Author: Jennings12@aol.com

Deportations Down in 2016 — Focus on Criminals in the Interior is Key — But, Some Question Gov’s Broad Concept of “Criminal”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/barack-obama-deportations-2016_us_58668157e4b0eb5864890a03?section=us_politics

“DHS officials themselves say the falling interior deportation numbers reflect the Obama administration’s policy of focusing their efforts on removing people with criminal histories.

Virtually all of the people deported from within the interior of the United States ― 92 percent ― had been convicted of a crime that put them within one of ICE’s top three priorities for removal.

But ICE’s top priority removal category includes people convicted of the offenses of illegal entry and reentry ― non-violent crimes that don’t distinguish them much from other undocumented immigrants. DHS officials did not immediately provide a breakdown of the criminal offenses deportees had been convicted of.

The number of deportations has also dropped in recent years partly because the number of people trying to enter the country has plummeted. Border Patrol apprehended about 408,900 people in the 2016 fiscal year, which is generally considered an indicator of how many people attempted to enter without authorization. In 2000, agents picked up nearly 1.7 million people trying to cross the border illegally.

A growing share of those who do cross illegally into the United States are Central Americans, who often seek asylum or other humanitarian relief. Their cases can take years to wind their way through backlogged immigration courts and do not result in swift deportations. In 2016, border agents apprehended more Central Americans than they did Mexicans, a switch that happened for the first time in 2014.”

PWS

12/30/16

Related posts:

  1. DOJ PLANS TO CUT U.S. IMMIGRATION COURT BACKLOG IN HALF BY 2020 — CONTINUES TO PRESS BOGUS CLAIM THAT BACKLOGS DRIVEN BY PRIVATE ATTORNEYS — THE TRUTH: BACKLOGS DRIVEN PRIMARILY BY POOR DECISIONS BY CONGRESS (E.G., USG SHUTDOWN) & “AIMLESS DOCKET RESHUFFLING” BY THE DOJ OVER THE PAST THREE ADMINISTRATIONS, INCLUDING THIS ONE!
  2. HOW TO RUIN A COURT SYSTEM: SOME OF THE “BEST & BRIGHTEST” IMMIGRATION JUDGES QUIT IN PROTEST OVER REGIME’S BIASED POLICIES AND “WEAPONIZATION” OF IMMIGRATION COURTS INTO DHS ENFORCEMENT TOOL BY DOJ POLITICOS!
  3. NO EXPERTISE NECESSARY! – At The “New EOIR,” Immigration Judges No Longer Need to Demonstrate Immigration Experience – Just a Willingness To Send Migrants to Potential Death, Danger, or Misery Without Due Process or Fundamental Fairness – When Your Job Is To Impose Arbitrary “Death Sentences,” Maybe It’s Easier If You Don’t Understand What You’re Really Doing!
  4. ROUND TABLE NEWS:  Getting The Due Process Message Across — 9th Cir. Orders Regime To Respond To Round Table’s Amicus Briefs in Matter of A-B- Challenges!

Does Dialogue Die When Everyone Claims the Moral High Ground?

Justin Tsoi of the University of Michigan thinks so in this provocative article and podcast:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/so-that-happened-moral-grandstanding_us_5865ad86e4b0eb586488dd4f

“We’ve all seen it in annoying tweets and chest-thumping Facebook posts ― items presented as casual observations or political arguments that carry a much different underlying meaning: I am good because I have said this important thing now, here, on the Internet! The social need to be perceived by our peers as being morally upright ― or to pile on, with tribal abandon, with our likes and faves ― has replaced our calling to pursue moral truth. Or to actually engage in morally useful activities.

The problem is extremely common, Tosi argues, something even the best-intentioned of us have succumbed to at some point or another, though some of us are more flagrant and frequent offenders than others. It isn’t restricted to social media. Brian Leiter’s popular philosophy blog cites the paper approvingly, noting that moral grandstanding is rampant even in Twitter-anemic academia, where otherwise intelligent people stake out entire careers on preposterous-but-shocking arguments. ‘I will resist naming the professional philosophers who should read this, but you know who you are,’ he writes.”

PWS

12/30/16

Related posts:

  1. THE GIBSON REPORT 01-22-18 – Compiled by Elizabeth Gibson, Esq., NY Legal Assistance Group
  2. TAL @ CNN WITH THE LATEST DACA NEWS!
  3. 👍🏼GOOD NEWS: FINALLY, SUPREMES DEAL DOUBLE DEFEAT TO TRUMP REGIME BIGOTS — High Court Thwarts Latest Attacks on America’s Latino, LGBTQ Communities! 
  4. VOX IMMIGRATION REPORTER NICOLE NAREA CONTINUES  TO WIN PRAISE FOR HER ANALYSIS — ImmigrationProf Blog Highlights Nicole’s “Trenchant Criticism” of Regime’s Outrageous Proposal to Repeal Asylum Protections by Regulation!

Razorback FB Player Charged With Ripping Off Belk Store Shortly Before Team’s Appearance in Belk Bowl! — Thought He Was At Walmart?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/12/29/arkansas-senior-tight-end-suspended-from-the-belk-bowl-for-alleged-shoplifting-from-belk/?hpid=hp_local-news_hokies1020p%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.3fcefb9172b9

“Part of the player gift for Thursday’s Belk Bowl between Virginia Tech and Arkansas was a $450 gift card to the Belk department store in Charlotte’s SouthPark Mall and 90 minutes to spend it on anything the players would like.

For Arkansas senior tight end Jeremy Sprinkle, that apparently wasn’t enough.

Arkansas announced two hours before kickoff that Sprinkle had been suspended. He was the Razorbacks’ No. 3 receiver this season with 33 catches, 380 receiving yards and four touchdowns this season, and although the team did not reveal what the suspension was for, SEC Country’s Jason Kersey reported Sprinkle was caught shoplifting during the team’s shopping spree earlier this week.”

Meanwhile, on the field, former Badger Coach Brett Bielma’s Arkansas Razorbacks squandered a 24-0 halftime lead en route to a 35-24 thrashing at the hands of the Virginia Tech Hokies.  Led by Bud Foster’s resuscitated second half defense and quarterback Jerod Evans, the Hokies scored five unanswered touchdowns. Bielma won lots of games at Wisconsin, but not many of the big ones.  Guess things haven’t changed much for Ol’ Brett down in Fayetteville.

PWS

12/26/16

Related posts:

  1. Washington Post: A Syrian Refugee Family In “Trump Country” Finds Welcome, Kindness, Acceptance In The Heartland — Changing Views & Opinions One Human Being At A Time!
  2. 🏈🍊🍻BADGERS CAP THEIR BEST FB SEASON IN HISTORY WITH 34-24 ORANGE BOWL WIN OVER MIAMI — QB Alex Hornibrook, 4 TD, 0 INT, Named MVP!
  3. FOOTBALL WEEKEND IN WISCONSIN — LAMBEAU LEAP — Rainy Afternoon Doesn’t Dampen Enthusiasm As Pack Downs Broncs 27-16!
  4. 🏈SPORTS: EXPOSED! — Badgers End B-10 Season With Inept Effort @ MN!  — No Offense, Little D, Lead To Embarrassing Loss — Wisconsin Avoids Michigan Re-Match!

Wow! Senator Tom Cotton (R-ARK) Wants to Jack Up Wages And Benefits For Lower Level US Workers And Make the “Fat Cats” Pay Their Share — How? — By Cutting Immigration, Naturally

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2016/12/seantor-tom-cotton-r-arkansas-fix-immigration-its-what-voters-want.html

Over on ImmigrationProf Blog and the NYT, Sen. Cotton says that cutting immigration, both legal and illegal, will solve all the problems of working class Americans.  Yet, I’m skeptical that the Senator’s Republican businessmen buddies will be paying  $25+/hr. plus full bennies for folks to pick veggies, clean buildings, be nannies for their kids, mow lawns, pour concrete, wash dishes, wait tables, clean tables, empty bedpans, make beds, work grocery checkout lines, pick up garbage, cook short orders, cut brush, dig trenches, trim  trees, prune shrubs, provide daycare for their elderly parents, etc.  But, I’m even more skeptical that out of work coal miners, factory workers, administrative assistants, air conditioning fabricators, secretaries, etc. will be lining up to to relocate at their own expense to take these jobs, even at higher wages.   And, even if they did, things like harvesting, pruning, caring for others, and cooking actually take skills that many out of work Americans don’t possess or don’t care to learn, no matter how dire their personal circumstances. If Sen. Cotton thinks that’s what Americans really voted for, perhaps he’s spent too much time inside the Beltway.

PWS

12/26/16

 

 

 

Related posts:

  1. WANTED: MORE IMMIGRANTS TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT! — Trump Administration’s “White Nationalism” Likely Road To National Disaster!
  2. HARD-WORKING, TALENTED SALVADORANS ARE THE BACKBONE OF THE U.S. RESTAURANT INDUSTRY! – SO WHY ARE TRUMP & THE GOP RESTRICTIONISTS TRYING TO DEPORT THEM?
  3. THE “DREAMERS’’ ARE OUR FUTURE – THEY’RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE – WE CAN DO THE SMART THING, WELCOME & INTEGRATE THEM INTO OUR SOCIETY – OR WE CAN “JERK ‘EM AROUND” THE WRONG WAY – But They’re Here To Stay, Either Way! — “What you’re seeing in the Dreamers is a reflection of the American ideals!”
  4. COLBY KING @ WASHPOST: The “Original Dreamers” Were Disenfranchised African Americans! — “That fight must continue on behalf of today’s dreamers, the disenfranchised, the demeaned and left out, and all freedom-loving people in this nation.“

In Case You Missed It: It’s A Rainy Night In Georgia, Particularly If You Are An Asylum Applicant!

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2016/12/12/america-s-toughest-immigration-court?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_source=opening-statement&utm_term=newsletter-20161212-654#.bKZwzlP91

Some of you have seen this before.  But, my good friend and former Georgetown Law colleague Heidi Altman of the National Immigrant Justice Center sent me this article by Christie Thompson of The Marshall Project which describes the dismal atmosphere for asylum applicants and their attorneys at the U.S. Immigration Court located at the Stewart County Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia.  Christie interviewed me for the article.  Here an excerpt:

“‘When people aren’t represented, how can you do a fair job?’ says Paul Wickham Schmidt, a former immigration judge and former chairman of the Board of Immigration Appeals. Isolating a few judges to see only detained cases, Schmidt says, also creates a culture where granting relief is the exception, not the rule. Locating detention centers in rural areas ‘seems more or less designed to discourage people from getting meaningful representation and fighting to stay in the U.S.’”

More on the tough situation for asylum seekers in the U.S. Immigration Courts located in Georgia in the preceding post.

“‘Rainy Night in Georgia’ is a song written by Tony Joe White in 1967 and popularized by R&B vocalist Brook Benton in 1970.”  See Wikipedia link below:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainy_Night_in_Georgia

PWS

12/29/16

Related posts:

  1. CHRISTIE THOMPSON @ THE MARSHALL PROJECT: SESSIONS’S APPARENT ATTACK ON “ADMINISTRATIVE CLOSING” IN U.S. IMMIGRATION COURT COULD FURTHER SCREW UP ALREADY FAILING SYSTEM — It Wasn’t A Problem, But Is Likely To Become One By The Time He’s Finished By Stripping Judges Of Last Vestiges Of Independent Authority Over Their Mushrooming Dockets! – I’m Quoted In This Article!
  2. CHILD ABUSE: COWARDLY ADMINISTRATION USES FALSE NARRATIVES & DISTORTED FACTS TO ATTACK PROTECTIONS FOR REFUGEE CHILDREN — Our National Morality & Human Decency In Free-fall Under Trump! — “It has been national law and policy that as adults we look out for children …. No longer.”
  3. HEIDI ALTMAN @ HEARTLAND ALLIANCE: How EOIR & Other Trump Toadies Lie & Distort “Statistics” To Support A White Nationalist Immigration Agenda!
  4. IMMIGRATION COURTS: After Two Years Of Trump Administration Anti-Immigrant Shenanigans At EOIR, The Backlog Has Mushroomed To 975,298, Morale Has Hit Rock Bottom, & Due Process Is Mocked Every Day — There Is A Solution, But Will Our Republic Survive Enough To Reach It?

Asylum Free Zones in the U.S. Examined by Inter-American Commission — Ignites Dialogue Pro and Con

http://immigrationimpact.com/2016/12/20/asylum-free-zones/

This article by Katie Shepard in Immigration Impact fueled a “spirited dialogue” among my long-time Lawrence University friend Thomas “The Mink” Felhofer, a retired Postmaster and U.S. Navy Veteran from Sturgeon Bay, WI; my former BIA colleague Hon. Lory D. Rosenberg; my former colleague, Retired U.S. Immigration Judge Bruce Einhorn, of Los Angeles, CA; and me.  For those interested, I’ve tried my best to recreate the back and forth (most of which occurred before the birth of immigrationcourtside.com) in the “Comments” section below.  Further dialogue is always welcome!

PWS

12/29/16

Related posts:

  1. Here’s My Keynote Address From Today’s FBA Immigration Law Conference In Denver, CO!
  2. AMERICA’S REAL IMMIGRATION CRISIS: THE ATTACK ON DUE PROCESS IN THE UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION COURTS — Read My Keynote Speech FromThe Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center’s “Light Of Liberty Awards” Ceremony Last Night!
  3. HARD RIGHT TURN: Barr Appoints “Death Squad” Of New “Appellate Judges” Tasked To “Snuff Out” Any Last Remaining Pockets Of Due Process For Asylum Seekers & Send As Many As Possible Unlawfully Into Harm’s Way! — Judge Earle Wilson Has An Astounding 98.1% Asylum Denial Rate, But His New Colleagues Are Hot On His Tail! — TAL @ SF CHRON REPORTS!
  4. HALLOWEEN HORROR STORY: Opaque & Biased Politicized Judicial Hiring Denies Migrants The Fair & Impartial Adjudication To Which They Are Constitutionally Entitled – Given The Generous Legal Standards, A Worldwide Refugee Crisis, & Asylum Officers’ Positive Findings In Most Cases, Asylum Seekers Should Be Winning The Vast Majority Of Immigration Court Cases — Instead, They Are Being “Railroaded” By A Biased System & Complicit Article III Courts!

More From Nolan Rappaport in “The Hill” on How the Trump Administration and Congress Could Agree on Immigration Reform

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/immigration/310078-to-control-immigration-trump-needs-to-think-outside-the-wall

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/immigration/311243-gop-immigration-bill-gives-dreamers-a-break-hardliners-a-bone

I found some common themes:

  1.  The Trump Administration needs to “Think Outside the Wall.”  Without some fundamental changes from Obama Administration policies and Trump rhetoric, nothing is going to change.
  2. There must be some type of legalization for “Dreamers” and others to get Immigration Court dockets back under control.
  3. Interior enforcement must be reinstated and employer sanctions enforced to cut off the “magnet” for undocumented immigration.
  4. Everyone involved must work together and compromise for our immigration system to be credible.

PWS

12/29/16

Related posts:

  1. PAUL WALDMAN @ WASHPOST: Why True Bipartisan Immigration Reform In Our National Interest Will Require “Regime Change:” “[I]t’s highly unlikely that we’ll achieve such reform, even reform most Republicans could live with, without both houses of Congress and the White House in Democratic hands. But that will happen sooner or later. Then we’ll see if we can get closer to a solution that everyone can live with over the long run.”
  2. N. RAPPAPORT IN THE HILL: DEMS’ DREAMER BILL OFFERS FALSE HOPE!
  3. NO SURPRISES HERE – “GONZO” IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT IS BAD LAW ENFORCEMENT!
  4. JULIAN CASTRO: A Democrat With A Sane & Sound Immigration Plan!

No Happy New Year For 65 Million Refugees — Here Are Three Horrible Situations Not Named Syria or Iraq!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/humanitarian-crises-2017_us_58641081e4b0de3a08f6ed8f

Michael Bowers Vice President of Humanitarian Leadership and Response, Mercy Corps, writes in WorldPost:

“The crises in Yemen, South Sudan and the Lake Chad Basin are just three of many that flew under the radar this year, and they are very likely to deteriorate in the year ahead. Despite chronically underfunded responses, Mercy Corps is tackling all three humanitarian crises, helping more than 1 million people with food, water and sanitation, hygiene and other types of support.

We hope that in 2017, in an increasingly interconnected world, closer attention is paid to the stories of the many millions of people struggling every day just to survive and find solutions to build a brighter future for themselves and their children.”

As I have said many times before, including on this Blog:  Every morning when I wake up, I am thankful for two things.  First, that I woke up, never a given at my age.  Second, I’m thankful that, through pure good fortune and no personal merit on my part, I am not a refugee.

PWS

12/29/16

Related posts:

  1. Religion: Stephen Mattson In Sojourners: “American ‘Christianity’ Has Failed”
  2. WashPost Editorial: Refugees Belong In America — Anti-Refugee Scare Tactics, Not So Much!
  3. THE WORLD HAS MORE REFUGEES THAN AT ANY TIME SINCE WWII; REFUGEES NEED THE U.S. TO SAVE THEM & WE NEED REFUGEES’ ENERGY, BRAVERY, & TALENTS! — THE RESPONSE OF WHITE NATIONALISTS LIKE MILLER & SESSIONS IS TO RECOMMEND CUTTING REFUGEE ADMISSIONS TO AN ALL-TIME LOW OF 15,000! — Don’t Let These Racist Xenophobes Get Away With It!
  4. FORMER DHS SEC MIKE CHERTOFF TELLS HOW CUTTING REFUGEE ADMISSIONS HURTS AMERICA AND ENDANGERS NATIONAL SECURITY!

Former Chief Immigration Judge Brian M. O’Leary Wraps Up Distinguished Three-Decade Career in Public Service

Judge Brian M. O’Leary will be retiring from the U.S. Immigration Court in Arlington, Virginia at the end of this year, thus closing out an exceptional three-decades of public service in the field of immigration.

Judge O’Leary served as the Chief Judge of the United States Immigration Court from 2009 until 2015.  After stepping down as the Chief Immigration Judge, he worked temporarily as an Appellate Immigration Judge (“Temporary Board Member”) at the Board of Immigration Appeals, in Falls Church, Virginia, the Appellate Branch of the U.S. Immigration Court.  Judge O’Leary returned to the U.S. Immigration Court in Arlington in July 2016.  He previously sat at the  Arlington Court from 2007 until his appointment as Chief Judge in 2009.

Judge O’Leary graduated from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service and the New England School of Law.  He joined the U.S. Department of Justice under the Attorney General’s Honors Program as a Trial Attorney in the Miami Office of the Legacy INS (during my tenure as the INS Deputy General Counsel).  He also served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Florida and the Eastern District of Virginia and was rapidly promoted to the Office of General Counsel  at INS Headquarters.  There, he served as an Assistant General Counsel, Deputy Associate General Counsel, and Associate General Counsel before his appointment as an Immigration Judge with the Executive Office for Immigration Review.

Judge O’Leary held executive positions as an Assistant Chief Immigration Judge and a Deputy Chief Immigration Judge, as well doing a previous stint as a Temporary Board Member.  He was Chief Immigration Judge during a most challenging period in the history of the Immigration Court.  At all times, Judge O’Leary had an unwavering commitment to the due process vision of the Immigration Court, to the individuals coming before the Immigration Court, and to the Immigration Judges and support staff who worked for the Court.

At the Arlington Court, Judge O’Leary was known for his fairness, scholarly opinions, hard work, organization, and unfailing courtesy too all who entered his courtroom.  Behind the scenes, “Mickey,” as he was sometimes known to his colleagues, demonstrated collegiality, a subtle sense of humor, and consistent kindness to the Court staff.  Can’t ask for a better judicial legacy.

On a personal note, I appreciate all of the friendship, camaraderie, good humor, and support that Judge O’Leary gave me over his long career. I congratulate him on his contributions to the American justice system and his retirement.  I hope that he will have more opportunities to watch his beloved Red Sox in person at Fenway this summer.

Best  wishes, always, to a great Judge and a wonderful colleague.

PWS

12/28/16

Related posts:

  1. AILA URGES CONGRESS TO CREATE INDEPENDENT ARTICLE I U.S. IMMIGRATION COURT TO REPLACE CURRENT DUE PROCESS TRAVESTY! – “In fact, instead of working to improve the system, DOJ recently announced initiatives that severely jeopardize an immigration judge’s ability to remain independent and impartial. These new policies are designed only to accelerate deportations, further eroding the integrity of the court system.”
  2. NPR: Sessions Out To Destroy US Immigration Court System — “All the more reason why we need an independent Article I U.S. Immigration Court removed from the political shenanigans and enforcement bias of Sessions and his DOJ!”
  3. ELIZABETH J. (“BETTY”) STEVENS IN “THE FEDERAL LAWYER” (FBA) – Why We Need An Article I Immigration Court Now! — “A close read of the GAO’s report provides a chilling window into a system in chaos.”
  4. JEFFREY S. CHASE BLOG:  In 1996, The BIA Was Functioning Like A Court & Trying To Develop & Apply Asylum Law In The Rational, Generous Way It Was Intended, Properly Giving The Applicant “The Benefit Of the Doubt” — Today,  The BIA Is A Deadly ☠️☠️⚰️ Clown Show 🤡 Asylum Denial Factory!

Writing In “The Hill,” BIA and Congressional Staff Vet Nolan Rappaport Says Trump Must Combine Legalization With Interior Enforcement to Succeed

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/immigration/311994-thanks-to-obamas-immigration-legacy-trump-inherits-our-home

“As of the end of Nov. 2016, the average wait time for a hearing was 678 days. President-elect Trump will have to reduce the population of undocumented immigrants to a manageable level with a very large legalization program before he will be able to address the home free magnet.

Also, so long as immigrants who want to come here illegally think that they will be safe from deportation once they have reached the interior, they will find a way to get past any wall that he builds to protect our border.”

Nolan’s thoughtful article gives a great summary of the prosecutorial discretion (“PD”) programs put into effect by the Obama Administration.  Although Nolan is is OK with the concept of PD, he believes that by formalizing and publicizing the PD program, the Obama Administration has given a “home free” signal to undocumented migrants who reach the interior of our country.  Nolan believes that this acts as both a magnet for undocumented immigration and a barrier to effective immigration reform legislation.

I agree with Nolan that removal of most of those with cases backlogged on the Immigration Court dockets will prove impractical.  I also agree with him that the huge backlogs and lengthy waiting times for hearings have robbed the Immigration Court system of credibilty.  But, with due respect, I tend to doubt that addressing “the home free magnet” is the primary answer to a workable system.

First, I think that human migration is an historic phenomenon driven primarily by forces in sending countries which we do not control.  Addressing the “root causes” of these problems has proved elusive.  Efforts to provide assistance through foreign governments have been largely unsuccessful because of endemic corruption and lack of the necessary infrastructure.  Efforts administered by the State Department and USAID within foreign countries have shown some promise, as described in one of my earlier blogs (12/26/16).  Yet, to date, they appear to be too labor intensive and too limited in the number of individuals who can be reached to have a major effect on migration patterns.

Additionally, I doubt that migration will be controlled without legislative changes and expansion of our legal immigration system to better match supply with demand.  Currently, the demand for immigration by U.S. citizen and lawfully resident families, U.S. employers, and displaced or threatened individuals in foreign countries far exceeds the supply of available visas.  Continued immigration is a reality and, in fact, a necessity for our nation’s prosperity.  Until there is a better balance between supply and demand, individuals will, as Nolan suggests, continue to breach any walls or interdiction systems that we can construct.  And, differing from Nolan, history shows that they also will evade interior enforcement efforts which, in any event, will prove to be costly, ineffective, disruptive, and unacceptable from a civil liberties standpoint.

Yes, I know this isn’t what folks, particularly those “outside the Beltway,” want to hear.  But, the fact that my message might be unpopular in today’s climate doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m wrong.

Immigration is a complicated issue that will require thoughtful, creative, cooperative, and human-oriented solutions.  Merely doubling down on enforcement, whether popular or not, will not give us control over human migration.

On an historical note, I greatly appreciate Nolan’s citation and link to the July 15, 1976 memorandum on prosecutorial discretion from INS General Counsel Sam Bernsen to Commissioner Chapman, which I wrote.  Go to the link and check out the initials at the end.  Oh, for the “good old days” of “real” carbon copies!

PWS 12/28/16

 

Related posts:

  1. MORE ARTICLES FEATURE “GANG OF RETIRED JUDGES’ STATEMENT” RE: SESSIONS’S OUTRAGEOUS ATTACK ON SETTLED PRINCIPLES OF PROTECTION LAW! — Media Exposing Corrupt, Inherently Unfair, Biased “Court” System Where The Prejudiced Prosecutor “Cooks” The Results to His Liking! — Jeff Sessions Degrades The American Legal System & Our National Values Each Day He Remains In Office!
  2. TRUMP’S “OFFER” MIGHT WELL BE A STUNT – BUT, IT’S ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE DEMS TO STEP UP, SAVE LIVES, AND GOVERN RESPONSIBLY – They Should Make A Counterproposal – Here’s The “SMARTS Act Of 2019!”
  3. 🇺🇸🗽⚖️FLASH: BIDEN ANNOUNCES LEGALIZATION PLAN: Important Step In Rapidly Eliminating Unnecessary Immigration Court Backlog, Ending “New American Gulag,” Restoring & Enhancing Due Process, Transitioning To Independent Immigration Court — Quick End To Toxic, Dysfunctional “EOIR Clown Show”🤡🦹🏿‍♂️ In Sight? 
  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!

Post Editorial Suggests that “Extreme Vetting” of Migrants Might Be Overkill

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-wants-new-extreme-vetting-for-immigrants-that-might-be-a-waste-of-time/2016/12/28/c8a0a85c-cc78-11e6-b8a2-8c2a61b0436f_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-a%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.5aa05587a4fb

“Those systems and programs, detailed by Homeland Security in explanation of NSEERS’s obsolescence, provide federal authorities with a range of tools to verify foreigners’ identities and monitor their movements. They apply broadly to visitors, travelers and immigrants. They also comport with constitutional standards and American values.

By contrast, a registry that singles out travelers from Muslim countries falls afoul of those standards — and may do little to enhance national security. While some prominent recent terrorist attacks in the United States and Europe were carried out by immigrants, the perpetrators of others, including the bloody assaults in Paris and Orlando, were by homegrown terrorists.”

I had NSEERS cases come before me during my early years at the Arlington Immigration Court.  None of them appeared to relate to national security.

PWS

12/28/16

Related posts:

  1. STATE OF DISUNION! — TRUMP TRASHES IMMIGRANTS, THREATENS TO DESTROY CIVIL SERVICE — “[A] Flabby, Divisive Speech” From A “Shell President!”
  2. 🏴‍☠️🤮👎🏻⚰️”PERP NATION” — Cowardly Regime Uses COVID-19 As Pretext For Grotesque Abuses Of Migrant Children, As Congress, Federal Courts Spinelessly Allow It To Happen! — “Crimes Against Humanity” Have Consequences For “Perp Nations!”
  3. CHANNELING COURTSIDE: Billy The Bigot’s Bias, Lies, & Absurdist “Legal Arguments” Have Tanked The DOJ’s Credibility With U.S. Courts – “The problem with bypassing professionals and norms is that the decisions you make instead are often transparently foolish, or appear rigged to achieve an unprincipled or corrupt result,” says WashPost Op-Ed – So, Why Does Billy B Still Have A Law License? 
  4. 🏴‍☠️☠️🤮⚰️🆘AMERICA’S SHAME — NATIONAL DISGRACE – SYSTEMIC INSTITUTIONAL FAILURE: From Supremes Who Abandoned Their Key Precedent In Cardoza-Fonseca, To A 5th Cir. Court Of Appeals That Shirked Its Duty To Protect Refugees, To A “Don’t Rock The Boat” BIA That Failed To Enforce Uniformity, To Unqualified & Biased Immigration “Judges” Who Created Illegal, “Asylum-Free Zones,” The U.S. Asylum System Was In Deep Trouble Even Before Trump – Under Trump, It Has Become A “Killing Floor” Programmed To Intentionally Deny & Deport Deserving Refugees To Death, Torture, Or Grotesque Mistreatment, As Indolent, Cloistered Article IIIs, Unwilling To Dig In & Stop The Slaughter Look On!

Hungarian Human Rights Scholar Sees Authoritarian Danger in Populist Drift — Cites Hungarian Example

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/i-watched-a-populist-leader-rise-in-my-country-and-that-is-why-i-am-genuinely-worried-for-america/2016/12/27/6b4cf632-cc65-11e6-b8a2-8c2a61b0436f_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-d:homepage/story&utm_term=.ac8ebaf01f3b

“The world is looking at the United States now in a way that we never thought would be possible: fretting that the ‘deals’ of its new president will make the world’s first democracy more similar to that of the others. I wish we onlookers could help the Americans in making the most out of their hard-to-change Constitution. We still are thankful for what they gave to the world, and we will be a bit envious if they can stop the fast-spreading plague of national populism.”

I sure hope he’s unduly pessimistic.  The United States has a history of being able to reorient back to the center when necessary.  Also, we do have a vigorous free press and, at least with respect to our “Article III Courts,” the world’s most independent court system.

PWS

12/28/16

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The Most Dangerous Place In Syria, the Most Dangerous Country in the World? Sadly, It Might Be The Hospital!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/syria-hospital-attacks_us_56c330f0e4b0c3c550528d2e

“The first airstrike hit at 9:02 on the morning of Feb. 15. As rescue teams dashed to the scene, warplanes circled back for a ‘double tap,’ pummeling the isolated hospital in northwestern Syria a second time, minutes later. And a third. And a fourth.

Twenty-five people died, including nine health care workers and five children. Staff and volunteers who survived the onslaught at the Doctors Without Borders-supported facility rushed victims to the next closest emergency center in a nearby town. The bombs followed.

It’s an utterly grim and tragic irony: Hospitals are now among the most dangerous places in Syria. There have been 252 attacks on Syrian health care centers in 2016 so far, according to the Syrian American Medical Society, a nonprofit organization. Countless men, women and children suffering from injury or illness in the war-torn country have endangered their lives simply by seeking treatment. Many of the brave doctors who voluntarily walk into hospitals to help those in need ― dismally aware of the grave personal risk ― never come back out.”

I wake up each morning thankful for two things.  First, that I woke up, never a given, particularly at my age.  Second, that I’m not a refugee.

PWS

12/27/16

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Residents With Differing Beliefs Have Learned to Tolerate Each Other in Murfreesboro, TN. But, They Wonder What the Future Will Bring.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/muslims-in-a-bible-belt-town-hold-their-breath/2016/12/26/d870a1da-b745-11e6-959c-172c82123976_story.html?utm_term=.e7561894292a

“”But there’s more tolerance because of the public acrimony over the mosque,’ said City Council member Bill Shacklett.

‘I wish some of the things hadn’t happened. But the one thing it has done is compel people to open their hearts and minds to be drawn toward each other . . . get out and flesh out your faith with different people,’ Shacklett said, adding that Muslims and Christians have started to do that.

‘Maybe that wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t had the spotlight put on us for all of that.'”

Hope that the spirit of tolerance continues to prevail.

PWS

12/27/16

 

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Fat City? What Will the Trump Administration Mean For Michelle Obama’s “Healthy Lifestyle” Initiatives?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/12/14/trump-doesnt-just-threaten-barack-obamas-legacy-he-could-ruin-michelles-too/?utm_term=.73b4de5af291

“Much of this uncertainty springs from the fact that Trump has never publicly spoken on school lunches or nutrition policy, though plenty of lobbyists and administration officials are scrutinizing the tea leaves behind closed doors. They note that Trump’s agricultural advisory committee includes Aderholt and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, who reintroduced deep-fryers to that state’s schools.”

Stay tuned.

PWS

12/27/16

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