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Md. attorney suspended for mishandling immigrant clients’ asylum claims
An immigration lawyer whose mishandling of two asylum cases led to negative outcomes for both clients has been suspended from practicing law in Maryland for 90 days.
Criminal justice bills in 2023 will address juvenile, drug, immigration laws
November’s election changed the Maryland General Assembly's composition but much of the criminal justice legislation this coming session will be very familiar.
Court disbars lawyer who advised clients to skip hearing, lied to judges
Maryland’s top court has unanimously disbarred an attorney who advised two asylum applicants against appearing at their scheduled immigration court hearings and then falsely told the judges she did not know where they were. Alisha Ann Portillo, who was admitted to the Maryland bar in 2014, also lied to the Office of Bar Counsel during […]
Md. high court suspends immigration lawyer for at least a year
A divided Maryland high court has suspended for at least one year an immigration attorney who failed to appear at a status hearing for an immigrant couple and to timely file a visa extension application for another immigrant, placing these clients’ continued residence in the United States at risk. Rockville solo practitioner John T. Riely […]
Court of Appeals suspends Rockville immigration attorney for 60 days
Maryland’s top court suspended an immigration law attorney for 60 days Wednesday for failing to properly communicate with a client and improperly managing an attorney trust account. A majority of the Court of Appeals determined that Rockville attorney Raj Sanjeet Singh’s actions did not ultimately harm anyone and that, given his “otherwise unblemished career,” the […[...]
Federal judge: Special immigrant status does not trump alien gun law
A Silver Spring teenager can be prosecuted for being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm though he had the federal government’s permission to be in the United States as an immigrant juvenile in need of assistance, a federal judge has ruled.
Law school’s immigration clinics continue to help clients through US system
Business at the immigration clinics at Maryland’s two law schools has been brisk.
Md. immigration attorneys are heading to the border
In 2015, immigration attorney Nicole Whitaker went to the Mexico border to help detained migrants with asylum claims. “It was really a life-changing experience for me,” said Whitaker, a solo practitioner in Towson. So when the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy to prosecute all adult migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border without documentation led to immigrant families [&he[...]
Supreme Court strikes down as vague part of immigration law
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Tuesday that part of a federal law that makes it easier to deport immigrants who have been convicted of crimes is too vague to be enforced. The court’s 5-4 decision — in an unusual alignment in which new Justice Neil Gorsuch joined the four liberal justices — concerns a […]
County considers lawyers for people facing deportation
A Maryland county is considering whether it will fund lawyers for immigrants facing deportation.
Can locals be deputized under immigration law?
Homeless youth, Facebook and the death penalty round out this week's topics.
As Kennedy goes, so goes the Supreme Court
Justice Anthony Kennedy leads news summary that includes a crime victim resorting to self help, a student's revenge and advice from immigration attorneys.
