12-71417 Leobardo Flores-Montano v. Eric Holder, Jr.
A citizen of Mexico petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals #39; decision denying adjustment of status and cancellation of removal.
By: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
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12-71417 Leobardo Flores-Montano v. Eric Holder, Jr. - Video
Eric Holder May Take Legal Action Against Ferguson Police Before He Leaves
CNN is reporting tonight that the Justice Department may take legal action against the Ferguson police department after concluding its investigation into rac...
By: TheRedEye
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Eric Holder May Take Legal Action Against Ferguson Police Before He Leaves - Video
"I think about all the young people out there who have seen you work and have been able to get just an innate sense, without knowing you personally, that you're a good man," Obama said at the event, which marked the unveiling of Holder's official portrait, and was held at the Department of Justice. " And having good men in positions of power and authority, who are willing to fight for what's right, that's a rare thing. That's a powerful thing."
Holder, who is expected to be replaced by nominee Loretta Lynch, has faced sharp criticism from conservatives and was a polarizing figure for Republicans for his role in high profile and contentious political battles since the start of Obama's presidency. But as the ceremony showed, he also has staunch defenders.
Obama highlighted his work on immigration, same-sex marriage and protecting voting rights, but it was in talking about the personal impact Holder has had on Americans that Obama grew visibly emotional. Obama described how Holder's work with "My Brother's Keeper" -- a program dedicated to providing mentorship for young men of color -- revealed his passion to make a difference.
RELATED: Eric Holder's legacy: A competing agenda over security and civil rights
In his own comments Holder expressed gratitude to those who shaped his time at the Department of Justice and throughout his life.
"I'm grateful to this great nation who gave a black kid from East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City more support and opportunities than any individual could have hoped for."
But he also highlighted all that he felt still needed to be accomplished after his departure.
RELATED: Holder defends DOJ's Ferguson investigation
"We still have unfinished business and work to do, reform of our criminal justice system must continue," Holder said. "The historic wrongs visited upon our native people must be righted. The widening gap of income inequality must be reversed, and in the defense of our nation, we must always adhere -- always adhere -- to the values that define us."
As the ceremony came to a close a surprise guest was introduced -- Franklin. Walking on stage she embraced Obama and Holder (only the President got a fist bump).
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Obama, Aretha Franklin give emotional tribute to Eric Holder
As he prepares to leave office in the next week or two, Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. called for new civil rights legislation, warned of the mounting threat of terrorism and described his worst day in office in a round of farewell media interviews Friday.
Noting that the Justice Department said this week it would not prosecute George Zimmerman for shooting Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black youth in Sanford, Fla., Holder said the law needed to be changed to make such prosecutions easier.
Before he steps down, Holder is expected to announce that the Justice Department will not seek to prosecute Darren Wilson, the police officer in Ferguson, Mo., who shot and killed Michael Brown last year in a confrontation over a jaywalking offense. The case sparked widespread public protests and clashes with police.
Im going to say that I think we do need to change the law, that the standard [of proof] is too high, he told NBC News. We need to allow the federal government to be a better backstop in examining these cases.
Holder said U.S. authorities have hundreds of people under surveillance as the risk of terrorism has increased from the Islamic State and other groups, but said federal agencies have improved their capacity to deal with the danger of domestic extremism.
James Comey, the FBI director, said in a speech earlier this week that the bureau has investigations open in all 50 states of people in varying stages of radicalization.
On Wednesday, the FBI arrested three men living in Brooklyn, N.Y., on charges of aiding Islamic State after one of them used an Uzbek-language website to try to join the group. The case highlighted both the terrorist group's ability to recruit online, as well as government efforts to mine websites for signs of radicalization.
Holder refused to confirm widespread media reports that identified the Islamic State executioner in Syria known as "Jihadi John" as Mohammed Emwazi, a 26-year-old Kuwait-born man who was raised in London.
But Holder vowed on ABC News to hold accountable ... the people who are responsible for these barbaric acts.
Holder said his worst day on the job was Dec. 14, 2012, when a gunman killed 20 children and six adults in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.
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Atty. Gen. Eric Holder backs change in civil rights law to ...
Attorney General Eric Holder plans to push, during his final weeks in office, a new standard of proof for civil-rights offenses, saying in an exit interview with POLITICO that such a change would make the federal government a better backstop against discrimination in cases like Ferguson and Trayvon Martin.
In a lengthy discussion ranging from his own exposure to the civil rights movement of the 60s to todays controversies surrounding the shootings of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, Holder also acknowledged that he felt some of his own struggles with Republicans in Congress during his six years in office were driven partly by race.
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There have been times when I thought thats at least a piece of it, Holder said, adding that I think that the primary motivator has probably been political in nature [but] you cant let it deflect you from your eyes on the prize.
Holder told POLITICO that between now and his departure, probably in early March when the Senate is expected to confirm Loretta Lynch as his successor, he will call for a lower standard of proof for civil rights crimes. Such a change would make it easier for the federal government to bring charges in the case of a future Ferguson or Trayvon Martin.
I think some serious consideration needs to be given to the standard of proof that has to be met before federal involvement is appropriate, and thats something that I am going to be talking about before I leave office, Holder, 64, said.
The attorney generals comments appeared to be aimed partly at preparing the country for the possibility that no federal charges would be brought in the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., last summer. Holder said the inquiry would be completed when he left office, expected around the second week of March.
The Justice Department announced Tuesday that the Martin investigation had been closed, with insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch coordinator who shot the unarmed black teenager to death back in 2012.
Asked if the bar for federal involvement in the civil rights offenses is too high for federal prosecutors to make cases in shootings like those of Martin and Brown, Holder suggested it was.
I think that if we adjust those standards, we can make the federal government a better backstop make us more a part of the process in an appropriate way to reassure the American people that decisions are made by people who are really disinterested, he said. I think that if we make those adjustments, we will have that capacity.
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Eric Holder wants lower bar for civil-rights cases - POLITICO