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Prediction: United States immigration crackdowns will have a chilling effect on personal injury litigation

Social Issues
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Prediction

President Trump has followed through on a campaign promise to "launch the largest deportation program in American history" and remove millions of unauthorised immigrants from the United States. In certain jurisdictions (particularly New York), undocumented immigrants comprise a substantial percentage of plaintiffs in personal injury lawsuits. Indeed, multiple Racketeer Influenced and Corrupts Organization Act (RICO) lawsuits have been filed against personal injury law firms in the New York City metropolitan area alleging that those firms have used undocumented immigrants to perpetrate a scheme to bring false and/or trumped-up claims against property owners and their contractors alleging injuries on construction projects. We expect defendants in lawsuits filed by undocumented immigrants to begin demanding that plaintiffs appear in person at court hearings, depositions, independent medical examinations, and other lawsuit-related activities. Although we expect push back against those demands, courts potentially will agree that due process requires their appearance. If so, that may have a chilling effect on plaintiffs' pursuit of their personal injury lawsuits.

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