At immigration lawyer conferences, it is not unusual to hear attorneys speaking on the arcana of immigration law to comment on the Ninth Circuit. Those from it gloat about how the law is “better” there for foreigners and those not from it bemoan that they are not there. Quite often attorneys will call me from parts of the country outside of the Ninth Circuit asking if it would be advantageous for a client to move here. It sometimes is, or was. (more…)

In the mid-2000′s, I was involved in a case, Tchoukhrova v. Gonzales, 404 F.3d 1181 (9th Cir. 2005), vacated and remanded by Gonzales v. Tchoukhrova, 549 U.S. 801, 127 S. Ct. 57, 166 L. Ed. 2d 7 (October 2, 2006). The case stood for three propositions. The first was a relatively unexciting issue for the general public regarding judicial review of an administrative decision. The court held that when the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) adopts the decision of the immigration judge, the court of appeals can review the decision in its entirety and not just the portions specifically addressed by the BIA. Mindful of its low excitement level, I will simply add that this is important because the Supreme Court has instructed the courts of appeal that before th courts of appeal rule on an issue, the BIA must first rule on it. When the BIA adopts the underlying decision and the immigration judge was comprehensive in the decision, the Court of Appeals believes it is then free to review all aspects of the decision instead of sending some aspects back to the BIA for its analysis. See, it is unexciting.

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On March 28, 2010, I posted a commentary, “The Ninth Circuit Issues a Counterpunch to Aden in Chawla.” in which I expressed an opinion about the motives of some of the judges of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Recently, I received a letter from a judge on the court taking me to task for this observation. I concluded that the judge was right and I was wrong. I wrote the judge to admit that I was wrong.  What follows is my letter to the judge: (more…)

We are all likely familiar with the concept of the “culture wars,” wherein people debate the changes in the culture including issues like guns, sexuality, homosexuality, drugs, religion, and morality. Concerns run from whether to take your hat off indoors to gay marriage. Current manifestations are clear with the Tea Party and Sarah Palin’s soccer moms versus John Stewart and Steven Colbert. Often unnoticed in the media is that immigration is a front in the culture wars. (more…)