"The Voice of the New Due Process Army" ————– Musings on Events in U.S. Immigration Court, Immigration Law, Sports, and Other Random Topics by Retired United States Immigration Judge (Arlington, Virginia) and former Chairman of the Board of Immigration Appeals Paul Wickham Schmidt. To see my complete professional bio, just click on the link below.
Paulina Vera President, Hispanic Bar Association of DC PHOTO: Linkedin
As I have mentioned before, I’m proud that Paulina is an alum of the Legacy Arlington Immigration Court Internship Program and a “charter member” of the NDPA!
For those of you who don’t know her, here’s Paulina’s “official bio” from the GW Law website:
Paulina Vera supervises GW Law Immigration Clinic students and provides legal representation to asylum-seekers and respondents facing deportation in Immigration Court. She is a Professorial Lecturer In Law and has taught Immigration Law I.
Ms. Vera previously served as the only Immigration Staff Attorney at the Maryland-based non-profit, CASA.
She is a double GW alumna. In 2015, Ms. Vera graduated from the George Washington University Law School. During law school, she was a student-attorney at the Immigration Clinic. In 2012, she graduated from GW with a Bachelor in Arts in International Affairs, concentrating on Latin American Studies and International Politics and a minor in Spanish Language and Literature.
Ms. Vera is involved in a number of professional organizations. She is the President-Elect of the Hispanic Bar Association of DC (HBA-DC), a scholar for the American Bar Association (ABA) YLD Leadership Academy, and a member of the inaugural Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) National Task Force on Hispanic Law Professors and Deans. She also serves as the Public Relations Director for the GW Latino Law Alumni Association (LLAA).
Ms. Vera has been recognized locally and nationally; she is the recipient of the GW Latinx Excellence Awards, Alma Award (2019), DC Courts Community Agency CORO Award (2019), Hispanic Bar Association of DC (HBA-DC) Rising Star Award (2019), and the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) Top Lawyers Under 40 Award (2021).
Her passion project is managing an online community called Hermanas In The Law, where she features Latinas thinking about law school, Latina law students, and Latina lawyers. Ms. Vera is originally from Tucson, AZ and is the proud daughter of two immigrants.”
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You can also learn more about Paulina and her many accomplishments by clicking on her name in the “Courtside” sidebar!
Paulina is just the brilliant, honest, values-driven, charismatic leader that America needs for a better future!
GW Law Immigration Clinic Director Professor Alberto Benítez & Co-Director Professor Paulina Vera — They have dedicated their professional careers to teaching skills and values that change lives and advance a vision of a better future America!
Professor Alberto Benítez reports to Courtside:
Victory is the only option!
A shout-out to our student-attorneys Julia Yang, Spoorthi Datla, Cornelia Waugh, and Kelly Zhang. Yesterday our client S-L, from China, Kelly, and Paulina Vera attended an interview at USCIS. The client is a survivor of domestic violence and we had filed several applications on her behalf, including one for naturalization. Today all the applications were granted. S-L’s oath ceremony will be scheduled.
Given the endemic delays at every level of the dysfunctional USG immigration bureaucracy, seeing a case through from the initial application to eventual naturalization is no mean feat!😎 THIS, NOT the total disgraceful BS emanating from Trump, DeSantis, Abbott, and the rest of the GOP xenophobes, is what the REAL “American Dream” is all about and what REALLY “Makes America Great” — NOT totally disingenuous slogans and “throwaway lines” from those afraid to embrace and celebrate the REAL America!🇺🇸
The future of American immigration advocacy looks promising, notwithstanding the incredibly dark visions being falsely promoted by GOP restrictionists and the disturbingly feeble response from the Biden Administration and Dems in Congress. The talent in the “New Generation” of the NDPA continues to grow thanks to the inspiration and tutelage of Professors Benitez and Vera and many others like them who have dedicated their lives to making things better for everyone!
As a result, there is a rapidly expanding talent gap between the NDPA and the sluggish, unresponsive, “go along to get along” USG immigration bureaucracy — right up to the White House where so-called “policy makers” fear standing up for the rule of law and American values! Getting the talent from the “outside” to the “inside” where they can solve problems and advance progressive, practical American values is the challenge that will determine the future of our democracy!
Mr. W-G-G’s “winning team” from GW Law Immigration Clinic. PHOTO: GW Clinic with client’s permission. It’s never too early in your legal career to do meaningful work and save lives!
Professors Alberto Benitez & Paulina Vera of the GW Immigration Law Clinic report from the Annandale (VA) Immigration Court:
“I’ll only have a couple general statutory bar questions to ask and will defer to Judge Jimenez in granting relief”
Please join me in congratulating Immigration Clinic client W-G-G, from Venezuela. He was granted asylum this morning by Immigration Judge (IJ) Christina Jiménez. W-G-G was represented by student-attorneys Anam Abid and Matt Banaitis. W-G-G and his family were targeted by the Maduro government for their opposition views culminating in being removed from their home at gunpoint on New Year’s Day 2020. Only W-G-G was allowed to leave Venezuela but thanks to the asylum grant he can begin the process of bringing his wife and 11 and 8 year-young kids to the USA.
The ICE Assistant Chief Counsel complimented Anam and Matt on the thoroughness of their pretrial filing and direct examination, limited his cross-examination to the statutory bar questions, and deferred to the IJ’s discretion on the grant of asylum. The hearing lasted 50 minutes.
In addition to Anam and Matt, student-attorneys Jasmine Martínez and Mark Rook also worked on this case.
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Who says great representation and meticulous preparation don’t matter? (Disgracefully, during the Trump Administration EOIR tried to make exactly that bogus claim by releasing a fictional “fact sheet” full of lies.)
Thanks for showing us how the system could and should work in many more cases, Paulina and Alberto! Congrats to you and your amazing team of student attorneys! Imagine having saved lives like this before you even graduate from law school or take the bar!
It’s tragic that the Biden Administration just isn’t interested in institutionalizing due process, fundamental fairness, and best practices. This case represents real teamwork, expertise, and mutual respect from ALL participants for the common good.
I particularly liked the ICE Assistant Chief Counsel’s complimentary comments. “Positive reinforcement” and recognition of excellence is SO important in the development of practice skills! And, I know that GW Law has contributed outstanding talents to both the Government and the private/NGO sectors of immigration practice!
Everybody, including ICE and EOIR, benefits from great representation in Immigration Court! It also virtually guarantees appearance at all hearings without counterproductive expensive detention. Why isn’t the Biden Administration focused on funding, expanding, and institutionalizing the things that actually work and enhance due process?
I also recognize Judge Christina Jimenez for setting a positive tone and having the confidence to inspire those appearing before her to do their best and to let them “model” the proper resolution. “Retail level judging” is about teaching, inspiring, setting good examples, and reinforcing success. That appears to be exactly what Judge Jimenez did here!
This is also an example of why I urge practitioners to compete for Immigration Judge positions! Although the system often lacks consistent expertise and leadership “from above,” there is plenty of room for achieving justice, case by case, at the Immigration Court level. I constantly get reports of significant victories for the NDPA and their clients.
Last week, my Round Table colleague Judge Ilyce Shugall (she is also on the VIISTA permanent faculty) and I had a chance to work with VIISTA Villanova faculty and instructors from the National Institute of Trial Advocacy on mock Immigration Court hearings for VIISTA students. What an impressive group of smart, personable, engaged, and serious advocates! And, talk about prepared! This group was SO prepared for their sessions!
There is tremendous “un-mined” potential for great pro bono representation out here! If only the Biden Administration would work WITH the advocacy/NGO community on representation and best practices, rather than trying to shove their broken and user unfriendly “good enough for government work” model down the public’s throats!
Even if the Biden Administration prefers “deterrence gimmicks” to systemic due process and best practices, “change from below” can spread throughout the nation.
Unfortunately, this particular Venezuelan situation is hardly unusual. I’m sure I granted similar cases during my tenure.
One can imagine, however, that some Venezuelan asylum applicants in the same situation are denied in the “EOIR crapshoot that passes for justice” while others are sent away to peril without fair hearings by the Biden Administration’s anti-asylum policies at the border.
I hope that in the “next generation,” leaders like you, Paulina, and your NDPA colleagues can change this broken and unfair system! Because the Biden Administration sure isn’t getting the job done when it comes to due process, human rights, and equal justice. That will mean getting some political power to make Dems take notice or pay a price.
Thanks to you, Paulina, Alberto, and your talented student attorneys for all you do for American justice! If only the Biden Administration had the same commitment and dedication to due process, creative problem solving, excellence, and fundamental fairness, this system could be fixed!
GW Law Immigration Clinic Director Professor Alberto Benítez & Co-Director Professor Paulina Vera
This just in from Professor Alberto Benitez @ the GW Law Immigration Clinic:
The GW Law Immigration Clinic presents our fundraiser, Coats for a Cause: Helping Stranded Migrants Stay Warm. Please see the attached flyer.
Through October 28 we will be collecting all lightly used and new winter clothing to donate to migrants who were recently sent to DC via buses. A box to collect donations is available in the lobby of our building at 650 20th Street, NW. Can’t make it in person? You can donate $$$ to Prof. Vera’s PayPal at @paulinavera1. All monetary donations will be used to purchase items off an Amazon Wishlist put together by local non-profits for the immediate needs of these migrants.
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Alberto Manuel Benitez
Professor of Clinical Law
Director, Immigration Clinic
The George Washington University Law School
650 20th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052
(202) 994-7463
(202) 994-4946 fax abenitez@law.gwu.edu
THE WORLD IS YOURS…
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GW Coats Poster
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With colder weather arriving, this is a great opportunity to welcome and help the newest members of our community! Thanks to Professors Benitez and Vera and all the students at the GW Law Immigration Clinic for putting this effort together!
GW Law Immigration Clinic Director Professor Alberto Benítez & Co-Director Paulina Vera
Please join me and Professor Vera in congratulating Immigration Clinic client, R-A-, from Nigeria, and his student-attorneys, Olivia Russo, LinLin Teng, Kennady Peek, Lea Aoun, and Megan Elman. The client’s asylum application was filed on December 3, 2018, his interview at the Asylum Office was on September 3, 2021, and he was granted asylum on May 18, 2022. We received the approval notice yesterday. The above-captioned is what R-A- said upon learning about his asylum grant.
R-A- is a gay man and LGTBQ+ activist. Throughout his entire life, R-A- experienced bullying and threats and had to keep his dating life a secret. However, things got even worse for him once he started an LGTBQ+ online magazine that received international attention. His family disowned him. A former classmate also set him up and he was physically beaten, sexually assaulted, called derogatory names, blackmailed, and outed. Since coming to the U.S., R-A- has continued to work on his online publication and volunteer for other LGBTQ+ initiatives. He hopes to one day attend law school in the U.S.
Thanks for the update and for all you and your student attorneys do for American justice! Once again this shows the effect of expert representation of asylum seekers and the critical importance of winning cases at the first possible level, in this case the USCIS Asylum Office. Who knows what might have happened if this had been sent over to the “EOIR roulette wheel,” where life or death justice for immigrants has become a “high-stakes game of chance?” 🎰
Perhaps even more remarkably, most of the folks who participated in that “intentional misdirection” remain on the agency payroll under Garland, a number in their same positions.
The lack of an Attorney General who “gets it” (apparently a staple of Dem Administrations) and who is willing to clean house and make the necessary aggressive progressive reforms to restore due process at EOIR and throughout the Immigration bureaucracy is yet another reason why the work of clinics and other battalions of the NDPA remains so critical! With a Government whose contempt for Due Process is amply illustrated by foot-dragging on Title 42 revocation, bogus, justice-denying “Dedicated Dockets,” and an appellate body that cuts corners while eschewing positive asylum guidance that would save lives, advocates for respondents are the only folks seriously interested in carrying out our Constitution and insuring that the rule of law is honored.
If that sounds like an indictment of Garland’s “leadership” on human rights, racial justice, and immigrant justice, that’s because it is!
GW Law Immigration Clinic Director Professor Alberto Benítez & Co-Director Paulina Vera
The Immigration Clinic had another busy and productive semester. Professor Vera and I share that our eight student-attorneys (Alexandra Chen, Spoorthi Datla, Daniel Fishelman, José Hernández, Trisha Kondabala, Mir Sadra Nabavi, Mark Rook, and Ryan Sarlo) accomplished the following on behalf of their clients:
Filings:
Four work permit applications
Two affirmative asylum applications
Two motions to terminate proceedings
Two motions to schedule a final merits hearing (one was granted!)
Two appeals of USCIS erroneous denials of green card applications
One application for removal of conditions of a green card, with a waiver for a domestic violence survivor
One U visa application (for victims of crimes in the U.S.)
One motion to change venue (granted!)
One request for expedited processing of an asylee derivative application (granted!)
One family-based petition and green card application packet for the spouse of a current client
Representation:
Two hearings for procedural matters
One affirmative asylum interview
Public engagement:
One legal orientation presentation with parents of a local MD high school
One public comment on the newly proposed public charge rule
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Alberto Manuel Benitez
Professor of Clinical Law
Director, Immigration Clinic
The George Washington University Law School
650 20th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052
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Congrats to Alberto, Paulina, and the eight above-named student-attorneys for saving lives, promoting justice, elevating the level of immigration practice, and being in the vanguard of the New Due Process Army!
GW Law Immigration Clinic Director Professor Alberto Benítez & Co-Director Paulina Vera
This just in from Professor Alberto Benitez @ GW Law:
Friends,
I’m pleased to report that two Immigration Clinic student-attorneys, Trisha Kondabala and Mira Sadra Nabavi, researched, wrote, and filed the attached comment in response to a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the public charge inadmissibility ground of the Immigration & Nationality Act.
GW Law Immigration Clinic Director Professor Alberto Benítez & Co-Director Paulina Vera
Professor Alberto Benitez at the GW Immigration Clinic reports:
Friends,
Our friend, colleague, and alum Paulina Vera shared this story. Congratulations Daniel!
“A current Immigration Judge shared that he spoke to his colleague, another Immigration Judge (“IJ”), about a recent virtual hearing handled by student-attorney, Daniel Fishelman ’22. IJ complimented the Clinic’s preparation and Daniel’s performance, stating that even though it was for a short matter, she was impressed by the Clinic. This was the Clinic’s first appearance before IJ. Please join us in congratulating Daniel on completing his first hearing and getting positive feedback from Immigration Judges!”
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Many congrats to student-attorney, Daniel Fishelman ’22 on his first engagement as a member of the NDPA!👍🏼😎
Also, congrats to my friends and “due process role models” Alberto and Paulina! So proud that part of Paulina’s “immigration justice journey” went through the Arlington Immigration Court, where she served as an intern.
Alberto and Paulina tell me that after their “standard rigorous prep session” with Daniel, he definitely was “QRFPT” — “Quite Ready For Prime Time!” 😎 That’s as opposed to “NQRFPT” (“Not Quite Ready For Prime Time”) ☹️ — something to be avoided in Immigration Court or any other type of litigation!☠️
This case illustrates what I found on the bench: that “short cases” are almost always the result of superior scholarship, meticulous preparation, and informed dialogue by counsel for both parties before getting to court.
That’s why one grossly underutilized tool for reducing backlogs is investing in and encouraging more and better trained representation for individuals appearing in Immigration Court.
As statistics have shown time after time, universalrepresentation is also the key to achieving high appearance rates.
Additionally, constructing court dockets and scheduling cases locally with input from both counsel is a way of reversing the backlog building “Aimless Docket Reshuffling” (“ADR”) produced by attempting to manage dockets from “on high.” ADR usually results from EOIR unilaterally attempting to satisfy DHS enforcement aims or to accommodate “disconnected political agendas and ill-advised gimmicks” generated by DOJ and White House politicos — invariably clueless about the realities of Immigration Court practice!
The three things always left behind by ADR: due process, fundamental fairness, and practical efficiency!
Please thank them all on my behalf. I’m extremely grateful for what each of them did on my case.” This is what our client, E-K- said upon receiving well wishes from several of his former student-attorneys after he was sworn in as a U.S. citizen yesterday. Please see the attached photo of E-K- with Prof. Vera after his oath ceremony. E-K- authorized our use of his picture.
E-K- became a Clinic client in 2009 after an unsuccessful interview at the Arlington Asylum Office. In February 2010, E-K-, a native of Cameroon, had his first Individual Calendar Hearing based on his political opinion and imputed political opinion following his involvement in a sit-in and his presence during a protest. DHS appealed the initial grant of asylum and on remand the Board of Immigration Appeals instructed the Immigration Judge to pay attention to credibility. However, the Immigration Clinic and E-K- prevailed again in 2013 and the asylum grant was finalized! The Clinic then assisted E-K- with his green card application, naturalization application, and naturalization interview. Next up: his wife’s green card application!
Please join me in congratulating Alexa Glock, Anca Grigore, Rebekah Niblock, Victoria Braga, Alex North, Jonathan Bialosky, and Paulina Vera, who all worked on the case.
Real life success stories from real life humans represented by well-trained law students in a “Surreal Immigration Court System!”
Brings to mind the disgraceful incident when former Trump-Era EOIR Director James McHenry created a bogus “Fact Sheet” with a ludicrous narrative in a dishonest attempt to show that lawyers and knowing individual rights in Immigration Court were irrelevant to success.
McHenry’s lies, myths, and intentional distortions were universally panned by immigration experts as reported by Courtside at the time.
Under Judge Garland, the DOJ claims to recognize and promote representation in Immigration Court. But, leaving aside the mushy rhetoric, their actions say otherwise:
“Dedicated Dockets” and sloppy mail-out notices established without consultation with the private bar;
Proposed asylum regulations almost universally opposed by the private bar;
Failure to slash the overwhelming, due process inhibiting, 1.5 million case backlog;
Continued “Aimless Docket Reshuffling” fueled by changing and misplaced administrative “priorities”that totally ignore the needs of the pro bono bar;
Continuing support for “imbedded Immigration Courts and TV Courts” established in or near DHS Detention Centers located in obscure places where attorneys are not easily obtainable;
Overly restrictive and widely inconsistent bond determinations in Immigration Court that inhibit effective representation;
Ridiculous backlog of Recognition and Accreditation applications that impedes new opportunities for well-qualified pro bono representatives in Immigration Court (See, e.g., VIISTA Program, Villanova Law);
Failure to “swap out” a legally substandardly performing BIA and some Immigration Judges for “real, well-qualified Judges with immigration and due process expertise;”
Long-delayed e-filing, making pro bono representation more difficultand less efficient;
Overall lack of dynamic court management and appropriate professional dialogue with the private bar;
Substandard EOIR “judicial training” that puts undue burden on private attorneys, particularly those operatingpro bono;
Lack of positive precedents, particularly on asylum, that would help parties and judges move many “grantable” asylum cases through Immigration Courts fairly, efficiently, and consistently with due process and “best practices;”
Continuing lawless use of Title 42 @ Southern Border causing diversion of legal resources that could otherwise be channeled into representation!
In other words, the DOJ under Garland has failed to deliver on the promise of restoring the rule of law and promoting representation in Immigration Court. Seems like nothing short of Article I will “get the job done!”
It’s painfully obvious that the politicos running the dysfunctional Immigration Courts @ DOJ have never actually had to practice before them, particularly pro bono! So, they just go on repeating many of the uninformed mistakes of their predecessors!
Honorable Elizabeth Young Assistant Chief Immigration Judge
My good friend Professor Alberto Benitez @ GW Immigration Clinic reports:
Friends,
I’m pleased to share the news that our friend, colleague, and alum Elizabeth L. Young was appointed an Assistant Chief Immigration Judge in the Executive Office for Immigration Review of the US Department of Justice. While at GW Judge Young was a student in my Immigration Law I course, a student-attorney in the Immigration Clinic, and later interim director of the Immigration Clinic during my leave. The press release link follows.
Many congrats to Assistant Chief Judge Young. Significantly, Judge Young has a 72% asylum grant rate that has remained consistent even during the Trump-era meltdown of due process and institution of the “asylum denial culture” and anti-asylum precedents and procedures in the Immigration Courts. That assault on justice, humanity, and the rule of law drove a once higher than 50% nationwide grant rate down to an artificially-low and intentionally unfair 33%.
As all NDPA warriors know, asylum adjudication at EOIR over the past four years has become a deadly national disgrace, as yet largely unaddressed by Judge Garland, whose dozens of inexplicably lackluster appointments to the Immigration Courts to date have drawn ire and fire from human rights experts.
Assistant Chief Judge Young immediately becomes one of the few “beacons of due process, best practices, and proper asylum adjudication” in a leadership position at EOIR. Hopefully, there will be more to follow! Make no mistake, EOIR is in “meltdown mode.”
fl-undocumented-minors 2 – Judge Denise Slavin, former executive vice president of the National Association of Immigration Judges in an immigration courtrrom in Miami. Mike Stocker, Sun Sentinel — Judge Slavin is a member of the Round Table of Former Immigration JudgesGW Law Immigration Clinic Director Professor Alberto Benítez & Co-Director Paulina VeraDan Kowalski Online Editor of the LexisNexis Immigration Law Community (ILC)MeYilun Cheng Writer PHOTO: Twitter
From “For Undocumented Immigrants, a Shot at Lawful Residency Requires Risking It All” by Yilun Cheng in Borderless Magazine:
. . . .
The risk has become even higher in recent years as the Trump administration filled the immigration court system with hardline judges, according to Paul Schmidt, a former judge at the U.S. Immigration Court in Arlington, Virginia. For years, legal groups have urged the government to hire judges from diverse backgrounds to guarantee fairness in the courts, but the situation has only deteriorated in recent years, Schmidt said.
. . . .
“The Obama administration was just negligent,” Schmidt said, suspecting that former president Barack Obama left dozens of vacant immigration judgeships when he left the White House. “The new administration got a chance to fill those positions with a far-right judiciary.”
. . . .
“It’s very much a law enforcement-oriented and not a due process-oriented judiciary,” Schmidt said. “It’s just a bad time to be an individual with a case in the immigration court right now, with a bunch of unsympathetic judges, political hacks pulling the strings, and inconsistent COVID policies.”
. . . .
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Read Yilun’s full article at the link.
In the article, my friend and Round Table 🛡⚔️ colleague Judge Denise Slavin gives an excellent description of how “Aimless Docket Reshuffling” operates in a bogus “court” system run by political hacks with enforcement (and in the defeated “regime” racist) motivations.
“Ready to try” cases, many of which could be granted or should be closed, are shuffled off to the end of the docket, some without any notice on the day of trial when the respondent, his or her lawyer, and often witnesses who have taken the day from work arrive only to find out that their case has been “orbited” into the “outer space” of the EOIR backlog.
Meanwhile, cases of individuals who haven’t had time to get lawyers or been granted the preparation time required by due process are put at the front of the docket to make denial of their cases easier for “judges” who have been told that they are basically functionaries of DHS enforcement. Sometimes, the very same lawyers who have had their years-old prepared cases arbitrarily reset to oblivion are then improperly pressured and required to go forward with cases they haven’t had a chance to properly prepare or document.
Often, individuals whose cases are improperly “accelerated” recieve inadequate notice, resulting in carelessly issued, illegal “in absentia” orders that could result in improper removal or at least require heroic efforts by lawyers to get the case reopened and restored to the docket. Meanwhile, the bogus “no-show” statistics caused by the Government’s improper actions are used to build an intentionally false narrative that asylum seekers don’t show at their hearings.
The truth, of course, is the exact opposite: When given a chance to get competent representation and when the system is explained to them in understandable terms, asylum seekers show up for the overwhelming majority of their hearings, regardless of the ultimate result of their cases.
As cogently studied and stated by highly-respected “practical scholar” Professor Ingrid Eagly of UCLA Law and her colleague UCLA empirical researcher Steven Shafer, in a recent published study:
Contrary to claims that all immigrants abscond, our data-driven analysis reveals that 88% of all immigrants in immigration court with completed or pending removal cases over the past eleven years attended all of their court hearings. If we limit our analysis to only nondetained cases, we still find a high compliance rate: 83% of all respondents in completed or pending removal cases attended all of their hearings since 2008. Moreover, we reveal that 15% of those who were ordered deported in absentia since 2008 successfully reopened their cases and had their in absentia orders rescinded. Digging deeper, we identify three factors associated with in absentia removal: having a lawyer, applying for relief from removal (such as asylum), and court jurisdiction.
I’d be willing to bet that at least an equal number of individuals with in absentia orders are illegally deported because they aren’t knowledgeable enough to reopen their cases, or their reopening motions are wrongfully denied but they lack to resources to pursue appeals, which often involve prolonged periods of dangerous and abusive detention.
Obviously, an Administration actually interested in solving problems (presumably “Team Garland”) would “can the false narratives and bogus enforcement gimmicks” and concentrate on getting asylum seekers represented and increasing and raising the quality of judicial review of detention decisions. The regime’s immigration kakistocracy, of course, has moved in exactly the opposite direction.
Cooperation and coordination with the private, often pro bono, bar, essential to any well-functioning court system, has become non-existent. In fact, it is actively discouraged by DOJ politicos and their “management toadies” at EOIR, who often have mischaracterized the private bar as “the enemy” or out to “game” the system. Perversely, of course, the exact opposite is true. The regime’s immigration kakistocracy has tried over and over to use illegal methods and bogus narratives to illegally and unconstitutionally “game” the system against legitimate asylum seekers and their hard-working attorneys (actually, the only “players” in this sorry game trying to uphold “good government” and the rule of law.)
As a result, the only way for the private bar to be heard is by suing in the “real” Article III Federal Courts. This has resulted in a string of injunctions and TROs against EOIR and DHS misconduct, illegal regulations, and unlawful policies throughout the country, further adding to the chaos and inconsistencies. It also has clogged the Federal Courts with unnecessary litigation and frivolous, often disingenuous or unethical, “defenses to the indefensible” by DOJ lawyers.
This is how a dysfunctional “court system” that actually is a veneer for out of control enforcement and institutionalized racist xenophobia builds backlog. The corrupt “leaders” of this dysfunctional and unconstitutional mess then blame their victims for the delays caused by gross Government mismanagement. In turn, they use this “bogus scenario” to justify further unconstitutional restrictions of immigrants’ rights, due process, and judicial independence.
It’s a “scam” of the highest order! One that actually harms ☠️ and kills ⚰️ people, harasses lawyers, undermines the rule of law, and wastes taxpayer resources. One that has brought disgrace upon the DOJ and undermines the entire U.S. Justice system🏴☠️. One that Judge Garland and his incoming team at the DOJ must immediately end and totally reform, while holding accountable those responsible for this gross miscarriage of justice, fraud, waste, and abuse.
This is not “normal Government” or a question of “differing philosophies.” It’s outright fraud, intentional illegality, abuse of Government resources, and instititutionalized racism. It must be treated as such by the Biden Administration.
NDPA NEWS: Even In Times Of Systemic Dysfunction, Fairness, Scholarship, Timeliness, Respect, & Teamwork Among Conscientious Immigration Judges, Fair-Minded ICE Assistant Chief Counsel, & Caring, Well-Prepared Advocates From the NDPA Continue to Save Lives of the Most Vulnerable Among Us! — “I don’t know how much longer I’ll be alive, but my children will always thank you,” Says Critically Ill Respondent to Arlington Immigration Judge Cynthia S. Torg, Who Had Just Granted Her Asylum!
Paulina Vera Professorial Lecturer in Law GW Law
NDPA stalwart (and former Arlington Immigration Court Intern) Professor Paulina Vera reports:
Good afternoon,
The above is what our client said to Immigration Judge Cynthia S. Torg after she granted her asylum claim this afternoon. A-A-‘s husband was politically involved in their home country of Venezuela, actively protesting against Nicolas Maduro. Because of his political involvement, both A-A- and their 11-year-old son were targeted by security forces and threatened with their lives should the political opposition continue. Additionally, A-A- has been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and feared that she would not be able to get medical treatments in her home country due to a shortage of medical supplies there.
After a 15 minute hearing, the Immigration Judge (IJ) agreed to grant relief, which the trial attorney did not oppose. Both the IJ and trial attorney commended student-attorney, Halima Nur, JD ‘20, for her preparation. The IJ commented that because of the amount of documentation and the legal arguments presented, she was able to issue a decision quickly. In addition to their 11-year-old son, the couple has a 1.5 year old son, who was born in the United States. With this grant, the family will remain together in the U.S.
Please join me in congratulating Halima Nur, JD ‘20, and Madeleine Delurey, JD ‘20, for all their hard work on the case.
Best,
—-
Paulina Vera, Esq.
Acting Director, GW Law Immigration Clinic (Academic Year 2019-2020)
Legal Associate, Immigration Clinic
Professorial Lecturer in Law
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These are the moments that everyone, judges, lawyers, interpreters, respondents, families, “live for” in Immigration Court. It’s what “kept me going” for 13 years on the trial bench. “Building America, one case at a time,” I used to say!
It’s the “polar opposite” of the “haste makes waste gimmicks” that unqualified politicos and administrators who don’t handle regular dockets have forced on judges and parties in a system where “docket control” has effectively been disconnected from its proper objectives of achieving due process and fundamental fairness.
Unfortunately, as Miller and the restrictionists seek to farther skew the regulations to screw asylum seekers, just results like this are likely to be even harder to achieve. That means that more and more asylum applicants will have to appeal to the Article III Courts, flawed as they have become, for any chance whatsoever of achieving a fair and unbiased outcome. I also discussed this unhappy likely future development in my post at the preceding link.
Thanks again to Judge Torg, the ICE Assistant Chief Counsel, Paulina, and GW Clinic Student AttorneysHalima Nur, JD ‘20, and Madeleine Delurey, JD ‘20, for being inspiring examples of how the Immigration Court system could work to achieve “due process and fundamental fairness with efficiency” under “different management” and an “independent structure” in the future.
I am excited to announce two recent Immigration Clinic wins!
1) On December 4th, Judge Deepali Nadkarni of the Arlington Immigration Court granted administrative closure in an Immigration Clinic case. The client, A-M-, and his wife, P-M-, are both represented by the Clinic in their respective cases. P-M- has pending U and T visa applications before USCIS, which are for victims of crimes and trafficking victims, respectively. P-M-‘s applications are based on horrific childhood sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepfather. A-M- is a derivative on P-M-‘s application; however, A-M- is in removal proceedings and Immigration Judges do not have jurisdiction over these types of applications.
Judge Nadkarni commented on student attorney, Samuel Thomas, JD ’20, “very large” filing and issued a written decision a few weeks after a brief hearing. A-M- will now be able to stay in the U.S. with P-M- and their three small U.S. citizen children while they wait for a decision on the U and/or T visas.
Please join me in congratulating student-attorneys Samuel Thomas, who filed the motion for admin closure, and Madeleine Delurey, JD ’20, who filed the U and T visas for P-M-!
2) On December 23, 2019, I won a hearing for Cancellation of Removal for Certain Permanent Residents for our client, M-D-C-. M-D-C-, born in Chile, has been a permanent resident for over 29 years but was put into removal proceedings because of several criminal convictions in his record, the last of which took place 15 years ago. M-D-C- is currently on a heart transplant list and has very close relationships with his U.S. citizen wife and daughter. In fact, his daughter, C-D-C-, stated in her affidavit, “I owe a lot of the woman I have become and am to [my dad] and I love him with my whole heart.” Immigration Judge Wynne P. Kelly called the case “close” and said that he was “granting by a hair” after a three-hour hearing where both wife and daughter testified.
Please join me in congratulating Clinic alum, Chris Carr, JD ’17, and student-attorney, Amy Lattari, JD ’20, who both worked on the case with me. A special shout-out goes to Clinic alumna, Anam Rahman, JD ’12, who assisted in mooting M-D-C- and family.
Best,
—
Paulina Vera, Esq.
Professorial Lecturer in Law
Acting Director, Immigration Clinic (Academic Year 2019-2020)
Legal Associate, Immigration Clinic
The George Washington University Law School
2000 G St, NW
Washington, DC 20052
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Many congrats Paulina, Samuel, Madeline, Chris, Amy, and Anam! Due Process is indeed a team effort!
As a number of us in the Round Table of Former Immigration Judges have observed, even under today‘s intentionally adverse conditions, justice is still achievable with 1) access to well-qualified counsel, and 2) fair, impartial, and scholarly Immigration Judges with the necessary legal expertise.
Unfortunately, the Trump Regime, in its never-ending “War on Due Process,” has worked tirelessly to make the foregoing conditions the exception rather than the rule.
Hats off once again to Judge Deepali Nadkarni who resigned her Assistant Chief Judge position to go “down in the trenches” of Arlington and bring some much-needed fairness, impartiality, scholarship, independence, and courage to a system badly in need of all of those qualities!
This also shows what a difference a courageous Circuit Court decision standing up against the scofflaw nonsense of Jeff Sessions and Billy Barr, rather than “going along to get along,” can make. One factor greatly and unnecessarily aggravating the 1.3 million + Immigration Court backlog is the regime’s mindlessly filling the docket with re-calendared and other “low priority/high equity” cases that should be closed and remain closed as a proper exercise of prosecutorial discretion. Sessions’s Castro-Tum decision, soundly rejected by the 4th Circuit inZuniga Romero v. Barr, is one a number unconscionable and unethical abuses of authority by Attorney Generals Sessions and Barr.
I am pleased to report that at tonight’s GW Latinx Excellence Awards ceremony – https://mssc.gwu.edu/latinx-leader-awards – our friend, colleague, and alum Professor Paulina Vera, pnvera@law.gwu.edu, won the Alma Award. Please see below. The nominees for this award are charismatic individuals who continuously make a difference and lead by example, not only within the Latinx community, but also throughout our broader community. These individuals, often unsung heroes of our community, inspire others to make a difference and assume their leadership potential.
Alberto Manuel Benitez
Professor of Clinical Law
Director, Immigration Clinic
The George Washington University Law School
650 20th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052
(202) 994-7463
(202) 994-4946 fax abenitez@law.gwu.edu
THE WORLD IS YOURS…
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Paulina is a former Legal Intern at the Arlington Immigration Court. So proud of her and her many achievements. Paulina is totally brilliant and could have done anything; she has chosen to devote this part of her career to helping humanity, inspiring aspiring lawyers to “be the best that they can be,” and serving as a role model for others.
Thanks, Paulina, for all you do. You are truly inspiring others and bringing out the best in America!
