🇺🇸🗽⚖️😎🌟🏆NDPA SUPERSTAR LAUREN WYATT WINS AWARD!

Lauren Wyatt Award
NY City Bar
Legal Services Award
Lauren Wyatt
Lauren Wyatt
Lauren Wyatt, Esquire
Managing Attorney
Catholic Charities Community Services, Archdiocese of New York
PHOTO: VERA Institute of Justice

Lauren Wyatt

Lauren Wyatt is an attorney with Catholic Charities Community Services, Archdiocese of New York, where she provides direct representation to immigrants before the Immigration Court, Board of Immigration Appeals, USCIS, and New York family courts. As the Lead Project Attorney for the Immigration Court Helpdesk (ICH), she coordinates pro se application workshops, Know-Your-Rights presentations, legal screenings, and pro bono case placements for unrepresented immigrants in removal proceedings. She also prepares and supervises the implementation of specialized ICH programming in response to emergencies (such as family separation) and changes in law and policy (such as in domestic violence- and family-based asylum claims) She recruits and trains volunteers to provide free legal information and assistance to low-income immigrants. She also supervises and mentors pro bono volunteer attorneys in representing clients before the Immigration Court.

Prior to joining Catholic Charities, Lauren was a Program Associate at the Vera Institute of Justice administering the Legal Orientation Program for detained immigrants. Before moving to New York City, Lauren was an Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Fellow at Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Washington. At Catholic Charities DC, she represented unaccompanied children in immigration and state court proceedings, as well as in affirmative applications before USCIS. She also trained and mentored pro bono attorneys to represent clients in immigration and family court cases.

Lauren is licensed to practice in New York and Maryland, as well as before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. She earned her J.D. from Howard University School of Law in 2014, and her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010. She has studied in Seville, Spain, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Havana, Cuba. She is fluent in Spanish and conversational in Italian.

SOURCE: I-ARC
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Congrats, Lauren!😎👍🏼

As we can see, eight years out of law school, Lauren has basically “done it all!” When are we going to see Lauren on the Federal Bench?
Like Vice President Kamala Harris, Lauren is a distinguished grad of Howard Law! So, why hasn’t Harris actively recruited her for a judicial or senior management position at EOIR, where due process, racial justice, practical problem solving, and a positive attitude toward human rights are in total tatters and need “big time” change and redirection?
Why are Dems blowing the opportunity to recognize, promote, and empower “the best and the brightest” that the “upcoming generation” of American lawyers has to offer?

Why is EOIR still a “due process wasteland” rather than a model, due process focused, best practices oriented, “progressive judiciary of the future?”

Somebody with some “pipelines” into the Biden Administration should be asking these questions and insisting on positive progressive actions!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS
05-27-22

⚖️🗽HUMAN RIGHTS FIRST ON EVERYTHING THAT’S WRONG ABOUT TITLE 42🏴‍☠️! — Also, Positions With HRF Available: Fight The Scofflaws, Nativists, Deniers, Fear-Mongers, & Enablers Who Made Title 42 & Other Degrading White Nationalist Policies Possible, & Those Who “Continue To Defend The Indefensible!”

 

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humanrightsfirst.org
Dear Paul:

 

After two years of advocacy by Human Rights First and our allies, President Biden announced that his administration would end Title 42 this Monday, May 23.  Instead, a suit by attorneys general mirroring the talking points of the Trump administration blocked the end of this inhumane policy.

 

We will continue to push for the end of the misuse of Title 42 and advocate for fair and just asylum system until we succeed and refugees are welcomed with dignity to the United States.

Taking action on Title 42
The Biden administration had announced a plan to end on May 23 the misuse of Title 42 public health regulations that have barred asylum seekers at the border for the past two years.  On Friday a federal court in Louisiana forced the continuation of this egregiously inhumane policy.

 

Anwen Hughes, Director of Legal Strategy for Refugee Programs responded, “The court’s ruling requires the continuation of a public health policy that public health experts have concluded is not needed, and allows the continued evasion of U.S. immigration and refugee laws.”

 

Human Rights First joined 57 partner organizations in an amicus brief in this case detailing the human costs of using this policy at the border.  Our most recent report, authored with allies Al Otro Lado and Haitian Bridge Alliance, underscored how extending Title 42 escalates dangers to asylum seekers, exacerbates disorder at the border, and magnifies discrimination in the system.

Courtesy Reuters
Migrants expelled from the U.S. are sent back to Mexico over the Paso del Norte International border bridge.
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“Every day that the Title 42 order remains in place is a day when the United States is turning away people seeking refuge to places where their lives are in danger.”
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Eleanor Acer appeared on Al Jazeera Friday night to discuss the continuation of Title 42.
Human Rights First President and CEO Michael Breen joined Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Mary Kay Henry, International President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and Marielena Hincapié, Executive Director of the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), in a press call on Monday, the day that should have marked the end of the use of Title 42.

 

Speakers called for the end of this cruel policy and reiterated the need for a fair and humane asylum system that centers the dignity of all people.

 

“It is encouraging that the Justice Department quickly filed an appeal to the Louisiana court’s ruling, which extends the use of a policy, ostensibly based on public health, that public health experts have concluded is not needed.  Now it is critical that the administration take all necessary steps to defend the CDC’s decision to end the use of Title 42,” said Breen.

 

A recording of the press event is available here.

 

Finally, two key members of our refugee protection research team, Kennji Kizuka and Associate Attorney for Refugee Protection Julia Neusner are at the border this week, reporting on the impact of Title 42 and Remain in Mexico on asylum seekers.  Please follow their up-to-the-moment reports on Twitter — @JuliaNeusner and @KennjiKizuka.

Introducing new members of our team
Yesterday, Human Rights First was pleased to announce the addition of two critical new members of our program addressing extremism, Erin E. Wilson as the Senior Director for Extremism and Human Rights and Elizabeth Yates, Ph.D. as Senior Researcher on Antisemitism.

 

Over her 20-year career, Wilson established herself as an expert on domestic extremism, serving as a senior policy strategist and analyst in the U.S. Government’s executive and legislative branches. She has extensive experience with stakeholders in communities around the world as well as federal, state, local agencies and law enforcement partners to address extremism using a rights-centered approach.

Erin E. Wilson

Senior Director of

Extremism & Human Rights

Elizabeth Yates, Ph.D.

Senior Researcher

on Antisemitism.

Yates served at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland, contributing to their work on domestic extremism and hate crimes. She co-authored numerous reports and articles on topics including extremism in the U.S. military, the growth of anti-Muslim terrorism, mass casualty hate crimes, and disengagement from right-wing extremism. Her analysis and commentary have regularly been featured on local and national news.

 

“Domestic extremism and antisemitism are two sides of the same coin, and Human Rights First is working to take that currency out of circulation,” said Michael Breen. “We are certain that as Human Rights First works to counter white supremacist extremism and the existential threat it poses to American democracy, the experience and tenacity Erin Wilson and Elizabeth Yates have long shown on these issues will be great resources.”

Join our Spring Social
We are thrilled to welcome Segun Oduolowu as emcee at our Spring Social!

 

Oduolowu joined PEOPLE (The TV Show!) as a correspondent this year after hosted the nationally syndicated television show, The List.  With Bounce TV network, Segun executive produced Protect or Neglect, a documentary focused on police brutality in underserved communities.

 

He was co-host of See It/Skip It, a weekly Facebook Live show produced by Rotten Tomatoes and he has appeared on Access Hollywood, The Wendy Williams Show and contributed to international programs for CNN, the BBC and Deutsche Welle.

The emcee for our June 8

Spring Social, Segun Oduolowu

Please join us and Segun Oduolowu for cocktails on the roof of the Bryant Park Grill in New York City on June 8 from 5:30 to 8pm EDT to honor the work of human rights defenders & highlight our work responding to the crises in Ukraine and Afghanistan.

 

Get your tickets now for what promises to be a great evening!

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Returning to Afghanistan
If you missed our live webinar “Tenets and Terrors: The Ideology and Violence of the Taliban in Afghanistan,” an in-depth look at the key factors, background, and worldview that motivates the Taliban, you can still participate in this important event by watching our recording or reading the transcript here.
Human Rights First is hiring
Human Rights First seeks passionate team members who are interested in changing lives, impacting policy, and moving public opinion.

 

Please check out our careers page and apply to join us today.

Watch for more news as our work for human rights continues.  And please stay in touch on social media:
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PLEASE MAKE HUMAN RIGHTS A PRIORITY IN YOUR LIFE

The work we do would not be possible without your donations

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Not surprisingly, things have gone downhill for the Biden Administration on multiple fronts since their initial failure to hit the ground running with a strong condemnation and revocation of the Title 42 travesty!

Here’s a chance for the “new generation” of theNDPA to “sign on” with HRF and fight nativist racism on all levels! There is no end in sight for the need for actions to force the Biden Administration, the U.S. Government, Federal Courts, and state and local governments to comply with the law and our (not yet completely and equally implemented) Constitutional guarantees. Fight the “good fight” to end “dehumanization of the other” which, shockingly, has become SOP for the GOP right and their enablers!

Check out the link to the HRF Careers Page above!😎👍🏼⚖️🗽

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

05-27-22

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☠️👎🏽DEM’S CATASTROPHIC DUE PROCESS FAILURE:  AS PREDICTED, GARLAND’S “DEDICATED DOCKETS” ARE “ASYLUM FREE ZONES” TARGETING CHILDREN!🤮

“Floaters”
Garland’s vision of “justice” for refugee children appears to be little different from that of Stephen Miller and his White Nationalist predecessors at DOJ!
EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT – The bodies of Salvadoran migrant Oscar Alberto Mart??nez Ram??rez and his nearly 2-year-old daughter Valeria lie on the bank of the Rio Grande in Matamoros, Mexico, Monday, June 24, 2019, after they drowned trying to cross the river to Brownsville, Texas. Martinez’ wife, Tania told Mexican authorities she watched her husband and child disappear in the strong current. (AP Photo/Julia Le Duc)
Cindy Carcamo
Cindy Carcamo
Immigration Reporter
LA Times

Cindy Carcamo reports for the LA Times: 

BY CINDY CARCAMO STAFF WRITER

MAY 25, 2022 11:56 AM PT

After drug traffickers killed his little brother, William and his 6-year-old son, Santiago, fled Colombia last September to seek asylum in the United States.

Unbeknownst to William, who ended up in Los Angeles with a friend, he and his son immediately became part of a cohort of thousands of families in a “dedicated docket” program that the Biden administration established in 11 cities, including Los Angeles, in May 2021.

In response to a sudden rise of apprehensions last spring of families and children at the Southwest border, Biden promised the accelerated docket would resolve cases “more expeditiously and fairly.” These sorts of programs have existed in various forms under previous administrations; Biden’s program pushes immigration judges to resolve cases in 300 days, significantly shorter than the 4.5-year average of asylum cases in immigration court.

But according to a new Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA Law report, the docket’s fast-track timeline has imposed new hardships on many asylum seekers and created additional obstacles that ultimately lead to higher rates of deportation orders, sometimes based on legal technicalities.

For William — who didn’t want his last name published, fearing reprisal against his family still living in Colombia — the docket’s expeditious nature meant he had only six weeks to secure legal representation before his first court hearing, leaving him to navigate a complex and often confusing system without an attorney. Immigration officials provided him with documents heavy with legal jargon in English. He could read only in Spanish.

In addition, those on the docket are released with “alternatives to detention,” which means they are monitored, either with an ankle bracelet or via a phone application. Immigration officials shackled William with a GPS monitor on his ankle before releasing him and his son.

Ultimately, an immigration judge ordered William and his 6-year-old to be deported in “absentia” when they didn’t show up for their court hearing at U.S. Immigration Court in downtown Los Angeles. In fact, at the time the judge gave the order, William was in the building, but was three floors below the courtroom in a waiting area at the direction of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official. By the time William was told he was in the wrong place, the judge had already ordered the father and son’s removal from the U.S.

In Los Angeles, an estimated 99% of the 449 cases completed on the dedicated docket as of February of this year resulted in removal orders and about 72% of those cases were issued to people who missed their court hearing — “in absentia” — according to a report released Wednesday by the Center for Immigration Law and Policy and Immigrants’ Rights Policy Clinic at UCLA School of Law

Perhaps most striking, the report shows that almost half of those in absentia removal orders are for children, many 6 and younger.

In addition, court data analyzed in the report show that an estimated 70% of people on this particular docket don’t have legal counsel. In contrast, an estimated 33% of those on the Los Angeles court’s non-accelerated docket lack legal counsel.

The nature of the accelerated dockets made it nearly impossible for asylum-seekers to get a fair hearing, the report’s authors concluded. The high absentia rate, the report concluded, is a red flag that the dedicated docket isn’t working as it should.

. . . .

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Read the rest of Cindy’s totally disturbing article at the link!

Sadly, this news will come as no surprise to readers of “Courtside.” Having watched these types of  efforts to co-opt the Immigration Courts as a vehicle of unfair, racially motivated “deterrence” and “enforcement,” I could see that this program was going to be an unmitigated disaster at EOIR, given Garland’s failure to install progressive judicial leadership and human rights and due process expertise into the broken and biased system he inherited from Sessions and Barr.

The NDPA is going to have to “dig in” and fight Garland and Mayorkas every step of the way, at every level of the system, to save as many lives as possible from their disgraceful continuation of a “Miller Lite” White Nationalist, anti-immigrant program of abusing and dehumanizing asylum seekers — most individuals of color and many of them children or other “vulnerable individuals.” 

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever! Garland’s dysfunctional, biased, leaderless, soul-less, ethically challenged EOIR, never!

PWS

05-26-22

🤮WHITE REPLACEMENT THEORY (“WRT”) IS SIMPLY FASCISM “REBRANDED!” — “In terms of propaganda, it is a rebranding of the same thing, namely longstanding fascist paranoias and lies about invasion and racial and political replacement.” 

 

http://enewspaper.latimes.com/infinity/article_share.aspx?guid=34dc9d2d-a5e6-4795-a504-e742e1148d06

Jason Stanley and Fredrico Finchelstein write in the LA Times:

. . . .

Democracy is essentially a system based around two values — freedom and equality. Fascists promoted the idea of replacement as a way of arguing that democracy and its ideals were incompatible with the nation. The very first chapter of Grant’s book is “Race and Democracy,” in which he contends that democracy is a threat to Nordic supremacy, because democracy leads inevitably to greater immigration and equality between races.

In fascist ideology, true national consciousness is pitted against domestic “enemies,” who are against national forms that are racially, ethnically or religiously homogeneous. These domestic “enemies” are invariably institutions and individuals who champion democracy and its ideals.

The Indian nationalist ideologue M.S. Golwalkar, the ideological founding father of BJP, the right-wing Hindu party of Narendra Modi, argued against the idea that a nation was composed of all of its inhabitants and rejected the idea that every citizen of India had equal rights to freedom. Like Grant, Golwalkar regarded democratic ideals as a clear threat to his vision of the nation.

If enemies are people who either look, think or behave differently, and if their mere existence poses a threat to the imagined homogeneity of the nation, it is not surprising that the most radicalized believer would carry out mass murders, as has happened in the U.S., Europe and New Zealand, and pogroms as in India.

And, of course, we see it in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ideas of replacement are central to Russian extremist, nationalist, antisemitic and fascist traditions. They motivate the nature of its attack in Ukraine, such as wiping out Ukrainian identity culturally and physically. Vladimir Putin also considers liberal democracy as an existential threat to Russian cultural greatness, and by extension, to the Russian nation.

The link between WRT and fascism is not accidental. WRT is a relatively recent label for old fascism. In terms of propaganda, it is a rebranding of the same thing, namely longstanding fascist paranoias and lies about invasion and racial and political replacement. WRT’s logic justifies mass violence. When it is normalized, it poses an existential threat to democracy and its ideals. It targets the very idea of common humanity that underlies them.

Jason Stanley is a professor of philosophy at Yale University. His most recent book is “How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them.”Federico Finchelstein is a professor of history at the New School. He is the author of the forthcoming book “Fascist Mythologies.”

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Read the complete article at the link.

“Targeting the idea of common humanity” is central to today’s far-right political activism — from legislatures to the courts.

As I have frequently pointed out, anti-immigrant myths and fear mongering are the “heart and soul” of modern White Nationalist fascism.

Trump’s degrading of migrants from Haiti and Africa and his wish for more Norwegian immigrants is a classic example of the “myth of Nordic supremacy” that is a staple of some fascist movements. See, e.g., https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-referred-haiti-african-countries-shithole-nations-n836946.

That’s why Dems failure to take strong pro-immigrants’-rights actions and to aggressively undue the nativist anti-immigrant agenda of the Trump regime is so problematic and short-sighted!

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

05-26-22

🗽⚖️NDPA JOB OPPORTUNITY:  WORK FOR “THE ASYLUMIST,” JASON DZUBOW! 😎 — Dzubow & Pilcher, PLLC, in Washington, D.C. is looking for a highly qualified Immigration Associate Attorney! 

Jason Dzubow
Jason Dzubow
The Asylumist

IMMIGRATION ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY 

Dzubow & Pilcher, PLLC, a boutique law firm located in downtown Washington, DC, seeks a full-time associate attorney. Our firm practices immigration law with a focus on asylum, family-based immigration, and removal defense. Our asylum clients come from a diverse range of countries and include journalists, diplomats, sexual minorities, religious and ethnic minorities, political activists, women’s rights activists, and many others.  

Job Duties & Tasks: Represent clients and manage caseload in all areas of the firm’s immigration practice, which includes: assisting clients in affirmative and defensive asylum applications, withholding of removal and other defenses to removal, family- and asylum-based adjustment of status, VAWA, DACA, TPS, employment authorization, J-1 waivers, waivers of inadmissibility, and consular processing of immigrant visa cases. Specific tasks will include conducting client intakes, providing legal consultations, completing immigration forms and affidavits, legal research and writing, direct representation of clients before the USCIS, ICE, EOIR, and the U.S. Department of State, and supervising paralegals and interns.

Qualifications: Membership in the DC bar or a state bar is required. Spanish fluency is required.  Candidates should have a demonstrated interest in immigration law and political asylum, and experience in an immigration legal services practice environment. Preference given to candidates with experience in asylum and removal defense. Candidates should also be detail-oriented, self-starters with the ability to handle multiple priorities and complete time-sensitive assignments.  

Salary and Benefits: Salary is commensurate with experience. We also offer health benefits, vacation time, and a retirement savings plan. 

To apply: If interested, please send a cover letter, resume, and writing sample (5-10 pages) to Todd Pilcher at tpilcher@dzubowlaw.com. Please include “Associate Attorney Application” in your subject line. We are accepting applications on a rolling basis.

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Contact information is in the above position posting!  Good Luck!

For those of you who don’t know him, in addition to being a great lawyer, Jason Dzubow is the author of The Asylumist Blog:  https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj-1riog_v3AhXyIn0KHZWGB5YQFnoECAgQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.asylumist.com%2F&usg=AOvVaw31096PYuipIGsxJadngh9O, has written a book (How to Seek Asylum in the United States and Keep Your Sanity), and has been an Adjunct Professor of Law.

As you can see, he and his partner, Todd Pilcher, another “immigration guru” who practiced before me in Arlington, have senses of humor, an absolute requirement for practicing immigration and human rights law in today’s world!

 🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

05-25-22

🗽⚖️🇺🇸UYGHUR ACTIVIST SAVED BY GW IMMIGRATION CLINIC!  

GW Law Immigration Clinic Director Professor Alberto Benítez & Co-Director Paulina Vera

Please join me and Professor Vera in congratulating Immigration Clinic client, T-Y-, from China, and his student-attorneys, Gisela Camba, Esder Chong, Jordan Nelson, Tessa Pulaski, and Julia Yang. The client’s asylum application was filed on April 6, 2018, his interview at the Asylum Office was on November 8, 2021, and he was granted asylum on May 17, 2022. We received the decision today. The above-captioned is what T-Y- said upon learning about his asylum grant.

T-Y- is a Muslim Uyghur, an ethnic and religious minority in China. Due to his decades-long work as an Uyghur activist, he was persecuted by the Chinese government. T-Y- was falsely imprisoned, sentenced to a ‘re-education camp’, physically and psychologically tortured, and had his movements restricted and monitored. Despite everything he has endured, T-Y- continues his Uyghur advocacy work from within the United States and has even consulted with U.S. politicians and government agencies about the treatment of Uyghurs in China.

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Alberto Manuel Benitez

Professor of Clinical Law

Director, Immigration Clinic

The George Washington University Law School

650 20th Street, NW

Washington, DC 20052

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Congratulations! Another job REALLY well done by Professors Benitez and Vera and their band of NDPA recruits at GW Law.

As Jason “The Asylumist” Dzubow says, lots of winnable cases out there if folks can get well-qualified representation and actually reach a merits determination before the Asylum Office or EOIR — no mean feat in such a backlogged system!

That raises the point of why wouldn’t a clearly well-prepared and grantable Uyghur case like this one be moved to the “front of the line” for expedited processing instead of sitting around for more than four years?

For years, both USCIS and EOIR have been “expediting” the wrong cases (known as “Aimless Docket Reshuffling”) in an ill-advised and failed attempt to use the legal asylum system as a “deterrent” by maximizing and prioritizing “anticipated denials.” Instead, they should be putting protection and excellence in preparation and advocacy first. It would actually free up more representation resources if advocates weren’t forced to “babysit” “ready for prime time” cases for years! 

During that time, records must be constantly updated, memories fade, and witnesses can become unavailable. Attorneys on both sides move on. Judges retire. There are all sorts of “below the radar screen” costs to creating and maintaining a huge backlog. Unfortunately, it promotes the “refugee roulette” image of what is supposed to be a fair, expert, timely system (but isn’t).

In addition, many of the “haste makes waste” attempts to cut corners by prejudging and denying certain cases, or creating “defective in absentias” end up being reopened or remanded because of sloppy, substandard work.  

What is the Government’s “vision” of how this system can be made to work in a fair and timely manner for all concerned?

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

05-25-22

⚖️ IMMIGRATION JUDICIARY👩🏽‍⚖️ 👨🏻‍⚖️: THREE OF FIVE LATEST GARLAND IJ APPOINTEES HAVE PRIOR IMMIGRATION PRIVATE PRACTICE EXPERIENCE!

 

https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1507646/download

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

May 23, 2022

EOIR Announces Five New Immigration Judges

FALLS CHURCH, VA – The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) today announced the appointment of five immigration judges to courts in California, Florida, and Massachusetts.

EOIR continues to work to expand its immigration 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 Romy L. Lerner, William Mabry III, Cynthia M. Nunez, Curtis F. Pierce, and Michael P. Sady to their new positions.

Biographical information follows:

Romy L. Lerner, Immigration Judge, Miami (Krome) Immigration Court

Romy L. Lerner was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in May 2022. Judge Lerner earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1999 from Columbia University and a Juris Doctorate in 2002 from Columbia University School of Law. From 2015 to 2022, she was the Associate Director of the Immigration Clinic at the University of Miami School of Law, and from 2013 to 2015, she was a supervising attorney with the clinic. From 2010 to 2013, she was a supervising attorney at Americans for Immigrant Justice (formerly Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center (FIAC)). From 2007 to 2010, and previously from 2005 to 2006, she was a staff attorney at FIAC. From 2006 to 2007, she was a Fulbright Fellow in Buenos Aires, Argentina. From 2002 to 2005, she was a litigation associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. Judge Lerner is a member of the Florida Bar and New York State Bar.

William Mabry III, Immigration Judge, Santa Ana Immigration Court

William Mabry III was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in May 2022. Judge Mabry earned a Bachelor of Science in 1988 from Arizona State University, and a Master

Communications and Legislative Affairs Division

EOIR Announces Five New Immigration Judges Page 2

of Public Administration in 1991 from Arizona State University while concurrently earning a Juris Doctor in 1993 from the University of New Mexico School of Law. From 2019 to 2022, he served as an associate judge for the San Carlos Apache Tribe, in Peridot, Arizona. From 2018 to 2019, he was an associate attorney with Davis and Miles, in Tempe, Arizona. From 1996 to 2018, he served as a senior field attorney with the National Labor Relations Board in Phoenix. From 1994 to 1995, he served as a staff attorney with the New Mexico Court of Appeals. Judge Mabry is a member of the State Bar of Arizona and State Bar of New Mexico.

Cynthia M. Nunez, Immigration Judge, San Francisco Immigration Court

Cynthia M. Nunez was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in May 2022. Judge Nunez earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1986 from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor in 1993 from Wayne State University Law School. After a previous stint from 1994 to 1997, Judge Nunez returned to practicing immigration law at Walker & Associates of Michigan PC, in Detroit, during which time she also served as Lawyer-Guardian ad Litem. From 1997 to 2006, she served as a Michigan Assistant Attorney General. Judge Nunez is a member of the State Bar of Michigan.

Curtis F. Pierce, Immigration Judge, San Francisco Immigration Court

Curtis Pierce was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in May 2022. Judge Pierce earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1980 from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Juris Doctor in 1984 from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. From 1995 to 2022, he practiced immigration law with the Law Offices of Curtis Pierce in Los Angeles. Judge Pierce is a member of the State Bar of California.

Michael P. Sady, Immigration Judge, Boston Immigration Court

Michael P. Sady was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in May 2022. Judge Sady earned a Bachelor of Science in 1984 from Northeastern University and a Juris Doctor in 1988 from Boston University School of Law. From 2002 to 2022, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) in the District of Massachusetts, Boston. From 1997 to 2002, he served as Senior Litigation Counsel with the Massachusetts Port Authority in Boston. From 1991 to 1997, he served as an Associate Litigation Attorney at Eckert, Seamans, Cherin & Mellott in Boston. From 1990 to 1991, he served as an Associate Litigation Attorney at Hutchins & Wheeler in Boston. From 1988 to 1990, he served as an Associate Litigation Attorney at Peabody & Arnold in Boston. Judge Sady is a member of the Massachusetts Bar, as well as the First and Second Circuit Courts of Appeal.

— 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

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

Incremental progress.

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

05-23-22

 

⚖️THE GIBSON REPORT — 05-23-22 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, Managing Attorney, National Immigrant Justice Center — Contrary To Myth, Vast Majority of Released Migrants Appear For Hearings; Trump Judges Continue Cruel, Illegal, Racially Motivated Programs!

Elizabeth Gibson
Elizabeth Gibson
Managing Attorney
National Immigrant Justice Center
Publisher of “The Gibson Report”

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Weekly Briefing

 

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

 

CONTENTS (jump to section)

  • NEWS
  • LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES
  • RESOURCES
  • EVENTS

 

NEWS

 

Judge Orders Government to Continue Migrant Expulsions on Border

NYT: A federal judge on Friday blocked the Biden administration from lifting a pandemic-related health order whose scheduled expiration on Monday would have thrown open the doors of the United States to asylum seekers at the border for the first time in more than two years.

 

LA judge considers Border Patrol’s agreement to settle migrant children case

Spectrum: In the proposed settlement, filed over the weekend in Los Angeles federal court, the border patrol agrees to protocols requiring that detained minors be held in safe and sanitary conditions, not be separated from relatives, and have access to medical evaluations and prompt medical treatment when needed.

 

Court ruling extends uneven treatment for asylum-seekers

WaPo: The U.S. government has expelled migrants more than 1.9 million times under Title 42, denying them a chance to seek asylum as permitted under U.S. law and international treaty for purposes of preventing the spread of COVID-19. But Title 42 is not applied evenly across nationalities. See also Title 42 has no bearing on decision to cross border, Venezuelan asylum-seeker says; DHS hasn’t seen a ‘significant decrease’ of migrants at the US-Mexico border amid ongoing efforts, Mayorkas tells CNN.

 

12,212 migrant children reentered U.S. border custody alone in 2021 after being expelled

CBS: Over a 12-month span beginning in October 2020, U.S. Border Patrol agents processed 12,212 unaccompanied migrant minors who had been previously expelled under Title 42, according to internal Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

 

Most people released by immigration authorities do attend their court hearings

Politifact: The in absentia rate for fiscal year 2021 was 10%; for the first quarter of 2022, October to December 2021, it was 18%.

 

Push For Gov’t-Funded Deportation Defense Gains Steam

Law360: Programs that provide government-funded attorneys to noncitizens facing deportation are becoming more common in cities and states across the country, and immigration advocates hope to harness that momentum to scale up those initiatives to the federal level.

 

ICE chief defends proposed cut in immigration detention beds

RollCall: The administration asked Congress to provide funding for just 25,000 detention beds — down from the current level of 34,000 — and requested an $87 million increase in funding for programs allowing for alternatives to detention.

 

DHS watchdog: Migrants weren’t tested for COVID before transport on domestic commercial flights

CBS: The watchdog noted that “without clear COVID-19 testing policies and controls in place to enforce these policies, ERO may transport COVID-19–positive migrants on domestic commercial flights.” The report said the failed policy “risk[ed] exposing other migrants, ERO staff, and the general public to COVID-19.”

 

Texas educators fear Abbott’s effort to kick undocumented children out of school

Yahoo: According to Higher Ed Immigration Portal, there are 1,644,000 students enrolled in public schools in the state of Texas, 58,255 of them undocumented. The United States as a whole is home to more than 427,000 undocumented students.

 

LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES

 

La. Judge Slams Brakes On Biden’s Title 42 Repeal Effort

Law360: A Louisiana federal judge ordered President Joe Biden to keep intact a Trump-era order allowing for the swift expulsion of migrants amid the COVID-19 pandemic, ruling Friday that two dozen states would likely prove they weren’t provided enough notice when the administration announced plans to end the policy.

 

Flores Settlement News

LexisNexis: A court filing on Saturday May 21, 2022, seeks U.S. Judge Dolly M. Gee’s preliminary approval of the settlement. The border patrol has agreed to a wide range of protocols requiring that detained minors are held in safe and sanitary conditions, not be separated from relatives, and have access to medical evaluations and prompt medical treatment when needed.

 

If You Say You’re Filing A BIA Brief, File It, 3rd Circ. Says

Law360: Petitioners before the Board of Immigration Appeals don’t have to file a brief supporting their appeal, but if they say they will and do not, the board can dismiss the case, the Third Circuit ruled Friday in affirming the dismissal of a Salvadoran man’s asylum request.

 

5th Circ. Raps Judge’s Credibility Ruling, Revives Asylum Bid

Law360: The Fifth Circuit revived claims that an asylum-seeker feared police brutality in Cameroon, saying that an immigration judge wrongly deemed him untruthful based on government reports that had never been “identified, referenced or discussed” during his court hearing.

 

7th Circ. Wary Of Reviving Ill. Counties’ Immigration Law Fight

Law360: A Seventh Circuit panel seemed unconvinced Wednesday by two Illinois counties’ argument that they should be able to pursue a constitutional challenge to a law Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed last year, which blocks immigration detention contracts with the federal government.

 

ICE, GEO Group Sued Over Suicide Of Man Detained In Calif.

Law360: The daughter of a man who died by suicide in an immigration detention facility is suing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, GEO Group Inc., which runs the facility, and the city of McFarland, California, saying they ignored the man’s mental illness and tortured him by putting him in solitary confinement, leading to his death.

 

Legal advocates sue US over Iranian-born scholar’s treatment

AP: The civil rights complaint alleges that Customs and Border Protection officers denied Shamloo and her husband entry to the U.S. based on their Iranian birth and violated procedures by demanding DNA samples. They and their two children are Canadian citizens.

 

DOS Announces Reinstatement of the Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program

AILA: DOS announced plans to reinstate the Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program (CFRP) and increase capacity for consular services in Cuba. Limited immigrant visa processing will resume in Havana, but most immigrant visa cases will still be processed at the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown, Guyana.

 

DHS Notice of Designation of Afghanistan for TPS

AILA: DHS notice of the designation of Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, effective 5/20/22 through 11/20/23. (87 FR 30976, 5/20/22)

 

DHS Notice of Special Student Relief for Afghanistan

AILA: DHS notice suspending certain regulatory requirements for F-1 nonimmigrant students whose country of citizenship is Afghanistan and who are experiencing severe economic hardship as a result of the situation in Afghanistan. (87 FR 30971, 5/20/22)

 

DOS Provides Guidance for Ukraine Nationals

AILA: DOS provided updated guidance for nationals of Ukraine seeking to enter or entering the United States. The guidance clarifies information on the Uniting for Ukraine program, nonimmigrant visas, immigrant visas, humanitarian parole, refugee status, and more.

 

DHS/ALL/PIA-094 Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) Case Request System

DHS: The MPP Case Request System provides an avenue for individuals to initiate a review of their enrollment in MPP if they believe they should not be included in the program.

 

Social Security Administration Notice of New Matching Program with DHS

AILA: Social Security Administration (SSA) notice of a new matching program with DHS that sets forth the terms, conditions, and safeguards under which DHS will disclose information to SSA to identify noncitizens who leave the U.S. voluntarily and noncitizens who are removed. (87 FR 30321, 5/18/22)

 

DOS Announces Suspension of National Visa Center Public Inquiry Telephone Line

AILA: The National Visa Center has suspended its public inquiry telephone line, effective May 23, 2022. Contact information and information on common NIV and IV inquiries are available.

 

 

RESOURCES

 

NIJC RESOURCES

 

GENERAL RESOURCES

 

EVENTS

 

NIJC EVENTS

 

 

GENERAL EVENTS

 

 

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

 

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

 

Elizabeth Gibson (Pronouns: she/her/ella)

Managing Attorney for Capacity Building and Mentorship

National Immigrant Justice Center

A HEARTLAND ALLIANCE Program

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

www.immigrantjustice.org | Facebook | Twitter

 

 

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

Thanks, Elizabeth.

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

O5-24-22

POLITICS: KURT BARDELLA @ LA TIMES: WHAT “DEMS DON’T GET” THREATENS AMERICAN DEMOCRACY☠️: “They should do what the Republicans would do given a chance: Refuse to compromise and go on the attack. This difference, of course, is that the Democrats are going after the insurrectionist machine and defending democracy while the GOP is tearing it down.”

 

http://enewspaper.latimes.com/infinity/article_share.aspx?guid=8323fc34-a52b-46ef-9c44-5be1f107c380

By Kurt Bardella

The question I get asked the most as someone who went from being a Republican to a Democrat is: “What’s the biggest difference between the two parties?”

The answer: Every impulse Democrats have is defensive and every impulse Republicans have is offensive.

A report in the Washington Post this week showed these dynamics at play perfectly between Democrats and Republicans on the House Jan. 6 select committee. As the Post described, Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy (Fla.) insisted that the committee focus less on former President Trump and more on the security and intelligence failures that allowed the attack on the Capitol. In response, Republican Vice Chair Liz Cheney (Wyo.) argued that the committee should keep its focus on the former president.

This is the best illustration I have come across that demonstrates how different Republicans and Democrats approach things on a tactical and, I’d say, cellular level.

When Republicans have the reins of power, they do not hesitate to go after the very top. From Barack Obama’s birth certificate to Hillary Clinton’s emails and potentially Hunter Biden’s laptop, the GOP is unapologetic about pursuing witch hunts for political gain.

Democrats, on the other hand, are always pursuing lines of legitimate oversight reluctantly. At times, it feels like they are apologizing for doing the right thing.

I think back to Trump’s first impeachment and the hesitant posture displayed by the Democrats during those proceedings. It was almost as if they were forced into it, regretted that it came to this, and moved as fast as possible to get it over with.

Democrats controlled the House majority but never forced Trump administration officials with firsthand knowledge of the events that were at the center of the impeachment inquiry to testify, such as John Bolton, Mick Mulvaney or Rick Perry, and the Republican-controlled Senate predictably torpedoed any effort to compel them to testify.

History repeated itself during Trump’s second impeachment as firsthand witnesses like Mike Pence, Mark Meadows, Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, Rudolph W. Giuliani, etc., were never called to testify. Hillary Clinton, of course, was grilled by the Republican-led Benghazi committee for more than 11 hours.

It’s almost as if Democrats believe there is some prize awaiting them for showing what they would characterize as restraint. There isn’t.

. . . .

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

Read the complete article at the link.

This has been obvious in the Dems’ feckless approach to Immigration, and particularly the Immigration Courts, over the years. 

Without enacting any significant legislation, the GOP instituted an overtly racist/nativist/restrictionist program. They negated existing laws, scorned the Constitution, abrogated log-standing international agreements, and aggressively and blatantly stacked the Federal Judiciary at all levels with far-right zealots. And they have gotten away with it!

Yet, even after successfully running on programs promising a restoration of the rule of law and the Constitution in immigration and human rights, Dems have been from feckless, to timid, to complicit in the GOP’s vile programs. 

The GOP did not hesitate to “stack” the Immigration Court system at all levels with questionably qualified judges who lacked perspective, expertise, and a commitment to due process. The result was a dramatic plunge in the grant rates for asylum seekers, even though conditions in the primary sending countries have continued to worsen dramatically over the years. 

No justification for what the GOP did, and no hesitation or self-doubts about doing it! Amid tons of criticism, they just plowed ahead and did it! They “played to the most extreme elements of their base” — nobody else! They weren’t scared to take extreme actions that most polls showed the majority of American’s didn’t favor!

By contrast, the Dems approach to immigration and human rights policy is a complete mess. And, worst of all, the Immigration Courts and EOIR remain largely as the Trump regime left them. Indeed, the backlog is growing at an astounding rate, as Garland flails and fails to bring on board the “best and brightest” judges and intellectual leaders to reform EOIR into the due-process oriented “model judiciary” that it was once intended to be! 

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

05-22-22

⚖️👩🏽‍⚖️NOLAN RAPPAPORT @ THE HILL: THE EOIR BACKLOG IS GETTING WORSE — GARLAND DOES NOT APPEAR TO HAVE THE ANSWER — I’m Quoted In The Article!

Nolan Rappaport
Nolan Rappaport
Contributor, The Hill

Immigration courts are overrun with cases, and it’s only getting worse  

Nolan Rappaport, opinion contributor

The immigration court has a backlog of more than 1.7 million cases. This means that the number of people waiting for a hearing is larger than the population of Phoenix, Ariz., or of Philadelphia, Pa., the fifth and sixth largest cities in the United States.

 

This isn’t a new problem, but it has gotten much worse recently. According to TRAC, a data distribution organization at Syracuse University, the growth of the backlog has been accelerating at a breakneck pace since the start of the Biden administration when it was “only” close to 1.3 million cases.

 

What is the administration doing to reduce the backlog?

 

Hiring more judges: Recent administrations have prioritized hiring more judges to lower the backlog. From fiscal 2014, to fiscal 2021, the number of judges has more than doubled, rising from 249 to 559. At the end of the first quarter in fiscal 2022, there were 578.

 

According to the Congressional Research Service, the backlog probably would continue to grow even if 100 more judges were hired. An additional 200 could reduce the backlog to just under 1.1 million, but it wouldn’t reach that level until fiscal 2031. It would take an additional 500 judges to eliminate the backlog entirely, and it wouldn’t happen until fiscal 2030.

 

Accelerated dockets: In May 2021, DHS announced a “dedicated docket” program to “more expeditiously and fairly” render decisions in the cases of certain families who are apprehended after making an illegal entry.

 

These families are placed in removal proceedings and then released into the interior of the country under the “Alternatives to Detention” program. This program currently is monitoring more than 227,508 families and single individuals.

 

The Florence Project claims that the Obama and Trump administrations attempted these “dedicated dockets” to reduce the backlog and it not only failed, but led to widespread due process violations and undermined access to legal counsel.

 

The Vera Institute of Justiceopposes the program because it “forces newly arriving, asylum-seeking families through rushed ‘rocket docket’ court proceedings without guaranteeing legal representation for all, depriving families of fairness and due process.”

 

In any case, it just speeds up the processing of new additions to the immigration court caseload.  It does nothing to reduce the size of the backlog, and it is very unfair to migrants who have been waiting for a hearing for up to five years.

 

It also may hamper efforts to reduce the backlog. Georgetown law school professor Paul Schmidt points out that when dedicated docket judges are not available for cases on the general docket, it places extra burdens on their judicial colleagues who are handling the general docket cases.

 

Read more at https://thehill.com/opinion/immigration/3492751-immigration-courts-are-overrun-with-cases-and-its-only-getting-worse/

 

Published originally on The Hill.

 

Nolan Rappaport was detailed to the House Judiciary Committee as an Executive Branch Immigration Law Expert for three years. He subsequently served as an immigration counsel for the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims for four years. Prior to working on the Judiciary Committee, he wrote decisions for the Board of Immigration Appeals for 20 years.  Follow him at https://nolanrappaport.blogspot.com

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

Go over to The Hill at the above link to read the complete article.

Thanks Nolan for continuing to “shine the light” on this critical issue that might appear to be “below the radar screen” but actually threatens  the stability of our entire legal system!⚖️

As I’ve said many times, Aimless Docket Reshuffling (“ADR”), engaged in to some extent by Administrations of both parties, is NOT the answer. It’s a huge part of the problem!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

05-21-22

🏴‍☠️ASSEMBLY LINE INJUSTICE @ EOIR! — MOST CONSERVATIVE U.S. CIRCUIT COURT FAULTS BOGUS ASYLUM DENIAL FOR CAMEROONIAN, THAT GARLAND’S DOJ DEFENDED! — Nkenglefac v. Garland, 5th Cir., 05-18-22, published

 

Dan Kowalski reports from LexisNexis Immigration Community:

https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/19/19-60647-CV0.pdf

https://www.lexisnexis.com/LegalNewsRoom/immigration/b/insidenews/posts/ca5-on-due-process-credibility-nkenglefac-v-garland#

“Petitioner Giscard Nkenglefac, a native and citizen of Cameroon, applied for admission into the United States on May 9, 2018. The immigration judge (“IJ”), Agnelis Reese, denied Nkenglefac’s application for relief from removal and ordered him removed to Cameroon after determining that Nkenglefac was not credible. The Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) subsequently affirmed the IJ’s determination, and Nkenglefac was removed to Cameroon. Nkenglefac now petitions for review of the BIA’s dismissal of his appeal from the IJ’s denial of application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). Nkenglefac challenges the IJ’s reliance on his U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) and asylum credible fear interviews that were not entered into the hearing record of the removal proceeding, nor, indeed, raised in that hearing at all, to make an adverse credibility finding. … Nkenglefac argues that the IJ erred as a matter of law by drawing negative credibility inferences from summaries of his CBP and credible fear interviews because neither interview was submitted into the record during his proceeding, much less adverted to. Nkenglefac also argues that he did not waive this argument because he could not have raised the issue before the IJ given that he had no notice the IJ would rely on these documents prior to issuance of her decision. …  [A]t no point during the hearing before the IJ was Nkenglefac provided with the opportunity to explain any apparent inconsistencies or dispute the accuracy of the records in question, or cross examine the individuals who prepared the interview summaries, much less object to their introduction, or offer views on weight to be given to the evidence. Inspection of the hearing record confirms that Nkenglefac was not given the opportunity to explain perceived inconsistencies in the government summaries of his prior uncounseled interviews.5 Indeed, the voluminous testimonial record, including extensive government cross-examination and IJ direct inquiry, gives no indication that Nkenglefac had previously made any inconsistent statements, yet the IJ, three months later, determined that “inconsistencies and omissions . . . undermine critical parts of Respondent’s claim” to such an extent that the court denied “Respondent’s application based on lack of credibility.” … The BIA majority—affirming the IJ’s decision—also determined that Nkenglefac’s argument regarding the absence of the CBP and credible fear interviews from the record was “waived” because “the [trial] transcript reflects that [Nkenglefac’s] former counsel never requested that these records . . . be made a part of the record.” However, we fail to understand why Nkenglefac’s counsel should have introduced these government summaries into the record to anticipate and explain later-perceived inconsistencies when they were never identified, referenced, or discussed. It is also worth noting that there is no evidence—beyond the statement of the BIA majority—that Nkenglefac’s counsel failed to preserve this issue on appeal. The issue was discussed at length in Nkenglefac’s appeal brief to the BIA and again in his brief to this court. Furthermore, this observation stands in contravention to existing BIA law that “an adverse credibility determination should not be based on inconsistencies that take an alien by surprise.” Matter of Y-I-M-, 27 I. & N. Dec. 724, 726-29 (BIA 2019) (quote at 726). Notably, the Government’s brief on appeal does not argue that Nkenglefac has waived this argument. … We GRANT the petition for review and REMAND this case to the BIA for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”

[Hats waaaayyyy off to Homero López, Jr., who reports that he is in touch with his client and is hopeful of bringing him back to the USA.  Audio of the oral argument is here.]

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Daniel M. Kowalski

Editor-in-Chief

Bender’s Immigration Bulletin (LexisNexis)

cell/text/Signal (512) 826-0323

@dkbib on Twitter

dan@cenizo.com

Free Daily Blog: www.bibdaily.com

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

Once again, credibility, the problematic issue in this case, is not a profound legal concept. It’s supposedly the “bread and butter of Immigration Judging.” Yet, both the  IJs and the BIA continue to often get it wrong. Perhaps “dead wrong” in the cases of asylum seekers! Why isn’t this fundamental flaw at the all-important “retail level” of our justice system receiving the necessary attention and corrections from Garland and the Biden Administration?

As one “Courtside Commenter” said:  

I think this is the IJ who retired with a 100% asylum denial rate [actually it was 99.4%, denying 155 of 156 claims she “heard” — but didn’t listen to — over a career that lasted far too long]!And Cameroon is now a TPS country.

This decision is proof perfect of EOIR’s deportation assembly line approach.And I’ve mentioned a number of times the alarming problems with CBP arrival statements noted by the US Commission for International Religious Freedom, an internal government component, which has repeatedly flagged the fact that the resulting “statements” are not the verbatim transcripts they appear to be, and often contain questions that were never actually asked of the respondent.

How bad was this now retired Judge who has been the subject of frequent adverse publicity? See, e.g., https://www.topic.com/your-judge-is-your-destiny; https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2019/07/inside-the-courtroom-where-every-asylum-seeker-gets-rejected/.

As pointed out in the above comment, Cameroon is now a TPS country. Additionally, one of the “five top nationalities” that came before this “asylum denial machine” were asylum seekers from Eritrea. Although they found no success with her, the EOIR statistics for FY 2022 show that that every “merits decision” on Eritrean asylum was granted. There were exactly ZERO, “0” merits denials. See https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1107366/download.

Thankfully, Judge Reese has retired. But the endemic problems she symbolized, the lack of effective appellate review, and disdain for due process for asylum seekers by the BIA remain overarching problems that Garland has stubbornly failed to effectively address. 

Additionally, in another “under the radar yet highly significant problem,” Garland’s OIL within the USDOJ Civil Division continues to “defend the indefensible” coming out of the BIA. This wastes Government and private sector litigation resources, not to mention precious Article III Court time. It also turns due process and immigrant justice in the U.S. into a random game of chance.

Obviously, there is a severe lack of leadership all over the USDOJ under Garland. Moving toward the “halfway point” in the Biden Administration, there still is no appointed and confirmed Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

05-20-22

🤮INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE/DEFECTIVE COURTS — 3rd Cir. Exposes Massive Due Process Failure @ Garland’s EOIR! — St. Ford v. A.G.

 

https://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/211729p.pdf

From Judge Roth’s opinion:

The need for effective assistance of counsel applies in immigration law just as it does in criminal law. Aliens, many of whom do not speak English and some of whom are detained before their immigration hearings, can be particularly susceptible to the consequences of ineffective lawyers.

 

Petitioner Arckange Saint Ford paid a lawyer to represent him in removal proceedings, but Saint Ford’s requests for relief from deportation were denied after the lawyer failed to present important and easily available evidence going to the heart of Saint Ford’s claims. Saint Ford retained new counsel, and his new lawyer asked the Board of Immigration Appeals to reopen his case because of his former attorney’s ineffective assistance. The Board declined to do so. Because Saint Ford presents a meritorious ineffective-assistance claim, we will vacate the Board’s decision and remand.

And concurring Judge Ambro had a harsh assessment of the IJ, the BIA, and most of all A.G. Garland, who has been remarkably “tone deaf” about correcting the grotesque expertise and due process problems in his “wholly owned, astoundingly dysfunctional” Immigration “Courts:”

Arckange Saint Ford will get a second shot at canceling the Government’s order of removal—that’s what matters. The majority is remanding because of his former counsel’s deficient performance at Saint Ford’s removal hearing. I agree with that and concur in full.

But former counsel was not the only one who made significant missteps at the hearing. The Immigration Judge did as well. I therefore would have granted Saint Ford’s initial petition for review and remanded on that basis. I write separately to explain these errors in the hope that similar ones will not be made at Saint Ford’s new hearing.

. . . .

Here, though it was reasonable to request Saint Ford corroborate his testimony about the identity and motive of his harassers, the IJ did not tell him what corroboration she needed or give him a chance to present that evidence. There is no indication she engaged in the Abdulai inquiry as required before skipping straight to “hold[ing] the lack of corroboration against [Saint Ford].” Id. (alterations adopted). She went from first to third across the pitcher’s mound. Our Abdulai inquiry is there to ensure these important corners aren’t cut.

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

What’s wrong with this picture? Going on two decades after the enactment of the REAL ID Act, this IJ gets basic corroboration wrong on a life or death asylum case. Then, she compounds the error by failing to apply a two-decades old circuit precedent. The case sails through the BIA. Then, Garland’s OIL defends the indefensible. “Corner cutting” has become institutionalized, permitted, and even encouraged in today’s broken  EOIR!

Meanwhile, it’s left to Circuit Judge Ambro to do the jobs of Garland, his failed BIA, and an IJ badly in need of remedial training! This is an expert tribunal? This is justice? This is due process? Gimmie a break! 

This is squarely on Garland! He enables and defends defective, due-process-denying decisions by EOIR. His grotesque failure to appoint and empower a BIA that will end this nonsense and insist on competent legal performance from ALL Immigration Judges in these life or death cases is disgraceful!

Cases like this also “give lie” to the bogus claims that today’s EOIR is comprised of “experts” who can be trusted to remedy due process defects, model best practices, or (perhaps most absurdly) insure that the rights of all respondents, including the unrepresented, are protected. Why is a Dem Administration running a “due process denial machine?” Why is OIL defending the indefensible? Why is Garland still the AG, despite showing little interest and scant skill in creating a due process/fundamental fairness oriented tribunal at the “retail level” of our staggering justice system! 

You don’t have to be a “rocket scientist” to trace the disrespect for the Constitutional, statutory, and human rights of migrants, largely individuals of color, to hate crimes, misogyny, curtailment of voting rights, and disrespect for equal justice and racial justice throughout our nation. The stunningly poor performance of the U.S. Immigration Courts under Garland also sets an unfortunate tone for the staggering and highly politicized Federal Court system from bottom to top!

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

05-19-22

THE GIBSON REPORT — 05-15-22 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, National Immigrant Justice Center (“NIJC”) — Racially Motivated Immigration Policies, Decisions, Take Center Stage In Light of Buffalo/California Killings! 

Elizabeth Gibson
Elizabeth Gibson
Managing Attorney
National Immigrant Justice Center
Publisher of “The Gibson Report”

pastedGraphic.png

 

Weekly Briefing

 

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

 

CONTENTS (jump to section)

  • PRACTICE ALERTS
  • NEWS
  • LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES
  • RESOURCES
  • EVENTS

 

PRACTICE ALERTS

 

ICE announces updated phased return to social visitation at detention facilities

 

NEWS

 

Supreme Court limits review of factual disputes in immigration cases

CNN: The ruling made it more difficult for non-citizens who are in removal proceedings to get a federal court to review factual determinations that were made by an immigration court concerning relief from deportation. Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote the decision for 5-4 court. Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the dissent for himself with the three liberal justices.

 

Buffalo shooting pushes ‘great replacement theory’ into national spotlight

The Hill: A mass shooting at a Buffalo grocery store that left 10 people dead has placed a national spotlight on a far-right conspiracy theory espoused by the suspected shooter. The so-called “great replacement theory” asserts that there is an intentional effort to replace white Americans with people of color by encouraging immigration.

 

Republicans Wrongly Tie Biden Immigration Policies to Baby Formula Shortage

NYT: Republican lawmakers have misleadingly suggested that the Biden administration is sending baby formula to undocumented immigrants at the expense of American families amid a national shortage.

 

Migrant disappearances quadruple in Mexico in 2021, says report

Reuters: The number of missing foreigners grew by 292% to 349 from 89 cases, said the report presented by the Jesuits’ Missing Migrant Search Program (SJM), a human rights organization.

 

“This Is America Motherfucker”: Witnesses Describe Border Patrol Killing Of Mexican Migrant

Intercept: Men traveling with Carmelo Cruz Marcos told authorities that Border Patrol agents tampered with evidence and sought to concoct a cover story. See also Border Patrol disbands units accused of covering up abuse.

 

Cubans are arriving to the US in record numbers. Smugglers are profiting from their exodus

CNN: As Cuba confronts the worst shortages of food and medicine in decades and runaway inflation, a new exodus of the island’s citizens is underway.

 

Cook County program providing legal help for immigrants starts taking cases

Chicago Sun-Times: In Chicago, there are more than 110,000 pending cases in immigration court, including more than 56,000 cases where people aren’t represented by an attorney, according to a data analysis from Syracuse University. The Midwest Immigrant Defenders Alliance is providing legal help to anyone who is in deportation proceedings in the immigration court in Chicago, even if the person lives in a different state.

 

LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES

 

Patel v. Garland

SCOTUSblog: Holding: Federal courts lack jurisdiction to review facts found as part of any judgment relating to the granting of discretionary relief in immigration proceedings enumerated under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2).

 

Matter of B-Z-R-, 28 I&N Dec. 563 (A.G. 2022)

AG: (1) Matter of G-G-S-, 26 I&N Dec. 339 (BIA 2014), is overruled. (2)  Immigration adjudicators may consider  a  respondent’s  mental  health  in  determining  whether  an  individual,  “having  been  convicted  by  a  final  judgment  of  a  particularly  serious crime, constitutes a danger to the community of the United States.”  8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(2)(A)(ii); see id § 1231(b)(3)(B)(ii).

 

DOJ Lets Immigration Judges Consider Mental Health History

Law360: Immigration courts can once again consider whether a noncitizen’s mental health history lightens the immigration consequences of a conviction, according to a Monday decision from U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland that overturns a 2014 Board of Immigration Appeals ruling.

 

BIA Erred On Money Laundering Deportation, 2nd Circ. Says

Law360: The Second Circuit has found the Board of Immigration Appeals erred in denying a South Korean citizen’s bid to stay in the country, deciding Monday the woman’s second-degree money laundering conviction is not enough to warrant deportation.

 

4th Circ. Erases Order Granting Detainees New Bond Hearings

Law360: The Fourth Circuit erased a lower court injunction requiring the Baltimore Immigration Court to conduct new bond hearings for detainees who say their first hearings were flawed, ruling Thursday that federal judges are barred from entering classwide injunctions over immigration bond hearings.

 

9th Circ. Orders BIA Review Of Nepalese Man’s Asylum Denial

Law360: The Ninth Circuit revived a Nepalese man’s bid for asylum and withholding of removal after finding the Board of Immigration Appeals discounted reports of the Nepali government’s lack of interest in stopping violence inflicted by a major political party.

 

CA9 on FOIA: Transgender Law Center v. ICE

LexisNexis: Yet here the advocates’ FOIA requests met first with silence and then with stonewalling; only after the advocates filed suit did the government begin to comply with its statutory obligations. Our task is to discern whether the government’s belated disclosure was “adequate” under FOIA. We conclude that it was not.

 

11th Circ. Says No Counsel Needed Before Immigration Judge

Law360: A split Eleventh Circuit panel on Wednesday denied a Haitian asylum seeker’s request to review a removal order, saying the man was not entitled to counsel when he appeared before the immigration judge who reviewed his asylum request.

 

Separated Migrant Families Can Continue Quest For Damages

Law360: Three Bay Area migrant families who were separated under the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy may continue to seek compensation for resulting harms they suffered after a California federal judge denied the government’s bid to move or toss the case.

 

Texas AG “Investigating” Texas Bar Foundation is an Attempt to Shift Attention and Undermine the Rule of Law

AIC: The Council and AILA stand in support of the Texas State Bar Foundation in response to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s investigation of the Foundation for supporting organizations that provide legal representation, citizenship classes, and other legal needs to the immigrant community in Texas.

 

Foreign Pot Workers Not Barred From US, CBP Memo Says

Law360: A 2018 U.S. Customs and Border Protection document recently disclosed amid a lawsuit filed by Davis Wright Tremaine LLP indicates that foreign nationals working in legal cannabis industries aren’t inadmissible to the U.S., despite statements to the contrary from CBP officials.

 

USCIS Correction to South Sudan TPS Notice Regarding Expiration Date of Current EADs

AILA: USCIS correction to a typographical error in the 3/3/22 South Sudan TPS notice. USCIS is correcting the date from 9/17/21 to 5/2/22 as the expiration date that should be showing on South Sudan TPS-based EADs to receive an automatic 180-day EAD extension through 11/1/22.

 

House Panel Votes Yes On Independent Immigration Courts

Law360: The House Judiciary Committee voted 24-12 to advance a bill that would remove immigration courts from the U.S. Department of Justice and make them independent of the executive branch.

 

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EVENTS

 

NIJC EVENTS

 

 

GENERAL EVENTS

 

 

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Elizabeth Gibson (Pronouns: she/her/ella)

Managing Attorney for Capacity Building and Mentorship

National Immigrant Justice Center

A HEARTLAND ALLIANCE Program

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

www.immigrantjustice.org | Facebook | Twitter

 

 

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The deterioration of the immigration dialogue, overt racism, poorly qualified judges at all levels making bad decisions, GOP White Supremacy, and failure of courage in the Biden Administration and on the part of some so-called Democrats have led to a deadly situation that threatens Americans and our democracy!

Immigrants’ rights are human rights! Ironically, the GOP with its aggressive “dehumanization campaign” recognizes this, even if some Dems don’t.

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

05-18-22

PORTLAND (ME) PRESS HERALD: THE OVERTLY RACIST “GREAT REPLACEMENT LIE” IS A STAPLE OF TODAY’S GOP 🏴‍☠️— The “War On Immigrants” Was Just The Beginning Of A Deadly Racist Campaign To Eliminate Democracy & Diversity!🤮

https://www.pressherald.com/2022/05/17/our-view-great-replacement-lie-runs-deep-in-republican-politics/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Daily+Headlines%3A++RSS%3AITEM%3ATITLE&utm_campaign=PPH+DH+-+TUESDAY+%28HTML%29

Our View: ‘Great replacement’ lie runs deep in Republican politics

Party leaders tolerate radical anti-immigrant ideology, even as it motivates racist massacres like last weekend’s mass shooting in Buffalo.

. . . .

After other racist massacres, we have asked Republican leaders to repudiate this false and dangerous ideology that is taking root in their party and shun anyone who traffics in it. But they never have, and we don’t expect them to do so now. The state party has attempted to appear more friendly to immigrants this year, opening a “Multicultural Center” in Portland. But the party showed no sign of separating itself from anti-immigration figures like Lockman at the recent party convention.

Apparently, the party needs the white-power extremists, just as it needs anti-immigrant, anti-transgender, anti-vaccination and QAnon elements, who may make up only a minority of the electorate but who provide the party with its energy and enthusiasm at election time.

We expect that Republican Party leaders, candidates and officeholders– who know that there is no such thing as a “great replacement” – will continue to keep their mouths shut about the extremists in their party so that they can ride their enthusiasm to control of Congress, the Blaine House and the state Legislature in November.

They are playing with fire, and we are all at risk.

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Read the full editorial at the link!

“We are all at risk.” Certainly, that has been my message on “Courtside” since its inception in 2016!  

That’s why it was, and continues to be, such a tragedy for our democracy that Democrats, once in power, have failed to aggressively stand up for “immigrants’ rights, due process for all, and drastic, meaningful, Immigration Court reform.”

Immigrant justice = racial justice = equal justice for all. And, the path to equal justice for all begins in the now disgracefully dysfunctional (but potentially due-process-enhancing) U.S. Immigration Courts where aggressive reforms and progressive judges in positions to “make a difference” are long overdue.

Often, the view is “clearer” from up here in Maine!

View of Linekin Bay, Maine
View of Linekin Bay, Maine

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

05-17-22

😢SUPREMES SLAM DUNK ON ADJUSTMENT APPLICANTS WITH “NO JURISDICTION” RULING, OVER SPIRITED DISSENT FROM JUSTICE GORSUCH! — Patel v. Garland (5-4)

Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch
Associate Justice Neil M. Gorsuch; photograph by Franz Jantzen, 2017.

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/20-979_h3ci.pdf

Held: Federal courts lack jurisdiction to review facts found as part of dis- cretionary-relief proceedings under §1255 and the other provisions enumerated in §1252(a)(2)(B)(i). Pp. 6–17.

From Justice Gorsuch’s dissent (joined by Justices Breyer, Kagan, & Sotomayor):

The majority concludes that courts are powerless to cor- rect an agency decision holding an individual ineligible for relief from removal based on a factual error, no matter how egregious the error might be. The majority’s interpretation has the further consequence of denying any chance to cor- rect agency errors in processing green-card applications outside the removal context. Even the government cannot bring itself to endorse the majority’s arresting conclusions. For good reason. Those conclusions are at war with all the evidence before us. They read language out of the statute and collapse the law’s clear two-step framework. They dis- regard the lessons of neighboring provisions and even ig- nore the statute’s very title. They make no sense of the statute’s history. Altogether, the majority’s novel expan- sion of a narrow statutory exception winds up swallowing the law’s general rule guaranteeing individuals the chance to seek judicial review to correct obvious bureaucratic mis- steps. It is a conclusion that turns an agency once account- able to the rule of law into an authority unto itself. Perhaps some would welcome a world like that. But it is hardly the world Congress ordained.

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Justice Barrett wrote the majority opinion.

Interestingly, neither the Respondent nor the Solicitor General defended the 11th Circuit’s decision. So, the Court appointed Taylor A.R. Meehan as amicus to defend that decision. Her “no jurisdiction” statutory argument prevailed.

Looking at rulings like this, the makeup of the Supremes, and the bleak prospects for Article I in an ideologically divided Congress, the composition of the Immigration Courts and the BIA becomes even more significant.

As Justice Gorsuch points out, in many important cases, even the most obvious and egregious mistakes from EOIR Judges will go uncorrected by the Article IIIs. So, getting the results right in the first place and having higher quality appellate review at the BIA becomes even more “life determining.”

As judicial vacancies arise, it’s critical that NDPA members who are eligible to apply do so in large numbers! That also goes for the U.S. Magistrate Judges and the Article IIIs!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

05-16-22