Falls Church, Virginia - The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) today announced that Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch has appointed Molly Kendall Clark, Ellen Liebowitz, and Blair T. O’Connor as board members to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). The BIA is responsible for hearing appeals from certain decisions rendered by immigration judges and by district directors of the Department of Homeland Security. It is the highest administrative body for interpreting and applying federal immigration laws.

Biographical information follows.

Molly Kendall Clark, Board Member

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Board Member Kendall Clark to begin hearing cases in February 2016. Board Member Kendall Clark received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1974 from Colorado College and a Juris Doctor in 1978 from Suffolk University. From 1995 to 2016, she has served as a senior legal advisor to the chairman, Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). From 1983 to 1991, and previously from 1978 to 1981, she was an attorney advisor for the BIA. From 1981 to 1982, Board Member Kendall Clark worked in the General Counsel’s Office of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service. Board Member Kendall Clark is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.

Ellen Liebowitz, Board Member

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Board Member Liebowitz to begin hearing cases in February 2016. Board Member Liebowitz received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1987 from the University of Delaware and a Juris Doctor in 1990 from the University of Maryland. From 2008 to January 2016, Board Member Liebowitz served as a senior legal advisor to the chairman, Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). From 2007 to 2008, she was a senior counsel to the chairman, BIA, and from 1991 to 2007, as an attorney advisor for the BIA. Prior to joining the board, she clerked for the Circuit Court for Harford County, Maryland. Board Member Liebowitz is a member of the Maryland Bar.

Blair T. O’Connor, Board Member

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Board Member O’Connor to begin hearing cases in February 2016. Board Member O’Connor received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1992 from the University of Notre Dame and a Juris Doctor in 1995 from the Valparaiso University School of Law. From 2002 to 2016, he served as an assistant director, senior litigation counsel, and trial attorney at the Office of Immigration Litigation, Civil Division, Department of Justice. From 1996 to 2002, he served on active duty in various capacities in the Army’s Judge Advocate General Corps including as legal assistance and claims attorney, prosecutor, appellate defense attorney, and as a law clerk to the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals. Board Member O’Connor is a member of the Illinois Bar.