Their stories illustrate what a Reuters analysis of thousands of court decisions found: The difference between residency and deportation depends largely on who hears the case, and where. In immigration court, the asylum seeker is typically the only witness. That experience, the Reuters analysis found, makes them 23 percent more likely to order deportation. Both were taken into custody near Hidalgo, Texas, and ended up finding each other in the same U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Artesia, New Mexico. The clients loved her, says Ungar. 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. From 2020 to 2022, she served as a staff attorney in Were all humans. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation athttps://bit.ly/3fNsGaZ. Gail Montenegro, EOIRs Midwest regional public information officer, declined to comment on the allegations against Riley but said the agency has a well-established process for handling complaints against immigration judges. They just know someone wants to kill them., Anas lawyer appealed her case to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), the first step in the appellate process. Additionally, the coalition is calling on the community to help hold San Francisco Immigration Court accountable. Judge Marks faced daunting challenges during her tenure. The court used to have only three judges, all of whom have since left their posts. How do I know this? Ana testified in her asylum hearing that she knew they were gang members because they were dressed in baggy clothing and they also had ugly tattoos all over their bodies and faces., Ana and her daughter ran home and then, fearing the gang would come after them, fled out the back door. Some of those asylum seekers told Border Report recently they hope their chances will improve once Joe Biden takes over the White House. Scott Bratton, president of AILA-Ohio, did not wish to comment on the complaint. In Cleveland, there have been seven complaints filed against the judges in the past five years, according to records obtained from the Department of Justice through a public records request. Throughout, Jamil says, Judge Marks articulated to the press and to the public the stress of doing the job of immigration judge. Judge Marks, in keeping with her upbeat character, reflects on the pluses of her role. Juan is not alone in his grievances. She remains active today as president emerita. Judge Stuart Couch, who heard Anas case in Charlotte, orders immigrants deported 89 percent of the time, according to a Reuters analysis of more than 370,000 cases heard in all 58 U.S. immigration courts over the past 10 years. The count of deportations included cases in which judges allowed immigrants to leave the country voluntarily. She was always there for me, emotionally and intellectually.. 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. *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). I love the Wild West aspect of it., National Association of Immigration Judges. 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. And whether the individual fleeing gang violence in San Pedro Sula or official oppression in Venezuela had legal representation also made a big difference in the outcome of his or her case, according to research from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. Variations among judges and courts are broad. Its just that she forgets things.. The new six-member association board set about trying to improve security at the school, which sits on a dirt road behind a high wall topped with razor wire. Juans application for cancellation of removal was denied in November 2020. Featured Issue: Biden Administration Recognizes the Immigration Judge Union - December 7, 2021; EOIR Amends PM 21-18 on Filing Deadlines in Non-Detained Cases - December 16, 2021; . Those appointed under Trump had ordered. The Charlotte court was singled out for displaying a particular bias against Central American gang and gender-related asylum claims.. The next year, researchers at Temple University and Georgetown Law School concluded in a study titled Refugee Roulettethat in many cases, the most important moment in an asylum case is the instant in which a clerk randomly assigns an application to a particular asylum officer or immigration judge. In 2008, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found similar disparitiesin its own study. Attorney General of the United States Deputy Attorney General of the United States. One evening in April 2014, Gutierrez was watching television at home with her two sons, ages 5 and 11, when she heard banging at the front door. Treats immigrants, witnesses, and practitioners in an unprofessional and hostile manner. Unaware of each others plight, both fled with their children, making the dangerous trek across Mexico. For example, U.S. government policy is more lenient toward people from some countries, less so for others. Filed December 16, 2020 . Former immigration judge Rebecca Jamil in Fremont, California, on Dec. 28, 2018. The kidnappers released her and her two sons near the U.S. border. By MICA ROSENBERG, READE LEVINSON and RYAN McNEILL. Samuel Y. Kim, Immigration Judge, San Francisco Immigration Court Attorney General William P. Barr appointed Samuel Y. Kim to begin hearing cases in December 2020. Citing the experience of six anonymous immigrants, including Juan, the complaint accuses Riley of biases against Latino immigrants, bullying and hostile questioning,a lack of professional competence and other alleged misconducts. She first interviewed Judge Marks, then-president of NAIJ, for, Understanding the Crisis in Our Immigration Courts, Legal Alliance for Reproductive Rights (LARR), SF-Marin Lawyer Referral and Information Service. Hon. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. The money will be used in partnership with the Loretto Volunteer Project to help migrants, including those sent to Juarez, Mexico under U.S. Customs and Border Protections Migrant Protection Protocols, or MPP, program. (Neither Holyoak nor Couch worked as an ICE prosecutor, according to their EOIR biographies. Immigration court doesnt have contempt, so I had to use charm, she says. They had confidence in her that she was doing everything she could for them. She demonstrated this on a national level in October of 1986 when Judge Marks (along with Bill O. Hing, Susan Lydon, and Kip Steinberg) argued on behalf of Luz Marina Cardoza-Fonseca before the US Supreme Court (. He is especially unsuited to hear cases involving survivors of torture applying for asylum and other forms of immigration relief. 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. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA -- On November 12, 2020 a coalition of legal service providers, community members, the San Francisco Public Defender, and the National Lawyers Guild - San Francisco Bay Area filed a complaint today with the Department of Justice (DOJ) Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) against San Francisco-based Immigration Judge Nicholas Ford for his racist, ableist and hostile treatment of immigrants, attorneys and witnesses. The murders, like more than 93 percent of crimes in Honduras, remain unsolved. WASHINGTON An immigration judge in the San Francisco court abruptly quit his post this week, issuing a scathing letter upon his retirement . This is the phone number you can use to contact the court's clerks or the judges' legal assistants. She first interviewed Judge Marks, then-president of NAIJ, forUnderstanding the Crisis in Our Immigration Courts(Spring 2015). Possible outcomes include asylum; adjustments of status; stay of deportation; and deportation. 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. Dana embodied that proactive spirit., Highly technical and often confusing, immigration law can intersect with family, dependency, and criminal law. . Three led to oral counseling. Circuit Court of Appeals, and they rule in favor of immigrants far more often than courts in the 4th Circuit, which includes North and South Carolina, Maryland and Virginia, Reuters found. She was young, intelligent, interested in law, committed to immigration and immigrants, committed to people. In what has become a treasured memory for both of them, her job interview took place in a unique setting. They said they knew I was involved in the parents association, Gutierrez said. By the time she retired from San Francisco's Immigration Court on December 31, 2021, Judge Dana Leigh Marks* had built an inspiring reputation as a leader, mentor, and advocate. Jamil adds Judge Markss tireless work for the union and giving a professional, female voice to immigration judges to her list of accomplishments. Visit theBorderReport.com homepagefor the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the United States-Mexico border. Last February, a 50-year-old woman and her 29-year-old son who were selling food at the school Gutierrez and Anas children attended were kidnapped from their home and decapitated, according to police records. We bought a bus pass to go to Guatemala and from Guatemala to Mexico and to the U.S.-Mexico border, according to her court testimony. Early in 2020, the immigration case backlog eclipsed 1 million, and the San Francisco court handles the second largest load in the country, roughly 70,000 cases. Disregards basic legal rules, causing undue prejudice and wasting public resources. Groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center allege the Attorney Generals Office has weaponized the nations asylum courts against immigrants of color. After her, all these really amazing women came to the bench, says Shugall, women Judge Marks mentored and encouraged to apply for the bench. Judge. Laura Ramirez, Immigration Judge, San Francisco, 1997-2018. The asylum appeal process is equally politicized, the group says. One was closed because the judge in question had since retired. Immigration attorneys and their clients are not the only ones who said they are distrustful of the judicial complaint process. Boston's immigration judges mentioned in the TRAC analysis were Maureen O'Sullivan, Leonard Shapiro, Paul Gagnon, Robin Feder, Brenda O'Malley, Matthew D'Angelo, Mario Sturla, Gwendylan, and Todd Masters. Lisa Knox, the lawyer who represented Gutierrez, said judges where she practices tend to give applicants the benefit of the doubt. (Previously, appointments were considered promotions for prosecuting attorneys from INS.) This time, her lawyer included arguments about her membership in a particular social group. A grant from El Paso Bar Foundation provides an additional $3,700 for the agencys Removal Defense unit. Two of them were dismissed. The administration of President Donald Trump is continuing the effort. The year before, according to police records in Honduras, gang members killed a school security guard. 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. 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. In a three-page ruling, one board member said Anas lawyer could not introduce a new argument on appeal and agreed with Couch that Ana hadnt proved a political motive behind the gang members attack. These are life or death matters. 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. Robert S. Hough had the highest denial rate (92.2%), according to TRAC. The most common occupation was general attorney, followed by general legal and kindred administration. Washington, DC 20530-0001 Washington, DC 20530-0001. And then one day we went to lunch, and there they were.. Phone number. That roster includes Judges Jamil, King, Miriam Hayward, Stockton, Webber, and Laura Ramirez. Devin OMalley, a Department of Justice spokesman, challenged the Reuters analysis, citing "numerous conflicting statements, miscalculations, and other data errors," but declined to elaborate further. Weeks apart, in the spring of 2014, each of the women was confronted by armed gang members who vowed to kill them and their children if they didnt meet the thugs demands. 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. Couch is the toughest of Charlottes three immigration judges, according to the Reuters analysis. The union representing immigration judges is suing the Trump administration over a policy they say censors judges. 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. From there, cases can be appealed to federal appeals court. They demanded that a payment of more than $5,000 be delivered in 24 hours, a huge sum for a woman who sold tortillas for a living. U.S. immigration courts are administrative courts within the Department of Justices Executive Office for Immigration Review. Of the Mexicans, 5,196 of the 6,113 who applied were told to go back home. The evidence indicates this is a case of criminal extortion that the respondent attempts to fashion into an imputed political opinion claim., Gutierrez said Ana told her in one of their occasional phone conversations that she felt intimidated by the intense questioning of the ICE attorney. 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. She was our fearless leader in the union, says Judge King, who was Union site representative in San Francisco while Judge Marks was president. 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