Tenth Circuit Orders New Asylum Hearing Due to Judge's Failure to Advise on Right to Counsel
A federal appeals court has overturned an asylum denial for a Peruvian mother, Rosa Torres-Roldan, and her son, citing the immigration judge's failure to individually ask her if she desired legal representation. The Tenth Circuit panel, in the unpublished order *Torres-Roldan v. Blanche*, determined that a general warning about the right to counsel given to a group of families did not meet the requirements of 8 C.F.R. § 1240.10(a). This regulation mandates that an immigration judge must inform a respondent of their right to counsel at no expense to the government and explicitly ask if they desire representation. The Board of Immigration Appeals had previously interpreted this to mean a specific, knowing, and voluntary answer from the individual. Despite the judge finding the testimony credible, asylum was denied on the grounds that the family had not demonstrated past persecution, a well-founded fear of future persecution, or the Peruvian authorities' inability to protect them. The Tenth Circuit found that...
