Reading Room Document

Assistance of Counsel in Removal Proceedings (II)

The Attorney General's decision in Matter of Compean, Bangaly & J-E-C-, 24 I. & N. Dec. 710 (Att'y Gen. 2009); Assistance of Counsel in Removal Proceedings (I), 33 Op. O.L.C. 1 (2009) (Mukasey, Att'y Gen.), is vacated. The Acting Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review shall initiate rulemaking procedures as soon as practicable to evaluate the pre-Compean framework for reviewing claims of ineffective assistance of counsel in deportation proceedings and to determine what modifications should be proposed for public consideration. Pending the issuance of a final rule, the Board of Immigration Appeals and Immigration Judges should apply the pre-Compean standards to all pending and future motions to reopen removal proceedings based upon ineffective assistance of counsel. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/olc/file/2009-06-03-compean-02/download.

June 3, 2009