Originally written for published by UTEP News Service February 2014
(All links are dead.)
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Allison Brownell Tirres, J.D., Ph.D. assistant professor of law at DePaul University College of Law, conducted dissertation research in the archives of The University of Texas at El Paso’s University Library C.L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department. Combining her interest and training in history and law, Tirres explained how the history of immigration law and reform could influence “just and humane solutions” for immigration today.
Tirres received a bachelor’s degree in history from Princeton University in 1996. After graduation, she spent a year in Mexico City at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. She earned a J.D. (2004) from Harvard Law School and a Ph.D. (2008) from Harvard University.
Her work has appeared in the American Journal of Legal History as well as in various edited editions. In 2011, she served as an expert speaker on issues of immigration law, policy and history in Greece at the invitation of the U.S. State Department.
Opening her talk with three stories of persons facing automatic removal from the U.S., Tirres explained the law’s starring role in the increase of deportations in the country since 1975.
The two guiding ideas behind the talk were to understand how the U.S. came to its current set of policies and how to move beyond those policies. Tirres used the past to answer both.
Immigration cases in the nineteenth century gave plenary power — a legal term for complete authority or absolute control — regarding immigration to Congress. As a result, the judiciary branch has a relatively minor role with immigration law.
Currently, deportation is not considered a punishment, and thus, there is little judicial oversight on legal matters such as retroactive application of the law. Tirres highlighted the problems of retroactively applying the law, using an example of an immigrant who forged a check for less than $20 several decades ago. Although check forging was not a deportable offense at the time the misdemeanor took place, the woman now faces immediate deportation and being barred from reentering the U.S. for the rest of her life. In other areas of the law, Tirres pointed out, it is illegal to apply new laws to old crimes.
Moving forward, Tirres recommended turning to past policies for a more humane approach to the issue of immigration. For instance, in the 1920s, statutes of limitations applied to immigration, even for those who entered the U.S. without permission. Tirres argued the U.S. should return to having statutes of limitations on immigration in conjunction with giving judges more leeway in granting relief from removal — permitting a person to stay in the U.S. — based on factors such as the hardship on the detainee returning to the country, hardship for the detainee’s family or the hardship to the U.S. economy for losing a productive member of society.
Tirres explained in the past, the attitude towards immigrants was not always focused on punishment. For example, in the 1930s and 1940s, Congress granted citizenship to certain groups in order to align the laws with the reality of the immigration situation. She hoped by turning to the past to understand the history and context of immigration, the U.S. would decide on a “more humane treatment of those within our borders.”
By exploring the history and complexities related to immigration law and policy, Tirres combines her fields of study. Tirres admits the answer to the immigration debate is complex. Nevertheless, her conclusions about current policy and future solutions are grounded in research.
Afterwards, Stephanie Muñoz, a multimedia journalism major, commented “I realized there was more to learn about immigration and more to learn about different perspectives on immigration laws. It all goes way back.”
Tirres’ talk was sponsored by UTEP President Diana Natalicio, The Law School Preparation Institute (LSPI) and The Center for Law and Human Behavior. As part of UTEP’s commitment to access and excellence, the award-winning LSPI helps UTEP students understand the legal profession and gain entrance to law school. Since its inception in 1998, the LSPI has seen 33 percent of its students attend law schools ranked in the top 15 by U.S. News & World Report. The LSPI is currently accepting applications and registrations from UTEP students for the 2014 college summer program and from high school students for the regional Citizen Bee competition, moot court tournament and law camp.
UTEP was recently ranked seventh by Washington Monthly based on the University’s commitment to recruiting and graduating low-income students, producing cutting-edge research and Ph.D.s, and encouraging students to give back to their community and country. Programs such as the LSPI are part of every UTEP student’s full college experience.
The Centennial Lecture Series invites noteworthy speakers to the UTEP campus to share their perspectives on a broad range of contemporary issues that are likely to impact our society, culture and lives in the years ahead. The next Centennial Lecture will be given by Mauro Vieira, ambassador of Brazil to the United States, on February 26.
For more information on the Centennial Lecture Series, please visit http://centennial.utep.edu/lectures.html.
