The Executive Office For Immigration Review Swears In Two Immigration Judges

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) today announced the investiture of two immigration judges. Deputy Chief Immigration Judge Michael C. McGoings presided over the investiture during a ceremony held at EOIR’s headquarters on March 1, 2013.

After a thorough application process, Attorney General Eric Holder appointed Craig A. Harlow and Sunita B. Mahtabfar to their new positions. “The efficient and timely adjudication of detained aliens’ cases are the highest priority for EOIR,” said McGoings. “The addition of Mr. Harlow and Ms. Mahtabfar to our immigration judge corps will allow us to better address our detained caseload.”

Biographical information follows.

Craig A. Harlow, Immigration Judge, Pearsall Immigration Court

Attorney General Eric Holder appointed Judge Harlow in February 2013. Judge Harlow received a bachelor of arts degree in 1989 from Lubbock Christian University in Lubbock, Texas, and a juris doctorate in 1992 from St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio. From June 2012 to February 2013, he served as an assistant chief counsel, Office of Chief Counsel, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security, in Dallas. From October 2010 to May 2012, Judge Harlow served as deputy chief counsel for ICE in Oakdale, La. From September 2007 to September 2010, he was the senior attorney for the New Orleans Office of Chief Counsel. From October 1992 to August 2007, Judge Harlow was an assistant chief counsel for ICE in Oakdale, entering on duty through the Attorney General’ s Honors Program. From May 1991 to August 1991, he was a summer law intern in the Oakdale Immigration Court. Judge Harlow is a member of the State Bar of Texas.

Sunita B. Mahtabfar, Immigration Judge, El Paso Service Processing Center

Attorney General Eric Holder appointed Judge Mahtabfar in February 2013. Judge Mahtabfar received a bachelor of arts degree in 1994 from the University of Texas at Austin in Austin, Texas, and a juris doctorate in 1998 from Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston. From November 2006 to February 2013, she served as an attorney in the Office of the Assistant Chief Counsel, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in El Paso, Texas. From February 2003 to November 2006, she served as an asylum officer for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, DHS, in Houston. From June 2000 to February 2003, Judge Mahtabfar served as a staff attorney for the Department of Public Safety in Houston. Judge Mahtabfar is a member of the State Bar of Texas.

- EOIR -

The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is an agency within the Department of Justice. Under delegated authority from the Attorney General, immigration judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals interpret and adjudicate immigration cases according to United States immigration laws. EOIR’s immigration judges conduct administrative court proceedings in immigration courts located throughout the nation. They determine whether foreign-born individuals—whom the Department of Homeland Security charges with violating immigration law—should be ordered removed from the United States or should be granted relief from removal and be permitted to remain in this country. The Board of Immigration Appeals primarily reviews appeals of decisions by immigration judges. EOIR’s Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer adjudicates immigration-related employment cases. EOIR is committed to ensuring fairness in all of the cases it adjudicates.