There’s new attention to immigation issues, including a remarkable change in policy on deportation priorities.  See NYT.

The Obama administration announced Thursday that it would suspend deportation proceedings against many illegal immigrants who pose no threat to national security or public safety.  .  .  .  Those who qualify for relief can apply for permission to work in the United States and will probably receive it, officials said.

While the scope of this discretionary suspension of deportation remains unclear, it appears that it is to include for consideration those eligible under the not-yet-passed Dream Act, and “White House officials said the new policy could help illegal immigrants with family members in the United States. The White House is interpreting ‘family’ to include partners of lesbian, gay and bisexual people.”

This might be a good moment to draw attention to a recent article by Mark Noferi in the New York Law Journal, pointing out the relevance of Turner v. Rogers on detained immigrants.  Brooklyn Law School website summary below:

In an op-ed for The New York Law Journal, Professor Mark Noferi discusses how the recent Supreme Court decision for Turner v. Rogers may affect detained immigrants. Turner determined that imprisoned “deadbeat dads” were not entitled to court-appointed counsel in child support cases due to a potential “asymmetry of representation.” Profesor Noferi states that the reasoning behind the decision could be flipped to require providing detained immigrants counsel, which is currently not the policy.