COURTS/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The nation’s immigration judges lost a key leader this week, the latest in a string of departures at the top of the system amid a backlog of cases and a migrant crisis at the southwestern border. The official, David Neal, said that he would retire from his position as head of the judges’ appeals board effective Saturday [9-14-19]. ‘With a heavy heart, I have decided to retire from government service,’ Mr. Neal wrote in a letter sent to the board Thursday [9-12-19] and obtained by The New York Times. He gave no reason for his abrupt departure and asked his colleagues to ‘keep true to your commitment to fairness and justice.’ No replacement has been announced, and a Justice Department spokesman declined to comment, citing a policy to not do so on personnel matters.”
–Katie Benner, “Top Immigration Judge Departs Amid Broader Discontent Over Trump Policies,” The New York Times online, September 13, 2019