tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-119289252012-02-08T09:48:47.948-05:00pnrx covers immigration issues, political topics, and many other contemporary concerns. Welcome to the immigration blog.Rexnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2101100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-17918003424930169672011-08-29T10:33:00.002-04:002011-08-29T10:35:52.803-04:00

As is now posted on the official EOIR web site, the immigration court in Elizabeth, NJ is closed today, Monday, August 29, 2011. This is related to Hurricane Irene, which hit over the weekend. The court is closed in the sense of not holding hearings. It seems that the court is also closed in the sense of not having any window open to accept any court filings. Call ahead for details or to ask

Rexnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-90819247691654892302011-07-01T00:40:00.002-04:002011-07-01T00:43:10.564-04:00

Immigration Judge Eugene Pugliese retired from Newark Immigration Court. His last day on the bench was June 30, 2011. There is no clear guidance yet how the court will handle all of the cases that were under his control when he retired. Cases from July 5, 2011 to July 8, 2011 are being postponed, but it is not yet clear when they will be heard next and by which immigration judge.Time will tell

Rexnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-10111477521774715482011-04-08T17:24:00.003-04:002011-04-08T17:28:25.967-04:00

The USCIS Newark District will be conducting a Naturalization Information Session on Tuesday, April 19th, at 1:00pm, at the Vineland Public Library in Vineland, NJ. According to USCIS, it will last around two hours and will discuss the naturalization eligibility requirements, the redesigned test, and various study aids. They intend to reach lawful permanent residents (green card holders) who are

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-22727363110701369292011-04-08T12:15:00.002-04:002011-04-08T12:17:40.150-04:00

Please call ahead to get the official word, but it seems like if there is a government shutdown, Newark Immigration Court and Elizabeth Immigration Court in New Jersey would continue to operate for their detained cases. In Newark, those are being heard right now by Judge Reichenberg and Judge Finston. If there is a shutdown and you have a case for someone who is not detained, call ahead to find

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-90029813357398346752011-03-21T09:00:00.002-04:002011-03-21T09:00:02.474-04:00

According to a March 17, 2011 press release from the Union County Prosecutor's Office in New Jersey, a police officer in the Elizabeth, NJ Police Department was accused of making unjustified stops of cars driven by Latino men, questioning them about their immigration status, and threatening to report them to the immigration authorities unless they paid him money. The accusations are that the

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-58683590087760510392011-02-02T08:07:00.003-05:002011-02-02T10:31:46.184-05:00

As of 8am, there is an unofficial report that the immigration court in Newark, New Jersey might have a delayed opening at noon on Wednesday, February 2, 2011 due to the snow and ice conditions.As of 8am, however, the official EOIR web site does not list anything about a delayed opening. You should call the Newark Immigration Court yourself and find out officially whether there is a delayed

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-25235745618301373942011-02-01T13:42:00.003-05:002011-02-01T13:43:58.571-05:00

The Newark Immigration Court and the Elizabeth Immigration Court will close early on February 1, 2011 at 3:30pm. This is probably due to the forecast of bad weather for the afternoon. There is no information about whether the courts will close or change their operating hours on any other date. Drive carefully!

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-7978925390847489262011-01-31T12:11:00.003-05:002011-01-31T12:14:56.964-05:00

The USCIS Newark Field office has announced that it will cancel (and reschedule) all naturalization interviews currently scheduled for the afternoon of Tuesday, February 1, 2011.For Wednesday, February 2, 2011, USCIS in Newark will cancel all appointments and interviews. For any interview other than an InfoPass appointment, USCIS will automatically reschedule the appointment. People with an

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-22103455742656111742011-01-27T11:28:00.002-05:002011-01-27T11:31:07.585-05:00

USCIS in NJ announced that its Mount Laurel office is closed on Thursday, January 27, 2011 due to snow.Appointments in its Newark office for the morning will go ahead if the people being interviewed show up. For those unable to make it due to the snow, USCIS in Newark will reschedule them.Appointments in its Newark office for the afternoon of January 27 are cancelled and USCIS will reschedule

Rexnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-14450138868462947932011-01-27T09:11:00.003-05:002011-01-27T09:15:05.006-05:00

Someone at the Newark Immigration Court said that as of 9am, they decided to close the Newark Immigration Court for Thursday, January 27, 2011. There is nothing about this on the EOIR web site so if you want to play it safe, you could call the Newark Immigration Court to get confirmation for yourself.The person was also pretty sure that the Elizabeth Immigration Court is probably closed on

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-49470625512666851592011-01-26T10:29:00.002-05:002011-01-26T10:32:34.998-05:00

If you have an appointment in Newark Immigration Court, call the court directly to find out officially what is happening.Unofficially, it seems that the Newark Immigration Court is open on Wednesday, January 26, 2011 despite the snowstorm. Judge Riefkohl might be postponing his cases for today, which is quite reasonable considering the weather.If you cannot make it to Newark because of the snow,

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-1745355293504528682011-01-21T07:14:00.003-05:002011-01-21T11:22:39.342-05:00

There are no early indications of any delayed openings or closures with USCIS in Newark or Mt. Laurel, New Jersey; with the Newark Immigration Court; or with the Elizabeth Immigration Court due to snow on Friday, January 21, 2011.This is not an official announcement, though. Instead, anyone who would like to find out the latest should call USCIS, the Newark Immigration Court, or the Elizabeth

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-87582686286153646582011-01-12T07:18:00.006-05:002011-01-12T13:14:32.938-05:00

I have informally heard that the Elizabeth Immigration Court (in Elizabeth, NJ) might open late at 10am on Wednesday, January 12, 2011, due to snow. I have not heard of anything about the Newark Immigration Court, so it is possible that the Newark Immigration Court is open for business on January 12.To double-check, call the court and ask for information about whether they are closed or have a

Rexnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-79157211935747502462011-01-11T00:00:00.002-05:002011-01-11T00:03:42.132-05:00

Because of the forecast of snow, USCIS in NJ and NY is rescheduling interviews on Wednesday, January 12, 2011. No word yet about whether the immigration courts will be open or closed.

Rexnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-72125341893646963662010-12-27T06:17:00.005-05:002010-12-27T12:17:26.878-05:00

Please call the Newark Immigration Court and the Elizabeth Immigration Court to confirm that they are closed on Monday, December 27, 2010, due to the snowstorm.Some accounts say that the courts are closed on December 27. However, if you have a case that depends on appearing in court, call the courts to confirm this. It would be better for you to rely on an official explanation from the court

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-30667404059614563012010-12-22T09:00:00.003-05:002010-12-22T09:00:00.814-05:00

On December 5, 2010, Immigration Judge Amiena Khan started in Newark Immigration Court. Around three weeks afterward, EOIR issued an announcement that included the following description about Judge Khan (the following information comes from EOIR):Amiena Khan, Immigration Judge, Newark Immigration Court: Attorney General Eric Holder appointed Judge Khan in December 2010. Judge Khan received a

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-71973760616608350632010-11-08T13:00:00.000-05:002010-11-08T13:00:02.022-05:00

On November 5, 2010, EOIR swore in a new immigration judge for the Newark Immigration Court: Leo A. Finston.According to an announcement by EOIR, here are some biographical details about Judge Finston as of November 2010 (apologies if EOIR has included any mistakes in the following description). It seems that for 5 years, he worked for the government to review asylum applications. And for 13

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-28893565322813970652010-08-30T22:00:00.000-04:002010-08-30T22:00:01.707-04:00

Congratulations to Maureen A. Sweeney along with her students Adam Crandall, Rama Taib, and Fariha Quasem at University of Maryland Law School in Baltimore for winning a suppression motion in Immigration Court before Immigration Judge Phillip T. Williams in Baltimore!On August 5, 2010, Judge Williams granted the suppression motions and terminated one of the cases based on inappropriate sexual

Rexnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-33152886676806429542010-08-26T09:00:00.000-04:002010-08-26T09:00:09.667-04:00

Human Rights Watch released a report called Detained and at Risk: Sexual Abuse and Harassment in United States Immigration Detention.http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/08/25/us-immigration-detainees-risk-sexual-abuseThe report describes documented incidents and allegations and abuse then goes on to express concerns that changes ICE is proposing would have limited impact if ICE only changes its

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-52621893390247910482010-08-16T09:00:00.000-04:002010-08-16T09:00:09.299-04:00

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights concluded on July 12, 2010 that the United States is violating the human rights of immigrants under Articles V, VI, VII, XVIII, and XXVI of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man by failing to provide an individualized balancing test in immigration court.The case is Smith and Armendariz v. United States, Report No. 81/10, Case No.

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-91996951500999858782010-08-02T09:00:00.000-04:002010-08-02T09:00:10.097-04:00

Take a look at Lin v. Holder, No. 09-1269 (4th Cir. July 12, 2010). There, the BIA incorrectly based its ruling against someone seeking asylum from China on unrelated facts from someone else's case. The Fourth Circuit quickly ruled that if you rule on the case brought by Mr. Lin, you cannot rely on facts from the case of some other person named Mr. Liu. Even if the names are somewhat similar,

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-46449877621348163852010-05-14T09:00:00.001-04:002010-06-01T00:49:18.428-04:00

Immigration Judge Susan G. Roy was an immigration judge in Newark Immigration Court for about two years, from April 2008 until roughly May 2010.It seems that Immigration Judge Roy has resigned from being an immigration judge in Newark, New Jersey. There is no indication of this on the official web site for Newark Immigration Court or on the EOIR web site, which includes a list as of April 2010

Rexnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-54352684647251347492010-04-24T08:30:00.001-04:002010-04-24T08:38:55.415-04:00

This blog is now located at http://pnrxblog.blogspot.com/. You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here. For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to http://pnrxblog.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default.

Rexnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-47741200745530662572009-10-28T21:00:00.000-04:002009-10-28T21:00:00.472-04:00

As reported by Esther Zuckerman and Colin Ross of the Yale Daily News in their story Immigrants sue feds over 2007 raids (October 28, 2009), ten residents of New Haven, Connecticut are filing a lawsuit on October 28, 2009 against ICE agents (Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents) along with their supervisors for conducting what the lawsuit claims are illegal ICE raids in New Haven, CT in

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-6011312047416792182009-10-19T09:00:00.000-04:002009-10-19T09:00:10.052-04:00

In September 2009, the New Jersey Law Journal's editorial board urged the Attorney General to consider creating a system for offering a competent corps of lawyers to help improverished people defend themselves in immigration court from potential deportation. Immigration law is extremely complex and the consequences of removal are often drastic.The New Jersey Law Journal correctly focuses on an

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-43599495388892045952009-10-01T09:00:00.000-04:002009-10-01T09:00:03.954-04:00

When a circuit court orders the government not to deport someone until the appeal is resolved, the government is not allowed to deport the person while the appeal is still being decided.Just because deporting someone at that stage would be illegal does not mean the government follows the rules every time. Take a look at the case of Aguilar-Turcios v. Holder, which the Ninth Circuit decided on

Rexnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-37285266112497459082009-08-26T09:00:00.000-04:002009-08-26T09:00:02.193-04:00

In Nken v. Holder, the Justice Department told the United States Supreme Court at page 44 of its brief that "By policy and practice, the government accords aliens who were removed pending judicial review but then prevailed before the courts effective relief by, inter alia, facilitating the aliens' return to the United States by parole under 8 USC 1182(d)(5) if necessary, and according them the

Rexnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-33062663956816962372009-07-21T23:12:00.000-04:002009-07-21T23:12:27.277-04:00

On July 21, 2009, Nina Bernstein of the New York Times wrote about "Report Finds Immigration Agents Broke Laws and Agency Rules in Home Raids."She focused on a study scheduled for release on July 22, 2009 by the Immigration Justice Law Clinic at Cardozo Law School. The clinic is led by Peter Markowitz, who is also one of the report's co-authors.Key findings include that despite requiring consent

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-5927109871696969402009-07-01T08:00:00.000-04:002009-07-01T08:00:28.055-04:00

On June 29, 2009, a group of non-profit organizations filed a petition for rulemaking that asks the Justice Department to promulgate regulations to give immigration judges the power to provide appointed counsel for immigrants in removal proceedings in cases where it would be needed.http://www.immigrantjustice.org/component/option,com_docman/Itemid,0/task,doc_download/gid,490/The groups filing the

Rexnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-38260050110224224072009-06-19T22:30:00.000-04:002009-06-19T22:30:01.294-04:00

In a decision dated June 18, 2009, Immigration Judge Frank M. Travieso of the Los Angeles Immigration Court terminated removal proceedings in immigration court based on ICE's failure to file any evidence (such as an I-213 form) in a timely manner along with how the late-filed I-213 was unreliable.In doing so, IJ Travieso terminated the case without having to rule on a motion to suppress and

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-90038915378683777162009-06-09T08:00:00.000-04:002009-06-09T08:00:02.060-04:00

In a series of rulings on June 1, 2009 and June 2, 2009, Immigration Judge Michael J. Straus in Hartford, Connecticut Immigration Court granted suppression motions filed by Michael Wishnie and others at Yale Law School. The Yale Law School team included, among others, supervising attorneys Hope Metcalf and Chris Lasch along with law students Bram Elias, Stella Burch Elias, Sara Edelstein,

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-37784992871925567492009-05-09T09:00:00.000-04:002009-05-09T09:00:00.428-04:00

In Castilho de Oliviera v. Holder, No. 07-3307 (7th Cir. May 8, 2009), the Seventh Circuit seriously criticized IJ O. John Brahos. In the case, the Seventh Circuit concluded that the immigrant did not receive a fair hearing before a neutral immigration judge because IJ Brahos repeatedly interrupted to ask irrelevant and sometimes inflammatory questions, refused to consider important evidence,

Rexnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-85146224473705470552009-04-27T09:00:00.000-04:002009-04-27T09:00:01.066-04:00

In Nken v. Holder, the Supreme Court made an official acknowledgement of an announcement by the Justice Department that many immigration lawyers would consider a great improvement, if the Justice Department lives up to what it promised to the Supreme Court -- it will provide effective relief to people they deported who then win their appeal after being deported.In Nken v. Holder, the main issue

Rexnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-85246871735576590152009-04-15T09:00:00.001-04:002009-04-15T09:00:00.516-04:00

Andrew Becker and Patrick J. McDonnell of The Los Angeles Times focused on U.S. Citizens Caught Up In Immigration Sweeps on April 9, 2009, noting that ICE keeps no statistics on the number of time it improperly detains and holds United States citizens.As they note, one problem is that courts today do not see immigration detainees as having a right to government-appointed counsel, so it can be

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-79025166193932588432009-04-15T08:00:00.001-04:002009-04-15T08:00:00.834-04:00

Bassina Farbenblum and Jessica Jansyn authored a report "Crossing The Line: Damaging Immigration Enforcement Practices by NJ Police Following AG Law Enforcement Directive 2007-3," released in April 2009 by The Center for Social Justice at Seton Hall University School of Law in Newark, NJ. (Professor Baher Azmy and Juanita Lasprilla contributed to the report.)The report raises serious questions

Rexnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-82350787587439107722009-04-14T09:00:00.000-04:002009-04-14T09:00:01.501-04:00

The Associated Press reported on April 4, 2009 that a federal judge rejected a motion by ICE to throw out a lawsuit that challenged ICE arrests in Danbury, Connecticut. Nine of the plaintiffs were arrested in September 2006 as part of what is known as the Danbury 11. The lawsuit claims ICE violated civil rights and engaged in the unauthorized enforcement of civil immigration violations. ICE

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-27535561892587980042009-04-13T09:00:00.004-04:002009-04-13T09:00:01.421-04:00

Even more stories about immigrants afraid to help police stop crime. One solution to this public safety problem is to ensure that immigrants who are victims or witnesses to crimes may not be turned over by local police to immigration authorities. In New Jersey, one man called 911, told the police, and helped the police catch the criminals but the local police violated his rights by turning him

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-59978771964013516912009-04-12T09:00:00.000-04:002009-04-12T09:00:01.138-04:00

A story by Rick Casey titled "Cold as ICE: Falsehoods" in the Houston Chronicle on April 22, 2008, discussed how ICE counsel James Manning purportedly wrote falsehoods in appealing the case of Mauricio Barragan.ICE counsel Manning apparently portrayed Mr. Barragan as seeking a waiver of deportation because he would not assist his parents on an occasional basis but the record instead showed that

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-20235767948634660822009-04-11T09:00:00.000-04:002009-04-11T09:00:01.094-04:00

A series of news articles in the past few months have detailed accusations that ICE agents in Baltimore used racial profiling and then lied about what they had done.In late January 2009, CASA de Maryland, an immigrant advocacy group based in Silver Spring and with a Baltimore office, release striking footage in which ICE agents targeted people in January 2007 outside a Seven-Eleven store in

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-29697131111804444002009-03-29T09:30:00.000-04:002009-03-29T09:30:00.806-04:00

A story on March 28, 2009 by Gregg Krupa of The Detroit News titled Conyers Rips Deportations describes how over 1,200 people including three members of Congress called for immigration reform at a rally on March 27 as part of a 20-city tour that highlights the failure of immigration reform and the harm caused by increased enforcement.Congressman John conyers said that there are "ICE people who

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-16868487762451240682009-03-10T23:00:00.000-04:002009-03-10T23:00:01.488-04:00

According to an Associated Press story, federal district court judge Julian Abele Cook, Jr. sentenced Roy Bailey to three years and one month in prison for taking bribes while the senior official in Detroit for detaining and transporting immigrants for ICE (and for INS before it split up into new agencies including ICE). He was the senior official in Detroit from 1999 to 2004.The newspaper

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-86327318038736633202009-03-07T16:58:00.003-05:002009-03-07T17:12:47.019-05:00

Rita Cote is an immigrant in Tavares, Florida who spent two weeks in detention and is now threatened with deportation after helping the police investigate a crime.Tavares Police came to a house to investigate a criminal issue -- an altercation between Rita Cote's sister and the sister's boyfriend. She was trying to help the police by giving language interpretation between the police and her

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-77594838695366207992009-03-02T10:39:00.001-05:002009-03-02T15:50:16.882-05:00

I believe that the immigration court in Newark, NJ is closed on Monday, March 2, 2009 due to weather. It is a weather closure because of snowy conditions today.

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-16637701915684945132009-02-20T18:21:00.002-05:002009-02-21T16:22:52.226-05:00

The ACLU of Southern California announced today that Los Angeles Immigration Judge A. Ashley Tabaddor issued a 19-page ruling that terminated a case in immigration court due to illegal conduct by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).The judge concluded that in February 2008, ICE agents blocked exits at Micro Solutions Enterprises and illegally detained and questioned a number of workers. ICE

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-13107441049258386732009-01-01T12:07:00.004-05:002011-03-22T00:04:44.709-04:00

According to an Associated Press story on November 10, 2008, a federal grand jury has indicated a former ICE Assistant Chief Counsel along with his wife for allegedly running a scheme to adjust the immigration status of immigrants who were not eligible.The news story claims that there have been 75 counts against former ICE Assistant Chief Counsel Constantine Kallas and his wife Maria Kallas of

Rexnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-57161677857914830572008-12-28T10:55:00.002-05:002008-12-28T11:05:56.491-05:00

Helen O'Neill of the Associated Press wrote an article titled Sojourners Are There For Detainees, which describes how members of the Sojourners at Riverside Church in New York City visit some of the detainees in the Elizabeth Detention Center in Elizabeth, New Jersey.For 10 years, the group's members have been making visits to be a friendly face for an hour and to make a commitment to be a real

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-56029653132061839942008-12-12T06:29:00.005-05:002009-09-08T22:58:22.806-04:00

In December 2008, USCIS closed its application support center (where it took biometrics such as fingerprints and photographs) in Newark, New Jersey and opened up a new center in Elizabeth, New Jersey.The correct address for the biometrics center in Elizabeth, New Jersey is:285 North Broad StreetElizabeth, New JerseyIt is not in Elizabeth City, NJ.USCIS has made a mistake in many of the letters it

Rexnoreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-11035609595984878452008-11-22T10:28:00.002-05:002008-11-22T10:38:50.285-05:00

William Kleinknecht reported in The Star-Ledger on November 2, 2008 about 120 Detainees Moved To Essex County Jail.Essex County wanted to house more detainees at $105 per detainee per day to obtain $5 million in annual payments from the federal government, a plan that was taken over the protests of the corrections officers union. At that payment rate, it would be 130 detainees held every day

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-41442393699554365372008-11-08T07:11:00.002-05:002008-11-08T07:20:04.977-05:00

According to Gene Johnson of the Associated Press, Immigration Lockup Hired 92 Guards Without Vetting (published in the Seattle Times).From November 2005 until early 2008, staff at the Northwest Detention Center, a detention center paid by ICE and privately run by the for-profit GEO Group Inc. in the Tacoma, Washington area, hired 92 guards without conducting background checks. The detention

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-30210064450766122402008-11-08T06:55:00.003-05:002008-11-08T07:11:29.112-05:00

Several newspapers are reporting on statistics released by ICE for their federal fiscal year that ran from October 2007 to September 2008.The newspapers report that ICE's statistics show that the number of immigrants they arrested in New Jersey and deported rose from 3,339 to 4,194 (a 25% increase) and that of those, around 70% did not have any criminal history. (Nationally, there was a 20%

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-36355139710620215142008-10-21T21:13:00.002-04:002008-10-21T21:21:52.417-04:00

Yale Law School's clinic is working hard and making great progress in challenging dubious ICE raids in Fair Haven, CT during June 2007.  In 16 cases arising from the raid, Immigration Judge Michael Straus agreed to hold suppression hearings to find out what happened and let Yale Law School clinic members develop evidence about illegal searches and seizures.At first, Judge Straus only allowed 11

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-67403580015562639812008-10-19T10:50:00.000-04:002008-10-19T10:50:26.826-04:00

In April 2008, a man pled guilty to raping a Jamaican woman while he worked as an ICE agent and was responsible for moving the woman between detention centers.  According to news reports, Wilfredo Vazquez, 35, sexually assaulted a 39-year-old Jamaican mother of two in his home.  ICE fired Mr. Vazquez from his job.There are many questions about whether ICE violates Fourth Amendment rights in a

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-37583879415491546342008-09-13T17:25:00.000-04:002008-09-13T17:29:24.563-04:00

Additional stories about immigrants afraid to report crimes to the police, which is of course not good for public safety. Maria Sacchetti, Troubling Link In Domestic Violence Cases, Boston Globe, Sept. 12, 2008. One domestic violence victim suffered abuse for two years and was too afraid to call police. In Massachusetts, immigrants are around 14% of the population, but 26% of the domestic

Rexnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-19051516103716787782008-09-01T09:40:00.002-04:002008-09-01T09:44:44.367-04:00

Leslie Berestein reported on May 23, 2008 in Agency Cites Mistake in Raid at UCSD Complex in the San Diego Union-Tribune that ICE agents made a mistake in May when they entered UCSD student housing to search the apartment of someone living there without first contacting campus police.ICE has a policy of alerting campus police before entering university housing or off-campus university housing.

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-89688626567544314672008-09-01T09:20:00.002-04:002008-09-01T09:27:36.534-04:00

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has not given enough protections to assure people who need to evacuate from hurricane-threatened areas that they can evacuate or seek shelter without risking the threat of deportation. A volunteer Lucas Diaz told an AFP reporter that ICE has given written assurances that the immigration status of people evacuating the area will not be challenged. There

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-49045453247530035162008-08-24T09:35:00.004-04:002008-08-24T10:05:57.433-04:00

Charlie Savage wrote a story on August 23, 2008 for the New York Times, "Vetted Judges More Likely To Reject Asylum Bids" that analyzed Justice Department data and concludes improperly-appointed immigration judges reject asylum claims at a higher rate than those who were appointed correctly. (Nina Bernstein and Robert Gebeloff contributed to the story.)The Justice Department's Inspector General

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-81076337143423378502008-08-23T17:52:00.002-04:002008-08-23T18:18:54.430-04:00

With all these news stories about the need to encourage immigrants to report crimes to police, it would make sense that if local police report an informant to the immigration authorities, someone would step up and stop the deportation. In New Jersey, that is not the case -- local police sent an informant to be deported and nobody is stopping the deportation. The government is actually spending

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-69936289597775297482008-08-17T09:12:00.004-04:002008-08-19T19:35:11.846-04:00

The Second Circuit is specifically criticizing immigration attorneys who file briefs that they think are poor quality.First, in Ren v. BIA, No. 04-6121 (2d Cir. Aug. 14, 2008) (summary order), the Second Circuit criticized Tao Lin of New York City (perhaps this is Tao Lin, an immigration attorney at Caesar & Napoli who has filed appeals before without any personal criticism from the Second

Rexnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-59742069426173209302008-08-16T18:41:00.004-04:002008-08-16T19:06:43.717-04:00

An immigrant gets off a plane at Newark Airport. He walks up to the customs and border patrol officer to discuss whether the US will let him enter officially. At that moment, are there any Constitutional limitations to what the officer is about to do to the immigrant? Would there be any problem if the US officer confuses, tricks, or coerces the immigrant into signing various documents and then

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-45183797174183227052008-08-09T10:45:00.003-04:002009-03-07T22:31:43.751-05:00

Over the past few years, there have been more suppression motions filed in immigration court and more trainings on the issue.Here is a sampling of some of the trainings in the past few years: Advanced Strategies for Fighting Removal: Motions to Suppress & Forms of Relief, AILA, San Antonio, TX, June 21-25, 2006 Evidentiary Issues in Immigration Proceedings, National Immigration Project,

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-61014844881975806362008-08-09T10:11:00.002-04:002008-08-09T10:21:17.654-04:00

On August 8, 2008, the Ninth Circuit granted a suppression motion filed in immigration court, overturning the immigration judge and BIA's denials! The case is Lopez-Rodriguez v. Mukasey (9th Cir. Aug. 8, 2008).Filing suppression motions in immigration court is a growing strategy for immigrants to respond to illegal raids by immigration agents and local police. In criminal court, evidence from

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-87252122522944677422008-07-13T16:51:00.002-04:002008-07-13T17:10:01.871-04:00

On July 2, 2008, a former New Jersey resident filed a lawsuit in New Jersey federal court that claims an Edison NJ police officer violated his First Amendment rights by reporting him to an ICE attorney to seek his deportation in retaliation for claiming he was a victim of police brutality and speaking publicly about his allegations.The entire dispute began on July 4, 2006, when then-resident of

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-57734666513333412362008-07-13T10:02:00.002-04:002008-07-13T10:40:12.744-04:00

Let's take a quick peek at whether the immigration court system (immigration judges followed by the BIA or Board of Immigration Appeals) is making mistakes that are only being caught by an appeal to a federal circuit court. Some lobbyists are urging Congress to limit circuit court review even more than it is already restricted. Would we find errors in asylum cases, which suggest review should

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-9567118061779326612008-05-04T23:01:00.003-04:002008-05-04T23:12:29.429-04:00

Nina Bernstein wrote an article in the May 5, 2008 New York Times on "Few Details on Immigrants Who Died in U.S. Custody," which discusses how difficult it is for families of immigration detainees to get basic answers about relatives who die in immigration detention.Deaths will happen in any jail, but there is no requirement to track or publicly report detainee deaths. Congress demanded

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-60017952266313129142008-04-05T10:38:00.003-04:002008-04-05T10:42:44.091-04:00

EOIR announced that Immigration Judge Susan Roy was sworn in on April 4, 2008 in Falls Church, VA and will be an immigration judge in Newark, NJ.Looks like she finished law school in 1996, worked for the BIA from 1996-1999, and from 2000-2008 worked for ICE counsel. There is no indication of work as a private immigration attorney during her career. Below is more information about her. All of

Rexnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-15110484755513961802008-04-03T20:56:00.004-04:002008-04-04T21:03:24.657-04:00

As reported by Brian Donohue of The Star-Ledger on April 3, 2008 (Lawsuit claims immigration raids are unconstitutional), a lawsuit filed on April 3, 2008 challenges illegal pre-dawn raids by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) across New Jersey.The lawsuit is filed by Seton Hall Law School's Center for Social Justice and the law firm Lowenstein Sandler. The lawsuit is titled Argueta v.

Rexnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-80376683433556333202008-03-30T10:01:00.003-04:002008-03-30T10:15:05.828-04:00

The Bergen Record and The Associated Press have written news stories about Imam Muhammad Qatanani's fight to escape deportation in May 2008 before Judge Alberto Riefkohl in Newark, New Jersey Immigration Court.The legal issue is whether USCIS and ICE can deny his green card application for not revealing of a conviction in Israeli military court of aiding Hamas militants. According to his lawyer,

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-80344605803968592312008-03-23T08:23:00.002-04:002008-03-23T08:41:36.187-04:00

Kareem Fahim of the New York Times wrote an article on March 23, 2008 titled "Immigration Referrals by Police Draw Scrutiny" in which he recounts ongoing questions about New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram's directive in August 2007 that ordered local police to question people arrested for certain types of crime if there is a reason to believe the person arrested may be undocumented. The

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-77537322953729893442008-03-22T10:11:00.002-04:002008-03-22T10:29:17.214-04:00

On March 21, 2008, the New York Times printed an article by Nina Bernstein on "An Agent, a Green Card, and a Demand for Sex."The article alleges that Isaac R. Baichu worked as an adjudicator for USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) and during an interview of a married couple about their request for the wife to obtain a green card, he got her cellphone number and a few days

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-90848993686843611242008-03-15T08:54:00.002-04:002008-03-15T09:00:04.751-04:00

As reported by several newspapers including an article by Paloma Esquivel "Suit filed over disabled U.S. citizen's deportation ordeal" on February 28, 2008 in the Los Angeles Times, a family filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the federal government for wrongly deporting a United States citizen to Rijuana, where he was left with $3 and wandering Mexico until

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-82104278962016075142008-03-15T08:35:00.002-04:002008-03-15T08:41:20.282-04:00

And even more stories of immigrants afraid to report crimes to police because of the fear that they will be turned over for deportation. (Something that actually has happened in New Jersey when someone called the local police to provide key information to help the police catch some alien smugglers.)As reported in "Pair disguised as police robbing homes" by Michael Levenson and Brian R. Ballou in

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-62114934325342011672008-03-15T08:18:00.002-04:002008-03-15T08:30:15.206-04:00

As reported by Henry Weinstein of the Los Angeles Times on March 13, 2008, in an article "Judge calls immigration officials' decision 'beyond cruel,'" Los Angeles federal district court judge Dean Pregerson agreed with the family of Francisco Castaneda that if as alleged immigration authorities refused for 11 months to authorize an urgently needed biopsy to treat a growing lesion on the penis of

Rexnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-63671182839536707452008-03-08T06:59:00.002-05:002008-03-08T07:04:37.192-05:00

As reported in a February 26, 2008 article by N.C. Aizenman in the Washington Post titled "Immigration Agency Accused of Illegal Searches" on page A04, a private commission of labor and immigrant advocates held a hearing to publicize allegations that ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) routinely violates workers' constitutional rights during workplace raids.Participants in the hearing

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-42707576601605829992008-02-24T07:52:00.002-05:002008-02-24T08:07:21.273-05:00

There are even more newspaper articles about crime victims who are afraid to report crimes to the police because of a fear that the police may call immigration authorities to try to deport someone related to the victims. Allowing immigration authorities to deport crime victims and crime witnesses (or their close family as a result of the crime) is a poor public policy choice because victims will

Rexnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-43866337164765605352008-02-13T06:44:00.002-05:002008-02-13T06:55:38.546-05:00

As reported on Bender's Immigration Daily's web site, Diana Moller of the Northwest Immigration Rights Project (NWIRP) won a suppression motion in Seattle Immigration Court before Judge Kenneth Josephson on February 8, 2008! She also won termination motions after the judge granted the suppression motions.A family of five was stopped by a deputy sheriff in Whatcom County in Washington state. The

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-66870697500220749272008-01-28T23:59:00.000-05:002008-01-29T00:08:45.917-05:00

On Monday, January 28, 2008, the Seton Hall Law School's Center for Social Justice and a newspaper called the Brazilian Voice filed a lawsuit in New Jersey federal district court to demand that the Department of Homeland Security release documents about its pre-dawn, warrantless raids of people's homes under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).According to Seton Hall Law School and the

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-9357410851457854182008-01-28T07:06:00.000-05:002008-01-28T07:19:39.730-05:00

New Haven (CT) mayor John DeStefano questions whether an ICE raid in New Haven on June 6, 2007 was retaliation for how New Haven two days before (June 4) adopted an identification card program to offer cards without requiring proof of immigration status.John Christoffersen of the Associated Press reported in an article "Critics: Immigration Raid Retaliatory" on January 27, 2008 that ICE has

Rexnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-53636126541511961542008-01-27T11:17:00.000-05:002008-01-27T11:24:35.578-05:00

In California, a story in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin by Andrea Bennett titled "Police ask for neighborhood's help" on January 25, 2008 explained that in Ontario, California, local police are encouraging local residents to call the police with any information to help find a man they suspect was involved with abducting and sexually assaulting a 6-year old girl.Local residents, though, said

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-15622233129085901032008-01-21T16:26:00.000-05:002008-01-21T16:36:23.727-05:00

Denise Lavoie of the Associated Press wrote an article on January 21, 2008 titled "Ex-informant fears torture if deported" that highlights the case of Frank Enwonwu and the need for courts to protect informants who have helped the United States against criminals.Mr. Enwonwu was caught smuggling five ounces of heroin into the United States from Nigeria and then worked with the United States

Rexnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-26152729612559524072008-01-20T14:42:00.000-05:002008-01-20T14:48:32.734-05:00

According to the New York Times, New York Newsday, and the North County Gazette, former USCIS naturalization supervisor Jimmie Ortega was sentenced this month in federal district court in New York City to 42 months in prison for taking bribes to approve citizenship applications by people who were not able to pass the tests legitimately. The newspapers report that Mr. Ortega used his position as

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-40741251314238144202008-01-20T09:15:00.002-05:002008-04-13T07:55:26.942-04:00

According to several newspaper articles, including one by Sara Burnett of the Rocky Mountain News titled "Inquiry has ICE agent in 'shock,'" published January 15, 2008, ICE agent Cory Voorhis is accused of illegally accessing the FBI database known as the NCIC (National Crime Information Center) database and providing information to help Republican Bob Beauprez's gubernatorial campaign against

Rexnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-74092480763657529692008-01-14T18:57:00.000-05:002008-01-14T19:29:57.267-05:00

On January 10, 2008, Judge Thomas Vanaskie in the federal district court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania abruptly rejected the Bush administration's arguments by insisting that the federal courts have the power and obligation to ensure people's Constitutional rights even when the government is trying to deport someone.In the case, Khouzam v. Hogan, No. CV-07-0992 (M.D. Pa. Jan. 10, 2008),

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-50868420408820371012007-11-12T07:11:00.000-05:002007-11-12T07:17:49.096-05:00

Sarah Muench wrote in the Arizona Republic on November 7, 2007 about "Police seek immigrant help on rapist case." Immigrants and experts say that most undocumented immigrants will not report crimes to police for fear of being deported. Police in Arizona know that is the case so they are making efforts to reach out to the undocumented immigrants hoping that someone with information about a

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-3371471512549823532007-11-12T07:00:00.000-05:002007-11-12T07:10:25.979-05:00

Richard Winton and Ari B. Bloomekatz of the Los Angeles Times wrote an article "Pair accused of robbing illegal immigrants" in the November 8, 2007 paper.Detectives arrested two people that they believe were connected with at least 21 robberies in Southern California in which they targeted immigrants, including day laborers, toward the end of the day. They pretended to be police officers and

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-23910191455494672872007-10-21T08:10:00.001-04:002007-10-21T08:15:00.186-04:00

According to a poll conducted by Bruce Merrill for KAET-TV (the PBS affiliate in Phoenix), people in Arizona are evenly split on whether the local police should find and help detain people who do not have legal immigration status. 50% are opposed to that idea while 46% were in favor. One reason that people do not want police to search for and detain people out of status is that it takes time

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-57446216518705987802007-10-09T07:05:00.000-04:002007-10-09T07:12:49.058-04:00

There is another newspaper article that explains how public safety suffers when local police are involved with deporting people. In the Savannah Morning News from Savannah, Georgia, Megan Matteucchi wrote about "Deportation fears hinder police investigations" on October 8, 2007. Garden City Police Chief David Lyons explained that in investigating a homicide, the police are finding few witnesses

Rexnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-47529791588803329882007-10-07T12:46:00.000-04:002007-10-07T13:06:53.905-04:00

On October 3, 2007, Richard Geduldig of New York City won a case for one of his clients using a suppression motion in immigration court! Immigration Judge Helen Sichel granted the suppression motion based on the proof that two customs and border patrol agents held a Middle Eastern man (from Israel) in illegal investigative detention. The IJ agreed with Richard Geduldig's arguments that:The

Rexnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-23104581880266423862007-09-20T19:53:00.000-04:002007-09-20T19:59:52.767-04:00

The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF) along with the law firm of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP filed a great class action lawsuit today, September 20, 2007, against ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) for unlawfully breaking and entering into the homes of Latinos in the New York area without juridical warrants or any other legal justification!According to the

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-64682936089853404432007-09-16T09:56:00.000-04:002007-09-16T10:07:06.537-04:00

Jason Cade at The Door won termination of an immigration court case against his client because DHS and ICE did not issue a Form I-770 Notice of Rights and Disposition as required for anyone under 18 years old. The case was Maria E-E-M- (N.Y.C. Imm. Ct. Sept. 6, 2007) before Judge Jeffrey Romig!The regulation at 8 CFR 1236.3(h) requires giving a Form I-770 form to an unaccompanied juvenile. A

Rexnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-49113518358395178842007-09-15T21:43:00.000-04:002007-09-15T21:49:51.651-04:00

Lawyers for the Department of Justice recently received a sharp rebuke from the Ninth Circuit for taking unacceptable litigation positions in an immigration appeal.A basic rule is that if you raise an argument and know that the court has already rejected that theory, you have an obligation to inform the court of the prior decision. You can still argue that the first decision was poorly decided,

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-5025162660606532072007-08-24T07:35:00.000-04:002007-08-24T07:51:12.469-04:00

In Cespedes-Aquino v. Gonzales, No. 06-1550 (3d Cir. Aug. 21, 2007), the Third Circuit waded again into the murky law of section 212(c) relief. Section 212(c) granted immigration judges the discretion to allow someone with green card status (LPR status) to stay in the United States despite a criminal conviction if the person could meet very strict requirements and show that his good qualities

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-56594292394950197932007-08-18T07:36:00.000-04:002007-08-18T07:49:38.411-04:00

Newark, New Jersey mayor Cory Booker took a commendable stand by emphasizing the need for immigrants to cooperate with police to help fight crime. Crime-fighting and protecting innocent people are so important that local police should not sacrifice their primary goals just to help the immigration authorities pursue mere civil violations by undocumented immigrants.As Jeffery C. Mays wrote on

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-91285446668977791912007-08-13T06:31:00.000-04:002007-08-13T06:45:09.531-04:00

Jose Carranza is charged with three murders in Newark, New Jersey and several newspapers are reporting that he is not in the United States legally. Whenever you have limited space, you need to choose your words carefully. What led the journalists who looked over Jose Carranza to dissect him according to his immigration status? Is that the best way to dissect him?It makes sense for journalists to

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-75385393958817637482007-08-10T06:37:00.001-04:002007-08-10T06:52:17.777-04:00

There are two news stories about people held in ICE custody (Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody) dying.Liz Mineo wrote in the MetroWest Daily News on August 9, 2007 about "Illegal immigrant dies in ICE custody." Edmar Alves de Araujo died August 7th hours after police in Woonsocket, Rhode Island arrested him then handed him to ICE officers. According to relatives, he had a seizure

Rexnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-64423466420482362892007-08-08T06:09:00.000-04:002007-08-08T06:14:57.952-04:00

Mary Lou Pickel wrote an article on August 7, 2007 in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about how "DeKalb police reach out to immigrants." DeKalb County police officer Jose Ayala explained to a crowd that criminals target the Hispanic population specifically because of the immigration question. The police are working to urge people not to be afraid of the police and to report crimes. According

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-73853217080491786122007-07-29T07:15:00.000-04:002007-07-29T07:22:54.002-04:00

There are even more developments in lawsuits against widespread Fourth Amendment violations by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) around the United States. These lawsuits are extremely significant because under the Supreme Court decision in Lopez-Mendoza, suppression motions in immigration court might be granted for all Fourth Amendment violations if there is proof of widespread Fourth

Rexnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-36427133549227104642007-07-22T08:40:00.000-04:002007-07-22T08:47:03.374-04:00

USCIS is in the process of dramatically hiking its processing fees on July 30 at the same time one of its workers, Jimmie Ortega, 59 years old from Lindenhurst, New York, pled guilty in New York City on July 20 to corruption. Mr. Ortega pled guilty to accepting thousands of dollars in illegal payments to help dozens of people skip (or cheat on) the usual citizenship test and gain citizenship.

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-78282872825380960152007-07-18T06:24:00.001-04:002007-07-18T06:30:12.883-04:00

On July 17, 2007, Human Rights Watch released a report titled "Forced Apart: Families Separated and Immigrants Harmed by US Deportation Policy" to address the deportation of non-citizens with criminal convictions. The system created by Congress is a form of mandatory deportation for a wide category of crimes and in some situations, Congress prohibits an immigration judge from using any

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-37879782165004850562007-07-17T19:31:00.000-04:002007-07-17T19:37:11.101-04:00

In an early-evening announcement on July 17, 2007, USCIS announced that it will immediately start accepting employment-based applications to adjust status if the priority dates were current under the original July visa bulletin (number 107) as long as they are filed on or before August 17, 2007.In mid-June 2007, the State Department and USCIS announced that for the 31 days of July, numerous

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928925.post-73819421288637902362007-07-08T09:24:00.000-04:002007-07-08T09:36:28.691-04:00

An earlier blog posting listed a slew of basic errors that immigration judges have made in asylum cases, in each case to hurt the asylum-seeker unfairly. The BIA in each of the cases overlooked the errors and rejected the asylum-seeker's appeal, which led to a long and expensive petition for review to a circuit court, which overturned the BIA and IJ's errors.The basic mistakes keep happening.

Rexnoreply@blogger.com0