"Troubling" Immigration Judge Taken Off Case

An immigration judge was criticized by the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit panel and taken off the immigration case of a Chinese man, in what the NY Times reports is a "rare step". Apparently her cold-hearted reaction to his testimony concerned the panel, as well as her dismissal of other evidence.

In 2004, Judge Noel A. Ferris (pictured) had been hearing the asylum plea of Jian Zhong Sun. According to the Times, Sun described some harrowing details: "authorities in China had forced his wife to get an abortion in her first pregnancy, and that he had been beaten and threatened with sterilization during her second pregnancy in 1993, causing him to flee to the United States before his daughter was born." Sun cried during the hearing, when thinking about how he had not seen his daughter in 11 years and when asked about his wife's forced abortion. Ferris complained on the record, noting "the respondent’s disproportionate behavior in this courtroom.”

The panel felt that not only was her reaction "troubling," they also believed that she excluded important documents and behaved in such a way that might bring her fairness into question. Sun's lawyer Theodore told the Times that there were other appeals about Ferris' hostility "in the pipeline"; additionally, Cox said that waiting for a new judge to decide whether to grant his client asylum could take three years.

The article also describes the difficulties immigration judges have had since the Bush administration changed processes. And apparently Ferris, a Cardozo graduate, is viewed as tough-minded but fair (making lawyers cry as well as asylum seekers). According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), between 2000 and 2005, Ferris denied asylum to 54.2% of Chinese immigrants and denied asylum to 42.3% of all other immigrants; there are many judges with higher denial rates.

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By Jen Chung in News on September 20, 2007 8:21 AM

Comments [rss]

guest

had zero clue if he was a he or a she ...she=assuant; he=douchebag

guest

"Can you explain that?"

I sure can. Alien flees China, hoping to get status in the U.S. so he can sponsor his wife and child, so they can come to the U.S. on a 'plane, rather than possibly dying in the cargo hold of a smuggler's ship.

Dumbass.

guest

Why use the word "immigrants"? They are illegal aliens who try to game the US system, then bring their elderly parents over so American taxpayers can pay for them.

I find it dispicable that politically correct politicians like John Liu got involved to save some illegal alien and intimidate a judge doing her duty.

Here's what I don't get: The illegal alien's wife was supposedly beaten for having multiple pregancies, so the illegal alien flees China and leaves behind his wife and daughter. That sounds fishy to me, and any other right thinking person.

How is that cold-hearted? Can you explain that? The illegal alien's actions don't jibe with what a reasonable family loving husband and father would do. Either he loves his wife and daughter... and would stay with them to raise, support, and defend them; or he's a selfish lying crook who abandoned his family for the "riches" of America.

Which one is it, Jen? You're one sided "reporting" is what's troubling to me.

guest

u sure that's not a man?

guest

How did Bush change the process for asylum seekers?

guest

is she a lesbian?

guest

alot of people still don't accept asians into this society. judges included look at her rates of accepting chinese.

Outter Burrougher

I don't mean to say that their percentages should all be exactly the same, but that their criteria should be. There will always be fluctuations and differences, there will always be unique situations that stand outside of established standards, but that doesn't mean there shouldn't be standards to begin with.

Outter Burrougher

What's scarier to me is the wide disparity described in the actual Times article regarding the percentage of aliens granted asylum based largely on which judge hears their case. There are judges that grant asylum in 10% and ones that grant in 90% of the cases that they hear. I find it very difficult to believe then that they are all working off of the same criteria. Of course there are people who try to take advantage of the situation, but the idea that a person who comes here in good faith and desperation might be turned away based solely on luck of the draw seems inhuman.

Truthseeker07

Oof, reading of Judge Noel's intemperance and wrath is scary. Her bio indicates an earlier career in the shmatte trade. Hope her robes fit! But enough of the compliments....It's continuingly baffling how some of these pettifogging functionaries preempt the nation's rule of law by their callous disregard of why people have come to America. I applaud the appelate judge for chastizing this unwise caricature of the Queen of Hearts. And thanks for shining the light on her contempuous reign of terror from the bench!