INSIDE THE 2018 DOJ BUDGET: Some Good News (Sort Of) For Beleagured U.S. Immigration Courts

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-fy-2018-budget-request

According to an official DOJ press release:

“+$79 million for the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR), including $75 million for 75 new Immigration Judges and associated positions, boosting the Department’s capacity for prompt, efficient, and just hearings for those accused of violations of immigration law.”

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The Good News:

More U.S. Immigration Judges are certainly needed and welcome. And, it’s smart to treat them as “judicial teams,” including support staff, Judicial Law Clerks, space, and equipment!

“Prompt, efficient, and just hearings” also sounds like the right objective for the U.S. Immigration Court system!

So, what could go,wrong?

The Bad News:

75 additional U.S. Immigration Judge teams will hardly put a dent in a 600,000 case backlog which continues to grow daily. Indeed, since many of the most experienced and efficient Immigration Judges are eligible to retire, 75 new Immigration Judges will barely even cover the potential loss of literally centuries of collective judicial expertise and experience.

Moreover, with Attorney General Sessions serving as a “cheerleader and chief instigator” for DHS’s current “Gonzo Maximo Random Enforcement and Detention Program,” the Immigration Courts’ future is almost certainly going to see more “aimless docket reshuffling” (“ADR”), rather than the careful structural, administrative, and procedural reforms needed to enable the Immigration Court to fulfill its mission of “guaranteeing fairness and due process for all!”

In the long run, the due process crisis in the Immigration Courts can’t be solved without responsible leadership at the DHS with the courage and determination to limit and focus DHS enforcement in a “smart” way that recognizes that Immigration Court time will always be precious and that court dockets are not infinitely expandable! Additionally, it will require DOJ leadership to treat the Immigration Court as a truly independent judicial system, not just an adjunct to the enforcement arm of DHS.

PWS

05-24-17

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