immigrationcourtside.com

🔥BURNED AGAIN! — Garland’s BIA Torched By 2d Cir. For Multiple Errors In Legal Standards Relating To Asylum,Withholding, & CAT! — Ojo v. Garland

https://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/cc2301b5-aa22-4767-9199-a8061927397c/1/doc/19-3237_complete_opn.pdf#xml=https://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/cc2301b5-aa22-4767-9199-a8061927397c/1/hilite/

Ojo v. Garland, 2d C ir., 02-09-22, published

PANEL: CHIN, BIANCO, AND MENASHI, Circuit Judges.

OPINION: JOSEPH F. BIANCO, Circuit Judge

DISSENTING OPINION: MENASHI, Circuit Judge

SUMMARY BY COURT:

Olukayode David Ojo, a native of Nigeria, seeks review of a September 27, 2019 decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals affirming an April 15, 2019 decision of an immigration judge, which denied asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture. See In re Olukayode David Ojo, No. A088-444-553 (B.I.A. Sept. 27, 2019), aff’g No. A088-444-553 (Immigr. Ct. N.Y.C. Apr. 15, 2019).

We grant Ojo’s petition for review and vacate the agency’s denial of Ojo’s claims for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection because those determinations were permeated with several legal and procedural errors. First, insofar as Ojo’s request for asylum was rejected as untimely, the agency applied the wrong legal standard to his claim of changed circumstances and the agency’s alternative discretionary determination failed to indicate the requisite examination of the totality of the circumstances. Second, with respect to Ojo’s application for withholding of removal, the agency erred when it incorrectly categorized his federal conviction for wire fraud and identity theft as “crimes against persons,” and concluded that they fell within the ambit of “particularly serious crimes” without evaluating the elements of the offenses as required under the agency’s own precedent. Finally, with respect to his CAT claim, the agency erred in concluding that Ojo lacked a reasonable fear of future persecution or torture in Nigeria due to his status as a criminal deportee without even addressing the declaration of his expert supporting his claim.

Accordingly, the petition for review is GRANTED, the BIA’s decision is VACATED, and the case is REMANDED to the BIA for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

JUDGE MENASHI dissents in a separate opinion.

*****************************

The majority opinion is 51 pages; Judge Menashi’s dissent another 35 pages. That’s 86 pages of Article III time trying to straighten out the BIA’s sloppy work and mis-application of basic legal concepts.

It would be in everyone’s best interests if Garland jettisoned his “Miller Lite holdover BIA” and replaced them with real appellate judges — experts in human rights and asylum law with reputations for careful practical, due-process-focused scholarship — Judges like his sole BIA appointment to date, Judge Andrea Saenz.

It’s painfully obvious that the out of control problems in immigration law will NOT be solved with the BIA currently in place. They lack the expertise, temperament, and background to get “the retail level of our justice system” back on track.

As this case, among others, illustrates, Garland’s failure to institute long overdue personnel and quality control reforms at EOIR is continuing to “bleed over” into the Article IIIs, occupying an increasing amount of their time. It also creates astounding inconsistencies among Circuits and among panels in the same Circuit. Garland’s “personal court system” is dysfunctional on multiple levels and is sowing more dysfunction throughout our justice system!

Garland and his lieutenants, including “above the fray” Solicitor General Liz Prelogar, also should take a look at the OIL “defense” in this case. It’s basically this:

“The respondent is a bad guy. So, it doesn’t matter if the BIA applies the wrong legal standards because they have discretion to deport any bad guy for any reason or even for the wrong reason. Even if the BIA didn’t do its job, you, Court of Appeals, should do it for them because, as we said, this is one bad dude who needs deporting. Did we mention that he’s a bad guy?”

The combined abysmal performance of EOIR and OIL, enhanced by the lack of leadership and engagement from Garland and his senior managers, is eroding the foundations of the U.S. legal system at an alarmingly rapid rate!

The majority was written by Judge Joseph F. Bianco, a recent Trump appointee; the dissenter, Judge Steven Menashi, is also a Trump appointee whose rise from right-wing “campus troll” to the Federal Bench was controversial. See, e.g., https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/9/12/20858813/steven-mensashi-ethnonationalism-trump-nominee.

I will say that at least he thought about, analyzed, and explained his views in much greater detail than the so-called “subject matter experts” at the BIA.

The answer is to replace the ongoing “EOIR Clown Show” 🤡 with real expert judges, at both the trial and appellate levels, who will consistently get these right in the first (or second) instance. That would “move” dockets (without violating rights), reduce the burdens on the Article IIIs, and promote (rather than actively undermine) consistency. It would also produce a consistent body of judicial scholarship on due process, racial justice, and best judicial practices in immigration, human rights, and fundamental Constitutional law that would help guide and solve systemic problems in the overall Federal legal system.

Why not bring in the talent and creative problem solving to turn a disgraceful, deadly, resource-wasting failure into a model judiciary? It’s a question that Garland has yet to answer!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

02-10-22

⚖️THE GIBSON REPORT — 02-07-22 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group — BONUS: “Ethics On Vacation @ DHS & DOJ”

Elizabeth Gibson
Attorney, NY Legal Assistance Group
Publisher of “The Gibson Report”

PRACTICE ALERTS

Mandatory E-Filing with EOIR, Starting FRIDAY

EOIR Updates

EOIR: EOIR reminds interested stakeholders that hearings on Feb. 8, 2022, and beyond will proceed as scheduled, subject to local operational and case-specific decisions. Please monitor EOIR’s website for information about the agency’s operations nationwide.

EOIR NYC: In an effort to provide more clarity on operations at each of the NYC immigration courts from Feb. 8 onward, [EOIR] is providing additional guidance. See attached.

EADs Valid Longer

USCIS: In the interest of reducing the burden on both the agency and the public, USCIS has revised its guidelines to state that initial and renewal EADs generally may be issued with a maximum validity period of up to 2 years for asylees and refugees, noncitizens with withholding of deportation or removal, and VAWA self-petitioners; or up to the end of the authorized deferred action or parole period to applicants in these filing categories

NEWS

After review, U.S. maintains border policy of expelling migrants, citing Omicron

CBS: After a recent internal review, the Biden administration decided to maintain a pandemic-era order put in place under former President Donald Trump that authorizes the rapid deportation of migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told CBS News Thursday.

Bill Aims to Remove US Immigration Courts from Executive Branch

VOA: U.S. House Representative Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat from California who leads the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship, unveiled the legislation Thursday.

148 Groups Ask Biden To Fund $50M For Migrant Atty Access

Law360: A group of 148 organizations supporting immigrant and civil rights sent a letter to President Joe Biden and congressional leaders urging them to allocate at least $50 million to provide “immediate and dramatic” expansion of legal representation for people facing immigration proceedings.

83,000 Afghans Made It To The US. Now They Need Lawyers

Law360: The arrival in the United States of 83,000 displaced Afghans following the military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan over the summer has put stress on the already overburdened immigration system and created an access to justice crisis that Congress needs to address, attorneys say. See also Additional $1.2 billion in resettlement assistance authorized earlier this week by President Biden.

Internal documents show heated back-and-forth between DeSantis and Biden admin over care of migrant children

CNN: An ongoing feud over President Joe Biden’s immigration policies is escalating in Florida where Gov. Ron DeSantis is threatening to keep long-standing shelters from caring for migrant children, culminating in a heated back and forth unfolding in internal correspondence obtained by CNN.

Feds Pressed To Free Immigrant Detainees As Ill. Ban Kicks In

Law360: Immigrant rights groups urged the Biden administration on Tuesday to release people held in immigration detention in Illinois amid fears that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will send the detainees out of state as Illinois shuts down its last two detention centers.

Mexican authorities evict Tijuana migrant camp near border

WaPo: About a hundred members of the police, National Guard and army on Sunday evicted 381 migrants, mainly Central Americans and Mexicans, from a makeshift camp they had been staying in for almost a year in Tijuana at the U.S. border crossing.

Robot Dogs Take Another Step Towards Deployment at the Border

DHS: “The southern border can be an inhospitable place for man and beast, and that is exactly why a machine may excel there,” said S&T program manager, Brenda Long. “This S&T-led initiative focuses on Automated Ground Surveillance Vehicles, or what we call ‘AGSVs.’ Essentially, the AGSV program is all about…robot dogs.”

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

BIA Reinstates Removal Proceedings After Finding §2C:35-10(a)(1) of New Jersey Statutes Annotated Is Divisible with Respect to Specific Substance Possessed

AILA: BIA found §2C:35-10(a)(1) of New Jersey Statutes Annotated is divisible and the record of conviction can be reviewed under the modified categorical approach to determine whether the specific substance possessed is a controlled substance under federal law. (Matter of Laguerre, 1/20/22)

BIA Dismisses Appeal After Finding §714.1 of Iowa Code Is Divisible with Regard to Type of Theft

AILA: BIA found Iowa Code §714.1 is divisible with respect to whether a violation of it involved theft by taking without consent or theft by fraud or deceit, permitting use of modified categorical approach to determine whether violation involved aggravated felony theft. (Matter of Koat, 1/27/22)

BIA Rules Respondent’s Conviction for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud Constitutes a Particularly Serious Crime

AILA: BIA found the amount of forfeiture ordered in a criminal proceeding may be considered in determining whether a crime of fraud or deceit resulted in a loss to victim(s) exceeding $10,000, if the amount ordered is sufficiently traceable to the conduct of conviction. (Matter of F-R-A-, 2/3/22)

Unpub. BIA Termination Victory

LexisNexis: Helen Harnett writes: “I thought you might be interested in this BIA decision. The IJ terminated proceedings because the NTA did not contain a time or date.”

CA1 Holds That Irregularities in “Record of Sworn Statement” Lacked Sufficient Indicia of Reliability for Use in Assessing Credibility

AILA: In light of unexplained irregularities in the record, the court vacated the BIA’s denials of withholding of removal and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) and remanded to the agency for further factfinding. (Bonilla v. Garland, 1/12/22)

CA1 Says Conviction in Rhode Island for Driving a Motor Vehicle Without Consent Is Not Categorically a Theft Offense

AILA: The court held that the petitioner’s conviction for driving a motor vehicle without consent of the owner or lessee under Rhode Island General Laws (RIGL) §31-9-1 did not constitute a categorical aggravated felony theft offense. (Da Graca v. Garland, 1/18/22)

CA1 Holds That BIA Properly Applied Heightened Matter of Jean Standard to Petitioner’s Waiver Request

AILA: The court held that the BIA adequately considered the question of extraordinary circumstances called for in Matter of Jean, and found it lacked jurisdiction to consider the relative weight the BIA gave the evidence in denying the inadmissibility waiver. (Peulic v. Garland, 1/11/22)

CA4 Finds That “Prosecution Witnesses” Is Not a PSG

AILA: The court agreed with the BIA that the Honduran petitioner’s proposed particular social group (PSG) of “prosecution witnesses” lacked particularity, and found no error in the BIA’s decision upholding the IJ’s adverse credibility finding as to petitioner. (Herrera-Martinez v. Garland, 1/5/22)

CA4 Finds BIA Abused Its Discretion in Denying Continuance to Petitioner with Pending U Visa Application

AILA: Where the petitioner had a pending U visa application, the court held that the BIA abused its discretion in denying his motion for a continuance, finding that the BIA had departed from precedential opinions in holding that he had failed to show good cause. (Garcia Cabrera v. Garland, 1/6/22)

4th Circ. Revives Guatemalan Asylum Case Over Family Ties

Law360: The Fourth Circuit breathed new life into a Guatemalan migrant’s asylum case, faulting an immigration judge for failing to tie death threats that the man received to his son, who was targeted for gang recruitment.

CA5 Finds Proposed PSG of Honduran Women Unable to Leave Domestic Relationship Was Not Cognizable

AILA: The court concluded that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in holding that the petitioner’s proposed particular social group (PSG)— “Honduran women who are unable to leave their domestic relationships”—was not legally cognizable. (Jaco v. Garland, 10/27/21, amended 1/26/22)

CA5 Finds Petitioner Removable Under INA §237(a)(2)(A)(ii) for Having Been Convicted of Two CIMTs After Admission

AILA: The court concluded that res judicata did not bar the removal proceedings, deadly conduct was categorically a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT), and petitioner was admitted to the United States when he adjusted to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status. (Diaz Esparza v. Garland, 1/17/22)

CA5 Says Government Rebutted Presumption of Future Persecution Based on Guatemalan Petitioner’s Sexual Orientation and Identity

AILA: The court held that because petitioner, who was homosexual and identified as transgender, had said that she could probably safely relocate in Guatemala, the BIA did not err in finding that the government had rebutted the presumption of future persecution. (Santos-Zacaria v. Garland, 1/10/22)

CA5 Upholds Withholding of Removal Denial to Petitioner with Felony Assault Conviction

AILA: The court affirmed the BIA’s determination that petitioner’s felony assault conviction was a particularly serious crime rendering him ineligible for withholding of removal, because he had failed to show how the alleged errors compelled reversal. (Aviles-Tavera v. Garland, 1/4/22)

CA5 Withdraws Prior Opinion and Issues Substitute Opinion in Parada-Orellana v. Garland

AILA: The court denied the petitioner’s petition for panel rehearing, withdrew its prior panel opinion of 8/6/21, and held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion by applying an incorrect legal standard when it denied petitioner’s motion to reopen. (Parada-Orellana v. Garland, 1/3/22)

CA6 Finds Petitioner Forfeited Ineffective Assistance Claim Because He Failed to Comply with Third Lozada Requirement

AILA: The court held that BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion to reopen based on ineffective assistance, finding that Matter of Lozada requires more than a statement that the noncitizen is “not interested” in filing a bar complaint.(Guzman-Torralva v. Garland, 1/13/22)

CA7 Upholds Asylum Denial to Christian Chinese Petitioner Who Acknowledged Discrepancies in Her Asylum Application

AILA: The court held that the record supported the IJ’s and BIA’s conclusion that the Chinese Christian petitioner did not meet her burden of establishing her eligibility for asylum given the discrepancies in her testimony and the lack of corroborative evidence. (Dai v. Garland, 1/24/22)

CA7 Says BIA Legally Erred by Considering Arguments That the Government First Raised on Appeal

AILA: The court held that the BIA legally erred by considering arguments that the government did not present to the IJ, and that the BIA engaged in impermissible factfinding on the conditions in Kosovo, rendering its decision to deny remand an abuse of discretion. (Osmani v. Garland, 1/24/22)

CA8 Upholds BIA’s Decision Denying Motion to Reopen Even Though Petitioner Made a Prima Facie Case for Relief

AILA: The court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying petitioner’s successive motion to reopen, and that the BIA did not deprive the petitioner of a constitutionally protected liberty interest in declining to reopen proceedings sua sponte. (Urrutia Robles v. Garland, 1/26/22)

CA9 Holds That BIA Sufficiently Complied with Notice Requirements Applicable to a Minor in Immigration Proceedings

AILA: The court rejected the petitioner’s contention that, because she was actually a minor when she was released on her own recognizance without notice of her hearing to a reasonable adult, the notice provided her was inadequate. (Jimenez-Sandoval v. Garland, 1/13/22)

CA9: Panel Nixes Deportation For Missing Court, Cites Faulty Notice

Law360:An Indian man can’t be deported for missing an immigration court date after he received a notice to appear that didn’t specify a date and time, even though that information came in a later notice, the Ninth Circuit has ruled.

CA9 Finds Petitioner’s Conviction for Arson in California Was Not an Aggravated Felony

AILA: The court held that arson in violation of California Penal Code (CPC) §451 was not a categorical match to its federal counterpart, and thus that the petitioner’s conviction under CPC §451(b) was not an aggravated felony that rendered him removable. (Togonon v. Garland, 1/10/22)

CA9 Declines to Rehear Velasquez-Gaspar v. Garland En Banc

AILA: The court issued an order denying the rehearing en banc of  Velasquez-Gaspar v. Garland, in which the court upheld the BIA’s conclusion that the Guatemalan government could have protected the petitioner had she reported her abuse. (Velasquez-Gaspar v. Garland, 1/25/22)

CA11 Finds Petitioner Failed to Prove That Florida’s Cocaine Statute Covers More Substances Than the Federal Statute

AILA: The court held that the petitioner, who had been convicted of cocaine possession under Florida law, had failed to show that Florida’s definition of cocaine covers more than its federal counterpart, and thus upheld the BIA’s denial of cancellation of removal. (Chamu v. Att’y Gen., 1/26/22)

Feds Fight Detention Probe In Migrant Counsel Access Suit

Law360: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security urged a D.C. federal court to halt immigration advocates’ efforts to inspect a large detention center accused of denying detainees access to counsel, calling a probe “particularly intrusive” amid debate over the lawsuit’s viability.

EOIR to Close Fishkill Immigration Court

AILA: EOIR will close the Fishkill Immigration Court due to the closure of the Downstate Correctional Facility in which the court is located. Holding hearings at the location will cease at close of business on February 17, 2022. Pending cases at time of closure will transfer to Ulster Immigration Court.

Form Update: Form I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA, Form I-864W, Request for Exemption for Intending Immigrant’s Affidavit of Support, Form I-864EZ, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the Act

USCIS: Starting April 7, 2022, we will only accept the 12/08/21 edition.

Form Update: Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition

USCIS: Starting April 7, 2022, we will only accept the 12/02/21 edition.

RESOURCES

·         AILA: Practice Alert: Escalating Problems with Virtual Hearings and Contacting the Court

·         AILA: Can They Do It? The Myth of the Tech-Challenged Client

·         AILA: Sleep Debt: A Contributing Factor for Ethics Mishaps

·         AILA: Practice Alert: Local OPLA Guidance on Prosecutorial Discretion

·         AILA: Practice Alert: In-Person Asylum Interviews Return But COVID-19 Precautions Continue

·         AILA: Practice Resource: Fraudulent Document Standard and Matter of O–M–O–

·         AILA: Taking the Measure of Lozada

·         AILA Meeting with the USCIS Refugee, Asylum & International Operations Directorate

·         ASAP: February Updates

·         Asylos

o    The Bahamas: State protection for families of gang members who face persecution by gangs (AME2021-15)

o    Iraq: Situation of divorced, single mothers in Iraqi Kurdistan (MEN2021-19)

o    Hungary: Treatment of Roma Women and State Protection (CIS2021-09)

o    Russia: Domestic Violence (CIS2021-08)

·         CLINIC: Department of Homeland Security (DHS), I-9 and REAL ID Policies

·         CLINIC: COVID & U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

·         CLINIC: COVID & Department of State

·         CLINIC: COVID & ICE

·         CLINIC: COVID & EOIR

·         MPI: Four Years of Profound Change: Immigration Policy during the Trump Presidency

·         USCIS Statement on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation

·         USCIS: Overview of myUSCIS for Applicants

EVENTS

2/8/22 EOIR to Host ECAS Information Session

2/8/22 Pandemic-Era Removal Proceedings: Practical Considerations

2/9/22 Updates and Options for Afghan Clients

2/9/22 DACA and Criminal Bars Issues

2/10/22 Request for Fee Waiver & Reduced Fee For Naturalization

2/14/22-2/15/22 2022 Crimes & Immigration Seminar

2/15/22 U Visa Filings and Bona Fide Determination

2/15/22 Anatomy of the USCIS System and Processes: Service Centers and Lockboxes

2/15/22 CGRS MCLE Webinar: Filing a Petition for Review at the Ninth Circuit: Overview of Procedures and Practical Considerations

2/16/22 Acquisition of Citizenship

2/16/22 U Visa Webinar Series: Waiver of Inadmissibility

2/17/22 CGRS MCLE Webinar: Overview of Bars to Fear-of-Return Relief

2/22/22 Filing a Petition for Review at the Ninth Circuit: Overview of Procedures and Practical Considerations

2/23/22 Filing Administrative Claims for Abuse and Misconduct by Immigration Officers

2/24/22-4/7/22 Introduction to Family-Based Immigration Law

2/24/22 CGRS MCLE Webinar: Filing a Petition for Review at the Ninth Circuit: Overview of Procedures and Practical Considerations

2/25/22-2/26/22 Annual New York Asylum & Immigration Conference

2/28/21 ASISTA: Hot Topics in U and VAWA Cases

3/3/22 Before You Meet Your Removal Client: NTA, Form I-213, and DHS Charges

3/4/22-2/25/22 Update From the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez

3/4/22-2/25/22 Selected Issues in U Nonimmigrant Status

3/11/22 Inaugural Fourth Circuit Asylum Law Conference

3/15/22 Criminal Sentences and Immigration

3/21/22 Comprehensive Overview of Immigration Law (COIL)

3/23/22 Intermediate Intensive VAWA Training

3/28/22-4/14/22 NYIC Overview of Immigration Law Training (Save the Date)

4/6/22 Initial TPS Applications

4/7/22 CGRS MCLE Webinar: Motions Before the Board of Immigration Appeals

4/12/22 Introduction to Bond Proceedings

4/27/22 U Visa RFEs

4/28/22 Motions to Reopen Removal Proceedings

5/4/22 California Pardons and Post-Conviction Relief

5/10/22 Asylum Claims for Young People

5/17/22 Advocating for Prosecutorial Discretion for Clients in Removal Proceedings

5/19/22 Special Immigrant Juvenile Status: Your Client’s I-360 Is Approved, Now What?

5/24/22 Obstacles to TPS Eligibility

6/7/22 Asylum and Employment Authorization

6/8/22 Naturalization for People with Disabilities

ImmProf

Monday, February 7, 2022

·         U.S. Hispanic population continued its geographic spread in the 2010s

Sunday, February 6, 2022

·         Poetry Break: Immigration by Ali Alizadeh

·         Refugee Olympic Team at 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing?

·         After review, Biden Administration maintains Title 42 border policy of expelling migrants

Saturday, February 5, 2022

·         WaPo Debunks JD Vance Talking Points on Biden & Unlawful Migration

·         NPR Politics Podcast: Democratic Activists Say Biden Has Failed To Deliver On Immigration Promises

Friday, February 4, 2022

·         From the Bookshelves: Joan is Okay by Weike Wang

·         The Toll of MPP (Remain in Mexico Policy) on Children

·         “The Disillusionment of a Young Biden Official” by Jonathan Blitzer for The New Yorker

·         Bill Introduced in Congress to Make Immigration Courts More Independent

·         Shalini Bhargava Ray on “Shadow Sanctions for Immigration Violations” in Lawfare

Thursday, February 3, 2022

·         Border Patrol to Use Robot Dogs

·         DACA Recipients Continue to Contribute

·         Immigration Article of the Day: Restructuring Public Defense After Padilla by Ingrid Eagly, Tali Gires, Rebecca Kutlow & Eliana Navarro Gracian

Wednesday, February 2, 2022

·         New TPS Advocated for Migrants from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua

·         San Francisco apologizes for history of racism, discrimination against Chinese Americans

·         A Mexican American is the first Latina president of Harvard Law Review

·         From the Bookshelves: Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American by Wajahat Ali

·         MPI Releases Report on Immigration Policy Changes During Trump Administration

·         Covid infections surge in immigration detention facilities

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

·         In Today’s WTF Deportation News

·         DeSantis Plays Politics with the Lives of Migrants

·         Congress, not Biden, should be held accountable for immigration reform

Monday, January 31, 2022

·         WES: Canada’s Enduring Appeal to Prospective Immigrants in the Face of COVID-19

·         Race, Sovereignty, and Immigrant Justice Conference

·         AB 1259 Extends Post-Conviction Relief to Trial Convictions in California That Lack Immigration Advisal

·         From the Bookshelves: No One is Illegal: Fighting Racism and State Violence on the U.S.-Mexico Border by Justin Akers Chacón and Mike Davis

******************

Liz’s “Item 4” under “Litigation,” upholding termination for a statutorily defective NTA, inspired the following additional thoughts.

ETHICS ON VACATION @ DHS & DOJ: Apparently a Frivolous DHS Appeal Asking BIA To Publish Intentional Misconstruction of 7th Circuit Law is SOP For Mayorkas, Garland, & Underlings!

By Paul Wickham Schmidt

Courtside Exclusive

Feb. 9, 2022

So, DHS argues on appeal that the BIA should violate, and intentionally and dishonestly, “misconstrue” 7th Circuit precedent. And, for a good measure, publish the result to insure that no IJ in the 7th Circuit gets it right in the future.

BIA Chairman Wetmore, a former OILer who, whatever his shortcomings might be, does recognize the importance of not “overtly dissing” the Article IIIs, correctly says “No.” Perhaps, as suggested by my colleague Hon. “Sir Jeffrey” Chase, Wetmore had in mind that the 7th Circuit previously threatened to hold the Board in contempt for willfully ignoring its orders. See https://immigrationcourtside.com/2020/01/25/contempt-for-courts-7th-cir-blasts-bia-for-misconduct-we-have-never-before-encountered-defiance-of-a-remand-order-and-we-hope-never-to-see-it-again-members-of-the-board-must-count-themse/

Why aren’t there ethical problems with this outrageous, unprofessional DHS appellate argument? Why isn’t this a precedent, as it provides helpful guidance and can be used to prevent future frivolous litigation by DHS? Why is there no accountability for this frivolous appeal, request to publish, and the blatant effort by DHS counsel to “pull the wool over the eyes” of the IJ and the BIA?

The pattern of taking a frivolous appeal, making unethical arguments, and asking the BIA to publish as a precedent shows the arrogant view of ICE that they “have EOIR in their pocket” (certainly consistent with the Sessions/Barr rhetoric) and that there will be neither accountability nor consequences for frivolous and unethical conduct by DHS attorneys! By not publishing the result as a precedent, the BIA leaves it open for other IJs and single Appellate Judge BIA “panels” to get it wrong in the future. It also sends a signal that taking a whack at making misleading arguments for illegal and unethical results has no downside at Mayorkas’s DHS or Garland’s BIA.

Wonder why there are gross inconsistencies and endless backlogs at EOIR? A totally undisciplined, unprofessional system where “anything goes” and “almost anything” will be defended in pursuit of removal orders certainly has something to do with it! It’s simply been building, under Administrations of both parties, since 2001!

The one-sided BIA precedent process — publishing mainly cases favorable to DHS — is no accident either. Pro-DHS rulings can be used by OIL (correctly or incorrectly) to argue for so-called “Chevron deference” or its evil cousin “Brand X” disenfranchisement of Article III Judges.

By contrast, precedents favorable to individuals merely promote due process, fundamental fairness, best practices, consistency, and efficiency. They might also be used to curb misbehavior by IJs and DHS counsel. Nothing very important in the eyes of EOIR’s DOJ political overlords.

GOP AGs, from Ashcroft through Sessions and Barr, have made it clear that precedents favorable to DHS Enforcement are far less likely to be “career threatening” or “career limiting” for their “captive judges.” On the other hand, precedents standing for due process, vindicating migrants’ rights, or curbing “outlier” behavior by IJs and DHS attorneys can be risky. And, perhaps surprisingly, Dem AGs in the 21st Century also have been “A-OK” with that, as Garland demonstrates on a daily basis.

Where are Ur Mendoza Jaddou (yes, she’s at USCIS, not ICE, but she’s “upper management,” knows the issues, and has access to Mayorkas) and Kerry Doyle at DHS? Whatever happened to Lisa Monaco, Vanita Gupta, and Lucas Guttentag at DOJ?

These are the types of “real time” problems that leadership can and should be solving by setting a “no nonsense due process first” tone and bringing in and empowering expert Appellate Judges (“real judges”) and DHS Chief Counsel who will put due process, fundamental fairness, and ethics foremost! But, apparently it’s “below the radar screen” of Biden Administration leadership at DHS and DOJ.

The case for an independent Article I Court has never been stronger! Garland’s lack of leadership and furthering of injustice adds to Chairperson Lofgren’s case for fundamental change and removal of EOIR from DOJ, every day!

Due Process Forever!

PWS

02-09-22

🤯GARLAND, MAYORKAS SLAM-DUNKED BY NGOs ON SEMI-FRIVOLOUS DEFENSE OF TRUMP’S CRUEL, ☠️⚰️ ILLEGAL WORK DENIAL FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS! — AsylumWorks v. Marorkas, D.D.C.😎⚔️⚖️

Joan Hodges Wu
Founder & Executive Director
AsylumWorks — The “lead plaintiff” in this case. Joan is a true NDPA “Warrior Queen.”⚔️👸🏼

Dan Kowalski reports for Lexis/Nexis:

https://www.lexisnexis.com/legalnewsroom/immigration/b/insidenews/posts/court-vacates-two-trump-era-rules-that-denied-work-authorization-to-asylum-seekers

Court Vacates Two Trump-Era Rules That Denied Work Authorization To Asylum Seekers

NIJC, Feb. 8, 2022

“A federal court ruled that two rules issued by the Trump administration restricting — and in some cases eliminating — access to work authorization for asylum seekers were illegally issued and are therefore invalid.

More than a year ago, a group of nearly 20 asylum seekers along with three organizations sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) challenging these rules. The individual asylum seekers include transgender women, parents with small children, and children and adults who fled political persecution, gender-based violence, or gang and drug-cartel violence. The rules prevented or delayed their access to a work permit. The organizational plaintiffs — AsylumWorks, the Tahirih Justice Center, and Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto — argued that the rules derailed their missions to provide employment assistance and legal and social services to asylum seekers.

The National Immigrant Justice Center, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, Kids in Need of Defense, and Tahirih Justice Center provided counsel in the case.

Plaintiffs challenged the substantive provisions that drastically curtailed access to work authorization, and they argued that the rules were invalid because purported Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf issued them even though he was not lawfully installed as DHS Secretary. The rules took effect in August 2020 and were partially enjoined by a different court in September 2020, but that decision left many of the rules’ harmful provisions in place. Despite these ongoing harms and despite a change in administration, the government dragged its feet arguing that the rules should remain in place “for the time being” to allow “developing administrative actions” to resolve the case.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia refused to entertain these delay requests, and rejected the government’s “interpretative acrobatics” to justify Mr. Wolf’s purported authority to engage in rulemaking. Instead, the court followed numerous other courts around the country and concluded that “Wolf’s ascension to the office of Acting Secretary was unlawful.” The court also rejected the Biden administration’s attempt to ratify one of the rules in question, reasoning that the ratification “did not cure the defects … caused by Wolf’s unlawful tenure as Acting Secretary.”

Reflections from Counsel and Organizational Plaintiffs:

“The ability to earn an income is critical to asylum seekers’ ability to survive in the United States as they pursue protection from persecution,” said Keren Zwick, director of litigation at the National Immigrant Justice Center. “The court’s decision recognizes that the government cannot neglect to fill a cabinet position with a Senate-approved candidate for 665 days and then rely on unvetted, temporary officials to strip asylum seekers of access to a livelihood in the United States.”

“The court got it right,” said Annie Daher, senior staff attorney at the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies. “People seeking asylum should be treated with dignity and fairness as they pursue their legal claims. Access to work permits allows asylum seekers to provide for their families, obtain vital legal representation, and ultimately find safety and security in the United States. Today’s ruling will make a life-saving difference for our plaintiffs and for all people who turn to this country for refuge.”

“Children seeking asylum often need a USCIS-issued ‘employment authorization’ document as their only form of photo ID, to access education and other services critical to their stability and well-being during the asylum process,” said Scott Shuchart, senior director, legal strategy, at Kids in Need of Defense. “The court correctly restored access to these important documents for, potentially, thousands of unaccompanied children who will now have the opportunity to build a more secure life in the United States as they pursue lifesaving protection.”

“The right to work is an essential component of humanitarian protection,” said Joan Hodges-Wu, executive director and founder of AsylumWorks. “Work is not only imperative to economic survival; it also represents a means for asylum seekers to maintain personal dignity and self-respect during the long and protracted legal process. The court took a critical step toward upholding the rights of asylum seekers by vacating illegally-issued rules created to deter individuals and families seeking safety from harm. We applaud the court’s decision and look forward to continuing our work to help asylum seekers prepare for and retain safe, legal, and purposeful employment.”

“This decision restores the critical ability of countless survivors of gender-based violence to work, and thus be independent and provide for their families, while their asylum applications are pending—a process that often takes many years,” said Richard Caldarone, senior litigation counsel at the Tahirih Justice Center. “It also makes clear that the government remains obligated to promptly decide survivors’ requests for work authorization rather than leaving them in bureaucratic limbo for months or years. The decision takes arbitrary and punitive restrictions on work permanently off the books. We applaud the court’s decision and look forward to its immediate implementation.”

“We are thrilled that our motion for summary judgment was granted. This decision will have an enormous impact on our clients and so many other asylum seekers who come to this country seeking safety and justice,” said Christina Dos Santos, the Immigration Program director at Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto. “The Trump-era rules were punitive and cruel to asylum seekers, preventing them from receiving the right to work, potentially for years, as they waited to have their cases heard in our backlogged immigration court system. We have seen first hand how these policies forced asylum-seekers and their families into poverty and destitution. A resolution was urgently needed. We applaud the court’s decision.””

************

Garland’s poor judgement, legally deficient, ethically questionable defenses of illegal and inhumane Trump-era immigration policies continue to astound! Also, the inane maneuvers conducted by Mayorkas, presumably with Garland’s approval, attempting to illegally “ratify” one of these rules is simply disgraceful! Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell strongly and correctly rejected this flailing waste of Government resources in her opinion.

Chief Judge Howell’s decision describes a compendium of some of the most egregious evasions of rules and wasteful attempts to paper them over, by both the Trump and Biden Administrations, that can be imagined. It’s an appalling example of the failure of Biden’s “good government” pledge! Inflicting this utter nonsense on the Federal Courts and on individuals fighting for their lives and rights, and stretching the resources of their pro bono lawyers, is on Garland! It’s inexcusable!

Has Alfred E. Neumann been “reborn” as Judge Merrick Garland?
PHOTO: Wikipedia Commons

Congrats to my good friend Joan, AsylumWorks, the Tahirih Justice Center, and all the other great NGOs who are “taking it to” Garland and and his flailing Justice Department as well as to Mayorkas and his lousy, inept, illegal gimmicks being used to “shore up” grotesquely cruel and unfair Trump policies that Biden & Harris were elected to change! Gotta wonder what Ur Mendoza Jaddou and other folks who were supposed to “just say no” to these disgraceful policies are doing over at DHS!

Here’s what Joan said about the case:

WE WON! 🗽 The court ruled in AsylumWorks’ favor and struck down a series of Trump era rules that significantly delayed – and in many cases outright denied – work permits for asylum seekers.Today, justice prevailed.

🇺🇸Due process Forever!

Best,

—

Joan Hodges-Wu, MA, LGSW

Founder & Executive Director | AsylumWorks

Justice DID indeed prevail! That’s thanks to you, Joan, your fellow NGOs, and some great pro bono lawyers who showed that despite campaign promises, true “justice” for all persons under our Constitution resides elsewhere than at our flawed and failing Department of “Justice” under Garland’s uninspired and often tone deaf “leadership.”

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

02-08-22

🤯ADMINISTRATIONS CHANGE — EOIR “CULTURE” NOT SO MUCH! — “We’d Rather Fight Than Fix,” Remains Motto Of Garland’s Failed “Courts!”🤮

Tal Kopan @ SF Chron reports on latest public miscue:

A California lawyer tweeted what she saw in immigration court. The DOJ demanded she delete it

By Tal Kopan

WASHINGTON — On Feb. 1, attorney Monika Langarica was in a San Diego courtroom watching as the Biden administration resumed hearing cases on a controversial immigration policy that requires migrants to wait in Mexico while they plead their case to enter the U.S. That evening, she wrote a series of tweets describing what she saw.

The next day, she received an email from the Justice Department that shocked her: The administration asked her to delete the tweets. They claimed she violated a policy against making a record of immigration court proceedings and threatened potential criminal penalties if she committed “further violations.”

The Justice Department retracted its request and apologized to Langarica after The Chronicle inquired about the threat, saying further review confirmed she was not tweeting from the courtroom and thus did not violate any policies.

Still, the surprising episode raised several issues, including First Amendment concerns, issues of transparency in the often secretive immigration courts as well as criticisms of the policy at the heart of the dispute.

“It (was) shocking, because we are in our right to observe these proceedings, we are in our right to share with the public what is happening in these court rooms,” Langarica said in an interview before the apology had been issued. Langarica is an attorney with the UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy and formerly with the San Diego American Civil Liberties Union.

More here: https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/A-California-lawyer-tweeted-what-she-saw-in-16841515.php

******************************

Why would an agency with failure, problems, and valid criticism “coming out it ears” 👂 be wasting official time monitoring the Twitter accounts of court observers?

Assuming that were some legitimate reason, why wouldn’t the first reaction to Ms. Langarcia’s tweets be “Hey, let’s sit down with you and your friends and figure out how to fix this?”

Instead of having more “flackies” in their bloated bureaucracy to suppress the public trappings of failure and to “massage the message,” why not put the resources into getting better bodies out there to FIX THE MYRIAD OF PROBLEMS crippling the agency and making it a parody of justice? It’s going to take more than a band of public apologists in the PIO to outsmart brilliant, informed investigative reporters like Tal!

It’s little wonder that EOIR doesn’t want light shed on what’s really happening in their “Star Chambers!”

Star Chamber Justice — “Scream as loud as you want. Nobody’s going to hear you!”

Reminds me of one of my favorite “EOIR War Stories.” My Arlington colleague Judge Wayne “Tell It Like It Is” Iskra once truthfully said in open court said what most experts and his colleagues privately had been saying for ages: “This system is broken!” Unknown to Judge Iskra, however, a reporter was sitting in the audience and the comment received publicity, the thing that EOIR fears most!

Coming from a former two-time Chief Judge of the U.S. Army Criminal Courts, hardly known as a “bleeding heart liberal,” one would anticipate that Iskra’s blunt assessment might have spurred some immediate corrective action and internal reforms. But, the only action it created at EOIR was basically to tell Iskra to “sit down and shut up.”

As always, EOIR was more concerned about “protecting itself” from a judge speaking truth than dealing with the consequences of that truth. As a result, the system is even more broken now than it was when Iskra had the audacity to “speak truth to power!”

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

02-08-22

🗽PROFESSOR GEOFFREY A. HOFFMAN @ U HOUSTON LAW REPORTS: Round Tablers ⚔️🛡Chase, Schmidt Among Headliners @ Recent Judge Joseph A. Vail Asylum Workshop!

Professor Geoffrey Hoffman
Immigraton Clinic Director
University of Houston Law Center

https://www.law.uh.edu/news/spring2022/0207Vail.asp

Joseph A. Vail Asylum Workshop shares valuable immigration insights in the era of the Biden Administration

Retired Immigration Judge, U.S. Immigration Court and Former Chairman of the Board of Immigration Appeals Paul Wickham Schmidt discusses growing immigration court backlogs.

Feb. 7, 2022 – More than 350 practitioners attended the annual Joseph A. Vail Asylum Workshop recently. The four-hour virtual event held on Jan. 28 was presented by the University of Houston Law Center’s Immigration Clinic and co-sponsored by Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston. Interfaith Ministries joined this year to shed light on the plight of Afghani refugees who have settled in Houston since the government in Afghanistan collapsed and the Taliban takeover.

The goal of the workshop was to provide an update on immigration practices since President Biden took office. For example, while Biden halted the building of the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico and removed Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) – where asylum seekers must remain on the Mexican side of the border while awaiting U.S. immigration court dates – a federal court order forced MPP to be reinstated. Immigration court backlogs continue to grow with former Board of Immigration Appeals Chairman Paul W. Schmidt predicting them reaching over 2 million by the end of 2022.

The first panel, moderated by Immigration Clinic Director Geoffrey Hoffman, explored the Biden Administration’s focus on Prosecutorial Discretion, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Migratory Protection Protocols (MPP), recent circuit court decisions, Afghan and Haitian case precedents, and immigration court backlogs.

“I hope you are emboldened to take a pro-bono client,” said Hoffman. “You can reach out to any of us on this call and use us as mentors.”

Panelist Magali Candler Suarez, principal at Suarez Candler Law, PLLC warned practitioners that Title 42 – a public health and welfare statue that gives the Center for Disease Control and Prevention the power to decide whether something like Covid-19 in a foreign country poses a serious danger of spreading in the U.S. – was being applied to Haitians in a racist manner.

“Many Haitians are being turned back at the border,” said Candler Suarez. “They are being denied the right to apply for asylum.”

The second panel, moderated by Parker Sheffy, a clinical teaching fellow at the Immigration Clinic, was a refresher on asylum, withholding of removal and CAT. Panelist Elizabeth Mendoza from the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), which supports immigration attorneys in this work, spoke about challenges because of newly appointed immigration judges and evolving Covid practices.

“Unfortunately, things are in flux this month,” said Mendoza. “It’s not out of the ordinary to be given conflicting information.”

Well known former U.S. immigration judge, Jeffrey S. Chase, was the final panelist in this group and focused on the future of asylum in the U.S. “The Biden Administation issued a paper on climate change and migration,” said Chase. “[What] they were really talking about [though was] asylum and how climate change will impact that.”

A third panel offered insights on the use of experts in removal proceedings. UH Law Center Professor Rosemary Vega moderated the discussion which ranged from psychological experts to country experts and where to find them.

“The Center for Gender and Refugee Studies has a giant list of experts on many topics,” said panelist and UH Law Professor Lucas Aisenberg. “It’s the first place I go to when I’m working on a case.”

The workshop wrapped up with speakers from Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston explaining what it is like to be a refugee from Afghanistan and how hard it has been to meet the needs of Afghan refugees that have arrived in the last year.

“Two years ago, we resettled 407 Afghan refugees,” said Martin B. Cominsky, president, and CEO of Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston. “Since September 2021, we have resettled 11,081 refugees.” He implored practitioners on the call to help in any way they can.

The Joseph A. Vail Asylum Workshop has been held annually since 2014 in memory of the University of Houston Law Center Immigration Clinic’s founder. Since the clinic’s inception in 1999, it has become one of the largest in the nation, specializing in handling asylum applications for victims of torture and persecution, representing victims of domestic violence, human trafficking, and crime, and helping those fleeing civil war, genocide, or political repression. The clinic has served over 2,000 individuals who otherwise could not afford legal services.

For a full list of speakers at this year’s event, click here.

******************

“Immigration court backlogs continue to grow with former Board of Immigration Appeals Chairman Paul W. Schmidt predicting them reaching over 2 million by the end of 2022.”

“Aimless Docket Reshuffling” is thriving @ Garland’s EOIR. Instead of gimmicks designed to “prioritize for denial and deterrence” (how about those “engineered in absentia dockets?”) why not work with the private bar and DHS to prioritize at both the Asylum Office and EOIR those with the most compelling cases from countries where refugee flows are well-documented?

For example, why not “prioritize” represented Uyghur and Afghani cases which should be “slam dunk” asylum grants? What’s the purpose of making folks who are going to be part of our society unnecessarily spend years in limbo?

Will Ukrainians soon be in the same boat, asks Jason “The Asylumist” Dzubow on his blog? https://www.asylumist.com/2022/01/27/preemptive-asylum-for-ukrainians/. Good question!

Is anybody in the Biden Administration actually planning for a possible human rights catastrophe, or just waiting for it to happen and then declaring yet another “migration emergency.”

Contrary to the uninformed view of many, backlogs aren’t just a workload problem or a hindrance to enforcement. There are huge human, psychological, economic, societal, and institutional costs with maintaining large uncontrolled backlogs.

Most of those costs fall on the individuals with strong, likely winning cases who constantly are “orbited to the end of the line” to accommodate ever-changing, ill-advised, enforcement agendas and misguided “quick fix” initiatives. That’s so that DHS and DOJ can misuse the legal system as a deterrent — by prioritizing the cases they think they can deny without much due process to “send messages” about the futility of asking for protection or asserting rights in the U.S. legal system! And, those with strong cases (and their attorneys) “twist in the wind” as denials and deterrence are prioritized.

Trying to prioritize “bogus denials” (often without hearings, lawyers, time to prepare, or careful expert judging) also creates false statistical profiles suggesting, quite dishonestly, that there is no merit to most cases. These false narratives, in turn, are picked up and repeated by the media, usually without critical examination.

Like the “Big Lie,” they eventually develop “a life of their own” simply by repetition. When occasionally “caught in action” by Article IIIs, the resulting backlog bolstering remands and “restarts” are inevitably blamed on the individuals (the victims), rather than the systematic Government incompetence that is truly responsible!

The truth is quite different from the DOJ/DHS myths. Over the years, despite facing a chronically unfair system intentionally skewed against them, some hostile or poorly qualified Immigration Judges and Appellate IJs, and wildly inconsistent results on similar cases before different judges (so-called “Refugee Roulette”), asylum seekers have won from 30% to more than 50% of the time when they actually receive an opportunity for a full, individual merits determination of their claims.

But, getting that individual hearing has proved challenging in a system that constantly puts expediency and enforcement before due process, fundamental fairness, and human dignity! No matter how the Government tries to hide it, that means that there lots of bona fide asylum seekers out there whose cases are languishing in a broken system.

The creation of the USCIS Asylum Office was supposed to be a way of dealing with this issue through so-called affirmative applications and “quick approvals” of meritorious cases. But, during the Trump Administration even that flawed system was intentionally and maliciously “dumbed down,” “de-functionalized,” “re-prioritized,” and hopelessly backlogged. It was so bad that the Asylum Officers’ Union actually sued the Trump Administration for acting illegally.

More “gimmicks” like Garland’s failed “dedicated dockets” won’t fix his dysfunctional system. Fundamental leadership, personnel, substantive quality, procedural, and “cultural” changes are necessary to address backlogs while achieving due process and fundamental fairness at EOIR. Ironically, that was once the “EOIR Vision.” ⚖️ It’s too bad, actually tragic, Garland doesn’t share it!🤯

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

02-08-22

REUTERS: MICA ROSENBERG & TEAM REPORT ON UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN, FAMILY REUNIFICATION!

Hi there all,

I wanted to share with you our latest Reuters investigation about unaccompanied minors released to the town of Enterprise, Alabama where the chicken industry is booming and we profiled a teen who easily found work after she was released from federal custody. We detail how last summer U.S. Department of Health and Human Services temporarily halted releases from shelters to the town, as several federal agencies probed whether migrants were at risk. While no child trafficking has been found, labor exploitation of migrants there is being investigated.

Read more, and share, here: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-immigration-alabama/

This follows our coverage of the reunification of one migrant family separated in 2017 at the U.S.-Mexico border under Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy who was reunited in January. We have been in touch with the family since 2020.

Here is the story with a graphic that shows the scale of the work of the Biden administration’s reunification task force:

https://widerimage.reuters.com/story/split-up-at-the-us-mexico-border-family-finally-reunites

and here is the story with additional photographs of this family’s long and painful journey:

https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-IMMIGRATION/REUNIFICATION/byprjxlnzpe/index.html

We also were able to report on another heartwarming reunion, after a family lost their baby in the chaos of the evacuation of Afghanistan. Our story published last November helped lead to tips that located the baby in Kabul so he could be reunited with relatives there and hopefully soon taken to the United States to join his parents who have resettled in Michigan:

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/exclusive-baby-lost-chaos-afghanistan-airlift-found-returned-family-after-long-2022-01-08/

We are continuing coverage of all these important issues so please keep in touch with tips and story ideas!

All the best,

Mica

………………………………………………….

Mica Rosenberg

Reuters News

National Immigration Reporter

www.reuters.com

3 Times Square, 18th Floor

New York, NY 10036

Cell/signal/whatsapp/telegram: +1 (646) 897-4851

Teams: +1 (332) 219-1353

email: mica.rosenberg@thomsonreuters.com

www.linkedin.com/in/micarosenberg/

***********

Thanks, Mica, for giving us an in-depth look at the “human side” of these issues!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

02-07-22

🗽ATTENTION NDPA! — JOIN SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE “ROUND TABLERS” ⚔️ FOR THE 5TH ANNUAL IMMIGRATION COURT “BOOT CAMP” 🥾 IN K.C. APRIL 28-30, 2022!

Genevra W. Alberti, Esq. The Clinic at Sharma-Crawford Attorneys at Law — Genevra W. Alberti, Esq.
The Clinic at Sharma-Crawford Attorneys at Law
Kansas City, Mo.
PHOTO: The Clinic

Dear Colleagues,

The Clinic at Sharma-Crawford Attorneys at Law – a nonprofit removal defense organization in Kansas City, Missouri – is hosting its fifth annual Immigration Court Trial Advocacy College from Thursday, April 28 to Saturday, April 30, 2022 in the Kansas City metro area.

This is a unique, hands-on, one-on-one, training experience designed to make you confident in immigration court, and the program has something for beginners as well as experienced removal defense litigators. Under the guidance of seasoned trial attorneys from all over the country (myself included) and using a real case, real witnesses, and real courtrooms, participants will learn fundamental trial skills while preparing a defensive asylum case for a mock trial. The complete conference schedule and faculty bios are available on The Clinic’s website here.

Among our All-Star Faculty will be Members of the Round Table of Former Immigration Judges Hon. Lory Diana Rosenberg, Hon. Sue Roy, and Hon. Paul Wickham Schmidt.

Hon. Susan G. Roy
Law Office of Susan G. Roy, LLC
Princeton Junction, NJ
Member, Round Table of Former Immigration Judges

Hon. Lory Diana Rosenberg
Senior Advisor
Immigrant Defenders Law Group, PLLC, Member, Round Table of Former Immigration Judges

Me

Days 1 and 2 of the program will focus on helping attendees master the fundamentals of trial practice and prepare a defensive asylum case and witness for trial. For many of the sessions, attendees will be broken up into smaller groups, each with its own set of faculty members to provide one-on-one input. Each attendee will be assigned a role – either the respondent’s attorney, or the DHS attorney – and will have a volunteer “witness” to prep. On day 3, mock trials will be held in real courtrooms with faculty serving as the judges.

Tickets are available now, and you can register on The Clinic’s website here. There is a discounted rate for nonprofit attorneys. Price includes lunch, snacks, coffee and refreshments on all three days, along with breakfast on Friday and Saturday and a happy hour on Thursday. **IMPORTANT: It is imperative that you commit to attending all 3 days of the conference, so please do not register unless you can do so.** If you have questions about this, please let me know. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is also required.

Space is limited, so be sure to get your tickets soon. We hope to see you there!

Genevra W. Alberti, Esq.

The Clinic at Sharma-Crawford Attorneys at Law

515 Avenida Cesar E. Chavez

Kansas City, MO 64108

(816) 994-2300 (phone)

(816) 994-2310 (fax)

genevra@theclinickc.org

http://theclinickc.org

*******************************

“I’m goin’ to Kansas City,

Kansas City here I come,

I’m goin’ to Kansas City,

Kansas City here I come,

They got some crazy great attorneys there,

And I’m gonna train me some!”

— With apologies to the late, great Fats Domino!

🇺🇸🎶Due Process Forever!

PWS

02-07-22

⚖️BINGO! — WASHPOST DUO’S REPORT SHOWS TIMELINESS ⏰ OF RAPPAPORT-PISTONE-SCHMIDT PLAN 😎 FOR INCREASING REPRESENTATION AND IMPROVING MPP PROCESS! — All That’s Missing Is The Government Leadership To Engage & Make It Happen! — “But despite the vastly lower numbers, there is still far more demand for pro bono legal services than nonprofit groups and charities can provide, Castro said.”

Nick Miroff & Arelis R. Hernandez report for WashPost:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/02/04/biden-mpp-mexico/

. . . .

Under Trump, asylum seekers sent to Mexico were often confused and adrift, unsure how to find legal help or return for their U.S. court appointments. They were visible on the streets of Mexican border cities and were easy targets for criminal gangs.

Marysol Castro, an attorney with El Paso’s Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services who provides legal aid to asylum seekers in MPP, said the program’s return under Biden was a “relief” to some, “because otherwise if you go to the border you’re getting expelled” under Title 42.

Castro said new enrollees in MPP have court dates with fast-tracked hearings, unlike asylum seekers who were placed into the program under Trump and are still stuck in Mexico “with no hope.”

Mexican authorities say they received assurances from the Biden administration that migrants placed in MPP would have improved access to legal counsel. But despite the vastly lower numbers, there is still far more demand for pro bono legal services than nonprofit groups and charities can provide, Castro said.

More than two-thirds of MPP returns under Biden have been sent to Ciudad Juárez, where they are provided secure transportation through a State Department contract with the U.N. International Organization for Migration. The Mexican government houses them in a shelter set up in a converted warehouse in an industrial area of the city.

“The shelters are more restrictive,” said Victor Hugo Lopez, a Mexican official who helps oversee the program. “The migrants can request permits to go outside, but we try to keep them safe by keeping them inside.”

Dana Graber Ladek, the IOM chief of mission in Mexico, said her organization continues to oppose MPP on principle, even as it’s working with both governments to ameliorate conditions for those sent back.

“It still has a tremendous amount of negative impacts,” she said. “It’s not how asylum is supposed to work.”

Hernández reported from San Antonio.

*****************************

Hey, guys, we told you so!

https://immigrationcourtside.com/2022/02/02/%e2%9a%96%ef%b8%8f%f0%9f%97%bdthere-will-be-no-supreme-intervention-to-stop-mpp-%e2%98%b9%ef%b8%8f-rappaport-pistone-schmidt-tell-how-the-administration-advocates-c/

Representation remains a problem, but also an opportunity, just as Nolan Rappaport said on The Hill! Fortunately, Professor Michele Pistone has been thinking in advance and has built a “scalable” program (VIISTA-Villanova) that already is turning out qualified grads who can become accredited representatives and could quickly be expanded. By coordinating scheduling of hearings with nationwide NGOs and pro bono groups and “leveraging” resources that might be available to get pro bono resources to the border without overtaxing them elsewhere with “Aimless Docket Reshuffling,” (“ADR”), the representation problem can be solved.

One good sign is that cases of those likely to be granted, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, have been prioritized which can help move dockets forward while reducing resource-wasting appeals and petitions for review. But, there is much more “low hanging fruit” here to be harvested, in my view:

Also prioritize many Haitian cases, domestic violence cases from Latin America, and family-based cases which, if represented and documented, should be relatively straightforward grants;
Replace the BIA with judges who are asylum experts and will issue the necessary positive guidance on granting asylum that will move dockets, promote consistency, and reduce appeals;
Why ignore the “waiting for Godot” cases left over from Trump’s intentionally “built to fail” program? Get them represented and scheduled for hearings;
End the failing and totally misguided “Dedicated Dockets” at EOIR. Instead, treat the MPP as the “Dedicated Docket;”
To keep backlog from further building, use ideas from the “Chen-Markowitz” plan to remove two “hopelessly aged” cases from the EOIR backlog docket for every MPP case “prioritized.” This could also free up some representation time. Go from ADR to “Rational Docket Management” (“RDM”), closely coordinated with the private bar and DHS!

Finally, keep in mind that directly contrary to the babbling of Paxton and other ignorant GOP White Nationalists, the purpose of asylum law is protection, not rejection! And, the generous standard of proof for asylum, recognized by the Supremes 35years ago, combined with existing regulatory presumptions of future persecution based on past persecution should, if honestly and expertly applied, favor asylum applicants (even if that hasn’t been true in practice). The U.S. legal system is supposed to be about guaranteeing due process fundamental fairness, and achieving justice, not to serve as a “deterrent,” “punishment,” or “enforcement tool.”

In the case of MPP, everyone in the program has already passed initial credible fear or reasonable fear screening! That means with well-qualified Immigration Judges possessing asylum expertise, new expert BIA judges, competent representation, and a focus on insuring justice by DHS Counsel, many, probably the majority of the MPP cases should be grants of asylum of other protection.

That will help clean out the camps, while addressing the serious “immigration deficit” that was engineered by Trump and Miller. It also allows refugees to become contributing members of our society, rather than rotting away and squandering their human potential in squalid camps in Mexico!

To date, most MPP cases have been denied with questionable due process, little obvious expertise, and a complete lack of positive, practical guidance by the BIA. This strongly suggests severe shortcomings and bias in the DHS/DOJ implementation of Remain in Mexico (“MPP”). But, it’s never too late to do better!

The Post article suggests that there have been some modest improvements in MPP under Biden. It’s time to take those to another level! The ideas and tools are out there. All that’s missing is the dynamic leadership, teamwork, and competent, creative., due-process-focused focused management.

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

02-07-22

U.S. HISTORY: BEATEN FOR BEING BILINGUAL 🤮 — The Repression ☹️ & Resilience 👍🏾 Of Hispanic Americans — Molly Hennessy-Fiske @ LA Times

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-02-03/speak-spanish-get-paddled-texas-school-segregation-mexican-americans

MARFA, Texas —

Hiding in plain sight on a dusty corner of this remote west Texas town, the Blackwell School stands as a lasting reminder of what Mexican American students endured during decades of segregation.

“I learned about racism here in Marfa,” said Jessi Silva, 73, who attended the school as a child in the 1950s and 1960s.

Sitting in the schoolhouse last month, Silva gestured to a wooden paddle she said teachers used to spank classmates for speaking Spanish.

Opened in 1909 as a three-room “Mexican school,” Blackwell expanded to half a dozen buildings, educating more than 4,000 children before it closed in 1965.

“Students were told to speak only English on campus,” reads a state historic marker outside the stucco and adobe school, which is now a museum. “Spanish words written on slips of paper were buried on the grounds in a mock funeral ceremony.”

“One of the other teachers came into our classroom and wrote the word ‘Spanish’ on the blackboard, gave each one of us a small piece of paper and told us to write the letters that we saw on the blackboard,” Silva recalled.

Afterward, the teacher collected the slips of paper “and then they marched us all out to the flagpole.”

“They already had a hole dug, and they had this box,” Silva recalled. “They put all the students’ papers in that box and said that we can all vote to do away with the Spanish language. Therefore, we were burying ‘Mr. Spanish.’ And we were no longer allowed to speak Spanish in school.”

. . . .

*****************

Read Molly’s full article at the link.

Kids used to come to a “first master” before me speaking a few words of English. By their second master they were speaking English and helping their family members understand. I’d tell them that they had now surpassed me in language achievement. Bilingualism is a fantastic life skill!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

02-06-22

🇺🇸BLACK HISTORY: HERE’S THE REALITY FACED BY SUPER-TALENTED BLACK WOMEN 👩🏽‍⚖️ @ THE HANDS OF THE MALE LEGAL POWER STRUCTURE MORE THAN 100 YEARS AFTER THE CIVIL WAR!👎🏽 — JUDGE CONSTANCE BAKER MOTLEY JUST KEPT ON ACHIEVING DESPITE THE DISGUSTING BIAS — Forget The “Whitewashed” Myths About American History & Black Women Spouted By Cruz, Kennedy, Wicker & Other GOP Chauvinist “Truth Deniers”

Hon. Constance Baker Motley
1921-2005
PHOTO: Wikimedia

James Hohmann writes in WashPost:

. . . .

Born in 1921, Motley was the first Black woman to argue at the Supreme Court and the first to serve as a federal judge. Democratic presidents twice considered — and twice rejected — her for a seat on a federal appeals court.

Motley, who went by Connie, faced countless indignities. She graduated from New York University and Columbia Law School, and a Wall Street firm offered her a job interview based on her stellar academic record. But the firm wouldn’t even meet with her when she showed up for the appointment because she was Black. Instead, she took a job at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

She was the only female lawyer at the Fund for 15 years. During her employment interview in 1945 with then Legal Defense Fund boss Thurgood Marshall, the future Supreme Court justice asked her to climb a ladder next to a bookshelf. “He wanted to inspect her legs and feminine form,” writes Tomiko Brown-Nagin in her compelling and readable new biography of Motley, “Civil Rights Queen.” When Marshall stepped down to become a judge in 1961, he passed over Motley and picked a less experienced White man as his successor.

James Hohmann
Columnist
WashPost
PHOTO: WashPost website

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Motley earned less than men who did the same work. Motley nonetheless won nine of the 10 cases she argued at the Supreme Court. As a new mother, struggling with postpartum depression, she drafted briefs for Brown v. Board of Education. Pursuing the implementation of the landmark decision turned out to be a decades-long slog. She successfully integrated the flagship universities in Georgia and Mississippi, where she was James Meredith’s attorney.

Marc A. Thiessen: Biden blocked the first Black woman from the Supreme Court

In 1965, Lyndon B. Johnson had intended to nominate Motley to take Marshall’s seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit when he resigned to become solicitor general — a stepping-stone to the Supreme Court in 1967. But then-Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-N.Y.), remembered by history as a civil rights champion, pressed Johnson to pick a White man over Motley for the appellate court. Kennedy called Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach in July 1965 to complain that naming Motley would be too risky from a “political and public relations viewpoint.” Katzenbach summarized the call in a memo to Johnson. “I think there is merit in Sen. Kennedy’s assessment,” the attorney general told the president.

(Johnson nominated Motley to the District Court for the Southern District of New York a year later. The American Bar Association declined to give Motley a “highly qualified” rating on the dubious grounds that she lacked trial experience in New York, even though she’d litigated hundreds of cases in federal courts. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman James O. Eastland (D-Miss.) accused her of being a communist sympathizer and held up Motley’s confirmation for seven months.)

A dozen years later, during Jimmy Carter’s presidency, Attorney General Griffin Bell had veto power over judicial nominations and opposed Motley’s elevation to the 2nd Circuit because they’d tangled when she was a lawyer for the Legal Defense Fund. Carter eventually nominated Amalya Kearse, a Black woman who was a partner at a major law firm and didn’t have critics inside his administration.

Along the way, Motley mentored Sonia Sotomayor after the future justice joined Motley’s court in 1992. Sotomayor, who in 1998 secured the 2nd Circuit appeals court seat that eluded Motley, famously wrote that “wise Latina” judges “would more often than not reach a better conclusion” than White male judges who lacked their lived experiences. Motley, who rejected being called a “feminist,” disagreed that female judges brought special insight to the bench. Instead, she argued for a more representative judiciary on the grounds that inclusion would strengthen democracy by increasing confidence in the rule of law among racial minorities.

Motley died in 2005 at 84, still believing in the ability of the third branch to help deliver on that promise. Biden’s pledge to name a Black woman to the Supreme Court is a validation of Motley’s enduring faith in a system that repeatedly passed her over.

******************

The Thurgood Marshall story shows that it wasn’t only White men who undervalued Black women. Black men displayed some of the same disgusting and condescending attitudes! Motley just kept on achieving and contributing, making the most of her opportunities, rather than stewing about what had unfairly (and probably illegally) been denied to her.

Obviously, the careers of guys like GOP Senators Wicker, Cruz, and Kennedy show that White guys still benefit from a system that still doesn’t hold them to the same standards imposed on women, particularly talented women of color. See, e.g., https://apple.news/A-e_PL2khRhiEbrj_L7woCA

But, unlike these “snowflake right-wing whiners,” women of color are used to “plowing forward” and making their own way, despite systemic biases and obstacles placed in their path by men of limited ability who spread lies, show disgusting bias, and contribute little to the common good!

Folks, this is the same Ted Cruz who demonstrated his true character and lack of concern for his constituents by fleeing with his family to a cushy resort in Cancun while Texas was in crisis! He’s also someone who would deny legal refuge to those whose lives are actually in danger because they don’t “fit in” with his White Nationalist view of desirable demographics. (Compare “Cancun Ted’s” version of “refuge” with the camps in which real refugees and their families are rotting in Mexico thanks to righty-wing judges and GOP AGs.)

Perhaps the most interesting disconnect among the privileged GOP White guys who are opposing a Black woman nominee who hasn’t even been named yet is the juxtaposition with the performance of these dudes during the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings — an unending homage to the “birth privilege” of angry, entitled right-wing white guys. Here’s an apt quote from Chauncey Devega in Salon:

When Trump says “young men,” no adjective or modifier is needed. It is clear to everyone, given his inclinations, history, words and deeds, that “young men” of course means “white men”.

This reflects a larger sentiment in America at present. For too many white men — poor, working-class and middle-class — there is widespread anger at somehow being displaced by nonwhites and women who are “cutting ahead in line” because of “affirmative action” and other nonexistent “entitlements.”

These angry white men feel obsolete and marginalized in a changing America, frustrated by globalization and excluded by a more cosmopolitan country. But their anger is misdirected toward the groups they perceive to be receiving “special treatment.” Their collective anger would be better directed at men who look like them but who have created social inequality, injustice and immiseration in America and around the world.

https://www.salon.com/2018/10/04/brett-kavanaugh-this-is-how-white-male-privilege-is-destroying-america/

President Biden should stick to his guns and nominate a talented and deserving Black woman. It’s long, long overdue! And, he should pay no attention whatsoever to the outrageous, totally disingenuous laminations of privileged guys like Cruz, Wicker, and Kennedy who have already “achieved” far above the level of their demonstrated merit, ability, or positive contributions to the common good.

We need Federal Judges and Justices who are wise, fair, talented, experienced contributors to society; we don’t need the advice or “stamp of approval” of insurrectionists and dividers who rely on racially biased myths to cover for their own all too obvious human inadequacies!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

02-05-22

🤮GARLAND’S VERY BAD WEEK CONTINUES: SHORT “SHELF LIFE” 👎🏽 IN 9TH CIR. FOR BIA’S LATEST ATTEMPT TO SIDESTEP THE STATUTE AND BLOW OFF THE SUPREMES IN LAPARRA! — Backlog, Chaos, Continue To Grow As Notice For Many “Contrived” In Absentia Orders Blasted Away! — Singh v. Garland

Kangaroos — “Statutes are so totally annoying! Enforcing them is above our pay grade, if it burdens our ‘partners’ at DHS Enforcement! But, we’ll ‘throw the book’ at individuals for anything! Seems fair to us!”
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rasputin243/
Creative Commons

https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2022/02/04/20-70050.pdf

The Supreme Court’s decisions in Pereira and Niz-Chavez, along with the text and structure of the statutory provisions governing in absentia removal orders and Notices to Appear, unambiguously required the government to provide Singh with a Notice to Appear as a single document that included all the information set forth in 8 U.S.C. § 1229(a)(1), including the time and date of the removal proceedings. Because the government did not provide Singh with statutorily compliant notice before his removal hearing, Singh’s in absentia removal order is subject to recission pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1229a(b)(5)(C)(ii). We grant Singh’s petition on that ground, do not reach his exceptional circumstances argument, and remand to the BIA for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

PETITION GRANTED and REMANDED.

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No surprise to “Sir Jeffrey” Chase, me, or experts. What is “below the radar screen” here is how the BIA’s “pattern or practice” of intentional misinterpretation of this very clear statutory provision over three Administrations and in a number of situations has fed the backlog.

One of the “gimmicks” used by DOJ and EOIR to short-circuit due process has been to use bogus “in absentia” orders to complete cases without real hearings and without doing much work while creating a “myth of non-appearance” by asylum seekers. Indeed, under Garland whole dockets were set up with the expectation that individuals would not appear. Agency officials then “cheered” having produced these bogus “final orders.”

It would be unusual if ANY of those subjected to this process under a Garland received “compliant NTAs” sufficient to support in absentia orders! Even with these “gimmicks,” and many more judges, haphazardly selected and often lacking expertise, the backlog has mushroomed.

In truth, asylum seekers appear for their hearings at a rate approaching 100% provided that they get proper notice, understand the process, and are represented. A competent Attorney General would take this empirical data, work with legal services groups, and develop a process to comply with the statute, improve the notice system, promote universal representation, and reduce in absentia hearings.

The obvious first step would be to absolutely require DHS to comply with statutory requirements in issuing Notices to Appear and to impose meaningful sanctions and consequences for the failure to do this. To the extent that the failure to comply is a function of the EOIR/DOJ bureaucracy, those bureaucrats and politicos responsible should also be held accountable by the Immigration Courts.

That’s what fair, impartial, independent judging is supposed to be about! But, Garland, like his predecessors, has tried to “gimmick” his way out of providing fair hearings as required by the statute and our Constitution while ignoring “best practices.”

Does anyone seriously think that a group of “real appellate judges” — experts committed to fair and impartial interpretations that advance due process while promoting best practices — would have come up with the Laparra nonsense? No way!

Yet given a chance to materially improve EOIR’s performance, Garland has chosen the “quality, excellence, and due process for all is optional, at best” approach of his predecessors, even if shying away from their overt weaponization of EOIR against migrants.

Remember, when Garland and company inevitably attempt to deflect or shift blame for their backlogs and “Aimless Docket Reshuffling” to the victims, those stuck in his dysfunctional system and their lawyers, this backlog is largely self-created by folks who have consistently ignored expert advice and input while failing to install competence, expertise, and demonstrated commitment to guaranteeing fairness and due process for all into a broken, biased, and intentionally unfair system!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

02-04-22

⚖️👎🏽🤮☠️HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS BLAST BIDEN, HARRIS, GARLAND, MAYORKAS FOR ILLEGAL RETURNS TO COLOMBIA, CONTINUATION OF MILLER’S XENOPHOBIC, DEADLY & CORRUPT TITLE 42 ABUSES OF HUMANITY!

https://bit.ly/3upncgP

Letter to Biden/Harris on Expulsions of Venezuelan Asylum Seekers to Colombia

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Refugee Protection

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Dear President Biden and Vice President Harris:

We, the undersigned organizations committed to the rights of asylum seekers and refugees, write to express our serious concerns over reports that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has begun a new practice of using Title 42 to expel Venezuelan migrants to Colombia. We understand that the first two Venezuelan individuals to be expelled under this policy were flown to Colombia on January 27, 2022 and that additional Title 42 expulsion flights to the country are expected to take place on “a regular basis” for Venezuelans who “previously resided” in Colombia. This practice represents a concerning and unacceptable escalation to your administration’s misguided approach to border and migration policy that flouts domestic and international refugee and human rights law. We urge you to cease these and other Title 42 expulsions immediately, to prioritize protection and access to asylum in your regional and domestic migration policies, and to engage asylum and human rights experts as you pursue new policies.

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One year into your administration, you have continued the misuse of a xenophobic Trump-era policy that weaponized an obscure provision of Title 42 of the U.S. code to summarily block and expel individuals, often repeatedly, from the U.S. southern border, without providing them the opportunity to seek asylum or the ability to access any protection screening required by law. These new flights to Colombia come amidst troubling reports that your administration placed on hold plans to restart asylum processing at U.S. ports of entry and that high-level officials have resisted ending Trump-era asylum restrictions, including Title 42 expulsions.

Title 42 expulsions have nothing to do with protecting public health and are not necessary to protect the public from the spread of COVID-19. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health experts, the UN Refugee Agency, and other humanitarian advocates have demonstrated that it is possible to protect public health and ensure access to asylum simultaneously. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) objected to the use of Title 42 for mass expulsions of migrants and confirmed such expulsions lacked a valid public health basis. Your Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci has himself stated that immigrants are “absolutely not” driving a COVID-19 outbreak and that expelling migrants is not a solution to an outbreak.

Over the past twelve months, your administration expelled people—often expelling the same person repeatedly—from the U.S. southern border more than one million times. In just the first seven months of your administration, U.S. border officials carried out 704,000 expulsions, a significant increase from the Trump administration’s 400,000 expulsions conducted over ten months. In addition to the new expulsion flights to Colombia, DHS also carries out land expulsions to Mexico and expulsion flights to send individuals and families back to their countries of origin, including Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, and Brazil. Even though your administration has acknowledged that “Haiti is grappling with a deteriorating political crisis, violence, and a staggering increase in human rights abuses…” – the U.S. has since September 2021, inexplicably chartered nearly 150 flights of almost 16,000 Haitians, including families with infants, back to a country that is unquestionably unsafe without offering them any opportunity to seek protection before expulsion. These expulsions under Title 42 violate the law and risk sending people back to dangerous conditions – sometimes the very ones that caused them to seek safety in the first place.

As you are aware, Venezuela is currently facing a severe economic, political, and humanitarian crisis. Millions of Venezuelans have left the country due to political persecution, a collapse of basic services, food insecurity, and rampant violence. Over 1.7 million Venezuelans are being hosted in Colombia and many have been granted temporary status there and only a small percentage of Venezuelans have sought asylum in the United States; however, Colombia is not safe for all Venezuelan migrants and refugees. Venezuelans, and all other individuals fleeing persecution have the right to seek asylum under U.S. law and to have their claims for protection assessed on a case-by-case basis. Your administration is blatantly violating the law by expelling these people to other countries in the region, such as Colombia, and we are deeply troubled by the informal and opaque arrangements with third countries that facilitate these expulsions. Your administration terminated several such agreements with Central American countries when you came into office, making these new flights especially concerning.

During its first year in office, your administration committed to a comprehensive regional approach to migration, aiming to strengthen asylum systems and refugee resettlement programs in the region and promote “safe, orderly, and humane migration.” Despite this pledge, your administration’s actions suggest that the United States seeks out negotiations with countries throughout Latin America that externalize its borders further south, shifts responsibility to countries already hosting millions of refugees, and impedes people’s ability to seek protection in the United States. Earlier this month, under pressure from your administration, the Mexican government implemented new requirements that Venezuelans obtain a visa to travel to Mexico. According to reports, your administration has also requested that Mexico sign a safe third country agreement, which could effectively block most individuals (except Mexicans) from seeking asylum in the United States.

We urge your administration to abandon efforts to prevent people from seeking asylum through externalized migration controls in the region and to undermine the right of people to seek protection in the United States. As you pursue other regional efforts, it is imperative that your administration operate with increased transparency and engage with asylum and human rights experts about potential efforts such as anticipated regional compacts on migration with other countries in the Americas. While regional protections must be strengthened, these efforts must not and need not come at the expense of existing protection mechanisms and access to asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border, including at ports of entry.

Your administration has the responsibility to uphold U.S. refugee law and treaty obligations. We call on your administration to cease further expulsions of Venezuelan migrants to Colombia, and to immediately end its use of all expulsions under Title 42. Our organizations continue to welcome the opportunity to engage on and inform how to promote a protection centered approach to “safe, orderly, and humane migration,” including restoring access to asylum at the border, including at ports of entry.

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Let’s be clear about the equation:

immigrants’ rights = human rights = civil rights = racial justice = economic stability = common good

By failing miserably on the first, the Administration has found itself flailing and failing on the rest.

Nowhere is this more apparent than at DOJ! Garland has squandered the precious first year in office by NOT cleaning house at EOIR and bringing in practical experts in immigration/human rights/due process to remake and reform the system so that it can deal fairly, timely, and justly with asylum applicants applying at the border and and elsewhere in the U.S., as they are legally entitled to do.

Instead of expertly culling the vast majority of backlogged pending cases which are neither priorities nor viable removal cases at this point, Garland has built the unnecessary, largely self-created backlog at a record pace to more than 1.6 million with no end in sight! Add that to his disgraceful failure to stand up against illegal and immoral policies and clear violations of human rights at the border by his own Administration and you get today’s catastrophic situation.

“Standing tall” for the rule of law (and human decency) is supposed to be the Attorney General’s job. Why are these NGOs being forced to do it for him?

How bad have things gotten at Garland’s DOJ? This has already been a tough week that saw his DOJ attorneys “blow” a plea bargain in a major civil rights case, be excoriated by the 4th Circuit in a published case for a miserably botched performance in what should have been a routine “reasonable fear” case, and have Chairwoman Lofgren introduce her Article 1 bill with a broadside against DOJ’s horrible stewardship over EOIR.

As if to punctuate Chairwoman Lofgren’s critique, Garland topped it off with this gem: a beatdown in a pro se Salvadoran asylum case, which OIL basically failed to “pull” although the BIA decision conflicted with Garland’s own more recent precedent, from a Fourth Circuit panel that included two recent Trump appointees not heretofore known for vigorously defending asylum seekers’ rights! https://www.lexisnexis.com/legalnewsroom/immigration/b/insidenews/posts/pro-se-ca4-psg-remand-luna-deportillo-v-garland

Folks, this is NOT “good government.” Not by a long shot!

There is no more important task — NONE — facing DOJ than pumping some due process and quality back into immigration law and making the long overdue management, personnel, procedural, and legal quality reforms at EOIR.

Yes, that apparently would require Garland to take on some folks at the White House who obviously consider human rights to be a “political strategy,” integrity and courage optional, and live in mortal fear of Stephen Miller and far-right nativists. It would mean taking decisive actions to treat asylum seekers and other migrants (including many individuals of color) as “persons” under our Constitution. It would end the intentional “Dred Scottification of the other.” It would send some Sessions/Barr “plants and holdovers” packing from their current jobs!

Unquestionably, these moves would incite predictable, tiresome, apoplectic reactions by Miller and the GOP White Nationalist cabal on the Hill. They would put Garland “in the spotlight” and interrupt the serenity of his inner sanctum on the 5th floor of the DOJ where he apparently likes to contemplate the world and “things other than due process for immigrants.”

But, taking on folks like that is what good lawyers are supposed to do. As a public lawyer, it’s not just about being somebody’s “mouthpiece” — it’s standing up for the rule of law!

I among many others have said from the outset that Garland won’t be able to sweep the total meltdown at EOIR and in immigration legal positions under the table, much as he obviously would like them to go away! Yes, he inherited an awful mess from his Trump predecessors. But, almost a full year in, that doesn’t absolve him of responsibility for failing to initiate the common sense steps to fix it and to bring in experts who actually know what they are doing and have the guts and backbone to follow through — even when the going gets tough, as it undoubtedly will. The problems at DOJ go far beyond EOIR; but, EOIR must be the starting place for fixing them. There is no more time to lose!

Garland’s failure to institute widely recommended common sense legal reforms — government for the common good — at EOIR undermines our democracy while endangering “real” human lives every day! That’s a toxic legacy that he won’t be able to avoid!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

02-04-22

⚖️👩🏽‍⚖️CONGRESS: ARTICLE I IN PLAY, AS CHAIR LOFGREN INTRODUCES “The Real Courts, Rule of Law Act of 2022!” — “Our immigration court system will never be effective as long as it is housed under the Department of Justice.”☠️🤮

Zoe’s Lofgren — Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)
Chair of the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship
PHOTO: US House

Here’s the scoop:

Lofgren Introduces Landmark Legislation to Reform the U.S. Immigration Court System

February 3, 2022 Press Release

The Real Courts, Rule of Law Act of 2022 creates an independent ‘Article I’ immigration court, free from the political influence of the Executive Branch

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (CA-19), Chair of the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship, introduced H.R. 6577, The Real Courts, Rule of Law Act of 2022, a bill that transitions the nation’s immigration court system into an independent judiciary, consistent with Article I of the U.S. Constitution. The bill will ensure that the immigration courts are administered by qualified, impartial judges; have adequate court resources and support services; are defined by transparency and integrity; and are financially independent. The Real Courts, Rule of Law Act of 2022 is co-sponsored by House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler (NY-10) and Chair of the House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet, Hank Johnson (GA-04).

An office within the Department of Justice, our nation’s immigration court system – known as the Executive Office for Immigration Review – lacks procedural and structural safeguards to protect it against political influence. Immigration judges are not judicial officers – they are lawyers, appointed by the nation’s top prosecutor, the Attorney General. As employees of the Department of Justice, immigration judges are charged with adjudicating cases in accordance with the policies and priorities of the governing administration. Each Administration – Democratic and Republican – has used the immigration courts as a mechanism to shape immigration policy.

“A hallmark of our system of democracy and the rule of law is an independent judiciary. Our immigration court system will never be effective as long as it is housed under the Department of Justice. After decades of political whiplash, resulting from the ever-changing policies and priorities of the governing Administrations, it is clear that the system is ineffective, inflexible, and far too often, unfair,” said Chair Zoe Lofgren. “Congress must act by passing The Real Courts, Rule of Law Act to create an immigration court system independent of the Executive Branch. This structural overhaul will strengthen due process and restore faith in the system by taking politics out of the immigration courts for good.”

“Since its founding, our immigration court system has been mired by political interference from both Democratic and Republican administrations,” said Chair Jerrold Nadler. “Our country needs an immigration court system that can deliver just decisions in accordance with the law, not one that is subject to ever-changing political whims. I’m proud to join Subcommittee Chair Lofgren in introducing the Real Courts, Rule of Law Act, which would establish an independent Article I immigration court system consistent with other judicial institutions across our nation. By moving the court out from under the Department of Justice, this legislation will ensure that our immigration court system can effectively prioritize due process and the rule of law.”

“The creation of an independent immigration court would ensure that our immigration judges are no longer subject to the political whims of any particular administration,” said Chair Hank Johnson. “Our current immigration backlog is approaching 1.6 million cases and lacks procedural and structural safeguards to protect the human beings that make up these cases. By establishing an independent immigration court, this bill will ensure impartiality and transparency when it comes to these life and death decisions and allow these judges to administer justice efficiently and effectively. I’m proud to join Rep. Lofgren in introducing The Real Courts, Rule of Law Act of 2022.”

Click here for a one-pager on immigration court reform and The Real Courts, Rule of Law Act.

Click here for a section-by-section summary of The Real Courts, Rule of Law Act.

Click here for full text of The Real Courts, Rule of Law Act.

Bill Details

The Real Courts, Rule of Law Act of 2022 will:

Establish an independent immigration court – similar to the U.S. Tax Court – consistent with Article I of the United States Constitution. The newly-formed United States Immigration Court will be comprised of a trial division, an appellate division, and an administrative division.

Ensure that qualified, impartial individuals are appointed to serve as immigration judges at both the trial and appellate levels.

Ensure that the United States Immigration Court has adequate resources and support to operate efficiently while giving the Court authority to appoint temporary immigration judges and establish temporary court facilities to ensure the expeditious administration of justice.

Improve transparency and accountability in Immigration Court proceedings by requiring publication of all court rules and procedures, as well as precedent decisions and pleadings while protecting confidential information.

Improve efficiencies by allowing the Immigration Court to establish its own budget without review by the Executive Branch and empowering immigration judges to control their own dockets and compel agency action that is unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed.

Strengthen the integrity of immigration court proceedings by giving immigration judges authority to impose civil money penalties for contempt of court.

Ensure due process by preserving the privilege of counsel, ensuring quality interpreter services, and mandating legal orientation programs for individuals appearing before the Court.

Support

The Real Courts, Rule of Law Act of 2022 is supported by the American Bar Association, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Federal Bar Association, National Association of Immigration Judges, American Immigration Council, Bipartisan Policy Center Action, Human Rights First, Kids in Need of Defense, National Immigrant Justice Center, National Immigration Law Center, Niskanen Center, and Women’s Refugee Commission.

“The American Bar Association has high regard for the mission and goals of the Justice Department, but we strongly support the creation of an independent Article I immigration court system. It is essential that every judge is free to decide cases based solely on the facts and the law, without external pressure or influence,” said Reginald Turner, President of the American Bar Association (ABA).

“This legislation and the effort to rebuild our immigration court system is welcome indeed. For decades, the deck has been stacked against immigrants. Getting a fair day in court is nearly impossible when the immigration courts are under the authority of the nation’s chief prosecutor: the Attorney General. Regardless of their administration or political party, Attorneys General can abuse the extraordinary power they have over the immigration courts and sacrifice due process for expediency. When that has happened in the past, the most vulnerable people – including asylum seekers, victims of violence, and people deprived of their liberty – have paid a high price. There remains vital work to be done by Congress to reform the immigration law itself—specifically, restoring discretion to immigration judges. But foundational to any fair system is a neutral judge. This bill provides that foundation,” said Jeremy McKinney, President-elect of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).

“After spending several decades helping develop and advocate for this landmark legislation, the Federal Bar Association commends Chair Lofgren and her colleagues for introducing a bill today that would facilitate a long-lasting solution to separate the politics of immigration enforcement from the needs of immigration adjudication. Having collaborated with a number of other prominent legal associations to get to this historic point, FBA remains committed to ensuring that we improve access to justice and due process for individuals appearing before immigration judges. The Constitution gives Congress the ability to create new federal courts and with a current backlog of 1.6 million cases, it is clear to our members that the time has finally come to fix a broken and ineffective system,” said Anh Le Kremer, President of the Federal Bar Association.

“The NAIJ applauds the House Judiciary leadership for introducing an Article I Immigration Court bill. Chair Lofgren, Chairman Nadler and Chairman Johnson, in introducing this legislation, are rectifying the historical mistake of having an immigration court housed in a law enforcement agency. Given the many problems facing the Immigration Court, Congress’s leadership in removing the court from the Department of Justice is welcome relief, and is a crucial step in restoring due process and court efficiency to our broken system,” said Judge Mimi Tsankov, President of the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ).

Related Hearings

On January 20, 2022, the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship held a hearing titled “For the Rule of Law, An Independent Immigration Court.” Click here for the full video, witness testimonies, and supporting documents from that hearing.

On January 29, 2020, the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship held a hearing titled “Courts in Crisis: The State of Judicial Independence and Due Process in U.S. Immigration Courts.” Click here for the full video, witness testimonies, and supporting documents from that hearing.

###

Issues:

Immigration

Media

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Four Horsemen — The BIA’s “take no prisoners” approach to asylum seekers has helped bring the Immigration Courts into disrepute, leading some reviewing courts to suggest that EOIR has crossed the line from “fair and impartial adjudication” to “advocates for DHS Enforcement.” That’s not news to experts and human rights advocates. Despite Biden’s campaign promises to restore justice for migrants, Garland has failed to usher in a new era of “due process and fundamental fairness for all.”
Albrecht Dürer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

As this bill moves forward, the ongoing chaos, unfairness, disorder, dysfunction, dehumanization, and abysmal quality of decisions flowing from Garland’s Clown Courts 🤡 will get more and more attention and memorialization!

It would behoove Garland to clean house at EOIR and bring in some real judges, immigration/human rights/due process expertise, and competent judicial administrators to prepare the system for transition to Article I.

In this respect, the bill contains this provision, requiring the President and the Appellate Division ensure:

‘‘(2) the corps of immigration judges—

‘‘(A) is comprised primarily of individuals with prior legal experience in immigration law; and

‘‘(B) to the extent practicable, reflects a balance of individuals with prior legal experience in the public sector and private sector; and ‘‘(3) candidates are selected without regard to political party affiliation or perceived political ideology.

Certainly not the way EOIR has been run by DOJ politicos over the past two decades! And, to date, Garland has done little to bring about long overdue personnel changes, due process, fundamental fairness, decisional independence, quality, and professionalism!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

02-03-22

NDPA/POLITICS — SHE’S OFF & RUNNING, AGAIN!😎 NDPA SUPERSTAR 🌟 & FORMER EOIR ATTORNEY HILLARY SCHOLTEN IS THROWING HER HAT 🧢 IN THE RING IN MICHIGAN’S REDRAWN 3RD DISTRICT — “Tireless Fighter For The Common Good & American Families” Made A Strong Showing In 2020, Helping Biden Win The State!

I have exciting news –

I’m running to represent Michigan’s newly redrawn, Democratic leaning, 3rd District in the United States Congress!

If you were on my team in 2020, it’s good to see you again. But if you’re just joining us, welcome, and I can’t wait to tell you more about myself in a moment.

First, I’ve got some good news: Redistricting made 2022 our best shot to flip MI-03 blue in decades. It went from a district Donald Trump won by 3 points, to one President Biden won by 8 points. We need a surge of momentum to put our campaign on the map starting on Day One! Can I count on you to be one of the first 5,000 grassroots supporters to chip in to my Democratic campaign?

My story is a West Michigan story.

I was born and raised in West Michigan – my mother was a public school teacher and my father was a local reporter. Through their work, we were introduced to people, families, and students facing difficult times, who didn’t have their voices heard or their stories told by the decision-makers in their lives. My parents sought to change that.

My parents’ work and the stories of the families we met inspired my own career in public service – first as a social worker helping individuals facing homelessness, and then as an attorney, where I served our country in the U.S. Department of Justice during the Obama Administration.

This work also led me back home to West Michigan, where I’ve continued to serve my community as an attorney, a deacon in my church, and an engaged neighbor and community volunteer. My husband Jesse, a local college professor, and I are raising our two rambunctious boys, right around the corner from where my grandfather grew up.

I’m running for Congress to be a voice at the table for all West Michiganders. The most important issues facing our nation – health care, voting rights, critical infrastructure issues, and boosting the bottom line for hard-working families in need – are all on the line.

My campaign in 2020 broke records for how close we came, how much money we raised, and how many volunteers we engaged. It was powerful and inspiring. My resolve and desire to serve West Michigan hasn’t changed one bit from my 2020 campaign, but something has changed: Michigan’s 3rd District.

An independent commission redrew the district, and it’s now rated as a PURE toss-up according to The Cook Political Report – meaning we can and will flip this seat to expand our Democratic House majority.

Paul, don’t get me wrong – this will still be a battleground race. But, with hard work and a strong grassroots team, I know we’ll be able to win this thing!

I can’t do this alone. That’s why I’m counting on you, Paul. Will you pitch in and become one of the first 5,000 Founding Donors who help our campaign make a big splash right from the start?

Let’s get to work!

Hillary

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Paid for by Hillary Scholten for Congress

Hillary Scholten for Congress

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Grand Rapids, MI 49516

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Hillary is brilliant, energetic, dynamic, courageous, incorruptible, and exactly the voice of reason, humanity, practicality, and working for the common good that we need in Congress today.

Along with my friends Deb Sanders and Kathleen Sullivan, I was honored to be part of “Team Hillary” for the 2020 run. Looking forward to welcoming Representative Scholten in Jan. 2023!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

02-03-22

👎🏽ANOTHER 4TH CIRCUIT PUTDOWN FOR GARLAND — AO & IJ COMPLETELY BOTCH “REASONABLE FEAR REVIEW” — OIL COMPOUNDS PROBLEM BY ADVANCING SEMI-FRIVOLOUS DEFENSES!

Dan Kowalski reports for LexisNexis:

Tomas-Ramos v. Garland

https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/201201.P.pdf

https://www.lexisnexis.com/LegalNewsRoom/immigration/b/insidenews/posts/ca4-on-nexus-tomas-ramos-v-garland#

“After Adan de Jesus Tomas-Ramos, a citizen and native of Guatemala, reentered the United States illegally in 2018, a removal order previously entered against him was reinstated. But because Tomas-Ramos expressed a fear of returning to Guatemala, an asylum officer conducted a screening interview to determine whether he reasonably feared persecution or torture in his home country. The asylum officer determined that Tomas-Ramos failed to establish a reasonable fear of such harm, and so was not entitled to relief from his reinstated removal order. An Immigration Judge (“IJ”) concurred with that determination. Tomas-Ramos now petitions for review of the IJ’s order on two grounds. He first contends that the IJ’s finding that he lacked a reasonable fear of persecution or torture was erroneous. We agree. The primary ground for the IJ’s decision was that there was no “nexus” between the harm Tomas-Ramos faced and a protected ground. But the agency incorrectly applied the statutory nexus requirement. Instead, the record compels the conclusion that Tomas-Ramos was persecuted on account of a protected ground, in the form of his family ties. And in light of that error, we cannot determine that the other reason given by the IJ for her decision – that Tomas-Ramos could avoid harm by relocating – was supported by substantial evidence. Accordingly, we grant the petition for review, vacate the agency’s decision, and remand for further proceedings.”

[Hats off to Michael D. Lieberman, Simon Y. Sandoval-Moshenberg, Stacy M. Kim, Paul F. Brinkman, and Michael A. Francus!]

—

Daniel M. Kowalski

Editor-in-Chief

Bender’s Immigration Bulletin (LexisNexis)

**********************

- DOJ’s error-studded performance (or lack thereof) in this case is disgraceful!
- I guarantee that there are plenty of other unjust, legally defective reasonable fear and credible fear decisions where these came from. Just most folks never get any meaningful judicial review.
- Both the IJ and the AO got the basics of nexus and the applicable 4th Circuit case law totally wrong here. How are is this acceptable performance from what are supposed to be “expert” courts? Why hasn’t Garland brought in real experts, committed to due process and best practices, to take charge and straighten out this mess?
- Disturbingly, the Biden Administration wants to turn this type of clearly inadequate procedure with poorly trained officers and judges and incorrect applications of the law loose on the merits determinations for all asylum seekers at the border!
- Rather than being a check on bad judges, Garland’s OIL continues to “defend the indefensible” with arguments that don’t meet “the straight-face test.” Aren’t ethical codes equally applicable to Government lawyers?
- Worse yet, Garland continues to unethically defend the scofflaw behavior of the Biden Administration by using a Stephen Miller era “COVID pretext” to deny most asylum seekers at the Southern Border any process, even the pathetic one used here!
- The “wheels have come off” @ Garland’s DOJ and he’s driving on the axel hubs! When is someone going to pull him over and make him fix it?
- Believe it or not, these are life or death cases! ☠️ Why is Garland allowed to treat the lives and rights of migrants and those associated with them so frivolously?
- The IJ’s attempt to bar the R’s attorney from participating in the “credible fear” review is ridiculous! It shows the deep problems in Garland’s broken system which too often is deaf to due process, hostile to attorneys, and immune from common sense and best practices! Why would the “default” for regulatory silence be “no participation” rather than a “strong presumption that attorneys can fully participate?” What kind of “court” bars attorneys from speaking for their clients? Why would any judge not want to listen to attorneys, who are there to help them make correct decisions? The IJ’s conduct here was particularly egregious given that she had already made a clearly wrong decision before cutting off the attorney’s attempt to point out her errors! What a complete farce that Garland has failed to address!
- This is another case where Circuit Judge Allison Jones Rushing, a Trump appointee with solid conservative credentials, once thought to be a possible contender for the “ACB seat,” joined her colleagues (Judge Harris and Chief Judge Gregory) to overturn a wrong, anti-immigrant decision by EOIR. Her approach in this and another recent case shows more sensitivity to due process, scholarship, and the rights of individual immigrants than many decisions emanating from Biden’s Immigration Courts under Garland.
- I’m not suggesting that Judge R is necessarily going to become a leading defender of due process for immigrants. But, based on these somewhat random “snippets,” she seems more “reachable” and open to sound arguments on the issues than some other Trump appointees, points worth keeping in mind for NDPA advocates!
- She’s also young. So, she will be reviewing immigration cases and making law for decades to come.

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

02-02/22

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

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ETHICS ON VACATION @ DHS & DOJ: Apparently a Frivolous DHS Appeal Asking BIA To Publish Intentional Misconstruction of 7th Circuit Law is SOP For Mayorkas, Garland, & Underlings!

By Paul Wickham Schmidt

Courtside Exclusive

Feb. 9, 2022

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Dan Kowalski reports for Lexis/Nexis:

🇺🇸Due process Forever!

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

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Tal Kopan @ SF Chron reports on latest public miscue:

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

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Joseph A. Vail Asylum Workshop shares valuable immigration insights in the era of the Biden Administration

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

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🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

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“I’m goin’ to Kansas City,

Kansas City here I come,

I’m goin’ to Kansas City,

Kansas City here I come,

They got some crazy great attorneys there,

And I’m gonna train me some!”

— With apologies to the late, great Fats Domino!

🇺🇸🎶Due Process Forever!

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Nick Miroff & Arelis R. Hernandez report for WashPost:

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

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🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

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James Hohmann writes in WashPost:

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

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🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

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🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

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🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

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🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

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Dan Kowalski reports for LexisNexis:

Tomas-Ramos v. Garland

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

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