As a continuation of last week’s episode, we’re talking about what happens when we get “immigration judges gone wild.” In other words, we’re talking about judges that act like bullies. Aside from breaking the professional rules that judges are required to follow, bullying takes away due process from Respondents. People in courts are not able to present their full case fairly because of the judge’s bullying.
In this podcast, we cover Matter of Y-S-C-A and an unpublished BIA decision where the judges cross the line by bullying the lawyers and respondents.
While we understand that immigration judges have difficult jobs, they still need to be held accountable. This problem will not be solved over night, but immigration lawyers in courtrooms must do their best to stand up to bullies for the sake of our clients. We should also push for immigration court reform.