Political Reporter
The Independent
Retired U.S. Immigration Judge
Member, Round Table of Former Immigration Judges
https://apple.news/A5ORx13cZQ3ar2fi70BcjJA
Andrew Naughtie reports for The Independent:
An immigration judge in Philadelphia has stepped down from the bench early citing pressure from the Trump administration, which he says is turning the Immigration Court into a “politburo rubber stamp”.
Speaking to the Philadephia Inquirer, Judge Charles Honeyman described how he left the bench earlier than he had planned after the government began taking a harder line on immigration and deportation cases.
“At some point I was just not comfortable,” he told the paper.
Judge Honeyman is now joining the immigration law firm of Solow, Isbell, & Palladino, which specialises in immigration cases. There, he will provide litigation advice to clients facing deportation.
Immigrants subject to removal cases often struggle to gain legal representation in the court system, with up to two thirds going into their cases without counsel – radically reducing their chances of remaining in the US.
‘Families belong together’ protests over Trump immigration policy
The Immigration Court system sits outside the judiciary and is governed instead by the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review. That means it is subject to direct political pressure from the administration, including instructions from the attorney general, whose interpretation of the law immigration judges are meant to follow.
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Read the complete article at the link.
Proud that Judge Honeyman is a member of the Round Table of Former Immigration Judges.
PWS
03-05-20