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Esther S. Yoo

@estheryoo.bsky.social
476 followers 318 following 218 posts

Assistant Professor, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law | Director, Refugee and Immigration Law Clinic

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Esther S. Yoo @estheryoo.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
My judge, now chief judge of the Central District of California, circulated this announcement inviting applications for multiple new pro se staff attorney positions. Since last year, the court has been inundated with thousands of habeas petitions from Adelanto Detention Center. Can be fully remote.
Announcement inviting applications for multiple pro se staff attorney positions at the U.S. District Court of the Central District of California.Second page of announcement explaining salary and benefits and how to apply
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Esther S. Yoo @estheryoo.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I've never seen Duo do The Scream before. It's both cute and an accurate reflection of how I feel after an especially exhausting, emotionally draining half-week at work. 😱
Duo the Duolingo owl recreating Munch's "The Scream" to warn me that I might lose my streak.
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Kate Manne @katemanne.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I wrote for @thecut.com about the Cornell case and what it says that, at my institution and many others like it, protesters are often punished more harshly than sexual assailants www.thecut.com/article/what...
thecut.com
What It Feels Like at Cornell Right Now
As a professor at the Ivy League school, Kate Manne has known many, many victims. There’s a palpable feeling on campus, she writes, that this is big.
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David Kaye @davidakaye.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
it's evidently too much to ask the rw justices to consider the irreparable harm to individuals treated to such inhumanity. they are complicit in this criminality. shame on all six of them. and shame on us for having a system that allows this illegality.
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Esther S. Yoo @estheryoo.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Happy Chuseok 🫶
수정과 (ginger, persimmon, cinnamon tea with pine nuts)송편 (rice cakes)
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Esther S. Yoo @estheryoo.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
In the foreground, green plants with pink flowers, a stream flowing in between. In the background, a dark green wooded mountain, fog resting on top.In the background dark green mountains and white cloudy sky. In the foreground, water flowing over and shaping still grey rocks.
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Shafik Meghji @shafikmeghji.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Excited to receive an advance copy of @nickhuntscrutiny.bsky.social’s new book #WaysToSayGoodbye. Killer opening chapter - looking forward to reading more 🌎 📖 @johnmurrays.bsky.social
An advance copy of the book Ways to Say Goodbye
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Esther S. Yoo @estheryoo.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
We are overjoyed for our client Sae Joon Park and his family, and deeply grateful to Gov. Kathy Hochul for this act of mercy. While there's still more to do, we are thrilled to have achieved this crucial milestone in the fight to bring Sae home.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
This is VERY big news. Previously, even vacated or expunged convictions could still get someone deported, if an immigration judge determined that the conviction was vacated for reasons unrelated to a legal defect (such as for rehabilitation-related purposes). The 4th Circuit says not any more!
Courts and agencies have long struggled with how to analyze the immigration effects (if any) of a vacated conviction. Eventually, agency practice cobbled together a framework that sought to balance policy priorities. Under that framework, a conviction vacated because of a substantive or procedural defect in the underlying proceedings no longer qualifies as a conviction for immigration purposes, while a conviction vacated for rehabilitation, immigration hardship, or another reason still does. Many courts deferentially accepted that distinction. But the statute we apply here does not make the continuing effect of a vacated conviction turn on the state court’s reason for vacating it. It makes inadmissible “any alien convicted of” the relevant offense. 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(i). In this case, the petitioner’s conviction was vacated and her charge dismissed. At that point, she was no longer “convicted of” that offense. So we grant in part the petition for review
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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
I enjoyed this. ordinaryabundance.com
ordinaryabundance.com
Ordinary Abundance
A walk through a modern apartment, through the eyes of the people for whom everything in it was new.
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Yael Schacher @yaelschacher.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
So many immigrants I've interviewed break down about this. "Monsanto Maler was one of several Haitian immigrants who traveled from Springfield for a check in...after an ankle monitor was attached to him, Maler was seen collapsing to the ground and crying." www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/hundre...
springfieldnewssun.com
Hundreds rally at site were Haitians required to check-in, get monitors after end of TPS
Hundreds of people gathered outside a federal immigration office Sunday morning to show support for Haitian immigrants from Springfield who were called to report for immigration check-ins.
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Black Aziz Anansi @blackazizanansi.blacksky.app · 10/08/2026
There's just something gut wrenching about a man who comes from the first Republic founded by ex-enslaved people to end up fucking shackled in 2026.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Great news; yet another court finds that ICE and the DOJ were wrong to declare that Congress secretly mandated detention of millions of noncitizens in 1996 (specifically, anyone who entered unlawfully at some point in the past, no matter how long ago), and that no one had noticed until now.
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Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Susan Collins voted to advance the legislation that led to this horrible outcome for this woman and many more. #mepolitics
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Nikos Leverenz @nikosleverenz.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
[GIFT ARTICLE] Want More of the ‘Odyssey’? Read These Books Next. | New York Times #Books #BookSky
nytimes.com
Want More of the ‘Odyssey’? Read These Books Next. (Gift Article)
Informative histories, modern retellings and genre-bending homages will take you back to the long road to Ithaca.
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 21/07/2026
This North Korean family was among the few who managed to escape after Kim Jong-un imposed a crushing lockdown during the Covid pandemic. They lived through a food shortage and were forced to witness public executions. “That night we crossed from a sea of darkness to a sea of freedom.”
nyti.ms
A Family’s Daring Escape From North Korea
Their resolve for freedom hardened during the pandemic, when they lived through a crippling food shortage and were forced to witness frequent public executions.
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Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 22/07/2026
Boat carrying migrants and refugees from Africa ran out of fuel, leading to a tragedy with 143 dead and 38 rescued.
aljazeera.com
More than 140 dead, missing on refugee boat stranded off Mauritania
Boat carrying migrants and refugees from Africa ran out of fuel, leading to a tragedy with 143 dead and 38 rescued.
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Amanda Katz @katzish.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Have kept thinking all day about this story, full of starving moms and grandmothers trying to feed 3-6 kids each on virtually nothing and Republican men cheering and patting themselves on the back for kicking them off food stamps. Congrats, boys, you really did it
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Hawaiʻi's Law School @uhawaiilaw.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
This summer, international visiting students joined Richardson Law for Introduction to U.S. Law: three weeks covering the fundamentals, plus a mock oral argument, a visit to the HI Supreme Court, and a conversation with alumna Justice Sabrina McKenna. The program returns Summer 2027.
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Esther S. Yoo @estheryoo.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
before (first in US) sunrise / before (close to last in US) sunset
Sunrise during a morning run in Maine. The sun rises just above the horizon, by a little island, beyond the water in the foreground. Sunset during an evening walk in Hawaiʻi. Bands of orange and yellow on the horizon behind a favorite tree.
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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 14/07/2026
This morning in Biddeford, Maine, a 26-year-old man said goodbye to his wife and daughter and left for work. Moments later he was dead, shot in the head by ICE agents, the second man ICE has killed in six days. ICE is killing our neighbors. ICE cannot be reformed. Abolish ICE.
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
No hell too hot. www.sunjournal.com/2026/07/13/i...
The little girl was still in Bluey pajamas.

No older than 3, she was trying to smell the flowers.

At her side, a pink rolling bag.

Her father, Joan Sebastian Guerrero, had just been fatally shot and yanked from a car he’d been driving. Now, he lay handcuffed in the street, where he would remain for five hours.

 “You took her dad, you took her dad!” a woman nearby yelled, according to Cecelia Humiston, 22, who witnessed the interaction in Biddeford on Monday morning.
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ArtButMakeItSports @artbutmakeitsports.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Lamentation (flipped, detail), by Gerard David, 1515-23, 📸 by Roberto Schmidt
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Brad Lander @bradlander.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
I was back in Immigration Court this week, this time for the hearing of a sweet little three-year-old girl, I’ll call her Estrella. She’s been in federal custody, separated from her family for more than 10 months – even though her mom lives here in NYC. The cruelty is truly mind-boggling. 🧵
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National Immigration Law Center @nilc.org · 09/07/2026
Yesterday ICE agents shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a father, husband, and beloved neighbor who spent 35 years building a life in the U.S. Our hearts are heavy with grief for his family and all those suffering at the hands of ICE, CBP, and this administration's unrelenting cruelty.
Graphic with text that says, "Lorenzo Salgado Araujo should not only still be alive  - he should be enjoying the beauty of the life he built." With a quote from Ronaldo Salgado that says, "My father was a private man, a man who dedicated his life to work. He worked the last 30 years of his life building homes in the Houston suburbs. Part of his dream was to build a house for himself and his family, just like the hundreds he had built for himself over his career... He achieved it and after it was built and up until the last weekend, you can find him every evening after work, resting on his porch, listening to music, petting his dog. That's how I want the world to know my father. Not as someone who got shot and killed, but as a family man, a man who understood that good things come to those who put in hard work. I am deeply heartbroken to see that the man who taught me the value of hard work, family values, and education will no longer spend an evening on that porch."
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 05/07/2026
Gaza’s musicians reopen bomb-shattered conservatory – in tents
theguardian.com
Gaza’s musicians reopen bomb-shattered conservatory – in tents
Even though most of their instruments have been destroyed, teachers are restarting classes, using music to give relief to traumatised people
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Christian Christensen @chrchristensen.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
Absolutely insane that Cape Verde — a country of 500,000 — played Spain, Uruguay and Argentina…and lost to none of them in regulation. Easily one of the greatest performances in World Cup history.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
🚨 HUGE ongoing surge of ICE arrests, with ICE directing 80% of all officers to go out into the field and round people up, aiming to hit 2,000 arrests a day; which would be more than during the Minneapolis surge. This may be why the nun in Texas got briefly picked up. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/u...
nytimes.com
Immigrant Arrests Surge to 10,000 in 5 Days as ICE Clamps Down
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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
RIP Mark Rothko. You would have loved how the hydrogen peroxide bleach is only turning the Reflecting Pool blue around the perimeter
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Esther S. Yoo @estheryoo.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Leather scroll depicting Mayan calendar Circular art depicting family from RwandaSticker: 
They Say Immigrants
Are The Problem.
But We All Saw Who
Stormed the Capitol.Sticker showing American flag in the shape of the US at top. Chinese name seal in bottom right corner. Handwritten words: "For Esther -- Defender of immigrants. Anna O. Law 4/2026"
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Esther S. Yoo @estheryoo.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Afghan Kandahari hatsWhite Ilocano bib decorated with colorful rhinestonesAfghan jewelryCamo trucker hat, logo with chicken and "Everybody is Karactahz" from Hawai'i
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Esther S. Yoo @estheryoo.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Vietnamese coconut instant coffee Canadian ice wineCanadian cookiesPort from Portugal
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Esther S. Yoo @estheryoo.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
End of academic year cleaning & organizing surfaces tangible reminders of how lucky I am to be surrounded by such thoughtful/kind/supportive students, colleagues & clients ❤️
Opihi chocolate from Kauai Chocolate CompanyColorful cookies from Fujiya Hawai'iExotic fruit jellies from Maui Fruit Jewels and Kula chocolateColorful butter mochi from Fujiya Hawai'i
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 04/06/2026
Dina Nayeri : Marjane Satrapi brought Iranian women like me out of hiding
theguardian.com
Dina Nayeri : Marjane Satrapi brought Iranian women like me out of hiding
The Persepolis author understood us and translated us for the world. We have lost our most eloquent spokesperson
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National Immigration Law Center @nilc.org · 04/06/2026
BREAKING: As Congress votes on $70 billion for ICE & CBP through 2029, the House Appropriations Committee released a bill to give them $30 billion more in FY2027 alone. There will be NO end to this greed and waste of taxpayer funds — unless we stop it. SEND YOUR MESSAGES. MAKE YOUR CALLS. ⬇️
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Xavier Becerra @xavierbecerra.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
My parents came to this country with $12 in their pockets. California gave us everything. And for my entire career, I've pledged to give it back. Today, I'm asking you to let me do that as Governor. Get out and vote: vote.ca.gov
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Nick Ulivieri @nuphoto.com · 01/06/2026
The Obama Presidential Center opens this month and it looks ready to receive people from all over. I spent a few moments on Saturday evening capturing the campus with a fiery sunset as the backdrop. Love the warm glow from within, too
An aerial image of the Obama Presidential Center at sunset in Chicago. The granite tower stands brightly in the middle of the frame with free parks and pathways in the foreground. The sky is aways in soft blues and pinks of sunset.
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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
🧵 Public science in the US has taken some heavy hits over the last year, but the White House OMB is proposing a series of changes that will result in a TKO for science as we know it unless we fight back. Here's what's happening, and why it matters. 1/n
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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 28/05/2026
Santiago Campos is a graduating high school senior at the District of Columbia International School. His grandfather, despite being an American citizen, was deported by the Eisenhower admin during Operation Wetback. How many times have you heard media elites utter the word "genocide" on live TV?
pbs.org
Family who lived through 1950s U.S. deportation effort reflects on current climate
The Trump administration’s immigration policies have created fear and uncertainty for many communities, including people who lived through an earlier crackdown. Santiago Campos of our journalism train...
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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.blacksky.app · 28/05/2026
Fuck em up, kid
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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
RIP Sonny Rollins, a great jazz talent and the last surviving musician in one of the best photos of men in suits during the 20th century
The black-and-white photo A Great Day in Harlem shows 57 musicians gathered around the steps of a Harlem brownstone, while some kids sit on the curb. The photo was originally shot for an August 1958 issue of Esquire Magazine.
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Sean Hecker @sean-hecker.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
We are going to savor this one. Our client, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, is freed of these outrageous, vindictive charges. It’s a good day.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
🚨 🚨 🚨 NEW: A shocking @USCIS memo seems to declare that hundreds of thousands of immigrants living in this country and applying for green cards must instead apply for visas abroad; which could MASSIVELY disrupt lives. 🧵 on what we know, and what we don’t.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services
PM-602-0199
May 21, 2026
Policy Memorandum
SUBJECT: Adjustment of Status is a Matter of Discretion and Administrative Grace, and an Extraordinary Relief that Permits Applicants to Dispense with the Ordinary Consular Visa Process
Purpose
This memorandum reminds officers and the public that adjustment of status under section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) is a matter of discretion and administrative grace not designed to supersede the regular consular processing of immigrant visas. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reaffirms this consistent and longstanding approach and declares as a matter of general policy its intention to faithfully apply the statutes consistently with this understanding.
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Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
UC Berkeley Law creates new AI policy that bans AI for "conceptualizing, outlining, drafting, revising, translating, or editing any work submitted for credit" or exams because "thinking remains the sine qua non of good lawyering (and of a quality legal education)." That's what I'm talking about.
Rule:
The use of AI is prohibited for aid in conceptualizing, outlining, drafting, revising,
translating, or editing any work submitted for credit. AI use is prohibited for any use for
any purpose in any exam situation. Students may not upload course
materials—including assignments, readings, slides, class recordings, or other class
content—into generative AI systems. AI can be used for research on papers ONLY for the
limited purpose of identifying sources, such as cases, statutes, or secondary sources.
Students are responsible for the accuracy of their research and all other aspects of their
submitted work. Citations to sources that do not exist will raise a presumption of
prohibited AI use
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priscilla page @priscillapage.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
I don't know, man, I think we're all going through a lot and none of us needs to walk outside and see this right now
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Emily Bregel @emilybregel.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
A Tucson woman with DACA protection — who has lived in the U.S. since age 1 and has no criminal record — was detained Monday after immigration agents pushed their way into her home without a warrant, according to her family and home security video. @tucson.com tinyurl.com/mr43t96e
tinyurl.com
Tucson DACA recipient detained after agents 'aggressively' enter home, family says
Federal agents rushed into a Tucson home Monday morning and took Karla Toledo, 31, into custody as she was getting ready to leave for work, her family says.
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Andrew Lawrence @ndrew.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
the president is raiding the treasury to put your tax dollars into this mans personal checking account as a reward for what hes doing in this picture
A picture of a man inside the Capitol rotunda on January 6 2021. He is wearing full camo tactical gear, masked, carrying zip ties and climbing over a bannister in the gallery
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Kyle Clark @kylec.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
NEW: Sen Michael Bennet (D) says he will not appoint Gov Jared Polis to the Senate if Bennet is elected Governor. Bennet calls Polis' clemency for Tina Peters "disqualifying"
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Brad Lander @bradlander.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
HUGE NEWS: ICE’s courthouse arrests have been STAYED by a New York district judge. That means that ICE will have to stop arresting our immigrant neighbors on the spot when they show up to court at places like 26 Federal Plaza, 290 Broadway, and 201 Varick. (1/2)
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
This is BIG. These are the first charges relating to an incident that occurred during an enforcement operation.* The officers involved were accused of lying under oath about this shooting, as the Trump admin admitted. *the previous indictment involved an ICE agent who road raged while on duty.
Federal authorities initially accused Sosa-Celis and Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna of beating an officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel during the incident. But a federal judge later dismissed the charges and federal officials opened an investigation into whether two immigration officers lied about what happened.

Department of Homeland Security and Justice Department officials didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment. DHS previously said that lying under oath is a “serious federal offense” and that making false statements could result in an officer being fired or prosecuted.
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