September 29, 2006
Immigration Judges Take Oath of Office
In Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES – Lori R. Bass, Alison E. Daw, A. Ashley Tabaddor, and Frank M. Travieso were sworn in today as immigration judges during an investiture ceremony at 2:00 p.m. at the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Acting Chief Immigration Judge David L. Neal, from the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) in Falls Church, Va., administered the oath of office.
Judges Bass, Daw, Tabaddor, and Travieso join the ranks of more than 200 immigration judges located in 52 immigration courts throughout the nation. Immigration judges are responsible for conducting formal administrative proceedings to determine whether foreign-born individuals who are charged with violations of federal immigration law should be removed from the United States or may be granted relief from removal. Immigration judges decide each case independently and their decisions are final unless appealed or certified to the Board of Immigration Appeals. In the past year, immigration judges completed more than 300,000 matters. They also are authorized to administer oaths of citizenship to candidates for naturalization.
Lori R. Bass was appointed as an immigration judge in May 2006. She received a bachelor of arts degree in 1978 from the University of South Florida and a juris doctorate in 1988 from St. Thomas University School of Law. Judge Bass served as an associate legal advisor in the office of the principal legal advisor from January 2004 to May 2006, and assistant chief counsel from November 1997 to January 2004, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Los Angeles. From May 1992 to October 1997, Judge Bass served as assistant district counsel in the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in Miami. She served as assistant general counsel, INS, in Washington, D.C., from January 1991 to May 1992. Judge Bass worked as an attorney for Senator Conrad Burns in Washington, D.C., from June 1989 to July 1990. She is a member of the Florida and District of Columbia bars.
Alison E. Daw was appointed as an immigration judge in May 2006. She received a bachelor of arts degree in 1985 from the University of California, Berkeley, and a juris doctorate in 1988 from Georgetown University Law Center. In June 2005, Judge Daw went to Haiti to perform humanitarian work. She served as an assistant U.S. attorney in San Jose, Calif., from September 1999 to June 2005. She worked as a deputy county counsel for the County of Amador, Jackson, Calif., from September 1996 to September 1999. Judge Daw was in private practice from September 1988 to September 1996. She is a member of the California Bar.
A. Ashley Tabaddor was appointed as an immigration judge in November 2005. She received a bachelor of arts degree (cum laude) in 1994 from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a juris doctorate in 1997 from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Judge Tabaddor served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California in Los Angeles from May 2002 to November 2005. During this period, Judge Tabaddor also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California Law School. She served as a trial attorney with the Office of Immigration Litigation, Civil Division, Department of Justice, in Washington, D.C., from September 2000 to May 2002. During this period, Judge Tabaddor also served as an adjunct professor at the George Washington University Law School. She served in the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge in Falls Church, Va., as an attorney advisor from July 1999 to September 2000, and as a judicial law clerk/attorney advisor from September 1997 to July 1999. Judge Tabaddor worked as a summer law intern in the immigration court in Los Angeles from June 1996 to August 1996. She is a member of the California Bar.
Frank M. Travieso was appointed as an immigration judge in May 2006. He received a bachelor of arts degree in 1982 from California State University, Fullerton, and a juris doctorate in 1995 from Loyola Law School. Judge Travieso served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles from August 2001 to May 2006. From August 1995 to August 2001, he served as an assistant district counsel for INS in Los Angeles. During this time period, Judge Travieso was detailed as a trial attorney to the Office of Immigration Litigation in Los Angeles, from August 2000 to August 2001. He is a member of the California Bar.
- EOIR -
EOIR is responsible for adjudicating immigration cases. Specifically, under delegated authority from the Attorney General, EOIR interprets and administers the federal immigration laws by conducting immigration court proceedings, appellate reviews, and administrative hearings. EOIR consists of three components: the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge, which is responsible for managing the numerous immigration courts located throughout the United States where immigration judges adjudicate individual cases; the Board of Immigration Appeals, which primarily conducts appellate reviews of immigration judge decisions; and the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer, which adjudicates immigration-related employment cases. EOIR is committed to providing the fair, expeditious, and uniform application of the nation's immigration laws in all cases.
Information about EOIR immigration proceedings is available on EOIR’s website at http://www.usdoj.gov/eoir/press/subject.htm.
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