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06/04/2009 Entry: "Attorney General Vacates and withdrawas of Matter of Compean, a decision regarding claims of ineffective assistance of counsel"

On June 3, 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder, vacated the decision in Matter of Compean and directed the BIA and Immigration Judges to apply the decision in Matter of Lozada for claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, pending promulgation of relevant regulations.

Mukasey’s last-minute legal opinion affected many thousands of people facing life-changing consequences—namely, deportation. Mukasey’s decision held that immigrants facing deportation have no legal or constitutional right to representation by a lawyer. Thus, he said, they have no right to complain or seek redress if their rights were violated because of incompetent representation.
Mukasey’s decision was Matter of Compean, 24 I & N Dec. 710 (A.G. 2009). The Attorney General’s decision says that the Department of Justice will initiate rulemaking procedures on the right to relief for ineffective counsel in deportation proceedings. In the meantime, the decision says, the law will revert to the prior law, which provided an avenue for victims of ineffective counsel to reopen their cases.

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