New travel ban shines light on executive power in immigration matters, law professors say
LAWRENCE — President Donald Trump signed a new executive order today, updating the travel and immigration ban that was struck down by federal courts last month. The new order excludes citizens of Iraq, who were originally included in the list of seven Muslim-majority nations. The new order keeps a 90-day ban on travel to the United States by citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Richard Levy, the J.B. Smith Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Kansas School of Law, and Lua Yuille, associate professor of law, are available to speak with media. Levy can discuss the new executive order, its contents, its constitutionality, the previous order that was struck down by federal courts, potential legal challenges to the new order and related topics. Yuille can discuss the new order, immigration law, the previous order that was struck down, how the new order will affect immigration and related topics.
“Among the most important consequences of these orders is the way they are, finally, shining light on the powerful sword given to the executive in immigration matters,” Yuille said. “There are no guarantees it will be wielded as directed or desired.”
Levy frequently speaks with media on constitutional topics and cases, including abortion rights, Supreme Court rulings on controversial cases, school finance and other contested decisions. He joined the KU Law faculty in 1985, having received his law degree with honors from the University of Chicago Law School. Before joining the faculty, he served as a clerk for Judge Richard Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. In teaching and research, he has focused on constitutional law, administrative law and government institutions. He recently co-authored a study examining the Supreme Court’s equal protection jurisprudence and the idea of a postracial society and law that addresses racial inequalities in a politically feasible, constitutional way.
Levy is a prolific scholar who was named a Postlethwaite Research Fellow, 1996-1999 and was named the inaugural J.B. Smith Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law in 2007.
Yuille is an expert in immigration law, business associations, corporate governance and property law. In her scholarship she connects property theory, business law and group identity. She joined the KU faculty in 2013 and is an affiliate faculty member of the Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies. Before entering academia, Yuille served as a clerk for Judge Dorothy Nelson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit and an extern for Magistrate Judge Andrew Peck of the Southern District of New York. For many years, she was a corporate lawyer focused on Latin American business transactions and pro bono immigration practice. She received her law degree from the Columbia University School of Law and has a graduate diploma in international studies from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
To schedule an interview with Levy or Yuille, contact Mike Krings at 785-864-8860 or mkrings@ku.edu.