Department of Justice Further Strips Immigrant Rights

On January 9th, Attorney General Michael Mukasey issued an order ending the practice of allowing immigration to reopen immigration cases that they lost because of their lawyers' mistakes or incompetence.  The order, which was effective immediately, could lead to the deportation of innumerable immigrants who have lost their cases due to attorney error.  Immigrants, who are unfamiliar with the American legal system, are particularly susceptible to incompetent or unethical, and the new order reduces their opportunity to seek the constitutional right to due process.

The Department of Justice issued the order despite objections from the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Bar Association, and the American Immigration Law Foundation.