Immigration Crisis – Page 35 – immigrationcourtside.com

⚖️🗽 US JUDGE IN SAN DIEGO EVISCERATES TRUMP’S ILLEGAL AND IMMORAL “TURNBACKS” OF ASYLUM APPLICANTS; MAYORKAS TERMINATES REMAIN IN MEXICO (AGAIN) EVEN AS RED RESTRICTIONIST AGs FILE MORE FRIVOLOUS OBJECTIONS! 🤮

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12R1mt07Z4S7R7xiieRUznueR9DRXrBdq/view?usp=sharing

Al Otro Lado v. Mayorkas

U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant minces no words in blasting both the unlawful, cruel, and unconstitutional policy and the Supreme’s toxic decision to look the other way as immigration enforcement runs roughshod over legal, constitutional, and human rights.

In its September 2, 2021 decision, this Court held the right to access the U.S. asylum

process conferred vis a vis § 1158(a)(1) applies extraterritorially to noncitizens who are

arriving at Class A POEs along the U.S.-Mexico border, but who are not yet within the

jurisdiction of the United States, and is of a constitutional dimension. (Op. Granting in

Part and Denying in Part Parties’ Cross-Mots. for Summ. J. (“MSJ Opinion”), ECF No.

742.) It further held that Defendants’ systematic turnbacks of asylum seekers arriving at

Class A POEs (the “Turnback Policy”) amounted to an unlawful withholding by

immigration officials of their mandatory ministerial “inspection and referral duties”

detailed in 8 U.S.C. § 1225 (“§ 1225”), in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act,

5 U.S.C. § 706(1) et seq., and the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause. (MSJ Opinion at

33–34, 37–38); see 8 U.S.C. §§ 1225(a)(3) (mapping out immigration officials’ duty to

inspect asylum seekers), 1225(b)(1)(A)(ii) (mapping out immigration officials’ duty to

refer asylum seekers to the U.S-asylum process).

In casting appropriate equitable relief to rectify the irreparable injury Defendants’

unauthorized and constitutionally violative Turnback Policy has inflicted upon members

of the Plaintiff class,2 this Court ordinarily would be guided by the fundamental principle

that an equitable remedy should be commensurate with the violations it is designed to

vindicate. See Columbus Bd. of Educ. v. Penick, 443 U.S. 449, 465 (1979) (“[It is an]

accepted rule that the remedy imposed by a court of equity should be commensurate with

the violation ascertained.”). Equitable relief should leave no stone unturned: it should

correct entirely the violations it is aimed at vindicating. That cornerstone of Article III

courts’ equitable powers generally is unfaltering, whether the party against whom an

injunction is sought is a private entity, a state actor, or, as here, a federal official. Thus, in

2 Plaintiffs consist of the named Plaintiffs listed in the case caption, along with a certified class

consisting of “all noncitizens who seek or will seek to access the U.S. asylum process by presenting

themselves at a Class A [POE] on the U.S.-Mexico border, and were or will be denied access to the U.S.

asylum process by or at the instruction of [Customs and Border Protection] officials on or after January 1,

2016.” (Class Certification Order at 18, ECF No. 513.) The Court also certified a subclass consisting of

“all noncitizens who were or will be denied access to the U.S. asylum process at a Class A POE on the

U.S.-Mexico border as a result of Defendants’ metering policy on or after January 1, 2016.” (Id.)

– 3 – 17cv2366

the ordinary course of things, this Court would not hesitate to issue broad, programmatic

relief enjoining Defendants from now, or in the future, turning back asylum seekers in the

process of arriving at Class A POEs, absent a valid statutory basis for doing so.

Yet the circumstances with which this Court is presented are not ordinary because

of the extraordinary, intervening decision of the United States Supreme Court in Garland

v. Aleman Gonzalez, 142 S. Ct. 2057 (2022). That decision takes a sledgehammer to the

premise that immigration enforcement agencies are bound to implement their mandatory

ministerial duties prescribed by Congress, including their obligation to inspect and refer

arriving noncitizens for asylum, and that, when immigration enforcement agencies deviate

from those duties, lower courts have authority to issue equitable relief to enjoin the

resulting violations. It does so through unprecedented expansion of a provision of the

Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1989 (“IIRIRA”), 8

U.S.C. § 1252(f)(1) et seq. (“§ 1252(f)(1)”), which for years the Ninth Circuit has

interpreted as placing a relatively narrow limit on injunctive relief. In essence, Aleman

Gonzalez holds that § 1252(f)(1) prohibits lower courts from issuing class-wide injunctions

that “require officials to take actions that (in the Government’s view) are not required” by

certain removal statutes, including § 1225, or “to refrain from actions that (again in the

Government’s view) are allowed” by those same provisions. Id., 142 S. Ct. at 2065.

Federal courts (except for the Supreme Court) now may only issue injunctions enjoining

federal officials’ unauthorized implementation of the removal statutes in the individual

cases of noncitizens against whom removal proceedings have been initiated. See id.

In no uncertain terms, the logical extension of Aleman Gonzalez appears to bestow

immigration enforcement agencies carte blanche to implement immigration enforcement

policies that clearly are unauthorized by the statutes under which they operate because the

Government need only claim authority to implement to immunize itself from the federal

judiciary’s oversight.

With acknowledgment that its decision will further contribute to the human suffering

of asylum seekers enduring squalid and dangerous conditions in Mexican border

– 4 – 17cv2366

communities as they await entry to POEs, this Court finds the shadow of Aleman Gonzalez

inescapable in this case. Even the most narrow, meaningful equitable relief would have

the effect of interfering with the “operation” of § 1225, as that term is construed by the

Aleman Gonzalez Court, and, thus, would clash with § 1252(f)(1)’s remedy bar. Aleman

Gonzalez not only renders uneconomical vindication of Plaintiff class members’

statutorily- and constitutionally-protected right to apply for asylum, those inefficiencies

inevitably will lead to innumerable instances in which Plaintiff class members will be

unable to vindicate their rights at all. Thus, while the majority and dissent in Aleman

Gonzalez hash out their textual disagreements concerning § 1252(f)(1)’s scope in terms of

remedies, make no mistake, Aleman Gonzalez leaves largely unrestrained immigration

enforcement agencies to rapaciously scale back rights. See Tracy A. Thomas, Ubi Jus, Ibi

Remedium: The Fundamental Right to a Remedy Under Due Process, 41 San Diego L.

Rev. 1633, 1634 (2004) (“Disputes over remedies provide a convenient way for dissenters

to resist conformance to legal guarantees. Courts can declare rights, but then default in the

remedy to avoid a politically unpopular result.” (footnote omitted)).

Although it is no substitute for a permanent injunction, class-wide declaratory relief

is both available and warranted here. In lieu of even a circumscribed injunction enjoining

Defendants from again implementing a policy under which they turn back asylum seekers

presenting themselves at POEs along the U.S.-Mexico border, the Court enters a

declaration in accordance with its MSJ Opinion that turning back asylum seekers

constitutes both an unlawful withholding of Defendants’ mandatory ministerial inspection

and referral duties under § 1158 and § 1225 in violation of both the APA and the Fifth

Amendment Due Process Clause. The Court also issues relief as necessary to named

Plaintiff Beatrice Doe.

. . . .

You can read Judge Bashant’s full opinion at the link.

Meanwhile, Secretary Mayorkas exercised the authority recognized by the Supremes in Biden v. Texas to terminate the reprehensible and illegal “Remain in Mexico” (a/k/a “Let ‘Em Die in Mexico”) program engineered by Trump and Miller. Predictably, the same scofflaw, restrictionist “Red AG’s” who had instituted frivolous litigation to block this long overdue action filed more specious objections with the Trump-appointed US District Judge, as advocacy groups like Justice Action Center (“JAC”) pledged to fight the racist right until this vile (and highly ineffective) program is finally ended.

JAC Responds to Official Termination of Remain in Mexico, Attempts by Texas to Delay Wind-Down

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 9, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a victory for immigrants’ rights movement, the Remain in Mexico program has been officially terminated after court proceedings following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Biden v. Texas on June 30. Below is a statement from Justice Action Center founder and director Karen Tumlin:

“The official end to shameful Remain in Mexico program is a victory for the immigrants’ rights movement and the right to asylum. RMX is a stain on the country’s history, having harmed tens of thousands of people fleeing for their lives since the Trump Administration instituted the unlawful and immoral program in 2019.

“Since the Supreme Court’s ruling affirming the authority of the Biden Administration to end the RMX program, the #SafeNotStranded campaign has called on the President and DHS to implement a swift and humane wind-down, including halting all new enrollments and allowing everyone in RMX to safely pursue their asylum claims in the U.S. Yesterday, DHS stated its wind-down has begun and new people will not be enrolled in the program, and that it would disenroll individuals with upcoming RMX hearings. These are important first steps to finally redress just some of the immense harm inflicted by the program.

“This commitment by DHS, following such a significant SCOTUS victory, illustrates the strength and resilience of the immigrants’ rights movement. But even after a clear loss, Texas is continuing its hateful attempts to keep this deadly program in place for as long as possible: After the District Court rightfully vacated its injunction of the RMX wind-down yesterday, Texas unfortunately—yet unsurprisingly—filed an amended complaint challenging the second DHS memo rescinding RMX, as well as a motion asking the District Court to stay the memo’s effective date.

“But we will not be deterred: advocates will continue to fight back against ongoing red state efforts to continue Trump’s racist and xenophobic agenda and work towards a world where all people fleeing danger can be safe, not stranded.”

# # #

Contact: Tasha Moro; 323-450-7269; tasha.moro@justiceactioncenter.org

Justice Action Center (JAC) is a new nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting for greater justice for immigrant communities by combining litigation and storytelling. JAC is committed to bringing additional litigation resources to address unmet needs, empower clients, and change the corrosive narrative around immigrants in the U.S. Learn more at justiceactioncenter.org and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Related:

8/1/22: JAC Responds to Supreme Court’s Certification of Decision on Remain in Mexico; Encourages Swift and Humane Wind-Down of Deadly Program

6/30/22: Justice Action Center Welcomes Positive Supreme Court Decision on Remain in Mexico in Biden v. Texas

3/21/22: #SafeNotStranded Campaign Launches Ahead of April Supreme Court Arguments in Biden v. Texas

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

We should remember that the Trumpest GOP’s insurrectionist war on American democracy and attack on truth and human decency began with overt lies and racist attacks on migrants of color and non-Christians. It has escalated to become an all out assault on our future as a nation of laws and values.

We can’t go back to a time when liberals and progressives viewed immigration as a tangental or secondary issue. It is THE all-encompassing issue now in preserving American democracy from GOP efforts to destabilize and destroy our nation’s fabric from bottom to top!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

08-11-22

🏴‍☠️☠️DANA MILBANK @ WASHPOST: THE JIM CROW GOP WAS AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO AMERICAN DEMOCRACY LONG BEFORE TRUMP — Today’s Absurdist & Corrupt GOP Reaction TO DOJ’s Long Overdue Investigation Of Trump’s Treason & Criminality Is The Predictable Result Of Many Years Of Corrupt, Racist, Authoritarianism!

\https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/04/dana-milbank-republican-destructionists-book-excerpt/

. . . .

Much has been made of the ensuing polarization in our politics, and it’s true that moderates are a vanishing breed. But the problem isn’t primarily polarization. The problem is that one of our two major political parties has ceased good-faith participation in the democratic process. Of course, there are instances of violence, disinformation, racism and corruption among Democrats and the political left, but the scale isn’t at all comparable. Only one party fomented a bloody insurrection and even after that voted in large numbers (139 House Republicans, a two-thirds majority) to overturn the will of the voters in the 2020 election. Only one party promotes a web of conspiracy theories in place of facts. Only one party is trying to restrict voting and discredit elections. Only one party is stoking fear of minorities and immigrants.

Admittedly, I’m partisan — not for Democrats but for democrats. Republicans have become an authoritarian faction fighting democracy — and there’s a perfectly logical reason for this: Democracy is working against Republicans. In the eight presidential contests since 1988, the GOP candidate has won a majority of the popular vote only once, in 2004. As the United States approaches majority-minority status (the White population, 76 percent of the country in 1990, is now 58 percent and will drop below 50 percent around 2045), Republicans have become the voice of White people, particularly those without college degrees, who fear the loss of their way of life in a multicultural America. White grievance and White fear drive Republican identity more than any other factor — and in turn drive the tribalism and dysfunction in the U.S. political system.

Other factors sped the party’s turn toward nihilism: Concurrent with the rise of Gingrich was the ascent of conservative talk radio, followed by the triumph of Fox News, followed by the advent of social media. Combined, they created a media environment that allows Republican politicians and their voters to seal themselves in an echo chamber of “alternative facts.” Globally, south-to-north migration has ignited nationalist movements around the world and created a new era of autocrats. The disappearance of the Greatest Generation, tempered by war, brought to power a new generation of culture warriors.

Dana Milbank: In the GOP, the paranoid fringe is becoming the establishment

But the biggest cause is race. The parties re-sorted themselves after the epochal changes of the 1960s, which expanded civil rights, voting rights and immigration. Richard Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” began an appeal to White voters alienated by racial progress, and, in the years that followed, a new generation of Republicans took that racist undertone and made it the melody.

It is crucial to understand that Donald Trump didn’t create this noxious environment. He isn’t some hideous, orange Venus emerging from the half-shell. Rather, he is a brilliant opportunist; he saw the direction the Republican Party was taking and the appetites it was stoking. The onetime pro-choice advocate of universal health care reinvented himself to give Republicans what they wanted. Because Trump is merely a reflection of the sickness in the GOP, the problem won’t go away when he does.

. . . .

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

Read the full excerpt from “The Destructionists: The Twenty-Five Year Crack-Up of the Republican Party” by Dana Milbank at the link.

As I noted in yesterday’s post, racially charged lies, myths, knowingly false narratives, and bogus attempts to tie migrants to all the ills of society are a key part of the GOP’s toxic narrative! The continuing campaign of hate and misinformation began with immigrants — but as this article suggests, it won’t end until either the GOP is thrown out of office at all levels or our nation’s constitutional structure and democratic republic are in tatters!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

08-09-22

🇺🇸🗽⚖️NDPA ACTIVISTS HELP BEAT BACK GOP NATIVIST SPOILER AMENDMENTS TO RECONCILIATION BILL — Dems Need To Win Midterms To Thwart Newest GOP Immigration Hate Plan!

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

“Sir Jeffrey” Chase reports:

Hi: I just heard that all of the anti-immigration measures that Republicans attempted to add as amendments to the reconciliation bill were defeated.

I’m so in awe of the advocates who were up all night monitoring the process and weighing in with Senators’ offices.

Best, Jeff

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

James “Jim” Crow
Symbol of American Racism, Now At The Heart of The GOP Immigration Agenda

But, don’t relax or breathe a sign of relief. The GOP is very up front about the Jim Crow hate agenda they plan to roll out if they gain control of Congress in the midterms. Here is is in all it’s dishonesty, cruelty, and racist agitation:

https://republicans-homeland.house.gov/media/2022/07/Border-Rollout-one-pager_FINAL_formatted.pdf

Yes, you can expect Biden to veto any of this. But, it still will disrupt the business of Congress and will lead to hate rhetoric, lies, and racist stereotypes being hurled against immigrants and people of color. There is virtually no chance that the GOP would have the votes to override the vetoes in both Houses.

Still, upcoming generations of younger Americans will have to decide whether they want to live and raise their children in the the “American Hungary” — a neo-Nazi state where racial and ethic hatred and anti-Semitism will be at the center of all authoritarian Government policy. If not, the younger generation of the NDPA needs to come up with ways of keeping the GOP out of political power from the top to the bottom.

However welcome, the latest hard-fought victory over racist nativism and xenophobia was just the beginning of the struggle for the heart and soul of America.

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

08-08-22

DAN KOWALSKI: “YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS STUFF UP!” — All Three Branches Combine To Produce Absurdity!🤯

CAUTION: You are about to enter the “Mayorkas-Garland Twilight Zone!”
The Twilight Zone Billy Mumy 1961.jpg
:PHOTO: Public Realm

Check out this US Magistrate Judge’s recommended decision from Houston in Desai v. Mayorkas:

Desai 31 7-26-22

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

There used to be a saying at the”Legacy INS:” “Truth is stranger than fiction, and INS is stranger than truth!”

It’s symbolic of the dysfunction in our immigration system that nobody with some common sense at either DHS or DOJ has stepped up to resolve this nonsense! Can’t anyone in Government solve a problem these days?

I inherited a few of these “forever” cases during my career on the bench. For the most part, with the help of cooperative lawyers on both sides, we were able to “make them go away” without stomping on anyone’s rights.

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

08-07-22

⚖️👩🏽‍⚖️👨🏽‍⚖️🗽🗽🇺🇸 GARLAND’S LATEST IMMIGRATION JUDGE APPOINTMENTS SHOW QUALITY, DIVERSITY! — Noted “Practical Scholars” Hoffman, Racine, Haer Join The Bench As “Balance” Between Gov. & Private Sector Appointments Improves Significantly!

Here’s the list of the 19 newly appointed U.S. Immigration Judges: https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDAsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMjA4MDUuNjE4NDgwNTEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5qdXN0aWNlLmdvdi9lb2lyL3BhZ2UvZmlsZS8xNTI0MzM2L2Rvd25sb2FkIn0.9Wv3WdIlGNb8WuNMytym1WmPC51-32QHaSCK76FgdYo/s/842922301/br/142150174324-l

NOTICE

U.S. Department of Justice

Executive Office for Immigration Review

Office of Policy

5107 Leesburg Pike

Falls Church, Virginia 22041

Contact: Communications and Legislative Affairs Division Phone: 703-305-0289 PAO.EOIR@usdoj.gov

www.justice.gov/eoir @DOJ_EOIR

Aug. 5, 2022

EOIR Announces 19 New Immigration Judges

FALLS CHURCH, VA – The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) today announced the appointment of 19 immigration judges to courts in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

EOIR continues to work to expand its immigration judge corps and welcomes qualified candidates from all backgrounds to join the agency. In addition to making a difference through service to our Nation, immigration judges join a diverse and inclusive workforce. Individuals interested in these critical positions are invited to sign up for job alerts that are sent when new opportunities become available.

After a thorough application process, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland appointed Tanisha L. Bowens-McCatty, Michael P. Davis, James T. Dehn, Julia E. Egy, Ashley Gadson-Andrews, Amy F. Haer, Robert J. Herrington, Geoffrey A. Hoffman, Maria L. Jaimes-Salgado, Christina M. Jimenez, Christopher M. Kozoll, Nicole A. Lane, Francis M. Mwangi, Alex D. Perez, Xavier F. Racine, Raphael G. Rojas, Marc B. Stahl, Michelle M. Venci, and Mary C. Vergona to their new positions.

Biographical information follows:

Tanisha L. Bowens-McCatty, Immigration Judge, Hyattsville Immigration Court

Tanisha L. Bowens-McCatty was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in August 2022. Judge Bowens-McCatty earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1997 from the University of North Florida and a Juris Doctor in 2001 from the Florida State University College of Law. From 2013 to 2021, she worked for the American Bar Association’s Commission on Immigration in Washington, D.C., serving as the Associate Director (2013-2020) and the Director of Legal Initiatives and Member Engagement (2020-2021). From 2006 to 2011, she worked for the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., in Washington, D.C., in the following roles: Senior Project Coordinator for the National Pro Bono Project for Children (2010-2011); Project Coordinator for the Raids Preparedness & Response Project (2008-2010); and Legalization Attorney (2006-2008). From 2004 to 2006, she was a supervising attorney for Catholic Charities Legal Services of the Archdiocese of Miami in Miami and in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Broward County Satellite Office, and from 2003 to 2004 she worked as a staff attorney. From 2001 to

Communications and Legislative Affairs Division

EOIR Announces 19 New Immigration Judges Page 2

2003, she was a staff attorney with Americans for Immigrant Justice (formerly the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center) in Miami. Judge Bowens-McCatty is a member of the Florida Bar.

Michael P. Davis, Immigration Judge, Sterling Immigration Court

Michael P. Davis was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in August 2022. Judge Davis earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1997 from John Carroll University and a Juris Doctor in 2000 from the University of Illinois College of Law. From 2016 to 2022, he served as the Executive Deputy Principal Legal Advisor, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security. From 2012 to 2016, he served as ICE Deputy Principal Legal Advisor for Enforcement and Litigation. From 2005 to 2012, held the following roles at ICE: Appellate Counsel (2005-2007); Deputy Chief (2007-2009); and Chief of the ICE Immigration Law and Practice Division (2009-2012). From 2003 to 2005, he served as Associate Counsel, Refugee and Asylum Law Division, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security. From 2000 to 2003, he served as an assistant district counsel with the former Immigration and Naturalization Service in Los Angeles, entering on duty through the Attorney General’s Honors Program. Judge Davis is a member of the State Bar of California.

James T. Dehn, Immigration Judge, Sterling Immigration Court

James T. Dehn was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in August 2022. Judge Dehn earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1995 from George Mason University, a Master of Arts in 1998 from the Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, and a Juris Doctor in 1998 from the Syracuse College of Law. From 2020 to 2022, he served as the Chief Appellate Counsel at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Washington, D.C. From 2019 to 2020, he served as an attorney advisor at the Office of Chief Counsel, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, in Washington, D.C. From 2005 to 2019, he served as an attorney advisor at the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, ICE, in Washington, D.C. Also, from 2007 to 2011, he served as a government appellate counsel, and from 2002 to 2006, as a trial defense counsel, in the U.S. Army Reserve, Judge Advocate General’s Corps, National Capital Region. From 2000 to 2005, he served as an attorney advisor at the Office of General Counsel, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, in Washington, D.C. From 1998 to 1999, he was an associate attorney at Whelan, DeMaio & Kiszkiel PA, in Miami. Judge Dehn is a member of the Maryland State Bar.

Julia E. Egy, Immigration Judge, Sterling Immigration Court

Julia E. Egy was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in August 2022. Judge Egy earned a Bachelor of Journalism in 1997 from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a Juris Doctor in 2002 from American University Washington College of Law. From 2014 to 2022, she served as a senior panel attorney with the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), Executive Office for Immigration Review. From 2012 to 2014, she served as a supervisory attorney, and from 2004 to 2012, as an attorney advisor, with the BIA. From 2003 to 2004, she was in private practice. From 2002 to 2003, she served as a judicial law clerk for the Baltimore, Philadelphia, and York immigration courts. Judge Egy is a member of the Missouri Bar.

Communications and Legislative Affairs Division

EOIR Announces 19 New Immigration Judges Page 3

Ashley Gadson-Andrews, Immigration Judge, Los Angeles – Olive Street Immigration Court

Ashley Gadson-Andrews was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in August 2022. Judge Gadson-Andrews earned a Bachelor of Science in 2008 from the University of Arizona – Eller College of Management and a Juris Doctor in 2011 from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. From 2013 to 2022, she served as a deputy district attorney at the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office. From 2012 to 2013, she was a trial attorney with the Los Angeles Dependency Lawyers at Edelman Children’s Court in Monterey Park, California. Judge Gadson-Andrews is a member of the State Bar of California.

Amy F. Haer, Immigration Judge, Atlanta – W. Peachtree Street Immigration Court

Amy F. Haer was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in August 2022. Judge Haer earned a Bachelor of Science in 2003 from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Juris Doctor in 2008 from the George Washington University Law School. From 2017 to 2022, she was the Director of Immigration Legal Services at Catholic Charities Atlanta. From 2015 to 2017, she was the Associate Director for Immigration and Refugee Services at Catholic Community Services – Tucson (CCS-T). From 2012 to 2015, she was the Program Director for the Immigrant Survivors Legal Assistance Program at CCS-T. From 2008 to 2012, she was a staff attorney with Catholic Charities Atlanta. Judge Haer is a member of the State Bar of Georgia.

Robert J. Herrington, Immigration Judge, Los Angeles – Olive Street Immigration Court

Robert J. Herrington was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in August 2022. Judge Herrington earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1975 from the University of Southwestern Louisiana and a Juris Doctor in 1985 from the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center. From 2005 to 2022, he was a criminal defense lawyer in Plano, Texas. From 1998 to 2005, he served as an assistant federal public defender at the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Dallas. From 1996 to 1997, he was a general practitioner in Dallas. From 1991 to 1995, he served as a staff attorney at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and then at the Resolution Trust Corporation. From 1988 to 1991, he served as a law clerk to the U.S Bankruptcy Court. From 1985 to 1988, he was an immigration lawyer in private practice. Judge Herrington is a member of the State Bar of Texas.

Geoffrey A. Hoffman, Immigration Judge, Houston – S. Gessner Road Immigration Court

Geoffrey A. Hoffman was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in August 2022. Judge Hoffman earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1991 from Columbia College, Columbia University, a Juris Doctor in 1997 from Tulane Law School, and a Master of Laws in 2004 from Harvard Law School. From 2009 to 2022, he served as Director of the Immigration Clinic at the University of Houston Law Center. From 2004 to 2009, he practiced immigration law at Kurzban, Kurzban, Weinger, and Tetzeli PA in Miami. From 1998 to 2000, Judge Hoffman served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Paul V. Gadola U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Judge Hoffman is a member of the Florida Bar and the State Bar of Michigan.

Communications and Legislative Affairs Division

EOIR Announces 19 New Immigration Judges Page 4

Maria L. Jaimes-Salgado, Immigration Judge, Houston – Greenspoint Park Immigration Court

Maria L. Jaimes-Salgado was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in August 2022. Judge Jaimes-Salgado earned a Bachelor of Science in 2006 from the University of Houston-Downtown and a Juris Doctor in 2009 from Texas South University Thurgood Marshall School of Law. From 2021 to 2022, she was an associate attorney with the Law Office of Velia E. Rosas PLLC in Houston. From 2019 to 2022, she was in private practice in Houston. From 2012 to 2019, she was managing attorney, and from 2009 to 2012, she was an associate attorney, at the Law Office of Isaias Torres PC in Houston. Judge Jaimes-Salgado is a member of the State Bar of Texas.

Christina M. Jimenez, Immigration Judge, Arlington Immigration Court

Christina M. Jimenez was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in August 2022. Judge Jimenez earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1997 from the University of Washington and a Juris Doctor in 2001 from Boston University. From 2002 to 2022, she served as an attorney and a trial judge with the U.S. Air Force in the following locations: Royal Air Force Lakenheath, United Kingdom; Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea; Kadena Air Base, Japan; Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C.; Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea; Lajes Field, Azores, Portugal; Joint Base Andrews, Maryland; and Travis Air Force Base, California. In 2022, she retired as a colonel from the U.S. Air Force, having last served as the Chief Circuit Military Judge for the Western Circuit. Judge Jimenez is a member of the Massachusetts Bar.

Chris M. Kozoll, Immigration Judge, Memphis Immigration Court

Chris M. Kozoll was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in August 2022. Judge Kozoll earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1993 from the University of Notre Dame, a Master of Arts in 2000 from Gonzaga University, and a Juris Doctor in 2004 from the University of Colorado School of Law. From 2010 to 2022, he was a partner at Kozoll & Associates Immigration Law PLLC. From 2007 to 2010, he served as an associate attorney with the Law Office of Dennis M. Clare PSC. In 2007, he was a contract attorney at Lichter Associates PC. From 2004 to 2007, he worked as an associate attorney with the Joseph Law Firm PC. Judge Kozoll is a member of the Kentucky Bar.

Nicole A. Lane, Immigration Judge, Newark Immigration Court

Nicole A. Lane was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in August 2022. Judge Lane earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1996 from the State University of New York at Albany and a Juris Doctor in 1999 from the George Washington University Law School. From 2018 to 2022, she served as an assistant director at the New York State Adjudication Services Office. From 2012 to 2018, she served as a senior Administrative Law Judge, and from 2008 to 2012, she served as an Administrative Law Judge at the New York State Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board. From 2005 to 2008, she was a director of public affairs at New York City Health and Hospitals in Harlem, New York, and worked as a public policy analyst prior to that. Judge Lane is a member of the New Jersey State Bar and New York State Bar, and is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States.

Communications and Legislative Affairs Division

EOIR Announces 19 New Immigration Judges Page 5

Francis M. Mwangi, Immigration Judge, Fort Worth Immigration Adjudication Center

Francis M. Mwangi was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in August 2022. Judge Mwangi earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1991 from Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya, a Juris Doctor in 1997 from the West Virginia University College of Law, and a Master of Laws in 2011 from the University of Houston Law Center. From 2019 to 2022, he was an attorney supervisor, and from 2016 to 2019, a staff attorney, in the Legal Services Section at State Counsel for Offenders, Texas Board of Criminal Justice. From 2003 to 2016, he was in private immigration practice in Maryland and Texas. From 1997 to 2003, he was an associate with the immigration law firm of Blaine L. Gilbert & Associates in Baltimore. Judge Mwangi is a member of the Maryland State Bar, State Bar of Texas, and West Virginia State Bar.

Alex D. Perez, Immigration Judge, Houston – Greenspoint Park Immigration Court

Alex D. Perez was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in August 2022. Judge Perez earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2006 from Northwestern University and a Juris Doctor in 2009 from the University of Houston Law Center. From 2019 to 2022, he served as a deputy chief counsel, and from 2010 to 2019, as an assistant chief counsel, with the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security in Houston. From 2009 to 2010, he worked in private practice in Houston. Judge Perez is a member of the State Bar of Texas.

Xavier F. Racine, Immigration Judge, Sterling Immigration Court

Xavier F. Racine was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in August 2022. Judge Racine earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1998 from Boston College and a Juris Doctor in 2001 from Suffolk University Law School. From 2014 to 2021, he was a partner at Priale & Racine PLC. From 2008 to 2014, he was a partner at Marks Calderon Derwin & Racine PLC. From 2002 to 2008, he was a senior associate at Montagut & Sobral PC. From 2001 to 2002, he was an associate with Jaime Aparisi & Associates LLC. Judge Racine is a member of the Massachusetts Bar, as well as the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Raphael G. Rojas, Immigration Judge, Orlando Immigration Court

Raphael G. Rojas was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in August 2022. Judge Rojas earned a Bachelor of Science in 1990 from Long Island University at C.W. Post Campus, a Juris Doctor in 1994 from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Law, and a Master of Laws in Health Law in 1996 from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. From 2008 to 2022, he served as Superior Judge at the Judicial Branch of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. From 2006 to 2008, he was in private practice in Puerto Rico. From 2000 to 2006, he served as Municipal Judge at the Judicial Branch of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. From 1995 to 2000, he was in private practice in Puerto Rico. Judge Rojas is a member of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Bar.

Communications and Legislative Affairs Division

EOIR Announces 19 New Immigration Judges Page 6

Marc B. Stahl, Immigration Judge, Chicago Immigration Court

Marc B. Stahl was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in August 2022. Judge Stahl earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1988 from Georgetown University and a Juris Doctor in 1991 from the University of Chicago Law School. From 1991 to 2021, he served as an assistant public defender in the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender in Chicago, and from 2016 to 2021, he was the Chief of the Felony Trial Division. From January to July 2022, he was in private practice. Judge Stahl is a member of the Illinois State Bar.

Michelle M. Venci, Immigration Judge, Chicago Immigration Court

Michelle M. Venci was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in August 2022. Judge Venci earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1997 from the University of Notre Dame and a Juris Doctor in 2002 from Chicago-Kent College of Law. From 2010 to 2022, she served as an assistant chief counsel, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security, in Chicago. From 2007 to 2010, she served as an assistant chief counsel, OPLA, ICE in Orlando, Florida. From 2002 to 2007, she served as an Assistant State’s Attorney with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Chicago. Judge Venci is a member of the Illinois State Bar.

Mary Catherine Vergona, Immigration Judge, Sterling Immigration Court

Mary Catherine Vergona was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in August 2022. Judge Vergona earned a Bachelor of Science in 1987 from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, a Juris Doctor in 1997 from The University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, and a Master of Laws in Military Law in 2005 from The Judge Advocate’s General Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Virginia. From 1998 to 2022, Judge Vergona served as a Judge Advocate General in the U.S. Army, culminating with her serving as a Circuit Judge from 2019 to 2022 at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Judge Vergona is a member of the Virginia State Bar.

— EOIR —

The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is an agency within the Department of Justice. EOIR’s mission is to adjudicate immigration cases by fairly, expeditiously, and uniformly interpreting and administering the Nation’s immigration laws. Under delegated authority from the Attorney General, EOIR conducts immigration court proceedings, appellate reviews, and administrative hearings. EOIR is committed to ensuring fairness in all cases it adjudicates.

Communications and Legislative Affairs Division

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

Congrats to all! Looks like a well-qualified group with a big job ahead of them. For me, personally, three names particularly stand out.

Professor Geoffrey Hoffman — Judge Geoffrey Hoffman, Houston Immigraton Court

Judge Geoffrey Hoffman of the Houston (S. Gessner Rd.) Immigration Court was most recently the Director of the Immigration Clinic at Houston Law and a noted immigraton litigator and universally respected scholar whose work I have cited and published on Courtside.

Judge Xavier Racine of the Sterling (VA) Immigration Court is an outstanding practitioner who appeared many times before me at Arlington. I also particularly remember that he generously shared his time and expertise with our JLCs and summer interns as a frequent participant in our Brown Bag Lunch Series on “Careers in Immigration.”

Judge Amy F. Haer of the Atlanta (W. Peachtree) Immigration Court was most recently Director of Immigration Services for Catholic Legal Services of Atlanta. A graduate of GW Law, she is an alum of the GW Immigration Clinic headed by my good friend and neighbor in Alexandria, Professor Alberto Benitez. Professor Benitez wrote to me earlier on Friday about his pride in Judge Haer’s achievements and how honored he was to be able to attend her investiture by Zoom. Professor Benitez informs me that Judge Haer is the third of his clinic students to be elevated to the Immigration Bench! Way to go in training the “next generation” of the NDPA!

EOIR needs change! Big time! Lives depend upon it, as does the future of our legal system, now staggering under the load of far too many “ivory tower right wing ideologue jurists” at all levels who have lost sight of the serious scholarship, humanity, and practicality with which the law must be interpreted and applied. Justice without mercy isn’t justice at all, something that the Supremes’ GOP majority needs to be “schooled” on! To the extent that change starts at the “retail level” of EOIR, the latest selections represent progress.

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

08-06-22

☠️⚰️🏴‍☠️ TITLE 42 CAUSES DEATH @ THE BORDER: Rachel Monroe @ The New Yorker Sums Up The Jim Crow Cruelty, Stupidity, & Futility Of Title 42 In One Paragraph! — Title 42 “has increased business for smuggling cartels and spurred people to cross in more dangerous places.”

https://apple.news/AX5E8qIWlQYOauANHEV2g3w

. . . .

Between 2015 and 2020, about fifty bodies were recovered each year in Brooks County, according to an S.T.H.R.C. report. Then came Title 42, a policy enacted by the Trump Administration at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that closed ports of entry and blocked most avenues for asylum claims, ostensibly for public-health reasons. The policy, which is still in place in a modified form, has increased business for smuggling cartels and spurred people to cross in more dangerous places. “Before Title 42, the calls we got used to be, like, eighty-per-cent apprehended, twenty-per-cent missing,” Canales said. “Now it’s flipped—it’s more like twenty-per-cent apprehended, eighty-per-cent missing.” So far this year, there have been nearly seventy recoveries of remains in Brooks County, putting 2022 on track to be the deadliest year on record.

. . . .

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

Read Rachel’s entire report, directly from the border, at the link.

So, before the Trump Administration’s bogus, racist “invocation” of Title 42, 80% of migrants came to the border or were easily apprehended close thereto — most probably because they turned themselves in to seek asylum through the legal system. And, lets not forget, this was with an already badly broken, fundamentally unfair, asylum legal adjudication system intentionally biased and “loaded” against legitimate refugees seeking protection!

Smart, honest public policy would have improved asylum adjudication at USCIS and at EOIR to quickly recognize and grant, with the assistance of NGOs and legal assistance groups, the many cases of legitimate refugees so that they could take their rightful, legal places in our society.

Additionally, by taking refugees seeking legal determinations “out of the equation,” enforcement against those seeking to evade legal processing — certainly a much, much smaller “universe” than is “out there now” — would have been enhanced. Business would have declined for smugglers, as those seeking protection would have been motivated to use a humane, fair, functioning legal system rather than being forced into “do it yourself” refuge!

You don’t have a genius to figure this out — just not be motivated solely by racism like Stephen Miller and his Trump regime cronies! Better qualified — non-Jim Crow righty — Federal Judges would also produce more humane, honest, and rational results.

Additionally, by running a legitimate asylum system, and complementing it with an honest, robust, legal refugee system for Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa, we would finally have sound data on how many of those seeking to enter at the Southern Border are entitled to immigrate as legal refugees and how many are non-refugees. That’s something on which we now have no reliable information — just myths and anecdotes, many provided by racist restrictionists and nativists with neither expertise in asylum law nor any real interest in the rule of law at the border.

As a result of Title 42, and the unqualified “Jim Crow” Federal Judges, GOP nativist AGs, and their apologists (including some in the media who repeat or republish, without critical examination, GOP racist lies about the border), we now have a deadlier than ever border; the legal immigration system at the border has been functionally abolished and replaced with an underground, extralegal system; the U.S. Government has ceded control of border migration policy to cartels and smugglers; and the job of the Border Patrol — forced to spend time apprehending legal refugees who seek only the protection to which they are legally entitled — has become impossible.

That’s what happens when we let GOP nativist pols, overt racists, and bad, right wing Federal Judges take over the immigration policies that were actually enacted by Congress — a key part of which are legitimate refugee and asylum systems and a fair, functioning, expert Immigration Court. Right now, we have NONE of the foregoing. And, innocent migrants at the border are too often paying the price — with their lives!

Border Death — This is a monument for those who have died attempting to cross the US-Mexican border. Each coffin represents a year and the number of dead. It is a protest against the effects of Operation Guardian. Taken at the Tijuana-San Diego border.
Tomas Castelazo
To comply with the use and licensing terms of this image, the following text must must be included with the image when published in any medium, failure to do so constitutes a violation of the licensing terms and copyright infringement: © Tomas Castelazo, www.tomascastelazo.com / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

“Enforcing the law” does NOT mean unfairly, unwisely, and illegally abrogating the legal asylum system and fair adjudications in Immigration Court at the border. It means fixing the legal asylum system including USCIS Asylum Offices. Perhaps most of all, it means reforming and replacing where necessary the broken, dysfunctional, leaderless, and non-expert Immigration Courts and a BIA that continues to misinterpret asylum and protection laws on a daily basis. We need a BIA of real judges with the expertise and guts to establish fair, humane, correct, positive precedents and to rein in or remove from asylum cases those Immigration Judges who are “programmed to reject, not protect!”

I, along with many others, watched the Brittney Griner travesty unfold. I saw the irony. President Biden was rightfully blasting the outrageous “kangaroo court” show trial that passes for justice in Russia. But, at the same time, he, Harris, and Garland are basically running a farcical “Russian style” dysfunctional immigrant “justice” system at EOIR and calling it a “court!”

Kangaroos — Perhaps, in addition to blasting the Griner farce, President Biden, VP Harris, and AG Garland need to take a closer look at the “Russian-style” justice being inflicted on migrants in their wholly-owned Immigration “Courts” — which particularly target women, children, and migrants of color seeking justice under US laws. Indeed, many are still being arbitrarily returned without ANY process at all! Others get “off the wall” denials of their valid claims. Its this REALLY any way for a self-proclaimed “nation of laws” to operate?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rasputin243/
Creative Commons License

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever

PWS

08-05-22

🏴‍☠️🤮👎🏽 WHAT’S GARLAND DOING? — LATEST 4TH CIR. REJECTION OF ABSURDIST EOIR ASYLUM DENIAL SHOWS WHY GARLAND MUST “PULL THE PLUG” 🔌 ON THE BIA! — While He’s At It, He Needs To Look At OIL’s Mindless “Defense Of The Clearly Indefensible!” — Why Are American Women Giving Garland A “Free Pass” On Overt, Institutionalized, Racially-Charged, Misogyny @ His DOJ?

Doctor Death — Would you want this guy as your Immigration Judge or BIA “panel?” If not, tell Garland to “pull the plug” on his deadly and incompetent BIA!
Public Domain

https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/201762.P.pdf

Sorto-Guzmán v. Garland, 4th Cir., 08-93-22, published

PANEL: KING and WYNN, Circuit Judges, and FLOYD, Senior Circuit Judge.

OPINION: Judge FLOYD

KEY QUOTE:

In sum, we hold that the IJ’s decision, which the BIA adopted, blatantly ignored our long line of cases establishing that the threat of death alone establishes past persecution. This was legal error, and therefore, an abuse of discretion. See Cordova v. Holder, 759 F.3d 332, 337 (4th Cir. 2014). We hold that Sorto-Guzman has established she was subjected to past persecution in El Salvador.2 She is thereby entitled to the presumption of a well-founded fear of future persecution. Li, 405 F.3d at 176; 8 C.F.R. § 208.13(b)(1). The IJ and the BIA erred in not affording Sorto-Guzman this presumption, which would

2 Sorto-Guzman argues, in the alternative, that the IJ and the BIA erred in finding that she failed to establish a well-founded fear of future persecution. We will not answer that question today. Because we hold that she properly established past persecution, the proper remedy is to remand the case to the BIA to consider the question of whether DHS can rebut the presumption that Sorto-Guzman has a well-founded fear of future persecution.

11

have then shifted the burden to DHS to rebut the presumption. Ngarurih v. Ashcroft, 371 F.3d 182, 187 (4th Cir. 2004); 8 C.F.R. § 1208.13(b)(1)(i).

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

Sorto-Guzman is a life-long Catholic who regularly attended Catholic services in El Salvador. In December 2015, about five members of the Mara 18 gang accosted Sorto- Guzman in the street as she was leaving church. At the time, she was wearing a crucifix medallion around her neck. The gang members tore the chain from her neck, hit and kicked her, and threatened to kill her if she ever wore it or attended church again. Sorto-Guzman stopped attending church after the attack, fearing the gang and their threats.
A few weeks later in January 2016, a group of Mara 18 gang members—including some of the gang members from the December 2015 assault—stopped Sorto-Guzman, along with her sister and Rivas-Sorto, as she was coming home from a shopping trip. One of the men attempted to sexually assault Sorto-Guzman and had started to forcefully kiss her. He only stopped when her screams caught the attention of a neighbor. The gang members threatened to kill Sorto-Guzman and Rivas-Sorto if Sorto-Guzman did not join the gang and start living with them.
3

On February 13, 2016, some of the gang members from the prior incidents tracked where Sorto-Guzman lived and broke into her house carrying guns. The gang members viciously beat Sorto-Guzman, threatened her life, and robbed her. Sorto-Guzman’s neighbors called the police, but they did not come until several hours after the assault. Sorto-Guzman reported the assault and robbery to the officers who arrived at the scene. She also went to the local police station the next day to report the attack. The police made one attempt to investigate, but Petitioners were not home when the police arrived, and the officers never followed up. The day after, a gang member called Sorto-Guzman, warning her she would regret making the report to the police and that they would soon kill her, her son, and her sister.

Absurdly, an Immigration Judge found that this gross abuse and death threats by a gang with the ability and willingness to carry them out did not amount to “persecution.” Worse yet, on appeal, rather than reversing and directing the judge below to follow the law, the BIA agreed — invoking the outlandish “theory” that the death threats, on top of the savage beating, weren’t so bad because they had never come to “fruition.” In other words, the applicant hadn’t hung around to be killed. Then, to top it off, attorneys from the DOJ’s Office of Immigration Litigation (“OIL”) unethically defended this deadly nonsense before the Fourth Circuit! This is “justice” in Garland’s disgraceful, deadly, and dysfunctional “court” system!

Trial By Ordeal — Garland’s BIA Judges applying the “fruition” test. If she lives, it’s not persecution!
Public Realm
Source: Ancient Origins Website
https://www.ancient-origins.net/history/trial-ordeal-life-or-death-method-judgement-004160

NOT, a “mere mistake.”

EOIR’s performance is this case, particularly the BIA’s absurdist conclusion that, essentially, death threats must result in death to constitute past persecution, is a contemptuous disregard for binding circuit precedent, a demonstration of gross anti-asylum bias, misogyny, and a clear example of judicial incompetence.

Would a heart transplant surgeon who “forgot” to install a new heart or neglected to sew up the patient’s chest be allowed to continue operating? Of course not! So, why is the BIA still allowed to botch life or death cases — the equivalent of open heart surgery?

If Garland allows his “delegees” to perform in this dangerous and unprofessional manner, in his name, what is he doing as Attorney General? This is a farce, not a “court system?” Those responsible need to be held accountable! And, OIL’s unethical defense of this deadly nonsense is indefensible!

Alfred E. Neumann — “What are legal ethics? Not my friends or relatives whose lives as being destroyed by these ‘Kangaroo Courts.’ Just ‘the others’ and their dirty immigration lawyers! So, who cares? Why worry about professionalism, ethics, and due process in Immigration Court?”
PHOTO: Wikipedia Commons

We’ve heard lots lately from Garland about “accountability.” Why doesn’t it apply to his own, wholly owned, totally dysfunctional, legally deficient, contemptuous, unprofessional “court system” that builds astounding, self-created backlogs while causing pain, suffering, and sometimes sending innocents to death?☠️

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

Additionally, in Kansas this week, women have shown the power of their just demand to be treated as humans, with rights, rather than dehumanized pawns just there to re-populate the world for the men in charge. So, why not unleash the same passion and rightful fury on Garland and his ongoing, illegal, misogynistic treatment of women (primarily women of color) at EOIR!

Woman Tortured — “She struggled madly in the torturing Ray” — AG Garland has failed miserably to engage with the plight of women, mostly those of color, being denied fundamental rights and abused daily by his lawless, anti-immigrant, anti-asylum, misogynistic “holdover” EOIR! Why are women putting up with his bad attitude and dilatory approach to justice? What happened to Lisa Monaco, Vanita Gupta, and Kristen Clarke? Are they “locked in a dark closet” somewhere in Garland’s DOJ?
Amazing StoriesArtist Unknown, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

08-04-22

⚖️🗽NDPA: CAIR COALITION RIPS MAYOR BOWSER’S CALL FOR NATIONAL GUARD — Humanitarian Situations Require Sensible Government Support, Not Mindless Militarization!

Adina Appelbaum
Director, Immigration Impact Lab
CAIR Coalition
PHOTO: “30 Under 30” from Forbes

https://www.facebook.com/CAIRCoalitionDC

Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition – CAIR Coalition

July 29 at 8:00 PM

·

Shared with Public

Last week, Mayor Bowser made a request for National Guard troops to be deployed to DC to help with the thousands of migrants arriving on charter buses from Texas and Arizona.

CAIR Coalition condemns this militarized response and calls for our government leaders to support and listen to the local groups that have consistently done the work on the ground to support the immigrant community in DC. There are other alternatives like providing additional funding to community groups to help with temporary lodging and other basic needs.

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

Bowser’s semi-nonsensical “emergency request” seems to be nothing more than a “cheap publicity stunt” at the expense of vulnerable asylum applicants and those in the community who are assisting them! And, it worked! She got lots of “play” in the news media.

But, just how would the National Guard actually assist in this largely “manufactured” and unnecessary humanitarian “crisis?”

Will they be transporting migrants from DC to their final destinations? Helping them find lawyers? Explaining their reporting obligations to DHS and EOIR? Finding them shelter in the area? Providing meals and caring for children?

Gimmie a break! Misusing the National Guard like this would also make them less available for real crises where they could help — like the flooding disaster in Kentucky!

What’s needed, as pointed out by CAIR, is sensible supplemental funding for community organizations and others who have been helping migrants resettle and process their cases. Also, shame on the Biden Administration for not getting “ahead of the curve” to provide Federal Government support to counter this entirely predictable and wholly avoidable publicity stunt created by Texas’s White Nationalist, scofflaw Governor Greg Abbott and mindlessly advanced by Mayor Browser’s misguided request!

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

08-02-22

🇺🇸⚖️IN MEMORIAM: Hon. David Crosland, Judge, Former Legacy INS Acting Commissioner, Civil Rights Activist, Private Practitioner, Professor, Dies At 85

IN MEMORIAM: Hon. David Crosland, Judge, Former Legacy INS Acting Commissioner & General Counsel, Civil Rights Activist, Private Practitioner, Professor, Dies At 85

By Paul Wickham Schmidt

Courtside Exclusive

August 1, 2022

Alexandria, VA. Along with many others, I am saddened to learn of the death, over the weekend, of my former “boss” and judicial colleague, Judge David Crosland of the Baltimore Immigration Court. He was 85.

First and foremost, David was a dedicated public servant. A graduate of Auburn University and the University of Alabama School of Law, David served in the Civil Rights Division of the US Department of Justice during the tense and dangerous days of the 1960s. That was a time when speaking out for justice for African Americans in the South could be a life-threatening proposition.

Among many difficult and meaningful assignments, he helped prosecute Klansmen in Mississippi and also was assigned to prosecutions arising out of racially motivated police and National Guard killings in Detroit in 1967-68. After leaving the DOJ, he became the Director of the Atlanta Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

At Auburn, David had studied Agriculture. He sometimes liked to regale Immigration Court interns with tales of his “days on the farm” during summers in college!

I first met Dave in 1977, when Judge Griffin Bell appointed him to be the General Counsel of the “Legacy INS.” Shortly thereafter, David selected me to be his Deputy General Counsel, thus initiating my career as a Government manager and executive. During the second half of the Carter Administration, Dave was the Acting Commissioner of Immigration, and I was the Acting General Counsel.

In those days, my hair was actually longer than Dave’s, a situation that would become reversed in later years as our respective careers progressed. Indeed, during his “ponytail and gold earring days” in private practice, I reminded him of the times in “GENCO” where he used to encourage me to “get a haircut.”

We went through lots of exciting times together including the Iranian Hostage Crisis, litigation involving Haitian asylum seekers, Nazi War Criminal prosecutions, the Mariel Boatlift, the creation of the Asylum Offices, and the beginnings of a major restructuring of the INS nationwide legal program that eventually brought all lawyers under the direct supervisory control of the General Counsel.

Following the 1980 election, Dave went into private practice and became a partner in Ober, Kaler, Grimes & Shriver and then Crosland, Strand, Freeman & Mayock. He rejoined Government in 1997, when Attorney General Janet Reno appointed him as an Immigration Judge in Otey Mesa, CA. He later became an Assistant Chief Immigration Judge for several courts, as well as a Temporary Member of the BIA.

Our paths crossed again when we both served on the bench at the Arlington Immigration Court, roughly between 2009 and 2014. Then, David returned to Baltimore to be closer to his son and his residence in Maryland. He also served at various times as an Adjunct Professor of Law at GW Law and UDC Law.

David was a “character,” for sure. He had his own way of doing things that wasn’t always “strictly by the book.” But, he cared about the job and the people, was kind to the staff, and kept at it years after most of his contemporaries, including me, had retired.

One of the most moving tributes to David is from a member of court administrative staff who worked with him for years:

We just learned that Judge Crosland passed away this weekend at the grand age of 85 years. No funeral requested by him as his last wishes. Please keep him and his family in prayer. He was an amazing man, had a brilliant career and he was a genuinely kind person, hardworking to the end. Judge Crosland was very good to me, and he would walk me to my car after the long work days that turned into nights. Always a true gentleman, he would make me his famous lemon ice box pie! God bless Judge Crosland.

Another fine tribute to David is this piece from his alma mater, the University of Alabama School of Law, when they honored him in 2014 for their “Profile in Service:” https://www.law.ua.edu/blog/news/law-school-selects-judge-david-crosland-as-2014-profile-in-service/.

My time with Dave at the “Legacy INS” will always be with me as one of the most exciting, sometimes frustrating, but highly rewarding and formative parts of my career. Rest In Peace ☮️ my friend and colleague. You will be missed.

🇺🇸Due Process Forever.

PWS

08-01-22

☹️🤯CBP BLUNDERS BURDEN COURTS, INDIVIDUALS! — DHS Fails On “Ministerial Act” Of Filing NTA In 1 Of 6 Cases, Causing Massive Dismissals!

TRAC reports:

https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/691/

DHS Fails to File Paperwork Leading to Large Numbers of Dismissals

Published Jul 29, 2022

One out of every six new cases DHS initiates in Immigration Court are now being dismissed because CBP officials are not filing the actual “Notice to Appear” (NTA) with the Court. The latest case-by-case Court records obtained and analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University through a series of Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests show a dramatic increase in these cases. See Figure 1. The number of case closures along with those dismissed because no NTA was filed are shown in Table 1.

Figure 1. Immigration Court Cases Dismissed Because DHS Failed to File a “Notice to Appear” to Initiate Court Proceedings, FY 2013 – FY 2022 (through June)

Table 1. Immigration Court Cases Dismissed Because DHS Failed to File a “Notice to Appear” to Initiate Court Proceedings, FY 2013 – FY 2022 (through June)

Fiscal Year All Court Completions Dismissed: No NTA Filed

Number Percent

2013 167,446 355 0.2%

2014 160,483 225 0.1%

2015 168,684 41 0.0%

2016 178,052 11 0.0%

2017 179,153 84 0.0%

2018 193,391 505 0.3%

2019 276,647 4,686 1.7%

2020 243,367 5,952 2.4%

2021 144,751 15,244 10.5%

2022* 284,446 47,330 16.6%

* Through the first 9 months (Oct-June 2022). If pattern continues, FY 2022 would end with 63,107 projected dismissals.

Ten years ago this failure to file a NTA was rare. But as the onset in Table 1 shows, the frequency increased once Border Patrol agents were given the ability to use the Immigration Court’s Interactive Scheduling System (ISS). Using ISS, the agents can directly schedule the initial hearing (i.e. a master calendar hearing) at the Immigration Court. Supposedly, the actual NTA is created at the same time, and a copy given to the asylum seeker or other noncitizen with the scheduled hearing location and time they are to show up in Court noted on the NTA.

Thus, the process only requires that CBP actually follow up with the ministerial task of seeing that the Court also receives a copy of the NTA. With the implementation of the Court’s ECAS system of e-filing, this should have made the process quick and straightforward. That this is failing to be done suggests there is a serious disconnect between the CBP agents entering new cases and scheduling hearings through the Court’s ISS system, and other CBP personnel responsible for submitting a copy to the Court.

This is exceedingly wasteful of the Court’s time. It is also problematic for the immigrant (and possibly their attorney) if they show up at hearings only to have the case dismissed by the Immigration Judge because the case hasn’t actually been filed with the Court.

Where Is This Problem Occurring?

TRAC has sought, but has yet been unable to obtain, information on the specific Border Patrol units and locations where failure to file these NTAs is occurring. However, an analysis of all Court hearing locations finds that there are some Courts where the majority of all case completions are these dismissals for failing to file the NTA.

Leading the list in terms of the number of these NTA closures is the Dedicated Docket hearing location in Miami. Fully 7,700 out of the total of 9,492 case completions during FY 2022 — or 81 percent — were dismissals because the Court had not received the NTA.

While the situation for the Dedicated Docket in Miami was extreme, a number of Dedicated Docket locations have much higher dismissal rates than occur nationally where 1 out of 6 (17%) of case completions are closed for this reason. In Boston’s Dedicated Docket the rate of dismissal during the first 9 months of FY 2022 has been 62 percent, and in New York’s and Los Angeles’ Dedicated Dockets the rate is 32 percent – almost twice the national average.

But other Dedicated Docket locations have below average dismissal rates. These include San Francisco with 11 percent, New York’s separate Broadway DD hearing location with 15 percent, and Newark with 16 percent. [1] While It would appear that a policy which tries to accelerate the scheduling and hearing of cases puts additional pressure on DHS to promptly file, it isn’t an insurmountable burden. [2]

Further, some regular hearing locations have also been experiencing high dismissal rates because of DHS’s failure to file NTAs. These include Houston with 54 percent, Miami with 43 percent, and Chicago with 26 percent.

For a list of Immigration Court hearing locations with their individual dismissal rates because of DHS’s failure to file the NTA see Table 2.

Table 2. Immigration Court Cases by Hearing Location Dismissed Because DHS Failed to File a “Notice to Appear” to Initiate Court Proceedings in FY 2022 (October 2021-June 2022)

Court Hearing Location All Court Completions Dismissed: No NTA Filed Rank: No NTA

Number Percent Number Percent

All 284,446 47,330 17%

IAD designated Hearing Locations* 5,516 5,516 100% 3 1

Miami – Dedicated Docket – DD 9,492 7,700 81% 1 2

Boston – Dedicated Docket – DD 2,752 1,698 62% 6 3

Houston, Texas 7,518 4,064 54% 4 4

Miami, Florida 16,644 7,155 43% 2 5

El Paso – Dedicated Docket – DD 169 69 41% 48 6

Los Angeles – Dedicated Docket – DD 3,006 974 32% 10 7

New York – Dedicated Docket – DD 3,436 1,098 32% 8 8

Chicago, Illinois 5,006 1,292 26% 7 9

Denver – Dedicated Docket – DD 1,019 258 25% 32 10

Orlando, Florida 3,437 640 19% 19 11

Charlotte 6,057 979 16% 9 12

New York Varick 4,254 676 16% 17 13

Newark – Dedicated Docket – DD 1,854 290 16% 29 14

Atlanta Non-Detained Juvenile 421 65 15% 49 15

NYB – Dedicated Docket – DD 1,183 179 15% 33 16

MPP Brownsville Gateway International Bridge 848 126 15% 37 17

Houston – S. Gessner 6,179 914 15% 11 18

Leland Federal Building 3,241 477 15% 23 19

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 5,284 748 14% 14 20

Santa Ana Immigration Court 6,257 874 14% 12 21

Chicago Non-Detained Juveniles 101 14 14% 65 22

New York City, New York 21,202 2,784 13% 5 23

Boston, Massachusetts 5,793 748 13% 14 24

New Orleans, Louisiana 5,139 647 13% 18 25

Arlington, Virginia 6,546 821 13% 13 26

Phoenix, Arizona 3,869 480 12% 22 27

San Juan, Puerto Rico 406 49 12% 52 28

Denver, Colorado 4,547 506 11% 20 29

San Francisco – Dedicated Docket – DD 1,437 159 11% 35 30

New York Broadway 6,593 708 11% 16 31

Sacramento Immigration Court 1,285 131 10% 36 32

Kansas City, Missouri 1,145 115 10% 41 33

Omaha, Nebraska 1,419 125 9% 38 34

San Diego, California 3,539 289 8% 30 35

Atlanta, Georgia 3,596 285 8% 31 36

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 220 17 8% 61 37

San Diego – Dedicated Docket – DD 288 22 8% 60 38

El Paso, Texas 2,208 168 8% 34 39

Las Vegas, Nevada 1,622 119 7% 40 40

Detroit, Michigan 1,953 124 6% 39 41

Van Nuys Immigration Court 6,405 388 6% 24 42

Houston Greenspoint Park 5,738 338 6% 26 43

Buffalo, New York 1,439 82 6% 43 44

Cleveland, Ohio 5,557 316 6% 27 45

Laredo Immigration Court 443 25 6% 58 46

San Francisco, California 9,277 502 5% 21 47

Mia Non-Detained Juveniles 536 29 5% 53 48

Newark, New Jersey 6,568 345 5% 25 49

San Francisco Non-Detained Juveniles 226 11 5% 68 50

Honolulu, Hawaii 278 13 5% 66 51

MPP Court El Paso 604 27 4% 55 52

Seattle – Dedicated Docket – DD 588 26 4% 56 53

Harlingen, Texas 1,811 78 4% 46 54

Portland, Oregon 1,281 54 4% 51 55

MPP Laredo,texas – Port of Entry 143 6 4% 72 56

Salt Lake City, Utah 1,949 80 4% 44 57

Tucson, Arizona 791 29 4% 53 58

MPP Court San Ysidro Port 195 7 4% 71 59

Charlotte Juvenile 477 17 4% 61 60

Reno, Nevada 330 11 3% 68 61

Memphis, Tennessee 3,837 114 3% 42 62

Hartford Juvenile 144 4 3% 73 63

Los Angeles – North Los Angeles Street 3,253 78 2% 46 64

Los Angeles, California 12,702 304 2% 28 65

Hartford, Connecticut 2,596 60 2% 50 66

Bloomington 3,577 79 2% 45 67

Imperial, California 497 9 2% 70 68

Bloomington Juvenile 177 3 2% 77 69

Arlington Juvenile 950 16 2% 64 70

Boston Unaccompanied Juvenile 817 13 2% 66 71

Detroit – Dedicated Docket – DD 200 3 2% 77 72

Memphis Juvenile 288 4 1% 73 73

Philadelphia Juvenile 375 4 1% 73 74

San Antonio, Texas 3,015 26 1% 56 75

Florence, Arizona 270 2 1% 79 76

Dallas, Texas 3,667 23 1% 59 77

New Orleans Juvenile 166 1 1% 81 78

Seattle, Washington 3,170 17 1% 61 79

Baltimore, Maryland 2,772 4 0% 73 80

Hyattsville Immigration Court 1,939 2 0% 79 81

Louisville, Kentucky 1,110 1 0% 81 82

Pearsall, Texas – Detention Facility 1,505 0 0% none none

Winn Correctional Facility 1,342 0 0% none none

Port Isabel Service Processing Center 1,324 0 0% none none

San Francisco Annex 1,017 0 0% none none

Stewart Detention Center – Lumpkin Georgia – LGD 866 0 0% none none

Conroe Immigration Court 754 0 0% none none

Baltimore, Maryland Juvenile 737 0 0% none none

Aurora Immigration Court 676 0 0% none none

San Antonio Satellite Office 654 0 0% none none

Boise, Idaho 575 0 0% none none

Moshannon Valley Correctional Facility 574 0 0% none none

Stewart Immigration Court 569 0 0% none none

T. Don Hutto Residential 527 0 0% none none

Jackson Parish 496 0 0% none none

Krome North Service Processing Center 474 0 0% none none

Prairieland Detention Center 470 0 0% none none

Imperial Detained 462 0 0% none none

Atlanta Non-Detained 417 0 0% none none

Otay Mesa Detention Center 407 0 0% none none

Chicago Detained 406 0 0% none none

Laredo, Texas – Detention Facility 404 0 0% none none

Lasalle Detention Facility 390 0 0% none none

Northwest Detention Center 382 0 0% none none

Eloy INS Detention Center 381 0 0% none none

Polk County Detention Facility 377 0 0% none none

El Paso Service Processing Center 372 0 0% none none

Otero County Processing Center 350 0 0% none none

Southwest Key 348 0 0% none none

Bluebonnet Detention Center 344 0 0% none none

Cleveland Juvenile 340 0 0% none none

Rio Grande Detention Center 319 0 0% none none

Denver Family Unit 282 0 0% none none

DHS-Litigation Unit/Oakdale 259 0 0% none none

Caroline Detention Facility 248 0 0% none none

Immigration Court 247 0 0% none none

Denver – Juvenile 245 0 0% none none

Houston Service Processing Center 240 0 0% none none

La Palma Eloy 237 0 0% none none

Batavia Service Processing Center 228 0 0% none none

Karnes County Correction Center 224 0 0% none none

Mcfarland-Mcm For Males 224 0 0% none none

River Correctional Facility 221 0 0% none none

Dilley – Stfrc 217 0 0% none none

Boston Detained 215 0 0% none none

Broward Transitional Center 202 0 0% none none

San Antonio Non-Detained Juvenile 182 0 0% none none

La Palma 179 0 0% none none

Seattle Non-Detained Juveniles 177 0 0% none none

Louisville Juvenile 175 0 0% none none

Orange County Correctional Facility 173 0 0% none none

Cibola County Correctional Center 161 0 0% none none

South Louisiana Correctional Center 161 0 0% none none

Richwood Correctional Center 158 0 0% none none

Nye County 150 0 0% none none

Kansas City Immigration Court – Detained 148 0 0% none none

San Diego Non-Detained Juvenile 142 0 0% none none

Bloomington Detained 137 0 0% none none

Desert View 131 0 0% none none

Giles W. Dalby Correctional Institution 122 0 0% none none

Joe Corley Detention Facility 116 0 0% none none

Texas DOC- Huntsville 112 0 0% none none

Torrance County Detention Facility 109 0 0% none none

Calhoun County Jail 107 0 0% none none

* Note all closures are for the failure to file a NTA. The Court created these special “IAD locational codes” ultimately within 77 Courts beginning back in July 2018. The cases they handle appear to consistently close because no NTA was filed. In FY 2022 these “IAD” dismissals were recorded as spread across 31 different Immigration Courts (“base cities”). Thus, this “IAD” tag appears to function largely as a book-keeping measure to separate out these dismissals from the rest of the Court’s proceedings at these diverse locations.

Footnotes

[1]^ Three other Dedicated Docket locations which have a relatively small number of closures to date also weren’t experiencing high dismissal rates. These included Detroit where only 3 out of its 200 closures (2%) were because the NTA hadn’t been filed; Seattle with just 26 cases dismissed out of its 588 closures (4%); and San Diego with 22 dismissals out of its 288 closures (8%).

[2]^ See TRAC’s January 2022 report noting significant dismissal rates for failure to file at Dedicated Docket hearing locations. The rate then was 10 percent so the problem has considerably worsened since then.

TRAC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit data research center affiliated with the Newhouse School of Public Communications and the Whitman School of Management, both at Syracuse University. For more information, to subscribe, or to donate, contact trac@syr.edu or call 315-443-3563.

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

It’s not rocket science! 🚀

Compare the reality of easily fixable systemic Government failures with gimmicks and harsh sanctions meant to dishonestly shift blame and consequences to individual victims.

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-31-22

🗽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

⚖️👨🏻‍⚖️🎩 FREE JUDGE BURMAN! — Sudden, Mysterious Disappearance Of Revered U.S. Immigration Judge Lawrence O. “Larry” Burman From Arlington Bench Surprises, Saddens Local Bar!

Judge Lawrence O. Burman — Hon. Lawrence O. Burman
U.S. Immigration Judge
Arlington, VA
Pictured addressing conference at CIS
PHOTO: YouTube

By Paul Wickham Schmidt

Courtside Exclusive

July 30, 2022

Reliable sources tell Courtside that highly-respected U.S. Immigration Judge Lawrence O. “Larry” Burman has been suspended with pay from hearing cases at the Arlington Immigration Court. Reportedly, for the past three months, the distinguished veteran jurist has been “banned” from chambers and relegated to deciding motions from home electronically.

The genesis of the suspension allegedly is a complaint of sexual harassment in court filed by the ICE Office of Chief Counsel in Arlington. A source close to Burman says that he told them he has not received any detailed notice of exactly what he has been accused of, nor has he been given any timeline or details about the alleged investigation.

EOIR is notorious for placing judges and others accused of wrongdoing on “administrative leave with full pay” — sometimes for years spanning several Administrations. Meanwhile, they conduct glacially slow “investigations” and dither over what, if any, formal discipline to impose.

Within the bureaucracy, “never-ending investigations” are sometimes used as a device to “persuade” employees out of favor with “management” to retire or resign. In reality, Courtside is unaware of any full-time trained investigative staff assigned to EOIR.

Significantly, DOJ policies do not appear to require suspension of the employee from public duties in a case such as this. “Danger to the personnel” or “disruptive presence” are the primary considerations. See HR ORDER DOJ1200.

Those who know and have worked with Judge Burman would find it absurd to believe that either of these situations apply to him. Indeed, one source interviewed for this article suggested, perhaps tongue in cheek, that “a propensity toward giving respondents a fair hearing” might help explain ICE’s and EOIR’s enthusiasm for having Judge Burman “off the bench.”

Recently, Courtside described Judge Burman and one of his Arlington colleagues as the “gold standard” for fair, expert Immigration Judges. See https://wp.me/p8eeJm-7Ko. From that standpoint, the sudden suspension appears particularly unusual.

The action caught members of the private immigration bar in the DMV area by surprise. One attorney confirmed having merits cases recently scheduled before Judge Burman “orbited” several years out on the docket for no given reason except that Judge Burman was “out” and therefore unable to hear the cases. “Aimless Docket Reshuffling” and “churning” of cases is an endemic problem at EOIR, which is running an astounding, yet rapidly increasing, backlog of 1.8 million cases.

Other attorneys contacted by Courtside reacted with shock, sadness, and concern for Judge Burman’s well being. “I feel so bad to hear that. He is such a nice man and a good judge,” said one local practitioner.

Judge Burman has been an Immigration Judge for nearly a quarter-century, serving at the Los Angeles and Memphis Immigration Courts before arriving in Arlington. He has been a leader in court-related CLE, serving as a past chair of the FBA’s Immigration Section and the creator and editor emeritus of The Green Card, that section’s educational newsletter. He also has been an officer of the National Association of Immigration Judges (“NAIJ”), where (perhaps ironically) he successfully represented a number of colleagues charged with disciplinary infractions or wrongfully denied benefits.

Until “grounded” by the Trump DOJ, Judge Burman was one of a limited number of local judges eager and willing to participate in educational events sponsored by bar associations and other groups. A graduate of UVA and Maryland Law, and a U.S. Army veteran, Judge Burman had careers in the “Legacy INS” and private practice before being appointed to the bench by then Attorney General Janet Reno in 1998.

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!

🇺🇸 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

Fiscal Year	All Court Completions	Dismissed: No NTA Filed
Fiscal Year	All Court Completions	Number	Percent
2013	167,446	355	0.2%
2014	160,483	225	0.1%
2015	168,684	41	0.0%
2016	178,052	11	0.0%
2017	179,153	84	0.0%
2018	193,391	505	0.3%
2019	276,647	4,686	1.7%
2020	243,367	5,952	2.4%
2021	144,751	15,244	10.5%
2022*	284,446	47,330	16.6%

Court Hearing Location	All Court Completions	Dismissed: No NTA Filed		Rank: No NTA
Court Hearing Location	All Court Completions	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
All	284,446	47,330	17%
IAD designated Hearing Locations*	5,516	5,516	100%	3	1
Miami – Dedicated Docket – DD	9,492	7,700	81%	1	2
Boston – Dedicated Docket – DD	2,752	1,698	62%	6	3
Houston, Texas	7,518	4,064	54%	4	4
Miami, Florida	16,644	7,155	43%	2	5
El Paso – Dedicated Docket – DD	169	69	41%	48	6
Los Angeles – Dedicated Docket – DD	3,006	974	32%	10	7
New York – Dedicated Docket – DD	3,436	1,098	32%	8	8
Chicago, Illinois	5,006	1,292	26%	7	9
Denver – Dedicated Docket – DD	1,019	258	25%	32	10
Orlando, Florida	3,437	640	19%	19	11
Charlotte	6,057	979	16%	9	12
New York Varick	4,254	676	16%	17	13
Newark – Dedicated Docket – DD	1,854	290	16%	29	14
Atlanta Non-Detained Juvenile	421	65	15%	49	15
NYB – Dedicated Docket – DD	1,183	179	15%	33	16
MPP Brownsville Gateway International Bridge	848	126	15%	37	17
Houston – S. Gessner	6,179	914	15%	11	18
Leland Federal Building	3,241	477	15%	23	19
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	5,284	748	14%	14	20
Santa Ana Immigration Court	6,257	874	14%	12	21
Chicago Non-Detained Juveniles	101	14	14%	65	22
New York City, New York	21,202	2,784	13%	5	23
Boston, Massachusetts	5,793	748	13%	14	24
New Orleans, Louisiana	5,139	647	13%	18	25
Arlington, Virginia	6,546	821	13%	13	26
Phoenix, Arizona	3,869	480	12%	22	27
San Juan, Puerto Rico	406	49	12%	52	28
Denver, Colorado	4,547	506	11%	20	29
San Francisco – Dedicated Docket – DD	1,437	159	11%	35	30
New York Broadway	6,593	708	11%	16	31
Sacramento Immigration Court	1,285	131	10%	36	32
Kansas City, Missouri	1,145	115	10%	41	33
Omaha, Nebraska	1,419	125	9%	38	34
San Diego, California	3,539	289	8%	30	35
Atlanta, Georgia	3,596	285	8%	31	36
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	220	17	8%	61	37
San Diego – Dedicated Docket – DD	288	22	8%	60	38
El Paso, Texas	2,208	168	8%	34	39
Las Vegas, Nevada	1,622	119	7%	40	40
Detroit, Michigan	1,953	124	6%	39	41
Van Nuys Immigration Court	6,405	388	6%	24	42
Houston Greenspoint Park	5,738	338	6%	26	43
Buffalo, New York	1,439	82	6%	43	44
Cleveland, Ohio	5,557	316	6%	27	45
Laredo Immigration Court	443	25	6%	58	46
San Francisco, California	9,277	502	5%	21	47
Mia Non-Detained Juveniles	536	29	5%	53	48
Newark, New Jersey	6,568	345	5%	25	49
San Francisco Non-Detained Juveniles	226	11	5%	68	50
Honolulu, Hawaii	278	13	5%	66	51
MPP Court El Paso	604	27	4%	55	52
Seattle – Dedicated Docket – DD	588	26	4%	56	53
Harlingen, Texas	1,811	78	4%	46	54
Portland, Oregon	1,281	54	4%	51	55
MPP Laredo,texas – Port of Entry	143	6	4%	72	56
Salt Lake City, Utah	1,949	80	4%	44	57
Tucson, Arizona	791	29	4%	53	58
MPP Court San Ysidro Port	195	7	4%	71	59
Charlotte Juvenile	477	17	4%	61	60
Reno, Nevada	330	11	3%	68	61
Memphis, Tennessee	3,837	114	3%	42	62
Hartford Juvenile	144	4	3%	73	63
Los Angeles – North Los Angeles Street	3,253	78	2%	46	64
Los Angeles, California	12,702	304	2%	28	65
Hartford, Connecticut	2,596	60	2%	50	66
Bloomington	3,577	79	2%	45	67
Imperial, California	497	9	2%	70	68
Bloomington Juvenile	177	3	2%	77	69
Arlington Juvenile	950	16	2%	64	70
Boston Unaccompanied Juvenile	817	13	2%	66	71
Detroit – Dedicated Docket – DD	200	3	2%	77	72
Memphis Juvenile	288	4	1%	73	73
Philadelphia Juvenile	375	4	1%	73	74
San Antonio, Texas	3,015	26	1%	56	75
Florence, Arizona	270	2	1%	79	76
Dallas, Texas	3,667	23	1%	59	77
New Orleans Juvenile	166	1	1%	81	78
Seattle, Washington	3,170	17	1%	61	79
Baltimore, Maryland	2,772	4	0%	73	80
Hyattsville Immigration Court	1,939	2	0%	79	81
Louisville, Kentucky	1,110	1	0%	81	82
Pearsall, Texas – Detention Facility	1,505	0	0%	none	none
Winn Correctional Facility	1,342	0	0%	none	none
Port Isabel Service Processing Center	1,324	0	0%	none	none
San Francisco Annex	1,017	0	0%	none	none
Stewart Detention Center – Lumpkin Georgia – LGD	866	0	0%	none	none
Conroe Immigration Court	754	0	0%	none	none
Baltimore, Maryland Juvenile	737	0	0%	none	none
Aurora Immigration Court	676	0	0%	none	none
San Antonio Satellite Office	654	0	0%	none	none
Boise, Idaho	575	0	0%	none	none
Moshannon Valley Correctional Facility	574	0	0%	none	none
Stewart Immigration Court	569	0	0%	none	none
T. Don Hutto Residential	527	0	0%	none	none
Jackson Parish	496	0	0%	none	none
Krome North Service Processing Center	474	0	0%	none	none
Prairieland Detention Center	470	0	0%	none	none
Imperial Detained	462	0	0%	none	none
Atlanta Non-Detained	417	0	0%	none	none
Otay Mesa Detention Center	407	0	0%	none	none
Chicago Detained	406	0	0%	none	none
Laredo, Texas – Detention Facility	404	0	0%	none	none
Lasalle Detention Facility	390	0	0%	none	none
Northwest Detention Center	382	0	0%	none	none
Eloy INS Detention Center	381	0	0%	none	none
Polk County Detention Facility	377	0	0%	none	none
El Paso Service Processing Center	372	0	0%	none	none
Otero County Processing Center	350	0	0%	none	none
Southwest Key	348	0	0%	none	none
Bluebonnet Detention Center	344	0	0%	none	none
Cleveland Juvenile	340	0	0%	none	none
Rio Grande Detention Center	319	0	0%	none	none
Denver Family Unit	282	0	0%	none	none
DHS-Litigation Unit/Oakdale	259	0	0%	none	none
Caroline Detention Facility	248	0	0%	none	none
Immigration Court	247	0	0%	none	none
Denver – Juvenile	245	0	0%	none	none
Houston Service Processing Center	240	0	0%	none	none
La Palma Eloy	237	0	0%	none	none
Batavia Service Processing Center	228	0	0%	none	none
Karnes County Correction Center	224	0	0%	none	none
Mcfarland-Mcm For Males	224	0	0%	none	none
River Correctional Facility	221	0	0%	none	none
Dilley – Stfrc	217	0	0%	none	none
Boston Detained	215	0	0%	none	none
Broward Transitional Center	202	0	0%	none	none
San Antonio Non-Detained Juvenile	182	0	0%	none	none
La Palma	179	0	0%	none	none
Seattle Non-Detained Juveniles	177	0	0%	none	none
Louisville Juvenile	175	0	0%	none	none
Orange County Correctional Facility	173	0	0%	none	none
Cibola County Correctional Center	161	0	0%	none	none
South Louisiana Correctional Center	161	0	0%	none	none
Richwood Correctional Center	158	0	0%	none	none
Nye County	150	0	0%	none	none
Kansas City Immigration Court – Detained	148	0	0%	none	none
San Diego Non-Detained Juvenile	142	0	0%	none	none
Bloomington Detained	137	0	0%	none	none
Desert View	131	0	0%	none	none
Giles W. Dalby Correctional Institution	122	0	0%	none	none
Joe Corley Detention Facility	116	0	0%	none	none
Texas DOC- Huntsville	112	0	0%	none	none
Torrance County Detention Facility	109	0	0%	none	none
Calhoun County Jail	107	0	0%	none	none

Al Otro Lado v. Mayorkas

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

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“Sir Jeffrey” Chase reports:

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Sorto-Guzmán v. Garland, 4th Cir., 08-93-22, published

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IN MEMORIAM: Hon. David Crosland, Judge, Former Legacy INS Acting Commissioner & General Counsel, Civil Rights Activist, Private Practitioner, Professor, Dies At 85

By Paul Wickham Schmidt

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TRAC reports:

DHS Fails to File Paperwork Leading to Large Numbers of Dismissals

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Craig writes:

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By Paul Wickham Schmidt

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At a minimum Garland must:

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