Rigged Administrative Courts and Corruption at the Department of Labor
What if the prosecutor is also your judge’s law clerk? No… It is not Trump’s fault…
The inherent problem with Administrative Courts is that it is housed in the same agency that you are appealing the adverse decision to. While it is presumed to be a “neutral ground”, in the end, the Administrative Law Judges answers to the appointed Secretary.
As a first post, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Documents posted are those that are available to me and documents received through the Freedom of Information Act. These are all official and genuine documents. Majority of the redaction are not mine.
My story I promise, will reveal itself in time. One thing that I do hope to do is to bring attention to the rigged system against those who are trying to follow “the legal process”.
The story starts off by a denial of an immigration related application by the Department of Labor’s Certifying Officer (CO) in 2012. It was then appealed to the Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ), also under the Department of Labor, but presumed to be neutral.
The Certifying Officer has an appointed counsel which is also housed in the Department of Labor, the “Counsel for Litigation”.
Here is the “Notice of Docketing” from the Court that informed us that the “Counsel for Litigation” is the opposing lawyer and all papers are required to be sent to him.
Here is the “Congressional Directory” for the years between 2011–2014 showing “Harry Sheinfeld” as the “Counsel for Litigation” for the division that represents the Certifying Officer.
Here is a case where it shows his appearance and title
The case dragged on for years which again resulted in another denial. And the final step of appeal was to go though the “En Banc” petition in 2016. It is an appeals process wherein an expanded panel of judges hear the case.
Now how would you feel if I told you the same “Harry Lewis Shienfeld”, the Certifying Officer’s lawyer, was also the “adviser” to the judges who decides the appeal?
It is the same Harry Sheinfeld here:
here:
here:
Apparently, he is also the “boss” at the Department of Labor:
Is it against the law to move jobs? Of course not.
But is it against the law to advice the judge in a case wherein you served as a “prosecutor”?
Yup! It is a crime punishable up to a year in prison for every count.
18 USC part 207
Title 18 is the “Criminal Code” for the United States. There are numerous other regulations and laws that protect against the very obvious conflict of interest.
Here is the link:
What if I told you, not only did he move to the office of administrative law judges advising in immigration cases which makes the appeal process inherently devoid of “due process” because of the lack of impartiality, he is also getting paid DOUBLE of what he was earning.
Government workers are allowed to come back to work for the Government after retiring from their old government job. But, the salary that they receive from their new employment must be offset by the pension that they already receive. Sounds fair right? If I am getting a $100 pension plus healthcare from taxpayers free and clear, if I go back to work and that job pays $150, also from taxpayers, I should not be allowed to “double dip”, which means I should get $50 from my salary and $100 from my pension. That would be the standard procedure.
But of course there are exemptions. It is called a “dual compensation waiver” and here is Harry Sheinfeld’s dual compensation waiver.
Because Mr Sheinfeld was employed prior to 1984, he is under the old retirement system which is arguably a more “generous” system. (read first article above and here)
He was paid around $160,000 for his services at the Office of Administrative Law Judges.
Here are the proof for those numbers:
Take note of the date: May 30, 2015
Here is when he left the Court’s office.
So, the government was using taxpayer money to pay someone at a ballpark of $300,000 a year to assist in denying “due process” to people who presumed they are presenting their case to a “neutral court”.
How was he able to get this job? Well, he has been a “career lawyer” for the Department of Labor for more than 30 years, I am sure he has met friends there. The Chief Judge after all offered to apply for the “Dual Compensation Waiver”, and for practically double the salary, who would ask who works behind the scenes? Who cares if we deny “impartiality” to the public? What are immigrants going to do about it? What can they do about it?
22 days after his retirement (which was approved on the same date he retired by the way, see document above), the Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ) have decided on his employment with them, with the understanding that the Chief Judge MUST apply for a dual compensation waiver for him.
I doubt the Chief Judge did not know he worked for the “opposing side” in 100% of the cases. And I am also sure that the Human Resource Director knows that this is illegal. The irony of this is, this is the Department of Labor. Prohibited Personnel Practices should be their expertise.
The $300,000 question! Was it only my case he advised on in OALJ? Whose immigration cases did he advice the OALJ on? Cases wherein he represented the Certifying Officer? How many immigrants who are trying to do it the right way have had their due process taken away from them? How many immigrants who are trying to follow the law, waiting for YEARS and are now not in the country because they did not know their rights were unlawfully taken from them? I would assume it would run into the hundreds of cases. From a taxpayer’s viewpoint, partly paying for $300k, I would hope it would go to the thousand’s. Why was this allowed to continue for 2 years? How about the audacity of people who carry the title of “judge” to engage in such a blatant disregard for the most basic of rights?
He is now presumably finally retired. But the Chief Judge and the Human Resource Director who conspired in hiring him are still there. Still adjudicating cases.
But, before you start blaming Trump for these basic and fundamental violations to civil rights, I have to be fair. These appointments happened under Tom Perez, ex-Secretary of Labor under President Obama. The Office of Administrative Law Judges are under the direct supervision of the Secretary of Labor.
Which means, Mr Shienfeld’s hiring and the appointment of the Chief Judge was under the supervision and presumably the blessing of a Democratic appointee. If it was, then the current DNC chairman is just as guilty in conspiring to deprive LAWFUL immigrants of their due process rights. It was NOT UNDER TRUMP. Did the last Secretary of Labor have the duty to know and stop it? Of course! But it is fair to assume that the Secretary of Labor that followed Perez presumably did not know of Mr Sheinfeld’s past.
Furthermore, I have brought these information personally to my Senators. Both Senator Mazie Hirono and Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii. Both offices, after numerous meetings, simply never contacted me back.
So forgive me when I feel that Senator Hirono’s tears on the migrant children and Senator Schatz’s comments on “racism” by the President are disingenuous. The rights of people featured on TV is of course more important than those actually who have been trying to follow the law for years. People who fall in line simply do not make the headline.
Feel free to forward this to the Office of the Special Counsel. I also have contacted the American Immigration Lawyers Association and other lawyers. I have since concluded that that AILA is nothing but a paid service so lawyers can put their seal beside their name. No better than diploma mills. No one cares either because I have no money, or simply no one believes me. Hopefully, this brings attention to the neglected people in all the current immigration debate: The people who spend years trying to do it the right way.
