Attorney General Appoints New Chief Immigration Judge

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today the appointment of Brian M. O’Leary as the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s (EOIR) Chief Immigration Judge. Prior to his appointment, Judge O’Leary served as an immigration judge from May 2007 to June 2009 at the Arlington, Va., Immigration Court. He served as a temporary board member on the Board of Immigration Appeals from May 2006 to May 2007 and as a deputy chief immigration judge in the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge from March 2003 to May 2006. Judge O’Leary served as an assistant chief immigration judge from May 1994 to March 2003, during which time, from May 2000 to October 2001, he served as an acting deputy chief immigration judge. Before joining EOIR, Judge O’Leary worked for five years in numerous positions with the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) Headquarters Office of the General Counsel where he served as associate general counsel, deputy associate general counsel, and assistant general counsel. He also served with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Southern District of Florida, as well as the Eastern District of Virginia, where he worked as special assistant U.S. attorney. Prior to that experience, Judge O’Leary worked as a trial attorney with the INS Miami District Office. Judge O’Leary completed undergraduate work at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in 1982, and received a juris doctorate in 1985 from the New England School of Law. He is a member of the Massachusetts and Florida

KJ