BIA Decisions

Attorney General Usurps Ability of Immigration Judges to Terminate Proceedings

Continuing his assault on due process and the over-burdened immigration court system, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued two new Board of Immigration Appeals decisions today that further curtail the power of immigration judges to terminate court proceedings. In S-O-G- & F-D-B-, 27 I&N Dec. 462 (A.G. 2018), the Attorney General dictated that immigration judges (who are under his purview as part of the Department of Justice) have no inherent authority to...

Jeff Sessions Ends Administrative Closure Leaving 355,000 In Limbo

In an unprecedented move, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has quietly moved to terminate the authority of Immigration Judges to close cases in removal proceedings. In Re Matter of Castro-Tum, an Immigration Judge closed proceedings against a Guatemalan citizen after he did not appear for removal proceedings because the judge was unconvinced that ICE had properly served him with notice of the hearing. Rather than deport him inabsentia, the Immigration...

BIA Issues Decision On Effect of Vacated Criminal Conviction on Noncitizen’s Status

Even if your criminal court conviction was expunged, it may continue to have repercussions for your immigration case. In Matter of Marquez Conde, 27 I. & N. Dec. 251 (Apr. 6, 2018), the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA or Board), held that Matter of Pickering, regarding the effect of a vacated criminal conviction on a noncitizen’s status, applies nationwide. The details are as follows: A non-citizen was convicted of...

Fact Sheet: BIA Emergency Stay Requests

The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA or Board) issued a fact sheet entitled “BIA Emergency Stay Requests” (Mar. 2018). The BIA defines an emergency stay as a stay based on an action that is clearly about to happen. The Board generally will consider a stay request an emergency in one of two situations: (1) the respondent’s removal from the U.S. is imminent, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has confirmed a specific removal date...

Attorney General Rescinds More Memos

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on December 21, 2017 that, pursuant to Executive Order 13777 “Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda” and Sessions’ November memorandum prohibiting certain guidance documents, he is rescinding 25 such documents that he considers unnecessary, inconsistent with existing law, or otherwise improper. These documents include the Southwest Border Prosecution Initiative Guidelines (2013), the Northern Border Prosecution Initiative Guidelines (2013), and a letter to Esmeralda Zendejas (then...

BIA Issues Worrisome Decision Regarding Unlawful Voting

In a precedential decision, Matter of Fitzpatrick, the Board of Immigrations Appeals (BIA) determined that unlawful voting by a lawful permanent resident could render the individual removable from the United States under section 237(a)(6)(A), even if the individual did not know she was committing an unlawful act by voting. In this case, Ms. Fitzpatrick, a newly minted lawful permanent resident, registered to vote at a local DMV in 2005 and accidentally selected...