Month: July 2021

THE GIBSON REPORT — 07-05-21 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group

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

 

ALERTS

Note: Policies are rapidly changing, so please verify information with the government and colleagues.

 

EOIR Status Overview

EOIR plans to resume non-detained hearings July 6, 2021 at all remaining immigration courts.

 

TOP NEWS

 

Federal Informants Are Often Promised Visas. They Rarely Materialize.

Intercept: But data that Gershel was able to obtain for his report suggests that bad faith isn’t the primary problem. The S visa system itself is broken. Getting an S visa, an interagency process that requires an application from the Justice Department and then approvals by agencies under the Department of Homeland Security, can take up to a decade — a laborious process that dissuades officials at the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and other agencies from even applying for them. Making S visas even less appealing, the law requires that federal agencies monitor the applicant until the process is complete.

 

Biden administration formally launches effort to return deported veterans to U.S.

WaPo: The Biden administration unveiled plans Friday to bring hundreds, possibly thousands, of deported veterans and their immediate family members back to the United States, saying their removal “failed to live up to our highest values.”

 

U.S. looks into having 3 Central Asian states take in at-risk Afghans -sources

Reuters: They said Washington is in talks with Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan about letting in the at-risk Afghan citizens. Two of the sources were U.S. officials and all requested anonymity.

 

US will close 4 emergency shelters for migrant children

AP: Four of the large-scale shelters will remain open, including one that has faced criticism from immigrant advocates at Fort Bliss Army Base in El Paso, Texas, she said. Others are in Albion, Michigan; Pecos, Texas; and Pomona, California, she said.

 

Supreme Court rules against immigrants claiming safety fears after deportation

WaPo: Alito said Congress had good reason to be more restrictive with those who came back into the country after being deported. “Aliens who reentered the country illegally after removal have demonstrated a willingness to violate the terms of a removal order, and they therefore may be less likely to comply with the reinstated order” that they leave, he said.

 

Republicans go all-in on immigration as a political weapon

Politico: With Donald Trump and a dozen House Republicans joining Abbott on the border on Wednesday, the GOP is loudly signaling its conviction that immigration will be a potent political weapon ahead of the midterm elections and presidential primary in 2024.

 

House Budget Trims ICE Funding, Ends Local Deputy Program

Law360: The House Appropriations Commission has released its homeland security budget for 2022, and it slashes U.S. Customs and Border Protection spending by $927 million, shaves ICE’s budget down a hair and cuts a controversial program that allowed local law enforcement to be deputized as immigration officials.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

Supreme Court Rules That Detained Noncitizens in Withholding-Only Proceedings Are Not Entitled to Individualized Bond Hearings

The U.S. Supreme Court held that INA §241, not INA §236, governs the detention of noncitizens subject to reinstated orders of removal, meaning that such noncitizens are not entitled to a bond hearing while they pursue withholding of removal. (Johnson, et al. v. Guzman Chavez, et al., 6/29/21) AILA Doc. No. 21062935

 

Immigration in the Supreme Court, 2020 Term

ImmProf: The U.S. government prevailed in four of the five cases, an 80 percent success rate.  This rate was higher than that seen in recent Terms.

 

SCOTUS Grants Cert in Patel v. Garland

The U.S. Supreme Court granted a petition for writ of certiorari in Patel v. Garland to decide whether INA § 242(a)(2)(B)(i) “preserves the jurisdiction of federal courts to review a nondiscretionary determination that a noncitizen is ineligible for certain types of discretionary relief.” AILA Doc. No. 21070132

 

Flores settlement applies to minors detained amid pandemic – 9th Circ

Reuters: A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday said a longstanding settlement agreement requiring the government to detain minors who enter the U.S. illegally in licensed facilities rather than hotels applies to children who came to the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

CA2 on Finality of Convictions

PLS: Today, the Second Circuit issued a landmark decision in Brathwaite v. Garland, a case filed by PLS, finding that the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA’s) imposition of a presumption of finality to state criminal convictions that were under appellate review was arbitrary and unreasonable.

 

4th Circ. Upholds Illegal Reentry Law’s Constitutionality

Law360: The Fourth Circuit has affirmed the constitutionality of a federal illegal reentry law, dismissing a Honduran immigrant’s claim that it unlawfully allows an administrative agency, rather than a jury, to establish an element of a crime and incorporates the facts supporting a removal order.

 

5th Circ. Revives Honduran’s Asylum Bid Over Threats

Law360: The Fifth Circuit has sent an appeal by a Honduran asylum-seeker back to the Board of Immigration Appeals, saying the BIA needs to get the immigration judge in the case to clarify an “ambiguous” statement that the man is “likely” to be killed by cops in an order denying asylum.

 

CA4 Remands Claims for Asylum and Related Relief of 15-Year-Old Salvadoran Who Was Threatened by MS-13 Gang

On rehearing en banc, the court held that where a petitioner is a child at the time of the alleged persecution, IJs and the BIA must take the child’s age into account in analyzing past persecution and fear of future persecution for purposes of asylum. (Portillo-Flores v. Garland, 6/29/21) AILA Doc. No. 21063030

 

CA11 Finds BIA Failed to Properly Reconsider Discretionary Denial of Asylum Under 8 CFR §1208.16(e)

The court held that when an applicant is discretionarily denied asylum but granted withholding of removal and the IJ fails to reconsider its discretionary denial of asylum, the BIA must remand for the IJ to conduct this required reconsideration. (Thamotar v. Att’y Gen., 6/17/21) AILA Doc. No. 21062832

 

D.C. Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Claims by Detained Mothers and Children Challenging Credible Fear Regulations

The D.C. Circuit Court affirmed the district court’s determination that the IIRAIRA barred its review of 10 of the 11 alleged policies, because either the policy was unwritten or the challenges to it were untimely. (M.M.V., et al. v. Garland, et al., 6/18/21) AILA Doc. No. 19092532

 

BIA Finds IJs May Exercise Discretion to Rescind In Absentia Removal Orders

The BIA rescinded the absentia order of removal, after finding that an IJ, who has properly entered an in absentia order of removal, has the authority to determine whether a late arrival constitutes “exceptional circumstances.” Matter of S-L-H- & L-B-L- 28 I&N Dec. 318 (BIA 2021) AILA Doc. No. 21070137

 

Challenge to the Biden Administration’s Interim Enforcement Priorities Dismissed Without Prejudice

The district court denied Arizona and Montana’s request for preliminary injunction and dismissed the case without prejudice. (State of Arizona, et al., v. DHS, et al., 6/30/21)

ILA Doc. No. 21063099

 

ACLU Files First Lawsuit Against Biden Admin Over Transportation of Migrants by ICE

Newsweek: The first-ever lawsuit against President Joe Biden’s administration by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was filed Wednesday over long-distance transportation of detained migrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

 

Tech Group Says Schools’ OPT Support ‘Nakedly Political’

Law360: A technology union has urged the D.C. Circuit to bar over 150 colleges and universities from having a say in its lawsuit challenging work permit extensions for foreign graduates, saying that the schools’ arguments are purely political.

 

DHS releases Interagency Strategy for Promoting Naturalization

USCIS: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released the Interagency Strategy for Promoting Naturalization (PDF, 3.77 MB), a whole-of-government approach to breaking down barriers to U.S. citizenship and promoting naturalization to all who are eligible, as outlined in President Biden’s Executive Order 14012.

 

ACTIONS

 

 

RESOURCES

 

 

EVENTS

 

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, July 5, 2021

Sunday, July 4, 2021

Saturday, July 3, 2021

Friday, July 2, 2021

Thursday, July 1, 2021

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Monday, June 28, 2021

 

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Thanks for keeping us up to date, Liz! 😎👍🏼

PWS

07-06-21

Related posts:

  1. ⚖️THE GIBSON REPORT — 03-15-21 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group — Keep Up To Date On The Biden Administration’s Immigration Plans & Actions!
  2. ⚖️🗽COMING TOMORROW — REGISTER NOW — NY City Bar Presents: “100 Days: Accountability on Immigration” — Moderator Liz Gibson of NYLAG (& The NDPA) Leads An All-Star Panel! — Don’t Miss It!
  3. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⚖️🗽🇺🇸FORMER DEPUTY AG DON AYER, JUDGE MIMI TSANKOV AMONG “HEADLINERS” AT TIMELY UPCOMING NY CITY BAR ASSN. EVENT: “Rule of Law Forum – Preserving the Rule of Law in an Age of Disruption” — Register Now, Right Here!
  4. THE GIBSON REPORT — 06-21-21 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group! — Lots Of Interesting Items Under “Top News,” Some Good, Some Not So Much!

🤮🏴‍☠️👎🏽RACE-BASED CHILD ABUSE & SEXUAL ABUSE OF KIDS MUST STOP — Demand An End To Scofflaw Behavior By Our Government!

Crimes Against Humanity
Thomas Cizauskas Crimes against humanity
Creative Commons License — The Biden Administration promised to stop these crimes committed by our Government, but hasn’t.

https://www.newsweek.com/we-fled-honduras-fearing-our-lives-immigration-officers-abused-my-child-opinion-1605760p

Daniel Paz writes in Newsweek:

“Welcome to hell.”

 

Those were the words I heard from an immigration officer not long after I entered the United States near El Paso, Texas in May 2018. I thought I had just reached safety with Angie, my 7-year-old daughter. I was wrong.

Once we arrived at the border, immigration officers processed me and my daughter at a detention facility, and led us to a crowded cell packed with 50 to 60 other families. It smelled terrible—like urine—and everything was gray. We were so cold. They didn’t even offer us one of the cellophane blankets you see on TV. I had to take my shirt off to wrap it around Angie and keep her warm. I was shivering.

pastedGraphic.png

The journey to this point had been excruciatingly painful. Fearing for our lives, we had to make the decision to flee. I had a good life in Honduras. I was a businessman and I owned my own home. I knew it would be hard to leave everything I worked so hard to build behind. Starting a new life in a new country with a different culture wouldn’t be easy. But desperate circumstances called for desperate measures. Hope of reaching a safe place for my family kept me going.

At the detention center, many fathers began hearing rumors that immigration officials were going to take our children away from us. Take them where? Take my daughter? To another cell? A new facility? On the inside I was panicking, but I knew I needed to show strength for my daughter. I needed to be brave and prepare her if the rumors were true. You will contact your grandparents in Ohio, I told Angie.

In the cell, we practiced memorizing their phone numbers, repeating them over and over. To be extra safe, I then wrote the numbers with a ball-point pen on my daughter’s arm, her belly, her foot and on the inside of her jeans hoping she’d have the chance to make a phone call before immigration officials washed off the ink.

Then my nightmare happened. They came to take our children. I witnessed pain, agonizing cries and a deep sense of helplessness. Some of the immigration officers joked as they handcuffed the parents. Others expressed a cruelty I never would have expected. Rather than trying to ease our pain, they were somehow enjoying their power. As if they believed their actions were the right thing to do. I don’t know how anyone believes separating a child from a parent is right.

. . . .

While being transferred to a detention facility for children, an immigration officer sexually abused her. When she fought back, the officer threatened her, saying if she told anyone she would never see her parents again. Then Angie witnessed the same officer sexually abuse two girls who were even younger than her. Angie stayed quiet about the experience even months after we were reunited.

We were reunited after several weeks, though the separation felt eternal. The Angie the U.S. government returned to me is not the same girl they took out of my arms in that detention center. She cannot forget what happened to her. And she wants me to share what happened to her because she is worried the officer who abused her is still an immigration official. We do not know the officer’s name—let alone whether the officer is still working in government.

“What if that officer is still hurting other kids?” Angie asked me.

As a father I want to tell Angie not to worry. That is why I am asking President Joe Biden to act. Reuniting families and making sure they have immigration status in the U.S. is critical—but it is not enough. The government can make a huge difference in the lives of thousands of asylum seekers who are being turned away at the border right now. All asylum seekers should be allowed to seek protection and refuge in the U.S. without fear.

The government must also investigate every allegation of sexual abuse and mistreatment by immigration officers. Those officers must immediately be identified and removed from their positions so they cannot hurt anyone else. President Biden, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice together have the ability to ensure that families like mine can begin to heal.

It is hell to leave your home and risk everything so your child can be safe. It shouldn’t be hell once you have reached what you thought would be a safe haven.

After entering the United States to seek safety, Daniel Paz and his daughter were separated for several weeks. Paz and his family were reunited in 2018 and have since won asylum. He is a committed advocate for other families who have faced similar trauma.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.

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Who would have thought that nearly six months into the Biden Administration our Government would still be abusing asylum seekers and ignoring the Constitution, mocking the rule of law, and degrading humanity?

So, how is it that Garland, Monaco, Gupta, and Clarke intend to combat racism and unequal justice in America when they have failed to re-establish the rule of law for asylum seekers at the border and continue to run an unjust and grossly mismanaged “court system” @ EOIR filled with too many “Miller Lite” judges?

Tell the Biden Administration and Judge Garland that we need progressive reforms, now! EOIR would be a great starting place!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-06-21

Related posts:

  1. 🇺🇸🗽⚖️GEORGE W. BUSH INSTITUTE REPORT: GENDER VIOLENCE ☠️⚰️DRIVES CONTINUING REFUGEE FLOW TO U.S. — Dishonesty Of Sessions’s Misogynistic Attack In Matter Of A-B- 🤮 Exposed Again! — Yet, Garland Fails To Take Action To End Misogyny, Anti-Asylum Culture @ EOIR, Even As He Also Fails To Insist On The Restoration Of The Rule Of Law @ Our Borders! —  WHY?🤯
  2. NOT ROCKET SCIENCE, 🚀 BUT BIDEN ADMINISTRATION LACKS EXPERT PROGRESSIVE LEADERSHIP WHO “GETS IT” — Will VP Harris Be Able To Break Out Of The “Death Spiral” ☠️ Of “Proven, Guaranteed To Fail” Racist Immigration Deterrence? — “It’s Groundhog Day at the border, and Biden is mindlessly laying the foundation for more problems in a few years. We’ve watched it all play out before. Immigration deterrence doesn’t work.” 
  3. 🇺🇸🏴‍☠️RACE IN AMERICA: CARRIE ROSENBAUM “GETS IT,” EVEN AS MAYORKAS, GARLAND, HARRIS & THE OTHER BIDEN HYPOCRITES PRETEND NOT TO:  “Immigration reform, and a more robust application of the Equal Protection doctrine to all those inside the country, and at our borders, is necessary to move towards meaningfully dismantling systemic racism.”
  4. CRIME BLOTTER: CHILD ABUSE🤮☠️⚰️🦹🏿‍♀️: DOJ IG REPORT CONFIRMS WHAT COURTSIDE & OTHERS KNEW FROM THE START: Trump, Sessions, Miller, Rosenstein, Hamilton Are Cowards🐓, Lying 🤥 Criminals, Child Abusers🦹🏿‍♀️, Who Belong Behind Bars For Intentionally Abusing Asylum Seeking Families & Kids & Then Having Their Sleazy DOJ Lawyers Lie To Federal Judges! — What Happened To “Due Diligence” As An Ethical Requirement For Government Lawyers?

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PATRIOTISM 🇺🇸 & NATIONALISM 🏴‍☠️! — One Makes You Happy, The Other Not So Much! — Arthur C. Brooks @ The Atlantic

 

Arthur C . Brooks
Arthur C. Brooks
Contributing Writer
The Atlantic
PHOTO: Wikipedia

https://apple.news/AobtHDb1wTmSBHh9XLGkCxw

The Happy Patriot, the Unhappy Nationalist

Having pride in your country can lead to greater well-being, but only if you do it right.

. . . .

Over the next century, this kind of patriotism came to seem less strange around the world as societies became more demographically diverse and shared values became more central to national identity. In 1945, George Orwell defined patriotism as “devotion to a particular place and a particular way of life, which one believes to be the best in the world but has no wish to force on other people.” He contrasted patriotism with nationalism, by which he meant “the habit of assuming that human beings can be classified like insects and that whole blocks of millions or tens of millions of people can be confidently labeled ‘good’ or ‘bad’”; also, “the habit of identifying oneself with a single nation or other unit, placing it beyond good and evil and recognizing no other duty than that of advancing its interests.”

Nationalists may identify as patriots, and some people opposed to both ideologies might argue that they are equivalent. For national and individual well-being, though, distinguishing between them is important. Following Tocqueville and Orwell, we might define patriotism as civic pride in our democratic institutions and shared culture, and nationalism as a sense of superiority or identity, defined by demographics such as race, religion, or language. Modern social science finds a major quality-of-life difference between the two. In 2013, a cross-national team of political scientists measured the effects of each on the levels of social trust and voluntary association, both of which are strongly positively associated with personal well-being. They found that civic pride usually pushed both up, and ethnic pride pushed both down.

[Sasha Banks: The problem with patriotism]

Given the evidence, it is reasonable to conclude that patriotism, as we have traditionally understood it in the United States, is good for our happiness. Meanwhile, nationalism (under Orwell’s definition) is not. If we are moving toward the latter in our society—as many argue we are—then, in terms of happiness, we are moving in the wrong direction.

No matter your political views or where you live, you can cultivate a patriotism of the healthy Tocquevillian sort, for your own benefit and to help inflect the national mood. This requires that you follow two guidelines.

. . . .

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Interesting article!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-05-21

Related posts:

  1. GEORGE PACKER @ THE ATLANTIC: With Failed Institutions & Lousy Leaders, Including a President Leading the Charge to the Bottom, America Faces An Uncertain Future — “A responsible establishment doesn’t exist. Our president is one of the rioters.” — Joe Biden & The Dems Could Be The Last, Best Hope For American Democracy & Real Progress Toward “Equal Justice For All!”
  2. JIM CROW WINS, AMERICA LOSES, AGAIN — WHITE NATIONALIST CLOWN-IN-CHIEF 🤡 HALTS IMMIGRATION TO DIVERT ATTENTION FROM MASSIVE FAILURE OF GOVERNANCE, AS FECKLESS DEMS PROTEST! — Announced By Tweet At Time When Borders Closed Anyway — A “pathetic attempt to shift blame from his Visible Incompetence to an Invisible Enemy,” Says Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) 😰👎🏻
  3. LAW YOU CAN UNDERSTAND: Forget The 55 Pages of Butt-Covering BS & Turgid Legal Gobbledegook 🤮 From 7 Supremes Who Don’t Believe in Constitutional Due Process or Racial Equality in America 🏴‍☠️☠️  — Nicole Narea @ Vox Explains in A Few Cogent Paragraphs How 7 Tone-Deaf & Complicit Justices Have Put All Americans of Color Directly in The Crosshairs of Trump’s DHS Enforcement👎🏻!
  4. WOW, HERE’S A SURPRISE: MANY KIDS FLEEING VIOLENCE IN THE NORTHERN TRIANGLE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT BIDEN BORDER POLICIES — They Are Just Trying To Save Their Lives!

🏴‍☠️☠️⚰️👎🏽DOJ DISCONNECT: Garland Hits Pause Button On Trump/Barr 🤮 Kill-Fest, While Operating “Traffic Courts” That Can Impose The Death Penalty ⚰️ Without Due Process Or Impartial Judges! 

In the strangely disingenuous world of Judge Garland’s DOJ:  

This is unacceptable treatment of convicted felons:

Death Penalty
Death Penalty
By Dave Granlund
Reprinted by license

But, this is “A-OK” treatment of those seeking asylum @ EOIR:

Star Chamber Justice
“Justice”
Star Chamber
Style

Pausing the Trump/Barr Federal killing spree makes sense. In addition to Garland’s “due process concerns,” there is the larger problem that the death penalty is unconstitutional under the 8th Amendment. 

One would think that AG Garland’s concern for due process would extend to individuals being railroaded through his broken, biased, dysfunctional, due-process-denying Immigration “Courts” (that aren’t courts at all) who often face removal to places where they face abuse, torture, and/or death. Heck, at the border they are illegally removed without any process at all, as Judge Garland and his lieutenants look the other way. They might pretend not to see what’s happening. But, we see it!

Apparently, in Garland’s system due process is only a requirement for convicted felons, not for vulnerable individuals fighting for their lives in a process intentionally skewed against them. His is a system staffed largely with “Miller-Lite judges” selected by his two immediate predecessors who prided themselves on creating a “due process free zone” at EOIR and “partnering” with DHS Enforcement!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever,

PWS

07-05-21

Related posts:

  1. ☠️END MISOGYNY 🤮@ EOIR, NOW! — Gorelick & Miller-Muro Are Right, But Abused Refugee Women’s Lives⚰️ Can’t Wait For Congress! — Judge Garland Must Bring Justice ⚖️ To Dysfunctional EOIR Now! — It’s Not Rocket Science! 🚀
  2. ☠️🏴‍☠️⚰️🤮NO JUSTICE @ JUSTICE! — GARLAND ISSUES WEAK-KNEED, PERFUNCTORY “NOTHINGBURGER” PROMISING “ACCESS TO JUSTICE REFORMS” WHILE DAILY MOCKING THEM IN PRACTICE IN HIS DYSFUNCTIONAL, ANTI-DUE PROCSS, INTENTIONALLY “USER UNFRIENDLY” IMMIGRATION “COURTS” — Talk About “Lack of Credibility!”
  3. ⚖️🧑🏽‍⚖️JUDICIAL REVIEW — C.A. 2 — Brace Of Bad BIA Bobbles On Basics Brings “Culture Of Denial” Into Focus — Justice Will Continue To Be Illusive @ EOIR 👎🏽 Until Garland Steps Up & Replaces His Fatally Flawed BIA With Real Judges Who Are Progressive Practical Scholars In Immigration, Due Process, Human Rights, With A Firm Commitment To Bringing Racial & Gender Equity To Now-Disgraced Immigration Courts!🤮
  4. 🆘🤮IS 11TH CIR. GROWING WEARY OF GARLAND’S SCOFFLAW BIA? —Two Trips To The Circuit, & The BIA Still Violates Own Regulations, Ignores Precedent, Spouts Gibberish While OIL’s Defense Of This Nonsense & Malfeasance By EOIR Raises Serious Ethical Questions! — THAMOTAR v. U.S. ATT’Y GEN. — Garland’s Dysfunctional & Systematically Unjust Courts Undermine OUR Democracy☠️ — Demand An IMMEDIATE End To The Scofflaw Nonsense🤡 🧹 At OUR Justice Department! 🏴‍☠️

🇺🇸🗽A JULY 4 SMORGASBORD OF PATRIOTIC MUSINGS ON THE STATE OF OUR 245-YEAR-OLD DEMOCRACY!

🗽Emigrating to the U.S.? Here are Some Helpful Hints

By Diane Harrison

 

Moving to the United States is an exciting transition. Sometimes people who are new to the U.S. may not understand some of the culture and perspectives of its citizens. For immigrants preparing to make the big move, there are some things to keep in mind that will help ease the transition. Immigrationcourtside.com shares a few in the guide below.

The U.S. is a Melting Pot

The U.S. values independence and freedom to live with a variety of liberties.This translates into a unique melting-pot culture of diversity.

 

1. Americans originate from all over the world; 44.8 million immigrants lived in the U.S. as of 2018.

2. The U.S. values religious freedoms and human rights above all else. A lot of families are interfaith, meaning one spouse may be of the Jewish faith while their partner is Buddhist or Christian. There are interfaith communities that support the spiritual needs of many religions under one roof as a way to unite people.

Our Politics Vary

One of the most interesting aspects of U.S. politics is the diversity of our parties, and all voters coming together to elect constituents through a fair electoral process.

 

3. There are three political parties in the U.S.; Republicans, Democrats and Independents. Each of these parties value democracy but have differing beliefs about how it is best accomplished.

4. Our political system relies on the democractic process of voting for elected officials. Qualified immigrants can apply for voting ability.

Getting and Sending Support

The U.S. offers programs to assist immigrants in need of assistance in everyday life. If an immigrant does not need assistance but wishes to send funds to loved ones back home, there are reliable ways to facilitate that need.

 

5. There are companies that offer funds transfers at reasonable rates. If there were family in India for example, immigrants could relax knowing that their funds were being sent safely.

6. U.S. citizens are charitable and enjoy sharing their blessings with others. During holiday seasons such as Hanukkah and the Christian holiday of Christmas, Americans are particularly generous, providing gifts, food, and assistance to people in need, including immigrant populations from around the world.

Immigrants Have Rights and Benefits

Those who have immigrated to the U.S. have rights and systems in place to support their needs, and these have been developed as a way to reduce poverty among immigrant populations.

 

7. Immigrants who are working on assimilation in the U.S. may find that our resources and benefits are helpful. You are not on your own, so reach out for support.

8. For legal representation, immigrants can reach out and access free or reduced-cost attorneys.

9. Immigrants own and operate 1 in 5 U.S. businesses. You can do it, too.

10. Register your business as an LLC with the state to help protect yourself from liability.

11. People who have made the move to the U.S. may wish to become residents and can follow these logical steps toward citizenship.

 

Moving to the United States is exciting and thrilling, but it can also be scary and overwhelming. However, knowing what to expect can help alleviate some of that stress.

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5 ways to engage with immigrants this week! — From Immigrant Food:

https://mailchi.mp/4f1861b1de43/5-ways-to-engage-with-immigrants-this-week-10077018?e=16814f5ced

 

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Immigration Doesn’t Just Mean Coming To America. These 4 Books Are Good Reminders.

Author Ocean Vuong recommends four books on the immigrant experience — but he wants to de-center America in these stories: “Immigration is a species-wide legacy,” he says, and always has been.

Read in NPR: https://apple.news/AHF0mzKuBSD2sndcvfNlLXw

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The Founding Debtors and their slaves 

https://edition.pagesuite.com/popovers/dynamic_article_popover.aspx?guid=ec5606cc-8bcf-4912-9774-cc57daf2c71e&v=sdk

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Los Angeles Times: My family’s reparations dilemma

https://edition.pagesuite.com/popovers/dynamic_article_popover.aspx?guid=9f5502fd-5db8-41ad-80cd-63981fc4361a&v=sdk

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This week’s GOP clown is Paul Gosar — and the ringmaster isn’t doing anything to stop him

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/02/paul-gosar-kevin-mccarthy-clown-show/

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The Fourth is for Complainers: 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/03/fourth-is-complainers/

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Inclusion is patriotism of the highest order

The Founders entrusted us with the tools to fix what they were unwilling to repair.

Opinion by Darren Walker

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/02/inclusion-is-patriotism-highest-order/

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On July 4, recognize the Black and Indigenous soldiers who helped win the Revolutionary War

George Washington’s army might not have been able to beat the British without Black and Indigenous men. It’s time to set the record straight, for all Americans.

Opinion by Bonnie Watson Coleman

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini

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St. Louis Newspaper Bashes GOP, Josh Hawley For ‘Contempt’ Of Democracy:

“Plenty of words come to mind to describe … actions by one of America’s two major political parties,” the editorial reads. “‘Patriotic’ is nowhere among them.”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/josh-hawley-capitol-insurrection-democracy-contempt-st-louis_n_60e13699e4b0e01b6b1eeef7

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The panic over critical race theory is an attempt to whitewash U.S. history – The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/critical-race-theory-history/2021/07/02/e90bc94a-da75-11eb-9bbb-37c30dcf9363_story.html

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Critical race theory’s opponents are sure it’s bad. Whatever it is.

The movement’s critics demonize it, then dismiss it:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/critical-race-theory-law-systemic-racism/2021/07/02/6abe7590-d9f5-11eb-8fb8-aea56b785b00_story.html

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

Maybe it’s time to admit that the Statue of Liberty has never quite measured up:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/statue-of-liberty-replica/2021/06/30/ed288c96-d77f-11eb-bb9e-70fda8c37057_story.html

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

Today’s GOP:  Only the Incompetent Need Apply:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/01/opinion/republicans-incompetence.html

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

WHEN BAD PUBLIC OFFICIALS ARE NEGATIVE ROLE MODELS: A Run-In With Donald Rumsfeld When I Was In College Changed The Course Of My Life

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-rumsfeld-princeton-encounter_n_60de4430e4b0e01b6b1c6b89

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

What does it mean to be American? Ask an immigrant

We are at an inflection point. After the departure of Trump, his xenophobia and racism continue to shape how we understand both immigration and what it means to be American. How do we challenge this worldview?

One way is to recognize that because xenophobia is an inextricable part of systemic racism in the U.S., it must be fought alongside racism. We need to examine and protest the unequal treatment of immigrants as part of this structure. We must counter the narratives that identify immigration as a threat with facts: COVID-19 is not the “Chinese virus.” Immigrants are essential workers, constituting 17% of the civilian labor force. About two-thirds of Americans say that immigrants strengthen the country.

http://enewspaper.latimes.com/infinity/article_share.aspx?guid=69fd3116-862c-4d16-914c-2c974205a5d5

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

Special thanks to Diane Harrison for her always thoughtful, informative, and accessible “Health Care PSA” contribution to the “July 4, 2021 Edition of Courtside.”

The quote about unequal justice in the last item by Erika Lee underscores the dis-service that AG Garland is doing by failing to eradicate the “Dred Scottification” of migrants, primarily those of color, in our Immigration Courts.

His unwillingness to date to make the obvious personnel moves necessary to replace inadequate and weak judges and administrators with a diverse group of progressive experts who would bring due process, fundamental fairness, and racial and gender equality to our broken, biased, and dysfunctional Immigration Courts will continue to make American democracy fall well short of our stated ideals! The failure of the Biden Administration to “connect the dots” between racism and institutionalized xenophobia, particularly at EOIR, is highly disappointing, to say the least!

🇺🇸🗽Due Process Forever! Happy July 4!🎆🎇

PWS   

07-04-21

Related posts:

  1. 🇺🇸CELEBRATE HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH WITH SOME “REFORM EOIR NOW” ACTIVISM: “NO MORE PATIENCE” FOR GARLAND’S DYSFUNCTIONAL EOIR THAT DEMEANS AND MISTREATS HISPANICS & OTHER MIGRANTS OF COLOR! — Where’s The New Progressive Hispanic Leadership Who Could Fix A Disturbingly “Whitewashed” Immigration Court System That Ignores The Human Impact Of Their Horrible, Tone-Deaf, One-Sided Decision-Making On Communities Of Color Throughout America!
  2. DAHLIA LITHWICK REVIEWS NEW BOOK “AMERICAN NERO” ON THE DISINTEGRATION OF THE RULE OF LAW AND AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE TRUMP REGIME!  — Echoes Of Germany In 1939 — “[J]udges, prosecutors and democratically elected officials formed the very backbone of Nazi Germany.”
  3. GEORGE PACKER @ THE ATLANTIC: With Failed Institutions & Lousy Leaders, Including a President Leading the Charge to the Bottom, America Faces An Uncertain Future — “A responsible establishment doesn’t exist. Our president is one of the rioters.” — Joe Biden & The Dems Could Be The Last, Best Hope For American Democracy & Real Progress Toward “Equal Justice For All!”
  4. THE SADNESS OF PROPHECY WITHOUT POWER: Two Years Ago, I Gave A Speech Warning Of The Consequences Of “1939 Germany” — Now, We’re In “Germany 1938” With 1939 Just An Election Away! — Moscow Mitch, Lindsey The Toad, Texas Ted & The Rest Of The GOP Fellow Travelers & Cultists Would Be Right At Home With Franz van Papen!

HISTORY/POLITICS — STRUCTURAL RACISM IS DEEPLY INGRAINED IN OUR IMMIGRATION SYSTEM — “DRED SCOTTIFICATION” IS STILL ALIVE & WELL IN TODAY’S DYSFUNCTIONAL IMMIGRANT “JUSTICE” SYSTEM!

Julissa Arce
Julissa Arce
NATIONAL BEST SELLING AUTHOR, SPEAKER, SOCIAL JUSTICE ADVOCATE AND FORMER WALL STREET EXECUTIVE
PHOTO: JulissaArce.com

This video short by Julissa Arce, Activist, Writer, and Producer says it all:

https://blog.unidosus.org/2021/07/01/the-structural-racism-of-our-immigration-system/

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

In my Georgetown Law Immigration Law & Policy class, we recently talked about the racist roots of naturalization policy set forth in the Naturalization Act of 1790 with my friend and colleague Professor Cori Alonso Yoder. Obviously, the racism of our “Founding Fathers” went well beyond the institution of slavery. 

Cori Alonso Yoder
Professor Cori Alonso Yoder
PHOTO: Google Scholar

Naturalization was a “whites only” proposition that transcended status as free or enslaved. White foreign nationals who had resided here for two years could be citizens. Free African Americans, Native Americans, and other free people of color could not become U.S. Citizens even if they had been born here and lived here for their entire lives. Yup, you don’t have to think too deeply to recognize the overt racism there!

Not to mention that America was literally built on the backs of enslaved African Americans whose free labor also supported a number of the white Founding Fathers, their white families, their often lavish lifestyles, and their sometimes endemic fiscal irresponsibilities. See, e.g., T. Jefferson, drafter of the Declaration of Independence whose estate had to sell off slaves to pay his debts.

No wonder White Supremacists, including many ignorant and dishonest pols, don’t want the truth of our nation’s history taught. The truth isn’t always pretty. And, it often has little to do with the various White Nationalist myths and skewed narratives foisted upon us.  

Since those bogus myths exclude or distort the roles of the majority of today’s Americans, the “truth deniers” are going to have a tough time shoving their “whitewashed” version of American history down our throats in the long run! (That’s true, even though the “forces of ignorance, racism, bias, and thought suppression” on the right have been quite active lately and, shamefully, have succeeded in writing some of their racist nonsense into state and local laws). An honest reckoning with our past, including our past mistakes, is necessary for us to move forward into a better future. 

One has only to look at Justice Alito’s mythologized version of America set forth in his recent majority opinion suppressing the voting rights of African Americans and other minorities, and to read Justice Kagan’s cogent rebuttal of his legal sophism, to see that “Dred Scott” is still alive at the Supremes! Sad, but true and something we all have to deal with. https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/voting-rights-arizona-court/

It’s not the first time our legal system has refused to carry out the clear mandate of the 15th Amendment against attacks by states trying to suppress the political power of their African-American citizens. One would like to think it will be the last. But, that’s unlikely given the current composition of the Supremes, Congress, and many state legislatures.

There might be no immediate solution for the Supremes, Congress, and state legislatures. The political process simply takes time, and the forces of regression have found and exploited all of the “anti-democratic seams” in our institutions that give them political power beyond their numbers.

However, there is one potentially powerful court system out there that progressives could reform and reconstitute NOW into a judiciary committed to due process, fundamental fairness, best practices, and equal justice for all persons in the United States regardless or race, creed, or status. So far, the Biden Administration and AG Garland have been both tone deaf and remarkably inept at transforming the Immigration Courts into the better judiciary needed for our future! Progressives need to “raise hell” until the Biden Administration fixes the one now-dysfunctional Federal Court system that they actually control!

The future will belong to those unafraid to face the sometimes unattractive realities of our collective past, to respect and honor those who fought through the mistreatment and injustice inflicted upon them, and learn from our history rather than denying or rewriting it! It will also belong to those wise, courageous, and bold enough to take advantage of opportunities for improving American justice that are staring them in the face. So far, Dems have shown themselves not up to the job in the Immigration Courts. Until they are, racial justice and sustained progress in America are likely to remain illusions.

 🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-02-21

Related posts:

  1. WOW, HERE’S A SURPRISE: MANY KIDS FLEEING VIOLENCE IN THE NORTHERN TRIANGLE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT BIDEN BORDER POLICIES — They Are Just Trying To Save Their Lives!
  2. ⚖️🗽🧑🏽‍⚖️CAMILLE J.  MACKLER @ JUST SECURITY “GETS IT!” — How Come Judge Garland & The Biden Administration Don’t? — “If we want to re-build a better, stronger immigration system, we need to start with immigration courts.” — Get Involved! Get Angry! Say No To Institutionalized Racism, Misogyny, & Dehumanization (“Dred Scottification”) @ EOIR! Force Judge Garland To Pay Attention! Demand Change, Now!
  3. ⚖️🧑🏽‍⚖️JUDICIAL REVIEW — C.A. 2 — Brace Of Bad BIA Bobbles On Basics Brings “Culture Of Denial” Into Focus — Justice Will Continue To Be Illusive @ EOIR 👎🏽 Until Garland Steps Up & Replaces His Fatally Flawed BIA With Real Judges Who Are Progressive Practical Scholars In Immigration, Due Process, Human Rights, With A Firm Commitment To Bringing Racial & Gender Equity To Now-Disgraced Immigration Courts!🤮
  4. 🧑🏽‍⚖️⚖️🗽🇺🇸WHO’S JUDGE IS IT ANYWAY? — The Crisis Of Independence In Our Immigration Courts! — Coming April 7, 2021! — Sponsored By The HNBA! — Don’t Miss It!

☠️👎🏽BIA GOOFS UP ANOTHER CAT CASE IN 5TH CIR! — 4 Years, 3 BIA Decisions, 2 Circuit Remands, & Back To “Square 1” — What’s Missing? — Only Competence & Justice!

Four Horsemen
Gen. Garland continues to use “Miller Lite Mercenaries” against migrants. “The U.S. constitution states that our judicial system is a ‘separate but equal part’ to our democracy. But immigration courts have nothing to do with that.” — Tea Ivanovic, Immigrant Food
Albrecht Dürer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Dan Kowalski
Dan Kowalski
Online Editor of the LexisNexis Immigration Law Community (ILC)

Dan Kowalski reports for LexisNexis Immigration Community:

https://www.lexisnexis.com/LegalNewsRoom/immigration/b/insidenews/posts/unpub-ca5-on-honduras-cat-state-involvement-guity-casildo-v-garland#

pastedGraphic.png

Daniel M. Kowalski

1 Jul 2021

Unpub. CA5 on Honduras, CAT, State Involvement: Guity Casildo v. Garland

Guity Casildo v. Garland (unpub.)

“[T]he BIA has not addressed the question of the applicability of the color-of-law rule regarding state involvement in torture. … The parties agree that a remand is the best alternative where the BIA has made an unauthorized or inadequately supported factual finding on the likelihood of torture, thereby leaving unresolved whether the IJ failed to apply the rule-of-law theory of state involvement in torture. Accordingly, we conclude that the prudent course is to remand the case to the BIA. … We further order the BIA to remand the case to the IJ for a clear factual finding on the likelihood of torture and for the IJ’s clarification, if necessary, on the question of state involvement in light of the color-of-law rule. … PETITION GRANTED; VACATED AND REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO REMAND.”

[Hats off to Matthew Nickson!]

pastedGraphic_1.png

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

Congrats to Matthew Nickson! Getting justice for a migrant in the notoriously pro-Government 5th Cir. is no mean feat! Think of how much easier your job would be if AG Garland hired some “real judges” at EOIR —  experts in immigration and human rights who have represented individuals in Immigration Court and who are committed to due process and fundamental fairness above all else!

When you’re out to stick it to Hondurans (actually all Northern Triangle migrants), regardless of facts or law, to please your sleazy White Nationalist political bosses in the Trump regime, bad things are going to happen. 

Let’s not forget that the Trump regime entered into a totally corrupt and bogus “Safe Third Country” agreement with Honduras, probably one of the least safe countries in the Hemisphere with no functional asylum system at all. Given this level of overt political fraud by the “bosses,” I doubt that the regime would have appreciated BIA bureaucrats correctly finding that torture with government acquiescence is likely in Honduras. 

Sure, these failures were before Garland took over. But, he has made little effort to date to either acknowledge and root out the deep corruption and anti-immigrant weaponization of the Immigration Courts or to address the inadequate “go along to get along judging” that was encouraged at EOIR. In plain terms, respondents did not get, and still do not get, qualified, fair, and impartial judges at EOIR to adjudicate their claims. 

You have only to look at the comedy of errors and ineptitude at EOIR in this case “outed” by one of the most pro-Government Circuits in America to see the proof! That’s unconstitutional!

Remand after remand to “get it right” also “jacks backlog.” Just getting a case back on an Immigration Judge’s docket takes time and effort in a non-automated system with no e-filing and traditionally overwhelmed and demoralized staff. Instead of fixing “customer service” @ EOIR, the Trump kakistocracy invested in ludicrous, due-process-destroying “IJ Dashboards” to keep the quotas filled and the unconstitutional “nativist deportation railroad” moving. Yet, Garland, Monaco, Gupta, and Clarke pretend that none of these constitutional and civil rights absurdities, not to mention grotesque management fraud, waste, and abuse, happened!

Don’t stand for any of Garland’s dishonest “expedited dockets” which implicitly blame those seeking justice under law and their courageous lawyers for the ungodly mess he and his lieutenants inherited but have failed to address! And, “dedicated docket for asylum seekers” is just a euphemism for more backlog-building, due-process denying “Aimless Docket Reshuffling” and continuing mismanagement by Garland.

I’ll bet that qualified experts could cut the largely self-inflicted backlog by at least 50% in 90 days without stomping on anyone’s due process rights merely by administratively closing or terminating without prejudice hundreds of thousands of non-priority aged cases. Many of those could better be handled at USCIS. 

It shouldn’t be this difficult to get an Administration that ran and got elected on a “reform” and “return to good government” platform to do the right thing here. But, it is! EOIR needs reform, including a new BIA and competent, expert judges who know asylum law, respect due process, and will treat migrants and their attorneys fairly, respectfully, and humanely. It’s not a “big ask!” So why is it “above Garland’s pay grade?”

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-02-21

Related posts:

  1. ⚖️🗽🧑🏽‍⚖️”MEDLEY OF INJUSTICE” — CIRCUITS CONTINUE TO LOWER HAMMER 🔨 ON BIA: Anti-Asylum Misogyny; Illegal & Incredibly Stupid “Policies;” “Perplexing” Lack Of Legal Knowledge Highlighted In Latest Batch Of Reversals! — “Attempted rape by a gang of men, in broad daylight on a public street, is especially terrorizing because it powerfully demonstrates the perpetrator’s domination, control over the victim and imperviousness to the law. Requiring evidence of additional harms both minimizes the gravity of the sexual assault and demeans the victim.”
  2. ⚖️🧑🏽‍⚖️JUDICIAL REVIEW — C.A. 2 — Brace Of Bad BIA Bobbles On Basics Brings “Culture Of Denial” Into Focus — Justice Will Continue To Be Illusive @ EOIR 👎🏽 Until Garland Steps Up & Replaces His Fatally Flawed BIA With Real Judges Who Are Progressive Practical Scholars In Immigration, Due Process, Human Rights, With A Firm Commitment To Bringing Racial & Gender Equity To Now-Disgraced Immigration Courts!🤮
  3. 🏴‍☠️🤮☠️⚰️👎🏻STILL SCOFFLAWS AFTER ALL THESE MONTHS: UNHCR SPEAKS OUT AS BIDEN, HARRIS, GARLAND, MAYORKAS CONTINUE TRUMP-MILLER POLICIES OF ILLEGAL, IMMORAL, UNNECESSARY RETURN OF ASYLUM SEEKERS WITH NO DUE PROCESS UNDER BOGUS TITLE 42 RATIONALE! — Ever Wonder Why Racial & Gender Justice & Equity Are Mirages In Today’s America? — Look No Further Than The “Dred Scottification” Of “The Other” @ DOJ & DHS On Display Every Day!
  4. WOW, HERE’S A SURPRISE: MANY KIDS FLEEING VIOLENCE IN THE NORTHERN TRIANGLE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT BIDEN BORDER POLICIES — They Are Just Trying To Save Their Lives!

⚖️🗽🇺🇸TEA IVANOVIC @ IMMIGRANT FOOD INTERVIEWS ME ON DYSFUNCTIONAL IMMIGRATION COURTS: “They are not the courts that you think of when you think of our judicial system. . . . He’s pretty blunt about the ways in which the immigration court system is highly dysfunctional,” Says Tea In Her Intro! 

 

Editor’s Note – July

Dear Reader,

For this month’s Think Table issue, we delve into the dysfunctional U.S immigration court system. The U.S. constitution states that our judicial system is a ‘separate but equal part’ to our democracy. But immigration courts have nothing to do with that. They fall under the Department of Justice, and immigration judges have a boss, the Attorney General. As we’ve seen in recent times, that can be a highly politicized position. Additionally, the lack of technology and the ever-growing backlog of cases leave many immigrants and asylum seekers waiting an average of two years just to schedule a court proceeding!

For this issue, we spoke with Judge Paul Schmidt, a former federal immigration judge. He’s pretty blunt about the ways in which the immigration court system is highly dysfunctional.

We hope you enjoy this issue as much as we do.

Téa

Here’s a link to the “video short:”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDDV83vSuHY

Here’ the “complete issue” which contains a reprint of an article from Sarah Pierce“Obscure but Powerful: Shaping U.S. Immigration Policy through Attorney General Referral and Review.” 

https://immigrantfood.com/the-think-table/

And here’s the terrifically talented Tea:

Tea Ivonovic
Tea Ivanovic
Chief Operating Officer
ImmigrantFood.com
PHOTO: Immigrant Food

Born in Belgium to parents from the former Yugoslavia and recruited to the United States by Virginia Tech’s Division 1 Varsity tennis team, Téa calls herself an immigrant squared. She still can’t figure out if Serbian, Flemish or English is her native language – she speaks all of them equally. Her professional career includes creating and implementing strategic communications for international policy and politics at a Washington D.C. think tank, and global financial matters at a financial public and media relations firm. Téa was the first Washington Correspondent for Oslobodjenje, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s oldest newspaper and leading news outlet in the Western Balkans. She graduated with a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

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

Yeah, I’m pretty blunt! But, this is a totally screwed up system that threatens our democracy!

So, many of us out here in the NDPA think it’s a dire emergency, even if Judge Garland and the Biden Administration prefer to ignore the obvious and shun the immediate solutions!

Judge Garland’s failure to implement basic constitutional, personnel, and management reforms @ EOIR is undermining justice in America and tarnishing his reputation. Also, it’s  potentially killing innocent folks. Sure sounds like a “national Constitutional emergency” to me!

Thanks to Tea for making this “accessible” report on a huge, largely unaddressed, democracy threatening problem. Tell Judge G to fix EOIR now!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-01-21

Related posts:

  1. ⚖️🗽🧑🏽‍⚖️CAMILLE J.  MACKLER @ JUST SECURITY “GETS IT!” — How Come Judge Garland & The Biden Administration Don’t? — “If we want to re-build a better, stronger immigration system, we need to start with immigration courts.” — Get Involved! Get Angry! Say No To Institutionalized Racism, Misogyny, & Dehumanization (“Dred Scottification”) @ EOIR! Force Judge Garland To Pay Attention! Demand Change, Now!
  2. 🏴‍☠️☠️⚰️🆘NO JUSTICE @ JUSTICE! — OUTRAGE OF PROGRESSIVE EXPERTS CONTINUES TO GROW AS GARLAND FAILS TO VACATE SESSIONS/BARR RACIST, MISOGYNIST, ANTI-IMMIGRANT, UNETHICAL, BIASED PRECEDENTS — “Garland’s Star Chambers” Careen Further Out Of Control As AG Dithers While Lives Of Vulnerable Refugee Women Hang in Balance & Pro Bono Advocates Are Forced To Exhaust Resources Fighting Trump DOJ’s Misdeeds That Biden Has Failed To Fix, Despite Promises — “Unforced Errors,” Lack Of Competent Progressive Leadership Continue To Plague Flawed Immigration Agenda @ Justice, Offend Dem Supporters! — Expert Professors Karen Musalo & Stephen Legomsky Call For Immediate Vacating Of Repulsive Matter of A-B- Abomination Before More Lives Of Women Of Color Are Lost!
  3. 🆘🤮IS 11TH CIR. GROWING WEARY OF GARLAND’S SCOFFLAW BIA? —Two Trips To The Circuit, & The BIA Still Violates Own Regulations, Ignores Precedent, Spouts Gibberish While OIL’s Defense Of This Nonsense & Malfeasance By EOIR Raises Serious Ethical Questions! — THAMOTAR v. U.S. ATT’Y GEN. — Garland’s Dysfunctional & Systematically Unjust Courts Undermine OUR Democracy☠️ — Demand An IMMEDIATE End To The Scofflaw Nonsense🤡 🧹 At OUR Justice Department! 🏴‍☠️
  4. 🤮👎🏽WASHPOST SLAMS BIDEN ADMINISTRATION FOR ABANDONING NEGOTIATIONS WITH FAMILIES WHO SUFFERED CHILD ABUSE BY SESSIONS & MILLER! — “Having condemned a policy that traumatized children and their parents, Mr. Biden now leads an administration fighting in court to deny recompense to those same families.”

GARLAND’S BIA, OIL “TAKE IT ON THE NOSE” AGAIN:  2d Cir. “Slam Dunks” Matter of J.M. Acosta, 27 I&N Dec. 420 (BIA 2018) (finality of conviction):  “The BIA’s burden-shifting scheme and its accompanying evidentiary requirement amounts to an unreasonable and arbitrary interpretation of the IIRIRA.” 

Casey Stengel
“Hey Judge Garland! Why not put some REAL judges who can ‘play this game’ into your lineup? What’s with the ‘minor league roster’ left over from the guys who couldn’t shoot straight?”
PHOTO: Rudi Reit
Creative Commons

 

Here’s the full decision in Brathwaite v. Garland:

https://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/1284dac9-6e02-4262-ae63-657649702452/1/doc/20-27_opn.pdf#xml=https://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/1284dac9-6e02-4262-ae63-657649702452/1/hilite/

Court summary:

Petitioner Aldwin Junior Brathwaite petitions for review of an order of removability, entered by the Honorable Joy A. Merriman, U.S. Immigration Judge (“IJ”), on June 11, 2019, and approved by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) on December 11, 2019. Because the BIA’s decision is premised on an unreasonable construction of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (“IIRIRA”), we GRANT the petition for review and REMAND the matter to the BIA for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

PANEL: CALABRESI, RAGGI, AND CHIN, Circuit Judges.

OPINON BY: Judge Calabresi

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

Man, even with all the ridiculous “built in tilt” favoring Executive interpretations in Chevron, the BIA still blew it! Normally, in their attempt not to burden their comfortable lives with difficult questions of law, the Article III’s will find that any minimally rational interpretation of an ambiguous provision is “good enough for Government work” under Chevron.  But, the BIA couldn’t even clear that “low hurdle!” Simply amazing!

Particularly so when you think that one of the (bogus) justifications often given for “Chevron task avoidance” by the Article IIIs is the “superior expertise” of the Executive adjudicators, clearly  a mirage in the case of the BIA and EOIR! At least over the past four years, the primary “expertise” for being selected for an EOIR judgeship has been past government experience, preferably in prosecution, a willingness to check the “deny box,” and ability to crank out the required minimum number of final orders of removal without thinking too much, rocking the boat, or, heaven forbid, actually vindicating the rights of migrants over the wishes of “The Partners” at DHS Enforcement! What a total sham that Garland is now presiding over!

Two years of litigation to “get back to ground zero!” And, you wonder why Garland’s Immigration Courts continue to careen out of control and generate backlog faster than they do positive legal guidance and best practices?

At core, courts are about problem solving, and judges are supposed to be “expert practical problem solvers.” Try to unearth those essential qualities in the disgracefully flawed “judicial” hiring practices at EOIR since 2000!

I note that no “outside expert” has been appointed to the BIA since before the 2000 election. Those few who were there in 2000 were rapidly “purged” by Ashcroft, sending the strong message that “expertise and independent voting” will be “career limiting and threatening” at the BIA.

That was followed by thoroughly rotten “jurisprudence” from the BIA that actually provoked widespread outrage among the Article IIIs at the time. The outcry became so loud, that finally even the Bush II Administration had to “tone down” the anti-immigrant rhetoric and abusive treatement of migrants and their attorneys in Immigration Court that Ashcroft’s “purge” engendered and encouraged. Of course, in doing so, DOJ officials disingenuously blamed the Immigration Judges rather than the “perps” in their own ranks who had declared “open season” on migrants’ rights and human dignity.

Not surprisingly, bad, biased hiring practices, which have intentionally excluded and grossly undervalued the most promising  expert problem solvers from outside government bureaucracy, have produced a dysfunctional morass at EOIR. The lack of that basic recognition, even from a recently retired Federal Appellate Judge who should know better, is destroying the foundations of our justice system! Enough already! We need, American Justice needs, progressive reforms at EOIR! NOW, not sometime off in the indefinite future!

Yup, there might be problems with an appellate board that almost always tries to skew things against individual applicants. Rushing to crank out those final orders of removal and pushing already overwhelmed IJ’s to “just pedal faster” might not be a very good “strategy.” And, the lack of professional training, competent judicial administration, expert guidance from the BIA, and unwillingness to implement best practices further deteriorates the Immigration Courts every single day.

While fundamental improvements in personnel and administration at EOIR are well within Garland’s reach, he seems relatively uninterested in taking the bold, courageous actions necessary to restore due process. So, litigating his ludicrously broken, unfair, and dysfunctional system to a standstill, while supporting legislation to get an independent court, appear to be progressive advocates’ only viable options at this point. 

This issue is likely to end up in the Supremes. In the meantime, however, there should be lots of backlog-building remands in the Second Circuit. And, who knows whether the BIA will get it right this time around. Even after court remands, their record isn’t particularly encouraging.

The BIA probably will have to wait for OIL, their political handlers at DOJ, and DHS enforcement to “signal” what the “preferred result for litigating purposes” is before venturing forth on another precedent. Does this sound like “fair and impartial adjudication” under Matthews v. Eldridge? No way! So  why is EOIR continuing to operate as a “Constitution free zone” under Garland?

It’s past time for Garland to pull the plug and give progressive experts a chance to rescue his dysfunctional court system and save many of the individuals caught up in this never-ending due process nightmare! When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn? 

Amateur Night
Much to the shock, consternation, frustration, puzzlement, and horror of progressive advocates who helped him replace Billy Barr as AG, it’s been three continuous months of “Amateur Night @ EOIR” under Judge Garland! Predictably, many Article IIIs haven‘t been enthralled with this performance! How many cases will be remanded from the Article IIIs and how much more backlog will be unnecessarily generated before Garland wakes up and pays attention?
PHOTO: Thomas Hawk
Creative Commons
Amateur Night

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-25-21

Related posts:

  1. 🆘🤮IS 11TH CIR. GROWING WEARY OF GARLAND’S SCOFFLAW BIA? —Two Trips To The Circuit, & The BIA Still Violates Own Regulations, Ignores Precedent, Spouts Gibberish While OIL’s Defense Of This Nonsense & Malfeasance By EOIR Raises Serious Ethical Questions! — THAMOTAR v. U.S. ATT’Y GEN. — Garland’s Dysfunctional & Systematically Unjust Courts Undermine OUR Democracy☠️ — Demand An IMMEDIATE End To The Scofflaw Nonsense🤡 🧹 At OUR Justice Department! 🏴‍☠️
  2. ⚖️🧑🏽‍⚖️👨🏻‍⚖️🗽COURT REFORM: GW IMMIGRATION CLINIC STUDENTS WEIGH IN ON ARTICLE I — Emphasize Critical Due Process Need To Entirely Remove AG From Decision-Making Process!
  3. ⚖️🗽🧑🏽‍⚖️”MEDLEY OF INJUSTICE” — CIRCUITS CONTINUE TO LOWER HAMMER 🔨 ON BIA: Anti-Asylum Misogyny; Illegal & Incredibly Stupid “Policies;” “Perplexing” Lack Of Legal Knowledge Highlighted In Latest Batch Of Reversals! — “Attempted rape by a gang of men, in broad daylight on a public street, is especially terrorizing because it powerfully demonstrates the perpetrator’s domination, control over the victim and imperviousness to the law. Requiring evidence of additional harms both minimizes the gravity of the sexual assault and demeans the victim.”
  4. 🏴‍☠️👎🏽🤮 AIMLESS DOCKET RESHUFFLING (“ADR”) ON STEROIDS! — EOIR Dysfunction Shows What Happens When “Captive Court System” Kowtows To Political Handlers Rather Than Serving The Public! — Jason Dzubow, The Asylumist, Reports!

THE EVER-AMAZING NICOLE NAREA @ VOX “GETS IT” — Too Bad The Folks Running Immigration Policy Don’t! — “Knowledge about US deportation and detention policy didn’t have any significant effect on their intentions to migrate. . . . it made them more likely to think outcomes and legal procedures in the American immigration system are unfair.” 

Nicole Narea
Nicole Narea
Immigration Reporter
Vox.com

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22451177/biden-border-immigration-enforcement-detention-deportation

Nicole writes @ Vox News: 

President Joe Biden has taken some steps toward reversing his predecessor’s legacy of broad, indiscriminate immigration enforcement, including a recent announcement that it will no longer detain immigrants at two locations under scrutiny for alleged abuses.

But Republicans are adamant that increased immigration enforcement be a prerequisite to any broader immigration reform.

“There’ll be no immigration reform until you get control of the border,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told Roll Call last month.

There are now nearly 40 percent more people in immigration detention compared to when Biden first took office, and his administration is continuing to turn away most migrants arriving on the border under pandemic-related restrictions put in place by his predecessor, President Donald Trump, which have led to the expulsions of more than 350,000 people this year alone.

But research shows that the threat of detention and deportation in the US doesn’t dissuade migrants from making the journey to the southern border, especially if they are victims of violence and may be seeking to escape the “devil they know” in their home countries.

“Managing migration at the border, particularly the kind of migration we’re seeing now, from a strictly deterrence, enforcement lens is just not sustainable in the long run and is not having the impact that people think it should have,” Theresa Cardinal Brown, managing director of immigration and cross-border policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, said. “That’s why we need to rethink our paradigm for how we talk about migration and everything that we do at the border.”

. . . .

Knowledge of US immigration detention, however, did have an unintended effect on survey takers in Ryo’s experiment — it made them more likely to think outcomes and legal procedures in the American immigration system are unfair. That is worrisome, given that perceptions of fairness are significant predictors of people’s willingness to obey the law and cooperate with legal authorities, Ryo said.

“We really ought to be concerned about the extent to which generating these kinds of perceptions of unfairness can backfire in terms of more people disregarding our laws and undertaking that dangerous journey in order to get to our border and try to cross it,” she added.

. . . .

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

First, let me congratulate Nicole on her spectacularly high level reporting and mastery of the English language: Clear, accessible, well-organized, informative, persuasive. Compare Nicole’s prose with the vapid, often misleading nonsense and gibberish spouted by legislators, government officials, bureaucrats, and right wing White Nationalist shills of all types. Just yesterday, Trump and his pathetic “wannabe” Greg Abbott were down at the border spouting their unadulterated, fact-free, racist  blather and restrictionist nonsense (when Trump wasn’t rambling on incoherently about the “Big Lie” or himself). I encourage everyone to read Nicole’s full article at the link! 

“Enforcement only doesn’t work” has been one of the key “themes” of Courtside since “Day 1.” The answer has also been clear — due process, fundamental fairness, racial equity, practical scholarship leading to durable solutions. 

The converse of “enforcement only doesn’t work” is also true:  A more realistic, more generous legal immigration system that advances due process and equality while taking advantage of “market factors” that attract and drive migration would also lead to more efficient and effective enforcement. Many, perhaps the majority, of those we are now wasting time and money on cruel and ultimately futile attempts to detain, deter, and remove would actually be a huge benefit to our nation if they were allowed to migrate legally on either a permanent or temporary basis.  

I’ve been saying for a long time now that convincing folks that our legal system is basically bogus — falsely promising a fairness and dignified treatment we aren’t delivering — merely serves to drive migrants to enter the “extralegal” or “black market” system that helps support our economy. The real “beneficiaries” of “mindless immigration enforcement” and a dysfunctional legal system are smugglers, cartels, and exploitative employers. Also, obviously, corrupt GOP politicos benefit from having a permanent, disenfranchised, traumatized, largely non-White “black market labor pool” to prop up their economy while serving as an easy target to “whip up” their racist base. 

Bad policies, driven by ignorance, myths, bias, cowardice, and racism will continue to produce lousy results — for the migrants and for our nation. Smarter, more courageous, more intellectually honest legislators and public officials are necessary. Whether voters will be wise enough to elect them remains to be seen.

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-01-21

 

Related posts:

  1. WOW, HERE’S A SURPRISE: MANY KIDS FLEEING VIOLENCE IN THE NORTHERN TRIANGLE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT BIDEN BORDER POLICIES — They Are Just Trying To Save Their Lives!
  2. ⚖️🗽MORE TRUTH ABOUT THE SOUTHERN BORDER FROM ONE OF AMERICA’S 🇺🇸 LEADING HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERTS: “Real Needs, Not Fictitious Crises Account For The Situation at US-Mexico Border,” By Donald Kerwin Center For Migration Studies
  3. 😰NO HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR FAMILIES IN “THE NEW AMERICAN GULAG”☠️⚰️ — As Kakistocracy Of War Criminals 🤮🏴‍☠️ Departs, Will President Biden Have The Wisdom & Guts To Move Beyond “The Dem Border Alarmists” & Get The Progressive Leaders 🦸🏽‍♂️⚖️ From The NDPA In Place To Bring Due Process & Order To The Border?🗽🇺🇸
  4. ⚖️🇺🇸👍🏼🗽DEAN KEVIN JOHNSON’S SUCCINCT RESPONSE TO GREG ABBOTT’S PREDICTABLE SOUTHERN BORDER BS IS WORTH A READ! — PLUS: ARELIS HERNANDEZ OF WASHPOST WITH SOME MUCH-NEEDED TRUTH & PERSPECTIVE FROM THOSE ACTUALLY LIVING ON THE SOUTHERN BORDER: “We need more lawyers and judges, not more troops or technology.”

THE GIBSON REPORT — 06-28-21 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group!

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

TOP NEWS

 

Migrant youth describe desperation to leave large shelters

AP: The children were interviewed by immigrant advocates from March to June, and their accounts were filed late Monday with a federal court in Los Angeles that oversees a longstanding settlement governing custody conditions for children who cross the border alone.

 

Driven by pandemic, Venezuelans uproot again to come to US

WaPo: Many of the nearly 17,306 Venezuelans who have crossed the southern border illegally since January had been living for years in other South American countries, part of an exodus of millions since President Nicolás Maduro took power in 2013.

 

Biden admin won’t oppose bid to revive immigration judges union

Reuters: DOJ’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) on Friday withdrew its opposition to the National Association of Immigration Judges’ motion for reconsideration of the November ruling, which said the judges were management employees who cannot unionize under federal law.

 

U.S. border arrests top 1 million in fiscal year 2021

Reuters: At the current pace, the total border arrests for the fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30, would be the highest since 2000, when nearly 1.7 million migrants were apprehended by U.S. authorities.

 

Touring the Border, Harris Asked Questions, and Had Few Answers

NYT: Advocates pushed the vice president to end Title 42, a Trump-era rule that allows the government to expel migrants for public health reasons.

 

Biden administration forces out Border Patrol chief, a supporter of Trump’s policies.

NYT: The Biden administration is forcing out the chief of the United States Border Patrol, Rodney S. Scott, who took over the agency during the final year of the Trump administration, a Department of Homeland Security official said on Wednesday.

 

U.S. planning to evacuate thousands of interpreters from Afghanistan

Politico: The plan is to use the Special Immigrant Visa category to process the interpreters once they’re moved to a third country, likely to happen in August.

 

NJ Senate Votes To End Immigration Detention

Law360: New Jersey is on track to join California and become the first East Coast state to ban U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities following a vote Thursday.

 

U.K. wants to send asylum seekers to offshore centers after Denmark passes similar law

WaPo: Downing Street is even exploring sharing a center in Africa with Denmark, the Times of London reported.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

Justices Vet Court Review Of Non-Discretionary BIA Orders

Law360: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to assess an Eleventh Circuit decision holding that courts lack authority to review “non-discretionary” determinations by the Board of Immigration Appeals related to findings of inadmissibility.

 

High Court Wraps Up Moot ‘Remain In Mexico’ Suit

Law360: The U.S. Supreme Court undid two lower court rulings that blocked a Trump-era asylum policy Monday, deeming an injunction on the Migrant Protection Protocols moot three weeks after President Joe Biden formally ended the program.

 

BIA Remands for IJ to Determine Qualification for “Simple Possession” Exception

The BIA sustained the appeal and remanded to allow the IJ to evaluate if the respondent qualifies for the “simple possession” exception to §245(h)(2)(B) under the circumstance-specific approach. Matter of Moradel, 28 I&N Dec. 310 (BIA 2021) AILA Doc. No. 21062335

 

1st Circ. Won’t Nix Its Ruling On ICE Courthouse Arrests

Law360: The First Circuit stood by its decision to wipe a lower court ruling that had blocked federal immigration authorities from making arrests in and around Massachusetts courthouses, ruling Thursday that the Biden administration’s decision to curb many such arrests does not render the case moot.

 

CA3 Upholds BIA’s Denial of Motion to Reopen CAT Claim Based on Changed Country Circumstances in Jamaica

The court found that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in dismissing petitioner’s motion to reopen as untimely, finding that her motion did not contain any evidence that Jamaican officials would likely acquiesce to her torture if she were returned to Jamaica. (Darby v. Att’y Gen., 6/17/21) AILA Doc. No. 21062533

 

5th Circ. Nixes Mentally Ill Pakistani Man’s Asylum Bid

Law360: The Fifth Circuit on Thursday refused to reinstate the asylum status of a schizophrenic Pakistani man who called his brother and threatened to kill up to 50 people in Amarillo, Texas, rejecting his counsel’s arguments that his threat wasn’t serious because he’s mentally ill.

 

CA7 On Niz-Chavez: Avila De La Rosa V. Garland

LexisNexis: Avila de la Rosa v. Garland “Cristian Avila de la Rosa received a procedurally defective Notice to Appear for his immigration removal proceedings, and (unlike many others) he made a timely objection to that Notice. The immigration judge, however, disregarded Avila’s objection, and the Board of Immigration Appeals thereafter insisted that Avila was not entitled to relief unless he could demonstrate prejudice.

 

CA9 On Voluntary Departure: Zamorano V. Garland

LexisNexis: Zamorano v. Garland “Victor Luis Angeles Zamorano, a native and citizen of Mexico, seeks review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) dismissing his appeal from a decision of the immigration judge (IJ) that denied his application for voluntary departure. Because the IJ failed to evaluate the factors weighing in favor of granting Zamorano voluntary departure, we grant the petition and remand.

 

9th Circ. Faults Credibility Finding For Asylum-Seeker

Law360: The Ninth Circuit ordered the immigration courts on Tuesday to reconsider a Ukrainian asylum-seeker’s request for protection, finding a series of errors with a judge’s ruling that the migrant wasn’t credible.

 

CA9 Finds Changed Country Conditions Exception Applies Where Personal Circumstances Changed in a Way Entirely Outside Petitioner’s Control

The court held that while a self-induced change in personal circumstances does not qualify for the changed country conditions exception, that principle does not apply when changed country circumstances, while personal to petitioner, are entirely outside her control. (Kaur v. Garland, 6/21/21) AILA Doc. No. 21062831

 

Obscure DHS Databases Make FOIA Impossible, Suit Says

Law360: An immigrant advocacy group wants to know more about the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s “obscure” network of databases and how immigration agencies store their enforcement data, but alleges that the agencies are dodging its records request in violation of the Freedom of Information Act.

 

DOJ Issues Guidance Regarding Adjudication of Motions to Reopen in MPP Cases

DOJ issued guidance to all immigration court and BIA personnel with information regarding the adjudication of motions to reopen in Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) cases. AILA Doc. No. 21062437

 

DHS Announces Expanded Criteria for MPP-Enrolled Individuals Who Are Eligible for Processing into the United States

DHS announced that it will expand the pool of MPP-enrolled individuals who are eligible for processing into the United States. Beginning June 23, 2021, DHS will include MPP enrollees who had their cases terminated or were ordered removed in absentia. AILA Doc. No. 21062332

 

Update Regarding VSC Address Change Announcement

In response to member inquiries, AILA updated its practice alert to inform members that the new zip code for Essex Junction is correct, however, it appears that some courier services do not yet recognize the new zip code, which goes into effect on 6/25/21. AILA Doc. No. 21061642

 

USCIS Will Now Provide Self-Service Kiosks for BIA and EOIR Payments

USCIS announced that, as of June 2021, will allow attorneys and accredited representatives to use self-service kiosks in USCIS field offices to pay the fees for filing an appeal of a DHS officer decision to the BIA or EOIR immigration court motions. AILA Doc. No. 21062231

 

RESOURCES

 

 

EVENTS

 

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, June 28, 2021

Sunday, June 27, 2021

Saturday, June 26, 2021

Friday, June 25, 2021

Thursday, June 24, 2021

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Monday, June 21, 2021

 

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

Thanks for keeping us up to date, Elizabeth!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-01-21

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