Legal Articles - Law Firm Kurzban Kurzban Weinger & Tetzeli Attorneys Miami, Florida

	Udocumented Haitians - We Can't Send Them Back
	In 1966 President Lyndon B. Johnson took an historic step forward when he began flights from Cuba to the United States to prevent physical harm to people leaving that country by unsafe boats.

	Haiti - A Creditor Not a Debtor
	If we are to believe the G-7 finance ministers, Haiti is on its way to getting something it has deserved for a very long time: full "forgiveness" of its foreign debt.

	Immigration Law Bible in 10th Edition
	The latest edition of a widely used immigration law textbook, written by a prominent Miami attorney, has been released.

	Reform the Law Rationally
	Politicians are again talking about immigration - and immigrants, their U.S. citizen families and professionals in the field are cringing. The solutions offered by both parties do not address long-standing immigration problems.

	Without Review, President Becomes King
	On Sunday at sundown, members of the Jewish faith throughout the world will begin a one-day fast in compliance with Yom Kippur, the Day of the Attonement.

	Employers Beware: Worksite Enforcement to Increase
	At a recent public leadership forum held in Washington D.C., Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) John Morton, outlined his priorities and vision for the United States' second largest enforcement agency.

	A Closer Look at Motions to Reopen and Rescind In Absentia Orders
	There are two situations where individuals who were ordered deported, excluded or removed in absentia can reopen their cases: (1) they did not receive notice of the hearing and/or the charging document (i.e., the Notice to Appear (NTA) or the Order to Show Cause (OSC)); and/or (2) they did not appear at their hearing because of “exceptional circumstances” beyond the control of the respondent. Orders to Show Cause were issued for noncitizens placed in deportation proceedings and Forms I-122 (Notice to Applicant for Admission Detained for Hearing Before Immigration Judge) were issued for noncitizens in exclusion proceedings prior to April 1, 1997; Notices to Appear have been issued for noncitizens placed in removal proceedings on or after April 1, 1997.2 The difference between the two types of proceedings is relevant with respect to statutory provisions, regulatory provisions, and standards for motions to reopen in absentia orders.

	Stop denying immigrants due process
	The Immigration debate in the United States is not new or even of recent vintage. President John Adams invoked the first anti-alien legislation in the Alien Act of 1798 so he could pressure the French into leaving the country. Abraham Lincoln had to work with the Know-Nothing Party, which was anti-foreigner and anti-immigrant.

	Shots fired as Powell visits Haiti palace
	Gunshots were exchanged Wednesday outside Haiti's presidential palace in Port-au-Prince as U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell held meetings there, U.S. State Department officials said.

	Patients Die as Doctors Fear Malpractice
	Jim Masterson said his wife was left untreated for five hours and eventually died while doctors searched for an out-of-county physician who'd operate. Not a single local neurosurgeon would come in, Masterson said.

	Jury Awards $5.75 Million in Medical Malpractice Suit
	In 2003, justice was finally served for 37-year-old Mr. Plasencia, the victim of severe medical malpractice. Suffering from end-stage kidney failure - unnoticed and untreated by three different physicians - Mr. Plasencia and his two minor children brought suit in 2000, recovered a verdict for a total of $5.75 million in damages from the jury.

	Miami judge blocks deportation of Nicaraguans
	The deportation of thousands of Nicaraguans who came to the United States in the 1980s to escape unrest in their homeland was blocked by a federal judge Tuesday, and an attorney for the immigrants hailed the move as a "major victory."

	Haiti Council Names Interim Prime Minister
	Haiti's advisory council named an interim prime minister to pave the way for elections, while U.S. Marines said they would start helping disarm the general population in a potentially volatile move after weeks of bloodshed.

	Aristide's exit
	Is Jean-Bertrand Aristide a political prisoner or an exiled president telling a tale? It depends on who you believe.

	Aristide says U.S. deposed him in 'coup d'etat'
	Ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide says he was forced out of Haiti in a "real coup d'etat" led by the United States, in what he called a "modern way to have a modern kidnapping." "I was told that to avoid bloodshed I'd better leave," he said in an interview on CNN on Monday.

	U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on Miami Haitian’s DUI May Halt Automatic Deportations
	The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled Tuesday that a Miami man was wrongly deported to Haiti after serving two years in prison for drunken driving – an opinion that could have far-reaching impact on hundreds of similar cases involving immigrants.

	81-Year-Olds Death Called Haitian Tragedy
	The Rev. Joseph Dantica fled to the United States nearly a month ago, seeking asylum after gangs in his neighborhood ransacked his church and threatened to kill him. Though the 81-year-old Baptist pastor escaped safely to Miami, he died days later in the custody of U.S. immigration authorities – in disputed circumstances that relatives say boiled down to mistreatment.

	The Disappearing Federal Courts
	The extraordinary changes brought about by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), thoughtfully discussed here in Kari Converse's article, create substantial obstacles to immigration lawyers, criminal defense lawyers and their respective clients.