Immigration Law Section: Habeas Without the Headache

The Immigration Law Section’s Newer Lawyers Division invites you to the third and final program in a three-part webinar series on federal immigration litigation. This focused, practice-ready session explains what remains of bond after Matter of Yajure Hurtado and recent BIA decisions—and how to shift to habeas when agency options stall. We’ll walk through practical on-ramps (co-counseling, reciprocity, federal licensure/pro hac vice), nuts-and-bolts templates, and responses to ICE transfer tactics. The overview will map the progression of arguments across federal district courts and offer informed predictions as those issues reach the circuit courts. Designed as a national overview with “demystify” components, it welcomes both federal practitioners and immigration attorneys new to habeas.

Presented by the Immigration Law Section

Presenters

Kel White, Associate Director for Public Education & Training, Acacia Center for Justice

Kel White is the Associate Director for Public Education & Training at the Acacia Center for Justice, where they support the Habeas Bridge Project and the launch of Acacia’s free Practitioner Hub including templates and resources. For over a decade, Kel practiced detained removal defense and previously worked on the benefits side at a nonprofit—experience that drives their focus on expanding legal access nationwide, including across the South as people are transferred to Louisiana and Texas. Grounded in a movement-lawyering approach, Kel believes meaningful change happens through collaboration and shared power. Their writing includes AILA’s Think Immigration; “Strategies for Lactating Parents: A Removal Defense Advocate’s Guide”; and the Guide to Legal Access in Immigration Detention, with views also appearing in The New York Times letters.

Suchi Mathur, Senior Litigation Attorney, American Immigration Council

Suchi Mathur is a Senior Litigation Attorney with the American Immigration Council, where she works to protect the rights of noncitizens through affirmative litigation and practice advisories for immigration attorneys. Before joining the Council, Suchi worked at a migrants-rights organization in Mexico. Previously, she was an attorney at The Bronx Defenders, where she represented individuals incarcerated by ICE in federal petitions and in Immigration Court. Suchi also spent a year clerking for a federal magistrate judge in New York. She holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School and a B.A. from Brown University.

Rebecca Cassler, Senior Litigation Attorney, American Immigration Council

Rebecca Cassler is a Senior Litigation Attorney with the American Immigration Council, where she works to protect the rights of noncitizens through affirmative litigation and other projects. Before joining the Council, Rebecca worked as a litigator at the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Immigrant Justice Project and clerked at the federal district and circuit court levels. She holds a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School and a B.A. from Oberlin College.