Gonzo's Gettin Sued - Suit Shines Spotlight On Immigration Judgeships - ElPasoTimes

[WillyT]

Suit shines spotlight on immigration judgeships
By Louie Gilot / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 06/24/2007 12:00:00 AM MDT

<snip>

Guadalupe Gonzalez is the chief counsel for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in El Paso, a lawyer with more than 20 years of experience in immigration law and a stellar record. In 2002, she made the next logical career move, applying to become an immigration judge. "I love El Paso. It is my home. I was born and raised here, and it's important for me personally to contribute in a role that is both vitally important to our country and of particular importance to the El Paso community," she said.

But the job went to a Anglo male candidate with no reported immigration experience. In 2004, when two other judgeships opened, they went to two other Anglo males, both of them Gonzalez's subordinates with markedly less expertise in immigration law than Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, 56, sued the U.S. attorney general for discrimination on the basis of gender and national origin, and the suit is pending in a court in Washington, D.C. In her filings, Gonzalez claimed that since 2001, only two Hispanics were appointed nationwide for 40 immigration judgeships. The four immigration judges in El Paso are all Anglo men.

The case has attracted national attention amid a scandal over the apparent politicization of attorney general positions and judgeships.

And...

The government tried to have Gonzalez's case dismissed on the grounds that since Gonzalez did not actually apply for the positions she did not know were open, it was not possible for her to have been discriminated against in the selection process.

But a Washington, D.C., judge denied that motion last year, saying that the agency could no more discriminate in its direct appointments than in more competitive settings. Gonzalez, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan wrote, "had identified a particular policy that has a discriminatory effect on a particular group -- (the attorney general's) direct appointment authority."

<snip>

Link: http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_6215604

Go Guadalupe!!! Gonzalez v. Gonzales.

Ya gotta wonder if the judges of this country are as disgusted with this shit as the rest of us. Time will tell.

:shrug:

[AlinPA]

1. Let's see: Gonzales is in charge of the Justice Dept. Let's not hold

our breath.

[WillyT]

2. Yeah... But He's The One Gettin Sued...

I pretty much think it will be up to a judge, and hopefully, a jury.

And remember, the one doing the suing is a judge. This could get REAL interesting!

:shrug:

[Disturbed]

3. A Hispanic AG disciminating against a Hispanic Judge.

What more can one say?

[VP505]

4. It probably

doesn't have much to do with discrimination, its more like finding the right person that would do what the Admin wanted 99% of the time. Gonzo was looking for a puppet and the Hispanic woman most qualified for the job just wasn't it.

[dragonlady]

5. Monica Goodling testified that she used political considerations

to appoint immigration judges. She said someone at the Justice Department told her immigration judges were not subject to Civil Service. That was incorrect. (You'd think that someone from such an esteemed law school as Regent University would do her own research on the point, but I guess not.)

Here's part of an article in the LA Times, titled "Immigration judges lack apt backgrounds," that describes the situation:

WASHINGTON — Over the last two years, U.S. Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales has appointed more than two dozen individuals as federal immigration judges.

The new jurists include a former treasurer of the Louisiana Republican Party, who was a legal advisor to the Bush Florida recount team after the 2000 presidential election. There is also a former GOP congressional aide who had tracked voter fraud issues for the Justice Department, and a Texan appointed by then-Gov. George W. Bush to a seat on the state library commission.

<snip>

"In the last few years, we have seen the appointment of a good number of immigration judges with no background whatsoever in immigration … which really makes you wonder how it is they are being appointed to those positions," said Crystal Williams, deputy director of programs at the American Immigration Lawyers Assn. in Washington.

In light of Goodling's testimony, Williams said, "I think we might have an answer."

<snip>

Considering political affiliation in filling civil service positions is a violation of the Hatch Act, which is designed to keep party politics separate from the day-to-day operations of the federal government. Such a violation could result in the firing of any employees involved in the illegal screening, and could trigger discrimination litigation by applicants who were declined positions.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-usattys26may26,0,7211442.story?coll=la-home-center