New Year Resolutions For Immigration Officials
Last week, a client died unexpectedly, and two government
officials tasked with administering the immigration laws
retired after long careers of honorable service.
The client, a renaissance man of many talents, was remembered by
a throng of mourners representing a wide cross-section of the
community -- academia, local government, the arts, family and
friends. I saw him two weeks before he died. He was
joyful because his long-awaited administrative appeal had finally
produced a favorable decision and a remand. We both had
truly expected that he'd soon enjoy immigration
justice after many years of waiting. His death
underscored the truth of the maxim that justice delayed is justice
denied.
The retiring immigration officials represented
an increasingly rare genus of civil servant. I
wrote a farewell note to one in words that could have applied
equally to both: "You have always been my model of the
superlative public official – courteous, helpful,
responsive, knowledgeable and friendly."
Neither of these officers were pushovers. Both understood
the immigration laws, applied them fairly, knew how to listen,
kept an open mind, and took time to read an application
for an immigration benefit carefully to identify the strengths and
weaknesses of the case. They were not afraid to reach a
decision within a reasonable period of time, or to reconsider if
new evidence or additional legal arguments were offered. Most
of all, they reflected a tradition of even-handedness and timely
justice best reflected in a memorandum from Durwood Powell, Jr., a
long-retired Regional Commissioner of the legacy agency,
Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Sad to say, however, too many of today's breed of
immigration official display a different set of priorities.
Haunted by fear that he or she will be second-guessed and reprimanded for granting an
immigration benefit to an underserving or possibly dangerous
applicant, officers are wary and chary of saying
"yes." They tend to know the fine points of civil
service rules governing their employee benefits, but are less
zealous in mastering the admittedly complex immigration laws or
publishing regulations that would help the public understand the
law. Speed of decision-making is espoused as an important
value, but too often honored more in the breach than the
observance. Many look for ways to say "no" even if
the effort at times produces specious reasoning. Others build
new hierarchies of power, whether authorized by...
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