101 Iowa L. Rev. Online 84 (2016)

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Abstract

This is a Response to Alberto R. Gonzales & Patrick Glen's Article, Advancing Executive Branch Immigration Policy Through the Attorney General’s Review Authority, 101 Iowa L. Rev. 841 (2016).

In Advancing Executive Branch Immigration Policy Through the Attorney General’s Review Authority, former U.S. Attorney General and now Dean Alberto Gonzales and current Office of Immigration Litigation attorney Patrick Glen provide a rich account of a longstanding but little-used regulatory tool for immigration adjudication: the Attorney General’s referral and review authority. This Response argues that the Attorney General’s referral authority presents federal courts with a powerful, yet previously overlooked tool to engage in a dialogue with the agency when remanding cases to the BIA. In particular, this dialogue-enhancing tool helps courts exercise a more profound systemic effect on agency adjudication. The Response concludes by encouraging Congress, agencies, and courts to develop similar tools in other agency adjudication contexts in order to allow courts to have a more systemic effect on agency decisionmaking and a richer dialogue with agencies on remand.