Opinion ID: 785832
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Removal Hearing

Text: 5 On September 17, 1998, the initial scheduling hearing in Tawadrus' removal proceeding took place. Normally at these preliminary hearings, the applicant concedes his identity, swears to the validity of his written application, and generally concedes to removability, but states the grounds on which he or she is seeking relief. See generally, 8 C.F.R. § 3.21 (1998) (now located at 8 C.F.R. § 1003.21). The date is then set for the hearing on the merits and the matter is continued until that time. 6 Tawadrus originally appeared for his preliminary hearing with his attorney, Howard Davis. Tawadrus was sworn and conceded removability and, upon recommendation of the government, Egypt was designated as the country of removal. The IJ then went off the record to select a hearing date. When they came back on the record, the following took place: 7 [Immigration] JUDGE [Gilbert T. Gembacz] FOR THE RECORD 8 Back on the record. While off the record, the Court suggested September 30 as a merit's [sic] hearing date. The respondent's counsel indicated that conflicted with his schedule because of religious reasons. The Court is going to set the matter to March 18, 1999 at 8:30 in the morning. The respondent indicated that his children were being threatened, he was an engineer, he has to get his children out of his country, he has to get his matter resolved immediately. The Court explained to him that there is[sic] approximately twelve hundred other people that this Court is responsible to hear cases. The respondent insisted that his case must be heard first. The matter will be set for 1:00 this afternoon. Counsel for the respondent indicated that he would be unavailable on such short notice to represent the respondent.