tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89381401409970905492024-03-13T14:48:52.806-05:00Deportation TalesDeportation Tales: A blog about removal defense & the crazy ass stories unique to the practice.Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.comBlogger127125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-73899342149125620952022-10-19T08:00:00.032-05:002022-10-19T08:00:00.220-05:00ICE Sued for Denying Access to Counsel in Detention Centers<p>Last Thursday, five non-profit organizations, represented by the ACLU, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8938140140997090549/7389934214912562095#">sued</a> Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), accusing the agency of "making it difficult for lawyers to meet with detainees." Specifically, the lawsuit accuses ICE of preventing regular contact with detainees by not providing sufficient meeting spaces, preventing lawyers from scheduling calls and leaving messages for clients, and denying access to videoconferencing technology. The lawsuit focuses on detention centers in Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, and Florida.</p><p>I do not have extensive personal experience with detention centers in Texas, Arizona, or Florida. I have represented detained individuals in all three states, but not with the frequency necessary to make me feel comfortable with corroborating the experiences outlined in the lawsuit (although I do believe them to be true based on my limited experience there).</p><p>Louisiana is a different story. Most immigrants detained in Arkansas are transferred to ICE custody in the Pelican State - usually facilities in <a href="https://www.ice.gov/detain/detention-facilities/lasalle-ice-processing-center">Jena</a> or the <a href="https://www.ice.gov/detain/detention-facilities/winn-correctional-center">Winn Correctional Center</a>. I have represented a not insubstantial number of people detained in those facilities over the years. In my personal opinion, this lawsuit is long overdue.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNDWawpWqA_f2ZIitQm_ZV1cS77IKsKZRODC6f0vjoXE5PO3VLX_6fCTMgH3oZFxE5CGJwMwzJrqd3fH36bPAQ15ZZvEeb6KoWtvnwBlOBpKGmaD9ja0eIEw6rYk1lx_lOsn-SsghaT6dOJRmSkvoupqPE66CycfYT79SsP22JVHjdRO3t-bAM1hfH/s1170/Winn%20Correctional%20Center.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="895" data-original-width="1170" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNDWawpWqA_f2ZIitQm_ZV1cS77IKsKZRODC6f0vjoXE5PO3VLX_6fCTMgH3oZFxE5CGJwMwzJrqd3fH36bPAQ15ZZvEeb6KoWtvnwBlOBpKGmaD9ja0eIEw6rYk1lx_lOsn-SsghaT6dOJRmSkvoupqPE66CycfYT79SsP22JVHjdRO3t-bAM1hfH/s320/Winn%20Correctional%20Center.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Winn Correctional Center, Winnfield, LA (circa 2020)</span></i></div><p>Representing detained clients is difficult. There are numerous hurdles to putting together a strong case for detainees. Communication, or lack thereof, has been the most consistently frustrating aspect of the work. This includes communication with my clients, but it extends to communication with the deportation officers, ICE trial attorneys, and the facilities and their employees (usually run by contractors - not the government). Phone calls go un-answered and voicemails are almost always full.</p><p>In all fairness to at least one of these facilities, I can arrange for a client phone call with Winn Correctional. To do so, I have to e-mail a specific individual and present a range of potential times I am free. That individual will then arrange something. If the identity of that individual were to change, I would never know, much less have the new individual's contact information. For someone who does not regularly represent detainees in Winn, there would be no reason to have that contact info. It is not posted on a website or made generally available.</p><p>For now, I know who that individual is, and they have an established history of coming through when I need them. Despite that, scheduled phone calls are limited in terms of time and effectiveness. I cannot review documents with my client. I cannot do a full trial prep. The connection is often poor. I get the impression my clients are not truly left alone because few of them seem willing to open up on the phone calls.</p><p>Law is a tricky profession. Despite flashy courtroom dramas, the practice is not as easy as my showing up to court and dazzling with my oratory skills or high IQ questions on direct and cross examination. If my client is unable to provide me with the information that I need to present their case, I am not going to be able to effectively present that case. I do not live inside the minds of my clients. I do not have access to their memories, their feelings, or their fears. If they cannot communicate those things to me, I am stranded and forced to cobble together the best possible presentation based on limited information. All too often, those presentations are lacking because my communication with my clients is lacking.</p><p>But maybe that's the point. I might be cynical, but after more than a decade of representing individuals detained in those hell holes, I find myself wondering whether ICE, the U.S. Department of Justice, and their contractors are being intentional in their actions. Maybe there's a reason these detention facilities are located in the middle of nowhere four hours from the nearest metropolitan area. Maybe there's a reason beyond logistical issues that communication is limited. Poor communication is paired with a lack of wifi, an inability of counsel to bring certain items into the facility (including water when they may be required to remain in the facility for a 3-5 hour-long hearing), and other restrictions done in the name of security that make that make our job harder. </p><p>This lawsuit probably should have been brought fifteen years ago. It will be interesting to see how it proceeds and what we learn from the information that comes out as it progresses (if it progresses). Maybe the complaint will prompt some changes. I will not be holding my breath though.</p><p><br /></p><p><i><a href="https://www.bogartimmigration.com/people/nathan-bogart/">Nathan R. Bogart</a> is one of the founding partners of Bogart, Small + Associates. He leads the firm's immigration practice group and focuses his practice on immigration-related litigation, including removal defense before the immigration courts, appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals and U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal, and federal lawsuits against the agencies tasked with implementing or enforcing U.S. immigration laws.</i></p><p><i><a href="https://www.bogartimmigration.com/">Bogart Small, + Associates</a> is an award-winning Northwest Arkansas-based law firm focused on representing individuals, families, and small businesses in all immigration matters, as well as criminal defense, family law, and compliance matters. </i></p>Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com0Fayetteville, AR, USA36.0626579 -94.1605838999999927.7524240638211523 -129.3168339 64.372891736178843 -59.004333899999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-42139657179773999902022-03-18T10:54:00.003-05:002022-03-21T10:53:21.268-05:00Board of Immigration Appeals Reminds Immigration Judges to Do Their Jobs While Still Finding a Way to Harm Immigrants<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7cCDW5WJKceUkhyzMC-S7EchMCbqRMIJuvb0HHHWglGvVjGCr9z9Bsf9vvcfWgsIlhRK0S--z4PinKCE153krApLVjCOwEyW57NTFi9rzoTIkx-pwKoS4RNDHM2sdeh2jRo5GJv2aWLXspaV0NHTPDATSOhHsdYUAq-4M8SQql2ZxUVeywt_PSeYL=s1205" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1205" data-original-width="863" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7cCDW5WJKceUkhyzMC-S7EchMCbqRMIJuvb0HHHWglGvVjGCr9z9Bsf9vvcfWgsIlhRK0S--z4PinKCE153krApLVjCOwEyW57NTFi9rzoTIkx-pwKoS4RNDHM2sdeh2jRo5GJv2aWLXspaV0NHTPDATSOhHsdYUAq-4M8SQql2ZxUVeywt_PSeYL=s320" width="229" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Matter of M-M-A-, published last week, basically restates the obvious</i></span></div><p>Continuing a long tradition of dropping precedent-setting decisions on Friday, the Board of Immigration Appeals published <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1482556/download"><i>Matter of M-M-A-</i>, 28 I&N Dec. 494 (BIA 2022)</a> last week.</p><p><b>The Issue:</b></p><p>When the government alleges that an applicant is ineligible for relief based on a frivolous asylum application, is the immigration judge required to make predicate findings of fact and conclusions of law to determine whether the requirements for a frivolous asylum application have been satisfied?</p><p><b>The Holding:</b></p><p><b><u>Yes</u></b>. An immigration judge is bound to make findings of fact and conclusions of law as to whether the asylum application was frivolous in accordance with <a href="https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2014/07/25/3563.pdf"><i>Matter of Y-L-</i>, 24 I&N Dec. 151 (BIA 2007)</a>.</p><p><b>The Basic Facts:</b></p><p>The decision involved an immigration judge's approval of an application for adjustment of status appealed by the <a href="https://www.ice.gov/about-ice/opla">Department of Homeland Security</a>. The Department took the position that the applicant had previously filed a frivolous asylum application and was therefore barred from adjusting.</p><p>In 2010, the applicant filed for asylum affirmatively with the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services' <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-and-asylum/asylum">Asylum Office</a>. His application was referred to the immigration court. Before the court, he filed for adjustment of status based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen and withdrew his asylum application.</p><p>At trial, the applicant asked to retract information included in his asylum application, acknowledging he had mischaracterized some details. He filed a waiver of inadmissibility for having misrepresented himself. He then went on to testify that the written declaration submitted in support of his asylum application and his testimony at the asylum interview were false.</p><p>It gets better. He also admitted he filed false documentation in support of his asylum application and that none of the facts underlying his application were true. Based on these admissions, the Department asked the immigration court to find he had filed a frivolous asylum application.</p><p>The immigration judge declined to do so, finding she was not required to enter such a finding. She approved the waiver of inadmissibility for misrepresentation and approved his application for adjustment of status.</p><p><b>Consequences of a Frivolous Asylum Application:</b></p><p>A frivolousness finding is fundamentally important because, once made, it permanently bars a non-citizen from receiving any benefit under the Immigration & Nationality Act. There are no waivers, and no passage of time can cure this permanent bar.</p><p>To reach this conclusion though, an immigration judge is required to apply specific requirements before entering a frivolous finding. These are articulated in the Board's decision in <i>Matter of Y-L-</i>.</p><p><b>The <i>Y-L-</i> Requirements:</b></p><p>The immigration judge or the Department's trial attorney can raise the issue of a frivolous asylum application. Interestingly, an immigration judge is not required to raise the issue if the Department fails to do so. Unless there is a previous frivolousness finding in the record, it does not appear the applicant has any obligation to raise the issue. However, if the Department raises the issue, the immigration judge is required to address it. In such a scenario, the issue cannot be ignored. The requirements are:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>The applicant must be notified of the consequences of filing a frivolous asylum application</li><li>The immigration judge must make a specific finding that the applicant knowingly filed a frivolous asylum application</li><li>There is sufficient evidence in the record to support the finding that a material element of the asylum application was deliberately fabricated</li><li>The applicant has been provided with sufficient opportunity to account for any discrepancies</li></ol><p></p><p><b>If an Issue Involves Statutory Eligibility, the Immigration Judge Has to Address it:</b></p><p>Board precedent, the INA, and the regulations are fairly straightforward in requiring that immigration judges must address all issues relating to statutory eligibility before rendering a decision. In other words, if either party raises a dispositive issue to the immigration judge the issue must be addressed.</p><p>Due to the permanent bar resulting from a frivolous finding, this is a dispositive issue of statutory eligibility. This means an immigration judge is required to make specific findings and conclusions regarding the <i>Matter of Y-L-</i> factors. The problem in this case is the immigration judge failed to do so.</p><p><b>What this means:</b></p><p>Immigration judges issue poorly worded decisions all the time. The worst feeling is losing an appeal on a case you won before the immigration court because the immigration judge failed to fully articulate their decision. </p><p>Among other things, this decision is a good reminder to ensure there is a complete record made at the immigration court level. Specifically, if the issue of the frivolousness of a prior asylum application is raised, rather than encourage the judge to ignore it, we should be pushing the judge to find the application was not frivolous based on the factors outlined in <i>Matter of Y-L-</i>.</p><p><i><a href="https://www.bogartimmigration.com/people/nathan-bogart/">Nathan R. Bogart</a> is one of the founding partners of Bogart, Small + Associates. He leads the firm's immigration practice group and focuses his practice on immigration-related litigation, including removal defense before the immigration courts, appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals and U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal, and federal lawsuits against the agencies tasked with implementing or enforcing U.S. immigration laws.</i></p><p><i><a href="https://www.bogartimmigration.com/">Bogart Small, + Associates</a> is an award-winning Northwest Arkansas-based law firm focused on representing individuals, families, and small businesses in all immigration matters, as well as criminal defense, family law, and compliance matters. </i></p><p><br /></p>Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com1Fayetteville, AR, USA36.0662419 -94.1578529999999897.7560080638211559 -129.314103 64.376475736178847 -59.001602999999989tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-15675557948286478232022-02-01T08:00:00.002-06:002022-02-01T08:00:00.212-06:00Bogart, Small + Associates and Kedron Benham, Attorney-at-Law, PLLC Join Forces<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhM3dEFQGzgN0ZhWgkAF3616WQKBmn3sYNI5YTrdYueL501RnlfRcQWH5QKlQ3uo68hdEQodm-tmCZuJ4f06GRpD1f7vE8hCVnyW_92eal99txTgRk3eACbfZ9AYLS8XzHMQ7R253pC40hTss-owzRjuQaUqMsuD4jkUKqdwr8OMlIChDzrii2AEm_E=s1870" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1870" data-original-width="1870" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhM3dEFQGzgN0ZhWgkAF3616WQKBmn3sYNI5YTrdYueL501RnlfRcQWH5QKlQ3uo68hdEQodm-tmCZuJ4f06GRpD1f7vE8hCVnyW_92eal99txTgRk3eACbfZ9AYLS8XzHMQ7R253pC40hTss-owzRjuQaUqMsuD4jkUKqdwr8OMlIChDzrii2AEm_E=s320" width="320" /></a></p><p>Fayetteville, AR (February 1, 2022) - The law firms of Bogart, Small + Associates and Kedron Benham, Attorney-at-Law, PLLC are proud to announce a merger effective February 15, 2022, that will unite the two firms under the Bogart, Small + Associates name. The merger combines two long-standing and respected Arkansas immigration law firms and enhances the experience and the capacity of both firms to represent members of Northwest Arkansas's growing immigrant community.</p><p>"With this partnership, our goal is to be the most experienced and creative immigration law firm in Arkansas," said Nathan Bogart, a partner at Bogart, Small + Associates. "There is a shared set of values and goals that has connected both firms for years. Together, our firm's immigration attorneys will now collectively have nearly 60 years of experience."</p><p>The combination aligns a depth of experience among the firms' respective attorneys who are already well-known throughout Arkansas and the Mid-South. </p><p><i>About <a href="https://www.bogartimmigration.com/">Bogart Small, + Associates</a>: An award-winning Northwest Arkansas-based law firm focused on representing individuals, families, and small businesses in all immigration matters, criminal defense, family law, and compliance. </i></p>Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com2Fayetteville, AR, USA36.0662419 -94.1578529999999897.7560080638211559 -129.314103 64.376475736178847 -59.001602999999989tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-5457895417586734942022-01-19T20:13:00.011-06:002022-01-19T20:16:37.320-06:00More New IJs in Memphis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidSBCVeB_t3jSaSiT1E40sDpsVaFby0gN-YMjxqsnsJVT_xGS7QBLD84dYUbXdU2iU088lTnAjjwp0ofKTWTD1J2AN72im-qVzYFRCBeAxP6fPHxV9AuSAbnJHyNSr5QrzHh4XDh1u000iqOt4qw61Q7SbzkOmOHpPo_k6JPe1wJcSHadXfr9-kJEM=s400" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="298" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEidSBCVeB_t3jSaSiT1E40sDpsVaFby0gN-YMjxqsnsJVT_xGS7QBLD84dYUbXdU2iU088lTnAjjwp0ofKTWTD1J2AN72im-qVzYFRCBeAxP6fPHxV9AuSAbnJHyNSr5QrzHh4XDh1u000iqOt4qw61Q7SbzkOmOHpPo_k6JPe1wJcSHadXfr9-kJEM=s320" width="238" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Memphis Immigration Court</i></span></p><p>The Memphis Immigration Court has been busy during the pandemic. The court is in the process of expanding, adding additional space, more courtrooms, and new immigration judges. At the start of the pandemic in March 2020, the court only had four active IJs (two had recently retired, but two from Louisville were reassigned to Memphis). As of the writing of this post, the Memphis court's website lists eleven IJs. My court calendar confirms a twelfth IJ who I have included in this list. Rumors are there will be more. Here's who's new:</p><p><u>Judge Alisha Campos</u>: Judge Campos was appointed to the bench last October. She graduated with a B.A. from Arkansas State and a law degree from the University of Houston. Uniquely, Judge Campos has practiced both as a trial attorney for the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, and as a private immigration attorney. Now she's hit the trifecta when it comes to removal proceedings. She is licensed in Texas. Her full bio is available <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1444911/download">here</a>.</p><p><u>Judge Sean D. Clancy</u>: Judge Clancy was originally appointed to the Harlingen Immigration Court in June 2018, and it seems he has transferred to Memphis recently. He earned his B.A. from Ole Miss and his J.D. from Washington and Lee University. He has a lengthy history of working as an attorney for the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, and legacy INS. He also served in the Peace Corps in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan at one point. His full bio is available <a href="https://www.aila.org/infonet/eoir-swears-in-3-immigration-judges">here</a>.</p><p><u>Judge Kevin P. Guillory</u>: Judge Guillory is one of the more recent appointees, joining the bench in December 2021. He earned his B.A. and J.D. from LSU. Most of his experience seems to come from the D.A.'s office in Orleans Parish, LA where he basically served from 2005 to 2021 with a two-year stint in private practice somewhere in the middle. All in New Orleans. His full bio is available <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1457171/download">here</a>.</p><p><u>Judge Brandon J. Josephson</u>: Judge Josephson is staying home in Memphis where he was most-recently serving as the Deputy Chief Counsel in the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, Immigration & Customs Enforcement in Memphis. From 2007 to 2012, he served as an Assistant Chief Counsel in the Miami OPLA office, so he was with ICE for quite some time and will be well-versed in immigration court procedures. Prior to his time with ICE, Judge Josephson was in private practice focusing on civil litigation. He earned his B.A. from Illinois State University and his J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law. His full bio is available <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1457171/download">here</a>.</p><p><u>Judge Kelly B. Lake</u>: Judge Lake is a new arrival to Memphis, but she is not a new IJ. She was appointed in 2019 to the San Francisco Immigration Court and then transferred to Memphis in 2021. Prior to joining EOIR, Judge Lake accrued two decades worth of experience as a prosecutor at both the state and federal levels, including stints as a Resident Legal Advisor in the Overseas Prosecutorial Development and Training Section in Islamabad, Pakistan and Lagos, Nigeria. Judge Lake earned her B.A. from UCLA and her J.D. from Loyola Law School of Los Angeles. Her full bio is available <a href="https://www.aila.org/infonet/eoir-swears-in-31-new-immigration-judges">here</a>.</p><p><u>Judge Luis A. Maldonado</u>: Judge Maldonado has been on the bench in Memphis for quite a while compared to many of the IJs on this list. We just don't know much about him because the court was shut down for a year-and-a-half. He was appointed in March 2020. He earned his B.A. from Stetson University and his J.D. from the University of Florida. His immigration law experience is extensive. From 2016 to 2020, he served as an associate counsel to the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services in Atlanta. Prior, he was with the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, from 2011 to 2016 in Orlando. From 2009 to 2011, he was an associate legal advisor in ICE's National Security Law Section in D.C. From 2006 to 2009, he was an assistant chief counsel with OPLA in Orlando. Prior to his federal experience, Judge Maldonado served as a Senior Attorney with Child Welfare Legal Services in Orlando. From 2004 to 2006, he was an immigration staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association. He is licensed in Florida. His full bio is available <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1295301/download">here</a>.</p><p><u>Judge Irma J. Newburn</u>: The Memphis Immigration Court will not be the first place Judge Newburn has served as a judge. From 2016 to 2021, she served as a District Judge for Comanche, Cotton, Jefferson, and Stephen Counties in Oklahoma. Prior to her time as a judge, Judge Newburn served as an Assistant D.A. for Comanche and Cotton Counties and was previously in private practice in Lawton, OK. Judge Newburn graduated with her B.A. from Cameron University and earned her J.D. from Oklahoma City University School of Law. Her full bio is available <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1457171/download">here</a>. Oklahoma media also ran a <a href="https://www.kswo.com/2021/10/25/comanche-county-judge-appointed-role-federal-immigration-judge/">report</a> on Judge Newburn's appointment back in October.</p><p><u>Judge David A. Russo</u>: Like Judge Maldonado, Judge Russo was appointed in March 2020. Judge Russo was previously with the Federal Emergency Management Agency from 2017 to 2020. From 2011 to 2016, he served as a deputy state judge advocate for the Georgia National Guard in Atlanta. He is also an Army veteran, serving as a JAG officer from 2000 to 2008. Judge Russo spent three years in private practice in Georgia from 2008 to 2011. Judge Russo graduated with a B.A. from Tulane University, and he earned his J.D. from LSU. His full bio is available <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1295301/download">here</a>.</p><p>As always, this info about new IJs has nothing to do with my opinion of the hires or how the individual IJs are rumored to be performing. Most are not even hearing cases yet, so there I have no opinion to share.</p><p>What I can say is that practice before the Memphis court is about to get a whole lot different. The act of managing so many different personalities and legal philosophies presents a new challenge that immigration litigators in the region have not faced before. Add that to the new faces in the detained courts in LaSalle and Oakdale, Dallas, and Kansas City, and it's clear the post-pandemic world of removal defense will be a new one for Northwest Arkansas attorneys.</p><p>All of that being said, this is an interesting set of changes and the experience and backgrounds of the new IJs are diverse. There is definitely more private practice experience than we have seen in a few years, and some have extensive immigration law experience from both sides of the courtroom. That has the potential to be a very positive change. </p><p><i><a href="https://www.bogartimmigration.com/people/nathan-bogart/">Nathan Bogart</a> is a removal defense attorney at the Fayetteville, AR based firm, <a href="https://www.bogartimmigration.com/">Bogart, Small + Associates</a>. The views expressed in his articles and on this blog do not necessarily represent the views of his firm or associates and they are not legal advice.</i></p>Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-58212780740767481682020-12-21T11:37:00.004-06:002020-12-21T11:37:49.642-06:00Non-Detained Courts Remain Closed to Hearings Until At Least January 11th<p>This morning, the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir">Executive Office for Immigration Review</a>, sub-agency of the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with running the immigration courts, announced that, unless otherwise specified, non-detained immigration courts that have not resumed hearings since the start of the pandemic will remain closed to hearings through at least January 8, 2021. This means the earliest they can reopen is January 11, 2021. There is no word on whether they will open that week or not, but we should continue receiving these updates until they do.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lt-jMTiWDD4/X-DcDG4kqAI/AAAAAAAABPQ/zM5DSWiQ8ncW9V1afpwTTozvPduFUveNgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1773/EOIR-1.8.2021%2BClosure.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1773" data-original-width="1125" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lt-jMTiWDD4/X-DcDG4kqAI/AAAAAAAABPQ/zM5DSWiQ8ncW9V1afpwTTozvPduFUveNgCLcBGAsYHQ/w254-h400/EOIR-1.8.2021%2BClosure.png" width="254" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;">For months, EOIR has been sending weekly updates, but this was the first we've received for a couple of weeks.</p><p style="text-align: left;">NOTE: This announcement does not extend to every immigration court. It does not apply to detained courts, for example. There have also been some non-detained courts that have already resumed hearings in full or limited capacity.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Most importantly, even the non-detained courts not holding hearings at the present expect all filing deadlines to be met and their filing windows remain open for in-person or mail filings. </p><p style="text-align: left;">This pause in non-detained hearings extends to all of our "local" courts here in Northwest Arkansas. Memphis, Kansas City, and Dallas are all impacted. It does not apply to our detained courts in Jena or Oakdale, LA. It also does not apply to whatever court happens to be handling hearings from the Winn or Jackson Parish detention centers at the moment.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Count on this continuing for the foreseeable future. With COVID cases rising every day, it is hard to imagine the courts would choose to reopen fully just before the inauguration. This is the Trump administration though, so anything is possible. As always, we should know more next Monday. Unless we don't.</p><p style="text-align: left;">For even less information, visit EOIR's "<a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir-operational-status">EOIR Operational Status</a>" website.</p></div><br /><p><br /></p>Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com0Fayetteville, AR, USA36.082156 -94.171854200000013-14.183514837968303 -164.4843542 86.3478268379683 -23.859354200000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-63551175410676761702020-12-07T10:02:00.000-06:002020-12-07T10:02:47.024-06:00Immigration Courts Remained Closed to Non-Detained Hearings - Cannot Reopen Until At Least January 4th<p>For most of the pandemic, the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir">Executive Office for Immigration Review</a> has been extending the closure of most non-detained immigration courts for the purpose of conducting hearings (they've remained open to accept filings) each Monday. Every Monday, we get another e-mail extending the closure for one more week.</p><p>This week the tradition continues, but they went ahead and just cancelled all non-detained hearings through the end of December. This means the earliest most immigration courts can resume hearings in non-detained matters is January 4, 2021.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7FN5LprSBeo/X85HkSSQzeI/AAAAAAAABOw/IJR5fIxb6e8BoJ1WfBgkYpoWPx5Zc_nTACLcBGAsYHQ/s1856/1.4.2021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1856" data-original-width="1125" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7FN5LprSBeo/X85HkSSQzeI/AAAAAAAABOw/IJR5fIxb6e8BoJ1WfBgkYpoWPx5Zc_nTACLcBGAsYHQ/w242-h400/1.4.2021.jpg" width="242" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Hearings in non-detained cases at most immigration courts are postponed until <u>at least</u> January 4, 2021</i></span></div><p>This announcement only applies to non-detained immigration courts that had not resumed hearings in non-detained matters. To our knowledge, this includes <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/memphis-immigration-court">Memphis</a> and <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/kansas-city-immigration-court">Kansas City</a>. There are some immigration courts that have resumed non-detained hearings and this announcement does not apply to them. It also does not apply to detained hearings.</p><p>Anyone with any questions can consult EOIR's automated case information <a href="https://portal.eoir.justice.gov/InfoSystem/Form?Language=EN">page</a>, the immigration court managing the case, by calling the EOIR hotline at 1-800-898-7180, or by speaking with an immigration attorney.</p><p>When hearings will resume is anyone's guess. We'll continue to update information as we receive it.</p>Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com0Fayetteville, AR, USA36.082156 -94.1718542000000137.7719221638211522 -129.3281042 64.392389836178836 -59.015604200000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-7302506840219885262020-12-02T14:42:00.007-06:002020-12-02T14:42:59.865-06:00The End of Master Calendar Hearings?<p>To kick off December, the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir">Executive Office for Immigration Review</a> reminded us of the havoc the Trump Administration can continue to wreak in the closing days of this presidency. In a newly released <a href="file:///C:/Users/Nathan/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/ZYFFPOQ0/pm_21-05.pdf">policy memo</a>, Director McHenry, has impressively complicated the lives of attorneys and respondents in the name of making removal proceedings more efficient. Here's the rundown:</p><p><b>Lies, Damned Lies...</b></p><p>EOIR based this memo on a number of straight up lies. Director McHenry makes the claim that most respondents in removal proceedings have representation, especially in asylum cases. In fact, the memo claims nearly 85% of respondents had representation in 2020. This is based on unpublished numbers maintained by EOIR and has not been verified by any outside observer. In reality, <a href="https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/485/">large percentages</a> of respondents have been unrepresented over the course of the last two decades and access to counsel <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-immigration-court-works-98678#:~:text=Only%2037%20percent%20of%20all%20immigrants%20have%20an,into%20the%20courtroom%20wearing%20a%20jumpsuit%20and%20shackles.">remains a challenge</a> confronting the immigration courts and their stakeholders.</p><p>The memo also claims removability is not contested in most cases, and "representatives frequently waive the reading of charges and the giving of various advisals." The idea being that for most non-detained respondents with representation, there is no need to hold a master calendar hearing. However, EOIR cites no statistics for this claim and, anecdotally, I am not sure it holds up. Our office certainly doesn't admit removability in every case. Some attorneys refuse to ever admit removability. In reality, it's a case-by-case thing. There are some matters where the client doesn't get anything out of contesting charges, sure. There are other cases where we need to hold the government to its burden or we need access to information in the government's file and the only way to get it quick is to contest removability and force the government to prove it.</p><p>Regardless, from the outset, this memo is framed by EOIR as solving a problem that doesn't exist: pointless hearings.</p><p><b>The New Memo Doesn't Apply to Everyone</b></p><p>The model will not apply to cases of detained respondents or unrepresented respondents. It will also not apply to cases that have already been placed on a status docket. This might include pending SIJS applications or unaccompanied minors with asylum applications pending before USCIS. Immigration judges also maintain discretion to deviate from the model as appropriate.</p><p><b>Master Calendar Hearings Now Discouraged</b></p><p>Hearings scheduled solely for the purpose of filing an application or scheduling a trial date are no "disfavored." Where a respondent is represented by counsel <u>and</u> an entry of appearance via Form EOIR-28 has been filed at least 15 days before a master calendar hearing, that hearing will be automatically vacated and a scheduling order will be sent out to the parties.</p><p>If the EOIR-28 is filed less than 15 days before the master calendar hearing, the hearing will move forward as scheduled and the respondent and counsel are required to attend. Efforts to deceive an immigration judge regarding a respondent's representation may now constitute grounds for disciplinary action.</p><p><b>New Scheduling Orders</b></p><p>While immigration judges have always had the authority to issue scheduling orders (some in our neck of the words have made generous use of them over time), these new orders mandated by the memo will set a deadline for (1) the filing of written pleadings; (2) any evidence related to the charges of removability; and (3) any applications for relief. This deadline will generally be 45 days from the date of the vacated hearing, but the specific immigration judge retains discretion to deviate, so it could be anything in theory. Failure to meet this deadline will waive eligibility for any relief from removal.</p><p>Once the scheduling order is complied with, the immigration judge will schedule a merits hearing if relief is requested or another order resolving the case if there is no dispute between the parties. A second scheduling order will then be issued setting deadlines for the filing of any motions, briefs, or supporting documents prior to the hearing. </p><p><b>Moving Forward</b></p><p>There are so many issues here, and so many of them are so obvious that I am certain I am missing many of them. This is not an exhaustive list. It is also going to be difficult to know for sure how this will impact proceedings until we really see it in action, something hard to do when most hearings are cancelled due to the pandemic. There is also the 900 lbs. elephant in the room: the new administration may just ball this memo up and throw it in the trash. Here are some of my initial thoughts.</p><p><b>Maybe it won't be so bad.</b> In the memo itself, EOIR acknowledges this new model "presents opportunities for gamesmanship." In other words, creative lawyers (of which there is an endless supply) may find ways to use this new model to their clients' advantage. This has certainly happened with other ridiculous policies announced by EOIR since 2017. I can already think of a couple of ways to use this policy to my clients' benefit in some cases. Selfishly, there may also be benefits to someone like me who does not live within 200 miles of any immigration court. Driving to Memphis, sometimes several times per month, the last few years has not been kind to my budget.</p><p><b>Immigration Judges are individuals.</b> Despite using clear periods of time like "45 days," this memo still leaves a lot of discretion to individual immigration judges in terms of how to implement this new model. Are we going to see a situation where some judges give us 45 days to comply with the scheduling order and others 15 or 90? This is a real possibility and it would make removal defense hard to manage with so many moving deadlines going on at the same time, especially on the front end of a case where we don't typically have to worry about deadlines as much.</p><p><b>Sometimes there is good reason for delay. </b>I think one of the most difficult things about this memo has no real basis in the practicality of its application. It's the condescending tone. That's something I really won't miss about this administration. This memo assumes representatives try and delay proceedings because delays are always in our clients favor. In reality, most of the time there is a good reason for delay. Maybe we get hired last second or we're human beings and have a number of different priorities going on at the same time and it would be better for everything to move those around. Frequently, we're waiting on USCIS to adjudicate a benefit outside of the immigration judge's jurisdiction that may have a huge impact on whether or not the case ends in a removal order. The idea that I, as an "officer of the court," am merely attempting to delay every case for illegitimate reasons is highly insulting and ignores the reality on the ground.</p><p><b>Our workload up front just got a lot heavier.</b> I think this is obvious. Maybe it's not. We're going to have to manage a whole lot of deadlines at the beginning of the case and at the end. How that plays out exactly remains yet to be seen, but let's just hope it doesn't become overwhelming.</p><p>This policy, coupled with whatever nincompoopery this administration makes up over the next few weeks, is going to make the next few months interesting and stressful. It's also an additional reminder among near constant reminders over the last four years that it is way beyond time for an <a href="https://thehill.com/latino/480572-immigration-judges-association-calls-for-independence-from-doj">independent immigration court</a>. Our immigration judges deserve independence so they can run their courtrooms the way they need to based on the reality in front of them. Attorneys, both private removal defense attorneys and government attorneys, deserve some insulation from changes in administration and other political considerations attempting to wreak havoc in the system. Knowing how the system works and how to operate within that system is a lawyers greatest asset and its been completely undone since 2017. Most importantly, respondents in removal proceedings (and the United States) deserve justice. There is no such thing as justice when the term is redefined to fit whatever the administration that happens to be in power at the time wants it to be. #freethecourts </p><p><br /></p>Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com0Fayetteville, AR, USA36.082156 -94.1718542000000137.7719221638211522 -129.3281042 64.392389836178836 -59.015604200000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-14316856053437192722020-12-01T12:06:00.006-06:002020-12-01T12:07:53.241-06:00Non-Detained Courts Remain Closed Through 12/18<p>Yesterday, the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir">Executive Office for Immigration Review</a>, sub-agency of the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with running the immigration courts, announced that, unless otherwise specified, non-detained immigration courts that have not resumed hearings since the start of the pandemic will remain closed to hearings through at least December 18, 2020. This means the earliest they can reopen is December 21, 2020 - the week of Christmas.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TVc2Mo7Teus/X8aBNCvs9dI/AAAAAAAABNs/xtSOXDzLBJk-xle87FGVC80YmlsqLmhfACLcBGAsYHQ/s1771/EOIR-Closing-12.18.2020.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1771" data-original-width="1125" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TVc2Mo7Teus/X8aBNCvs9dI/AAAAAAAABNs/xtSOXDzLBJk-xle87FGVC80YmlsqLmhfACLcBGAsYHQ/w254-h400/EOIR-Closing-12.18.2020.jpg" width="254" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Our weekly reminder that EOIR does not have a long-term strategy</i></span></div><p>This has been going on for months and, every Monday, every EOIR registered attorney and other stakeholders receive a new e-mail extending the non-detained closure yet another week. </p><p>NOTE: This announcement does not extend to every immigration court. It does not apply to detained courts, for example. There have also been some non-detained courts that have already resumed hearings in full or limited capacity.</p><p>Most importantly, even the non-detained courts not holding hearings at the present expect all filing deadlines to be met and their filing windows remain open for in-person or mail filings. Many courts were accepting e-mail filings with various, some might say ridiculous, limitations, but that was supposed to end this week and no real guidance has been received as to whether it will continue. In general, I stopped filing via e-mail several months ago absent emergencies.</p><p>This pause in non-detained hearings extends to all of our "local" courts here in Northwest Arkansas. Memphis, Kansas City, and Dallas are all impacted. It does not apply to our detained courts in Jena or Oakdale, LA. It also does not apply to whatever court happens to be handling hearings from the Winn or Jackson Parish detention centers at the moment.</p><p>Count on this continuing for the foreseeable future. With COVID cases rising every day, it is hard to imagine the courts would choose the weeks of Christmas and New Year to reopen fully. We also know the Memphis Immigration Court has rescheduled pretty much all of its December master calendar docket. Then again, the immigration courts do inexplicable things all the time. We'll know more next Monday.</p><p>For even less information, visit EOIR's "<a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir-operational-status">EOIR Operational Status</a>" website.</p>Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com0Fayetteville, AR, USA36.082156 -94.1718542000000137.7719221638211522 -129.3281042 64.392389836178836 -59.015604200000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-91744182433891530172020-08-03T13:43:00.003-05:002020-08-03T13:43:39.143-05:00Non-Detained Courts Remain Closed Through 8/21Today, the Department of Justice announced, through Twitter, that all non-detained immigration courts without an announced re-opening date, will remain closed through at least August 21, 2020. This means the earliest non-detained hearings will return is Monday, August 24, 2020.<div><br /></div><div>For anyone with any hearing scheduled on August 21st or earlier, that hearing is now cancelled. This announcement applies to the immigration courts in our region, including Memphis, Kansas City, and Dallas. It does not apply to the detained courts. The immigration courts in LaSalle and Oakdale remain open and continue to conduct hearings. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IdyR8cbRITY/XyhYMfA6cjI/AAAAAAAABL4/TOuDVlOoqk8y42OfvDnrE-NXrmjUUYWHACLcBGAsYHQ/s2436/8.3.2020%2BEOIR%2BAnnouncement.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2436" data-original-width="1125" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IdyR8cbRITY/XyhYMfA6cjI/AAAAAAAABL4/TOuDVlOoqk8y42OfvDnrE-NXrmjUUYWHACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/8.3.2020%2BEOIR%2BAnnouncement.PNG" /></a></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Keeping the immigration courts closed is the right decision. COVID continues to rage, particularly in the South and grouping dozens, or more, people together for immigration court hearings and forcing those people to travel hundreds of miles is not a good idea. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>Regardless, the DOJ needs to get this situation figured out. There is no reason we should be receiving a new announcement through social media every single Monday. We know COVID is not getting any better next Monday and probably not for a few weeks after that. It will probably not improve substantially this year. It isn't a mystery.</div><div><br /></div><div>The immigration courts need to pick a date - any date. They can state they will not reopen until at least that date and, as the date approaches, they will re-evaluate. They can also lay out a plan to only entertain specific types of hearings for the first 4, 6, 8 weeks - whatever - after the courts finally reopen. Something. Anything to just give us something to plan on.</div><div><br /></div><div>We have prepared for so many trials since March only learning days after filing the evidence and briefing that court's been cancelled. Again, I am happy court's been cancelled. I do not have a problem with that. I do not want to get COVID. I do not want my clients to get COVID. ICE and the courts may be surprised to hear this, but I legitimately like some of those people and I don't want trial attorneys, judges, or court staff to get COVID either.</div><div><br /></div><div>But we have to be able to plan. That is difficult under the best of circumstances during a pandemic, but it's only made worse by having to wait until Monday of each week to confirm the inevitable extension and to have to continue working to prepare cases for trials that will inevitably be cancelled.</div><div><br /></div><div>The DOJ owes all of its stakeholders, respondents and staff better than to keep jerking everyone around like this.</div>Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-49991019201874261772020-07-28T14:44:00.001-05:002020-07-28T14:44:19.962-05:00New IJs in Memphis<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Even
though the non-detained immigration courts remain closed to hearings and other
in-person services at this time, that does not mean the immigration courts are
not making moves. For those following the Memphis Immigration Court in
particular, it is common knowledge that a pair of retirements last year had been
causing a considerable amount of confusion and delay well before COVID-19. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
retirements were not totally unexpected as the immigration courts in general
have <b><u><a href="https://thecrimereport.org/2020/07/14/immigration-judges-leaving-in-record-numbers-report/">struggled</a> </u></b>to retain judges under this administration. Regardless,
chaos and confusion are the natural consequences when a court that has been
operating for several years with 4 immigration judges is suddenly reduced down
to two.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Recently,
the Department of Justice has moved to re-staff and re-structure the Memphis
court. The first change came shortly into the pandemic when Immigration Judge
Renae M. Hansell <b><u>was <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/memphis-immigration-court">promoted</a></u></b> to the position of Assistant Chief
Immigration Judge (“ACIJ”) for the Memphis court. It remains unclear at this point
whether Judge Hansell will continue to oversee hearings. In several immigration
courts, ACIJs do not traditionally adjudicate cases. Personally, I have seen
her removed from some of my cases recently, but until the court reopens or
there is an announcement, we will not know for sure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Her
promotion created a problem as well. With two immigration judges retired and a
third promoted to a position that would take time away from adjudicating cases,
the court was effectively left with one full-time judge – Immigration Judge
Rebecca L. Holt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
confusion was mostly clarified on July 17, 2020 when the DOJ announced the
swearing in of 46 new immigration judges, including two more judges for the
Memphis court: Luis A. Maldonado and David A. Russo. We will not meet these
judges until after the pandemic, but here’s what we know from the <b><u><a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1295301/download">DOJannouncement</a></u></b>:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Luis
A. Maldonado: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Judge
Maldonado graduated with his law degree from the University of Florida School
of Law in 2004. He was previously an attorney for the U.S. Citizenship &
Immigration Services in Atlanta and a deputy chief counsel for Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) in Orlando. He also has experience representing
immigrants as an immigration staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society of the
Orange County Bar Association in Orlando. Judge Maldonado is licensed in
Florida.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">David
A. Russo: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Judge
Russo is no stranger to the South, having graduated from Tulane University and
Louisiana State University School of Law. He is a veteran of the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security working as a deployable agent for FEMA throughout
the United States from 2017 to 2020. A veteran, Judge Russo worked as a deputy
state judge advocate for the Georgia National Guard in Atlanta and from 2000 to
2008 as a judge advocate for the U.S. Army in Georgia, Iraq, Germany, and
Kuwait. He has private experience as well, serving as a partner with Herman
& Russo P.C. in Woodstock, GA from 2008 to 2011. Judge Russo is licensed in
Georgia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>William Barr announced 46 new immigration judges this month.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
new class of 46 immigration judges was heavily criticized by advocacy groups
when it was released. The vast majority of new immigration attorneys come from
ICE or the judge advocate corps. One was the <b><u><a href="https://lawandcrime.com/immigration/barr-appoints-former-research-director-of-splc-alleged-hate-group-as-immigration-judge/">research director</a></u></b>
for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (“FAIR”), an organization designated
as a hate group with white supremacist roots by the Southern Poverty Law Center
(“SPLC”). Regardless of whether the SPLC is correct in their assessment (they
are), FAIR is certainly anti-immigrant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As
for the new Memphis judges, time will tell how they fit the bench. Adding judges
should help with the court’s backlog, but we will not get an idea for their
style and quirks until the Memphis court reopens. As of today, that will not be
until at least August 17<sup>th</sup>, but with the pandemic raging throughout
the mid-South, that date is likely to be pushed back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com0Fayetteville, AR, USA36.082156 -94.17185420000001335.8767985 -94.494577700000008 36.287513499999996 -93.849130700000018tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-7293136840427237352020-01-02T07:00:00.000-06:002020-01-02T07:00:03.285-06:00Welcome 2020 & Getting Back to Work<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mVf7LWtUeSU/Xg04csifVUI/AAAAAAAABHo/tNbQKSM-4lEfTu_lBSp1yJN8BuGgiHCXwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Happy%2BNew%2BYear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mVf7LWtUeSU/Xg04csifVUI/AAAAAAAABHo/tNbQKSM-4lEfTu_lBSp1yJN8BuGgiHCXwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Happy%2BNew%2BYear.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
I have not been diligent in keeping this blog up to date. Not to make excuses, but I think a lot of that has to do with a desire not to spend my free time talking about the stuff I see every day at the office or on the road. They take a toll and I generally cope with them by pretending they're not happening when I finally get some time away from it though.<br />
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2019 was an eventful year. There were oral arguments in front of the circuit courts, at least one involving litigation I had been managing for years. They didn't go so well, but it was a major step forward and a tremendous learning experience.<br />
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New detention centers opened up in our region, leading me to get to know the state of Louisiana better than I had ever planned on doing. Winning in court got harder. The asylum denial rate in the Memphis and LaSalle immigration courts hovers near 100%.<br />
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But there were victories too. We won some reversals from the BIA and had success in most of our cancellation of removal cases. Despite bonds getting higher and harder to win, we saw some success in the detention centers - as well as humanity.<br />
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2020 will bring a whole new set of challenges. It's an election year. If 2016 was any indication, this one will not be boring. The administration in power seems to take things out on immigrants whenever things don't go its way, so we can be certain there will be a whole litany of new policies that will present challenges we have not had to confront yet.<br />
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Despite the challenges, this year has not been written yet. I have no doubt each challenge will provide opportunities to push back and gain victories, even if they seem small. At a minimum, I hope to do a better job this year recording those experiences.<br />
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<i><a href="https://www.bogartimmigration.com/people/nathan-bogart/">Nathan Bogart</a> is an immigration attorney at <a href="https://www.bogartimmigration.com/">BOGART, SMALL + NAYLOR</a>, a Fayetteville, Arkansas-based immigration and criminal defense firm. He manages the firms immigration litigation practice, focusing on detention & bond issues, removal defense, appeals, and immigration-related matters in the federal courts.</i>Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com0Fayetteville, AR, USA36.082156 -94.17185419999998435.8767985 -94.494577699999979 36.287513499999996 -93.849130699999989tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-17797121203629770542018-10-09T14:41:00.002-05:002018-10-09T14:41:23.749-05:00Just What Kind of Fraud are we Really Worried About?Normally, this is a blog about removal defense and, more broadly, immigration-related litigation. Even so, I wanted to discuss an issue that's been on my mind a lot the last couple of years using an issue I've been seeing in family-based immigration, not litigation.<br />
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Since Trump took office, there have been numerous immigration-related policies and proposals that have taken the news by fire. From the Muslim ban to family separation, there are a ridiculous number of cruel actions that justifiably stir up shock and anger. They have motivated thousands to take to the streets and demand change. They have inspired lawsuits. That's a good thing. We shouldn't be okay with cruelty in any form.<br />
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Yet, while attention has been focused on these horrific activities, the administration and its employees in the immigration agencies have also silently been implementing changes, policies, presumptions and attitudes that will and do have devastating effects. Most of these will never see the news, but they are still reflections of an administration that has embraced an anti-immigrant, nativist attitude towards immigrants and their families and communities. This attitude is at the root of the news-catching drama, but it permeates down to smaller policies and omissions that may have a long-lasting impact.<br />
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One small example is something I have noticed in my last several trips to the Fort Smith Field Office of the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services ("USCIS"). USCIS handles benefit applications. Whether an individual is petitioning a noncitizen family member, applying for DACA, or a temporary work visa, USCIS is involved. Without a doubt, the attitudes of USCIS and its employees matter. In discretionary cases, they can make the difference between an approval or denial. <br />
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Furthermore, in the vast majority of cases, USCIS is the only agency our clients ever interact with. This means USCIS, and the attitude of its employees, will be the only real experience they have with the U.S. immigration process. For individuals not represented, USCIS is often the only source of reliable information they are going to get during the process. They rely on USCIS to be even-handed and impartial.<br />
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One of the biggest problems plaguing immigrant communities when it comes to those seeking pathways towards permanent residency or other statuses is what the legal community call "notario fraud." <br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eONpDi2e9G0/W70BAILgirI/AAAAAAAAA9w/a0EiXnPZELsLStWKM3RedgSAdWiJPDipQCLcBGAs/s1600/Notario%2BFraud%2BII.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eONpDi2e9G0/W70BAILgirI/AAAAAAAAA9w/a0EiXnPZELsLStWKM3RedgSAdWiJPDipQCLcBGAs/s320/Notario%2BFraud%2BII.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Get your taxes & immigration papers done at the same place</i></span></div>
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In communities throughout the U.S., a variety of different individuals and companies have set themselves up as being able to provide advice concerning the immigration process. Many refer to themselves as "notarios publicos," or public notaries. Others use the term consultants, service providers, or some other type of professional. Regardless of the terminology, preparing immigration forms, evaluating eligibility for immigration benefits, or giving immigration advice without a law license is illegal. It's called the unauthorized practice of law.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7ZJNh6Re4cs/W70BZ6L_aGI/AAAAAAAAA94/MK1sjaHj4N0xEoZl_it0Ned0wFo3e4omgCLcBGAs/s1600/Notario%2Bfraud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="460" height="171" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7ZJNh6Re4cs/W70BZ6L_aGI/AAAAAAAAA94/MK1sjaHj4N0xEoZl_it0Ned0wFo3e4omgCLcBGAs/s320/Notario%2Bfraud.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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For years, when you'd enter a USCIS facility, pamphlets, signs and other information warned against the dangers of seeking the wrong advice and the unauthorized practice of law. It's doubtful USCIS ever really did enough to push the issue, but at least it distributed materials and warned individuals about the dangers of seeking legal advice or work from lawbreakers.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L8KExhNZLEU/W70BraA_xtI/AAAAAAAAA-A/G90lBsSjoQIA9OmIVNmiGnpWLz50pi8pgCLcBGAs/s1600/Stop%2BNotario%2BFraud.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="169" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L8KExhNZLEU/W70BraA_xtI/AAAAAAAAA-A/G90lBsSjoQIA9OmIVNmiGnpWLz50pi8pgCLcBGAs/s1600/Stop%2BNotario%2BFraud.png" /></a></div>
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Lately, I have not seen those signs and pamphlets; at least not in the Fort Smith Field Office.<br />
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Instead, I've been seeing this pamphlet:<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jBSOXwG_YBI/W70Cjg9_BWI/AAAAAAAAA-M/-Up4ph5vu48sI0q_DDMxJqx1QK5XHl3kwCLcBGAs/s1600/Pamphlet%2BI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jBSOXwG_YBI/W70Cjg9_BWI/AAAAAAAAA-M/-Up4ph5vu48sI0q_DDMxJqx1QK5XHl3kwCLcBGAs/s320/Pamphlet%2BI.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tax5iz6NZcc/W70CprAv9lI/AAAAAAAAA-Q/NctxHiEd77Qx82DZfmLlvQXHmDb6pX_0ACLcBGAs/s1600/Pamphlet%2BII.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tax5iz6NZcc/W70CprAv9lI/AAAAAAAAA-Q/NctxHiEd77Qx82DZfmLlvQXHmDb6pX_0ACLcBGAs/s320/Pamphlet%2BII.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Marriage fraud is not victimless</i></span></div>
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This pamphlet has been everywhere, at every service window and apparent for all to see. That tells me the fraud USCIS is most concerned about is marriage fraud, or noncitizens who marry U.S. citizens so they can become lawful permanent residents; not fraud aimed at noncitizens and their family members.<br />
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I don't live under a rock. Marriage fraud happens. That data's not good, but as of 2010 (the last year I found numbers), <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/nyregion/13fraud.html">only two-tenths of one percent</a> of marriage-based residency applications were found to be fraudulent per USCIS' own numbers. Critics counter the number suggests the system is so easily manipulated that USCIS was only able to identify such a small number.<br />
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The number is probably higher. Going all the way back to 1986, the now-defunct Immigration & Naturalization Service ("INS") estimated that one and three marriages were fraudulent. That sounds very alarming, but after completing an investigation, that rate was reduced to only 8%. Even if critics are correct, marriage fraud is probably not rampant.<br />
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On the other hand, rates of fraud perpetrated against noncitizens are significantly higher than the likely rate of marriage fraud.<br />
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Admittedly, there are <a href="https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/events/professional_responsibility/2017%20Meetings/2017upl_school/Materials/breakout2/gaps_in_data_the_notario_fraud_epidemic.authcheckdam.pdf">gaps in our ability</a> to understand the fraud perpetrated by notarios and, unfortunately, shady attorneys. Much of that comes down to many victims simply not reporting the fraud. Making matters more complicated, fraud is widespread, covering various immigration benefits or, in some cases, capitalizing on rumors of benefits, panic in the community, or a misunderstanding of policy changes.<br />
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In some jurisdictions, like Arkansas (<a href="https://arkansasag.gov/">under our current AG</a>), there is no regular investigation of allegations of fraud against immigrant communities, meaning that even when fraud is reported, it isn't tracked and no actions are taken. There are also inconsistencies between jurisdictions regarding how fraud is tracked and prosecuted. Unfortunately, that means that in states taking the problem seriously, we sometimes have no idea how many victims there are.<br />
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What we do know is that fraud committed against noncitizens is significantly higher than any reported rates of marriage fraud. This brings me to my ultimate point: the message USCIS is sending so many individuals and families is, "we don't care about you and we don't believe you."<br />
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We should lose our collective minds over kids rotting in cages, families being torn apart and religious discrimination. But we also need to recognize that these are not one-off policies perpetrated by an incredibly cruel administration. Instead, these are the results of a broader attitude, present throughout the Department of Homeland Security, that noncitizens lie. They take. They commit fraud. They're a threat to our national security. And some, we assume, are good people. Just not most of them.<br />
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This attitude dominates despite ample evidence that the vast majority of applicants for immigration benefits do not lie.<br />
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USCIS, just like ICE, CBP and the immigration courts, is not going to give immigrants the benefit of the doubt. Instead, fraud is presumed even though it is so infrequent as to be a statistical anomaly. That's my rant for today.Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com0Fayetteville, AR, USA36.082156 -94.17185419999998435.8767985 -94.494577699999979 36.287513499999996 -93.849130699999989tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-68380674829385740172018-10-02T08:00:00.000-05:002018-10-02T08:00:12.495-05:00New IJs in Jena<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IevrGlD5b_Q/W6_WG1IGn3I/AAAAAAAAA6I/bwjUhj-5MzYwzfBbX1TDP7yO8FMZWOS8gCLcBGAs/s1600/Jena.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IevrGlD5b_Q/W6_WG1IGn3I/AAAAAAAAA6I/bwjUhj-5MzYwzfBbX1TDP7yO8FMZWOS8gCLcBGAs/s320/Jena.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Jena, Louisiana</i></span></div>
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On Friday, September 28, 2018, the Executive Office for Immigration Review ("EOIR" - pronounced "Eeyore" like the Winnie the Pooh character) announced the hiring and assignment of <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1097241/download">46 new immigration judges</a> ("IJ"). Of those 46, four were assigned to the LaSalle Immigration Court in Jena, Louisiana, the middle-of-nowhere location of the <a href="https://www.geogroup.com/GEO_Corrections">GEO run</a> (for profit) ICE detention center where so many immigrants arrested in Arkansas are separated from their families and detained.</div>
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The LaSalle court has been operating for well over a year, with EOIR often flying IJs to Jena to manage the docket a few days to a few weeks at a time to begin and then transferring management of the court to the Miami Immigration Court. The Miami court's IJs would appear via televideo alongside ICE trial attorneys and other court staff, including interpreters.</div>
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Miami's management ended mere weeks ago and now we have what we presume to be full-time IJs, living in and around Jena, hearing cases in person.</div>
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To anyone following the immigration courts the last decade or more, it will not come as a surprise to learn that most of the 46 IJs are former ICE trial attorneys. While there have been numerous former ICE attorneys who have gone on to become excellent, fair-minded IJs, nothing in this latest round of appointments will do anything to dispel the perception (and some might say, reality) that the immigration courts, especially those operating in detention centers, are anything more than another enforcement arm of the deportation machine, but there's nothing wrong with giving new judges the benefit of the doubt.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uu85YRqVh38/W6_eDnkqcTI/AAAAAAAAA6U/JcZ4ZbqHf90yBJCe-eDyytMM-ffZqVQFQCLcBGAs/s1600/Jeff%2BSessions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="220" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uu85YRqVh38/W6_eDnkqcTI/AAAAAAAAA6U/JcZ4ZbqHf90yBJCe-eDyytMM-ffZqVQFQCLcBGAs/s1600/Jeff%2BSessions.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>For anyone who thinks it's unfair to call the immigration courts biased, </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>I give you Exhibit A, the USA's racist grandpa, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, III, the guy <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/10/politics/sessions-immigration-judges/index.html">in charge</a> of them.</i></span></div>
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Our new LaSalle IJs are:</div>
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<b>Grady A. Crooks:</b> The unfortunate surname aside, Judge Crooks served nearly his entire career as an attorney for the Air Force, including tours of duty in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This guy's been around. He's also the only new LaSalle IJ not to have worked for ICE prior to being appointed. His most recent position was as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Louisiana. He graduated with a B.S. from North Dakota State University in 1996, obtained a M.A. from George Washington University in 1999 and received his J.D. from Rutgers University in 2004.</div>
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<b>Steven B. Fuller: </b>Judge Fuller graduated with his B.A. from Auburn University in 1997 and received his J.D. from Regent University School of Law in 2000. Like Judge Crooks, Judge Fuller is a veteran, serving as a JAG lawyer in the Army from 2001 to 2008. He was also a trial attorney for ICE twice, both times at the famous Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. He also spent some time in private practice in Texas, so he seems to bring some very well-rounded experience to the table.</div>
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<b>Brent H. Landis: </b>An eighteen-year veteran of ICE, Judge Landis graduated from DePaul University with a J.D. in 1985. The year I was born, 1982, he graduated with his B.S. from Metropolitan State University. Also, a veteran of the Air Force's JAG corps, Judge Landis is the most experienced attorney to be appointed to the bench in Jena.</div>
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<b>Cassie A. Thogersen:</b> Judge Thogersen has an interesting and diverse background. Like judges Fuller and Landis, she is a veteran of ICE, having practiced from 2008 to 2018 with the Oakdale, LA detained docket. Before that though, she was an attorney with the Department of Health and Human Services where she gained experience prosecuting domestic violence cases. She graduated with her undergraduate degree from Southeastern Louisiana University before earning a master's degree in social work from Washington University in 1996. She graduated with her J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1999.</div>
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It won't take us much longer to get to know these IJs personally. They all take the bench this month, October 2018, when they'll start hearing bond and removal hearings.</div>
Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com2Fayetteville, AR, USA36.082156 -94.17185419999998435.8767985 -94.494577699999979 36.287513499999996 -93.849130699999989tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-20889976621757672018-08-22T11:30:00.000-05:002018-08-22T16:17:53.895-05:00GETTING TO KNOW THE EVER-EVOLVING LASALLE IMMIGRATION COURT: 10 THINGS<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Like the <a href="http://www.deportationtales.com/2018/05/getting-to-know-memphis-immigration.html">Memphis Immigration Court</a>, the LaSalle Immigration Court is not an independent arbiter of the law. Instead, it is an administrative law court. It is the sub-agency of another agency tasked with enforcing the laws as that agency sees fit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">In this case, it is the local office of the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/office-of-the-chief-immigration-judge">Office of the Chief Immigration Judge</a>, a sub-agency of the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir">Executive Office for Immigration Review</a>, a sub-agency of the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/">U.S. Department of Justice</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Practically speaking, what this means is the immigration judges are not judges at all. Rather, they are attorney employees of the U.S. Department of Justice and they have to do whatever the Attorney General, currently everyone's least-favorite Southern caricature, Jeff Sessions, tells them to do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Looking specifically at the LaSalle court, this agency's sole purpose is to adjudicate the removal proceedings of detained immigrants. Individuals who have been detained from all over the mid-South, particularly Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee tend to end up in the <a href="https://www.ice.gov/detention-facility/lasalle-ice-processing-center">LaSalle Detention Facility</a> and subject to the LaSalle Immigration Court's jurisdiction, although some also end up detained in other detention facilities in Louisiana and before the jurisdiction of the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/oakdale-immigration-court">Oakdale Immigration Court</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Because I work in Arkansas and represent detained clients, that means I get to spend a lot of time working with this <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/07/donald-trump-immigration-court-deportation-lasalle">secret immigration court</a> attempting to obtain bonds and, when bond is denied, physically going to Louisiana to argue in favor of our clients' applications for relief.</span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6IE8mYtsVLw/W3o4x0YuCSI/AAAAAAAAA30/5-Ygzv0sQ4wh_pprW0LGFPkUgbi4WayegCLcBGAs/s1600/Jena.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6IE8mYtsVLw/W3o4x0YuCSI/AAAAAAAAA30/5-Ygzv0sQ4wh_pprW0LGFPkUgbi4WayegCLcBGAs/s320/Jena.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The LaSalle Immigration Court</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>830 Pine Hill Road</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Jena, LA 71342</i></span></div>
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For anyone practicing in the region, it might be helpful to get to know the LaSalle Immigration Court a little better. Here are ten important pieces of information anyone dealing with the court might want to know:<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">1. Where is the LaSalle Immigration Court Located?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">In the middle of the wood. Next question....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Seriously, the court is located in the middle of the Louisiana forest. With the exception of some logging activity going on a little ways down the road and a crawfish salesman who must have gone down the road at least once to hang signs, there really is not much else around the court and detention center than trees. If you like trees, it's great!</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Literally right across the road from the court. I haven't called yet, but I think about it every time I'm there.</span></i></div>
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Even the name of the road the court is on is Pine Hill Road. And the name is quite fitting because once you turn onto it, you're surrounded by pine trees and you go up a slight hill. Credit to the planner who came up with that name.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lgnzlWlIs5E/W3o6LpnE7lI/AAAAAAAAA4I/7Ndc-iAkJe4QK3tFJwZj-DQZfBcj8tM3wCLcBGAs/s1600/Pine%2BHill%2BRoad.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lgnzlWlIs5E/W3o6LpnE7lI/AAAAAAAAA4I/7Ndc-iAkJe4QK3tFJwZj-DQZfBcj8tM3wCLcBGAs/s320/Pine%2BHill%2BRoad.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Pine Hill Road in Jena just before you get to the LaSalle court.</i></span></div>
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Once you get to the court you will notice it is difficult to enter. It is, after all, housed inside a jail. The facility is surrounded by two layers of barbed wire laced chain link fence that stands around 20 feet tall. Walk up to the gate and press the button. No one will answer, but 5 to 60 seconds later you'll hear a buzzing noise and the gate will pop open.<br />
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Close the gate behind you and you'll find yourself between the two layers of fencing. Approach the second gate and repeat what you just did at the first gate. Now you can enter the facility.<br />
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Once inside, you will be greeted by a <a href="https://www.geogroup.com/">GEO Group</a> employee sitting at a desk in a small lobby. These GEO contractors are probably the most pleasant people in the detention center. You'll have to sign a permission form to be allowed to take your cell phone and electronics into the facility and then empty your pockets and walk through a scanner; but that's fairly common in these situations, so no sweat. Now you can wait in the lobby until they call your case.<br />
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Behind the lobby are offices. The office to the left belongs to ICE, including operations for the <a href="https://www.ice.gov/opla">Office of Chief Counsel</a>. To the right is the court office: a tiny room with a computer, files and a couple of clerks.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">2. There are no judges in the LaSalle Immigration Court<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">When you are allowed back to the court rooms, you will notice there are four of them. You will also notice that, with the exception of a single GEO employee manning each room (sometimes), the court rooms are completely empty.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">In fact, the four immigration judges who handle the caseload for the court do not live or work in the area. Instead, they appear via televideo from the Miami Immigration Court. This obviously can create some issues and those will be addressed below, but for now, the four immigration judges currently handling cases in LaSalle are:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Judge Marsha K. Nettles - Started as an immigration judge in the Detroit Immigration Court and then transferred relatively recently to the Miami Immigration Court. While in Detroit, <a href="http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/judgereports/00041DET/index.html">she denied 80.3%</a><span id="goog_851965379"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_851965380"></span> of asylum applications filed in her courtroom. Licensed in Michigan, Judge Nettles graduated from Michigan State University and the University of Detroit, Mercy School of Law. Prior to being appointed as an immigration judge, she was a trial attorney for the Office of Chief Counsel, serving as the Chief Counsel in Detroit from 2003-2005.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Judge Denise A. Marks Lane - After attending Howard University and Georgetown University Law Center, Judge Lane worked as a trial attorney for the former Immigration and Naturalization Service ("INS") in New York. She switched over to the Board of Immigration Appeals working as a staff attorney for 5 years before being appointed as an immigration judge in 1994. From 2012 to 2017, <a href="http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/judgereports/00119MIA/index.html">Judge Lane denied 70.4%</a> of asylum applications brought in her courtroom.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Judge Madeline Garcia - Attended the University of Puerto Rico for her undergraduate and law degrees and then taught at the same as an adjunct professor running the university's asylum clinic. Prior to becoming an immigration judge, Judge Garcia worked in private practice for 19 years, including as a sole practitioner. For most of her career, Judge Garcia focused her practice on immigration law. <a href="http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/judgereports/00400ATL/index.html">She denies 87.8% of asylum applications</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Judge Lourdes Rodriguez de Jongh - An alum of the University of Miami for both her undergraduate and law degrees, Judge Rodriguez de Jongh is licensed in Florida and spent the entirety of her career before being appointed as an immigration judge working as a private immigration attorney, including stints working for non-profit organizations representing asylum seekers. From 2012 to 2017, Judge Rodriguez de Jongh <a href="http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/judgereports/00299MIA/index.html">denied 52.6% of asylum applications</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">For the first several months the LaSalle court was open, immigration judges would appear in person during short assignments from other immigration courts. It is always possible that setup could return or that permanent immigration judges are assigned to the court, but for now televideo is the way things are.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>**Update** </b>As of Monday, August 27, 2018, the LaSalle Immigration Court will no longer be managed by the Miami Immigration Court, but will have at least one resident, yet-to-be-named immigration judge with the goal of four resident immigration judges starting in October 2018.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">3. There are no prosecutors (trial attorneys) either...<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Like the immigration judges, all trial attorneys handling matters before the LaSalle Immigration Court appear from the Miami Immigration Court and are part of the Miami Office of Chief Counsel. They appear from the same room and via the same televideo feed as the immigration judges. They enjoy internet access (more on that later) and direct contact with the judge and others in the courtroom where the decisions are made.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Even so, the Office of Chief Counsel maintains staff in the Jena detention center. Their main purpose is to organize and forward filings received in Jena to the Office of Chief Counsel in Miami.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Earlier in the LaSalle Immigration Court's history, trial attorneys were physically present in Jena, but gone are those days. The only persons physically present in the courtroom during the hearing will be you, your client and an employee of GEO. It may go without saying, but this is a very alienating experience.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">4. What role does the court play?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">A cynic might say it is the role of the court to deport as many detainees as possible. A cynic would be correct.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The LaSalle Immigration Court is a machine. It grinds you down. Everything from its location, to the distance between the immigration judges and the individuals whose cases they decide, the lack of access to internet, the time between hearings and fierce opposition to continuances presented by judges and trial attorneys alike, among many other aspects of the court, are designed to make it as difficult as possible for a detainee to obtain a bond or achieve approval of an application for relief.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is not to say the judges, trial attorneys and court staff working at the LaSalle court are bad people. On the contrary, they're professionals doing their best to do a difficult job. Regardless, it is important to understand that those victories are few and far between and things are that way because the system is organized to make it that way.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">5. If the court's in the middle of nowhere, where do I eat?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The LaSalle Immigration Court is indisputably in the middle of nowhere. The nearest town is Jena, a tiny town with few options at first glance. It's one of those old one-street Southern towns, but don't let that fool you. Jena is still located in Louisiana, so there is some very good food.</span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5sxBdRkb27c/W3zYraKbvmI/AAAAAAAAA4w/D-jltnT1Tjgv15KcOlnE1efZvA9pHa2YwCLcBGAs/s1600/Jena.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5sxBdRkb27c/W3zYraKbvmI/AAAAAAAAA4w/D-jltnT1Tjgv15KcOlnE1efZvA9pHa2YwCLcBGAs/s320/Jena.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The center of Jena</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">There are a couple of gas stations, a barbecue restaurant and a delightful little place that serves po'boys.</span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1BZ9QMFQfP0/W3zYv-T-edI/AAAAAAAAA40/sS8TiQ5c7D0-rDOujWrsBNNOGQ2t8ShNACLcBGAs/s1600/Po%2527boy.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1BZ9QMFQfP0/W3zYv-T-edI/AAAAAAAAA40/sS8TiQ5c7D0-rDOujWrsBNNOGQ2t8ShNACLcBGAs/s320/Po%2527boy.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>When in Louisiana....</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Of course, there are also options outside of Jena. I always drive to the LaSalle Immigration Court from the north. The largest city I drive through in Louisiana is Monroe. About an hour away from Jena, Monroe is one of Louisiana's larger metro areas and has several places to unwind after a depressing day in court. It's also usually where I stay the evening before a hearing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">My favorite place in Monroe is <a href="https://www.warehouseno1.com/">Warehouse No. 1</a>, a great local restaurant specializing in Louisiana favorites. It's become somewhat of a tradition where, win or lose, I go to the warehouse and enjoy a bowl of Louisiana-style shrimp & grits on the restaurant's deck over the Ouachita River. At the very least it's something to look forward to. If heading to Jena from further south, there are also great options in Alexandria.</span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sySD9IdQoXU/W3zafRJ3O-I/AAAAAAAAA5E/IlKYsVuMeqgGngGImSrltMawVhnia7GLwCLcBGAs/s1600/Shrim%2B%2526%2BGrits.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sySD9IdQoXU/W3zafRJ3O-I/AAAAAAAAA5E/IlKYsVuMeqgGngGImSrltMawVhnia7GLwCLcBGAs/s320/Shrim%2B%2526%2BGrits.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Wherever you go, make sure to take some time to re-center yourself after spending time in the grind that is LaSalle. One cannot overstate the importance of self care.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">6. How does running the LaSalle Immigration Court from Miami work?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">It runs, but with lots of hiccups. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">There have been some notable problems. Things move fast in Jena and when respondents and defense counsel are required to file their motions and documents in Louisiana and then hope those things make their way to Miami, we're simply moving on a separate timeline than the immigration judges and trial attorneys. This is never so true as when representing individuals with criminal histories. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Applications for every form of relief or bond typically require us to obtain certified copies of criminal records from state courts that do not care about LaSalle's deadlines or method of receiving documents in one location and then scanning them to another.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Documents have been lost in this process, although Miami staff has always been helpful in tracking things down. Lost documents can result in prolonged detention or the denial of applications for relief and the court losing these documents is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. It is one thing to lose a case on the merits, but quite another to lose because the court loses filings.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Just know that the court requires you to file documents with the detention center. When filings are received, they are scanned over to the Miami Immigration Court where they are distributed to the immigration judge presiding over the case. This is a multi-step process that renders the simple act of providing paperwork to the immigration court overly complicated and prone to error.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Regardless, it's the system that has been imposed on us and, for now, we have to deal with it. Things you can do to avoid problems include:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">File documents well in advance of all hearings and deadlines (although this is not always feasible, reasonable, or fair)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">File copies of the documents with both the LaSalle Immigration Court <u>and</u> the Miami Immigration Court</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Call the LaSalle Immigration Court and verify both receipt of the filing and the transfer of the filing to the immigration judge</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Document all filings by sending everything via overnight courier, tracking packages, requesting file-marked copies and explaining on the record how everything was sent when an immigration judge explains the documents are not in her possession.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;">With the Miami Immigration Court finishing up its management of the LaSalle Immigration Court starting in late August 2018, things will likely change.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">7. There is no internet access if you don't work for the government<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">At most immigration courts throughout the country, there is no internet access, but you have signal and can use your phone as a hot spot. Not so in LaSalle. There is no cell service in the detention center and there is no internet access provided to defense attorneys while in the courtrooms of the facility. This is important for two main reasons:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">First, if you rely on electronic files, make sure everything is downloaded and opened on your computer before you enter the detention center. If anything goes wrong you will not be able to get access to anything you have stored in the cloud. I may not be the best attorney in the world, but even I know I am at a serious disadvantage if I do not have access to a client's file during a hearing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Second, the trial attorneys in Miami do have access to internet. That may not seem like a big deal. After all, you can always bring physical copies of your legal resource books with you wherever you go (but be warned: the combined weight of Kurzban's, the INA, the 8 CFR & any other resource book is substantial). But this is a huge deal. In trials where even the smallest detail can be the difference between winning and losing and where we generally bear the burdens of proof, every little advantage or disadvantage counts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">As defense attorneys, we already have numerous disadvantages. Adding lack of internet access, especially when opposing counsel has full access, is significant. It may not be fatal in every case, but there are times where it might be necessary to pull up previous e-mail correspondence with the trial attorney or perform on-the-spot citation checks. Trial attorneys can do that. Defense attorneys cannot.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">8. Your clients will not want to fight their cases<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The <a href="https://www.ice.gov/detention-facility/lasalle-ice-processing-center">LaSalle Detention Facility</a> is a depressing place. As already discussed, detainees are arrested and transferred to a place that is about as remote as anywhere in the southern United States. They are separated from family and counsel. It is simply too far out of the way for loved ones to visit with any degree of frequency.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">We routinely hear of reports of guards and ICE agents telling detainees how hopeless their case is; how they should just give up and accept a removal order. There is no separating minor offenders from hardened criminals. Occasionally, <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/immigrant-deaths-in-private-prisons-explode-under-trump">detainees even die</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Sunrise over a bayou near Jena. This is not the Louisiana your clients will experience and it shows.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is not hyperbole. You can see it on your clients faces as you spend time with them in the facility preparing for hearings. You can hear it in their voices as you speak to them on the phone. Most of these individuals just want out. They're tired of being in that environment. When requesting bond and fighting for relief from removal take months to pull off, it just gets harder. When we lose at trial, rarely do our clients want to risk spending several more months in detention fighting out an appeal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Be ready for this. Listen to your clients and accept their decisions. You may have to play the role of cheerleader in strong cases or facilitate the winding down of a case in borderline or weak cases that you would be more than happy to fight in the non-detained context.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Arrive with plenty of time to spare. As referenced above, you will be subject to an administrative inspection when you get to the detention center. That might take some time. You will also have to sign documents in order to be allowed to bring electronics into the courtroom. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Most importantly, you will not be allowed to just wander around the facility all alone. You will be escorted to and from the courtrooms by GEO employees and allowed to enter only with just enough time to be able to speak with your client before the hearing. You will not be offered a private room to meet with your client and instead will have to conduct a pre-hearing meeting in the corridor connecting the four courtrooms.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Be ready for anything, inside or out of the detention center. On one of my first trips to Jena, a logging truck overturned, dumping tons of recently chopped trees onto the road and causing a traffic jam in south Arkansas.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Often times your hearing will not begin at the time it was scheduled and you will be required to wait around until the immigration judge is ready for you. Sometimes the judge will want to start the hearing before the scheduled time. The schedule is difficult to predict and completely outside of your control.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Make sure you give yourself as much of it as you can.</span><br />
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<b>10. Wrapping it up:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
The LaSalle Immigration Court is designed to process detainees for removal as quickly and efficiently as possible while creating some semblance of due process. It is designed for detainees and their defense counsel to lose as often as possible. It is one of the most difficult places I have ever practiced.<br />
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Be aware of that going into it. Encourage your client, but honor their informed decisions. Respect the judge and opposing counsel, but don't let them blame the court's inefficiencies on you. It's a long trip, so schedule some time for yourself at some point in the journey. Most of all, don't stop fighting. The only person standing between you and your client's removal most of the time is you. Best of luck in LaSalle.</div>
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<div style="font-family: "times new roman";">
<i><a href="https://bogartimmigrationpllc.wordpress.com/page/">Nathan Bogart</a> is an immigration attorney at <a href="http://bogartimmigration.com/">Bogart Immigration, PLLC</a>. He focuses his practice exclusively on immigration law, with a particular focus on removal defense, family petitions and humanitarian options.</i></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: "times new roman";">
<i><a href="http://bogartimmigration.com/">Bogart Immigration, PLLC</a> is a group of legal professionals dedicated exclusively to immigration cases. Based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, we represent clients from all over the state of Arkansas and beyond.</i></div>
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Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com0Fayetteville, AR, USA36.082156 -94.17185419999998435.8767985 -94.494577699999979 36.287513499999996 -93.849130699999989tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-4058708273441623832018-05-04T07:16:00.001-05:002018-05-04T07:16:03.845-05:00GETTING TO KNOW THE MEMPHIS IMMIGRATION COURT: 10 THINGS<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
Memphis Immigration Court is not an independent, Article III, court of law. Rather,
it is an administrative law court falling under the jurisdiction of the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/office-of-the-chief-immigration-judge">Office of the Chief Immigration Judge</a>, a component of the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir">Executive Office forImmigration Review</a> under the Department of Justice. The court in Memphis has
jurisdiction over all non-detained removal proceedings originating in Arkansas,
Tennessee and Northern Mississippi.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As we're located in Arkansas, the vast majority of our clients facing removal end up in Memphis. Our cases involving detained immigrants will find themselves before
one of the Louisiana courts and we sometimes have clients who find themselves
before the Dallas or Kansas City immigration courts either because they are
placed there by accident or they live in eastern Oklahoma or southwest
Missouri. Regardless, Memphis is the general rule...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>80 Monroe Avenue, Memphis, TN</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Photo courtesy of Google</i></span></div>
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As such, it might be helpful to get to know the Memphis Immigration Court a little better. Here are ten important pieces of information anyone dealing with the court might want to know:<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">1. The EOIR Hotline<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Before even going to your hearing, you can call an automated system to make sure you have the date and time correct. The immigration
court system has a “hotline” you can call. The phone number is (800) 898-7180. Sometimes
it has glitches, is busy, or shuts down for maintenance (usually on a weekend).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">You
can call this phone number to figure out the date, time, and location of a
hearing, appellate information and how many days have elapsed on the asylum
clock if you are applying for asylum. It can also confirm if your case is still
pending or if the immigration judge has already entered an order on your case. Calling this hotline is a daily part of my job.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">2. Where is the Memphis Immigration Court
Located? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The court
is located mere feet from the Mississippi river in downtown Memphis on the 5th
floor of the Brinkley Plaza building. The address is:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">80
Monroe Avenue, Suite 501<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Memphis,
TN 38103<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">If you enter
the building through the doors facing Monroe Avenue, the elevators will be just to your left in the lobby after going up a tiny set of stairs. The elevators are weird. Rather than pushing an "up" or "down" button, you choose which floor you want to go to before getting on the elevator. Once you choose the floor, a screen will tell you which elevator, "A," "B," C," or "D," you need to take. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Go to the 5th floor. When the elevator doors open, you will be staring straight into the court's reception area. Straight ahead will be a security check in. You'll have to go through an administrative search, emptying your pockets and walking through a metal detector. You might even have to take off your belt and shoes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">On the left of the reception area is a door leading to the <a href="https://www.ice.gov/opla">Office of Chief Counsel</a>'s office. This is where the ICE prosecutors, or Trial Attorneys, are found. Even if you are going there, you still need to go through the administrative search. The security guards are pretty chill unless you try and walk around the line. They don't like that. If you're confused about where to go, they'll be more than happy to point out which courtroom your hearing is going to take place in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">3. Who are the Judges?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As of today, Memphis has four full-time immigration judges. They are:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Judge Rebecca L. Holt – Was in private practice from 1979 when she graduated from Loyola Law
School until 2010 when she was appointed to be an immigration judge at the
Memphis Immigration Court.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Judge Richard J. Averwater – Possesses an incredibly diverse background in the legal field,
having worked as an attorney for ICE and as a private attorney representing
immigrants before the various immigration agencies. He was appointed to be an
immigration judge in 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Judge Matthew W. Kaufman – Originally from out west, Judge Kaufman spent most of his career as
an attorney for Customs & Border Protection and ICE before being appointed
to serve an as immigration judge in Memphis in 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Judge Vernon Benet Miles – Appointed to the San Antonio Immigration Court in 2016, he was a JAG
lawyer and a veteran of both the army and the marines. More recently, he worked
in a variety of capacities as an attorney with the Department of Justice. He
transferred to the Memphis Immigration Court in 2017.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">4. What role does the court play?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
immigration court hears cases, including considering testimony, evaluating evidence and listening to arguments,
to determine whether an immigrant is eligible to remain in the United States. If ineligible, a removal order or voluntary departure order is usually entered. In that sense, the immigration courts are very real courts indeed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Anyone in these proceedings has the right to an attorney. Even so, that
attorney is not provided by the government. The Memphis Immigration Court will
not appoint an attorney for you and will not recommend an attorney for you. Anyone
is free to represent themselves as well, but doing so is a horrible idea that,
<a href="https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/access-counsel-immigration-court">statistically speaking</a>, almost always results in deportation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">5. Where do I park?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Do
you know who doesn’t care if traffic is bad or it took you longer than you
planned to get to the court? The immigration judge. Arriving on time and being
prepared is expected by the immigration judges in Memphis and it does not bode
well if you arrive late to your hearing. This can be very difficult if you are coming from western Arkansas or eastern Tennessee, so plan accordingly. Make sure to add an hour or more to your journey just in case construction or other unforeseen circumstances pop up. I-40 between Little Rock and Memphis, for example, is perpetually under construction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
Memphis, there is no parking that has been specifically designated for the
immigration court. There are several parking garages in the area around the
court, meaning you will have to park in downtown Memphis unless a friend is
dropping you off. Parking in downtown Memphis is far from ideal, so leave
yourself some extra time to find a place. Arrive early. It is not possible to
arrive too early.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">6. How long will my hearing take?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Your guess is as good as mine. Seriously, no
one knows for sure how long you have to be at the court. It depends on a number of factors. If appearing
for a master calendar hearing, your hearing will probably be shorter. Those
with attorneys jump to the front of the line. If you have an attorney and
get there early you may be done in mere minutes. If you do not have an
attorney, you will be relegated to the end of the line and could find
yourself at the court for 2-4 hours, depending on how quickly the cases are
moving that day. If you and your attorney do not live in Memphis and you're luck enough for the judge to allow you to appear by phone, it could also take 2-4 hours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
your hearing is an individual calendar hearing, basically your trial, you will need
to be prepared to be at the court for several hours and maybe even all day. The length of the hearing is going to depend on how much evidence you have, the witnesses, how long your testimony lasts, among other factors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">7. Can I just ignore my case between hearings?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">No. If
you move, you have to tell the court. You can do so by filing Form EOIR-33/IC.
The form is available at the court and online. You are legally obligated to
file this form within 5 business days of moving and the judges are generally
not happy with you or your attorney if you forget to do so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">You might also want to regularly check the EOIR Hotline (discussed above). In Memphis it is less common than other courts, but hearings can still change sometimes. They can be cancelled, pushed back, or in some cases, moved up. Calling in occasionally should make sure you do not miss an important court date. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Likewise,
you need to keep your attorney, if you have one, updated about your
whereabouts, documentation you feel is pertinent to your case and anything else
that seems relevant. Maintaining regular contact with your attorney is the best
way to ensure no surprises pop up. In the event a surprise does pop up, your attorney will not be able to contact you if you've changed your address or phone number without informing our attorney.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Even absent a surprise, in most matters before the immigration court, the burden of proving you are eligible for the benefit you are seeking falls on one person: you. That means you have to prove you are eligible for whatever you are applying for. This is not criminal court where the burden always falls on the government. There is no innocence until proven guilty. You have to prove everything. That takes a lot of evidence and a deep understanding of your case. That is not something that gets done 2 or 3 days before trial.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">8. How should I act and dress?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">No
one likes a jerk. Even jerks. Treat everyone with respect at the immigration
court, especially if they are being a jerk to you. Dress appropriately. Even
though the immigration court is not a real court, the consequences of the
immigration judge’s decisions are very real and you should dress for the
occasion. There is no specific dress code, but what you wear can show a lot about how much you respect the process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">One
time I visited an immigration court I had never been to before. An older man was
sitting next to the security guards at the entrance to the court in workout
clothes. He was cracking jokes and in doing so, made fun of my tie and, worse, made a
derogatory comment about LSU being better at football than Arkansas. Normally,
I would have told him he could go to hell, but I just stared at him. Sure enough, it turns out it was the immigration judge. Let’s just
say I’m glad I did not tell him to go to hell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">9. How do I feed myself?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As a starting point, do not bring food into the court. Why
would you bring food to the immigration court? Yeah, the immigration judges do
not know either. Do not do it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">More importantly, you don't have to bring food. You'll be in Memphis, one of the best food cities in America. There are several restaurants within walking distance of the immigration court, including the Little Tea Shop, the Blue Plate Cafe and everything on Beale Street. We haven't even started talking about barbecue yet.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">10. Anything else?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">When you are in court waiting your turn, you should be quiet. During your hearing, you should remain quiet until spoken to. Everything
in the immigration court is being recorded, so not only should you remain quiet until it is time to speak, but you should also think about what you say before you say it. You cannot unsay anything in immigration court. It will follow you around forever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Also, make sure your cell phone is turned off. I have been
in courtrooms when cell phones have gone off. You do not want your cell phone
to go off.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<div style="font-family: "times new roman";">
<i>Nathan Bogart is an immigration attorney at <a href="http://bogartimmigration.com/">Bogart Immigration, PLLC</a>. He focuses his practice exclusively on immigration law, with a particular focus on removal defense, family petitions and humanitarian options.</i></div>
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<div style="font-family: "times new roman";">
<i><a href="http://bogartimmigration.com/">Bogart Immigration, PLLC</a> is a group of legal professionals dedicated exclusively to immigration cases. Based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, we represent clients from all over the state of Arkansas and beyond.</i></div>
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Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com3Fayetteville, AR, USA36.082156 -94.17185419999998435.8767985 -94.494577699999979 36.287513499999996 -93.849130699999989tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-90655417256455355572018-04-27T00:24:00.001-05:002018-04-27T00:24:43.819-05:00The Three Most Important Qualities in a Trial Attorney<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Earlier this month I attended a conference out of state. At the start of one of the panels, a question was posed: "if you had to name them, what would you say the three most important qualities are in a good trial attorney?" Then the panelists actually started to call on people to give their lists! I long ago mastered the art of not getting called on and thankfully I had not grown rusty. Still, the question made me think. What do I think the most important qualities in a trial attorney are?</div>
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I have to be honest. If I had been called on during that panel, I don't think I would have come up with a very good list. I'm fairly certain I would have had my own <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/09/rick-perry-forgets-agencies_n_1085249.html">Rick Perry moment</a>. I think this is primarily because I would have a hard time distilling all of the great qualities I have seen in other litigators into only three main ideas; especially on the spot. Of course, an ability to think on your feet could be one of those qualities...</div>
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The point is that it got me thinking and after taking some time, here is my best effort to name the three most important qualities in a trial attorney with an honorary fourth to be explained at the end.</div>
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<b>Preparedness</b><br />
<b><br /></b>Notice I did not say "knowledge of the law" or "ability to rattle off citations from memory." You can never know enough law for immigration court. It is too big. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.<br />
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The fact of the matter is you gain knowledge of the law through preparation. You memorize cases and concepts as you brief them. You begin to understand how evidence can relate to the law and concepts as you organize it. No amount of studying can take the place of working your ass off to get ready for a hearing just like no amount of talking at your client is going to prepare her to take the stand. You have to practice.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>That creepy lion and the Boy Scouts were right. Always be prepared.</i></span></div>
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When in court, you are playing with live rounds. The situation can change instantly and you have to be ready to respond. Thorough preparation is always better than an encyclopedic knowledge of the law because it places you in the best position to be able to respond to changing circumstances.<br />
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Without a doubt, knowledge of the law is one component of preparedness, but such knowledge will not help you with unhinged opposing counsel, an impossible to read judge, a nervous witness, or the exclusion of some of your evidence following opposing counsel's objection.<br />
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The ability to handle the ever shifting reality in any court hearing boils down to how well you prepared yourself for the myriad of possibilities. You cannot prepare for everything, but you can prepare for most things and doing so puts you in the best possible position. Mock testimony with a witness, identifying the weakest points of your case, collecting intel on a new immigration judge (or even a regular immigration judge), and briefing your arguments in advance of the hearing put you in the best position to succeed regardless of what happens during the hearing.<br />
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<b>Courage to do the Right Thing</b><br />
<b><br /></b>Why not fearlessness? Personally, I feel like anyone who goes into a courtroom without feeling at least a twinge of fear or nervousness is an idiot. A lot of things can happen in a courtroom and most of them are bad. That should scare you. If it does not, that concerns me.<br />
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One of my favorite John Wayne quotes is: "Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway." It is a great quote, especially for litigators. We often times have to do things that are not comfortable. That could include standing up to a judge, enduring personal and professional criticism from adverse parties, or dealing with hostile witnesses.<br />
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<b><br /></b>Appropriately dealing with these and other stressors in order to build the best possible record requires courage. Sometimes it is just easier to keep your head down and hope for the best. Trial attorneys and some immigration judges routinely bully defense attorneys and it takes a lot of gumption to resist. Courage to what is required despite fear and despite the opposition is an absolute necessity in immigration court.<br />
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<b>Humility</b><br />
<b><br /></b>Even when well-prepared and courageous, there is no reason to be a jack ass. No one is perfect and no matter how good you are, there is always someone better. Always. It is just better to recognize that reality than to force life to prove it to you.<br />
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When I was a law clerk, I had the privilege of watching one of the top litigators in the state in trial. This individual was a professional's professional. Not once did I hear him raise his voice or bulldoze his opposing counsel or even the opposing party and their witnesses. He treated everyone with respect. I cannot say the same for the opposing counsel.<br />
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Regardless, after the hearing, I remember him approaching opposing counsel and while shaking her hand, he said "Ms. X, it is always a pleasure working with you." More importantly, he both looked and sounded like he meant it.<br />
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Humility is not synonymous with weakness. Instead, humility requires real strength. It is so easy to lose one's cool in trial. This maybe even more true in removal proceedings, where the whole system is set up for us to fail. Despite all the justifications one might have, getting angry or otherwise making the case about our own personal emotions rarely makes for a successful strategy.<br />
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At the end of the day, these hearings are not about us as litigators. They are about our clients. This is their chance to be heard. It is their chance to have the richest, most powerful entity in perhaps the history of the world, the U.S. federal government, take a pause and hear them out. We may be their mouthpiece, but it rarely benefits them when we demand the spotlight.<br />
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Humility also helps in the sense that as we know and accept that we do not know everything, we can become more open to new ideas, new arguments, and new strategies. The most successful attorneys I know learn from everyone around them, be they good or bad litigators. Every interaction is an opportunity to add something new to our arsenal. We just have to be humble enough to be able to do so.<br />
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Finally, humility allows us the privilege of recognizing and maybe even understanding our weaknesses. Without that ability, we can never fix our weaknesses. In other words, we do not get any better with time. In that sense, humility allows us to progress as litigators.<br />
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<b>Perseverance (an honorary fourth)</b><br />
<b><br /></b>All three of these qualities, preparedness, courage and humility share one trait in common: perseverance. The current immigration scheme is designed to grind immigrants and their attorneys into the ground. This is beyond any rational doubt. The system is a grind and, if we are not careful, we can be flattened.<br />
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By persevering despite the opposition, we can push through the grind, prepare ourselves and our clients, stand up to our fears, and identify how we can improve. Along the way, we may even win some cases.<br />
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At the end of the day, I would take a young attorney who is willing to put forth the effort to prepare, has the courage to stand up for a client despite the opposition, and possesses the drive to improve over any other attorney.<br />
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<div style="font-family: "times new roman";">
<i>Nathan Bogart is an immigration attorney at <a href="http://bogartimmigration.com/">Bogart Immigration, PLLC</a>. He focuses his practice exclusively on immigration law, with a particular focus on removal defense, family petitions and humanitarian options.</i></div>
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<i><a href="http://bogartimmigration.com/">Bogart Immigration, PLLC</a> is a group of legal professionals dedicated exclusively to immigration cases. Based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, we represent clients from all over the state of Arkansas and beyond.</i></div>
Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com0Fayetteville, AR, USA36.082156 -94.17185419999998435.8767985 -94.494577699999979 36.287513499999996 -93.849130699999989tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-54248039836014425102018-04-17T11:49:00.003-05:002018-04-17T11:49:58.830-05:00DWIs and Immigration Bonds Post-Siniauskas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Siniauskas does not look kindly on DWIs...</i></span></div>
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<b>Siniauskas Summarized</b><br />
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This February, the Board published its decision in <i><a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1030706/download">Matter of Siniauskas</a></i>, holding:<br />
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(1) In deciding whether to set a bond, the IJ should consider the nature and circumstances of the respondent's criminal history, but family and community ties generally do not mitigate the danger he or she poses to society; and<br />
(2) A DWI is a significant adverse consideration in determining whether a respondent is a danger to the community in bond proceedings. <i>Matter of Siniauskas</i>, 27 I&N Dec. 207 (BIA 2018).<br />
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In other words, having a family to care for and being an overall good citizen should not outweigh an applicant's criminal history and having a DWI is a particularly bad kind of criminal history. <i>Id</i>.<br />
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Mr. Siniauskas had been arrested four times for driving under the influence ("DUI"), resulting in three convictions. <i>Id. at 208</i>. He fell into ICE custody following the fourth arrest. <i>Id</i>. Two of the convictions and the fourth arrest resulted in accidents. <i>Id</i>.<br />
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This lengthy DUI history was too much for Siniauskas to overcome. The Board found that having multiple convictions for the same conduct undermined any claims of rehabilitation. <i>Id. at 210</i>. Under those specific circumstances, he was found to be a danger to the community and the $25,000.00 bond the IJ had granted was cancelled. <i>Id</i>.<br />
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<b>Siniauskas Analyzed</b><br />
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My feeling is that the value of the decision in <i>Siniauskas</i> is the analysis it provides regarding a respondent's burden to demonstrate he or she does not present a danger to persons or property. This is discussed in a litany of previous Board decisions, including <i><a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/file/881776/download">Fatahi</a></i>, <i><a href="https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2014/07/25/3417.pdf">Adeniji</a></i>, and <i><a href="https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2014/07/25/3663.pdf">Urena</a></i>. These are not all good decisions for us as private practitioners and they suffer from the Board's continuing tendency to allow the persistence of vague, undefined legal standards.<br />
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While <i>Siniauskas</i> also does not escape from the same criticism, it does teach us, as practitioners, how to communicate more effectively with the courts. For example, in its analysis, the Board went to un-related Supreme Court decisions, such as <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2007/06-11543" style="font-style: italic;">Begay v. United States</a> and <i><a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2015/14-1468">Birchfield v. North Dakota</a> </i>to establish that "[d]runk driving is an extremely dangerous crime" and that it claims "thousands of lives, injuring many more victims, and inflicting billions of dollars in property damage every year."<br />
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Researching how previous courts, at any level, have treated a specific crime, can help us as a private bar to present a better argument that certain conduct does not present a danger to persons or property, essentially inverting the Board's argument in <i>Siniauskas</i>.<br />
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More interestingly, while the Board's decision seems to have been interpreted as <i>carte blanche</i> to deny bond whenever a respondent has a DUI in his or her criminal history, the Board makes clear that such an interpretation is not appropriate.<br />
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In rendering the decision, the Board reminds that "[i]n bond proceedings, it is proper for the Immigration Judge to consider <i>not only</i> the criminal offense but also the specific circumstances surrounding the alien's conduct." <i>Siniauskas</i>, 27 I&N Dec. at 208 (italics added). While a DUI is a "significant adverse consideration," it should not be relied on as a shortcut to deny bond in every case where the respondent has a DUI on record.<br />
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Attorneys should argue that <i>Siniauskas</i> stands for the proposition that the court should be looking at all of the circumstances of a respondent's matter, not just whether a DUI or other specific crime (excluding those referenced in 236(c)) was committed.<br />
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<b>Distinguishing Siniauskas from Our Typical Cases</b><br />
<b><br /></b><i>Siniauskas</i> is factually distinguishable from most bond matters involving DUIs. The facts as related by the Board paint Mr. Siniauskas as a serial drink-and-driver. It is hard to argue otherwise. He had been arrested for DUI on four separate occasions. He was convicted three times and we can presume he was not convicted the fourth time because, in part, he was detained by DHS. Three of the incidents involved an accident. A clear pattern of conduct had been established.<br />
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In most cases we see, a respondent has one, maybe two DWI arrests. Often times, the DUIs occurred years ago prior to the respondent starting a family and finding religion. Rehab has been conducted or the respondent has ceased drinking to avoid future legal problems.<br />
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Any factual difference between a respondent's situation and that in <i>Siniauskas</i> needs to be hammered home as repeatedly as the IJ allows, preferably in a <a href="http://www.deportationtales.com/2015/07/to-brief-or-not-to-brief-is-it-really.html">brief</a> in support of the bond motion and submitted to the court prior to the hearing.<br />
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<b>Our Experience Post-Siniauskas</b><br />
<b><br /></b>Regardless of the weakness of <i>Siniauskas</i>, our office has yet to see a single bond approval where a DUI is present in the record. Oddly though, I have yet to hear an IJ cite to <i>Siniauskas</i> when denying bond. Truth be told, we were not receiving many such approvals before <i>Siniauskas</i>. In our neck of the woods, it has been some time since IJs were granting bonds in cases involving DUIs.<br />
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We have some cases lined up where this could become an issue and it will be interesting to see how the issue develops through subsequent litigation. <i>Siniauskas</i> is very young.<br />
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<div style="font-family: "times new roman";">
<i>Nathan Bogart is an immigration attorney at Bogart Immigration, PLLC. He focuses his practice exclusively on immigration law, with a particular focus on removal defense, family petitions and humanitarian options.</i></div>
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<i>Bogart Immigration, PLLC is a group of legal professionals dedicated exclusively to immigration cases. Based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, we represent clients from all over the state of Arkansas and beyond.</i></div>
Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com0Fayetteville, AR, USA36.082156 -94.17185419999998435.8767985 -94.494577699999979 36.287513499999996 -93.849130699999989tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-56805090916260337362017-08-18T12:46:00.003-05:002017-08-18T12:46:27.715-05:00Finality - Cruel Finality<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Pibr1axqzXA/WWY2SubX4jI/AAAAAAAAAo4/yMPCverLd7gVKo1ibIa5YssqVCY2Ze17ACLcBGAs/s1600/Finality.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Pibr1axqzXA/WWY2SubX4jI/AAAAAAAAAo4/yMPCverLd7gVKo1ibIa5YssqVCY2Ze17ACLcBGAs/s320/Finality.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">I don't know why "finality" appears on this Batman logo, but it looks cool...</span></i></div>
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For the first five years or so of my career, my immigration appellate practice was pretty much limited to the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") and maybe sometimes the Administrative Appeals Office ("AAO"). I pretty much did everything I could to avoid working much with federal circuit court appeals, more commonly known as petitions for review ("PFR"). <br />
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This wasn't because I had no interest in learning about PFRs. On the contrary, I always had the goal to one day get involved with PFRs. It was sort of this distant thought I considered occasionally but never had the guts to just step up and do. <br />
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The truth of the matter is that I enjoy brief writing. For me, it's like putting together a puzzle. Sure, maybe it's a 20,000 piece puzzle of a crystal clear blue sky, but it's a puzzle nonetheless. Puzzles make you think. I happen to feel thinking is fun. Writing briefs make me think, therefore they are fun. Well, not always, but they're intriguing. We'll just say they're intriguing and leave it at that. The fact that you only have a roughly <a href="https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/publicserv/immigration/bia.authcheckdam.pdf">10% chance</a><span id="goog_430891548"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_430891549"></span> of winning an immigration-related appeal just adds to the challenge.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Writing immigration appeals can be like a puzzle where every piece is the same color.</i></span></div>
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Needless to say, I was really scared to jump into circuit court appeals. I didn't understand the procedure and they seemed daunting. That all changed when I started working in <a href="http://roypetty.com/en">Dallas</a>. The firm I worked for would occasionally pick up a PFR. The one or two times this happened, I helped write the briefs, but I never managed the case from start to finish.<br />
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Then things changed. Moving back to Arkansas, it became apparent there were not many attorneys filing PFRs. Since I had a little experience with the process, I decided to start taking them on, discovering there was actually a very big demand. Before too long, I had more PFRs than I actually wanted - but I was learning something new with every one. Still, it was a new skill, and like learning any new skill, I was caught off guard by some of the challenges this new adventure brought me.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Advising clients about a PFR is not like immigration court or the BIA</i></span></div>
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Among those challenges was the difficulty of how to advise clients. I figured advising clients about a PFR would be the same as advising clients on anything else. <b><u>I was wrong</u></b>. When I almost exclusively represented clients before the immigration courts and the BIA, there was always this sort of mythical next step. I could always tell clients they would still have at least one more appeal when their cases were denied and no matter how long their odds were of seeing that appeal approved, maybe a miracle would happen.<br />
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Not with PFRs.....<br />
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And honestly, that sucks. It sucks bad. <br />
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In theory, after a PFR is denied, you can appeal to the supreme court, but we all know your case is only getting picked up once in a blue moon. Maybe you could request an <i>en banc </i>review or have some potential motions to reopen or stays of removal down the road depending on the circumstances, but at the end of the day, when a PFR is denied, you're client's toast. It's over. There are no next steps. There are no more appeals, no more fees to pay and no more EADs. The case is finished. There is finality.<br />
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This is a difficult concept to explain to someone who is looking at threats against their lives in a lawless homeland with no obvious place of refuge or mode of protection. It's hard to tell a grown man he might not be able to see his children again or that he's going back someplace where he can't find a job and provide the basics his family needs because of one decision he made 20 years ago. It's even harder when you know they've paid untold thousands of dollars and spent more time consulting with attorneys than I even want to spend with other attorneys over the course of who knows how many years and it has all come to naught.<br />
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You see, at the end of the day, I go home. I spend time with my wife, kids, and dogs. I live in a great city where I'm safe and sound. The same is true for opposing counsel and the judges who, throughout the process make decisions that adversely affect my clients. I have to tell clients that now they don't get those things. It's heart breaking.<br />
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This is a very unjust, arbitrary, and overly complicated system we work in. I'm not smart enough to elaborate in detail about how we got here or to provide concrete recommendations on changes that will satisfy all sides of the debate, but I do know that it's destroying good people's lives. The consequences are disproportionate to the crime(s) committed. It's destroying families who make our society better, and by extension, it's making our society worse.<br />
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I thought I understood immigration law before, but it wasn't until I started sitting across from people, at the end of all their options, and explaining to them that there is no more fight to wage, that I finally started to feel it in my heart. Turns out, I don't like that feeling. I just thought I'd put that out there.....Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com0Fayetteville, AR, USA36.082156 -94.17185419999998435.8767985 -94.494577699999979 36.287513499999996 -93.849130699999989tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-67406735990763556882017-07-26T16:58:00.003-05:002018-04-10T17:29:36.110-05:00Remember: It's Okay to Deny the NTA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Arguably the most important moment in the removal proceedings of any respondent is the master calendar hearing. Think about it. Not only is it the first chance for your client to see the immigration judge, OCC counsel, and the courtroom, not to mention getting a feel for the process, but it is also where the charges contained in the Notice to Appear ("NTA") are discussed. <br />
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I have been guilty at times of glancing over the NTA and admitting the pleadings and conceding the charge(s) of inadmissibility/removability as quickly as possible so I could get on with filing my applications for relief; especially in cases where I was eager to get to relief due to what I felt was a strong case or a client's desire to push the case forward. <br />
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I can't think of any cases where I've seriously prejudiced a client in doing so, but I certainly have found myself more concerned about the application for relief than holding DHS to its burden of proving inadmissibility/removability. It's also caused health doses of retrospection.<br />
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That being said, I seriously doubt I am alone in having done so. I often sit and observe other hearings in the court room instead of standing up and asking to go first. I've done this since I was a baby attorney. <br />
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It isn't that I am afraid of having an audience; rather, I enjoy observing other attorneys doing their thing. I learn a lot no matter how experienced/inexperienced, reputable/shady, or swashbuckling/timid the attorneys are. I always learn something. I feel like the day I stop learning from observing other attorneys is the day I need to find a new career. If I get to that point, I'm either senile or too full of myself to be effective. <br />
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Every attorney is different, so spoiler alert: I'm generalizing. One theme I see repeatedly is that hardly anyone denies the allegations or the charge(s). The NTA is rarely discussed except to admit and concede everything and then to propose eligibility for some form of relief.<br />
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In cases not involving criminal charges of inadmissibility/removability or immigrants or non-immigrants still in status, addressing the NTA seems to have become a mere formality. It's something you do so you can move on to the next thing: applying for some form of relief from removal.<br />
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In some cases moving on quickly to the next thing can be in your client's best interest. Maybe there is a compelling asylum claim or an extremely sick U.S. citizen qualifying relative for purposes of an EOIR-42B. Combining such factors with an average NTA, - an NTA that OCC isn't going to have any problem meeting their burden of proof with - means that denying the NTA could arguably prejudice a client if a delay is caused by having to schedule a separate contested removal hearing, adding significant time to the process.<br />
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But if we're being honest with ourselves, most cases don't rise to that level. Unless you have a policy of only accepting the strongest of cases (I don't), most are difficult, if not impossible, to win asylum cases, or run of the mill cancellation claims where there are going to be serious issues involving continuous physical presence, good moral character, exceptional & extremely unusual hardship, or all of the above. <br />
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Should we be denying the allegations and charge(s) contained in the NTA in these cases? What are the benefits of doing so? What happens when we do? Are there any risks? Is it ethical? These are all questions I've struggled with the last 8 years or so. If you are also struggling, here is a list of the things I've been thinking about lately.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Of course I've got to make a list....</i></span></div>
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<b>It is the Burden of the Department to Prove Deportability</b><br />
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We have to remember that it is never our obligation or the obligation of our clients to admit and concede removability. It is the burden of OCC to prove removability and requesting the court to honor due process by asking the OCC to meet their burden of proof is not shameful, inappropriate, or a delay tactic. It is fair. It is due process. It establishes a more complete record (more on that below).<br />
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Of course, just because it's OCC' burden doesn't mean you should always hold them to it or do so willy-nilly. Sometimes criminal defendants enter a guilty plea when the state has the burden of proving guilt. Like with criminal law, there are tons of moving parts and many things to consider in removal proceedings. Even so, denying the NTA, like entering a "not-guilty" plea in criminal proceedings, may be the best option.<br />
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<b>Why do the Job of DHS?</b><br />
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The Department of Homeland Security in the era of Trump is not doing us or our clients any favors. On the contrary, negotiating a favorable exercise of prosecutorial discretion is essentially off the table, trial attorneys rarely stipulate to anything, OCC opposes virtually everything short of our entries of appearance (maybe one day they'll do that too), and scorched earth litigation tactics are on the rise. In such a climate, why should we offer to perform the one obligation DHS has? Why make their job easier when they're actively doing everything they can to make our job more difficult.<br />
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Our one opportunity to respond in kind to increasingly hostile strategies employed by DHS is to force them to meet their burden. Doing so increases their backlogs and forces them to take their first responsibility seriously. It sends the message that we aren't simply going to roll over and accept whatever aggressive new policy they decide to throw out there. By asserting more control, we remind the trial attorneys and the court that we are indispensable actors in this process, just as they are, and as such, we have options to react to their tactics and should be taken into consideration when they try to change the rules of the game.<br />
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<b>DHS has to Open their File</b><br />
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Do you ever get tired of the trial attorney presenting the <a href="http://www.virginiaraymond.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/I-213-Record-of-Deportable-Inadmissible-Alien.pdf">I-213</a> or other documents "for impeachment purposes" or other reasons at the individual hearing before you've even had the chance to take a look? Forcing DHS to meet their burden means they are going to have to produce evidence of all the allegations and the charge(s) contained in the NTA for you and your client's review and cross-examination. <br />
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You might be able to FOIA those documents, but FOIA is far from perfect. Denying the NTA not only forces DHS to meet their burden, it also enforces your client's right to review evidence in DHS' possession supporting the contents of the NTA.<br />
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Even better, the evidence DHS has in the file is not always infallible. Taking a peak at the file increases our odds of being able to identify problems with their evidence and documentation, which can lead to opportunities for motions to suppress or otherwise object to the evidence. In other words, it gives us more opportunities to better defend out clients.<br />
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<b>But You Might become a Pariah....</b><br />
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Assuming it is rare as I think it is that removal defense attorneys deny normal NTAs, you might make a name for yourself with the local OCC. That is not always a good thing. While it is not necessarily our job to become friends with the trial attorneys, a healthy working relationship is never bad and can pay dividends down the road. For the record, I have been friendly with certain trial attorneys in the past and I look up to several as some of the best attorneys I've ever worked with. I learn from them every hearing. If you don't, you're an idiot.<br />
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Regardless, being obnoxious for the sake of being obnoxious can lead to unintended consequences, including an increase in the lack of willingness OCC may have to work with you. You're making their lives and jobs more difficult, so why shouldn't they return the favor. Make sure you know your local trial attorneys and if you decide to employ this strategy, do so respectfully and maybe even selectively. Don't do it just to do it.<br />
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<b>Meeting Client Expectations</b><br />
<b><br /></b>Obviously we have to keep our clients informed. Bottom line. Make sure your client knows and agrees to any attempts to deny allegations or charges contained in the NTA. Maybe they don't want to endure a contested removal hearing. Maybe they want to resolve the case as quickly as they can. Maybe they're detained and it takes all of your efforts just to convince them of the benefits of submitting that cancellation or asylum application. They need to be involved in the decision making process.<br />
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Even so, clients have hired you based on the expectation that you will defend them. They want to see you stand up for them. To argue on their behalf and hold the government accountable. Contesting the NTA is something easy to point to showing you have satisfied those expectations.<br />
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<b>Expect Pushback</b><br />
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Not all immigration judges are accustomed to this strategy - especially in seemingly obvious cases. The same goes for trial attorneys. You might get all sorts of unnerving reactions ranging from surprised expressions and raised eyebrows to accusations of employing delay tactics or disrespecting the process. That's okay. Remember, this is litigation. Arguments happen and drama ensues. There's nothing wrong with that. Just be prepared for it.<br />
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Of course, you may also earn respect. Denying the NTA sends a clear message that you aren't there to play around. You take defending your client seriously and have an understanding of your role as defense counsel. Even with pushback, having that reputation is never a bad thing.<br />
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<b>What am I Trying to Say?</b><br />
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For those of us who have been practicing for 10 years or less, the climate today is different than it has been before. Removal proceedings were far from perfect under Presidents Obama and Bush, but many of the tools we had at our disposal in those years have gone the way of the dodo. Moving forward, we have to be creative. We have to be willing to try things we maybe didn't try before. Thinking more critically about the NTA, and when appropriate after consultation with your client, denying the NTA, are good places to start. They are valid options and are perfectly within the rights of those we represent.<br />
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All of that being said, my personal feeling is that I try not to be monolithic. I don't always admit and I don't always deny. Every case is different and should be treated differently. I try and think critically about each NTA, taking into account each client's circumstances, and then I go from there. <br />
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I can promise it isn't always comfortable, and denying the NTA may not be the best strategy in every case, but we should keep an open mind and be willing to deny when necessary to pursue our clients' best interests. Doing so is keeping with our responsibilities as defense counsel and provides another tool in our box, helping to send a clear message to the administration that, while they may increase their efforts to cast a wider net, and they may work to make our jobs more difficult, we, and those we represent by extension, aren't going to be willing participants.<br />
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<i>Nathan Bogart is an immigration attorney at Bogart Immigration, PLLC. He focuses his practice exclusively on immigration law, with a particular focus on removal defense, family petitions and humanitarian options.</i><br />
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<i>Bogart Immigration, PLLC is a group of legal professionals dedicated exclusively to immigration cases. Based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, we represent clients from all over the state of Arkansas and beyond.</i></div>
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Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com0Fayetteville, AR, USA36.082156 -94.17185419999998435.8767985 -94.494577699999979 36.287513499999996 -93.849130699999989tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-6505948473667372132015-07-14T15:57:00.000-05:002015-07-14T15:58:24.208-05:00EOIR-28s are Forever.....Until soon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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At EOIR's roundtable discussion at the last month's AILA national conference, they referenced a proposed rule amending the regs to allow for attorneys to enter their appearance on behalf of a respondent for bond proceedings only, without having to worry about being the attorney of record for the length of the respondent's removal proceedings.<br />
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The federal registry summarizes the proposed rule as " [t]his document proposes to amend the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) regulations relating to the representation of aliens in custody and bond proceedings. Specifically, this rulemaking proposes to allow a representative before EOIR to enter an appearance in custody and bond proceedings without such appearance constituting an entry of appearance for all of the alien's proceedings before the Immigration Court." The full deal can be found <a href="http://here./">here.</a><br />
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Well that's good news!<br />
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The rule is not official yet. EOIR is currently formulating a final rule in response to the public comments the agency received during the notice and comment period. I don't know when the final rule will be available and the EOIR representatives at last month's round table did not give a specific date, although they made it sound like the publication of the new rule was imminent.<br />
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Until then, it is important to remember that once you turn in those two pieces of green paper, you are on the hook until a motion to withdraw or a motion for substitution of counsel has been approved. It does not matter if your client stops paying you or disappears or fires you or you were only hired for the bond hearing or whatever.....<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Like diamonds, EOIR-28s are forever; until they're not.</span></div>
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When you are the attorney of record in removal proceedings, you have an obligation to appear for any and all scheduled hearings, to comply with all deadlines and to keep the court informed. I don't really like that. I've had clients disappear, leaving me with no ability to track them down, but them's the shakes. At least until this new rule gets published.<br />
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Now if they could just get rid of that refusal to recognize firms and stop making me file an EOIR-28 just because I'm covering for a co-worker on vacation......Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-23468208700896206302015-07-07T15:31:00.000-05:002015-07-07T15:31:57.085-05:00To Brief or not to Brief: Is it really a Question?I've been an attorney long enough to know we all have our own unique styles of, well, everything. For most of my life, I've struggled with black and white thinking. It's a personality deficiency of mine. There was a time early in my career when I couldn't fathom anyone completing a task that wasn't done "the right way," whatever that means.<br />
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As I've gained more experience though, I've come to realize that not only do we all do things differently, we also usually have strong reasons for doing things the way we do them. Different immigration courts or individual IJs sometimes impose their own preferences and we get used to having to meet those demands, firm policies, or any other of a myriad number of reasons can account for what makes us prepare to defend our clients differently. Overall, I think that's a good thing.<br />
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At this point in my career, I've come to sincerely enjoy talking to other attorneys about how they prepare their cases. I'm fascinated by why they do things the way they do, especially when they do things differently than I do. <br />
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I am not ashamed to admit I've incorporated several of the strategies I've learned from those conversations into my practice. If you're not talking to other attorneys and incorporating the things you learn because you're shy or you refuse to have dialogue with competitors, you're missing a great opportunity to be a better immigration lawyer.<br />
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You may have system, but no system's perfect and nobody knows everything, especially in this practice area. So for all of you out there who think you don't have anything to learn from other attorneys, know this: I feel sorry for you.<br />
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<b>Remember:</b><br />
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Good. Now that I've got that out of the way, I'm going to revert back to my native form of black and white thinking and talk about why we should all be briefing in removal proceedings.<br />
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I talk, better said, I listen, to as many different immigration attorneys who will let me as I can and I've been surprised, nay horrified, at the number of practitioners who choose not to include pre-trial briefs with the applications and evidence in support of relief in removal proceedings. Why?<br />
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No one is such a great orator or capable of producing such an organized application packet that a brief wouldn't be of great value; at least, I haven't met that person yet. The IJ's I've interacted with seem to prefer briefs too. Briefing helps build the record and is a great opportunity to get all of your arguments out there in an organized and coherent fashion. When well done, they make the IJs' lives easier, which certainly doesn't hurt when decision time comes.<br />
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I draw almost everything from my brief: my strategy for presenting my evidence to the court, the questions I plan on asking witnesses, my opening and closing arguments (if allowed), ideas for witness prep and the foundations for subsequent briefs in appellate proceedings. A strong brief in support of your application for relief is like a window to your case.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Take a cue from the Bard of Avon and get writing.</i></span></div>
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So at the risk of going off on a tangent, I'd like to share the following reasons, you maybe haven't considered, why you should be briefing in removal proceedings. There're more, but these ring true to me today.<br />
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<b>Briefing helps you get to know your case better. </b>It sounds simple, but it is impossible to write without thinking. Writing is a mental exercise as much as it is anything else. By writing your brief, you're thinking about your case. It is an exercise in putting your thoughts and arguments out there and getting a preview of them before you show them to the IJ and opposing counsel. Writing helps you evaluate how effective your arguments will be because you can see them, warts and all. You can literally see the weaknesses in your case and by seeing them, you can glean a better idea of how to polish them. This gives you the opportunity to sharpen your arguments and your presentation while minimizing the likelihood of having to perform on the fly.<br />
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<b>Briefing gives you the opportunity to frame the issues. </b>Much, if not most, of the time the burden of proof is on our client (i.e., us) in removal proceedings. In other words, the onus is on us to present our case in such a fashion to prove to the IJ that our client merits relief. This isn't easy, and we should be willing and ready to use our full arsenal in favor of our clients. So you're great at closing arguments.....that doesn't mean a well-written brief that supports your oral arguments won't help sway the case in your favor. We call what we do removal defense, but in reality, it is removal offense. Once removability has been established, DHS basically gets to sit back and claim we didn't meet our burden. Put them on the defensive. Write a brief.<br />
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<b>It makes the rest of your presentation to the court look good. </b>True story. I'm sure there are some out there, but I have yet to appear before an IJ who doesn't prefer pre-trial briefs. In some courtrooms I've appeared in, a pre-trial brief is mandated. The Immigration Court Practice Manual recommends briefs. Need I go on? Why not? As one IJ put it to me one time, "how can you give me 300+ pages of evidence in support of your application and not provide me with some sort of guide that makes sense of it all." The immigration courts are overloaded folks. It's common knowledge. You should be preparing your application packets to be as navigable as possible for the IJs. They don't have all the time in the world to try and figure out what it is you're trying to tell them. Tell them up front by spelling it out in a brief.<br />
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<b>Briefs help guard against error. </b>I don't know about you, but sometimes when I get in the heat of the moment, I forget things. The adrenaline's pumping, I'm convinced my client's application should be approved, I get excited, whatever. It's human nature. Writing a brief before the fireworks start and while I am still level headed is a sure way to make guarantee I get everything out I need and want to say. This exercise in establishing a written record for the court helps before the IJ, but also ensures all of arguments I want to reserve for appeal are secured.<br />
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<b>Briefing saves you work when you get to the appellate stage. </b>Even if you don't turn briefs in to the immigration court, surely you do to the BIA and the circuit courts down the road. If so, your pre-trial brief easily serves as a road map to use when preparing the briefs all of us know we have to prepare. Enough said.<br />
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<b>Briefing gives you something to show for the thousands of dollars you're charging your clients. </b>We've all had those clients who accuse us of not doing enough or who question our judgment about every little thing. They might claim we didn't do our job or they could have done things better on their own. Not if you wrote a well-written brief. Producing a well-written brief is a great thing to be able to point to when people question whether your bills are justified.<br />
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<b>Briefing raises the bar.....for the bar.</b> Let's face it. Immigration attorneys do not have the best reputations among a group of professionals (attorneys) who already have pretty much the <a href="http://listosaur.com/miscellaneous/10-most-despised-professions-in-america/">worst</a> reputation among professionals. I mean c'mon! People hate us more than <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/24/most-hated-industries_n_3804661.html">Hollywood or the real estate industry</a>. Writing briefs won't change our reputation overnight, at least not with the general public, but consider the people to whom our reputation should matter most: judges, opposing counsel and clients. Briefing shows you are prepared and organized.....at least, it makes you appear prepared and organized. It is impossible to write a brief and not have put at least a little bit of thought into how you're going to represent your client. The brief shows everyone involved that you've put some thought into your work and makes them think: "hey, this attorney took this case seriously!"<br />
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Briefing isn't going to solve all of your problems, but it can give you a better reputation with the court, opposing counsel, and mos importantly, your clients. It also gives you greater control of your arguments, helps build the record and serves as a foundation from which to build your case. Briefing is a useful tool that should be used regularly. Get writing.....<br />
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<b><br /></b>Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com0Amarillo, TX, USA35.2219971 -101.8312968999999835.014399600000004 -102.15402039999998 35.4295946 -101.50857339999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-91451969104813131792015-05-19T16:16:00.000-05:002015-05-19T16:21:19.577-05:00Just Say No.....to WikipediaIf the BIA's decision in <a href="http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/pages/attachments/2015/03/25/3828.pdf"><i>Matter of L-A-C-</i>, 26 I&N Dec. 516 (BIA 2015)</a> lives on in the annals of important BIA decisions it will probably be the discussion regarding continuances in removal proceedings or because of the decision's value to IJs in justifying their demand for more corroborating evidence even when the applicant's testimony is credible.<br />
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It could also be because the decision is a strong reminder of the wide discretion immigration judges exercise when determining whether to grant a continuance. Basically, after of the legal analysis is finished, everything comes down to whether the IJ wants to grant the continuance or not.<br />
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But I really do not want to talk about an IJ's discretion to grant or deny a motion to continue. It is such a boring topic, and depending on your IJ, it can be a depressing topic. Instead, the most interesting thing to me was the BIA's explicit finding that Wikipedia entries are not the best evidence. <br />
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Citing <i>Badasa v. Mukasey</i>, 540 F.3d 909 (8th Cir. 2008), the BIA noted "Wikipedia articles lack indicia of reliability and warrant very limited probative weight in immigration proceedings." In English: Wikipedia entries are the worst form of evidence, so they will not be given any weight by the BIA. This may or may not be news to you (I hope it is not), but if it is, now you know.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vev2ZbJsD3s/VVuIw6ZpR-I/AAAAAAAAAUs/7y_5If5wCOM/s1600/No%2Bto%2BWikipedia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vev2ZbJsD3s/VVuIw6ZpR-I/AAAAAAAAAUs/7y_5If5wCOM/s320/No%2Bto%2BWikipedia.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Wikipedia entries: the poster child for bad evidence?</span></i></div>
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As attorneys, we all try things that do not work out. Sometimes we even do dumb things. I am not trying to rake the attorney in <i>L-A-C-</i> over the coals for submitting a Wikipedia entry. The more creative we get and the more we try and think outside of the box, the more likely we are to get burned. Of course, this does not mean we should not continue trying to employ creative strategies to more effectively represent our clients. Especially in Central American asylum cases, there is nothing to lose and everything to gain. Occasionally taking risks pays off.<br />
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I only want to point out that submitting Wikipedia entries as evidence in removal proceedings can now safely be added to the list of things that do not work. I think we can safely bury that issue.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AqAtM4oFtLA/VVumQ3YJljI/AAAAAAAAAVA/V1ReDd-pAeo/s1600/RIP%2BWikipedia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AqAtM4oFtLA/VVumQ3YJljI/AAAAAAAAAVA/V1ReDd-pAeo/s1600/RIP%2BWikipedia.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Farewell to thee Wikipedia entries in removal proceedings. We hardly knew thee.....</i></span></div>
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<b>Just say no to Wikipedia articles in removal proceedings</b>. Even though sometimes they are kind of awesome...<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AvZBg7qLzU8" width="480"></iframe>Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com1Amarillo, TX, USA35.2219971 -101.8312968999999835.014399600000004 -102.15402039999998 35.4295946 -101.50857339999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-64754131346912210422014-12-15T12:00:00.000-06:002014-12-15T12:00:00.690-06:00Immigration for Lunch - December 15, 2014Here's a look at the mid-day headlines:<br />
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<li>Undocumented immigrants <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/15/us/politics/undocumented-immigrants-line-up-for-door-opened-by-obama.html?_r=0">line up</a> for the door opened by Obama</li>
<li>Could immigration become Obama's <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article4482948.html">Frankenstein</a> monster?</li>
<li><a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/12/15/five-gop-immigration-myths/eurnrrRWYgs1JOjNUWudJN/story.html?p1=Article_InThisSection_Bottom">Five</a> GOP immigration myths</li>
<li>Obama's immigration move <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/us/obamas-immigration-move-benefits-democrats-where-it-counts.html">benefits</a> Democrats where it counts</li>
<li>Demand <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/immigration-reform/demand-intensifies-nonprofit-immigration-lawyers-n267206">intensifies</a> for non-profit immigration lawyers</li>
<li>Immigrants flocking to workshops<a href="http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/12/12/Illegal-Immigrants-Flocking-to-Amnesty-Workshops-at-Churches-Islamic-Centers-from-Coast-to-Coast"> from coast-to-coast</a></li>
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Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-4133641746646365372014-12-11T12:00:00.000-06:002014-12-11T12:00:01.091-06:00Immigration for Lunch - December 11, 2014Here's a look at your mid-day headlines:<br />
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<li>President Obama vs. Jorge Ramos on <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/10/obama-immigration-jorge-ramos-battle-on-deportations_n_6302050.html">immigration</a></li>
<li>Immigrants probably unable to travel under <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/no-way-home-illegal-immigrants-likely-unable-to-travel-under-obamas-plan/2014/12/09/5a856650-7b1c-11e4-9a27-6fdbc612bff8_story.html">DAPA</a></li>
<li>Immigration action <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/12/10/obamas-immigration-executive-action-is-less-popular-with-hispanics-than-you-think/">less popular</a> with Hispanics than previously thought?</li>
<li>Why <a href="http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2014/dec/11/why-nevada-has-become-leader-immigration-reform/">Nevada</a> has become a leader on immigration reform</li>
<li>More states join <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/oagnews/release.php?id=4910">fight</a> against the president's immigration action</li>
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Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com0Dallas, TX, USA32.7802618 -96.80097810000000932.3532568 -97.446425100000013 33.2072668 -96.1555311tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8938140140997090549.post-82618025812358974932014-12-05T10:54:00.001-06:002014-12-05T10:55:24.017-06:00Hilarious!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This was too funny not to post. A very unique, and remarkably accurate, take on the president's immigration action.</div>
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<br />Nathan Bogarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429115049325151360noreply@blogger.com0