TWO IMMIGRATION JUDGES TAKE OATH OF OFFICE
IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Chief Immigration Judge Michael J. Creppy will give the oath of office today to two new Immigration Judges in an investiture ceremony at 4 p.m. in the Ceremonial Courtroom, United States District Court for the District of Columbia, 333 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Sixth Floor, Washington, D.C. Sandra S. Coleman and Michael F. Rahill join the ranks of over 200 Immigration Court Judges located in more than 40 Immigration Courts throughout the nation.

Immigration Judges are responsible for conducting formal administrative proceedings, and act independently in their decision-making capacity. Immigration Judges preside over more than 250,000 formal, judicial removal proceedings each year. These decisions are administratively final unless appealed or certified to the Board of Immigration Appeals. In addition to determining whether individuals are admissible or removable, Immigration Judges have jurisdiction to consider applications for various forms of relief from removal. These include applications for such relief as asylum, adjustment of status, cancellation of removal, waivers of inadmissibility, and custody/bond redeterminations. The Immigration Judges are also authorized to administer oaths of citizenship to naturalization applicants.

Judge Coleman was appointed Immigration Judge in June 1997 and will serve in the Miami Immigration Court. Prior to her appointment, from 1996 to 1997, she served as an Attorney with the Office of the Counsel to the President. Judge Coleman received her B.S. in 1978 from Northern University, and her J.D. from the University of South Dakota in 1981. Judge Coleman worked as Assistant Director, United States Trustees, in Washington, D.C., from 1992 to 1996. From 1982 to 1992, she served as Deputy Chief of the Voting Section, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice, in Washington, D.C. She also served as Director and Deputy Director of the Section 5 Unit of the Voting Section during this time. Judge Coleman's career with the Department of Justice began in 1981 when she was hired as a Trial Attorney through Department's Honors Program. She also served as an Adjunct Instructor with the American University Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C., from 1984 to 1986. Judge Coleman is a member of the South Dakota Bar.

Judge Rahill was appointed Assistant Chief Immigration Judge in April 1997. Before his appointment in April, he was a Staff Attorney on the Board of Immigration Appeals from 1995 to 1997, and as Counsel to the Chief Immigration Judge from 1994 to 1995. Judge Rahill received his B.A. from Boston College in 1968, and his J.D. from New York Law School in 1974. He received an M.S.L.S. in 1982 from The Catholic University of America. From 1988 to 1994, Judge Rahill served as Assistant General Counsel for the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in Washington, D.C. From 1983 to 1988, he worked as an Attorney Advisor and Tax Librarian for the Tax Division, Department of Justice. Judge Rahill worked at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund from 1982 to 1983. From 1974 to 1982, he served as a Trial Attorney with the Antitrust Division, Department of Justice. Judge Rahill has served as an Instructor in Asylum Law for INS and as an instructor in legal research at the University of Maryland and the Department of Justice. He is a member of the New Jersey Bar.