"The Voice of the New Due Process Army" ————– Musings on Events in U.S. Immigration Court, Immigration Law, Sports, and Other Random Topics by Retired United States Immigration Judge (Arlington, Virginia) and former Chairman of the Board of Immigration Appeals Paul Wickham Schmidt. To see my complete professional bio, just click on the link below.
If confirmed as AG (and I saw nothing in this article to suggest that he won’t be) Senator Sessions would be in charge of the United States Immigration Court System (including the Appellate Court, a/k/a the Board of Immigration Appeals), one of the largest, if not the largest — more pending cases than the entire U.S. District Court System — and most important Federal Court Systems.
PWS
12/25/16
Six-time Jeopardy Champ Cindy Stowell competed and won while suffering from Stage 4 cancer, and died before her games were televised. She donated her winnings to cancer research.
PWS
12/25/16
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/honduras-gang-violence-teenagers_us_585d6274e4b0d9a59458288d
“It’s Christmas week in Rivera Hernandez, a place that’s been described as one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the world. How dangerous? About two weeks ago, and not that far from this street party, a young woman’s seminude body was found underneath a tree ― just her body. The 18-year-old’s head was resting on a branch a few feet above her corpse. The neighborhood consensus, whispered quietly, is that this latest horror was most likely a message from one of the five gangs that have divided much of Rivera Hernandez into fiefdoms.”
No wonder families are making the dangerous journey to seek asylum in the U.S. And, not surprisingly, they aren’t “deterred” by walls, fences, detention centers, asylum denials, removals, or the dangers of the journey. Not to mention that individuals fleeing for their lives have a right under U.S. and international law to seek asylum at our borders or within the U.S.
I had plenty of situations involving fears of this type of grotesque harm, in Central America and elsewhere, come before me at the Arlington Immigration Court and the BIA. Yes, it would be great if there were more efforts like the State Department/USAID programs described here to solve the root causes of migration and create incentives for individuals to remain in, and prosper, in their home countries. But, that’s going to take a much larger investment than we’ve made to date.
PWS
12/25/16
http://www.wsj.com/articles/central-americans-surge-at-border-before-trump-takes-over-1482489047
This article from the Wall Street Journal suggests that the election of Donald Trump is helping fuel a new “border surge” of migrants anxious to get here before the “border closes.” While I’m sure that Trump’s election has had some effect “in the margins,” particularly as a marketing tool for human smugglers, I tend to doubt that the election has had a major impact. It’s fairly normal for law enforcement and policy officials to overestimate the effect of government policies and under-weigh the root causes of most human migration — conditions in foreign nations that are largely beyond our national control.
Take, for example, the Mariel Cuban Boatlift. While many attributed the cause to President Jimmy Carter’s famous (or infamous) “welcome them with open arms statement,” what actually fueled the migration was Fidel Castro’s unileateral decision to open the Cuban port of Mariel to northbound boats. I was working at the “Legacy INS” at that time. We seized boats (enough to start dozens of marinas), fined owners and operators, opened detention camps for new arrivals, recruited “Temporary Immigration Judges” to handle increased deportations and asylum claims, and instituted criminal prosecutions. But, the flow went on, largely unabated, until Castro decided to close the port of Mariel.
“‘It’s a humanitarian crisis, a drug crisis, a security crisis. We’re going to have to deal with that issue immediately,’ said a member of Mr. Trump’s transition team.” I think that’s correct — migration and border enforcement are complex issues usually with a large humanitarian component. Such problems are unlikely to be solved by building more walls and fences, installing more sensors, hiring more Border Patrol agents, or opening new detention centers.
PWS
12/25/16
As reported by the Green Bay Press Gazette, a noon start on Christmas eve is no guarantee of “peace on earth goodwill to men” at Lambeau Field. Getting a head start on their Christmas Revels, a season high 30 rowdy fans were booted from the stadium during the Packers-Vikes contest, narrowly topping the 28 fans given the heave ho during the Packers December 11 win over the Seattle Seahawks. On the bright side, the six arrests fell woefully short of the 13 arrested during the Packers 23-16 victory over the playoff-bound NY Giants on October 9. But, the combined 36 arrests and ejections sets a season mark that can only be surpassed if the Pack beats the Detroit Lions in Detroit on New Year’s Day, which would guarantee at least one home playoff game at Lambeau. Ah, Christmas in Wisconsin — I remember it well!
Although it appears that much of the action was in the stands, there actually was a game taking place on the field. The Pack thrashed the Vikes 38-25. Aaron Rodgers was brilliant again, accounting for all five Packer touchdowns, four through the air and one running, notwithstanding hamstring and leg injuries.
The game was not as close as the score would indicate, as the Packers, with the game well in hand, spent most of the interminable fourth quarter in a so-called “prevent” defense, allowing Minnesota to run up tons of yards and score two meaningless touchdowns. Unfortunately, however, for much of the season it’s been difficult to tell the difference between the “prevent” and the porous “normal” defense that has allowed zillions of yards (particularly through the air) and lots of points — try 17 in the fourth quarter last week against the hapless 3-12 Bears that almost cost the Pack the game and their season. Only another spectacular throw from AR to Jordy Nelson as time wound down saved the day and prevented an embarrassing disaster at the hands of the “Midgets of the Midway.”
More arrests, evictions, and general rowdiness from Packer fans is predicted for next week’s Division Championship Game in Detroit both at the Lion’s home, Ford Field, and at the many bars, taverns in, and on the streets of, Green Bay.
In this op-ed, conservative pundit George Will rips AG Designate Senator Jeff Sessions for his views on civil forfeiture proceedings. Interestingly, immigration, on which Senator Sessions also has expressed strong opinions, like civil forfeiture is a nominally civil proceeding with quasi-criminal features and sanctions which in many cases exceed those which could be imposed in a criminal prosecution.
Here’s the key portion of Will’s broadside at Sessions:
“There might somewhere be a second prominent American who endorses today’s civil forfeiture practices, but one such person is “very unhappy” with criticisms of it. At a 2015 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on forfeiture abuses, one senator said “taking and seizing and forfeiting, through a government judicial process, illegal gains from criminal enterprises is not wrong,” and neither is law enforcement enriching itself from this. In the manner of the man for whom he soon will work, this senator asserted an unverifiable number: “95 percent” of forfeitures involve people who have “done nothing in their lives but sell dope.” This senator said it should not be more difficult for “government to take money from a drug dealer than it is for a businessperson to defend themselves in a lawsuit.” In seizing property suspected of involvement in a crime, government “should not have a burden of proof higher than in a normal civil case.”
IJ’s Robert Everett Johnson notes that this senator missed a few salient points: In civil forfeiture there usually is no proper “judicial process.” There is no way of knowing how many forfeitures involve criminals because the government takes property without even charging anyone with a crime. The government’s vast prosecutorial resources are one reason it properly bears the burden of proving criminal culpability “beyond a reasonable doubt.” A sued businessperson does not have assets taken until he or she has lost in a trial, whereas civil forfeiture takes property without a trial and the property owner must wage a protracted, complex and expensive fight to get it returned. The Senate Judiciary Committee might want to discuss all this when considering the nominee to be the next attorney general, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions.”
Merry Christmas (to some) and Happy Holidays (to all).
PWS
12/24/16
http://torontolife.com/city/life/jim-estill-the-man-who-saved-200-syrian-refugees/
From Toronto Life.
“Estill has codified his life into a set of what he calls “success habits.” Some of them are very specific: spend 20 minutes outside every day, no matter the weather, and have a “creative oasis” where you can do your best thinking (one of his is a rocking chair by the fireplace in his basement). Other maxims are much broader, like do the right thing—a principle that figured prominently in his decision to sponsor Syrian refugees.
. . . .
Estill is prototyping an ambitious sponsorship program that he hopes will grow into a full-scale humanitarian movement. He wants to show other wealthy businesspeople across the country how they can front the money, set volunteers in motion and use their professional networks to find jobs for refugees. “If you can run a company with 800 employees, then you can run an organization with 800 volunteers,” he says. He has a clear definition of success for the program: 50 families who work, pay taxes, buy their own groceries and speak English. “We’re not encouraging them to be dependent on us,” he told me. “You’re not doing anyone any favours if you just hand them cheques.””
PWS
12/24/16
This article from today’s Washington Post confirms what many of us already knew – there is no “immigration crisis” in America. Rather, our aging population is stable, and immigration (despite a modest uptick since the recession) remains within historic norms. This ties in with respected demographer Robert Warren’s research and conclusion that notwithstanding the so-called “Border Surge” beginning in 2014, U.S. immigration has remained well within historic norms (link below).
Today’s article also states “the United States will need to invest in immigrants who are helping to shore up the younger segment of the labor force.” In other words, we “geezers” are going to need a continuing flow of immigrants to support Social Security and Medicare, as well as to take jobs as nursing assistants, home health care workers, and caretakers for the elderly that few Americans seem to want. When was the last time you heard a high school student say that he or she aspired to a career as a home health care provider – although I see such individuals daily in our neighborhood and know that they are providing essential services to my neighbors in need?
This also fits in with an article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal pointing out how Latino entrepreneurs and businesspeople – some of them immigrants – have become a key economic force propelling our future greatness as a nation (see below).
Sure, deporting serious criminals from the United States is a worthy goal and one that I have personally participated in to the extent appropriate under law. The current Administration has done as good job of this. Some would say too good a job, and that cases of relatively minor, non-violent offenders with crimes such as petty theft, receiving stolen property, or possession of marijuana or cocaine, should not have been pushed into an already overcrowded Immigration Court System.
But, the foregoing article suggests to me that rather than fixating on how we might get rid of millions of other undocumented migrants who are law abiding contributors to our society, or looking to further restrict legal immigration as some have advocated, we should be modifying our laws to create additional opportunities for legal immigration that would serve our country’s future. Moreover, a larger and more rational legal system, with shorter waiting periods, would encourage individuals to “use the system” rather than attempting to circumvent it.
PWS
12/23/16
http://cmsny.org/warren-immigration-surge-illusory/
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-latino-drivers-of-economic-growth-1482363118
–
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/22/opinion/egypts-cruelty-to-christians.html?_r=
http://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-opportunity-saving-coptic-christians-1482363152
I granted some Coptic Christian cases in Arlington. Very nice people with an interesting and inspiring history. The only problem I ever had was that every Coptic Christian wanted to tell me the complete history of Coptic Christianity — not a good “fit” for a “three hour slot.” I soon went to “proffers” of evidence as the cases were all well-documented and supported by the country background materials on Egypt.
I fully agree with Mr. Tadros that Egypt’s loss is our gain. As he suggests, it would be great if President Trump could help protect and improve the situation of these long-suffering people.
PWS
12/22/16