Cyrus Mehta, May 29, 2023 "I write this blog in fond memory of Mark Von Sternberg who passed away on May 16, 2023. Mark was a brilliant lawyer, scholar and writer who worked very hard on behalf...
Portillo v. DHS "Gerardo A. Portillo petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") affirming his order of removal and denying his application for adjustment...
State Department, May 30, 2023 "Document Submission to KCC suspended for DV-2024 and onward. Effective for the Diversity Visa (DV) program for fiscal year 2024 (DV-2024) and onward, selectees...
In this document , provided by a "veteran immigration practitioner," ICE claims that its attorneys need not be present in every case in Immigration Court. Read more at PWS's latest post ...
This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 06/01/2023 "This final rule (TFR) temporarily amends Department of State (Department) regulations to provide that Afghan nationals...
ICE, May 27, 2021
" ... Prosecutorial discretion is an indispensable feature of any functioning legal system. The exercise of prosecutorial discretion, where appropriate, can preserve limited government resources, achieve just and fair outcomes in individual cases, and advance the Department's mission of administering and enforcing the immigration laws of the United States in a smart and sensible way that promotes public confidence. In performing their duties, including through implementation of this memorandum, OPLA attorneys should remain mindful that "[i]mmigration enforcement obligations do not consist only of initiating and conducting prompt proceedings that lead to removals at any cost. Rather, as has been said, the government wins when justice is done." [fn3] As a result, they are both authorized by law and expected to exercise discretion in accordance with the factors and considerations set forth in the Interim Memorandum, the Johnson Memorandum, the Maher Memorandum, and in this guidance at all stages of the enforcement process and at the earliest moment practicable in order to best conserve prosecutorial resources and in recognition of the important interests at stake. ...
Fn3: Matter of S-M-J-, 21 l&N Dec. 722, 727 (BIA 1997) ( en bane). In remarks delivered at the Second Annual Conference of United States Attorneys more than 80 years ago, Attorney General Robert H. Jackson said, "[n]othing better can come out of this meeting of law enforcement officers than a rededication to the spirit of fair play and decency that should animate the federal prosecutor. Your positions are of such independence and importance that while you are being diligent, strict, and vigorous in law enforcement you can also afford to be just Although the government technically loses its case, it has really won if justice has been done." Robert H. Jackson, The Federal Prosecutor, 24 J. AM. JUD. Soc'Y 18, 18-19 (1940)."