Immigration and Latino advocates are urging the swift confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court, calling her an “exceptionally well-qualified jurist with unimpeachable credentials and an impressive record as a litigator and judge.”
While Judge Jackson’s historic nomination to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer will not change the idealogical stance of this right-wing court, they note she’ll “have a hand in shaping the law around immigrants’ rights for decades to come.”
“In recent years, federal courts have been increasingly called upon to resolve questions of immigration law and immigrants’ rights,” National Immigration Law Center (NILC) legal director Lisa Graybill said Friday. “Judge Jackson’s record of acknowledging the humanity and dignity of immigrants in her rulings will make her an invaluable member of the Court.”
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NILC previously noted that Judge Jackson had “the most developed record on immigration-related matters” of President Biden’s short-list, though her “record is mixed.”
In perhaps her most high-profile ruling on immigration, Jackson checked the insurrectionist president’s abuse of executive authority, and issued an injunction halting his plan to expand the number of undocumented immigrants eligible for fast-tracked deportations. Then “after the Trump administration changed documents so that they incorrectly stated asylum law, Judge Jackson held the Trump administration accountable by requiring it to provide relief for those harmed by the administration misstating the law,” NILC said.
“However, Judge Jackson rejected a challenge to two Trump-era immigration programs that improperly prevented asylum seekers from consulting with a lawyer,” as well “denied a challenge to Trump’s border wall, holding that the challenged statutes were exempt from judicial review.” But the organization said that, “notably, whether ruling for or against immigrants, Judge Jackson has consistently acknowledged the humanity of immigrants by declining to refer to them as ‘aliens’ or ‘illegals.’”
“Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is one of the most brilliant federal jurists alive today, and is the only judge I have come across to fully comprehend the complex morass that is U.S. immigration law,” tweeted respected immigration attorney Amy Maldando. ”Kudos to @POTUS on this one—he could not have made a better choice.”
Graybill said, “As a Justice, Judge Jackson would help shape the realities of millions of immigrants who call this country home.”
“As the institution that often serves as the last line of defense against civil rights abuses, discrimination, and corporate greed, it is imperative that the Supreme Court reflects the racial diversity that shapes our nation,” said Hispanic Federation president Frankie Miranda. “President Obama understood this when he announced more than a decade ago the historic selection of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. President Biden clearly understands this moment as well, and it is why the nomination of Judge Jackson, who holds both legal and lived experience, is so vital to us all.”
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