Attorney General Eric Holder appointed Judge Chait in November 2011. Judge Chait received a bachelor of arts degree in 1984 from The George Washington University; a master of social work degree in 1996 from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, School of Social Work; and his juris doctorate in 1987 from the University of Miami School of Law. From September 2007 to November 2011, he served as the St. Paul chief counsel, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Bloomington, Minn. From 2005 to 2008, Judge Chait also served as chief of training for OPLA. From 2002 to 2005, he served as acting director of the Legal Division for OPLA at the DHS Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Ga. From 1995 to 2002, he was an assistant district counsel for the former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). From 1993 to 1995, Judge Chait was an asylum officer for INS. From 1990 to 1993, he was an attorney for the U.S. Catholic Conference, Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. From 1989 to 1990, Judge Chait was a judicial law clerk for Judge Lawrence D. Smith, Superior Court of New Jersey. He has served as an adjunct professor at the Graduate School of Social Work at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Judge Chait is a member of the New Jersey State Bar.