EOIR Adds Nine New Immigration Judges

On August 14, 2017, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) announced that it swore in nine new immigration judges to fill vacancies on seven immigration courts [PDF version]. The nine new immigration judges brings the size of the immigration judge corps to 334. The EOIR stated in the news release that it is using a new streamlined hiring process to reach the maximum authorized number of 384 immigration judges.

The following are the new immigration judges and the immigration courts on which they now sit:

Karel L. Hansen (Bloomington Immigration Court)
Jose A. Sanchez (Boston Immigration Court)
Christopher R. Seppanen (Cleveland Immigration Court)
Charlotte D. Brown (Harlingen Immigration Court)
Charles R. Conroy (New York City Immigration Court)
Maria E. Navarro (New York City Immigration Court)
Charles M. McCullough (San Antonio Immigration Court)
Patrick S. O'Brien (San Francisco Immigration Court)
Joseph Y. Park (San Francisco Immigration Court)

All nine new immigration judges were appointed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Both the New York City Immigration Court and the San Francisco Immigration Court welcomed two new immigration judges. The additions to the New York City Immigration Court are also notable in that the previous EOIR investiture also added a new immigration judge to the court [see blog].

In addition to the nine new immigration judges, the EOIR also announced that, beginning on August 20, 2018, Daniel Weiss and Clay Martin will begin work in Dallas and San Antonio, respectively, as assistant chief immigration judges.

Please see our short companion article to learn about the qualities and experience that the Attorney General looks for in selecting new immigration judges [see article].