On April 5, 2019, NBC 5 aired a report on the ICE worksite raid the day before that resulted in the arrest of 284 undocumented workers. In the televised interview, attorney Zoltan observed that the raid conforms to Pres. Trump's repudiation of the Obama administration's sound practice of focusing enforcement resources on (1) criminals, (2) threats to national security, and (3) newly-arriving aliens: "'At this point, those three priorities are now 11 million priorities,' said Dallas Immigration Attorney Paul Zoltan. 'Every single undocumented immigrant is subject to removal with very little in the way of discretion, very little in the way of clemency.'"

In a recent address to newly-trained immigration judges, Deputy Attorney General (AG) Rod Rosenstein emphasized that they lack the independence of judgment that Article III of the U.S. Constitution grants federal judges: "you are not only judges... [because] you are a member of the executive branch... [and must] follow lawful instructions from the Attorney General." Colleague Jeffrey S. Chase is more decorous in his critique of this arrangement - wherein "judges" are tasked with enforcing politically-motivated policies and forced to meet ambitious case "completion" quotas - but the gist of Mr. Rosenstein's remarks is that IJs' loose-fitting robes effectively cover the AG's hand and wrist.

An evidentiary panel of a State Bar Grievance Committee has penalized Juan Luis Burgos-Gandia for failing to (1) keep a client reasonably informed about his case, (2) adequately explain the case to that client, (3) keep unearned fees in a separate trust account, and (4) refund unearned fees. The panel ordered a fully-probated 12-month suspension and payment of $11,200 in restitution and expenses.

When former Attorney General Jefferson B. Sessions III issued Matter of A-B-, it was widely reported that victims of domestic violence and gang-related persecution could no longer qualify for asylum. Though Mr. Sessions intended this result, he has largely failed. The Federal District Court for the District of Colombia recently enjoined asylum officers, in credible fear interviews, from following Matter of A-B- except insofar as it vacated an earlier decision benefiting married women in Guatemala who are unable to leave their relationship. Though unaffected by this injunction, most immigration judges likewise recognize the limited impact of Matter of A-B-. Two well-reasoned decisions granting asylum to victims of domestic violence - one issued in San Francisco, CA, the other in Arlington, VA - have been posted online.

The attorney's summary of last year's developments in immigration law appears in the January 2019 edition of the Texas Bar Journal . He authored similar articles for 2015, 2016, and 2017.