More chastisement for immigration judges

Previously on this site, we’ve noted that Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez has issued a memo to IJs urging increased care and professionalism in dealing with the individuals who appear before them.  His memo came as a response to a wave criticism that has been lavished on some IJs by various circuit court judges in the years since immigration “reforms” have virtually elimited meaningful BIA review of many IJ decisions.

On August 21, the 7th Circuit issued yet another decision with a stinging rebuff of an IJs reasoning.  Dismantling the foundation of the IJ’s adverse credibility finding, the 7th Circuit remanded the case for further deliberation.  In so doing, Judge Bauer writes for a unanimous panel:

Troubling to us is the surprising lack of regard for the rich record in this case coupled with the fact that at least parts of the IJ’s opinion appear to be a “cut and paste” job from previous opinions. While Ayi offered an affidavit from his treating physician (who noted the scarring and damage on Ayi’s hands and knees), the IJ’s opinion does not mention this corroborating evidence nor does he explain if or why it was excluded. Our concern is not new, Pasha v. Gonzales, 433 F.3d 530 (7th Cir. 2005);Benslimane v. Gonzales, 430 F.3d 828, 829–30 (7th Cir. 2005), but unfortunately, it has not [*21] abated.  Specifically, the IJ refers to Ayi as “her” twice in the opinion.

The poorly reasoned IJ decisions that are filtering up to the Circuit Court level with such frequency these days are a waste of resources, and the long process of appeals puts asymlum applicants through untold agonies of protracted uncertainty, often under conditions of mandatory detention.

A link to the full case is here:Download Ayi.pdf  and can also be found at http://bibdaily.com/.

-jmc