at NAIJ
The Honorable Mimi E. Tsankov (personal capacity) has served as an immigration judge with the U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review, since 2006, where she has presided over detained and nondetained dockets at the Los Angeles Immigration Court, the Denver Immigration Court, and the New York Immigration Court. She has served as Pro Bono Liaison Judge at the Denver and Los Angeles Immigration Courts and has been a contributing editor of the U.S. Department of Justice Immigration Judge Bench Book. A frequent panelist at regional, national, and international law conferences, Judge Tsankov has presented on a wide variety of immigration law topics, ranging from mental competency and juvenile docket hearings, to ethics, professional responsibility, and “crimmigration” matters. She has published articles in the U.S. Department of Justice Immigration Law Advisor, the Federal Lawyer Magazine, and various academic law journals on topics ranging from 287(g) law enforcement to immigration benefits for victims of domestic violence in the United States and the European Union. Judge Tsankov established and chaired the Colorado Federal Attorney Pro Bono Program and served on the Colorado Chief Justice’s Commission on the Legal Profession.
In her personal capacity, she has served as an officer with the FBA Colorado Chapter, the FBA Immigration Law Section, and the FBA International Law Section, having been recognized nationally in this regard. She is a member of the National Association of Women Judges, Human Rights Subcommittee, and the American Bar Association, National Conference of the Administrative Law Judiciary. She has taught immigration law as an adjunct professor at the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law, and the University of Colorado, School of Law. She holds a J.D.-M.A. in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia.