The Yale Law Journal

VOLUME
129
2019-2020
Collection

2019 Yale Law Journal Student-Essay Competition

The Essays that won the third annual Yale Law Journal Student-Essay Competition each raise concerns with recent developments in immigration law. They are Zachary New’s Ending Citizenship for Service in Forever Wars and Elizabeth Montano’s The Rise and Fall of Administrative Closure in Immigration Courts.

Forum

Ending Citizenship for Service in the Forever Wars

Zachary R. New

For centuries, noncitizens serving in the U.S. Armed Forces during periods of hostilities have been rewarded with a special pathway to citizenship. This Essay explores how two policies enacted since 2017 are blocking this pathway and reflects on the implications of this shift for the meaning of citi…

Forum

The Rise and Fall of Administrative Closure in Immigration Courts

Elizabeth Montano

For over three decades, immigration judges used administrative closure as a case-management tool to encourage efficiency and fairness. After then-Attorney General Sessions ended this practice, the U.S. immigration-court system has faced severe and unjustifiable consequences. This Essay argues for a …