Another layer in the Immigrations process?

[Randy W]

from the Washington Post

 

On immigration, Attorney General Barr is his own Supreme Court. Judges and lawyers say that’s a problem.

 

 

 

Barr used a process known as “certification,” a historically little-used power of the attorney general that allows him to overrule decisions made by the Board of Immigration Appeals and set binding precedent. Immigration lawyers and judges say the Trump administration is using the power with greater frequency — to the point of abuse — as it seeks to severely limit the number of immigrants who can remain in the United States. The administration is also using it as a check on immigration judges whose decisions don’t align with the administration’s immigration agenda, experts say.

 

. . .

 

In the past, such decisions flew under the radar,” Chase wrote.

Other critics said Barr’s move should concern everyone — not just those in immigration. Half a dozen immigration experts who spoke to The Post said Barr’s use of his certification power in this case erodes the neutrality and due process that should exist in immigration court. They also cited recent moves by Justice Department, such as creating an office to denaturalize immigrants or using an immigrant’s confidential therapy notes in a deportation case against them, as evidence of the Trump administration’s willingness to break norms to achieve its goals.

[Randy W]

Proponents of the certification power argue that it’s a necessary tool to correct erroneous immigration court decisions and quickly enact needed changes. Even immigration advocates who oppose the Trump administration’s rate of certifying cases criticized the Obama administration for not invoking the power often enough over his two terms.

Hong cited concern that certification could be used to circumvent the lengthy and detailed regulatory process, which can take years or even decades. Had Barr wanted to propose new standards for defining torture in asylum cases, she said, they would be subject to public notice, debate, revision and public comment.