Sean Keenan - Immigration Judge, EOIR
Eloy, AZ 85131
Sean Keenan was the first Immigration Judge assigned to my removal proceedings, when I arrived at the Eloy Detention Center (EDC) in September 2007. Keenan remained the judge until his transfer from the Eloy Immigration Court in March 2008.
Indefinite Detention While DHS Tries to Find Evidence of Alienage
During the time Keenan presided over my proceedings, I had testified and maintained that I was born in the US and was a US citizen TR 2007-10-31 p9l21-22; 2007-12-06 p15l8-10; 2008-02-06 p21l13-17.
At no point in that six month period did DHS produce a single piece of credible evidence to support their allegation I was an alien TR 2007-10-31 p16l25-p17l3; 2008-02-06 p21l21-p22l1. Nevertheless, Keenan repeatedly granted DHS continuances, to attmept to obtain evidence to support their allegations, or for me to obtain my US birth certificate TR 2007-10-31 p11l8-12; 2007-12-06 p17l12-13; p22l12-17.
At one point, after being illegally detained by ICE for more than four months, both Keenan and the lawyer for ICE acknowledged that DHS first has the burden of establishing alienage TR 2008-02-06 p21l21-p22l1. And that until then, neither ICE nor the Immigration Court has jurisdiction over the person TR 2007-10-31 p11l8-12.
But even with those acknowledgements, on the record, Keenan refused to terminate the case or to order my release, not even temporarily, until such time as DHS established alienage.
Throughout my hearings before Keenan, I also repeatedly and consistently requested to proceed with the removal hearing immediatly, even if it would mean being deported. But each time, Keenan refused, saying that if I'm not an alien he can't order me removed TR 2007-10-31 p12l9-13; 2007-12-06 p17l17-24; 2008-02-06 p21l9, p24l13-15. It was never a matter of me fighting to remain in the US, to avoid being deported. My goal was to get out of ICE custody and get back to my son, even if that meant being deported.
Illegal Presumption of Alienage
Another troubling thing Keenan did while he was presiding over my case, was one of the times I argued to proceed immediately, he said if we were to go forward today, then based on the evidence before him he would not be able to find that I'm a United States citizen, that I have not submitted "substantial credible evidence" to support my claim of citizenship, and that he would have to find that perhaps I'm a native and citizen of Canada p16l10-15.
What's disturbing about this is that Keenan is saying his presumption, in the absence of any evidence, is that the person in removal proceedings is an alien and that the burden is on them to prove otherwise. That is, of course, by his and the DHS lawyer's own admissions, false.
He says, given that I have not provided "substantial credible evidence" of US citizenship, then he would have to find that I am not a US citizen. He also said, he would have to find that I am a Canadian citizen - even though he had no evidence of that before him.
This statement by Keenan proves that, regardless of what the law actually is, in removal proceedings DHS DOES NOT have to prove anything; the burden of proof is, at all times, on the respondent.
And if the respondent refuses to play along, DHS and the Immigration Court will just keep postponing the proceedings indefinitely while the respondent remains in custody. There is, literally, no time limit on how long a respondent can be detained in removal proceedings prior to a removal order being issued.
In March 2008, Keenan was transferred to another Immigration Court and so, he was no longer assigned to my case.