Professor of Law / Chair, Baylor Law School's Diversity Committee Baylor University
Expert litigator, focusing on immigration law, insurance law, Civil Rights actions & separation of Church & State
1 min
Baylor Law School Professor Laura Hernandez, J.D., is interviewed as an expert on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in response to President Trump’s announcement that his administration will phase out the program. Hernandez founded the Baylor Law Immigration Clinic, which has helped hundreds of immigrants in Texas, including a number of those covered under DACA. Source:
1 min
Baylor Law School Professor Laura Hernandez, J.D., is an expert on DACA and the founder of the Baylor Law Immigration Clinic, which has assisted hundreds of Waco area residents – a number who are Dreamers – with immigration needs. She shared the following statement re: President Trump’s DACA announcement. “It is unfortunate that President Trump has chosen to withdraw authorization for the DACA program, a hugely successful program that allowed around 800,000 children and young adults to make a meaningful contribution to the country they love. The only country they have known. Moreover, DACA recipients have never threatened national security. Now, it is time for Congress to act to preserve the status of these DACA recipients while giving them a path to legal residency. Congress should resist allowing the Trump administration to use the fate of these ‘Dreamers’ as a bargaining chip for the construction of a wall that brings no greater safety to the United States, but does cost the American taxpayer millions of dollars in unnecessary expense.” Source:
1 min
Professor Laura Hernández’s legal scholarship has focused on issues facing recent immigrants to the United States. She is a recognized expert on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Hernández is also the founder of the Baylor Law Immigration Clinic. To date, students volunteering at the clinic have assisted approximately 300 Waco area residents with their immigration needs. Regarding President Trump's decision to continue the Obama-era program, Hernandez said: "While it is laudable that President Trump has recognized all of the benefits that the DACA program has brought to America, it would be most reassuring if he committed that decision to an Executive Order, or even a presidential memorandum. President Trump should also consider adopting the broadened DACA program put forth in 2015, which allows more children to qualify for this invaluable prosecutorial discretion. It is time to allow these children , educated in the United States, to contribute to our country in the fullest manner possible." Source:
J.D.
Sarah T. Hughes Law Scholar
1996
A.B.
Economics & Communications
1986
KCEN-TV (Waco, Temple, Killeen/NBC) tv
2020-02-11
VIDEO: This story focuses on the experience of Baylor student Mario Lopez Martinez, who has become a naturalized U.S. citizen, a process that took about five years. Baylor Law professor Laura Hernandez also is interviewed about the complicated path to citizenship.
2014
The United States is a proud nation of immigrants, with a short memory. As the country's need for immigrant labor continues unabated, legislative reaction to these labor demands is myopic. It is undisputed that the American desire for cheap labor incentivizes the migration of unskilled and undocumented guest workers. As studies of this population show, the accessibility of a cheaper workforce leads to greater profits by American employers due to a reduction in overhead. Simultaneously, however, labor conditions are substandard for both the undocumented workforce and United States citizens who are employed in this type of manual labor. As long as market demand for this labor continues, the United States will have a large undocumented immigrant population residing within its borders. The legislative response is mostly punitive. A real danger exists, however, that draconian immigration laws will result in the inevitable formation of a permanent underclass within our country. The United States Constitution simply does not permit such a result.
2012
A legal barrier to education. The concept is distinctly un-American. We are well acquainted with the narrative. No matter how humble your childhood circumstances, if you studied hard, dreamed big and worked even harder, access to the United States’ finest universities would be yours. A college degree would provide employment opportunities, the chance to form bonds with scions of the privileged and well connected, and with any luck, a direct entree into that world of financial security.
2011
The article focuses on the use of perspective by U.S. Supreme Court justices in deliberating their judicial decisions. It analyzes the Supreme Court's historical use of perception in racial discrimination cases, in particular Dred Scott v. John Sanford. It also examines Supreme Court's modern day application of perception in gender discrimination claims. It notes the impact when justices do not apply their life experiences in constitutional interpretation.
