With “Peacekeepers” Like These, Who Needs War? The UN Has a BIG Problem!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/they-served-an-abusive-government-the-un-made-them-peacekeepers-anyway/2016/12/23/05c0a5ad-108f-46b9-b6f7-5f2303f6cdfe_story.html?utm_term=.c36afbf0c92e

“The three officers had received blue badges and slipped blue covers over their helmets. They were now U.N. peacekeepers, sent from Burundi to help protect victims of a brutal war in the Central African Republic.

But each of them had a past the United Nations was unaware of. When the deployments became public, Burundian activists were aghast.

One of the officers had run a military jail where beatings and torture occurred, according to civil-society groups and former prisoners. Another had committed human rights violations when anti-government demonstrations erupted in Burundi last year, U.N. officials would eventually learn. The third had served as the spokesman for the Burundian army, publicly defending an institution accused of abuses.

They set out for the Central African Republic in different U.N. deployments over the past year. In each case, U.N. officials soon determined that the allegations against the soldiers and their units were credible enough to send them home.”

Apparently, according to this article in  the Washington Post, well-paying UN Peacekeeper jobs have become spoils that autocratic rulers hand out to their cronies for helping them stay in power.  Bad system.

PWS

12/26/16

Former Deputy Attorney General Heymann Slams DOJ Handling of Criminal Case Arising From Iowa Immigration Raid

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/107-former-justice-officials-think-this-case-was-handled-unjustly-doj-must-act/2016/12/26/71203530-c6e6-11e6-bf4b-2c064d32a4bf_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-e%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.39a0e3fb838c

An unusually harsh criticism of the Justice Department and Attorney General Loretta Lynch in this Washington Post op-ed by Phillip Heymann, who was the Deputy AG during the Clinton Administration.  The case was generated by a controversial immigration raid on a Kosher Meat plant in Iowa that netted hundreds of undocumented workers and resulted in the business’s bankruptcy.  Heymann represents the views of 107 former DOJ officials, including former Attorneys General.

PWS

12/26/16

 

 

Trump Administration Will Have Huge Influence on Federal Courts — Particularly the U.S. Immigration Court

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-to-inherit-more-than-100-court-vacancies-plans-to-reshape-judiciary/2016/12/25/d190dd18-c928-11e6-85b5-76616a33048d_story.html?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_trumpjudges805p:homepage/story&utm_term=.3eb2c51133dc

According to this article from today’s Washington Post, the incoming Trump Administration is preparing to fill more than 100 lifetime Federal Judicial appointments in addition to an existing vacancy on the Supreme Court.  That’s almost twice the number of vacancies that were available to the incoming Obama Administration eight years ago.  The article points out that since these appointments require Senate confirmation, Democrats might have some bargaining power.  But, with Republicans in the majority, that’s likely to be quite limited.

However, there might be an even bigger opportunity available for the incoming Administration —  reshaping the U.S. Immigration Court System for many years to come.  Plagued by a self-created ponderously glacial selection and hiring process, and a badly outdated and ineffective  court structure and administration, the Obama Administration is on track to leave nearly 100 out of the just under 400 authorized U.S. Immigration positions “on the table.”  Additionally, there currently are two vacancies on the critically important Immigration Appeals Court (known as the “Board of Immigration Appeals”), which is effectively the “Supreme Court” of immigration law, with authority to decide tens of thousands of appeals annually and to set binding precedents for our nation’s more than 50 U.S. Immigration Courts.  Beyond that, a significant number of the most experienced Immigration Judges are “baby boomers” who are currently eligible to retire or will become eligible shortly.  For most of the Obama Administration, Immigration Judge hiring has barely exceeded the retirement replacement rate.

The bulk of the currently unfilled vacancies were relatively recently authorized by a bipartisan Congressional effort.  But, not so recently that they could not have been filled by a management process that treated them as what they are — probably the most important large group of senior career Civil Service positions in Government and certainly within the U.S. Department of Justice, the repository for the Immigration Courts.  Beyond helping to authorize the additional positions, however, Congressional Democrats have paid scant attention to the public unraveling of our Immigration Court system during the past eight years.

With over 500,000 pending cases, the Immigration Court System actually has a larger caseload that the entire U.S. District Court System — Civil and Criminal Dockets — with only about 60% of the authorized number of judges.  Moreover, unlike U.S. District Court Judges, who are appointed by the President for life with Senate confirmation required, U.S. Immigration Judges are civil servants appointed by the Attorney General, and they serve at his or her pleasure.  Consequently, Democrats cannot point the collective finger at Republicans for the high vacancy rate and the dismal state of justice in our largely dysfunctional Immigration Court System.  Republicans generally have supported more resources for the overburdened Immigration Courts, and the hiring process has been within the sole control of the Obama Administration’s Department of Justice.

Assuming confirmation, new Attorney General Jeff Sessions potentially could select approximately 25% of the Immigration Judiciary, with more down the road.  No Senate confirmation is required, and the new Attorney General would not be bound to follow the current hiring practices.

Because Due Process — the Immigration Courts’ one and only mission — should be a nonpartisan, nonpolitical issue, I hope that Attorney General Sessions will establish an efficient, strictly merit based hiring system that will be transparent and provide opportunity for meaningful input and participation from all segments of the immigration community, including  practitioners, clinicians, and non-governmental organizations, as well as government entities involved in the administration of our immigration laws.  For example, the board-based merit selection processes used for U.S. Magistrate Judges and U.S. Bankruptcy Judges have won widespread acclaim for putting professional qualifications and demonstrated excellence before partisanship.

But, if that doesn’t happen, and Democrats don’t like the results, they will have only themselves to blame for failing to pay attention and make the needed administrative and structural improvements to our critically important Immigration Court System over the past eight years.

PWS

12/26/16

 

 

 

 

Washington Post Profile Describes AG Designate Jeff Sessions’s Mixed History on Civil Rights

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/12/22/alex-trebeks-emotional-tribute-to-cindy-stowell-cancer-stricken-jeopardy-champion/?utm_term=.efcec098c60b

If confirmed as AG (and I saw nothing in this article to suggest that he won’t be) Senator Sessions would be in charge of the United States Immigration Court System (including the Appellate Court, a/k/a the Board of Immigration Appeals), one of the largest, if not the largest — more pending cases than the entire U.S. District Court System — and most important Federal Court Systems.

PWS

12/25/16

 

Inspiring Story of a Courageous Champion — Read Alex Trebek’s Tribute to the Late Cindy Stowell

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/12/22/alex-trebeks-emotional-tribute-to-cindy-stowell-cancer-stricken-jeopardy-champion/?utm_term=.efcec098c60b

Six-time Jeopardy Champ Cindy Stowell competed and won while suffering from Stage 4 cancer, and died before her games were televised.  She donated her winnings to cancer research.

PWS

12/25/16

From Huffington Post: Here Is What Life (For those Lucky Enough to Survive) is Like in Rivera Hernandez, Honduras, One of the Most Dangerous Places in the World, Where the U.S. State Department and the USAID Are Working to Reduce Migration Push Forces At Their Roots — How Dangerous Is The Gang Violence That Forces Families to Flee to the US? — Check Out This Quote (Not For the Squeamish)!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/honduras-gang-violence-teenagers_us_585d6274e4b0d9a59458288d

“It’s Christmas week in Rivera Hernandez, a place that’s been described as one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the world. How dangerous? About two weeks ago, and not that far from this street party, a young woman’s seminude body was found underneath a tree ― just her body. The 18-year-old’s head was resting on a branch a few feet above her corpse. The neighborhood consensus, whispered quietly, is that this latest horror was most likely a message from one of the five gangs that have divided much of Rivera Hernandez into fiefdoms.”

No wonder families are making the dangerous journey to seek asylum in the U.S.  And, not surprisingly, they aren’t “deterred” by walls, fences, detention centers, asylum denials, removals, or the dangers of the journey.  Not to mention that individuals fleeing for their lives have a right under U.S. and international law to seek asylum at our borders or within the U.S.

I had plenty of situations involving fears of this type of grotesque harm, in Central America and elsewhere, come before me at the Arlington Immigration Court and the BIA.  Yes, it would be great if there were more efforts like the State Department/USAID programs described here to solve the root causes of migration and create incentives for individuals to remain in, and prosper, in their home countries.  But, that’s going to take a much larger investment than we’ve made to date.

PWS

12/25/16

Is President Elect Trump Causing a “New Border Surge?”

http://www.wsj.com/articles/central-americans-surge-at-border-before-trump-takes-over-1482489047

This article from the Wall Street Journal suggests that the election of Donald Trump is helping fuel a new “border surge” of migrants anxious to get here before the “border closes.” While I’m sure that Trump’s election has had some effect “in the margins,” particularly as a marketing tool for human smugglers, I tend to doubt that the election has had a major impact. It’s fairly normal for law enforcement and policy officials to overestimate the effect of government policies and under-weigh the root causes of most human migration — conditions in foreign nations that are largely beyond our national control.

Take, for example, the Mariel Cuban Boatlift. While many attributed the cause to President Jimmy Carter’s famous (or infamous) “welcome them with open arms statement,” what actually fueled the migration was Fidel Castro’s unileateral decision to open the Cuban port of Mariel to northbound boats. I was working at the “Legacy INS” at that time. We seized boats (enough to start dozens of marinas), fined owners and operators, opened detention camps for new arrivals, recruited “Temporary Immigration Judges” to handle increased deportations and asylum claims, and instituted criminal prosecutions. But, the flow went on, largely unabated, until Castro decided to close the port of Mariel.

“‘It’s a humanitarian crisis, a drug crisis, a security crisis. We’re going to have to deal with that issue immediately,’ said a member of Mr. Trump’s transition team.” I think that’s correct — migration and border enforcement are complex issues usually with a large humanitarian component. Such problems are unlikely to be solved by building more walls and fences, installing more sensors, hiring more Border Patrol agents, or opening new detention centers.

PWS

12/25/16

Packers Roll Over Vikings As Reveling Rowdies Set Season Mark For Fan Ejections At Lambeau

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/2016/12/24/season-high-30-ejected-packers-vikings-game/95830894/

As reported by the Green Bay Press Gazette, a noon start on Christmas eve is no guarantee of “peace on earth goodwill to men” at Lambeau Field.  Getting a head start on their Christmas Revels, a season high 30 rowdy fans were booted from the stadium during the Packers-Vikes contest, narrowly topping the 28 fans given the heave ho during the Packers December 11 win over the Seattle Seahawks.  On the bright side, the six arrests fell woefully short of the 13 arrested during the Packers 23-16 victory over the playoff-bound NY Giants on October 9.  But, the combined 36 arrests and ejections sets a season  mark that can only be surpassed if the Pack beats the Detroit Lions in Detroit on New Year’s Day, which would guarantee at least one home playoff game at Lambeau.  Ah, Christmas in Wisconsin — I remember it well!

Although it appears that much of the action was in the stands, there actually was a game taking place on the field.  The Pack thrashed the Vikes 38-25.  Aaron Rodgers was brilliant again, accounting for all five Packer touchdowns, four through the air and one running, notwithstanding hamstring and leg injuries.

The game was not as close as the score would indicate, as the Packers, with the game well in hand, spent most of the interminable fourth quarter in a so-called “prevent” defense, allowing Minnesota to run up tons of yards and score two meaningless touchdowns.  Unfortunately, however, for much of the season it’s been difficult to tell the difference between the “prevent” and the porous “normal” defense that has allowed zillions of yards (particularly through the air) and lots of points — try 17 in the fourth quarter last week against the hapless 3-12 Bears that almost cost the Pack the game and their season.  Only another spectacular throw from AR to Jordy Nelson as time wound down saved the day and prevented an embarrassing disaster at the hands of the “Midgets of the Midway.”

More arrests, evictions, and general rowdiness from Packer fans is predicted for next week’s Division Championship Game in Detroit both at the Lion’s home, Ford Field, and at the many bars, taverns in, and on the streets of, Green Bay.

George Will Blasts Jeff Sessions for His Position on Civil Forfeiture.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-very-bad-reason-jeff-sessions-is-very-unhappy/2016/12/23/213a3cb8-c86d-11e6-bf4b-2c064d32a4bf_story.html?utm_term=.dbac3501fb9b

In this op-ed, conservative pundit George Will rips AG Designate Senator Jeff Sessions for his views on civil forfeiture proceedings.   Interestingly, immigration, on which Senator Sessions also has expressed strong opinions, like civil forfeiture is a nominally civil proceeding with quasi-criminal features and sanctions which in many cases exceed those which could be imposed in a criminal prosecution.

Here’s the key portion of Will’s broadside at Sessions:

“There might somewhere be a second prominent American who endorses today’s civil forfeiture practices, but one such person is “very unhappy” with criticisms of it. At a 2015 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on forfeiture abuses, one senator said “taking and seizing and forfeiting, through a government judicial process, illegal gains from criminal enterprises is not wrong,” and neither is law enforcement enriching itself from this. In the manner of the man for whom he soon will work, this senator asserted an unverifiable number: “95 percent” of forfeitures involve people who have “done nothing in their lives but sell dope.” This senator said it should not be more difficult for “government to take money from a drug dealer than it is for a businessperson to defend themselves in a lawsuit.” In seizing property suspected of involvement in a crime, government “should not have a burden of proof higher than in a normal civil case.”

IJ’s Robert Everett Johnson notes that this senator missed a few salient points: In civil forfeiture there usually is no proper “judicial process.” There is no way of knowing how many forfeitures involve criminals because the government takes property without even charging anyone with a crime. The government’s vast prosecutorial resources are one reason it properly bears the burden of proving criminal culpability “beyond a reasonable doubt.” A sued businessperson does not have assets taken until he or she has lost in a trial, whereas civil forfeiture takes property without a trial and the property owner must wage a protracted, complex and expensive fight to get it returned. The Senate Judiciary Committee might want to discuss all this when considering the nominee to be the next attorney general, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions.”

Merry Christmas (to some) and Happy Holidays (to all).

PWS

12/24/16

Just Doing The Right Thing — Canadian Businessman Invests in Saving 200 Syrian Refugees

http://torontolife.com/city/life/jim-estill-the-man-who-saved-200-syrian-refugees/

From Toronto Life.

“Estill has codified his life into a set of what he calls “success habits.” Some of them are very specific: spend 20 minutes outside every day, no matter the weather, and have a “creative oasis” where you can do your best thinking (one of his is a rocking chair by the fireplace in his basement). Other maxims are much broader, like do the right thing—a principle that figured prominently in his decision to sponsor Syrian refugees.

. . . .

Estill is prototyping an ambitious sponsorship program that he hopes will grow into a full-scale humanitarian movement. He wants to show other wealthy businesspeople across the country how they can front the money, set volunteers in motion and use their professional networks to find jobs for refugees. “If you can run a company with 800 employees, then you can run an organization with 800 volunteers,” he says. He has a clear definition of success for the program: 50 families who work, pay taxes, buy their own groceries and speak English. “We’re not encouraging them to be dependent on us,” he told me. “You’re not doing anyone any favours if you just hand them cheques.””

PWS

12/24/16

 

THERE IS NO “IMMIGRATION CRISIS” – U.S. POPULATION STABLE – MIGRATION WELL WITHIN HISTORIC LEVELS — IMMIGRATION FUELS A GREAT FUTURE FOR THE U.S.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/us-population-growth-is-lower-than-at-any-time-since-the-great-depression/2016/12/21/5267e480-c7ae-11e6-85b5-76616a33048d_story.html?utm_term=.188da004f316

This article from today’s Washington Post confirms what many of us already knew – there is no “immigration crisis” in America. Rather, our aging population is stable, and immigration (despite a modest uptick since the recession) remains within historic norms. This ties in with respected demographer Robert Warren’s research and conclusion that notwithstanding the so-called “Border Surge” beginning in 2014, U.S. immigration has remained well within historic norms (link below).

Today’s article also states “the United States will need to invest in immigrants who are helping to shore up the younger segment of the labor force.” In other words, we “geezers” are going to need a continuing flow of immigrants to support Social Security and Medicare, as well as to take jobs as nursing assistants, home health care workers, and caretakers for the elderly that few Americans seem to want. When was the last time you heard a high school student say that he or she aspired to a career as a home health care provider – although I see such individuals daily in our neighborhood and know that they are providing essential services to my neighbors in need?

This also fits in with an article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal pointing out how Latino entrepreneurs and businesspeople – some of them immigrants – have become a key economic force propelling our future greatness as a nation (see below).

Sure, deporting serious criminals from the United States is a worthy goal and one that I have personally participated in to the extent appropriate under law. The current Administration has done as good job of this.  Some would say too good a job, and that cases of relatively minor, non-violent offenders with crimes such as petty theft, receiving stolen property, or possession of marijuana or cocaine, should not have been pushed into an already overcrowded Immigration Court System.

But, the foregoing article suggests to me that rather than fixating on how we might get rid of millions of other undocumented migrants who are law abiding contributors to our society, or looking to further restrict legal immigration as some have advocated, we should be modifying our laws to create additional opportunities for legal immigration that would serve our country’s future.  Moreover, a larger and more rational legal system, with shorter waiting periods, would encourage individuals to “use the system” rather than attempting to circumvent it.

PWS

12/23/16

http://cmsny.org/warren-immigration-surge-illusory/

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-latino-drivers-of-economic-growth-1482363118

 

NYT and WSJ Articles Highlight Continuing Persecution of Coptic Christians in Egypt

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/22/opinion/egypts-cruelty-to-christians.html?_r=

http://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-opportunity-saving-coptic-christians-1482363152

I granted some Coptic Christian cases in Arlington.  Very nice people with an interesting and inspiring history.  The only problem I ever had was that every Coptic Christian wanted to tell me the complete history of Coptic Christianity — not a good “fit” for a “three hour slot.”  I soon went to “proffers” of evidence as the cases were all well-documented and supported by the country background materials on Egypt.

I fully agree with Mr. Tadros that Egypt’s loss is our gain.  As he suggests, it would be great if President Trump could help protect and improve the situation of these long-suffering people.

PWS

12/22/16