Ian Bartrum is an associate professor of law at the William S. Boyd School of Law.
Fatma Marouf is also the co-director of the Immigration Clinic and an associate professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law.
On Feb. 18, the Las Vegas Sun featured an article with comments from all three professors on the topic of immigration. Titled “Why Obama’s immigration plan is facing an uphill battle in Nevada,” the article discussed the recent injunction of President Obama’s newly announced deportation deferral plan by a federal judge, the resulting obstacles, and the uphill battle to reverse it.
“I think it’s entirely possible that within a week the injunction will be lifted, and it’s entirely likely it won’t be,” said Professor Kagan in the article. “I’m hesitant to make predictions because I wouldn't want to tell supporters it's going to go away at the risk of disappointing them. Litigation never makes for a neat and tidy press release.”
In addressing the decision made by the federal judge in which he placed blame on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Professor Bartrum added, “There is a legal sort of hook here in that the agency didn’t cross all the t’s and dot the i’s. That seems to be the strongest basis.”
These obstacles have undoubtedly confused and discouraged the many people affected by the plan.
“My sense is even fewer people will apply for deportation relief,” as a result of the recent executive actions said Professor Marouf.
Professor Kagan has written several of the most widely cited articles in the fields of refugee and asylum law. His research on credibility assessment in asylum cases has been repeatedly relied on by federal appellate courts and, according to a 2012 commentary, has "guided most subsequent research and analysis on the topic."
Professor Bartrum's research interests are in constitutional history and theory, the Establishment Clause, and constitutional education.
Drawing on her extensive experience representing individuals before the Immigration Courts, Board of Immigration Appeals, and U.S. Courts of Appeals, Professor Marouf's research probes various problems involved in adjudicating immigration cases at all levels.
