American Bar Association Urges Independence for Immigration Court
The American Bar Association has consistently urged federal action to create an independent immigration court.
It remains one of the least understood aspects of immigration law. The “judges” are actually Department of Justice workers. We can imagine the surprise for would-be citizens to discover that the same agency prosecuting them hires and controls the judges deciding their case.
On February 3rd, Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and sponsor of the bill pictured left, along with Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Hank Johnson (D-GA), introduced H.R. 6577 – the Real Courts, Rule of Law Act – which would create an independent Article I immigration court.
The ABA explains it thus: “The immigration courts are currently housed within the Department of Justice (DOJ). Immigration judges serve as career DOJ attorneys with no fixed term of office and are subject to the discretionary removal and transfer authority of the Attorney General. They have no statutory protection against removal without cause or reassignment to less desirable venues or dockets. In addition, under the current certification process, the Attorney General can refer cases to him or herself for consideration, essentially acting as chief judge.
This lack of independence in the current structure undermines the integrity of the court system and adversely impacts due process for noncitizens in removal adjudications. Since 2006, the ABA has supported restructuring the courts, so they are not controlled by any executive branch cabinet officer. In 2010, the ABA adopted a policy specifically recommending the creation of an independent Article I immigration court.”The Trump administration recently dismissed some of the DOJ judges. There is talk of a stronger role for union representation. But the immigration backlog remains in the millions of cases and getting your day in court can take years. The ABA makes its case here.
