Thread: Holder Vacates Mukasey Immigration Order

Holder vacates Mukasey immigration order

Published: June 3, 2009 at 3:38 PM

WASHINGTON, June 3 (UPI) -- U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said he will initiate new rule-making proceedings on immigration removal procedures, turning aside his predecessor's ruling.

The new rule-making process means former Attorney General Michael Mukasey's order in the case, Matter of Campean, governing claims of ineffective counsel in removal hearings, will be vacated, Holder said Wednesday in a news release.

"The integrity of immigration proceedings depends in part on the ability to assert claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, and the Department of Justice's rule-making in this area will be fair, it will be transparent, and it will be guided by our commitment to the rule of law," Holder said.

In January, Mukasey issued an order in Matter of Compean overturning Board of Immigration Appeals precedent and procedures governing assistance of counsel in removal proceedings. The order limited the ability of aliens to claim ineffective counsel in immigration proceedings, and did so without public input that a notice-and-comment rule-making procedure would have provided, Holder said.

Vacating Mukasey's order means Holder restored the procedures governing removal proceedings that were in place before the order order.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/06/03/ ... 244057892/

Not a lot of details in this.

You do not have a right to an attorney in civil cases. Ineffective counsel is most often just a delaying tactic.

Dixie

removed by poster

Originally Posted by Dixie

Not a lot of details in this.

You do not have a right to an attorney in civil cases. Ineffective counsel is most often just a delaying tactic.

Dixie

Of course, they are doing everything they can to keep illegals here and get them green cards without an amnesty bill. Illegals can now stay in the legal system forever and eventually get a "political asylum" green card (Obama's Aunti), "abuse, trafficking, etc." green cards, I am sure they will dream up more.

Here's some more pro-illegal immigrant policy from the Obama Administration

Justice Dept. Reverses Bush-Era Immigration Rule
JOHN SCHWARTZ
Published: June 3, 2009

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. reversed a Bush administration ruling on Wednesday that weakened the ability of illegal immigrants facing deportation to argue that their lawyers did a bad job.

The original order, issued just days before the inauguration of President Barack Obama, held that illegal immigrants do not have a constitutional right to effective lawyers in their deportation hearings. That 11th-hour decision abruptly closed off one of the most common avenues for appealing deportation decisions.

Because immigration cases are classified as civil litigation, those facing deportation do not have the same right to be represented by an attorney that criminal defendants have. But before the Bush administration, a long line of legal opinions had allowed immigrants whose lawyers had performed poorly to ask that the cases be opened on constitutional grounds. In 2003, the Board of Immigration Appeals, a part of the executive branch that reviews the rulings of immigration courts, reaffirmed that right.

The Bush administration, however, successfully argued in several federal appeals courts cases that there was no constitutional right to have a case reopened because of ineffective legal representation.

The Bush administration order, issued by then-Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey, concerned three deportation cases known collectively as “Matter of Compeanâ€

Added to Homepage:
http://www.alipac.us/article-4270--0-0.html

Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
www.usdoj.gov

AG
(202) 514-2007
TDD (202) 514-1888

Attorney General Vacates Compean Order, Initiates New Rulemaking to Govern Immigration Removal Proceedings

Attorney General Eric Holder today vacated the order issued in Matter of Compean by Attorney General Mukasey in January and announced his intention to initiate a new rulemaking proceeding for regulations to govern claims of ineffective assistance of counsel in removal proceedings.

"The integrity of immigration proceedings depends in part on the ability to assert claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, and the Department of Justice’s rulemaking in this area will be fair, it will be transparent, and it will be guided by our commitment to the rule of law," Holder said. "It is important that the American people have the opportunity to participate in formulating our procedures in this area, and this new process will ensure they do."

On January 7, Attorney General Mukasey issued an order in Matter of Compean overturning Board of Immigration Appeals precedent and procedures governing assistance of counsel in removal proceedings. The order limited non-citizens’ ability to make claims of ineffective assistance of counsel in immigration proceedings, and it did so without the full range of public input that a notice and comment rulemaking would have provided.

In the order issued today, Attorney General Holder directs the Executive Office of Immigration Review to initiate rulemaking procedures as soon as practicable to evaluate the existing framework for making claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, to solicit public comment, and, if appropriate, to issue a final rule.

By vacating the previous order, Attorney General Holder restores the procedures governing removal proceedings to those in place before the issuance of Attorney General Mukasey’s order. A copy of the Attorney General’s order is attached.

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09-547

http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/June/09-ag-547.html

"...to solicit public comment, and, if appropriate, to issue a final rule."
No indication yet of when and where public comments may be made to the Justice Department concerning this ruling.