U.S. Immigraton Judge (Retired)
Director, Immigrant Legal Defense Program, Justice & Diversity Center of the Bar Assn. of San Francisco.
Round Table leader Judge Ilyce Shugall led the charge on both of these efforts!
Here’s the Amicus Brief on court closings we filed in LAS AMERICAS IMMIGRANT ADVOCACY CENTER v. TRUMP in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon in Portland:
And here’s the official comment we filed opposing the EOIR’s outrageous proposal to raise fees for intentionally diminished services — a transparent attempt to limit access to justice for the most vulnerable and to discourage appeals in a system rife with largely available, often life-threatening mistakes and errors!
EOIR fee schedule reg comments_Round Table_FINAL
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My “Inbox” here at Courtside has been pulsating with palpable outrage, anger, and unrestrained grief from my Round Table colleagues about the callous disregard by EOIR for the health, safety, and humanity of both the public and its own employees, many of them our friends and former colleagues. What better evidence could there be of the need for an independent Immigration Court, run by competent professionals, committed to due process, best practices, and service to the public than the awful mess happening at EOIR right now?
During this time of true national emergency, the Round Table remains committed to lending our collective voices and group expertise to as many organizations out there courageously fighting on the “front lines” as we can. Together, we represent literally centuries of experience on the immigration benches, the “retail level” of our justice system. We are sharing widely with judges, journalists, public officials, and others our insights into what’s wrong with today’s Immigration Courts and how to restore and enhance due process, the rule of law, common sense, and basic human values to a system that actively scorns and undermines all of the foregoing.
I am honored to be a member of the Round Table and deeply appreciative of the fearless leadership and endless energy of folks like Ilyce, Judge Jeffrey Chase, Judge Sue Roy, Judge Charles Honeyman, Judge Carol King, Judge John Gossart, Judge Lory Rosenberg, and many others for our daily efforts to literally save our nation and our justice system from the disastrous policies, legal ignorance, “malicious incompetence,” and disregard for human lives being inflicted by DOJ, EOIR, and DHS on our nation every day.
Due Process Forever! Malicious Incompetence Never!
PWS
04-01-20
UPDATE:
“U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut on Wednesday denied a motion for an emergency 28-day restraining order that would have barred the nation’s immigration courts from requiring any participant or lawyer to appear in person for a hearing during the coronavirus pandemic.” https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/2020/04/federal-judge-declines-to-direct-us-immigration-courts-how-to-operate-during-coronavirus.html
Our “Round Table Brief” is mentioned in the article. Unfortunately, in this case it didn’t get the plaintiffs “over the top.”
The Judge seems to have applied the old “good enough for government work” standard to EOIR’s efforts. In other words “show me the dead bodies.” Assuming that the the Surgeon General and other health exports are right, the worst is yet to come. That doesn’t bode well for anyone caught up in the EOIR system. Also seems inconsistent with the “radical mitigation strategy” that government has been preaching.
PWS
04-01-20