Politics – Page 34 – immigrationcourtside.com

🗽TELL CONGRESS TITLE 42 HAS GOT TO GO! — “A Sham Policy With Deadly Consequences” — Listen To Rev. Craig Mousin’s Podcast On “Lawful Assembly” ⚖️

Craig writes:

We just posted our latest podcast urging folks to email or call Congress to stop Title 42, “Do Not Let Summer Daze Turn Pretense Into Law: End Title 42.”

https://blogs.depaul.edu/dmm/2022/07/29/lawful-assembly-podcast-episode-28/

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

Title 42 is a total, disgraceful fraud that violates U.S. and international law, abuses (and sometimes kills) vulnerable refugees seeking to exercise legal rights, and turns immigration policy over to cartels and human smugglers

Shockingly, instead of standing up for due process, human rights, and the rule of law, horrible right-wing Federal Judges have gone along with this farce at the urging of GOP White Nationalist state AGs.

Better judges for a better America!

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-30-22

JULIA TOEPFER @ NIJC: “Guaranteed To Fail” Immigration Deterrence Policies Certain To Bring Death, Disorder, Human Suffering — Why Can’t We “Get Smarter” As A Nation?

Since the 1990s, U.S. immigration policy has centered the goal of decreasing or “deterring” migration. These policies are designed with one goal in mind – punishing people for the act of migration with such cruelty that the harsh measures themselves will deter future migration.

Not only does this strategy not work, but it has deadly human consequences.

The devastating toll of deterrence programs came into full view with the recent tragedy in San Antonio, Texas, where 53 migrants died in the back of a tractor-trailer after attempting to enter the United States. Human rights experts, including NIJC, responded by emphasizing the urgent need to shift away from programs that block lawful pathways to entry or push people toward dangerous terrain.

Quote from Lisa Koop, National Director of Legal Services, National Immigrant Justice Center:

Nonetheless, the U.S. government continues to double-down on policies and programs aimed at deterring migration. Some recent examples include continuing the Trump-era Remain in Mexico and Title 42 programs, and increasing the use of criminal prosecutions to punish migrants alleged to enter the country without authorization. Here are updates on each of these programs since we last reached out to you about them, along with ways you can demand that the U.S. government restores access to asylum and stops punishing people for migrating:

➡️ Recently, the Supreme Court ruled that the Biden administration could end the Remain in Mexico program, and it’s now time for the administration to follow through. Also known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), this program has forced more than 75,000 people to wait in dangerous conditions in Mexico while their claims are pending in U.S. immigration courts. This program defaced basic principles of due process and decades of U.S. commitment to protect people from harm and persecution. NIJC continues to represent dozens of asylum seekers who were subject to the program, including some who are still waiting in Mexico. Sign the petition calling on President Biden to end Remain in Mexico.

➡️ Border Patrol just released new data showing there have been 2,132,711 expulsions of people seeking safety at the U.S. border under Title 42, the vast majority of which happened under the Biden administration. The Trump administration implemented Title 42 under the guise of protecting public health during COVID-19, but the real goal was always to block Black, Brown, and Indigenous people from migrating to the United States. There have been nearly 10,000 documented cases of kidnappings, rape, torture, or other acts of violence against people who were expelled under Title 42. Yet, right now, some members of Congress are trying to pass legislation that continues this policy indefinitely. Tell your members of Congress to end Title 42 and oppose all efforts to continue it indefinitely.

Bar chart showing the number of expulsions at the border each month under the Trump and Biden administrations between March 2020 and June 2022. During the Trump administration the lines are red and during the Biden administration the lines are blue. The blue lines are longer and there are more of them, indicating many more people have been expelled under this policy during the Biden administration than the Trump administration.

➡️ The Biden administration is ramping up the use of criminal prosecutions to punish migrants arriving at the U.S. border, despite decades of evidence showing these prosecutions don’t work to deter migration and cause widespread harm. The increased use of such prosecutions flies in the face of the administration’s commitments to racial equity and to a more humane approach to migration policy. Criminal prosecutions do not stop people from crossing the border, but instead have caused widespread harm, separated countless families, and undermined asylum rights. Check out NIJC’s latest blog post explaining five ways that immigration prosecutions are deadly and ineffective.

NIJC knows, from years of representing immigrants and asylum seekers, that punitive border policies do not deter people from fleeing violence or seeking to reunite with their families.

Above all, immigration policies focused on deterrence inevitably and tragically cause countless deaths and untold human suffering. The U.S. must abandon a deterrence strategy, reopen ports of entry for asylum screenings, and embrace a humanitarian approach to immigration – it’s the only way to end systemic injustices, reduce mass incarceration, and protect fundamental human rights.

Thanks for joining us to get there.

-Julia Toepfer
National Immigrant Justice Center

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

“Maximum deterrence programs” have little empirical support. Human migration, a phenomenon as old as humanity, is largely driven by powerful forces beyond whether a rich country has built walls, prisons, unfair legal systems, and other artificial barriers to “deter” migration. At best (or worst, depending on how one looks at it) these “gimmicks” and the predictable accompanying “rhetoric of hate, dehumanization, and rejection” nibble around the edges of migration patterns.

But, they are deeply rooted in the racial history of the U.S., and play a major role in the White Nationalist mythology that surrounds deterrence.

A smart nation might harness, take advantage of, and direct the flow of human migration. Ultimately, failed deterrence gimmicks will inflict cruelty and cause the death of some migrants. They also diminish the reputation and diminish the humanity of the “destination nation.”

But, they won’t stop folks from leaving intolerable situations to seek a better life elsewhere — no matter what the odds, risks, or hardships. And, they eat up money and resources that could actually be directed into building more realistic legal migration systems that would benefit both the migrants and the receiving countries.

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PW@S
07-29-22

☠️🤮⚰️🏴‍☠️ MERCHANTS OF CHAOS & CORRUPTION: GOP HACKS, BAD RIGHTY JUDGES FORCE ILLEGAL CONTINUATION OF BOGUS TITLE 42 ABOMINATION! — Ending Title 42 Will Restore Order To The Border, Says Expert, Professor Stephen Yale-Loehr Of Cornell Law @ The Hill! — But, Wait, There’s Much More Needed, Say I!

Four Horsemen — GOP political hacks and their enabling bad righty Federal Judges have combined to wreak havoc on humanity and trample the Constitution, rule of law, common sense, and simple human decency at our Southern border!
Albrecht Dürer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Professor Stephen Yale-Loehr
Cornell Law

https://thehill.com/opinion/immigration/3575601-ending-title-42-wont-cause-immigration-mayhem-it-will-restore-order/

In 2015, a Ghanaian man who goes by the initials M.A. and his gay friend were brutally assaulted by a vigilante group in Accra, Ghana. In Ghana, homosexuality is illegal and carries a prison sentence of up to three years. M.A. was beaten with sticks before escaping through a window. His friend was killed. Fearing the group would find and kill him, he fled to Ecuador and made his way to the U.S. border, where he requested asylum. After being detained for nine months, he was released on bond and lived with a childhood friend in New York while he waited for his case to make it through the legal system.

M.A. clearly faced persecution, but an immigration judge denied his claim. I took M.A.’s appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals in 2016 as part of the Cornell Law School’s asylum appeals clinic. It took M.A. four years to win asylum in America, but at least he was given the chance to apply in the first place.

Since March 2020, approximately 900,000 people — including over 215,000 parents and children — have been denied the ability to request asylum at all. They’re casualties of Title 42, a pandemic-related policy that paused nearly all asylum proceedings at the border. Some people argue the policy is preventing an influx of migrants. In fact, numbers are up despite the policy, and our refusal to process most of them has led to chaotic and dangerous conditions.

The United States has successfully managed ebbs and flows of asylum seekers for decades. There’s a system in place to manage an influx — and regardless of how hard immigration lawyers like me fight for them to stay, many will lose their case and be deported. Even so, we must let people try. It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s also guaranteed under international and domestic law. We signed a 1967 protocol to the U.N. Refugee Convention to protect the rights of refugees, and we have adopted it and codified it into U.S. asylum law. Right now, we’re violating those obligations. The longer we do, the weaker American rule of law looks to our global partners.

We must immediately reinstate due process for asylum seekers. And once this happens, we must work to make the system more equitable and faster.

. . . .

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

Read Steve’s complete op-ed in The Hill at the link.

I agree that “we must work to make the system more equitable and faster.” But, the answer can’t be just to hire more Immigration Judges in Garland’s dysfunctional, broken, and anti-asylum-biased “court” system. That would just speed the “deportation assembly line” and lead to even more injustice and grotesque inconsistencies.

According to TRAC, Immigration Judge “asylum denial rates” currently “range” from 5% to 100%. That’s a ridiculous, indefensible variation and a total perversion of the generous standard for granting asylum set forth by the Supremes in Cardoza-Fonseca and adopted by the BIA in Matter of Mogharrabi, but seldom enforced or followed, particularly these days. Why this very obvious, totally solvable problem is still festering going on two years into a Democratic Administration that pledged to solve it is beyond me!

Enough of this nonsense, biased, “amateur night at the Bijou” mal-administration of the Immigration Courts at EOIR by Garland’s DOJ! No wonder folks are still complaining about “Refugee Roulette” more than a decade after it was written by my Georgetown Law colleagues Professors Phil Schrag, Andy Schoenholtz, and Jaya Ramji-Nogales (now an Associate Dean at Temple Law). Why not put one of THEM, or for that matter, Professor Yale-Loehr, in charge of kicking tail and cleaning out the deadwood at EOIR?

At a minimum Garland must:

Remove the holdover “Asylum Deniers Club” from the BIA and replace them with a real judge as Chair and new Appellate Immigration Judges who are widely recognized as “practical experts” with careers that have demonstrated superior scholarship in immigraton and human rights, an unswerving commitment to due process for individuals, and a passion for racial justice in our legal system;
Have the “New BIA” issue useful precedential guidance on how to document and grant valid asylum cases at both the Asylum Office and the Immigration Court, implement best practices, and identify and remove from future asylum adjudication those unqualified Immigration Judges who basically “make up” reasons to deny and can’t or won’t treat applicants fairly; and
Immediately replace with qualified expert judges those Immigration Judges on the “Southern Border docket” who can’t fairly adjudicate asylum cases.

Steve is totally correct about the need for Title 42 to go! But, Garland’s EOIR, particularly the BIA, is just as broken, counterproductive, and out of control as Title 42! In many ways, the illegal abrogation of the rule of law at the Southern Border has somewhat ”hidden” the larger problem that a dysfunctional and incapable EOIR poses for those who do manage to get a hearing!

Without a legitimate, totally reformed and significantly “re-populated” EOIR operating at the “retail level” of our justice system, there will be no rule of law and equal justice under law in America — for anyone!

Tell Garland you have had enough! The deadly and disorderly “EOIR Clown Show” has got to go! Now!

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

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-28-22

MICA ROSENBERG @ REUTERS: “NEW Reuters project on the rising numbers of deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border” — Death Is Just “Collateral Damage” From Bad Border & Immigration Policies! — As The Desert Gets Hotter, Expect The Human Toll To Rise! ☠️⚰️

Hi there again,

I also wanted to share a multi media project we published yesterday about the rising number of deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border.

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-immigration-border-deaths/

Through our reporting, we exclusively learned that U.S. Customs and Border Protection quietly changed last year how they count deaths on the border to only include deaths in custody, during arrests or when agents were nearby and there were 151 such “CBP-related” deaths in the 2021 fiscal year.

We are still reporting on this and other issues of course, so please keep in touch with tips and story ideas!

All the best,

Mica

………………………………………………….

Mica Rosenberg

Reuters News

National Immigration Reporter

www.reuters.com

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

Thanks, Mica. “Tune in” to the full “multimedia report” referenced by Mica at the above link to Reuters.

No amount of statistical hocus-pocus or nativist BS can hide the stain of these deadly, yet ultimately ineffective, border enforcement policies. It’s important that the names and actions of the politicos, bureaucrats, and bad judges who promote and encourage deadly violations of human rights, and their media apologists, be preserved and documented for history!

As we can see, there are, and will continue to be, concerted efforts to “cover up,” deny, and misrepresent the deadly effects of bad border policies! “Dehumanization of the other,” actively promoted by Trumpists and other White Nationalist GOP pols and their hand picked Federal Judges is a crucial first step!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-27-22

THE GIBSON REPORT — 07-25-22 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, Managing Attorney, NIJC — HEADLINERS: Supreme Irresponsibility Leaves ICE Enforcement In Shambles; Righty Judges, Fascist GOP AGs, & Cruel But Ineffective Immigration Enforcement Help Create Billion Dollar Industry For Smugglers & Cartels; Racism, Brutality In ICE Detention!

Weekly Briefing

This briefing is designed as a quick-reference aggregation of developments in immigration law, practice, and policy that you can scan for anything you missed over the last week. The contents of the news, links, and events do not necessarily reflect the position of the National Immigrant Justice Center. If you have items that you would like considered for inclusion, please email them to egibson@heartlandalliance.org.

CONTENTS (jump to section)

◦NEWS

◦LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES

◦RESOURCES

◦EVENTS

PRACTICE UPDATES

New Form I-485

USCIS: Starting Sept. 21, 2022, we will only accept the 07/15/22 edition. Until then, you can also use the 03/29/21 and 03/10/21 editions. You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page on the form and instructions.

NEWS

U.S. Supreme Court declines to allow Biden’s shift on immigration enforcement

Reuters: The justices on a 5-4 vote denied the Biden administration’s request to block a federal judge’s ruling that had prevented immigration officials from carrying out the enforcement guidelines while litigation over the legality of the policy continues. But the court said in a brief order that it would fast-track the Biden administration appeal and hear oral arguments in December.

Immigration judge union seeks recognition as top judge quits

AP: The National Association of Immigration Judges on Thursday asked the federal government to restore its union recognition after the Trump administration stripped its official status and the system’s chief judge resigned after two years on the job.

Governors Keep Busing Migrants to Washington

VOA: Three months into the program, local officials said more than 3,400 people have reached Washington by bus. Aid groups say they are overwhelmed. See also Mayors ask Biden to help with influx of asylum-seekers; Adams Blames Migrants for Shelter Woes. Critics Say That’s Too Simple.

‘They don’t have any humanity’: Black immigrants in Ice custody report abuse and neglect

Guardian: In the last month alone, FFI has received more than 2,100 complaints nationwide. The most common abuse-related ones are anti-Black discriminatory actions, ranging from forced strip-searches and unprovoked pepper-spraying to prolonged solitary confinement and critical medical treatment negligence.

Homeland Security records show ‘shocking’ use of phone data, ACLU says

Politico: The data, harvested from apps on hundreds of millions of phones, allowed the Department of Homeland Security to obtain data on e points across North America, the documents show. Those data points may reference only a small portion of the information that CBP has obtained.

Smuggling Migrants at the Border Now a Billion-Dollar Business

NYT: While migrants have long faced kidnappings and extortion in Mexican border cities, such incidents have been on the rise on the U.S. side, according to federal authorities. More than 5,046 people were arrested and charged with human smuggling last year, up from 2,762 in 2014.

A Timeline Of Migrant Family Separations

VOA: Five years later, court documents show, more than 5,000 children were separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border under a practice known as the zero tolerance policy for unauthorized border crossers. However, it was also used on migrants who presented themselves legally at ports of entry. Parents of 180 children have not yet been found by advocates working with families.

Documents detail the secret strategy behind Trump’s census citizenship question push

NPR: Former President Donald Trump’s administration spent years trying to add a census citizenship question as part of a secret strategy for altering the population numbers used to divide up seats in Congress and the Electoral College, internal documents released Wednesday by the House Oversight and Reform Committee confirm.

LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES

High Court Won’t Reinstate Biden’s ICE Guidelines, For Now

Law360: The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday refused to reinstate President Joe Biden’s attempt to narrow immigration arrests and deportations to national security threats and other “priority” targets while his administration fights a court order that vacated the policy.

Ndudzi, CA5 Revised Decision on Credibility

CA5: In sum, the BIA and IJ’s adverse credibility determination rests largely on “inconsistencies” in the record that are not actually inconsistent.

5th Circ. Revives Angolan Asylum Bid Over Credibility Error

Law360: The Fifth Circuit has revived asylum claims from a woman who said she suffered a brutal home invasion by Angolan police over her political activities, rebuking an immigration judge for deeming her untruthful despite “largely consistent” testimony.

Unpub. CA5 “Exceptional Circumstances” Remand: Perez-Vasquez v. Garland

LexisNexis: Perez-Vasquez is correct that the BIA erred by failing to address key evidence…His case is REMANDED to the BIA for the limited purpose of considering—in light of the totality of the circumstances of his individual case—whether exceptional circumstances prevented his appearance at his removal hearing.

9th Circ. Tells BIA Past Torture Isn’t A Must For Removal Relief

Law360: The Ninth Circuit ordered the Board of Immigration Appeals to reconsider a Guatemalan citizen’s bid for removal relief, saying that past torture, though relevant, was not required in determining whether he’d likely face future torture in Guatemala.

‘Miscarriage Of Justice’ Can’t Exempt Removal, 9th Circ. Says

Law360: Immigration judges and the Board of Immigration don’t have the authority to reopen reinstated orders deporting immigrants and corresponding proceedings after a deported individual has reentered the country, even if those orders result in a “gross miscarriage of justice,” the Ninth Circuit held Monday.

Migrant’s Criminal Past Backs Indictment, Split 9th Circ. Rules

Law360: A divided Ninth Circuit panel on Monday affirmed a district court’s order refusing to dismiss an indictment against a Mexican national charged with illegal reentry, finding that his drunk-driving and shoplifting convictions make it tough to show that he would have plausibly been granted voluntary departure relief.

11th Circ. Splits With 9th Circ. In Deportation Notice Case

Law360: An immigrant who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in 2003 cannot challenge removal proceedings launched when he didn’t appear for a hearing, despite a defect in the notice he received, because a subsequent notice had complete information, the Eleventh Circuit has ruled in a split with the Ninth Circuit.

DC Circ. Says Agencies Must Allow Comments Before Rule Ax

Law360: A divided D.C. Circuit panel on Friday ruled agencies cannot simply withdraw a new rule, even if it has not yet been published in the Federal Register, once that rule has been subject to public inspection.

Detainees Call Fla. ICE Detention Center A ‘Living Hell’

Law360: Immigrants detained at the Baker County Detention Center in northern Florida filed a federal civil rights complaint Thursday asking for the immediate closure of the facility because of inhumane treatment and abuse.

USCIS Updates Guidance for Afghans and Iraqis Seeking Special Immigrant Classification

USCIS: USCIS is updating guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding Afghan and Iraqi nationals seeking special immigrant classification. See also Legislative Changes and Transition Affecting Afghan and Iraqi Special Immigrant Visas.

RESOURCES

NIJC

NIJC: Five Ways That Immigration Prosecutions Are Ineffective And Deadly

Other

AIC: Abuse In Ice Detention Continues And So Does The Funding For It

AILA: Practice Alert: EOIR Taking Select Cases Off Docket Pursuant to Chief Immigration Judge Memo

AILA: Flyer: Beware of ICE Imposters

AILA: Client Flyer: Humanitarian Parole under Uniting for Ukraine Program

AILA: Take Action: Tell Congress to Reduce ICE Detention Funding in 2023

AILA: Practice Alert: Reports of Erroneous Rejections from VSC Regarding Underlying Humanitarian Case Types

CRS: U.S. Employment-Based Immigration Policy

CRS: High Court Limits Ability of Aliens Ordered Removed to Challenge Prolonged Detention

CRS: Citizenship and Immigration Statuses of the U.S. Foreign-Born Population

CRS: Noncitizen Eligibility for Federal Housing Programs

DHS: Gender-Based Violence Pamphlet

DHS OIG: DHS and CBP Should Improve Intellectual Property Rights Management and Enforcement – (REDACTED)

NIPNLG: Fact Sheet: Immigration Court Considerations for Unaccompanied Children Who File for Asylum with USCIS While in Removal Proceedings, in Light of J.O.P. v. DHS, No. 19-01944 (D. Md. filed July 1, 2019)

NIPNLG: Practice Alert: DOJ’s Office of Immigration Litigation Publishes Petition for Review Remand Criteria

EVENTS

7/26/22 EOIR Stakeholder Meeting: Request for Record of Proceeding

7/26/22 USCIS Engagement: Sudan Temporary Protected Status Designation

7/27/22 Data Criminalization and Immigration Enforcement

7/27/22 USCIS: An Overview of the T Visa, U Visa, and VAWA Self-Petition

7/27/22 Substance Use Disorders and Recovery 2022: Representing the Legal Services, Nonprofit, and Pro Bono Client

7/27/22 National Asylee Benefits Orientation

7/27/22 Counseling Your Client about Exposure to Enforcement and Seeking Prosecutorial Discretion

7/28/22 VAWA in 2022: Breaking Barriers and Finding Solutions for Relief

7/28/22 Intermediate/Advanced U Visa Topics

7/29/22 Immigration Policy in the Biden Era: Promises Kept, Promises Broken, and What Comes Next?

8/2/22 Navigating the Post-Roe Landscape: The Impact of the Dobbs Decision

8/4/22 Refugee and Asylee Family Reunification

8/5/22 Afghans and Humanitarian Parole: We Have to Do Better

8/5/22-8/12/22 NITA-NIPNLG “Advocacy in Immigration Matters” Training

8/10/22 Preparing Criminal Waivers of Inadmissibility

8/10/22-8/11/22 2022 AILA Paralegals Virtual Conference

8/16/22 Comprehensive Overview of Immigration Law (COIL)

8/16/22 The Child Status Protection Act: Strategies for Keeping the Family Intact

8/23/22 Preparing Solid Affidavits of Support: “Show Me the Money!”

8/23/22 Comprehensive Overview of Immigration Law (COIL)

8/30/22 Naturalization During the Pandemic: “It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times”

8/31/22 What to Do When You Get a Decision from the Ninth Circuit

9/8/22-9/29/22 Webinar Series: Dealing With Denials

9/8/22 Post-Conviction Relief: “If I Could Turn Back Time!”

9/8/22 Trial Advocacy Skills – Working with Expert Witnesses in Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and Convention Against Torture Claims

9/13/22 PLI: Representing Children in Immigration Matters 2022: Effective Advocacy and Best Practices

9/14/22 Partial to Full Accreditation Initiative 2022

9/15/22 Advanced Mandamus Trends

9/20/22 Nonprofit and For-Profit Entity Intersection 2022: Achieving Charitable Goals Through Innovative and Nontraditional Mechanisms

9/21/22 Breaking Down the Record in a Ninth Circuit Petition for Review

9/22/22 Maximizing Second Chances: Filing Appeals, Motions, and Practicing before the BIA

9/29/22 Consular Processing Roundup for Families and Survivors

To sign up for additional NIJC newsletters, visit: https://immigrantjustice.org/subscribe.

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Elizabeth Gibson (Pronouns: she/her/ella)

Managing Attorney for Capacity Building and Mentorship

National Immigrant Justice Center

A HEARTLAND ALLIANCE Program

224 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 600, Chicago, IL 60604
T: (312) 660-1688| F: (312) 660-1688| E: egibson@heartlandalliance.org

www.immigrantjustice.org | Facebook | Twitter

Weekly Briefing

This briefing is designed as a quick-reference aggregation of developments in immigration law, practice, and policy that you can scan for anything you missed over the last week. The contents of the news, links, and events do not necessarily reflect the position of the National Immigrant Justice Center. If you have items that you would like considered for inclusion, please email them to egibson@heartlandalliance.org.

CONTENTS (jump to section)

◦NEWS

◦LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES

◦RESOURCES

◦EVENTS

PRACTICE UPDATES

New Form I-485

USCIS: Starting Sept. 21, 2022, we will only accept the 07/15/22 edition. Until then, you can also use the 03/29/21 and 03/10/21 editions. You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page on the form and instructions.

NEWS

U.S. Supreme Court declines to allow Biden’s shift on immigration enforcement

Reuters: The justices on a 5-4 vote denied the Biden administration’s request to block a federal judge’s ruling that had prevented immigration officials from carrying out the enforcement guidelines while litigation over the legality of the policy continues. But the court said in a brief order that it would fast-track the Biden administration appeal and hear oral arguments in December.

Immigration judge union seeks recognition as top judge quits

AP: The National Association of Immigration Judges on Thursday asked the federal government to restore its union recognition after the Trump administration stripped its official status and the system’s chief judge resigned after two years on the job.

Governors Keep Busing Migrants to Washington

VOA: Three months into the program, local officials said more than 3,400 people have reached Washington by bus. Aid groups say they are overwhelmed. See also Mayors ask Biden to help with influx of asylum-seekers; Adams Blames Migrants for Shelter Woes. Critics Say That’s Too Simple.

‘They don’t have any humanity’: Black immigrants in Ice custody report abuse and neglect

Guardian: In the last month alone, FFI has received more than 2,100 complaints nationwide. The most common abuse-related ones are anti-Black discriminatory actions, ranging from forced strip-searches and unprovoked pepper-spraying to prolonged solitary confinement and critical medical treatment negligence.

Homeland Security records show ‘shocking’ use of phone data, ACLU says

Politico: The data, harvested from apps on hundreds of millions of phones, allowed the Department of Homeland Security to obtain data on more than 336,000 location data points across North America, the documents show. Those data points may reference only a small portion of the information that CBP has obtained.

Smuggling Migrants at the Border Now a Billion-Dollar Business

NYT: While migrants have long faced kidnappings and extortion in Mexican border cities, such incidents have been on the rise on the U.S. side, according to federal authorities. More than 5,046 people were arrested and charged with human smuggling last year, up from 2,762 in 2014.

A Timeline Of Migrant Family Separations

VOA: Five years later, court documents show, more than 5,000 children were separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border under a practice known as the zero tolerance policy for unauthorized border crossers. However, it was also used on migrants who presented themselves legally at ports of entry. Parents of 180 children have not yet been found by advocates working with families.

Documents detail the secret strategy behind Trump’s census citizenship question push

NPR: Former President Donald Trump’s administration spent years trying to add a census citizenship question as part of a secret strategy for altering the population numbers used to divide up seats in Congress and the Electoral College, internal documents released Wednesday by the House Oversight and Reform Committee confirm.

LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES

High Court Won’t Reinstate Biden’s ICE Guidelines, For Now

Law360: The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday refused to reinstate President Joe Biden’s attempt to narrow immigration arrests and deportations to national security threats and other “priority” targets while his administration fights a court order that vacated the policy.

Ndudzi, CA5 Revised Decision on Credibility

CA5: In sum, the BIA and IJ’s adverse credibility determination rests largely on “inconsistencies” in the record that are not actually inconsistent.

5th Circ. Revives Angolan Asylum Bid Over Credibility Error

Law360: The Fifth Circuit has revived asylum claims from a woman who said she suffered a brutal home invasion by Angolan police over her political activities, rebuking an immigration judge for deeming her untruthful despite “largely consistent” testimony.

Unpub. CA5 “Exceptional Circumstances” Remand: Perez-Vasquez v. Garland

LexisNexis: Perez-Vasquez is correct that the BIA erred by failing to address key evidence…His case is REMANDED to the BIA for the limited purpose of considering—in light of the totality of the circumstances of his individual case—whether exceptional circumstances prevented his appearance at his removal hearing.

9th Circ. Tells BIA Past Torture Isn’t A Must For Removal Relief

Law360: The Ninth Circuit ordered the Board of Immigration Appeals to reconsider a Guatemalan citizen’s bid for removal relief, saying that past torture, though relevant, was not required in determining whether he’d likely face future torture in Guatemala.

‘Miscarriage Of Justice’ Can’t Exempt Removal, 9th Circ. Says

Law360: Immigration judges and the Board of Immigration don’t have the authority to reopen reinstated orders deporting immigrants and corresponding proceedings after a deported individual has reentered the country, even if those orders result in a “gross miscarriage of justice,” the Ninth Circuit held Monday.

Migrant’s Criminal Past Backs Indictment, Split 9th Circ. Rules

Law360: A divided Ninth Circuit panel on Monday affirmed a district court’s order refusing to dismiss an indictment against a Mexican national charged with illegal reentry, finding that his drunk-driving and shoplifting convictions make it tough to show that he would have plausibly been granted voluntary departure relief.

11th Circ. Splits With 9th Circ. In Deportation Notice Case

Law360: An immigrant who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in 2003 cannot challenge removal proceedings launched when he didn’t appear for a hearing, despite a defect in the notice he received, because a subsequent notice had complete information, the Eleventh Circuit has ruled in a split with the Ninth Circuit.

DC Circ. Says Agencies Must Allow Comments Before Rule Ax

Law360: A divided D.C. Circuit panel on Friday ruled agencies cannot simply withdraw a new rule, even if it has not yet been published in the Federal Register, once that rule has been subject to public inspection.

Detainees Call Fla. ICE Detention Center A ‘Living Hell’

Law360: Immigrants detained at the Baker County Detention Center in northern Florida filed a federal civil rights complaint Thursday asking for the immediate closure of the facility because of inhumane treatment and abuse.

USCIS Updates Guidance for Afghans and Iraqis Seeking Special Immigrant Classification

USCIS: USCIS is updating guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding Afghan and Iraqi nationals seeking special immigrant classification. See also Legislative Changes and Transition Affecting Afghan and Iraqi Special Immigrant Visas.

RESOURCES

NIJC

NIJC: Five Ways That Immigration Prosecutions Are Ineffective And Deadly

Other

AIC: Abuse In Ice Detention Continues And So Does The Funding For It

AILA: Practice Alert: EOIR Taking Select Cases Off Docket Pursuant to Chief Immigration Judge Memo

AILA: Flyer: Beware of ICE Imposters

AILA: Client Flyer: Humanitarian Parole under Uniting for Ukraine Program

AILA: Take Action: Tell Congress to Reduce ICE Detention Funding in 2023

AILA: Practice Alert: Reports of Erroneous Rejections from VSC Regarding Underlying Humanitarian Case Types

CRS: U.S. Employment-Based Immigration Policy

CRS: High Court Limits Ability of Aliens Ordered Removed to Challenge Prolonged Detention

CRS: Citizenship and Immigration Statuses of the U.S. Foreign-Born Population

CRS: Noncitizen Eligibility for Federal Housing Programs

DHS: Gender-Based Violence Pamphlet

DHS OIG: DHS and CBP Should Improve Intellectual Property Rights Management and Enforcement – (REDACTED)

NIPNLG: Fact Sheet: Immigration Court Considerations for Unaccompanied Children Who File for Asylum with USCIS While in Removal Proceedings, in Light of J.O.P. v. DHS, No. 19-01944 (D. Md. filed July 1, 2019)

NIPNLG: Practice Alert: DOJ’s Office of Immigration Litigation Publishes Petition for Review Remand Criteria

EVENTS

7/26/22 EOIR Stakeholder Meeting: Request for Record of Proceeding

7/26/22 USCIS Engagement: Sudan Temporary Protected Status Designation

7/27/22 Data Criminalization and Immigration Enforcement

7/27/22 USCIS: An Overview of the T Visa, U Visa, and VAWA Self-Petition

7/27/22 Substance Use Disorders and Recovery 2022: Representing the Legal Services, Nonprofit, and Pro Bono Client

7/27/22 National Asylee Benefits Orientation

7/27/22 Counseling Your Client about Exposure to Enforcement and Seeking Prosecutorial Discretion

7/28/22 VAWA in 2022: Breaking Barriers and Finding Solutions for Relief

7/28/22 Intermediate/Advanced U Visa Topics

7/29/22 Immigration Policy in the Biden Era: Promises Kept, Promises Broken, and What Comes Next?

8/2/22 Navigating the Post-Roe Landscape: The Impact of the Dobbs Decision

8/4/22 Refugee and Asylee Family Reunification

8/5/22 Afghans and Humanitarian Parole: We Have to Do Better

8/5/22-8/12/22 NITA-NIPNLG “Advocacy in Immigration Matters” Training

8/10/22 Preparing Criminal Waivers of Inadmissibility

8/10/22-8/11/22 2022 AILA Paralegals Virtual Conference

8/16/22 Comprehensive Overview of Immigration Law (COIL)

8/16/22 The Child Status Protection Act: Strategies for Keeping the Family Intact

8/23/22 Preparing Solid Affidavits of Support: “Show Me the Money!”

8/23/22 Comprehensive Overview of Immigration Law (COIL)

8/30/22 Naturalization During the Pandemic: “It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times”

8/31/22 What to Do When You Get a Decision from the Ninth Circuit

9/8/22-9/29/22 Webinar Series: Dealing With Denials

9/8/22 Post-Conviction Relief: “If I Could Turn Back Time!”

9/8/22 Trial Advocacy Skills – Working with Expert Witnesses in Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and Convention Against Torture Claims

9/13/22 PLI: Representing Children in Immigration Matters 2022: Effective Advocacy and Best Practices

9/14/22 Partial to Full Accreditation Initiative 2022

9/15/22 Advanced Mandamus Trends

9/20/22 Nonprofit and For-Profit Entity Intersection 2022: Achieving Charitable Goals Through Innovative and Nontraditional Mechanisms

9/21/22 Breaking Down the Record in a Ninth Circuit Petition for Review

9/22/22 Maximizing Second Chances: Filing Appeals, Motions, and Practicing before the BIA

9/29/22 Consular Processing Roundup for Families and Survivors

To sign up for additional NIJC newsletters, visit: https://immigrantjustice.org/subscribe.

You now can change your email settings or search the archives using the Google Group. If you are receiving this briefing from a third party, you can visit the Google Group and request to be added.

Elizabeth Gibson (Pronouns: she/her/ella)

Managing Attorney for Capacity Building and Mentorship

National Immigrant Justice Center

A HEARTLAND ALLIANCE Program

224 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 600, Chicago, IL 60604
T: (312) 660-1688| F: (312) 660-1688| E: egibson@heartlandalliance.org

www.immigrantjustice.org | Facebook | Twitter

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

Failed “deterrence” gimmicks and righty Federal Judges who enable them by not standing up against anti-immigrant racism thinly disguised as security or health measures are a bad combination.

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-26-22

📦OUTSIDE THE BOX: THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION SHOULD USE REFUGEE ADMISSIONS + NON-GOV SPONSORSHIPS TO START BREAKING THE LOGJAM @ OUR SOUTHERN BORDER — & THE RESULTING BOON TO SMUGGLERS & HUMAN TRAFFICKERS — CAUSED BY SCOFFLAW RIGHTY FEDERAL JUDGES & CORRUPT GOP NATIVIST AGs!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/07/18/refugee-sponsored-ukraine/

Americans should be able to sponsor refugees who can stay permanently

The U.S. does too little for too few, but Canada has a program worth adopting and improving

Perspective by l

July 18, 2022 at 5:00 a.m. EDT

The war in Ukraine has created one of the biggest refugee crises since World War II, with about 7 million people fleeing the country. While some have since returned, and some have settled elsewhere in Europe, there are still many in need of a permanent haven. Unfortunately, the American refugee system is proving to be of comparatively little help.

Even before President Donald Trump, the refugee resettlement process was slow and cumbersome, but Trump made things much worse by slashing the annual refugee quotas to a low of 18,000 for fiscal 2020 and 15,000 for fiscal 2021, before Biden increased it, which in turn led many resettlement organizations to shut down or scale back. President Biden raised the 2021 cap to 62,500 in May of that year — and set a cap of 125,000 for 2022 — but has not been able to restore the resettlement infrastructure that Trump undercut. As a result, the higher quotas remain largely unfilled, with a record-low 11,411 refugees admitted in 2021, even though many more would love to come. Even in the current fiscal year, the administration expects to fall far short of its target, Axios reports.

The Biden administration has tried to ease the logjam — at least for Ukrainian victims of Russian aggression — by creating the Uniting for Ukraine program, under which private citizens can sponsor Ukrainian refugees. Ukrainians wishing to enter must first get a U.S.-citizen sponsor, who has to prove that they can financially support the new arrival for two years; they must also pass certain health and security checks. The Ukrainians can seek permission to work but may stay for only two years. U.S. sponsors have filed applications on behalf of some 60,000 Ukrainians under this policy. The administration has pledged to help at least 100,000 Ukrainians relocate overall.

The war in Ukraine is on track to be among modern history’s bloodiest

The program is a decent start, but it could be improved by adapting a similar, better-run Canadian program.

Since 1979 — inspired by the massive numbers of people displaced by the Vietnam War and its aftermath — Canada’s Private Sponsorship of Refugees program has allowed ordinary people and community groups to support refugees financially and otherwise for 12 months (or until the refugee is self-sufficient, whichever comes first). Sponsors can include private citizens working together (a “Group of Five”) or a group that holds a sponsorship agreement with the Canadian government, such as a religious institution or cultural organization. In an important contrast with the U.S. program, the refugees can stay permanently after the sponsorship period, and the program is not limited to people from specific nations. The combination of monetary assistance with more personal support, such as helping refugees find language classes or sign their children up for schools, gives the refugees a chance to hit the ground running. The recipients of private aid must be a refugee as defined by the United Nations (or according to a few other criteria). In 2022, Canada’s target number for privately sponsored refugees is 31,255, while the goal for government-sponsored refugees is 19,790. Relative to Canada’s population size — just over a tenth that of the United States — these figures are several times higher per capita than Biden’s unmet quota of 125,000.

. . . .

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

Read the full article at the link.

Creative “out of the box” thinking, innovation, practical solutions, expertise, bold moves, and moral courage have been largely lacking in the Biden Administration’s approach to refugees and asylees.

While the authors seem largely focused on the plight of Ukrainian refugees, there is no reason why their proposal couldn’t be used for many refugees of color from Haiti, Latin America, and elsewhere at the Southern border.

Additionally, there are no known legal avenues for racist GOP AGs and GOP scofflaw Federal Judges to successfully challenge refugee admissions. Doesn’t mean they won’t try. But, the DOJ should be able to fend off the effort.

Undoubtedly, out of control righty judges have helped GOP states with ugly White Nationalist xenophobic agendas to improperly seize control of immigration policy from Congress and the Executive. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immigration-biden-republican-states-lawsuits/. Their target — individuals of color and women — is clear.

The result — an ungodly mess that empowers cartels and smugglers while putting “life or death” decisions in the hands of lower level bureaucrats who can act arbitrarily and without effective guidance — is totally unacceptable and a mockery of the rule of law. The Administration must use every tool at its disposal to resist this dangerous right-wing judicial overreach that undermines democracy.

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-24-22

☹️ BLEAK HOUSE II: MATTER OF JARNDYCE (“JARNDYCE IV”) — A 21st Century Dickensonian Tale Of Delay, Dithering, & Dereliction — Featuring “EYORE” & “Judge Garland” — A Sad, But True, Story Of “Aimless Docket Reshuffling On Steroids!” — Illustrated!

As told to “Courtside” by a leading American lawyer!

CHAPTER ONE: Eighteen Years

18 years ago today, July 21, 2004, ICE put my USC (native-born) client into (non-detained) removal proceedings. We are now at the BIA for the 4th time. At the IJ level, I won the first two rounds, lost the third, and won the last round…the IJ ordered termination with prejudice…again. ICE appealed, again. Really getting tired of this nonsense.

There is a structural flaw in the INA if the BIA can evade judicial review by remanding the case back down to the IJ, over and over again, forever. And as for timing on the last round, the BIA briefing closed in April 2021, well over a year ago.

No need to reply, just venting….

CHAPTER TWO: Count Your Blessings

It could have been worse. Much worse!

If the brief got lost in Eyore’s disorderly system or was a day late, the BIA might have “summarily dismissed” the appeal! Even now, they might well decide the case without reading the record or considering the briefs!

But, rest assured, whatever nightmare happens, there will be no accountability from Judge Garland. If the BIA blows it, issues a “final” order, and the Circuit reverses, it will go back to the BIA again. If they get around to it, they will send it back to the IJ.

This could go on until the client dies, the attorney retires, the file gets lost, EOIR collapses, or all four of the foregoing.

CHAPTER THREE: Count Your Blessings, The Eyore View

He might look like 19th Century writer Charles Dickens. But, 21st Century AG/Judge Merrick Garland knows how to delay, obfuscate, and “churn” cases without achieving results with the best of them. The key is poorly functioning “judges,” incompetent administrators, and lack of guts to end the nonsense and insist on due process, fundamental fairness, and best practices!
Public Realm

This U.S. citizen client is quite lucky. He has been allowed to hang around for 18 years in limbo! So, what’s the problem?

You want “priority treatment?” Get detained! Or, claim that you are an unrepresented Haitian asylum applicant at the Southern border. Then you will see what “expedited handling” is all about!

CHAPTER FOUR: It’s Not Unusual

Witness the 18-year saga of poor Mr. Negusie, previously “low lighted” on “Courtside.” “A microcosm of all that’s wrong with our Immigration Court System — 17 years, 4 Administrations, 5 different tribunals (including the Supremes), 0 Final Resolution!” https://wp.me/p8eeJm-76y

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

The INA has its problems. But, I’m skeptical that’s the real issue here.

Poorly functioning judges, a substandard appellate body, weak and/or incompetent judicial administrators, an anti-immigrant “culture,” antiquated “user unfriendly” procedures, political interference, lack of true judicial independence, grotesque inconsistencies, lack of accountability, no discernible values, no commitment to due process, lack of creative problem solving, and unwillingness to stand up to far-right White Nationalists and tell them to “buzz off” is what’s dragging EOIR (“Eyore”) down, inhibiting racial justice, and threatening our democracy. Seriously, this is “big time systemic failure” with existential consequences!

That’s largely within Garland’s power to fix! But, beyond removing a few of the “worst of the worst,” appointing a modest number of “bright lights” to the judiciary, and reversing some of the worst anti-immigrant, legally inane, and practically disastrous “precedents” ever (basically “Day One Stuff”), he hasn’t’ gotten the job done!

Undoubtedly, there are many talented folks — experts in immigration, human rights, due process, and racial justice — who could have correctly and finally resolved this case more than a decade ago. The problem is that they are “out here” and far lesser qualified judges and inept administrators are “calling the shots” at EOIR.

End the nonsense, bring in the talent, and fix the system! Sure, nativists and far right xenophobes are “invested” in a failed justice system — for various reasons, none of them valid. They will go ballistic if it starts functioning and treating individuals fairly and justly.

Great! The more they bluster and spread their White Nationalist BS and outright lies, the better Garland is doing. Up until recently, the far right crowd has been largely indifferent to what’s going on at EOIR. That’s because the Biden Administration has done little at EOIR that would make the “Stephen Miller crowd” unhappy. Their recent absurdist, disingenuous reactions are proof that Garland is finally making a few, long overdue, reforms and personnel changes that “hit home” and advance judicial competence, due process, fundamental fairness, and better practices.

The key is to fix EOIR, and tell the anti-due-process crowd to “go pound sand!” That’s exactly what neo-Nazi activist Stephen Miller and his motley crew would do if the situation were reversed!

There is, of course, a potential happy ending here. Replace the BIA with real judges! Hire real judicial professionals to administer the Immigration Courts. Take Eyore out of the DOJ and turn him into an independent Article I Court.

The alternatives are grim — for our nation and for future generations! Wake up folks, before it’s too late!

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-24-22

⚖️🗽 NDPA SUPER HERO 🦸🏻‍♀️MICHELLE MENDEZ BESTS BIA ON MTR IN 5TH — Ludicrous EOIR Decision Would Have Required Individual To Travel From Portland, OR to El Paso, TX For No Particular Reason! — No Wonder Garland’s Inept & Biased “Courts” Are Building Unnecessary Backlog @ Record Pace! 🤮

CAUTION: You are about to enter AG Merrick Garland’s “Twilight Zone” — where “judges” operating in a parallel universe make surreal decisions without regard to facts, law, or common sense applicable in this world!
The Twilight Zone Billy Mumy 1961.jpg
:PHOTO: Public Realm

Another timely report from Dan Kowalski @ LexisNexis:

https://www.lexisnexis.com/legalnewsroom/immigration/b/insidenews/posts/unpub-ca5-exceptional-circumstances-remand-perez-vasquez-v-garland

*Daniel M. Kowalski

22 Jul 2022

motion to reopen

exceptional circumstances

Unpub. CA5 “Exceptional Circumstances” Remand: Perez-Vasquez v. Garland

Perez-Vasquez v. Garland

“Perez-Vasquez is correct that the BIA erred by failing to address key evidence. See Cabrera v. Sessions, 890 F.3d 153, 162 (5th Cir. 2018). Specifically, the BIA did not consider several factors he raised in his motion to reopen as to whether exceptional circumstances prevented his appearance at his removal hearing, including evidence of: (1) Perez’s multiple attempts to contact both the Portland and El Paso immigration courts; (2) the fact that he filed two change of address forms because the El Paso immigration court sent the notice of hearing to the wrong address after he filed his first one; (3) the fact that his hearing was set in El Paso—where his son was detained—as opposed to Portland despite informing officials that he was going to reside in Oregon; (4) his financial constraints in travelling to El Paso with three-days notice. See Matter of S-L-H- & L-B-L-, 28 I. & N. Dec. 318, 321 & n.4 (BIA 2021); see also Magdaleno de Morales v. INS, 116 F.3d 145, 148 (5th Cir. 1997) (considering whether alien attempted to contact the immigration court prior to hearing). Additionally, the BIA failed to address evidence of Perez’s regular check-ins with immigration officials and his diligence in filing a motion to reopen, which tend to show an incentive to appear. See Matter of S-L-H- & L-B-L-, 28 I. & N. Dec. at 321. … Perez-Vasquez’s petition for review is GRANTED in part, DISMISSED in part, and DENIED in part. His case is REMANDED to the BIA for the limited purpose of considering—in light of the totality of the circumstances of his individual case—whether exceptional circumstances prevented his appearance at his removal hearing.”

[Hats off to NIPNLG Director of Legal Resources and Training Michelle N. Méndez!]

Michelle N. Mendez, ESQ
Director of Legal Resources and Training
National Immigration Project, National Lawyers Guild
PHOTO: NIPNLG

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

The facts of this case are somewhere out there in the “twilight zone.” Would any other tribunal in America waste two decisions denying an individual a fair hearing in this situation?

But, sadly, it’s what we have come to expect from a failing organization that is more interested in denying the right to be heard than in conducting hearings! Of course, EOIR is building record backlogs with “Aimless Docket Reshuffling,” lousy leadership, bad, often anti-immigrant, jurisprudence, and infinite tolerance for substandard performance within its ranks! Enough!

Congratulation Michelle, my friend, to you and your all-star team over at NIPNLG. Perhaps the worst mistake that Garland has made as AG was not immediately “cleaning house” at EOIR and appointing folks like Michelle and others from the NDPA to fix the system: At long last, bring practical scholarship, creative thinking, “experience in the trenches,” and an unswerving commitment to due process into a dysfunctional organization and “take names and kick tail” of those judges and others who are still “with” the mindless, immoral, counterproductive, and wrong-headed “any reason to deny/courts as a soft deterrent” approach of the former Administration.

The EOIR system needs real, dynamic intellectual leaders and widely-respected, innovative, courageous “practical scholars” like Michelle! A few such folks exist in today’s EOIR. But, they are essentially buried in the “forest of intellectual and moral deadwood” that Garland has not yet cleared out!

We are well into the Biden/Harris Administration; but, bad and poorly qualified judges and weak or inept administrators from the Trump and Obama Administrations (or even Bush II) are still wreaking havoc on American justice and threatening our democracy.

By contrast, if not invited to fix the broken EOIR system “from the inside” Michelle and the other members of the NDPA are going to force change from the outside! You can count on it! They will keep at it until this dysfunctional, unfair, and mal-administered system either reforms or collapses under the weight of its own incompetence, cruelty, inefficiency, and just plain stupidity!

Consistently getting these cases right (an MTR, for Pete’s sake) isn’t “rocket science.” A competent IJ would have taken about 5 minutes or less to mark this “granted” and change venue to Portland. A competent appellate tribunal would have reversed and rocketed it back to the IJ with instructions to “cut the BS.”

But, it continues to be elusive for Garland’s “gang that can’t shoot straight!” This system “coddles” poorly performing judges at both levels!

Meanwhile, they “throw the book” at desperate individuals trying their best to navigate EOIR’s broken, irrational, and intentionally “user unfriendly” parody of a “court system.” It is truly the “Twilight Zone of American Justice!”

Think of it: Four years, three tribunals, at least five Federal Judges, and a bevy of lawyers and clerks have spent time on this case. And, EOIR is no nearer to getting to the merits than the day the NTA was issued! This system needs “practical problem solvers” like Michelle, NOT “stuck in the mud” bureaucrats masquerading as judges, professional judicial leaders, and role models.

Tell Garland it’s time for a better, smarter approach to justice at EOIR! The real talent is out here! What’s he waiting for?

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-23-22

☹️👎 EXECUTIVE BRANCH “JUDGES” ARE CONSTITUTIONALLY PROBLEMATIC: EOIR Might Be The Worst, But By No Means The Only Agency Where Quasi-Judicial Independence Is Compromised By Politicos & Their Subservient “Managers!” — Reuters Reports!

https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-watchdog-says-pressure-patent-officials-affected-agency-rulings-2022-07-21/

U.S. watchdog says pressure from patent officials affected agency rulings

Blake Brittain July 21, 20224:11 PM EDTLast Updated a day ago

(Reuters) – U.S. Patent and Trademark Office administrators improperly influenced decisions by the office’s patent-eligibility tribunal for years, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a preliminary report released Thursday.

The report said two-thirds of judges on the PTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board felt pressure from higher-ups at the office to change aspects of their decisions, and that three-quarters of them believed the oversight affected their independence.

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While the report said management “rarely” influenced decisions on whether to cancel a patent, it said it did affect judges’ rulings on questions like whether to review a patent.

A PTO spokesperson said the report “reflects GAO’s preliminary observations on past practices,” and that current director Kathi Vidal has “prioritized providing clear guidance to the PTAB regarding the director review process” since taking office in April.

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The U.S. Supreme Court decided last year that the PTO director should be able to review board decisions.

The PTAB allows parties to challenge the validity of patents based on preexisting inventions in “inter partes review” proceedings.

A committee of volunteer judges began peer reviewing decisions in such cases for style and policy consistency and flagging them for potential management review in 2013, the report said. PTAB management began informally pre-reviewing board decisions on important issues and offering suggestions in 2017, and management review became official PTO policy in 2019.

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Some PTAB judges said their decisions had been affected by fears of negative career consequences for going against the suggestions. One judge said in the report that the review policy’s “very existence creates a preemptive chilling effect,” and that management’s wishes were “at least a factor in all panel deliberations” and “sometimes the dominant factor.”

The report said the internal review policies were not made public until May.

Republican Congressman Darrell Issa of California said during a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee hearing Thursday that the report of officials influencing PTAB decisions “behind closed doors” was “disturbing.”

Andrei Iancu was appointed PTO director by former President Donald Trump and took charge of the office in 2018. Iancu, now a partner at Irell & Manella, had no comment on the report.

Issa, the subcommittee’s ranking member, and its chairman, Democratic Congressman Hank Johnson of Georgia, called on the GAO last year to investigate the PTO director’s potential influence on PTAB cases.

(NOTE: This story has been updated with comment from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.)

Read more:

U.S. Supreme Court reins in power of patent tribunal judges

U.S. Senators Leahy, Tillis introduce bill to revamp patent review board

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Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Thomson Reuters

Blake Brittain reports on intellectual property law, including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. Reach him at blake.brittain@thomsonreuters.com

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

While it might once have seemed like a great idea, after more than a half-century the so-called “Administrative Judiciary” has proved to be a failure. It often delivers watered-down, sloppy, political, expedient, or “agency friendly” decisions with the “window dressing” of due process and real judicial proceedings.

Moreover, contrary to the original purpose, in most cases it is neither truly “expert” not “efficient.” Indeed, the Immigration Courts have built “one of the largest backlogs known to man!” That just leads to more misguided “gimmicks” and pressure to “speed up the quasi-judicial assembly line!” Individual lives and rights are the “big losers.”

To make matters worse, under the “Chevron doctrine” and its “off the wall” progeny “Brand X,” the Article IIIs “cop out” by giving “undue deference” to this deficient product.

It’s time for all Federal Judicial tribunals to be organized under Article III or Article I of the Constitution and for the legal profession and law schools to take a long, critical look at the poor job we now are doing of educating and preparing judges. We need to train and motivate the “best, brightest, and fairest” to think critically, humanely, and practically. Then, encourage them to become judges — out of a sense of public service, furthering the common good, promoting equal justice for all, and a commitment to vindicating individual rights, not some “ideological litmus test” as has a become the recent practice.

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-22-22

👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼FINALLY A “MAGA” MOVEMENT THAT IS GREAT FOR AMERICA — “Mothers Against Greg Abbott” (“MAGA”) Takes On Horrible White Nationalist Gov!

From My San Antonio:

Mothers Against Greg Abbott release new ad opposing the Texas governor

The group, Mothers Against Greg Abbott, released a new ad opposing the Republican Texas Governor on social media on Friday, July 15. The nonprofit organization also endorsed Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who faces Abbott in the gubernatorial race in November.

Read in My San Antonio: https://apple.news/A_lU8udxURiCBw955sksDTQ

Shared from Apple News

***********

Hard to see how Abbot —an inept executive with no values who picks on the most vulnerable — has gotten as far as he has. This is a chance for Texas to get out of the funk and get a governor who is actually interested in representing all Texans and governing competently.

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-20-22

THE GIBSON REPORT — 07-18-22 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, Managing Attorney — NIJC — HEADLINERS: Backlogs, Backlogs, Everywhere; Irresponsible GOP White Nationalist Fed Judges & State AGs Leave ICE Enforcement In Shambles; OIL Issues Court Remand Guidelines; NIJC On Fighting Misuse Of Police Reports By EOIR; 10th Finds Crime Of “Encouraging” Unconstitutional; Senate Near Immigration Deal That Could Ease Inflation?

Weekly Briefing

This briefing is designed as a quick-reference aggregation of developments in immigration law, practice, and policy that you can scan for anything you missed over the last week. The contents of the news, links, and events do not necessarily reflect the position of the National Immigrant Justice Center. If you have items that you would like considered for inclusion, please email them to egibson@heartlandalliance.org.

CONTENTS (jump to section)

◦NEWS

◦LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES

◦RESOURCES

◦EVENTS

NEWS

U.S. ban on ‘encouraging’ illegal immigration unconstitutional, court rules

Reuters: The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision said the law, which is part of a broader statute barring human smuggling, criminalizes “vast amounts of protected speech” such as urging family members to remain in the U.S. after their visas expire or informing non-citizens about available social services.

ICE issues policy to protect parental rights of immigrant detainees

CBS: The head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has directed agents to take several steps to protect the parental rights of immigrant detainees with underage or incapacitated children, according to an agency memo published Thursday.

Immigration agency backlog weighs on congressional offices

Roll Call: One House office said their USCIS-related casework in 2021 was more than triple what it was in 2020, while another reported receiving more than a dozen USCIS-related requests each day from constituents.

Pace of Immigration Court Processing Increases While Backlog Continues to Climb

TRAC: The latest case-by-case records show that the Immigration Court backlog reached 1,821,440 at the end of June 2022. This is up 25 percent from the backlog just at the beginning of this fiscal year.

Government Inaction on Immigration Paperwork Leads to Record High Lawsuits

TRAC: The federal government is facing a flurry of lawsuits for failing to take action on a variety of immigration-related applications. In May 2022, the federal civil courts recorded 647 immigration-related lawsuits for writs of mandamus (a type of lawsuit that seeks to compel the government to take a lawful action) and other immigration actions, the vast majority of which were linked to procedural delays or decisions by the Department of Homeland Security.

Migrants from multiple countries overwhelm US-Mexico border, adding to Biden administration’s challenges

CNN: According to the Department of Homeland Security, more than 6 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants have fled the country. See also Asylum wait lists at US border frustrate, confuse migrants.

The Senate is nearing a deal on immigration that could also lower food prices

NPR: It would do this by allowing more farmers — like dairy and pork producers — to hire temporary workers year-round. Currently, year-round employers cannot use that worker visa program, known as the H-2A temporary agricultural program used by seasonal employers. It would also satisfy some goals for labor rights advocates by providing a pathway to legalization for workers who show a dedicated history of farm work.

U.S. simplifies application process for Afghan special immigrant visa

Reuters: The United States will simplify the application process for Afghan special immigrant visas with applicants only needing to file one form, according to a statement issued on Monday by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Deportation Guidelines Back in Limbo After Two Opposing Court Rulings

Truth Out: While the Court unexpectedly decided to allow Biden to end the Trump-era Remain in Mexico policy, it is still unclear what the Supreme Court will decide regarding deportations. In the interim, the fate of immigrants attempting to migrate to the country will be in the hands of local Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers’ own determinations.

Mexico agrees to invest $1.5B in ‘smart’ border technology

AP: A series of agreements the two countries hammered out as their leaders spoke called for several other concrete moves, including expanding the number of work visas the U.S. issues, creating a bilateral working group on labor migration pathways and worker protections and welcoming more refugees. Both also pledged to continue joint patrols for Mexico and Guatemala to hunt human smugglers along their shared border.

200+ Immigrant Rights Organizations Urge U.S. House Leadership to Block Efforts to Extend Title 42 Mass Expulsions

ReliefWeb: The amendments passed out of the House Appropriations Committee are particularly harmful because they make Title 42’s rescission contingent on termination of the COVID-19 emergency declaration, a decision with widespread public health and safety ramifications.

USCIS Announces New Citizenship Ambassador Initiative

USCIS: To help demystify the naturalization process and share the life-changing impact of U.S. citizenship, USCIS selected eight community leaders across the United States to connect with aspiring citizens. Newly selected citizenship ambassadors will connect eligible populations with the USCIS mission by: Sharing their own experiences with the naturalization process;

Highlighting available information and resources; Emphasizing the advantages of U.S. citizenship; Addressing myths and misconceptions; and Providing inspiration for others pursuing citizenship.

LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES

Red States Pan Immigration Enforcement Memo At High Court

Law360: Texas, Louisiana and 19 other Republican-led states have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to continue blocking the Biden administration from focusing removal efforts only on certain groups of migrants, arguing that not only they but the whole U.S. will suffer from the strategy’s alleged ill effects if it is allowed to go into effect.

5th Circ. Says No Address, No Right To Deportation Notice

Law360: The Fifth Circuit said a Guatemalan immigrant couldn’t use a faulty notice to appear in immigration court to contest a 17-year-old removal order, saying he wasn’t entitled to proper notice as he hadn’t given immigration officers his home address.

Full 9th Circ. Says Faulty Removal Notice Doesn’t Ruin Case

Law360: The full Ninth Circuit unanimously ruled that the government can prosecute an immigrant for reentering the U.S. after being ordered removed, upholding the validity of the initial deportation order despite defects in the government’s notice for the immigrant to appear in immigration court.

10th Circ. Strikes Down Immigration Law As Unconstitutional

Law360: The Tenth Circuit struck down as unconstitutional a federal immigration law that made it a crime to encourage noncitizens to enter or live in the United States, saying the law violated free speech protections under the First Amendment.

Four women are accusing a nurse at an ICE detention center of sexual assault

CNN: A nurse at the privately run Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, according to the complaint, took advantage of his position to coerce the women “into giving him access to private parts of their body without medical justification or need.”

Lawsuit over covid outbreak at Farmville immigrant detention center settled

WaPo: An immigrant detention center in Virginia’s Farmville community that saw more than 300 inmates infected by the coronavirus in 2020, one of whom died, will be limited to a quarter of its capacity under a federal court settlement.

ICE Directive: Interests of Noncitizen Parents and Legal Guardians of Minor Children or Incapacitated Adults

ICE: It is the policy of ICE to ensure that the agency’s civil immigration enforcement activities do not unnecessarily disrupt or infringe upon the parental or guardianship rights of noncitizen parents or legal guardians of minor children or incapacitated adults, consistent with all legal obligations and applicable court orders.

Time Frame Extended for Uniting for Ukraine Parolees to Comply with Medical Screening and Attestation After Arrival to the United States

USCIS: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended the time beneficiaries paroled into the United States under Uniting for Ukraine have to attest to their compliance with the medical screening for tuberculosis and additional vaccinations, if required.

USCIS 30-Day Notice of Comment Period for Form I-765

AILA: USCIS notice of additional period for comment on revision of Form I-765. Comments will be accepted until 8/8/22. (87 FR 40855, 7/8/22)

CIS Ombudsman Provides Tips for Form I-130 to Avoid Delays and Extra Fees

AILA: The CIS Ombudsman’s Office provides a reminder that USCIS updated the special instructions on its Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative page to help filers ensure that USCIS sends their form to the correct location after it is approved.

OIL Policy on Remanding PFRs

OIL: In addition to the foregoing reasons, OIL will consider remanding cases in order to facilitate exercises of prosecutorial discretion by DHS, or in other circumstances in which DHS believes that reopening of the case before the Board of Immigration Appeals is appropriate (e.g., cases in which a petitioner may have recently become eligible for adjustment of status or presents other equities such that DHS Immigration and Customs Enforcement would not oppose reopening by the Board).

RESOURCES

NIJC

Unreliable and Prejudicial: The Role of Police Reports in U.S. Immigration Detention & Deportation Decisions

Other

Immigration Law: An Open Casebook

AIC: Sign On: EOIR Remedies for Obstacles to Attorney Access in Detention

AILA: IJC Complaint Toolkit

AILA: Practice Alert: Affirmative Prosecutorial Discretion Requests May Still Be Made

AILA: Call for Examples: Principal AOS Applications Being Approved without Derivative Applications

AILA: Take Action: Tell Congress to Reduce ICE Detention Funding in 2023

CRS: Federal Agency Rule Expands Asylum Officers’ Authority

CRS: Nonimmigrant and Immigrant Visa Categories: Data Brief

ILRC: Overview of California Post-Conviction Relief for Immigrants

Mehta: A Practical Guide to Spending the 3 and 10 Year Bars in the US

NIPNLG: Sign-On: Post-Dobbs letter to DHS re enforcement actions and access to abortion care

USCIS: Readout – USCIS’ Backlog Reduction Efforts

EVENTS

To sign up for additional NIJC newsletters, visit: https://immigrantjustice.org/subscribe.

You now can change your email settings or search the archives using the Google Group. If you are receiving this briefing from a third party, you can visit the Google Group and request to be added.

Elizabeth Gibson (Pronouns: she/her/ella)

Managing Attorney for Capacity Building and Mentorship

National Immigrant Justice Center

A HEARTLAND ALLIANCE Program

224 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 600, Chicago, IL 60604
T: (312) 660-1688| F: (312) 660-1688| E: egibson@heartlandalliance.org

www.immigrantjustice.org | Facebook | Twitter

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

The OIL Guidelines are welcome. Whether they will be uniformly and effectively applied remains to be seen.

The “real answer,” of course, is better judges and leadership at EOIR and elevation of quality and due process over expediency and the “haste makes waste, anti-immigrant” culture that still permeates far too much of EOIR.

Police reports are an ubiquitous feature of Immigration Court. The NIJC report on why they are “inherently unreliable” and how to contest them should be mandatory reading for all immigration litigators and Federal Judges who hear or review immigration cases.

Finally, on a positive note, the article about the Senate negotiations on agricultural workers reaffirms the inevitability of human migration, its benefit both to the U.S. and to migrants, and the pressing need for additional and more realistic legal avenues for legal immigration. Nolan Rappaport over at The Hill has pointed out on a number of occasions the other areas of potential compromise if the two parties could just get beyond “posturing.” See, e.g., https://wp.me/p8eeJm-7y4.

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-19-22

🛡⚔️THE ROUND TABLE RIDES AGAIN! — INJECTING A DOSE OF REALITY INTO 1ST CIR. LITIGATION — No, “Briefing Completed” Doesn’t Mean That A BIA Decision Is Imminent — With An 80K+ Appellate Backlog, No Leadership, No Coherent Plan, Many Appellate Judges “Programmed To View Only Removals With Urgency,” & “Priorities” That Change On Political Whim, It’s A Grave Mistake To View EOIR “Through The Lens Of A ‘Normal’ Court System!” 🤯

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

“Sir Jeffrey Chase forwards our Round Table’s latest effort to promote reality, reasonableness, and due process in EOIR’s dysfunctional world:

Amici curiae are 38 former immigration judges (““IJs””) and members of the 2

Board of Immigration Appeals (““BIA””).2
Amici have dedicated their careers to improving the fairness and efficiency of

the United States immigration system, and have an interest in this case based on their combined centuries of experience administering the immigration laws of the United States. Amici collectively have presided over thousands of removal proceedings and thousands of bond hearings in connection with those proceedings, and have adjudicated numerous appeals to the BIA.

In denying Anderson Alphonse’’s (““Mr. Alphonse”” or ““Petitioner””) petition for writ of habeas corpus, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (Saylor, J.), relied in part on the premise that it was ““readily foreseeable that proceedings will conclude in the near future”” because Mr. Alphonse’’s appeal to the BIA was ““fully briefed.”” This premise—at best aspirational when made in January 2022—has proven erroneous: nearly six months later, Mr. Alphonse’’s BIA appeal remains undecided. This is, regrettably, unsurprising given the surging caseload in the immigration courts, which now exceeds 1.8 million

1
1Amici state that this brief was not authored in whole or in part by counsel for any

party, and no person or entity other than Amici or their counsel made a monetary contribution to fund the preparation or submission of this brief.

2
2 See the appendix for a complete list of signatories.

1

Case: 22-1151 Document: 00117894678 Page: 10 Date Filed: 07/05/2022 Entry ID: 6505717

pending cases. This crushing backlog—adding significantly to the backlog facing the BIA—-iis extremely relevant to the question of when a removal proceeding is likely to conclude. In fact, it might be the most important factor in this equation. Yet this factor is absent from the First Circuit’’s current analytical framework, opening the door to erroneous suppositions and conclusions based on a cursory review of a removal proceeding’’s posture, such as the one made by the District Court here.

Thus, Amici write to respectfully urge the Court to reassess the impact the backlog of cases facing the immigration courts may have on the ability of courts to accurately forecast when removal proceedings will conclude. Given their extensive experience with the immigration courts and BIA appeal process, Amici are uniquely positioned to provide insight into this narrow, but critical, issue.

The case is Alphonse v. Moniz, currently pending in the 1st Cir. Here’s a complete copy of our brief:

Round Table – Alphonse (1st Cir) FILED Amicus Brief – 7.5.22

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

Many thanks to our wonderful pro bono counsel Matthew Levitt and Evan Piercy at MINTZ, LEVIN, COHN, FERRIS, GLOVSKY AND POPEO, P.C.

Although BIA decisions, particularly in non-detained cases, might take many months or even years to decide, the appellant is given only a relatively short period of time to file a brief — 21 days. A single 21 day extension may be requested and is usually granted, although it is common for the appellant not to be notified that the extension has been granted until after the extension period has expired.

Requests for additional or longer extensions are rarely granted. Motions to accept late-filed briefs, even those only a day or two tardy, are often denied. On the other hand, failure to file a timely brief after requesting a briefing schedule is a potential ground for summary dismissal of an appeal regardless of the merits! 8 C.F.R. § 1003.1(d)(2)(i)(E).

These rigid procedures might give the false impression that the EOIR system is driven by a sense of urgency in dispensing justice. Additionally, BIA and AG decisions often disingenuously pontificate about the supposedly “critical importance” of finality in immigration decisions. It’s all BS!

As you might note, the only “urgency” at EOIR is the potentially severe consequences imposed on the appealing party, usually the migrant. One the “compressed briefing” is complete, there is no particular assurance that the appeal will be decided on the merits for months, years — or ever! Additionally, the BIA can sometimes make dismissal of an appeal easier by ignoring an untimely brief or even by summarily dismissing an appeal for failure to file a brief without dealing with the merits.

Moreover, the hopelessness of the 1.82 million case EOIR backlog and the “assembly line justice” encouraged by EOIR’s “political masters” at DOJ results in a sloppy, “haste makes waste” approach to “justice.” This, in turn, means wrongful removals or unnecessary “remands” from Circuit Courts.

But, not to worry — there is neither penalty nor accountability for the BIA’s poor performance. Wrongly deported individuals are “out of sight, out of mind” — assuming they are even still alive.

Moreover, court remands actually give the BIA unlimited opportunities to correct their sloppy and unprofessional work, often with the benefit of a more thoughtful analysis from the Circuit Court. Not that such beneficial treatment by the Circuit necessarily means the BIA will get it right on remand. The BIA has been known to get “chewed out” by Circuit Courts for ignoring or “blowing off” their mandates.

“Red flags” 🚩 should be popping up all over the Falls Church horizon — so big that even the often “asleep at the wheel” immigration policy folks at the Biden Administration can see them! But, don’t hold your breath! Our Round Table, however, will continue “speaking truth to power” and revealing the real, awful due process mess at EOIR.

The respondent in this case is ably represented by Associate Dean Mary Holper of Boston College Law and her Immigration Clinic. In a way, this is a classic illustration of why Garland has been unable to fix EOIR. Dean Holper is an accomplished, universally-respected litigator, teacher, writer, practical scholar, and administrator. She is exactly the type of NDPA All-Star/Expert whom Garland should have recruited on “Day 1,” brought in, and empowered to fix EOIR and reinstate and realize its due process mission. Instead, Garland’s EOIR continues to flail and fail while the talent who could fix it are lined up in court against him!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-18-22

FROM ROE TO DOBBS, A HALF-CENTURY DECLINE IN THE US JUDICIARY! — From Blackmun’s “Profound Lyricism” To Alito’s Snarky Far-Right Pseudo-Religious Dogma Masquerading As “Law!” — Francine Prose in The Guardian

Francine Prose
American Writer
PHOTO: Luigi Novi (2009)
Creative Commons License

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/01/roe-v-wade-1973-ruling-supreme-court?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

As one more reminder of what we’ve lost, the text of the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling is unlikely to console us. Even so, I recommend downloading the pdf. In the wake of its overturning, this beautifully written document – which reads like a long form essay – is not only interesting in itself but now seems like another sign of how much has changed over the last half century, in this case for the worse.

Drafted by Justice Harry Blackmun, the ruling includes a clear and persuasive summary of the history of abortion law. “At the time of the adoption of our Constitution, and throughout the major portion of the 19th century, a woman enjoyed a substantially broader right to terminate a pregnancy that she does in most States today.” It tracks the centuries-old debate over when life begins, and dismisses the argument that a fetus is a person guaranteed the protections afforded US citizens. Throughout, it strikes us as the careful explication and clarification of a law, of legal precedent, unlike Justice Alito’s ruling in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health, which seems more like an expression of religious conviction masquerading as an unbiased interpretation of the constitution.

The Roe ruling is not about states’ rights. It’s about power and control | Derecka Purnell

What’s most striking about Roe v Wade – and its difference from the ruling that overturned it – is its eloquence. Blackmun’s lucid, frequently graceful language reflects a commitment to decency and compassion. The judges are clear about the dangers of carrying an unwanted child or a high-risk pregnancy to term. They strive to see the issue from the perspective of those confronting a serious life crisis, and to imagine the devastating outcomes that pregnant women and their families may face.

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“Specific and direct harm medically diagnosable even in early pregnancy may be involved. Maternity, or additional offspring, may force upon the woman a distressful life and future. Psychological harm may be imminent. Mental and physical health may be taxed by childcare. There is also the distress, for all concerned, associated with the unwanted child, and there is the problem of bringing a child into a family already unable, psychologically and otherwise, to care for it.”

The passage I admire most is the one in which Blackmun, at once profound and lyrical, describes the atmosphere surrounding the issue of abortion, the way our opinions are formed, and the pressures that the law must acknowledge and keep in balance.

“We forthwith acknowledge our awareness of the sensitive and emotional nature of the abortion controversy, of the vigorous opposing views, even among physicians, and of the deep and seemingly absolute convictions that the subject inspires. One’s philosophy, one’s experiences, one’s exposure to the raw edges of human existence, one’s religious training, one’s attitudes toward life and family and their values, and the moral standards one establishes and seeks to observe, are all likely to influence and to color one’s thinking and conclusions about abortion. In addition, population growth, poverty, and racial overtones tend to complicate and not to simplify the problem.”

And there it is: a superbly rendered catalogue of the factors that come to mind when we consider the factors that will now determine whom Dobbs will hurt most: poverty, race, and life on the raw edges of human existence – an edge, one might say, on which every decision about abortion is made.

. . . .

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

Read the rest of Francine’s article at the link.

Let’s face it. The concern for human life of out of touch righty ideologues like Alito ends at birth. After that, the “others” are expendable — particularly if they are women or folks of color!

All their claimed concern about “personhood” ends at delivery — when it can no longer be used to threaten vulnerable pregnant women or medical professionals. After that, the GOP program for kids (whether wanted or not) consists of things like:

Valuing their lives below the “right” of every Tom, Dick, and Harriett in America to own and use military-style assault weapons (something that certainly wasn’t the “original intent” of the drafters of the 2d Amendment);
Cutting education budgets, “dumbing down” public school curriculums, and harassing teachers, school administrators, and school board members;
Imposing work requirements on public assistance without regard to the needs and availability of suitable child care;
Deporting their parents to far away countries without concern for the welfare of children (US citizen and others);
Declaring “war” on vulnerable kids who aren’t heterosexuals;
Opposing provisions that would expand the availability of health insurance to kids;
Spreading misinformation about life-saving vaccines for children;
Falsely denying climate change that threatens the world we will leave to our kids and future generations;
Spreading fear and terror in ethnic communities containing “mixed families” to discourage them from taking advantage of available community services;
Threatening the educational rights of non-citizen children currently guaranteed by Plyler v. Doe (but perhaps not for long, if the Clarence Thomases of the world have their way);
Treating kids in Immigration Court as less than “persons” entitled to full due process (for example, forcing toddlers to “represent themselves” in life or death asylum cases);
Separating families;
Detaining families and children in grossly substandard conditions;
Making it more difficult for people of color to vote and thus exercise their legal and political rights;
Being more concerned about BLM protests than in the loss of young black lives that generated them.

I could go on an on.

One essential starting place and training ground for a “new generation” of Federal Judges who will be committed to humane values, empathy, accurate historical understanding, due process, and equal justice for all is the “retail level” of our justice system — the U.S. Immigration Courts, currently controlled solely by AG Merrick Garland. That’s why Garland’s disturbing failure to instill progressive values and install scholarly progressive judges — the best, brightest, and most courageous — in his now-dysfunctional EOIR system should be of grave concern to advocates of individual choices and anyone who cares about equal justice for all and the future of our nation!

The GOP-dominated Federal Judiciary has become a tool of authoritarians and religious zealots who seek to wipe out established individual rights, reduce humanity, and insert themselves and their out of touch views into every aspect of human existence — ultimately threatening the very future of humanity!

The Dems, by contrast, are the party of individual rights and human freedom. Too bad they haven’t done a better job of selling, and sometimes of following and boldly acting upon, their own stated values!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-15-22

☹️ 1.82 Million Souls Left In Limbo — Due Process Denying “Gimmicks” & Minor Tinkering Fail To Stem EOIR’s Burgeoning Backlog! — There Is No Substitute For Long-Overdue Practical Progressive Reforms!

TRAC Immigration reports:

Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse

Pace of Immigration Court Processing Increases While Backlog Continues to Climb

The latest case-by-case records show that the Immigration Court backlog reached 1,821,440 at the end of June 2022. This is up 25 percent from the backlog just at the beginning of this fiscal year. These figures are based on the analysis of the latest court records obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University.

New Immigration Court cases continue to outstrip the number of cases being closed. So far during the first nine months the court received 634,594 new cases, but has only managed to dispose of 287,711. These closures took 1,130 days on average or more than three years from the date of the Notice to Appear (NTA) to the court’s disposition. Part of the delay represents the time it took from the Department of Homeland Security to actually file the NTA after it was issued. This delay reached record levels during the Trump administration three years ago, but NTAs are being filed much more promptly under the current administration.

The pace of court closures also has been accelerating. After the partial government shutdown in March 2020, court closures averaged just 6,172 per month for the remainder of that fiscal year. During FY 2021, court closures roughly doubled to 12,055 on average per month. By the end of the first six months of FY 2022, monthly closures had again doubled to an average of 23,957 per month. And this last quarter covering just the three-month period from April – June 2022, monthly closures doubled again to 47,991 on average each month.

According to court statistics, immigration judges on board at the beginning of this past quarter had increased just 6 percent over levels at the beginning of FY 2022. Thus, the increase in judge hiring only accounts for some of this speedier pace. A more important factor appears to be the many changes implemented by the Biden administration to increase the speed that court cases get scheduled and decided. However, as TRAC has reported, the increase in speed has come with heightened due process concerns, increasing the number of asylum seekers unable to secure legal representation which then greatly diminishes their opportunity to adequately prepare and present their asylum claims.

For more highlights on the Immigration Court, updated through June 2022, go to:

Immigration Court Quick Facts

For an index to the full list of TRAC’s immigration tools and their latest update go to:

https://trac.syr.edu/imm/tools

If you want to be sure to receive a notification whenever updated data become available, sign up at:

https://tracfed.syr.edu/cgi-bin/tracuser.pl?pub=1

Follow us on Twitter at:

https://twitter.com/tracreports

or like us on Facebook:

https://facebook.com/tracreports

TRAC is self-supporting and depends on foundation grants, individual contributions and subscription fees for the funding needed to obtain, analyze and publish the data we collect on the activities of the US Federal government. To help support TRAC’s ongoing efforts, go to:

https://trac.syr.edu/cgi-bin/sponsor/sponsor.pl

David Burnham and Susan B. Long, co-directors
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse
Syracuse University Peck Hall
601 E. Genesee Street
Syracuse, NY 13202-3117
315-443-3563
trac@syr.edu
https://trac.syr.edu

The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse is a nonpartisan joint research center of the Whitman School of Management (https://whitman.syr.edu) and the Newhouse School of Public Communications (https://newhouse.syr.edu) at Syracuse University. If you know someone who would like to sign up to receive occasional email announcements and press releases, they may go to https://trac.syr.edu and click on the E-mail Alerts link at the bottom of the page. If you do not wish to receive future email announcements and wish to be removed from our list, please send an email to trac@syr.edu with REMOVE as the subject.

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

Needed:

New, visionary, innovative, creative, due-process-focused leadership @ EOIR;
Better judges with established records of fair, practical, scholarship and proven expertise in immigration, due process, and constitutional law;
An Attorney General who understands the need for the foregoing and has the backbone to put it in place and then let the “pros” solve the problems!

This broken and failing system and its toxic discredited “culture of denial, fake expediency, and false deterrence” needs a radical overhaul — NOW!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-16-22

🛡⚔️ THE LEGEND OF THE ROUND TABLE CONTINUES TO GROW! — Making A Difference Even When The Results Are Not What We Wished For! — PLUS, “BONUS COVERAGE” OF THE “SUPER MOON,” COURTESY OF “SIR JEFFREY!”

“Sir Jeffrey” Chase reports:

9th Circuit Decision in U.S. v. Bastide-Hernandez

Hi all:Attached please find the published, en banc decision of the 9th Circuit issued yesterday in U.S. v. Bastide-Hernandez.As expected, the court held that the absence of a date and time of hearing does not deprive the Immigration Court of jurisdiction.

However, please note the concurring opinion of Judge Friedland, stating that although the court held that the issue is not jurisdictional, “there are strong argument for the contrary position,” adding that the Supreme Court may reach a different conclusion.

Judge Friedland also quoted our Round Table’s amicus brief at length, as follows:

“An amicus brief filed by former immigration judges elaborates on why it better serves clarity, efficiency, and due process to include the time and location of the hearing in an NTA in the first instance. As amici explain, incomplete initial notice documents create uncertainty both for noncitizens, who are left in the dark as to when and where a potentially life-changing proceeding will be held, and for immigration judges, who cannot be sure if a case can proceed. Amici also note that the Government’s notice-by- installment practice creates additional fact-finding obligations for immigration judges, who may need to look to multiple documents to determine whether informational gaps in the initial notice have been filled. And amici caution that, because immigration judges are already overburdened and face pressure to complete cases, ambiguities about notice may lead immigration judges to order noncitizens removed when they fail to show up at their hearings, even if the noncitizens never received notice of those hearings at all.”

I think that this lengthy reference demonstrates the importance of our work.

Best, Jeff

US v. Bastide-Hernandez

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

In the words of Ninth Circuit Judge Michelle Friedland (Obama appointee): “[I]t better serves clarity, efficiency, and due process to include the time and location of the hearing in an NTA in the first instance.”

What if we had an EOIR where all judges at the trial and appellate levels and all senior administrators were unswervingly committed to due process, fundamental fairness, and best practices?

Instead, we have a dysfunctional organization where DHS’s wishes, perceived expediency, and keeping the “political bosses” happy (thus providing “job security”) triumphs over the public interest and the cause of justice. Currently, we’re “saddled” with a broken system that sees Immigration Court as a “soft deterrent” rather than a dispenser of justice could actually make our immigration, human rights, and justice system run more smoothly by applying fair procedures and “best interpretations.” That would facilitate the legal admission of many more migrants, while starting to “disempower smugglers,” cut backlog, discourage poor practices at DHS Enforcement, promote consistency, and keep many disputes that should be resolved in favor of respondents out of the Article IIIs!

Better, more reasonable administrative precedents that adhered to the proper interpretations of asylum and protection laws and provided positive guidance on how to apply them to recurring situations would also “leverage” the Asylum Office by allowing many more cases to be granted at the first level. As long as the current lousy BIA precedents prevail, far too many cases will just be denied at the AO level and referred to Immigration Court — making it a colossal waste of time. “So-called streamlining” will only work if it results in significantly more AO grants of protection!

We “win some, lose some.” But, our Round Table’s cause is justice; we’re not going to give up until this system makes the long overdue, radical personnel, procedural, attitude, and “cultural” changes necessary to become the “best that it can be!”

That means fulfilling the Immigration Courts’ once and future vision of “through teamwork and innovation become the world’s best tribunals guaranteeing fairness and due process for all.”

Bonus Coverage:

“Sir Jeffrey’s” skills aren’t confined to the legal arena. Here are some pictures he took from his balcony of last night’s “Super Moon:”

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-14-22

Craig writes:

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

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At a minimum Garland must:

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

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CHAPTER ONE: Eighteen Years

CHAPTER TWO: Count Your Blessings

CHAPTER THREE: Count Your Blessings, The Eyore View

CHAPTER FOUR: It’s Not Unusual

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

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From My San Antonio:

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

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“Sir Jeffrey Chase forwards our Round Table’s latest effort to promote reality, reasonableness, and due process in EOIR’s dysfunctional world:

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

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🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

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TRAC Immigration reports:

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

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“Sir Jeffrey” Chase reports:

9th Circuit Decision in U.S. v. Bastide-Hernandez

Bonus Coverage:

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

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