Leti Volpp

Federal judge upholds DACA, campus community remains unsettled

Leti Volpp and Linda Tam quoted by The Daily Californian, April 27, 2018

The recent ruling is significant for new DACA applicants, said Leti Volpp, a professor at Berkeley Law and director of the Center for Race and Gender, in an email.

“I definitely think this is a sign and a step in the right direction,” Tam said. “The courts are watching out and making sure that people’s rights are properly vindicated.”

Immigration judges are bewildered by the DOJ’s decision to slash legal guidance for detainees

Leti Volpp quoted by Pacific Standard, April 18, 2018

“Limiting the access of immigrants to due process through defunding the Legal Orientation Program, through creating judicial quotas, or through mass deportations, will not reduce backlogs. As we have seen in the past, less process at the immigration judge level results in more appeals to federal court,” says … Leti Volpp. … “The best way to reduce the immigration court backlog would be to reduce how many immigrants are issued with notices to appear in the first place.”

Til debt do us part: UC Berkeley students are getting married to save thousands in tuition

Angela Onwuachi-Willig and Leti Volpp quoted by The Daily Californian, Dec. 3, 2017

UC Berkeley School of Law professor Angela Onwuachi-Willig said in an email that to her knowledge, marrying for financial aid is not illegal and is “no different” from marrying for wealth.

“Marriage is always a legal and economic contract, whether people recognize it or not,” said Leti Volpp, another law professor at UC Berkeley, in an email.

Renowned civil rights lawyer, adviser to Martin Luther King Jr. joins Berkeley Law staff

David Oppenheimer, Catherine Fisk, Savala Trepczynski, Leti Volpp quoted by The Daily Californian, Oct. 5, 2017

“He can teach our students what it means to have a judge’s perspective on litigation and on law as a tool for social change,” said David Oppenheimer. … “He can teach them much about the meaning of constitutional rights in real terms, not as a matter of theory but as a matter of practice.”

“What he brings to campus is … a lifetime of experience as a lawyer and as a judge, using law creatively, carefully … to make the world a better place and to make the law more just,” said campus law professor Catherine Fisk.

“We focus on exploring privilege, power, subordination, and equity and we support our students’ learning outside the classroom,” said Savala Trepczynski. … “As a judge, he’s always been uniquely willing and able to stand up for the least powerful among us.”

“He’s a legal giant and a fantastic juror, and Berkeley is incredibly lucky to have him,” Volpp said. “He was a role model in terms of how to live a life and how to be a good person, as well as how to be a good lawyer.”

A day after new Trump order, U.S. high court cancels hearing on travel ban

Jesse Choper and Leti Volpp quoted by San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 25, 2017

Jesse Choper … said the addition of North Korea, in particular, would counter opponents’ allegations that the order is a Muslim ban. He also noted that that courts traditionally give the president considerable authority over immigration and national security.

The new order “could be challenged on the same grounds” as the previous versions, Volpp said. She described the additions of three nations as “cosmetic,” saying U.S. immigration from North Korea and Chad is minuscule.