Ira J. Kurzban


Ira J. Kurzban is an immigration lawyer from America. He is the author of Kurzban's Immigration Law Sourcebook, published by the American Immigration Council. Kurzban received widespread media coverage during the 1980s for his representation of Haitian immigrants in Miami, and, in the 1990s and more recently, for his representation of the Haitian government and its two-time president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Kurzban is a partner in the law firm of Kurzban Kurzban Tetzeli & Pratt, P.A., of Miami, Florida, and serves as adjunct faculty member in Immigration and Nationality Law at the University of Miami School of Law. He is also a founding board member of Immigrants' List, a political action committee focusing on immigration issues. He was a founder of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti and served as Board Chair from 2004-2019.

Academic honors

Kurzban holds J.D. and M.A. Degrees from the University of California, Berkeley and a B.A. with honors from Syracuse University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He also holds an honorary law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and is also the 2003–04 recipient of the Wasserstein Fellowship at Harvard University Law School.

Professional honors

Kurzban was the first recipient of the Tobias Simon Pro Bono Award, presented by the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court. He is also the recipient of the Lawyers of the Americas Award for his work on behalf of human rights in this hemisphere given by the University of Miami, The Jack Wasserman Award for excellence in federal litigation and the Edith Lowenstein Memorial Award for excellence in the advancement of immigration law given by the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and the Carol King Award for his effort in immigration law given by the National Lawyers Guild. In 1986 Kurzban was selected by Newsweek magazine, in their commemorative issue on the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, as one of 100 American heroes for his work on behalf of immigrants. He was also selected by Esquire Magazine as part of America's New Leadership Class. Kurzban has also been named to Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Law, and Who's Who in the World. He was also called a "legend in the field" and listed among the world's most highly regarded individuals in the International Who's Who of Corporate Immigration Lawyers.
Kurzban served as President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and has also served as the association's General Counsel.

Litigation

Kurzban has litigated over 50 federal cases concerning the rights of aliens, including Jean v. Nelson, Commissioner v. Jean, and McNary v Haitian Refugee Center, Inc., which he argued before the United States Supreme Court. He has also litigated numerous cases under the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Torture Victim Protection Act, including obtaining a $500 million judgment against Jean-Claude Duvalier, the former dictator of Haiti. He recently prevailed against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, after a 23-year battle, to gain U.S. citizenship for English-born rapper Slick Rick.

Haiti and Aristide

Kurzban also served as U.S. attorney for Haiti's elected governments since 1991, René Préval, and Aristide again ). After Aristide was forced from office and cast into exile, Kurzban has served as the former president's personal attorney in the United States. On March 18, 2011, Aristide, accompanied by Kurzban and others, returned to Haiti.

Publications

Other publications