Michael D. Baker
@mikebakerlaw.bsky.social
Immigration and Criminal Defense Lawyer | Former Cook County Criminal Prosecutor
Insights on immigration law, criminal defense, and other areas of interest
Following, reposting, and replies do not imply endorsement.
Visit my website: mikebakerlaw.com
Insights on immigration law, criminal defense, and other areas of interest
Following, reposting, and replies do not imply endorsement.
Visit my website: mikebakerlaw.com
BIA in Matter of Palma-Olvera, 29 I&N Dec. 355 (BIA 2025): The IJ erred in finding the respondent overcame the presumption of lacking good moral character despite two DWI convictions, citing his care for his son and employment history. www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...
www.justice.gov
December 17, 2025 at 5:53 PM
BIA in Matter of Palma-Olvera, 29 I&N Dec. 355 (BIA 2025): The IJ erred in finding the respondent overcame the presumption of lacking good moral character despite two DWI convictions, citing his care for his son and employment history. www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...
BIA in Matter of Rodriguez Pena, 29 I&N Dec. 358 (BIA 2025): The IJ erred in finding the respondent not a danger to the community after he threatened to kill someone, resisted law enforcement, and used an alias to avoid arrest. www.justice.gov/eoir/volume-29
Volume 29
www.justice.gov
December 17, 2025 at 5:50 PM
BIA in Matter of Rodriguez Pena, 29 I&N Dec. 358 (BIA 2025): The IJ erred in finding the respondent not a danger to the community after he threatened to kill someone, resisted law enforcement, and used an alias to avoid arrest. www.justice.gov/eoir/volume-29
The "Aging Out" Trap: Why Priority Dates Don't Always Transfer. 🚨
December 15, 2025 at 10:48 PM
The "Aging Out" Trap: Why Priority Dates Don't Always Transfer. 🚨
BIA in Matter of L-A-G-B-, 29 I&N Dec. 343 (BIA 2025), reversed CAT deferral, finding the IJ’s prediction of torture in Panama clearly erroneous because it relied on unsupported, speculative suppositions about future harm and government acquiescence. www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...
www.justice.gov
December 15, 2025 at 8:32 PM
BIA in Matter of L-A-G-B-, 29 I&N Dec. 343 (BIA 2025), reversed CAT deferral, finding the IJ’s prediction of torture in Panama clearly erroneous because it relied on unsupported, speculative suppositions about future harm and government acquiescence. www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...
BIA in *Matter of DUBON MIRANDA*, 29 I&N Dec. 335 (BIA 2025): Given respondent’s troubling conduct toward his stepdaughter, DUI, and disturbing-the-peace convictions with little explanation, he failed to show he isn’t a danger to the community.
www.justice.gov/eoir/volume-29
www.justice.gov/eoir/volume-29
Volume 29
www.justice.gov
December 12, 2025 at 9:53 PM
BIA in *Matter of DUBON MIRANDA*, 29 I&N Dec. 335 (BIA 2025): Given respondent’s troubling conduct toward his stepdaughter, DUI, and disturbing-the-peace convictions with little explanation, he failed to show he isn’t a danger to the community.
www.justice.gov/eoir/volume-29
www.justice.gov/eoir/volume-29
Green card applicants married to U.S. citizens face new uncertainty amid arrests - NBC News apple.news/Aaw04uWTZTIy...
Green card applicants married to U.S. citizens face new uncertainty amid arrests — NBC News
The Trump administration says they were detained because they had overstayed their visas, but longtime attorneys say that has never been an issue previously for spouses of U.S. citizens.
apple.news
December 12, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Green card applicants married to U.S. citizens face new uncertainty amid arrests - NBC News apple.news/Aaw04uWTZTIy...
The BIA in Matter of Jimenez-Ayala, 29 I&N Dec. 325 (BIA 2025), held that the respondent’s drug use and exposing her children to drugs outweighed positive factors like remorse and future abstention, justifying discretionary denial of cancellation of removal. www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...
www.justice.gov
December 11, 2025 at 8:14 PM
The BIA in Matter of Jimenez-Ayala, 29 I&N Dec. 325 (BIA 2025), held that the respondent’s drug use and exposing her children to drugs outweighed positive factors like remorse and future abstention, justifying discretionary denial of cancellation of removal. www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...
The Board of Immigration Appeals in Matter of W-F-, 29 I&N Dec. 319 (BIA 2025), held that the Immigration Judge erred in granting CAT deferral where the record only showed anecdotal reports of bribery in Haitian prisons & generalized gang violence against outsiders. www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...
www.justice.gov
December 11, 2025 at 7:27 PM
The Board of Immigration Appeals in Matter of W-F-, 29 I&N Dec. 319 (BIA 2025), held that the Immigration Judge erred in granting CAT deferral where the record only showed anecdotal reports of bribery in Haitian prisons & generalized gang violence against outsiders. www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...
Federal judge orders Kilmar Abrego García’s ‘immediate release’ wapo.st/44pony9
Federal judge orders Kilmar Abrego García’s ‘immediate release’
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said the government could not indefinitely detain Abrego, a 30-year-old immigrant from El Salvador who is fighting his deportation.
wapo.st
December 11, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Federal judge orders Kilmar Abrego García’s ‘immediate release’ wapo.st/44pony9
ICE Tells Watchdog It Has No Videos to Release of Chicago Operations www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/u...
ICE Tells Watchdog It Has No Videos to Release of Chicago Operations
www.nytimes.com
December 11, 2025 at 3:24 PM
ICE Tells Watchdog It Has No Videos to Release of Chicago Operations www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/u...
Law review article lays out how the U.S. is using “third country deportations” to ship refugees quietly and torture survivors to countries no judge ever approved—fast, in secret, and in open tension with our own promise never to send people back to torture. indianalawreview.com/2021/01/06/t...
December 10, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Law review article lays out how the U.S. is using “third country deportations” to ship refugees quietly and torture survivors to countries no judge ever approved—fast, in secret, and in open tension with our own promise never to send people back to torture. indianalawreview.com/2021/01/06/t...
Our democracy isn’t breaking because Americans argue—it’s breaking because our political parties can’t connect, organize, or govern. democracyproject.org/posts/buildi...
Building Associational Parties
A broad range of views on democracy to help break the stalemate caused by partisan conflict.
democracyproject.org
December 10, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Our democracy isn’t breaking because Americans argue—it’s breaking because our political parties can’t connect, organize, or govern. democracyproject.org/posts/buildi...
Reposted by Michael D. Baker
Josh quotes me as saying things that were said by Rick Pildes. Repeatedly.
December 9, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Josh quotes me as saying things that were said by Rick Pildes. Repeatedly.
Looks Like the Supreme Court Will Continue to Overturn the 20th Century www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/o...
Opinion | Looks Like the Supreme Court Will Continue to Overturn the 20th Century
www.nytimes.com
December 9, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Looks Like the Supreme Court Will Continue to Overturn the 20th Century www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/o...
Illinois Governor Signs Bill Imposing New Limits on Immigration Enforcement www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/u...
Illinois Governor Signs Bill Imposing New Limits on Immigration Enforcement
www.nytimes.com
December 9, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Illinois Governor Signs Bill Imposing New Limits on Immigration Enforcement www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/u...
ICEBlock app sues Trump administration for censorship and 'unlawful threats' www.npr.org/2025/12/08/n...
ICEBlock app sues Trump administration for censorship and 'unlawful threats'
The app lets people anonymously share the locations of immigration agents but Apple removed it from its app store under pressure from the Trump administration. Now, the app's developer is suing.
www.npr.org
December 9, 2025 at 3:01 AM
ICEBlock app sues Trump administration for censorship and 'unlawful threats' www.npr.org/2025/12/08/n...
Federal deportation campaign to have chilling effect for Chicago's snow removal companies - Chicago Sun-Times apple.news/Ar0whYHOTRWa...
Federal deportation campaign to have chilling effect for Chicago's snow removal companies — Chicago Sun-Times
Some Chicago landscaping companies that rely on immigrant workers are struggling with labor shortages, and the impact is being felt even more as they ramp up snow removal services.
apple.news
December 8, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Federal deportation campaign to have chilling effect for Chicago's snow removal companies - Chicago Sun-Times apple.news/Ar0whYHOTRWa...
In 2017 (the first Trump administration), only 21 people with withholding of removal were sent to third countries.
In the first 10 months of 2025 (the second Trump administration), more than 7,500 people have been removed to countries they have no connection to.
In the first 10 months of 2025 (the second Trump administration), more than 7,500 people have been removed to countries they have no connection to.
December 8, 2025 at 8:15 AM
In 2017 (the first Trump administration), only 21 people with withholding of removal were sent to third countries.
In the first 10 months of 2025 (the second Trump administration), more than 7,500 people have been removed to countries they have no connection to.
In the first 10 months of 2025 (the second Trump administration), more than 7,500 people have been removed to countries they have no connection to.
“Deferral” Status Is Structurally Weaker Than Other Forms of Protection
December 8, 2025 at 8:11 AM
“Deferral” Status Is Structurally Weaker Than Other Forms of Protection
The State Department has signed agreements with at least 58 countries to accept deportees with whom they have no connection. The legal framework supporting this practice is collapsing in federal courts.
"These increasingly expensive, secretive, and outrageous efforts beg the question of whether such maneuvers are permissible under the law. In many cases, they are not."
@mboaz.bsky.social discusses the Trump administration's efforts to send migrants to countries with which they have no connection.
@mboaz.bsky.social discusses the Trump administration's efforts to send migrants to countries with which they have no connection.
Due Process in Third Country Removals
The administration’s use of ad hoc procedures to send migrants to countries with which they have no connection likely violates due process.
www.lawfaremedia.org
December 8, 2025 at 6:57 AM
The State Department has signed agreements with at least 58 countries to accept deportees with whom they have no connection. The legal framework supporting this practice is collapsing in federal courts.
Biden ran record-high expulsions, detentions, and removals. The numbers are there. He did not cause the border crisis by going soft. He ran it inside a statutory framework that cannot absorb 21st-century migration.
December 7, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Biden ran record-high expulsions, detentions, and removals. The numbers are there. He did not cause the border crisis by going soft. He ran it inside a statutory framework that cannot absorb 21st-century migration.
How Biden Ignored Warnings and Lost Americans’ Faith in Immigration www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/u...
How Biden Ignored Warnings and Lost Americans’ Faith in Immigration
www.nytimes.com
December 7, 2025 at 9:43 PM
How Biden Ignored Warnings and Lost Americans’ Faith in Immigration www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/u...
The Court took this case to kill the idea, not debate it. Roberts sees the White House rewriting the 14th Amendment by memo and it insults him. He has five votes—the liberals plus Barrett—to crush this nonsense for good. This isn’t about immigration.
BREAKING: cert. was just granted in our @democracydefendersfund.org case to defend birthright citizenship
We and our wonderful coalition incl. ACLU, LULAC & more have won at every level & we have a strong case at SCOTUS as well
We are fighting for the babies, their parents--& the Constitution!
We and our wonderful coalition incl. ACLU, LULAC & more have won at every level & we have a strong case at SCOTUS as well
We are fighting for the babies, their parents--& the Constitution!
December 7, 2025 at 9:34 AM
The Court took this case to kill the idea, not debate it. Roberts sees the White House rewriting the 14th Amendment by memo and it insults him. He has five votes—the liberals plus Barrett—to crush this nonsense for good. This isn’t about immigration.
Trump's deportation chief draws protests at Chicago Christmas tree charity event - Chicago Sun-Times apple.news/AY403FUwnS7a...
Trump's deportation chief draws protests at Chicago Christmas tree charity event — Chicago Sun-Times
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem presided over the
apple.news
December 7, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Trump's deportation chief draws protests at Chicago Christmas tree charity event - Chicago Sun-Times apple.news/AY403FUwnS7a...
“In Illinois, the data shows, just 54 people with violent convictions were arrested by ICE between the start of “Midway Blitz” and mid-October. Another 78 of those arrested had past convictions for a traffic offense, the most frequent type of past conviction.”
December 6, 2025 at 7:47 PM
“In Illinois, the data shows, just 54 people with violent convictions were arrested by ICE between the start of “Midway Blitz” and mid-October. Another 78 of those arrested had past convictions for a traffic offense, the most frequent type of past conviction.”