Bill Hing headshot

Bill Ong Hing

Professor, Founding Director of the Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic, and Dean's Circle Scholar

Full-Time Faculty
Kendrick Hall 308

Biography

Throughout his career, Professor Bill Ong Hing pursued social justice through a combination of community work, litigation, and scholarship. He is the author of numerous academic and practice-oriented publications on immigration policy and race relations, including Humanizing Immigration: How to Transform Our Racist and Unjust System (Beacon Press 2023), American Presidents, Deportation and Human Rights Violations (Cambridge Univ. Press 2019); Ethical Borders—NAFTA, Globalization, and Mexican Migration (Temple University Press, 2010), Deporting Our Souls–Morality, Values, and Immigration Policy (Cambridge University Press, 2006), Defining America Through Immigration Policy (Temple University Press, 2004), and Making and Remaking Asian America Through Immigration Policy (Stanford University Press, 1993). His book To Be An American: Cultural Pluralism and the Rhetoric of Assimilation (NYU Press, 1997) received the award for Outstanding Academic Book by the librarians' journal Choice. He was also co-counsel in the precedent-setting U.S. Supreme Court asylum case, INS v. Cardoza–Fonseca (1987), and represented the State Bar of California in In Re Sergio Garcia (2014), in granting a law license to an undocumented law graduate. Hing is the founder of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center in San Francisco and continues to volunteer as general counsel for this organization.

Professor Hing is the Founding Director of the Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic.

Expertise

  • Asian American Legal History
  • Immigration Law and Policy
  • Migration Theory
  • Public Interest Lawyering
  • Race, Racism and U.S Law
  • Racial Justice
  • Affirmative Action and Diversity
  • Rules of Evidence
  • Modern Policing

Education

  • JD, University of San Francisco
  • AB, UC Berkeley

Prior Experience

  • Professor, UC Davis
  • Of Counsel, Baker & McKenzie
  • Acting Executive Director, East Palo Alto Community Law Project
  • Acting Professor and Associate Professor, Stanford Law School
  • Chancellor's Distinguished Professorship, UC Berkeley

Awards & Distinctions

  • Award Recipient, Distinguished Professor of the Year, University of San Francisco School of Law (2018)
  • Honoree, 2016 Rebellious Lawyering Conference: Celebrating the Work of Bill Ong Hing (2016)
  • Dedicated Service Award from Pangea Legal Services (2014)
  • Asian American Achievement Award, San Mateo Chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans (2013)
  • Keith Aoki Asian Pacific American Jurisprudence Award, Conference of Asian Pacific American Law Faculty (2011)
  • Lifetime Achievement Award, Centro Legal de la Raza (2011)
  • Donald Cressey Award, National Council on Crime and Delinquency (2008)
  • Keepers of the American Dream Award, National Immigration Forum (2007)
  • Heritage Award, Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (2005)
  • Tobriner Public Service Award, San Francisco Legal Aid Society (2003)

Books

  • Humanizing Immigration: How to Transform Our Racist and Unjust System (Beacon Press 2023)
  • Christianity and the Law of Migration - In Defense of Chain Migration (Rutledge Press, 2022) (Book Chapter, edited by Silas Allard, Kristin E. Heyer, and Raj Nadella)
  • Attacking Democracy through Immigration Workplace Raids - The Cambridge Handbook of Labor and Democracy (Cambridge University Press, 2022) (Book Chapter, edited by Angela B. Cornell and Mark Barenberg)
  • Immigration Law and Social Justice (Aspen Casebook published by Wolters Kluwer, Second Edition, 2021)
  • American Presidents, Deportations, and Human Rights Violations (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2018)
  • Ethical Borders: NAFTA, Globalization, and Mexican Migration (Chicago: Temple University Press, 2010) Read More
  • Deporting Our Souls: Values, Morality, and Immigration Policy (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006)
  • Defining America Through Immigration Policy (Chicago: Temple University Press, 2004)
  • A Quick Reference to IRCA (New York: Aspen Law Publications, 2000, 2001, 2002)
  • Immigration and the Law: A Dictionary (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 1999)
  • To Be An American: Cultural Pluralism and the Rhetoric of Assimilation (New York: New York University Press, 1997) (Named an Outstanding Academic Book by librarians' journal Choice.)
  • Reframing the Immigration Debate (LEAP, 1996) (The book was co-edited with Ronald Lee and nominated for a human rights award by Gustavus Myers Center for Human Rights.)
  • Handling Immigration Cases (Hoboken: Wiley Law Publications, Second Edition, 1995)
  • Making and Remaking Asian America Through Immigration Policy (Palo Alto: Stanford Press, 1993)

Law Review and Journal Articles

  • “Addressing the Intersection of Racial Justice and Immigrant Rights,” 9 Belmont Law Review (2022).
  • “Mistreating Central American Refugees: Repeating History in Response to Humanitarian Challenges,” 17 Hastings Race & Poverty L.J. 359 (2020).
  • “Beyond DACA—Defying Employer Sanctions Through Civil Disobedience,” 52 U.C. Davis Law Review 299 (2018).
  • “Entering the Trump ICE Age: Contextualizing the New Immigration Enforcement Regime,” 5 Texas A&M Law Review 253 (2018). SSRN
  • “From Ferguson to Palestine: Disrupting Race-Based Policing,” 59 Howard Law Journal (2016). SSRN
  • “Contemplating a Rebellious Approach to Representing Unaccompanied Immigrant Children,” 23 Clinical Law Review 167-216 (2016). Read More
  • “The Pressure Is On – Criminal Defense Counsel Strategies After Padilla v. Kentucky,” 92 Denver University Law Review (2015). SSRN
  • “Ethics, Morality and Disruption of U.S. Immigration Laws,” 63 Kansas Law Review (2015). SSRN
  • “Re-Examining the Zero-Tolerance Approach to Deporting Aggravated Felons: Restoring Discretionary Waivers and Developing New Tools,” 8 Harvard Law & Policy Review (2014). SSRN
  • “The Failure of Prosecutorial Discretion and the Deportation of Oscar Martinez,” 15 Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice 437 (2013). SSRN
  • “Superman Had Nothing on Keith Aoki,” UCLA Asian Pacific American Law Journal (2012). SSRN
  • “Immigration Reform: A Time for DREAMers,” USF Magazine 14 (Winter 2012).
  • “Immigration Sanctuary Policies: Constitutional and Representative of Good Policing and Good Public Policy,” 2 University of California Irvine Law Review 247 (2012). SSRN
  • “Reason Over Hysteria: Keynote Essay,” 12 Loyola Journal of Public Interest 275 (2011). SSRN
  • “Asian Americans and Immigration Reform,” 17 Asian American Law Journal 83 (2010-2011).
  • “Systemic Failure: Mental Illness, Detention, and Deportation,” 16 UC Davis Journal of International Law and Policy 341 (2010). SSRN
  • “Teaching Immigration Law and Immigrant Rights From Your Own Caseload,” 54 St. Louis University Law Journal 877 (2010).
  • “The Rise and Fall of Employer Sanctions,” 38 Fordham Urban Law Journal 77 (2010). (Co-authored with David Bacon.)
  • “The Great Opportunity in Law,” 15 Asian Pacific American Law Journal 30 (2009-2010). (Publication of keynote speech delivered by Hing at the Korean American Bar Association of Southern California's 29th Annual Installation and Scholarship Awards Dinner in Los Angeles, Calif., on April 16, 2009.)
  • “Institutional Racism, ICE Raids, and Immigration Reform,” 44 University of San Francisco Law Review 307 (2009).
  • “NAFTA, Globalization, and Mexican Migrants,” 5 Journal of Law, Economics, and Policy 87 (2009).
  • “Legal Services Support Centers and Rebellious Advocacy: A Case Study of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center,” 28 Journal of Law and Policy 266 (2008).
  • “A Case for Amnesty,” 3 Stanford Journal of Law and Policy 233 (2007).
  • “Coolies, James Yen, and Rebellious Advocacy,” 14 Asian American Law Journal 1 (2007).
  • “Immigration Policy: Thinking Outside the (Big) Box,” 39 Connecticut Law Review 1401 (2007).
  • “Providing a Second Chance,” 39 Connecticut Law Review 1893 (2007).
  • “The Immigrant Marches of 2006 and the Prospects for a New Civil Rights Movement,” 42 Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review 99 (2007). (With Kevin R. Johnson)
  • “Misusing Immigration Policies in the Name of Homeland Security,” 6 Centennial Review 194 (2006).
  • “Deporting Cambodian Refugees: Justice Denied?,” 51 Crime & Delinquency 265 (2005).
  • “Deporting Our Souls and Defending Our Immigrants,” 31(3) Amerasia Journal (2005). (Guest editor and lead article author.)
  • “Detention to Deportation? Rethinking the Removal of Cambodian Refugees,” 38 UC Davis Law Review 891 (2005).
  • “National Identity in a Multicultural Nation: The Challenge of Immigration Law and Immigrants,” 103 Michigan Law Review 1347 (2005). (With Kevin R. Johnson and 2005 Survey of Books Related to the Law)
  • “Rebellious Lawyering, Settlement, and Reconciliation: Soko Bukai v. YWCA,” 5 Nevada Law Review 172 (2004).
  • “Refugee Policy and Cultural Identity: In the Voice of Hmong and Iu Mien Young Adults,” 1 Hastings Race & Poverty Law Journal 111 (2003).
  • “Answering the Challenges of the New Immigrant-Driven Diversity: Considering Integration Strategies,” 40 Brandeis Law Journal 861 (2002).
  • “Nonelectoral Activism in Asian Pacific American Communities and the Implications for Community Lawyering,” 8 UCLA Asian Pacific American Law Journal 246 (2002).
  • “Vigilante Racism: The De-Americanization of Immigrant America,” 7 Michigan Journal of Race and Law 441 (2002).
  • “Asians Without Blacks and Latinos in San Francisco: Missed Lessons of the Common Good,” 27 Amerasia Journal 19 (2001).
  • “The Dark Side of Operation Gatekeeper,” 7 UC Davis Journal of International Law & Policy 121 (2001).
  • “Emma Lazarus Fund: A Case Study in Philanthropic Rejuvenation of the Immigrant Rights Community,” 15 Georgetown Immigration Law Journal 47 (2000).
  • “No Place for Angels: A Reaction to Johnson,” Illinois Law Review 559 (2000).
  • “The Immigrant As Criminal,” 9 Hastings Women's Law Journal 9 (1998).
  • “Don't Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor: Conflicted Immigrant Stories and Welfare Reform,” 33 Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review 159 (1998).
  • “Border Patrol Abuse: Evaluating Complaint Procedures Available to Victims,” 9 Georgetown Immigration Law Journal 757 (1995).
  • “In the Interest of Racial Harmony: Revisiting the Lawyer's Duty to Work for the Common Good,” 47 Stanford Law Review 901 (1995).
  • “Immigration Policies: Messages of Exclusion to African Americans,” 37 Howard Law Journal 237 (1994).
  • “Beyond the Rhetoric of Assimilation and Cultural Pluralism: The Tension of an Immigration-Driven Multicultural Society,” 81 California Law Review 863 (1993).
  • “Raising Personal Identification Issues of Class, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Physical Disability, and Age in Lawyering Courses,” 45 Stanford Law Review 1401 (1993).
  • “The Immigration and Naturalization Service, Community-Based Organizations, and the Legalization Experience: Lessons for the Self? Help Immigration Phenomenon,” 6 Georgetown Immigration Law Journal 413 (1992).
  • “Miranda: Not the Death Knell for Estoppel,” 12(4) NLG Immigration Newsletter 1 (1983).
  • “Racial Disparity: The Unaddressed Issues of the Simpson-Mazzoli Bill,” 1 La Raza Law Journal 21 (1983).
  • “Estoppel in Immigration Proceedings? New Life from Akbarin and Miranda,” 20 San Diego Law Review 11 (1982).
  • “When INS Breaks the Rules Courts Will Listen,” 4 AILA Immigration Journal 3 (1981).
  • “The Ninth Circuit: No Place for Drug Offenders,” 10 Golden Gate Law Review 1 (1980). (Cited in Tapia-Acuna v. INS, 640 F.2d 223, 225 (9th Cir. 1981)