But complainants like Juan and their attorneys said they have beendisappointed that their efforts did not lead to any lasting changes and that there was little transparency in the investigation process. Couch and Holyoak and their courts are not rare outliers, the analysis found. I opened the first file, and there was a picture of the first respondent, probably less than a year old. The courts facedand continue to grapple witha crisis of backlogged cases. Hon. And three judges in San Francisco said yes to more than 90% of asylum seekers who came to their courts in 2020. Were all humans. In the fall of 2020, Juan had trouble falling asleep whenever he thought about his upcoming court appearance in Cleveland, where the only immigration court in Ohio is located. I got in that moment what that was going to be. Opinion by Judge Owens * The Honorable Morrison C. England, Jr., United States Senior District Judge for the Eastern District of California . In immigration court, the asylum seeker is typically the only witness. Judge Monique Harris in Houston allows immigrants to stay in just four percent of cases. The analysis excluded immigrants who were in detention when their cases were heard because such cases are handleddifferently. Shuting Chen, Immigration Judge, San Francisco Immigration Court . Every story is individual, she says, and every person deserves to be heard. Visit theBorderReport.com homepagefor the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the United States-Mexico border. They said, Were going to kill themembers of the parent-teacher association to get them out of here. So the women fled.. From 1994 to 1995, he served as a staff attorney with the New Mexico Court of Appeals. Of course, other factors influence outcomes in immigration court. She first interviewed Judge Marks, then-president of NAIJ, forUnderstanding the Crisis in Our Immigration Courts(Spring 2015). The appointments included former immigration judges who themselves ordered high rates of deportation on the bench, according to the Reuters analysis. They drove all night to her friends mothers house in another town. The journey took three weeks. Sandra Gutierrez joined her husband in California, where her case was heard by a San Francisco immigration court judge. Judge Butler earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2003 from Cornell College and a Juris . Anas response to Couchs extensive questioning played a part in the decision. As a result, credibility is really the key factor. From 2015 to 2022, she was the Associate The firm made a wise choice. Their nature ranged from alleged due process violations to concerns over in-court conducts, records show. The schools principal, who asked that he and the school not be identified out of fear of retaliation, worked with the board. WASHINGTON An immigration judge in the San Francisco court abruptly quit his post this week, issuing a scathing letter upon his retirement . Dana embodied that proactive spirit., Highly technical and often confusing, immigration law can intersect with family, dependency, and criminal law. Nationality and filing a case with the right judge played a role in cases were asylum was granted, according to the data. Robert S. Hough had the highest denial rate (92.2%), according to TRAC. She is known for her compassion and fairmindedness. At first, Judge Marks wasnt sure shed like the role of judge, in part because there was an assumption about the strong-arm persona shed have to put on to manage her courtroom. They were allowed to stay in the United States in just 16 percent of cases, the Reuters analysis found. She is now awaiting a court date after new lawyers got her case reopened. The question of equality of treatment among judges has gained urgency as the number of cases in immigration court has ballooned to record highs. ; On June 24, 2020 we collaborated with NLG-Los Angeles, National Immigration Project of the NLG, and the NLG National Office to provide a CLE on 'Fighting for the Release of Detained . *Today Judge Marks is known as NanaDana, a title that celebrates her role as caretaker for her granddaughter and helps people correctly pronounce her name (dan-uh, not day-nuh). The judge also questioned why, in an early interview with an asylum officer, Ana never mentioned threats to the parent-teacher association, and instead said she thought the gangs were targeting her for the money her daughters father was sending from the United States to build a house in Honduras. On the journey, they were kidnapped common for Central American migrants and held for a $3,500 ransom. That statement is misogynistic and very shocking to me.. Numerous legal providers and community members have expressed strong concerns about Fords racist history influencing his work in San Francisco. Gutierrez moved with her boys to Oakland, California, to join her husband, and petitioned to have her case moved to San Francisco. Judge-by-Judge Asylum Decisions in Immigration Courts. Transparent and . Individuals can sign up for a court watch training at bit.ly/courtwatch1. Cases are assigned to an immigration court based on where the immigrant lives. There they piled with another group of migrants into an inflatable raft and crossed the Rio Grande, the border between Mexico and the United States. At the end of her asylum hearing in September 2016, she received a one-page form, with an X in the box next to granted. She was free to settle into life with her family in the United States. Her boys are in school. Emmanuel Olawale, a Westerville-based immigration attorney, said he has faced this dilemma firsthand. After hearing Anas case, Couch concluded in his written opinion that Ana was not eligible for asylum because she had not demonstrated a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of a statutorily protected ground. He wasnt convinced that she risked persecution in Honduras because of her political opinion. About half the cases in the analysis were filed by asylum seekers like the two Honduran women. The Biden administration could move to unwind that decision. Immigration attorneys and their clients are not the only ones who said they are distrustful of the judicial complaint process. Gutierrez can live and work legally in the United States and will ultimately be able to apply for citizenship. People show up in our office (and) they have no idea why someone wants to kill them. Instead, they became targets. But the bulk of asylum seekers who came during the 2018-2019 migrant surge were Central Americans. The coalition has urged EOIR to thoroughly investigate IJ Fords conduct and take appropriate action to ensure that individuals who appear in the San Francisco Immigration Court are treated with due process, dignity, and respect. I love the Wild West aspect of it., National Association of Immigration Judges. Throughout, Jamil says, Judge Marks articulated to the press and to the public the stress of doing the job of immigration judge. The lack of a transparent complaint process is especially concerninggiven this influx of new judges, who tend to come from enforcement backgrounds and lack experience on the bench, Nemecek said. He was invested on November 6 and will begin hearing cases this month. Volunteer lawyers helped the women prepare and submit their applications for asylum. But multiple attorneys familiar with the matter said no one received clear information from EOIR on the investigation outcome, as is often the case with these complaints. Juans case was initially assigned to Judge Thomas Janas, an immigration judge in Cleveland who has since retired. The womens lawyers framed their respective cases with some important differences. [ 72 FR 53677 , Sept. 20, 2007, as amended at 79 FR 39956 , July 11, 2014; 85 FR 81655 , 81750, Dec. 16, 2020] With the seventh and latest complaint the one led by AILA-Ohio against Riley information regarding the investigation outcome was redacted by the Department of Justice. She is known for her fierce advocacy for the court. One was closed because the judge in question had since retired. The situation in our country is getting worse and worse.. Juan expected from experience that he wouldonce againface a series of aggressive questionsfrom Judge Teresa Riley, whose intimidating style almost made him give up on his case altogether, he said. Persecutors dont give affidavits, said Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge who now works at the Center for Immigration Studies, a nonprofit organization that supports lower levels of immigration. Right now, Ohio has one of the highest asylum denial rates in the country 88% in the fiscal year 2021, compared with the national average of 63%, according to TRAC data. Of the 28 immigration judges Sessions has appointed so far, 16 are former ICE prosecutors. They were eventually transferred to the ICE detention center in Artesia. Mattingly, the EOIR spokeswoman, said the agency held training sessions for judges to address the disparities in 2008 and 2009. A few years ago, when his case was reassigned to Riley, Juan heard from friends that the new judge was unusually harsh. While in Cook County, Ford was accused of complicity in a Chicago police torture scandal that targeted Black people and used torture to coerce criminal confessions for over two decades. However, the women said their reasons for seeking asylum were the same: Gangs had targeted them because of their involvement in the parent-teacher association, and for that, they and their families had been threatened. SAN FRANCISCO Rebecca Jamil was sitting in a nondescript hotel ballroom in suburban Virginia when she realized that her dream job being an immigration judge was no longer tenable. The most common occupation was general attorney, followed by general legal and kindred administration. The 43-year-old, who worked as a nurse in Honduras, lives in a small one-bedroom apartment with her husband, her two sons now 15 and 8 her adult daughter and her grandson. You really get those Perry Mason moments in immigration court. There is no training on the 2017 calendar. Talking with her former colleaguesmany of whom are now also her friendsis an uplifting experience. I was the first to do the Families with Children Docket, which became known as rocket docket, Judge King recalls. In 2018, after then-attorney general Jeff Sessions announced new restrictions on asylum cases, there was a mass exodus of immigration judges. She made it more proactive, trying to affect the law. The San Francisco immigration court doesn't have the kind of COVID-19 supplies that he saw in a Wisconsin courthouse in October 2020. In Atlanta, 89 percent of cases result in a deportation order. The Reuters analysis also found that an immigration judges particular characteristics and situation can affect outcomes. Filing a complaint against the judge is something on the table, Olawale said. In Charlotte, immigrants are ordered deported in 84 percent of cases, more than twice the rate in San Francisco, where 36 percent of cases end in deportation. With Riley, it felt like she just wanted me out. Denial Rate. Dana Marks, president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, said each case is like a 1,000 piece puzzle. While two cases might look identical on the surface, she said, each judge has to weigh the nuances of immigration law to allow someone to stay in the country, which could lead to different outcomes. (Neither Holyoak nor Couch worked as an ICE prosecutor, according to their EOIR biographies. She joined another woman and, with their children, they set out to cross Mexico. We had to jump over a wall, and I hurt my foot doing so, she said in an affidavit. New Company Ratings Recent Salaries by Company. Four judges in Atlanta turned down 98 out of 100 asylum claims presented to them; nine judges in Houston said no 95% of the time. Stephen M. Ruhle approved the highest number of petitions (44) but still found wanting 76.8% of the petitions he ruled on. Shuting Chen was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in October 2022. The head of the son was placed on the body of the mother and the head of the mother was placed on the body of the son. I vowed to be my authentic sense of self. Retired Immigration Judge Polly Webber, saw an aspirational role model. The other woman, Ana, joined her daughters father in the southeastern United States, andher case was assigned to an immigration court in Charlotte, North Carolina. Hanrahan's last day as assistant chief immigration judge was May 7, capping a 14-month tenure as the top manager overseeing the 25 immigration judges and dozens of staff at the San Francisco court. It occurred to me I had a meeting, Ungar says, So I asked, Would you mind if we continued this? They walked to Market Street, where they hopped on the #5 bus to the Federal Courthouse. The majority come from government. Judge Dalin Holyoak, who heard Gutierrezs case in San Francisco, orders deportation in 43 percent of cases. , had serious impacts on asylum cases and the parameters of the courts. Additional reporting by Gustavo Palencia and Kristina Cooke, By Mica Rosenberg in Oakland, California, and Reade Levinson and Ryan McNeill in New York, with additional reporting by Gustavo Palencia in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Kristina Cooke in San Francisco, Photo editing: Steve McKinley and Barbara Adhiya, Edited by Sue Horton, Janet Roberts and John Blanton. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA). A 1996 law expanded the definition of political refugees to include people who are forced to abort a child or undergo sterilization, allowing Chinese women to claim persecution under Beijings coercive birth-control policies. Most of themare former government attorneys, and five used to prosecute immigration cases on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security. Kathleen Guthrie Woods is a long-time contributor toSan Francisco Attorneymagazine. Immigration Judge Emily N. Farrar-Crockett began hearing cases at the Falls Church Adjudication Center in October 2018. Two rival gangs the Barrio 18 and the Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13 were operating brazenly in the neighborhood. I can think of one case I had in front of her, says Ilyce Shugall, a former immigration judge who is currently managing attorney with Immigrant Legal Defense. From 2013-2018, she worked as an immigration attorney. Judge Marks says she was never bored. Judge Marks faced daunting challenges during her tenure. The rules of evidence are [only] a guide, theres no pretrial discovery, she says. This time, her lawyer included arguments about her membership in a particular social group. In March 1987, the court decided in favor of granting Cardoza-Fonseca asylum, and Judge Marks, just 32 years old, cemented her standing as a legend. She works as an office janitor and is taking English classes. Freedom for Immigrants is a 501(c)(3) non-profit based in California. When she started, she was one of few women. It was a magic zone, says Ugarte, in part because when she made a decision, she bridged the gap in a politically charged environment. Because there were no police here, (the gangs) did what they wanted," he said. (NAIJ) was a natural extension of her skills and influence. U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Department of Justice. Because there is no TurboTax for immigration law., The firm made a wise choice. El Paso federal immigration judges denied 85.4% of asylum claims in fiscal year 2020. She deeply cared about due process, says Ugarte. Shes funny and insightful, she says. Robert S. Hough had the highest denial rate (92.2%), according to TRAC. Overwhelming evidence shows that the (AGs Office) has long allowed immigration judges to violate noncitizens rights in a systemic, pervasive manner that undermines the integrity of the court system, the SPLC said in a scathing June 2019 report. Groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center allege the Attorney Generals Office has weaponized the nations asylum courts against immigrants of color. After walking for an hour and a half, lost and desperate, Gutierrez and her sons sat down in the middle of a dirt road and waited for someone to pass. Her older boy recognized the three armed and heavily tattooed young men on the stoop as the same ones who had thrown him to the ground earlier that day, telling him, not for the first time, that they wanted him to join their ranks. Scott Bratton, president of AILA-Ohio, did not wish to comment on the complaint. Oh, my goodness, says Donald Ungar, now retired, as he thinks back to his first impressions. Riley and Owens have. Judge Marks says her biggest success was seeing, H.R. Juan is not alone in his grievances. There are still good judges out there. The longer a judge has been serving, the more likely that judge is to grant asylum. Judge-by-Judge Asylum Decisions in Immigration Courts FY 2017-2022 Published Oct 9, 2022 Denial Rate Tables for Prior Periods TRAC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit data research center affiliated with the Newhouse School of Public Communications and the Whitman School of Management, both at Syracuse University. The judges in San Francisco, where I served, were told we could not schedule any cases in 2022 until our calendars showed that three cases were scheduled every day through the end of 2021. Riley stopped hearing cases for a few weeks in July and August, but returned shortly after, according to hearing schedules shared with the Dispatch. These are life or death matters. Whether you win or whether you lose shouldnt depend on the roll of the dice of which judge gets your case.. One grant from Dallas-based Meadows Foundation includes $56,000 for legal services for incarcerated petitioners. I vowed to be my authentic sense of self. Retired Immigration Judge Polly Webber, saw an aspirational role model. The findings underscore what academics and government watchdogs have long complained about U.S. immigration courts: Differences among judges and courts can render the system unfair and even inhumane. Some of those asylum seekers told Border Report recently they hope their chances will improve once Joe Biden takes over the White House. San Francisco, CA. Judge Marks faced daunting challenges during her tenure. They hoped that mothers working together could oust the violent gangs that plagued the campus. It feels like the judge has no compassion for us and doesnt like Latinos.. All of the new immigration judges discussed in this post were selected by former Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker. Lack of legal counsel handicaps asylum seekers, but judges also biased against migrants of color, advocates say. In an attempt to establish that the abusedid not happen due to the client's identity, Owen stated that it is likely that officers raped the teenage girl not because she was a member of the English-speaking minoritybut because they wanted to do so and thought that the respondent was a pretty virgin, according to court documents shared with The Dispatch. His demonstrated bias undermines due process for asylum seekers and immigrants of color. It is imperative that President-elect Biden swiftly direct the Department of Justice to reign in or remove hostile adjudicators like IJ Ford from the courts and ensure due process for immigrants. She has a law degree from Tulane Law School. Stephen M. Ruhle approved the highest number of petitions (44) but still found wanting 76.8% of the petitions he ruled on. In a 2016 report, the GAO found that little had changed. Shortly after, he applied for an immigration benefit called cancellation of removal to adjust his status, arguing that his removal would cause hardship to his three U.S. citizen children, aged 12, 15 and 16. She is known for her fierce advocacy for the court. I have nothing in Mexico. National Lawyers Guild - San Francisco Bay Area, Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice (CCIJ), Bay Area Asylum Support Coalition (BAASC), Dolores Street Community Services, Deportation Defense and Legal Advocacy Project, Democratic Socialists of America San Francisco Chapter, Collective Action For Laborers, Migrants & Asylum Seekers (CALMA), San Francisco Immigrant Legal and Education Network (SFILEN). Judge Chen earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2006 from the University of Oklahoma and a Juris Doctor in 2009 from Harvard Law School. Now, they were extorting teachers, selling drugs openly and assaulting or killing anyone who confronted them. On December 18, 2020, the EOIR announced the investiture of an additional 14 immigration judges. Learn more about how to check your immigration court date and the status of your immigration case from here. Sep 2013 - Dec 20141 year 4 months. I love the Wild West aspect of it.. William L. Abbott decided the largest number of cases (344) in fiscal year 2020 and denied 89.2% of them (307). The murders, like more than 93 percent of crimes in Honduras, remain unsolved. More than 300 judges are spread among 58 U.S. immigration courts in 27 states, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands. But it still astounded him when Riley calledMexican immigrants illegals while cross-examining his wife about the subcontractors that Juan employed at his construction business. He is especially unsuited to hear cases involving survivors of torture applying for asylum and other forms of immigration relief. 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