Matthew Hoppock, Nov. 2, 2018 - "A series of FOIA requests regarding the Attorney General’s decision in Matter of Castro-Tum seem to have revealed something strange about that decision: it was edited after the Attorney General issued it. ... Read More
Matter of J-R-G-P-, 27 I&N Dec. 482 (BIA 2018) - Where the evidence regarding an application for protection under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted and opened for signature Dec. 10... Read More
Matter of Negusie, 27 I&N Dec. 481 (A.G. 2018) "Pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 1003.1(h)(1)(i) (2018), I direct the Board of Immigration Appeals (“Board”) to refer this case to me for review of its decision. The Board’s decision... Read More
Matter of M-A-C-O-, 27 I&N Dec. 477 (BIA 2018) An Immigration Judge has initial jurisdiction over an asylum application filed by a respondent who was previously determined to be an unaccompanied alien child but who turned 18 before filing the application... Read More
Matter of Velasquez-Rios, 27 I&N Dec. 470 (BIA 2018) The amendment to section 18.5 of the California Penal Code, which retroactively lowered the maximum possible sentence that could have been imposed for an alien’s State offense from 365 days... Read More
Saravia v. Attorney General - "This case concerns the Board of Immigration Appeals’ failure to follow precedent set forth by this Court. ... [W]e remind Immigration Judges in our Circuit that they must follow the requirements of Chukwu. We... Read More
Oct. 1, 2018 - "As former Immigration Judges and BIA Members, we join our former colleagues in the NAIJ in decrying the imposition of much-criticized performance quotas on sitting Immigration Judges. Experience has demonstrated that it is futile... Read More
Sanchez v. Sessions, Sept. 19, 2018 - "As Judge Pregerson poignantly described in our prior opinion: “This case is about Luis Sanchez, a small boat owner, who took some friends on a fishing trip within United States territorial waters, and... Read More
Jeffrey S. Chase, Sept. 1, 2018 - "Although it hasn’t caught the attention of the public or the media, the Supreme Court’s June 21 decision in Pereira v. Sessions has inspired immigration lawyers this summer, giving reason to hope and... Read More
Matter of Bermudez-Cota, 27 I&N Dec. 441 (BIA 2018) - A notice to appear that does not specify the time and place of an alien’s initial removal hearing vests an Immigration Judge with jurisdiction over the removal proceedings and meets the requirements... Read More
Matter of J. M. Acosta, 27 I&N Dec. 420 (BIA 2018) (1) A conviction does not attain a sufficient degree of finality for immigration purposes until the right to direct appellate review on the merits of the conviction has been exhausted or waived... Read More
"As former Immigration Judges and Members of the BIA with many decades of combined experience on the bench, we must expose the Attorney General’s latest blow to judicial independence in his decision in Matter of L-A-B-R- . There is no question... Read More
Mejia Galindo v. Sessions - "A final removal order is created in two steps. First, the immigration judge must conclude that the alien is removable. Id. § 1101(a)(47)(A). Second, the immigration judge’s removal order becomes “final”... Read More
Matter of Ortega-Lopez II - (1) The offense of sponsoring or exhibiting an animal in an animal fighting venture in violation of 7 U.S.C. § 2156(a)(1) (2006) is categorically a crime involving moral turpitude. Matter of Ortega-Lopez, 26 I&N Dec... Read More
Matter of Medina-Jimenez, 27 I&N Dec. 399 (BIA 2018) - The categorical approach does not govern whether violating a protection order under 237(a)(2)(E)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(E)(ii) (2012), renders an... Read More