General provisions.

§ 1003.101 General provisions. (a) Authority to sanction. An adjudicating official or the Board of Immigration Appeals (the Board) may impose disciplinary sanctions against any practitioner if it finds it to be in the public interest to do so. It will be in the public interest to impose disciplinary sanctions against a practitioner who is authorized to practice before the Board and the Immigration Courts when such person has engaged in criminal, unethical, or unprofessional conduct, or in frivolous behavior, as set forth in § 1003.102. In accordance with the disciplinary proceedings set forth in this subpart and outlined below, an adjudicating official or the Board may impose any of the following disciplinary sanctions: (1) Disbarment, which is permanent, from practice before the Board and the Immigration Courts or the DHS, or before all three authorities; (2) Suspension, including immediate suspension, from practice before the Board and the Immigration Courts or the DHS, or before all three authorities; (3) Public or private censure; or (4) Such other disciplinary sanctions as the adjudicating official or the Board deems appropriate. (b) Persons subject to sanctions. Persons subject to sanctions include any practitioner. Attorneys employed by the Department of Justice shall be subject to discipline pursuant to § 1003.109. Nothing in this regulation shall be construed as authorizing persons who do not meet the definition of practitioner to represent individuals before the Board and the immigration courts or the DHS. (c) The administrative termination of a representative's accreditation under 8 CFR 1292.17 after the issuance of a Notice of Intent to Discipline pursuant to § 1003.105(a)(1) shall not preclude the continuation of disciplinary proceedings and the imposition of sanctions, unless counsel for the government moves to withdraw the Notice of Intent to Discipline and the adjudicating official or the Board grants the motion. [65 FR 39526, June 27, 2000, as amended at 73 FR 76923, Dec. 18, 2008; 77 FR 2014, Jan. 13, 2012; 81 FR 92362, Dec. 19, 2016; 87 FR 56259, Sept. 14, 2022]