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REPRESENTING NONCITIZEN YOUTH in REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS 2Nd Edition June 2021

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REPRESENTING NONCITIZEN YOUTH in REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS 2Nd Edition June 2021 REPRESENTING NONCITIZEN YOUTH IN REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS 2nd Edition June 2021 A Step-by- Step Guide to Representing Immigrant Youth INTRODUCTION Although defending immigrant youth facing removal has always been challenging, it has become ever more difficult since January 20, 2017, as, in a never-ending onslaught of Executive Orders, memoranda, certified Attorney General decisions, and other exercises of Executive authority, the Trump Administration waged a steady war against immigrants, the judicial independence of immigration judges, and the “dirty…lawyers”1 that defend immigrants. This manual is our effort to ensure that, despite these attacks, immigrant youth facing removal are afforded substantive due process in our immigration courts, by ensuring that advocates and pro bono attorneys are armed with the requisite knowledge to best defend these young people. 1 The United States Department of Justice, Attorney General Jeff Sessions Delivers Remarks to the Executive Office for Immigration Review, Falls Church, VA, (October 12, 2017), https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-jeff- sessions-delivers-remarks-executive-office-immigration-review (last accessed June 1, 2021). Page 2 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................................... 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................................ 6 ABOUT SAFE PASSAGE PROJECT .................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 1: LEGAL OVERVIEW ...................................................................................................... 8 1.1. Immigration Law in a Nutshell .................................................................................................. 8 A. How Removal Proceedings Start ............................................................................................ 9 B. Parties in Removal Proceedings ........................................................................................... 12 C. Admission to Practice Before the Immigration Court .......................................................... 14 D. Entering Your Appearance before the Immigration Court ................................................... 15 E. Law and Procedure ............................................................................................................... 17 F. Hearings ................................................................................................................................ 17 G. Special Protections for Noncitizen Youth in Removal ........................................................ 19 1.2. Inadmissibility vs. Deportability .............................................................................................. 19 1.3. Considerations for Youth Who Were Previously Detained ..................................................... 20 CHAPTER 2: GETTING STARTED ................................................................................................... 23 2.1. Is Your Client Properly in Removal Proceedings? .................................................................. 23 A. Commencement of Removal Proceedings ........................................................................... 23 B. Charging Document .............................................................................................................. 23 C. Notice of Hearing ................................................................................................................. 24 2.2. Challenging Removal Proceedings after a Notice to Appear is Issued .................................... 25 A. Was Your Client Properly Served with a Notice to Appear (NTA)? ................................... 25 B. Does the Court Have Jurisdiction? ....................................................................................... 28 C. Was Your Client Served with Form I-770? .......................................................................... 30 D. Violations of Constitutional Protections as Grounds for Termination ................................. 31 E. Arguing for Termination under Prosecutorial Discretion ..................................................... 32 CHAPTER 3: PREHEARING CONCERNS ....................................................................................... 34 3.1. Changing Venue ....................................................................................................................... 34 3.2. Submitting EOIR-28 and EOIR-33 Prior to the First MCH ..................................................... 35 3.3. Gathering Evidence in Support of Your Case .......................................................................... 36 A. Special Considerations in Obtaining Evidence .................................................................... 36 B. Reviewing Your Client’s Immigration Court File ................................................................ 37 C. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request ...................................................................... 38 i. Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) FOIA Request ................................... 39 ii. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) FOIA Request .................................................... 39 Page 3 iii. United States Citizenship and Immigration (USCIS) FOIA Request ............................. 39 iv. U.S. Department of State (DOS) FOIA Request ............................................................. 40 v. Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM) FOIA Request ................................. 40 D. Documents from Your Client’s Country of Origin .............................................................. 40 E. Discovery in Immigration Court ........................................................................................... 41 CHAPTER 4: HEARINGS .................................................................................................................... 42 4.1. The Master Calendar Hearing .................................................................................................. 42 A. Burden of Proof (Generally) ................................................................................................. 42 B. Holding ICE to its Burden .................................................................................................... 43 4.2. Preparing for a Master Calendar Hearing ................................................................................ 44 A. Checklist for First (Master Calendar) Hearing ..................................................................... 44 B. Consequences of Failing to Appear ...................................................................................... 46 C. Postponing Individual Hearings: Continuances, Administrative Closure, and the Status Docket ....................................................................................................................................... 48 i. Continuances ..................................................................................................................... 48 ii. Administrative Closure .................................................................................................... 51 iii. Status Docket .................................................................................................................. 52 4.3. How to Properly File with the Court and Service on ICE Counsel .......................................... 53 A. Service of Papers on ICE-OCC ............................................................................................ 53 B. Filing of Papers with the Immigration Court ........................................................................ 53 C. An Extra Note on Service of and Filing of Papers by Mail .................................................. 54 4.4. Conferencing Cases .................................................................................................................. 54 4.5. Individual Hearing .................................................................................................................... 55 A. Call-up Dates and What to Submit ....................................................................................... 55 B. The Role of Experts .............................................................................................................. 56 C. Depositions and Subpoenas .................................................................................................. 58 D. Evidence ............................................................................................................................... 59 E. Witnesses .............................................................................................................................. 60 i. Noncitizen Youth as Witnesses ......................................................................................... 62 F. Briefing ................................................................................................................................. 64 G. Closing Statements ............................................................................................................... 64 H. Checklists for Individual Hearing ........................................................................................ 64 4.6. The Interplay between Common Defenses to
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