Page 33 - The Indian EYE 062025

IMMIGRATION JUNE 20, 2025 | The Indian Eye 33

cers, who are appointed by the Pres- cedures of ALJs. Earlier in February officers if they are determined to be do its job and act. Otherwise, the
ident but supervised by others. See 2025, Acting Director Sirce Owen of unconstitutional. ALJ system should be dismantled
Seila Law LLC v. CFPB, 140 S. Ct. the Executive Office for Immigration If the government is unwilling to and judges who are not constitution-
2183, 2192 (2020); United States v. Review (EOIR) issued Policy Mem- defend the statute regarding the re- ally appointed should have no au-
Arthrex, Inc., 141 S. Ct. 1970, 1980 orandum (PM) 25-23 stating that, in moval procedures for ALJs, and the thority to sanction employers. The
(2021). As it stands, ALJs may not the context of any future personnel court cannot remedy it, then Con- government cannot have its cake and
fall within either of these categories. actions and after additional review, gress should step in to amend it. Al- it it too!
Even if they are considered inferior EOIR may decline to recognize the though it is easy to assume that Con- *Kaitlyn Box is a Partner at
officers, because they cannot be eas- multiple layers of for-cause removal gress is in a logjam and is not capable Cyrus D. Mehta & Partners PLLC.
ily removed, their appointment may restrictions for all of EOIR’s inferior of intervening, it should nonetheless
still be unconstitutional. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If the court can sever only the Cyrus D. Mehta, a graduate of Cambridge University and Columbia Law School, is the Managing Partner of Cyrus D. Mehta
problematic removability clause
from the statutory provision giving & Partners PLLC in New York City. Mr. Mehta is a member of AILA’s Administrative Litigation Task Force; AILA’s EB-5 Com-
authority to ALJs, perhaps ALJs can mittee; former chair of AILA’s Ethics Committee; special counsel on immigration matters to the Departmental Disciplinary
be interpreted to be constitutionally
appointed. The 11th Circuit panel Committee, Appellate Division, First Department, New York; member of the ABA Commission on Immigration; board member
indicated that if the government was of Volunteers for Legal Services and board member of New York Immigration Coalition. Mr. Mehta is the former chair of the
unwilling to defend the constitution-
ality of the removal provisions, it Board of Trustees of the American Immigration Council and former chair of the Committee on Immigration and Nationality
would appoint a third party to take Law of the New York City Bar Association. He is a frequent speaker and writer on various immigration-related issues, including
up the defense of those protections’
constitutionality. on ethics, and is also an adjunct professor of law at Brooklyn Law School, where he teaches a course entitled Immigration and
“The court can’t simply accept Work. Mr. Mehta received the AILA 2018 Edith Lowenstein Memorial Award for advancing the practice of immigration law
the government’s concession of un-
constitutionality without evaluating and the AILA 2011 Michael Maggio Memorial Award for his outstanding efforts in providing pro bono representation in the
the issue for itself,” they said. immigration field. He has also received two AILA Presidential Commendations in 2010 and 2016. Mr. Mehta is ranked among
It is noteworthy that the admin-
istration has refused to defend the the most highly regarded lawyers in North America by Who’s Who Legal – Corporate Immigration Law 2019 and is also ranked
constitutionality of the removal pro- in Chambers USA and Chambers Global 2019 in immigration law, among other rankings.

www.TheIndianEYE.com