)
Note: The Library also holds Canada law sources in print.
New Zealand Legislation
- Citizenship act of 1977 (consolidated in 1993 and published in Consitutions of the Countries of the World); amended by Citizenship amendment act of 2005
- Immigration act of 1987
- Geneva convention on refugees and 1967 protocol
Major New Zealand Sources
- New Zealand Legal Information Institute (NZLII): cases, legislation, New Zealand Deporation Review Tribuanl (2007-)
- New Zealand Legislation: currently unofficial (print still official)
- International Immigration and Nationality Laws (print): policies and procedures (Catalog record)
- Lexis: Laws of New Zealand (encyclopedia) (NZ; LONZ); New Zealand Cases (NZ; NZCAS) includes Refugee Status Appeals Authority cases 1995-
Note: The Library also holds New Zealand law sources in print.
Selected United Kingdom Legislation
- British nationality acts of 1948, 1964, 1964 #2, and 1981
- British nationality and the status of aliens act of 1914
- Aliens restriction (amendment) act of 1919
- Immigration acts of 1971 and 1988; Immigration and asylum act of 1999; Criminal justice and immigration act of 2004; Immigration, asylum and nationality act of 2006; U.K. borders act of 2007
- Geneva convention on refugees and 1967 protocol
Major United Kingdom Sources
- Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI): legislation and regulations
- UK Statute Law Database: official revised edition of UK primary legislation
- British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII): legislation, caselaw, statutory instruments, administrative decisions (including Asylum and Immigration Tribunal
- International Immigration and Nationality Laws (print): policies and procedures (Catalog record)
Note: The Library also holds UK law sources in print.
Major United Kingdom Sources Cont.
- Lexis: All UK Cases Combined (UK; ALLCAS); Statutes and Statutory Instruments of England and Wales Combined (UK; STATIS)
- Westlaw: UK Reports ALL (UK-RPTS-ALL); UK Statutes (UK-ST); UK Statutory Instruments (UK-SI)
Note: The Library also holds UK law sources in print.
International & Multi-national Sources
- RefWorld: UNHCR database of caselaw, legislation, documents, and reports
- Michigan - Melbourne Refugee Caselaw Site: searchable database cases from national judicial and/or administrative courts for Core collection (Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland, UK, and US) and more than 20 other countries regarding the definition of refugee status
- University of Minnesota Human Rights Library: database of human rights documents and materials; includes section on refugee and asylum resources with documents and links to other resources
International & Multi-national Sources Cont.
- Center for Gender and Refugee Studies (U. California Hastings): selected gender asylum cases for the US and 14 other countries, case summaries for many more countries, briefs, and country gender guidelines
- UN Official Documents: full-text access to UN documents, also links to the Official Documentation System (ODS), an in-process searchable database of full-text UN documents
- Foreign Law Guide (may require authentication): outlines the legal system of countries around the world with discussion of major sources of law and lists of major pieces of legislation arranged by subject
Other Resources
- TRACfed (may require authentication): searchable data on US federal agencies
- TRAC: reports on immigration data from the TRACfed database
- Interpreter Releases: weekly newsletter containing immigration news, case and legislation summaries, and reprinted Federal Register notices and rule-making
- available in print (Catalog record) and Westlaw (INTERREL, coverage 1987-, full-text of Fed. Reg. notices 1995-)
- Major Immigration Law Treatises in the Library
Example: FGM
- Usefulness of Lexis & Westlaw
- Lexis BIA database (IMMIG; BIA), search for "Female Gender Mutilation"
- Matter of A.T. Attorney General option - links to previous opinion, statutes, cases, regulations
Example: FGM Cont.
- RefWorld
- Searchable
- Nice browse features: A-Z Index and Topics (FGM listed in both), Publisher (governmental agencies, NGOs, etc.), country, type of document
Example: FGM Cont.
- CanLII
- Full-text search for FGM pulls up legislation and cases
- Term highlighted, also allows for jump to next found term
For additional assistance
- Reference Desk assistance available 9 a.m. to midnight 7 days a week
- Professional librarians also available for individual appointments
- Ask a Law Librarian email service. Information at http://www.law.umich.edu/library/students/ask/Pages/default.aspx.