On October 3, 2024, there were 50 attendees for the San Diego Chapter of the FBA’s Courtroom Conversation with Assistant Chief Immigration Judges Anne Kristina Perry and Rhana Ishimoto. The conversation was joined by Jesse Imbriano, Legal Director at Casa Cornelia, and moderated by Kevin A. Gregg, immigration practitioner and partner at Kurzban Kurzban Tetzeli & Pratt.
Both Judges shared their pathways to the immigration bench as well as insights into the differences between Immigration Court and other federal practice. For example, admissibility of evidence is based on guidelines set out in the Immigration Court Practice Manual, rather than the Federal Rules of Evidence. The Judges emphasized that Immigration Court is often less formal with many repeat players. Good lawyering practices in Immigration Court include focusing on the harm faced by the individual client and learning individual judges’ processes, especially by observing—many immigration proceedings are open to the public and attorneys training to become pro bono counsel can contact judges’ clerks to ask to observe.
Along with Mr. Imbriano, the Judges emphasized the critical role of pro bono representation as there is no appointed counsel in Immigration Court. Mr. Imbriano encouraged those interested in pro bono immigration practice to reach out to organizations like Casa Cornelia to become trained to provide quality representation in this specialized practice area, rather than going it alone.
The San Diego FBA thanks all the panelists for sharing their insights and all attendees for their interest in this important area of law.