Top Nashville Immigration Attorney: Immigrants 'Full of Fear And Desperate' After 'Lawlessness' of Trump's Travel Ban

NASHVILLE, TN — Calling out the "lawlessness" of President Donald Trump's recent executive orders on immigration, a leading Nashville immigration attorney says not to expect any quick resolution from the courts on the travel ban and refugee program suspension.

Elliott Ozment, well-regarded nationally for his expertise on immigration law, earned recognition for his efforts in getting the Davidson County Sheriff's Department to leave the controversial 287(g) program in 2012. That program effectively deputized local law enforcement into screening the legal status of arrested immigrants. Ozment also garnered praise for his representation of Juana Villegas, an undocumented immigrant who was shackled while giving birth to her son in the Davidson County Jail in 2008. Eventually, Villegas was granted a rare type of visa given to otherwise undocumented immigrants who assist in the prosecution of a crime.

Ozment expected tough sledding after the election of Donald Trump and was outspoken in his opposition during the campaign and during a visit by the then-candidate to Nashville, the sign at Ozment's Murfreesboro Pike offices read "Donald Trump, make Nashville great again. Please leave soon.”

The humorous tone, though, is gone now that the Trump presidency is a reality.

"My observation is that most immigrants are full of fear and desperate," he tells Patch. "If a person is already in the U.S., either in (legal permanent resident) or refugee status, they will not be sent back — at least not legally. Family members back home are subject to the freeze and ban, and as long as it is in effect and in the case of Syrian refugees, the ban is indefinite, the families will be divided and reunification will be impossible."

And Ozment doesn't anticipate any quick answers for the fearful and desperate either, pulling no punches when delivering his opinion on the president.

"[T]he lawsuits will multiply because we are only witnessing the beginning of the lawlessness of the Trump administration relative to immigration and refugees," he said.

As for the current situation, he said at some point soon there should be a hearing on whether the temporary restraining orders issued by federal judges over the weekend will be converted into longer-lasting temporary injunctions. And a determination on making those temporary injunctions permanent "will probably take months."

But, as he said, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Tricia Herzfeld, formerly of Ozment's firm and now an attorney with Nashville's Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings, said the longer the executive orders are in effect, the more flavors of lawsuits they could spawn, perhaps even some touching on issues of international law.

"I predict you will see litigation in many different forms in many jurisdictions over the course of the next few years if this order is not rescinded. Habeas petitions to have detained people released, civil rights cases challenging the utter lack of any due process in detaining green card holders, challenges to the effective Muslim ban and the way it prioritizes admittees by their religion, not to mention the issues of international law that are implicated by denying vetted refugees admission," she said.

Herzfeld said the orders put the refugee admittance system "into chaos."

"A lot of people from the listed countries have applications pending for their parents, spouses and other family members. At this point, it is unclear when or even if, they will be processed. But also, we see an extraordinary number of people coming from many countries around the world with valid claims for refugee or asylum status. That can be based on violence, religious or gender persecution, political beliefs, or a variety of other things," she said.

Image via Elliott Ozment