United States immigration and deportation policy is broken with regard to the removal of violent youth gang members from the United States to their nations of origin. The result is that Central America is quickly becoming a lawless region of our hemisphere as gangs known as Mara Salvatrucha (collectively mareros) struggle among themselves and against weak and failing governments to gain control of vast territory and resources in which to carry out criminal conspiracies and terrorist activities that threaten the national and regional security throughout the Americas.

This article examines the origins of marero gangs, the policies in the United States and Central American states to cope with the growth of the mareros, and the implications of what may realistically occur if the gangs are allowed to continue growing and spreading lawlessness throughout regions of the Americas critical to United States interests in the hemisphere.

In "'Love Don't Live Here Anymore': Economic Incentives for a More Equitable Model of Urban Redevelopment", I explore the legal and practical avenues through which equitable urban redevelopment plans can be constructed and interest convergence achieved. In this process, I continue to explore what a redefinition of public purpose would mean for the implementation of urban renewal plans and judges' review of conflicts arising in these contexts. In addition, I argue that intangible contributions made by pre-redevelopment community residents to the redeveloped communities must be preserved and computed in the type of just compensation awarded to homeowners, as well in the type of amenities provided for low-income renters in the post-renewal community. The computation of intangible contributions of poor community members to the redeveloped communities would adequately acknowledge the role that the pre-redevelopment residents' social capital plays in increasing the value of the community. The role of social capital in increasing the value of communities is discussed in this article when discussing the proposed redefinition of public purpose. Furthermore, I borrow from international law's recognition of indigenous populations' right to return to their homeland, as well as the now established standards of environmental justice, to further support the basis for expanding the definition of public purpose to prevent the displacement of poor residents.

Part I of the article discusses conventional notions of public purpose and explores incentives that local governments have traditionally offered to attract private developers. In Part I, I also propose a redefinition of public purpose that takes into account the intangible contributions and value of the residents/indigenous people of pre-redeveloped communities. Part II investigates the possibilities of a more egalitarian model of urban redevelopment by applying the Interest Convergence Theory to urban renewal plans. Part III proposes such an egalitarian redevelopment model using redevelopment plans in New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina as well as other cities as promising examples.

For the past few decades, Islamic reformists have attempted to reverse patriarchal set-ups in Islamic practices. In light of these efforts, the time is ripe to consider what role women's agency will play in the implementation of such reforms. The way we account for agency in advocating for women's rights is an issue with which feminist legal scholars struggle. It has been explored particularly when analyzing women's rights in the area of pornography and prostitution. As the reform movements in Islamic law become concrete, similar explorations will have to take place. Agency driven explorations in the area of Islamic law will have to be tailored to issues of particular relevance to Islamic women. In addition, Feminist legal scholars will have to take care not to project western-based analysis into unique Islamic settings. Borrowing from transformative arguments advocated by feminist legal scholars like Martha A. Fineman, the author attempts to explore the implications of recognizing the possibility for agency in Islamic polygamous structures. The central idea is to analyze the possibility for a feminist based form of polygamy for women who decide to live in a polygamous structure. This exploration in no way assumes that Muslim women are solely defined by their religion. On the contrary, it recognizes that women's identities are so diverse that, even when given options, a number of them might opt for polygamy rather than monogamy. In this context, an assessment of the value of monogamy compared to polygamy is irrelevant. What comes to matter, instead, is the fact that women who choose polygamy, like those who make any other legitimate choice, must be protected.

The rising number of pro-polygamous movements indicates that it is imperative that we investigate the possibilities for a women centric polygamy. Islamic women have diverse views regarding polygamy and do not all seem to view it as detrimental. There exist some Muslim women who are unequivocally against Polygamy, but want to remain faithful to their Islamic faith, while there are others who are not against polygamy but would like to reform the practice to fit their needs. The common denominator in these two camps, however, is that women in both camps yearn for more choice and control over the decisions that affect their family life. The desire to enter or remain in a polygamous union does not necessarily equate in their eyes with a diminishment of their rights and privileges. This article intends to show that equal rights for women and Islamic faith are not necessarily mutually exclusive if the allocation of rights is based on the spirit of Islam. Furthermore, the article will demonstrate that Islam's inherent concern with justice and equality for women necessitates that women's desires and wishes serve as foundation for any system of polygamy.