🏴‍☠️☠️🤮👎🏻IN NYT OP-ED, FORMER TRUMP DOJ ATTORNEY ERICA NEWLAND ADMITS COMPLICITY! — Having Undermined Democratic Institutions, Sold False Narratives To (Too Often Willing) Federal Judges, & Participated In Racist-Inspired “Dred Scottification” (“Dehumanization”) Of the Other Is Actually a BIG Deal! — So Is The Destruction Of Due Process & Fundamental Fairness In The Immigration Courts (Now, “Clown Courts”🤡, or “America’s Star Chambers”☠️)

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/20/opinion/trump-justice-department-lawyer.html?referringSource=articleShare

. . . .

Watching the Trump campaign’s attacks on the election results, I now see what might have happened if, rather than nip and tuck the Trump agenda, responsible Justice Department attorneys had collectively — ethically, lawfully — refused to participate in President Trump’s systematic attacks on our democracy from the beginning. The attacks would have failed.

. . . .

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

Read the full op-ed at the link. That’s right Erica. Lack of ethics, morality, and failing to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law have consequences. Helping to “custom design” obvious pretexts for racist and hate inspired policies, for consumption by right-wing judges who only seek “cover” for going along to get along with fascism, is wrong. Duh!

It’s no surprise that the clearly unconstitutional and racially and religiously bigoted “Travel Ban,” willingly embraced by an intellectually dishonest and morally compromised Supremes majority, was first on the list in Erica’s “confession.”

But, don’t expect any apologies from the vast majority of Trumpist lawyer/enablers who violated their oaths of office or from the big time law firms (one where I was formerly a partner) who have granted them undeserved refuge at fat salaries! Nor should we expect large-scale redemption from the legions of Government lawyers in DOJ, DHS, and elsewhere who will assert the “Nuremberg defense” of “just following orders.” But, that doesn’t mean that the rest of us can’t demand some accountability for participation in what are essentially “crimes against humanity.”

Erica’s article largely echoes what my friend and colleague Judge Jeffrey Chase, many of our colleagues in the Round Table of Former Immigration Judges, ⚔️🛡 and numerous members of the New Due Process Army (“NDPA”) have been saying throughout this Administration. Indeed, I frequently have noted that the once-respected Solicitor General’s Office and EOIR operated as basically “ethics free zones” under the disgraced “leadership” of Sessions, Whitaker, and Barr.

It’s also why the the Biden-Harris team that takes over at DOJ must:

immediately remove all the current “executives” (and I use that term lightly) at EOIR as well as all members of the BIA and transfer them to positions where they can do no further damage to asylum seekers, migrants, their (often pro bono or low bono) lawyers, or the rest of humanity;
replace them with qualified individuals from the NDPA; and
be circumspect in eventually making retention decisions for Immigration Judges, taking into account public input as to the the degree to which each such judge’s jurisprudence during the Trump kakistocracy continued to reflect adherence to constitutionally required due process and fundamental fairness to migrants, respect for migrants and their representatives, best practices, and interpretations that blunted wherever reasonably possible the impact of the kakistocracy’s xenophobic, racist, White Nationalist policies.

American justice has been ill-served by the DOJ and the Immigration Courts over the past four years. That’s something that must not be swept under the carpet (as is the habit with most incoming Administrations).

The career Civil Service overall, and particularly complicit and often ethics-free government lawyers, failed to put up the necessary resistance to an overtly anti-American regime with an illegal and immoral agenda. Lives were lost or irreparably ruined as a result. That’s a big-time problem that if not addressed and resolved will likely make continuance of our national democratic republic impossible.

⚖️🗽🧑🏽‍⚖️👍🏼🇺🇸Due Process Forever! Complicity Never☠️🤮🏴‍☠️👎🏻!

PWS

12-21-20

EOIR Clown Show Must Go T-Shirt — “EOIR Clown Show Must Go” T-Shirt Custom Design Concept

START YOUR HOLIDAY 🎄 WEEK OFF RIGHT WITH THE “DUH” ARTICLE OF THE DAY: Bad Things Happen 🤮☠️⚰️ To Nations That Put Criminals, Incompetents, & Toadies (a/k/a “The Kakistocracy”) In Charge — “There is the dereliction of duty in the response to the pandemic, and then there is the original dereliction of duty in placing a dime-store gauleiter like Stephen Miller anywhere close to a center of power.”

https://apple.news/Au2L4FahYQKqPiFqdxmwdaA

Charles P. Pierce in Esquire:

“Spirit! are they yours?” Scrooge could say no more.

“They are Man’s,” said the Spirit, looking down upon them. “And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased.”

—A Christmas Carol, Stave III

The Ghost of Grifters Not Yet Past was everywhere over the weekend. In the New York Times, we read about how the Ghost had arranged for a meeting of the political Chronic Ward in the White House. In the Washington Post, we read about how the Ghost had visited his feral children, Ignorance and Want, upon the land by giving them national political leaders who couldn’t pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were on the heel, and, worse, had no desire to learn how, even in the midst of the greatest public health crisis in a century.

While the Times’ account of the Mad Hatter’s seditious tea party is the flashier story, it is the Post’s deep spelunking into the administration*’s brutal (and quite deliberate) mishandling of the pandemic that is more likely to resound in historical memory as the most criminal dereliction of duty in the history of the American presidency. By comparison, Herbert Hoover at the onset of the Great Depression and James Buchanan as the nation slid toward the Civil War were positive pikers in their disregard for the office they held and the country they were chosen to lead.

. . . .

And then there’s the Dauphin Prince, who apparently had some power and almost no respect, possibly because he was marginally less of a fck-up than everyone else was.
. . . .

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

Read Charlie’s complete article at the link.

The Moron-in-Chief, the Party of Putin, and their rabidly anti-American followers and fellow travelers must have exceeded Vladimir’s wildest expectations.

And, at what a bargain price: no need for huge investments in the military, expensive weapons of mass destruction, complicated spy networks, or even major payment of bribes. Just find enough greedy, selfish, delusional, resentful, racist, dim-witted folks willing to betray our nation. Then, invest modest amounts in misinformation, flattery, fanning White Supremacy, and cyber espionage, and “puff” you’re inside the U.S. security, intelligence, and essential infrastructure system with your traitors and dupes installed throughout government and society. Heck, you own a major political party and didn’t even have to contribute billions to do it!

30 days and counting till the end of the kakistocracy and the return of hope, sanity, and competence to our national government. Let’s just hope that it’s not too late for those of us who still believe in America and for our world that is hurting for rational, far-sighted, values-based leadership!

PWS

12-21-20

BESS LEVIN @ VANITY FAIR: AS AMERICANS DIE ⚰️ IN RECORD NUMBERS & PUTIN HACKS OUR NATIONAL SECURITY🏴‍☠️, THE WORLD’S MOST EVIL CLOWN 🤡🤮 FLUSHES IT ALL DOWN THE TOILET!🚽

https://mailchi.mp/de1485f0a479/levin-report-trumps-heart-bursting-with-sympathy-for-his-buddy-bob-kraft-2904842?e=adce5e3390

Hey, you know that massive, scary, very likely Russian hack that reportedly breached multiple U.S. government agencies in what may have been the biggest government hack in history? The one that Trump’s former Homeland Security adviser estimates could have affected 18,000 organizations, including most federal government unclassified networks and a number of Fortune 500 companies? The magnitude of which, he says, cannot be overstated? The same one that Donald Trump has said nothing about? Well, no biggie, but apparently hackers also reportedly accessed the networks of the Energy Department and the National Nuclear Security Administration. Which, as you might have guessed, maintain the country’s nuclear weapons stockpile.

Per Politico:

On Thursday, DOE and NNSA officials began coordinating notifications about the breach to their congressional oversight bodies after being briefed by Rocky Campione, the chief information officer at DOE. They found suspicious activity in networks belonging to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories in New Mexico and Washington, the Office of Secure Transportation at NNSA, and the Richland Field Office of the DOE. The hackers have been able to do more damage at FERC than the other agencies, and officials there have evidence of highly malicious activity, the officials said, but did not elaborate.

The attack on DOE is the clearest sign yet that the hackers were able to access the networks belonging to a core part of the U.S. national security enterprise. The hackers are believed to have gained access to the federal agencies’ networks by compromising the software company SolarWinds, which sells IT management products to hundreds of government and private-sector clients…. NNSA is responsible for managing the nation’s nuclear weapons, and while it gets the least attention, it takes up the vast majority of DOE’s budget. Similarly, the Sandia and Los Alamos National Labs conduct atomic research related to both civil nuclear power and nuclear weapons. The Office of Secure Transportation is tasked with moving enriched uranium and other materials critical for maintaining the nuclear stockpile.

While Joe Biden commented on the issue Thursday, saying “Our adversaries should know that, as president, I will not stand idly by in the face of cyber assaults on our nation,” Trump has remained curiously silent, or at least it would be curious had he not made it explicitly clear the last four years that Vladimir Putin, and really, any of his favorite dictators, can often do whatever they want. (The Russian embassy said on Sunday that it had nothing to do with the hack, though experts believe it almost certainly came from a Russian intelligence agency.)

But hey! There may be an entirely reasonable explanation for why Trump hasn’t bothered to address the issue, and it’s that he’s been extremely busy working on much more important issues. No, not fruitlessly attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, though that does take up a decent amount of his time. In this case, it’s something even bigger:

The U.S. Department of Energy on Tuesday finalized a pair of new rules rolling back water efficiency standards on showerheads and other consumer appliances, punctuating President Donald Trump’s long-documented water flow grievances in the final weeks of his administration. The new showerhead rule goes after the two-and-a-half-gallon-per-minute maximum flow rate set by Congress in the 1990s. Under current federal law, each showerhead in a fixture counts toward that limit collectively—but the Energy Department’s new rule means each showerhead individually can reach the limit set by Congress.

The slate of recent changes align with Trump’s larger dismantling of environmental regulations, and, more specifically, his open disdain for poor water flow. Trump claimed late last year that Americans are flushing their toilets “10 times, 15 times, as opposed to once” and are having difficulty washing their hands. “We have a situation where we’re looking very strongly at sinks and showers and other elements of bathrooms where you turn the faucet on—and in areas where there’s tremendous amounts of water, where the water rushes out to sea because you could never handle it, and you don’t get any water,” the president said last December during a roundtable with small business leaders about deregulatory actions. “You turn on the faucet and you don’t get any water. They take a shower and water comes dripping out. Just dripping out, very quietly dripping out,“ the president continued, lowering his voice as he spoke about the drips.

“Today the Trump Administration affirmed its commitment to reducing regulatory burdens and safeguarding consumer choice,” Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette proudly declared in a statement. “With these rule changes, Americans can choose products that are best suited to meet their individual needs and the needs of their families.” The rollbacks were chastised not only by environmental groups but consumer organizations as well, with Andrew deLaski, executive director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, saying, “Changing the rules to address one of President Trump’s pet peeves is simply silly. Thousands of showerhead models on the market today meet the standards that Congress set way back in 1992 and provide a great shower.”

In related news, to date it remains unclear why it takes Trump 15 flushes to clear a toilet.

. . . .

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

Red the rest of the “Levin Report” at the link.

While Trump has famously been reported not to bother reading his “daily intelligence briefings” (after all, they are pretty boring, related to work, which has never been a priority, and reportedly written in complete sentences, which are not within his comfort zone), we can be sure that Vladimir Putin and his buddies in the Kremlin are reading them.

In the meantime, Putin could not ask for a more outrageously tone-deaf, indolent, performance by the Chief Clown 🤡 , Moscow 🇷🇺 Mitch, the GOP, and their cronies and enablers in the period of total national disorder and decay leading into the swearing in of the first real President America has had in four years on January 20, 2021.

32 days and counting left in the kakistocracy. How many more Americans will needlessly die and suffer before we finally get relief from the deadliest Clown Show 🤡☠️🤮⚰️👎🏻?

PWS

12-19-20

🏴‍☠️KAKISTOCRACY SLAMMED: FEDERAL COURT BLASTS REGIME’S INTENTIONAL, ILLEGAL UNDERMINING OF DUE PROCESS IN IMMIGRATION COURT — ORDERS IMMEDIATE CHANGE! — Regime’s “delay in processing A-File FOIA requests . . . . undermines the fairness of immigration proceedings, particularly for the vast number of noncitizens who navigate our immigration system without assistance of counsel.”

Mary Kenney, Deputy Director, National Immigration Litigation Alliance (“NILA”) writes:

Hello all –

NILA, NWIRP, AIC and the Law Offices of Stacy Tolchin are thrilled to announce that the district court just granted declaratory and injunctive relief in our nationwide class challenge to A-File FOIA delays, Nightingale v. USCIS. The court orders:

Declaratory relief due to Defendants DHS, USCIS and ICE’s pattern or practice of failing to make timely A-File FOIA determinations;

Injunctive relief permanently enjoining Defendants from further failing to adhere to the statutory deadlines for A-File FOIA requests;

That Defendants to make determinations on all backlogged FOIA requests within 60 days; and

That Defendants submit quarterly compliance reports to the Court and class counsel going forward.

Here are some great findings from the Court:

Defendants’ “delay in processing A-File FOIA requests . . . . undermines the fairness of immigration proceedings, particularly for the vast number of noncitizens who navigate our immigration system without assistance of counsel.”

“A comprehensive remedy is needed and is long overdue.”

“[S]ince 2017 these defendants have employed aggressive immigration enforcement policies that made an increasing [A-File FOIA]workload predictable and expected. The unfortunate reality is that FOIA is the only realistic mechanism through which noncitizens can obtain A-Files. Given the critical importance of the information in A-Files to removal defense and legalizing status, it is not at all surprising that the number of A-File FOIA requests have increased along with this increase in immigration enforcement.”

“USCIS also complains that it recently tried to increase its fees through a new regulation that could have added more resources to its FOIA budget, but that effort is currently preliminary enjoined in this District. . . . . This argument is particularly troubling as it insinuates that FOIA processing is entirely dependent on the fees paid by the very people who are harmed by the defendants’ delays.

A copy of the decision is available here.

Mary Kenney

National Immigration Litigation Alliance

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

Congrats to Mary and everyone else involved in this extraordinary “team effort” to hold the immigration bureaucracy (now “kakistocracy”) accountable after years of unacceptable and illegal conduct which has directly undermined the rule of law and immigrants’ rights!

So, let’s summarize the absurdity, and not let the “malicious incompetents” at EOIR off the hook, either:

With well over 1 million backlogged cases, many pending for years, EOIR chooses to “expedite and prioritize” “not quite ready for prime time” recent cases, without giving the private parties adequate time to prepare, or even get lawyers in many cases;
In “cahoots” with DHS, EOIR insures that cases will be scheduled without regard to the delays in getting the necessary file material from DHS via FOIA requests;
EOIR fails to impose reasonable discovery rules on DHS, nor do they insist, as any ”real” court would, that no case will be scheduled for a merits hearing until DHS complies with respondents’ reasonable requests for file materials;
USCIS, once a “self-funding agency,” improperly diverts resources to bogus racist inspired, enforcement activities;
As a result of this gross mismanagement, USCIS falsely claims “bankruptcy,” and illegally tries to increase FOIA fees, a move properly blocked by Federal Courts;
USCIS then falsely blames respondents for the discovery delays caused by its own misappropriation of resources and racist policies.

The solution: The Biden Administration must immediately oust the White Nationalist kakistocracy ☠️ at DHS and EOIR and replace it with competent experts from the NDPA who will restore order, rationality, professionalism, efficiency, and integrity to a dysfunctional system that has undermined the public interest and common good.

It’s not rocket science! Just competence, morality, and humanity.

Congrats to my friend Zachary Nightingale, Partner at Van Der Hout LLP, in San Francisco, who was the “lead named plaintiff” in this “sure to be famous” case. The “Nightingale rule” and “getting the Nightingales” are likely to become synonymous with what passes for “discovery” in Immigration Court, at least until we get Article 1.

Job Opportunity: Clock Repair Technicians Wanted. Start Date: January 21, 2021. Location: DHS & EOIR. Duties: Fix broken “asylum work authorization clock 🕰” to account for reality that most major delays in completing asylum hearings consistent with due process are caused by the Government’s incompetence, elevation of racist enforcement initiatives over due process and fundamental fairness, and “Aimless Docket Reshuffling,” NOT by asylum applicants and their (often pro bono or “low bono”) representatives. Draft legislation to repeal this irrational, unnecessary, and counterproductive statute.

Due Process Forever!

PWS

12-18-20

KAKISTOCRACY WATCH: ANOTHER RAT 🐀 FLEES THE SINKING SHIP🆘: Billy The Bigot Jumps Ship Before Captain Queeg 🤯Can Fire Him!

Barr Departs — Lowering The Barr by Randall Enos, Easton, CT
Republished By License

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

Good riddance, although too late for the lives and futures of many of his victims!☠️⚰️👎🏻🐀🤮

Due Process Forever!

PWS

12-16-20

THE GIBSON REPORT — 12-14-20 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group — Dumbing Down EOIR 👎🏻🤯 — How America’s Immigration Courts Became “Amateur Night At The Bijou” 🤹 With Humanity At Stake & Other Horror Stories ☠️ From The Dying ⚰️ Kakistocracy!

EYORE — “Eyore In Distress”
Once A Symbol of Fairness, Due Process, & Best Practices, Now Gone “Belly Up”

Star Chamber Justice — “Justice”
Star Chamber
Style

Kangaroos — BIA Members In Training Session
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rasputin243/
Creative Commons License

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

COVID-19

Note: Policies are rapidly changing, so please verify information on the relevant government websites and with colleagues as best you can.

EOIR Status Overview & EOIR Court Status Map/List: Hearings in non-detained cases at courts without an announced date are postponed through, and including, January 1, 2020 (This is the date announced last week. It is unclear whether there will be an update this week, since a longer-than-usual postponement was announced last week, likely in light of the holidays). NYC non-detained remains closed for hearings.

TOP NEWS

Trump Administration Enacts Rule Gutting Protection for Refugees and Asylum Seekers

HRW: In the waning days of the current administration, the Trump U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Justice have rammed through a sweeping final rule, set to go into effect on January 11, 2021, that guts what remains of protection for refugees seeking asylum in the United States…Under the rule, the Trump administration is likely to, among many other harmful actions: Deny asylum to refugees who improperly entered the United States…Deny asylum to a woman who is harmed for gender-based violence…Deny asylum to LGBTQ refugees… Redefine persecution…Redefine “political opinion”… increasing the complexity of credible fear screenings… new grounds for declaring asylum applications “frivolous,”… See also EOIR Memo on implementation of the regs.

US Extends Temporary Protected Status for 6 Disaster-Hit Countries

VOA: The so-called Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for some citizens of El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras and Nepal was extended by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) until at least October 2021.

DOJ Reins In Immigration Appeals With Final Rule

Law360: The rule, proposed in August, will curtail the ability of immigration appellate judges to hear cases on their own accord, impose a time limit on appeals, and create a mechanism for lower immigration judges to seek reversal of appellate judges at the Board of Immigration Appeals by petitioning a political DOJ appointee.

DOJ Floats E-Filing Rule In Immigration Courts

Law360: The U.S. Department of Justice proposed implementing electronic filing across all immigration courts, allowing immigration attorneys to submit documents, access case files and view court decisions virtually.

The Trump administration expelled unaccompanied migrant children in violation of a court order

Vox: The Trump administration has expelled at least 67 unaccompanied migrant children who arrived on the US-Mexico border since November 18, continuing to invoke Covid-19 as a rationale in defiance of a court order.

Tracking the Trump Administration’s “Midnight Regulations”

ProPublica: The administration is rushing to implement dozens of policy changes in its final days. We’re following some of the most consequential and controversial.

COVID-19 Vaccine: What about undocumented immigrants and communities of color?

DocumentedNY: Cuomo announced Wednesday that the Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had agreed to remove the requirements on vaccine reporting data that could determine whether vaccine recipients are U.S. citizens.

ICE Mismanagement Created Coronavirus “Hotbeds Of Infection” In And Around Detention Centers

Intercept: By August 1, almost 5.5 percent of total U.S. cases, according to the report, were attributable to spread from ICE detention centers. The report is yet another damning indication that ICE’s dereliction in protecting basic human rights, grievous medical neglect, and lack of transparency in how it detains and treats people in its system of over 200 detention centers is a massive public health threat — both to detainees and the greater U.S. population.

Persecuted and marginalized: Black LGBTQ immigrants face unique challenges

ABA: As part of her efforts to build community among LGBTQ immigrants, Gurmu also established the Queer Black Immigrant Project, or QBip, an effort she describes as a black radical lawyering initiative that seeks not only to assist people with asylum claims but also finds solutions to why Black immigrants are leaving their homelands.

The United States Has Failed Cameroonian Asylum-Seekers

FP: Fleeing a civil war shaped by the West, Cameroonians have been met on American shores with hostility, high-risk conditions, and now unconscionable deportation.

Progressives are getting ready to push Biden on immigration reform

Vox: Biden claims that he would not simply return to the Obama-era status quo on immigration, which involved record-level deportations and an expansion of family detention.

How many of our immigration judges are amateurs at immigration law?

The Hill: The problem is the training program for new judges does not spend enough time teaching immigration law to give them the knowledge they will need as immigration judges. Unlike in many courtrooms, these new judges generally will be expected to issue an oral decision at the end of each hearing, which does not give them time to do research or get advice from more experienced judges.

Contractors Dynamite Mountains, Bulldoze Desert In Race To Build Trump’s Border Wall

NPR: This is one of 29 construction projects being performed by 13 different contractors from San Diego to Brownsville, Texas. In Arizona, contractors have added shifts — they’re working all night long under light towers to meet Trump’s goal of 450 miles of new barriers before his term is over.

How ICE Became The Face Of Trump’s Immigration Crackdown And Where It Goes From Here After Biden Is In Charge

Buzzfeed: BuzzFeed News spoke with 12 current and former ICE officials who served during the Trump administration about their experiences and their thoughts about the future. Many, like Schwab, said the new president must find a way to correct the excesses of the past four years and restore public trust in the agency by revamping policies and tactics. But many also cautioned that it won’t be easy.

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

Opinion analysis: Justices allow Muslim men placed on “no fly” list to sue FBI agents for money damages

SCOTUSblog: In a brief and unanimous opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas, the Supreme Court upheld the 2nd Circuit’s ruling. Thomas pointed to the text of RFRA, which allows an individual whose exercise of religion has been burdened to “obtain appropriate relief against a government.” That phrase, Thomas explained, permits someone who has been injured to sue government officials in their personal capacities.

Supreme Court puts off ruling on Trump census case to exclude undocumented immigrants

NBC: The Trump administration had urged the court to take the case on a fast track and issue a decision before the president is required to submit the census report to Congress in early January. But by the time the case was argued Nov. 20, the Census Bureau conceded that it has no idea yet know how many people would be excluded or when it will have the answer. It appeared Monday that the justices declined to act for that reason.

CA1 Finds Petitioner Abandoned LPR Status After Living and Working in Canada for Six Years

The court denied the petition for review, finding that the petitioner, a Lebanese citizen who was admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident (LPR) in 1991, had abandoned his LPR status after living and working in Canada for six years. (Mahmoud v. Barr, 11/30/20) AILA Doc. No. 20120708

CA9 Says Derivative U Visa Spouse Need Not Be Married to Principal Applicant at Time of Form I-918 Filing

The court held that to qualify for a derivative U visa as a spouse, a person need not have been married to the principal applicant at the time the Form I-918 application was filed, so long as the marriage exists when the principal applicant receives a U visa. (Tovar v. Zuchowski, 12/3/20) AILA Doc. No. 20120839

CA11 Says INA §241(a)(5) Bars Reopening of Reinstated Removal Order Where Noncitizen Unlawfully Reentered After Removal

The court concluded that the plain language of INA §241(a)(5) bars the reopening of a reinstated removal order where a noncitizen has illegally reentered the United States following his or her initial removal, and thus denied the petition for review. (Alfaro-Garcia v. Att’y Gen., 11/30/20) AILA Doc. No. 20120709

Feds Can’t Enforce Trump’s No-Visa Policy For 181 Families

Law360: A California federal judge on Friday blocked enforcement of President Donald Trump’s COVID-19-related rule barring noncitizens from moving to the U.S. on new green cards, specifically as the rule pertains to 181 families, finding that the families showed they’d suffer irreparable harm.

District Court Rejects Challenge to DHS’s Expedited Removal Pilot Programs

The district court found that DHS’s new detention-placement policy of the Prompt Asylum Claim Review (PACR) and Humanitarian Asylum Review Process (HARP) programs did not violate statutory, regulatory, or constitutional requirements. (Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center v. Wolf, 11/30/20) AILA Doc. No. 20120838

DHS and DOJ Final Rule on Procedures for Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and CAT Protection

DHS and DOJ final rule making multiple changes to the regulations governing the procedures for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the CAT. The final rule adopts the notice of proposed rulemaking published on 6/15/20 with few substantive changes. (85 FR 80274, 12/11/20) AILA Doc. No. 20121030

EOIR Issues Memo Providing Guidance on New Regulations Governing Procedures for Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and CAT Protection

EOIR issued a memo (PM 21-09) establishing EOIR policy and procedures regarding new DHS and DOJ regulations, effective January 11, 2021, about credible fear and reasonable fear review screenings and the adjudication of asylum, statutory withholding of removal, and protection under CAT claims. AILA Doc. No. 20121400 See also Final Rule: Procedures for Asylum and Withholding of Removal; Credible Fear and Reasonable Fear Review.

EOIR Issues Memo on Pro Bono Legal Services

EOIR issued a memo (PM 21-08) consolidating and updating EOIR policies related to pro bono legal services. This memo replaces OPPM 97-1, Maintaining the List of Free Legal Service Providers, and OPPM 08-01, Guidelines for Facilitating Pro Bono Legal Services. AILA Doc. No. 20121133

EOIR Issues Memo Setting Forth Updated Adjournment, Call-Up, and Case Identification Codes

EOIR issued a policy memo (PM 21-07) rescinding PM 20-08, Definitions and Use of Adjournment, Call-Up, and Case Identification Codes, dated February 13, 2020, and setting forth updated codes used to track the case hearing process. AILA Doc. No. 20121038

Advance Copy of EOIR Final Rule on Appellate Procedures and Administrative Closure

EOIR final rule amending the regulations on the processing of immigration appeals, as well as amending the regulations regarding administrative closure. The final rule will be published in the Federal Register on 12/16/20 and will be effective 30 days after publication. AILA Doc. No. 20121130

DOJ Provides Information on EADs for Six TPS-Designated Countries

DOJ provided a table of EAD expiration dates that were issued under the TPS designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan. EADs with expiration dates listed in the table and a category code of A-12 or C-19 are now valid through October 4, 2021. AILA Doc. No. 20121401

Update: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

USCIS: In compliance with an order of a United States District Court, effective December 7, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is: Accepting first-time requests for consideration of deferred action under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) based on the terms of the DACA policy in effect prior to September 5, 2017, and in accordance with the Court’s December 4, 2020, order.

ACTIONS

Advocacy Toolkit: Hold ICE Accountable for Deplorable Medical Attention in Detention

USCIS Feedback Opportunities

Age and “Sought to Acquire” Requirement under Child Status Protection Act: feedback due 12/14/2020

Civics Educational Requirement for Purposes of Naturalization: feedback due 12/14/2020. CLINIC Click-to-Comment Template.

Rule to Eliminate Employment Authorization for Individuals with a Final Order of Removal: Comments are due 12/21/20; comments on form revisions are due 1/19/21.

CBP Collection of Biometric Data: Comments are due 12/21/20.

EOIR Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Define “Good Cause”: Comments are due 12/28/20. AILA Click-to-Comment Template.

EOIR Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Motions to Reopen, Motions to Reconsider, and Stays of Removal: Comments are due 12/28/20.

BIA Invites Amicus Briefs on the Criteria for Determining an “Arriving Alien”: Due 1/4/2021.

EOIR Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Electronic Filing and Law Student Filing: Comments are due 1/4/21.

Proposed Revisions to Form I-821D, DACA: Comments are due 1/12/21.

New Form G-1558, Request for E-Notification: Comments are due 1/11/21.

EOIR FOIAXpress Public Access Link: Comments are due 1/19/21.

USCIS Proposed Revisions to Form I-914, T visa: Comments are due 1/19/21.

AILA Diversity and Inclusion Committee Speaker Interest Form

RESOURCES

Listing of EOIR Federal Register Notices

AILA: Asylee and Refugee Resources from DOJ’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section

AILA: Trump Policies That May Be Finalized Before Inauguration Day 2021

AILA: Practice Alert: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds Limited Preliminary Injunctions of the DHS Public Charge Rule

AILA: Deadline for Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Applications Is Approaching

AILA: Your Cheat Sheet to Ethics During the Pandemic

AILA: Practice Alert: Multiple Biometrics Notices

AILA: Practice Alert: District Court Orders Full Reinstatement of DACA

AILA: Practice Alert: Federal Court Enjoins New Criminal Bars to Asylum – Pangea Legal Services v. DHS Litigation Update and FAQs

AILA: Practice Alert: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds Limited Preliminary Injunctions of the DHS Public Charge Rule

Alianza: What you should know about the automatic TPS extension – December 9, 2020

CGRS: CGRS Decries Sweeping Anti-Asylum Regulations, Prepares Court Challenge

CRS: U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Powers and Limitations: A Brief Primer

CRS: Applications for Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness(LRIF): Fact Sheet

CLINIC: Practice Advisory on Filing DACA Applications

CLINIC: Screening Form for Initial DACA Eligibility

CLINIC: Checklist for Initial DACA Applications

CLINIC: USCIS publishes Federal Register Notice automatically extending TPS per court orders

CLINIC: Getting Ready for Immigration Changes in 2021

IDP: Post-Conviction Relief State Summary Chart

ILRC: Regulation Creates New Crimes Bars to Asylum

Resources for legal service providers and other U.S. advocates working with detained children

Report on the State of Undocumented Students in California’s Public Universities

EVENTS

12/15/20 Caserounds: Your Questions on Survivor-based Petitions

12/15/20 Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude

12/15/20 Protecting Asylum Seekers During COVID-19

12/16/20 EOIR to Host an Information Session on the Implementation of Webex in the Immigration Courts

12/16/20 LPRs and Public Charge

12/16/20 Program Strategies for Removal Defense Practice

12/17/20 DACA and TPS Developments

12/17/20 EOIR to Host Information Session in Advance of ECAS Launch at Elizabeth and Salt Lake City Immigration Courts

12/18/20 International Migrants Day

12/18/20 Preparing for the Implementation of New, Mammoth Asylum Rule

12/18/20 Late-Breaking Changes to Immigration Court Practice

1/7/21 Trauma-Informed Lawyering: Strategies and Best Practices

1/12/21-2/26/21 Comprehensive Overview of Immigration Law

1/21/21 Immigration in 2021: Anticipating Changes under a New Administration

2/4/21 Basic Immigration Law 2021: Business, Family, Naturalization and Related Areas

2/5/21 Asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, Crime Victim, and Other Immigration Relief 2021

2/5/21 Addressing Domestic Violence 2021: Remote Family and Immigration Law Practice During Pandemic or Disaster

2/9/21 What Every Lawyer Should Know About U.S. Immigration Law

4/21/21 Working with Domestic Violence Immigrant Survivors: The Intersection of Basic Family Law, Immigration, Benefits, and Housing Issues in California 2021

ImmProf

Monday, December 14, 2020

Immigration Article of the Day: Manners of Exclusion: From the Asiatic Barred Zone to the Muslim Ban by Sherally Munshi

Sunday, December 13, 2020

Just Security: Could a Migrants’ Bill of Rights Provide a Blueprint for Migration Policy in the Americas?

The U.S. Should be Ashamed: 628 parents of separated children are still missing

Immigrant essential workers have helped us through the pandemic

Immigration Article of the Day: The Legal Reconstruction of Walls:N.D. &Amp; N.T. V. Spain, 2017, 2020 by Moria Paz

Saturday, December 12, 2020

Now Streaming: Taste The Nation

Why the Virgin of Guadalupe is more than a religious icon to Catholics in Mexico

Immigrant Rights Advocates to push Biden on immigration reform

Immigration Article of the Day: Family in the Balance: Barton v. Barr and the Systematic Violation of the Right to Family Life in U.S. Immigration Enforcement by David Bularte

Friday, December 11, 2020

The Sidewalk School for Asylum Seekers

The Successes and Struggles of Undocumented Students

Buddhist temple attacks rise as COVID-19 amplifies anti-Asian American bias

Opinion analysis: Justices allow Muslim men placed on “no fly” list to sue FBI agents for money damages

Persecuted and marginalized: Black LGBTQ immigrants face unique challenges

Trump Asylum Regulation the “Death” of Asylum in the United States?

Immigration Article of the Day: Conservative Progressivism in Immigrant Habeas Court: Why Boumediene v. Bush Is the Baseline Constitutional Minimum by Joshua J. Schroeder

Thursday, December 10, 2020

Detention Watch Network: Hotbeds of Infection: How ICE Detention Contributed to the Spread of COVID-19 in the United States December 2020

From The Bookshelves: A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende

Immigration cruelty didn’t start with Trump. Will it end under Biden?

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

How the Fear of Immigration Enforcement Affects the Mental Health of Latino Youth

At the Movies: Blinded by the Light (2019)

Immigration Article of the Day: Police Trust and Domestic Violence among Immigrants: Evidence from VAWA Self-Petitions by Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes and Esther Arenas-Arroyo

Continuation of Temporary Protected Status for Nationals of El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras, and Nepal

Can ICE Restore Its Reputation and Legitimacy Post Trump?

Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Immigration Article of the Day: Freedom of movement, migration, and borders by Jaya Ramji-Nogales & Iris Goldner Lang

Comparing crime rates between undocumented immigrants, legal immigrants, and native-born US citizens in Texas

Trump Shut the Door on Migrants. Will Biden Open It?

DACA LIVES! USCIS Notice Confirms Restoration of DACA

Monday, December 7, 2020

Immigration Article of the Day: Vicarious Trauma and Ethical Obligations for Attorneys Representing Immigrant Clients: A Call to Build Resilience Among the Immigration Bar by Hannah C. Cartwright, Lindsay M. Harris, Liana Montecinos, & Anam Rahman

Hire American: Race-Based Exclusion in Employment-Based Immigration

NYT In-Depth Reporting on Family Separation

Facing COVID-19 as an Undocumented Essential Worker by Linda E. Sanchez

Biden picks California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be Secretary of Health and Human Services

Fourth Circuit to Rehear En Banc Public Charge Rule Case

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

Thanks to former EOIR attorney Nolan Rappaport over @ The Hill for highlighting the disgraceful “expertise deficit” at EOIR. Nolan’s article was also cited by Judge “Sir Jeffrey” Chase of the Round Table 🛡⚔️ in a recent post.

https://immigrationcourtside.com/2020/12/15/%f0%9f%9b%a1%e2%9a%94%ef%b8%8f%e2%9a%96%ef%b8%8f%f0%9f%97%bdsir-jeffreys-2021-wish-list-sanity-humanity-due-process-other-great-things-the-importance-of-a-long/

And, as always, thanks Elizabeth, for all you do to keep us well-informed!

The only real question is how much wanton damage can the EOIR Clown Show 🤡🏴‍☠️ inflict on humanity and our legal system before the curtain falls on January 21? Apparently, like the Trump/Barr “holiday execution extravaganza” 🎅🏻⚰️ & “COVID spreading spree,”🤮 they are going for “maximum kills.” ☠️⚰️

PWS

12-16-20

MAJOR CONTRAST: AS EOIR CLOWN 🤡☠️⚰️SHOW CEMENTS ITS ROLE AS NOTORIOUS HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSER 🏴‍☠️🤮, THE ROUND TABLE 🛡⚔️ HELPS SAVE LIVES 🗽 AT EVERY LEVEL OF OUR SYSTEM⚖️!

Hon. Jeffrey S. “Sir Jeffrey” Chase
Jeffrey S. Chase Blog
Coordinator & Chief Spokesperson, Round Table of Former Immigration Judges

More great news from Sir Jeffrey:

Hi all: We filed an amicus brief with the Third Circuit last year in a domestic violence withholding and CAT claim from Mexico. The BIA acknowledged that the petitioner was beaten four or five times a month by her abuser; was raped by him several times, and then lost her job as an agro-engineer with a government agency in Mexico after her abuser beat her violently in front of her co-workers, and her employer told her she could not publicly represent the agency with the resulting bruises on her face. The BIA further recognized that her abuser was able to locate her when she tried to relocate within Mexico. And yet withholding was denied on nexus, and CAT denied on government acquiescence grounds.

A number of other groups, including CGRS, filed amicus briefs as well, and OILu moved to remand under favorable terms. Anju Gupta at Rutgers, who represents the petitioner, said that today, the IJ (who was very much made aware of all of the amicus briefs) granted CAT relief.

The email said that the petitioner (who was previously detained at Elizabeth, NJ) is now in Mexico (I’m not clear on the details), but will hopefully be able to return soon based on the grant.

It’s great that we continue to make a positive difference.

Best, Jeff

**********

Wow! What a great holiday present!

What a great group with a great mission of promoting due process, advocating for equal justice, and saving lives! Every member of the Round Table has saved lives by standing up for the human dignity and legal rights of those who came before us in Immigration Court. And, we continue to “fight the good fight,” in every possible way at every level of the justice system!

Due Process Forever!

PWS

MAKING MY CASE! — EOIR’S ATROCIOUS “ASYLUM DEATH PACKAGE”☠️⚰️ SHOWS WHY NEXT AG MUST SUSPEND REGS, IMMEDIATELY REPLACE EOIR CLOWN 🤡 SHOW!

Attribution: Stephen Miller Monster by Peter Kuper, PoliticalCartoons.com

Grim Reaper — Recent Barr Appointee Prepares to Take Bench
Fangusu, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

https://www.lexisnexis.com/LegalNewsRoom/immigration/b/insidenews/posts/advance-copy-of-eoir-final-rule-procedures-for-asylum-and-withholding-of-removal-credible-fear-and-reasonable-fear-review#

“Over 87,000 comments were filed. DOJ and DHS ignored them. This is Steven Miller’s final FU to us all,” says my friend Dan Kowalski over at Lexis Nexis Immigration Community.

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

Man, the ink was barely dry on my speech last night to Houston AILA, when EOIR graphically illustrated my points about:

why the EOIR Clown Show/Kakistocracy has got to go; and
why we finally need an Attorney General with a human rights background who will act immediately to suspend these absurd and unlawful regs and remove the “perps” of this “crime against humanity” at EOIR and their accomplices.

https://immigrationcourtside.com/2020/12/10/%e2%9a%96%ef%b8%8f%f0%9f%97%bdhouston-weve-got-a-problem-its-called-eoir-its-time-for-the-clown-show-%f0%9f%a4%a1-to/

It also illustrates why the new DHS Secretary needs to do a thorough housecleaning and reorganization of the immigration kakistocracy that has aided and abetted Miller in his neo-Nazi campaign against immigrants of color.

Also, it shows why the NDPA and the human rights advocacy community must speak out and be heard on who should be the next AG and what his or her priorities must be in immediately acting on immigration and human rights as the keys to civil rights and equal justice for all!

This issue can’t be “back burnered” as past Dem Administrations have done! An attack on justice and humanity for asylum applicants is an attack on justice for all of us. We need immediate, decisive action to restore human values and human dignity to our justice system!

That requires a real Immigration Court, with real independent judges unswervingly committed to due process, equal justice, and human rights, not the current “Star Chamber Charade.” 🏴‍☠️🤮 The Immigration Courts will be under the control of the Biden Administration. Fixing them must be a top priority!

As I told the Transition Team about EOIR, “Either you fix it immediately, or you own it.”

And this is not a disgraceful mess that I would want to own if I were the Biden-Harris Team. Particularly if I wanted more goodwill in the Hispanic and African American (African asylum seekers are one of the groups targeted on racial grounds by Miller and the current regime) communities in future elections!

Due Process Forever!

PWS

12-10-20

⚖️🗽“HOUSTON, WE’VE GOT A PROBLEM!” — It’s Called “EOIR” & It’s Time For The Clown Show 🤡 To Go! — Here’s My Speech Last Night To The Houston Chapter of AILA!

Good evening, Houston! Hope you and yours are staying well. Thanks for joining me to help plan the next big battle for our New Due Process Army (“NDPA”).

I’m retired, so I can tell it like it is: no party line, no bureaucratic doublespeak, no BS, just the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Nevertheless, I do want to hold AILA, your organizers, you, and anyone else of any importance whatsoever harmless for the following remarks, for which I am solely responsible. To borrow the words of country music superstar Toby Keith, “it’s me baby, with your wakeup call!”

And, perhaps to state the obvious: “Houston, we’ve got a problem!” The problem is EOIR, it’s threatening our entire justice system, and I need your help to fix it!

42 days and counting left in the kakistocracy – governance by the worst among us. We got the job done in November. But, by no means is the fight to preserve our justice system and save our nation over. Indeed, in many ways it’s just beginning!

I’m dividing my presentation this evening into two parts. First, I’m going to take you from one of the highlights of my career, the Kasinga decision in 1996, to the depths of the current unmitigated disaster in our Immigration Courts. I’ll explain how policy-making by myth, inadequate leadership, followed by malicious incompetence snuffed out hope and progress and replaced it with despair and return to the dark days of Jim Crow.

Then, I’m going to tell you what needs to be done to restore and re-energize due process at EOIR, why our time is now, and why your voices as members of our New Due Process Army (“NDPA”) need to be heard loud and clear by the incoming Biden-Harris Administration.

* * * * * * *

We also need an AG who is advocate for human rights and immigrants’ rights. Additionally, there is a pressing need for immigration/human rights experts from the NDPA in authoritative positions in other parts of the DOJ, like the SG’s Office, OIL, and the Office of Legal Policy, as well as, of course DHS, ORR, State, and even CDC.

Remember: This isn’t “rocket science!” It’s just common sense, “practical scholarship,” best practices, moral courage, humanity, and respect for human dignity! All of which you and other members of the NDPA have in abundance! Most of all, it’s about getting the right practical experts in the key positions within the incoming Administration.

Unlike the Article III Courts, the “EOIR Clown Show” can be removed, replaced, and justice at all levels improved just by putting the right experts from the NDPA in charge right off the bat. Because these are Executive positions that do not require Senate confirmation, Mitch McConnell’s permission is not required.

Democratic Administrations, particularly the Obama Administration, have a history of not getting the job done when it comes to achievable immigration reforms within the bureaucracy. If you don’t want four more years of needless frustration, death, disorder, demeaning of humanity, and deterioration of the most important “retail level” of our justice system, let the incoming Biden Administration know: Throw out the EOIR Clown Show and bring in the experts from the NDPA to turn the Immigration Courts into real, independent courts of equal justice and humanity that will be a source of national pride, not a deadly and dangerous national embarrassment!

Contrary to all the mindless “woe is me” suggestions that it will take decades to undo Stephen Miller’s racist nonsense, EOIR is totally fixable — BUT ONLY WITH THE RIGHT FOLKS FROM THE NDPA IN CHARGE! It only becomes “mission impossible” if the Biden-Harris Administration approaches EOIR with the same indifference, lack of urgency, and disregard for expertise and leadership at the DOJ that often has plagued past Democratic Administrations on immigration, human rights, and social justice.

It won’t take decades, nor will it take zillions of taxpayer dollars! With the right folks in leadership positions at EOIR, support for independent problem solving (not mindless micromanagement) from the AG & DOJ, and a completely new BIA selected from the ranks of the NDPA experts, we will see drastic improvements in the delivery of justice at EOIR by this time next year. And, that will just be the beginning!

No more clueless politicos, go along to get along bureaucrats, unqualified toadies, and restrictionist holdovers calling the shots at EOIR, America’s most important, least understood, and “most fixable” court system! No more abuse of migrants and their hard-working representatives! No more ridiculous, “Aimless Docket Reshuffling” generating self-created backlogs! No more vile and stupid White Nationalist enforcement gimmicks being passed off as “policies!” No more “Amateur Night at The Bijou” when it comes to administration of the immigrant justice system at EOIR!

Get mad! Get angry! Stop the nonsense! Tell every Democrat in Congress and the Biden Administration to bring in the NDPA experts to fix EOIR! Now! Before more lives are lost, money wasted, and futures ruined! It won’t get done if we don’t speak out and demand to be heard! Let your voices ring out from banks of the Rio Grande to the shores of the Potomac, from the Gulf Coast to the centers of Government!

This is our time! Don’t let it pass with the wrong people being put in charge — yet again! Don’t be “left at the station” as the train of immigrant justice at Justice pulls out with the best engineers left standing on the platform and the wrong folks at the controls! Some “train wrecks” aren’t survivable!

Repeat after me: “Hey hey, ho ho, the EOIR Clown Show has got to go!” Then pass it on to the incoming Administration! Let them know, in no uncertain terms, that you’ve had enough! More than enough!

Thanks for listening, have a great evening, stay well, take care of your families, and, always remember the NDPA rallying cry, Due Process Forever!

Read my complete speech here:

HOUSTON

And, here’s the zoom video recording, courtesy of Roberto Blum, Esquire, of Houston AILA:

https://zoom.us/rec/share/s607ygH0DZ4E_tQqcbs_6w1nrdDjfcoY9JWlIT7FAQRKm_mdFu5iGNP5ukVWjXLI.Y_uTqJUfps7uq9St?startTime=1607558497000

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

🤮EOIR’S STUPIDITY IN MOTION: One of the audience questions last night concerned the recent mindless “scheduling orders” issued by EOIR bureaucrats masquerading as “judges.” These were the subject of immediate harsh congressional criticism, as I noted yesterday. https://immigrationcourtside.com/2020/12/09/kakistocracy-korner%f0%9f%8f%b4%e2%80%8d%e2%98%a0%ef%b8%8f-eoirs-latest-maliciously-incompetent-%f0%9f%a4%ae-attack-%e2%98%a0%ef%b8%8f-on-kids-earns-well-deserved-congressional-ire/

Basically, with over 1.3 million backlogged cases already on the docket, EOIR has chosen to expedite and prioritize newer asylum cases where individuals have not had time to obtain attorneys and properly prepare over hundreds of thousands, perhaps one million, of “ready to try” backlogged cases. Some of the latter undoubtedly date back to my time on the bench!

Rather than working with the private bar and ICE on a rational plan to get the cases that are ready to try heard, EOIR has chosen to rush ahead by putting “not ready for prime time” cases in front of those that have been waiting, some for many years. Apparently, the plan is to then dismiss the cases if completed asylum applications aren’t filed by the arbitrary, artificial, and unreasonable deadlines.

Remarkably, attorneys were told that if they couldn’t meet these arbitrary, unreasonable deadlines, they should “file motions.” That will 1) throw more useless paper into an un-automated system already drowning in it; 2) undoubtedly lead to wildly inconsistent adjudications among judges; and 3) generate unnecessary appeals and possible Federal court actions. Some unrepresented individuals likely will be wrongfully deported because they don’t understand what’s happening.

This is “Aimless Docket Reshuffling” in action. A great example of why “The EOIR Clown Show 🤡 has got to go!” Sooner, not later!

Let your voices be heard!

I hear lots of talk about the importance of civil rights from the Biden team. But, as we well know, “immigrants’ rights are civil rights.”

Civil rights reforms and justice for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and other minorities will continue to be an unrealized dream unless and until we fix the broken and biased Immigration Court system: “The home of ‘Dred Scottification’ and the ‘21st Century Jim Crow.’” As MLK, Jr. once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat justice everywhere.”

After three decades of abject failure and “deterioration of justice at Justice,” time for some progressive new leadership at the DOJ that takes those words to heart and “connects the dots” between the continuing abuses of Black Americans in the streets and the disgraceful abuses inflicted on immigrants of color and their representatives in our 21st Century “Star Chambers” called Immigration Courts that operate within the DOJ. In my mind, appointing officials who were part of not solving the problem in the past, even if they “know” the DOJ, is not going to get the job done.

We need new faces in leadership at DOJ! That means individuals in leadership positions who have demonstrated a commitment to equal justice for all! Experts in justice rather than political and bureaucratic retreads! Time to value “real life” experiences and achievements over past participation in managing a failed and floundering DOJ bureaucracy that has been “AWOL” on equal justice and immigrant justice for far too long.

Yes, we need a “good manager” at Justice. But, a manager who has seen the problems with the justice system first-hand, through litigation or advocacy against the regime’s abuses, particularly in the Immigration Courts and with racist and unconstitutional immigrant bashing “policies.” A leader familiar with the problems at Justice, but not part of those problems in the past. Sure, that person will need personnel experts and some “bureaucratic insiders” to get the job done. But, they should be part of the team, not driving the train.

There will be no justice for all Americans without justice in our Immigration Courts! So far, I haven’t heard a direct acknowledgement and embracing of that simple fact from the Biden-Harris team. That’s a matter that should be of concern to all of us in the NDPA!

That’s why it’s so important for our voices to be heard now! Before the “train leaves the station” without the NDPA on board, which is precisely what happened in 2008!

Due Process Forever!

PWS

12-10-20

KAKISTOCRACY KORNER🏴‍☠️ — EOIR’S LATEST MALICIOUSLY INCOMPETENT 🤮 ATTACK ☠️ ON KIDS EARNS WELL-DESERVED CONGRESSIONAL IRE!– “These new deadlines established by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) jeopardize the due process rights of the children who come before the Court seeking asylum and special immigrant juvenile visas. These scheduling orders are particularly concerning considering the Trump Administration’s overt efforts to ramp up enforcement and other efforts to expedite removals.”

Read the letter from Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) here:

https://pressley.house.gov/sites/pressley.house.gov/files/2020-12-08%20Congresswoman%20Pressley_Letter%20to%20EOIR_RE_Scheduling_Orders%5B1%5D.pdf

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

How “low can EOIR go” before the curtain finally falls on the dangerous and deadly ☠️ Clown Show🤡? Always have to wonder what drives so-called “civil servants” who exhibit a “Milleresque” cowardly desire to pick on kids!

Hey, hey, ho ho, The EOIR Clown Show 🤡 has got to go!

Due Process Forever!

PWS

12-09-20

THE GIBSON REPORT — 12-07-20 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group

COVID-19

Note: Policies are rapidly changing, so please verify information on the relevant government websites and with colleagues as best you can.

EOIR Status Overview & EOIR Court Status Map/List: Hearings in non-detained cases at courts without an announced date are postponed through, and including,January 1, 2020. NYC non-detained remains closed for hearings.

TOP NEWS

Judge Orders Government to Fully Reinstate DACA Program

NYT: Up to 300,000 additional undocumented immigrants could be allowed to apply for protection from deportation under a new court ruling. President Trump had sought to cancel the program.

Biden picks California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be Secretary of Health and Human Services

ImmProf: As Attorney General, Becerra has filed 100 challenges to Trump administration policies, including many immigration and immigrant-related ones such as the rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, efforts to defund sanctuary cities, addition of a U.S. citizenship question to Census 2020, and more. Just last week Becerra won a challenge to President Trump’s public charge rule in the Ninth Circuit.

A Trump Immigration Policy Is Leaving Families Hungry

NYT: The “public charge” rule was supposed to ensure that green cards go only to self-sufficient immigrants, but in the pandemic, it is driving up hunger and leaving Joe Biden with a quandary.

Biden’s policies on immigration

WaPo: President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to make the United States a welcoming place for

immigrants, but his plans to dismantle the Trump administration’s barriers to immigration

could leave him in a quandary, especially as a new migration surge could be looming.

Undocumented Immigrants Are Half as Likely to Be Arrested for Violent Crimes as U.S.-Born Citizens

Scientific American: Some of the most solid evidence to date shows that President Trump’s cornerstone immigration policy was built on a wholly false premise.

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

EOIR Issues Memo Consolidating and Updating Policy Regarding the Processing of Asylum Applications

EOIR issued a policy memo (PM 21-06) consolidating and replacing OPPM 00-01, Asylum Request Processing, and OPPM 13-02, The Asylum Clock. The memo concerns the processing of affirmative and defensive asylum applications, the asylum and EAD clocks, docketing and scheduling, BIA appeals, and more. AILA Doc. No. 20120702

EOIR Issues Guidance on “Enhanced Case Flow Processing” in Removal Proceedings

EOIR issued guidance on the implementation of an enhanced case flow processing model for non-status, non-detained cases with representation in removal proceedings. Memo is effective 12/1/20. AILA Doc. No. 20120130

BIA Rules on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

BIA ruled that counsel accepting responsibility of error does not discharge the disciplinary authority complaint obligation, and respondents seeking reopening based on ineffective counsel must show probability they would’ve prevailed otherwise. Matter of Melgar, 28 I&N Dec. 169 (BIA 2020) AILA Doc. No. 20120442

Full 4th Circ. To Revisit Nationwide Public Charge Block

Law360: The full Fourth Circuit will revisit a lower court order blocking the Trump administration’s immigration wealth test, months after a split panel allowed the federal government to enforce the so-called public charge rule while immigrants challenge it in court.

CA1 Finds Petitioner Abandoned LPR Status After Living and Working in Canada for Six Years

The court denied the petition for review, finding that the petitioner, a Lebanese citizen who was admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident (LPR) in 1991, had abandoned his LPR status after living and working in Canada for six years. (Mahmoud v. Barr, 11/30/20) AILA Doc. No. 20120708

CA1 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Haitian Petitioner Who Provided Unsupported Theory of Attackers’ Motivation

Upholding the BIA’s denial of asylum, the court held that the Haitian petitioner had failed to establish a nexus between his 2017 attack and a protected ground, where he had provided no credible evidence that the attack was motivated by his political activity. (Celicourt v. Barr, 11/17/20) AILA Doc. No. 20113034

CA2: Federal Court Affirms New York’s Green Light Law Allowing Undocumented Immigrants To Seek Driver’s Licenses

Gothamist: In a ruling issued Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of Erie County Clerk Michael Kearns’s 2019 lawsuit seeking to block the state’s Green Light law.

CA4 Finds BIA Abused Its Discretion in Denying Asylum to Former Colombian Police Officer

The court held that the BIA erred in deciding that the petitioner, a retired Colombian police officer, had not shown past persecution because threats by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) were written, and because he was never physically approached. (Bedoya v. Barr, 11/25/20) AILA Doc. No. 20120133

CA6 Upholds Matter of Castro-Tum and Says IJs Lack General Authority to Administratively Close Cases

The court found that the Attorney General correctly interpreted 8 CFR §§1003.10 and 1003.1(d) in Matter of Castro-Tum in holding that IJs do not have the general authority to suspend indefinitely immigration proceedings by administrative closure. (Hernandez-Serrano v. Barr, 11/24/20) AILA Doc. No. 20120134

CA7 Finds Petitioner Failed to Exhaust Administrative Remedies Where He Made No Argument About Criminal Violence in Mexico

The court dismissed in part the petitioner’s appeal of the denial of his cancellation of removal application, finding he had failed to exhaust his administrative remedies because he did not ask the BIA to address the subject of criminal violence in Mexico. (Barrados-Zarate v. Barr, 11/24/20) AILA Doc. No. 20120145

CA8 Upholds BIA’s Conclusion That Somali Government Would Not Acquiesce in Any Torture of Petitioner by Al-Shabaab

Where petitioner sought Convention Against Torture (CAT) relief and argued that the Somali government would acquiesce in his torture, the court held that the record did not show that the Somali government had willfully turned a blind eye to Al-Shabaab’s activities. (Moallin v. Barr, 11/23/20) AILA Doc. No. 20120146

CA9 Upholds Limited Preliminary Injunctions of DHS Public Charge Rule

CA9 upheld preliminary injunctions issued against DHS’s public charge rule by district courts in California and Washington. In its order, however, the panel majority vacated the Washington court’s entry of a nationwide injunction. (City and County of San Francisco, et. al. v. USCIS 12/2/20) AILA Doc. No. 20120235

CA9 Declines to Rehear Vega-Anguiano v. Barr En Banc

The court issued an order amending its prior opinion and denying the rehearing en banc of Vega-Anguiano v. Barr, in which the court found a reinstatement order improper where the petitioner had shown a “gross miscarriage of justice.” (Vega-Anguiano v. Barr, 11/19/19, amended 11/24/20) AILA Doc. No. 20120147

CA9 Finds BIA Erred in Giving Reduced Weight to Testimony of Specialist in Gang Activity

The court held that, despite its direction to reconsider the testimony of a specialist in gang activity in Central America and its effect on petitioner’s Convention Against Torture (CAT) claim, the BIA erred on remand by according reduced weight to his testimony. (Castillo v. Barr, 11/18/20) AILA Doc. No. 20113035

CA9 Says Showing of Prejudice Is Not Required When Ineffective Assistance Leads to In Absentia Removal Order

Granting the petition for review and remanding, the court held that the BIA erred by treating the petitioners’ failure to show prejudice caused by alleged ineffective assistance of counsel as a basis for denying their motion to reopen removal proceedings. (Sanchez Rosales v. Barr, 11/18/20) AILA Doc. No. 20113036

CA11 Says INA §241(a)(5) Bars Reopening of Reinstated Removal Order Where Noncitizen Unlawfully Reentered After Removal

The court concluded that the plain language of INA §241(a)(5) bars the reopening of a reinstated removal order where a noncitizen has illegally reentered the United States following his or her initial removal, and thus denied the petition for review. (Alfaro-Garcia v. Att’y Gen., 11/30/20) AILA Doc. No. 20120709

District Court Orders DHS to Fully Restore DACA Program

District court orders DHS to accept first-time requests for DACA, renewal requests, and advance parole requests, based on the terms of the DACA program prior to 9/5/17 and that one-year deferred action and EADs must be extended to two years. (Batalla Vidal, et al., v. Wolf, et al., 12/4/20) AILA Doc. No. 20120701

Advance Copy of USCIS Notice of Extension of TPS Documentation for El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras, and Nepal

Advance copy of USCIS notice that DHS is automatically extending the validity of TPS-related documentation for beneficiaries under TPS designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras, and Nepal through 10/4/21. The notice will be published in the Federal Register on 12/9/20. AILA Doc. No. 20120710

USCIS Issues Memo on Expanding Interviews to Refugee/Asylee Relative Petitions

USCIS issued a policy memo stating that it will require most petitioners to appear for an interview in connection with Form I-730. USCIS will implement the expansion of in-person petitioner interviews in phases and will provide advance public notice before each phase is implemented. AILA Doc. No. 20113041

DHS Issues Supplemental Policy Guidance on the Migrant Protection Protocols

DHS issued supplemental policy guidance on MPP, including on access to information about MPP, appeals, family units, mixed-nationality family units, UACs, known physical and mental health issues, use of restraints, interagency collaboration, and ongoing changes. AILA Doc. No. 20120712

CBP Says Program to Collect DNA Samples from Certain Individuals in Custody Will Reach Full Operation by End of 2020

CBP announced that the pilot programs it began in January 2020 to assess collection of DNA samples from certain individuals in CBP custody have provided the information it needs to implement nationwide collection. Per CBP, the collection program will reach full operation by December 31, 2020. AILA Doc. No. 20120433

RESOURCES

Pangea Legal Services v. DHS Litigation Update and FAQ

CLINIC: Summary of DACA Litigation and Policy Developments

AILA Practice Alert: District Court Orders Full Reinstatement of DACA

AILA Practice Alert: New Scheduling Orders in Removal Proceedings

AILA: Practice Pointer: Navigating the USCIS Contact Center

Ethical Considerations Related to Affirmatively Filing an Application for Asylum for the Purpose of Applying for Cancellation of Removal and Adjustment of Status for a Nonpermanent Resident

USCIS Provides Data on Extension of Stay Requests During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Client Flyer: Understanding the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Program

Bite-Sized Ethics: Withdrawing When a Client Goes MIA

CBP Releases Enforcement Statistics for FY2021

ILRC: Guidance and Reflections on Providing Remote Legal Services to Immigrant Survivors of Domestic Violence

ILRC: Eligibility for Relief: Cancellation of Removal for Permanent Residents, INA § 240A(a)

ILRC: Local Policy Interventions for Protecting Immigrants

ILRC: Public Charge Timeline

MPI: Mexican Immigrants in the United States

Health is Justice Litigation Hub

EVENTS

12/8/20 Litigating Your Way Out of Delay

12/8/20 Update from the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez

12/9/20 Public Charge in Consular Processing

12/9/20 EOIR to Host Information Session on Enhanced Case Flow Processing Before the Immigration Courts

12/10/20 “The Nuts and Bolts of BIA Appeals” Webinar

12/15/20 Caserounds: Your Questions on Survivor-based Petitions

12/15/20 Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude

12/16/20 EOIR to Host an Information Session on the Implementation of Webex in the Immigration Courts

12/16/20 LPRs and Public Charge

12/16/20 Program Strategies for Removal Defense Practice

12/18/20 International Migrants Day

12/18/20 Late-Breaking Changes to Immigration Court Practice

1/7/21 Trauma-Informed Lawyering: Strategies and Best Practices

1/12/21-2/26/21 Comprehensive Overview of Immigration Law

1/21/21 Immigration in 2021: Anticipating Changes under a New Administration

2/4/21 Basic Immigration Law 2021: Business, Family, Naturalization and Related Areas

2/5/21 Asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, Crime Victim, and Other Immigration Relief 2021

2/5/21 Addressing Domestic Violence 2021: Remote Family and Immigration Law Practice During Pandemic or Disaster

2/9/21 What Every Lawyer Should Know About U.S. Immigration Law

4/21/21 Working with Domestic Violence Immigrant Survivors: The Intersection of Basic Family Law, Immigration, Benefits, and Housing Issues in California 2021

ImmProf

Monday, December 7, 2020

Biden picks California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be Secretary of Health and Human Services

Fourth Circuit to Rehear En Banc Public Charge Rule Case

Sunday, December 6, 2020

Raising the bar to US citizenship with a new test

A Trump Immigration Policy Is Leaving Families Hungry

Saturday, December 5, 2020

From NAFTA to USMCA, where do Mexican Farm Workers Stand?

The US has “dirty immigration lawyers”; The UK has “specialist immigration law firms”

Citizenship, Immigration, and Equality at TEDxMileHigh VISION

Court Orders Trump Administrataion to Accept New DACA Applications

Friday, December 4, 2020

Immigrant of the Day: Angelina Friedman (nee Sciales)

Biden’s Immigration Plan- The First 100 Days

Trump’s expansion of expedited removal needs President Biden’s attention

Houston Police Chief: Alejandro Mayorkas is good choice by Biden to head Homeland Security

How Sen. Mike Lee proposes to end ‘discrimination’ in U.S. immigration system

Thursday, December 3, 2020

Implications of Trump’s Resistance to Post-Election Transition on Immigration Measures

African Asylum Seekers Were Tortured, and Forced to Sign Their Own Deportation Documents, Garnering Little Media Attention

Biden’s Attorney General Should Overrule Bad Immigration Decisions and Demote BIA Members

Covid-19 Vaccine Accessibility for the Undocumented Community

The First 100 Days: Are Biden’s Plans Enough?

Contemporary immigration policy: the rise of child anxiety and its harmful effect on children’s development

3D Virtual Tour of NYC Chinatown

The challenges Biden will face on immigration reform

Federal Judge Nixes New Rules Restricting H-1B Visas

Immigration Article of the Day: The Authority of International Refugee Law by Evan J. Criddle and Evan Fox-Decent

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Balkinization Symposium on Adam Cox and Cristina Rodriguez, The President and Immigration Law (Oxford University Press, 2020)

Millions of Undocumented Immigrants Are Essential to America’s Recovery, New Report Shows

Mexican Immigrants in the United States

Federal Court Affirms New York’s Green Light Law Allowing Undocumented Immigrants To Seek Driver’s Licenses

Our Immigration Policy Has Done Terrible Damage to Kids

DREAMer Fund Event: Black migration to the U.S. and Black immigrant advocates

Immigration Article of the Day: Climate Change, Race, and Migration by Carmen G. Gonzalez

Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Giving Tuesday

How to Support the U.S. Immigrant Rights Movement

How Far Has the US Come Since the Three Fifths Compromise?

Todo Por Mi Familia – a nationwide effort to connect families who were forcibly separated to mental health treatment

COVID-19 As A Double-Edged Sword For Noncitizen Latinos – The Disproportionate Health Effects and the Economic Hardships the Pandemic Has Presented for Latinos

Case preview: When can U.S. companies be sued for alleged violations of international human rights?

Immigration: Visa applications open under UK’s post-Brexit system

Law360 Immigration Group Of The Year: Mintz

Spotlighting Immigrant-Owned Businesses

Immigration Article of the Day: The Return of Typhoid Mary? Immigrant Workers in Nursing Homes by Shefali Milczarek-Desal and Tara Sklar

Monday, November 30, 2020

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

Undoubtedly, the “malicious incompetents” in the regime’s immigration kakistocracy will intentionally leave a mess behind. I also recognize that construction is more difficult than destruction.

But, I don’t subscribe to the “mission impossible” tenor of the Post article above in Elizabeth’s report. Sure, the issues related to immigration are challenging. But, if Biden puts experts from the NDPA in charge they are very solvable, in months and years, not decades!

And, even if there were an immigration “surge” on the horizon, it hardly presents the “dire threat” to America’s security and prosperity that both parties have claimed it to be in the past. The “fiction of the great surge” overwhelming our nation has driven immigration policy of both parties for far too long with disastrous consequences!

In an article I recently posted, my friend and Round Table colleague retired U.S. Immigration Judge Paul Grussendorf, who also has been an Asylum Officer and worked with the UNHCR, cogently debunks the oft repeated myth of “surge theory:”

In the early days of this administration there was much hype over the “migrant caravans” composed mostly of Central Americans from the “northern triangle” countries, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, that were “invading” our country — the old “barbarian hordes” trope that is a favorite of every totalitarian regime. In fact the numbers of each such “caravan” for the most part would easily fit inside a typical college stadium. (Current demographics demonstrate that even if we admitted all of them as potential workers and residents, the U.S. would still experience labor shortfalls in the near future and they would not supplant the decline of our native-born population.)

https://immigrationcourtside.com/2020/12/02/round-table-champion-%f0%9f%9b%a1%e2%9a%94%ef%b8%8fjudge-paul-grussendorf-speaks-out-from-personal-experiences-on-regimes-immigration-atrocities-%e2%98%a0%ef%b8%8f%f0%9f%a4%ae%e2%9a%b0/

Hon. Paul Grussendorf
U.S. Immigration Judge (Ret.)
Member, Round Table of Former IJs
Author
Source: Amazon.com

Indeed, immigration is likely to be a key part of our economic, jobs, and societal recovery. To make that happen, however, we need to end the “Amateur Night at the Bijou” approach that has been take by Administrations over the past two decades, bring in the pros and experts from the NDPA, and empower them to solve problems in conjunction with the private sector, NGOs, industry, labor, and international groups. Figuring out how to create mutually beneficial opportunities from the reality of human migration, rather than treating it as a “threat” that can be eliminated unilaterally (it isn’t, and it can’t) is the way to future success.

It’s not “rocket science.” But it will require cleaning out the immigration kakistocracy at EOIR, DOJ, DHS, DOS, and across Government and replacing it with qualified, professional, experts from the NDPA and letting them solve the problems!

Due Process Forever!

PWS

12-08-20

CABINET: BIDEN WILL NAME DISTINGUISHED MEXICAN AMERICAN LAWYER ⚖️🇺🇸 XAVIER BECERRA, A STAUNCH OPPONENT OF THE WHITE NATIONALIST IMMIGRATION KAKISTOCRACY🏴‍☠️ AS CHOICE FOR HHS!

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2020/12/biden-picks-california-atty-gen-becerra-for-health-and-human-services-secretary.html

Dean Kevin Johnson summarizes on ImmigrationProf Blog:

ImmigrationProf Blog

A Member of the Law Professor Blogs Network

Monday, December 7, 2020

Biden picks California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be Secretary of Health and Human Services

By Immigration Prof

Share

Noam N. Levey, Eyan Halper, and Patrick McGreevy for the Los Angeles Times reported that President-elect Joe Biden has tapped California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be Health and Human Services secretary, which would make him the first Latino to hold the office. According to the story, Becerra “has become one of the most important defenders of the Affordable Care Act, leading the fight to preserve the landmark law against efforts by the Trump administration and conservative states to persuade federal courts to repeal it. . . . And he has become a leading champion of reproductive health, going to court repeatedly to challenge Trump administration efforts to scale back women’s access to abortion services and contraceptive coverage.”

Becerra’s mother was born in Jalisco, Mexico and immigrated to the United States after marrying his father, who was born in Sacramento and raised in Tijuana. Becerra’s father started out picking vegetables. “He got treated like he wasn’t a citizen,” Becerra recalled in 2017. “He couldn’t walk into restaurants because the sign said ‘No dogs or Mexicans allowed.’”

Elected to the House in 1992, he rose through the ranks to become the highest-ranking Latino in Congress at the time.

As Attorney General, Becerra has filed 100 challenges to Trump administration policies, including many immigration and immigrant-related ones such as the rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, efforts to defund sanctuary cities, addition of a U.S. citizenship question to Census 2020, and more. Just last week Becerra won a challenge to President Trump’s public charge rule in the Ninth Circuit.

KJ

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

I personally would have preferred Becerra as Attorney General. The totally dysfunctional and demoralized DOJ, where “Justice” has been eradicated from the mission, urgently needs a progressive Hispanic leader. Someone who fully understands the overt racism of the nativist immigration policies implemented by Sessions and Barr and how they are connected to the regime’s larger White Nationalist agenda of denying equal justice under law to all persons of color in the U.S. Someone who will make cleaning up the “EOIR Clown Show” 🤡 the top priority!

Nevertheless, there is no denying the overriding importance of public health at the present moment. And, although he isn’t a medical professional, Becerra is a good administrator who understands the intimate connection between public health failures and racism in America. It’s no accident that the African American,Latino, and lower income communities have been disproportionately harmed by the regime’s criminally incompetent and malicious response to the COVID crisis.🤮☠️⚰️

Public health is just another aspect of social justice. And, social justice has been in abject failure in the Federal System for the past four years!

Due Process Forever!

PWS

12-07-20

Historical Footnote: Ah, Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Day,!

That reminds me of yet another “Great Moment in EOIR History,” even before the “advent of the kakistocracy.” When the Arlington Immigration Court was also assigned to the Cleveland, Ohio Televideo docket, we filled all of the then-available hearing dates on our calendars. Our request to “HQ” in Falls Church to “open” the next year for scheduling was denied, apparently on the ground that it would make the docket charts look bad by being yet another year “out.”

So, we were advised by our Court Administrator to schedule all hearings for December 7, of the last “open” year until further notice. It didn’t take long for the Ohio Bar and the Assistant Chief Counsel to recognize that on any given Master Calendar thereafter, every hearing date assigned was Dec. 7, of the same year. As I used to tell them: “Hey, I’m just an Immigration Judge. I only work here, I’m not in charge of anything.”

Of course, hundreds of cases eventually had to be rescheduled to real dates! “Aimless Docket Reshuffling” at its best!

Ironically, today’s Immigration Judges are even more feckless and powerless to manage the system than we were many years ago. Yet that didn’t stop the “GOP fraudsters” on the FLRA from illegally and dishonestly declaring them to be “management officials.” Talk about kakistocracy!

Management officials, my foot! I doubt today’s Immigration “Judges” can even schedule bathroom breaks without asking permission from the Falls Church Clown Show!🤡

KATY MURDZA 👩‍🏫“DE-GOBBLEDYGOOKS” EOIR CLOWN SHOW’S 🤡 PARTING SHOTS AT DUE PROCESS, RATIONAL COURT MANAGEMENT 🤮 — “Both rules would restrict judges’ abilities to manage their dockets and require them to push through cases at breakneck speeds, further transforming the immigration court system into a deportation machine.”

https://immigrationimpact.com/2020/12/03/eoir-rules-immigration-judges/#.X8qg9NhKhPY

Katy writes at Immigration Impact:

The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) has proposed two rules that would significantly decrease the due process rights of people in immigration court. Both rules would restrict judges’ abilities to manage their dockets and require them to push through cases at breakneck speeds, further transforming the immigration court system into a deportation machine.

While the rules are not likely to be finalized by the time President Biden takes office, they demonstrate the Trump administration’s continued commitment to dismantling the immigration system.

The first rule would severely limit the reopening of immigration cases after a judge enters an order of removal. Respondents or their attorneys routinely file motions to reopen because of previously unavailable evidence, changed country conditions, or a lack of proper notice of a hearing. This opportunity is crucial for people who are eligible for relief but were ordered deported for reasons beyond their control.

The rule would limit the reasons for which a case can be reopened, requiring significantly more evidence. This means that fewer people could overturn a deportation order, even if they now had another way to remain in the United States. The respondent would have to include their application for relief with the motion. Once their case is reopened, they would be barred from applying for any other kind of relief.

EOIR’s new rule would further limit case termination, a tool judges used in the past to remove low-priority cases from their dockets. It would also end nearly all discretionary stays of removal, which temporarily prevent a deportation in emergency situations.

Before the Board of Immigration Appeals would even consider an emergency stay of removal, immigrants would have to ask for a stay from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and wait up to five business days for a response. This delay could make the process practically useless in true emergencies.

The second rule would end most continuances in immigration court. Respondents and their attorneys, as well as attorneys for the Department of Homeland Security, frequently file motions for a continuance to request that an immigration judge delay a hearing.

Regulations currently allow judges to grant continuances if “good cause” exists, but do not provide a definition of “good cause.” For years, judges were allowed significant discretion in this area. A 2018 Attorney General decision limited the situations that were considered “good cause” for a continuance.

The proposed rule writes those restrictions into federal regulations, it would go even further by declaring that a wide variety of situations are not “good cause” for a continuance—even many situations where continuances are routinely granted under current rules.

For example, the new rule would severely limit continuances for immigrants who need to find a lawyer or appl for a form of relief outside of immigration court. Currently, judges are required to grant at least one continuance for respondents to find a lawyer if requested.

Under the proposed rule, immigration judges would not have to allow respondents time to find legal representation. Instead, they would be discouraged from giving an immigrant more time to find a lawyer. The only exception would be the rare cases in which a hearing occurs fewer than 30 days after the Notice to Appear is filed.

EOIR states that restricting continuances is necessary to decrease the over 1.2 million cases pending in the immigration court backlog. However, the answer to the backlog is not to throw due process out the window.

Eliminating docket-management tools could worsen the backlog.

Placing stricter requirements on these tools require judges to write longer justifications when they do grant them. Forcing immigrants to apply for relief in front of an immigration judge when they will likely be granted relief by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is an unnecessary use of the judge’s time. Many continuances allow respondents to find an attorney, which can shorten overall case completion time. Denying continuances can also increase the appeal backlog.

The public can comment on both the first and second proposed rules through December 28, 2020. It is extremely unlikely that the Trump administration could meaningfully review comments, respond to them, and finalize these rules before Biden’s inauguration on January 20, 2021.

Instead of pursuing policies that restrict due process for people seeking relief, EOIR should restore a full set of discretionary tools to immigration judges, including administrative closure, termination, and continuances. Judges can only make fair decisions in each unique case if allowed to manage their own dockets.

FILED UNDER: EOIR, immigration judges

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

Thanks Katy!

And many thanks to my friend Judge Alex Manuel over at the ABA National Conference of the Administrative Law Judiciary for bringing Katy’s outstanding and “accessible” analysis to my attention.

Along with my NAIJ colleagues Judge (Retired) Joan Churchill and Judge Mimi Tsankov, Judge Manuel has been a tireless activist, forceful advocate, and supporter of judicial independence for Immigration Judges and all Administrative Judges in government.

As Katy clearly and cogently says, far from reducing the backlog, these beyond idiotic proposals would further add to the already astounding backlog that the “malicious incompetents” at DOJ/EOIR/DHS have built over the past four years. Their “redesign” of the Immigration Courts into a “deportation railroad” has been a total “train wreck” (without minimizing the actual lives ruined and futures lost in “America’s Star Chambers” and the lasting damage inflicted on our justice system and our democracy)!

Let’s go over the basic principle for rationalizing dockets and eliminating backlogs as I have recently stated in speeches and other public presentations:

Treating individuals with unfailing fairness, simple courtesy, and respect, granting relief wherever possible and at the lowest possible levels of the system speeds things up and promotes best practices and maximum efficiency without stomping on anyone’s rights. And, it saves lives!

The current Falls Church kakistocracy must be immediately removed and replaced with qualified members of the NDPA committed to the foregoing principle.

Agitate, agitate, agitate with everyone you know with any influence in the incoming Biden-Harris Administration to insure that the curtain comes down for good on the EOIR Clown Show and that the Immigration Courts are independently run by real judges and real judicial administration from the NDPA who are unswervingly committed to “guaranteeing fairness and due process for all!”

While we’re at it, compare Katy’s clear, succinct, understandable analysis with the turgid political gobbledegook that infects everything coming out of EOIR these days, from ridiculous regulations, to lousy anti-immigrant precedents, to nonsensical scheduling directives issued by the mid-level “clown apprentices” in the Falls Church circus! Obviously, when the Biden Administration and the NDPA reconstitute the EOIR public information function (A/K/A the “Politburo of Nativist Propaganda”) Katy should be high on the list of new faces who could help and support radical due process reform, innovation, and advancement at EOIR!

It’s not just a question of “repairing the damage.” It’s about unleashing creativity, innovation, and better, more progressive judging that not only will make the original “EOIR vision” a reality but will lead to long overdue improvements in the Article III Judiciary and throughout the American justice system! If there is anything the last four years have taught us, it’s that we can and must do better as a nation to achieve equal justice under law. With better judicial leaders from the NDPA in charge, EOIR can not just be part of the solution, but can lead the way to better justice for America!

Repeat after me, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, the EOIR Clown Show has got to go!” Then, let the Biden-Harris Transition know!

Due Process Forever!

PWS

12-06-20

NDPA SUPERSTAR 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 SCHOLAR-INNOVATOR PROFESSOR MICHELE PISTONE’S CREATIVE, AMAZING VIISTA PROGRAM IS CHANGING THE FACE OF PRO BONO REPRESENTATION FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS ⚖️— At A Time Of Grotesque Stupidity 🤮 & Management Catastrophe ☠️ Inflicted By The EOIR Kakistocracy, Michele & Her Talented, Problem-Solving Colleagues In The NDPA Are EXACTLY What America Needs To Replace The “Clown Show” With Real Practical Scholars Who Will Lead the New Due Process Revolution! ⚖️👨🏻‍⚖️🧑🏽‍⚖️🗽🇺🇸

Creator & Developer of VIISTA

Michele writes:

I am thrilled to report that VIISTA is getting rave reviews. The inaugural class of students is really enjoying the course. They will be finishing Module 1 next week and will start Module 2 (with its focus on immigration law) in January. I am really impressed so far with their work product and the quizzes and other assessments confirm that they are learning what we want them to learn.

Students in the inaugural class come from diverse backgrounds. My current students include a Stanford college senior who aims to work as a paralegal next year, and eventually go to law school. Other students are recent college grads interested in peace and justice/law/social work who want to make an immediate impact for immigrant families. Some students are first-generation immigrants, others are children of immigrants. Some students are retirees or those seeking an encore career, like empty nesters and parents coming back into the workforce. Three PhDs also enrolled in the program. Many are volunteers with immigrant serving organizations.

I am now focused on getting the word out. Attached and linked here is a recent article from the Chronicle of Higher Education and here is a link to an article from the Columbus Dispatch. And here is a link to the website, immigrantadvocate.villanova.edu.

Please help me to spread the word about VIISTA in your networks, including among volunteers with your organizations. You can also let folks know that scholarships are available for the Spring term, which starts on Monday, January 11.

The Scholarships are offered through ADROP, Augustinian Defenders of the Rights of the Poor.

You can read about the scholarship, the application process and apply at ADROP’s website: https://www.rightsofthepoor.org/viista-scholarship-program.

If you have any questions about the process, please feel free to reach out to Lacie Michaelson (cced here). She is the Executive Director of ADROP and took VIISTA herself as a student in the pilot.

Please note that the deadline to apply for a scholarship for Spring of 2021 semester is Monday, December 14th, 2020.

Thanks for helping me to spread the word and identify passionate advocates for immigrant justice who want to become part of the solution.

Warmly,

Michele

Michele R. Pistone

Professor of Law

_{Villanova University, Charles Widger School of Law}

Founding Faculty Director, VIISTA: Villanova Interdisciplinary Immigration Studies Training for Advocates

Founder, VIISTA Villanova Interdisciplinary Immigration Studies Training for Advocates

Director, Clinic for Asylum, Refugee & Emigrant Services (CARES)

Co-Managing Editor, Journal on Migration and Human Security

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

Michele, my friend and colleague, YOU are amazing!🦸‍♀️😎

With the echoes of my AILA keynote speech yesterday still reverberating across Ohio, here we are with the perfect example of why the EOIR Clown Show must go and be replaced by competent judges and administrators from the NDPA! https://immigrationcourtside.com/2020/12/04/🇺🇸good-morning-ohio-my-keynote-speech-to-aila-this-morning-🗽-an-ndpa-call-to-action-⚖%EF%B8%8F-the-eoi/

Over the past four years, what passes for “management” at DOJ and EOIR has wasted millions of dollars, squandered thousands of hours of time, and kept the private bar on a treadmill with a steady stream of moronic, cruel, and inept “enforcement only” gimmicks, each seemingly stupider and more counterproductive than the last, driven by a White Nationalist nativist agenda. The result is a backlog that has exploded to astounding levels, (even with twice as many judges on the bench, many of them with questionable credentials and little if any expertise in immigration and human rights laws) and a totally dysfunctional mess that threatens to topple the entire Federal judicial system.

As those of us who understand immigration know, the key to a successful EOIR is representation! With an adequate supply of good representation, cases get sorted out at the earliest possible levels, claims are properly documented and presented, individuals show up at their hearings at remarkably high rates, and results are much more likely to be fair. Presto, “Aimless Docket Reshuffling” by EOIR shrinks, parties are encouraged to stipulate and get right to the contested issues, results at trial are more likely to be fair, appeals, petitions for review, and remands decrease, and the backlogs go down as the dockets come under control. Moreover, as the Immigration Court litigation experience improves, more practitioners get the “positive vibes” and are willing to undertake pro bono or low bono cases. Best practices developed to achieve fairness on EOIR’s high-volume docket find their way into other parts of the Federal Court system. It’s an all-around winner! Or, at least it should be!

So, any competent, rational, and knowledgeable “management group” at EOIR would make increasing representation “job # 1.” They would work cooperatively and harmoniously with bar groups, NGOs, states, and localities, to increase availability and improve quality of representation. They would eschew unnecessary detention, which inhibits representation, and insure than courts are reasonably and conveniently located in areas where private representation is abundantly available.

Of course, that’s not what the clowns at EOIR have done! Instead, they have gone out of their way to inflict misery on respondents and their representatives. Far from inspiring more folks to undertake cases, we have all seen stories of how the intentional rudeness and abuse inflicted in Immigration Court and the dysfunctional system actually demoralizes lawyers and causes them to leave the field. Their “stories of woe” are hardly encouraging for others to donate time and effort.

Fortunately, while EOIR was busy ”kneecapping justice,” someone outside the “EOIR twilight zone” was thinking about how to solve the problem! With help from her friends, Michele designed the VIISTA program to train more non-attorney representatives to represent asylum seekers, convinced folks to fund it, recruited initial classes, and has it up and running. (By contrast, after two decades of wasted resources and incompetent meanderings, EOIR is still without a functioning e-filing system. Think that might have helped or saved some lives during the pandemic?)

And the training is not only a bargain (with scholarships available), it is beyond first class in substance and content. Essentially, it’s “what you really need to learn in law school in less than a year.” The curriculum would put to shame any training we received at EOIR, even before the current Clown Show. My Round Table colleague Judge Jeffrey Chase (a/k/a “Sir Jeffrey”) has reviewed the curriculum and agrees.

The solution is painfully obvious to anyone who takes the time to think about it. On January 21, 2021, give the hook to the Clown Show in Falls Church, and bring in the scholar/problem solvers like Michele and her NDPA colleagues to lead the due process revolution that will transform EOIR into a place where teamwork and innovation will produce the world’s best court system guaranteeing fairness and due process for all. That was once the “EOIR vision” before “serial mismanagement” transformed it into the ugly, dysfunctional Star Chamber that confronts us today.

It need not and should not be that way. But, the vision of true due process at EOIR will only be realized if the Biden Administration puts the right people — folks like Michele and others like her from the NDPA — in place immediately upon assuming power.

Let your contacts in the Biden Administration know that you have had more than enough! The EOIR Clown Show must go!

Due Process Forever!

PWS

12-05-20

🇺🇸“GOOD MORNING OHIO!” — MY KEYNOTE SPEECH TO AILA THIS MORNING 🗽— AN NDPA CALL TO ACTION! ⚖️— “The EOIR Clown Show Has Got To Go!”🤡👨🏻‍⚖️👎🏻

Friends, you know, and I know, what is the biggest crisis facing the American justice system today. One that undermines and threatens racial justice, social justice, equality before the law, voting rights, American values, and indeed the very foundations of our democratic institutions and our justice system.

It’s imperative that our incoming Administration and its leaders fully recognize the overwhelming importance and extreme urgency of immediately ending the ongoing, deadly, and dangerous “Clown Show” at EOIR – the Executive Office for Immigration Review.

Under the defeated but not yet departed regime, EOIR has been weaponized by White Nationalist nativists to function as America’s Star Chambers. Once envisioned by its founders, including me, as a potential “jewel in the crown” of American justice, EOIR now has become an ungodly nightmare of anti-due process, anti-immigrant propaganda, bad judges, bogus stats, uncontrollable backlogs, malicious incompetence, stupid regulations, daily doses of irrationality, abuse of private attorneys, and institution of “worst practices.” But, it doesn’t have to be that way! No, not at all!

With courage, bold action, and, most important, the right people in place in leadership and key judicial positions, EOIR can be fixed: sooner, not later. The Immigration Courts can, indeed, through teamwork and innovation become the world’s best courts guaranteeing fairness and due process for all, promoting a model of best practices for the Federal Judiciary as a whole, and providing a trained and ready source of due-process oriented judges with strong immigration, human rights, and equal justice backgrounds for the Article III Judiciary and public policy positions.

EOIR will then be positioned for the essential transition to an Article I independent U.S. Immigration Court when we have the votes.

But, it will require a far more progressive, visionary, and aggressive approach than past Democratic Administrations. We must immediately (and legally) clear out the deadwood and get the problem solvers from the New Due Process Army (“NDPA”) — mostly now in the NGO, clinical, and private sectors, folks like you and your colleagues — in place to fix this horribly broken system.

Read my complete speech here:

OHIO AILA

DUE PROCESS FOREVER!

PWS

12-04-20

⚖️🗽🧑🏽‍⚖️👍🏼🇺🇸Due Process Forever! Complicity Never☠️🤮🏴‍☠️👎🏻!

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Hey, hey, ho ho, The EOIR Clown Show 🤡 has got to go!

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Repeat after me, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, the EOIR Clown Show has got to go!” Then, let the Biden-Harris Transition know!

Due Process Forever!

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Let your contacts in the Biden Administration know that you have had more than enough! The EOIR Clown Show must go!

Due Process Forever!

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Read my complete speech here:

DUE PROCESS FOREVER!

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