“We are ready for any official business. We’re expecting to handle immigration cases [today],” said Beverly Takemoto, immigration court administrator, in an interview with the Variey.
Takemoto, who is based on Honolulu, Hawaii, said the newly opened immigration court, located at the Mariana Heights Business Park, is still under construction.
Takemoto said an immigration judge from the states will be assigned to the CNMI.
Federal immigration law took effect in the commonwealth on Nov. 28.
According to its Web site, the Executive Office for Immigration Review was created on Jan. 9, 1983, through an internal U.S. Department of Justice reorganization which combined the Board of Immigration Appeals with the immigration judge function previously performed by the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, which is now known as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an agency of the Department of Homeland Security.
The Executive Office for Immigration Review is responsible for adjudicating immigration cases.
Under delegated authority from the U.S. attorney general, it interprets and administers federal immigration laws by conducting immigration court proceedings, appellate reviews, and administrative hearings.
