"The Voice of the New Due Process Army" ————– Musings on Events in U.S. Immigration Court, Immigration Law, Sports, Music, Politics, and Other Random Topics by Retired United States Immigration Judge (Arlington, Virginia) and former Chairman of the Board of Immigration Appeals Paul Wickham Schmidt and Dr. Alicia Triche, expert brief writer, practical scholar, emeritus Editor-in-Chief of The Green Card (FBA), and 2022 Federal Bar Association Immigration Section Lawyer of the Year. She is a/k/a “Delta Ondine,” a blues-based alt-rock singer-songwriter, who performs regularly in Memphis, where she hosts her own Blues Brunch series, and will soon be recording her first full, professional album. Stay tuned! 🎶 To see our complete professional bios, just click on the link below.
Professor Kate Shaw Cardozo Law PHOTO: Cardozo Law WebsiteProfessor Leah Litman University of Michigan Law PHOTO: Michigan Law Website
Kate and Leah were live from the University of Pennsylvania in Strict Scrutiny’s first live show of 2023! Penn Law Professor Jasmine E. Harris joined the hosts to recap arguments in a case that could impact disability rights. Kate and Leah recap two other arguments, in a case about immigration law and another about the ability to criminally prosecute corporations owned by foreign states. Plus, a major update about the Supreme Court’s “investigation” into who leaked the draft opinion of Dobbs last spring. And Temple University Law School Dean Rachel Rebouche joined the hosts to talk about some concerning updates in abortion access– an unfortunately commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
• Here’s the report summarizing the Supreme Court’s investigation into who leaked the Dobbs opinion. (TLDR: they still don’t know who did it, but they tried their best? Former United States Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff said so.)
To hear the comments on our amicus brief “tune in” at 14:00 (lots of other “interesting commentary” on other cases if you listen to the entire program):
“With the highest possible human stakes,” amen, Kate!I get that, you get that, those stuck in the “purgatory of EOIR” get that! But, sadly, Biden, Harris, Garland, Mayorkas, their too often bumbling bureaucrats, and a whole bunch of Federal Judges at all levels DON’T “get” the dire human consequences and the practical impact of many of their decisions. That’s particularly true of those that give EOIR a “pass” on bad interpretations, opaque procedures, and a “super-user-unfriendly” forum that all too often defies logic and common sense! If they did “get it,” EOIR wouldn’t be the dystopian, likely unconstitutional, and life-threatening mess that it is today!
All you have to do is imagine yourself to be an unrepresented individual, who doesn’t speak English, on trial for your life in this messed up and unaccountable “court” system that holds millions of lives in its fumbling hands! Seems like a “modest ask” for those who have risen to the Federal Bench. But, for many, it’s a “bridge too far!” Let’s just hope that the Court does the “right thing” here!
Thanks to Round Table Maven Judge “Sir Jeffrey” Chase for spotting this!
Immigration law rocks with “Professor Stevie & His Ramblin’ Band of Experts!” Public Realm
Immigration Reform: Lessons Learned and a Path Forward
Congress has been unable to enact comprehensive immigration reform for over 30 years.
Employers face an unprecedented shortage of workers.
The Dreamers, long-contributing members of our society, face uncertainty due to litigation questioning the legality of the DACA program.
And border security concerns everyone.
Polls suggest Americans want immigration reform. But the conventional wisdom is that “comprehensive immigration reform” is impossible in a divided Congress.
This conference will explore targeted legislation and other policy changes that could be enacted in 2023, focusing on work visa changes to help alleviate our labor shortages, border security and asylum reforms, and a permanent path forward for Dreamers, farmworkers.
Sponsored by the Cornell Law School Immigration Law and Policy Research Program and cosponsored by the Cornell Migrations Initiative.
While we encourage in-person attendance, the conference will be webcast live from the National Press Club. Mark your calendars now for this important event!
Panelists from the following organizations:
American Action Forum, American Business Immigration Coalition, AmericanHort, Bipartisan Policy Center, Compete America, Cornell Law School, Migration Policy Institute, National Association of Evangelicals, National Immigration Forum, Niskanen Center, Service Employees International Union,
Texas Association of Business, TheDream.US, UnidosUS,
United Farm Workers of America, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
A special thanks to the Charles Koch Foundation for sponsoring this event.
This is a promising idea. Hope it works! I have to wonder, however, why a coordinated effort like this wasn’t implemented for asylum seekers arriving at the Southern Border?
You can register (free) for the Cornell Conference, where this and other timely topics will be discussed by the experts!
This is an interview with Rev. Craig B. Mousin, an Adjunct Faculty member of DePaul University’s College of Law, Refugee and Forced Migration Studies Program, and the Grace School of Applied Diplomacy. The podcast critiques Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas’ recent NPR interview for what the interview omits in explaining 2023 asylum policies.
ACTION STEP
Imagine you are an asylum-seeker who has left your homeland. Listen to the interview with Secretary Mayorkas and consider its impact as you. Then write to the White House and Secretary Mayorkas and urge the Biden administration to follow the procedures and procedural protections of the Refugee Act of 1980: https://www.npr.org/people/4080709/steve-inskeep
We welcome your inquiries or suggestions for future podcasts. If you would like to ask more questions about our podcasts or comment, email us at: mission.depaul@gmail.com
This is an interview with Rev. Craig B. Mousin, an Adjunct Faculty member of DePaul University’s College of Law, Refugee and Forced Migration Studies Program, and the Grace School of Applied Diplomacy. The podcast critiques Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas’ recent NPR interview for what the interview omits in explaining 2023 asylum policies.
ACTION STEP
Imagine you are an asylum-seeker who has left your homeland. Listen to the interview with Secretary Mayorkas and consider its impact as you. Then write to the White House and Secretary Mayorkas and urge the Biden administration to follow the procedures and procedural protections of the Refugee Act of 1980: https://www.npr.org/people/4080709/steve-inskeep
We welcome your inquiries or suggestions for future podcasts. If you would like to ask more questions about our podcasts or comment, email us at: mission.depaul@gmail.com
Thanks for speaking out, Craig! Mayorkas’s interview was a shocking mix of intellectual dishonesty, insincerity, and misdirection worthy of a Trump Administration official. And, as Craig points out several times, the interviewer didn’t ask the right questions either.
Let’s understand what the Biden Administration’s arbitrary, ad hoc “parole program” that has been substituted for the Refugee Act of 1980 (“the law”), as amended, really does: 1) favors those who don’t necessarily meet the “refugee” definition (even if properly interpreted), but who have individual sponsors, over refugees; or 2) forces those who do meet the refugee definition into an inferior “parole status” that denies them the statutory path to a green card and eventual citizenship and other benefits that legal “refugee” or “asylum” status entails, or 3) a combination of 1) and 2).
Sound like a good idea? Of course not! It’s a prescription for a legal, humanitarian, and moral disaster!
Getting the USG to follow the law shouldn’t be this difficult. But, it is, because of the refusal of the Biden Administration to heed the advice of experts who not only know the law, but understand the border and the corrosive effect and real human consequences of unlawfully abandoning the statutory framework established by the Refugee Act of 1980.
Nolan Williams, Jr. Composer & Director, Let Freedom Ring Choir PHOTO: NEWorks.com
The Let Freedom Ring Celebration is an annual celebration of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., jointly presented by The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Georgetown University. Following a two-year hiatus prompted by the COVID pandemic, ‘Let Freedom Ring’ returns this weekend to the Kennedy Center Concert Hall with a stellar program headlined by Tony and Grammy winner Leslie Odom, Jr. and music produced by NEWorks Productions CEO, Nolan Williams, Jr.
The program will feature Odom performing a range of selections from the American songbook, Williams leading the Let Freedom Ring Celebration Choir and NEWorks Band, and the presentation of the 21st annual John Thompson Jr. Legacy of a Dream Award to Paula Fitzgerald, executive director of Ayuda.
Other program participants include: Naomi Eluojierior, Georgetown University student; Marc Bamuthi Joseph, VP & Artistic Director of Social Impact, The Kennedy Center; [Cheri Carter, Vice President,] Boeing (LFR Title Sponsor); and John J. DeGioia, President, Georgetown University.
Williams will present two original works as part of the program, performed by the Let Freedom Ring Celebration Choir and Band, Georgetown University student poets Cameren Evans, Isaiah Hodges, and Lucy Lawlor, and community soloists Roy Patten, Jr. and Laura Van Duzer.
The program [opened] with the world premiere of Williams’ “We’re Marching On!,” a work commissioned by Georgetown University. The piece draws inspiration from a 1965 speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and features spoken word delivered by Evans, Hodges and Lawlor.
Williams’ second musical contribution is the social-justice-themed ballad, “We are the ones to heal our land.” Commissioned last year by Choral Arts Society and Washington Performing Arts, this work has been adapted for this occasion and will feature Patten and Van Duzer.
(Scroll below to access Williams’s song lyrics.)
The program [closed] with a stirring rendition of Dick Holler’s 1968 classic “Abraham, Martin and John.” The song pays tribute to the memory of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy, all American icons of social change who were tragically assassinated.
[Odom then brought the audience to its feet one final time with a totally awesome and inspiring encore rendition of “Ave Maria,” to piano accompaniment, in recognition of the “Christ energy” of Dr. King: A characteristic that, to paraphrase Odom’s words, “transcends individual religious beliefs or non-beliefs!”]
[I loved that in his musical selections Odom took pains to showcase the talents of, and share the spotlight with, each member of his amazing band. That shows just the type of teamwork, awareness, humility, and appreciation of those who made and make you what your are that Dr. King preached. It also reminded me of my experiences with Paula, AYUDA, and Georgetown Law (which I’ve also found to be a great team effort.)]
[Here’s an excerpt from the lyrics of Williams’s“We’re Marching On:”]
Georgetown University Student Poets Cameren Evans, Lucy Lawlor, and Isiah Hodges, perform “We Keep Marching On” at the Let Freedom Ring Concert, Kennedy Center, Jan. 16, 2023 PHOTO: YouTube
“We’re Marching On!”
Music and Lyrics by Nolan Williams, Jr.
Spoken Word by Lucy Lawlor, Cameren Evans, Nolan Williams, Jr. & Isaiah Hodges
Commissioned by Georgetown University for Let Freedom Ring 2023.
Copyright secured, NEW-J Publishing. All rights reserved.
PROLOGUE
Sometimes I find myself running,
my feet burnt and charred from the fire behind me,
my memories all caught up in coal combustion.
All I have is a body full of smoke.
I remember learning my red, white, and blues,
my Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue
inside an underfunded public school.
A gleeful American history lesson
that always came with a fog.
[During the concert, the stage was enveloped in machine-generated (I assume) smoke and fog to emphasize (I assume) the often ambiguous position and perspective of African Americans and other minorities in relation to the “standard — often whitewashed — version” of the “American Dream.” Does that “Dream” really look the same if your family members were denied educational, political, and economic rights, or the entire “pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness” because of their skin color? I doubt it.]
Sometimes the American dream sounds a lot like pitchforks and screams.
Haunting screams from Rosewood, Ocoee, Ponce,
all forgotten pieces of our history.
Reminding us there’s still work left to do—
that’s why we keep marching.
THE HOOK
We’re marching on
‘cause we must keep marching on.
We’re marching on
‘cause the truth is marching on.
. . . .
BRIDGE
Opposition forces
sense their voice is
quelled the more we persevere.
That’s why their raging more
And waging war
on this the last frontier
of their inhumanity,
superiority,
inequality.
That’s why we keep marchin’
. . . .
[And, here are excerpts from Williams’s “We are the ones to heal our land:”:]
“We are the ones to heal our land.”
Music and Lyrics by Nolan Williams, Jr.
Commissioned by Choral Arts Society and Washington Performing Arts.
Adapted for Let Freedom Ring 2023.
Copyright secured, NEW-J Publishing. All rights reserved.
ABOUT THE SONG…
“For most of my life, I have been deeply inspired by the scriptural verse, 2 Chronicles 7:14. If the text does not readily come to mind, here it is for your immediate reference:
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (King James Version)
These words have long embodied for me the profound hope that God will eventually make right the many wrongs that trouble our land.
In recent years, however, I have found myself challenged by the application of this verse. Too often, it is interpreted in a way that absolves us of the responsibility of being active agents of our own healing. Too often, it justifies a passive process of waiting on God (above) to move as if we have no power within to bring about the change we seek.
With this new song, I offer a reimagining of the 2 Chronicles text to provoke and awaken our consciousness and to call us as a community to renewed action. And I do so with verses that explore four forms of justice disparities: earth, social, environmental, and economic.
As you read these lyrics and listen to the world premiere performance of this song, meditate deeply upon the meaning and application of these words.”
-Nolan Williams, Jr.
Community soloists Roy Patten, Jr. and Laura Van Duzer belt out a heartfelt version of “We are the ones to heal our land” at the Let Freedom Ring concert at the Kennedy Center, Jan. 16, 2023. PHOTO: YouTube
. . . .
VERSE 3
The haves get more while the rest of us survive,
doing our best to make ends meet.
And chances to advance are not the same
for the lost, the least, and all those in between.
When will the just cry, “Enough?”
When will the righteous more demand?
At such a time as this,
We need the brave to take a stand.
REFRAIN
So, we pray to us,
call ourselves by name,
humbly asking if we’ve had enough of our own pain.
Here, now, face to face,
will we turn from our own wicked ways?
Hear us now, we are the ones to heal our land.
BRIDGE
We’ve no right to pray to God then wait with no resolve
to accept the charge we have to act and get involved,
knowing God is calling us to right the wrong we’ve caused,
knowing God is calling us to right the wrong we’ve caused!
. . . .
VAMP
If not us, who?
If not now, when?
Calling me, you:
It’s time to heal our land.
It’s time to heal our land.
John Thompson 1941 – 2020 Hall of Fame Basketball Coach, Broadcaster, Mentor Photo from Wikipedia/Sports Illustrated
Watch the video of the full performance and the award presentation to Paula by Georgetown University President John G. DeGioia here. It’s a wonderful award to a terrific person and true American hero who embodies the values and determination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and John Thompson, Jr., to fight to finally make equal justice in America a reality and to make our world a better place!
Former Georgetown and Princeton Head Basketball Coach John Thompson III and the Thompson Family attended and were recognized for their continuing contributions to social justice in America and for making this great event possible. Cathy and I were honored and thrilled to be in the audience.
I was especially moved by Paula’s highlighting the successful efforts of AYUDA and other community groups to welcome and care for migrants to DC who were bussed here as part of a nativist political stunt by some governors. Certainly, it illustrates who “gets” Dr. King’s spirit, dreams, and messages of hope and who is arrogantly, and cynically, paying his memory and values “lip service,” at best!
The “video short” on the social justice impact of John Thompson & Paula (including my “Paula anecdote”) begins at 42:20:
The Maine Council of Churches and The BTS Center are hosting an online reading of the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” at 12:15 p.m. on Jan. 16.
The event is free and open to the public. Those who register to attend are invited to donate to the Maine Initiatives Outdoor Equity Fund, which will make grants to organizations led by people of color that work to improve outdoor equity and access to nature-based learning. More information about the fund is available at maineinitiatives.org.
Those interested in attending can register at thebtscenter.org/committed-to-listen-mlk-day-2023. The reading will also be streamed on the Facebook pages for the Maine Council of Churches and The BTS Center.
On April 16, 1963, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter.
He had been arrested four days earlier for disobeying a court order that prohibited protests in Birmingham, Alabama. From his jail cell, he wrote to eight white religious leaders who had publicly condemned ongoing civil rights demonstrations. He decried the silence of white moderates and argued that racial violence demanded a more urgent response than those clergymen had counseled.
Sixty years have passed, but that message still rings true for the Rev. Allen Ewing-Merrill. He is the executive director of The BTS Center, a Maine nonprofit that offers theological programs. He rereads the letter every year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and reflects on its call to be more courageous than cautious.
“We like to think that racism is that awful thing that other people do, the blatant white supremacist brand of violence,” he said. “But in the letter, Dr. King really pulls out the nuance of that and reminds us that racism is the violence of silence.”
This year, the Maine Council of Churches and The BTS Center chose the Letter from Birmingham Jail for an online reading to mark the holiday. King’s words will be read by eight people from Maine’s faith and social justice communities. For the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, four of the readers reflected on passages they will recite during Monday’s event and the letter’s relevance to the modern world. Those passages and the readers’ comments are shown here.
Professor Kristina Campbell Visiting Professor S.J. Quinney College of Law U. of Utah PHOTO: Quinney Website
Kristina reports:
I just wanted to share with you that I launched a new Refugee Law Clinic at the University of Utah this semester! I am a visiting professor here & my students this semester are working with a Ukrainian family, as well as UACs from Afghanistan and Latin America. You can read more about the clinic here:
I also attached some photos of the clinic space at the law school:
Refugee Clinic @ S.J. Quinney PHOTO: K. Campbell
**********************
Kristina and her UDC Clinic students were “regulars” at the “Legacy” Arlington Immigration Court during my tenure. Since retiring, I have had the pleasure of being a guest lecturer, along with my friend Judge Dorothy Harbeck, at clinic classes taught by Kristina and her amazing colleague, Professor Lindsay Harris. (Lindsay was a guest lecturer in my Refugee Law & Policy class @ Georgetown Law during her time as a CALS Asylum Clinic fellow.)
Thanks for the report Kristina. Those are lucky students and clients to have you working for and withthem! And, my gratitude and admiration for all you have done and continue to accomplish for justice in America. Scholar, author, advocate, creative thinker, educator, administrator, organizer, inspiring role model, innovator: You “check all the boxes,” Kristina!
Your students are so fortunate to have you for a teacher and inspiring example of all that’s best in American law!
I had a few highlights roll in after this was first posted, so here is an updated thread regarding the wonderful things that immigration law professors around the country had to celebrate in 2022.
Eugenio Mollo, Jr. joined Toledo as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Law to launch and direct the school’s Immigrant Justice Clinic.
Aadhithi Padmanabhan (Maryland) started her first full-time job in academia as an Assistant Professor of Law directing the new Federal Appellate Immigration Clinic.
Carrie Rosenbaum joined Chapman as a Visiting Assistant Professor in Fall 2022.
Tania N. Valdez started her first tenure-track job as an Associate Professor of Law at The George Washington University Law School.
Promotions and Awards:
Lauren R. Aronson (Illinois) was promoted to Full Clinical Professor in August and granted Clinical Tenure.
Jason Cade (Georgia) was promoted to full professor. He also received the University of Georgia’s Engaged Scholar Award.
Jennifer Chacón (Stanford) received the Bruce Tyson Mitchell professorship.
Ming Hsu Chen (Hastings) was named the Harry & Lillian Hastings Research Chair and Founding Director of the Center for Race, Immigration, Citizenship, and Equality (RICE).
Shane Ellison (Duke) was promoted to Clinical Professor of Law (Teaching).
Kate Evans (Duke) was awarded clinical tenure in 2022.
Laila Hlass (Tulane) was promoted to Clinical Professor of Law. She was also awarded the 2022 NIPNLG Elisabeth S. “Lisa” Brodyaga Award.
Kevin Johnson (Davis) was named the first recipient of the Michael A. Olivas Award for Outstanding Leadership in Diversity and Mentoring in the Legal Academy. We look forward to the formal celebration in 2023.
Kit Johnson (Oklahoma) received the Thomas P. Hester Presidential Professorship.
Gabriela Kahrl (Maryland) was promoted from Associate Director to Co-Director of the Chacón Center for Immigrant Justice.
Jennifer Lee (Temple) was approved for tenure by a vote of the law school faculty — their first tenured clinician! We look forward to celebrating the formal approval from central campus in 2023.
Mauricio E. Noroña (Cardozo) became a VAP this year after a stint as a teaching fellow in the Cardozo Immigration Justice Clinic.
Shalini Bhargava Ray (Alabama) was approved for tenure by a vote of the law school faculty. We look forward to celebrating the formal approval from central campus in 2023.
Rachel Rosenbloom (Northeastern) is a fellow with Northeastern’s Center for Law, Equity and Race (CLEAR) while she is on sabbatical this year.
Scott Titshaw (Mercer) was promoted in 2022 from Associate Professor to Professor.
Administrative Gigs:
Hemanth Gundavaram (Northeastern) became Associate Dean of Experiential Education and Director of Clinical Programs; he continues to also serve as Director of the Immigrant Justice Clinic.
Anita Maddali (Northern Illinois) became the Associate Dean for Student Affairs in August 2022, stepping down from the Director of Clinics role she’d been in since 2011.
Rachel Rosenbloom (Northeastern) finished her term as Associate Dean for Experiential Education.
Other Exciting News:
Kate Evans (Duke) secured an additional $2.5 million grant to support Duke’s Immigrant Rights Clinic and the activities of the Duke Immigrant & Refugee Project.
Jill Family (Widener) became Chair of the ABA Administrative Law section.
Dina Haynes (New England) started a non-profit–Refugeeprojects.org–through which she has assisted many refugees, asylum seekers, pro bono attorneys and governments. She coordinates 800 attorneys assisting Afghans with evacuation, transit and Immigration status.
Laila Hlass (Tulane), Sarah Sherman-Stokes (Boston U), and Mary Yanik (Tulane) received a 2022 Research & Policy Grant from Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research.
Geoffrey Hoffman (formerly Houston) became an immigration judge!
NEW BABIES (Squee!)
Joe Landau (Fordham) welcomed Max Fitzgerald Landau on 1/1/22 at 4:49am. 6 lbs, 2 oz of greatness.
Lauren R. Aronson (Illinois) welcomed Max Reuben Aronson-Orr on 12/15/2022 at 8:00pm. 8 lbs., 12 oz. of joy.
Congratulations to all!
-KitJ
********************
“Super-kudos” to all! 🎖🏆😎 Thanks to Kit (the “Amazing KitJ @ ImmProf”) for putting this together and many congrats on her receipt of the Thomas P. Hester Presidential Professorship @ Oklahoma Law. Couldn’t have gone to a more deserving and consequential role model for the NDPA!
As one of my NDPA colleagues recently observed about the work of these NDPA “practical scholars:”
[T]he law schools today have incredible clinical programs that encourage and develop critical thinking and creative problem-solving; they send so many great new members of the NDPA out into the world.
Those familiar with what’s really happening in American justice these days also had this cogent observation:
EOIR does exactly the opposite; it kills critical or original thought, and rewards the bland “go along to get along” types. And the training is horrible, and actually refuses to include anyone from outside – even former IJs and Board Members. So the good people either quit, linger in the shadows, or are broken over time.
It’s very clear that a better Dem Attorney General would have “tapped in” to the practical problem solving skills, guts, integrity, and intellectual firepower of those on Kit’s honor roll and many others like them. I note with great pleasure and immense gratitude that Honor Roll member, Judge Geoffrey Hoffman, formerly of Houston Law, did “make the leap” to the Immigration Bench this year. But we need more, many more, like Judge Hoffman at all levels of EOIR to “rescue the sinking ship.”
The talent to change EOIR from a “CINO” to a “model court system” is out here! What’s sorely missing is dynamic leadership and consistent direction from the Biden Administration and Dems in Congress.
Immigrants have legal rights. Immigration isn’t going away in the future no matter how much Dems try to “wish it below the radar screen” and the GOP tries to “demonize it to death!”
The disgraceful failure of both parties to enforce legal rights of immigrants, stand up for human rights, and take realistic approaches to human migration is damaging our democracy and diminishing our national strength.
I advocate NDPA members “taking over” the Immigration Judiciary and fixing things from “the bottom up.” It won’t happen overnight; but waiting for real leadership from Dems or change from the “top” is like “waiting for Godot” — Not going to happen! See, e.g., https://wp.me/p8eeJm-8hm.
And, you’d be surprised at the useful insights and knowledge that can be gained from getting “inside EOIR” — an intentionally opaque, “closed” organization if there ever was one. That’s why courts often pay attention to what we “Former Immigration Judges and Board Members in the Round Table” say in our amicus briefs. We’re they only ones speaking truth about what really happens in Immigration Court “behind the bench.” All the “official versions” are “highly sanitized,” “manipulated,” or sometime just “unadulterated BS!”
Don’t leave “judging in America” to the Federalist Society, the Heritage Foundation, and inept Dem politicos who are too tone-deaf, insecure, and/or scared to do the right thing for YOUR future and the future of our nation.
Storm the tower! 🗼Take back justice at the retail level of our system!Better judges for a better America!
”Storm the Tower!” — EOIR HQ, Falls Church, VA (a/k/a “The Tower of Babel”) By Pieter Bruegel The Elder Public Domain
Don’t just complain about the awful mess @ EOIR! Get on the bench and do something about it! Public Domain
Excerpts:
Now, those of you who read my blog immigrationcourtside.com or have heard me speak before, or both, know that I am an outspoken critic of the last four Administrations’ gross mismanagement and misdirection of our Immigration Courts. So, you might well ask why I am here recruiting YOU to become part of a court system that I have consistently lampooned and characterized as dysfunctional, FUBAR, and badly in need of long-overdue reforms.
A better question might be why AG Garland, VP Harris, Deputy AG Lisa Monaco, and Associate AG Vanita Gupta AREN’T here today actively recruiting you to apply to become Immigration Judges in their system. It’s a hugely important court, perhaps the largest in the Federal Government, that cries out for excellence, practical immigration scholarship, and badly needs a much more diverse, representative, and expert judiciary to achieve equal justice for all in America.
The short answer is because I CARE, and THEY DON’T! I have a vision of a model court system unswervingly dedicated to due process, fundamental fairness, great practical scholarship, best judicial practices, fantastic public service, and equal justice for all! THEY DON’T!
After two largely fruitiness and frustrating years of the Biden Administration’s bungling immigration and social justice mis-steps, it’s painfully clear that the needed management, personnel, operational, and expertise reforms needed at EOIR AREN’T going to come from above.
But, if you have been in Immigration Court and thought “Hey, there is a better, more informed, more efficient, more just way to run this railroad, why isn’t it happening,” THIS is YOUR chance to get on board and change the direction of EOIR and the millions of lives and livelihoods that depend on it! See that the next generations of dedicated immigration lawyers won’t face some of the unnecessary and counterproductive roadblocks and bad experiences that you have had to deal with in seeking justice for your clients before EOIR!
. . . .
Not surprisingly, asylum grant rates dropped precipitously during the Trump years. Although they have rebounded some under Biden, they still remain below the 2012 levels. It’s certainly not that conditions have substantially “improved” in major “sending countries.” If anything, conditions are worse in most of those countries than in the years preceding 2012.
So, if the law hasn’t changed substantially and country conditions haven’t improved, what has caused regression in asylum grant rates at EOIR? It comes down to poor judging, accompanied by inadequate training, too much emphasis on “churning the numbers over quality and correctness,” and a BIA that really doesn’t believe much in asylum law and lacks the expertise and commitment to consistently set and apply favorable precedents and end disgraceful inconsistencies and “asylum free zones” that continue to exist.
Some of the most disgraceful, intentional asylum misinterpretations by Sessions and Barr now have been reversed by Garland. Unfortunately, he failed to follow-up to insure that the correct standards are actually applied, particularly to recurring circumstances. It’s one of many reasons that the Biden Administration struggles to re-establish a fair and efficient legal asylum system at the Southern Border — notwithstanding having two years to address the problems!
But, it doesn’t have to be this way! Recently, as I noted earlier, a number of notable “practical scholar experts” have been appointed to the Immigration Judiciary. When such well-qualified jurists reach a “critical mass” in the expanding EOIR, systemic changes and improvements in practices and results will happen.
The “dialogue” among Immigration Judges from government backgrounds and those from the private/NGO sector will improve. Lives will be saved. Life-threatening inconsistencies and wasteful litigation to correct basic mistakes at all levels of EOIR will diminish. The EOIR system will resume movement toward the former noble, but now long abandoned, vision of “through teamwork and innovation, being the world’s best administrative tribunals, guaranteeing fairness and due process for all!”
. . . .
So, warriors of the NDPA, check out USA Jobs, make those applications for EOIR judgeships! Storm the tower from below! Make a difference in the lives of others, stand up for due process and fundamental fairness for all persons, and help save our democracy! Become better judges for a better America! If not YOU, then who?
You can watch my full webinar here:
AILA Webinars shared the following meeting recording with you.
Topic: How to become an EOIR judge
Date: Jan 11, 2023 11:42 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Genevra W. Alberti, Esq. The Clinic at Sharma-Crawford Attorneys at Law Kansas City, Mo. PHOTO: The Clinic
Dear Colleagues,
The Clinic at Sharma-Crawford Attorneys at Law – a nonprofit removal defense organization in Kansas City, Missouri – is hosting its sixth annual Immigration Court Trial Advocacy College from Thursday, May 4, 2023 to Saturday, May 6, 2023 in the Kansas City metro area.
This is a unique, hands-on, one-on-one, training experience designed to make you confident in immigration court, and the program has something for beginners as well as experienced removal defense litigators. Under the guidance of seasoned trial attorneys from all over the country (myself included) and using a real case, real witnesses, and real courtrooms, participants will learn fundamental trial skills while preparing a cancellation of removal case for a mock trial. The complete conference schedule and faculty bios are available on The Clinic’s website here.
Days 1 and 2 of the program will focus on helping attendees master the fundamentals of trial practice and prepare a cancellation of removal case and witness for trial. For many of the sessions, attendees will be broken up into smaller groups, each with its own set of faculty members to provide one-on-one input. Each attendee will be assigned a role – either the respondent’s attorney, or the DHS attorney – and will have a volunteer “witness” to prep. On day 3, mock trials will be held in real courtrooms with faculty serving as the judges.
Tickets are available now, and you can register on The Clinic’s website here. There is a discounted rate for attorneys who are employed by a nonprofit. Price includes breakfast, lunch, coffee and refreshments throughout, along with a happy hour on Thursday. **VERY IMPORTANT: It is imperative that you commit to attending all 3 days of the conference, so please do not register unless you can do so.** If you have questions about this, please let me know. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is also required.
Space is limited, so be sure to get your tickets soon. We hope to see you there!
I’ll be there again, along with my Round Table colleagues Judge Lory Rosenberg, Judge Sue Roy, and a host of other great faculty. See you in Kansas City in May!
“Going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come . . . .”
Forgot to thank both of you for an amazing semester! This class has helped me not feel too down about law school and not judge my intelligence. I liked that both of you show the human side of law. Thank you for not only showing us that the subject is based on people, but also teaching in a way that showed you were approachable. I love that both of you know how to turn off the legal side and just talk to students about ordinary life, which has helped a lot in my ability to approach other professors. And, you both taught in a language that I can actually understand. Thanks again and I hope to have other professors like the two of you in the future!”
From a student in our Immigration Law I course. Thursday was the final class of the semester.
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This is one reason why the NDPA has been such a formidable force for due process and against Government human rights abuses and “bad law.”
It also shows why more and more immigration and immigration clinical professors are not only receiving tenure, but are “moving up the leadership ladder” at their institutions.
Immigration law teaching has been far, far ahead of the curve in teaching “law you can use” and practical skills that not only spell success in legal practice but in all aspects of life. One of these is taking complex subjects and breaking them down into understandable terms and pieces that make sense and relate to human experience.
It’s been over 30 years since Congress enacted the most recent set of comprehensive immigration reforms: the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and the Immigration Act of 1990. These bipartisan yet hotly contested bills passed only after a debate spanning five presidential administrations, eight congressional sessions, and painful compromises by all parties. Even then, both bills died on the House floor before being resurrected at the 11th hour.
Can lessons learned during the last round of reform be applied to future debates? Charles Kamasaki, author of “Immigration Reform: The Corpse That Will Not Die” (Mandel Vilar Press, 2019), thinks so. The book provides a history of how the 1980s-era reforms were enacted, along with a summary of developments since then. It concludes with seven lessons that advocates and lawmakers should consider in advancing future immigration reform.
Join us for a discussion with Mr. Kamasaki, Cornell Law School professor Steve Yale-Loehr, and Wall Street Journal immigration reporter Michelle Hackman about the prospects for immigration reform legislation in 2023.
This webinar is cosponsored by the Cornell Migrations Initiative, the Cornell Law School Immigration Law and Policy Research Program, and Catholic Charities of Tompkins and Tioga Counties.
As severe weather patterns intensify, climate change will continue to displace communities across the globe. The World Bank estimates that there could be more than 143 million people internally displaced by slow-onset disasters in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia by 2050. Populations with the least capacity to respond and adapt to a changing climate are more likely to suffer from the worst impacts.
States have a responsibility to ensure that individuals displaced because of climate change impacts are treated with respect and dignity. Yet international law does not recognize climate displacement as a subject warranting special protection or status. The 1951 Refugee Convention only recognizes persecution on account of five protected grounds (nationality, race and ethnicity, political opinion, religion, or particular social group), leaving those fleeing environmental disasters under circumstances not attributable to those specified reasons without protection.
Despite the urgent need for action, governments have been slow in creating pathways to protect climate-displaced people. If anything, increasing militarized approaches to migration flows and national security rhetoric has permeated mainstream discourse on climate migration. Discussions about “economic migrants” and which groups are deserving of international protection distract from real solutions that can provide relief and uplift the dignity of individuals displaced by climate. Also concerning is the fact that authoritarian governments have leveraged the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) to either greenwash their image or exclude environmental advocates from accessing the climate talks.
Although climate migration is not on its official agenda, COP27 offers an opportunity for international climate negotiators and advocates to tackle the issue in three ways: (1) promote changes in domestic legal frameworks that will protect internally displaced populations; (2) raise awareness of how existing legal protections under asylum frameworks intersect with climate change; and (3) guarantee climate finance pledges are met by mobilizing funds dedicated to adaptation and mitigation.
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Read Jeffrey’s and Camila’s article “at the link.” Another classic example of timely “practical scholarship” written in plain English and accessible to a wide range of readers.
It’s discouraging, but not surprisingly, that nations, including ours, wasting billions on gimmicks to AVOID their obligations under the existing, inadequate Geneva Refugee Convention and Protocol are not anxious to engage on the real effects of climate migration. But individuals facing death under sand or under water as our climate changes are NOT going to go quietly and submissively into the night.
Nations, like ours, whose politicians think that power, cruelty, denial, and misinformation — the “head in the sand” approach — will win the future eventually must confront the realities of climate change and human migration whether they find it convenient and politically advantageous or not. On the other hand, those nations that are able to recognize both the power and inevitability of migration, and are smart enough to “go with the flow,” rather than futilely attempt to “dam it up” or divert it will eventually gain the upper hand.
Hon. Lory Diana Rosenberg Senior Advisor Immigrant Defenders Law Group, PLLCRekha Sharma-Crawford ESQUIRE Partner and Co-Founder Sharma-Crawford Law Kansas City, KSHon. Susan G. Roy Law Office of Susan G. Roy, LLC Princeton Junction, NJ Member, Round Table of Former Immigration JudgesMe
Here it is “Time for a Child Welfare Approach to Cancellation of Removal:”
So honored to collaborate with my colleagues Lory, Sue, and Rekha on this. Grateful to AILA for publishing. This resulted from lively conversations and brainstorming when we served as faculty at the Immigration Trial College sponsored by Rekha’s firm in Kansas City in April 2022!
We all hope that this “practical scholarship” will give ideas to practitioners on how to argue for a “child centered approach.” That the BIA is one of the American authorities NOT following this better approach, supported by compelling empirical evidence, is a testament to how badly broken and in desperately needing reform our Immigration Courts are today. They aren’t going to change on their own. So, start arguing for a better approach, now!
There’s also some “insider BIA history” in here from those of us “expelled” for our aggressive, progressive judicial views on due process, fundamental fairness, and best practices! Namely, Lory and me!
Knightess of the Round Table — “Primed and ready to keep fighting dysfunction @ EOIR until due process, fundamental fairness, best practices, and equal justice for all prevail!”
Introduction and Summary of Argument
This brief presents amici’s practical perspective on why the Immigration and Nationality Act’s provision for removal based on a conviction for a “crime involving moral turpitude” is void for vagueness. Section 1227(a)(2)(A) combines the imprecision of the phrase “moral turpitude” with the indeterminacy of applying that phrase to a hypothetical set of facts
1 Counsel of record for all parties received notice of amici’s intent to file this brief at least ten days before its due date. The parties have consented to this filing. No counsel for a party authored this brief in whole or in part, and no person other than amici or their counsel made a monetary contribution to the preparation or submission of this brief.
2
under the categorical approach. The result is a provision so vague that adjudicators cannot agree on how to conduct the inquiry and frequently reach inconsistent results.
The Act charges immigration judges with determining which crimes involve “moral turpitude.” Though the statute provides no definition, in 1951, this Court held that the “language conveys sufficiently definite warning as to the proscribed conduct.” Jordan v. De George, 341 U.S. 223, 231-32 (1951). But time has disproved that understanding. The usual “consistency [that] can be expected to emerge with the accretion of case law,” S.E.R.L. v. Att’y Gen., 894 F.3d 535, 550 (3d Cir. 2018), has not materialized. Indeed, the typical sources of clarity—the Board of Immigration Appeals and the courts of appeals—have produced more questions than answers. Whose morals matter? How should judges discern what those morals are? What course should judges follow when moral views conflict? How do they account for changes in views over time? Immigration judges have no way to know. And the uncertainty that the statute’s vague words create left amici with no guide except their own moral intuitions.
To this ambiguity, add that, under the categorical approach, immigration judges do not evaluate the actual conduct engaged in by the noncitizen before them. Instead, they must assess the moral implications of a theoretical set of facts—the “least culpable” means of committing the crime in question. The hypothetical nature of this mode of analysis exacerbates the underlying vagueness of the statutory phrase “crime involving moral turpitude.”
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Recently, this Court has struck down statutory provisions that suffered from analogous uncertainty, holding each unconstitutionally vague. See Johnson v. United States, 576 U.S. 591 (2015); Sessions v. Dimaya, 138 S. Ct. 1204 (2018); United States v. Davis, 139 S. Ct. 2319 (2019). Section 1227(a)(2)(A) should suffer the same fate.
The real-world effects of Section 1227(a)(2)(A)’s vagueness confirm this conclusion. Attempts to curtail the provision’s arbitrariness by articulating standards have failed. The Board and the courts of appeals have repeatedly but unsuccessfully tried to craft a workable set of rules for identifying which crimes involve moral turpitude. Their efforts have instead produced a series of non-dispositive, ad hoc tests that generate inconsistent and arbitrary results. Confusion abounds in immigration courts and in Article III courts alike, with widespread disagreement over whether a given crime involves moral turpitude. Among other unexplainable outcomes, the courts of appeals part ways on whether crimes such as making a terroristic threat or deceptively using a social security number involve moral turpitude. Amici were required to sort through this morass, unsure of which of the growing list of ad hoc tests applied or how to deal with the conflicting results. Their experiences confirm that the phrase “moral turpitude” is too vague to govern the “particularly severe ‘penalty’” of removal. Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356, 365 (2010) (quoting Fong Yue Ting v. United States, 149 U.S. 698, 740 (1893)).
For these reasons, this Court should grant review and reverse.
For over 70 years, Federal Judges from the Supremes on down have turned a “blind eye” to our Constitution and substituted their subjective views on morality and immigrants for the rule of law. Our Round Table says it’s high time to stop! ⚔️🛡
Madeline Meth ESQUIRE Deputy Director and Staff Attorney – Georgetown Law Appellate Courts Immersion Clinic PHOTO: Linkedin — “She’s training tomorrow’s lawyers to fix today’s failing courts!“
Thanks again to the superstars Esthena L. Barlow, Brian Wolfman, Counsel of Record Madeline Meth, and the rest of the “Youth Brigade of the NDPA” over @ Georgetown Law!
Elizabeth Gibson Managing Attorney National Immigrant Justice Center Publisher of “The Gibson Report”
Weekly Briefing
This briefing is designed as a quick-reference aggregation of developments in immigration law, practice, and policy that you can scan for anything you missed over the last week. The contents of the news, links, and events do not necessarily reflect the position of the National Immigrant Justice Center. If you have items that you would like considered for inclusion, please email them to egibson@heartlandalliance.org.
Forbes: Evidently, USCBP is eliminating the passport entry stamp to streamline the entry process. So now, foreign nationals will only have access to the Form I-94 website as proof of their lawful immigration status.
CBS: The department confirmed the review when asked to respond to accounts from migrants who told “60 Minutes” that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials along the U.S.-Mexico border kept their documents, despite agency policy instructing agents to return migrants’ personal property unless they are fraudulent.
NIJC: More than 130 immigration, criminal justice, and civil rights organizations released a letter today urging the Biden administration to include immigrants in the pardon process.
Law360: More than 100 immigrant rights organizations are urging the Biden administration to fully reinstate visitation at immigration detention facilities, saying in a Thursday letter that visitation is crucial for detainees’ mental health and monitoring human rights violations.
SA Current: The ACLU is condemning the actions of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents allegedly caught on video firing pepper balls at a group of Venezuelan migrants protesting along the banks of the Rio Grande River near El Paso.
Law360: The Second Circuit on Wednesday declined to review a decision denying an asylum application from a Honduran man and his son who claim they will be killed by gang members if they return home, finding the Board of Immigration Appeals properly reviewed the immigration judge’s decision.
Law360: The Second Circuit on Tuesday backed the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeal’s decision to apply a persecution motive standard used in asylum requests to an Ecuadorian’s withholding of removal request, saying it was reasonable for the agency to do so.
Law360: The Third Circuit on Tuesday knocked down a Guatemalan man’s asylum bid after concluding he failed to back up his fears of violence in the Central American nation based on gang recruitment efforts and his rejection of gangs due to his evangelical Christian faith.
Law360: The Eighth Circuit has upheld a Board of Immigration Appeals ruling that denied a family asylum based on alleged gang threats for lack of evidence that the government of El Salvador could not or would not protect them.
Law360: A Mexican citizen who said police and criminal gangs would torture him for being bisexual and suffering from mental illness if he is deported a third time
Law360: The Ninth Circuit on Thursday backed an order requiring U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to adjudicate Special Immigrant Juvenile petitions within 180 days, rejecting the government’s argument that a lower court relied on “stale evidence” and disregarded hardship considerations.
Law360: Republican state attorneys general accused the Biden administration of violating an injunction requiring it to repel migrants from the border under pandemic-era restrictions, saying a sharp drop in Haitian expulsions indicated the administration was selectively lifting the so-called Title 42 border block.
AILA: On 10/31/22, DHS began limited implementation of the DACA final rule. USCIS will continue to accept and process applications for deferred action, work authorization, and advance parole for current DACA recipients. Due to litigation, USCIS will accept but cannot process initial DACA requests.
AILA: EOIR 30-day notice and request for comments on proposed revisions to Form EOIR-42A and Form EOIR-42B. Comments are due 12/5/22. (87 FR 66326, 11/3/22)
AILA: EOIR 30-day notice-and-comment period for proposed revisions to Form EOIR-31A, which allows an organization to seek accreditation or renewal of accreditation of a non-attorney representative to appear before EOIR and/or DHS. Comments are due by 12/5/22.
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Elizabeth Gibson (Pronouns: she/her/ella)
Managing Attorney for Capacity Building and Mentorship
National Immigrant Justice Center
A HEARTLAND ALLIANCE Program
224 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 600, Chicago, IL 60604
T: (312) 660-1688| F: (312) 660-1688| E: egibson@heartlandalliance.org
Supposedly, the main political issues right now are the economy and inflation. But, the economy and inflation are largely determined by the Fed, markets, global conditions, weather, and a certain amount of pure luck — all things beyond the direct control of the political branches of the USG.
As mentioned by Chuck Todd on last Sunday’s NBC “Meet the Press,” many experts say that the most effective tool that the Administration and Congress have to improve the economy without triggering a recession is to increase legal immigration — sooner rather than later. But, neither party is interested. The GOP sees an anti-immigrant stance as a key to political success. And, the Dems are “actively disinterested” in the issue. So, the opportunity passes.
But, the reality is that, in the long run, no amount of shipping containers, walls, prisons, family separations, deportations, exclusions to death or despair, hate rhetoric, or restrictive legal roadblocks will halt the future flow of human migration, and not incidentally, the internal relocation in America as certain areas become “unlivable.”
According to a government report published in today’s Washington Post:
The U.S. can expect more forced migration and displacement
Already, the authors of Monday’s report said, major storms such as Hurricane Maria, as well as extended droughts that strained lives and livelihoods, have led people to leave their homes in search of more-stable places.
In the hotter world that lies ahead, they write, additional climate impacts — along with other factors such as the housing market, job trends and pandemics — are expected to increasingly influence migration patterns.
“More severe wildfires in California, sea level rise in Florida, and more frequent flooding in Texas are expected to displace millions of people, while climate-driven economic changes abroad continue to increase the rate of emigration to the United States,” the report finds.
Such shifts are inherently complicated and fraught.
Several Indigenous tribes in coastal regions, facing fast-rising seas, have already sought government help to relocate, but have struggled to do so without significant hurdles.
“Forced migrations and displacements disrupt social networks, decrease housing security, and exacerbate grief, anxiety and mental health outcomes,” the authors write.
Neither political party appears serious about addressing these migration realities — already underway. The ideas that we can wall ourselves off, invest in “sending countries,” detain, and deport our way out of migration are not “solutions.”
Failure to act boldly and expansively on legal immigration will create a huge class of exploitable, disenfranchised, extralegal residents and plenty of work for border agents, internal police, righty judges, and jailers. It will also be a huge boon to smugglers and cartels who basically will “own” the American migration franchise. But, in the long run, building a large “underground humanity” won’t be enough to offset the “downside” of lacking a robust, realistic, orderly, legal immigration process.
Eventually, those nation-states that figure out how to harness, welcome, and distribute the power of human migration will rule the future. Right now, America’s leaders, of both parties, seem wedded to a “sure to fail” approach of either opposing or ignoring the realities and unlimited potential of human migration. Too bad — for all of us!
