Twenty-nine former US immigration judges and members of the Board of Immigration Appeals as amici curiae in support of asylee respondent
The following amicus curiae brief was submitted on the Matter of A-M-R-C, Interim Decision 3986 after the US Attorney General’s self-referral and reopening of an asylum case concluded more than a decade ago.
In the absence of any justifying change in fact or law, the Attorney General (“AG”) has reopened Mr. Chowdhury’s case fourteen (14) years after he received a final decision on the merits of his claim for asylum following a full evidentiary hearing before the Immigration Judge (“IJ”) and a complete and fair review by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”or “Board”). The AG’s invocation of his self-referral authority is wholly improper here. As an initial matter,the AG lacks the authority to reopen and terminate asylum cases once asylum has been granted by an IJ or the Board.But even if the AG had such authority, doing so in this case constitutes ultra vires conduct in violation of Mr. Chowdhury’s due process rights given the excessive and unreasonable delay in referral. [Read more here.]
