She joined another woman and, with their children, they set out to cross Mexico. Updated 10:55 AM EDT, Wed July 1, 2020 Link Copied! Threatened by gangs in Honduras, two women sought asylum in the United States. The bill, if approved by the Senate, will transition the nations immigration court system into an independent judiciary consistent with Article I of the U.S. Constitution. Says Judge Marks, Thisquickly became my long-term goal outside of judging., Kathleen Guthrie Woods is a long-time contributor to, San Francisco Attorneymagazine. It was June 11, 2018, and then-attorney general Jeff Sessions, her boss . Judges are not always made aware of the existence of a complaint in a timely fashion, and there is no transparency or consistency when it comes to sanctions imposed in a particular case, according to Dana Marks, president emerita at the National Association of Immigration Judges who spent 35 years on the bench in San Francisco, California, before retiring in December. , had serious impacts on asylum cases and the parameters of the courts. In the asylum application, Olawales client, a 22-year-old asylum seeker from Cameroon, said armed officers from that country sexually assaulted her when she was a minor while they were searching for English-speaking dissidents like her family. Oh, my goodness, says Donald Ungar, now retired, as he thinks back to his first impressions. They were eventually transferred to the ICE detention center in Artesia. Another 35% ended with additional counseling or training of the judge involved. It also excluded cases in which the immigrant did not appear in court, which nearly always end in a deportation order, and cases terminated without a decision or closed at the request of a prosecutor. 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). 2 Reviews. An immigrant was still four times as likely to be granted asylum by Holyoak in San Francisco as by Couch in Charlotte. See how your salary compares to other Immigration Judges with Comparably. She is known for her compassion and fairmindedness. Im trying to figure out if youre telling the truth., I felt really bad when I heard the judge call us 'illegals,' Juan, a resident on Columbus' Southwest Side, said in Spanish through an interpreter. Having legal representation increases the chances of winning an asylum case five-fold, said Melissa M. Lopez, executive director of the El Paso-based nonprofit. She is known for her compassion and fairmindedness. OAKLAND, California The two Honduran women told nearly identical stories to the immigration courts: Fear for their lives and for the lives of their children drove them to seek asylum in the United States. The kidnappers released her and her two sons near the U.S. border. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) It did not take U.S. Immigration Judge Nicholas Ford long to stir up controversy in San Francisco. 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. Jeremy J. Butler, Immigration Judge, San Francisco Immigration Court. 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. It then created a system for the public to file complaints against immigration judges. Its an emotionally trying job. Attorney General William P. Barr appointed Jeremy J. Butler as an immigration judge in June 2020. Senators Announce GAO Investigation of the Politicization and Mismanagement of Immigration Courts - September 14, 2020; Take Action. Immigration Judge Nicholas Ford is terrorizing the San Francisco immigrant community. I am not going to risk my childs life. . Mexicans and citizens from the Northern Triangle of Central America Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador were the most likely to be turned down. 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. Judge Marks led the union for a total of 18 years, serving seven two-year terms as president (not sequential) and four as executive vice president. Chinese nationals won asylum almost 77% of the time in 2020, followed by people from India (62%), Cameroon (61.6%), and Venezuela (54.3%). Numerous legal providers and community members have expressed strong concerns about Fords racist history influencing his work in San Francisco. Attorney General of the United States Deputy Attorney General of the United States. She is known for her compassion and fairmindedness. The Charlotte court was singled out for displaying a particular bias against Central American gang and gender-related asylum claims.. Every story is individual, she says, and every person deserves to be heard. ICE has not released their estimate of how many cases would be cleared under this plan. She perseveres solely because she believes it is important to make a difference wherever you can.. *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). Im not judging whether you employed illegals. Knowing that providing legal advice to asylum seekers can make a difference, one El Paso nonprofit applied for and got two private grants to provide these services. Robert S. Hough had the highest denial rate (92.2%), according to TRAC. In the San Francisco court, Gutierrezs lawyers argued that she qualified for asylum because as a leader of the parent-teacher association, she was at risk for her political opinion her stand against gangs and for belonging to a particular social group of Hondurans opposed to gang violence and recruitment in schools. Sixty-one percent of all complaints closed in the fiscal year 2020 ended up being dismissed. That experience, the Reuters analysis found, makes them 23 percent more likely to order deportation. 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. I have nothing in Mexico. 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. Cases are assigned to an immigration court based on where the immigrant lives. She was always kind and patient with people who came before her. 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. It is unclear why the judge was absent. There is no training on the 2017 calendar. Throughout, Jamil says, Judge Marks articulated to the press and to the public the stress of doing the job of immigration judge. I came here when I was very young. The rest were requests for cancellation of deportation orders or other adjustments to immigration status. She first interviewed Judge Marks, then-president of NAIJ, forUnderstanding the Crisis in Our Immigration Courts(Spring 2015). I want to stay because of my kids, said Juan, who recently bought a new house for his family. BETWEEN WORLDS: Tens of thousands of Central Americans fleeing violence in their home countries overwhelmed U.S. immigration facilities like this one in Nogales, Arizona, in 2014. IJ Ford felt empowered to shout at and accuse my client throughout the hearing, showing little regard for the fact that she was a human being in his courtroom, said Omar de la Cruz, immigration attorney at Centro Legal de la Raza. When she started, she was one of few women. 0% San Francisco; 0% Denver; 0% Dallas, TX; 0% Boston; 0% Los Angeles; 0% Atlanta; Salary Ranges for Immigration Judges. The union representing immigration judges is suing the Trump administration over a policy they say censors judges. I was the first to do the Families with Children Docket, which became known as rocket docket, Judge King recalls. He also served as an immigration judge from 2009 to 2011 in San Francisco, and he was an Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorney in the city from 2006 to 2009. . Ana moved with her daughter to live with her daughters father and petitioned to have her case moved to Charlotte. I was desperate and knew that I had to leave my daughters life and mine were in danger., The school principal said he understands why Gutierrez and Ana left Honduras. Judge Marks says her biggest success was seeing, H.R. 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. Michael Short / Special to The Chronicle 2019. I vowed to be my authentic sense of self. Retired Immigration Judge Polly Webber, saw an aspirational role model. People familiar with the system are well aware of the difference. The agency does not identify judges who were the subjects of complaints. 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. May 19, 2021. Ana fled with her daughter the night the gang members threatened them on the street. The new lawyers argued that her previous representation had been ineffective. On December 18, 2020, the EOIR announced the investiture of an additional 14 immigration judges. Treats immigrants, witnesses, and practitioners in an unprofessional and hostile manner. Appearing in IJ Fords courtroom was a reminder that immigration courts are arenas ripe for traumatization and dehumanization, especially in the context of xenophobic administrations. In July, the BIA granted Ana the right to a rehearing in immigration court, sending her case back to Charlotte, where it could be heard again by Couch. TheCleveland Immigration Court, much like the rest of the country, saw dramatic personnel changes during Donald Trumps presidency. 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. Couch wrote in his opinion that Anas difficulty recounting the names of the women on the association board weighed against her credibility. But we have to address these bad judges.. Well-established law recognizes family as a protected social group, according to the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies. 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. Riley stopped hearing cases for a few weeks in July and August, but returned shortly after, according to hearing schedules shared with the Dispatch. It is clearly troubling when you have these kinds of gross disparities, said Karen Musalo, director of the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies at the University of California Hastings School of the Law in San Francisco. She was very vocal as head of NAIJ, says Atkinson, especially [on issues] related to fairness and due process. Judge Webber appreciated Judge Markss talents as a spokesperson for the union, remarking on her great voice and quick thinking. . 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. The firm made a wise choice. Add Photos. Jan. 27, 2020 4 AM PT HOUSTON Immigration Judge Charles Honeyman was nearing retirement, but he vowed not to leave while Donald Trump was president and risk being replaced by an ideologue. I began to panic and shake, she said. FY 2015-2020. She showed us all how to be fierce advocates for justicefor what is true and right and justwithout crossing over lines, says Judge King. Gutierrez moved with her boys to Oakland, California, to join her husband, and petitioned to have her case moved to San Francisco. Were all humans. The most common payscale is General Schedule. You really get those Perry Mason moments in immigration court. Before: Richard A. Paez and John B. Owens, Circuit Judges, and Morrison C. England, Jr., * Senior District Judge. When he turned 16, he left his hometown and crossed the border by himself in search for a better life, settling in Columbus. Gutierrez also said her friend is very forgetful. Unlike federal court judges, whose authority stems from the U.S. Constitutions establishment of an independent judicial branch, immigration judges fall under the executive branch and thus are hired, and can be fired, by the attorney general. Those appointed under Trump had ordered. We had to jump over a wall, and I hurt my foot doing so, she said in an affidavit. More than 300 judges are spread among 58 U.S. immigration courts in 27 states, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands. Gutierrez hid for two months at her friends mothers house outside Tegucigalpa. Of course, other factors influence outcomes in immigration court. After her, all these really amazing women came to the bench, says Shugall, women Judge Marks mentored and encouraged to apply for the bench. 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. Many immigrants released on bond before their cases are heard have no idea that where they settle could make the difference between obtaining legal status and deportation. 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. . 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. 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. Two of them grabbed Ana and her daughter, pinned their wrists behind their backs, and pointed a gun at the childs head. Earlier this month, the Justice Department announced 28 new immigration judges, bringing the number of such judges to more than 465, a record high. 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. Youre hearing stories of trauma and torture all day long, says Carol King, also a retired immigration judge, and the judge must then make decisions about peoples futures. Close to half the complaints were dismissed. Gutierrez contacted relatives who wired the money. She was the first person I knew from our side, says Bette Stockton, who later joined Judge Marks on the bench and retired after 21.5 years as an immigration judge. The Charlotte court that would hear Anas case was one of five jurisdictions labeled asylum free zones by a group of immigrant advocates in written testimony last Decemberbefore the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Hondurans enjoy no special considerations. Individuals can sign up for a court watch training at bit.ly/courtwatch1. Taken together, the two cases nearly indistinguishable in their outlines but with opposite outcomes illustrate a troubling fact:An immigrants chance of being allowed to stay in the United States depends largely on who hears the case and where it is heard. If someones a pretty virgin, is that a good reason for them to rape her in any context? Olawale said. The case was transferred to a new judge who sentenced Puente to time . The top ten percent of employees in the Executive Office for . To give spirit to the letter of this budget . 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. It has also been politically charged, as immigration courts fall under the jurisdiction of theUS Department of Justice (DOJ), Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). Do you know the people? Individually reported data submitted by users of our website Base Salary $65,625 $72,811 Medium $84,735 Highest Paying Cities for Immigration Judge in the United States Immigration Judge salaries in the United States will pay differently by cities. Becoming involved with and leading theNational Association of Immigration Judges(NAIJ) was a natural extension of her skills and influence. And then one day we went to lunch, and there they were.. The case is currently in the appeal process. Judge Marks says she was never bored. EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) Asylum denial rates in America reached a record high 71.6% in the fiscal year 2020, an immigration think-tank reported. 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. Immigration courts in California and the Pacific Northwest fall under the 9th U.S. Judge Marks says her biggest success was seeingH.R. Learn more about how to check your immigration court date and the status of your immigration case from here. 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 Federal Bar Association and the National Association of Immigration Judges have endorsed the idea of creating an immigration court system independent of the executive branch. 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; . By MICA ROSENBERG, READE LEVINSON and RYAN McNEILL. Its just that she forgets things.. Transparent and . In the Charlotte court, Anas lawyer focused more narrowly on her political opinion, arguing that she was at risk of persecution for her opposition to gangs in her position on the parent-teacher association board. . We were the brave ones. In 2018, after then-attorney general Jeff Sessions announced new restrictions on asylum cases, there was a mass exodus of immigration judges. Her door was always open, says Judge King. 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. She was very vocal as head of NAIJ, says Atkinson, especially [on issues] related to fairness and due process. Judge Webber appreciated Judge Markss talents as a spokesperson for the union, remarking on her great voice and quick thinking. They hoped that mothers working together could oust the violent gangs that plagued the campus. Complaint process is flawed, advocates say, Judges concerned about discipline procedures, too, Personnel changes at Ohio's immigration court, Ohio chapter of theAmerican Immigration Lawyers Association, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. 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. In Atlanta, 89 percent of cases result in a deportation order. The journey took three weeks. The majority come from government. Judge Marks faced daunting challenges during her tenure. She works as an office janitor and is taking English classes. In January of 1987, she was appointed to the bench of the Immigration Court, US Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigrationone of the first women and one of the first attorneys appointed from private practice. Whether you win or whether you lose shouldnt depend on the roll of the dice of which judge gets your case.. I love the Wild West aspect of it.. Litigating before the US Supreme Courtand winningmight be the pinnacle of many legal careers, but Judge Marks was not one to sit on her laurels. And when there isnt an independent investigatorand you have people on the same team investigating each other, that isnt a fair way to undo the wrong that has been done.. 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