Round Table Speaks Out Against Expanded Asylum Bars

Public comment posted Jan. 19, 2020 [Note: as of noon, Mountain Time, Jan. 21, 2020, 247 comments had been filed.]

"We are writing as members of the Round Table of Former Immigration Judges to express our strong opposition to the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security Joint Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“proposed rule”) on “Procedures for Asylum and Bars to Asylum Eligibility”. 

The Round Table of Former Immigration Judges is a group of former Immigration Judges and Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) Members who united to file amicus briefs and engage in other advocacy work. The group formed in 2017. In just over two years, the group has grown to more than 40 members, dedicated to the principle of due process for all. Its members have served as amici 37 times in cases before the Supreme Court, various circuit courts, the Attorney General, and the BIA. The Round Table of Former Immigration Judges has also submitted written testimony to Congress and has released numerous press statements and a letter to EOIR’s director. Its individual members regularly participate in teaching, training, and press events. 

The Round Table opposes the proposed rule which violates the Immigration and Nationality Act, the United States Constitution, and the country’s international treaty obligations. Each member of the Round Table has adjudicated applications for asylum and is intimately familiar with the asylum adjudication process. Accordingly, the Round Table has the following concerns about the additional asylum bars and limits to immigration judges’, appellate immigration judges’, and asylum officers’ ability to exercise discretion in asylum cases. ... [more] ..."