Quill Winners Explore Visa Adjudications and Limits of Public Trust Doctrine
Congratulations to 3Ls Cain Oulahan and Gabe Johnson-Karp, the winners of this year’s Gold and Silver Quill Awards, respectively. The Quill Awards recognize the top two student comments published in the Marquette Law Review.
Cain’s comment is “The American Dream Deferred: Family Separation and Immigrant Visa Adjudications at U.S. Consulates Abroad.” He explores the tension between the general preference in American law in favor of keeping families together and some specific requirements of immigration law that can break families apart for many years while a parent or spouse seeks to obtain a visa from an American consulate abroad. As Cain puts its,
This problem arose with the creation by Congress in 1996 of what are known as the unlawful presence bars to admission. After more than ten years since the passage of the unlawful presence bars, it is now appropriate to look closely at their impact and examine whether they constitute sound public policy. This Comment argues that they do not. This Comment explains how the system puts families through unnecessary and unjustifiable hardship by imposing a punishment that is disproportionate to the seriousness of the immigration violation. This Comment points to the lack of evidence that the unlawful presence bars significantly deter illegal immigration, and the fact that they tear families apart or force them to move abroad. For these reasons, this Comment recommends that Congress make sensible changes that will promote family unity while imposing penalties that are more proportionate to the seriousness of the immigration violation.