Ninth Circuit sides with Cambodian seafood workers in human trafficking case

Kevin R. Johnson

21 Feb 2026 — 1 min read

Courthouse News reports that an en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit in an opinion by Judge Susan Graber yesterday reversed a lower court decision declining to reconsider a case under an updated anti-trafficking law in a case brought by several Cambodian villagers forced to work in the Thai seafood industry.

The court reversed a district court ruling that denied villagers’ requests for summary judgment and found no evidence that seafood distributor knowingly participated in or benefited from human trafficking.

The plaintiffs were seven Cambodian villagers forced to work in Thailand’s seafood industry. The claim in the lawsuit was that several U.S. and Thai companies subjected them to forced labor in violation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA).

Human Rights Watch: "To Scare People": US Expulsions of Third-Country Nationals to Countries in Africa

From a press release from Human Rights Watch: US: Deportations to African Countries Not Their Own Denied Due Process; Some Returned to Danger in Home Countries * The United States has sent more than 500 people whom it cannot deport to their own countries, because of the danger they would face,

Immigration Article of the Day: Recalibrating the Plenary Power Doctrine After Trump v. Hawaii, Thuraissigiam, and Loper Bright by Abdul Aziz Meslat

Recalibrating the Plenary Power Doctrine After Trump v. Hawaii, Thuraissigiam, and Loper Bright by Abdul Aziz Meslat Abstract This Article reexamines the constitutional foundations and contemporary operation of the plenary power doctrine in U.S. immigration law. For more than a century, the doctrine has afforded Congress and the Executive

Georgetown Immigration Law Journal Call for Paper Proposals Symposium - Spring 2027

The Georgetown Immigration Law Journal is seeking paper proposals for an in-person symposium to be held in Spring 2027, with publication of featured papers to follow in a symposium issue of the Journal’s 41st Volume. We invite scholars and practitioners to submit proposals for the Journal’s Spring 2027

Livestreamed Conference (No Charge): Got Habeas? New Clinics, Theories, and Developments in Immigration Detention Litigation and Teaching, OCTOBER 9

CONFERENCE: Got Habeas? New Clinics, Theories, and Developments in Immigration Detention Litigation and Teaching, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026 | 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Pacific | King Hall, Room 1001 | MCLE Credits Available | No Registration Fee | Livestreamed. Lunch provided to registrants. Register in advance. Program 10 – 11:30 a.m. Panel

Read more

Human Rights Watch: "To Scare People": US Expulsions of Third-Country Nationals to Countries in Africa

Immigration Article of the Day: Recalibrating the Plenary Power Doctrine After Trump v. Hawaii, Thuraissigiam, and Loper Bright by Abdul Aziz Meslat

Georgetown Immigration Law Journal Call for Paper Proposals Symposium - Spring 2027

Livestreamed Conference (No Charge): Got Habeas? New Clinics, Theories, and Developments in Immigration Detention Litigation and Teaching, OCTOBER 9