U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Department of Justice
Executive Office for Immigration Review
Office of the Director
5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 2400
Falls Church, Virginia 22041
NEWS RELEASE Contact: Public Affairs, (703)305-0289 or 305-1188
Fax: (703) 605-0365
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August 15, 1997
IMMIGRATION JUDGE TAKES OATH OF OFFICE
IN HATO REY, PUERTO RICO
HATO REY, PR -- Irma Lopez-Defillo will be sworn in today as a new Immigration Judge.
Michael J. Creppy, Chief Immigration Judge, will give the oath of office in an investiture
ceremony at 3:30 p.m. in the Clemente Ruiz Narario Courthouse and Federal Building, 150
Carlos Chardon Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. Judge Lopez-Defillo joins the ranks of over
200 Immigration Court Judges located in more than 40 Immigration Courts throughout the
nation.
Immigration Judges are responsible for conducting formal administrative proceedings, and act
independently in their decision-making capacity. Immigration Judges preside over more than
250,000 formal removal proceedings each year. These decisions are administratively final unless
appealed or certified to the Board of Immigration Appeals. In addition to determining whether
individuals are admissible or removable, Immigration Judges have jurisdiction to consider
applications for various forms of relief from removal. These include applications for such relief
as asylum, adjustment of status, cancellation of removal, waivers of inadmissibility, and
custody/bond redeterminations. Immigration Judges are also authorized to administer oaths of
citizenship to naturalization applicants.
Judge Lopez-Defillo was appointed Immigration Judge in May 1997. She received her B.A. in
1978 from the University of Puerto Rico, and her J.D. in 1981 from the University of Puerto
Rico Law School. From 1991 to 1997, Judge Lopez-Defillo served as Assistant District Counsel
for the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. She worked as an
Assistant Federal Public Defender in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from 1984 to 1991. From 1982 to
1984, Judge Lopez-Defillo worked as a Law Clerk to a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Old San Juan,
Puerto Rico. She served as Attorney/Legal Advisor to the Governor of Puerto Rico on labor
policy in Hato Rey from 1981 to 1982. Judge Lopez-Defillo is a member of the Puerto Rico Bar.
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