Peter L. Markowitz is a Professor of Law at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and is the founding faculty member and co-director of the Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic. The clinic focuses on the intersection of immigration and criminal law and on immigration enforcement issues. It provides deportation defense representation to individuals and represents community-based and national advocacy organizations on impact projects. The clinic and Professor Markowitz have played a central role in many critical innovations in the field of immigration law, for example: creating the nation’s first public defender system for detained immigrants (the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project); developing the concept of detainer discretion (sanctuary laws); developing the first national immigration fellowship program (the Immigrant Justice Corps); and initiating the nation’s first full-service in-house immigration unit located in a public defender’s office (at The Bronx Defenders). Under Professor Markowitz’s leadership, the clinic has been honored with numerous awards, including the Daniel Levy Award for outstanding and innovative advocacy and recognized by the New York City Council for groundbreaking work on behalf of immigrant communities.

Professor Markowitz’s scholarship focuses on immigration and constitutional law.  He has published widely in leading law journals and in the popular press with op-eds appearing in The New York Times, The Nation, Huffington Post, and more. Prior to coming to Cardozo, Professor Markowitz taught at both New York University and Hofstra Schools of Law. He received his J.D. from New York University School of Law, magna cum laude, in 2001, along with the University Graduation Prize and the Sommer Memorial Award. Following graduation, Professor Markowitz clerked for the Honorable Frederic Block, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of New York. Prior to entering academia, he was a Soros Justice Fellow at The Bronx Defenders.

Featured Scholarship

Abolish ICE . . . And Then What?

129 Yale L.J. Forum 130 (2019)

Pardoning Immigrants

93 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 58 (2018) (co-authored)

Evaluation of the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project: Assessing the Impact of Legal Representation on Family and Community Unity

Vera Institute of Justice (Nov. 2017)

Prosecutorial Discretion Power at its Zenith: The Power to Protect Liberty

97 B.U. L. Rev. 489 (Mar. 2017)

Undocumented No More: The Power of State Citizenship, 67 Stan. L. Rev. 869 (Apr. 2015)

Constitutional Venue, 66 Fla. L. Rev. 1153 (May 2014)

Accessing Justice II: A Model for Providing Counsel to New York Immigrants in Removal Proceedings

(Dec. 2012) (co-chaired study)

Accessing Justice: The Availability and Adequacy of Counsel in Removal Proceedings

33 Cardozo L. Rev. 357 (Dec. 2011) (chaired study)

Secure Communities by the Numbers: An Analysis of Demographics and Due Process

Warren Institute of Law and Policy, U.C. Berkley (Oct, 2011)

Deportation is Different

13 U. Penn. J. of Const. Law 1299 (June, 2011), excerpted in Global Issues in Immigration Law (West 2013).

Barriers To Representation For Detained Immigrants Facing Deportation: Varick Street Detention Facility, A Case Study

78 Fordham L. Rev. 101 (Nov. 2009).

Constitution on ICE: A Report on Immigration Home Raid Operations

Cardozo Immigration Justice Clinic (2009) (co-authored with students).

Protocol for the Development of a Public Defender Immigration Service Plan 

New York State Defender Association & Immigrant Defense Project (2009).

Straddling the Criminal Civil Divide: A Bifurcated Approach to Understanding the Nature of Immigration Removal Proceedings 

43 Harv. C.R.-C.L. L. Rev. Vol. 289 (Summ. 2008), reprinted in Immigr. & Nat’lity L. Rev., Vol. 29 (2008).

A Judge’s Guide to Immigration Law in Criminal Proceedings (ABA 2004). 

Authored chapter on pre-trial and trial phase immigration issues.

Trump Can’t Stop the Sanctuary Movement

Opinion Editorial, N.Y. Times (Mar. 9, 2018)

Understanding What Makes Trump's Immigration Orders Truly Chilling

N.Y. Daily News (Feb. 24, 2017)

Can Obama Pardon Millions of Immigrants?

Opinion Editorial, N.Y. Times (July 6, 2016)

4 Ways Cities and States Can Become Sanctuaries Now, Article

The Nation (Dec. 5, 2016) (co-authored)

State Citizenship Is a National Solution to Immigration Reform, Room for Debate

N.Y. Times (Aug. 18, 2015)

Ending the Immigration Insanity

Opinion Editorial, Huffington Post (Nov. 24, 2014)

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