🤪 DISTORTED JUSTICE: From Inanely Denying Persecution To Ignoring Evidence, Garland’s Biased Courts Warp The Immigration Narrative By Improperly Rejecting Many Valid Claims!🤮

Dan Kowalski
Dan Kowalski
Online Editor of the LexisNexis Immigration Law Community (ILC)

Two More Classic Examples of AG’s “Judicial Malpractice” With Lives At Stake From Dan Kowalski @ LexisNexis:

1. CA9 on Persecution: Singh v. Garland

https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2024/03/22/22-211.pdfl

https://www.lexisnexis.com/community/insights/legal/immigration/b/insidenews/posts/ca9-on-persecution-singh-v-garland

“Singh experienced multiple physical attacks and death threats over an eight-month period, from November of 2014 to June of 2015. No reasonable factfinder would conclude that Singh did not experience serious harm rising to the level of persecution. … For all these reasons we find that the record compels a finding that Singh suffered harm rising to the level of persecution. … [T]he BIA did not independently analyze relocation and determine that the government met its burden. Rather, the BIA expressly adopted the IJ’s reasons for finding that internal relocation was safe and reasonable. In doing so, the BIA adopted the IJ’s flawed relocation analysis, which did not afford Singh the presumption of past persecution or shift the burden to the government to prove that Singh can safely and reasonably relocate within India. … In sum, because the BIA erred in its relocation analysis, we grant Singh’s petition to review his claim for asylum and remand to the BIA for consideration in light of Singh v. Whitaker, 914 F.3d 654. … For the reasons set forth above, we GRANT Singh’s petition in part and REMAND to the BIA to consider (1) whether Singh is eligible for asylum because he suffered past persecution on account of statutorily protected grounds by the government or individuals whom the government was unable or unwilling to control; (2) if so, whether the DHS rebutted the presumption of a well-founded fear of future persecution; and (3) whether Singh is entitled to withholding of removal.”

[Hats off to Inna Lipkin!]

Inna Lipkin, Esquire
Inna Lipkin, Esquire
PHOTO: Law Office of Inna Lipkin

Daniel M. Kowalski

Editor-in-Chief

Bender’s Immigration Bulletin (LexisNexis)

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2. BIA Ignores Evidence, CA2 Remands

https://ww3.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/b4acba28-c76c-439c-bf1f-032d1674929f/15/doc/22-6420_so.pdf

https://www.lexisnexis.com/community/insights/legal/immigration/b/insidenews/posts/bia-ignores-evidence-ca2-remands

Mendez Galvez v. Garland (unpub.)

“The agency entirely overlooked evidence material to the hardship determination in this case: evidence regarding Mendez’s serious back injury and its implications for his ability to support his qualifying relatives through work in El Salvador. … The BIA’s decision is VACATED and the case is REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with this order.”

[Hats off to H. Raymond Fasano!]

H. Raymond Fasano, Esquire
H. Raymond Fasano, Esquire
PHOTO: Sup[er Lawyers Profile
Daniel M. KowalskiEditor-in-ChiefBender’s Immigration Bulletin (LexisNexis)

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What if a brain surgeon or a heart surgeon were routinely engaging in “surgical malpractice?” Wouldn’t it be a cause for grave concern?🤯

Almost every week, sometimes multiple times, the BIA mishandles the basics in potential “life or death” cases. Yet, Garland somehow shrugs it off! This not only adds to the “dehumanization” of migrants (their lives don’t count), but also badly skews the statistical profile that undergirds much of the misguided immigration (non) dialogue. 

If the anti-immigrant, anti-asylum, huge “over-denial” problem at EOIR were addressed with better qualified judges and adjudicators, it would become apparent that many more, probably a majority, of those caught up in the dysfunction at EOIR and the Asylum Office are qualified to remain in the U.S. in some status. And, proper positive precedents would guide practitioners, ICE Counsel, Immigration Judges, and Asylum Officers to correct results without protracted litigation that eventually burdens the Courts of Appeals, causes avoidable remands, fuels “Aimless Docket Reshuffling,” and contributes mightily to the mushrooming EOIR backlog!

As a result, these cases could be prepared, prioritized, granted, and individuals could get on with their lives and maximize their human potential to help our nation — just as generations before them have done including the ancestors of almost all Americans! How soon some of us forget!

 The real, largely self-created, “immigration crisis,” is NOT insufficient “deterrence, detention, and cruelty” at the border! It’s the grotesque failure of all three branches of Government to insist on a fair, timely, well-staffed, professionally-managed, due-process-compliant adjudication, review, and resettlement system for asylum seekers and other immigrants. It’s also the ongoing attempt to “cover up” and minimize our Government’s mistreatment of asylum seekers, particularly those asserting their legal right to apply at our borders and in the interior regardless of status!

The racially-driven “targeting” of asylum seekers at the border is a ruse designed to deflect attention from the realities of human migration, what drives it, and the failure of governments across the board to come to grips with them and to fulfill their legal responsibilities to treat all persons fairly, humanely, and in accordance with correct interpretations and applications of the law!

Jeffrey S. Chase
Hon. Jeffrey S. Chase
Jeffrey S. Chase Blog
Coordinator & Chief Spokesperson, Round Table of Former Immigration Judges

Here’s additional commentary on Singh from my Round Table ⚖️⚔️ colleague “Sir Jeffrey” Chase:

The IJ was really determined to deny on this one. And I guess Vandyke had filled his quota of once in a lifetime for finding fault with the government, and thus had no choice but to dissent.

How would YOU like to face a system “determined to deny” with your life on the line? How would Garland like it?

Actually, under the generous “well-founded fear” standard applicable to asylum (Cardoza-Fonseca/Mogharrabi) and the authoritative guidance in the U.N. Handbook on adjudication, applicants like Singh who testify credibly are supposed to be given “the benefit of the doubt.” Garland has, quite improperly, like his immediate predecessors, allowed this key humanitarian legal principle to be mocked at EOIR! Instead, as cogently pointed out by “Sir Jeffrey,” here the IJ and the BIA actually went the “extra mile” to think of “any reason to deny” — even totally specious ones!

Also, half-baked, legally deficient “reasonably available internal relocation analysis” is a long-standing, chronic problem at EOIR, despite a regulation setting forth analytical factors that should be evaluated. Few, if any, such legitimate opportunities are “reasonably available” in most countries sending asylum applicants!

Moreover, once past persecution is established, the DHS has the burden of showing that there is a reasonably available internal relocation alternative, something that they almost never can prove by a preponderance of the evidence! Indeed, in my experience, the DHS almost never put in such evidence beyond rote citations to generalized language in DOS Country Reports! 

The “judicial competency/bias” problems plaguing EOIR are large and well documented. Yet, Garland pretends like they don’t exist!

Alfred E. Neumann
Has Alfred E. Neumann been “reborn” as Judge Merrick Garland? “Not my friends or relatives whose lives as being destroyed by my ‘Kangaroo Courts.’ Just ‘the others’ and their immigration lawyers, so who cares, why worry about professionalism, ethics, and due process in Immigration Court?”
PHOTO: Wikipedia Commons

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

03-28-24

⚖️ BREAKING: 5TH CIR. LEAVES STAY OF SB 4 IN PLACE!

J. David GoodmanHouston Bureau Chief NY Times PHOTO: NYT website
J. David Goodman
Houston Bureau Chief
NY Times
PHOTO: NYT website

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/27/us/texas-migrant-law-appeals-court.html?unlocked_article_code=1.f00.EVy6.W8k2Dmf2Odr-&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&ugrp=u

J. David Goodman reports for NYT:

A federal appeals court late Tuesday ruled against Texas in its bitter clash with the federal government, deciding that a law allowing the state to arrest and deport migrants could not be implemented while the courts wrestled with the question of whether it is legal.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which has a reputation for conservative rulings, sided in its 2-to-1 decision with lawyers for the Biden administration who have argued that the law violates the U.S. Constitution and decades of legal precedent.

The panel’s majority opinion left in place an injunction imposed last month by a lower court in Austin, which found that the federal government was likely to succeed in its arguments against the law.

. . . .

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Read the complete report at the link.

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

03-27-24

⚖️⚔️🛡️ ROUND TABLE CHAMPIONS NAIJ, RIPS EOIR “GAG ORDER!” — PLUS, BONUS COVERAGE: “NAIJ Is An Essential Force For Judicial Independence!” — A “Mini-Essay” By Hon. “Sir Jeffrey” Chase!

Round Table Logo

Round Table, Gag, Chase Essay

The Round Table of Former Immigration Judges Statement on EOIR’s Prior Restraint on NAIJ Speech

As former Immigration Judges and BIA Board Members we strongly protest the unconstitutional prior restraint imposed by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) which effectively silences the officers of the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ) and prohibits them from providing information or engaging in advocacy involving the complex workings of our nation’s Immigration Court system. We call for immediate reversal of this misguided policy.

In late February 2024 EOIR advised NAIJ officers that they could not speak publicly without obtaining advance permission through the agency’s “”SET” (Speaking Engagement Team) process, a requirement which was never imposed before. This is a cumbersome, multistep process which requires Immigration Judges to seek permission from their supervisors, the SET unit, and sometimes even EOIR’s Ethics team and the Office of Policy. It provides no time frames for decisions nor any opportunity for review of adverse determinations. It is a process which is wildly incompatible with the practical realities involved in responding to media or congressional inquiries which often involve extremely short deadlines, sometimes mere hours or days. Mandating union officers use this process is a thinly disguised gag order.

This step is a dramatic departure from a precedent of more than 50 years, since NAIJ was established in 1973 and was never previously mandated to seek prior approval for appearances or speech. It ignores the uncontroverted fact that NAIJ officials scrupulously provide disclaimers indicating that they are not speaking on behalf of EOIR [or its parent, the Department of Justice (DOJ)] or articulating any position except that held by NAIJ members. It unfairly penalizes NAIJ officers who risk personal discipline for insubordination should they fail to comply but are then hampered in the duties owed to their union members when they remain silent.

NAIJ has played a pivotal role fostering the independence and increased professionalism of the Immigration Courts. It brought home to Congress the crucial function that IJs serve in the deportation and removal process, not as prosecutors but rather as neutral arbiters. This resulted in a change in job title from Special Inquiry Officer to Immigration Judge in 1996, with a concomitant enhanced special pay rate intended to broaden and improve the candidate pool for new judges. NAIJ was a crucial player in efforts to protect the independence of the Immigration

Courts in 2002 by leading the successful effort to keep the court independent from the newly created Department of Homeland Security despite strong opposition to that end by the administration and DOJ. At that time, NAIJ argued presciently that the establishment of an Article I Court was the only enduring way to safeguard the sanctity of these courts which hear “death penalty cases in a traffic court setting.” While NAIJ did not succeed in achieving that lofty goal then, legislation to do just that is currently pending in Congress, largely due to NAIJ’s tireless advocacy and coalition building. NAIJ’s voice in the media often stands alone explaining the practical implications of the complex workings of our immigration removal laws since DOJ eschews comments despite the American standard in jurisprudence which emphasizes transparency in its tribunals. NAIJ is the only spokesperson for IJs in the field, who have the first-hand view of court operations. Without NAIJ speech, no views from these benches in the trenches will be heard.

Perhaps worst of all, this policy deprives the American public of the views of an important, informed group which can shed light on the realities of the implementation of immigration laws and policy at a time when public scrutiny is at an all-time high and accurate factual information scarce. Under this new policy, NAIJ officers cannot even speak at educational or professional seminars or other public events without DOJ approval and instruction as to precisely what they can or cannot say.

Government employees do not surrender their First Amendment rights when they take office. To the contrary, their duty to educate the public is heightened and their voice enhanced by their informed opinions and expertise.

We urge EOIR to restore NAIJ’s important voice and revoke this new policy. ###

The Round Table of Former Immigration Judges is composed of 56 former Immigration Judges and Appellate Immigration Judges of the Board of Immigration Appeals. We were appointed and served under both Republican and Democratic administrations. Members of our group have served in training and management roles at EOIR. Several of our members were officers and leaders in NAIJ and were instrumental in guiding NAIJ to accomplish the achievements described above. Combined we have decades of experience and unique expertise in the immigration court system and the field of immigration law.

For media inquiries, please contact Hon. Dana Leigh Marks (ret.) at danamarks@pobox.com or (415) 577-9831

3/25/24

Hon. Diana Leigh Marks
Hon. Dana Leigh Marks
U.S. Immigration Judge (Retired)
San Francisco Immigration Court
Past President, National Association of Immigration Judges, Member Round Table of Former Immigration Judges
Knightess
Knightess of the Round Table

 

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Jeffrey S. Chase
Hon. Jeffrey S. Chase
Jeffrey S. Chase Blog
Coordinator & Chief Spokesperson, Round Table of Former Immigration Judges

MINI-ESSAY: NAIJ IS AN ESSENTIAL FORCE FOR JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE

By Judge (Ret.) Jeffrey S. Chase

March 25, 2024

In Matter of A-R-C-G-, the BIA at footnote 16 recognized that AILA, UNHCR, and CGRS in their amicus briefs had all argued that gender alone should be sufficient to constitute a valid PSG in the matter. However, the Board chickened out, stating that because they were recognizing the narrower group stipulated to by DHS, “we need not reach this issue.”

I think the real proof of the validity of gender per se as a PSG is found in what happened after Sessions issued Matter of A-B-. With A-R-C-G- vacated, IJs all around the country began issuing detailed written decisions recognizing gender plus nationality, and explaining why such group met all of the legal requirements. This was done by IJs with very different grant rates, across different circuits, and included at least one ACIJ. And remember, this was done under an AG that clearly didn’t want IJs to reach that conclusion.

Which allows me to segue into our next issue: a major reason that IJs felt empowered to issue those decisions that were clearly not to the AG’s liking was due to the decades of effort by the NAIJ on behalf of judicial independence. Our public statement, prepared by our esteemed colleague Judge Dana Marks with input from others in our group, criticizing EOIR’s recent gag order on NAIJ officers, who for the first time will now be required to request agency permission to speak publicly, is a powerful reminder of the essential role played by NAIJ in protecting judicial independence, promoting due process and fundamental fairness, and, ultimately, saving lives of those seeking justice from our nation.

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Thanks to Dana, “Sir Jeffrey,” and all our other wonderful Round Table colleagues for speaking out so forcefully in favor of due process for all and judicial independence!

NOTE: I am a proud retired member of the NAIJ.

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

03-26-24

🐦‍⬛JIM CROW LIVES IN TEXAS: GOP’S RACIST “CASTE SYSTEM” HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH “SECURITY,” EVERYTHING TO DO WITH WHITE NATIONALIST INSURRECTION! — 🐓🐥🐥🐥“Democrats cannot, should not, be bystanders. . . . ‘“Evil asks little of the dominant caste other than to sit back and do nothing.’” — Beatriz Lopez, Narrative Intervention, on Substack!

Beatriz Lopez
Beatriz Lopez
Deputy Director
Immigration Hub
PHOTO: Immigration Hub

https://open.substack.com/pub/beatrizlopez/p/this-is-texas-theres-a-holdem?r=1se78m&utm_medium=ios

Beatriz writes:

“A caste system is an artificial construction, a fixed and embedded ranking of human value that sets the presumed supremacy of one group against the presumed inferiority of other groups.”

― Isabel Wilkerson, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents

Last year, a dangerous and despotic Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law SB 4, heralding the legislation as a form of defense in his war against President Biden’s immigration policies that have apparently left Texas unsafe and vulnerable. Obviously, nothing could be further from the truth; in fact, Texas is privileged to be the second state in the union with the largest immigrant population that has contributed over $40 billion in federal and state taxes, with a spending power of more than $110 billion. According to a report by the Immigration Research Initiative and Every Texan:

Once provided a work permit, new immigrants earn an average of $20,000 in their first year, which increases to $29,000 by their fifth year living in Texas. […] For every 1,000 workers, immigrants and asylum seekers contribute $2.6 million to state and local taxes within their first year of eligibility. Far from a burden on Texas communities, newly arrived immigrants and asylum seekers are as essential to our state’s economy as they are to our families and communities.”

Abbott and the state have reaped from the contributions of immigrant families, regardless of immigration status, only to waste millions in taxpayer dollars to cruelly militarize the border against their own border communities and the children and families seeking refuge and safety. With SB 4, Abbott and Texas would make it a felony for any undocumented immigrant to enter the state and empower local law enforcement and state judges to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants.

. . . .

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Read Beatriz’s complete article at the link.

The proposition, uncritically reported by many in media and mindlessly repeated by politicos of both parties, that effectively eliminating asylum at the border, thereby turning the ability to seek protection in the U.S. over to smugglers, cartels, and thugs, will “enhance security” is beyond preposterous! Obviously, it will do the exact opposite by improperly treating desperate individuals seeking legal protection from the U.S. the same as the small number of actual security threats who might seek to cross the border (at least some of whom are actually caught). 

Just ask yourself the question that the media never presses on Abbott, DeSantis, Trump, GOP nativists, or their spineless Dem enablers: Why would a “real terrorist” spend weeks or months trying to get a “CBP One” appointment to be screened by CBP? Alternatively, why would such an individual risk the irregular border crossing and then turn themselves in to CBP for processing or wait weeks in filthy conditions to be processed by CBP? Answer: Obviously, they wouldn’t.

There are many easier ways for those smuggling or seeking to engage in criminal behavior to enter (think thousands of miles of lightly guarded Northern Border, false visas, entering legally at an airport under false pretenses, or concealing contraband in legitimate commerce — the way most fentanyl enters the U.S.). And, they are all “facilitated” by the USG’s insanely bad policy decision to concentrate “law enforcement” resources overwhelmingly on those who present no realistic threat and want only fair consideration of their legal claims! Sure it generates (largely misleading) “numbers,” but does little to actually enhance security.

Indeed, one might well suspect that the inordinate hoopla and intentionally exaggerated fears focused on asylum seekers is largely a “cover-up” and diversion from the Government’s poor record on dealing with the fentanyl crisis.

 As I have repeatedly said, what if the Feds and states stopped disingenuously wasting unconscionable amounts resources on bogus enforcement and deterrence and instead invested in building a fair and timely asylum reception, screening, adjudication, and resettlement system that encouraged and rewarded those presenting themselves at ports of entry? That would make it easier for law enforcement to concentrate on those actually seeking to avoid our legal system (rather than inanely concentrating on those who merely want our legal system to fairly consider their claims)!

What would happen if the “mainstream media” actually fulfilled their professional, ethical, journalistic responsibilities to research, understand, and report honestly about the right to asylum, those seeking it, and those assisting them in presenting their claims to an intentionally hostile and dysfunctional system! What if the media stopped uncritically and irresponsibly reporting nativist propaganda, such as Abbott’s babbling, as “news,” and began concentrating on informing the public of the truth about asylum seekers, the legitimacy of many of their claims, and their great potential benefits to America!

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

03-25-24

🇺🇸👩🏾‍⚖️👨🏻‍⚖️⚖️🗽 BETTER JUDGES FOR A BETTER AMERICA! — STARTING AT THE “RETAIL LEVEL” OF U.S. JUSTICE — Apply To Be An Assistant Chief Immigration Judge — Short Deadline, April 4, 2024

 

The Executive Office for Immigration Review has announced an open vacancy for a Supervisory Immigration Judge (Assistant Chief Immigration Judge). This advertisement will close on April 4, 2024. If you are interested and want to learn more, click the following link to read about the position and apply: USAJOBS – Job Announcement.

pastedGraphic.png

Supervisory Immigration Judge (Assistant Chief Immigration Judge) usajobs.gov • 4 min read

https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDAsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnVzYWpvYnMuZ292L2pvYi83ODI5NDcwMDAiLCJidWxsZXRpbl9pZCI6IjIwMjQwMzIyLjkyMjQzMTYxIn0.8wZ7UxWibhfmlw8QeABU3jkL0Br7XkzBE7-d_GBxfcg/s/3108288176/br/239336695329-l

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Many thanks to my friend Kelly White, Associate Director- Learning & Development, Legal Access and Representation, Acacia Center for Justice for passing this along!

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

03-23-24

🤪 GARLAND’S BIA DRUBBED AGAIN ON PSG — This Time It’s 1st Cir! — Ferreira v. Garland!

Trial By Ordeal
Under Garland, the BIA’s approach to gender-based asylum has too often remained tethered to the past.  Woman Being “Tried By Ordeal”
17th Century Woodcut
Public Realm
Source: Ancient Origins Website
https://www.ancient-origins.net/history/trial-ordeal-life-or-death-method-judgement-004160

Hon. “Sir Jeffrey” S. Chase reports to the Round Table⚔️🛡️:

[Ferreira] [2024.3.21] Opinion

Victory in the 1st Circuit

Hi all: Another win to report, in a First Circuit case in which we filed a joint amicus brief with immigration law professors (and some in our group actually fit within both categories!).

However, the court declined to address our argument regarding the correct nexus standard for withholding claims (as opposed to asylum claims). The reason is that the court found that the BIA misstated one of the petitioner’s particular social groups, such that (according to the circuit court):

In sum, the BIA rejected a PSG of its own devising and not the social group Ferreira advanced. Its characterization substantively altered the meaning of Ferreira’s proffered PSG and amounts to legal error.

The court directed:

On remand, the BIA should carefully consider Ferreira’s gender-based PSG in light of our decisions in De Pena-Paniagua and Espinoza-Ochoa.

Both of those cited decisions were quite favorable to the petitioners.

Jeffrey S. Chase
Hon. Jeffrey S. Chase
Jeffrey S. Chase Blog
Coordinator & Chief Spokesperson, Round Table of Former Immigration Judges

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Fear mongering and myth making by politicos of both parties, with the connivance of the media, deflect attention from the real problem: a dysfunctional U.S. asylum adjudication system that hugely and disingenuously over-rejects and under-protects, in addition to being too slow and unconstitutionally inconsistent. Thus, both parties intentionally skew the statistics against asylum seekers and feed racially-driven nativist “talking points” about the border!

The BIA/OIL claim that the gender-based psg is not recognizable is utterly preposterous! It took me fewer than 5 minutes of internet research to find this very recent Trinidad government report recognizing that gender-based violence is an endemic and well-documented problem that disproportionately affects women and girls in Trinidad. While the report sets forth an “aspirational multi-year plan” to address the problem (“willing to protect”), there is no indication that the plan is reasonably effective at present (“but unable to do so at present”).

https://www.eeas.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/2024/20240304_spotlight_national_strategic_action_plan_for_trinidad_and_tobago_0.pdf

Knightess
Knightess of the Round Table

Here is some other “choice commentary” from Round Table members:

“A win is a win–again ‘calling’ the BIA on doing the wrong thing!”

“Great job, Team!!  Let’s keep up this winning streak.”

“Wow – great! As Paul would say, another bad Garland/BIA Fiasco. Making up a psg and then denying relief because of it. Funny if it were not so tragic!“

“Yes, especially when they are telling IJs they can’t even determine what PSG fits the facts of the case unless the Respondent gets it just right!  Yet they can make up whatever they want and then say it doesn’t fit the facts or isn’t cognizable!”

“When we were at the International Judges conference that [Paul] organized at Georgetown, all of the international judges said that gender was a recognized psg in their countries—even the countries where women are discriminated against and/or persecuted!”

“Like most of you, I am at a loss to understand how gender, alone, does not meet every requirement of PSG. The BIA position on this is inexplicable, and IMO, at minimum, borders on frivolous.“

Roger that! Intentionally ignoring the obvious and failing in the duty to consistently recognize and prioritize many easy grants of asylum and other protection is the “elephant in the room” for the U.S. justice system! 

No wonder spineless politicos, judges, and the media want to shift attention away from their shared responsibility for a glaringly unjust and inept asylum system to blame the hapless victims of their collective failure — whose lives and futures are on the line!

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

03-22-24

♟️MARCH MADNESS: “Maine’s biggest upset this March hasn’t been on the court. It was on a chess board!” — Migrant Teen Comes Through For Underdog Team!😎

Bonnie Washk
Bonnie Washuk
Reporter
Portland Press Herald
PHOTO: Portland Press Herald

https://www.pressherald.com/?p=7282871

Bonnie Washuk reports for the Portland press Herald:

In the lobby of Portland’s Baxter Academy for Technology and Science, a chess board is on prominent display – for good reason.

Earlier this month, the school’s chess team – which didn’t even exist a few months ago – won the Maine State Scholastic Chess Championship against 15 of the state’s best teams, including Kennebunk High School.

Going into the championship, facing established high school chess teams, Baxter was not expected to win.

The player who clinched the big win for school’s six-member team is freshman João Vuvu-Nkanu Maviditi, a teen from Angola who last year was living at the Portland Expo when it served as temporary shelter for asylum seekers.

João Vuvu-Nkanu Maviditi, left, and Abdallah Ali ponder their next moves while playing a game of chess in class at Baxter Academy on March 12. The school’s chess team won the state championship last weekend for the first time. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer
João Vuvu-Nkanu Maviditi, left, and Abdallah Ali ponder their next moves while playing a game of chess in class at Baxter Academy on March 12. The school’s chess team won the state championship last weekend for the first time. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer
Reprinted under license

. . . .

For Baxter to grab the championship win “is hugely impressive,” Cimato said in an email. “Baxter’s team held up extremely well under pressure and in sharp tactical positions. Their patience and calculation in those two end games were the difference.”

Baxter’s other chess team players are Jacob Kaiser, Abdallah Ali, Gibson Holloway and Sean Glass.

The team’s coach is Majur Juac, an internationally known chess master who once was one of the “Lost Boys” of Sudan who fled the civil war in their country and undertook long and dangerous treks to safety, spending years in refugee camps and eventually resettling in the United States.

Juac now lives in Falmouth and is on the faculty at Baxter, where he teaches chess.

. . . .

Baxter offered chess play after school, not just for its students but for other young people, including those who attend the downtown Boys and Girls Club.

When the games first started, “a few of those kids didn’t know how the pieces moved,” she said. “But Juac soon changed that.”

The school held tournaments in the summer, fall and winter. It’s hosting another next month and inviting in other schools.

In the fall, Baxter also launched a chess class taught by Juac, and 16 academy students signed up right away, Klein-Christie said.

She said the chess students are “really into it” and put their phones down and talk to one another as they play.

With a limited budget, it’s a stretch for a charter school to expand programs, Klein-Christie said.

“But it’s has been a worthwhile investment. Chess is a way of teaching them strategic planning, math skills. And it’s lovely for them to be building community.”

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Read Bonnie’s complete article at the link!

Immigrants get it done for their communities in ways big and small! The reality of migration is quite different from the cowardly bombast of Abbott, DeSantis, and other White Nationalists! 

Folks like Abbott and the Feds are wasting incredible (and immoral) sums of money on misguided, cruel, counterproductive, dehumanizing, and ultimately futile enforcement, militarization, and imprisonment. They should be investing in a timely, fair, well-run asylum system, planned reception and resettlement, and community integration that would maximize the benefits for both the migrants and the U.S. communities they seek to enrich and help with their presence. 

If only politicos of both parties would get beyond the racist myths, pandering to fear, encouraging “worst instincts,” and instead lead the way to a better future for America! 🇺🇸 

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

03-21-24

😵‍💫 HEAD SPINNER: STOP, GO, STOP, GO, STOP — GOP DESCENDANTS OF RACIST NULLIFIER JOHN C. CALHOUN HAVE OUR SYSTEM RIDICULOUSLY TIED UP IN KNOTS! 🪢🤯

John C. Calhoun
John C.Calhoun
White Supremacist, racist, nullifier
U.S. Vice President
Public Realm

Appeals court freezes law allowing prosecution of migrants

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/20/texas-immigration-law-appeals-court-freezes-order-allowing-prosecution-of-migrants?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other%0A%0A

From The Guardian:

A three-judge appeals panel will hear arguments on Wednesday in the power struggle between Texas and the federal government following a shock reversal that once again blocked a new state law allowing local police to arrest migrants at the border – just hours after the US supreme court had decided it could go ahead.

A federal appeals court late on Tuesday issued an order preventing Texas from implementing its plans to defy the Department of Justice and take the power for Texas law enforcement to arrest people suspected of entering the US illegally, which is normally the jurisdiction of the federal immigration authorities.

The White House had strongly criticized the supreme court on Tuesday afternoon after a ruling that would have allowed what it called a “harmful and unconstitutional” Texas immigration law to go into effect.

The supreme court order had rejected an emergency application from the Biden administration, which says the law is a clear violation of federal authority that would cause chaos.

The decision by the fifth US circuit court of appeals that followed on Tuesday night itself came just weeks after a panel on the same appeals court hearing the case on Wednesday had cleared the way for Texas to enforce the law, known as SB4, by putting a pause on a lower judge’s injunction.

. . . .

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

Read the complete article at the link.

The “ghosts of John Calhoun” are taking over our system! And, almost everyone’s focused on the legal minutiae and procedural gobbledygook, while ignoring the big picture, which should be a “no brainer” rejection of Texas’s existentially dangerous, yet essentially ham-handed, attempt at “nullification!”

As pointed out cogently by The Hope Border Institute (issued after the Supremes’ “copped out,” but prior to 5th Cir.’s reversal of its prior order, thus temporarily blocking SB 4) the racist, unconstitutional intent behind “SB 4” is a crystal clear “no brainer:”

THE HOPE BORDER INSTITUTE EXPRESSES GRAVE CONCERNS FOLLOWING SUPREME COURT’S DECISION TO LET SB4 ENTER INTO FORCE

EL PASO, TEXAS – The Supreme Court’s decision to let Texas enforce SB4 as it continues to be litigated is fundamentally wrong and will have grave consequences. Today’s ruling will permit the State of Texas to create an illegal parallel deportation system and ramp up its project to criminalize migration and now all people of color in the state.

SB4 will unequivocally create an environment of fear and distrust in local Texas communities, erode welcoming efforts, and legitimize racial profiling. The federal government must challenge Operation Lone Star once and for all.

In response to this decision and Texas’ targeting of migrant hospitality, all are invited this Thursday, March 21 at 6:30 pm MT to ‘Do Not Be Afraid’ March and Vigil for Human Dignity, a moment of community prayer and resistance. We will denounce Texas’ efforts to criminalize migration and humanitarian relief efforts, affirm our welcoming borderland community, remember those dying at the border, and demand humane solutions.

“The Supreme Court decision to let the unconstitutional and racist SB 4 enter into effect is gravely serious and a sign of the urgent need to advance policies that uphold human dignity,” said Dylan Corbett, Executive Director of the Hope Border Institute. “This legislation will do nothing but harm communities across Texas, and other states will follow suit. I call everyone to join us on the evening of Thursday, March 21 to march in resistance and reject this campaign of hate.”

The Hope Border Institute
The Hope Border Institute
PHOTO: From “X”

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

03-20-24

⚖️ BIA: OUTSDE, INSIDE: Garland Reportedly Will Tap “Practical Scholar” Professor Homero López, Jr., & Temp. Appellate Immigration Judge Joan B. Geller To Prior Vacancies, With One Judgeship Still “In Competition!”

⚖️ BIA: OUTSDE, INSIDE: Garland Reportedly Will Tap “Practical Scholar” Professor Homero López, Jr., & Temp. Appellate Immigration Judge Joan B. Geller To Prior Vacancies, With One Judgeship Still “In Competition!”

By Paul Wickham Schmidt

Special to Courtside

March 19, 2024

Although there has been no official announcement from DOJ/EOIR, I have learned that Professor (and legal services provider) Homero López and Temporary Appellate Judge (and long-time BIA attorney) Joan Geller will be appointed to two of the three existing vacancies at the BIA. The BIA is the highest administrative tribunal in immigration law and exercises nationwide jurisdiction over the Immigration Courts with authority to issue binding precedents.

Professor López‘s appointment was announced by Loyola University Law (New Orleans) where he has been an Adjunct Professor of Law:

Adjunct Professor Promoted to Board of Immigration Appeals

Adjunct Law Professor Homero Lopez has been appointed to the Board of Immigration Appeals, the top administrative appellate agency to review immigration court decisions in the United States!  Judge Lopez will start considering appeals on April 1st!

https://law.loyno.edu/news/mar-12-2024_adjunct-law-professor-homero-lopez-has-been-appointed-board-immigration-appeals

 

BIA Judge-designate Homero López
BIA Judge-designate Homero López, Jr.
PHOTO: ILSA website

In addition to his adjunct professorship at Loyola, Judge-designate López most recently has been the Co-Founder & Legal Director of Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy (“ISLA”) in New Orleans, “a legal services organization that defends the rights of our immigrant communities and advocates for just and humane immigration policy.”

Here’s his bio from the ISLA website:

Homero is ISLA’s Legal Director.  As the son of a migrant worker, Homero grew up moving around the country and living among immigrant communities his entire life.  Before co-founding ISLA, Homero was the managing attorney at Catholic Charities-Archdiocese of New Orleans where he oversaw a legal team of 30 attorneys, accredited representatives, and legal assistants focusing on representing Unaccompanied Children and immigrant victims of crime.  Before that, Homero was a staff, and later, supervising attorney at Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge where he conducted the Legal Orientation Program for detained immigrants at the LaSalle Detention Facility and primarily focused on detained cases.  Homero is a graduate of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas and Tulane University Law School in New Orleans, Louisiana.

López recently was featured by Dan Kowalski in LexisNexis for his successful litigation of a major due process/credibility victory in the Fifth Circuit, Nkenglefac v. Garland, 34 F.4th 422, 430 (2022), and for prevailing in the fee award litigation in the same case. See:

https://www.lexisnexis.com/community/insights/legal/immigration/b/insidenews/posts/ca5-on-due-process-credibility-nkenglefac-v-garland

https://www.lexisnexis.com/community/insights/legal/immigration/b/insidenews/posts/ca5-awards-eaja-fees-nkenglefac-v-garland

Judge-designate Geller has spent the bulk of her legal career as on the BIA staff and has also served as a Temporary Appellate Immigration Judge/Board Member. Here’s her “official bio” from the EOIR website:

Joan B. Geller was appointed as a temporary board member in January 2018. Ms. Geller, who has prior experience as a temporary board member, has over 14 years of experience as an attorney advisor at the Board. Prior to joining the Board, Ms. Geller served for seven years with the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, first as a staff attorney and later as a deputy staff counsel. Ms. Geller received her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her J.D.from Georgetown University Law Center. She is a member of the District of Columbia and Maryland Bars.

Significantly, from my standpoint, she graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Georgetown Law, two institutions with which I have long-time associations.  While Geller’s BIA service began after my tenure there, sources tell me she was “held in high regard by the staff attorneys.” That’s important, given that the bulk of the opinion-drafting work at the BIA is done by the staff and the endemic quality control issues now plaguing this appellate body.

Hopefully, López and Geller will bring some much-needed due process focus, quality control, and practical progressive scholarship, leadership, and energy to a floundering, yet critically important, tribunal badly in need of the foregoing. 

Indeed, López’s stellar work in Nkenglefac went right to the heart of the chronic due process and quality control problems of the BIA, particularly in life or death asylum cases, under Sessions, Barr, and now Garland: failure to follow precedent favorable to the respondent, “phantom finding of waiver,” lack of critical analysis, misrepresentation of the record, misuse of non-record materials, improper allocation of the burdens, and ignoring or minimizing voluminous testimony!  In other words, a classic example of prejudgement and “any reason to deny” (even if not in the record) decision-making! 

So totally miserable was EOIR’s and OIL’s performance in Nkenglefac that in a rare move the Fifth Circuit in subsequent litigation found them to be “not substantially justified at each stage of this litigation” and awarded costs and attorneys fees to the respondent! Having seen first-hand just how absurdly skewed and unfair the EOIR system has become in “life on the line” cases, López should be well-positioned to “just say no” to this type of appellate nonsense and inject a long-missing dose of reality, humanity, and real scholarship into this “ivory (actually glass) tower tribunal!”

Those of us who care about justice in America have ripped Garland’s BIA for sloppiness, anti-asylum culture, anti-immigrant attitudes, and failure to establish clear, practical, positive precedents facilitating the timely granting of asylum to the many qualified refugees now stuck in the largely USG-created morass at our Southern Border.  See, e.g., https://immigrationcourtside.com/2024/03/18/⚖️-winograd-whomps-🥊-garlands-eoir-again-this-time-on-particularly-serious-crime-psc-annor-v-garland-fo/. For example, the failure to issue a precedent requiring presumptive grants of asylum to Afghan women, instead making them laboriously work their way through the system with potentially incorrect results, is an egregious, but not certainly not the only, example of the BIA’s abject failure to “get the job done for American justice.”

Even as I write this, my friend Dan Kowalski over at LexisNexis has just forwarded yet another glaring example of “judicial malpractice” on asylum by the BIA — this latest rebuke coming from the Sixth Circuit (Vasquez-Rivera v. Garland). See https://www.lexisnexis.com/community/insights/legal/immigration/b/insidenews/posts/ca6-on-nexus-social-group-vasquez-rivera-v-garland.

I also trust that López and Geller will be “throwbacks” to a time when senior leaders EOIR actually believed in the noble (now abandoned) “vision” of EOIR that I once had a role in crafting:  “Through teamwork and innovation, be the world’s best administrative tribunals, guaranteeing fairness and due process for all.”

Rather than making that vision a reality, disgracefully, under the last four Administrations, the EOIR motto appears to have devolved into “any reason to deny, good enough for government work, numbers over quality, institutional survival over individual justice, go along to get along, and don’t rock the boat!”

Finally, the appointment of Judge-designate López illustrates my constantly-made point that NDPA warriors can and must compete for EOIR judgeships, particularly at the BIA level, when they are advertised! This system needs practical, positive, due-process-focused, protection-oriented change, and it needs it now!  Things are only going to improve if the pressure comes from both better-qualified judges on the “inside” and unrelenting litigation and media coverage from the “outside!”

So, get those applications in before April 12, 2024 to join Judge-designates López and Geller on the BIA bench! See https://immigrationcourtside.com/2024/03/15/⚖%EF%B8%8F🗽👩🏾⚖%EF%B8%8F-calling-ndpa-all-stars🌟-wanted-bia-appellate-judge-dedicated-to-due-process-asylum-expertise/

And, of course, good luck to both these new Appellate Immigration Judges! May you never, ever forget that due process is the one and only mission of EOIR!

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

03-19-24

⚖️ WINOGRAD WHOMPS 🥊 GARLAND’S EOIR AGAIN, THIS TIME ON “PARTICULARLY SERIOUS CRIME” (“PSC”)! — Annor v. Garland — Following Precedents, Analyzing Correct Statute Proves Elusive For Garland’s Dysfunctional Courts! 🏴‍☠️ — “Because the BIA analyzed the wrong statute 🤯 at the first step of its analysis, and omitted the most important factor 🤯🤯 at the second, we vacate the BIA’s decision and remand to the BIA for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”

CAIR Coalition
IMAGE: CAIR Coalitiin

From the CAIR Coalition on Linkedin:

Today, we’re celebrating the Fourth Circuit’s decision in Annor v. Garland. The court ruled that immigration judges must follow proper analytical steps in determining whether noncitizens have been convicted of a particularly serious crime (PSC).

 

This is an important decision because anyone convicted of a PSC is ineligible for asylum and withholding of removal, so PSC determinations have life-or-death consequences for immigrants facing persecution if they are deported to their home countries.

 

“Today, the Fourth Circuit spoke clearly: the immigration court system must treat PSC determinations with the care they deserve,” stated Immigration Impact Lab Senior Attorney Peter Alfredson, who worked on the amicus brief alongside Lab Deputy Program Director Samantha Hsieh.

 

CAIR Coalition submitted an amicus brief, also signed by RAICES, in support of Mr. Annor, who was represented by Ben Winograd of the Immigrant & Refugee Appellate Center, LLC.

Here’s the decision (PANEL: HEYTENS and BENJAMIN, Circuit Judges, and MOTZ, Senior Circuit Judge): https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/231281.P.pdf

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

Come on, man! How is this a competent adjudication by the BIA? It isn’t! So, why is it happening time and again under Garland?

[T]he immigration court system must treat PSC determinations with the care they deserve!” Absolutely! But, it’s not happening in Garland’s “any reason to deny/defend garbage” DOJ! At least it’s not happening systemically under Garland! 

Rather than correcting IJ errors and insisting that the legal rights of migrants be respected and protected, the BIA too often has been a big part of the problem! Sloppiness, lack of expertise, “any reason to deny,” “reject don’t protect” have all become hallmarks of Garland’s dysfunctional system!

Alfred E. Neumann
Has Alfred E. Neumann been “reborn” as Judge Merrick Garland? “Not my friends or relatives whose lives as being destroyed by my ‘Kangaroo Courts.’ Just ‘the others’ and their immigration lawyers, so who cares, why worry about professionalism, ethics, and due process in Immigration Court?”
PHOTO: Wikipedia Commons

Contrary to GOP White Nationalist restrictionist blather, accepted by many spineless Dem politicos and the media, and enabled by Garland, this system should be identifying, screening, facilitating representation, expediting protection (not rejection), and arranging reception and resettlement, NOT engaging in more mindless “deterrence” and “uber enforcement.” 

Garland’s abject failure to insist on due process and stand up for the legal and human rights of asylum seekers and other migrants has undermined our democracy! There is a huge “over-denial“ problem in our asylum adjudication system that skews the entire “debate!”

Our nation, our politicos, and our media are simply too gutless and morally vapid to admit that there are many, many more individuals arriving at our borders who should qualify for some sort of legal protection under a fair and legitimate screening and adjudication system! 

Best comment, from Dan Kowalski @ LexisNexis: “Something is seriously wrong at DOJ when a seasoned IJ and BIA member make these kinds of mistakes, and when OIL attorneys defend such errors in court.  Crimmigration should not be so hard that it takes a team of litigation superstars to achieve a just result!”

Dan Kowalski
Dan Kowalski
Online Editor of the LexisNexis Immigration Law Community (ILC) — “He ‘gets’ it! So why don’t Garland and Dem leaders? Is Dan THAT much smarter than they are?  Sure looks like it!”

You betcha, Dan! “Something is seriously wrong at DOJ” is an understatement! Dan, Hon. “Sir Jeffrey” Chase, and I are among the many who have been saying that since the Obama Administration. It’s painfully obvious that Garland isn’t the answer (nor is Mayorkas), and that NDPA superstars like Ben and others should be in charge of the human rights legal and adjudication bureaucracies at DOJ and DHS in a Dem Administration! 

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

03-18-24

🇺🇸🗽 THE ENTREPRENEURS AT OUR DOOR!

 

John Fanestil
John Fanestil
American Author & Human Rights Activist
PHOTO: Amazon.com
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), UNCTAD and UNHCR launched the Global Photo Exhibition on Migration and Entrepreneurship at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.Date 18 November 2019, 12:36 Source Romain Langlois Author UNCTAD
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), UNCTAD and UNHCR launched the Global Photo Exhibition on Migration and Entrepreneurship at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
Date 18 November 2019, 12:36
Source Romain Langlois
Author UNCTAD
Creative Commons 2.0 License

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/commentary/story/2024-03-13/opinion-migrants-i-have-met-in-tijuana-display-a-powerful-sense-of-purpose-and-drive

John Fanestil reports from the border in the San Diego Union Tribune:

. . . .

By the time migrants get to Mexico’s northern border, they also demonstrate a clear understanding that they are engaged in an inherently participatory enterprise. The migrant shelters in Tijuana are poor and under-resourced — sometimes desperately so — but they do not lack in human leadership and initiative. Leaders at migrant shelters remind me of young people working on classroom projects in university settings, or participating in community organizations and social movements, or launching new ventures or start-ups in “co-working” environments.

. . . .

But to characterize migrants arriving at our southern border as driven primarily by criminal and malevolent motives is a misdiagnosis of the highest order. Perhaps U.S. authorities should start documenting how many “migrant entrepreneurs” they are detaining at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Fanestil works for Via International, a San Diego nonprofit that runs a migrant-focused program in Tijuana called “Via Migrante.” He lives in La Mesa.

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

Read Fanestil’s complete article at the link.

It’s hardly a secret (although it’s something GOP White Nationalists don’t want you to know) that asylum seekers and other immigrants are overwhelmingly “risk takers” who are willing to “put their lives on the line” and often make outsized contributions to the nations who welcome them. That’s also why “deterrence gimmicks” — no matter how cruel, expensive, and wasteful — ultimately fail.

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

03-17-24

⚖️🗽👩🏾‍⚖️ CALLING NDPA ALL-STARS!🌟 — WANTED: BIA APPELLATE JUDGE DEDICATED TO DUE PROCESS, ASYLUM EXPERTISE, & PROMOTING BEST PRACTICES!  — Apply By April 12, 2024! — Better Judges For A Better America!

Refugees Welcome
What if the BIA cared about protection of asylum seekers rather than defaulting to rejection?
IMAGE: Public Realm

https://www.usajobs.gov/job/781350500

Summary

The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) at the Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking a highly-qualified individual to join our team of expert professionals who serve as Appellate Immigration Judges.

This is an Excepted Service position, subject to a probationary period. The initial appointment is for a period not to exceed 24 months. Conversion to a permanent position is contingent upon appointment by the Attorney General.

Learn more about this agency

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This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

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Duties

This position is in the Board of Immigration Appeals, within the Executive Office for Immigration Review. The incumbent reports to a Deputy Chief Appellate Immigration Judge, who in turn reports to the Chief Appellate Immigration Judge.

Appellate Immigration Judges must apply immigration laws impartially, humanely, and equitably and ensure that all parties are treated with respect and dignity. They also must resolve cases expeditiously, in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Department’s priorities and policies.

Appellate Immigration Judges are commissioned to serve in formal, quasi-judicial proceedings to review the determinations of immigration judges in removal and related proceedings, and of certain officers of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in visa petition proceedings and other matters. All Appellate Immigration Judges review the record on appeal, including briefs, exhibits, and transcripts, and hear oral argument when appropriate. An Appellate Immigration Judge may concur or dissent based on their view of any given case. The majority of the Appellate Immigration Judges’ duties fall into the general categories of removal proceedings, discretionary relief, claims of persecution, stays of removal, visa petitions, administrative fines, and bond and detention.

The majority of an Appellate Immigration Judge’s duties will be dedicated to the appellate work, but an Appellate Immigration Judge must also be qualified, and may be called upon, to conduct trial level proceedings in the role of an immigration judge.

Appellate Immigration Judges make decisions that are final, subject to appeal to the Federal courts. In connection with these proceedings, Appellate Immigration Judges exercise certain discretionary powers as provided by law and are required to exercise independent judgment in reaching final decisions.

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.

Employment is contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation.

Selective Service Registration is required, as applicable.

Moving and Relocation Expense are not authorized.

You must have relevant experience (see “Qualifications” below.)

Qualifications must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

If selected, you must file a financial disclosure statement in accordance with the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.

You must receive your Federal salary by Direct Deposit (to a financial institution of their choosing).

Qualifications

In order to qualify for the Appellate Immigration Judge position, applicants must meet all of the following minimum qualifications:

  • Education: Applicants must possess a LL.B., J.D., or LL.M. degree. (Provide the month and year in which you obtained your degree and the name of the College or University from which it was conferred/awarded.)

AND

  • Licensure: Applicants must be an active member of the bar, duly licensed and authorized to practice law as an attorney under the laws of any state, territory of the U.S., or the District of Columbia. (Provide the month and year in which you obtained your first license and the State from which it was issued.)

AND

  • Experience: Applicants must have seven (7) years of post-bar admission experience as a licensed attorney preparing for, participating in, and/or appealing formal hearings or trials involving litigation and/or administrative law at the Federal, State or local level. Qualifying litigation experience involves cases in which a complaint was filed with a court, or a charging document (e.g., indictment or information) was issued by a court, a grand jury, or appropriate military authority. Qualifying administrative law experience involves cases in which a formal procedure was initiated by a governmental administrative body.

NOTE: Qualifying experience is calculated from the date of your first admission to the bar.

In addition, successful applicants will have a strong combination of experience demonstrating that they will perform at the level of competence, impartiality, and professionalism expected of an Appellate Immigration Judge. For more information about relevant experience and knowledge, please see the “How You Will Be Evaluated” section.

Additional information

This is an Excepted Service position, subject to a probationary period. The initial appointment is for a period not to exceed 24 months. Conversion to a permanent position is contingent upon appointment by the Attorney General.

Additional positions may be filled from this announcement within 90 days of certificate issuance.

Alternative work schedule options are available.

There is no formal rating system for applying veterans’ preference to Appellate Immigration Judge appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans’ preference eligibility as a positive factor in Appellate Immigration Judge hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans’ preference must claim their status when completing their application in the online application process and attach supporting documentation. (See “Required Documents” section.)

Conditions of Employment: Only U.S. Citizens or Nationals are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review. Dual citizens of the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. All DOJ applicants, both U.S. Citizens and non-citizens, whose job location is with the United States, must meet the residency requirement. For a total of three (not necessarily consecutive years) of the five years immediately prior to applying for a position, the applicant must have: 1) resided in the United States; 2) worked for the United States overseas in a Federal or military capacity; or 3) been a dependent of a Federal or military employee serving oversees.

As the Federal agency whose mission is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans, the Department of Justice is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. To build and retain a workforce that reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of the American people, we welcome applicants from the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, religions, and cultures of the United States who share our commitment to public service.

Additional Information: The COVID-19 vaccination requirement for Federal employees pursuant to Executive Order 14043 does not currently apply. Some jobs, however, may be subject to agency- or job-specific vaccination requirements, so please review the job announcement for details. To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal government will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a Federal job announcement includes the requirement that applicants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to Executive Order 14043, that requirement does not currently apply.

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  • Benefits

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Applicants meeting the minimum qualifications stated above will be further evaluated to determine those who are best qualified. This determination will be based, in part, on the following Quality Ranking Factors (QRFs), which need to be addressed as part of the application package.

  1. Ability to demonstrate the appropriate temperament to serve as a judge. Appellate Immigration Judges need to possess traits such as compassion, decisiveness, open-mindedness, courtesy, patience, freedom from bias, and commitment to equal justice under the law. Additionally, individuals in this role are expected to exercise discretion, and articulate how that discretion is being exercised, in complex, sensitive, high-pressure and/or emotional situations. A strong candidate demonstrates excellent analytical, decision-making, and writing abilities.
  2. Litigation or adjudication experience, preferably in a high volume judicial or administrative context. Appellate Immigration Judges often must balance a variety of skills that can include managing a high volume of cases, drafting decisions, and reviewing an administrative record at the appellate level. It is vital that a candidate is able to manage a high-volume docket under tight deadlines without compromising quality.
  3. Experience conducting administrative hearings or adjudicating administrative cases. Appellate Immigration Judges are expected to decide difficult or complex issues, particularly those that impact people’s lives. Prior adjudication experience in other tribunals – Federal, state, local, military or other court systems – is ideal, however, adjudications experience may be drawn from non-courtroom settings. For candidates who have limited adjudications experience, significant litigation experience before EOIR or extensive litigation experience in settings comparable to an immigration court setting may be considered.
  4. Experience handling complex legal issues. Immigration law often involves handling complex legal issues. This role requires being able to work through complicated fact patterns and issues, novel areas of the law, as well as learning, adapting to, and incorporating changes in the law.
  5. Knowledge of immigration laws and procedures. In this role, depth and/or volume of immigration law experience is important. Candidates should have meaningful experience applying complex immigration law, which can include representing non-citizens or the Federal government in matters involving complex or diverse immigration laws, adjudicating immigration matters, legislative or administrative advocacy on immigration policy issues, academic or clinical experience, and other similar work that involves routine analysis and application of immigration law.

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Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package by 11:59 PM (ET) on 04/12/2024, the closing date of this announcement, which includes:

  1. Your Resume documenting seven (7) years experience since being admitted to the bar.
  2. A complete online Assessment Questionnaire.
  3. Document(s)addressing the Quality Ranking Factors (QRFs) listed above.
  4. A Writing Sample demonstrating your ability to author legal documents (10 pages, maximum; an excerpt of a longer document is acceptable).
  5. Current or former Federal employees must provide copies of their most recent and their latest SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action.
  6. Other Supporting Documents, if applicable:
    • Veterans’ Preference Documentation: Although the veterans’ preference point system does not apply to this position, we accept preference claims and adjudicate such claims per the documentation provided. Note: If claiming 5-point veterans’ preference, include a DD-214 or statement of service. If claiming 10-point veterans’ preference, include an SF-15 and documentation required by that form, VA or military letter dated 1991 or later, and DD-214.
    • Any other supporting documentation required for verification as described in the announcement.

Tips for your resume:

  • Ensure that your resume contains your full name, address, phone number, email address, and employment information.
  • Each position listed on your resume must include: From/To dates of employment (MM/YYYY-MM/YYYY or MM/YYYY to Present); agency/employer name; position title; Federal grade level(s) held, if applicable; hours, if less than full time; and duties performed.
  • In addition, any experience on less than a full time basis must specify the percentage and length of time spent in performance of such duties.

Tips for addressing QRFs:

  • Applicants should use narrative form to address each of the five (5) QRFs. They must be written in a separate document indicating the by-number of the specific QRF being addressed.
  • Successful applicants will address all of the QRFs. If you do not have the specific experience addressed in a QRF, we encourage you to write about a similar skill, ability, knowledge, or experience.
  • Applicants should be thorough in addressing each QRF. This includes:
    • Approximate number of cases or matters handled in a given period of time.
    • Applicant’s specific role (e.g., adjudicator, first chair, co-counsel, responsible for the written brief only, etc.).
    • Length of time involved in a given role (e.g., lead counsel in 20 immigration proceedings in 10 years).
    • Specific examples of the types of cases (asylum application, pleas, settlement, bench trial, jury trial, etc.).
    • The number of court and/or administrative appearances made in those cases.
    • The case dispositions (ruling on the merits, plea or similar resolution, settlement, trial, jury trial, etc.).

Failure to submit the documents listed above with your application package will result in your application package being removed from consideration.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

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How to Apply

You must submit a complete application package by 11:59 PM (EST) on 04/12/2024, the closing date of the announcement.

  • To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
  • Click the Submit My Answers button to submit your application package.
  • It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.
  • To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
  • To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

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Agency contact information

Shenita Gibbons Shenita Gibbons

Email

Shenita.Gibbons@usdoj.gov

Address

Board of Immigration Appeals

5107 Leesburg Pike

Falls Church, VA 22041

US

Learn more about this agency

Next steps

We will evaluate the qualifications and eligibility of all applicants, and then assess those who meet the minimum qualifications. All candidates who meet all the minimum requirements will be referred to the hiring official for further consideration. We will notify you of the final outcome after all of these steps have been completed.

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Overview

  • Accepting applications
  • Open & closing dates
    Opening and closing dates 03/13/2024 to 04/12/2024
  • Salary
    $156,924 – $204,000 per year
  • Pay scale & grade
    IJ 00
  • Location
    1 vacancy in the following location:

    • Falls Church, VAFalls Church, VA
  • Remote job
    No
  • Telework eligible
    Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
  • Travel Required
    50% or less – You may be expected to travel for this position.
  • Relocation expenses reimbursed
    No
  • Appointment type
    Permanent –
  • Work schedule
    Full-time –
  • Service
    Excepted
  • Promotion potential
    00
  • Job family (Series)
    0905 Attorney
  • Supervisory status
    No
  • Security clearance
    Not Required
  • Drug test
    Yes
  • Position sensitivity and risk
    High Risk (HR)
  • Trust determination process
    Credentialing
  • Announcement number
    DE-12329429-24-SG
  • Control number
    781350500

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Learn more about

Executive Office for Immigration Review

If you are interested in a rewarding and challenging career, this is the position for you!

The Executive Office for Immigration Review seeks highly-qualified individuals to join our team of expert professionals in becoming a part of our challenging and rewarding Agency. The primary mission of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is to adjudicate immigration cases by fairly, expeditiously, and uniformly interpreting and administering the Nation’s immigration laws. Under delegated authority from the Attorney General, EOIR conducts immigration court proceedings, appellate reviews, and administrative hearings. EOIR consists of three adjudicatory components: The Office of the Chief Immigration Judge, which is responsible for managing the Immigration Courts where Immigration Judges adjudicate individual cases; the Board of Immigration Appeals, which primarily conducts appellate reviews of these Immigration Judge decisions; and the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer, which adjudicates immigration-related employment cases.

Agency contact information

Shenita Gibbons Shenita Gibbons

Email

Shenita.Gibbons@usdoj.gov

Address

Board of Immigration Appeals

5107 Leesburg Pike

Falls Church, VA 22041

US

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it’s like to work at Executive Office for Immigration Review, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

https://www.justice.gov/eoir/

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

Yes, EOIR is a mess! But, it’s not going to get any better without better judges, particularly at the BIA which sets precedents and should (even if it now doesn’t) maintain nationwide consistency among Immigration Judges and articulate and implement “best judicial practices.”

Quite disappointingly and outrageously, the Biden Administration and A.G. Garland have failed to “clean house” and bring long overdue due process and judicial reforms to EOIR. So, the NDPA will have to go about it “the old-fashioned way:” one judicial vacancy at a time!

What if we had a BIA that:

  • Believed due process and fundamental fairness are “job one;”
  • Insured correctness and quality over “generating numbers;”
  • Institutionalized protection, not rote rejection, of asylum seekers;
  • Built on past precedents for properly generous treatment of asylum seekers like INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca, Matter of Mogharrabi, and Matter of Kasinga, rather than ignoring, or looking for artificial ways to limit them;
  • Issued precedents insuring early identification and consistent granting of many current and repetitive asylum applications;
  • Looked for ways to simplify, rather than overcomplicate and obfuscate, legal guidance;
  • Had “zero tolerance” for anti-immigrant, anti-asylum, racial, gender, and other biases among Immigration Judges (e.g., no more “asylum free zones”);
  • Refused to allow the Immigraton Court system to be misused and abused as a “deterrent” or “an adjunct of DHS Enforcement;”
  • Developed and enforced “best judicial practices;”
  • Prioritized facilitating pro bono representation as a key element of due process;
  • Aspired to make the “former vision of EOIR” — “through teamwork and innovation be the world’s best administrative tribunals guaranteeing fairness and due process for all” — a reality, rather than a cruel hoax!

Of course, one judge can’t do it all! But, there are plenty of great judges in the current EOIR system, at both levels, who need reenforcement and reaffirmation! Rebuilding the EOIR system so that it is a real, due-process-oriented, subject-matter-expert court that insures justice — rather than institutionalizing injustice — has to start somewhere! Fixing EOIR would also help save the entire faltering Federal Judicial system.

If the NDPA doesn’t do it, who will? Certainly not Biden, Harris, Garland or their minions— or at to least not without being pushed from within and dragged kicking and screaming from without.

Waiting for Godot
Waiting for Godot (a/k/a Merrick Garland) to fix EOIR isn’t going to cut it!
Naseer’s Motley Group in The Rose Bowl
Merlaysamuel
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
Waiting for Godot in Doon School.jpg Copy
[[File:Waiting for Godot in Doon School.jpg|Waiting_for_Godot_in_Doon_School]]
Copy
December 8, 2011
So, don’t “wait for Godot” to fix this broken system! Clue: He’s not coming! Get those applications in now!

Better judges for a better America! Sooner, rather than later!

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

03-15-24

🤯 INCREDIBLE! — Even Righty Judge Lawrence Van Dyke @ CA 9 Has Had His Fill Of Garland’s Badly Bumbling BIA Brethren! — Kalulu v. Garland — You Can Add Anti-Gay Stereotypes To The List Of Documented Charges Against Garland’s Deadly Clown Show! 🤡🤮☠️

Clown Parade
The “Clown Show” continues in full regalia at Garland’s EOIR.  But, nobody’s laughing about the potentially deadly consequences! PHOTO: Public Domain

Dan Kowalski reports for LexisNexis Immigration Community:

CA9 (2-1) on Credibility, Evidence: Kalulu v. Garland

https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2024/03/11/21-895.pdf

https://www.lexisnexis.com/community/insights/legal/immigration/b/insidenews/posts/ca9-2-1-on-credibility-evidence-kalulu-v-garland

“This court grants a petition for review of an agency denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT relief only under the most extraordinary circumstances. See Gutierrez-Alm, 62 F.4th at 1194; Sharma v. Garland, 9 F.4th 1052, 1060 (9th Cir. 2021). This is one of those rare instances. For the reasons discussed above, the agency’su adverse credibility determination is amply supported by substantial evidence. But the IJ failed to properly consider and evaluate the evidentiary weight of multiple documents Kalulu offered into the record independent of her testimony, and the BIA made clear factual errors when it reviewed those documents. Because the agency’s decision therefore “cannot be sustained upon its reasoning,” this case must be remanded for the IJ or BIA to reconsider its decision. De Leon, 51 F.4th at 1008 (internal quotation marks omitted). On remand, the agency must reexamine the three declarations and medical document discussed in section III(b) to consider whether they, when properly read alongside other nontestimonial evidence in the record, independently prove Kalulu’s claims for asylum or withholding of removal. This court takes no position on whether those documents provide such proof or whether Kalulu merits any of the relief for which she applied.”

Dissent: “The majority ignores our precedent and instead concludes that the agency would have reached the same adverse credibility determination in the absence of these unsupported findings. That approach contravenes the REAL ID Act, binding circuit precedent, and fundamental principles of administrative law. I respectfully dissent.”

[Hats off to Amalia Wille and Judah Lakin!]

Amalia Wille ESQUIRE
Amalia Wille ESQUIRE
Judah Lakin ESQUIRE
Judah Lakin ESQUIRE

 

Daniel M. Kowalski

Editor-in-Chief

Bender’s Immigration Bulletin (LexisNexis)

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

Many congrats to Amalia, Judah, and their NDPA team!

As my friend Dan often says about EOIR, “you can’t make this stuff up!”🤯

Well, the panel judges all agree that the BIA is wrong! It’s just a question of HOW wrong. 

Note Van Dyke is a Trump appointee, and one of the most far-right judges on the bench. Murphy is a Bush II appointee. Sanchez (concur/dissent) is a Biden appointee.

The BIA has to have worked overtime to do such a miserable job that even Van Dyke couldn’t paper it over, although he took a stab at it!

The majority decision is basically a restatement of the 4th Circuit’s pre-REAL ID precedent Camara v. Ashcroft, 378 F.3d 361 (4th Cir. 2004). That case materially affected practices, changed results, and saved lives during my tenure at the “Legacy”Arlington Immigration Court!

So, it’s not that requiring that testimony be evaluated along with independent, non-testimonial evidence is something “new” or “rocket science!”🚀 Heck, it’s even incorporated in the REAL ID Act. This is “Immigration 101!” Yet, the  BIA came up woefully short while Garland ignores fundamental flaws in his judicial system. 

It’s well worth looking at a bit more of Judge Gabriel Sanchez’s vigorous separate opinion:

Petitioner Milly Kalulu, a native of Zambia, alleges she

was persecuted because she is a lesbian in a country that

criminalizes same-sex relationships. When her relationship

with a woman was discovered by her girlfriend’s brothers,

she was beaten, whipped, injected with an unknown

substance, stabbed in the chest, doused with gasoline, and

threatened with death over several violent encounters.

Kalulu submitted documentary evidence corroborating her

claims, including a copy of her medical report, a declaration

from her aunt in California, and declarations from several

Zambians who witnessed the attacks on her. The agency,

however, dismissed this evidence based on unsupportable or

trivial grounds.

I agree with the majority that the agency failed to

consider whether Kalulu’s supporting evidence

independently proves her claims for asylum, withholding of

removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture

(CAT). “Where potentially dispositive testimony and

documentary evidence is submitted, the BIA must give

reasoned consideration to that evidence.” Cole v. Holder,

659 F.3d 762, 772 (9th Cir. 2011); see also Antonio v.

Garland, 58 F.4th 1067, 1077 (9th Cir. 2023) (“[W]here

there is any indication that the agency did not consider all of

the evidence before it the decision cannot stand.” (cleaned

up)). Remand is required where, as here, the agency did not

give reasoned consideration to highly probative evidence

that may independently support Kalulu’s claims of past

persecution.

But the agency’s failure to consider the documentary

evidence was emblematic of other significant errors

underlying its adverse credibility determination. The most

egregious example? Disbelieving Kalulu’s claim that she is

a lesbian because she had not visited gay clubs or

participated openly in “LGBT activities” during her first five

months in the United States. As the majority recognizes,

two-thirds of the factors cited by the agency for its adverse

credibility determination were based on dubious

stereotyping, mischaracterizations of the testimony, or

purported inconsistencies not found in the record.

These charges of anti-gay bias and invidious stereotyping basically echo the serious findings of institutional racism and other “baked-in bias” at Garland’s dysfunctional EOIR contained in the recent blockbuster Ohio Immigrant Alliance exposé of outrageous shenanigans @ EOIR under Garland! https://immigrationcourtside.com/2024/03/06/%F0%9F%A4%90-busted-eoir-squelches-ijs-union-administration-moves-to-silence-outspoken-uncensored-critic-of-dysfunctional-court-system-news-comes-on-heels-of/.

Even the White House, which has turned a willfully blind eye to Garland’s poor stewardship over the Immigration Courts, now feels the sting of Garland’s timid “leadership” and lackadaisical approach to “justice at Justice.” And, they don’t like it! Not one bit! See, e.g.,https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/11/hur-biden-garland-classified-white-house-congress/.

On the basis of his robust SOTU performance, I have every confidence that President Biden can more than adequately defend himself from the “Hur report.” Sadly, the same can’t necessarily be said for all the asylum seekers and other immigrants harmed by Garland’s indifference to systemic injustice in his “courts!”

This is the real “immigration crisis” that threatens our legal system and our democracy! 

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

03-12-24

🤮 THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ARE FEEDING US FEAR-DRIVEN BS 💩 ON THE BORDER (W/O Meaningful Pushback From the Complicit Media) — Get Some Constructive, Practical, Humane Alternatives From Rev. Craig Mousin and NIJC Policy Director Heidi Altman On The “Lawful Assembly” Podcast! 💡🗽😎⚖️

Rev. Craig Mousin
Rev. Craig Mousin
PHOTO: DePaul Website
Heidi Altman
Heidi Altman
Director of Policy
National Immigrant Justice Center
PHOTO: fcnl.org

Craig on Linkedin:

Instead of listening to our two primary presidential contenders vie over which one is tougher on immigration, let’s consider reframing the debate for a meaningful immigration reform that benefits our nation instead of depriving it of resources wasted on ineffective enforcement policies:

Let’s Reshape Immigration Policy

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Today we talk about 10 points to reshape and improve immigration policy in the USA. We used the National Immigrant Justice Center’s 10 points as a backdrop for our discussion:

Let’s Reshape Immigration Policy

Lawful Assembly

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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-reshape-immigration-policy/id1724492762?i=1000648467773

  • Show Notes 

Today we talk about 10 points to reshape and improve immigration policy in the USA. We used the National Immigrant Justice Center’s 10 points as a backdrop for our discussion:

https://immigrantjustice.org/staff/blog/humane-solutions-work-10-ways-biden-administration-should-reshape-immigration-policy

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-02-29/immigration-crisis-border-migrants-united-states-mexico-election-biden-trump

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

Listen to the podcast and get a copy of NIJC’s “ 10 points” at the above links.

Thanks, Craig, for highlighting the work of my friend and former Georgetown Law colleague Heidi Altman, Director of Policy at NIJC. Heidi is the embodiment of what real leadership, innovation, humane, creative thought on immigration and the border looks like. She stands in dramatic contrast to the pathetic fear mongering (Trump) and fear of standing up for values (Biden) “leadership” coming from our candidates and reflected in the failure of politicos of both parties to embrace humane, cooperative, beneficial solutions for those seeking asylum at the border.

Heidi is a particularly great representative and leadership role model for Women’s History Month.  

I had additional thoughts on this podcast:

  • Better judges, not just more judges. To be effective and efficient, EOIR judges at both levels must be recognized experts in asylum, human rights, and due process who are not afraid to set positive precedents, grant protection to those who qualify under a properly generous interpretation of the law, simplify evidentiary requirements and state them in clear, practical terms, establish and enforce best practices, and steadfastly oppose the political abuse of the Immigration Courts as “deterrents” or as extensions of DHS enforcement. The failure of Garland to clean house at EOIR, particularly the BIA, and of Mayorkas to do likewise at the Asylum Office has been a national disaster driving much of the “disorder at the border.”
  • Incorporate “Judges Without Borders” into the solutions. See  https://immigrationcourtside.com/wp-admin/about.php. It’s a great concept waiting to happen!
  • Invest in VIISTA Villanova and other innovative programs to expand pro bono and low bono representation. See https://www1.villanova.edu/university/professional-studies/academics/professional-education/viista.html. Reach beyond lawyers and NGOs to train students, retirees, social justice advocates, and “ordinary citizens” who want to help by becoming “Accredited Representatives” for “Recognized Organizations” and represent asylum seekers before the AO and EOIR. The programs is top-notch, online, and “scalable.” The Biden Administration’s failure to tap into it and “leverage” it is another dramatic failure of leadership.
  • Better leadership needed in the Biden Administration. As we have seen over the last three years, all the great ideas (and there is a plethora of them) in the world are meaningless without the dynamic, courageous, effective leadership to make it happen! Garland, Mayorkas, the White House Domestic Policy Office, and the Biden Campaign are dramatic negative examples of folks who lack  the hands-on expertise, courage, creativity, and skills to lead on effective administrative immigration reform. I endorse Heidi’s proposal to create a White House Task Force. But, without expert, dynamic, empowered leadership, that Task Force will be ineffective. (Take it from me, over 35-years in the USG, I was on lots of “task forces” and other “action/study groups” whose voluminous reports and well-meaning proposals went directly into a dusty file cabinet or paper shredder.) Think Julian Castro, Dean Kevin Johnson, Judge Dana Marks, Professor Karen Musalo, Beatriz Lopez, Professor Michele Pistone, Anna Gallagher, Camille Mackler, Professor Stephen Yale-Loehr, Heidi Altman, Alex Aleinikoff, Mary Meg McCarthy, Paula Fitzgerald, et al — any of these folks, or a combination, or other “battle tested experts” like them would be head and shoulders over the inept gang advising on and “implementing” (and I use this term loosely) immigration policy for the Administration and the campaign. Leadership counts! And, time’s a wasting to start fixing this asylum system before the election!
  • Acquiescence gets Dems the same place as activist racism. I “get” that the nativist border agenda now being shoved down our throats by both campaigns is driven by GOP fear-mongering and Dem acquiescence. That’s classic Jim Crow! I doubt that every White person south of the Mason-Dixon Line during my youth was overtly racist. Yet, a whole bunch of them were happy to acquiesce in segregation (and worse) because it served their political, social, or business purposes. For example, ”I’ve personally got nothing against Blacks, but if I hired one at my store all my business would go elsewhere.” In calling for “bipartisan” joining with the Trump-generated racist proposal to “close the  border,” Biden and many of his supporters are basically endorsing a lawless, cruel, anti-humanitarian program that couldn’t succeed if enacted. Does that he might be doing it as an act of “political strategy,” “shifting the blame,” or “one-upmanship,” rather than “genuine” racism, xenophobia, and hate, like Trump and MAGA nation, somehow make it more palatable? Not to me!
  • Stop the candidate’s negative campaigning. If Joe can’t think of anything better to say about human rights and the border than to point fingers at the GOP and try and match Trump’s cruelty, lawlessness, and stupidity on the issue, better he say nothing at all. 
  • Don’t get suckered by “whataboutism.” Undoubtedly, there are those in our community genuinely concerned that helping asylum seekers resettle and succeed will deflect resources and attention from existing problems like homelessness and poverty. Nevertheless, few, if any, of my friends and acquaintances who have actually spent their lives, or substantial portions thereof, helping the less fortunate in our communities express this fear. They believe that that if we treat all of our fellow humans as humans, we can expand opportunities and economic activities across the board so that there will be enough for everyone. It’s a  derivation of something we say every Sunday at the community church we attend: “All are welcome at Christ’s table.” Also, asylum seekers and other migrants disproportionately give back to communities, particularly low income communities, rural communities, or others in need. By contrast, many of those raising these fears are the same GOP folks who steadfastly want to cut meals for kids, slash after-school programs, defund proven-to-work programs that reduce poverty, and restrict or limit other existing aid programs. It’s not like these folks would “repurpose” any of the very limited funds spent on assisting migrants to helping the homeless or the less fortunate. No, they would almost certainly spend it on more deadly, yet ineffective walls, “civil” prisons, unnecessary tax cuts for the wealthy, and/or more counterproductive, wasteful, costly border militarization. Don’t get suckered by their “crocodile tears” for the poor and needy!

Contrary to the BS 💩 that is peddled every day by the presidential candidates, spineless politicos of both parties, and the mainstream media, the border is solvable with common sense, humane, innovative legal reforms. More cruel, wasteful, and essentially mindless enforcement and restriction is NOT the answer, nor will it ever be!

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

03-10-24

⚖️🗽 TGIF:  “Thank Goodness It’s (Five Immigration Things on a) Friday” — From Professor Austin Kocher @ Substack!

Austin Kocher, Ph.D.
Austin Kocher, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor
TRAC-Syracuse
PHOTO: Syracuse U.

https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=80027&post_id=142434213&utm_source=post-email-title&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1se78m&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMDgxNTc5OTAsInBvc3RfaWQiOjE0MjQzNDIxMywiaWF0IjoxNzA5OTM1MzU1LCJleHAiOjE3MTI1MjczNTUsImlzcyI6InB1Yi04MDAyNyIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.mUNqwD2zV_1Nm3R_LsiIzbFJ-sb2im3l_E6zFUUoLzY

Welcome back, friends. To celebrate the end of the week and the start of the weekend, I am sending you my personal list of Five Things You Might Have Missed. For this issue, I draw from my bucket of many (many) things that I read or saw during the week and share them with you.

  1. Justice Department Silences Immigration Judges
  2. Biden Refers to Immigrants as “Illegals”
  3. How Does Asylum Work Right Now?
  4. The Migrant’s Journey by Adam Isacson
  5. Talking About Immigration in an Election Year

. . . . .

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

Thanks, my friend! 🙏 Read Austin’s complete rundown at the above link!

My favorite quote is from John Washington’s article, #3 on Austin’s list:

In fiscal year 2023, 99.5 percent of all people whose asylum cases were decided by immigration judges showed up to court for their hearings, according to data compiled by Human Rights First. Unlike citizens, people seeking asylum are not entitled to attorneys at government expense. That means that people either pay out of pocket, find willing attorneys to help them pro-bono, or represent themselves in court. According to a January report, only 30% of people in removal proceedings — which means the government is trying to deport them — are represented by attorneys. A 2023 study from Migration Policy Institute shows that having representation improves efficiency, lowers the costs of public resources expended and, for the migrants in court, decreases their chances of being deported.

“The immigration system has been pretty broken— backlogged and needing reform — for 20 years,” [Yael] Schacher [Director of Americas and Europe for Refugees International] said.

Though there are major delays, the overwhelming majority of asylum-seekers follow the system as it is currently functioning, Schacher said.

Yael Schacher
Yael Schacher
Historian
Director of Americas & Europe for Refugees International

Not only does this cogently refute the restrictionist myth of asylum seekers “gaming” the system, peddled by politicos of both parties yet primarily a GOP talking point, but it points to what should be the real target of reform! Obviously, what’s actually needed here is professionalization, quality control, innovation, increased staffing, and, perhaps most of all, dynamic, expert, due-process focused leadership in the USG’s asylum adjudication and resettlement programs, with a focus on dramatically increasing representation and orientation resources!

Instead, politicos and pundits focus on eliminating the system, rather than fixing it! It’s basically a cowardly attempt to “destroy evidence” of USG misfeasance and incompetence! At the same time, it would unfairly punish the victims of our Government’s systemic failures.

The political response by both parties is totally irresponsible (not to mention immoral) as well as demonstrably unworkable. Yet, so-called “mainstream media” figures are so ill-informed and disinterested in the human trauma and realities of asylum, migration, and the border, that they present the one-sided, nativist nonsense spouted by both parties as a “debate.” It isn’t! Neither party is interested in actually fixing the problems at the border — just in finger-pointing, posturing, and shifting blame for perceived political gain!

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

03-09-24