ClarkHill.com

INTERPOL, Red Notices, and the

Immigrant: Opportunities for

Creative Legal Advocacy

Sandra Grossman, Co-Managing Partner, Grossman Young & Hammond

Meg Hobbins, Partner, Grossman Young & Hammond

Thomas Ragland, Member, Clark Hill

IntroductionA niche practice area that touches upon numerous areas of law.

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The Panelists

Thomas RaglandMember

Thomas K. Ragland is the Member in Charge of Clark Hill’s Washington, DC office.

Thomas has practiced immigration law for more than 20 years. Prior to joining private

practice, Thomas worked for 10 years in the U.S. Department of Justice, joining

directly after graduating from law school through the Attorney General’s Honor

Program. At DOJ, Thomas represented the government in the Boston Immigration

Court, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and the Civil Division Office of Immigration

Litigation. Since leaving the government in 2004, Thomas has devoted himself to

guiding individuals and companies through the complex, often overwhelming U.S.

immigration system. He brings an unwavering commitment to his clients and a

genuine desire to help them achieve their goals and dreams – whether obtaining U.S.

citizenship or permanent residence, avoiding deportation, obtaining visas for

employees or family members, or challenging agency decisions in federal court.

Having worked on both sides of the system, Thomas brings wide-ranging experience

and a deep understanding of this country’s immigration laws. He is highly regarded as

a top litigator, a creative legal thinker, and a tireless advocate for his clients.

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The Panelists

Sandra A. GrossmanCo-Managing Partner

Sandra Grossman is a skilled litigator with significant experience in matters related to

the practice of immigration law and international human rights law, including advocacy

before the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL). She is known for

providing top-notch, personalized service to both individual and corporate clients with

complex immigration cases and highly specialized needs. Her pragmatic and creative

approach to diverse legal challenges has earned her an international reputation as a

lawyer who can get the job done for the most discriminating of clients.

Sandra has developed a unique practice that addresses complex inadmissibility issues,

often involving matters before INTERPOL, high-profile clients, politically sensitive

matters, and diplomatic issues with foreign policy implications. Sandra is fiercely

dedicated to guiding her clients through the complex maze of domestic and

international legal structures in order to find workable solutions for clients to achieve

their goals.

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Meg HobbinsPartner

Meg Hobbins focuses her practice on complex U.S. immigration matters and INTERPOL defense.

Meg has fifteen years of experience in U.S. immigration and international human rights law. She

has represented clients seeking permanent residence, the full spectrum of humanitarian

immigration benefits, and relief from removal proceedings. During and after law school, Meg

served as a judicial law clerk and attorney advisor at the Houston, Baltimore, and York Immigration

Courts, through the Department of Justice Attorney General’s Honors Program. Having worked

with over a dozen immigration judges, she applies a broader perspective and astute analysis to her

client matters, succeeding in the most intractable cases. Meg is endlessly energized by her clients’

resilience and is a tenacious, impassioned advocate.

Meg began working with asylum seekers from Iraq and Afghanistan in 2000 and has been

honored to represent clients fleeing persecution from all corners of the globe. Her knowledge of

international human rights law includes a keen understanding of Interpol’s constitution and

procedures. Meg was drawn to INTERPOL defense as she witnessed her clients suffering the

immigration consequences of illegitimate Red Notices, requested by countries seeking to punish

dissidents abroad. She has successfully challenged multiple Red Notices based on false criminal

charges, vindicating her clients and allowing them to live without fear of unjust apprehension.

The Panelists

What INTERPOL is and is not.

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It is not…

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What is INTERPOL and what is its mission?

• Not a law enforcement agency, no power to arrest.

• Mission: Advancing police cooperation on an international level.

• Maintains a structured communication system for messages between law enforcement agencies in different countries.

• Structure: 194 member nations.

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What is INTERPOL?

• Publishes notices and diffusions, including

the infamous Red Notice.

• Any actions taken by U.S. law enforcement

must be in accordance with U.S. law and the

Constitution.

What is a Red Notice?

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What is a Red Notice?

• Not an arrest warrant.

• Essentially a “look out” notice to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar lawful action.

• Applies to persons who are either wanted for prosecution or to serve a sentence.

• Any individual who is subject to an Interpol Red Notice should be considered innocent until proven guilty.

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What is a Red Notice?https://www.interpol.int/en/How-we-work/Notices/View-Red-Notices

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What is supposed to happen when a Red Notice

subject is found in the U.S?

• A Red Notice alone is not sufficient for arrest.

• US DOJ and the National Central Bureau (“NCB,” U.S. INTERPOL

Office) specifically note that Red Notices are “not reliable

indicators of guilt.”

• Arrest warrant must be issued by a U.S. Attorney’s office.

• Despite the law, ICE uses Red Notices to target foreign

nationals for detention and deportation.

How and why is INTERPOL subject to abuse by certain foreign governments?

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INTERPOL Abuse

• Autocratic nations use Red Notices to ‘manufacture’

immigration violations, ultimately using our legal and

judicial system to target individuals they cannot access

through legal extradition proceedings.

• ICE routinely targets individuals in the U.S. solely because

of a Red Notice. These individuals may have a valid visa

or be lawfully present due to a pending application.

• Red Notices are used for political or persecutory reasons,

leading to massive individual and procedural rights

violations.

How does INTERPOL abuse affect U.S. immigration procedures?

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Effect of INTERPOL Abuse on U.S. Immigration

• Impacts people of all nationalities in many stages of the immigration process.

• ICE arrests foreign nationals solely due to the existence of a politically-motivated Red Notice, in direct contradiction with DOJ policy.

• Worst abusers: Russia, China, Venezuela, Turkey

• Visa cancellation.

• Denial of bond.

• Prolonged Detention.

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Examples

Client arrested by ICE while walking out of asylum interview

• Came to U.S. to seek asylum due to fear of persecution in

Russia.

• Arrested in U.S. based on Red Notice issued by Putin.

• Client spent three months in ICE detention.

• FOIA of ICE communications reveals officials

congratulating one another on the enforcement action.

• Review with CCF found the Red Notice request was

politically motivated and deleted it.

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Examples

Client legally present in U.S. arrested by ICE outside his home.

• Russian national targeted by a politically-motivated Red

Notice.

• Immigration authorities cancelled his valid visa in order to

charge and detain him as a visa overstay.

• Repeatedly denied bond by immigration judges and the

Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).

• Eventually successful in having the Red Notice deleted by

INTERPOL.

• Client spent over 2.5 years in detention.

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Examples

Elderly Chinese client detained for 6 months over erroneous Red Notice.

• Chinese national with valid green card application pending.

• Arrested at his home based on a Red Notice riddled with errors and vague allegations.

• Released on bond after a successful BIA appeal of the initial bond denial, and habeas petition.

• Red Notice provisionally suspended.

• And older man with health concerns, he was detained for over six months.

Matter of W-E-R-B

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Matter of W-E-R-B

• BIA recently published the decision Matter of W-E-R-B.

• Addresses the reliability of a Red Notice in removal

proceedings.

• DHS attorneys likely to argue that BIA said Red Notices

are reliable. This is not true.

• In fact, BIA made a limited finding that a Red Notice may

constitute reliable evidence that an asylum applicant has

committed a serious nonpolitical crime, rendering the

applicant ineligible for asylum.

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Matter of W-E-R-B

Some Context

The issue: Was the respondent barred from asylum

because there were “serious reasons for believing” he had

committed a “serious nonpolitical crime?”

• “Serious reasons for believing” is a low standard. The Red

Notice was found to meet this standard.

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Matter of W-E-R-B

Some Context

The Facts: Bad for respondent, good for distinguishing your case.

• Charged with “participation in an illicit organization” –specifically accused of being a hit man for a gang.

• Conceded it was not a political offense.

• Red Notice was not from a country notorious for INTERPOL abuse.

• Red Notice references an on-file arrest warrant.

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Matter of W-E-R-B

BIA Footnote #5

“In a case unlike this, where an alien has put forth evidence of the political nature

of his crime to meet his burden, an Immigration Judge should consider evidence

in the record that the foreign country issuing the Red Notice abuses them for

political reasons. See Tatintsyan, 2020 WL 709663, at *1 (concluding that a Red Notice

from Russia was insufficient to establish “serious reasons for believing” that the serious

nonpolitical crime bar applied where an alien presented evidence that the Russian

Government abuses Red Notices for political reasons and credible testimony that the

Russian Government had persecuted that respondent); see also United States v.

Mohamud, 843 F.3d 420, 424 n.5 (9th Cir. 2016) (“Although Interpol will not publish

requested Red Notices that violate Interpol’s Constitution, which prohibits the

organization from undertaking any activities of a political, military, religious or racial

character, Interpol does not independently vet the governmental request for a Red

Notice for its factual and legal justification.”

Matter of W-E-R-B, 27 I&N Dec. 795, 800 n.5 (BIA 2020).

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Use of Experts in Immigration Court Proceedings

Involving Red Notices

• In addition to a country conditions expert, consider:

• INTERPOL expert for bond & merits hearings

• Expert on criminal law/legal system from Country X.

How to challenge a Red Notice before INTERPOL.

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How to Challenge a Red Notice before INTERPOL

• Challenge directly through the Commission for the

Control of INTERPOL’s Files (CCF):

• CCF is an independent, impartial body tasked with

ensuring processing of personal data complies with

INTERPOL rules.

• Responsible for processing requests for access to, and

correction and/or deletion of data processed in the

INTERPOL Information System (IIS).

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How to Challenge a Persecutory Red Notice before

INTERPOL

Articles 2 & 3 of INTERPOL’s Constitution

“To ensure and promote the widest possible mutual assistance

between all criminal police authorities within the limits of the

laws existing in the different countries and in the spirit of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

“It is strictly forbidden for the Organization to undertake any

intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or

racial character.”

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How to Challenge a Red Notice before INTERPOL

The Predominance Test: (a) The nature of the offence,

namely the charges and the underlying facts; (b) The status

of the persons concerned; (c) The identity of the source of

the data; (d) The position expressed by another NCB or

another international entity; (e) The obligations under

international law; (f) The implications for the neutrality of

the Organization; (g) The general context of the case.

How to stop INTERPOL abuse.The TRAP Act would help.

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How to stop INTERPOL Abuse

• Advocate to reform INTERPOL.

• The TRAP Act:

• The Transnational Repression Accountability and Prevention

(TRAP) Act of 2019 is a bipartisan response to widespread

concern about INTERPOL Abuse

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Helsinki Commission Testimony

Full testimony: https://youtu.be/kPuf6nh04f4

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What will the TRAP Act do?

• Enhance screening processes for INTEPROL communications.

• Help obtain transparency and accountability at the CCF.

• Requires CCF to publish detailed figures and data, broken

down by country, in its annual report.

• Imposes penalties on countries for regular or egregious abuse

of INTERPOL’s rules and Constitution.

• Opposes the appointment of candidates from countries that

regularly abuse INTERPOL from serving in senior positions

within INTERPOL.

Thank you!Q&A