⚖️🗽👨🏻‍⚖️🧑🏼‍⚖️BREAKING: NAIJ LEADERS JUDGE MIMI TSANKOV & JUDGE SAM COLE LEAVING THE BENCH! — Thanking them for their courageous service to American Justice in difficult times! 🙏

We wanted to let you know that both Mimi Tsankov and Sam Cole have decided to step down as immigration judges, effective March 1. They will both continue in their respective roles with NAIJ through the next round of NAIJ elections this summer and will be advisors long after that. This is a time of great uncertainty for every federal employee, but know that NAIJ, together with our parent union IFPTE, continues to be a strong advocate for immigration judges in all ways – with immigration court management, in the media, with Congress, and with the White House. And if necessary, in the courts.

With Mimi and Sam’s eventual departure, NAIJ needs new people to answer the call. We need your time, considered judgment, and skills in everything that we do. We work regularly with lobbyists, meet with Congressional staff, talk to reporters, write letters, get to know judges around the country, work with senior EOIR management, and provide assistance in helping solve problems big and small. Please consider joining the NAIJ Board. To learn more, reach out now to any member of the NAIJ Board.

Below are separate letters from Mimi and Sam about their decisions to step down from the immigration court. 

We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow at the Federal Employment Law presentation.

– The NAIJ Board

Dear Colleagues, Friends, 

Serving as President of the NAIJ over the past nearly four years has been an incredible honor. And, it is with very mixed emotions that I announce I’ll be retiring, albeit a little earlier than expected, although not completely off my life plan. My last day in the office will be on Thursday, February 27th.

For purposes of continuity planning, at NAIJ, I plan to serve out the remainder of my term and will continue to work hard every minute of the day to support this group. That said, I am but one member of a dedicated team of equals that starts and ends every day working through the issues we know are creating worries for our colleagues. From advising on complaints, grievances, mediations, and arbitrations, to engaging with Agency management, our parent union, and the media, to strategizing with our support on Capitol Hill — it’s an exciting and demanding job made possible by the fact that the NAIJ Board not only enjoys the work, but finds it genuinely fulfilling to work on such a dynamic team.

Now, it’s not quite fair that a major component of this Board is retiring, too — Sam, not only our brilliant legal strategist, a proponent behind every good idea, but the warm blanket you need when things are going wrong in your court. He’s always got a plan, and will tell you honestly if it’s far-fetched or not. But, we’ve got him on the hook for many months ahead, and trust me, we’ll find him when we need him. 🙂

All of this said, we have so many incredibly strong team members – on the Board and in the field, stepping up every day to analyze the latest reg (or ‘tweet’), to identify concerns about a new Agency approach, and to connect with our members to better meet the needs of the group. We think through, again and again, if we need legal advice, if our tone is off, if our approach needs refining, and whether we need to pivot in a changing environment. We hope to get it right most of the time.

So, yes, it’s another transition in a sea of many. But, it’s also an opportunity to build out our next generation of leadership. I hope you’ll consider joining our Board, getting more involved at a local level, or just agreeing to serve as an NAIJ Buddy. It all matters and it helps us to cope with the uncertainty of this time period.

Yours, 

Mimi

Dear Judges, 

It has been a privilege and honor to serve in NAIJ leadership. My difficult decision to step down as an immigration judge was made even more agonizing by the eventual attendant loss of my work with NAIJ and all of you. 

Honestly, it’s a bit of a gut punch, and I feel a bit lost. These last eight years have been the realization of my lifelong ambition to be a judge, and when I took the IJ position, I could not have imagined the richness and complexity of life and law that I would experience. 

The professional reward of being an immigration judge, however, is soured by the environment in which all immigration judges work. We experience every day the top-down micromanagement of our duties and every moment of our time, combined with the bitter ping pong of immigration politics that infects all aspects of our job and steps on our independence.

This often-poisoned environment requires a strong association of judges to speak up for all of us. I have enjoyed so much playing my part in NAIJ, getting to know judges across the country, and ceaselessly advocating for all of us and for due process. I hope that one day we will have the independence that this job requires.

Writing this, I have no idea what I will do next in my career. It was just time to move on. Thank you for your friendship and support. I will remain in my role as NAIJ Executive VP through the elections this summer and will continue to support NAIJ long thereafter.

Sam