01/13/2009 

Thirteen days before the Bush Administration leaves office, Attorney General Michael Mukasey issued an opinion through the Board of Immigration Appeals eroding the right of aliens to effective assistance of counsel. Matter of Compean, 24 I&N Dec. 710 (A.G. 2009).  Aliens have never been entitled to representation in immigration court.  However, for many years if an alien obtained counsel and was taken advantage of by an ineffective attorney or someone posing as an attorney, the alien had recourse: the alien
could file a motion to reopen the case on account of ineffective assistance of counsel.  Mukasey's decision is devastating for the many vulnerable aliens who desperately need competent representation.  The decision is a further reminder of the importance of hiring excellent representation, especially when
you are entrusting your rights, liberties, safety, relationships, employment, and livelihood with your attorney. 

To illustrate this issue, consider this hypothetical: A 20 year-old visitor arrives in the U.S. on a B-1 visa.  Instead of extending or changing his status to legally remain in the United States, he overstays his visa for 20 years,starts his own business, marries a US citizen, and has three children.  His children are all in
school, and one has special needs.  One day he finds himself in removal proceedings and does not know where to turn.  Amidst the confusion and short deadlines, the family does not research the local attorneys in town, and he hires an incompetent attorney who fails to file the appropriate documentation for relief.  Before
he knows it, he is ordered deported and his family is devastated.    Before the Mukasey decision, the man could have claimed that he had incompetent counsel and had his case re-opened on the basis that his first attorney was deficient because he did not file the appropriate documents that could have cured his case.  Now, the fact that he had ineffective assistance of counsel is not enough to re-open the case and stop his deportation. 
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